Latest / Why Not Today? with Leslie Kane / The Why Not Today? Podcast - Season 3 - Episode 46, Linda Boosinger, Akros Consulting

Transcript

The Why Not Today? Podcast - Season 3 - Episode 46, Linda Boosinger, Akros Consulting · Why Not Today? with Leslie Kane

• 0:00
  Welcome to the Why Not Today podcast where we celebrate courage, determination, and the
• 0:06
  power of saying, why not today?
• 0:08
  I'm your host, Leslie Cain, and in each episode we dive into inspiring stories of individuals
• 0:14
  who have taken bold steps, faced their fears, and embraced the possibility of today.
• 0:18
  From entrepreneurs to artists, dreamers to doers, we explore the moments when they said
• 0:23
  enough waiting, why not today?
• 0:25
  Join me as we uncover the heartwarming, the audacious, and the transformative, whether
• 0:29
  it's a lifelong passion, overcoming obstacles, or simply choosing joy, or guest share their
• 0:33
  journey, and inspire us all.
• 0:35
  I started this podcast in honor of my father, my father, Patrick Cain, who often said, why
• 0:39
  not today?
• 0:41
  And why not today, I feel like, is a movement to encourage and inspire people to live their
• 0:46
  life and live it with purpose, joy, courage, and pursue your dreams.
• 0:52
  And so I always ask or say, remember, you're just one decision away from changing your
• 0:57
  life, or one, as I call them, why not today moments?
• 1:00
  And so my guest today is Linda Boosinger.
• 1:03
  Did I pronounce that right?
• 1:04
  Boosinger.
• 1:05
  Boosinger.
• 1:06
  Just for your sounds.
• 1:07
  Okay.
• 1:08
  Boosinger.
• 1:09
  So my name is my husband's name, so.
• 1:11
  Okay.
• 1:12
  So Linda Pierce, Boosinger.
• 1:13
  That's right.
• 1:14
  So I recently met Linda at a networking event, and she's the sister of Tina Johnson, who
• 1:20
  I've had on the podcast a couple times, and I know Tina's backstory.
• 1:24
  And so I was curious for Linda's, and I keep popping in, meeting you, and we had a great
• 1:28
  call the other day, and I love everything you have that you're doing.
• 1:32
  And so I'm excited to hear your story and all your businesses, and you're very creative,
• 1:39
  and you sound a lot like me, bounce from here to here, all these ideas.
• 1:43
  So Linda, why don't we start with a quick intro of who you are, not your whole life
• 1:46
  story and not your courage journey.
• 1:48
  I always have to tell people that because I say, don't do it, and then they go off on
• 1:51
  this tangent.
• 1:52
  And then a fun fact about you, and then we'll get into your courage journey.
• 1:56
  Okay.
• 1:57
  Well, Linda Boosinger, as we talked about, I'm from, you know, it's kind of the whole
• 2:06
  things the courage story, right?
• 2:08
  From the hills of Virginia, Lake Lynchburg, grew up in house with no running water, no
• 2:13
  heat.
• 2:14
  And you're not, for people that are just watching and not, or just listening and not watching,
• 2:20
  she's not like a hundred years old.
• 2:21
  Yeah, time when they didn't have running water.
• 2:24
  Yeah, posture kids.
• 2:26
  Yeah, yeah.
• 2:29
  That to date, I've created 15 companies and 27 revenue streams.
• 2:35
  So quite the...
• 2:36
  Yeah.
• 2:37
  All right.
• 2:38
  So fun fact.
• 2:39
  Well, a fun fact is I actually was a private investigator for a year.
• 2:45
  Oh, did not know that.
• 2:47
  Took a break from corporate, I mean, I have my own business, but all of my clients was
• 2:53
  for Fortune 500.
• 2:54
  And so kind of took a break from all that and did something completely different.
• 2:59
  Okay.
• 3:00
  Was it fun?
• 3:01
  Did you enjoy it?
• 3:02
  Yeah, it was insurance fraud.
• 3:04
  It was over $8 million.
• 3:06
  So it wasn't, you know, cheating spouses or anything.
• 3:11
  I wasn't hiding wishes or anything.
• 3:15
  So Linda, what does courage mean to you?
• 3:17
  Well, I think it's the old saying everybody says it's, you know, being afraid and doing
• 3:23
  it anyway.
• 3:24
  You know, it's not knowing what's going to happen and just rolling the dice.
• 3:32
  Yeah.
• 3:33
  You know, the business starts out with, I want something to happen or I want something
• 3:38
  to change and doing what it takes to make that happen.
• 3:43
  Right.
• 3:44
  Yeah.
• 3:45
  And taking the steps.
• 3:46
  And as I call them my why not today moments.
• 3:47
  That's right.
• 3:48
  You made that decision and your life completely changed.
• 3:51
  So you've had a journey, lots of courage and why not today moments.
• 3:55
  So share maybe your first why not today moment you're remembering your courage as your courage
• 4:01
  journey and.
• 4:02
  Oh my gosh.
• 4:03
  First one I couldn't even tell you.
• 4:06
  I mean, I have every day, I think to be honest with you as a business owner, you know, every
• 4:12
  day is okay, what do I do now, you know, even going to a networking event is courage for
• 4:19
  some people.
• 4:20
  It is for me.
• 4:21
  Absolutely.
