Latest / Downshift With Tonnika / How to Build Your Personal Brand | Lola Schmidt and Kim Walker - Episode 5

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How to Build Your Personal Brand | Lola Schmidt and Kim Walker - Episode 5 · Downshift With Tonnika

• Kim Walker [00:00:21]: I love the background, Tanika. Lauralee Schmidt [00:00:34]: I know, so cozy. We're so sterile with our white. Tonnika Haynes [00:00:37]: I know, you're like in a psychiatric ward. In a psych ward. Good evening. They let them talk. Kim Walker [00:00:43]: Correct. I feel like I'm in the psych ward. Does that count? Tonnika Haynes [00:00:47]: Oh, because where are you right now? Ignite? Kim Walker [00:00:51]: Yeah, but not because of that, just because of life in general. Tonnika Haynes [00:00:54]: Life. Oh, it's life. Psych ward life. Kim Walker [00:00:56]: It's life. Tonnika Haynes [00:00:56]: It's life. Life. Kim Walker [00:00:58]: David and, um, uh, Lucas, where we're already recording and we don't know it. Tonnika Haynes [00:01:05]: Yeah. Kim Walker [00:01:06]: Oh, fun. Tonnika Haynes [00:01:07]: Yeah, yeah, because why not? Because it's just going to be a natural conversation. I got a couple questions, but we can banter all day. We can start by talking about your spider. Kim Walker [00:01:18]: I knew this was going to come up because it was funny, Kim. Tonnika Haynes [00:01:22]: That was so sad. Kim Walker [00:01:24]: It, it's a common thing. Like, I live in Louisiana, what do you expect? Lauralee Schmidt [00:01:29]: It was a big spider. Kim Walker [00:01:32]: It was big. It was very big. So am I supposed to explain for our listeners? Tonnika Haynes [00:01:38]: I think you should explain how you were standing on the couch hollering for Brian, and you decided to text us to make sure that if you died from this spider, that you had reached out to somebody before. So you reached out to us, and I feel really good about that. Kim Walker [00:01:56]: Well, the problem is I reached out for support, but what I got was heckling. Just— Lauralee Schmidt [00:02:03]: that is support. Tonnika Haynes [00:02:05]: That was— we gave you music. Itzy beats the spider. Lauralee Schmidt [00:02:08]: Yes, there was options. Tonnika Haynes [00:02:11]: Did you think you were gonna be like, oh my God, I can't show up to help you? What did you think we were going to say? What did you think we were going to say, Tanika and Lola? Kim Walker [00:02:23]: Uh, well, you're right, you're right. I got exactly what I— Tonnika Haynes [00:02:27]: don't do that, don't do this like that, Kim. Kim Walker [00:02:29]: See, I got exactly what I asked for. Tonnika Haynes [00:02:32]: There you go. Kim Walker [00:02:32]: Now that we're in the debriefing stage, for those that don't know, right, we live in Louisiana and we have critters that are large. And all I know is that Brian just walked in and he knew I was going to be on a podcast and he's listening to me talk about spiders. But that checks out. Tonnika Haynes [00:02:55]: Yeah. Kim Walker [00:02:56]: Honestly, I'm kind of afraid to tell the story because once people know what you're afraid of, then they're going to bring toy spiders to your classes and throw them at you. Tonnika Haynes [00:03:04]: I just gave them an idea. They act on it. Kim Walker [00:03:07]: Yeah, she didn't know, right? Right. Lauralee Schmidt [00:03:13]: No better time to overcome a fear Yeah, this is nothing. Kim Walker [00:03:17]: I was like 8 years old, so this fear— Lauralee Schmidt [00:03:22]: did you get bit by a spider? Kim Walker [00:03:25]: No, it was just another super large one when I was a little kid that was in my room. Lauralee Schmidt [00:03:31]: And, um, oh, in your room? Kim Walker [00:03:33]: Oh, oh, and again, Louisiana, these things are large, large, so you think you'd be used to them. No, no, but I'm not. Tonnika Haynes [00:03:43]: Okay, I'm sorry. Kim Walker [00:03:44]: I was in my gym and I was doing farmer's carry, so I was walking around trying to warm up, and I got to this spot where I saw it on the ground, and I just froze and ran back to where I came from and jumped up on this bench, texted my friends saying, OMG, look what I'm seeing here. I also recorded a video and sent it to the family text. Peyton, who was in New York, Brian, who at the time was 20 feet from me but on the other side of the wall, and he was the last to see the message out of like 6 people. Tonnika Haynes [00:04:27]: So me and Lola probably could have got there quicker than Brian. Kim Walker [00:04:30]: Probably. And yeah. Yeah, and he just laughed and said I was ridiculous, and he took a picture of me up on the, on the bench. He did kill it to us and didn't want to kill it because, like, Lola has tried to train me in the past. It was a good, a good spider. Tonnika Haynes [00:04:47]: Oh, that's like her and the flipping bee that got in our martini in New York, and I'm mad because I just paid for a martini, and she's like, save the bee. Lauralee Schmidt [00:04:57]: Listen, He needs to be drunk. Kim Walker [00:05:00]: He was not savable. Tonnika Haynes [00:05:01]: He was drunk, not fly away well. Kim Walker [00:05:07]: Oh my gosh. Anyway, the good spider is dead. Sorry. Lauralee Schmidt [00:05:12]: That's okay. Kim Walker [00:05:13]: Really so sorry. Lauralee Schmidt [00:05:14]: But to be fair, I don't love the big spiders. They're— we have wolf— the wolf spiders, right? Is that what it was? Kim Walker [00:05:21]: That's what Brian says it was. Lauralee Schmidt [00:05:22]: We have them too. And like, I don't— I'd heard— I trapped one under a cake, like a glass cake dish, and it was there for like 2 days while Eric was on a motorcycle trip. Kim Walker [00:05:32]: Okay, so don't come at me when you're doing that. Lauralee Schmidt [00:05:34]: Listen, I went and trapped it though. You did not trap— you were elevated on furniture. But you know, it was— Kim Walker [00:05:44]: and he was alive. Most of them are dead because we have it sprayed once a month, but this guy— Tonnika Haynes [00:05:49]: so this is a super spider. He made it through. Lauralee Schmidt [00:05:52]: He made it through. Kim Walker [00:05:54]: Dang, you got closer, Laura Lee, than I would have. I, I can't even get close enough to trap it. Lauralee Schmidt [00:06:00]: I was screaming the whole time though, if it makes you feel better. Tonnika Haynes [00:06:03]: Like, that does scream. Yes, she was screaming while she was laughing, like that kind of scream. Lauralee Schmidt [00:06:09]: Yes, like nervous cackle. Tonnika Haynes [00:06:12]: All right, well, yeah, but Lola, uh, Montana 2025 fishing, you kind of squealed like a little girl. With the fish. Lauralee Schmidt [00:06:27]: It's no lie. Kim Walker [00:06:28]: Slippery, slimy. Lauralee Schmidt [00:06:29]: I did not want to touch the fish. I was forced to touch the fish. Yeah, it was very slick. Tonnika Haynes [00:06:39]: It's a fish. Lauralee Schmidt [00:06:42]: I like them on my plate. Kim Walker [00:06:45]: Yeah, yeah, they are made for eating. Lauralee Schmidt [00:06:49]: And it was a beautiful fish, but I didn't want to touch it, and y'all forced me to touch it. Tonnika Haynes [00:06:53]: And then you wanted to catch another one just like that. Lauralee Schmidt [00:06:56]: And I did not. Tonnika Haynes [00:06:57]: You did not. Lauralee Schmidt [00:06:58]: I was very ready to go back at that point. Tonnika Haynes [00:07:00]: It was a beautiful day, wonderful day. Lauralee Schmidt [00:07:04]: But soon we're gonna do it again, right? Tonnika Haynes [00:07:06]: Yeah, I can't wait. It's on every calendar. I'm so ready. I've got some boots. It better be cold so I can wear all of my Montana wear. Oh my gosh, I got new fancy boots for Montana. I gotta get on the sweater game. But I actually had to wear some of the stuff that I bought for Montana because we never get that cold in North Carolina. Tonnika Haynes [00:07:26]: I've been wearing that this week because it is cold. And I've asked you repeatedly to come pick up your weather, Lola. Lauralee Schmidt [00:07:35]: I have enough weather. Tonnika Haynes [00:07:37]: It's snowing again tonight in North Carolina. That doesn't— Kim Walker [00:07:40]: she's not a good listener. Tonnika Haynes [00:07:44]: Come here. Lauralee Schmidt [00:07:44]: You're the only one that's in a warm spot then, huh, Kim? Kim Walker [00:07:47]: Well, I don't think it's