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379: The 15-Second Pitch That Gets People to Remember You With Tiffany Mason · ChildCare Conversations

• 0:00
  Childcare Conversations: Welcome to Child Care Conversations, the podcast where early childhood leaders like you get real-world strategies, honest talk, and a whole lot of support.
• 0:10
  Childcare Conversations: Whether you're running one center or many, we're here to help you lead with confidence and clarity.
• 0:17
  Childcare Conversations: This episode is brought to you by this quarter's sponsor, Playground, the all-in-one child care management software.
• 0:25
  Childcare Conversations: We're all about managing monkeys and saving you time at your center.
• 0:30
  Childcare Conversations: With this platform, you can.
• 0:32
  Childcare Conversations: We're proud to partner with a team that's as committed to your success as we are.
• 0:37
  Childcare Conversations: Learn more at TryPlayground.com.
• 0:41
  Childcare Conversations: Now, let's get into today's conversation.
• 0:44
  Childcare Conversations: One we think you're really going to love.
• 0:47
  Kate Woodward Young: Welcome back to today's conversation.
• 0:50
  Kate Woodward Young: And you know, sometimes in life, you just you go to a conference.
• 0:54
  Kate Woodward Young: And while you're at this conference, you're there with maybe somebody you met online.
• 0:59
  Kate Woodward Young: And if you've listened to Carrie and I on our podcast over the last five years, you know, six years, six, oh, almost seven.
• 1:08
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay, so since 2019, if you've been listening to Carrie and I, you know that we have this one our favorite co-host with us, which is Erica Sacosio, who runs the child care director chair.
• 1:20
  Kate Woodward Young: And we decided to all meet in person at Podfest of all places in 20 January of 2025.
• 1:28
  Kate Woodward Young: So while we're there, we do what we do best.
• 1:31
  Kate Woodward Young: We go and we connect and we meet with other people.
• 1:33
  Kate Woodward Young: Well, through these connections, I actually met today's guest.
• 1:38
  Kate Woodward Young: And so I am so excited to have Tiffany Mason join us today and talk about.
• 1:43
  Kate Woodward Young: Well, I'm going to let her tell you.
• 1:45
  Kate Woodward Young: So, Tiffany, tell us a little bit about how important it is to actually meet people face to face where they are.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's super important, especially this day and age, because we all went through COVID.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I think everybody's looking for that personal connection now.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, on a personal level, also, you know, back in caveman times, some things are just so ingrained into our biology that we were part of tribes, right?
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so when we're in person with somebody, we feel like we are part of the tribe.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: We're used to being surrounded by people, we're social people.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: So that's those are the kind of, you know, elementary reasons why.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Take that up a notch.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: People will do business with people they know, like, and trust.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: And you can hop on to a virtual meeting and you can meet somebody and you get a little taste.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: But you meet someone in person, you exchange more words, you get to see their mannerism, you get to see how they react to what you say, right?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: All those things.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so there's a lot more, you know, they say like 93% of everything we say is through our body language.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's not actually the words that we say.
• 2:53
  Kate Woodward Young: So as soon as you said that, you know what popped into my head?
• 2:56
  Kate Woodward Young: What?
• 2:57
  Kate Woodward Young: Body language.
• 2:58
  Kate Woodward Young: Like you, I'm like, I'm channeling my Ursula from Little Mermaid, and I'm just over here and, you know.
• 3:03
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, okay, anyway.
• 3:05
  Kate Woodward Young: Sorry.
• 3:05
  Kate Woodward Young: So, you know, we just have to, you know, uh deal with a random squirrel.
