AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast

Building a Legacy: Cheryl Litvin's Story of Growth and Resilience

In this episode, host Katherine Breuss interviews Cheryl Litvin, the fourth-generation owner of First Associated Insurance Agencies. Cheryl shares her journey into the family business despite initial reluctance and discusses the importance of soul alignment in business. She recounts a life-changing experience of surviving a tornado, which reinforced her commitment to helping others understand the importance of proper insurance coverage. Cheryl also emphasizes the value of networking and community, particularly for introverts, and the necessity of knowing one's weaknesses to grow and delegate effectively.
Contact Cheryl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryllitvin/
 
Song: The Way To You - Composer: Sapajou 
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7q5R_ITPYFttJn7PyHzmw 
License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free 
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com 
 
Katherine Breuss: ,  I wanna welcome Cheryl Litvin to the AG 45 Soul Line Strategy [00:01:00] Podcast.
Cheryl, welcome and thank you much for taking the time to be with us and share your experience being soul lined as as. You know, as a business owner. Um, but before we get into our, I'm sure, very interesting conversation that's coming ahead, I'd love it if you could introduce yourself to everyone listening and maybe share more about  who you are and then also your business.
Cheryl Litvin: Okay. Um, thank you for having me as  My name is Cheryl Litvin. I am the fourth generation owner of First associated Insurance agencies, independent insurance agency. Um, started in Brookfield, Wisconsin. We've been here for a very long time. Um, and as a child I would've, if my parents would've asked if I would take over the business, I would've said,  hell no.
And. As life unfolded,   I married my high school sweetheart. We [00:02:00] moved to California and I started working as a safety,  OSHA trainer. And my mom said to me one day,  you're doing insurance, right? And I was  no. Sure enough, she's  And family is hugely important to me. So. Not letting our legacy go,  was very important for me and here we are.
So literally when you asked me to do this, I was  I know I was born to do this, and I know that the, how you have green lights and red lights. I know that this is a green light for me and to continue the work that,  my great-grandfather, grandfather, and parents have done before me. Wow, that's cool.
Speaker: You don't, you don't meet a lot of fourth generation business. You don't,  this, you don't, [00:03:00] you're the third generation is the one that screws it up though. Yeah. Well,  What about Cheryl? Can you share with us, for you as a person,  you,  are from Brookfield, is that correct? I was born and raised in Pewaukee.
Uh, our, our office has always been in Brookfield. Okay. So what is something that  that you love doing, you enjoy doing outside of, of course, your business? I anytime that we can, I can be outside. I am a happy camper. So hiking, gardening,  not, I wouldn't say gardening, planting flowers, I'm saying tearing things apart and putting it back together.
Cheryl Litvin: Organized,  love doing that stuff. Very cool. You know it, since,  I moved back to Wisconsin two and a half years ago, I've been discovering a lot of the different hiking trails and parks and never [00:04:00] realized,  that we're here. There's some  beautiful areas,  to the state.
Speaker: Um, and I, and I love all the little village fields and all the,  the different,  places within Wisconsin that you don't get. Throughout all of the US. So,   Wisconsin is,  quite close to my heart  Um, but,  Cheryl to that, in terms of soul lined and, and  this is the theme of the podcast and, and how.
A G 45. How I see soul alignment is,  when somebody is clear about who they are, they are integrating that in everything they do, including their business. They're aligning who they are and what they want into the strategy of their business. Maybe not directly they're sharing it with,  everyone on their team.
Um, but there is that alignment [00:05:00] piece. And when we do that. We don't do it a hundred percent of the time, but when we do that, the impact is huge. So I would love it if you would share how soul alignment and what you,  how that has impacted you, whether positively or not,  in your business and even in your life.
Cheryl Litvin: I touched on it a second ago, but I'm firm believer in red light, green light. If you've ever read the book by Matthew McConaughey, the Matthew McConaughey of Green Lights,  I read that  I listened to it and I was  he's  When it's a green light, that it's easy.
It's, it's,  you don't have to struggle much. You know you're on the path and the red lights are there to teach you a lesson. So I've had a ton of red lights. Um,  literally before I popped into this,  podcast, [00:06:00] I got a cancellation notice for one of my, my new customers. And when I first met 'em, I knew it wasn't aligned.
Mm-hmm. Like with me. But I am a firm believer in helping people with insurance because it's super complicated and,  walking through it, but I knew he wasn't a fit for me, and a month later is proof he wasn't a fit for me. Um, the thi the lesson I'm still learning is I need to trust my gut more.
I don't have to help everyone. I need to, to trust the  My own inner values that my customers have the same values that I do, which means that we can create a bigger impact together. Yeah, I do love that. And that's a,  there's, there's,  you hit it on the head. I'm not sure if you said,  flow, but with that green light it's easier.
Speaker: Yeah. Theaters. [00:07:00] I don't know. It's not to say that life is easy and it's if you're lined, it's  oh, life is gonna be cruisy all the time. But it's  it's, even with the ups and downs and the challenges or whatever it's thrown at you, when there's alignment, it doesn't feel hard. It's
It's  and that the example of even clients, because as business owners obviously. You know, revenue is important, we gotta keep the lights on, we gotta take care of employees, et cetera. Uh, but   and it can be hard to listen to our gut when we're feeling  is this the fit? Is this the client?
But in the long run, even if, let's say that client had. Continued the call. Who knows? Maybe they would've been hard work or would've taken a lot, who, what I mean? Like it could have been a lot of resistance that there's an opportunity cost there if you hadn't and said no, [00:08:00] which would allow them for the people to show up.
Cheryl Litvin: Does it? Yeah, that's something I struggle with. I'm a people pleaser. I am   helping first and foremost. Um, but it is something that I need to learn still, that it's to say no to people who are outside of my ideal. My, my value system is what it is. Its values.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, I, I'm, I'm with you there. I'm, I'm still learning. Good luck. It's been,   I could say all my life and I'm still,  still doing it. Well, can you also share,  insurance, what insurance that your business,   sells or,  services? We mostly do,  commercial lines, business insurance.
Cheryl Litvin: Uh, we do do personal lines. Um, little bit of key person life insurance, all of that. Um, we're [00:09:00] a full service. You know, we, we don't  most of the time people will say,  I need a general liability policy. Really our job is to walk them through their entire business life cycle and say, have you thought about this?
Have you,  we're looking at the whole thing, not one little segment. And most of our, most of the insurance industry is a churn and burn. If you ask me for a general liability policy, that's exactly what I'm gonna give you and nothing more. But the only one that's hurting is the business owner.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. Yeah,
Cheryl Litvin: we're a consulting advisory type.
Katherine Breuss: It, it's great.  I love it.  one of the things that we do,  when we first start working with a business, we. We look at the risks, we look at all the, the things that,  are those red flags that could get them into trouble. And one of them that comes up time and time again, it's the insurance piece because it is, [00:10:00]  important to make sure that you are covering,  those risks that can blow up what it's taken years to create.
Cheryl Litvin: So one of my red lights,  I said, I've, this has been in my family my entire life, I don't know anything different. And I'm a military spouse. My husband served 23 years in the Army and one of the places that we lived. We, we both purchased a house and always showed my dad my insurance policy, and he would say,  you need this, this, this, and this.
But nothing is ever gonna happen to you, right? Like never until you get hit by a tornado and you have the cheapest insurance possible and you spend a year living in your dream home,  with boarded up windows and no carpet. So that red light. Was the hardest time in my [00:11:00] life. And that has prepared me for the way I talk to customers today.
Like no one expects to be hit by a freaking tornado, but it happens and I'm
Katherine Breuss: Wait, were you hit? Were you hit by a
Cheryl Litvin: Yes.
Katherine Breuss: Wait. In Wisconsin.
Cheryl Litvin: In Kansas.
Katherine Breuss: Oh, I was gonna say, I thought it was a bit safe from tornadoes. Living in Wisconsin.
Cheryl Litvin: We had one yesterday.
Katherine Breuss: Like one thing when it comes to tornadoes is one thing living overseas, I was  I don't have to worry about tornadoes. I have to worry about everything else killing me. 'cause I was in Australia, it was anything in the water, anything on land, but I didn't have to worry about tornadoes. Um, wow.
Okay. So you were hit by a tornado, I'm assuming? Everybody was  Everyone was  My husband was deployed. I had two young boys. Uh, they were in bed sleeping. And if, if you have any time, my. My kids were sleeping, I wasn't gonna move 'em. And I thought,  I probably [00:12:00] need to move 'em. And listening to the news,  they're, they're talking about streets that are getting closer and closer to me.
I'm  shit, this is gonna happen. Yeah, sure enough it did.
Um, where, where did you go? Because, do you have basements in Kansas?
Cheryl Litvin: Yeah, we had a basement in Kansas. Um, we, and it was a walkout ranch and,  Right in front of the stairs was our patio, the walkout patio door, and all of our windows,  everyone says it sounds a freight train.
Mm-hmm. For me, I could hear wood breaking. Um, I could, the pressure was intense and you could feel the house caving in on you thing. And then all of a sudden it was gone and it was quiet. And you're looking around  what happened? It, it is probably seconds that I have no idea.
Um, [00:13:00] but making that decision to bring the boys downstairs to,  bring them underneath the stairs, I still get emotional. Yeah. Um,  I was laying on top of them. They were four and one, and,  my oldest was  you're scaring me. I'm  whoa. Yeah, I'm scared so
Katherine Breuss: I can feel it  oh my God, that would be scary. And being there on your own with your two little boys. Um,  and the second scary part was  I knew we were hit by a tornado, no question at all. But the second scary part was, and I knew it was bad. That when I turned,  got up to look up the stairs, was I gonna see nothing?
Cheryl Litvin: Hmm. Or was I gonna see her house? And that was the second, second scariest part of [00:14:00] our ordeal. And then it got frustrating, annoying for the next year.
Katherine Breuss: That's when the whole,  the whole pain of rebuilding and dealing with insurance. So at the time you did not have great insurance?
Cheryl Litvin: That is correct. I,  our agency was not licensed in Kansas. Uh, oddly enough,  one of our big carriers was maybe a week or prior week prior to the,  tornado. There was a big hailstorm, softball size, hail. So there was, our big carrier was out there,  doing adjust or being adjusters to claims and my dad said, Hey, my daughter's there.
We can't get to her because the Mississippi was flooding. And of course,  the whole town was messed up. They came to my house and helped clean up. They were not even my [00:15:00] insurance company. They are still to this day, my insurance company now, but they weren't then. Uh, and I had the one 800 every day.
I had to call every day I had to fight. Our house wasn't leveled, which made it harder because if it was, they would say,  here's the three or 400,000. But they didn't. Um, and we had to fight. For everything. Uh, I worked for a contractor, thankfully, and he said, Cheryl, I will board up your house.
I will not touch it because you're changing the, the proof. So we lived there for a long time. Wow. No windows and no carpet.
Katherine Breuss: And that's hard too, on top of it. Um, with small kids.  with any kids it's hard.
Cheryl Litvin: And two rambunctious boys.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. Even small,  I've got three boys and a girl, I  I'm, I'm picturing,  when they were even, [00:16:00]
Young and then living, having to live in aborted up house. Um, and then was your husband away most of the time? Yeah, that's,  he was gone for nine months out of it. He had pretty much left. And   So you were, he was  do I need to come home? And I'm  whatcha gonna do live in a boarded up house too?
Like, no. Well, I can see why even more now. Um, how aligned you. Are to what you're doing because normally we have a personal experience in the field and we see the impact. Um,  it even aligns us and drives us even more. Um, because you've experienced what it's to be on the other end and not have the support,  that you thought you'd get.
Cheryl Litvin: Right. And even having,   our, our clients, if that were to happen to me or here to a client [00:17:00] here, they would call me. And they would have to explain it once, and that's it. That is priceless,
Katherine Breuss: hun. Oh my  It is. It is. And  in, in terms of too, because  there are many,  insurance agents out there, there's many different types of insurance and trying to as a consumer on the other end,  trying to understand what it all means.
Right. And then that ability to trust the agent. 'cause then you're,  they're the experts and then you're  Hey, I'm gonna trust you because I,  I don't even know. Right. Um, it's hard and it's the same thing. I find this also with wealth advisors as  You know, there's many wealth advisors out there, and, and a lot of them do,  they'll sell insurance too.
Um. But I love,  I, I hate that that happened to you and your family, but I love, I love the, that connection. Like I love that there's that,  connection [00:18:00] from an unpleasant experience,  and hearing now what you're doing for people,  that it doesn't happen to them. I, that's  I don't know.
I think that's a hats off, right?
Cheryl Litvin: So at the time I thought it was a red light and now. A hundred percent. It was a green light to the next path of, of what I was supposed to be doing. So when did you move back to Wisconsin? 2018. Okay. And is that when, when did you take over the business? The official takeover date was January of 2025.
Oh, congratulations. All  But you've been working in the business for quite a while though.
Yes.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. Like I know you grew up with it,  you had it all around you.
Cheryl Litvin: I became licensed in 2014 or 15. I.
Katherine Breuss: So I would,  Shera I'd love is for you [00:19:00] to, if, if you have an experience that comes to mind,  thinking of a time where you didn't necessarily feel aligned and the impact of that in whatever way that showed up,
Cheryl Litvin:   that's easy.
Mm-hmm. Uh, when I moved back in 2018. I, I said, this, this agency is, has been around since 1955, older than me. Um, and I, growing up I saw my grandfather and my mother and my father sending out letters, literally looking through the telephone book, doing all these, to those things to drum up business.
Well, I wasn't given anything when I came here. And I, that first year, literally nothing. I didn't have a salary, nothing that we were only living at my husband's retirement [00:20:00] pension. And,  that first year, I, I, I did what my dad and my mom did and sent out letters,  did all of that. And let me tell you, it was rough and it took me about a year to go.
What am I doing? This can't be how this is,  I have all this experience. I'm an OSHA trainer. I've been through a tornado, I know insurance. This can't be. Hmm. And I met somebody who said, Hey, come to this women's group. And I started networking. I didn't even know what it was because. I didn't do it before and my parents certainly never did it.
Um, and that's when the green light started happening and I learned that I had to do things differently. Their experience before was great and still [00:21:00] is great, but that's not how it is fresh new today. Mm-hmm. So I started going to networking events. I started speaking, I started giving value back instead of,  hi, my name is Cheryl from first associated blah, blah, blah.
I sell insurance. Well, I'm talking about things that, hey, getting hit by a tornado, freaking sucks. Mm-hmm. But that this, the second or water is your first claim. Do, do you have a, do you have a finished basement? So I started talking differently. My business started growing. Um. So,  that I had to learn that super quick and I doubted myself for a year thinking,  this is not gonna, and I wanted to quit about 25 million times, every entrepreneur.
Um, but I also knew that I couldn't quit because the ultimate goal was continuing my family's legacy [00:22:00] and educating people about what insurance should be. Mm-hmm. Um, those two goals kept telling me to put one foot in front of the other, and here we are. I I love that. So there was,    what
Katherine Breuss: you were doing to begin with was misaligned even though it Yes.
May have seemed the thing to do or the way to do it. Um, and then. You fell into,   let me ask you, was it you fell into it or were, was there something inside that was  no, I want to network because of this, or,
Cheryl Litvin:  I'm an introvert, I would say, Nope. Didn't wanna do that either.
Um, but   being a military spouse, we did lunches every month or whatever as a group and tried to keep connected as a community. [00:23:00] And that was one of the things I missed when my husband was retired, was I, I lost my community. So that community aspect of it is what said,  maybe I'll try this.
Um, and then I started finding the people that. Aligned again with my values and it  Took off from there.
Katherine Breuss: You know, it's interesting because I, I was gonna guess if there was something that in terms of a community piece that,  that,  was important to you, but even, and this is great for our listeners to hear, is that I love that you said that you were an introvert.
So it wasn't networking was something that you're   let's do networking. It was, I'm going, oh, let's go. Um, but what. What probably   drove you from what I hear you saying was that higher why, and that higher [00:24:00] why was educating people on insurance and the importance of insurance and your story, that value of sharing what could happen to them in terms of, and how to protect themselves.
So it's this helping,  serving people and adding value to their lives.  that is what I hear, that even when we have that and we align to something bigger than us, even things that might not come natural to us or that we might not necessarily   as an introvert, networking is probably not the first thing you're drawn to.
Um, you, it's not bad because that bigger why you're connected with, and that drives everything.
Cheryl Litvin: I would agree,  especially,  introvert, introverts do not the spotlight at all. Um, but when you shift it and talk about things that are happening in the news or things that,  personally getting, getting with the tornado, it [00:25:00] shifts the dynamic it doesn't feel you're selling versus.
Educating, and you don't have to buy insurance through me, but you do have to understand what you're getting into.
Katherine Breuss: Well, and that's important too because,  I hear,  most people, even extroverts, a lot of people don't to sell there. I've, I've, there's a lot of people, there's very few people I sit or I listen to and they're   I love selling.
It's  I love this. This is, this is great. And it's this shift in a mindset that,  obviously we're, we're all selling to some level, to some degree, you know? But when you're adding value, it's not you're, it's the only time someone should feel bad about selling is if they are lying.
They're misrepresenting themselves. They have a product that's a sham,  and they're trying to. The rest of the time. It's if you are adding value and that you're adding [00:26:00] value, it's something to be proud of. And, and it's not that you're forcing, I love that you, you even said  they don't have to buy insurance from me.
But it's understanding,  it's understanding what it is and, and probably understanding the risks and being educated they can make that decision. Um, it's value.
Cheryl Litvin: One of the things I always tell my business owners most of the time, because,  they,  I'm  you're gonna ask me the same questions 20 million times.
I will answer them 20 million times, and five minutes later, you'll probably forget what this means, but you can ask me again.
Katherine Breuss: I am   probably one of those,
Cheryl Litvin:  you're gonna, no one starts a business because they wanna do all the administrative stuff and,  the legal stuff and the insurance, nobody does except for,  people in, in those fields. But, [00:27:00]  and there are things that I'm not great at,  We literally have our website guy here and he's been yelling at me about our website for,  years that it's   not doing what it's supposed to be doing, but that's his expertise and,  can't be good at that.
All things. Right.
Katherine Breuss: No, and that's great. It's knowing what is,  time worth spending on. Right. And what to get rid of or what to delegate or what to automate. Um, 'cause time is as important. Um, Cheryl, last question. What would be advice that you would give to fellow business owners if there's, I'm sure there's a lot, but if there was one that comes to mind,  of a recommendation or advice that you would to share?
So that other business owners could be more successful in whatever that means to them, what would it be?
Cheryl Litvin: you have to get [00:28:00] gritty with your weakness. So I've always had some coaching consulting person and I always try to figure out what my weakness is, and then I go to that expert to help me get stronger or to get me to the next spot of delegating.
But knowing what you're terrible at is a very good benefit of growing because the minute you can give it away, delegate it, get better, whatever it is, the, it's when you get step into the next stepping stone.
Katherine Breuss: Mm-hmm. I love it. I also love that you get outside support, coaches and consultants and stuff, because obviously I believe massively in it because that is, that is my business.
Um, but it does it exponentially. Um, having those,  outside advisors or advocates,  for businesses, [00:29:00]  are, I, I, I can't say enough in terms of how important it's.
Cheryl Litvin: Well, that,  if I look at your insurance policy,
it doesn't matter what it is, I can find your fault in probably, or your gap in two seconds or less.
You can also do the same thing in my business on those things that I can't see, and then open up,  shed the light. And it is, it's, you have to find the person for. What you don't know. Uh, yes.
Katherine Breuss: Yes. Find the person for what you don't know, to  shine a light on those gaps,  and how to maybe move forward through it.
Yep. Cheryl, thank you much for your time. It has been a real pleasure. I've enjoyed our conversation and I wish you all the very best.
Cheryl Litvin: Thank you. And thank you for having me. It was a lot of fun.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. My pleasure.
AG45 Outo: [00:30:00] Thanks for joining us on the Ag 45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast. If you are ready to align your soul with your business, take back your time and grow with intention, we'd love to connect. Visit accelerate growth 40 five.com to schedule a call, apply to be a guest, or take the next step toward building a soul aligned business.
At Ag 45, we believe when business meets value, wealth meets legacy, and time meets freedom, the journey becomes truly enjoyable. Until next time, stay aligned. Stay inspired, and keep building your legacy.
 [00:31:00]

Building a Business with Heart and Purpose at 19 years of age!

In this episode of the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast, hosted by Katherine Breuss, CEO and founder of AG45, the focus is on the intersection of business and personal alignment. Katherine shares her extensive experience and leads a discussion with Claire Keyes, the 19-year-old entrepreneur behind CK Consulting, which specializes in social media marketing. Claire shares insights on staying true to one's purpose, the significance of being soul-aligned in business, and the challenges of navigating client relationships. Both speakers emphasize the importance of self-discovery, confidence, and maintaining a positive mindset to overcome adversity. The episode concludes with advice for young entrepreneurs and a reinforcement of the value of aligning personal values with business practices.Contact Claire – https://www.tiktok.com/@ckconsultingofficial
 
Song: The Way To You - Composer: Sapajou 
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7q5R_ITPYFttJn7PyHzmw 
License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free 
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com 
Katherine Breuss: Welcome, Claire Keyes, to the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast. It’s a pleasure to have you here, and I’m really looking forward to our conversation. I know our listeners are as well. To start, why don’t you introduce yourself—what you’d like to share about you and your business?Claire Keyes: Thank you for that wonderful introduction. It’s great to be here. My name is Claire Keyes, and I’m the owner of CK Consulting. We specialize in marketing and advertising for businesses and brands, primarily on social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Our main goal is to help businesses grow, starting with social media, and then expanding into other marketing platforms as needed. We guide businesses through the process, making it simple and easy, so they can focus on growth. I’m 19 years old, and I’ve been running my business for almost three years now.Katherine Breuss: That’s incredible—19, and already three years as an entrepreneur. You clearly have the entrepreneurial spirit, and social media is such an important part of business today. For me personally, it’s an area I don’t feel very comfortable with, so I love hearing from someone who grew up with it. Your perspective as a younger entrepreneur is refreshing.Before we dive deeper into business, I’d like to ask about something central to AG45: being soul-aligned. How would you describe being soul-aligned, and what impact does it have on you and your business—especially compared to times when you weren’t?Claire Keyes: For me, being soul-aligned comes back to purpose. It’s about who you are at the core and making sure that aligns with what you do and how you interact with others. When I’m aligned, I feel lighter, more at peace, and confident I’m on the right path. Challenges don’t weigh me down as much because I know I’m still aligned with my purpose. When I’m not aligned, everything feels heavier. Challenges make me question myself and my business, and it can spiral into negativity. That’s why staying soul-aligned is so important—it keeps me centered and resilient.Katherine Breuss: I completely agree. When we’re misaligned, even decisions from years ago can affect us long-term. Thank you for describing that so clearly. Has there been a time in your life or business when you felt misaligned and what was the impact?Claire Keyes: Yes, definitely. There was a time when outside circumstances—specifically a close friend going through a difficult time—pulled me out of alignment. I let their struggles consume me, and it affected my business. Meetings were late, scheduling was disorganized, and I wasn’t truly present. My heart was in the right place, but I wasn’t balancing support for my friend with the responsibilities of leading my business. Once I regained alignment, I realized I could support others while still being true to myself and my business.Katherine Breuss: Thank you for sharing that. It’s something many of us experience—losing ourselves in someone else’s struggles. Regaining alignment really does bring freedom and clarity. Claire, in your business journey, has there been a particularly difficult experience that taught you an important lesson?Claire Keyes: Yes, I once worked with an up-and-coming music artist. They were talented, but when it came to marketing, they wanted to do things their own way, which didn’t align with their goals or branding. I tried offering suggestions, but they resisted. Eventually, we parted ways. Since then, their social media growth has been limited, which is unfortunate. Reflecting back, I realized I may have come across too much like an authority figure, which they didn’t want. I learned two big lessons: first, always strive to connect human-to-human so clients feel seen and respected; and second, not to take things so personally. Sometimes a working relationship just isn’t the right fit, and that’s okay.Katherine Breuss: That’s such a powerful takeaway. Entrepreneurs often struggle with separating personal feelings from business, especially when we put our creativity and passion into what we do. It’s part of the journey. What would you say was your biggest lesson from that situation?Claire Keyes: Not everything is personal. Sometimes it’s about timing or fit. And everything happens for a reason. I’ve learned to see challenges as opportunities to grow, and to trust that even difficult situations are part of the bigger plan.Katherine Breuss: Absolutely. Challenges don’t always mean something is bad—they can be opportunities. I love your perspective. Claire, what advice would you give to young entrepreneurs—or really anyone starting out on their journey?Claire Keyes: I’d say the biggest thing is confidence. Find yourself first, and then pursue your goals with confidence. Work ethic and clarity of purpose will take you far. Also, be mindful of who you take advice from. Respect others, but filter their advice—make sure it aligns with your vision and values. And don’t just let life happen to you—create your own path. Write down your goals, make a plan, and go after it. You only get one life, so why not reach your full potential? And remember, you don’t fail if you’re trying—you either win or you learn.Katherine Breuss: That’s beautifully said. Your advice applies at any age. Claire, thank you so much for being here today. I’ve really enjoyed our conversation, and I’d love to have you back.Claire Keyes: Thank you for having me. I’d love to come back.

