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The Designated Motivator: Understanding the Motivation Movement with Dawn Brolin · The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson

• 0:00
  Here's where I think the secret is.
• 0:02
  Leaders lead and they lead well.
• 0:04
  I don't think they realize the impact that their leadership is having on other people.
• 0:12
  Hi.
• 0:12
  This is Melinda Emerson, the small biz lady host of the small bizchett podcast.
• 0:16
  I want to serve you.
• 0:17
  This pandemic has been so hard on America's small businesses and on just America in
• 0:22
  general.
• 0:23
  If you're ready to start your dream business, boy, do I have a great offer for you?
• 0:28
  I am giving away 1000 copies of my best selling book.
• 0:31
  Become your own boss in 12 months.
• 0:34
  Over a hundred thousand people have this book.
• 0:36
  It's been printed in multiple languages around the world, and I wanted to find a way to serve
• 0:41
  America's small businesses in this pandemic.
• 0:44
  And so I am giving away a 1000 copies of my book.
• 0:47
  All you have to do to get your copy is head over to begin my biz.com/freeoffer to, you
• 0:54
  know, sign up for your copy.
• 0:56
  All you have to do is pay shipping, and we will mail one out to you I am so excited about this.
• 1:01
  I wanna serve you.
• 1:03
  Grab your copy today.
• 1:04
  Lift off.
• 1:06
  Ending small business failure.
• 1:09
  Welcome to the Small Biz Chat podcast with a number 1 small business expert, Melinda
• 1:14
  Emerson.
• 1:15
  Melinda's goal is to end small business failure, and she'll give you the information
• 1:19
  you need to succeed and live the life you dream of.
• 1:23
  Now here's the small biz lady herself.
• 1:27
  Melinda Emerson.
• 1:29
  Hi, everybody.
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  I'm Melinda Emerson, the small biz lady.
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  America's number one small biz expert, and I would like to welcome you to small biz chat
• 1:38
  live here.
• 1:39
  We engage experts to conduct interviews for the small bitch chat podcast.
• 1:44
  The small bitch chat podcast is a peer to peer interview show that gives small business owners
• 1:50
  a way to get invaluable information and business insight.
• 1:54
  The mission of small business chat is to end small business failure The goal is to give our
• 2:00
  small business audience the opportunity to hear sage advice from multiple angles so that you
• 2:05
  can grow your business and take it to the next level.
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  Anyway, with that, I want to introduce my good friend and human firecracker, Don Brolin, CPA.
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  She is the founder of team brolin, which is a nationally recognized accounting firm based in
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  Connecticut.
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  She joins us tonight because we're gonna talk about her new book, The Designated MotorVATOR,
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  which is a practical guide for individuals who have the passion for engaging in business and
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  their personal lives.
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  She's gonna help us all reach our full potential with that.
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  Dawn, welcome back to the Small Bishop podcast.
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  Well, Linda, you know you're one of my favorite people out there because you give with all of
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  your heart.
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  So more than anything, I'm just happy to be here with you, and thank you for having me.
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  Oh, gosh.
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  Well, Don, let's jump right in.
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  Let's start from the beginning.
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  Tell me, alright, how did you get rolling, you know, starting your business?
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  And how is that translated into you figuring out what your superpower is?
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  You know, we all think back at that first moment, we were like, I'm gonna part of my own
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  business, and I'm super excited about it.
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  And, you know, so back in 1999, let me date myself.
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  Yes.
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  I'm old.
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  And, I decided to start a new business.
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  I wanted to be a bookkeeper.
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  I knew when I was sixteen.
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  I wanted to be in business.
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  I knew I wanted to be an accountant.
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  And so I said, you know what?
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  I'm going for it.
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  And so in 1999, I said, you know what?
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  I'm not doing the corporate route.
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  That was just my choice, and I decided to start being a bookkeeper.
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  Then I went back to school, and then I got my CPA later in life.
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  Then I got my certified fraud examiner license, and I was cranking And so, you know, I just
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  built my business and the most important thing to me has always been in my life is leaving
• 3:48
  people better than I found them.
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  I'm not saying I always have because nobody's perfect.
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  Right?
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  But that's what I've strived to do.
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  And so from start to finish, I've been through you know, working by myself as a sole prop, to
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  having employees, to having partners, to growing a business, to 10 employees, and then
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  saying wait That's not for me and cutting back to 4.
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  So I've been through it all, and then, you know, we'll talk about the book and how that
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  kinda came too.
