Latest / The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson / How to Make Networking Pay Off with Toni Harris Taylor

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How to Make Networking Pay Off with Toni Harris Taylor · The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson

• 0:00
  Three, two, one, zero.
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  Ignition.
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  Lift off.
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  Ending small business failure.
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  Welcome to the Small Biz Chat podcast with the number one small business expert, Melinda
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  Emerson.
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  Melinda's goal is to end small business failure, and she'll give you the information
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  you need to succeed and live the life you dream of.
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  Now here's your host, the small biz chat lady herself, Melinda Emerson.
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  Have you subscribed to the small biz chat podcast?
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  Well, it's time.
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  Every Wednesday, we offer listeners bite sized actionable tips to start and grow a successful
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  small business.
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  In just twenty minutes or so a week, you can get a ton of insight and resources to propel
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  your business forward.
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  Be sure to subscribe to the Small Bitch Chat podcast today.
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  Hi there, everyone, and welcome to the Small Biz Chat podcast.
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  I am so excited to be here with you today.
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  I'm Melinda Emerson, the small biz lady, America's number one small business expert.
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  And now we're gonna talk about networking strategically.
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  So we are gonna be talking about not just swapping business cards, but building real
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  lasting revenue generating relationships.
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  And my guest is Toni Harris Taylor.
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  She's an award winning networking expert.
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  She is a franchise owner of the Network in Action Global Partners, and she is the
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  powerhouse behind tonyharrisstaylor.com.
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  Known as the coach who connects, Toni helps entrepreneurs transform their contacts into
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  contracts and their networks into net worth.
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  She's a sought after speaker, trainer, she's a franchise consultant, and she has taught
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  thousands of business owners how to grow through intentional connection.
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  And so in today's conversation, she's gonna share with us exactly how to make networking a
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  profitable part of your business strategy.
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  Toni, hi, and welcome to the Small Bitch Chat podcast.
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  Thank you so much, Melinda.
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  Hello, everybody.
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  I am so excited to be here.
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  You are such a legend.
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  Speaking of networking, one of my close dear friends is like, you need to know Melinda.
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  Well, you need to introduce me.
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  She never did.
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  And God's timing is perfect.
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  I met you at a event and here we are today.
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  So just the way I teach it.
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  I love it.
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  I love it.
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  Well, I'm so excited to have you here because you are just such a wealth of knowledge.
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  I feel like you are the quintessential example of how networking can pay off.
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  Well, thank you for that.
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  That means I'm doing something right and that's the way I wanna show up.
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  And so thank you.
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  So tell me, Toni, tell us a little bit about your background and how you just became so
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  passionate about networking.
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  Yeah.
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  My background is I've been an entrepreneur since I was 24.
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  My mother brought me into entrepreneurship.
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  Whose mother calls and says, quit that job and come work for me?
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  Mothers today might do that, but that was back in the day and-
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  No, black mothers don't do that.
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  Nuh-uh, not back in the, you know, definitely not back
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  And the day my mom's still a forty year entrepreneur, I can't believe it.
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  And, so she was the one that put the spirit in entrepreneurial spirit in me.
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  But of course it wasn't a straight path.
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  She brought me into computer training back when we were going from Lotus one, two, three to
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  Excel.
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  Remember that?
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  From DOS to Windows.
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  So that Wait was
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  a minute, Tony, you dating me and you.
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  Wait a minute.
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  Come on.
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  DOS.
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  So somebody in this audience is going to have to look up DOS because they ain't never heard
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  of it.
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  So from there, I became a financial advisor and that's when the networking bug entered my life.
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  Through my journey and I look back on my story, I was recruited to be a financial advisor to
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  move to South Florida.
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  Everything they promised me in the recruitment process did not exist.
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  And I had to learn how to get out and meet people.
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  And it really lit a passion in me.
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  But I wasn't doing it right.
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  And we'll talk about that.
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  But I would go to events, pass out cards like I'm playing spades.
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  You get a card, you get a card, you get a card, and then nothing would happen.
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  And I was frustrated.
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  And I finally hired a coach who taught me how to network right.
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  And that was pre social media.
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  And, but I still I was a connector.
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  She taught me that the more people you connect audience here, this, the more people you
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  connect, the more people will connect you.
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  And she taught me that.
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  And, but I was connecting for free and I would get connections out of it, but I'm like, I wish
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  I could monetize this networking thing.