From Legal to Soulful: Sandra Dempsey's Path to Purpose

The Ag 45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast, hosted by Katherine Breuss, features a conversation with Sandra Dempsey, the founder of Source 10, a video production agency. Sandra shares her journey from being a lawyer in Mexico to becoming a media professional in the United States. She discusses the importance of soul alignment in her career transition, building a business driven by purpose, and navigating challenges. The conversation highlights the balance between soul alignment and practical business strategies for sustained success. Sandra offers insights about perseverance, the significance of showing up, and the value of clarity and alignment in business.
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Katherine Breuss: Sandra, welcome to the AG 45 Soul Line Strategy podcast. It [00:01:00] is, uh, a real pleasure to have you here, and I wanna introduce to the audience listening. This is Sandra Dempsey. She has a business called Source 10, but I'm gonna pass it over to her too.
Uh, tell us about who she is and also her business before we get into, uh, the conversation. So Sandra, I'm gonna pass it over to you to just tell us who you are and tell us about your business. Thank you so much, Katherine, and well, we're a, we're a privilege to be part of your space and um, you know, I was even thinking when you're in the world, soul into the business world, that's already a game changer.
Sandra Dempsey: So thank you so much for doing this and for allowing the space, uh, to entrepreneurs and women like me to come and, um, talk to you. So. Uh, well, I'm originally from Mexico and I moved to the United States in 2002 as I married an American that I met at the beach in Mexico. So it's like a love story. Uh, we're here together still now.
We have three kids, uh, 21, 18, [00:02:00] and uh, 15. And, um, even though my background in Mexico is being an attorney that's gonna, that, that's the degree I got when I moved to United States. Your law degree is not, does, is not. So you had to pretty much, uh, either reinvent yourself or start something new. And I invented myself, uh, joining the media communications world, which I always loved and adore.
And it was interesting because I, I just, you know, it kind of came to me. Uh, by accident. And I think that has to do with the alignment of the soul, right? I mean, when you want something so deeply, it comes to you. And I feel like that was the beginning of, uh, the journey we're in right now, which is, uh, a video production agency.
We focus on storytelling and cinematic video content, and we help companies and organizations to tell their message with heart and love and, um, creating really beautiful content for them to be able to leverage, uh, the work that they do through video content. I love it. I love that you said, you know, [00:03:00] when you connect with the soul, it just becomes easy, you know?
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. And that's what I cannot even imagine. Well, actually I can, 'cause I kind of had to reinvent myself a bit. Mm-hmm. But just start all over, uh, coming from Mexico and you have a law degree and then having to start all over and, and start again. That I would imagine took a lot of, um. Really actually being aligned with your soul to even get through something like that.
Sandra Dempsey: Yeah, I think, um, you know, when you had to start from scratch, and we know professionally you don't, right? Because you have acquired a lot of knowledge through your college degree, and I used to have a law firm back in Mexico, so I had some of that, but at the end of the day. Um, your network is everything, right?
So when you come to a new country and you don't know anybody, and you have to start creating new relationships, uh, you know, new friendships, so at least you kind of like understand the culture to begin with, right? I mean, you come, it's a new place. Uh, you don't [00:04:00] even know how businesses on here, and I mean, you can assume, right?
But. Deeply, deeply. You just don't know. So I will say part of the great success that we have had at Source 10, um, and professional, is the fact that I was able to build a really strong network. Uh, once I get out of the house and I start meeting people and, you know, people in Milwaukee are very friendly and, you know, very nice.
So that was, uh. That has been a very nice, um, journey of just meeting people and now being able to build what we have. Thank you to the opportunities that, that we have received, right from the people that we have met along the way. That's really cool. I will actually, um, echo that in terms of, uh, people, Milwaukee are very friendly.
Katherine Breuss: Uh mm-hmm. Because I am just new back. I mean, I lived here until I was nine, but um, you know, just moved back two years ago and, uh, I do think there's something really special about, um, Milwaukee or even Wisconsin people. Yes. And how friendly they [00:05:00] are. Um. It's like no other. It's, mm-hmm. It really, initially, when I first moved back and people were so nice, my first reaction internally, I was thinking, what do they want from me?
Why are they being so nice? They must want something from me. Then I realized I was like. Oh, no, actually I'm in Wisconsin. This is how they are. Right. And I think when we live in Wisconsin, we take it for granted. Yeah. Right? I mean, and you go somewhere else and like, oh, it's not the same. So here we feel like, you know, you can talk to anybody, to anybody that you want, right?
Sandra Dempsey: I mean, uh, will that take into something different? Who knows? But I mean, I think everybody is open to talk. I mean, when you approach them, you know nicely as well. Yeah. That's very true. Um, so soul aligned. So I know like, you know, the audience has heard me talk about soul aligned, um, a lot and you know, for us simply it's really understanding who you are at such a core level and then aligning that and, and what you want to, everything you do.
Katherine Breuss: So how Sandra would you [00:06:00] describe soul aligned and then the impact that has had either. Positively or negatively, depending on how aligned you were at the time. Yeah, and you know, let me see. Can give you a little bit of context and it's a bit of a story, right? I mean, and a little bit of background as well.
Sandra Dempsey: Since I was a child, I always liked producing shows. Like I would produce, you know, like a dancing show with my cousins at home and I would be, you know, setting up the. Choreography and, you know, getting the microphones and it, it was just something I loved, love, love doing. When I was a kid, I always wanted to be like a host of, uh, you know, like a, um, a news, you know, uh, show.
Like I always wanted to be on camera, but somehow, uh, that never happened. I ended up going to law school and you know, something that I realized later, like I should have not done because I really never really enjoyed that. Uh, and even at that time when I was choosing between law school and something else, graphic design was the other one.
But again, I don't think I was very aligned to my soul at the [00:07:00] moment and I went for the law degree rather than going for the, uh, graphic design. So. I feel like that decision haunted me for a while because I was never being an attorney. I was never happy being an attorney. Uh, so when I moved to the United States, well, here we are.
I can align to my soul now because my law degree doesn't even, you know, work here. So I can either pursue that career or I can shift gears. So for a little bit I was home with the kids and then this opportunity out of nowhere, right? Talking about building a network. Um. One of my kids', uh, friend's father, he was a manager at ESPN, so he came and asked me, Hey, uh, did you know someone who may want to work at our ES ESPN Deporter station, who speaks Spanish?
And I was like, I don't know. Let me think about it. And then my husband, he is like, Hey, why don't you do it? And I'm like, no, actually. Well, why not? Right? Like, I mean, I didn't think about myself at all, right? 'cause I'm in communications sports, right? Like, I just didn't think about it. When my husband said, I'm like, oh, you know, maybe I should talk to him about it.
So I talked to him about it and next month, you know, a [00:08:00] month later I was hired. And that was a true joy to work for that company. Uh, my manager, he was amazing and he gave me this opportunity, right? It's my first job in the us. He. And I learned how much I love communications and I knew like that's something I wanted to do since I was a kid.
And all of a sudden, right, this opportunity out of nowhere came, I'm working at ESPN Radio and while I was there, then someone saw me from Telemundo, they asked me if I will go to Telemundo. I made a, the, the choice to go to Telemundo as started working there. And that job was a little more, um, strictly sales.
Whereas at radio, radio is just beautiful. There's a lot of grassroots, grassroots things that happen there. Radio is just a beautiful thing. Even though some people may think that's kind of like old style. I just feel like there is so much beauty to the radio because you're so close to the community and TV's a little different.
And when I went to Telemundo, I was to be only a sales rep, which was a little boring to me 'cause I'm more creative and I like to do more things than once. So to have only one job, which was sales, was not really cutting it for me. So I decided to [00:09:00] call a friend and ask him if we wanted to do like a this travel blog or video blog.
So we decided to get out there and start filming ourselves, going to different places and locations in the Milwaukee area, talking about these experiences, right? I mean like the cat cafe or like, um, the ice skating, rock climbing. And we will do it in Spanish to really attract more Latinos to these spaces and events.
And I did that because I will go to these spaces and I wouldn't see a lot of Latinos at the time. So I'm like, where are they? So I feel like. Nobody was really inviting them or welcoming them, so I just took it onto this idea with my friend, like, let's be the ambassadors of Latinos out there, and we produce about 25.
Video vlogs, uh, showcasing Milwaukee. And at that point, that was a hobby that you have no idea. Katherine. Like when you talk about soul alignment, that video vlog for me was it like, I was like, oh my God, I'm in my element. I cannot think of anything else. I feel like I'm 15 years old, you know, when I was already like 40 something.
So it was like these [00:10:00] new. Life that I got to experience just by doing this. I was communicating, I was engaging with people. We were actually opening opportunities for the community, right? I mean, to experience things that they haven't experienced before. So there was a lot of, um, things that kind of happened when I was doing the travel blogs.
So. A little bit later, uh, Telemundo decides to terminate my employment because they thought that my travel blog was a conflict of interest with the, the organization. So I left Telemundo and I'm still in love with video and I'm like, oh my God, like this feels so good. Like, I can be filming, we can be producing, we can be doing all of this.
And there is, you know, the time just flies. I cannot think of anything else but just what we're doing. And I think when you talk about. What does solo alignment means? I feel like that's what it's right. I mean, you are in the zone. You don't think of anything else. You are so into it, you don't even know what time it is.
You don't care what time it is, and you just do everything you can to make that moment even better. Uh, so to me that was a sign that video [00:11:00] production was part of my solo alignment. And very, very coincidentally, the day that I was let go my job, I met, uh, director of photography who actually he was hired to film one of our video blocks.
I met him that day, and so far he's actually, he became the first employee of my company. Ah, and took, took about soul alignment again, right? I mean, like out of nowhere the day I'm let go of my other job. I meet a person that has become, uh, a very, very important piece for Source 10 to be what it is today.
I mean, he brings the, um, the quality and all the things that we do at Source 10 when it comes to the technicalities of the industry. Uh, he's the one in charge of that, a very young, um. Man, wonderful, um, talent. Wonderfully talented. I mean, just an incredible journey. And I think at that point, as I said, right, it was the video vlogs and then finding him and then founding, like I feel like there was so much so alignment in each one of these things because as you said, right, it seemed easy, it happened [00:12:00] naturally.
I wasn't forcing it like, where do I find this guy? It, everything just kind of like came in my hands and I'm glad I was able to see it. Right. 'cause sometimes you're so caught up into like, I gotta find a job or I gotta do this, I gotta do that Then, then you made miss the opportunity and I don't know if that answer It was a long answer for, uh, for one question.
Katherine Breuss: I thought it was great. I mean, first of all, I love so much of what you said and, and what's so interesting to me is that, um, the law degree. Was such a misalignment, Uhhuh and the universe. See, I find that the universe pushes us to where we're supposed to go. Mm-hmm. And it sometimes we listen, sometimes we don't.
And then the universe will just push harder and push harder and sometimes forces us Yeah. Um, to, you know, follow our soul. And so it's interesting is like you moved, had to move to a whole new country and then it like, I mean, what's interesting to me is. Whether or not, and who knows, but if you'd stayed [00:13:00] in Mexico, whether this ever would've happened, but it took, you know, it took you going into probably, you know, it was hard transition.
There's probably excitement as well, but I mean, you know, going to a whole new country, um, to start your journey of soul alignment. It, it did. And I, I feel like to your point, if I was in Mexico, I don't think I would be doing what I'm doing now. It would have been really scary. Right. I mean, because I already have a degree that's kind of like what I was programmed to be or to do and you know.
Sandra Dempsey: Right. I mean, and I think that's the biggest problem that we have as a society, right. We, we try to fit in the box. Mm-hmm. For. Whatever the reason, that doesn't matter to the soul, but if it matters to society, and sometimes we put our attention, we pay attention to that rather than what is your soul telling you?
And to me, I mean, missing that, as I said, as I said earlier, not going in the graphic design, um, you know, career. Like, it's one of those things that I really regret, [00:14:00] regret greatly. But at the same time I'm like, okay, my journey was my journey, right? I mean, and at the end of the day. Um, when I track back every single step that I took to get to the point where I met my husband at the beach, if I wasn't an attorney, I don't think I would have met him either.
Right. So that's just how the universe works. Yes. Very mysterious ways. And, uh, as you get older, you understand that there is a purpose for the things that matter, the things that you didn't like, the things that you loved and the things that you didn't expect. I mean, and there is this, I love the connect the dots, uh, term because it, it is very true.
It's hard to connect them as you. Going through them, but then you look back, I'm like, oh, every single dot was there for a reason. It makes perfect sense. And looking at those dots with more compassion in the moment, I feel like that's what can make a big difference. Yes, I and I love that too, because not everything is as it seems.
Katherine Breuss: That's when whenever something's [00:15:00] going on in the moment, and it may seem so challenging, and you may be like, why is this happening to me? It may seem like this is the most horrible thing in the world. This is when I actually tell myself, all right, step back uhhuh. Not everything is as it seems. Just wait to see what unfolds because mm-hmm.
Bad isn't necessarily bad. And so like, you know, there's things that have happened in my life that at the time it's like, this is horrendous. But then Uhhuh, when I actually look back, I'm like, that was the best thing that ever happened. I, to me, I know. And it's so weird to say that, right? Because nobody will expect you to hear you saying that later, after people even saw what you went through.
Sandra Dempsey: But, but it's true. Like there is so much learning in each one of these steps that. You need to be humble also, right? I mean, to be able to see that. Yes. And come humble, compassionate, loving, and the word that I love to use is like reflect on it. I think we sometimes we just move too fast from one thing to another that we don't even [00:16:00] spend the time to reflect what was the learning lesson from that period of time.
And when we really spend that time, and if you ever do therapy or you know, any of those kind of things, you start seeing all the golden nuggets that were in that experience. Yes. And it's, it's just, it's being aware in the moment. 'cause when we actually look back and we think of those times where that was hard and challenging.
Katherine Breuss: Mm-hmm. And if you're in that space of worry, overwhelm, like emotions that really don't help. Mm-hmm. They do not help in any way. And all that is, is when you look back and you go, actually, gosh, that was one of the best things that happened. Why did I spend so much time fretting and froing and overwhelm and all of that?
So, if. We can become more aware in the moment that mm-hmm. Maybe not everything is, as it seems, we may not show up in that moment with that overwhelm and as much stress. Yes. Right. And I think that to me has been probably one of the biggest learning lessons is in the [00:17:00] moment, you know. You may be angry, frustrated, upset, and I feel like I have done this in the past where I actually, every single action I took in the moment of overwhelm or frustration or problems, I took actions based on fear, based on anger, based on frustration, based on all those things and that.
Sandra Dempsey: At the end of the day, it took away right from the moment of being fully present from the actual solution that I was looking for, because the energy was divided between I need to solve this problem, but I'm still angry and I'm mad, and I'm frustrated, and I'm anxious, and I'm all of this. So now when I go through, uh, ups and downs, you know, and as a business owner, you have this, your high, you have your low, right?
I mean, in, I have learned too. Be much more neutral and understanding that yeah, it may be tough or even when things are super exciting, right? 'cause it's also very easy to lose your, your balance when you are either too exciting or too low. And, uh, really finding that middle of the road where you can [00:18:00] be more neutral and have that ability to assess what actions to take.
Without being those actions being attached to fear or anxiety or frustration, because I did that in the past. And you know what? There was no payoff for that. If anything, it took away from the moment. Mm-hmm. And it really kind of like almost. Contaminated, you know, the whole energy of my life, right?
Because then I wasn't mean a good mother, I wasn't mean I was a good wife. Whereas now I'm like, you know what? It is what it is. Let's isolate the issue first and then let's approach it. Um, from a perspective that comes from understanding hope, love, compassion, and just changing the energy that, you know, those actions are taken from, can be very, very, very transformative, transformative.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah, and that's very, you know, um, aware, uh, and so aligned what you just described because, um, you know, going back when you make decisions out of fear or in that kind of scarcity mindset or anything, usually the decisions we make [00:19:00] in that space are misaligned. Um, it takes us down a path we don't want. Um, so what I always say to people, like if you are in the midst of high emotions, even exciting ones too, uh, it's pause, uhhuh, we step back and it's that more like you said, neutral, um, and looking at it from that perspective versus in those, um, high intensity emotions because they may take us down a misaligned, uh mm-hmm.
Path. If anything, and they also take you, take you farther away from where you want to go. And that's kinda what I learned too. It's just like, oh, if I, to your point, right, if I'm aligned in my decision making here, well very likely I'll continue to be aligned. But if I don't, I'm just going farted in the front away and it takes one decision, two decisions, three decisions, and then next thing you know, you're so far away that it is really hard to come back to that alignment.
Yeah. Oh yeah. And I mean, I'm still paying for a decision I made, [00:20:00] you know, 20 something years ago. So it's like, you know, sometimes it can be like, you know, haunting. Um, but, and that was, you know, very misaligned. And so, um, I mean, we've all had experiences. I mean, you know, where we've been aligned and misaligned.
It's not, you know, we're human, so it's not like striving for, we're always gonna be so aligned a hundred percent of the time. So is there a time, um, outside the law or like in business, so thinking of Source 10, where, you know, things didn't go the way you wanted and it was a really tough time and, and maybe how you got through it and, and overcame it.
Sandra Dempsey: Yeah. Um, and I think that has to do with, uh, the. Inflow business, right? I mean, sometimes you can have really good years, some years maybe a little slower. Sometimes it doesn't necessarily say year, but just a season. And having one season that was [00:21:00] really slow. I mean, we're a small business, right? So in a small business, everything that happens is like a little exaggerated, right?
I mean, you hire one person, big deal. Someone leaves big deal, right? I mean, you get one sale, big deal, you don't get the sale. Big deal. So, uh, that's a beauty and not so beauty of owning a small business. Uh, but in that time of, um, slow season, I was really getting worried about the future of the company, right?
And. I remember, uh, going back to this idea of like being neutral, I recognize, uh, that it hasn't been the first time, but this time felt very different. Like, I mean, our business has some sort of, uh, it's kind of seasonal, so I kind of expect that, but this time was worse, right? And I'm just like, oh my God.
Like what is happening here? So you start thinking plan B, right? But I was like. No, no, no, no, no. I don't care about plan B. 'cause plan B is like, what are we doing here next, right? If somethings don't work out. So I committed to plan A, and I continued to take every single action that was going to [00:22:00] make plan A work, and I kept reminding myself, this is what I meant to do this.
Video production company was born out of love, and it was born out of creativity and imagination and passion, and it's not going to go away like, you know, and I just kept telling myself that every single time I doubt myself. And I was like, how can I doubt myself? I have made this work already. It has to work again.
So. I committed to a very positive, um, self-talk because in those moments, it's not easy to commit to positive self-talk, right? It is very easy to sleep into the, but what if this, what if that, and this and that, and economy and No. And I just decided no, I'm, I'm not going to even think about plan B. I mean, I know.
Financially speaking, right? From the business perspective, rationally speaking, I have to talk about that. However, when I think about how this business was born, it wasn't even creative with a plan in mind, you know, with a strategy and with a, you know, um, a business, you know, financial plan [00:23:00] or anything like that.
So I'm like, if it didn't, if it wasn't born that way, it can live just, you know, out of love and heart. And, um, I just kept taking. Every single action I could to make plan a work regardless of how I was feeling, regardless of what I wanted, regardless of the fear, regardless of everything. I will say it's one of the times I'm the most proud about the work I did, because I was like, I'm not going to listen to the bad self talk.
I'm not going to listen to the news. I'm just going to keep going. And I, and I did it and I could see that. It paid off. I mean, it was just, you know, a slow time. But then after that we recovered really well and um, and things went well. I mean, I just will say showing up was really what made a difference.
And rather than just withdrawal and just be like, oh my God, what I'm going to do, and being worried about it, I continued to show up. I continued to do what I always did and took a little longer to happen, but it did happen, right? Because I did not stop taking the actions to, to make things work out. So it, [00:24:00] and, and that's a really great example.
Katherine Breuss: I'm glad you shared, because being soul lined doesn't necessarily mean life is easy. Like uhhuh, you are gonna, it's just gonna be okay. Once your soul lined, money's just gonna flow and like, you know, all of it's just gonna happen. Um, like that. But like, I don't know. It's, it's a different hard, like, because life, there's challenges, things occur.
Yeah. There's things outside of us that occur, you know, um, whether it's the economy or what people want's changing 'cause it's generational or there's innovation that makes other things not be as, um, relevant. Yeah. And so it's, it's not that it's always easy. Because it, it can be hard, but what do you see for the, like for that example, so it was challenging you persevered.
Would you say you were still so lined, and if so, [00:25:00] what was the difference there that if, if you hadn't been so? Mm-hmm. I think when I told myself. I create this business out of love, and that's how it started. And it's meant to stay. Mm-hmm. So if this business wasn't created out of that, and it was created just to go and make the money just to provide a service that I didn't care for, I feel like it would be having a lot easier to just be like, this is it.
Sandra Dempsey: You know, I, I just probably have quit at that point, but in this case, I just feel like I see how this was born. I see what we can continue to produce. The world will be missing something if we are not here to keep creating this. I know I'm aligned to my soul. I know my director photography, he's aligned to his soul, like my team.
Like, so like, it's just not like, you know, when you are aligned to your soul, you attract people that may be very aligned to their soul as well, right? So it wasn't just about me, it was about the magic that we bring. Together. And [00:26:00] so I feel like just understanding that was that give me that extra push to just persevere, keep going.
And to your point, I'm so glad you mentioned that 'cause it is true. People think like, oh, because I'm aligned to my purpose, life is going to be easy. Well, we would like that to be, but at the end of the day, we live in an economy that has systems and procedures and things, right? So doesn't matter how purposeful you are.
You still gotta pay the bills, pay taxes, you know, have insurance and all of those things. So that kind of like, if you were to ask me takes away some of the fun. Uh, but it's part of being a business and being able to share your gifts and your talents with a more wider audience, right? If you don't want to do it that way, well then you can stay home and try to do it, you know, like kind of hidden, you know, from Uncle Sam.
But I mean, that's not going to be that, uh. I will say Enjoyful, and you won't be able to benefit as many in the world as you could if you end up with these systems and you know all these things to be a well established business. And that comes with a price, right? So I think that's the part that when you get in a, a.[00:27:00]
You're like, oh my God, I really love the purpose of this, but this is really hard when it comes to, you know, like the other aspects of the business. And I will ask you, Katherine, like, how, how do you talk to, to your clients and other people about this, right? Because that's kind of like where the, uh, the term R is, that, is that there's a saying like that, that you have that a saying like that.
Like what is, what is really. Interesting to me is you can have all the love and purpose that you want, but at the end of the day, you gotta run a business. And I feel like that's what sometimes misalignment may happen because you got pulled into the business more than the purpose that you originally started with.
So what do you have say about that?
Katherine Breuss: Yeah, that's great because I see it as two sides of the coin. This is why we call it soul line strategy. And it's not just about being aligned with your soul. Then aligning it to your business. It's then also the other side of the practicality of Uhhuh. There's [00:28:00] business acumen that you need.
There's business strategies that you need. There's the action, like you gotta do it. So, and where I see is that, I mean, I see businesses that have neither. I see businesses that are maybe stronger on one side of the coin, like they're very so aligned, but they don't have the strategy uhhuh, so they're kind of like, you know, or they have the strategy, but they're not so aligned.
So it's this piece that when you have both sides of the coin working together, so you're so aligned and you have the strategy that results. Are much greater than mm-hmm. If you didn't, and you're enjoying the journey. So again, not a hundred percent of the time, there's gonna be things that you're gonna not like doing.
Like, do I like sitting through and doing, you know, spreadsheets and all of that? No. But because I'm so aligned and the business is so aligned, it's not as bad as if mm-hmm. I wasn't, um, did that answer the question? Yeah. [00:29:00] No, and I think that's just something that when people are thinking about running their own business, you know, they need to know that, right?
Sandra Dempsey: I mean, once you run the business, you realize, oh my gosh, it's not just a purpose. Now I gotta do the practicalities of the business, right? When people are about to start a business, and I, I, you know, I'm, I'm one of those, right? I'm thinking it's all going to be ities or going to be making videos, and, you know, that's.
That's not true, right? I mean, that's part of it. Uh, but the percentage of the time that I spend doing that versus running the business as a whole is very different. Yeah. So, uh, my question for you will be like, how do you keep that, uh, so alignment to still be a big part of the equation? When in reality you can get lost into actually, you know, running the business.
Katherine Breuss: Absolutely. I mean, I think that really you've got to, um, stay very clear about who you are and what you want, because a lot of business owners get very much into the weeds, into the weeds of business, and they're not able to zoom out and beyond the business. And so it's [00:30:00] really helping owners to zoom out.
For who they are and what they want, but also the business and then ensuring that that is in alignment, uh, with their soul. Because sometimes that can also change and shift in terms of, you know, what it is that you're wanting and what it is that you're doing. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, but great questions. I'm glad that you asked them because they, I think that it's, uh, it's very, very, very key and you know, where we start is very much on that clarity and then it's alignment, and then it's putting in action.
And it's not to say that, you know, so alignment is instantaneous necessarily. I mean, it can take time, but when people start moving towards what it is they really want and have that strategy, and they have that clarity. See where they're going. Um, that in itself is that alignment. Yeah, no, that, that makes total sense.
Sandra Dempsey: And you know, I think when you talk about clarity, I. [00:31:00] As it sounds, I think it's probably one of the hardest things, at least on my own, uh, experience, right? Because you start with, uh, in point A and there is so many points you can go to, right? Like it's so many and you may have sort of an idea and then life takes you maybe not necessarily where you were planning to go, right?
I mean, like for me, right? I thought. We'll be doing mostly Spanish content where now we do a lot of English content. Right. So there was a bit of a difference there. Can we do both now? Yeah. So, well that's actually pretty cool. Pretty good, right? We kind of actually expanded into what we were doing, but then at some point, right when I thought like, oh, this is going to be a whole full market agency.
Well, no, we just end up doing video content and some, you know, marketing consulting for Latino market as well. But it's just like you kind of have to adapt and evolve and I feel like. When you, as you say, when you get too much in the weeds, having that clarity becomes very challenging. And what's next also for the company, right?
How do you con, remain relevant? Yeah. And how can you con continue to serve your clients the way they need you to serve them? So that clarity, do you have any insights for us [00:32:00] as far as like. How can we just, you know, bring ourselves back to that moment of clarity, even if it's once a day? You know what, I'm not saying that we have to be clarity all the time, but you know, once in a while.
Katherine Breuss: Well, I think, you know, the businesses that can really sustain all of the changes and the challenges and the things that happen, not, not only like externally to the business, but also as the business is growing. That changes happen. So in terms of people's roles, in terms of the, the feel. Mm-hmm. And it's, what I see a lot of businesses and individuals don't do is they do not have a very solid foundation.
And that solid foundation is that clarity about who you are, what's important, and where you're going. A lot of people have a, uh, kind of no, you know, they like that. It's not this really like solid, that it's a living, it becomes a living, breathing thing. So all the decisions are around that. And so when the [00:33:00] things are changing, whether it's external to the business.
Um, or if it's internal and the business is changing 'cause of growth or because of, um, you know, new, new product or mm-hmm. Pivoting or what it might be. Um, it's, it's really being able to go, okay, does that fit in with who we are and when we know that? Just so integrated. Um, it really helps to keep that clarity.
But you gotta, you know, it's, it's also I say is that you, we, you know, our business helps with that. I mean, a lot of times people need Yes. Us people to help guide because, you know, we can get very much in the weeds of our own mindset. Yeah. And so sometimes it really is important to help someone zoom you out.
Sandra Dempsey: Yeah, I mean, I love, uh, you know, consultants like you or mentors, right? 'cause they get, they help you to find clarity in those moments of confusion. And, you know, it's not confusion because you made it confusing. It's just because it's a lot of stuff going on in a small business. Right? Right. I mean, [00:34:00] from running the operations to the finances and HR and then the product you're delivering and customer service and all of those things.
So to have a third party coming and calling you out sometimes, right? I mean, and asking the right questions can be super beneficial to. The, at the personal level and also for the company, right? Because absolutely. When you're a small business owner, I mean, I don't want like to say this, but like, uh, if your mindset is a little messed up, you know, the business is not going to run greatly, right?
Because I mean, you are at the top and you are the leader. And you know, I, I'm a firm believer, like energy is contagious. And if you are clear and aligned and purposeful, well that will be contagious as well. Absolutely. Absolutely. So I've got one last question for you, Sandra. If there was one piece of advice, I'm sure there's a lot, but what, you know, one piece of advice to fellow entrepreneurial business owners, what would that be?[00:35:00]
Ooh,
you know this, it is a, a long pause because. I feel like I'm still asking for insights from other entrepreneurs to learn myself. So for me to be able to give one, um, I would say this word I used earlier, which is a showing up. Mm-hmm. I feel like that one, um, for whatever that is, right? I mean, it's either networking, showing up for your employees or you know, for your clients.
Um, so like really making it a point too. Continue to be engaged and participate. Right? I mean, I know there are times when we are tired and there are times when you are just like, this is it. I mean, and I know sometimes we have to recognize that, and I have learned to do that as well. I cannot go to one more network event because I'm not going to get anything out of it because I'm too tired or too exhausted.
Right. But, and it is just really being able to show up, uh, with, in, with intention, um, so you can [00:36:00] really continue to be engaged in the world. I mean, at the end of the day, what we do. It's for the world, right? I mean, it's not for ourselves. Yes, we want to be there for the money and you know, because we want to provide to our families.
But at the end of the day, like at least in my case, right, the work I do is to share with the world, right? I mean, so companies can have beautiful video that they feel proud of sharing, and they can have a message that could be saved in an hour. They can have it done in two or three minutes to the storytelling that we provide for them.
So I feel like, you know, if you stop showing up fully. Then the world will be missing on what can you offer to the world with your team?
Katherine Breuss: That's beautiful. That's really nice. Uh, Sandra, I really have enjoyed our conversation so much. Um, it has been incredibly colorful, is the word that comes to my mind. Oh, nice.
And um, I really thank you for your time and I'm sure our listeners have, uh, really enjoyed it as well. Um, and yeah, I'd love to have you [00:37:00] back, um, sometime in the future. That'll be incredible. Katherine, thank you so much. And again, thank you so much for, uh, opening the space for the work that you do, helping us business owners to, um, reconnect with that.
Sandra Dempsey: So alignment or find it or discover it, whatever that may be. Uh, I think people like you can really, really make. People like us in the entrepreneurial world have much more impact. And not just that, but be healthier humans, right? Because when we align, um, our, both our soul, mind and body and emotional body as well, um, is in much better alignment.
And so we can be better people to this world. Thank you so much, Katherine. Oh, thank you. Thank you. All right, Sandra. Thank you. Bye-Bye.
 

Manufacturing Meets IT: Brett Surinak on Bridging the Gap

This episode of the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast, hosted by Katherine Breuss, features Brett Surinak, founder of Tech-Tastic. Brett shares his journey from growing up in a family manufacturing business to establishing an IT and cybersecurity company for manufacturers. He discusses how his experience and passion for manufacturing align with his business, his pivot from mechanical engineering to IT, and his commitment to being a supportive, non-sleazy salesperson. Brett also emphasizes the importance of understanding sales and marketing in business, the need to avoid thinking like an employee, and the significance of failing fast and strategically pivoting. Additionally, he shares personal insights about his commitment to scouting, community service, and aligning his work with his talents and values.
 