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  Definitely.
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  Alright.
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  So your firm team, brolin, you know, you built that up, and you're also a major influencer in
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  in in the accounting industry.
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  Right?
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  Right.
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  You know, I found that when I started to get really passionate about what I was doing in the
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  accounting industry, we we'd have to go to conferences, get certified, you know, It's
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  really due diligence and responsibility.
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  That's our job to be protect the public for in the accounting world, certainly in the tax
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  world of protecting them from paying more to the IRS than they should, which is our job.
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  And I found that I need to start educating myself.
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  I went to a conference.
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  I saw the lady speaking, Leslie Capachetti, one of my heroes in accounting, And I said, I wanna
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  teach with you.
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  And she said, let me tell you how to do it.
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  She put her hand out, picked me up, gave me the guidance I needed, and I ran with it from
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  there.
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  And I think from a major influencer perspective, that's part of our job.
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  Our job is as we get out there and we strive to help our colleagues and help our industry in
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  general.
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  It's time for us to put our hand out and pull people up as well.
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  And that's where I got my inspiration.
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  So I'm out there now.
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  I wanna change the accounting industry in ways that they never imagined, and that's some of
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  what we'll talk about with the book because we're gonna take this book that I've already
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  written and take it a step further for my colleagues and my industry to better them.
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  I love it.
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  I love it.
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  Alright.
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  So tell me about the book, The Designated motivator.
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  Okay.
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  Why did you ride?
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  I gotta be honest with you.
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  I kinda thought you were gonna come up with an accounting in finance book.
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  Yeah.
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  I'm going out
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  and accounting
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  for a dummy, like, like, a, you know, cash flow for dummy, this kind of situation.
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  So I was really surprised, when you sent me the note, like, hey.
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  I got this new book as the designated motivator.
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  And I'm like, wow.
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  Okay.
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  So tell me about this.
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  Tell me about your new passion.
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  This book has filled my soul.
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  Okay?
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  And being out there, being an accountant, that's obviously important.
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  You know, I've got I do my job of due diligence and compliance and the normal things, but
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  Really, at the end of the day, my job is to is to really influence and positively motivate and
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  transform an positive way every single person I come in contact with.
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  And here's the thing.
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  I feel like and you asked me about being an influencer in the accounting industry.
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  I've been doing that.
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  In different ways just as my colleagues have done it to me as we as you Melinda who fills
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  fills the souls of small business owners.
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  And I realized through a simple thing, This little yellow ball.
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  Weird enough.
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  I decided in 2019 that I was not just gonna be an accountant.
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  I needed to fill my soul with something, something other than my normal day to day.
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  So I decided because who else doesn't do this?
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  I got in contact through various channels with my former teammate from college.
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  We won the national tournament in 1990.
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  College women softball, division 3.
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  It was a time of our life.
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  And I said, I really miss it.
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  I went to a game, and I just got really excited about it.
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  So she approached me and said, hey.
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  You wanna coach next year?
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  And I go, pep, you know I'm an accountant.
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  Right?
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  And she's like, well, yeah, deer.
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  And I said, you know it's taxis and during softball.
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  Right?
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  And she said, yeah.
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  So?
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  And I thought to myself, yeah.
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  So?
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  And I said, you know what?
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  I'll give you everything I can.
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  I can't promise you a 110%, which my that's all I really drive on as you, Melinda know, I'm I
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  do
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  know how you do things, Dawn.
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  Definitely.
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  I'm either all in or I'm all out.
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  That's just how it is.
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  Right?
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  So I I approached it, and then I'll do the best I can.
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  I still have my role as an accountant, things like that.
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  We went into the season.
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  I'm not gonna drag it out too long, but I want you to feel the passion that I had.
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  I go to this softball practice, not even really remembering the rules.
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  And they gave me my bag tag, and they said volunteer coach.
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  And I looked at that bag tag, and I went, No.
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  That has not described me in any capacity whatsoever.
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  And so I made my own name tag.
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  The first was co head coach because I'm not just gonna be an assistant.
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  Let's be real.
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  And then I decided I was gonna be something called the designated motivator.
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  And then the moment I put that on my bag tag, I really didn't know what it meant at first.
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  And then as the season went on, I realized this team was a a average team the year before.
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  They were 500 best record they came back.
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  Their goal was, well, let's be, like, 600%, you know, 600 record instead of 5.
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  And I'm like, what?