• 3:09
  Kate Woodward Young: So, okay, go ahead.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: You poor unfortunate soul.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: As she takes Ariel's voice.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's a really good movie.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, The Little Mermaid, for anybody who doesn't know.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, um, yes, so networking, um, you know, it just helps us to multiply our opportunities.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: We the idea of networking is you are going to get to like I get to know Kate, and now Kate, you're exposing me to your entire network.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: And then when I share the podcast episode, I expose my entire network to you, Kate.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot of benefit in that.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it's more you and I can make a connection.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: I make a connection with one person.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: We put this podcast out into the ethers, and now a lot of people get to know who we are and what we're about.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know about you, Kate, but the minute I see someone on a podcast or, you know, on social media and they're they've intrigued me, I gotta go to their website, I gotta go to their social media, I gotta see what they're all about.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: So you're really getting a lot of exposure every time that you have someone on the podcast, or every time that you're in person networking with someone and they learn a little bit more about you and they know who you are, they have a couple of interactions, they decide that they've like, they like you.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: You get into your business a little bit and they decide they trust you to put their reputation on the line to expose you to their network.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, Kate, you and I have built a relationship enough that you know, like and trust me, I know, like and trust you to do the podcast today.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: So that's what you really need to be thinking about when you're thinking about networking.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: We all know what networking is.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: This is not a new concept.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not teaching anything new.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: But here's but here's the thing.
• 4:48
  Kate Woodward Young: So in early childhood education, we go to conferences all the time for professional development.
• 4:55
  Kate Woodward Young: But you know how many times, I mean, I've been going to conferences for early childhood education for over 25 years.
• 5:02
  Kate Woodward Young: And the majority of the time I go to conferences and I find people talking to the people they came with and nobody brought a business card.
• 5:09
  Kate Woodward Young: And so, just like you were talking about having your tribe, we need our tribe within our industry because sometimes you're going to have that day where you have a situation that comes up that you have no idea how to handle.
• 5:22
  Kate Woodward Young: And so if you are listening to this and you are an owner or a director, or you have directors and staff who go out to professional development conferences who don't have a business card or don't have a LinkedIn page or don't have a professional way to exchange contact information, stop right now and put that on your to-do list because between this to print, I mean, hell, you can print them your own.
• 5:43
  Kate Woodward Young: Go buy the damn yeah, yeah.
• 5:44
  Kate Woodward Young: Go, go buy the go buy the blanks off of Amazon if you need to and just print up 10 or 12.
• 5:51
  Kate Woodward Young: You can buy them on the website.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: I use a hi hello.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's an app and people can just scan it.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're like, I'm not doing paper, I'm not, I refuse, do a digital version.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Do something like that.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's what I said.
• 6:05
  Kate Woodward Young: You know, have a digital version or something.
• 6:07
  Kate Woodward Young: But as a kinesthetic visual human, I still love the the physical business cards and I have stacks of them.
• 6:15
  Kate Woodward Young: And it drives me crazy when people don't give me one because then I have to try to remember their name.
• 6:20
  Kate Woodward Young: I can't remember what they look like.
• 6:21
  Kate Woodward Young: I can't remember what the business card looked like, right?
• 6:24
  Kate Woodward Young: And so, but find an app that works for you and make sure that because that's the other thing, right?
• 6:29
  Kate Woodward Young: There's a bunch of those.
• 6:30
  Kate Woodward Young: So it's like, you know, I've scanned a ton of them and I have no idea where they are now.
• 6:34
  Kate Woodward Young: I'm like, which who did I scan where?
• 6:36
  Kate Woodward Young: And so um sometimes I just take a picture of it instead of actually QR coding so that I can actually go look them up on LinkedIn or someplace else.
• 6:46
  Kate Woodward Young: But find what works, right?
• 6:48
  Kate Woodward Young: So build your industry connections.
• 6:51
  Kate Woodward Young: But I think what's even more important for those listening today is those out-of-indry connections.
• 6:57
  Kate Woodward Young: So finding the do you have the business card and do you know your banker?
• 7:03
  Kate Woodward Young: Or do you just do the drive-thru?
• 7:05
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, or do you do everything digitally?
• 7:07
  Kate Woodward Young: Because banking is a great example of why it's important to get to know your the people you do business with.
• 7:17
  Kate Woodward Young: Because it do you want to call them for the first time when you need the line of credit or you need the loan?
• 7:24
  Kate Woodward Young: No, you want to build that relationship over time where they know, like, and trust you, right?
• 7:28
  Kate Woodward Young: So if somebody's listening right now and Tiffany, and they they've heard the phrase, they think they know what it means.