Contact Brett - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettsurinak/
 
Song: The Way To You - Composer: Sapajou 
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7q5R_ITPYFttJn7PyHzmw 
License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free 
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com
 
Katherine Breuss: [00:01:00] Well, welcome to the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast. I want to introduce Brett Surinak to the show. We are really excited to have you. Brett, I would love it if you could introduce yourself, tell the audience something about you that you want them to know about you as a human, and then also your business.
Brett Surinak: Okay. Well, we'll start with the professional side because that's always usually the easiest one that everyone practices, right? So I am the founder of Tech-Tastic and what we do is we provide IT services and cybersecurity for manufacturers. That's it in a nutshell.
We're a little bit different. I've been in IT for [00:02:00] gosh, 25 years, and over the years I found out that whenever we had a manufacturing client, the office was being taken care of really well. But all the equipment out on the shop floor—which nowadays has a lot of networking to it, a lot of analytics coming out of it—was really not being supported in the way that it should, or even protected from cyber attacks.
We're starting to see more and more things like CNC machines get locked down. Some of the attacks are even stopping emergency stop buttons, so now we run into safety issues from not being protected. And that really bothered me because, going back to my history, my grandfather was a tool and die maker—or owned a tool and die shop—and my father owns a stamping manufacturing plant. I grew up in those shops, [00:03:00] in that shop that they had.
At a very early age, you know, this is a small family business, so you can start your kid at a very early age—like eight—in there. And so I really started to understand what the different processes were. I did it all. I started obviously at eight doing menial duties, but I worked my way up through high school, working summers, weekends, all of that stuff. I got to be like a CNC operator and even went to school for a year to see, "Hey, do I want to go into mechanical engineering? Do I want to do CNC programming?" I decided it wasn't exactly for me and went into the IT world.
And that's really where I saw this gap happening whenever manufacturers were being serviced by an IT company. [00:04:00] They're only taking care of part of the business. They're not looking at the big holistic view into the plant as to how this stuff works. Because if you can't produce, you can't ship. If you can't ship, you can't invoice. If you can't invoice, you're not getting paid. And just how that kind of snowballs. Anytime one of those machines would go down, I saw exactly—being the owner's son—these are dollars flying out the door every minute this thing is down.
So when I went into IT and was working for other IT companies that were consultants, I just saw this big gap there. I thought, "Hey, you know, [00:05:00] there are ways we can help them get better analytics to see when a machine is going to fail, or can we protect it?" When the machine goes down, maybe it's not a cyber attack, maybe it's just a failure on the machine altogether. How can we get the programming for that backed up as quickly as possible and help that production line and production team out from an IT standpoint? So that's my professional thing in a nutshell.
Digging a little deeper into me personally, I do a lot. If anyone knows me, I can talk for hours and hours about scouting. I'm a big Scouter, Eagle Scout. I have four kids all in scouting. I've been a Cub Master for 10 years. [00:06:00] Really big there. What I really enjoy about that the most is actually seeing how it's helping kids become servant leaders for tomorrow—ways that not only can they be self-sufficient, but how they can give back to their communities and how they can be those servant leaders.
You know, servant leader is kind of a buzzword probably for the last five, ten years. But if you look back at it, scouting's had it for decades, even like a century. So that's what I enjoy there.
And the other side of me too, personally—I'm a husband and father obviously. But I also serve my church, which is St. Vincent Pallotti Catholic Church over on the far west side of Milwaukee. I'm on the parish council there, so I do a lot with helping the parishioners out.
Katherine Breuss: [00:07:00] Very cool. There's a lot of really good nuggets of information that I was grabbing listening to you—very rich. And the first question that comes to my mind is… I thought it was pretty funny that you've been working in business since eight. You know, this was the eighties, and mom had to run out and do her shopping on the weekend. She didn't want us kids around, so it was "Go with Dad, go to work on Saturday morning!"
Hey, I think it's awesome. I really do. I mean, it's not like child labor and you were chained to a desk or anything like that. I mean, it's kind of how things worked, and I wish there was a little bit more of that—not necessarily saying sending our kids to work [00:08:00] at eight, but just understanding what hard work is and starting from the bottom and having to go all the way up.
But what I find interesting too is that you thought you were going to go down the route of mechanical engineering, and then you decided not to. So I'm really curious—what was it that made you go, "You know what, I don't want this. I want that"?
Brett Surinak: So interestingly enough, it was actually called Mechanical Engineering Technologist up at Michigan Tech. There are kind of three different levels when you look at engineering. There are engineers that actually do the paperwork, the plans, and all that. There are technologists, which is what I was going for—you do the setup of the production line and you get that going, you figure that all out and you keep it there. Then there are mechanical engineering technicians who make sure that product line keeps going. [00:09:00] I was in the technologist—the middle one. So it was a little bit more hands-on. I did enjoy it.
The thing I didn't like about it is when we started to get into stress points, materials, knowing how much—the tensile strength of different materials and the calculations and the math that goes with that—I was like, "I just want to build stuff!"
But I did like when we got into the CNC programming and that. So I flipped actually from that type of program to computer programming and then went into networking and so on from there.
Katherine Breuss: That's really cool. So, you know, it sounds to me that [00:10:00] you recognized that there was a bit of a misalignment in what you really wanted to do. And so would you say, you know, making that choice to go into IT and cybersecurity and all of the aspects—that is much more aligned to who you are and what you want?
Brett Surinak: Yes it is. And what I'm doing today is even more aligned, I think, because I still really like the manufacturing world. You know, I went out and got certified in Six Sigma, which is very much a manufacturing platform, because I love—and this is one of the things I absolutely love—I love looking at these production lines and being like, "How can we take steps out of here to still get it going?" I absolutely love that, and I actually apply that to my business in the different workflows too.
So, you know, Six Sigma started in the manufacturing world. [00:11:00] It's how can you still have really good quality going on and then do some lean where you actually remove a few steps in there too—be more efficient. And I absolutely love that.
Katherine Breuss: So you're really aligned because the IT side of it appeals to you, but then also the clients and who you're working with—the manufacturers.
Brett Surinak: Absolutely. And that's what I absolutely love—working with these clients, especially the ones that are manufacturers. At first, they're all like, "Yeah, yeah, this IT guy. He doesn't know production, he doesn't know whatever," and I start to talk to them and they're like, "You get us. You get us, you know?" And I'm like, "Yeah, I do. I get you. I feel your pain. I've been there."
Katherine Breuss: [00:12:00] I thought for a second you were going to say, "I see dead people!"
Brett Surinak: So that's really the fun part—or one of the many fun parts—when I'm having conversations with these manufacturers and I sit down and we get to know each other. They're like, "You're not like the standard IT person that comes in here. You understand that you can't do an update in the middle of our day. You can't take our machines offline. You understand too you need to make sure that these are backed up so that when a hard drive fails, when it gets wiped out for whatever reason, you can help us get this backup and running."
Katherine Breuss: So, yeah, that's really cool. And I love the nicheness, you know, being specific to manufacturing. Brett, in terms of—besides when there was a bit of misalignment, [00:13:00] you know, maybe not massive, but going down that mechanical engineering side—has there been a time in your business where you felt misaligned? And the impact that that has? And it may not even be with your business, it might be somewhere else.
Brett Surinak: Sure. So before I started this business, I felt misaligned a little bit with IT because of the way it was with manufacturers. And my bosses usually knew, "Hey, this guy's good with manufacturers, let's have him work with them." Right? And so the thing I didn't like though is that when you're going into that world, there are certain additional IT tools you need in order to do that, or things you need to worry about and things like that. And I had this happen a couple [00:14:00] of times where I was like, "Hey, you know, we really need to service these people better. We really need this tool, or we really need this plan." And I was being told, "No, we can't do that. That's not our job. Stay out of it." Sometimes rather forcefully.
And so I really didn't like that. And before I started this, you talked about soul aligned. I was actually sitting in church and wondering, "What am I going to do here?" You know, I was at a point where I was like, "I'm not liking this. I'm at a low place. I don't want to go to work every day." [00:15:00] I was sitting there, and the gospel reading that day was from Matthew, which was the Parable of the Talents.
Now, if you don't know what that is, it's basically about a master that gives his three servants some talents—which is a bit of money at the time—to take care of while he's gone. He said, "I have to leave. You take care of this." And he gave them these talents—different amounts. The first two went ahead and used those talents to do more with it. The third one sat there and buried their talent because they were afraid they were going to lose it. Well, the master came back and was very upset at this third one for burying their talent.
And so I sat there and I was just like, [00:16:00] "This is me right now. I feel like if I stay here—which I could do, I could tough it out, I could stay here—I am burying my talent. I am not allowing myself to thrive."
And so that's when things really, I would say, started to become soul aligned for me—at that time. I still remember where I was sitting in the church that day and everything. It just really spoke to me. And so I guess that's the thing that I have to say to everyone: make sure you're in a place where you can thrive, where you can use—you know, we are all given these talents, whether you believe it's from a higher power or just from society. We all have talents to give. Make sure you're giving them back. So, yeah, that was the big one for me.
Katherine Breuss: [00:17:00] I love that. And I would ditto everything in terms of what you said about the importance of this. We have all been given gifts, and even most of us who even access that, there's more we can access. There's more that we can get more in alignment with and give to the world, which ultimately does give back to us in some shape or form.
What's interesting too is when we think about our work and, you know, especially as business owners, the amount of time we spend in it. And if you're not truly aligned, man, I don't know. I just sit and think, "That's a lot of time wasted."
Brett Surinak: Yep.
Katherine Breuss: And, you know, wouldn't it be better if you enjoyed it?
Now, so on that aspect—soul aligned is one thing, and as we define it at AG45, and what you've said, it's really [00:18:00] knowing who you are and your talents and integrating it into everything that you do. And because we talk about business, it's about integrating that into the business. But I also see people who are soul aligned and they started their business, it's very much in alignment. But the piece that was missing is the strategy piece.
And for us, what we describe as strategy is that it's not only understanding the business strategy, but it's then the execution, the business acumen, and how to actually do it. And that's why I see sometimes, you know, if they're soul aligned, it's that piece that's missing. So how do you do that in your business?
Brett Surinak: So from an operations standpoint, no problem. Strategy is perfect there. [00:19:00] Efficiency—my clients are well taken care of. They get a great customer experience. All of that—score great.
The part that I wasn't prepared for, the part where my strategy is struggling, that I have been working on and I have been diving into head first, would have to be getting the word out. You know, that sales and marketing piece. Because I know the operations side—that sales and marketing piece, that's new to me.
And that has—that's where I am, where I would say that my strategy needs improvement, by all means, because it's just so new to me. And I'm trying to make sure too that while I'm doing this, you know, like you said, [00:20:00] to make sure that it's soul aligned. I don't want to be that guy that's just, you know, that smarmy salesy guy, because that's not me. I'm not going to do it.
I'm not going to do that. And, you know, that's not a knock on—I don't want to knock on legitimate true salespeople that do a fantastic job, that really take their customers through it. I'm talking about the ones that are just kind of like, "We're doing the sale and we're just moving on to the next one," and people are numbers. That's not me. And I don't want to be that. And [00:21:00] I hear this from a lot of business owners, too, about sales—unless they came from a sales background. If they didn't, I find that this is one of the hardest pieces, and financials, I find, are what a lot of business owners find difficult.
Katherine Breuss: And I don't know, I say that with sales—unless you're actually scamming somebody or selling something that somebody doesn't need—it's a lot of mindset shift in terms of going, "If you truly are providing value, then there's nothing to be"… And ashamed is maybe the wrong word, but frightened about a sale or thinking it's sleazy or whatnot. And I can't imagine that you would ever show up as sleazy.
Brett Surinak: Well, thank you. Thank you. You're an Eagle Scout!
Well, and too, like I said, that's something that, you know, [00:22:00] I've unfortunately read some of these books—and apparently I might be reading the wrong ones or doing the wrong research or whatever—and they tell me to do something and I'm like, "This isn't me. No, no, no. I'm not going to do that." I truly want to go out there and help and be helpful through the whole process. Otherwise, I won't be aligned.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. And I would say too, and just even a little bit of a challenge, maybe, or maybe not, because I do hear this from business owners as well, and I think it's this whole thing of, "Well, what is helping and what is actually starting to be detrimental to the business?" And so it's that kind of balance of, you know, staying true to you, but also there's a business to run. And so [00:23:00] ultimately people are in business—well, not all, but the ones that we work with—to make an impact. But also, you've got to make money. I mean, we're not talking about necessarily being greedy billionaires or anything, but, you know, we've got to have our own personal wealth too. Right?
So Brett, in terms of advice—your experience in your business to date, which has been—is it three years? Has your business been open for three years?
Brett Surinak: We're coming up on three years here this month—in August.
Katherine Breuss: Nice. Okay. So what advice, if any—like if there's, I'm sure there's a lot, but if there is one piece that you could share to someone else that might be in the [00:24:00] early stages of business—what would that be?
Brett Surinak: I would say really, my biggest thing would be making sure—my thing, maybe because it's my struggle—would honestly be figuring out what your sales and marketing look like. Really figure that out. And two, don't think like an employee. You can't be thinking like an employee.
I've seen—I didn't do this, but I've seen enough people do this and fail—where they're like, "Oh, I've got to have an office and I've got to have [00:25:00] all this other stuff," or, you know, all this delivery kind of stuff figured out. I'm like, "You don't need it figured out exactly, perfectly." You know, you do have to figure it out. At some point you are going to have to do that delivery, and you might have to have some things lined up, but people spend too much time on that side and not enough on filling the pipeline on the beginning.
Make sure that you're going to have that constant flow coming in—of leads, of customers coming in. So that's a big thing.
The other thing is don't be afraid of failure. Absolutely not. You're going to stub your toe. You are going to fall down. Get back up, keep going. [00:26:00] The important thing is you need to fail fast. And so what I mean by that is if you're going to fail, you need to be able to know exactly when, "Hey, this isn't working. I need to stop dumping my time, my money, my team's time, whatever, into this, and I need to change and I need to pivot."
That is something that I did a little bit with my business early on. I was kind of going one direction, and I found out, "You know, there's not, unfortunately, a market for it yet." So I pivoted slightly—workflow automations and things along that line with IT for manufacturers. We still do that. We do that on the side. But we found out really there's a bigger need in keeping these machines safe and cybersecurity. So we had to pivot actually at that point.
Katherine Breuss: [00:27:00] So the couple things that I hear—I love that. Don't think like an employee, because you're not. It's a very different mindset, and I do see corporate people who've been in corporate their entire lives, and then they just decide to build a business and they think it's the same. And it's a really rude awakening. They're like, "Whoa." I mean, normally they're buying a business, they're buying a franchise or something like that. But, you know, so that's really important, that mindset.
And the fail fast—absolutely. And to that whole piece of failing fast, I would say: here's where I see business owners, and particularly entrepreneurial business owners, they pivot too quickly and they're squirrel—or they're changing too quickly [00:28:00] without trying something. And this is where being strategic is so important, because when you are strategic and you've got a really clear plan for today, as well as five years down the road, you know when and how to pivot. It becomes so much clearer on that. So I think that is really, really good points.
Brett Surinak: Yeah. And in that strategic plan that you make, know what your metrics are, or your KPIs are, for that strategic plan so you know when you see these starting to fall—okay, now we have to pivot. It's not just a gut feeling kind of thing. You continue on with it, and now's the time. Yeah. You know?
Katherine Breuss: Brett, it has been a real pleasure to have you here with us. I want to thank you so much for your time and everything you shared. There's so much that I really enjoyed about our conversation.
Brett Surinak: Great. Excellent. Thanks for having me on. I really appreciate it.
 

Balancing Intuition and Strategy for Business Success with Ann Marie Arvoy

The AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast, hosted by Katherine Breuss, features Ann Marie Arvoy, a seasoned therapist and business owner of Mosaic Counseling. Together, they discuss the importance of aligning personal intuition with business strategy to achieve success and fulfillment. Ann Marie shares her journey from living in various states to establishing a successful mental health practice, emphasizing the need for self-care and boundary-setting. They also explore the concept of soul alignment, the challenges of balancing profitability with purpose, and the critical role of intuition in making business decisions. The conversation includes practical insights on mindfulness, ADHD diagnosis, and mental health education, aiming to empower business owners to build value-driven, purpose-aligned enterprises.
 
Contact Ann Marie - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-marie-arvoy-88aab226/
 
Song: The Way To You - Composer: Sapajou 
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7q5R_ITPYFttJn7PyHzmw 
License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free 
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com 
 
Katherine Breuss: Welcome everyone to the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast. I want to welcome Ann Marie Arvoy to our episode today. I'm really excited to have Ann Marie on and, like usual, I'm gonna let Ann Marie introduce herself because she's gonna do a much better job at it than I will. So Ann Marie, if you could just share with everyone about you, you as a human, and then also about your business, I'm gonna pass it to you.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Sure. So me as a human, I'm married and I have two boys, and that's a big part of my life. I grew up in New York. I lived in Colorado for a while, and now I'm in Wisconsin. And a lot of times people will say to me, "You're one of those New Yorkers." Yeah, New Yorker. Except I'm from upstate, so people are like, "What's that?" And I'm like, "Anything other than the city." People get excited when I say I'm from New York and then I'm like, "No, the upper part." "Oh, that's boring." So, yeah, I've lived in a couple different places. I don't know what else about myself. I've been into mindfulness since I was in my early twenties. I found that because of a period of depression I went through, and that led me to become a therapist.
Katherine Breuss: Nice. Okay. So tell us about your business.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Sure. So Mosaic Counseling is the business that I currently have. I have owned, let's see, four businesses in my life so far. Mosaic Counseling has been the most successful to date. And what we do is we provide mental health treatment for teens, adults, couples, families—all anxiety, depression, PTSD, grief, all of that kind of stuff. ADHD. So I have been a counselor for 25 years. I went to a school called Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, which is kind of a unique school. It was inspired by this Buddhist monk who came from Tibet. And he created all of these Shambhala centers that are all over the country. He really was one of the main people that brought Buddhism to the United States, and he created this school, Naropa University. So I got my degree in 2000 and I liked going to that school because—in the soul alignment that we're talking about today—one of the things that has been helpful for me in all of my life is listening to my intuition. And when I went to a very just traditional undergraduate school in upstate New York, Cortland, New York, which was fine, it was great, but I craved something different. And when I started looking around, I was really drawn to these non-traditional schools. So I almost went to a place in California. I ended up going to Naropa in Colorado and it felt like my gut was telling me to do that. It was my intuition because I almost didn't make it. I was accepted into this place in California and I put in my deposit, I accepted it, I'm doing it. And the very last day that I was living in this apartment with a phone, because I was gonna be camping for the summer, I got the call from Naropa that I got accepted there. That's really where I wanted to go and so I ended up going there and it was a great experience because it wasn't just learning about how to help people, it was also a program that helped everyone transform themselves. So they said, the first day they said, "What we're gonna do is we're gonna break you down and build you back up." Which some people might think that's a cult, but not in this way. It was actually very helpful and healthy.
Katherine Breuss: You know, it's funny, I was just sitting there thinking, "Oh, right on. That's great." But you're right. I didn't think about cult, but I can see maybe, I don't know.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah, it was—I mean, my parents were a little afraid it was a cult, but it was really helpful for me because I had grown up in this very traditional, mainstream, kind of protected life. And I didn't have a lot of worldly knowledge or exposure to a lot of different kinds of people. And I did there, or at least more so than what I had. And that was part of what has helped me integrate listening to my gut. That was a really good choice for me to go there. And also integrating mindfulness into the work that I do as a therapist and listening to myself because I think it's so easy for us to go about life or to be a therapist or whatever we're doing and not listen to that little voice that might say, "Go here, don't go there." And not that I always get it right. I'm still learning and growing at that, but it's one of the things that I think has helped me be successful at being a therapist. And I also think it's something that has helped me become to the point of success that I'm at right now as a business owner that I listen to that. And I also really try to learn from my mistakes. And mindfulness has helped me with that. I do my best not to judge myself or put myself down or beat myself up. Of course I do sometimes, but I also work really hard just to acknowledge what happened and, you know, we all do things, but the best thing you could do is learn from them.
Katherine Breuss: A hundred percent. Yes. I love it. So Ann Marie, it's funny though, you kept saying Colorado. I was kind of giggling. I was like, even your soul now didn't want you to go to California. You can't even say it.
Ann Marie Arvoy: I've never been there.
Katherine Breuss: So, okay, tell us about your business. So it's therapy. Yes, I know ADHD is something that's really big. That's a big focus.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Correct. We do some testing, we do some online testing, in-office testing to help people identify that diagnosis, which is helpful because it's one of those diagnoses that sometimes people will say it's overdiagnosed, but my opinion is that it's underdiagnosed because I've had so many people as adults come to me thinking that they have anxiety or depression. And a lot of times it turns out they actually have ADHD, and by treating the ADHD, it helps with those anxiety and depression symptoms.
Katherine Breuss: Interesting. So do you think it's underdiagnosed, just curious, with the adults versus the children or the youth, or do you think it's overdiagnosed potentially with the youth and underdiagnosed with the adults because it wasn't super big. I know when I was young, growing up, it wasn't really talked about.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Right. I don't think it's overdiagnosed with youth. I think that there's just a lot of people that have it and that we've gotten better at being able to identify the markers for it. So the different ways that the symptoms show up, but also this test that I'm able to do is an objective test. This didn't exist many years ago. So it's a test that people can take and it's pretty reliable to the results. So that has helped too. But in my experience, I think with people my generation, older and even a little younger, it wasn't something that was talked about and it was really only the more severe cases that were identified. But I know so many people, men and women who weren't diagnosed—for men, they were typically thought of as the bad kids. So then they went through a lot of painful experiences because they were marginalized or in trouble all the time, or getting yelled at or stuck in the corner. And then with women, they tend to—women tend to internalize the symptoms in a different way and it goes, it's much less common for—at least in the generations before we had better testing—for it to be figured out. And it's, yeah, it's just a different way it manifests.
Katherine Breuss: Mmhmm. Well, I know in terms of—I'm a big, huge advocate for therapy. I've been to therapy. I think, you know, I think it's one of these things that there, you know, some people have this stigma that there's something wrong with you if you go to therapy. No, not at all. It's, I think it's actually, it's about trying to align more with who you are and what you want and walking through some of those darknesses in our lives and having help so that you can get to the other side where there's light.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Right. Yeah, agreed.
Katherine Breuss: So hats off, I do, I really appreciate people in the therapy world because I know it's helped me. It's helped my family and I know it's helped other people, so it's, yeah, it's really good. Soul alignment. Okay, so here's the, I mean, this is the standard question that I seem to ask every guest. So soul, to be soul aligned. What does that mean to you and what is the impact that you've seen when you are versus when you're misaligned?
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah. It is a good question. I think soul aligned, what it means to me is feeling like I am—and this is, I don't know if this will make sense—but I feel like it's when I'm most efficiently on the path of really what I'm meant to do with my time on this planet. So I look back on my life and I feel like I was a lot of zigzag. Trying things out, figuring things out. And being soul aligned, I feel like it's, I'm more just on the path and things feel more like being in the flow. The world, I'm meeting the world and the world is meeting me and it's just moving and it's like green lights. I feel like it's green lights. When I'm not on the path, when I feel like I'm not soul aligned, I feel like it's a lot of stop signs and red lights. Like I go down a path and nope. And over here. Nope. And, you know, as I was saying before, still, I don't think that's totally off the path. It's an opportunity for learning, but it does help me realize like, okay, that's not where it's at. Over here? Nope. Gotta keep coming back to the main path. So that's what that means to me.
Katherine Breuss: I really love that metaphor or analogy. I always get—yeah, I don't even know how to spell anymore living in the different countries. And sometimes I'm saying a word, I'm like, I don't know. Is that even a word? I don't know. So, okay, back on track. What was I gonna ask you? Oh, so metaphor. Yeah. So you said that you went and you had zigzags throughout your life, and then you sometimes, obviously we all do, we come up to those red lights. Is there any particular time that you want to share in one of your businesses? Because I think you said four businesses. Or a time in your life that you were really, you were misaligned and the impact that had?
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah, I would say I could probably find the same experience in any of the businesses. Really, I'd say in Mosaic, I've had this experience and I owned a meditation studio and I had that experience. And I think this is common for people's services, but I found that when I was misaligned, I was much more focused on other people's experiences, making sure they were okay, they had what they needed, they were happy, that kind of thing. And what I discovered at different points along the way was how I would feel so depleted and so worn out and so not seen. Not that I need my clients to see me, but just kind of in the world. It's like I was becoming just the conduit of other people's happiness and wellbeing, and I was neglecting myself. And even though it's something in the therapy world and the meditation world and a lot of different places, we say, "Oh, self-care comes first." And it's, you know, I believe we're so much about the talk, but we don't—I don't know if people really know what it means. At least for, I'll speak for myself. I don't think I really knew what it meant. I thought that I was taking care of myself. Like, "Oh, I run and I read and I meditate and whatever. Go for coffee with friends." But what I was doing, I think largely, was I was leaking so much energy to other people and not holding better boundaries and really keeping those boundaries. And when I figured that out, I got to be so much better at, I think, being more helpful to people because then I actually had something more to give. I wasn't digging from the bottom of the barrel to hand something out that maybe was the last bit of energy I had. When I used to do that, I didn't feel like I was a great person. I mean, I was fine, but I don't think I was the best person. I don't think I was the best parent. I was tired, I was cranky, I was whatever. But once I figured out that it really is okay for me to hold boundaries, it's okay for me to say no, it's okay for somebody to be upset with me that I didn't wanna do something they wanted me to do and stick with that, it's okay. I had situations with clients who wanted me to just keep seeing them for free and there were clients I would—
Katherine Breuss: No, I know.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah. Because I'm like, "Oh, I feel bad they don't have money." Or they're going through a divorce or they have this health issue and they need me. And once I realized I really, I wasn't helping them because it's not a good reflection of the world. That's not the way the world works. That people just, well, you know, the world's supposed to be kind of a give and take, you know, supposed to.
Katherine Breuss: Exactly. Two-way street.
Ann Marie Arvoy: And so for me it was learning that it was better for me and for the world, for my kids, for people around me if I held boundaries, I stuck to those boundaries even if people were disappointed in me. So I also had to learn to tolerate that, which I think growing up, I don't think I ever got that message. I didn't get that memo of, "This is how you deal with people being disappointed." No, the memo I got was, "Well, you figure it out and you don't disappoint them. You do what they tell you."
Katherine Breuss: And you know, it's interesting too because I also think that's very generational in terms of the baby boomer, our parents, that generation and then, you know, the Gen X, what we were taught as Gen Xers of what is appropriate versus isn't. And it was a little bit more prescriptive in terms of how you should show up as a woman or how you should be showing up as a man. And not to say that isn't going on even today, but I do think it's less for sure. But you know, I agree with you in terms of the service industry or the helping industry or therapy and all that, that you tend to find people in that field. And I do think many of them—I know I was there—really struggled with the boundary and giving too much and leaking out because I loved it when you were talking about how you'd feel drained at the end of the day and you felt like your energy was leaking. And that reminded me of the business that I ran in Singapore. Successful business, but I would come home and I would feel like I had the flu at the end of the day.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Mmhmm.
Katherine Breuss: I'd just feel achy and sick. And a mentor of mine said to me, he's like, "You are giving your energy away. And you are taking everyone else's energy on."
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah.
Katherine Breuss: I was like, "Yeah, stop that." You know? And now that doesn't happen, but it took me a while to figure that out.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah. Yeah. And it's something I think that's hard to know how to—it's like riding a bike. You can talk about, "Well, you pedal and you hold it up and you try to go a certain speed to keep it going," but until you do it, it's hard to really know how to do that, you know?
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. Well, you know, one of the things that we say here at AG45, when it's about being soul aligned, it's, you know, that first step is really knowing who you are and not who you are with regards to the roles in your life, but who you are intrinsically. And so you had also mentioned intuition and going with your gut, which again, if you aren't quiet or trusting who you are enough, you're not gonna be able to hear it. You're not gonna be able to hear that intuition. So would you say, so when you would go up against the red lights, those times in your life, would you say that you were also ignoring your intuition at that time? Or whatever was trying to tell you and you were going the other way and it just kept red light because it's like, "Nope."
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah. Yes. I think that, you know, as I think back on those, on a number of moments, that it was the intuition saying, "Don't do it." But then my head would be like, "Oh. It'll be okay." I think of people that I hired and how something inside me was like, "Oh, it's not a good idea. Here's a red flag, here's a red flag." And I'm like, "Well, but they bring this to the team," you know. I'd let my head talk my intuition out of it. And then, you know what happened? My intuition was right. And so it became, yeah, one of those learning points. It's like, "Okay, we're not doing that anymore." You know? So yes.
Katherine Breuss: Now there are some people who say that they get to this, you know, some people say they're more wise when they're older. And they feel a little bit more aligned. Some, not all. Some people say that and they attribute that, or they think, you know, that it correlates with the fact that they're just older. You know, like, "Oh, you know, when you get older you may not care enough." Or with wisdom, you know, with age comes wisdom or whatever, whatnot. Do you think that a young—a young you if you knew what you knew today, or anybody who's young out there and listening—that they can get to this alignment, this soul alignment and wisdom, and listening to intuition before they hit 50?
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah, I do. I think that for me, along my path, I did have some resources. Going to Naropa was a great one for me, but I also didn't have a lot of coaching on how to—in conversation around this. So it took me a while. I had to just learn it because I wanted to learn it. I think I was meant to learn this. But I do think for younger people, with the right people around them, that yeah, of course they can. You know. Yes. I think my younger me, because I've always been curious and I've always wanted to grow and change and evolve and all those kind of cool things. I wanted that when I was younger, I just didn't have the coaching. I didn't have the help. If I had my older me, my current me to go back in time and help that one. Oh man, we'd be a power team.
Katherine Breuss: I know. Oh my god. I would say the same thing about me. You're speaking my language, sister. I love it. I absolutely love it. So, okay. Business. Yes. So I'm gonna go into that mode for a moment. So, you know, we talk about soul aligned strategy and that it starts with you and it's really connecting to who you are and aligning to who you are and what you want. And then it's connecting it and aligning it to business. That's all well and good. That is, for me, it's like you gotta like—everybody, even if you're not a business owner. This is so important. And that helps you to enjoy the journey, helps you listen to intuition like you said, and to hit more green lights than going up to all the red lights. And, you know, that's really annoying. I know. Have you ever been driving and it's like every light you hit, you're like, "Oh my God." It's usually when you're running late, it's like the universe is like, "Uh-uh. You need to be a little bit more punctual or better with your time management." Anyway, so I just digressed onto something else and now I lost my train of thought. Lost our train of thought. So soul aligned is, well, you know, very important. But then there's this other piece because I do see entrepreneurs and business owners, some of them are very soul aligned, very, you know, "Oh, I'm meant to do this and I'm very happy." But the results and the strategy side, the actual practicality of implementing and doing it and getting those results you want, there's a disconnect. So it's like I keep saying, it's like two sides of the coin. You gotta have the soul alignment and then you gotta have the strategy. So for you as a business owner, what is the—I'm sure there's a lot—but if there was one thing that really helped you to be more strategic in running the business, getting the results, what would that be?
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah. What comes to my mind is that I think for me, I needed to just simply accept the fact that we live on this planet, we need money to live and be comfortable enough and all of that. Because previously, I'd let, you know, I'd see people for free because they need help. And I'd had this meditation studio and that was a business where I think people were like, "Oh, is it donation?" I'm like, "No, I still have to pay rent." And they'd be like, "Oh, okay." You know, it's like I was so soul aligned, but I couldn't get money to pay for it. So I think that—yeah. Now I kind of lost my train of thought. But squirrel? No. It was really just accepting the fact that I need to make money and it's okay to make money. And I think I had to move out of this realm of thinking that I had, and even sometimes I find myself saying things that are in this realm that, "Oh, people with money, you know how they are," you know, like negative things about people that have money. So I've had to challenge some of that thinking and just let it be okay to have some money. I'm not a, you know, I'm not super wealthy person, but it's okay to have some money. It's okay to have wealth. It doesn't go against that soulful way of having a business. And in fact, because you know, if you don't, we live in this world. And I live in this country where we need money to pay for things. And without the business you really can't do the soul aligned stuff very well. I ended up selling my meditation business and thank god I did, I was able to. It just wasn't working. So the simple thing for me is just, yeah, I had to accept. I mean, this is the world we live in, and it's okay. It's okay to make money. It's okay to want to make money.
Katherine Breuss: And you know, and that's, I love that. I do hear people, and particularly in the service and the helping industry, having that stuck belief or frame of mind. And so part of me even hears that. Yes, you may have been soul aligned, but not truly fully soul aligned because it was, there was, it was that stop. You're hitting red light. Red light, red light. And so it's having to just shift the mindset, which is also very strategic by the way. Everyone out there, you know, it starts there with the mind. And so by a shift of just how you think about it can actually just, there just opens up how you operate, how you're showing up everything. I mean, it's so funny to me, Ann Marie, when I moved back to the US and the US compared to other countries, networking is, I mean, it's great. Like I'm not pooh-poohing it, but I mean, it is huge. People don't network like this. At least not in the countries I've been to. The way that people in America network, which is fantastic because it's great meeting people and it's great in terms of people helping each other out in that whole connect the dots. But one thing that drives me nuts, and I'm sorry for any of those listening, if you do this, I'm just gonna apologize, you know, in advance. Don't hate me. But I keep hearing people say to me, "Oh, you know what, are you here for?" "Whatever. I'm just here to meet people." "Oh, really?" "Yeah, no, I don't, you know, I don't need to sell or I don't need to do anything. It's just about meeting people and building relationships." And I just sit and kind of go, "Oh my God, can we please everybody? Let's stop bullshitting everybody. Everyone is out there." You're not out there just to—you're ultimately out there to build something. So I'm kind of going, "Why are we trying to dress this up in a bow?" Yes, you're building relationships and you're meeting people and that's awesome, but you also have something to sell. If you don't, why are you keep coming to these business events?
Ann Marie Arvoy: I don't know. That's like. Yeah. Right. There can be almost this collectively inherent guilt or shame around wanting to succeed. Yes. And having something that's really profitable and big and, yeah.
Katherine Breuss: And just going, "Hey, I'm here because I've got this business that I'd love to meet other people. I'd love to help you too, but I, oh, I'm, this whole thing. Oh. I'm just out here to help people. Oh, stop it."
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah.
Katherine Breuss: Right. I know. That's, it's not very honest. I don't feel like, I don't know, maybe some people it is, and I may get absolutely just hammered now for saying this.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Well, but I think it's just true. It's, you know, one of the laws of the universe, you know, it's like you give and take. It's like nobody, nobody does something for no reason, you know? And maybe the currency is you get to feel good, but that doesn't pay your electric bill eventually. No. So, yeah, I think we can give ourselves permission to be okay with wanting to succeed and wanting to be profitable and wanting to be wealthy, if that's how it is. And wealth, of course, can be measured in a lot of different ways. But that's okay. We can give ourselves permission for that.
Katherine Breuss: It is. I really, really like that. It's okay to give ourselves permission to be wealthy. Yeah. Yeah. I'm there. I'm with you on that one. So in terms of, what do you think is, when you think about your business and where you want it to go? What do you envision? I mean, do you have any kind of dreams?
Ann Marie Arvoy: I do. I think so. In the mental health world, I think that, I think our mental health system is pretty good. I also think there's a lot of gaps in our mental health system, and I see an arena for, and it already exists, but this is one of the things I wanna do, is to do more of educating people about mental health and about when, and kind of, you know, it would be like self-help, but there's so much, there's so much out there that's available to people and most people have either no idea or they don't know what to do with it. And so one of, you know, in addition to all of the sessions that we do and the services—individual or couples or groups or whatever—is having a platform that can reach a much broader audience to help people learn more about how to help themselves in their own mental health. Because as you were insinuating before, it's not just for a small little group of people that are mentally ill. That's not, I mean, mental health touches us all. It's like physical health and there's things that we need to do to help our health, our mental health. And it doesn't have to be, you know, super complicated. Even just knowing, the perspective shift, that's something that can be pretty simple. You know, if people know how to do that or if they know how to recognize negative thoughts or they know how to feel their intuition or they know how to sleep better, they know, you know, there's a lot of things that I think people could benefit from understanding and knowing that would enhance therapy, might accelerate therapy for people, might prevent a lot of people's need for more services down the road, if, you know, I, so.
Katherine Breuss: It's that preventative. I mean, it can be even that preventative health. So I really like that you brought that up because not all therapy is, you're sitting with a therapist and they're like, "Okay, let's go back to when you were one. What do you remember?"
Ann Marie Arvoy: So what happened with mom? Yeah, I know. So, no, it's—of course, but we don't always have to go, you know, dredge up everything from the past. I mean, sometimes we need to, if there's a trauma or there's, you know, some stuck thing, you know, that's where therapy is so helpful on that one-to-one because you can't just, yeah, you need help with, but there can't just ChatGPT, it's—
Katherine Breuss: Right. Yeah. Exactly. Gemini.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah, but there's still, there's so much that could be. People can get, but we also live in a time where there's so much information. Yeah. That people so easily get overwhelmed. And that was part of my inspiration for the meditation studio—people are like, "I don't know where to start. I plug in meditation on YouTube and I get 50,000 possibilities. I don't even know where to start." But it'd be the same for mental health. There's a lot out there, but it's not all, you know, not all—
Katherine Breuss: It's not all good. Not all kosher.
Ann Marie Arvoy: It's not all good. The quality is all over the place. So yeah, so that's one of the things that I'm in the process of building up and that to me helps me feel more soul aligned. I get so excited about it because I love the idea of teaching things to people on a broader, in a broader way versus, you know, because these are things I teach people all the time one-on-one, and I find myself like, "Okay, for the 50th time this month I'm teaching you about blah, blah, blah." Whereas if I just had a course, you know—
Katherine Breuss: It would accelerate people.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Yeah.
Katherine Breuss: I love it. I love it. And, you know, you're right in the sense of, I mean, we are in the age of information overload, you know, and it is now, it's about not having access. It's about what do I access? What is, yeah, what's truth, what's not truth? What is, you know, who should I be listening to? Who should I not? So, yep. That's awesome. I love it. Well, Ann Marie, this has been so much fun. Thank you. And so thank you very much for joining us and sharing your thoughts on soul alignment and thoughts on business. Love to have you back.
Ann Marie Arvoy: Thank you. I love it. Yeah, thank you. It's been fun.
 

