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From AI Overwhelm to Competitive Advantage with Lydia Benham · Serious Lady Business

• Leslie Youngblood (00:01) Welcome back to Serious Lady Business. I'm Leslie Youngblood and I am so excited to welcome Lydia Benham to the show today. We are talking from AI overwhelm to competitive advantage and how women leaders can harness technology to grow. Lydia, welcome to Serious Lady Business. Lydia Benham (00:18) Thank you, Leslie. Leslie Youngblood (00:20) All right. So Lydia, you have spent 15 years working at the intersection of technology, operations, and growth. How did you find your way into tech without a traditional technical background? Lydia Benham (00:32) that's a great question. so I I naturally by nature I am just curious. I also love teaching myself different things. and I also love tech. I love everything about it. I love how it expedites our life. I love how it allows us to do more. I I mean it helps us accelerate. and it's just honestly it's just really cool. It really is. I mean, everything about it, it's just it's fun to fiddle with, it's fun to build stuff with. It's just it's changed our lives and I think that's probably one of the biggest pieces that I really like is that, you know, I mean it accelerates communities, it accelerates countries. It Leslie Youngblood (01:16) Mm Lydia Benham (01:17) just I mean, it's really just a game changer. I mean, look about how look at how we're living in America right now. I mean, technology is is pretty much been the backbone of where we are today. Leslie Youngblood (01:30) Mm-hmm. Lydia Benham (01:30) So I would say because of that, it definitely like helped me thrust myself into learning how to do different things. definitely started out kind of fiddling and tinkering on my own. doing very, very primal development well like 15 years ago. but then Leslie Youngblood (01:50) Sure, yeah. Lydia Benham (01:51) just quickly found myself catapulted into the startup space. Working with my own startup and then building technology and products with other startups. definitely I think I would say one of my best skill sets that's led to this is building relationships. as I've moved throughout my life and moved throughout different communities and different areas, just really building those relationships and and identifying skills that people have. I mean, because that's it's amazing. There's still people I do business with today that I picked up like 10 years ago. and I I you know I can text them or call them and say, hey, I have a job for you. Like and they'll always answer the phone right then. so I think that's that's been a good good thing, especially, you know, my early days in technology of sourcing development teams. near shore, offshore. Leslie Youngblood (02:48) Yeah. Lydia Benham (02:50) I was able to pull different teams for different companies and and help them really Develop out their products and go to market. Leslie Youngblood (02:58) Yeah, I love your perspective so much, Lydia. I feel like it's refreshing, man or woman, because I do feel like a lot of people with technology, the initial gut reaction is fear or like, it's like technology or technology, and it's not the curiosity and not that wow, look at what it could possibly do, and look at all the good things that it can do. And so I think that's so important because and to maybe recognize if we have those initial gut reactions. But it and but I think even we've seen it so much more over the past t few years. I would say two years 'cause I really do feel like the rise of AI has just exploded in a way Lydia Benham (03:42) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (03:43) that we've never seen before. really over the past year, even with in the tech space that I've been, I've had developers say, we're able to develop at such a lower cost and so much faster just in the past six months of things. And so I know outside of that, so many women leaders know they should be using AI, but they don't know where to begin. They find it overwhelming Lydia Benham (04:05) Mm-hmm. Leslie Youngblood (04:06) or they may have this fear they're trying to to fight or this worry. What is the first step that you recommend to them, Lydia? Lydia Benham (04:14) I would just you just jump feet first and you know, figure it out. Really and truly, and I think that's also like something if I could give any advice, especially for like young females, like don't wait till someone invites you. Just just jump in there, you can figure it out. We are all highly intelligent, we all have the brain capacity to do it. You just have to get in there and do it. and really even like right now I see it with my kids. I mean they teach themselves how to do stuff from YouTube videos and honestly I do too. I mean like a dishwasher, that's Leslie Youngblood (04:49) I Lydia Benham (04:49) I'm going to YouTube for really and truly. but there's just there's too many resources right now. I mean, I think I'm gonna date us, Leslie. In our age, you know, when we had to do papers or things, like we're it's like the encyclopedias at the library or something. And and the reality is is information Leslie Youngblood (05:05) Yeah. yeah. Lydia Benham (05:08) and knowledge is accessible. It is at the tip of your fingertips, literally. so there's Leslie Youngblood (05:10) Well. Lydia Benham (05:13) not really any any excuse to not jump in. and there's no I mean, I I know it's I feel like you have these industries and I think AI kind of sounds like it could be. It's like Th but there's it it's not like and like finance is one of those industries, right? Like people think that, you know, the barrier to entry or figuring out or it's too complicated and it's it's really, really not, right? Especially this day and age. Again, I'm gonna reference YouTube. I'm not getting paid for that by the way. But maybe I should. Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (05:46) Maybe you will be. Lydia Benham (05:50) Yeah, th it's just all that information is available and it's it's it's accessible and it's there and and you can figure it out. And really it's just kind of putting a plan together. I mean, we as women, we did it like if we if you have kids, right, you put a plan together. You figured out if you were gonna breastfeed or if you were gonna bottle feed, right? It's the same thing. AI. What do you what is an area in your life that maybe you are tired of doing for me personally? I was tired of school emails, right? So, like now I have a configuration set up or a workflow, and that kind of gets triaged for me. So just it's just one thing. If you just figure out one simple thing, I guarantee you, it's just gonna open the door. I mean, you just need one thing that's exciting. And I'll tell you what, especially as a woman and a mother with all the hats and balls that we juggle, like taking Leslie Youngblood (06:40) Right. Lydia Benham (06:41) something off my plate is really exciting. Leslie Youngblood (06:44) my goodness. I feel like everybody listening, their ears just like are like the school emails because we know that chaos Lydia Benham (06:50) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (06:51) and it's is you know, especially have more than one child who and you have more than one school or daycare, this or that and all the things, and to be able to configure a fl a workflow or create an AI agent that will read Lydia Benham (07:03) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (07:03) them for you and give you the update like every morning at nine o'clock or however you decide to do it. Like I don't think women specifically two are realizing The opportunity to bring that into real life and to solve those problems. And that's really what technology Lydia Benham (07:16) Mm-hmm. Leslie Youngblood (07:16) really does at its core, right? It's solving a problem. And it doesn't mean it s does has to be work problems. It can solve real life problems. And that's when you see this exponential success of of tools, whether it's trying to like think of something with it, you know, whether let's just like create it's creating a copy of something, right? That's a technology Lydia Benham (07:34) Mm-hmm. Leslie Youngblood (07:35) when printers first came around, right? Like that's technology. And so like now we have this like monumental technology to improve our daily lives. And like, you know, whether you have your your habit tracker, your workout platforms and your workout tech. Like that's Lydia Benham (07:48) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (07:49) your that's your life. Somebody use technology to improve your life. And you can use it too for for any little bit of thing and I think that is so brilliant and I never even thought to use it for school emails, Lydia. And now I'm very excited, especially if we're in August. School's starting soon. Lydia Benham (08:02) Yeah. I mean, right? There's a lot you and I still find out just from like, you know, my like like female community groups, like different things. Like one woman told me that I could have, you know, take a picture of my face and ask ChatGPT what face care products I needed. And I hadn't thought of that one yet, but I have now. Leslie Youngblood (08:20) Well right. Lydia Benham (08:25) Yeah, right. Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (08:23) Right. Makeup. What hair color. It's like we don't think about that. Even Google lens. I'm like, I never even think. Like I could just Google lens something, you know? It's like all these things Lydia Benham (08:31) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (08:34) that and I think that can also to contribute to that overwhelm we may feel because there's so much available Lydia Benham (08:39) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (08:40) to us. Where do we start? And so I love the idea of just starting. Even a coworker the other week was asking she I don't even know how she was using chat, but I was like, just start asking it questions. It's it's incredible that things That you'll be able to figure out and that they but it's like I can't Lydia Benham (08:55) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (08:56) I can give you steps, but you just have to be able to play with it. And that's how you really learn, and that's when you find really cool solves for Lydia Benham (09:03) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (09:03) problems going on in your life. I think that's fantastic. Lydia Benham (09:06) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (09:06) I love it. and also there's so much that we're talking about like it's solving these real problems, but Lydia Benham (09:14) Mm-hmm. Leslie Youngblood (09:15) There's also some certain things, Lydia, where it comes in things get noise or get a lot of attention and technology gets a lot of attention Lydia Benham (09:21) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (09:22) that might not be valid or really be able to contribute to a business owner's life or professional's life. How do you distinguish between tech that solves a real problem and the stuff that's just simply noise, Lydia? Lydia Benham (09:37) that's a great question. because there's a lot, there's, there's a lot of products on the market. I mean, there just really are. I think, you know, the conversation is gonna be a little bit different depending on whether you're sourcing for your company or you're sourcing for yourself, but it really like for me, it has to come down, you know, you have to ask a series of questions like what problem am I trying to solve, right? figure out Leslie Youngblood (10:00) Mm-hmm. Lydia Benham (10:00) what that problem is because there's there's a lot of products. I mean, and I'm just gonna like correlate it back, you know, like to products that, you know, females predominantly use, like makeup. There's a lot of makeup Leslie Youngblood (10:10) Mm-hmm. Lydia Benham (10:11) on the market, right? But what do you need? and it's just like with technology, you know, what do you need? what is what does success look like once you implement it? and then what what are we tracking as ROI for it? and all of those questions need to be asked in advance before you commit to it because the reality is impl implementation of technology takes time and it it scales, right? So it's just I mean, it's you Leslie Youngblood (10:35) Yes. Lydia Benham (10:38) know, it's one of the things like with really large platforms that are using, I mean, the cost of changing becomes more expensive than it does just staying with something that may not be the best anymore. so you have to kind Leslie Youngblood (10:52) Yeah. Lydia Benham (10:53) of consider, you know. what what it looks like to implement it, you know, what the cost is for your company and you know, the benefits have to outweigh the cost that it is is going to require to integrate it. Leslie Youngblood (11:08) my goodness, that is so incredibly true. And I feel that deeply as b working on a project to implement new technology and realizing like getting asked by a client or a boss two weeks in, how's it working? Is it gonna work? And you're like, Well, I I think I like it, or it's it's we're just Lydia Benham (11:28) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (11:29) too soon to tell. But it's like they don't know. So you have to really manage the expectation of We we're trying it out, we think it could be the right fit, but like when it's not custom, you still have to allow yourself time to learn it, not just you, but then Lydia Benham (11:43) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (11:43) an entire team has to learn it and and understand like Lydia Benham (11:46) yeah. Leslie Youngblood (11:46) the process too. And so to just remember that it's not going to all happen at once, but it doesn't mean that it's it's not going to be the right solution. I mean it might not be, Lydia Benham (11:57) Mm-hmm. Leslie Youngblood (11:58) but you also have to, and I think a lot of us, especially in this age of technology and instant gratification, we just want to know. We don't want to have to, you know, make a time or money investment in something right away. But you do Lydia Benham (12:09) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (12:09) have to, you know, remember you have, you know, the smart the smart way to do it is to really give yourself time and to really try to manage the expectations around that. So I think that's so smart. Yeah. Lydia Benham (12:21) Absolutely. Yeah, and and take it, you know, and and