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  We're going for the natty.
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  We're going for the national tournament.
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  What do you mean we're gonna go for 500?
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  Like, I'm like so the same team that came back in 500 and we're like, oh, we'll just, you
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  know, be good.
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  I said that.
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  I'm not doing this.
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  I must be in the wrong room.
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  And so I decided each one of those individuals.
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  I was gonna get into their head, into their heart, and into their soul, and make a change
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  in them to help them realize the how good they could be if they decided to play together to do
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  something different than they ever did before and have the guts to move forward in a way they
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  never did before.
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  And the end of the story and and through there were so many examples, and a lot of them are in
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  the book, and it's not about sports.
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  At the end, I realized it wasn't about sports.
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  It was about a team, a business, an organization, a church, a family.
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  It doesn't matter what it is.
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  If you can have that transformative effect in a person, I have goosebumps right now.
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  You can change the world one person at a time, one team at a time, one church at a time,
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  because that's ultimately what we're here for.
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  Right?
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  And so at the end of the story of that 2019 softball team who was less than 5 about 500 the
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  year before, same kids coming back.
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  They were 3rd in the country.
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  We did a third in the country, and there were so many amazing stories along the way, simple
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  little things like you walk in your office and you have a staff member.
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  You're either you're a colleague or you own the company and you see your team, your person
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  there, your staff person, And you walk up to them and you literally look them right in their
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  face.
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  And you say, hey.
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  How was your weekend?
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  I know your daughter had a soccer game.
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  How did that go?
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  Was it fun?
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  Whatever.
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  And you, like, actually continue looking at them because you actually wanna hear what they
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  have to say.
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  That gives some a person a feeling that you don't get just from a, hey.
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  How is the soccer game?
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  Okay.
• 10:40
  Cool.
• 10:41
  Great.
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  Alright.
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  You're working on that project.
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  Awesome.
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  And when you take that moment of time and, you know, I mean, I'm obviously a little extra.
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  So I did some pretty crazy things.
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  You think you think, Don?
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  I think a little I bought a bullhorn, and I would show up to practice.
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  And I'm like, 22, what are you doing?
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  Oh, And I'm just like, because I'm crazy, and they but the thing is when I would arrive, if
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  you arrive at a place, you arrive at work and people are like, Melinda's here.
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  Awesome.
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  And when I arrived to practice, those kids would they call me mom now.
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  Right?
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  They would run to me, and they would be like, mom's here.
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  Up, Rowan?
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  And they would have this fire in their belly that they just didn't have before.
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  That's all they needed.
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  That's all people need.
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  And that's I realized what gift god gave me in this ability to be outrageous and not everybody
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  has to be that outraged.
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  You can go to a cashier at a gas station, buy a coke and say, hey.
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  Thank you so much.
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  I really appreciate you.
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  I hope you're having a great day and smile at them, their whole attitude changes.
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  And if we don't need that right now in our country, I don't think we need anything else.
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  And that's just now it's my mission.
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  I love it.
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  I love it.
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  So you feel like this whole thing of discovering that designated motivator title
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  that really kinda has ignited, like, superpower in you?
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  Like, is this, like, your zone of genius, Dawn?
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  It is Melinda.
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  I thought I was Psycho before.
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  Let me just tell you one little thing.
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  I bought a body bag.
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  I bought a body bag this year for the team.
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  And when we beat other teams, we put their line up on it.
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  I'm I'm over the top to help them imagine things.
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  Obviously, that's a little crazy, but but to see them have that, oh my goodness.
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  We could do this.
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  We could win the whole thing made every moment that I spent with them outside of my business
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  it.
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  That is awesome.
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  So I have something funny to tell you.
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  So when I first moved to Philadelphia, when I was still working in the television industry as
• 12:54
  a producer.
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  I coach ninety ten year old girl softball because I played softball in high school and
• 13:00
  college as well.
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  I didn't play on the team.
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  I played an intramural because when I got to college, I was like, look, it's a little bit
• 13:05
  too crazy down here.
• 13:06
  I need to make sure I graduate.
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  So I didn't wanna, like, play for see.
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  I don't wanna play for Virginia Tech, but I played in the intramural league.
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  But I know exactly what you mean about motivating little girl.
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  And what that means to them.
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  But I wanted to switch gears with you a little bit because I do think that I wanted to ask
• 13:23
  you, like, Don't you think that natural born leaders are automatically motivators?