Jewelry, Journeys, and Joy: Mitch Prejbeanu's Path to Success

In this episode of the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast, host Katherine Breuss interviews Mitch Prejbeanu, a Romanian immigrant and owner of Paul's Jewelers. Mitch shares his journey from Romania to the U.S., detailing his various business ventures, including his current successful jewelry shop. He discusses the importance of hospitality in business, his plans for creating a unique customer experience by incorporating a cafe in his store, and the value of tailoring services to a focused market. Mitch candidly shares lessons from his past businesses, including the challenges of running a cafe and the realization that specializing is key to success. The episode emphasizes the significance of aligning one's passion with business to create value and impact.
 
Contact Mitch – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mprejbeanu/
 
#BusinessAlignment #podcast #personalpurpose #soulalignment #Personalwealth #Enjoyment #entrepreneurjourney #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurstruggles #authenticityispower #Authenticity #authenticityjourney #ExitStrategy 
 
Song: The Way To You - Composer: Sapajou 
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7q5R_ITPYFttJn7PyHzmw 
License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free 
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com 
 
Katherine Breuss: Welcome everyone to the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy podcast. I have with us here today, Mitch Prejbeanu. I am so horrible with remembering names and this is why I was horrible at remembering a second language. Apologies on that. Prejbeanu. Beautiful. Beautiful. So I really wanna welcome Mitch to the show and I am going to pass it over to him. And Mitch, can you just let everybody know about you as well as your business because he has got a fine jewelry store called Paul's Jewelers. So would love, I'm gonna pass it over to you and would love to hear about it.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Sure, sure. So my name is Mitch Prejbeanu. I'm originally from Romania. I moved here when I was 18. So a friend of mine used to say that I'm more American than he is. And he's probably, because he lives in Romania, he's probably more Romanian than I am. So two-thirds of my life has been spent here in the United States. So I ended up owning a jewelry store first, a repair and manufacturing facility. That's just downstairs from here. And then the jewelry store that's on the first level at High 100 International in West Dallas. I have 15 employees. And we work directly with the public and with other jewelry stores around town, around the state, and around the country now. So that's what we do. We don't import any jewelry. We make most of everything that we sell. We make them here in-house.
Katherine Breuss: Wow. Okay. Yeah, I was gonna actually ask you that. So it's okay, interesting. Because a lot of jewelry, my understanding, a lot of it is imported.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yes. All the stores in a mall—Kays, Jared's, Diamonds Direct—they're actually all the same corporation and they own like 20% of the US market and everything they do is imported. And then they manufacture overseas and they're basically a finance company. We're an actual shop, so I invite you all to come and visit us. I'll give you a tour of the shop.
Katherine Breuss: Very cool. I love, actually, I really love hearing stories in particularly when it is homegrown. When things are made here. Not that, I've lived international, I think we should still be international. I have no issues with that, but I do love when it's, I hear the manufacturing's here and it's made here because it is so rare this day and age.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yep.
Katherine Breuss: So I am—okay. So Mitch, I'm really curious, why jewelry? What got you into this business?
Mitch Prejbeanu: So I kind of stumbled into it. I went to school for Economics and International Relations. I never really went into that area. I moved to Florida to get an MBA. I started working in a really nice restaurant and I never got my MBA. I moved back here in '98 to take care of my parents, and I started doing credit card processing. I also worked in some other restaurants here locally. I sold CNC parts for machinery. I opened a cafe and opened and closed pretty quickly. And so in 2016, one of my friends worked for the repair and manufacturing shop, and the owner was looking to retire and he wanted him to take over, but he didn't have any business experience. I did, the limited business experience I had with the cafe. So we partnered and we took over the business. So that's how I became part of the jewelry business. But I don't do any of the work myself. I always say I hire people that are very talented, local artists. And Paul's Jewelers was one of our customers and she approached me four years ago now, and asked me if I wanna buy the store and the building. And at first I said, "No, why would I want to do retail jewelry?" That's, the industry has been in decline for like 40 years now, but the custom and repair parts of it are the only ones that are still doing well because people that appreciate that part of it, repairs are needed. So, and she said, "You can also have the building and there's room for your company downstairs." So I went and visited the following day and we both agreed that the space downstairs was perfect for our shop. So her father built the business thinking that that would be the shop. It hadn't happened until 2022, three years ago, three and a half years ago.
Katherine Breuss: Wow. That's really cool. There's a couple things that, well, there's a lot of things that strike me, but there's a couple things. One, the fact that you left your home country and came to a new country and, you know, I've lived overseas and I know how exciting that can be. I also know how hard that can be too, and cultures are different and everything. And so one, first of all, hats off because that, you know, it's, people who have never done it before, it's hard for them to understand all that goes with it. And I just think that's really cool. So what would you say was the hardest thing for you leaving Romania and coming here, and then what was the most amazing thing?
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah, the hardest thing, probably the language. I only started, I was 18 and I only started about the year before. I had private tutors come to my house and tried to teach me English, but when I got here, it was a little different. So that's probably the hardest part. Getting used to Milwaukee, this was 1986. People would come out of the bowling alley at three in the morning, pretty drunk, and they would get into their big cars driving. I'm like, "How, how is this possible? This is not, there's something wrong here." There's no drinking at three in the morning in Romania and driving, so I hope that's, I think that's gone away a little more than almost 40 years ago. But Wisconsin drinking culture is horrible. The most amazing, I mean, just going into a store. I think we stopped at a C-store that night when we came and when I saw the supermarket, then how everybody has like 12 kinds of bread, the choices were overwhelming, but at the same time, exciting. Coming from a communist country where there was one kind of bread, one kind of olive oil and one kind of flour. Here, there's all these choices, which can be both bad and good.
Katherine Breuss: I was about to say, we probably have too many choices now, but I mean, yeah, that's why I like Costco because they only usually have the best you can get. Everything and you don't have to make a choice.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Exactly. It's interesting. So Costco—
Katherine Breuss: So last country I lived was Australia, and there wasn't like, the supermarkets aren't as big, at least where we were here. And when I came back here and I walked into Costco, I remember being like, "Oh my God, this is massive." I mean, it was just like, I don't know what to do. And you get used to it.
Mitch Prejbeanu: They don't have a lot of choices though.
Katherine Breuss: No, they don't. No, they, they pre-shop for you.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah. No, they really don't.
Katherine Breuss: And it's, I mean, because I've got a family, there's five of us, four kids and myself. I love Costco because it's like, wow, I can get so much. But I know how difficult it can be just assimilating or getting into a new culture. But then on top of it, so all the countries I lived in, English was the first language. So in fact, a lot of people don't know this. Singapore, English is the first language in Singapore. Even though a lot of people will speak Mandarin and Malay and other languages, but they speak English. I cannot imagine, first of all, getting used to a new culture and then on top of it, not being able to speak the language. And so that's a pretty huge mountain to climb and to do it. And now you are a business owner, you know, so you came from a different country, you couldn't even speak this language. And now you are a business owner a couple times over, running a fine jewelry store. I mean, that's just impressive. It humbles me and I can appreciate, not all of what it probably took you to get there, but I can appreciate a little bit. So thank you.
Mitch Prejbeanu: I also employ other immigrants and I always say that we try harder than everybody else, than the people that are born here. I was, it wasn't, I went to MATC to learn the language. And I credit my professor that took me and the Colombian girl, she saw the most potential in us and took us to UW Milwaukee and made us register for classes after the first semester. So.
Katherine Breuss: I love it. I met, I was just at one of my clients, they had a company picnic today, and I was there, and there was a hundred employees and several of them are immigrants. And I was speaking with one, I was very humble because this family built this. They started their business 28 years ago out of their home. They now have this amazing company that has employed many families. And the impact of that is huge. And this one employee who happens to be an immigrant, not from here, was almost in tears saying, "I appreciate this company so much and what they've done for me, my family and me," and he's one of the hardest workers. And it's really like, I mean, I was in tears when he was telling me this. I was just like, this is, this is why I love small business and small business owners, because the impact you all have, not only within your own family, the employees, the community, everything.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah. Yeah. I do feel responsible for, not just for myself, but for all the employees and their families.
Katherine Breuss: It's beautiful. So Mitch, I wanna ask you, so this is the Soul Aligned Strategy podcast. And so what we, our foundation is working with business owners on that soul aligned piece. And so my question for you on that is, what do you see is soul aligned to you and what is the impact that when you are more soul aligned than when you're not?
Mitch Prejbeanu: So I think I've just been discovering this in the last year, year and a half, and we figured that my superpower maybe is hospitality. So I love having people in at my house, in my business. So that's what I decided that, that's why I was attracted to restaurants, which are hospitality-based, but they're terrible businesses. They're so hard and difficult to run. But I thought of applying that to jewelry and having the customers be our guests, and they come in, we offer them a cup of coffee, a cookie. So I'm working on a whole new program where we're gonna have a little cafe inside of Paul's Jewelers that we'll serve coffee and cookies to our customers and hopefully more than that. Champagne.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah, sure, sure.
Mitch Prejbeanu: We always have champagne on that. Sure. I love doing events.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. Yeah.
Mitch Prejbeanu: So I don't wanna have any sales. We had a retirement sale a couple months ago for the previous owner, and people thought that we're going out of business. We're, no, we're doing better than ever. And I don't wanna have any more sales. I wanna have events where people come in and we share what's new. So that's, hospitality. I think I got that from my parents and I wanna apply it to my business here.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah, I noticed because you worked for a couple restaurants and then you started a cafe and then you closed the cafe. And when you were telling me this, I was like, huh, there's something here about hospitality. And I hear you on that because my career started in hospitality as well. Both, doing the whole being a server and a bartender, putting myself through school and then working in the corporate office. And there is something I absolutely love about that industry, but you hit the nail on the head. It's a terrible business.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yes, it is. But I do love hiring people that have restaurant experience. They're, I mean, once you've dealt with hangry people, you can deal with anything. Jewelry is a piece of cake. The previous owner asked me, "You don't have any retail jewelry experience. How are you gonna manage this?" I said, "I worked in a restaurant before. Don't worry about me."
Katherine Breuss: It's true. I mean, I keep saying to my kids, I'm like, go work in a restaurant. Go work in a restaurant. You are gonna learn so much about working in a restaurant. You learn so many crucial skills by working in a restaurant. And not one has taken me up on it. Well actually, two are at the age where they could anyway, but they call me. They're like, "It's too hard work. The work is too hard."
Mitch Prejbeanu: You gotta start early. Yeah. Yeah. I know.
Katherine Breuss: So very cool. So I actually, who is your ideal customer? So you want to do events and you want, it sounds to me like you wanna create this experience for them. So tell me who your ideal customer is.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Absolutely. So my hobby lately has been marketing, so this is getting people in the door. So we have two target audiences. They're mid to late-age women that have inherited jewelry from their mother or grandmother, and they want to redesign it so it speaks to them. And the other one are of course, younger men that wanna get an engagement ring. And they don't wanna buy from the mall store. They want something special because most likely their fiancée doesn't wanna copy everybody else. There's a joke that there were like three women that met, and the two of them had the same ring because they went to the same store. The third one comes and says, "I had this custom made." That's nice. That's really, really nice.
Katherine Breuss: I love, I like unique when it comes to anything. So I love when I go to smaller towns or villages and they have the boutique little shops and whether it's clothes or anything. Because I like different, there's something so special in my humble opinion about custom.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Absolutely. So we're a custom shop. We're probably not good at selling jewelry that we have already in our showcases. We sell more custom pieces than jewelry that we already have. So.
Katherine Breuss: Well, so it's interesting back to the soul aligned and you said your superpower, and I love that you use that word as well because we use that word superpower because we all have our human superpowers. And when we can harness that and translate it into our life and into our business, it's just wow. And so you realized hospitality is your superpower. And so then you started creating this experience. So in terms of jewelry, so what is the impact of you doing that?
Mitch Prejbeanu: Well, it's a work in progress. I'm just now planning for the remodel, which will happen in January. So this is, it's, I hope we attract the people that appreciate that, appreciate a new experience. Somebody said it is gonna be like a Michelin star restaurant, but without the fancy prices. It's simple coffee that we're gonna custom roast for our customers.
Katherine Breuss: Oh, yeah.
Mitch Prejbeanu: And cookies that we're developing. We just have the samples today, the first samples. Delicious.
Katherine Breuss: Oh, nice. And I love that you said roasted there because I will say, and America, don't get pissed off at me for saying this, but America coffee is horrible to the rest of the world. I mean, there are some shops, I'm not gonna say all, there have been some that are getting better, but Starbucks people, that is not, that is not coffee, that is just sugar drinks. They're just giving you sugar drinks. And so I love—
Mitch Prejbeanu: They're milk dealers. Oh, they are?
Katherine Breuss: Oh my gosh. Yeah, they spend more money on milk than on coffee. And their coffee isn't even that. It tastes burnt all the time. And I know so many people are gonna be like probably swearing at me for saying this. But funny enough, Australia, and I never understood this when I was in London at the time, when I was in London, coffee was horrible there. They started bringing some Italian and French cafes and stuff, but coffee wasn't great and there were Starbucks on like every other corner and I'd meet Australians, and my ex-husband's Australian and my kids are all Australian as well, but they would go on and on about coffee and I'd be like, "What are you, are you from Colombia or something? Why are you making such a big deal about coffee? You're from Australia. Don't you care about like kangaroos and like Vegemite? What is this about coffee?" And then I became kind of a coffee snob because then there would be some good cafes and they were coming from Australia. And then when we went to Australia, oh my God. Because there's such a heavy Italian and Greek influence that came in in the sixties, I believe it was. Oh my gosh. You could go to like a BP or a petrol, a fuel station, gas station, right. And you would still get great coffee and I miss it. So I'm gonna come, I don't have any, I've known to buy jewelry for, but.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yes. So we will sell the bags of coffee here after we talk to the roaster. He is here in Milwaukee. We'll also, that's another business idea because I need to start another business. It's selling coffee to other jewelry stores, personalized, their own specific roast, their own blend. So.
Katherine Breuss: Love it. I love it. Oh my gosh, I can't drink coffee this late, but as we're talking about it, it's making me like salivate.
Mitch Prejbeanu: I just finished mine.
Katherine Breuss: Oh my goodness. It's too late for me. But, well this sounds really cool. There was, and I believe it was in London a long time ago. We went into, it was a jewelry store, custom made, and they had an art show there. And so they had local artists and they had all of their art around and it was such, and they had champagne. It was like from five to nine kind of thing. And it was the coolest thing. Yeah, it was of course.
Mitch Prejbeanu: So yeah, we have some local artists on our walls as well.
Katherine Breuss: Very cool. Well, I definitely wanna be, like any events you have, I definitely want to be included because it just seems like a very cool—
Mitch Prejbeanu: Coming up in October. So we have a customer appreciation week, or the keys I told you about the keys, the unlock the treasure chest. October 16th is OSA and West Dallas Chamber of Commerce event, is our third annual Bourbon and Bling event.
Katherine Breuss: Bourbon and Bling.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah. So the night starts slowly, like at five, and the more people drink the bourbon, the more they buy the bling. Maybe we should have a casino night too. We should. Bourbon and Bling.
Katherine Breuss: There's a bourbon club that I am a part of. I don't actually drink bourbon, but I just thought, oh, cool. Like this would be a cool thing. And they, Station 815, I think it is. I, it's a restaurant downtown, it's called.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Okay. Could be.
Katherine Breuss: But if you like bourbon, maybe check that out because they meet once a month and they try different bourbons and whatnot. So, and Mitch, I could keep talking about all of this stuff with you because it's really cool. But I wanna ask you this about the soul aligned piece in terms of, I'm curious about, you opened a cafe and then you had to shut the cafe. And I'm curious about that in terms of what was your biggest, what was so hard about it and what was your biggest lesson that you learned from that experience?
Mitch Prejbeanu: The biggest lesson was that you cannot try to please everybody. You just have to focus on your market. We had sandwiches and we roasted our own meats. We had beef, we had ham, we had turkey that we roasted in our oven. We got this really cool oven that would clean itself at the end of the day. But it was delicious. And we, I think we tried to sell the sandwiches, like a six or seven-inch sandwich for like $7. This was 12 years ago. And people would come in and say, "But I can get a sandwich, a five-foot whatever, a foot-long sandwich at Subway." And I said, "Why are you here?" We're like three times as good as Subway. Why are you asking me to match Subway? So when we first opened, we also tried to sell salads. Well, not a lot of people eat salads. And my partner wanted to have like 24 different salad dressing offerings and that's a lot. I know. No, I learned you have one salad dressing and you have vinegar and oil and that's it. If people don't like it, they can get it somewhere else. So specialize in something, do it better than anybody else. And I think you'll be successful. I think we tried too much and we were probably ahead of our time. And we were also trying to source the vegetables from the local farmers. We had like a club with other restaurants, an association, like a co-op with other restaurants. And people say that they wanna eat healthy, but in the end they go for the Big Mac or Taco Bell.
Katherine Breuss: And it could be too, like maybe even where it was located or even the times. Like, it'd be interesting if you'd opened that now, if that would be any different. I mean, I don't know.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah. With what I know now. Yeah. Yeah. And it was too complex. So we, I figured, I think we had like 180 ingredients that went into our food. And we closed for like three days and we redid the menu and we had like 30 ingredients that we could operate a lot more efficiently. Get rid of all the salad dressings. Then yeah, it would have worked if I had put the time into it, but I was burned out of waking up at three in the morning and go to bake the bread and everything. So.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah, that reminds me actually, I think I remember growing up and there's like a Dunkin' Donuts commercial. Yeah. And you see the guy going, "Time to make the donuts," and he is going in at like 3:00 AM to put that oven in.
Mitch Prejbeanu: To put the oven. That's exactly it. Yeah. Yeah. I had back issues, so I had to go to a chiropractor. I had sleep issues, I had to go get the sleep study work. I stayed there overnight to measure my sleep, so it just wasn't worth my health. So.
Katherine Breuss: No, no, I would say that would not be very soul aligned because I would say that you're not, well, you're not, you weren't getting the results you want. And you were definitely, it sounds like you were not enjoying the journey.
Mitch Prejbeanu: No. So the idea was the same. I like cooking. I love having friends over so I can cook for them. I thought a restaurant would be very similar to that. But it's not.
Katherine Breuss: No.
Mitch Prejbeanu: When you try to sell something, it's not. And I was tired of telling people to pull out their wallets and so on.
Katherine Breuss: Well, you know, it's interesting is that you aren't giving up that love. You are now figuring out a way of how to integrate it into your current business and then thinking about the people who you are serving. What might make sense for them that they might, that there's an alignment there with what you are offering and what they want.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah, absolutely. I believe that, I've learned, and I think everybody does. Every business that I've been through and I've worked for, I've learned something from it. I'm not that smart, but I'm curious. So I retain everything that I've been through. Even the credit card processing part of it, I worked for a few years.
Katherine Breuss: And do you feel that entrepreneurship or business ownership, that is in your blood? Like is that something, owning a business is always something that you feel was what you wanted to do?
Mitch Prejbeanu: I believe so, yeah. Yeah. I think I'm a risk taker and yeah. I think it is. Yeah. It's probably in my blood. And the both businesses I took over an existing business that was stable, not super successful because both owners wanted to retire. But I feel a responsibility for, I'm a caretaker of both businesses. I wanna make them better and scale and yeah, just make it more efficient.
Katherine Breuss: So it sounds like another superpower might be that you're a caretaker.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah, it could be. Could be, it could be. We don't have any kids, but I always say my employees are my kids.
Katherine Breuss: Well, I'm guessing that just like hearing you speak since we've been talking, I think entrepreneurship is in your blood. And I think as well that, and all entrepreneurs or anybody who starts a business, is you have a belief in yourself to take a risk on yourself and bank on yourself, which I just, for me is like, hats off because that's pretty cool in itself.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. I'll take it as a compliment.
Katherine Breuss: It is a compliment. And also we're also a little crazy.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yes, yes.
Katherine Breuss: There is a little bit of insanity to us. But you know, the other thing is too, definitely a true entrepreneur in your blood because you shut down a business. And then what did you do? You went and you did another one.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah. Yeah. You didn't say, "Okay, I'm done. That's it. I'm going to find a job."
Katherine Breuss: No, it was just the wrong business at the wrong time.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah. Yeah.
Katherine Breuss: And that's what I actually will say. Okay. Even though I don't believe America has great coffee, I do believe in my years overseas and travels and whatnot. What America has is this entrepreneurial spirit as a culture that I haven't ever seen to that same degree in any other country I've been in.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Absolutely right. Yep. Yeah.
Katherine Breuss: There's even people who are employees, there's more of an entrepreneurial spirit to them, and that I love and I really respect, and I want that to continue to grow and expand. And you're doing it day in and day out.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah. I hope so. If you find a way to teach my employees how to be more entrepreneurial.
Katherine Breuss: I know. Well, if there was one piece of advice before we wrap up, Mitch, to other entrepreneurs or business owners, what would it be?
Mitch Prejbeanu: I think what we talked about before, don't try to be everything to everybody. Just find your niche and do it better than everybody else. Faster, cheaper, better, mostly better. Do it better than everybody else, and do something that you love and you'll succeed.
Katherine Breuss: Mmm, love it. Mitch, really wanna thank you for your time. It has been such a pleasure and I've really enjoyed our conversation and look forward to, look forward to more and even having you again.
Mitch Prejbeanu: Yeah. Thank you so much. It was, it was painless. It was very, very nice talking to you.
Katherine Breuss: I love it. All right, Mitch. Take care.
Mitch Prejbeanu: All right, take care. Bye-bye.