• 4:22
  And it's especially courageous.
• 4:24
  We're just talking about one point on this evening is courageous to get out of your house
• 4:28
  when it's cold even in the morning.
• 4:30
  I have to leave.
• 4:32
  Right.
• 4:33
  Exactly.
• 4:34
  Well, whether you're, you know, going from what I call a real job, you know, a payroll
• 4:39
  job, when it pays you every week to starting your business or even to branch out or, you
• 4:45
  know, do something different and it's, it's all those little steps count.
• 4:50
  You know, I have a saying it says even baby steps will get you there.
• 4:54
  Just start moving in that direction.
• 4:56
  Often talk about on this on the podcast with guests is sometimes people's why not say moment
• 5:01
  in their courage is literally getting out of bed some days.
• 5:05
  Absolutely.
• 5:06
  Yes.
• 5:07
  Absolutely.
• 5:08
  So, I mean, I think when I was, because I remember being like eight years old, I used
• 5:18
  to go outside at night a lot and look up at the sky and the stars and, you know, it's
• 5:23
  a big sky and I would see stars over there and I would think, okay, who's living under
• 5:28
  those stars?
• 5:29
  Who are they?
• 5:30
  You know what I mean?
• 5:31
  What are they doing?
• 5:32
  So, it's always drawn to over there, something different beyond, you know what I mean?
• 5:39
  So even at that age, it was, I want to go over on that side of the mountain.
• 5:45
  Yes.
• 5:46
  Problems being present in the moment.
• 5:48
  You always jump into the next thing.
• 5:50
  Yeah.
• 5:51
  That's the thing.
• 5:52
  I'm a creator because I've talked about this today with somebody else like I'm, I'm going
• 5:55
  to, I mean, I want to renovation design business.
• 5:58
  I own an interior design business.
• 5:59
  I do trade shows, trade show and conference business.
• 6:03
  Everything I do is creating something.
• 6:05
  I help, I specialize in historic preservation.
• 6:08
  So, you know, I'm always creating or renovating or restoring or whatever something.
• 6:14
  So it's kind of like when an artist creates a piece of art, they don't just stop and then
• 6:18
  just dust that one for the rest of their life.
• 6:21
  They create another.
• 6:23
  That's kind of where I fall off because I create something and then I'm terrible at
• 6:28
  maintenance part.
• 6:29
  I'm terrible at just living with, you know, so that's when I, on top of everything else,
• 6:34
  I buy house, I live in it, I renovate it, I sell it.
• 6:37
  I buy house, I live in a renovate site.
• 6:38
  Over and over again.
• 6:39
  You can board easily.
• 6:40
  Yes.
• 6:41
  Like I do, like jumping from thing to thing.
• 6:43
  I did cut work for a company for 11 years, but I think I had six different positions
• 6:48
  in that time.
• 6:49
  Oh, wow.
• 6:50
  I'm faster than that.
• 6:51
  What's next?
• 6:52
  That's right.
• 6:53
  Right.
• 6:54
  And so, you know, everyone's different, but that's, yeah.
• 6:56
  So let's talk about your journey.
• 6:58
  So you started in the Hills and you were in the foster care system?
• 7:04
  Was foster child.
• 7:05
  Yeah.
• 7:06
  And then some relatives took me for a while and then I moved to Loudoun County when I was
• 7:11
  about 15.
• 7:13
  So I was here until the late nineties and then I moved to Tampa for family and jobs and
• 7:22
  stuff.
• 7:23
  I've been in Tampa for 25 years and built several large companies, including a stair
• 7:29
  business.
• 7:30
  I did that too.
• 7:31
  I had that for a long time, been in the construction trade for 30 years and, but still worked up
• 7:38
  here too, came up here a lot.
• 7:41
  So how did you get the courage to start businesses?
• 7:46
  Like when you, did you go, go to college?
• 7:50
  Was it after college?
• 7:51
  Did you skip college?
• 7:52
  Did you start opening businesses?
• 7:54
  You know, what was the first step in starting a business?
• 7:56
  Or what gave you the inspiration to do that?
• 8:01
  Cause it's kind of a scary thing.
• 8:03
  Yes.
• 8:04
  Yeah.
• 8:05
  It is a very scary thing.
• 8:06
  And I think it's, honestly, I think it probably like everyone else has started out because
• 8:08
  I had kids, you know, having business at home and sort of having, being able to make
• 8:13
  your own hours and, you know, that kind of thing.
• 8:15
  And again, we had our big stair business corporation that was sort of paying the bills.
• 8:20
  So for me, it was starting my own business.
• 8:23
  I, our resting connection as I worked for Sterling, well, system center used to be system
• 8:30
  center and then it was Sterling software.
• 8:32
  Kind of like AOL, kind of like that.
• 8:36
  When my son was what, like two and now he's 34.
• 8:40
  So that tells me back in the day.
• 8:42
  Yeah.
• 8:43
  So I was working for them doing software type stuff.
• 8:47
  And then we started doing events on the side.
• 8:51
  And then that's how I kind of got into events, doing conferences and things for, you know,
• 8:56
  for the software company.
• 8:59
  And then that rolled into, I ended up working with Dr. Jeff Goldblatt as a professor at
• 9:04
  George Washington University and he was doing the Olympics and I was sort of on the committee
• 9:09
  for the Olympics in the Atlanta.