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  Like, is that is that like a gene that we kinda all those of us that are leaders that have been
• 13:35
  lead.
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  I mean, I think I'm the oldest in my family.
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  I was born.
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  I always tell people I was born the ball.
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  So, like, look, I've been telling people what to do my whole life.
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  And then my first job out of college, I got a job where I got to tell people what to do.
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  And then I started my own business, and I still telling people what to do.
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  So I tell people all the time, like, I've been a boss my whole life, that whole boss lady
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  thing like that.
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  That's me.
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  So But I but I'm wondering, though, do you feel like this is a something that's, like, in
• 14:02
  people that you have to kinda unlock?
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  I do think that I think people don't re here's where I think the secret is.
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  Leaders lead, and they lead well.
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  I don't think they realize the impact that their leadership is having on other people.
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  And let me give you an example.
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  I speak at a lot of conferences, and I'll talk to people.
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  I'll go to a conference next week.
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  I'm going to a big, huge, Nerd fest in Vegas for CPAs.
• 14:29
  Right?
• 14:29
  And so I'm gonna go to that.
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  And people will come up to you, me, Heather, Saturday.
• 14:34
  There's a ton of leaders out there in in our industry, and we all Casey Johnson, and we hulk
• 14:39
  all over each other when we see each other.
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  Oh my goodness.
• 14:42
  Do we miss that?
• 14:43
  But someone will come up to us and say, Dawn, do you remember when you gave that talk at
• 14:48
  scaling new heights in 2017 about x, y, and z.
• 14:52
  And I'm like, I remember the topic Well, you said something to me, and it changed my entire
• 14:57
  life.
• 14:58
  I thought I was just giving a talk about how to do fraud detection.
• 15:04
  But I don't give a typical, Harris, your slides.
• 15:07
  This is what we're talking about.
• 15:09
  That's not how I roll.
• 15:10
  I make it action packed.
• 15:11
  So I think, yes, I felt I feel like a leader in my industry, but I don't realize the impact I
• 15:16
  have on others.
• 15:17
  And when I feel that impact, it it's like, I feel like I'm gonna explode with just energy.
• 15:24
  And I think that's it.
• 15:25
  I think every leader, yes, is a designated motivator in their way I don't know if they all
• 15:30
  realize the impact their leadership is having on individual by individual basis.
• 15:35
  Well, and I wanna dovetail off of that, though, because I do think sometimes people have
• 15:41
  different leadership styles.
• 15:43
  And particularly people in athletics, like, I I tend to sometimes see what I call negative
• 15:50
  leadership.
• 15:50
  And, you know, like, people like, I'm just being hard on you because I believe in you so
• 15:54
  much.
• 15:54
  That kinda that that how do we sort of, like, untrain some of these, like, hard enough life,
• 16:01
  you know, motivators versus versus these inspirational aspirational leaders.
• 16:08
  Like, I I think there's a different kind of leadership And, unfortunately, some of the
• 16:12
  negative guys have big results and big numbers too.
• 16:15
  So how do you so so how do you sort of, like, position this thing as designated motivator
• 16:22
  versus designated hard ass leader, and that's how I get results by fear and retribution.
• 16:28
  You know what I mean?
• 16:29
  Kinda How do you how do you kinda what is gonna be?
• 16:33
  How are you gonna beat those people down?
• 16:35
  Cause those people still think they're right.
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  Right?
• 16:38
  Well, in the dynamic with this, the head coach as my former teammate, she's that hard ass
• 16:44
  girl, and she's, you know, all over those kids and just, like, whatever.
• 16:49
  I really believe a combination of hard ass and motivator, because me, myself, an I'll tell you
• 16:55
  what a motivator does.
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  A moment a motivator gets really mad.
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  Oh, do they pay attention?
• 17:01
  Oh, because I remember one game.
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  I popped off on them, and they were just, like, deer and headlights.
• 17:07
  And it was like, so that point moving forward, they were like, Frolin, are you at that point
• 17:12
  again?
• 17:12
  Cause we don't wanna see that ever again, but I think that because that's not funny either.
• 17:18
  That that could be about but I, a 100% agree with you.
• 17:20
  I think the negative the negative coaching experiences have to change These listen, when I
• 17:29
  was a kid, my dad whipped me with that belt, and, boy, I straightened out hardcore
• 17:33
  immediately.
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  Number 1, you can't do that anymore.
• 17:36
  Kids go to school, you've got DCF on your doorstep.