warm, but everybody else here says it's warm. Tonnika Haynes [00:07:51]: What's the temp right now? Kim Walker [00:07:54]: Um, probably 40, 50. Let me see. Tonnika Haynes [00:07:58]: I'm like negative 2. Kim Walker [00:08:02]: That's a thing? Lauralee Schmidt [00:08:03]: Yeah, bad thing. It's really cold tonight. Kim Walker [00:08:06]: Oh my God, it's 76 here right now. Tonnika Haynes [00:08:09]: What's wrong with you, woman? Lauralee Schmidt [00:08:10]: I don't even want to hear it. Tonnika Haynes [00:08:11]: That's nice. That's nice. That's like, yeah. Kim Walker [00:08:15]: For those who are— oh wait, where did my screenshot go? For those who are watching, it's 76 and sunny. Tonnika Haynes [00:08:23]: And where are you? Arizona. Kim Walker [00:08:25]: Scottsdale, Arizona. Tonnika Haynes [00:08:27]: Riding the horsey. Yeah, yes, it was beautiful. That was so beautiful. Kim Walker [00:08:32]: Brian's a very smart man. He knows what he's doing. Lauralee Schmidt [00:08:36]: You should get a horse. Kim Walker [00:08:37]: I'm working on it. Lauralee Schmidt [00:08:39]: You're not home a lot to take care of it, but. Right. Tonnika Haynes [00:08:42]: Well, you've got people and family, they can come feed them. Kim Walker [00:08:45]: Well, you know, there's milestones to every goal. So the first one is to get myself out of all of the travel. So slowly but surely, we'll see. I mean, I don't know. I think I did like 12 conferences last year. We'll see. Yeah. But I do need to be more at home to do that. Tonnika Haynes [00:09:00]: Right. Do you want to stop like completely or just cut it in half? Like how much traveling? How much you're going to cut back? Who's going to do your thing if you're not there? Lauralee Schmidt [00:09:11]: How are we going to see you? Kim Walker [00:09:12]: That's a lot of questions. Tonnika Haynes [00:09:14]: Like, who's going to take your place? You are the queen of connections. Kim Walker [00:09:17]: Oh my Lord. Tonnika Haynes [00:09:19]: You got to be there. Kim Walker [00:09:21]: Y'all fix it. Lauralee Schmidt [00:09:21]: Because otherwise it's like unconnected. Then you're like the queen of unconnected. Don't do that. Kim Walker [00:09:25]: Don't do that. Tonnika Haynes [00:09:27]: The queen of disconnection. Kim Walker [00:09:28]: It takes a while to get that stuff done. Oh my God. Y'all are crazy. That doesn't happen overnight. Tonnika Haynes [00:09:35]: Okay. Lauralee Schmidt [00:09:35]: Just leaving. Kim Walker [00:09:37]: Just take some time. Tonnika Haynes [00:09:39]: But okay. Let me get back to the question. Kim Walker [00:09:40]: We will never be not connected. Tonnika Haynes [00:09:41]: Yeah. You're not going to ever be unconnected. How long have you been in the industry? Because you guys started out with a shop right here in Apex or Cary, which one was it? Kim Walker [00:09:50]: So the first shop was in Raleigh. Tonnika Haynes [00:09:54]: Okay. Kim Walker [00:09:55]: Um, and that would have been, well, I was pregnant, so 2000. '93 is when we opened our first shop. Yeah. So I've been in the industry since then. Brian, however, has been in the industry because he was a technician first. So gosh, I don't know, back to like '95 or something. Tonnika Haynes [00:10:17]: That's cool. Like both of you guys, your men drug you in the industry. Like, was that hard trying to find your footing? Because Kim, you're an educator. Correct? Yeah, by trade, well before this. And Lola, fashion. So that's a— well, fashion, makeup, all the things, all the pretty things. Yeah, but you're still doing pretty things. Lauralee Schmidt [00:10:41]: Unpretty industry. Tonnika Haynes [00:10:42]: No, it's an unpretty industry, but you're making it pretty. Lauralee Schmidt [00:10:47]: I'm trying. Tonnika Haynes [00:10:48]: Like, you're the marketing— both of you guys are marketing, branding queens. And But when they said, hey baby, come to the shop and help me, what did you say? Oh, hell no. Or did you say, sure, anything for you, love? Kim Walker [00:11:03]: Oh no, it was definitely closer to hell no. And the way that happened for me, because I was a teacher and a school counselor, Brian opened the shop. And as I don't know, I think most shop owners, a lot of them are not getting paid in the beginning. So. When he said, hey, come do marketing. Okay, we tell this story, so it's not a secret. I literally said, I don't know what marketing is. What do you— what does that mean? And now I own a marketing company, so I know that's kind of crazy. Kim Walker [00:11:34]: But he said, you're great with people, you'll figure it out. And I said, well, am I going to get paid? Because one of us has to get paid. And we had Payton at the time, and he was like, yes, you'll get paid for sure. And so, yeah, I agreed. And that was really it. So at first it was a no, are you crazy? Somebody's got to get paid. I'm the only one with a salary right now. But we figured it out. Kim Walker [00:12:01]: I mean, we'll be married 27 years this year, and we have worked together 24 of those 27. Tonnika Haynes [00:12:08]: Wow. That's cool. So did you when Eric told you, "Baby, I need you to come to the shop," or did you say, "I need to come to the shop because you ain't doing it right"? Which one was it? That sounds right. Lauralee Schmidt [00:12:22]: I was pregnant. Same. But he, like, I traveled for my job. Like, it was probably a good, like, 85-90% travel job. So he was like, "Hey, how am I supposed to, how am I supposed to take care of this baby and have this job?" And so we had to figure out what to do. And childcare was so expensive, it made no sense for me to keep working if I was just going to hand over my whole check anyways. And so kind of the same though, I was really scared because like Eric didn't make a lot of money, um, at the shop then. It was like we're figuring a lot out, right? So I was like, man, we're about to be poor, like real poor. Kim Walker [00:13:06]: And didn't sign up for that. Lauralee Schmidt [00:13:09]: Yeah, not really, you know, because I didn't put for richer or poorer in my wedding vows. Like, they were not there. And it didn't sound good to me. So, but it, you know, I knew I was like, okay, I'm smart. I knew that. And I saw some opportunity in the shop. So here we go. Tonnika Haynes [00:13:28]: Here you go. I remember we were doing the class at ASTA and some of the women were like, I don't know how to help my husband in the business. And that was a real question. And then like they come to the conferences because they don't want to be away from their man for 3 to 5 days. I don't care, but, um, they just don't know where they fit in. So do you think that you would tell people, go in there and help him, or just stay at home? Like, I know some ladies that really want to help, but they don't know where they fit in. But I guess you could help with marketing. I don't know if anybody wants to be in there working with their husbands because you, you have a separate desk for Brian. Tonnika Haynes [00:14:08]: Lola, you don't really have to work with Eric? Like, you guys are working together on projects, or are you really? Lauralee Schmidt [00:14:15]: We don't— Tonnika Haynes [00:14:15]: we don't even do that. Lauralee Schmidt [00:14:17]: Yeah, together. Tonnika Haynes [00:14:18]: How does your man survive? We have to stay separate. Lauralee Schmidt [00:14:21]: We went to a lot of therapy, man. I'm not even gonna lie, uh, it took some therapy. And us moving offices, separating— we could not share an office at the beginning. We had to because the space was small, right? Even having an office in the same vicinity, like with a huge hallway between us, we We still, it did not work until the building. Kim Walker [00:14:44]: So, you know, I think though, what, what Lola is saying is you need to know yourself and you need to know your husband and you need to know strengths and weaknesses and boundaries and know if it's going to work or if it's not going to work. Ron and I just happened to, we, it does work for us, but I think that it— and I think I said this in that class that you're talking about— is you don't have to join him in the business. Maybe there's not a place for you there. But I think the most important place is when he comes home, be a soft place for him to land. Because if he's in that space in that business without you, when he comes home, you've been doing