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  And so we'll talk more about my story, but yeah, it started and the passion came when I
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  hired a coach who told me how to do it right.
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  I love that because you just really dropped a gem there.
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  You didn't understand something, so you hired an expert to teach you.
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  And so many of us are scared to make those kinds of investments in coaching, but man, you
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  can just go so much further, so much faster with The expert thing is though, is you gotta
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  verify that it's an actual expert and that's what I think some people are struggling with.
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  Now let's talk about what are some of the biggest misconceptions you feel like people
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  have about networking?
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  Yeah.
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  So as I said, they think it's passing out cards.
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  You think you're networking because you do go, you pass out a bunch of cards.
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  And like me, you go back to your office, people are like, Oh, you're so nice.
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  I'm gonna call you.
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  We're gonna get together when I need you.
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  I'm gonna buy from you.
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  And I'd go back to my office and sit down and wait for the phone to ring.
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  Yeah, the phone did not ring.
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  But then we keep repeating that same cycle expecting a different result.
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  So the biggest misconception is it's not work.
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  It is work.
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  There is a skill to networking.
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  And that's the other misconception.
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  People think that people are natural ers.
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  And while, yeah, I've done all the personality assessments and stuff.
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  I am a eye on the disc scale.
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  I like people, but the older I get, the less I like people, I'm just saying.
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  So I like people, but that doesn't make me a natural networker.
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  It is a learned practice skill and people think that it's natural and either you got it or you
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  don't, and that's just not true.
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  Well, has your networking taken you into the franchise industry?
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  Talk to us about networking action.
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  Man, that is a Okay.
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  So I'm gonna share my book, which is Show Up, Be Up, Follow-up to Blow Up.
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  I'm going say it again for those in the back of the room.
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  This is the formula to life success, not just business.
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  Show up, be up, follow-up to blow up.
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  All right.
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  So my, how did networking get me to being in franchising?
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  In 2019, I was about to hang up my entrepreneurial hat and go get a job.
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  And, I didn't want a job, but my husband's singing the stupid you need to get a job song.
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  Listen, hated his job, but he wanted me to be miserable with him, I guess.
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  And he's like, you need to get a job.
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  And I was like, I don't want a job, but I couldn't figure out what my differentiator was
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  as a small business coach.
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  And I kept talking about email marketing, social media marketing, and that's because I
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  had been a top sales rep for a email marketing company, but it just never felt like me.
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  While I'm going through this journey of what do I want to do when I grow up at 52 years old,
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  somebody in this audience is going to hear this, I show up to a women's retreat.
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  I followed the formula even though I was confused, didn't know why I was going.
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  The women's retreat was five hours from my house.
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  I paid the cover charge the last day of registration showed up.
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  There were 12 people there.
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  12.
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  How many people does it take to change your life?
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  One.
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  One of the ladies there was a franchisee with Network in Action, which I had never heard of.
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  Well, I had heard of it, but I didn't know it was a franchise.
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  She said, you should be a franchisee with Network in Action.
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  There's a franchise for that?
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  And how much is that?
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  Because in our world, franchises are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars.
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  So she said, oh, it's 40,000.
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  And she might as well have said a million because I didn't have 40.
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  And when she said it was 40,000, I checked out.
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  I didn't follow my own rule.
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  In the book I talk about booking appointments on the spot.
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  When I coach, book appointments on the spot.
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  I did not book appointment with that lady.
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  Fortunately, God would have it that she followed up with me three months later, one
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  week after I talked to a coach similar to you, somebody that was in my network that and she's
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  like, you should start your own networking group.
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  What?
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  I'm not doing that.
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  That's too much work.
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  I don't have this, this, this, and no.
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  I'll just wait for these jobs to come through.
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  And when she called me and said, the franchise has everything to get you going, That's how I
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  ended up in franchising.
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  I had no idea they were home based, and now I know forty thousand is a low cost option, work
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  from home part time.
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  And that's what led me into franchising because I showed up in a state of confusion, somebody
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  followed up with me and changed my life.
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  So tell me about the business.
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  How does the business work?
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  Yeah.
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  So Network in Action is a model that brings business owners together to build connections,
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  collaborations, community, get some coaching so they can make more cash together.
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  We're not just a networking group.
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  So that's what really makes us stand out.
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  Yes, networking's a component, but we actually teach our members how to be better business
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  owners.
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  And in that, they end up getting those connections and referrals and getting
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  collaboration.