• 17:38
  Right?
• 17:39
  So that type of I mean, that's just similar to what's hap so we have to tone it down and try
• 17:46
  to teach those people who are out there.
• 17:49
  You know, we had the the team that beat us in the national tournament in 2019.
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  That guy was that guy.
• 17:55
  I could not stand him.
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  I could not stand him.
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  I was like, how do you treat?
• 17:59
  Like, I wanted to go hug those kids.
• 18:01
  My heart was broken.
• 18:02
  So they won the national tournament.
• 18:04
  Okay?
• 18:05
  That's great.
• 18:05
  When they look back, what are they gonna say for their experience?
• 18:07
  Oh, we won a national tournament, but I hated my coach.
• 18:10
  Right.
• 18:10
  Right?
• 18:11
  And we don't want that.
• 18:11
  He's that whole COBRA kind thing.
• 18:13
  Right?
• 18:15
  And I and I'm dating myself with my karate kid reference, but I do know they have reprised it
• 18:20
  on Netflix.
• 18:21
  But, you know, my point is is that it's like that mean evil winning all cost winners or, you
• 18:27
  know, losers or losers and other, you know, it's like Woah.
• 18:30
  Wait a minute.
• 18:30
  What is the point of all that?
• 18:32
  Yeah.
• 18:34
  I think the designated motivator concept brings a whole another tone.
• 18:38
  That I don't think is normal.
• 18:40
  It's not very it's not usual to see someone in the dugout and not that again, that everybody
• 18:46
  has to be crazy like me with a bullhorn, but, you know, we have to have that balance and
• 18:51
  especially for our young people.
• 18:53
  Our young people have got to be I don't want coddling.
• 18:56
  I'm not coddling kids that don't don't get that confused because coddling does nothing for
• 19:01
  anybody, but what it does is infuse a belief into their souls that they can be the best they
• 19:08
  can be.
• 19:09
  And however best they are, that's who they are.
• 19:11
  I'll give you an example.
• 19:12
  We had a kid on the team.
• 19:13
  She was a pinch runner.
• 19:15
  I said to her, honey, that is all you're ever gonna do.
• 19:19
  You will not see the field.
• 19:20
  You're not gonna be playing in the field, but tell you something right now.
• 19:24
  You could be the difference between a national tournament and not a national tournament
• 19:27
  because you're running a base.
• 19:29
  I said, what you have to do and what we try to get them to do is to accept their role and then
• 19:34
  infuse as much positivity in their role as possible because every position is different.
• 19:41
  And so and that's just, like, on in your business, You have a salesperson.
• 19:45
  You have an inventory manager.
• 19:47
  You have a administrative assistant on the front line.
• 19:50
  Those people have different roles.
• 19:52
  And one is not better than the other.
• 19:54
  They're all as important because you're always as weak as as as strong as your weakest link,
• 19:58
  and that's the facts So you gotta pull that person up from the bottom.
• 20:03
  Well, feels like what they're doing is not worthy because they're not the best They don't
• 20:07
  have to be the best at everything.
• 20:08
  They have to be the best at whatever their role is, and that goes on to business all day long.
• 20:14
  Love it.
• 20:15
  Love it.
• 20:15
  Love it.
• 20:15
  Well, listen.
• 20:16
  I'm gonna put a pin in that we're gonna take a commercial break.
• 20:19
  And when we come back, we're gonna talk more with Don Brolin about the designated motivator.
• 20:25
  You're watching the small fish chat live, and we will be right back.
• 20:35
  People always ask me, how can I become my own boss?
• 20:39
  With multiple features in the New York Times Forbes on ABC News as America's number one
• 20:44
  small business expert.
• 20:45
  I know a thing or 2 about how to do it.
• 20:48
  Hi.
• 20:48
  I'm Melinda Emerson's small biz lady.
• 20:50
  And I've been coaching small business owners since 2008.
• 20:54
  That's right.
• 20:55
  I've been helping small business owners plan for success since the last recession.
• 21:00
  And I'm still here reaching over 3,000,000 small business owners a week online.
• 21:04
  I've spent the last 12 years compiling exactly what I did to become my own boss.
• 21:09
  I even broke it down into a 6 step system in my best selling book, become your own boss in 12
• 21:15
  months.
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  Over a hundred thousand people in multiple languages around the world have this book.
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  And due to the pandemic, I know people need help.
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• 21:58
  Welcome back to the small biz chat live.