whatever you've been doing. And you want this, but he comes home and he wants this, maybe he doesn't want to talk about it, or maybe he does need to talk about it. And you might be the only comfortable spot for him. So having some patience, some grace, some understanding, giving him the space to vent if he needs to vent, rant if he needs to rant, and you may be in the spot where you're like, I don't want to hear it, but you're his wife. Kim Walker [00:16:00]: And that's, that's just in my opinion, we're there to support one another. And so, um, I think more, you know, some, one of those ladies, they said something like, I don't know how to support him. Do I need to work in the business? If I remember this one lady that was talking about it, it was like she felt obligated to go be in the business, but she really didn't want to be in the business. And I just say, don't, because look, running a business together is not for everyone. Like Lola just said, they did counseling. Brian and I did counseling. Uh, I want to say maybe 3 or 4 years ago, actually. So we, when we lived in North Carolina, we had, um, a lady in our BNI group who was a marriage and family therapist. Kim Walker [00:16:51]: And we've been married at that point, I don't know, 23 years, 24 years, something like that, whatever it was a couple of years ago. And you would think at that point in your marriage, you, you don't— you've figured it out, right? You're now kind of on cruise control. And our communication had gotten off. And so instead of doing like— we loved her, we trust this, this— her name is Leslie Dorez, by the way, if anybody wants to look her up. She actually does the super husband project or Superman husband, or she's not that she focuses on the men, but lots of men don't want to have anything to do with counseling. And so her target audience is men, let's say that, I would, I would say. And so to just kind of where we call it the Walker way, make a decision, steamroll ahead and don't look back. Like that's literally our family mantra. Kim Walker [00:17:54]: And so instead of doing like, weekly sessions every other week. We were like, nope, let's just— we're going to ASTA, literally. Let's, let's go and have an all-day-long just hash it out session. We booked her for 8 hours, an intensive. Lauralee Schmidt [00:18:15]: Wow. Kim Walker [00:18:15]: And then we were like, wait a minute, do we do it on the right before ASTA or do we do it after? So we were like trying to figure out, like, if we do it before ASTA and it doesn't go well, then we're at this conference. And so we decided, but if we do it after ASTA, we're drained, we're exhausted anyway. We went with that Monday after, and thankfully we only needed half a day. But just to say that you don't know, it might take years in before you realize that there's an area you need to address. And for us, it was communication. It was just being on the same page. My big takeaway was instead of just coming up to him. I need to talk about this right now when he's in the middle of something. Kim Walker [00:19:02]: Um, it, for me, it was just check in with him first. Is this a good time? Can I talk to you about this thing? Um, and so we each kind of had our own little takeaway from that, but back to the, I'm kind of rambling back to the question. Tonnika Haynes [00:19:16]: Rambling's good. Kim Walker [00:19:17]: I think it's like, don't feel pressured to be in the space where you don't belong. The space where you belong might just be And when I say at home, I don't mean not working, whatever your work is, but being a supportive wife at home at the end of the day. Right. Tonnika Haynes [00:19:33]: That was good. I like how you said a soft place because it is. It's hard out there for everybody. You have to come home and just come home to— who wants to do that? That's why people sit in the car extra 30 minutes before they walk in the house. Oh, here we go. Right. Oh, you got to finish the song too. So. Tonnika Haynes [00:19:54]: Now you both have found your footing in the industry and you both are dynamite. Like, I can't believe that I'm your friend. I feel so lucky. I know it sounds corny. It really does though. Like, I remember when I first met Kim and Brian. I don't get to meet you. It was a Rick White event and you guys were presenting and I just thought it was so cool that you guys presented together and you didn't hurt each other. Tonnika Haynes [00:20:20]: Like, you didn't cut each other off. He spoke, then you spoke, and he spoke, then you spoke. You spoke. And I was like, look at it, it's so cute. And I remember, I think I met Eric before I met Lola. I saw Lola, but I think I met Eric first at Feeling Connections. And we won't tell that story, but I think from that point, her and Eric knew that I had that girl's back just by default because there was somebody trying to push up on her man. And I was— I had to tell that woman, I will cut you. Lauralee Schmidt [00:20:50]: I know, she didn't even know me. Tonnika Haynes [00:20:53]: I know, I was like, sorry. Lauralee Schmidt [00:20:56]: Yeah, so yeah, somebody's trying to push up on her man. Cute. Tonnika Haynes [00:20:57]: So the little pointy ears, somebody wanted them. And, um, I remember because I kept saying, I was like, no, he's married. Lauralee Schmidt [00:21:05]: No, he didn't even realize they were like hitting. Yeah, he didn't even— Tonnika Haynes [00:21:09]: he's just like, and then I think we're in line to get food, and I just got in front. I was like, I said, what? And I think he called that. Yeah. Lauralee Schmidt [00:21:23]: Yeah, he was like, hey, you're gonna like Tanika. Tonnika Haynes [00:21:25]: I don't even think I met her in person yet. I think I probably saw her in passing at ASDA and online, but at that point I was like, oh, she tripping, we ain't doing this, stop it. So I love it. But Lola, what the heck? You gotta answer this for the people that don't know. And like Kim said, everybody doesn't know. Stop frowning, don't do that. Put your eyebrow down, eyebrow down. There you go. Tonnika Haynes [00:21:51]: Hey, girl, explain to the people in the back what marketing and branding is. You've got 1 minute because they don't know. They really don't. People still ask that question. Lauralee Schmidt [00:22:01]: Okay, so I don't talk about marketing. Tonnika Haynes [00:22:03]: You talk about branding. Lauralee Schmidt [00:22:04]: I hire Kim for marketing. Tonnika Haynes [00:22:06]: Yeah, you're the branding. You're the branding baddie. Lauralee Schmidt [00:22:10]: Yeah, I do branding stuff. Marketing in 1 minute. Telling a consistent story that can grow and evolve in authenticity. Boom. Kim Walker [00:22:21]: Wow. Tonnika Haynes [00:22:21]: Oh, you did that in like 3 seconds. Now say it for a person with a 5th grade education. Lauralee Schmidt [00:22:27]: Oh, um, little words. Neat and clean and consistent. Tonnika Haynes [00:22:32]: Okay. Lauralee Schmidt [00:22:33]: And true. Tonnika Haynes [00:22:34]: And what's the big no's in marketing? I mean, in branding, the things that you don't do in branding. Don't do it. Lauralee Schmidt [00:22:43]: Don't use weird illegible font in weird places. I agree. Like, you people get overly creative sometimes, I think. Tonnika Haynes [00:22:52]: Like, keep it simple, stupid, you know? Lauralee Schmidt [00:22:55]: Was it like Coco Chanel? Tonnika Haynes [00:22:56]: She just— Lauralee Schmidt [00:22:56]: take, take one thing off before you leave the house. One thing back off. So they can do that sometimes with some branding, I think. Um, I don't— there's a lot of different nuances. I think you have to know who you are to be able to build a good brand. You have to know who you are. Kim Walker [00:23:13]: First. Tonnika Haynes [00:23:14]: Dig in, get the why, figure out who you are, and then come up with the scheme. Lauralee Schmidt [00:23:19]: Yeah, you can't be everybody else. You have to be you. Tonnika Haynes [00:23:22]: Please be you. Kim Walker [00:23:24]: I love that. Tonnika Haynes [00:23:24]: And you guys are so uniquely you, and I love it. And like I said, I can't believe that I'm your friend and we go places together and we actually talk almost on a daily basis. And Kim is such the queen of connections, and I'm not going to cry on this podcast Are we in crying mode? Lauralee Schmidt [00:23:40]: I know, I don't bring that to the— Tonnika