Betting on Yourself: Tony King's Entrepreneurial Journey

In this episode of the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast, host Katherine Breuss interviews Tony King, an experienced business owner who shares his journey from corporate life to owning a business. Tony discusses his background, the challenges he faced, and the importance of soul alignment in business. He emphasizes the necessity of resilience, hard work, and betting on oneself. Tony provides practical advice on avoiding pitfalls with marketing firms and highlights the significance of having a strong work ethic. The conversation sheds light on the realities of business ownership, offering invaluable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs and current business owners alike.
Contact Tony –
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyking7/
 
#BusinessAlignment #podcast #personalpurpose #soulalignment #Personalwealth #Enjoyment #entrepreneurjourney #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurstruggles #authenticityispower #Authenticity #authenticityjourney #ExitStrategy 
 
Song: The Way To You - Composer: Sapajou 
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7q5R_ITPYFttJn7PyHzmw 
License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free 
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com 
 
Katherine Breuss: I wanna welcome Tony King to the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy podcast. Tony, welcome and I'd love for you to introduce to the audience. Who you are as a human. Like tell us about you as a person, but also really wanna hear about your business.
Tony King: Boy, this is kind of the—there's a comedic line here that I'll skip, but yeah, I am father of four grown children, grandfather of three and a fourth on the way. They're all my pride and joy. Been married to the same woman for 40 years. Grew up on a farm so relatively straightforward, you know, kind of how you communicate with others growing up, and you knew everybody and you behaved in such a way that you were probably gonna encounter them some other time in your life. So, yeah, I was the youngest of five on the farm. There wasn't a lot of extra cash around. And then I spent over 20 years in the flexible packaging world. If that means nothing to you, it's food contact packaging, what the world calls plastics. It was a great run and met some wonderful people, but pretty early on in my corporate life, it just felt like a hair shirt. I love the people I worked with, but the things that were done that were so non-value added, and you're making a living and you're raising a family, so you kind of shut up and keep going.
Katherine Breuss: Mm-hmm. And it never quite felt right. I started dabbling after I left the corporate world in my own business. And I will emphasize the word dabbling until I really had skin in the game that it really became a business. I was still in this packaging world running a small, what we call packaging brokerage company, but it was okay, but it needed more tender loving care.
Tony King: Then I was willing or able, so I started looking for a company to buy that was in place, that had an infrastructure. I wanted an e-commerce business. The old, "Hey, you can make money while you're sleeping" kind of thing. And I got into the FedEx industry up in Libertyville, Illinois. And it's been an education that I league can't provide. I didn't go to league to an Ivy League school. But, you know, you think in the corporate world you kind of have a huge staff of people. You fly around the world and you buy this little company and you own it and all of a sudden you're kind of watching the bank account because you got payroll to make. And nobody cares about all that other stuff that was, all the white noise that was going on in your world, it becomes real very quickly. And we've done a lot of things in the last two years. The previous owner, who's a friend of mine, he was an IT guy, never wanted to spend any money on the commercial side in sales or marketing by his own admission. So that's where our focus has been. We're fairly small. We've got three or four different initiatives we're working on right now. So that's kind of it in a nutshell, Katherine. I loved our pre-conversation, and I'll get to that, you know, in a minute, about how corporate, maybe corporate life wasn't necessarily meant for you, but you stayed in it for 25 years.
Katherine Breuss: It was very good to me, well, you know what, and it can be, it absolutely can be, you know, corporate life. But I have a question that leads into the soul alignment piece. And we are, we're all about at AG45, soul Aligned Strategy. And, how, like I explained it and listeners, if they've been listening, will have heard me say it before, is that, you know, it's about really knowing who you are, knowing what you want, and then aligning that to your life. And because we talk about business, it's aligning it to your business. So for you, Tony, what does soul alignment mean and what has been the impact in your life and or business when you have been soul aligned versus when you haven't?
Tony King: You know, everything is so real now. You go and you build a company and you try to build a company with, as you and I talked about, people wanna come through the door in the morning and you can, I'll substitute the word, but you surround yourself with people that get stuff done. Which I was pretty fortunate in the corporate world, but I think what's important is that you have fun doing it. And I don't care, I'll debate this with anybody. Work should be fun. And I went through a long stretch, speaking of alignment, one of my last bosses in the corporate world who remained unnamed. My marching orders from him were, and he was, you know, an ocean away. He said, "I don't care about anything. Just don't ever make me look bad in front of my boss." And I thought, "You have no soul." So I think it's from a kid that grew up in a small town, there's just no clutter. Every single thing you do is built around stuff that drives your top line and doing it in such a way that people wanna stay on board, that people wanna join the company. And it's not a drag to come into work. We can do all that stuff and have fun. And I don't mean silly fun, but just be joyous and get along. And we're a small, small enough company, office politics is just not gonna work. There's, and if somebody is driving that kind of behavior, they're not, I'm not keeping them and, you know, I don't, I don't need, you know, I always get a kick out of, when I first started the business, they were personnel people when they, within a few years, they gave themselves the title of HR and now their talent and people management. But I don't, I don't. I'm sorry and if I'm stepping on toes, but, we know what we want and we do it and everybody's on board with it. And I do think we're so aligned. I think that, I don't, I don't ever drive into the, to the warehouse and go, "Gosh, I wonder if Joe at the office in, you know, Southern California is gonna be cool with what we're trying to do." It's us. It's us. And we look at each other every day. And once it's, once it's no longer us, I sell the company. Once it gets to a point where it's grown to the extent that we need a lot of people and this kind of stuff that you try to get away from, I sell it. That's, that's so aligned for me. 'cause I love the smallness of it. I love the engagement of the people that are there. So, yeah. And I love, you know, you said as well, like, since you've owned the business, you enjoy getting up in the morning and going to work and like how many people? I really can say that and I think unfortunately, there are too many people who don't like going to work, don't enjoy, I was one of them. I was one of. It was just really unhealthy both mentally and physically and yeah, for the first time in my life, it's so, it's at a ripe old age. Here I am, and I will tell you this, that you, you better get it right for me. So I wasn't, you know, we, we put four kids through school, so I wasn't the guy that had seven or eight figures laying around waiting for me to nap every day for, you know, two hours. I went and bought myself a job and, it's paying off, but I'm trying to think who that I'm stealing this from, but, you know, they talk about burning the boats. You get to the island and if I burn the boats, there's no turning back. Well, the boats had been burned, so I was gonna make this work and, yeah, that's, that's fun.
Katherine Breuss: I'm curious because you are, I mean, one of the things is you're absolutely right. It's like burning the boats and there is a big difference between an employee mindset and an owner mindset, and I don't think an employee really gets it until they've actually run or like, and owned a business themselves. It's very different because it's all on you and the team and everyone around, but the responsibility, the buck stops with you. What drove you to buy a business and actually go, "Okay, this better work. This is, I'm throwing everything into it."
Tony King: Well, again, some of it was, I was at an age where, and this is gonna come off kind of victimy and that's not my intent, but I was in an age where, you know, recruiters just aren't that into you anymore and it's fine. I get it. So, I didn't, I couldn't. I was in an age where I couldn't just shut it down, so I figured, you know what? I'm gonna bet on myself. I love it. And, it's there have been plenty of days where I was, you know, I've been like, "What are you doing? What are you thinking?" But, those days are very few and far between now. So I had to, I don't care. Who knows? I didn't. This was, this was never a joy ride for me. It was never, "Hey, I'm just such a smart dude. I have the Midas touch and if I buy it, it's just chump change." Anyway, that wasn't my deal. I had to go buy a job. I went and bought a job and I bet on myself. And, the first year was a little nerve wracking, but as I said, when you burn the boats, you better figure it out. And there was plenty of Thursdays where I'd go in going, "Hmm, it's payroll day, and here's what receivables look like." And never missed a payday, never missed a payroll. But, you know, I'm, so we don't own our building. We rent and, the lease was coming up. You know, when you're in the corporate world, it's just, "Yeah, let's get that taken care of." It's, it's your problem now, and if you can't figure out a solution, I've got x thousand feet of product that I'm gonna have to find a new home for. So, I mean, it's just every day there's something, and I unabashedly will tell you like, tomorrow afternoon is repairing a toilet. Because to get a, you know, the guy wants like a thousand dollars to do toilet repair, which I've done a million times in my life, and it's just you, you know, if you've got a big ego and you just wanna say you own a business, don't do it. No, don't do it. If, if don't bother. If that's why you're doing it, to say, "Hey, I own this business and I'm gonna flip it to the PE guy." Don't, don't do it. You'll lose your money and never get it back. You have to be all in. And if you're not all in.
Katherine Breuss: Oh, you just spoke to my heart right then and there. That word "all in" that is our top A in the thing is like I, first of all, everything you're saying, I'm just like cheering on going, "Yes." Um, yeah, but you're right. All in is so important. And the other thing that you said too, Tony, which I absolutely love, is you bet on yourself and like. I'd like to share, I can you share a bit more? So for somebody who might be out there, they might either be in a business and they're struggling, or they're thinking of buying a business. How did you know to bet on yourself? Like what, what advice can you give to someone around that aspect there?
Tony King: I don't have the magic elixir and there's, you were the big corporate guy, right? All social embarrassment if this doesn't work. I end up, you know, six months on a Lyft truck at Amazon, which by the way, I did that at a very ripe old age because the deal hadn't closed and we didn't have health insurance. So while I'm calling business brokers and trying to get this deal done, get on. Yeah, I'm, I'm doing Amazon stuff. So, I just felt like, I just looked around and I just felt like there's gonna be some hard days. And I, I unabashedly will tell you there's, I, I believe that there's, I don't believe we came from apes. I believe that there's a higher power that will guide you. And, I just felt like deep down, there's gonna be some bad days and there's gonna be some things you fail at. There's gonna be some stuff that, and if you have another two hours, I can tell you all the stuff that we've tried that, but we, you know, it, we're just gonna put one foot in the other again today. And, I just, I felt like this is right. I can do this. I don't know. I trust me, there was a lot of times when I was like, "What are you doing?" But deep down I felt like, really, this is like, I, I managed a revenue line that was 200 times the size of this. I can do it. Now be careful. Because your workload and your anxiety go through the roof compared to what, you know, again, there's not a staff of 10 here covering you. You don't have a bunch of college grads that are trying to impress the world working for you. So, it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy. It was a lot of self-doubt, but I really got to a point where you gotta stop talking and start talking, as we used to say in the pool hall. You just gotta do it. You've gotta do it. And you know what? You might fail, but you're not gonna starve.
Katherine Breuss: And to that, like, obviously, I mean, you said you grew up on a farm, so I am assuming that, you know, hard work just from that. 'cause now I did not grow up on a farm, but I know people who have, and let me tell you, I wouldn't wanna do that is hard work. So I'm assuming you got quite a good work ethic from your upbringing, just from that.
Tony King: Yeah. And the other thing was tough love. You know, my mom, I miss her every day and I miss my dad. But my, I have no recollection of my dad ever missing a day of work, and he farmed and he also supported five of us through a second job. I have no recollection of him going, "Oh, I don't feel good today. I'm just gonna call off sick or I'm mad at my boss, so I'm gonna call off sick." There was, you had a responsibility, you took the job, you said you'd be there, get your rear end in there. So, you know, stuff like that was never acceptable in our house. That was probably more important in the work ethic piece because if you said you were gonna do something, you were expected to do it. And, so yeah. You know, we, I think that there wasn't much that was ever handed to you growing up in a situation like that. So I was a little past the age of being, again, even a late bloomer, but. I don't know.
Katherine Breuss: Well, and, and so in regards to like business ownership and you said that you've tried a lot of things, some things have worked, some things haven't. And it's about really just picking yourself back up. Keep going. Like you said, I think you said put one foot in front of the other and it's that grit. I don't know. I call it like grit or resilience or it's not that, "Oh, this is too hard now I need to quit." I mean, it's gonna be really hard as a business owner. I haven't met one yet that's been like, "Oh no, this is a breeze."
Tony King: Well, and you've got, family, they're younger than you obviously, and they have children, so. You know, it's back to failure is just not an option. You have people counting on you and, that doesn't make, you don't make long-term decisions about staffing and all that other stuff, but to just walk in on a Friday morning and go, "Oh, is it baby this? You can't do it." People are counting on you. And, it is about yourself, but it isn't just about yourself. And if you don't understand that. You need to.
Katherine Breuss: So is there something in your business, was there a time in your business, Tony, that if you are willing to share that you, you did, you, you failed or, and see, I don't think anything's a failure really, if we learn from it. Like if we actually take it, learn from it, and grow. But is, was there a time that you don't mind sharing with us where maybe you made a decision that didn't go the right way or, that you look back now and like, "What was I thinking" that you wouldn't mind sharing with others? Because I think sometimes when we share what we've done wrong, people can either learn from it or they can sit and go like, "How much time do we have?" But, well, if there's one thing that you think that some, that it might also resonate with someone else and they might not feel just alone.
Tony King: Yeah, I mean, like we sell out of three different channels. We have third party eBay, Amazon. We have a fairly significant e-commerce offering, and then we have direct sales. I thought I was gonna get a quick lift by pouring a bunch of advertising and agency fees into the third party. It was a disaster. I hired this outfit out of, well, the southeast, let's say that we hired this outfit out of the southeast that drove our third party business nearly into the ground. Like any agency, they really don't have any skin in the game.
Katherine Breuss: Hmm.
Tony King: And, you know, looking back, I thought they were a little pricey, but I thought, "Hmm, you know, maybe I'm paying for the Mercedes versus, you know, the low end, whatever." And so I rolled with them for four months and it was at a time when revenues were sluggish and, there were, you could literally see our third party sales going in the tank and they're standing there with their handout. I mean, I signed the deal. So, I don't know if that's really specific enough for someone to their arms around, but. I made a decision based on what I thought was gonna be a quick lift for the business, and it, it just, it wasn't, and I would, here's what I would tell a small business owner, there are going to be every day get really good because someone's going to be trying to separate you from your money every day. With, with, I'll still love you in the morning. Just be careful.
Katherine Breuss: Be careful.
Tony King: You know, I always use the example, you're probably not old enough to remember, but there was a game, a sitcom called Green Acres, and the guy, there was a guy in Green Acres named Mr. Haney, and he would always drive up to the farm and he always had a deal for somebody. And so I always found myself in these situations like Mr. Haney, where. "Oh, I don't, this isn't working. This isn't work. The, you know, you didn't tell me I had to redo the images and all this stuff." And Mr. Haney would say, "Well, you didn't tell me you wanted a steering wheel on the truck." So we always had some deal. And you always, you always find yourself in some deal. And then when the deal doesn't, you know, when you're paying for the service, that's awful. They're like, "Well, you didn't. You didn't say you wanted visitors to go up, Katherine, you never mentioned that you wanted more people on the site." And so, you know, so I would, that's been my education.
Katherine Breuss: So what was, if, looking back now on that, and I've actually had so many people say something similar and I've experienced it myself, with marketing firms. Were there any, now looking back in hindsight, going, "Oh, that was a red flag, huh?" Like, anything that maybe you think like, and what would, what were they that could maybe help others?
Tony King: Sure. That in mine, well, it's just a classic stuff, right? There's always these claims that. You know, 95% of the people who use our agency are still there in six months. Well,
Katherine Breuss: Are they in a contract?
Tony King: Exactly. Exactly. There's my, yeah. The red flags are like a lot of claims, like they're gonna grow your business 400%.
Katherine Breuss: Well,
Tony King: If I, if I had 10 visitors that month, they're gonna grow at 400% that it's not that oppressive. So watch for the claims that people make, that they're going to you, you know, there's this breakthrough that they're gonna provide your business. It doesn't work that way. It just doesn't. If you, especially in e-comm, if you wanna grow the business, you have to pay for ads. It's just. It's a bit of extortion and I'm not gonna mention any company's names, but people can figure it out. If you are not placing ads, your company's gonna get suppressed. It's just, it's the way the game gets played. So if somebody's making you a bunch of promises, run, run like the wind. And the other thing that I've learned is more, there's a lot of really good companies out there. Give you really good service processes, outcomes that they're not charging an arm and a leg for. It's again, there's this misnomer that, well, you get what you pay for in some, in some markets that's true. I don't think it's true in the agency world. I really don't. I think that there's small houses with one or two people that work really hard and, so agency work has been my education.
Katherine Breuss: Well, did you, that warned me about it. Did you find, someone or an agency to then help you or did you figure it out yourself?
Tony King: I figured it out myself.
Katherine Breuss: Okay. So I figured out myself, which it's interesting, I was listening to this podcast, and a CEO who's in software development and whatnot, and he paid, like six figures worth of PR and getting the PR to help them and mm-hmm. And he said it was just, it was nothing like, got absolutely nothing. He got some little article in some magazine that nobody even heard him. And in
Tony King: the trade magazine. Yeah. Yeah.
Katherine Breuss: And then he is like, "Well, I ended up figuring it. You know what, I can do this myself." And so, you know, now he's head of. PR and, and I find that interesting. Now, by no means am I saying that that is across the board for everyone. So I don't wanna be pooh-pooing marketing firms because there are some really good ones out there and they, they can really enhance. Um. And to your point, Tony as well, you know, even the little guy or the, like the one or two, the small ones as well. I would say in those though, it's looking for people who are niche expertise because I do find that in the marketing space, when people say, and it's one or two people, like, "we do everything." I find it so complex, like just a marketing person to know Facebook ads and how that's like one expertise in itself. Because my understanding it is the algorithms change so much and whatnot. So I would say if someone's like, "Oh, I'm an expert in Facebook and I'm an expert in email campaigns and I'm an expert in, you know, Instagram, well, I guess that's the same as Facebook, but LinkedIn, like they, all my understanding. Is like all kind of separate expertise that you really need to, to get your head around
Tony King: It is the same way.
Katherine Breuss: Okay. Ooh, say more like in terms of,
Tony King: well, so we have e-commerce, right? So, we have third party and never the twain shall meet. If you have somebody that you're working that's working on your SEO, do not let 'em near your Amazon and vice versa. And then of course there's just the raw it, there's the back of the website.
Katherine Breuss: Mm-hmm.
Tony King: And, and I don't, I don't really care. We've got enough, we've got enough items. I don't, our, we're built on a platform called BigCommerce. And, they're a little pricey, but everybody's like, "You should, should move your stuff over to, I won't mention the name. You've heard of them, and that's not trivial. That's a huge cash outlay to take your ERP system
Katherine Breuss: mm-hmm.
Tony King: That talks to BigCommerce and now switch it all out of there to talk to. It's, it's huge.
Katherine Breuss: Mm-hmm.
Tony King: So, you know, you've got your ERP system. You've got, you've got some sort of platform for your email. You've got an SEO, you've got, again, you need some. Some platform for your eCom business. And so, I, I've lost a lot money on the guy that can handle all of it and he can't.
Katherine Breuss: Mm-hmm. He
Tony King: can't because in the back of the website, you have to have somebody that understands coding and, skillset are very different.
Katherine Breuss: So I'm curious what, what was the draw to e-commerce? Was there, was it just this was an opportunity or was like, what was, what was that?
Tony King: Um, I'm old and I, I think you can scale it much quicker than I looked at a packaging company, which is my background.
Katherine Breuss: Mm-hmm.
Tony King: But you know. If I can use a football analogy, you're, you're grinding it out two or three yards at a time and picking up a customer. That's not the case here. There's, there's places we can go play that. For a company our size, you can grow exponentially very quickly. And, that was probably the appeal was if, and again, he had, he had no direct sales force at all. There was no effort to add additional items to the website. So as you start doing that, you're not talking about growing. Four, five, 6% a year. It's, it's not inconceivable. We're small enough that we really should be for the next four or five years, doubling the size of the business. We're gonna come pretty close this year. You know, at some point you hit this, you hit a bit of a snag and, and things start to slow down. But, we were small enough that I didn't need a ton of capital. I didn't go, need to go buy two presses and a laminator to grow the business. It was all right there.
Katherine Breuss: Nice.
Tony King: And we can go from 30,000 to 60,000 visitors without me putting another dime into this business. So I may have to add some people, but you don't have to, I don't need, again, new presses or laminators or, or slits to, to do that in this business.
Katherine Breuss: Nice. And so is your end game to sell?
Tony King: Yeah, I, you know, I've been blessed with good health. I don't have a lot of hobbies. When the weather's warm, I golf.
Katherine Breuss: Hmm.
Tony King: We've got a fourth grandchild on the way, but I. Our son who's out of the area, he and his wife are moving back to the area. So it's not,
Katherine Breuss: oh, that's, you know, I
Tony King: just don't have, you know, this is kind of, this is kind of both, vocation and advocate for me. So, yeah, I mean, at some point we'll sell it, but I'm not. You're in growth. I didn't buy it to go, "Hey, let's sell it. Next thing you know, Jed's a millionaire." That wasn't the plan. You know,
Katherine Breuss: Jed's a millionaire. Wait, where is that from?
Tony King: Beverly Hillbillies.
Katherine Breuss: That's it. Yes. No, I know that one. I do know that one. Now, now the, the, the tune, the, you know, the opening of the TV show. Yeah. Is going through my head and I'm not gonna sing it because that will make people really go off the, shut down the podcast if I start singing. Well, if there is, okay, so to round this off, Tony, sure. If there was one piece of advice that you would give someone of a business owner, what would it be?
Tony King: Somebody that's a business owner or somebody's thinking about being a business owner.
Katherine Breuss: Well, either actually.
Tony King: Do it. Just, if it's something you've longed to do, just go do it. And if you're waiting for the perfect opportunity, if you're waiting for that perfect person at the dance stop. It just doesn't work that way, you know? I mean, obviously there's some stuff that you're going to do to vet the business, but if, if you're looking for the perfect opportunity, don't waste your time. Don't waste your time.
Katherine Breuss: And I, yeah, and I think if, if someone is a perfectionist, maybe running a business is not the best thing because it is so imperfect.
Tony King: Day is imperfect. And, and if you, if you came up through and in the corporate world and you liked that, I wouldn't recommend it. I really wouldn't.
Katherine Breuss: I
Tony King: really wouldn't. Because you're gonna wake up and that huge staff that you had, and they're not there, they're not around, and you, you gotta figure it out and you've gotta close the books. So, do it and don't look back and have fun and burn the, burn the boats behind you. But I mean, time just flies.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. And
Tony King: once you buy a business, your life is in monthly increments. Right. And I'm, well, this is a three payroll month, well, boom, boom, boom. So I, I would just, if you're thinking about it, stop thinking about it and go find something that you think you can enjoy. If you have a lot of misgivings, don't this, it's gonna, you're gonna have some really bad days. Don't go ahead.
Katherine Breuss: Do you think that also being an entrepreneur, entrepreneur, a business owner, do you think that was always in your blood, in your bones? Maybe you didn't pursue it, you went down the corporate route, but do you feel like this actually is you?
Tony King: Yeah, I do. And I don't care, I'll just tell you, I always had authority issues. I did. But you know, life happens and there's miles to feed and I loved it. Met some people. I still consider friends for life, but. Yeah, I, I wish, I wish I would've done it sooner, like committed to it a long time ago, but I didn't. And, yeah, I always had a chip on my shoulder about authority and, I always laugh. I don't think I would've lasted in the military very long, and there's some really great people in the military. But, yeah, I think it was always in my blood.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah, I think, I think that's, what separates like an entrepreneurial business owner from just an owner, is that an entrepreneurial owner, they just have it in their blood. It's just kind of part of who they are. It's, and so those people out there who have that definitely I'm like, "Go for it," like the calling, but make sure it's the right thing. Like you said, you know, don't go out and like, think like, "Oh, these fart machines are a great idea that, you know."
Tony King: Right, right. No, it's, it's the most rewarding thing you'll ever do
Katherine Breuss: because
Tony King: you'll figure it out. You will figure it out, not without some bloody noses, but you'll figure it out. And it's, it's just a totally different lack of a better term high that once you make start making decisions and, you know, things start to happen
Katherine Breuss: and,
Tony King: yeah. Good.
Katherine Breuss: I love it. I love it, Tony. Oh my gosh, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having us. Oh my gosh, it's been such a great, I love the conversation. Really appreciate your time and I hope you had fun.
Tony King: I did, I did. It's been a pleasure.
 

Nature Meets Nurture: A Journey into Soul-Aligned Business

In the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast hosted by Katherine Breuss, Patti Beres of Be Green Pro shares her entrepreneurial journey. Motivated by her children and a passion for nature, Patty discusses creating a sustainable lawn care business focused on reconnecting people with nature. Emphasizing the value of self-care, soul alignment, and understanding one's 'why', she recounts overcoming business challenges by raising prices and valuing her work. The episode highlights the importance of joy, efficient time management, and sustainable practices in business.
 