• 9:12
  And then they were trying to do the Olympics in Florida.
• 9:15
  So it kind of took me to Tampa and then I started a celebrities for charity business.
• 9:21
  So I took 200 celebrities to Las Vegas, to Los Angeles, to New Orleans, to New York.
• 9:28
  The clients were my, that were like the daytime Emmys, the NFL.
• 9:31
  These were big.
• 9:32
  It was all for charity.
• 9:33
  It was all putting celebrities together just to get people to come together to raise money.
• 9:38
  So,
• 9:39
  So with that, starting all these businesses, so that's a lot of businesses and it takes
• 9:42
  a lot of work.
• 9:44
  Like how did you, do you just wake up one day and like I'm starting this business?
• 9:48
  Like how can we give people courage and hope and help them in their journey if they have
• 9:53
  an idea?
• 9:54
  Like did you wake up, have an idea and the next day start an LLC or what were your kind
• 9:59
  of courage?
• 10:00
  Why not say moments and steps and doing this?
• 10:02
  Well, even when I first started, I was like, Hey, I want to have an event planning business
• 10:06
  that's going to raise money for charity.
• 10:08
  That's where I started.
• 10:09
  Okay.
• 10:10
  Well, how do you raise money for charity?
• 10:11
  You got to have celebrities that are there.
• 10:13
  The people are going to buy a ticket and come and visit them because that's kind of how
• 10:16
  it was back in the day.
• 10:17
  Cause you didn't have social media and you couldn't see, right?
• 10:20
  So I found the closest event to me that was having some celebrities.
• 10:24
  They were daytime stars, soap opera stars back then.
• 10:28
  That was a big thing because I already had my NFL guys.
• 10:30
  So I went to a, an event that had soap stars.
• 10:35
  One of them was standing in line at the buffet.
• 10:37
  I walked up and tucked his tag in and said, Oh, your tags in.
• 10:42
  I just made it up.
• 10:43
  That really didn't happen.
• 10:44
  And he was like, Oh, thank you.
• 10:46
  And I said, yeah, and then we started talking and I told him about the NFL and my guys and
• 10:49
  that thing led to 200 celebrities.
• 10:53
  That's just casually say your NFL guys.
• 10:56
  So what was that about?
• 10:58
  Like this thing.
• 11:00
  I mean, I had the NFL was my client and I did Super Bowl parties.
• 11:06
  I did at the Super Bowl.
• 11:07
  I was in charge of events or an after the actual Super Bowl.
• 11:10
  But again, ran into somebody.
• 11:12
  I wanted to do this.
• 11:13
  I like, okay, I go out and I say, how can I reach those people?
• 11:17
  How can I find those people?
• 11:19
  So where'd you come?
• 11:20
  I want to go back, back, back.
• 11:21
  You're diving too far.
• 11:22
  Like, how did you like starting a business is scary?
• 11:26
  I mean, I've run a business for 30 years, but hitting the button to start the LLC and
• 11:30
  then figuring out what I want to do.
• 11:32
  So how did you figure out, you know, what you wanted to do?
• 11:36
  How did you get started?
• 11:37
  How did you ramp it up so quickly?
• 11:40
  Yeah, what are some of those steps?
• 11:42
  Well, it's time you're going to teach a course on it.
• 11:46
  So while you pick, while you're passionate about it, right?
• 11:49
  I was passionate about that at the time.
• 11:51
  Like I'm passionate about preserving historic properties now.
• 11:55
  So I created a restoration design business that does just that.
• 11:59
  And then that my passion drives whatever business I'm creating.
• 12:05
  And then I'm networking.
• 12:07
  So then when you're talking to people about it and you know, you go back and you look
• 12:09
  at, you know, because the newest business I launched across consulting is coaching private
• 12:16
  clients, small businesses, growing, you know, it's an advisory business to small businesses.
• 12:21
  And that came about because you at this age, you know, I'm going to be 60 in two years.
• 12:26
  I'm just sitting back thinking, okay, what did I do best at?
• 12:32
  You know, even if you're 25 or 35 or 45, you say, what am I good at?
• 12:38
  And finding that that you love and that you're good at, even when I'm teaching my clients,
• 12:42
  I'm saying, okay, look at everything that you sell, you know, take it down to the core.
• 12:47
  What's the one thing that your clients want that you can sell in your sleep?
• 12:52
  What's the one thing that comes natural to you?
• 12:55
  And focus back down on that because we go all over the place, you know, we start.
• 13:00
  And changes, that's the thing.
• 13:03
  My past game one thing.
• 13:04
  So what is your one thing now?
• 13:07
  Helping small business owners create that, you know, I'm writing a book.
• 13:11
  It's called from income to empire.
• 13:14
  It's making that shift between just creating a paycheck to creating a legacy.
• 13:21
  And that's what's like.
• 13:25
  That looks like, well, you have to watch my webinar next Wednesday.
• 13:29
  It's on the clock to get the whole thing.
• 13:31
  But the basically the program at the end of the day is you build partnerships, you know,
• 13:37
  I'll give you, I'll give you a little free tip here.
• 13:40
  Okay.
• 13:41
  Okay.
• 13:42
  So the biggest thing that people don't understand when they start a business is they think, okay,
• 13:47
  I'm going to start a business and then I'm going to grow it and three, five, 10, 20 years,
• 13:51
  I'm going to sell it and then I'm going to retire and live a lovely life.