Haynes [00:23:42]: don't do that. Hold on. Uh-oh. Kim Walker [00:23:46]: Okay. Oh my gosh, I don't know where she's going. Tonnika Haynes [00:23:48]: No, because I just think about all the heart— dag on it, girl. Kim Walker [00:23:54]: You need some testosterone, right? Lauralee Schmidt [00:23:56]: Y'all bring my little pills to Montana for you. Tonnika Haynes [00:24:00]: I got shots. Kim Walker [00:24:02]: Mine are weekly. Tonnika Haynes [00:24:03]: Oh my God. But no, I just think about the times that you actually reach out and it's so Genuine. I think the first thing I got— I think, who was it, Santana? No, Jordan graduated and I was feeling some kind of way, and you sent me that stinking beautiful handkerchief. Oh, and you said all good Southern mamas have to have a handkerchief. And since then, I actually give those out a lot to my customers when I feel like they need one. So you are— it's such good stuff. The queen of connections, just the random kindness. And it's not— there's nothing expected back. Tonnika Haynes [00:24:42]: And I think a lot of people miss that. And so when you talk about that during your classes, I hope people really listen and understand. And that can be a part of their brand or their marketing. I don't know which one that falls under, just being your unique self to your customers and your clients. And they'll remember that. Like, just actually, when a customer— you can see that they're not having that good day, you can like not make that transaction about their car. Where you can step in front of the desk and say, hey, are you good? Like, can we talk? Do you really need somebody to talk to? I will not judge. I will not say anything. Tonnika Haynes [00:25:15]: Just get it out. And you, you're that person for a lot of people. And I know you— did you really want to sign up for that? Does it take an emotional toll on you? Because it was taking one on me. And then again, Kim Walker sends me a book, Your Best No— Kim Walker [00:25:31]: best yes. Tonnika Haynes [00:25:32]: Your best guess. Kim Walker [00:25:33]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:25:33]: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Like, did you— have you always been that person? Did you develop into that person? How did you get to be so lovely? Kim Walker [00:25:44]: That's a deep question. Nobody's ever asked that before. I don't know. I mean, I definitely— Tonnika Haynes [00:25:48]: I— Kim Walker [00:25:50]: anybody that knows me knows I'm a very faith-filled person. And I did this like I don't know, my life purpose study one time because I was like, who— what was I created to be? Who am I? And I thought I was going to come out with some big revelation, like some big aha moment. But I went through this like 8-week study, and by the time I got to the end of it, I was like, what? I was born to teach, connect, and serve? That's what I came out with. Mine too. Tonnika Haynes [00:26:25]: I just did it. I did it too. I did the, um, leadership intensive with the Institute, and they asked the question, and I was like, oh no, I'm just me. And mine came out something like that. I was like, am I? I'm gonna have to find it. Well, the thing is, am I? I guess I am. Kim Walker [00:26:44]: Even, even just recently in this study that I'm doing now, it's just like a daily devotional kind of thing. And I'm in this section about your identity. And there's a part in it that I'm like, you know, like, your God-given skills and talents and abilities, your natural tendencies are obvious. And so while it took me a very long time to discover who I really am and where I'm really comfortable and what just comes natural to me. I mean, it took years, but I grew up in a wildly traumatic childhood that didn't allow me to be who I was meant to be because I was in survival mode. And so it took until I was in my, I don't know, probably 30s before I even started realizing some of those natural giftings in my life. And, um, you know, the whole Queen of Connections thing, when that happened, somebody introduced me that way at a networking event. Somebody called me over and they called somebody else over and they're like, you got to meet Kim Walker, she's Queen of Connections. Kim Walker [00:27:59]: And I was like, that's a funny, funny word. Well, honestly, I, I, it wasn't comfortable. I didn't like it. Tonnika Haynes [00:28:07]: Oh. Kim Walker [00:28:07]: And, you know, like when you're a kid, you get it, you get, you don't get to pick your nickname. Tonnika Haynes [00:28:13]: Right. Kim Walker [00:28:14]: Right. It's just given to you. And so as an adult, I was given that nickname. And then a couple of years later, I tried everything I could to shake it off, you know, to get rid of it and drop it. And it just wouldn't, it wouldn't happen. And so I finally accepted it. And then when I did that study and realized I was literally created for this, this is why God put me on earth. And so I've accepted it and now it's, um, I own the domain. Kim Walker [00:28:43]: I do. Yeah. And, and I, um, and I put it on my business card and sometimes I'll have it on my name on here, you know, just things like that. But I think sometimes you just have to accept who you are, whether you like it or not. And, um, I don't know that that really answered your question. Tonnika Haynes [00:29:02]: So no, actually it did. Interesting, because it's— you try to run away. Like, for me, I try to run away of whoever God wants me to be. He ain't gonna let it happen. I'll be running and he'd be running faster than me, and I'll be like, I can't outrun the Lord. Nope, that is, uh, stupid. Kim Walker [00:29:21]: He is coming for you. He put you on Earth for that. He needs you to do what he— there is no other Tanika, there is no other Lola, there is no other Well, there is another Kim Walker, but you know what I mean. Tonnika Haynes [00:29:32]: She's not Kim Walker. Kim Walker [00:29:35]: But yeah, I mean, you're needed. Lauralee Schmidt [00:29:39]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:29:40]: So like, Lola, how do you feel when people reach out to you with all the questions and picking your brain? Because I know I'm a brain picker. I've called you and say, hey, what about this? Can I borrow this? What do you got? What do you got? What do you got? Help me, help me. Lauralee Schmidt [00:29:52]: No, I think it depends on who's reaching out. Tonnika Haynes [00:29:56]: Okay. Lauralee Schmidt [00:29:56]: Um, I'm not, let me not say that. Um, say it. No, like I would, I don't wanna say I'm not available for everyone, but well, no, your boundaries. I, I'm not available for everyone. Um, and how deep I get with some things just depends on the level of value that I see in the person reaching. Out. Tonnika Haynes [00:30:22]: That's fair enough. No, that's not— Lauralee Schmidt [00:30:24]: it doesn't really sound very nice. Tonnika Haynes [00:30:26]: Well, because you don't want to do like say yes to everything and then you're burnt out. Lauralee Schmidt [00:30:31]: I had to learn how to set boundaries. Like, well, this was my whole thing right at Refuge last year that we talked about. Like, I made some like choices because I have things that like actually matter to me that I have to protect. So I have to have time for those things. Kim Walker [00:30:46]: People will take as much as you will give. Tonnika Haynes [00:30:49]: Oh yeah. Kim Walker [00:30:50]: Right. So you, you have to, you have to have those boundaries. It took me a very long time to learn it. And that's why I know that book, The Best Yes, and I give it to people all the time, is people will take all that you will give. And if you are not taking— look, I'm 52. Anybody that's listening, this, this might be the reason you're listening to this thing is nobody else is going to set your boundaries for you. And learning when to say no, when to say yes. How to do it so that people aren't leaving that exchange going, well, she's rude. Kim Walker [00:31:24]: No, you're taking care of yourself. And so I— you asked earlier, Tanika, about the weight of it. And I think that there is a heavy weight to it if you're not— if you're not being a good steward of it, right? If you're not taking care of it. And so for me, I've just figured out I'm in this hotel room right now. As a social butterfly as I am, when I'm at these conferences, I have to retreat and go fill up, right? And