steps, right? If you just stair step it through because the reality is like, you know, new technology or platforms, I mean, they're huge. probab you know, people don't no no one user is ever gonna use a hundred percent of the features. So just, you know, deciding what what handful of basket of features are you gonna test out and see how well they work. You know, it doesn't have to be the whole thing because sometimes platforms are overwhelming. I mean, shoot, they're overwhelming for me. I mean, just even, Leslie Youngblood (12:51) Yeah. Lydia Benham (12:52) you know, basic stuff. Sometimes I'm like half of that is unnecessary. But you have to understand, Leslie Youngblood (12:57) Yeah. Lydia Benham (12:57) you know, the way technology works is you know, they're they're looking to capture the entire market. So they're putting And features for all kinds of different personalities, Leslie Youngblood (13:03) Yeah, yeah. Lydia Benham (13:06) you know, because they've done, they've field tested it and they've done their their research, but you're not gonna be, you know, the user that uses everything within. Just you just need to make sure that you know how to use the things that like you said, like that solve your problems. Or I said, but that's okay. Leslie Youngblood (13:20) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, and then you know, definitely be prepared for as soon as you get it, they'll do an update and everything will change in the technology. Lydia Benham (13:30) my gosh. And then they'll like force another password change on you and all the things. Leslie Youngblood (13:34) Yeah. my goodness. God bless. God bless. It makes our lives so much easier, but it can be so maddening. And I Lydia Benham (13:41) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (13:42) think that can be one of the the caveats for a lot of small business owners and growing companies to try to figure out what's going to be that right step, the one that is able to create the most immediate value. Where are you seeing AI create the most immediate value for small businesses and growing companies right now, Lydia? Lydia Benham (14:03) I I mean definitely it's gonna be solving solving those some of the problems that, you know so let me back up really quickly. Here's I think the big conversation is that P people r think that AI is replacing people. And the reality is is that A AI is replacing tasks. So what we're seeing the most benefit out of AI right now is like we're just taking away all of those remedial tasks that no one wants to do, no one wants to spend their time doing. And it's just, it's, it's not fun, really. I mean, and and and it's a waste of time, especially when you're, you know, you're hiring these highly educated people to do these jobs. And you really, you know, that's that's like your your brain equity. but then they're spending, what, 30% of their week doing these tasks that can be automated by a machine. And that's where we're seeing the most value right now, especially within companies. Leslie Youngblood (15:04) Yeah, definitely. I love that you said that. It's not replacing people, it's replacing tasks and the tasks that most people don't are are too qualified for or that are just so easy. Why would you overpay somebody to do that when they could be doing something Lydia Benham (15:20) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (15:20) else that can be growing your company and then you can just count on, you know, the the platform or the agent to be able to execute that. What are some of those tasks, Lydia, that leaders Or employees may still be doing manually that AI could simplify right now. Lydia Benham (15:38) So I'm gonna say inbox triage again. because email management Leslie Youngblood (15:43) my god. I love that one so inbox triage. I love it. Lydia Benham (15:47) is is a lot. I mean it just really is. I I would say just you know, you can get there's a lot of different things that you can have AI support you with on your inbox management. you know, synthesizing emails, you know, having it remind you of the emails that you haven't responded to yet. and then also I would say I personally I spend a lot of time in meetings. so before meetings, especially if it's a new meeting, I like some just meeting prep done and AI does that for me. so I'm not going into the meeting completely cold. a notes during Leslie Youngblood (16:22) Mm-hmm. Lydia Benham (16:23) the meeting as well. and then also putting together follow up tasks after meetings. So that's that is not anything I wanna spend the my time on ever and I do not have to and it's it consumes your time. I mean, for me it's the equivalent of Can I spend three hours a week doing this? Or do I need to spend, you know, 25 hours a week doing this? Because this is, I'm doing it by hand, and then I have to look up everything, and then I have to