• 7:38
  Kate Woodward Young: What are a couple of real practical examples of how to actually make it work for them?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, um, I will come back to this.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: I want to bring up one really important or revisit one really important thing that you said.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you said that you need to get to know people in your industry.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: And that is so true.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: I love knowing a whole bunch of other podcast managers.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's my other, my other arm of my business.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I love knowing that if I don't know how to do something on a platform or if I've never used a thing, or if I'm looking for a different category of something, I can reach out to any of those ladies and say, hey, I don't know how to do this.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: So use your network for exposure of your business, but also use your network for support and encouragement.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: And if you've really networked with them, if you've really built that relationship, that would not be a hard reach.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: Just like you're saying outside of your circle of influence, your banker, you're you're right.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: You want to make sure that you've built this relationship that I always kind of feel like it's like enough clout, like you've built up enough history that you can make that request.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Now, of course, you can make that request because it's two professional organizations that ideally do work together, but it makes it a lot less uncomfortable if you know the person, you're like, hey, I know I was in here, I know everything's been going really good.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: We decided we want to put a wing on to the daycare or whatever it is, and now you need this line of credit, you know?
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: So it just makes that conversation that much more easy.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: I agree with you on that.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, things to consider when you are getting ready to network is you want to make sure you're not being a taker.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: So you don't want to go in and just hand out 50 business cards because 50 people are there.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: You want to make quality connections over quantity.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to get in your car and say, okay, I connected with 50 people.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: Now what?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: You want to say, like, I cannot wait to touch base with Kate and talk about that podcast interview, when we're gonna do it, what the topic's going to be, you know, all those kind of things, and how we're gonna promote the um show afterwards.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: Those kinds of things.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: You really want to be thinking, excuse me.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: You really want to be thinking about the quality of the relationship that you're starting to form.
• 9:55
  Kate Woodward Young: And the other thing is Hold on, real quick.
• 9:57
  Kate Woodward Young: Yeah.
• 9:58
  Kate Woodward Young: I know you're gonna say something, but I'm gonna interrupt you because I do.
• 10:00
  Kate Woodward Young: You're fine.
• 10:01
  Kate Woodward Young: Um I think that you brought up a great point, which is the follow-up.
• 10:04
  Kate Woodward Young: Like, once you get that contact, what are you gonna do with it?
• 10:07
  Kate Woodward Young: I think that is so important.
• 10:09
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay, go ahead.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: I agree with you because there's I have a podcast called the Link Up Lounge, and we talk all things networking.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: And in there, one of the points that we bring up is the follow-up oftentimes.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you wanna make sure you do follow up and you wanna make sure you don't leave too much time in between because then it's not really very genuine, or it's like, oh, now I need something, so now I'm gonna touch base with you, right?
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: And um what was the other thing I was gonna say?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um following up, I hope you can cut this out.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Following up, um well, I got one.
• 10:46
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay, so so here so here's a thought that I think is really, really important when networking is especially depending on what you do for a living, right?
• 10:54
  Kate Woodward Young: So um in early learning, uh, we are always connecting with families.
• 11:00
  Kate Woodward Young: And so if you are listening to this and you're like, okay, so Kate always says I need to go to Chamber of Commerce events, I don't know what I'm gonna say when I'm there.
• 11:08
  Kate Woodward Young: So one of the things that I help people with is figuring out what is your, I call it the grocery store pitch, right?
• 11:16
  Kate Woodward Young: Because I think that people are more inclined to talk to people at the grocery store than really even elevators anymore.
• 11:22
  Kate Woodward Young: Like I say everybody in an elevator on their phone.
• 11:24
  Kate Woodward Young: We're in the grocery store, because you got all this stuff and you've got a short line.
• 11:28
  Kate Woodward Young: So what is your literally 15 second grocery store pitch, right?
• 11:33
  Kate Woodward Young: So what do you do?
• 11:35
  Kate Woodward Young: Or who are you looking to connect with?
• 11:38
  Kate Woodward Young: And so if I'm at a chamber of commerce event and I'm an early learning, I might really have conversations about, you know, I love working with families who are new to our community and just leave it at that, like right?
• 11:51
  Kate Woodward Young: Like I don't need to say anything more.
• 11:53
  Kate Woodward Young: So that way I am telling the person I'm talking to what types of people I might want to meet.
• 11:58
  Kate Woodward Young: Or maybe that's part of your follow-up.
• 12:01
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, I when I first moved to Texas almost 30 years ago, uh, one of the things that I did, I made it a challenge is I went to lunch every single day with somebody new.