• 13:54
  So what I tell them is, okay, you, there's something called assets, right?
• 14:00
  You have your laptop, your phone, your desk, you know, whatever you have, there's a difference
• 14:05
  between your assets and that sales price, right?
• 14:10
  The sole price at the end of the day.
• 14:12
  So all that stuff in the middle, there's an accounting term for that's called goodwill.
• 14:16
  Right.
• 14:17
  So you have to take yourself out of the situation.
• 14:22
  If yes, you have your desk and your phone and your calculator or whatever, but if you're
• 14:26
  not in the picture, what's left of the business?
• 14:30
  Right.
• 14:31
  Most of the time people realize, oh crap, there's nothing left.
• 14:35
  There's no business if I'm not there because I'm doing everything.
• 14:39
  So that's why I teach people how to create partnerships and how to treat contracts and
• 14:44
  understanding that if I'm a hairdresser and the lady in the cubicle next to me is a hairdresser,
• 14:52
  and you both have your own business and somebody's trying to buy that business, how are you going
• 14:57
  to stand out?
• 14:58
  How are you different?
• 14:59
  What's going to be different is her client list or her connections that she has with
• 15:03
  her vendors or deals that she's made to get certain products that other people can't do.
• 15:07
  It's all those extra things that are going to make your business more valuable than the
• 15:12
  other one.
• 15:13
  Yeah.
• 15:14
  And that's what I teach people.
• 15:15
  I used to, and my previous career worked in broadcasting, and I literally went to radio
• 15:19
  and TV stations when people were selling them to value.
• 15:23
  I mean, we valued the equipment, like I could tell you the value of a tower and a microphone
• 15:28
  and all those things.
• 15:29
  Right.
• 15:30
  And then we also did the contracts like Howard Stern's contract, the different contracts
• 15:35
  and things, their value and their advertising list and all those things, which are so important.
• 15:41
  Oh my gosh.
• 15:42
  I have so many funny stories about that, about having celebrities come to our events and
• 15:48
  them getting their contract, what they want in their green room.
• 15:53
  And sometimes it's just you're getting their contract and they put it in there to see if
• 15:59
  you're paying attention.
• 16:00
  But sometimes it's things like, can you pick the green marshmallows out of my lucky charms?
• 16:06
  Because I don't want them in there.
• 16:09
  Anyway, just talking about contracts, when you think about that.
• 16:12
  Yeah, little crazy.
• 16:14
  Yeah.
• 16:15
  Yeah.
• 16:16
  So in starting your businesses and through your journey, did you have moments that you
• 16:20
  remember like you woke up, you couldn't sleep, you're like, okay, this is an issue.
• 16:24
  I need to deal with, you know, it's starting.
• 16:27
  Every day.
• 16:28
  Yeah.
• 16:29
  It's time.
• 16:30
  Like that's what it is, keeping you up night.
• 16:34
  And what gets you to act where most people roll over or don't sleep?
• 16:37
  Well, that's what I...
• 16:39
  Where was this modeled?
• 16:40
  Like, you know, most people I can point back to, you know, parents were entrepreneurs
• 16:46
  or where did you get your entrepreneurial spirit or is it just the fight in you?
• 16:50
  I think it's the fight.
• 16:52
  I think it's because I see something I want and I need money to buy it.
• 16:56
  So that's what makes me driven.
• 16:58
  And you get passionate about something.
• 17:00
  If something's waking you up in the morning or the middle of the night and you're excited
• 17:04
  to get to your desk or your computer to start doing it, working on it, then you're on the
• 17:07
  right path.
• 17:08
  Right.
• 17:09
  And that's really what the key is.
• 17:12
  And for me, once I build it, I can move on to something else.
• 17:16
  So how do you build from starting?
• 17:18
  Because you hear how many people start businesses and then they fail, you know, percentages
• 17:24
  are so high or they give up or they quit, you know?
• 17:27
  Well, you sort of create the structure, right?
• 17:30
  The basic structure of it.
• 17:32
  And then you start testing it.
• 17:33
  Because, you know, what I teach my clients is I could spend six months or a year creating
• 17:39
  the perfect business, the logo, the website, everything I needed to do.
• 17:43
  And then you put it out there and then you realize, oh, that's not what people want or
• 17:48
  need right now.
• 17:49
  Because the economy shifts, which is why I shift, which is why I diversify, which is
• 17:53
  one of my classes, how to diversify in your own business.
• 17:56
  You sort of like trickle it out there to see what, if people are really trying to buy what
• 18:02
  you're trying to sell, maybe you're packaging it the wrong way.
• 18:05
  Or maybe, you know, for me, having a business in Tampa where I renovate houses and construction
• 18:11
  in the end of that world, I was doing that for a long time.
• 18:15
  When I came here to Long County, it didn't fit the right mold.
• 18:19
  I put it out there, but instead of customers coming to me or clients coming to me to help
• 18:24
  them renovate their house, here builders were coming to me.
• 18:28
  General contractors were coming to me and say, hey, we're missing that intro piece.
• 18:33
  We're missing that warm and fuzzy piece.
• 18:34
  We need you to go meet with the client and help them pick out things and explain how
• 18:38
  it works.