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  So many of my clients do things together and are building their networks across the country
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  together.
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  And so it is not just showing up to a meeting, passing out cards, hoping something's gonna
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  happen.
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  Everything happens with intention and drastically.
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  Can you tell us about someone who's come into your organization through Network in Action and
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  how it's transformed their business?
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  I can tell you several stories, but I'll start with my girl Star.
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  So Star is a friend first and Star hated networking.
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  So she was, she's a speaker coach.
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  She's awesome.
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  She beat out Janet Jackson for a role back when we had, after school specials.
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  Again, I've dated myself.
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  But anyway, she's amazing, but she's like, I can speak in front of thousands.
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  I cannot network.
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  So she said, I'm going to join your network in action.
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  And she did.
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  And what happened was because she's so dynamic, it was easy for our members to refer her to
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  into their networks and to hire her.
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  When I tell you that she has brought over 150,000 from my network alone into her
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  business.
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  And that's just counting, because the other thing you get from the community is you get
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  relationships that bring you personal benefits, and you can't put a dollar on some of those
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  personal benefits.
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  She's spoken on other stages because of being a part of the network and getting referrals to
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  other stages, that I'm not even counting that money that she has made as a result of showing
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  up in our network.
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  It's an easy yes, as long as you show up, be up and follow-up.
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  So she hated networking, but she had to find, she hired me as a coach this year.
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  Yes, I charge my friends full price.
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  She hired me as a coach this year because she's like, Toni, it's worked.
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  It's worked.
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  And, but it won't work if I'm not under your tutelage because I will let myself off the hook
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  and she won't do the work.
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  Now you just talked about something that's near and dear to my heart.
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  You talked about follow-up.
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  And I think that this is the biggest mistake that people make.
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  You know, they send one or two emails and they give up.
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  Can you talk about appropriate follow-up and the right way to follow-up and how many times
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  you should follow-up before you give up?
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  Like, tell me about that.
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  Yeah.
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  And we all struggle with that, especially you and I, because we're out in the world changing
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  lives.
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  And it's like, if you don't schedule it, automate it, there's too many tools out there
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  now.
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  I mean, a simple thing, now I'm an Android user, so, and I think on iPhone you can do it,
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  but do you know you can schedule a text message?
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  So when I get off the call with Melinda and she says, Hey, call me in a couple of weeks.
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  Well, they're secretly hoping you forget.
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  It's okay.
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  Text them, schedule two weeks out.
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  You forgot you even scheduled it.
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  Two weeks from now, she's gonna respond and say, Oh, thanks for following up.
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  Just as simple as scheduling a text message.
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  There are automation tools out there and you need to follow-up until they say stop.
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  Now, follow-up is not just picking up the phone.
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  We get it.
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  We are all busy.
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  So it's email marketing.
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  It's text message marketing.
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  It's social media.
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  And this is a big missing.
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  Melinda, I can't believe how many people are still talking about I hate Facebook.
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  I do too.
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  I do too.
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  I can't stand the algorithm and how it does us.
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  But when I tell you I've literally made hundreds of thousands of dollars just because I
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  paid attention on social media and reached out and said, Hey, somebody's dad died this week.
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  I just sent her a text.
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  She said, Yep, you know, thanks for the condolences.
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  She said, and tell me about that video project you got going on.
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  Only because all I did was pay attention to social media.
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  And so many people don't see that as part of the follow-up.
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  Just making a comment on somebody's social media, but then taking that to the DMs, I was
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  coaching financial advisors yesterday and I was like, this guy was on the hot seat and he had
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  congratulated someone who retired from a health system.
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  So a university health system, this woman got money.
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  He said, Congratulations.
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  I said, No, no, no, no.
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  Yeah, you do that, but then you go to DM and you say, Hey, congratulations on retiring.
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  Let's sit down and have some coffee.
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  I just want to hear what you got going on next.
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  Now you ain't going to say, all right, what are you doing with your retirement?
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  Will you roll it over to me?
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  No.
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  Let's let me just relationships, care about people.
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  And so follow-up is critical.
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  And here's another nugget.
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  Just like when Helen followed up with me three months after I met her, and I've asked her
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  multiple times, why was it that you followed, took three months and why that day?
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  She said, I got a strong urge.
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  Now, if you have faith, you know where the urge, because I was praying.
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  Sometimes our follow-up is the answer to someone's prayers.