• 12:10
  Kate Woodward Young: And every time I went, I asked them where who were five people I needed to know in town.
• 12:16
  Kate Woodward Young: I love that follow-up question.
• 12:17
  Kate Woodward Young: And what was great is that I wasn't necessarily asking them to make that introduction.
• 12:22
  Kate Woodward Young: I just who do you think I need to know?
• 12:25
  Kate Woodward Young: Right.
• 12:25
  Kate Woodward Young: Now, over time, I have met a lot of those people.
• 12:30
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, I was always really good about taking notes on the back of people's business cards on who they thought I needed to know.
• 12:36
  Kate Woodward Young: And what was really interesting is how many of them gave me the person who was my aunt.
• 12:41
  Kate Woodward Young: And so um, she ended up in my list a lot.
• 12:44
  Kate Woodward Young: And so that was always kind of funny because then I'd go back and go, hey, do you know this person?
• 12:47
  Kate Woodward Young: And she's like, Oh yeah, like she didn't know what half of them ever did for a living because she had known them for by that point in time, probably 30, 40 years.
• 12:55
  Kate Woodward Young: And so when I'd be like, Well, do you know he's the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and she goes, Oh, is that what he's doing now?
• 13:03
  Kate Woodward Young: Right.
• 13:03
  Kate Woodward Young: So I think that it's worth not discounting your network and knowing that your network actually has value.
• 13:09
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, I often get hired as a consultant consultant um based on who I know, right?
• 13:16
  Kate Woodward Young: And it's not just who I know who got me the gig, it's who I can introduce my gig to.
• 13:22
  Kate Woodward Young: And so you can definitely build that as part of your leverage.
• 13:25
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, you and I talked uh in another setting that one of my favorite books is dig your well before you're thirsty.
• 13:33
  Kate Woodward Young: And I think that that is that same concept, right?
• 13:36
  Kate Woodward Young: Network with people who you might need to know before you actually need them.
• 13:41
  Kate Woodward Young: Absolutely.
• 13:42
  Kate Woodward Young: Absolutely.
• 13:43
  Kate Woodward Young: So I saw you make a note.
• 13:44
  Kate Woodward Young: So obviously your thought came back.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, my thought did come back.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: And it's simple.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's just when you make the follow-up, don't have it be generic.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: So exactly what you're saying, how you wrote on the back of those business cards, those make that person feel special.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know, people won't remember what you said or what you did, but they remember the way you make them feel.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's what's important about building the relationships and the follow-up.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: And then you said that when you introduce yourself, you say, um, I'm in childcare and I really like to work with families that are new to the area.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: You're giving basically a very specific request.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: So when people are asking you who's a good person for you to know, make sure that you're being specific.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: So what always comes to my mind is a realtor, right?
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: A realtor can help anyone, okay?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: But when they're in a networking setting, it would be wise to say, okay, I'm going to focus on families that are retired, they're looking to downsize, that have just had their kids go to college.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Make a specific request.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, you can help anybody.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: But when you make a specific request, my mind starts to go to work for you.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like, who do I know that just graduated?
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: Did they say anything about them downsizing now that so-and-so has gone off to school?
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: So, but if you just tell me you're a realtor, I'm like, oh, you sell houses and I just kind of move on.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: So that's that's the first thing I want to say about that.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: We also talked about when you see all of these child care childcare providers um in person, right?
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: In person is it does cost you more in the sense of it costs you more time.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: But you are getting a bigger re um ROI return on that investment of time.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: You are getting this awesome relationship, so much more trust.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: People say that um they will, well, I wrote a little fact down for myself here.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: 72% of organizers say that networking events are a crucial part to their marketing plan, and that making requests in person are 34 times more successful in person.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: So think if if I had never met you and it was just virtual, likely you could have said, Hey Tiffany, do you want to be on the podcast?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I could have been like, well, it's about childcare, probably not, and I would have maybe passed on it.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: But us having a conversation, seeing you in person at Podfest, um, and actually, I think I saw you up at Erica's um conference too.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: So got to have a couple of interactions with you.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: And that way I can go, okay, I know Kate is creative and I know that she will find a way to make this relevant to her audience.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that's something that I want to take advantage of.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: So those kind of things.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: And then you said uh the grocery store pitch and people saying they don't know what they're going to say when they're in person.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: I would encourage everybody to use the Ford method.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: So you talk about family, their occupation, their recreation, or their dreams.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are really nervous about going into a networking system, so not find on road dead.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, that's not it.