• 18:39
  And once you get their plan and you get everything done, then come to me as a general contractor.
• 18:44
  That is completely different than how it is in Florida.
• 18:46
  So it's also territorial.
• 18:48
  You know, I already had the package.
• 18:51
  It just didn't fit here.
• 18:52
  So that meant I had to just shift it and that's okay.
• 18:55
  You know.
• 18:56
  Yeah.
• 18:57
  You've done amazing things and I admire you and all the businesses and the success of
• 19:01
  them.
• 19:02
  I mean, I'm sure we have a short attention span, that's probably what it really is.
• 19:06
  But we'll talk about it one day.
• 19:08
  Well, and I'll tell you one thing that I read a quote by Warren Buffett a long time ago
• 19:15
  and it has been my motto for life.
• 19:19
  And that is, if you're not making money while you sleep, you will work till the day you
• 19:25
  die.
• 19:27
  So how do you make money while you're asleep?
• 19:29
  I understand that.
• 19:30
  But for somebody listening, they'll see your business is selling for you.
• 19:35
  For example, right?
• 19:36
  I have a website at cross consulting.com.
• 19:39
  You can become a private client, but on there you can buy my program.
• 19:44
  You can, you know, download something that's free on there or you can pay, you know, 2995.
• 19:50
  You know, my most of my stuff is free, but you know, there are other websites that have
• 19:54
  that they sell things, you know, book or book.
• 19:57
  And that's somebody clicking in another country, another state somewhere else in the middle
• 20:02
  of the night buying your 1299 is making me money while I sleep.
• 20:07
  And it's not that.
• 20:08
  Well, another reason, another way is I own a construction company.
• 20:14
  I have a partnership with the flooring person, right?
• 20:17
  So the flooring person is out there selling.
• 20:20
  I never even meet the person.
• 20:22
  I never even see the floor until the end of the job.
• 20:25
  But that person is, you know, we're working together.
• 20:28
  You know what I mean?
• 20:30
  So sometimes the, and to me that's making money while I sleep.
• 20:34
  It's just putting money into my pocket where I didn't take my time out of my day to do
• 20:40
  something good like so many, you know, hours in the day, right?
• 20:43
  Yeah, that is so true.
• 20:44
  And I was listening to something the other day they were talking about multiple streams
• 20:47
  of income and important it is.
• 20:50
  And they also said people just starting a business.
• 20:53
  You don't have the focus do the multiple streams of income.
• 20:56
  You need to get the one started one built.
• 20:59
  So what tips did you give for somebody starting a business?
• 21:03
  How do you find the people?
• 21:04
  How do you get the word out?
• 21:06
  How do you, you know, find woke up and want to start a business?
• 21:11
  How would you, if you didn't have the connections, your first one, how did you get the word out?
• 21:16
  Where'd you find people?
• 21:17
  Or how did you connect?
• 21:18
  And I know it's changing every day.
• 21:21
  To support you or for clients, you mean?
• 21:23
  For clients, like how do you grow your business?
• 21:25
  Get your word out about your business?
• 21:27
  Yeah, well, you, yeah, find out who needs you.
• 21:30
  You know, what I always say is, you know, how do you do that?
• 21:33
  I was talking yesterday to some people with something.
• 21:35
  I was talking numbers, which is one of my things.
• 21:37
  And I was going really fast like this, this, this, this.
• 21:40
  And they're like, Leslie, you're talking like Charlie Brown.
• 21:43
  We can't even hear.
• 21:44
  So let's dumb it down.
• 21:47
  You know, like if you had somebody couldn't sleep, they had an idea.
• 21:50
  They're scared to death to start a business.
• 21:52
  They finally come up with maybe, and most people I found in talking to them, where
• 21:57
  they start and where they're finishing are completely different.
• 22:01
  And so if they just had that idea, that inkling, like, what are those first steps?
• 22:05
  How do you get the word out?
• 22:06
  How do you grow to be a successful business?
• 22:09
  It's also about how are you wording it?
• 22:11
  How are you phrasing it?
• 22:12
  For example, if I wanted to start a business, I would go online and I would Google what
• 22:19
  people are searching and what are the pain points?
• 22:22
  And that's what I saw from my small businesses.
• 22:24
  That's what I saw from my renovation clients.
• 22:27
  It's what, like I'm known as the fire marshal out in the conference and trade show world
• 22:31
  because my specialty is coming in at the last minute and putting out a fire.
• 22:36
  Like my executive director quit in the middle of the night and our conference is two weeks
• 22:41
  out.
• 22:42
  What do I do?
• 22:43
  And this has happened, by the way.
• 22:44
  You know, it, yeah, exactly.
• 22:46
  Can you come and fix it or stand in and do it?
• 22:48
  Because I've done it for so long.
• 22:49
  So I kind of know all that, I mean, whether I'm emptying trash or I'm running the show,
• 22:53
  I know all the processes, right?
• 22:55
  So that's kind of what that is.
• 22:57
  But I did digress, but the, I forgot what we were talking about.
• 23:03
  So do you use Google to use AI?
• 23:05
  Yeah, sorry, the pain points, yes, the pain points.
• 23:09
  That's the thing is you have to find out what your clients pain points are.
• 23:12
  So in order to find out what their pain points are, what problem are you going to solve for
• 23:17
  them?