just put my brain and my heart, my soul back together so I can go back out with a full cup. Tonnika Haynes [00:32:00]: That is true. Lauralee Schmidt [00:32:00]: Because I find that it's very exhausting to speak at a conference, though. Like, did you speak? Kim Walker [00:32:05]: Brian did. Tonnika Haynes [00:32:06]: I mean, the whole setup, the whole gearing, the people talking to you, like, you do have to step away and just sort of like Oh yeah, there's plenty of times like I don't do as much as you guys do, but the expo is just like, okay, I gotta go to my room because you do a lot. I saw you going all out and it's like, wow. And Tanika, Tanika, and I know the joke is, oh, you know my name because I'm the only Black female in here and I'm easy to pick out, but I have no idea who you are. But hey, and you're just like, hey, and it's like, it's just Because Jordan saw it. Jordan saw it this year because he was there. He's like, Mom, like, what in the world? And so, I mean, I'm, I'm no Kim Walker. Kim Walker [00:32:48]: Oh my God. Tonnika Haynes [00:32:48]: I'm no Lola Schmidt. But, but it is exhausting. So I'm happy to know that it's a good exhaustion because, you know, people are coming and they respect you, they love you. And I'm just starting to learn to accept that they like me. They really Why do they like me? And like Braxton was pushing me to do this podcast for like a year. I was like, what do I have to say? And I still don't know what I have to say, but he keeps telling me about it. I went to the leadership intensive. I came up with my new why, and I put my purpose down on paper and it made me choke up a little bit. Tonnika Haynes [00:33:25]: And I faulted. I was like, uh-uh, Jesus. Nuh-uh. I cuss too much. I can't be doing this. Because I don't— my mouth ain't right, you know. Sometimes I roll my eyes at people. God, but you want me to do this? Okay, well, I'll try not to roll my eyes at people and I'll try not to say a lot of bad words, but I'm really not going to change myself. Tonnika Haynes [00:33:44]: But no one has— they haven't said I need you to change yourself, because when they say I need to change yourself, I'm just going to exit stage right. I'm not doing that. I'll just call, I'll text you guys and say, you know what they said to me? Kim Walker [00:33:55]: Is there Oh my gosh. Is there a podcast that is in our industry that's done by a woman? Tonnika Haynes [00:34:04]: Nope. I don't think so. Well, there's one that's starting. I haven't met her yet. I was introduced to her via text today. I don't know who it is. Lauralee Schmidt [00:34:12]: Oh, I did one with a girl who was like a technician, like, probably 2 years ago, but I don't ever think that that actually came out. So, and I don't know if she's even around. Kim Walker [00:34:24]: I don't know. Tonnika Haynes [00:34:24]: There might be, but you know, our circle is different than others. So there may be. Hopefully there is. Kim Walker [00:34:30]: Well, my point is there are going to be— look, men are going to listen to this too. Hey, guys. But like I said earlier, a soft place. This is a soft place to land for some of the ladies in the industry to be able to hear the— by the way, I am not a feminist at all. So sorry to any ladies that are. I personally am not. Do your thing. It's totally fine. Kim Walker [00:34:53]: I'm not. But I think it's good to have a place for women to connect and hear from other women in the industry. So it's a, it's a, it's a hole I think that you're filling. Tonnika Haynes [00:35:05]: Well, thank you. I hope so, because I think women are more catty than men. And even in the Amazing Women's Facebook group, we can build a lot of people reading, but there's not a lot of interaction there. Because I think the fear of speaking up or the fear of being judged by the question, and I'm pretty sure that happens in all the ASAW, the Confessions, all of those other groups. But I wish that we were better connected. We are, and I really enjoy that. And I really enjoy all my little nieces. Like, I've got these younger women who are in the shop with their husbands or doing this, or they're technicians themselves, just in the industry, like Ash and, uh, Katie Knox. Tonnika Haynes [00:35:48]: And they're texting me and asking me things and sharing stuff, and I just feel like, well, you girl. Auntie's got you. I'm so proud. Okay, I do. I like being like the automotive auntie a little bit. Kim Walker [00:36:02]: So, and I'm the automotive mom, do you know that? Tonnika Haynes [00:36:04]: No, you're not. You're only 52. I'm 49. I guess because I'm your sister. Kim Walker [00:36:09]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:36:09]: And you— yeah, I'll say. So that's why I'm auntie, and Lola is the rich auntie. Kim Walker [00:36:13]: What? Tonnika Haynes [00:36:14]: No. Lauralee Schmidt [00:36:14]: How did I get to be the rich? Because you're a woman with the cars. Tonnika Haynes [00:36:20]: Woman with the bags and the glamour. You're so glamorous. Kim Walker [00:36:24]: Is she drinking wine? Lauralee Schmidt [00:36:26]: Are we done? Tonnika Haynes [00:36:27]: No, we're not done. This is part of my marketing for the podcast. My brand. Kim Walker [00:36:33]: That's hysterical. I did tell Brian, I was like, I need to do a pod— I'm not doing it. Okay. Just so you know. But I told him, I'm like, I need to do a podcast that's like, Martinis and talking. Tonnika Haynes [00:36:46]: We should do that. Okay, so we should do that like once a month. Talking Teenies with the ladies. I don't know, that kind of sounds like something else, but let's talk. Lauralee Schmidt [00:36:57]: I wanted to do a pajama party where we all wore pretty pajamas and talked about car stuff in the bed one evening. Tonnika Haynes [00:37:03]: But you don't even like car stuff, Lola. Lauralee Schmidt [00:37:06]: I can smile. I don't want to talk car stuff though, and I can redirect the conversation if it gets bad. Kim Walker [00:37:13]: Yeah, I don't want to talk car stuff, but we can do this, another one of these podcasts, right, in our pajamas in Montana with Sherri. Lauralee Schmidt [00:37:23]: Oh yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:37:23]: Oh my God. Yeah, we're gonna do it. So we all have to bring our podcast stuff. There's no internet there. Kim Walker [00:37:29]: Oh wait, but in the internet— well, if we're together, I don't think you need the internet. Lauralee Schmidt [00:37:35]: Do it on like a phone or something and we'll figure it out. Braxton can fix it. Tonnika Haynes [00:37:40]: We can fix it. Lauralee Schmidt [00:37:41]: Braxton can fix it. Tonnika Haynes [00:37:43]: He's like You will fix it. Kim Walker [00:37:44]: You better tell him. Tonnika Haynes [00:37:45]: Oh, we'll do it in Montana. It'll be a pajama party for the industry. For the ladies. Lauralee Schmidt [00:37:51]: Cute pajamas. Tonnika Haynes [00:37:52]: That's gonna be funny. Okay, we'll do it. It's done. Lauralee Schmidt [00:37:56]: You have like 2 months to make us branded pajamas. Tonnika Haynes [00:38:00]: Bedazzled pajamas so we'll itch at night. Lauralee Schmidt [00:38:02]: Let's say like, what is it? Downshift? Tonnika Haynes [00:38:04]: The Downshift. Yeah. Lauralee Schmidt [00:38:06]: Well, how did you get your name? Tonnika Haynes [00:38:08]: So My first coach, my first real coach that was Rick White. And I'm not a coachable person. Imagine that. You're not telling me what to do because that's stupid. That's stupid. That was stupid. I was not very coachable. And so both Rick and I are very strong D and I on the DISC. Tonnika Haynes [00:38:29]: So it was kind of like this a lot. He's like my favorite person now. So I remember one of the things that he really tried to drill into me is that you really need to slow your shop down in order to make more money. And I thought that was the dumbest thing in the world. It's like, no, I need all the car count. I need to do 820 cars a month because if I get $50 from 820 cars, because that's basically what I was doing. I think my ARO when I started coaching was maybe $150, $160. It was laughable. Tonnika Haynes [00:39:00]: I did everything that came my way. I said yes to everything in the whole world because we never ran a service department before. I'm a body shop girl. I was doing all the inspections. I was using the customer's parts and everything. And when he told me to do a whole different thing than what I had been used to. I just looked at this man like, you done lost his damn mind. But I tried to sip the Kool-Aid or wine, whatever he was serving, and it started to work. Tonnika Haynes [00:39:25]: It really did work. And even when you're driving a car, it's like, okay, we all drive cars. I know you know how to drive a stick shift, both of you ladies, right? 