• 16:47
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay, so for those of you who didn't get my joke, there are people who are anti-Fords as a vehicle.
• 16:53
  Kate Woodward Young: And so they will it's they think that they say that Ford means found on road dead.
• 16:58
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, so sorry.
• 16:59
  Kate Woodward Young: Don't say to my family.
• 17:00
  unknown: Yeah.
• 17:00
  Kate Woodward Young: My family's I'm a big family person.
• 17:02
  Kate Woodward Young: I drive I drive a Ford Maverick.
• 17:04
  Kate Woodward Young: So um, yeah, I drive a tiny truck.
• 17:07
  Kate Woodward Young: So um, but yes, I've had you know Mustangs and Fords most of my life.
• 17:11
  Kate Woodward Young: So yeah, um, so I hear that a lot, not necessarily because I believe that.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so yeah, yes.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: So well, I'm from Iowa and they say that is idiots out wandering around, and my in-laws loved saying that to me when I was dating my husband.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I hear that.
• 17:29
  Kate Woodward Young: So totally, totally.
• 17:30
  Kate Woodward Young: So I think that it's really um whatever you need to do.
• 17:34
  Kate Woodward Young: So there are books like um, like I said, the the the what swim with the sharks and dig your well before you're thirsty by both of them are by Harvey McKay.
• 17:43
  Kate Woodward Young: I mean, there's all kinds of books like The Friendship Factor, um, how to win friends and influence people.
• 17:48
  Kate Woodward Young: Although it's old, it is still very relevant.
• 17:51
  Kate Woodward Young: Yeah.
• 17:51
  Kate Woodward Young: Um and building relationships have not changed.
• 17:56
  Kate Woodward Young: We all still want to find a connection.
• 17:58
  Kate Woodward Young: I, you know, that is that's the key, right?
• 18:01
  Kate Woodward Young: It's that connection.
• 18:02
  Kate Woodward Young: And I think in early learning, right now, uh especially across all small businesses across the country, there are people who are constantly telling you SEO, AEO, do this Facebook ad, do this IG ad.
• 18:16
  Kate Woodward Young: Now you can even, they're they're coming out with a ways to advertise in um AI searches.
• 18:22
  Kate Woodward Young: And so like you're hearing this constantly.
• 18:25
  Kate Woodward Young: But if you are in a business that is hyperlocal, in other words, 99% of your clients are within a two or three mile radius.
• 18:34
  Kate Woodward Young: I don't care how you geofence, zip code, whatever, a lot of times that's too broad.
• 18:40
  Kate Woodward Young: And so that return on investment.
• 18:43
  Kate Woodward Young: So I'm just gonna throw out one example just because we were talking about chamber of commerce events, um, and then I'm gonna make you tell your chamber story because you still haven't told it.
• 18:52
  Kate Woodward Young: Um do something that makes you memorable at those chamber of commerce events.
• 18:57
  Kate Woodward Young: And if you don't have your grocery store pitch, elevator pitch, and your what I'm gonna call your 10-minute nugget.
• 19:05
  Kate Woodward Young: In other words, at any time somebody goes, Hey, I want you to, you're new, so why don't you take 10 minutes and tell us about you?
• 19:13
  Kate Woodward Young: If you don't have that, give me a call, go to katewoodwardyoung.me, and let's make sure that you have that because that is so key.
• 19:23
  Kate Woodward Young: Because just being I own a child care is not gonna work.
• 19:27
  Kate Woodward Young: You have to not only tell me what kind of thing, what kind of family is the perfect family for you and know it's not.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and if I'm gonna trust you with my kids, I better see some passion when you're talking about it.
• 19:39
  Kate Woodward Young: Well, and if you're passionate about a certain type of educational philosophy, or one of the things that you're really proud of is that on your property, you have an organic garden and the kids are involved in that garden all day, every day, all year round.
• 19:53
  Kate Woodward Young: And all the fruits and vegetables you serve in your program came from there.