• 23:18
  So you go on Google and you type in, you know, like if I was doing renovation, where do I
• 23:26
  find, how do I get started?
• 23:28
  How do I get blueprints?
• 23:29
  What's the first thing I do when I want to renovate my house?
• 23:32
  How do I reach out to somebody?
• 23:34
  How do I find a general, how do I know if a general contractor is giving me the right
• 23:37
  price?
• 23:38
  Once you find what other people are searching for, and you'll know that because it'll be
• 23:43
  at the top of the list of the questions, what their answers are and what the questions
• 23:47
  are.
• 23:48
  You know how people do it all the time.
• 23:50
  What is construction and then it'll finish the sentence for you and whatever sentence
• 23:55
  is finishing is the top one in your area, right?
• 23:58
  So then when you're doing your marketing material, your website or talking on the phone, you address
• 24:03
  those pain points in your marketing material because that means those are the things that
• 24:08
  people are trying to find right now.
• 24:10
  So you're going to come up on SEO, on Google, and you're going to be, somebody's ears are
• 24:15
  going to be perking up.
• 24:16
  You know, I go get the grocery store and I'm talking to somebody and somebody else says,
• 24:23
  hey, I renovating my bathroom and this thing happened.
• 24:26
  What do I do now?
• 24:27
  And I love that.
• 24:28
  I love when people text me, I'm at the tile store and I don't know how to pick out the
• 24:31
  right color ground.
• 24:32
  I love that stuff.
• 24:34
  You know what I mean?
• 24:35
  So that's where you just talking with people and if you start saying those pain points,
• 24:42
  this is what I saw for people, they're going to come to you.
• 24:45
  They just, oh, I'm thinking about me and that's why I'm asking, digging deeper.
• 24:48
  I do these for my own purposes.
• 24:50
  You know, why not today start as a podcast and then I start an LLC just not sure where
• 24:55
  I'm taking it.
• 24:56
  So starting a business with an abstract idea, a phrase like, how would you dig deeper on
• 25:04
  that?
• 25:05
  I mean, I'm doing some coaching and mastermind and events, got swag and all the things, but
• 25:10
  almost feel like I'm going too many places.
• 25:13
  Well, because again, step back and because you are predicting what your client wants,
• 25:21
  instead of actually letting your client dictate to you what they need.
• 25:24
  Yeah.
• 25:25
  And I've been there and I've been there.
• 25:28
  You're just trying to guess.
• 25:29
  Like I want all the pieces in place before I started to like launch the whole thing.
• 25:34
  And then you're sort of wasted your time.
• 25:36
  You didn't need a 10 page website.
• 25:37
  I'm not saying you.
• 25:38
  I'm just saying you didn't really need a 10 page website to sell your business.
• 25:43
  Because it's about the personal part.
• 25:45
  You know what I mean?
• 25:46
  You know, so that's why I said to sort of trickle it out, talk to friends, talk to people,
• 25:51
  join groups, you know, go on Facebook pages where people do what you do and see what they're
• 25:57
  saying.
• 25:58
  You don't even have to, you know, be a fly on the wall, you know, join a podcast group
• 26:02
  or join a charity group, Facebook page where you can see how they're communicating and
• 26:08
  what people are saying.
• 26:10
  You know, I was talking to my marketing person today and she said, because I've been pushing
• 26:16
  my, you know, my webinars and it's free because it's free for, you know, certain groups for
• 26:20
  sure.
• 26:21
  But she said, don't use the icons anymore.
• 26:26
  Like the, you know, when you're posting about a promo and has like the fire and the check
• 26:30
  mark and you know, which I like seeing that.
• 26:32
  Right.
• 26:33
  I do too.
• 26:34
  And she's got my attention.
• 26:35
  Well, because she follows the marketing world.
• 26:38
  She says those icons, it screams that chat wrote it for you.
• 26:42
  That's what people think now.
• 26:43
  And it's a big thing.
• 26:45
  So now you don't do those anymore.
• 26:47
  But because she's in that and she's, you know, on the forums and reading the pages, she's,
• 26:53
  that's why she's up on everything.
• 26:54
  You know what I mean?
• 26:55
  And that's what I do with construction.
• 26:57
  I go on and I join, you know, renovations Facebook pages and I read what people are talking
• 27:03
  about.
• 27:04
  So, never sleep.
• 27:07
  I get up at five a.m. because I get too good full hour.
• 27:14
  It's the best time to think for me and get more work done because it's seven, 38 o'clock
• 27:19
  is when my guys and my crews and construction are on site and they're, you know, getting
• 27:24
  the plywood and somebody didn't show up or got the wrong paint color, you know, whatever
• 27:28
  the heck is going on, you know, so you're currently renovating a house.
• 27:32
  Oh yeah.
• 27:33
  We have me living in the house that you're renovating.
• 27:35
  I'm well, I'm living in a house that I'm renovating.
• 27:38
  Yes.
• 27:39
  It's 8,000 square feet of all renovation.
• 27:43
  Floods I have multiple jobs in Florida that they're pretty, yeah, that I'm helping the
• 27:48
  crews run.
• 27:49
  Yeah.
• 27:50
  And unfortunately, some of my clients that we just finished their houses last year were
• 27:54
  lost their house in the floods when the hurricanes came.
• 27:58
  So they are, you know, we're trying to very quickly put their house back together so they
• 28:03
  can get home.