5-speed. Lola, I know better than this. Lauralee Schmidt [00:39:36]: You don't probably want to ride with me Oh Lord Jesus. Tonnika Haynes [00:39:41]: But anyway, so if you're driving a 5-speed, all right, and you want to kick it up and you want to get ready to pass somebody, you can't— if you're in 5th gear or 6th gear, whatever you're driving, you can't just hit the gas. You need to downshift, get a little bit more power. You need to downshift to get up a hill. So like, I think people really need to step back, sit down, say, whoa, whoa, whoa, look at what you got going on, slow it down, and pay attention to what you have before you ask for more. So step back, downshift, figure out what you've got, make sure you're using everything that you got, all the power that's within you, and then the Lord will bless you with more. He'll give you more speed, he'll give you more. But first, sit down. And I don't think a lot of men know how to do that. Tonnika Haynes [00:40:23]: Well, a lot of people in business don't know how to do that. Just people, not just men. Because what happens is we're looking on Facebook, we all laugh at it, right? But we're strong individuals. But we've got shop owners that are just starting out, they're in year 1, 2, or 3. And then they're looking at people and they're like, oh, why do I not have this? Why is my shop not doing this? I'm not able, I'm not able, and they're beating themselves up, or they're going way too fast. And they're just a train wreck waiting to happen. You know, they're trying to spend too much money on marketing or trying to spend too much money on this because they're trying to do what the evil shop owners and the multi-shop owners are doing. And it's like, no. Tonnika Haynes [00:41:06]: And then you're coached— you're also coached by a lot of companies, and it's not wrong. What they'll tell you is— and you guys have been coached— is you have to work on your business and not in your business. And sometimes people take that way too seriously. Sometimes you have to do both. Like, right now I'm at the space that I do not have to work in my business as much, but I know I still need to keep my finger on that pulse, right? Because then it'll get away from you. But there are people that's been in business for 1 year, 3 years, 5 years that really think that they can be an absentee shop owner, and they're trying to live that big life because they see everybody else doing it. And I'm just like, you better take your tail to work, fool. Kim Walker [00:41:50]: So you gotta earn that spot. Tonnika Haynes [00:41:52]: You've got to earn that spot. It takes a while. And when I say you have to do both, that means you sometimes you're going to have to work from 8 to 5 or 8 to 6 whenever your shop is over open, and then you're going to have to Shut the front door, go to Mac, then work some more. And yeah, and then maybe set your alarm to go home at 9 o'clock until you get to the point that you don't have to do that anymore. But I think people want to just kick it into 5th gear, 6th gear, and just go. Kim Walker [00:42:18]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:42:18]: And they haven't done the work. So I really believe that people have to downshift and, um, try it again. Kim Walker [00:42:24]: I love that. I, I see it all the time with the comparison thing, right? Like you were saying, they see, they see other people on Facebook and they're like, I need to do that. And it's all about car count, which I think this is probably where Rick was getting to with you is let's look at the ARO first, right? Let's take full advantage of each individual vehicle that comes in because you might be able to do more with half. Tonnika Haynes [00:42:48]: I did. Kim Walker [00:42:49]: The number of cars. Tonnika Haynes [00:42:50]: When I listen, my car count goes down. And I, my growth goes up, my numbers, the good numbers increase, the car count goes down. So I'm not working myself like a dog. And that's another— Kim Walker [00:43:01]: They come in with us and they're looking for car count, right? From the ads. I want more car count, more car. But your service advisor is not answering the phone. Tonnika Haynes [00:43:11]: There you go. Kim Walker [00:43:11]: So we can drive all the calls to you, but one, are they answering the phone? Number two, when the phone does get answered, How do they sound? Are they converting? Because we don't want anybody paying us to send ads to, or to run ads and make the phone ring or forms filled out when the service advisor is not. Why do you want to pay for that, that phone call that's not going to get converted? It makes no sense. Tonnika Haynes [00:43:39]: So you're not converting what you got. Kim Walker [00:43:41]: You said, yeah, you got to get back to the basics. Slow down. I love that. Before you speed up, make sure everything, you know, Lola is always preaching about process, your systems and processes in place, and make sure everybody is on the same page and doing the same thing. Absolutely. Tonnika Haynes [00:43:57]: So that's part of the— well, that's basically where the name came from. Just that lesson just shot me into a different space in the industry. Like, that was my first profitable and million-dollar year once I was able to do that. And it's— and, you know, I remember being at ASTA maybe 2 years ago, and I'm sitting in the back Rick's class, and it's a packed class, and I'm sitting on the floor. I'm just back there, and somebody says, I want to make a million dollars. And I laughed, and I didn't think— I didn't think I did it out loud. And he said, Janiko, what's so funny about that? I said, do you want to make a million dollars, or do you want to make 20% on that million dollars? Like, you can do a million dollars in sales all day, but if you're just hitting 3, 5, it don't mean nothing. You're recycling money. Tonnika Haynes [00:44:43]: So let's Again, processes, knowing your numbers, all the KPIs that nobody wants to— I hate doing it. Like, I hate sitting down doing my numbers. My current coach, bless her soul, oh, bless Jennifer's heart, bless it, because she is just like, Tanika, put your numbers in. There's money in the bank. Well, because the numbers, my eyes starts twitching. Lauralee Schmidt [00:45:03]: Oh, I love the numbers. Tonnika Haynes [00:45:05]: I do not like the numbers. I can't sit still enough. I'm like squirrel. They're out there laughing in the shop. I start doing them at home because they're out there having fun telling shop jokes, and I'm in there looking at numbers. Kim Walker [00:45:18]: You don't want me to do anything that has anything to do with numbers, honey. Tonnika Haynes [00:45:22]: Right? Lauralee Schmidt [00:45:23]: Do you even want to look at the reports? Really? Oh no, I want to— Tonnika Haynes [00:45:27]: I mean, I, I don't love it. I understand it now, and I know that it's necessary for me to keep my eye on my business. Kim Walker [00:45:35]: Yeah, look at my face, it won't go away. Tonnika Haynes [00:45:39]: No, no ma'am, I don't like it though. Lauralee Schmidt [00:45:43]: I really like Excel and graphs, charts. Tonnika Haynes [00:45:48]: Did you get that on? Lauralee Schmidt [00:45:50]: I really like— Tonnika Haynes [00:45:50]: no, I hate it. Kim Walker [00:45:52]: That's gonna be— look, Braxton is gonna use— he's gonna use that one screenshot for our thumbnail. Lauralee Schmidt [00:45:59]: Yes, he will. Oh my God, I've been trying to smile politely the whole time. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:03]: Stop. Kim Walker [00:46:03]: Why? Tonnika Haynes [00:46:04]: You're gonna come out looking like Like, what was wrong with her? Lauralee Schmidt [00:46:06]: Like a creep? Kim Walker [00:46:08]: I'm over it. Do y'all remember the little graphic I put together with like 9 or 12 of my faces from— Tonnika Haynes [00:46:16]: That was good. Kim Walker [00:46:17]: Mars Conference? Tonnika Haynes [00:46:18]: Yeah. Kim Walker [00:46:19]: All of those were within one 45-minute class. Lauralee Schmidt [00:46:23]: You're very expressive. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:24]: No, you— the picture you took, you were not— you were— I don't think you were taking a picture of me at Tools. I think you were taking a picture of the screen. And it got my face looking at Brian because Brian said something stupid. Yeah, that was good. Kim Walker [00:46:39]: I am pretty sure that that is my, um— Tonnika Haynes [00:46:42]: that is not. Kim Walker [00:46:43]: What do you call it? Tonnika Haynes [00:46:44]: That is not your caller ID for me. Kim Walker [00:46:46]: Uh, I'm pretty sure, Kim. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:47]: It's not. Don't do that. Kim Walker [00:46:49]: Oh, it sure is. Lauralee Schmidt [00:46:49]: Excellent. Kim Walker [00:46:50]: Would you like to see it? Tonnika Haynes [00:46:51]: Yes, that's funny because even, um, Jennifer said something about— she was like, yeah, that's crazy. Lauralee Schmidt [00:47:01]: Yes. Oh my God, it's so good. Tonnika Haynes [00:47:06]: Brian said something stupid, I'm sure. Kim Walker [00:47:08]: Tanika. Tonnika Haynes [00:47:09]: I love it. And that's the picture you chose. Lauralee Schmidt [00:47:13]: I liked that class we did together. We should do that more. Tonnika Haynes [00:47:17]: That is my favorite. I don't— who took that picture of us sitting there laughing? That was a— it's still my profile picture. Kim Walker [00:47:22]: Your cover photo? Tonnika Haynes [00:47:23]: Yeah, my cover photo. I love that picture. We were lying about something. That was funny. Lauralee Schmidt [00:47:29]: But that was a good class. Tonnika Haynes [00:47:30]: That was a good class. Lauralee Schmidt [00:47:31]: We should do it all over the world. Kim Walker [00:47:33]: It was fun to— all over the world. Well, class submissions, are they already done for ASTA? Tonnika Haynes [00:47:42]: No, no, they're not. We did ASTA. Kim Walker [00:47:44]: Yeah, yeah, but we did that at ASTA. Tonnika Haynes [00:47:47]: Yeah. Hmm, who's going to Tools? Anybody? Lauralee Schmidt [00:47:51]: I'm not able to go. Kim Walker [00:47:53]: I have a family gig the same weekend as our company retreat, so not even— not— I can't even like send someone from the retreat. You have a vacation? Lauralee Schmidt [00:48:03]: Not a family thing. Tonnika Haynes [00:48:04]: Yes, a vacation. No. Lauralee Schmidt [00:48:08]: Oh no, that's never a— Kim Walker [00:48:10]: I mean, no, a family thing and vacation are not the same. When she says it like that and has that face, somebody's gonna be watching this and her family going No, they won't. Lauralee Schmidt [00:48:20]: Okay, only Eric, and he understands. Kim Walker [00:48:25]: That's awesome. Tonnika Haynes [00:48:28]: Oh my goodness. So yeah, we have to take that worldwide, and we can, uh, ride in Zeb's plane. World domination. Kim Walker [00:48:36]: Zeb has a plane? Tonnika Haynes [00:48:37]: No, he's working. You haven't seen his imaginary plane that he puts on Facebook? Kim Walker [00:48:41]: I have not. Lauralee Schmidt [00:48:41]: Business look. Tonnika Haynes [00:48:42]: Oh my goodness, his world domination plane. I have to find it and I'll tag you in it a little later. Lauralee Schmidt [00:48:48]: Listen, but you know he's going to have that plane. Tonnika Haynes [00:48:50]: Oh, you're going to get that plane. Kim Walker [00:48:51]: Brian too, y'all. Maybe they should like— what do you call it when you co-share a plane? Tonnika Haynes [00:48:58]: Like you co-share the plane. Lauralee Schmidt [00:49:00]: I think that's just co-share. Tonnika Haynes [00:49:01]: I think that's just co-share. Kim Walker [00:49:02]: Is that what it's called? Tonnika Haynes [00:49:03]: I don't know. I don't have enough money to know. Yeah, I don't have enough money to know what that is, ma'am. No. Kim Walker [00:49:10]: You made it sound like I do. I don't. But Brian comes, he always solves, he always figures it out. If he said he's going to have a plane, he's going to have a plane. I don't know how to get a school. I don't, I, do you, does it look like I stop him from anything? Tonnika Haynes [00:49:25]: Please don't. Don't do that. Be his soft place. Lauralee Schmidt [00:49:29]: For the plane to land. Tonnika Haynes [00:49:30]: For the plane. Yes, baby. Go get yourself a plane. Kim Walker [00:49:36]: I could take this conversation in so many ways right now, but I'm going to I'm going to be like, let's take it. I feel like that should be a song. Tonnika Haynes [00:49:45]: That's a song. Lauralee Schmidt [00:49:47]: Water. I'm boring. Tonnika Haynes [00:49:50]: Sorry. Yeah, naturally giddy. Kim Walker [00:49:52]: I just had my protein shake. Y'all know about that. Tonnika Haynes [00:49:54]: So, premiere. Lauralee Schmidt [00:49:56]: Having to hide. I've had so much coffee being snowed into this house that I have to hydrate. By the end of the day, I'm like, why do I feel weird? Kim Walker [00:50:05]: All I know is it's very important that you make good decisions because 9 months from now, from now, you'll be, you know, I can't be nothing. Lauralee Schmidt [00:50:15]: I took care of that years ago. Kim Walker [00:50:17]: Or drinking wine. Okay, okay. Tonnika Haynes [00:50:22]: Just making it be the second coming. So I have a dog. Lauralee Schmidt [00:50:34]: I got a dog. Kim Walker [00:50:35]: Yeah. Lauralee Schmidt [00:50:36]: I do want some chickens. Maybe I'll get some chickens in 9 months. Ew. Tonnika Haynes [00:50:39]: They're so dirty. Kim Walker [00:50:41]: And stinky. Tonnika Haynes [00:50:42]: They stink and they're so dirty and the dander from the feathers and— Kim Walker [00:50:45]: But their eggs are really good. Tonnika Haynes [00:50:47]: They are really good. I got customers with chickens and they'll just bring me eggs and I'm thankful. Kim Walker [00:50:52]: That's good friends. Not when you have to do it yourself. Tonnika Haynes [00:50:55]: Yeah. It's like, we have extra eggs. I know the boys want eggs. It's like, absolutely. Kim Walker [00:50:58]: Lola could add that to her plethora of things that she does. Tonnika Haynes [00:51:04]: Like, she's got the garden and the plants, right? Lauralee Schmidt [00:51:08]: And, uh, they help, they help kill all of the bugs that are around that hurt the plants. Tonnika Haynes [00:51:14]: Okay, and that's the story you're gonna tell Eric? Lauralee Schmidt [00:51:18]: Yes, he knows. He just keeps telling me I don't have time. Kim Walker [00:51:22]: I agree with him. Tonnika Haynes [00:51:23]: You don't have time for chickens. Lauralee Schmidt [00:51:24]: I feel like I could make some time. Tonnika Haynes [00:51:27]: Chicken time. Kim Walker [00:51:29]: Teach your daughter, right? Lauralee Schmidt [00:51:31]: Together. Well, she knows because she takes care of my mom and dad's chickens. Kim Walker [00:51:36]: She's a professional already. Lauralee Schmidt [00:51:38]: Yeah, and she, you know, she'd like some here. So some chickens, maybe. All right, well, I just have a lot of coyotes around, and so that's like the problem. The coyotes in the raccoons. Tonnika Haynes [00:51:48]: Oh, you'd cry every day. Lauralee Schmidt [00:51:50]: So that's— I really am not prepared to lose the chickens. Tonnika Haynes [00:51:54]: You can't even let a bumblebee die. What would happen if a coyote got to your chickens? Lauralee Schmidt [00:51:59]: I have to call into work forever. Yeah, I'll be sad. Big sad. So I don't know. Tonnika Haynes [00:52:05]: Yeah, that might be too traumatic for you. Don't do it. Lauralee Schmidt [00:52:07]: Maybe when my mom and dad can't take care of their chickens anymore. Tonnika Haynes [00:52:11]: Well, how long do they live? Lauralee Schmidt [00:52:15]: Well, they only lay eggs for like 5 years, 6 years. And then they just live a little while longer, but a lot of times they're sick and stuff by then. So you just gotta like get rid of them. Kim Walker [00:52:28]: So how do you name a chicken? Lauralee Schmidt [00:52:32]: You just gotta get rid of it. You know, you live in the country. You just gotta get rid of them. Kim Walker [00:52:40]: Hmm. Lauralee Schmidt [00:52:42]: So, but yeah, we name them. Ironically, my daughter named them, and so they each have the name of one of the cousins. So that feels good when you're like, well, you know, LJ died today. Yeah, that's fun. Tonnika Haynes [00:52:55]: Martha's gone. Martha's gone to the upper room. Kim Walker [00:52:58]: It's too much. Lauralee Schmidt [00:53:00]: This new batch is called like Bacon, Eggs, Sausage, Pancakes, and Waffles. Kim Walker [00:53:05]: Amazing. Tonnika Haynes [00:53:06]: That's your child all day. Lauralee Schmidt [00:53:08]: She is so fun. Tonnika Haynes [00:53:10]: She looks so cute. I'm just like— and are you having fun homeschooling still? Lauralee Schmidt [00:53:15]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:53:16]: How much are you learning homeschooling her? Lauralee Schmidt [00:53:19]: Oh, actually, I did learn some things this week, and I was like very impressed with— yeah, I was like, wow, okay, now I'm getting a 4th grade education. This is exciting. Kim Walker [00:53:28]: Oh my God, look at you. Tonnika Haynes [00:53:30]: You're going to graduate with your daughter. Lauralee Schmidt [00:53:32]: I'm so excited. Tonnika Haynes [00:53:33]: Yay! How long do you think you'll do that? Like, you think she'll do middle school or high school or Hopefully a long time. Lauralee Schmidt [00:53:39]: Hopefully until we're done. Tonnika Haynes [00:53:42]: Okay. Lauralee Schmidt [00:53:42]: You know, or until like if she doesn't want, you know, like there's a lot of stuff that comes too difficult. I don't know, like on our relationship, if it ever became a bad strain, maybe. Tonnika Haynes [00:53:54]: If Johnny had two apples. If you become that mama, it's time to like, you know, or you can always have her like homeschooling with other kids too. Lauralee Schmidt [00:54:03]: She doesn't really miss the other kids. Oh, so she's good. And she goes to still other things, so like she goes— she's involved in stuff. So she goes to other classes like cooking class and skiing lessons and, you know, art lessons. So she sees other kids. Tonnika Haynes [00:54:20]: Yeah, she won't be a weirdo any more than you. Lauralee Schmidt [00:54:24]: She's mine and Eric's kid. Tonnika Haynes [00:54:25]: She's definitely— yeah, I'll say any more than— Kim Walker [00:54:28]: she won't be any more than a weirdo that she needs to be. Tonnika Haynes [00:54:32]: Yeah, okay, got it. Lauralee Schmidt [00:54:33]: She'll be perfectly weird in her own perfect way. Tonnika Haynes [00:54:36]: All right. So this is, this is an automotive podcast. It's not. I didn't want to brand it as that. I wanted to brand it for our automotive community, but the softer side, you know, but so Braxton's gonna be like, why are you going so long on these podcasts? I think he wants me to do like an hour. So we've got 6 minutes. Lauralee Schmidt [00:54:58]: Okay. Tonnika Haynes [00:54:58]: Like, but it's fine. We'll do it again. We'll do like 1,700 more times. So both of you have to answer this question. I need you to give advice to a beginning shop, a shop that's not doing financially well right now. Like both of you guys have to offer one thing or maybe two, something that they can do that's really cheap or free to start marketing in an effort to bring in more customers? Like, what's one thing that you can think of a struggling shop could do to kind of turn it around? Kim Walker [00:55:38]: Well, I'll go, Lola. You ready? Lauralee Schmidt [00:55:41]: I'm ready whenever you're ready. Kim Walker [00:55:42]: I mean, I want to give like some flowery, amazing, but it's very basic. And I'm just going back to what, what we did, especially when you threw in the low cost. Is you have to get involved in your community. And what I wanted to say was you're not on an island. I don't know who's listening to this yet. So I'm assuming it's people that know us, so they're probably involved in the industry. So I wanted to say go to an event, right? Go get involved in the industry, get connected, whatever that looks like. But that costs, that costs money because you got to fly there or whatever. Kim Walker [00:56:22]: Unless you are like North Carolina and you have that amazing, or the Midwest where you have those amazing chapters of networking groups and stuff. So low cost, feet on the ground, let your community know who you are, get involved, get engaged. Don't use excuses like I'm an introvert. BS. I don't care. Get over it. I said it, right? You know, the speaker today at the Ignite conference I'm here with, the Elite, he talked about the growth is in the comfort zone, is just outside of your comfort zone. You got to get uncomfortable if you want to be a business owner. Kim Walker [00:56:59]: You want to thrive. You want to run a great shop. You want to do all the things, achieve your dreams. Well, guess what? You got to get out there and put your feet to the ground and go meet some people and network. And yeah, that's, that's what I have to say. Tonnika Haynes [00:57:14]: That's basically free. Lauralee Schmidt [00:57:16]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:57:17]: A little gas money. Lauralee Schmidt [00:57:17]: I mean, really, that's what I was going to say. You got to go door to door. You got to shake hands with everybody. Everybody has to know you. Kim Walker [00:57:25]: Yeah. Lauralee Schmidt [00:57:25]: You have to be everywhere. Kim Walker [00:57:28]: There's a time in your business when you have time, but not money. Tonnika Haynes [00:57:32]: Yeah. Yeah. I believe that. I remember my NAPA representative. I tell people the story that when I got my first service advisor, it wasn't out of a need for a service advisor, something in me, and he knows this, Bill knows this, and his name is Bill, something in me said that I needed this older white male at my front desk for people to come into the shop. And then, so I hired him and he's great, still my friend, talk to him all the time. And then I disappeared to the back because I thought he'd be the face of the business, right? Nobody told me that they needed an old white man. That's just some crap I told myself. Tonnika Haynes [00:58:08]: And then people were like, where's Tanika? Where's Tanika? And I remember Napa, my Napa rep said, you are the business. People are here for you. And I'm like, why? I hadn't accepted that. So just my face in front of the business was my free marketing. And I still do that today. I try not to do it so much because I still feel a little arrogant putting my face in front of the business. But I'm the legacy of my dad. People have, they know me, they love me. Tonnika Haynes [00:58:34]: They know the kids, they love the kids. Just putting us on Facebook is so free. They're like, oh, look how big the boys are. When Santana was playing football, oh my goodness, I can't believe he's playing football. Like, when I stopped showing all the highlights and stopped sharing his scores and everything on Facebook, people would say, well, did he not have a game last weekend? I'm like, oh, you guys are really paying attention to this. So again, that's just free stuff, being in front, being in the community. And all the community work that you do, Lola, is crazy. I'm just I am— I'm gonna do teeny techs. Tonnika Haynes [00:59:04]: I am going to take that from you. Oh yeah, I'm really ready to do that. Lauralee Schmidt [00:59:07]: I'll help you like with any of that. Tonnika Haynes [00:59:09]: Yeah, I've pitched it to a couple customers whose kids I'd love to death, and they're like, yes, please do that. And so I'm excited about doing that. Hopefully it's as successful as yours. Lauralee Schmidt [00:59:19]: But, um, I am sure it will be great no matter what it is, you know. If you get to impact like one kid, it's better than no kids, right? Tonnika Haynes [00:59:28]: We definitely have to get some kids in the industry, which is another thing that I'm passionate about. So ladies, this was so much fun. I can't wait for us to do it in our pajamas in Montana and make everybody jealous. And they're like, why are you in pajamas in Montana? Because we need a break. We are— we're going to Montana, ladies. So Kim, you get some rest. Lola, go do something fabulous. I know you're probably back there. Lauralee Schmidt [00:59:54]: I'm gonna check my flowers. Tonnika Haynes [00:59:55]: You're gonna check her flowers, and she's gonna go writing. Lauralee Schmidt [00:59:59]: Maybe. Tonnika Haynes [01:00:00]: Yeah, maybe. All right, ladies, I love you. I really appreciate your friendships, and we will see you later. Kim Walker [01:00:06]: Bye! Tonnika Haynes [01:00:07]: Bye!