• 22:01
  I'm back with my guest, Don Rolland, CEO of Team Brolin, and she's gonna help us understand
• 22:07
  the motivation movement Alright, Don.
• 22:09
  You wrote this book, The Designated motivator.
• 22:12
  Now you're leading the motivation movement.
• 22:15
  What is that?
• 22:16
  What are you doing?
• 22:17
  I'm just trying to have this transformative positive effect in anyone I touch, and I wanna
• 22:22
  help other people do the same for others because, obviously, I can't There's a lot of
• 22:26
  people in the world can't do it all myself.
• 22:27
  So I'm trying to just make this thing real for people for them to realize it is actually a
• 22:33
  thing.
• 22:34
  And I experienced it so I know it works.
• 22:36
  So now I moved on and I said, okay.
• 22:38
  I love the chicken soup for the soul conversation.
• 22:40
  So I take the designated motivator and and infuse it where I can.
• 22:44
  There's a lot of vision that I have between the designated motivator for the family, designated
• 22:49
  motivator for teens, designated motivator for what?
• 22:51
  Well, the next book's gonna be the designated motivator for accounting professionals because
• 22:56
  that, obviously, the accounting industry is a passion of mine.
• 22:59
  I have so many wonderful colleagues.
• 23:01
  I interact with so many other accountants throughout the country.
• 23:04
  And really over the last year and a half, the accounting industry has seen something like
• 23:08
  Obviously, no one's ever seen what we focus in our industry, but we've seen a lot of pain in
• 23:13
  our small businesses.
• 23:14
  We've seen a lot of pain in our tax clients.
• 23:17
  We've seen a lot of pain with our frustrations with the IRS and how slow they are right now.
• 23:21
  And, you know, they can make excuses, but we can't.
• 23:24
  And so over the last year and a half, there's a lot of pain, and a lot of it can be avoided.
• 23:28
  And so my job, in my opinion, is to write this book to motivate people.
• 23:33
  They're in one phase or another.
• 23:35
  They're either in, I want out of this.
• 23:37
  We they need to have a conversation with me.
• 23:39
  Or you know what?
• 23:40
  You're right, brolin.
• 23:41
  I'm ready to get motivated.
• 23:42
  I'm ready to go.
• 23:43
  What do I do?
• 23:44
  And so it's gonna be really of a a practical motivational guide to help them where to see
• 23:49
  where they are, are they servicing clients that maybe are not in their best interest because I
• 23:54
  had a client just about a month ago that we fired.
• 23:57
  I mean, we did revenue of around $200,000 with that that particular company, and he was just
• 24:04
  so mean to us at one point, then I said, I can't have that in my soul on my body.
• 24:09
  I don't want ice tech and taste it.
• 24:11
  I don't like it, and there's no not a dime Money means nothing to me.
• 24:15
  And we said goodbye.
• 24:17
  And I think there's people in our industry who are servicing amazing clients And I think of my
• 24:23
  restaurant out of Pittsburgh, and I think of my refurbishing company out of Colorado.
• 24:27
  And I think of all these clients that I have, who, when I call them, they're so excited to
• 24:32
  talk to me.
• 24:33
  When they call me, I can't wait to talk to them.
• 24:35
  And then there's the other clients that you're like, oh, they call and you're like, My gut
• 24:38
  hurts.
• 24:39
  And so we've we've got to fix that in every area of our life.
• 24:44
  And for us who have to feed their families.
• 24:47
  We gotta have a motivation movement to make a change that when we go to work, we wanna go to
• 24:51
  work.
• 24:51
  And when we talk to people, we wanna talk to people.
• 24:54
  And so we need to make that change in our industry.
• 24:57
  Alright.
• 24:58
  So let me ask you a personal question.
• 25:01
  How do you stay this positive all the time?
• 25:05
  Because, Don, let me tell you something.
• 25:07
  I'm the small business lady.
• 25:09
  I love my mission to end small business failure.
• 25:11
  But listen, there are days when I don't wanna put my cape on and save the day.
• 25:15
  There are days So I wanna know how do you handle those kind of days?
• 25:20
  Who who motivates the designated motivators?
• 25:23
  Yeah.
• 25:24
  Well, there's a little combination there.
• 25:25
  I know for me and I love to use the example of the softball kids.
• 25:29
  When you go to place and people are so excited.
• 25:32
  It's just you go to church.
• 25:33
  It doesn't matter where you go.