• 19:57
  Kate Woodward Young: So you don't have to worry about whether or not those kids are gonna go home and have some sort of an intestinal bug.
• 20:02
  Kate Woodward Young: Boom.
• 20:03
  Kate Woodward Young: Like that right now is relevant.
• 20:05
  Kate Woodward Young: It makes you stand out, and everybody there is gonna be like, yeah, I don't really want my kid eating vegetables at their child care center.
• 20:11
  Kate Woodward Young: I hadn't thought about that, but now there's blueberries, right?
• 20:13
  Kate Woodward Young: Like, so now the blueberries are gonna get you.
• 20:15
  Kate Woodward Young: Before it was the lettuce.
• 20:16
  Kate Woodward Young: Like I was fine with lettuce because I don't really like lettuce anyway, but now it's the blueberries.
• 20:20
  Kate Woodward Young: Now come on, folks.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so I live life on the edge and I ate salad the entire time.
• 20:27
  Kate Woodward Young: Well, I hardly ever eat vegetables and salad because they they caused my stomach a lot of issues, especially raw ones.
• 20:33
  Kate Woodward Young: Anyway, way more information than people needed on this episode.
• 20:37
  Kate Woodward Young: So, Tiffany, before we wrap up today's episode, you have to tell the story because I find it the best example.
• 20:46
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, and I'm still buying you that t-shirt, but um, the best example of how you accidentally uh became so well known at a local chamber of commerce.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it was my first um networking, my first exposure to networking.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: And my husband and I were running a Texas roadhouse.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, We're gonna go to the Chamber of Commerce meeting.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: Great, we show up, start meeting people, everything's great.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I could talk to a wall, so great conversation.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: And then he says, Okay, now everybody goes around and they introduce themselves.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Okay, what are you talking about?
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: And he says, Well, we're gonna say our name.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna say these two slogans from Texas Red House.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: You say these two.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, fine, no problem.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: So my husband does his, and then it becomes my turn.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, to say out of a body experience is something else.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm a very confident person, but for some reason, this really made me nervous.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: So just all of a sudden I hear myself say Tiffany Mason with Texas Roadhouse, um, ice cold margaritas and free beer.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, free beer?
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: Where did that come from?
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we don't ever say free beer.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, I call that a sticky factor.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's something that people always remembered me for.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: We were part of that chamber for five years.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: And every time I would introduce myself, Tiffany Mason with Texas Roadhouse, I schooled beer and legendary margaritas, correctly, um, everybody would echo free beer.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: So then I actually was smart enough, I think, uh, and I built a whole campaign around it where everybody from chamber, we would always say, like free beer yesterday, you know, because obviously you miss the boat, and we can't, and we can't, as a business, offer free beer because alcohol problems.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, so yeah, we ended up coming up with a campaign that we could do free beer with, even though it wasn't free beer, but we did a spin-off of that.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, that was a rough, rough introduction to um networking, but it ended up really paying off in dividends.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: If you make a mistake, embrace it, see how you can capitalize on it, and um be forgettable or unforgettable.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, be for unforgettable.
• 22:56
  Kate Woodward Young: Don't be forgettable.
• 22:57
  Kate Woodward Young: There we go.
• 22:58
  Kate Woodward Young: Right, right, right.
• 22:58
  Kate Woodward Young: Which is so, so just so you guys know, I still think, and I I've told Tiffany this, that she needs a t-shirt now that says ask me about free beer.
• 23:07
  Kate Woodward Young: Even though she doesn't do anything with beer currently, she could tell this story.
• 23:12
  Kate Woodward Young: And what a great way to have people come up and ask you a question.
• 23:16
  Kate Woodward Young: So if you are an early learning educator and you are out in community events and there is something that you know your program does better than anybody else, maybe you know that your program, you can potty train any toddler in three days or less.
• 23:33
  Kate Woodward Young: And if that is your claim to fame, why not have a t-shirt that says ask me about toilet training or toilet learning and wear that t-shirt to your community event, your fourth of July celebration.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Can I potty train your child?
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that sounds even creepier, but I think ask me about it.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you said, Can you potty train my kid?
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'd be like, here they are.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Here they are.