Song: The Way To You - Composer: Sapajou 
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7q5R_ITPYFttJn7PyHzmw 
License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free 
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com  
 
Katherine Breuss: Welcome everyone to the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy podcast. I have Patti Beres here with us from Be Green Pro. So I'm gonna hand it over to Patti. I'm gonna let Patti introduce herself and tell us about who Patti is as a human and then also we'd love to hear about your business. So take it away Patti.
Patti Beres: All right. Thank you. I'm so glad to be here today. So I have always just been a lover of nature and so that has really sparked the passion to start my business. But really the inspiration to start my business started with my children and just having a little bit of knowledge about something that I had a great passion to learn more about and Be Green Pro is a business that really strives to bring people together through nature. So we do lawn and landscaping with the idea of being sustainable, but also just reconnecting people with nature, reconnecting people with themselves, with their pets, with their family, through being able to spend more time outdoors and do it safely, healthy, and enjoyably. So I've been in business now for 15 years, and again, I said my children really were the inspiration. And it happened to be, about a February day, 15 years ago, and we were walking through the neighborhood after school. So the dogs, the kids, me walking through the neighborhood in February, late February afternoon, and the ground is still frozen outside and I see a lawn care company performing lawn services and there's that moment in time you might think this is something you only see on TV, but there's a moment in time where time stops for a second. And you realize that life is still going on around you, but for you it's a second that just stops. And you have to really think and evaluate which decision are you gonna make. And my son, I saw this lawn care company doing services and I said, "You know, if we had a lawn care company, we would do things so much better." And my oldest son said to me, "Well, mom, then why don't we?" And that moment when time stopped, I had to evaluate, well, if I do nothing right now, I teach my kids that we spout off our mouths and we create more of a problem. Or we can take the knowledge that we have and the abilities that we have and we can make a difference. We can do something about it. And so that kind of wraps up the story of why the business started and I guess who I am as a person. So I really do take to heart, you know, the little things that we can do in life to make a big difference. It's not the huge impact that one person makes, but the little drops of water that you do to fill a cup. The cup feels a lot faster when a lot of people put each single drop in. And that's kind of how I run my life and run my business and how it all started.
Katherine Breuss: I love it. I do remember the story when you and I were speaking in the coffee shop, and I really love that. And not only what it says about you and how you show up as a business owner, but also as a person. And a parent and just like that lesson or that teaching, not just through saying it, but by you actually doing it. How you showed your child and your entire family how to be in the world. Like I just think that is so super cool.
Patti Beres: Thank you. I am a really big believer that you just have to try it. You know, there wouldn't be any inventions if we all waited for someone else to learn how to do it. So you don't have to know how to do everything. You just have to have a will and a passion to take one step forward and to get help. I really believe that my success really depends on the people that are around me that help me do things better than I know how to do them. So it's a combination of just being willing to try it and then seeking information from people that might have better knowledge than you do.
Katherine Breuss: Well, it's so clearly, also, you took a bet on yourself. So clearly. There's like this entrepreneurial spirit that's within you because not everybody would, you know, have that conversation with their child or anyone and then be like, "Huh. You know, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna actually like, not only take betting on yourself, but taking a risk." I mean, there's risk and I actually think there's a little bit of crazy involved with people who are a bit of entrepreneurial spirit. But I mean, hats off. I just think that is really cool. And that leads me into, it sounds like you approach life and your business very soul aligned or as soul aligned as you can. And so how would you define soul aligned?
Patti Beres: I think that's really a great question, and you're right, I do often approach life and business much the same way. And I think that is part of being so aligned with your business is that it has to start out with something you're passionate about. And again, it doesn't mean that you have to know how to do everything, but I do think it's important that you have a why and know how that why applies to your business. And for me, it's passion about nature and passion about connection and just that balance between people and nature. We both have needs and I am a really big believer that both people and nature can coexist and still have all of their needs met. It's not about, you know, it not ever taking a resource from nature, it's not about having some of the comforts that, you know, it's not about taking away some of our comforts. It's just about how do we do it with respect for the resources and the nature around us. And so I do really think that's an alignment that sparks my desire to come into work every day, to connect people with nature and to really move that movement forward. And for me it's the bigger picture, I think the bigger passion isn't really just about lawn care. Like I didn't wake up as a child one day and say, "Hey, I'm gonna own a lawn care company." That was never really it for me, but this lawn care company is a way to fulfill my passion of really aligning nature with the spirit of how do we connect better and I had something I was just gonna share with you about that, and it just slipped my mind. But that happens to me all the time on the podcast.
Katherine Breuss: Oh, I know. It was really about how do we live more sustainable lifestyles as people. And sustainable can mean, you know, a lot of different things. It can mean health, it can mean longevity, it can mean better. And I think there's a little bit of all three of those that go along with my passion for what I do. So that really aligns me in so many different ways with, and it's not just about my customers either. It's about how do I help people that are part of the Be Green Pro team to be more live more healthy sustainable lifestyles. How do we connect better with creating better jobs and better employment? And so. Yeah, I think that's a big part of what aligns me and keeps my soul thriving.
Katherine Breuss: And you used the word sustainable, which you're just speaking my language, Patti, because when, I mean from my side in the business that I run and have been doing it in different ways for over 30 years, when people are more soul aligned and they incorporate that into their strategy and their life or their business, it's more sustainable. They're more like the business is more sustainable because they're not burning out and they understand the why. And I love that you said the why. And with that, how would you describe the benefits of the why? Like some people might be like going, "Okay, well, who cares really about the why?" Like what, what do you see are the benefits of really understanding your why?
Patti Beres: Well, at the end of the day, we only have so many days, so many years, so many minutes to spend our lives, and I think we often forget that we spend probably more time with our work family than we do our real family. And so if you think about that aspect of how much time you spend doing the work you do. I hope that you really think about the joy that comes from doing that work. I think the big reason behind the why is how do you fulfill the joy in your life when you're not with your home family. People talk about work life balance and I'm just not a big believer in that. I bring my work into my home life every day. It's part of the fabric of my soul and who I am. And some people go to work and they can leave it behind. It's a job. But I think when you're an entrepreneur. It really is more, it has to be more than a job. Again, it has to be a passion. It has to be a soul alignment reason for why you get up and do what you do every day because it's hard. It's a lot of decisions that are difficult. It's a lot of people circumstances that are difficult. It's designing your marketing, which is difficult. And you have to find joy in at least finding, if it's not, you know, if it's not the exact thing you do every day, you still have to find the joy in finding the clients, the people to do the work. There has to be, there has to be a joy and a spark and a reason to keep doing it. And I loved what you said before. I think there's a little bit of crazy, I definitely think that's true. And along with the crazy goes a little bit of fun. Yes. You know, you have to have a little bit of fun and I think that also leads into having the joy and the passion about what you do.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. Very. Yes. That's really cool. You're speaking my language, like everything that's coming outta your mouth, I'm like, "This is awesome." And so to that. You know, business is hard. Like there, you know, and it's not, you're not saying I'm, I'm assuming Patti, you're not saying that every single day you're jumping around with joy. Like, you know, like there are times where it's really hard and, and to that, is there a time that you'd like to share with all of us that you look back and you go, "Man, that that was a real challenge or maybe you took a wrong direction or something really, it was hard and you weren't necessarily, you know, going joy."
Patti Beres: Right. Absolutely. And I think joy does play into those decisions. I think when you evaluate yourself at the end of a day or an end of a month or an end of a quarter, and you have to really look at, you know, where is the joy leaving you? And there are times where you can really pick that up, and then that's time for some changes. That's time for really looking at your business and figuring out where am I going, what am I doing? How can I do it different? How can I do it more efficient? How can I do it better? And I think for me, one of those times that I really remember, because it is a bigger picture thing, right? Like you're saying, it's not joy every day. It's hard work, but at the end of the day or the month or the quarter or the year, it should be, the times that you can remember are better than the times that you are finding not joy in what you do. And I think for me, one of those big realizations, I think it was 2018 and it was a moment in time where I started really saying, "Boy, the work is longer and harder than what is paying off for me." I know that I was working, you know, probably 80-hour weeks. And I really wasn't even taking a paycheck home at the time. I was making sure everybody else got paid, but when it came to me, there just wasn't enough. There wasn't enough dollars left at the end of the month to pay myself. And I had to really look and evaluate and say, "Why am I doing this anymore? Am I getting joy out of it? Yes, I was helping people. That's great. But at some point you also have to make sure that you're helping yourself." And so that was a big turning point for me that I really realized that it wasn't sustainable anymore. I wasn't having fun. I wasn't doing justice to my family when I did leave work. And I really realized that I needed help. I needed help from more than I could get from my team and more than I could do for myself. And that's when I actually got a business coach and for the first time, I really wish I had done that sooner. Was it a mistake? No. 'cause I think I had to really learn for myself what my boundaries were and what couldn't I go past. And so that was when somebody gave me this analogy that, you know, even the best athletes, you know, your favorite football player or basketball player, they have a number of coaches that support them on a daily basis for different things. So if that's true of one of the most talented people that you know, then why wouldn't it be true for a business owner as well? And I really took that to heart. And a lot of those players have more than one coach. You know, they have one for conditioning, they have one for strength, they have one for playing. So sometimes with a business you need that too. Sometimes you know, a smaller business might just need initial coaching that kind of moves you to through a point or to a point that you're getting to go, but as you grow, you might need financial coaching, you might need you might need strategy coaching, you might need all different kinds of things. And to say that you have all of that talent bottled up inside you, well that's a pretty talented person. I wanna meet that person. So I think humility in that is really something that you have to come to that point where you humble yourself enough to say, "This isn't working for me anymore, and I need help."
Katherine Breuss: Well, again, continuing to speak my language. Now I'm really curious because I know there are a lot of business owners out there who have experienced or are currently experiencing not paying themselves enough. So how did you get out of that? Like, what would be like one piece of advice or two pieces, you know, two pieces of advice to shift so that you can pay yourself?
Patti Beres: Well, I think I learned to flip some things around for myself and my strategies. There's a strategy that says you have to pay yourself first. And I always thought that you really had to pay yourself last. And when you start flipping your strategies around that you are an important part of your business. I think we forget that. I think we think, you know, the customers are the most important, or your product or your, even your team members or just you think of everything before yourself. But you started this business for a reason and it was about passion and it was about maybe helping people. We all start businesses for different reasons, but they're all very important reasons that catapulted you to take on this experience. And so you have to put yourself back in that equation and make sure that the reason the business started, which is you, really is taken care of and stays in a position where you are joyful and passionate and it goes back to that whole analogy that you can't take care of anybody unless you start taking care of yourself. You can't serve customers unless you can take care of yourself. So really how do you do that better? And one of the ways, another thing that I really learned about that, one of the ways that I really started to turn this around was I had to realize my value. You can't always cater. Well, it depends on the structure of your business. I mean, some businesses are based on low pricing and you do that by giving up some other aspect of serving people. But my business was really about giving better service, giving quality, product quality service, and you can't do that at the cheapest price. And so I really learned a lot about that value does not mean low price. Value is really a compilation of what you offer for the price that you can give it at. And so I really, one of the things I learned is that I had to raise my prices and that gave me. You think that you're going to have a big fallout from that, but really you find that if you have great value and you're offering people what they want at a price that is going to, I don't wanna say it's competitive with with what's out there, but it's a value that's different and it gives them a solution to what they want. I think you have to have to give people what they need at a price that's fair, but that doesn't mean cheap. And so in order to, in order to give people what they needed and sustain my business and my employees and myself, I really had to raise prices. And I found that the few people that did leave me, they probably weren't my best customers. They were not in alignment with what I offered. And so the customers that stayed with me, I could do better work for for maybe a few less customers, but then we also had to work a little less, right? So we're raising our prices, we're getting the right customers who are in alignment with what we do, and we're working a little less. Hard to get that. So it's, it's all a trickle down effect. And then when you start thinking like that, what is the values that my service offers that my customers not value as far as cheap, but what are the values that they want from a company like me? And so we started getting better customers that were willing to pay the prices that we needed. And, and just really thinking about that on a yearly. Yearly level. And I think one more thing to add about that with pricing is, I think this is something that a lot of companies struggle with is how do we raise our pricing every year? Do we raise our pricing at all? And I wanna say the worst year that I've ever had as a business owner was the year that I decided not to raise pricing. And how crazy is it to think that all the pricing around us is going up and yet we shouldn't raise our pricing? You're not making any friends by doing that. You can't serve people better by shortchanging yourself. And in the end, your business is gonna suffer. And then again, that trickles down to your employees are suffering and your clients are going to suffer. And again, if your employees don't stay with you because they can't get raises and, you know, all of their costs are going up to, you're going to have to figure out how to pay a new employee and trust me, you're gonna have to pay them more. People coming into the business that you're hiring new, they're not gonna be hired at the same price that you hired someone three years ago. So it, and you have, there's the cost to having to retrain them. So just paying your people right, charging the right prices, and serving your customers well, they will be willing to pay the price increase that you have to do every year.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. Oh, again, I hear so many business owners who struggle with this and you use the word worth, the words worth and value and you, you started with you and you know, you said it has to start with you first and actually understanding your own value and your own worth. And then it's, you know, then looking at the business and aligning that, because it does, like you said, it has such a huge trickle effect. If you aren't attracting the right customers, you know, that's no fun. Like, no, that's no fun. And then the employees, if you're attracting the wrong employees, that's no fun. And so that is really great. And you used also time, which I think you know, a lot of people complaint, or I shouldn't say complaint, but maybe, you know, they are, they struggle with time, you know? Have you ever heard anyone unless maybe they're retired, go "I have so much time, I don't know what to do with it." It's normally the opposite. So you made some great points earlier about you might as well be spending your time in more joy than not, because you're right, we spend most of our time at work. So time is a limited commodity and we all know that intellectually, but unfortunately so many of us don't align how we spend our time with what's important to us.
Patti Beres: There's a really old cliche about cutting down a tree. I'm not gonna remember it exactly, but would you rather use a dull axe and spend an hour cutting down the tree or would you rather sharpen the axe for 10 minutes and spend 10 minutes cutting down the tree? And I love trees. In fact, I'm one of those crazy things about me is that I really think I can talk to trees and I know anybody can talk to trees, but I really think trees talk back to me. So call me a little crazy. That's true. And I don't love cutting down trees. But, you know, that analogy really works well in a business situation. And time is money. Another old cliche, which is totally true. Time is money. So would you rather spend your time in inefficiently and doing things that you don't love to do, or would you rather take a look at how do you do them better and more efficiently and enjoy what you do more?
Katherine Breuss: Hmm. I love it. This is the perfect spot to end the podcast, even though I could sit and talk with you for a very long time on this. One thing I do, I just wanna reemphasize what your business does, which I do love. Is, it is all pet friendly and it's organic and it's good. It's this coexisting. So, you know, you, you don't want to, I guess kill everything in sight to make our lives better. And so you found a way to, for us to coexist with nature through the products and, and the way that you landscape, the way that you do the winter and the shoveling and all of that, that I saw. And so I think that's really important to point out. What do you wanna add on that? 'cause I think it's really important.
Patti Beres: Yeah. Thank you. You really hit on something that is part of our philosophy is that we focus on growing rather than killing. And everything we do here is based on being either organic, all natural, or low environmental impact. So, we really do produce results and it's really is more about how do we do that with the least negative effect on the environment. We wanna produce results and I think there's a really bad stereotype about organic not being as effective. And it's actually really the opposite in this industry, at least if you think about like your body for in example. Because all living things need certain things to thrive. And if you think about your own body, your own body thrives when you eat well, you sleep well, you build your immune system, you get some exercise. And it's the same with lawn care. It's your body doesn't love it when you dose, douse it with a bunch of chemicals and think, you know, you're gonna be super healthy. It's a combination of the care that you provide. And so that's really, we combine science with nature and we really provide the most, the greenest results on the block using the most effective and natural products possible.
Katherine Breuss: Love it. Oh my God. That's so cool. Do you come out to the Milwaukee area?
Patti Beres: Absolutely. We sure do.
Katherine Breuss: Very cool. I am one that needs, uh. Some help with my lawn and I would like to do it in a sustainable, coexisting way.
Patti Beres: Absolutely.
Katherine Breuss: Patty, thank you so much for joining us. This has been such a wonderful conversation and I really appreciate your time.
Patti Beres: Thank you so much for having me on the show.
 

Soul Aligned Strategy with Pat Miller: Building Businesses and Legacies

The AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast, hosted by Katherine Breuss, explores how business owners can build a meaningful and enjoyable business. In this episode, Katherine interviews Pat Miller, founder of the Small Business Owners Community (SBOC). Pat shares his journey from radio to supporting his wife's photography business and establishing SBOC to combat entrepreneurial loneliness. They discuss the importance of aligning one's soul with business, the challenges small business owners face, such as managing lifestyle and pricing strategies, and the necessity of being comfortable with selling. Pat also emphasizes the value of leveraging AI and global contractors for smarter business operations. Katherine and Pat agree on the importance of redefining success to include time and financial freedom. They conclude with reflections on past business mistakes and the ongoing journey of personal and professional growth.
Contact Pat - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpatmiller/
#BusinessAlignment #podcast #personalpurpose #soulalignment #Personalwealth #Enjoyment #entrepreneurjourney #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurstruggles #authenticityispower #Authenticity #authenticityjourney #ExitStrategy 
Song: The Way To You - Composer: Sapajou 
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7q5R_ITPYFttJn7PyHzmw 
License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free 
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com 
 
Katherine Breuss: Welcome Pat Miller to the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast. I wanna introduce Pat. He is founder of the SBOC. And I'm just gonna let Pat roll with it and tell us a little bit about him himself as a human, but also about his business. Pat, go for it.
Pat Miller: Well, thanks for having me, Katherine. I appreciate it. It's really fun to get a chance just to talk shop with you and talk about what it takes to build a business worth owning and a life worth living. And that's something that I'm really focused on right now and that's why I lead the SBOC, which is the small business owners community. It's an online group that we founded in the heart of the pandemic, and we bring people together to solve problems and capture opportunities so they can end entrepreneurial loneliness and make their small business dreams come true. So who am I and how do we do it? Well, I'm a dad and I'm a husband, and I'm the spouse of a small business owner. That turned to me 14 years ago when the kids were going to school saying, now what am I gonna do? And she was gonna be an author and she's like, you know what? Maybe I should be a photographer. So my wife Abby, opened her photography studio. So after 22 years of being in radio and helping small businesses. I'm now the spouse of someone that's going to build their small business. And there was a moment about, I don't know, six months into her running her business where she went out to a local networking organization and some older gentlemen said, "Quit. You'll never make it." Oh. There's just something that's snapped inside of me. I'm like, "Oh, no, no, no, no. That can't stand." So together, behind the scenes, I was helping her with her business and she's still open doing great stories. Frame photography, go Abby. She's doing awesome, but she's my hero. She took an idea, turned it into a business, and now she's supported the family with it. So when I decided to leave the radio industry and go build something for myself, she was my inspiration. That moment that she had along with a bunch of other moments are what fuel me to help small business owners win. And I'm fortunate enough to get to do that every day. I love it.
Katherine Breuss: I love it. I love that that inspired you when, like the no, no, no, no. Oh, no, no. Very cool. And I did, I did see radio. I am, I'm just curious about that. Do you mind sharing just your experience there for a moment? Because that in my mind has always been, a bit of a dream radio. And 'cause when I was young. And lived in Milwaukee. We would drive to Chicago because my family's from Chicago. And on Sunday night when we'd drive back to Milwaukee from Chicago, I don't know, it was like nine o'clock or something. There was this radio show and it was all, it was scary. Why? I always thought it was scary and it was just like, what? It just, the imagination. It created. You know, I'm actually a bit sad that there isn't more of that this day and age, so I'd love to just hear just for a bit your experience in radio.
Pat Miller: That was act one. I was on the high school speech team and the speech coach said, "You're gonna do radio speaking" and you had to read a five-minute newscast and I loved it. And he said, "You should make this your career." So I went to Illinois State University where they have an incredible college radio program. I spent every day of my entire college career in the studio. On campus on the air. Got my first professional job full-time before I graduated. Became the boss of that station. Moved to Des Moines, moved to Lincoln Nebraska. Moved to Omaha, Nebraska, and then came to Milwaukee. I don't know, it was 14 years ago when the original 94.5 KTI got blown up and turned into 94.5 The Lake. They invited me to come be the boss of that station, be the morning show host. So I moved with my wife all around the country, building radio stations, hosting events, raising money for charity, helping businesses, working at the state fair with the Brewers and the Bucks and the Packers. And it was such an incredible career and I loved it. And, and, and. It was the greatest training school for an entrepreneur you can imagine. 'cause I learned how to do all this stuff. It was awesome.
Katherine Breuss: That sounds like a lot of fun. I'm really jealous. It was really fun. Having said that, I've done enough moving around that that I'm kind of like, I'm kind of happy, like. Rooted in where I'm at at the moment, but, and I can tell that you got the radio voice. Oh, well thank you. Thank you very much. Happy to be here. I love it. It's a very nice, it's a nice, soothing voice.
Katherine Breuss: So Pat, I. Wanna ask the standard question that we, we ask all guests on here, because this is about soul aligned and then, you know, translating that into the business. And so I'd love to hear from you how you define soul aligned and the impact you see it having in your business and or your life. When you are versus when maybe there might have been a time where you weren't.