document everything, and that's that's not what I want to do. It's that's not what I'm good at. And that's definitely that's not that's not attributing to my R ROI right now. I mean, that's like really Leslie Youngblood (16:59) More than someone. Lydia Benham (17:00) a remedial task. and then I would say, Yeah, and and any kind of follow-up information or I use it for synthesizing documentation a lot. I think that's really, really, really good. especially if you, you know, work in a company where you're ta you have contracts that are hitting you. I I use it just to go over the contract. I I you know, if I'm looking for certain things out of that contract, it's far easier for me to ask. you know, a bot to look for those things than me actually scrolling through and reading. So yeah, it Leslie Youngblood (17:37) Yeah. Lydia Benham (17:37) just really more I would say like admin paperwork things is I think those are the big ones. I mean, 'cause a lot, a lot Leslie Youngblood (17:45) Yes. Lydia Benham (17:46) of people spend a lot of time doing that. Leslie Youngblood (17:49) Yes. And I think that is really smart too because it allows people to start with these smaller AI experiments before maybe creating a formal strategy or really highly investing in some major platform in their business. Like they Lydia Benham (18:05) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (18:05) know helping them and they really know what they need because also too it's like you know you have a problem or you know you need help and can you know you can offload it in some way, but you don't really know what you don't know. And so I think it will Lydia Benham (18:20) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (18:20) really allow somebody clarity around what they're really looking to do and achieve and what's been able to help him so far to then kind of be able to shuffle in and to create a formal strategy or to be able to invest in something more long term. Is that how you kind of look at it too, Lydia? Lydia Benham (18:38) Yeah, and I also think of it for me it's it's like how am I five Xing my output essentially, right? So what how can I, you know, increase what I'm producing and what I'm doing by taking off some things off of my task list. 'cause the reality Leslie Youngblood (18:56) Yeah. Lydia Benham (18:56) is is it can be done and it can be done easily and and and really a big piece of this is everyone, I mean, is doing it and That is absolutely it's so let me rephrase this. It's not really an option to not be leveraging AI to stay competitive anymore. It's just not. Inside of companies, I mean, Leslie Youngblood (19:16) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Lydia Benham (19:18) even building technology, I mean there's just there's a lot of platforms and software to help code. I mean, and it it again, it goes back to that, you know, how are we 5x or even 10xing output? And that that is what companies are doing for AI. And really in order to stay competitive, you need to be asking yourself that question, you know, within your your business. I mean, even like personally, really, I mean, 'cause again, going back to like as mu women and mothers, like, how can I take some of this off of me to increase my output, right? and and it just it Leslie Youngblood (19:55) Why? Lydia Benham (19:56) is it's not going away and it's something that we have to address. Leslie Youngblood (19:59) Yes. And I I'm sure gosh, I I'm trying to saw it like scanning LinkedIn, but it was saying that all the major or w maybe it was something from Pitchbook or something, but it was like all the firms or s X amount of investment, all these companies have an AI component. It's AI. AI, AI, Lydia Benham (20:16) Mm-hmm. Leslie Youngblood (20:17) AI is like all within like these building blocks of no matter what it is, there's some type of this technology. And so it's not going away. It is Lydia Benham (20:25) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (20:25) changing business, it's changing our economy, it's changing the workforce. Like s so, you know, and and yes, like you said, like if your business isn't utilizing it in some way, you're gonna be behind. You you it's just Lydia Benham (20:41) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (20:42) you have to start doing it. But again, like I know that there may be employees that are resistant to that change. How can someone introduce new technology where they might encounter some of that? Push back Lydia. Lydia Benham (20:56) I think that's a good question and I am not going to say that I have a full answer for that. and I say that just because, you know, I think that I think different ages in the workforce are very valuable in different ways. And, you know, just saying if someone, you know, can't fully leverage AI, I there's I that's fine because they still have a