• 23:58
  Kate Woodward Young: Well, I'd be really confused if uh if I asked somebody about that now, but since my kids are 22 to 32, and I'm like, I think they I think they've figured that out.
• 24:06
  Kate Woodward Young: Um but come up with something, right?
• 24:10
  Kate Woodward Young: So, you know, we all have t-shirts.
• 24:13
  Kate Woodward Young: We all have t-shirts that we love, and I am a huge proponent of every child care center needs to have a t-shirt.
• 24:20
  Kate Woodward Young: But think about yourself.
• 24:21
  Kate Woodward Young: So, Tiffany, I got a question for you.
• 24:24
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay.
• 24:24
  Kate Woodward Young: Have you ever been to a concert?
• 24:26
  Kate Woodward Young: Oh, yeah.
• 24:27
  Kate Woodward Young: Do you have a t-shirt from a concert?
• 24:30
  Kate Woodward Young: Yeah, yeah.
• 24:31
  Kate Woodward Young: And and you paid for it, right?
• 24:32
  Kate Woodward Young: Yeah.
• 24:33
  Kate Woodward Young: And right, and so what is the oldest t-shirt from a concert or an event that you went to that you have in your drawer, or maybe your husband hasn't his because his might be older.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's probably from the mid-90s.
• 24:47
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay, so almost 30 years.
• 24:50
  Kate Woodward Young: Yeah.
• 24:51
  Kate Woodward Young: So I so I say that because I get people who are like, oh, I'm not gonna wear a t-shirt.
• 24:55
  Kate Woodward Young: I'm not gonna advertise my program.
• 24:57
  Kate Woodward Young: But yet we all wear something with a logo on it.
• 25:00
  Kate Woodward Young: So half the time we're buying shirts and clothes because of the particular logo or manufacturer.
• 25:05
  Kate Woodward Young: We go to a concert and we buy the t-shirt and we wear that t-shirt for maybe 30 years.
• 25:11
  Kate Woodward Young: So go make something that's maybe memorable, um, that your kids love, because, you know, I don't know about you, but if you've got a program with a hundred, 150, 250, I talking to somebody who had a program for 252 kids.
• 25:25
  Kate Woodward Young: Could you imagine 252 kids in your community wearing your t-shirt every single day?
• 25:31
  Kate Woodward Young: And you think you sit here and tell me that you don't have the money to buy every kid five t-shirts because I'm gonna look at you and go, what did you spend on your Facebook ad campaign last month?
• 25:43
  Kate Woodward Young: Because five dollars, which is at the most you should probably be spending on kid t-shirts if you're buying them in bulk.
• 25:50
  Kate Woodward Young: So$25 a year,$25 a year you spend on giving these kids really cool t-shirts.
• 25:58
  Kate Woodward Young: Now, don't make them so busy.
• 25:59
  Kate Woodward Young: They don't have to be a conference, uh a concert t-shirt, right?
• 26:02
  Kate Woodward Young: They can just literally have the name of your program with a website or something like that.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: I was at a school not too long ago, and I'll tell you what, these kids had the cutest shirts.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: They had about, I don't know, eight, nine different variations.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it was literally like the school's name three times across the shirt in three different fonts.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_01: And those kids, I know kids, right?
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I had three kids of my own.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: I know kids.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: And when they're at their grocery store or the playground or somewhere else, and someone says, Oh, is that where you go to school?
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: That kid is gonna beam and be like, Yeah, yeah, I do know this school.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: I, you know, and it gives them a talking point with an adult, but also it gives them a way to kind of say, like, hey, this is the school I go to, you know, might want to check it out.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: Or sometimes you see your friend, you're like, Oh, I didn't realize your kids went to that school.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe I'll check that school out.
• 26:58
  Kate Woodward Young: Let me see.
• 26:59
  Kate Woodward Young: So it's doing the note I can trust for you.
• 27:01
  Kate Woodward Young: So those t-shirts are gonna network for you.
• 27:03
  Kate Woodward Young: Um, I I joked.
• 27:04
  Kate Woodward Young: So there was this little kid at the New Orleans airport a few uh about a year and a half ago, and it was 11 o'clock at night, and this toddler was just, you know, wired, right?
• 27:14
  Kate Woodward Young: And he is running up and down the airport, and I started laughing because he was wearing Apple Montessori.