Pat Miller: Yeah. I left the radio industry when I had, I guess, a midlife crisis when I realized, I woke up one day and realized I was building somebody else's dream. That if I stayed in the position that I was in, someone would tell me what to do with my life until they didn't need me anymore. And then what would I do? I decided to go out and follow my curiosity and try and help people. So what does that have to do with soul aligned? I think for me it's kind of a journey. It's not something that I'm even there yet, but I'm on my way there. And what I found is that. When I am doing what I believe and I am trusting my intuition and I'm following my gifts and talents and I'm not worrying about what other people think. Big component, as I'm sure you would teach people, that's where all the good stuff is. And as a chronic people pleaser, as a and as a person whose job for 22 years was to get people to like them. Yeah. Like I literally got to keep my job if people voted for me. It is kind of a 180 to go from create radio stations and say things that people will be attracted to that fit the format to, well, what do you believe? What do you wanna see come true? And how are you gonna show up and serve with your gifts and talents? And that's something that I've been struggling with ever since I left the industry, and it's something that I, I work on all the time. So when do I not feel aligned? I don't feel aligned when I'm not following my intuition, when I'm doing what other people tell me. When I'm trying to get people to notice something, when I'm promoting something, when do I feel aligned when I'm not thinking at all? When I'm saying what I believe, when I don't care what the ramifications are when I'm building and creating, when I'm coaching people. So one of the things that we get to do is a thing called the Idea Slam. And when the idea Slam starts, it's a hot seat that I facilitate, but when you get in the zone of helping someone. That's where all of like time stops for me. And the logo of the small business owners community is a lightning bolt because when I connect the dots in my head, I literally see a flash in my head. I see a flash. When that really lands, I physically see a flash. That's why the logo is a lightning bolt. And that's when I know that I am aligned. When I'm not thinking, I'm not worried about what people think, and I'm out there saying what? Saying what must be said, not worrying about what do I say to get people to listen. And I think that those are two totally separate things and I, I would imagine people you have on the show, show up and have it all figured out. I don't, I'm working on it every day, but that's how I define the difference between the two and what I'm trying to get better at.
Katherine Breuss: No. And actually no one who's on the show. Okay, good. And if they do, it's like Uhuh. No, like, you know, wrong because I mean, actually until, I don't think we will ever have it all figured out. 'cause to your point, I love the fact that you said it's a journey because. It is a journey. Like you're never gonna be like, "Oh, perfect, I'm so aligned and that's it." I'm done. Yeah. Like, no, the next day it might be like, "Oh, okay. That wasn't so aligned there." Totally. Okay, good. I'm glad to know that I'm not the funky on the podcast. You are not the funky No. Gosh, no. No. I actually, I loved that you. Just the transparency and just being like, I don't have it all figured out. Because I think, you know, and we were talking about this before is like in particularly this day and age with social media and all of that, you know, everything online is people showing about how great they are or how great their life is and, and. As humans, our first thing that we do without thinking about it is we, um, judge, we analyze, we critique, um, we compare, and this is going on without us even thinking. And so when all of this stuff is coming at us. Subconsciously, we aren't even realizing that we are automatically doing those things. Like, "Huh, gosh, I'm not doing what they're doing. Maybe I should be doing that." Or, "You know, look how great they look. You know, why don't I look that great," or, or whatnot. And so I think being a bit more real and being like, "Hey, life is tough, or don't have it figured out, or I'm misaligned, or whatever" I think is. Mm-hmm.
Katherine Breuss: Um, that's what I'm more interested in. Yeah. There's a lot of clay here to mold. There is a lot of clay. You know what I just realized? I just picked up, like, I have this tide pen, like to like, you know, with the stains or anything that comes on. Um, you said something earlier, not many people actually say this and so it, it, it stuck with me and you and you've used this I think twice, maybe three times. You used the word intuition. Um, and, uh, first of all, I love that you did because, um, it is our intuition, which everybody has, not everybody is awake to. It is, uh, such a guiding and you said lightning bolt, but such a guiding light to whether or not we are heading in the right direction. My question to you is, how do you know. It's your intuition talking to you versus something else. I know you mentioned the lightning bolt is one, but is like, how do you know?
Pat Miller: I don't know if I do all the time. Uh, I wish I could clearly call balls and strikes on what's intuition and what's not, but I do believe that we're constantly lint rolling. Input and inspiration and feedback and observation, maybe comparison and all the other things that you mentioned too, but I'm always kind of noting things that are interesting and it all goes into the circular file in the back of your head, and then there's a time when it comes out. There's a time when the dots connect. I read a book a long time ago that that's the secret to creativity is simply connecting disconnected dots. Mm-hmm. When you can make two things connect that don't normally connect, it looks creative, and when I'm asked to solve a problem for someone or think about something differently, I really try to get as much distance from. Their issue is I can, and really think about what are we trying to do here? What, what does the answer look and feel like? What does, what are we trying to accomplish? And really boil it down to as simple as we can get. And that's where those intuitive answers come from because they are simple. Their feelings, their insights, their they're natural. So I don't know when it's intuition and when it's something I read five years ago, but it, I find that the really ones, like the ideas that I would call intuitive, the, not only are they the best stuff, I think they're also effortless. They just show up like, "Hey, by the way, here's the answer." It's not something that I really have to deduce if I can quiet and get distance from the drama around the issue. Another thing that someone taught me that took me years to figure out how to actually implement, which is putting as much distance between the cause and the reaction, like, here's the issue. Trying not to react to the issue for as long as you can. Wow. Your biggest client canceled. Okay, let's do something about that, but let's not react to the cancellation. Like there's, there's space there. And by making that space, you can choose how you respond to it and sometimes save a deal or come up with an intuitive answer that doesn't take you off the rails, but that. That space, that, that, that letting the room to breathe for simple, clear answers that can come to you intuitively. I find that those are the best ones, but I don't know which ones are intuitive and which ones aren't.
Katherine Breuss: I like the word space. Um. And because when we give ourselves space, um, we can step back and actually see more clearly when we are in the tornado of thought is what I call it. Um, we cannot, and, and. I love that you, you used an example, like, you know, your biggest client cancels or. Mm-hmm.
Katherine Breuss: Um, I, I liked it to tell myself as well, as well as people who I work with when something bad, and I'm putting it in quotes, seems to happen. You know, my first question is, is, well, is it? Not everything is as it seems, and I know that, I think that came from like Kung Fu Panda or something, but I mean like, you know, it's like, I think it was the turtle or whatever the, or the wise one of like, not everything seems, but it's true because like, have you ever it, like I'm sure you've had something happen to you where at the time you're like, "Oh my gosh, this is. This is horrible." And then you look, then, you know, maybe six months go by or a year and you look back and you go, "Oh my gosh. Yeah, I'm so grateful that happened" because if it hadn't, this wouldn't have, or you know, so you just never know. Like that big client canceling. You could have had two more bigger because of it.
Pat Miller: Yeah. It could be the best thing that never happened. Yeah. And we find that all over the place. And an example of that, when I was in the radio industry, I was in Omaha. I was trying to make it to a big market. The way radio works is the bigger the city, the bigger the money, the bigger the influence. You're trying to move up the market sizes to get to the really big cities. I had an interview in Philadelphia. I was in Omaha Market, 89. Philadelphia was like market, not very many like one of the big dogs. Went there, killed the interview. Thought I was gonna get it. Didn't get it. Devastated. Devastated thought, I'm never gonna work again. And I still had a job, but like massive disappointment. And to your point, less than a year later, they blew up the station and I would've been outta work on the east coast away from the family. And it's the best thing that never happened. So the best thing that never happened, we can look back and probably find a lot of those in our work history and our life.
Katherine Breuss: Ab Yeah. And, and that's like, and if we can think that way. As much as possible. I'm not saying like obviously we're going, it's okay to feel disappointed. It's okay to have those emotions in the moment, but if we're able to step back and as you say, have the space to at least maybe even have that thought of like, "Huh, what if this isn't actually." Bad. Yeah. Or you know, the best thing that never happened. Is that what you said? Yeah. Best thing that never happened. Yeah. And a thing that we did in radio all the time is that we always look for the opportunity and the challenge, like when something bad happens, that is an opportunity for good things to happen.
Pat Miller: Hmm. So we gotta direct competitor in the radio industry. Or your biggest client canceled. Wow, that's really terrible. But whoa. I was spending 20 hours a week servicing them. Now I've got an opportunity to redeploy that time. Double my rates, half my work. So how might that look? Yeah, so in chaos becomes opportunity if you choose to take that, that mindset when you're dealing with those kinds of things.
Katherine Breuss: Absolutely. And that's, yeah, and you're right, it's the mindset because you can choose to stay in the whirlwind or the tornado of thought, drama, chaos, whatever that's happening. And yeah, you're gonna be stuck. You're not going to shift and move and evolve, um, to that next level.
Katherine Breuss: Um, I, uh, that I, I had a question in my mind. You said something and it, oh my God. Again, this is like my getting into old age. Like this. This question came through that my head and I was like, "Oh my God, this is a great question." It's gone out, so it might come back to me. It just hasn't yet. Um. So, oh, here it is. So thinking about, you know, you've got the SBOC, so you are around a lot of business owners. Mm-hmm. Um, what do you see at the moment? Um, so we are September, 2025. What do you see is some of the biggest, maybe the top one or two challenges that you, um, are finding with business owners right now?
Pat Miller: I don't think they know how to lead the lifestyle. I don't think they know how to maximize the opportunity that they have by being their own boss. Mm-hmm. And they're working in frameworks and expectations that they are putting on themselves that no one else is putting on them. Mm. And the most, uh, basic example of that is a 40-hour work week. Why? Yeah. Why you don't need to. You don't need to. We took one vacation this summer. Why no one, there's no surveillance camera in the sky waiting for you to clock in and clock out. You can build a better business and you can make it work for you and have a business that doesn't own you the other way around. That's one of the big ones that I see is that people don't know how to lead the lifestyle. The other big one, and I'm sure you help people with this all the time too, is they don't charge enough. Yeah, they quit charging too little. The world has gotten way more expensive. I was just doing research for the keynote I'm giving at our conference September 20, 24 to now 2.4%, uh, consumer price index change. So if you had, uh, a hundred thousand dollars, that same spending power is on now, like $97,000. So if you haven't raised your rates across the board. By at least 2%, you're now losing money and everything got more expensive and people are terrified to raise their rates and it's ridiculous. So low rates and not knowing how to lead the lifestyle, those are the two big things that I see right now.
Katherine Breuss: That's interesting. I think it's, um, you know, to the whole lifestyle thing. And so, you know, I was overseas for 22 years, so London, Singapore, Australia. And there's a very different, uh, mentality about how to live, life and work. Mm-hmm. Um, and in America, and then when I moved back here, it was like, "Wow. Oh my God, I'm back. I'm back to the culture of like, people are proud to be like, I didn't take a holiday." You know, you go, "Why?" Whereas like in, in. Um, the other countries, it was four weeks was minimum that companies give a year and they look at you like you're nuts if you haven't taken them. Yeah. And haven't taken those holidays. So it's interesting too that on top of that, when you're your own boss, that that mentality is still, is still kind of there of like, "No, you need to work 40 days a week." 'cause I knew a lot of small business owners in particularly in Australia, and they. No. They'd be like, "I gotta go catch the waves, you know?" Yeah. And you know, I've gotta go have my tinny, you know, their beer, you know, at four o'clock or whatever. You know, it's
Katherine Breuss: So what do you, okay, so to that, 'cause it's a very important thing. And it you, you alluding to working smarter, not harder. Mm-hmm. What would be some tips or advice for somebody listening that is in this position that might go, "Yeah, but how, how do I do that?" Because I still need to make money. Mm-hmm. And in their mind it's like, "I gotta work the hours in order to do that." So what would be some advice you have for them in that?
Pat Miller: Well, that's. That's the first thing. "I gotta work the hours to make the money." You have to disconnect time and money completely. And you have to realize the era that we're in. We are in a, perhaps once in a generation opportunity for people in businesses our size to have an incredible amount of leverage. Because we're having massive disruption with how work gets done. Now. We have AI tools that can help us. We have global contractors at our fingertips. Mm-hmm. There is no excuse for you to do anything other than only what you must do. Everything else needs to be brought off your plate. And if, if it was a life or death situation, if the doctor came to you and said, "You've only got 20 hours a week to make the money." You would make these changes, but because we have the luxury of not being disciplined, uh, what's the quote that "time will expand the work will fill the time allotted"? We just fill our week because it's performative. It's performative productivity. "I worked really hard this week, honey." Okay, great. Did you make any money? Right. Did you sell something? No. So with this era, this incredible leverage that we have, I think we have to take that leverage and we get to make a choice. There are two choices, and if we don't make it, our clients will make them for make it. For us, the first choice is to just do more for the clients and keep working the same amount. 'cause soon they're gonna expect more if they don't already, or. Redefine our relationship with time and money and how the work gets done. Redefine our relationship with time so that we are working, uh, smarter hours, more disciplined time. We're delegating, we're using all the technology that's available and redefine what we're doing with money. So we're aggressively raising our rates, we're controlling our expenses, and. We're selling again.
Katherine Breuss: Mm-hmm. You talk about things people aren't doing. If I could have a third one, what's the third thing that'd be people don't sell? It's, it makes me insane. It, it makes me insane. No one's gonna walk up to you and buy if you don't try and sell. We need to be selling all the time. Mm-hmm. It is, it's, and no, that is, it's, well, what's interesting to me is I keep hearing.
Katherine Breuss: You know, and this kind of irks me a bit, and I don't know if I should say this 'cause this might piss some people off, but like I've noticed when I've come back here, I hear a lot of people going, "If we're at a networking event or something, I'm like, oh, well you know, why are you here? What? Tell me, you know, tell me more about," and they'll be like, "Well, I'm just here to help people." I'm like, "Okay, um, what does that mean? Like, I just like meeting people and, and I'm like, I'm not here to sell anything. I'm not here." And I kind of sit and I'm like, "You know what? We've, we've gotten past this." Like "selling is bad." Like there's something like, and I say to people, I'm like, "Unless you're scamming me. Yeah." Or you've got something like your service or your product is like rubbish or crap, then yeah, you should feel bad. But if you have something of value. I mean, just be like, "Yeah, here, I'm here to meet people, but I also have this great thing that I am, you know, offering this service that I'd like to tell people about. And I'd also like to see if there's some collaborations or whatever you wanna say." But I've heard this so much that it drives me nuts. And I'm like, "If one more person tells me that they just, they're just here wanting help people or meet people, I'm like. Okay, well come on. Like, yeah, you can do that along the way, but you're, you're ultimately, I don't know, maybe, maybe I'm gonna piss people off by saying this, but.
Pat Miller: I think they need to be pissed off. I think they need to understand that's not acceptable behavior if they need to win the bread for the household or if it's a life or death, death situation, that we don't have the luxury of not selling things if we need to make the money. So if we wanna have a performative business that's 40 hours a week and we don't wanna be seen as salesy and we don't understand that sales is simply excellent service for the person that you're on the planet to serve, that's all sales is. What's your problem? I can fix it. Give me money. Please drive through. Like, that's it. That's sales. That's all. It's so easy. But people don't think that way. They think it's somehow scammy or it's slimy and it's like, "Oh man." And then, and then when they don't have any money, then things get extra hard. Mm-hmm. Then it's, "Oh well, so the algorithm, oh, it's the agro, or whatever the excuse is." Well, no. How many people are in your pipeline? Have you called your past customers? How many leads are you working on right now? Have you raised your rates in the last calendar year? Are you playing business or are you doing business?
Katherine Breuss: Yeah. Really, what are we doing here? So I'm with you. And if they're gonna be pissed at you, they'll be pissed at me too. Because, and because you are here to help people. You wanna help them win. I wanna help them win. And this is what they need to hear. Yeah. This is what they need to hear if they wanna stay open.
Katherine Breuss: This is, it's very, very true. I love that. "Playing business or doing business," right? Yeah. There's, um. Uh, there was someone that I was potentially working with. Um, one of the partners has owned a business. The other partner, um, their siblings, um, potential partner hasn't, has been an employee. I mean, you can always spot, there's a different mentality of an employee mentality, not that there's anything wrong with employees. Yep. And an entrepreneurial business owner mentality. And they were offered this opportunity, um, and the, the employee, um. Sibling, uh, was saying, "Yeah, no, I just want a business that I don't have to do much. Um, it's gonna run for me. And it's, um, recession proof." Yeah. And I was like, "I'm like, uh, I don't think there's many of those out there, like business, running a business is hard work and I think there is this naivety. Um, that a lot of people have like, 'Oh, I wanna be a business owner, and, um, it'll be so great and whatnot.'" It's hard work. There is a, a, a mentality that you have to have in order to be successful. I mean, what are your thoughts on that in the sense of if some were to, to say to you. Pat and they are an employee their, their whole life. Um, I would really like to be a business owner. I think it would be really cool to be my own boss. What would be your advice to them or questions that you would ask them?
Pat Miller: First I would ask, "Do you wanna get comfortable selling things?" Mm-hmm. "Are you willing to do the work to ask people for money?" That's the very first decision tree question. If the answer is yes, we can continue talking. If the answer is no, go work for someone who is, that's the first filter question. And if they don't pass that, we don't talk anymore. If they really want real guidance, you know? Yeah. I'm, I'm willing to, uh, go out and sell things and ask people for money. Okay, great. "What are you gonna do?" Well, I kind of like this. Okay, cool. "How are you going to do it differently?" Oh, I, I don't know. Okay, we'll figure that out. And then you can go open a business. Well, "How do I know if it's gonna work?" You need to go talk to people, and you need to show potential clients. "This is what I'm going to go out and do, and here's how I'm gonna do it differently than all the other service providers or whatever they're going to do for a living that already exist." The differentiation, both of target market and services rendered mixed together, can make you one of one. You can be the carwash solution for left-handed dogs in Waukesha County. You could be the only one that does that. And there's a business there. There's all these other car washes, but this is the one for the left-handed dogs. So like we have to get them to the idea that, "Yes, I'm gonna sell something and I'm willing to do something that's unique." If you don't do those two things, you're really gonna be charging uphill.
Katherine Breuss: Hmm. I absolutely, and I think that is that first one and that whole, it's, it's a mindset thing because absolutely. If you aren't, because selling is putting yourself out there. Mm-hmm. It's putting yourself out there. And I think that first people who have that entrepreneurial spirit, they're not afraid to do that like they are like, "Yep, I will put myself out there." Um. But there may be this aspect of them not knowing how to do that. Um, but when somebody has that employee mindset, this is where I see is just the difference in the sense of that they aren't willing to take the risk or bet on themselves and they think it's just something that. I don't know. It's like a cool thing. I can just run a business and I can bring my skills and that's all I need to do.
Pat Miller: Yeah. I don't know. It's like, "Well, huh. Not so sure about that." Um, I wanna switch gears because I, I want to ask a question in terms of a time as a business owner that you look back and you go, "Oh man. That was, that really was a not so great decision at the time." Um, or a mistake. Um, is there something that you can think of that you are willing to share? And then from that, what you took away or, or learned from that?
Katherine Breuss: Early on in the business, maybe a year, maybe two. I had been trained to be a facilitator. I loved being. Getting people around a whiteboard. I love bringing people together. So building a mastermind product was a very simple solution. To do that. It allowed me to do the MC thing. It allowed me to be the brainstorming guy. It allowed me to manage the relationships, and I still do them to this day. But when I started, I did it wrong because I went for quantity in a low price. And here's where it went wrong. It went wrong 'cause I was really good at selling it. I woke up with four different masterminds every week. Oh gosh. Six people in a mastermind almost every day of the week. And when you have that many people in your program, the numbers at the end of the month don't look terrible. But it was absolutely exhausting. I wasn't giving my best to the clients I was working with because I was exhausted and there were so many of them. It wasn't a true partnership. So looking back on it, when I say, "Oh, raise your rates, quit charging too little," like, I've lived that life. I know what that's like because the danger isn't. Low rates don't make you enough money. The danger is low rates get you too much work and you, your ship hits the iceberg. Mm-hmm. Like you, you totally burn out and you hate your life. Mm-hmm. So that happened to me and since then I've remodeled things and do things differently, charge more money, blah, blah. But that was the big mistake, is I undervalued the programs and then did a good job selling them, and I was so successful. I was miserable.
Katherine Breuss: Yes. Well, and so, you know, um, the business, my businesses Accelerate Growth 45, and everybody has this idea that, "Oh, we mean you've gotta scale and you've gotta grow to the biggest possible way." It's like, "No, it's, it's growth." And growth can mean different things in terms of whether that is, yeah, growing your business, but it's growing your bottom line. Not necessarily, you know, the numbers, the revenue, not necessarily the people. Um, I worked, I did some business development for a colleague of mine, um, who's in a consulting in, in the UK, and I looked at his numbers and his books and I was like. Um, he grew massively over a period of time 'cause there was an explosion in this space. Um, and he went from under a million pound business to almost 3 million pound business. And, but he had, I think at then 20 people and, you know, all these things of managing his profit went down. His time went up in terms of spending on the business and the stress and majority of the business came from two clients where I was like, "Ah, what happens if one of these clients?" And guess what happened? Yeah, they both, one ended up like. Skirting away. Um, just 'cause usually there's a lifespan of about five years in the larger consulting gigs and the second significantly reduced. And so then that business like completely shrunk. Um, but the profit went, went, um, had to let people go, but the profit went up significantly up again. And the enjoyment. So it's this, um, to your point that more isn't necessarily, um, better in the sense of numbers of people, but more in, you know, I would say the bottom line and also more time back for you. That's the thing. 'cause where I'm going is Fridays off. I'm packaging all of what I'm doing with time and money to build a business strong enough that you can take every Friday off.
Pat Miller: Because people that do what I do, people that are their own accounting business, people that are a website developer or a photographer, there's no reason why they have to work on Fridays or have complete control of their time and money so they can build it however they wanna build it. Provided. They value time as compensation, which we all should. So let's make a big pile of money and let's make sure that our business is set up in a way that we can enjoy the fruits of our labor. 'cause when we went back to that conversation and you said, "Okay, um, here's someone that's just starting out. If we ask them, well, what do you want out of a business? They would say the same thing." I want the freedom of time and money to do what I want, when I want how I want. And somewhere along the way, we all lost the plot. But yeah, and I'm trying to bring 'em back to it because that's where we gotta go. And I think that's a contemporary version of what success looks like because we have the ability right now to make that happen if we have the courage to make the changes necessary. To go that direction. So when you said time, I'm like, "Bingo. That's exactly it. That's where I want to take people."
Katherine Breuss: Hmm. I mean, I'm actually thinking with, um, with my business is having, uh, Decembers and Julys off and actually scheduling the, the clients around it, because most people anyway, in December, they're all winding down as it is mm-hmm. In July. People are like, they're off at the Lake house or Florida, well, no, maybe not Florida in July. But you know, they're doing, you know, they're doing other stuff. And so I'm actually, I've been thinking about that going, "Huh? I'm really digging that idea. I think that would be incredible."
Pat Miller: Mm-hmm. There's no reason not to. Yeah. Especially with the way that we can line everything up and if we have to take a meeting or two from the Lake House in July, who cares? Yeah. I.
Katherine Breuss: Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. That, that's a different story for another time. Um, pat, I love it. This has been, um, really a fantastic conversation. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Um, you are speaking my language in so many ways. Um, and I'd love to have you back, um, another time.
Pat Miller: So. I appreciate your time spending with us. Uh, it was an honor and a privilege and I love the conversation as well. Ring me up. I'll be right here. I'd love to do it.
Katherine Breuss: Alright, I will. All right. Alright, pat. Thank you.
Pat Miller: Thank you.
 