• 28:04
  Yeah.
• 28:05
  Yeah.
• 28:06
  It's, it's, I'm glad.
• 28:07
  I'm glad we have the crews and we were able to jump in and get it done.
• 28:10
  So and I'm at clients here too, because I have crews here too.
• 28:13
  Right.
• 28:14
  Yeah.
• 28:15
  And I'm excited about.
• 28:16
  Yeah, I was going to say all the things you're doing are very exciting.
• 28:21
  So how would you, and it was kind of talked around it, but yeah, somebody to say why not
• 28:25
  today and do the things.
• 28:26
  And I'm thinking of somebody I know that I'd love to connect you with that loves decorating.
• 28:31
  She can build stuff.
• 28:32
  She's, I'm definitely didn't get, I don't have those genes in my body, but you know,
• 28:38
  and she's like, I'd be great at this, but she's working a J O B because she needs that
• 28:42
  job and it's scared to try something new.
• 28:47
  And so how would you encourage somebody like that?
• 28:49
  Yeah, exactly.
• 28:50
  Well, if she really loves do it, start doing it for a friend and then promote you did it
• 28:56
  for a friend.
• 28:58
  You know, social media or share that information and somebody else will speak up and say they
• 29:05
  need it.
• 29:06
  You know, that's kind of how it's, it's just planting a seed and then it's a good way for
• 29:11
  you to find out if you really love it.
• 29:12
  Right.
• 29:13
  If you like it, you like doing it for yourself.
• 29:16
  You know, that's the thing.
• 29:18
  I think my biggest regret is not getting a hobby.
• 29:21
  And I needed work is my hobby.
• 29:24
  I found.
• 29:25
  Yeah.
• 29:26
  Yeah.
• 29:27
  I know you had Sam Horn on recently kudos to you because that was a big catch there.
• 29:33
  I didn't realize it until she was on.
• 29:36
  Like I didn't know you were such a rock star.
• 29:40
  But you know what, I do, I will say one of my superpowers is I'm not afraid to ask.
• 29:45
  So what's the worst thing somebody can say is no, and there's in my other career with
• 29:50
  Mary Kay, I've known a lot of the super duper top people and invited them to stuff and they've
• 29:54
  come people are like, why?
• 29:57
  She asked, right?
• 29:58
  That's right.
• 29:59
  That's right.
• 30:00
  Well, you know what, what I've learned is it's kind of like when they say, when's a
• 30:03
  good time to have kids and we have six kids and two grandkids, there's no such thing as
• 30:08
  the right time to have kids.
• 30:09
  So there's never the right time to start your business.
• 30:12
  There's never the perfect time.
• 30:13
  So just baby steps again, it just.
• 30:16
  Why not today?
• 30:17
  That's right.
• 30:18
  Just on those moments.
• 30:20
  Yeah.
• 30:21
  Well, when I hear why not today, I think about the times that I've said this isn't the right
• 30:27
  moment.
• 30:28
  And that's why I'm, I think the perfect moment doesn't exist.
• 30:30
  You create it, right?
• 30:33
  And I think that's just again, if you're passionate about it, it will drive you.
• 30:40
  It really will drive you.
• 30:41
  And maybe you're even just passionate about going on that two week cruise that you want
• 30:46
  to go on because that's just as much of a driver for me as being passionate about what
• 30:52
  I'm doing.
• 30:53
  Yeah.
• 30:54
  You have to work for it.
• 30:55
  Right.
• 30:56
  Several years ago, my brother wanted to give my mom a trip to Italy.
• 31:01
  He's like, but you know, maybe she'll just go on her own.
• 31:03
  I'm like, she's not going by herself.
• 31:05
  And he's like, well, who wants to go?
• 31:06
  I'm like, I'll go.
• 31:08
  And I didn't have the money set aside to go on a trip to Italy.
• 31:11
  And we decided at the end of August and we were on the airplane October 1st.
• 31:14
  Oh my God.
• 31:15
  That's amazing.
• 31:16
  Because I have my own business and I know how to hustle and work like I was able to,
• 31:21
  you know, and when you have your own business, you have the capability to work a little harder
• 31:25
  and make more.
• 31:26
  If you're working for somebody else, you're basically on a fixed income unless you're
• 31:31
  getting paid commissions that you get paid, which you get paid, whether you work really
• 31:35
  hard or slack all day long and don't really do much.
• 31:40
  You're still getting paid the same amount.
• 31:42
  And you know, and like professions, like teachers, like you can be the best teacher
• 31:46
  that ever lived and you're still going to get paid the same as the same teacher that
• 31:50
  taught as long as you did.
• 31:52
  Well, that's why you do a little bit on nights, a little bit on the weekends and until you
• 31:56
  get enough clientele that you can cut back on your hours or part time or, you know, luckily
• 32:04
  maybe even quit altogether.
• 32:06
  You know, if you have a dream.
• 32:07
  But it does take an entrepreneurial mindset.
• 32:10
  There are a lot of people that will never own their own business because that's like
• 32:14
  they'll never, yeah, and they'll never, and we need all those people, but there's that
• 32:18
  don't understand.
• 32:19
  I've got a good friend in the teaching world and like our worlds are so different and like
• 32:25
  she's like, are you done working?
• 32:26
  I'm like, I'm never done working.