• 27:20
  Kate Woodward Young: Now, it is an Apple Montessori out of California, but this kid was wearing, and I joke that I'm like going, look, I found one in nature because I always tell everybody those kids aren't taking off their shirt, right?
• 27:32
  Kate Woodward Young: Like they're gonna wear that shirt as soon as they left to wherever they're going.
• 27:36
  Kate Woodward Young: Parents are not changing their shirts, right?
• 27:38
  Kate Woodward Young: So they're wearing them to the grocery store.
• 27:40
  Kate Woodward Young: And this little kid did just that.
• 27:41
  Kate Woodward Young: He loved to tell me about his t-shirt, his teacher and how much fun he has.
• 27:46
  Kate Woodward Young: And the mom was cracking up because it was a Saturday and he had not taken it off from the day before, because on Fridays is when they wear school shirt days.
• 27:54
  Kate Woodward Young: And so that poor child had been in that shirt now for like 36 hours.
• 27:58
  Kate Woodward Young: He slept in it, he wore it on the plane, and you know, he was just so proud of his school and he was thrilled.
• 28:05
  Kate Woodward Young: And so uh it's it was a great opportunity for that parent to also engage with us.
• 28:11
  Kate Woodward Young: So we had we we had a great conversation, right?
• 28:14
  Kate Woodward Young: And if you aren't really comfortable being the person who talks, put something on your shirt that makes you memorable.
• 28:21
  Kate Woodward Young: Put something on your shirt that makes you messing.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because I'm the kind of person that will ask you about it.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'll I'll start the conversation.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: You wear the shirt.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'll start the conversation at the grocery store, at the playground, in the mall, at the airport.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like, so you don't even have to start the conversation.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: Just put the shirt on.
• 28:38
  Kate Woodward Young: Absolutely.
• 28:40
  Kate Woodward Young: There we go.
• 28:40
  Kate Woodward Young: The the shortcut to networking, wear interesting t-shirts.
• 28:44
  Kate Woodward Young: Okay.
• 28:44
  Kate Woodward Young: So with that, um, all you, everything you ever wanted to know about Tiffany and more is in the show notes.
• 28:51
  Kate Woodward Young: Uh, Tiffany is available to help you with podcast management.
• 28:55
  Kate Woodward Young: So if you are somebody who's listening and maybe you're thinking about it, and you've heard Carrie and I talk about why even early childhood programs should have hyperlocal podcasts that are all about everything any parent wants to know and needs to know in their neighborhood.
• 29:09
  Kate Woodward Young: Tiffany can help you at least get started if you aren't really sure.
• 29:13
  Kate Woodward Young: And remember, a podcast doesn't have to be something you do forever.
• 29:16
  Kate Woodward Young: You can do a 12-week episode just on everything parents need to know about toddlers.
• 29:21
  Kate Woodward Young: And then you could be done.
• 29:22
  Kate Woodward Young: That may be the only time you ever record your 12 episodes.
• 29:25
  Kate Woodward Young: And so uh anything you want to know about Tiffany, uh links to Tiffany's new book about networking is also in the show notes.
• 29:33
  Kate Woodward Young: And we are so excited to have had Tiffany join us.
• 29:36
  Kate Woodward Young: And I think we're actually gonna network and get some of Tiffany's other podcast folks on the show.
• 29:43
  Kate Woodward Young: And so I'm excited to be bringing you some other things that are gonna really help you do your job better as an administrator of an early learning program.
• 29:51
  Kate Woodward Young: And so, with that, thanks for the conversation, and we look forward to talking to you again in a few days.
• 29:57
  Kate Woodward Young: Bye.
• 29:58
  Childcare Conversations: Thanks for tuning in.
• 29:59
  Childcare Conversations: We love bringing you real talk and fresh insight from the world of early childhood education.
• 30:05
  Childcare Conversations: Be sure to follow us on social media to stay connected and catch all of the latest episodes.
• 30:11
  Childcare Conversations: And if you're planning a conference, training, or special event, Kate and Carrie would love to speak to your audience.
• 30:18
  Childcare Conversations: You can learn more about their keynote sessions and workshops at kateandcary.com.
• 30:24
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• 30:29
  Childcare Conversations: We'll see you next time on Childcare Conversations.