The Intersection of Creativity and Technology: Nikki Lee's Story

In this episode of the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy Podcast, host Katherine Breuss, CEO, and founder of AG45, welcomes guest Nikki Lee, Co-founder and president of Genhead, an AI growth agency. Nikki shares her journey from her southern roots in Charlotte to her current life in Los Angeles, discussing the challenges and pivotal moments that led her to combine her passion for storytelling with a career in marketing and AI. She highlights the importance of intuition, adaptability, and aligning one’s work with personal values. Nikki also elaborates on how Genhead uses AI to help businesses optimize their operations and save time. The conversation delves into the significance of trusting one’s gut and making intentional decisions that align with personal and business goals.
 
Contact Nikki – https://www.linkedin.com/in/genhead-nikkilee/
 
Song: The Way To You - Composer: Sapajou 
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7q5R_ITPYFttJn7PyHzmw 
License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free 
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com
 
Welcome to the AG45 Soul Aligned Strategy podcast. We have a really special guest here, Nikki Lee from Genhead. Love that Nikki is on. We collaborate on a few things. So it's amazing to have her here and what she's doing is really cool. But I am gonna actually pass it over to Nikki. 'cause Nikki, I want you to share with the audience, who you are as a human, and then tell us about Genhead.
Nikki Lee: Okay. Wow. So much to share. So my name, like you said is Nikki Lee. I am the co-founder and now president of Genhead. We are a thank you so much. We are an AI growth agency that focuses on helping particularly small businesses implement the systems that they need to scale without the chaos. And then we come in and help fill in gaps where is needed. So whether that's helping with things like branding, or other marketing services, you know, I have an amazing, amazing network of artists and collaborators who I'm able to and fortunate enough to bring in and share with these amazing innovators and visionaries. So it's a really fun time for me.
Katherine Breuss: I love it. And can you share, and, and by the way, I wanna say that I have been working with Genhead for almost a year now in the CRM and now the marketing space and, um, the whole organizing your life, you know, I love that you said chaos. Um, you know, we all have chaos in different ways. And having a system is really important. So, you know, hats off because, um, love the system. And. In terms of, I wanna hear about you though, 'cause I know you've got a really interesting life. You've shared pieces of it, and I'd love for you to share a bit more about who you are to with the audience. Okay.
Nikki Lee: I see you. The elevator pitch was not enough. I, I got it. Um, no. No. So, uh, I was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. Um. So at my heart, I'm definitely a southern girl. Um, are you a Tar Heel fan? Um, oh, okay. So this is, so you put me on the spot because I definitely have friends that went to UNC that if I said I was not a Tar Heel fan, I would definitely be like, uh, uh, they would never speak to me again. Um, but uh, I am in my heart and soul, I bleed garnet and gold 'cause I'm an FSU girly. So when it comes to the ACC, I definitely am a Seminole. Um, but I have a lot of love and respect for the Heels. Um, and who doesn't love that Carolina Blue? So, well, my sister, my sister and brother-in-law, they went to UNC. Oh, really? Well, so my mom and my sister went to NC State, so there's a little bit of a rivalry there. Not as much as being, you know, um, a Duke fan. What is it? Duke Devils, sorry, sorry, sorry. Duke fans. Uh, but yes, so, uh, I know that there's more of a rivalry there. I just usually go like Florida girly over here. Like, sorry. Uh, so,
Katherine Breuss: And you've lost that. You don't have the southern accent.
Nikki Lee: I, yeah. So my parents are from, um, born and raised in Virginia, outside of DC. So they moved to Charlotte, um, right after they got married, right before they had me. Um, and Charlotte's just sort of this really weird melting pot because it is this sort of like weird in-between city between Atlanta and DC. So you get, I feel like very rarely was I ever meeting people that were actually from Charlotte. So I think because of that I was spared from, from the, the crazy southern draw. But you know, I am not afraid to throw in a y'all every once in a
Katherine Breuss: y'all. I think y'all is one of the best words ever. 'cause I lived in Nashville for many, many, many years, and so y'all is like, I think it's easy, it's quick. It's like, Hey y'all,
Nikki Lee: I am all about efficiency. So anytime that I can combine a bunch of words into one. I am all for it. Yeah. So, yeah. Y'all is great. I, I'm not afraid to throw in a bless your heart if you really, if you really get me going.
Katherine Breuss: Uh oh. I forgot about that. Oh yeah.
Nikki Lee: Bless your heart. Um, so, yeah. Yeah. Uh, sweet Jesus. Yeah. So, um,
Katherine Breuss: You're bringing me back. It's been a long time since I was in the south in the,
Nikki Lee: I definitely aspire to be like an old southern woman when, when the time comes where I'm just like sipping on some sweet tea and, and just rocking in a rocking chair and just like hearing about all the town gossip, like that will be me and I will be living my best life
Katherine Breuss: On the front white, like on the porch. And you're like the rocker lounge, you know, you see like a Cracker Barrel.
Nikki Lee: Exactly. Uh, my potential husband if I'm married at the time, will have his like hat and he's like fanning it with himself, like, Lord, it's so hot out here.
Katherine Breuss: Yeah, you'd be going, I, well, I declare, oh my gosh. It's hot outside.
Nikki Lee: For real. Um, so cannot wait for that. Although the reason I moved to, and I'm now in LA was honestly to escape the humidity. So the idea of getting back to that, I don't know. That's, that's a hard ask. I think I've been too spoiled now for the last, you know, um,
Katherine Breuss: LA has got the best weather, like it seems like all the time. It is just gorgeous.
Nikki Lee: Um, yeah, I'm, I'm absolutely spoiled and I am not afraid to admit that. Um, but this, I, the first time I ever, uh, was in California, I, it was for Comic-Con. Um, I was, um, debuting one of my short films at Comic-Con and uh, I got off the airplane and walked outta the airport and immediately was just like. What is this? Because I was in Florida at the time, which is, I mean, it's like God's armpit, like is sweaty. Um, so, so you were South Florida? South Florida. Um, I was north Florida. I was like basically Georgia. So, um, okay, just to give some context here, I, so I graduated from high school in Charlotte, uh, decided to go to Florida State. If you couldn't tell, obviously from our conversation already, uh, what drove me there was, I was always interested in telling stories, uh, and was always at a young age really gravitated towards film and filmmaking. So I was the kid that was like getting those digital cameras that where you could like record movies on. And I was recording my friends in the neighborhood, like riding around in their scooters. Uh. Like pre jackass phase, um, and like recording it and we're not as crazy, not as crazy as that. You know, I will not, we were, we were very PG um, and uh, basically just kind of fell in love with, with the, the medium and, uh, realized that I wanted to, and the best way to connect with humans was by sharing, sharing moments, sharing stories, and bringing people together to watch a unified experience. And then watching how it impacts everybody was just so fascinating to me. So, um, decided to go, uh, against my high school counselor's, better, better wishes. Uh, he was like, "You don't wanna be a doctor and go to go to UNC." I was like, "No, I wanna be an artist." So I, I went to Florida State, um, got my undergrad in creative writing minors in, um, business and film, and then stuck around to get my master's and at the film program there, which if you're not familiar with the, the film program there, it is one of, if not in my humble opinion, the best film school program in the country. It is the only, just, just a humble plug here, but it is the only film school program in the country, uh, where they focus on putting everybody on the, on a level playing field, and they pay for everybody's. Films. Um, so you are not coming into the program like little old me from Charlotte, North Carolina. It's not like, you know, Steven Spielberg's my, my like, uh, godfather. Um, you know, so like coming in, not knowing anybody, not, you know, knowing that I have a love for the art, but not maybe any experience in that you didn't need that. They really were looking for, um, true artists that, you know, that maybe didn't have that background. And they put everybody on the same, uh, you know, playing field and they make you learn and run you through every single position on a film set. So I was directing and then I was ADing, and then I was literally running cable as Best Boy Electric. And then I was setting up light stands and driving big trucks around to film sets. So. That really instilled an amazing work ethic in me. Um, you know, punctuality and getting used to working long days where you're talking minimum 12 hours, um, running, like I said, cables and sweating. And it's in Florida heat like in the summer where you're just, you're, it's just so swampy. It's so swampy um, north. So it's, it Tallahassee's in, um, northern Florida. Yeah, it's basically Georgia. You're like 40 minutes from the line. So you've got the beautiful, like Spanish moss and like the old trees and it's really, really pretty. Um, but I, I did, I did escape to South Florida any chance I could get. 'cause South Florida is just gorgeous. Um, so, uh. Yeah, from, I graduated from with my master's in oh Lord, uh, 2017 and then moved out to LA like right before, like a few days, I think right before Thanksgiving. And I have been here ever since and just absolutely loving life. Um, I definitely always said that I wanted to move up to LA since I was a kid. Um, it just felt like my heart was always calling me to the city and, um, I'm so happy that I listened to my instincts because, uh, I really do owe so much of who I am today to, um. The city and the amazing connections that I've made here. Um, and so from that, uh, work started working my way through the film industry, uh, working on music videos for people like Lana Del Rey and Miley Cyrus, um, to working on promos for like Conan O'Brien, um, to, uh, uh, producing and ADing, uh, a feature for my friends, um, right before, literally right before COVID. So, uh, done a little bit of it all, um, worked my way through the ranks, um, and got to a point right around COVID where I think like a lot of people it was time to sort of reflect. I was on literally the last film set. That was operating before the shutdown. I mean, they literally told, um, the people working on set that we were gonna have to hold. 'cause remember at that time everyone was like, "Two weeks, we just have to get through two weeks." They literally, well,
Katherine Breuss: I was in Australia and it was like, we call it like China down under, because we were like, if the US felt it was strong lockdown, oh my god. Australia was a thousand times stricter and harsher.
Nikki Lee: Really? Um, yeah, it was crazy. I mean, I remember hearing the whispers of it coming here, like, and I mean, yeah, I, I just, I remember hearing it on the radio before everyone realized it, and I was like, "It's about to happen. Like it's gonna spread. Like this is, this is it. We're, we're on the cusp of a pandemic." "No, Nikki, you are crazy. No way." And then of course, like, uh, not even like. What, a month later or two it was like, "Okay, yes, it's here. We're probably gonna have to do a lockdown." So, um, and I reme, I mean, it was, it was just utter chaos in the city. Uh, so still processing all of that, quite honestly, like, I think most people are, but I was on the last set, they literally told us like, "Hold onto everything" because like, like equipment and stuff like that. Like we're talking like millions of dollars worth of film equipment that they're literally telling the people on set, "Just hold onto it somehow in some way or shape or form, like the trucks at your house because, and we'll just have to figure out how to get it from you once we get out of lockdown." Well, it wasn't two weeks. So, um, and I remember, um, you know, there was a lot of reflection. I lost my, my grandma during, during that time. Um, very sobering having to be away from your entire family. Um. Very, as I, you can tell, southern girl, very family oriented. My dad is one of eight kids. So big family on that side. And to lose my grandma during that time, to not be able to grieve with my family, to not get to, uh, be at the funeral and, and properly mourn her the way that she deserved. 'cause that woman was an incredible person. Um, and having to watch that through Zoom from my bed alone was, uh, going through at the time also a breakup, a very, very fresh breakup. Um, because my, my boyfriend at the time moved in literally a week before the lockdown. We did not know this was gonna happen. So it was just a lot. Um, and so in that, in that time of reflection, you know, I realized I was at a point where I could either. Continue on, continue on working in the commercial industry, um, very easily. Saw myself becoming a producer. Worked with several women in that space, um, and, and no shade to them, but I could see how the years of working in that kind of grind had kind of jaded them, the sacrifices that they had to make personally to be where they were, um, and, and what they were getting out of it. It's like, "Okay, cool. So you're a really grumpy old or woman, but like you have a really cool electric car and like you have a house on the beach, but like, was this your dream to like produce like, you know, a dog food commercial or a pharmaceutical commercial? Like, was this really it for us?" And so I, I had that moment where I was like, "Okay, I went into this. To work through the ranks from the bottom up because I genuinely believe that to be the best leader you have to, to understand how to do every position or at least be willing to do every position, I should never ask someone to do something that I am not willing to do." Um, I really wholeheartedly believe that. So I, I was like, "I'm gonna, I'm gonna do the grind, put out the chairs, get the coffee, all of it, um, deal with the crazy personalities. Crazy." Um. I am going to be such a better person for it, um, coming out of that. And I, and I was at a point where I was like, "Okay, I can continue to move up and start coordinating, start, um, managing, um, producing or I can, and, and literally just, just do that and fall into this trap that I'm seeing a lot of other, especially women become a gru of women. Yeah. The beach house. I mean the co the, the sexist comments, like, we can dive into that if you want, but they're, they're very much real and they're very much there. I saw, I saw it all the time. Um, the number of men that told me like, "The only reason that you're here is 'cause you're pretty," uh. Or that you're asking too many questions and the only reason that you've been able to get this far is 'cause you're pretty and being like, "Do you know me? That is not who I grew up as. I was not, I was not the popular pretty girl. I was, I was not the popular pretty girling class." So it was very jarring to come from like, being like the nerd to like that. And I was like, "When did this happen? Uh, because no one told me I have not been using that to my advantage then properly." Um, but so I decided to, I, my parents had started a, a small business. They start, uh, opened a franchise for an IT training company, um, in Raleigh, uh, North Carolina. And I saw that they desperately needed someone in marketing and I saw an opportunity to take my talents and help them out work maybe a more structured nine to five. But because I was on West Coast hours, it was, you know. It was gonna be six to two. And that would give me freedom in my day to work on my own personal projects, to be able to write again, to be able to work on, on actual passion projects and actually have the money, the money to be able to, to do that. Um, so I, I decided to, to shift. Um, of course everyone's like, "Aren't you so afraid you're not working in film anymore? Doesn't that mean you've given up?" And to me, I was like, "Absolutely not. This is, um, this is the way that I can give myself power and empower myself to take control of the time that I have and rather just be sort of another cog in the machine, like to actually, you know, have a say in how my, my time is shaped." Um, because you only have so many hours in a day, right? So, um, I. I decided to work with my parents. And then from there I met my, my co-founder, Pat Riley, he was another franchise owner in Wisconsin. Uh, he hit me up and was like, "Hey, you wanna start a business together?" Um, and I said yes. And now here we are, two and some change years later. Uh, I am the president of Genhead and cannot believe that this is my life and that I wake up every day getting to do what I do. So, yeah. So, wow.
Katherine Breuss: That is awesome. Now, and what's interesting is you, you said, you've said a couple things throughout.
Nikki Lee: A lot. I'm sorry.
Katherine Breuss: No, do not apologize. You're a storyteller. You're telling a story and it was, it was fascinating and I loved hearing it. And you know, I was listening to not only what you were saying, but how you were saying it, and when you, I think when you were talking about Florida. Yes. Um, and when you moved to Florida and you said, and then you moved to LA and you made a comment of, and this isn't exact, but along the lines of, "I'm so glad I listened to myself," or "I followed, I don't know if you said intuition or, or intuition." Mm-hmm. And, and so that was one. So it was like, oh, interesting. So aligned, you know, and then you moved through and you worked through the film industry. Sounded like you had an amazing experience and amazing time, but it, it feels to me that at some point along the way, maybe there was a misaligned, it, it started to be misaligned in terms of with the soul, you know, and this whole like, mm-hmm. You know, I don't wanna be, or maybe it was like the future of it was like, "Oh man, that's really the misaligned." And then you moved through. So I was, I was hearing this like that you really listen it to what makes sense for you with your soul and how you align it to your life.
Nikki Lee: I'm just realizing some things right now, Katherine. So you're making me laugh. I'm sorry, but yes, I do.
Katherine Breuss: Whatcha realizing? Share, tell, tell.
Nikki Lee: Um, I have always in my life been that per like, if. You've ever met me at any point in my life and then we were to dis, we were to disconnect and then. Come back in again. That's happened a few times with friends, just natural relationships, you know, people move away, things like that. Every time that they come back and we get together, they're always like, "Oh my God, you're the same." Like, of course you've grown, you've, you know all of that, but you are still Nikki. And that's because like, as long as anyone's ever known me, I've always said, like, I, like people would ask, "Okay, so what do you wanna do growing up?" And I would say with the absolute confidence, I would look them dead in the eyes and I would say, "I'm gonna become a film director, and I'm gonna tell stories." And I mean, even to this day, if you ask me like, "Are you like, what about that?" I am like, "I'm absolutely going to be a director and I'm going to tell stories." I'm just, the way that I'm getting there is a little bit different. Um, but like every day, even right now, like I'm creating, I'm telling stories. Um, the, the industry's just changed. So, um, I get this weird thing where it's like. Some at this happened even with like choosing college. I just remember like Googling and reading the top schools. I saw Florida State. I'd always, because my grandparents lived in Florida, um, I always loved visiting them. Um, I wrongfully, wrongfully thought that and assumed that Florida State would be at the beach. It's not. So that was a little bit of a shock. But, um, I just remember seeing like, I, I get this thing in my head. It's like a one track mind where it's like the second that I've decided something, like that's it. And you can try and share your opinion with me. I love hearing counter arguments. I love hearing all of the reasons why I shouldn't maybe pursue or do something or consider something because you should always be able to hear, um, other people's opinions and maybe sometimes their perspectives. Are right and are worth, you know, giving weight to. But, um, usually a lot of my decisions are a hundred percent, uh, intuition or like a gut instinct where something inside of me is like "That, Nikki, that," and then I just, I follow through. Like I knew nothing about LA but when I was 15, my heart was like, "You are moving to LA and you're gonna tell stories." And since then I was like, "I'm moving to LA and I'm going to tell stories." And like that has always, that has always been it. Um, Florida State, "I'm gonna go and I'm gonna be in the film school." I did not get into the film school the first time I applied. Um, I did so that I didn't do my undergrad there. And I was devastated when I found out that I had to stick around a few more years to get my master's degree because I was like, "My heart, like I'm supposed to be in LA. Like I, I can't start my life. I can't start telling these stories until I get out to LA." Um. But with that being said, like I always knew, like my heart, I was supposed to go to Tallahassee. Like so much of my college experience has shaped me as a person. I would not be here today without those experiences. Like, so appreciative for, for every single second of it. So appreciative of everything that I've been through to get to this point. Um, so, so Genhead is very similar and the way that I, I do my strategic planning and all of that is a hundred thousand percent gut-based, um, weaving what some people might say, very ambitious and crazy ideas in my head, but I am just that crazy person that is like, "When I have decided something is going to happen like that is it, and it's going to happen and you can either get in and buckle up and enjoy the ride or you can get out of my way."
Katherine Breuss: Well, and, and so I, I love that. 'cause I actually, a lot of the stuff that I hear you saying. I mean, not the film parts or anything like that, but just this, when you see it, when you actually are clear about who you are and what you want, and then you align it, you align your life, you align your business, the people you hang around with, whatever, um, it is like, then the action comes because it is like you are a train that no one can stop. And it's like, you know, exactly, maybe not exact steps in terms of how you're gonna do it, but you just know "That's where I'm headed, that's what I'm gonna get, and I'm gonna do whatever it takes."
Nikki Lee: Yes. I, it's like freeing. It's what it's like freeing. It's like liberating and you're like, "Oh, I know." It's, it's purpose. Right? Purpose driven. I've, I've, I've defined my purpose and now the sole purpose of my day to day is to. See through that, you know, see through that and like live that purpose and that makes you enjoy a journey. Right.
Katherine Breuss: So let me ask this though. And because there are, there have been times in my life where that. That, gosh, that crystal clarity and that alignment, it is so spot on to like, it's like bullseye spot on and there is, there's no stopping. There is absolutely no stopping. And you get it. You get exactly what you want. There have been times in my life though, where it has been, I am, you know, semi, you know, like clear, but it's not that pinpoint bullseye clear and it's that alignment and you get there, but it's a little bit harder. And then there have been times where it was like, "What the, now I've been on this earth longer than you." So there's, that's, there's probably a lot more opportunities for me to f up, um, along the way. And I'm not saying implying that you will f up, but I'll to be here. So it sounds like there is a lot of very clear bullseye. Clarity, alignment in action throughout your journey. Has there been though, like a time, whether personally or in the business where you're like, you've either felt misaligned or you didn't have that clarity, or you just look and you go, "Man, that was just, what was I doing?" Yeah, um, absolutely. So, um, I can have clarity all day.
Nikki Lee: That doesn't mean the universe has that clarity on the same page, right? So, um, I'm at point A and I know point BI defined it and I know where I wanna get to the journey to get to point B. You know, I'll map it out where I'm like, "Okay, here to here, easy done." But the universe loves to say, "Nah, nah, nah, got other, we've got other plans for you." And so what should have been a simple road ends up being a crazy rollercoaster of, you know, upside down and twists and all of those things. I mean, I, my clarity was that I was going to go to Florida State and I was gonna go into the, the film program. That was what I was going to do. And I didn't get into that. You know, that was a big moment where, you know, I think a lot of people would go, "Okay, well, I'll figure out, I'll do something else." I was like, "No, I'm gonna figure this out. I'm gonna continue to pursue film." So then I, I was like, "All right, I'll go and I'll major in media communications." Um, I was so overqualified to be in that program, but they, they did not accept me for whatever reason. I helped another girl out next to me and they accepted her. And it, they were not basing it on the correct. I, in my humble opinions, merits, um. Well, that's, I think, welcome to a lot of universities. Yeah. And I remember the counselor, and I'm so used to this, like, it's so backwards. I'm so used. Like I, I think like when you hear the classic artist store tale, like it's the kid going and telling the parents and the parents being like, "No, why? Like, you're so much better than that. Don't do that." Um, my parents were so supportive. My, I, the second I told my parents, they were like, "Yes, absolutely. Like they were figuring out how to get me equipment, figuring out how to get me into like classes and so I could explore that, that medium and that art and that passion. Uh, eternally forever grateful for that. But, uh, for some reason my educators and my counselors could not get on the same page about that. Um, so I went to Florida State, uh, you know, I was like, "Okay, I'm gonna do media, uh, communications, or sorry, media production." Um. And I remember sitting in the counselor and the counselor was like, "Are you sure? Like that you wanna do this? Like, what if you don't get in? And then I looked her dead in the eyes and I was like, "There's no other option for me. So I'm either doing this or I will figure something out, but this is, this is the path that I'm taking. So this can either get aligned with me and you guys can be proud, proud to have said that I went through your program or not. That's your choice. That's not mine. I know what I'm gonna do." And she, I don't think that she was prepared for that response, but I just, I'm so, I get so sick of hearing people tr like, especially like, and maybe this was like the rebellious 18-year-old and me, but it's like, "Why? Who are you? You don't know me. Why do you feel like you're entitled to tell me what I can and cannot do? That's not your job as a counselor." So, um, that happened and then, I mean, you know, I. Florida State promised, um, you know, college, college tuition's crazy. They promised that if I moved there, I could like, uh, become, you know, I could move in with my, my grandparents become a, a Florida, um, like President. President, thank you. Yeah. Florida citizen, that's not the right word. No resident. Florida resident. Um, and that in a year I could get instate tuition and they kept denying me saying that I moved to the state on tuition purposes, which was not what they promised me when I, when I went to, um, check out and tour the school. And I mean the guy at the registration, the registrar's office was feared me. He would see me come in like he was always like, "Oh my gosh." 'cause I mean, I did everything. I started a business in Florida. I did every other thing that I could possibly do. I was paying taxes in Florida. I was at a point where if I moved back to North Carolina, North Carolina could deny me in state tuition because they could say like, "Well, you're a Florida, Florida resident, you're not a North Carolina resident." So I was like this weird stateless citizen of the United States of America. Um, and
Katherine Breuss: It's kind of like people who live overseas. We still have to pay US taxes even though we don't actually do anything here. Uh, nobody knows that, by the way. So many Americans don't know that. So for 22 years, had to still pay US taxes.
Nikki Lee: And I'm getting nothing. And, and you have, you know, everyone growing up, like, I mean, this is sort of the millennial condition is like, you have to go to school, you have to get good grades, you have to go to good college, and then if you do all of that, you're gonna get an amazing career, which is absolutely not the case. We all know this now, right? Uh, but, uh,
Katherine Breuss: yeah, you're like a hundred thousand in debt or whatever.
Nikki Lee: It's, I wish, I wish I was that low. Um, so see that is just, oh God, don't even get me on the bandwagon of the US education here. And, and yeah, my mom's an educator, so it, it, this has been my whole life growing up. So, um, basically they got to a point where I had to drop outta school and live in Florida for a year and become what I would consider or call a red, a red shirt junior. Um. And, and I was so devastated.
Katherine Breuss: Wait, what does that mean? I have no idea. What does,
Nikki Lee: okay, so like in, in sports, and this is so funny that I'm saying this 'cause I am not, I would not say I'm a sports big sports girly, but, um, in, in college, um, oh gosh, I hope I'm saying this right. I know that you can be like a red shirt like freshman. It's a way that like, uh, really awesome football players can stay on like another year. Because if you're coming in a freshman and you have a lot of potential, you can be like a red shirt freshman. And I think it allows you, it extends your playing year. So you could stay and play like another year. I hope That's right. However's listening. Please, please don't hate me if I'm wrong, but you have to like take off. So I was calling myself like a red shirt junior basically because I had to take a year off of school to prove that I could be at this school. Um, so that was fun. Um, and. Basically, I mean, I could get, I could spend an hour talking about just how messed up that whole experience was trying to enroll for, for a year and having like just adults looking at me, making, forcing me to read really awkward poems in their office and being like, but when you graduate and you become like a, a, a millionaire from making your films like this, this tuition cost will be nothing to you. And I looked at them and I said, can I get that from you in writing? So does that mean when, yeah, I don't make a million dollars, you're gonna pay for my tuition. So fur, and it's so degrading, like as a like. A person trying to come into their adulthood. Right. Um, so I took, I took the year off, um, went back in. And so, and like so many people at that time were like, well, should you consider going back to, you know, going to a different school doing all these things? And I was like, this is what I am doing. This is what I know in my heart I'm supposed to be doing. I'm supposed to be in this program. I am not leaving until this happens. Um, even though, like in the background, I am literally, I'm, I'm crying because I realize like every day that I am not in school every day, I am not working towards getting my degrees. It's keeping me from moving to la it's keeping me from my purpose, which is telling stories. Um, so, uh, but I, I mean, I stuck it out and I went through the program. It was the most amazing experience. I am still so close with like, all of the people in that program. I, I hold them also near and dear to my heart. I love every single one of them. Um, and again, I am who I am today because of those decisions, and I would not take back any of those for an instant. So, um, as far as, uh, what you were asking though for, for not soul aligned, here's what I will say. That was a really long buildup to this, so I apologize. Um, I always wanted to be in the film industry, so it's crazy. I'm sure people listening are like, okay, why is she talking about the film industry so much? She just said that she works and started an AI growth agency. Like, how does this make sense? I watched the film industry completely deteriorate. COVID was this insane boom because everybody was stuck at home and just wanted content. It was like, please, please Netflix. More and more and more and more and more. So they were making, uh, exemptions. I mean literally, uh, California deemed, uh, people that were working in the film industry, uh, essential workers. So we were, we were one of the first people back at it, uh, before I would even argue people should have been back at it. I don't know how safe I would say it was to be on set at that time. Um, and I was watching how things were shifting, um, how politics were shifting, how the work structure was shifting, um, how tech. Was shifting media sh and, and shifting film. I mean, we're talking about big tech companies that are now have their hands in streaming services and now they're the ones that are creating content and setting like what we're seeing out on, on tv. Um, and I, I was looking at what, you know, the people I was working with, what I was essentially, I have this, this moment where I was like, I know that this is my calling. I know that this is what I'm supposed to do, but like, what if I wake up in the morning and I look in the mirror and I hate myself for it? Um, it was really scary deciding to work for my parents because, and shifting it back into marketing, um. I worked actually in marketing when I was a teenager. I was like one of the first people that was creating, um, ads basically online for companies like Dunkin Donuts and Clain. If they knew that it was like a teenager doing this, I think that they would've like been terrified to know that. But this was like the first time that people were taking like, literally converting, um, TV ads into like online content, online ads. So I was literally like, the questions that we were having in the room was like, how do we take, uh, a commercial that was, uh, recorded for, um, recorded with audio and scripted and make it nonverbal? Um, so all of that is to say like, I always felt like in my heart, I was like, I'm really scared that I'm gonna get back into marketing. And I was like, but that's not what I wanna do. I wanna go into film. And then I had this moment where I was like, you know what? This has always sort of been, I think a part of me, and I think in some ways I'm fighting. My own ta, my own talents. Um, I'm fighting where the universe is asking me to move through. And I need to trust in my purpose. I need to trust in who I am, and I need to expl, allow myself the opportunity to, to shift. And yes, I was so worried about the perspe, uh, the perception, right? Everyone, like I said before was like, well, aren't you so sad? Aren't you so like scared that you're out of the industry now? Like you're never gonna get back in? And I was like, no. Because if I know that I'm waking up every day with my purpose of what I wanna be, of who I wanna be, um, the opportunities will always present themself. Um, I feel like a lot of people talk about, um, luck. Like very successful. People talk about, like, especially in the film industry, they're like, oh, I just was lucky. I got lucky. Yes, luck is, maybe plays a part of it, but there's, but what we don't talk about enough is preparation about the prepper being prepared. So when that lucky opportunity presents itself to you, you're ready to say yes. And so that was my shift. Um, I, I moved forward in that direction. And what's crazy is that I never thought that shifting into, you know, it was kinda one of those things where I was like, well, if I can't beat them, then join them, play them at their own game and then beat them at it, at it. So I was like, you know what? Maybe by moving in this direction, I'm actually getting closer to my ultimate dream. And now it's shifted because not only am I trying to build my dream for myself, but I'm trying, I'm like, how can I build. The dream for my people, for my friends, how can I get them to be able to wake up every day and do what it is that they do and give them those opportunities, create that lucky opportunity for them. And that fills me with so much joy.
Katherine Breuss: So it's interesting too, because I believe when you had mentioned your purpose originally, and again, I I could be, um, taking it slightly different from what you said, but you said telling stories, um, or in film or in some place in film. Mm-hmm. And when. And I always say this, and this is a tip for everyone out there, is when someone attaches purpose to one particular thing, it can be a dangerous place. Because when that one thing like film doesn't happen, then people can really lose. And I'm not saying you did, but people can really go, oh my gosh, hang on a minute. So like you hear people attach purpose to family or they attach purpose to this, and it's like, no, the purpose is actually bigger beyond that. And so when you just said, just now, as I heard you say, telling story like one that is big and that you can do in many different facets. Ah, it doesn't have to be film, but then you just said, helping other people live their dream, helping other people and that fills you up. And so there's part of me that goes, Hmm. Um. That can be in any context, that could be within family, that could be within, you know, whether it's film, whether it's Genhead, whether it's your friend, you know, all of these different, um, places. Anyway, so just things that I was hearing as you were, as you were talking.
Nikki Lee: It's like, um, Dan Martell talked about this where he was like, yeah, it's really cool making a million dollars, but do you know what's cooler? Helping someone else make a million dollars? One of your employees making a million dollars because if they're making a million dollars, that probably means that you're making 5 million or 10 million or whatever. And that is so stuck with me and I was like, like you
Katherine Breuss: would hope otherwise you're doing something wrong If they're, if they're making a million and you're stuck. Actually, having said that, you do hear a lot of times business owners not necessarily helping their employees make a million dollars, but they don't pay themselves. Yeah, they don't pay themselves. And they're, they are paying everybody else, but not them. Um, but I do love that, like if they, if the employee not love that, but love, like if the employee is making a million, you know, then yeah. The idea is that you're making five or 10 or whatever.
Nikki Lee: Yeah, well, it's like the same, it's like with the client mentality too. I think a lot of that comes down to, and I, I definitely in the same boat, um, for better or worse, where it's sort of this like, eat last mentality where it's like, feed your people first, eat last. Um, and I think that that sometimes can come at the cost of, of paying yourself. Um, for sure. But, um, yeah, I think like, uh, going through the film experiences, the, the biggest thing that I would see in keeping something from being an amazing, great project was always like leadership, particularly usually the director getting in their own way. They were so stuck on what they wanted the movie to be, that they kept the movie from becoming what it needed to be. And so. And it's funny because I literally, like, I talk about this all the time, I was like, learning filmmaking is actually what's made me such a good, uh, businesswoman because it's all so similar. Literally. So similar. Like if you're out there and you wanna like learn how to make a film, learn how to build a business, it's literally follow the same formula and you can do it from, from raising capital for your, for your film, all the way to like structuring your team writing all of that. It's crazy. So I, I've always held that in my heart where it's like, yes, I know what I want to do and what I wanna be, but yeah. Like what if, like what if tomorrow, um, filmmaking became illegal? Right? Like, what, what does that mean for me? And I don't, I think like if your, the weight of your dream crumbles under something else that is under out of your control, then you probably need to. Maybe do a little, like visiting a little like self-evaluation and really ask yourself some hard questions of like, if this thing goes away tomorrow, who am I? It's such a big thing that I see in la like people attach so much of their self-identity to who they are because it's immediately, it's like, hi, I am Nikki. Um, cool, what do you do? Right? That's the first question that people ask. And then they, they judge and determine if they wanna know you by that answer. And I, I think that that's a really dangerous trap to fall into because a
Katherine Breuss: hundred percent, and it's not just la majority of people, their identity are their roles and, and that is incredibly dangerous.
Nikki Lee: Yeah. It's like if you put all of the weight on, on what you do and not. Um, who you are, like what that means to be who to be me. Um, it's so easy to lose yourself in your career. I feel like so many business owners feel like their business owns them. And I'm like, okay, well if you attach your identity to your business, then like, not only are we talking about like you feeling like you're not having control over your business now, you feel like you don't even have control over yourself and your self identity and your self worth a
Katherine Breuss: hundred percent. And there's this whole piece about, and obviously, you know, in what we do at AG 45, we see this, um, over and over again is that business owners and people, we do this. Even if you're not a business owner, people go into the motion of life. They're in the weeds of life and they're not actually being intentional about. How they're spending their time, why they're spending their time doing that, what they actually wanna be spending their time doing. And when people are more clear about not only who they are, because the actions we take and the decisions we make come from us. So everything outside in our life is just a mirror of what we have decided and what we have acted on, um, for the most part. So when you are not clear about those things and when you're not clear about your business and clear about the soul of the business and have a strategy with the business, um, the business is running you people, they, people are spending their time just where they're like, oh, but I just have to, I'm just so busy. You hear this all time. I'm just so busy. I have no time. It. You get to choose how you wanna spend your time, it's your business.
Nikki Lee: Yeah. Some of that I think definitely comes down to control. It's, it's so funny, I was just talking with actually my mom about this, this morning where I, one in my business is gonna care about, or honestly should care about my business more than me. I, I can't ask someone to care about this more than me. That's just not gonna happen.
Katherine Breuss: No.
Nikki Lee: And so I was like, you know, it's up to me to set the vision, the mission, and the direction of the company and, and make sure that that is clearly, uh, stated and felt in our day to day. And she was like, you know, that's so funny. You know, we, um, we felt the same way and then we hired a general manager and then he kind of. Getting at, I think is part of the beauty. Oh, wait, you skipped, you got you. You froze on the general manager. So what, what happened? They hired Oh, okay. So they hired a general manager who is incredible, but he had a vision for how he thought they should build the business. Right. And she was just talking about how that has had, forced them to maybe shift Right. The way that they're thinking. And I was like, well, that's the beauty, right? Of building an amazing team and why it's so important to pick the right people, to pick your people when, especially when you're starting out. Um, because the, if you're, if you're doing it right, there's a really amazing collaboration that's happening. Um, this happened with Genhead, right? I came in and I, the second that Pat offered me, uh, a position in the company, I knew I was going to find a way to build into it. Marketing and some form of marketing agency. I knew that. I was like, this is, this is what I'm going to do. And I, I mean, I was very clear to him from the beginning and luckily he was just like, okay. Um, but never once in my life did I consider until we met Cody that we were gonna have a play in sustainable ai. Um, or that we would be building out a, um, AI research lab, um, that's focused on sustainability. Um, that wasn't my vision. That was Cody's Cody brought that to the table, shared his vision, and not only is it so beautiful and did every part of my body just like light up like a Christmas tree, like I was just like. Absolutely vibrating. I was like, this is so aligned with who I am. Like, are you telling me that I can wake up every day, get to do what I wanna do, and also feel good about it? Like be able to sleep at night? 'cause let's be real, there are some very real concerns around AI and that technology and, and the pace at which it's growing and that we're using it. Um, so him collaborating, sharing that dream, I was like, wow. Not, it didn't shift the dream. It made the dream bigger. And now it's now Genhead is bigger than me, it's bigger than Cody. It's, it's this beautiful thing that is taking a life of its own. And yes, it's up to me, it's up to Cody to shape that and make sure that we're moving in alignment with the overall goals and the mission of Genhead. But I just, it gets me so excited to continue to bring in more people. 'cause I'm like, wow. Look at, look at this amazing, beautiful example of how one person has allowed us to be a part of a conversation that I never in a million years, that million years that I would get to be a part of. Um,
Katherine Breuss: so tell me actually how Genhead, you know, as we like wrapping it up like Jen had in time. Yeah. And this piece, you're talking about AI and Yes, ai, there's so many, I mean, we could go in so many directions with ai, but I would love to understand even more how, um, Genhead and the ai, um, growth piece can help business owners with their time.
Nikki Lee: Amazing. So, um, first things first in terms of time. Um, I think one, so I'll start with this. I don't know if you saw the MIT report that came out a couple months ago, but it said that 95%. Of, uh, generative AI pilots at an, at the enterprise level have failed since 2023. That means that 19 out of 20 businesses that have tried to put significant capital into starting and leveraging AI and implementing it into their business to grow revenue have failed. That's huge. That's massive. I feel like from the small business perspective, everyone's so focused on AI and they're like, well, if I'm not using it, I, I I'm behind. You're not behind. Everyone's behind. Um, and it's not, it's not their fault. It's, it's because of a few things. One, the models that they're trying to use were not built for businesses. They were built for like research. So, um, you can't, you know, cha GBT is great on the individual level, but when you try to scale it up for businesses, it sort of falls apart. Because it's not scalable. Um, so we created our, our own model, um, building it off of an open source model, making it extremely efficient. And by doing that, um, it's, you know, just for context, it's 70%, at least 70% more efficient than most models out there because it is so efficient. It's incredibly cheap. And so we're able to offer it to everybody to use unlimited for free forever. Um, so you can actually do that by going to our website, Genhead.com, and you can create your, your account for free and start using it. And this model we has specifically fine tuned for business. So this is a model that is meant to help you. And then in the way that we've been building out our tools, time is so
Katherine Breuss: real quick, how does it help, how does it help businesses?
Nikki Lee: So, um. The, we have a few ways that we use it at the, at the free level, right? Um, we have, uh, I've structured it out to be a lot more organized so people can organize their thoughts a lot clearer. Um, we've built out the AI to be like a personal agent for you. So in terms of memory, in terms of being able to understand, you know, the onboarding processes, it asks you information about how you like to communicate, uh, what's your business, what are your goals, and so it really tries to learn and understand you, um, and it builds a relationship with you, so that way it can really help you with, you know, accountability, process improvement, and mapping growth. Um, and then we actually built in a time, uh, a time, uh, manager piece so you can actually, 'cause one of the things is like, we all have calendars, but we wanna keep those calendars clearest to have meetings. Um, but we wanna do time blocking. I feel like many coaches, um, I don't know if you, if you coach on time blocking, but, um. Being smart and eff and effective with your day and efficient with your day by blocking out specific times and getting into a routine. I built that specifically in there and as it's running through your day, it has a timer at the top. Um, and you can even add milestones. Okay, I want to achieve this, this, this and my time block, and it's right there and I kind of gamified it a little bit. So it's like, as you complete a milestone, you can click on the check mark and then it kind of like confetti goes everywhere for a second. And you can even like add points for yourself and like, you know, keep track of all of that. Um, and as you're doing this, it's all getting added to the, the agent, your personal agent's memory. So it's helping you reflect, you know, how did we do during this time block? Uh, do you feel like you used the time effectively? How can we improve this to be better? These are ways that I feel personally like AI can be used in the day to day that is not currently from what I see being pushed. To be used that is going to make the difference. Um, so, and then leveraging that into systems. So you can start there from the free model, but then we have, and you talked about this a little bit, gen suite, right? So AgTech ai, quite honestly, I think is where it's at, uh, where it's at. So did I say AI at where it's at? So, um, we fine tuned it through re and created reinforcement, uh, learning opportunities so that way, uh, users can base and business owners can go in, use our software and train the model, train their agent on how they want their business to be run. While that's happening, the agent's making recommendations on how to optimize for your business. And through that process, that ai, human collaboration, which is so important, so important, cannot trust that enough. We're basically training AI on how you. Want your business to be run. And so eventually you can start to put that your systems on autopilot and the AI is just managing sort of the, the day-to-day for you so you can focus on what fills your cup rather than data entry, organizing and managing systems and cleaning things up.
Katherine Breuss: That's really cool. Can it do it with my house?
Nikki Lee: Um, that, so right now my focus is on business, um, but I definitely am like, how can I use this to like, help me with like grocery shopping and like meal planning and like yes. Cleaning like.
Katherine Breuss: I am actually, one thing I will say that I was not opposed to when I heard like the robots were coming out and stuff, I was like, man, if I could get one to do the cooking every night for the kids when I come home, I've got my, and clean the house. Oh my God. I would be like, sweet.
Nikki Lee: It's a matter of time. Like I, I won't say it just yet, but there's definitely some really exciting things that I'm developing out with my friends on as far as connecting like gardening and like fresh produce capabilities with like bartering capabilities with your neighbors. And then also like how it can help you with like, um, making like home cooked meals and stuff like that. 'cause I feel like cooking is becoming quickly a lost art.
Katherine Breuss: Yes. And it's sad. It's because with time. Yes. Because no one has time to do it because of time.
Nikki Lee: Yes.
Katherine Breuss: And so Nikki, this has been amazing. One thing I'd love for you to share, if there was one piece of advice. That you would like to share with other business owners, what would that be? I'm sure there's lots, but if, what is the one thing that comes to mind that you would like to share?
Nikki Lee: Okay. Well, to bring it back full circle, I definitely would say like, trust your gut. Mm-hmm. Um, your friends and your family love you, but they don't understand your business. They're going to act out of fear and love for you. So when you do something that has incredible risk around it and, and starting and running a business is risky, let's be, let's be real. I think they even made a movie about it called Risky Business, I think, right? So I actually don't know what that movie is about, but, uh, but you know, so be careful about who you're getting advice from because if your advice is coming from family and friends who aren't doing the thing that you're doing, you know, they're thinking about, or AI or you know, KGBT does not, does not know you, does not love you. Let's be very clear about that. And AI lies, it's fine.
Katherine Breuss: Yes it does.
Nikki Lee: So, um, trust your intuition. Trust your gut. No one is gonna know or understand your vision better than you. And it's your responsibility to set that and learn how to communicate that. And. Dig in when, when that happens. Um, and just for the sake of time and, and circling it back to time. Learn how to say no to things that don't actually serve you or your business. That is a lesson I am still trying to learn myself.
Katherine Breuss: Amen. On that one. Yeah. And so we all are, but it is a great, it is a great reminder. And the more clarity and alignment mm-hmm. That you have within yourself, within your business, the, the more action you can take towards spending time on where you want to. It's,
Nikki Lee: it's like the, it's the trap that you fall into when you're build or like the fallacy trap that you fall into when you're growing your business is like, I'm not in a place where I can say no to anything. So I have to say yes to everything. 'cause I need to bring in revenue to feed myself, to feed my people, but. What you don't realize is by saying yes to this, you're saying no to other things. Yes. And that's actually where maybe the growth is. So maybe you're actually saying no to your own growth because you feel obligated to say yes to this.
Katherine Breuss: It's the opportunity cost. Love it. I love it. Nikki, it has been such a pleasure. Thank you so much for taking the time and um, sharing it with all of us, and I really, I appreciate you.
Nikki Lee: Thanks. This is so fun. I'm so down to come back and do this again. Are
Katherine Breuss: you? Absolutely. A hundred percent love to.
Nikki Lee: Perfect. Thank you so much, Katherine. As always, it's amazing to talk to you, so