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  And while you sitting there thinking about it, trying to figure it out, making it about you
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  and being rejected and they gonna think I'm bugging them and all the head noise we have,
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  your timing could be impeccable, just like it was when Helen introduced me to the franchise.
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  You know, I love that you just shared that because I do think people forget of the role of
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  faith in all this stuff.
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  And we feel like we power this success when in fact that's not true at all.
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  And I love God's timing.
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  One of the things that I do, whenever somebody gets on my mind, I give them a call, I send
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  them a text.
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  And I do that because my father suddenly died at age 55, right?
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  Twenty two years ago, my father left this earth.
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  And ever since then, I've been real intentional about following up with people, keeping up with
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  people.
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  If somebody gets on my mind, I call them because I do not know if that's the last
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  opportunity I'll have a chance to do so.
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  That's exactly right.
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  And I do the same thing.
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  And by the way, that is follow-up.
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  Just reaching out and saying, Hey, you're on my mind.
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  People are like, Oh yeah, and about that thing I saw you post on social media.
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  Exactly, or sometimes because of that thing I saw you post on social media.
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  But again, I just think sometimes we get caught up in feeling like it has to be this formal
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  thing.
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  That actually brings me to my next question.
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  What is the difference between in person follow-up and online follow-up?
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  Is it different?
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  So
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  in person follow-up is when you pick up the phone and, you know, voice to voice, or you see
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  them at an event, right?
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  But, and then online is the social media piece, the private DMs, that kind of thing.
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  And then, and I'm gonna also secondarily say there is a difference between in person
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  networking and social media networking.
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  I meet a lot of people on social media.
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  And by the way, when we're having this two way dialogue, even if it is virtual and online,
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  this is a date.
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  These are dates.
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  So I take those virtual meetings or virtual connections and say, hey, let's hop on a Zoom
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  to learn about each other.
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  Or the catch up call, which is golden.
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  I've already met with Melinda.
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  We have had a good interaction.
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  We met face to face in person.
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  Then we got on the Zoom call and you invited me here and I'm inviting you to my show.
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  And now we're dating.
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  We really are getting to know each other so that when you're in a room and you think of me,
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  you're like, Tony, I just met somebody you need to meet.
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  And vice versa.
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  That's so taking those online connections, LinkedIn connections and saying, hey, let's get
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  on a Zoom call and get to know each other.
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  And that's how I've grown a global network.
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  It's that one extra step, which is drastic, by the way, which is my biggest, my overarching
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  brand is about being intentional and being drastic.
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  But when you do that, people appreciate it and they do get on your calendar and magic happens
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  because you're showing like you care about them.
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  I love it.
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  I love it.
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  All right.
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  Last question, Ms.
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  Ma'am.
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  I'm ready.
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  What is the best business advice you have ever been given?
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  Hire a coach and do it scared and do it out of your price range.
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  The first time I hired a coach was in 02/2003.
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  My boss at the time I was working for an insurance, that was a financial advisor,
• 22:48
  commission based, but he was like, you need to get a coach.
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  I'm like, I don't know where my next commission's coming from.
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  He said, it doesn't matter.
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  Get a coach.
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  And that year I hired his coach and I had never crossed 6 figures, let alone almost to 200,000.
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  And that year I made over $170,000 And I'm a chocolate girl in a financial advising world
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  with a high school diploma.
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  Yeah.
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  The best advice I have is get the right coach.
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  You're right.
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  There's a lot of people out there just because they've done it once, call themselves a coach.
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  So get the right coach, but hire a coach and stretch to pay them.
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  Do not get one in your range.
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  Get one that you cannot afford.
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  And the reason why is because you'll do the work.
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  The money came easy, when they asked you to get drastic, you're gonna be like, nevermind.
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  And you kick them to the curb and then you're not winning.
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  So stretch yourself to pay a coach.
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  Love it.
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  Love it.
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  Thank you so much, Tony, for being a guest on the Small Biz Chat podcast.
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  You have dropped so many pearls.
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  Oh my goodness.
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  I can't even stand it.
• 24:12
  Thanks for listening to the Small Biz Chat podcast with Melinda Emerson.
• 24:17
  Subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and join us next Wednesday for
• 24:22
  more fantastic information and interviews.
• 24:25
  You can find more sources and small business success strategies by visiting Melinda's
• 24:30
  website, succeedasyourownboss.com.
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  Thanks again for listening, and we'll see you next week.