• 32:28
  Right.
• 32:29
  Right.
• 32:30
  But, you know, and I love what, you know, people like, Oh, you got to work.
• 32:33
  I'm like, Oh, I get to work.
• 32:34
  I love what I do.
• 32:35
  Right.
• 32:36
  Well, I mean, I have a military family.
• 32:39
  My husband's 21 and a half years in the Air Force.
• 32:44
  And he definitely needs a real job.
• 32:45
  I like I said, I call it a real job.
• 32:48
  You know, you hit get up and that's the has to go have somewhere to go.
• 32:51
  Somebody tell him what to do.
• 32:53
  Hey, well, he's used to that.
• 32:55
  Yeah.
• 32:56
  So yeah, yeah, I'm not, I'm not very employable.
• 32:59
  And again, it takes every kind.
• 33:02
  Well, I think into the day why not today isn't isn't really a question.
• 33:07
  It's an opportunity.
• 33:08
  That's what I like.
• 33:09
  I'm a lot.
• 33:10
  Why not say it's not a question and opportunity.
• 33:14
  Opportunity.
• 33:15
  Yep.
• 33:16
  So true.
• 33:17
  So I always try to tie my guest back to my dad and people are like, I never knew your
• 33:23
  dad.
• 33:24
  And one of the questions is how do you know my dad?
• 33:26
  And so as we talk, and I know we've had a conversation before.
• 33:29
  And I think a lot of the things that I could tie back is you working in Florida and he
• 33:34
  redeveloped St. Petersburg.
• 33:36
  He was.
• 33:37
  Yes.
• 33:38
  He was with all the redevelopment and a lot of the same things that sounds like you're
• 33:42
  doing and making a difference.
• 33:46
  And you know, he always owned his own company as long as I was alive.
• 33:51
  And so, you know, watching that and him developing in different companies.
• 33:56
  And he does that.
• 33:57
  I mean, St. Pete, everybody wants to live in St. Pete.
• 34:00
  Such a cool town.
• 34:01
  Yeah, he did a lot of different, you know, we heard him talking about it.
• 34:04
  And then as I've gotten older, I've gone to these places.
• 34:07
  I'm like, Oh, I was in Rochester.
• 34:09
  And I'm like, Oh, yeah, my dad redeveloped worked on the redevelopment of this.
• 34:13
  I'm like, Oh, I'm sitting right here.
• 34:14
  So it's kind of cool to see that.
• 34:16
  Oh, that's because I geek out on economic development.
• 34:19
  I know that sounds crazy, but I love that part.
• 34:21
  I love, you know, being part of that in the community because I'm on the board of low,
• 34:26
  you know, like the local planning agency and the board of adjustment and appeals and, you
• 34:30
  know, of course, the chair of historic preservation advisory boards, but that's all city.
• 34:35
  It's all growing the city.
• 34:36
  It's all observing, but also actually moving forward.
• 34:40
  He taught a class at a local middle school and it was called boomtown.
• 34:47
  And I don't know if he'd be interested.
• 34:48
  I still have a, not even a DVD, a VHS tape of it.
• 34:54
  Oh, not a full notebook on all his notes on it, but he would go into school and bring
• 34:59
  empty cereal boxes and things and have the kids design a city.
• 35:02
  Oh, I love that.
• 35:03
  And what should be in here and the jokie shared all the time was one of the kids are like,
• 35:09
  so when you get out of college, where are you going to live?
• 35:11
  And one kid said, my room.
• 35:14
  Yeah, that's why we like it so big.
• 35:18
  Yeah, no.
• 35:19
  Yeah.
• 35:20
  So, but yeah, he did that.
• 35:21
  So lots of similarities.
• 35:22
  Well, thank you, Linda, for all your insight and ideas and encouragement.
• 35:26
  Anything else you'd like to share before we close?
• 35:29
  No, I mean, I, I can, you know, if you're not making money, you know, I'm not.
• 35:33
  You know, when you're going to bed, you're going to be fine while you sleep, you'll work
• 35:35
  to the day you die.
• 35:36
  So that's the idea.
• 35:37
  Yeah.
• 35:38
  I mean, that'll encourage you if nothing else.
• 35:41
  Well, thank you for being the guest and sharing all your stories.
• 35:46
  And I'm excited about when why not today is going with why not today swag that I am partnering
• 35:52
  with nonprofits that if you buy a T shirt or a cup that a person percentage is going
• 35:59
  to go to a different nonprofit and we're going to keep switching them up because I am
• 36:01
  passionate about that.
• 36:04
  So just giving back makes a difference.
• 36:06
  So thank you for everybody for listening and joining us on this inspiring journey.
• 36:11
  Remember, every day is an opportunity to take action, chase your dreams and make a difference.
• 36:15
  So why not today?
• 36:16
  Yeah.
• 36:17
  Make sure to subscribe, share and keep pushing forward.
• 36:19
  You can find everything you need to know about why not today at the why not today podcast.com
• 36:22
  and find me on Facebook.
• 36:25
  Yeah.
• 36:26
  So I will share all your contact information.
• 36:27
  I love meeting new people.
• 36:29
  Yeah.
• 36:30
  Thank you and until next time, everybody stay motivated, keep making things happen and say,
• 36:34
  why not today?
• 36:35
  Bye.
• 36:36
  Thanks.