• 25:35
  You come home from work.
• 25:36
  This probably happens all the time.
• 25:37
  People are like, mom.
• 25:39
  No.
• 25:39
  That that's not real.
• 25:40
  But going to many other places where you walk in and you know you've given you give them
• 25:45
  every ounce of your soul and they start to give it back.
• 25:49
  And that's motivation to me.
• 25:51
  You know, my dad, of course, was from an origination situation.
• 25:54
  My dad was my motivator.
• 25:55
  He was the hardest working man He was a 4 minute Pratt Whitney.
• 25:59
  And when there was a strike, he would never cross the picket line against his guys.
• 26:03
  He would sleep over for 2, 3, 4 days, 2 weeks at a time.
• 26:06
  Because he was a true leader.
• 26:08
  And he he depend his team depended on him, and he depended on his team, and that was his job.
• 26:13
  I would watch him So I knew what hard work dedication and commitment to the people who are
• 26:18
  committed to you.
• 26:19
  He taught me that.
• 26:20
  And so but as far as a day to day vision, of course, my family, I can't say enough about my
• 26:25
  family.
• 26:26
  They have to deal with this psychoticness every single day.
• 26:28
  They never know what's coming down the stairs, but you're right.
• 26:31
  There are days where I'm just like, you know what?
• 26:33
  I this this, like, Monday, unfortunately, I was supposed to have you on my podcast, and I had a
• 26:37
  friend that passed away on Sunday.
• 26:38
  I didn't wanna do anything.
• 26:39
  So you know what I did?
• 26:40
  I didn't do anything.
• 26:42
  And I picked my big girl pants up, tightened them up on Tuesday morning, went back to work
• 26:46
  because I know there's people that are counting on me, to help them with their business, with
• 26:50
  their taxes, with whatever it may be.
• 26:53
  And so sometimes it's gonna come from your gut.
• 26:56
  And do you have the guts?
• 26:58
  To stand up and say, you know what?
• 26:59
  Today sucks, but I'm gonna get out there, and I'm still gonna do the best I can.
• 27:03
  I would say I'm fairly abnormal, but I think everybody has that in them.
• 27:05
  They have that drive and that desire you remember the 1st day, you picked up that pencil
• 27:09
  and said, I'm in business.
• 27:10
  You had a passion in your belly, and we gotta find that again.
• 27:13
  And that's what the motivation movement's all about.
• 27:15
  We gotta find that passion with it.
• 27:17
  Every single person.
• 27:19
  So how do we translate that to business?
• 27:21
  Do you feel like there are business owners out here that have lost their passion, especially
• 27:25
  since the pandemic?
• 27:26
  100%.
• 27:27
  There's the last 18 months people are discouraged.
• 27:31
  You know, we we know that unemployment's an issue.
• 27:34
  We know getting labor force back into the, you know, people back to work has been an issue.
• 27:38
  I don't care what the news says.
• 27:39
  I don't care what the media says.
• 27:40
  It's the facts.
• 27:41
  And we know this because we interact with small business on a daily basis.
• 27:45
  We're not taking surveys.
• 27:46
  We're looking in the eyes and the souls of our clients and seeing what's out there.
• 27:49
  And so I think small business owners more than anything, and I I'm telling you all of you that
• 27:54
  are watching this.
• 27:55
  I know you're struggling, and I know you're suffering, but you have that passion in your
• 28:00
  gut And what you have to do is find a designated motivator that the 2 of you can
• 28:04
  bounce off of each other because you're gonna have a bad day one day.
• 28:06
  Find somebody who's gonna pick you up the next day.
• 28:08
  They're out there for you.
• 28:10
  Okay?
• 28:11
  And there's no one is a right to steal away your business from you because of the economy,
• 28:17
  labor force, anything.
• 28:19
  You have your future in your own hands.
• 28:21
  All you need is just to grab that that focus and that right, gut and get back in there and
• 28:27
  take it back because it's yours.
• 28:29
  It's your baby and you protect it and you deserve to bring it up.
• 28:32
  It's all yours.
• 28:33
  Alright, bro.
• 28:34
  And last question for you.
• 28:36
  What is the best business advice you've ever gotten?
• 28:39
  The I'll tell you what.
• 28:40
  The best business advice I've ever gotten is enjoy what you do.
• 28:43
  Make sure you surround your people that you wanna be around because in you guess what?
• 28:47
  You're with those people more than you're with your family.
• 28:50
  So you love your family.
• 28:51
  You got married or not.
• 28:53
  You have kids that love you.
• 28:54
  You're not with them 8 to 12 hours a day.
• 28:56
  You're with your business people, whether it's your employees, your partners, or your clients.
• 29:01
  So what but the best business advice I ever got is if you feel if you're in your gut, something
• 29:05
  doesn't feel right, it's not right.
• 29:07
  Have the guts to make a change.
• 29:09
  That was the best business advice I've ever gotten.
• 29:12
  I love it.
• 29:12
  I love it.
• 29:13
  Have the guts to make a change.
• 29:14
  Alright.
• 29:15
  What is your favorite podcast?
• 29:19
  Well, it'd be silly for me not to say the small biz chat podcast is the best.
• 29:23
  And I will tell you why I believe that because you have such great variety of information for
• 29:28
  everyone who's in business.
• 29:30
  It doesn't matter your industry, and you come across the board.
• 29:33
  It's an awesome podcast.
• 29:35
  Oh my gosh.
• 29:35
  Thank you so much.
• 29:37
  You're not just saying that because you're my buddy.
• 29:38
  Are you?
• 29:39
  No way.
• 29:40
  Alright.
• 29:41
  What is your favorite business at?
• 29:42
  Well, this should probably shock you.
• 29:45
  Of course, for me, it's quickbooks.
• 29:47
  It's my favorite app because that tells the true story of a business health and wealth.
• 29:53
  I love it.
• 29:54
  I love it.
• 29:54
  I kinda knew you were gonna say that one, but I just wanted to see if there was some if there
• 29:58
  was something different you were gonna tell me.
• 30:00
  Alright.
• 30:01
  What is your favorite old school marketing tip?
• 30:04
  I'm always gonna say the comp the the relationships that you have with either
• 30:08
  colleagues and or clients, a little bit of what Sonja was saying, But more in that, get out
• 30:12
  there, be bold and be big about what you're the best at.
• 30:16
  That would be my because the more networking you get there, the more people say, oh, hey.
• 30:21
  I know the crypto lady, Sonia, they know that she is the biggest and the best, and people are
• 30:26
  gonna refer to her.
• 30:28
  Love it.
• 30:28
  Love it.
• 30:29
  You know, one of my favorite old school marketing tips is actually handwritten notes.
• 30:33
  Handwritten personal notes on personal stationery.
• 30:36
  Is still a win.
• 30:37
  And with so many people send an email, you know, snail mail is actually making a comeback.
• 30:41
  Believe it or not.
• 30:43
  Alright.
• 30:43
  Dawn, What is your favorite business book you've ever read?
• 30:48
  Favorite business book?
• 30:49
  That's a really tough one, but I'm gonna stick with my bottom line boy, Mike McCallowitz, and
• 30:55
  profit first because he is eliminating entrepreneurial property across the country and
• 31:01
  across the world.
• 31:02
  And I believe in his process, I believe in his theory, and I believe the process works because
• 31:07
  it's worked for me.
• 31:09
  You know, I'm a big fan of Mike Macalliewicz.
• 31:11
  That's my boy.
• 31:12
  That's my hokey brother.
• 31:13
  Alright.
• 31:14
  Thank you so much for spending this time with me.
• 31:17
  And thank you all for joining me for this episode of the small fish chat podcast.
• 31:22
  I've got a brand new book coming out, become your own boss in 12 months, revise and expand
• 31:27
  it coming out this fall.
• 31:29
  If you wanna preorder it, head over to become your own boss book dotcom.
• 31:33
  And I've got some amazing bonuses.
• 31:36
  So go on over there.
• 31:37
  And if you want more information about how to start and grow a successful small business,
• 31:41
  head over to Small Bizlating University and sign up for my course how to sell and market
• 31:46
  online.
• 31:47
  I promise I'll get you going in the right direction.
• 31:50
  The mission of the small fish chat is to end small business failure.
• 31:55
  I'm Melinda Emerson, the small biz lady, your host.
• 31:58
  Until next time, I wanna leave you with this.
• 32:00
  You never lose in business.
• 32:03
  Either you win or you learn.
• 32:05
  God bless everybody.
• 32:08
  Thank you for listening to the Small Biz Chat podcast with Melinda Emerson.
• 32:13
  For more resources and small business success strategies, visit succeed as your own boss.com.
• 32:19
  Subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and join us next Wednesday.