value that they're bringing to the table. Because the reality is is AI AI's not gonna be able to replace that human component. It definitely cannot replace even a bigger piece, which is the human connection component. And I'll say Especially being in the Midwest and doing business here. I mean, that human connection, especially even just in person meetings, I mean, it's irreplaceable. It just really is. Leslie Youngblood (21:46) Mm-hmm. Lydia Benham (21:47) So there's a lot of things that, you know, you don't wanna just cast people aside because they, you know, Leslie Youngblood (21:54) What? Lydia Benham (21:55) AI may not be their specialty, but it's also just, I mean, technology in general, right? Even though, you know, we have full Leslie Youngblood (21:59) Right now. Lydia Benham (22:00) adoption at this point. but I think just like with anything. What can you do that's small? Is it just you know, learning how to ask Siri or Alexa or Leslie Youngblood (22:12) Yeah. Lydia Benham (22:13) whoever your preferred provider Leslie Youngblood (22:15) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Lydia Benham (22:17) is? you know, just start asking questions. Start using it like like my kids, they use it like a Wikipedia almost. you know, Leslie Youngblood (22:24) Yeah. Lydia Benham (22:25) we were just some we were trying to figure out the origin story of Godzilla and my daughter was, you know, asking Leslie Youngblood (22:30) Whoa. Lydia Benham (22:31) chat. Right. So just it's just learning to use it as a tool. because Leslie Youngblood (22:37) And Lydia Benham (22:38) there's there's all kinds of ways to use it. And right now we're really we're really in the consumption era of AI. We're at the very, very beginning. and Leslie Youngblood (22:45) Yeah. Lydia Benham (22:48) and just practicing, you know, how can how can you consume the benefits from it? Is it just Is it just filling in the gaps for knowledge? Is it, you know, figuring out how to fix something? or is it, you know, automating some workflows that help your staff increase output, you know, by 30%? It's just it's just asking like Leslie Youngblood (23:08) Mm-hmm. Lydia Benham (23:09) what what small things can you leverage? And there's so many platforms now. I mean, Leslie Youngblood (23:15) Yeah. Lydia Benham (23:16) really, it's there are so many. That's why I would absolutely start with what problem you are trying to solve. before you start start g searching because otherwise you're gonna see all kinds of things and you're gonna be playing around on something that maybe doesn't even solve the problem but you know, has a thousand different features that you just spent two hours going down a rabbit hole Leslie Youngblood (23:36) Right. Lydia Benham (23:38) on. Leslie Youngblood (23:38) Yeah. Do you think that's one of the biggest mistake companies make, Lydia, when trying to implement AI or like modernize their technology is just going down a wrong rabbit hole? Lydia Benham (23:50) I think the bigger problem is that they're trying to add it in into a lot of areas at once. Really the best way to do it is like pick a department or pick a sector or area within in your company. You know, it could be like marketing, it could be sales, it could be, you know, product. Just pick one thing and just start asking some questions about, you know, where where you want to see improvement and then what problems you have. And just stick within that because the reality Leslie Youngblood (24:20) Mm-hmm. Lydia Benham (24:21) is like you were saying, you know, you have to train people. Adoption of technology, I mean, the adoption is what takes the time. It's really easy to sign up for, you know, a 12 month contract on a platform. But the hardest part is, you know, making sure that you're adopting it, you're actually leveraging it and that everyone's using it for the intended, you know, purpose. Leslie Youngblood (24:45) Mm-hmm. Yeah, definitely. And I wanna come back to the staff and there may be people that are not that are not so into new technology and they obviously of course will have value on our really important members of the team and nothing replaces the person. and how I wanna like how am I trying to like come back to this is I wanna now kind of pivot to talking about hiring. So whether you're established in your field or whether you're just entering the workforce, you know, we're seeing AI and technology and those skills kind of like change the game where somebody that's just coming Lydia Benham (25:25) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (25:25) in may have an advantage over somebody that's been in the business for 20 plus years. And and then, you know, kind of like relatedly, like as a company, you don't have to focus so much on traditional degrees because the you have these candidates now, even you know, I think it's kind of BS anyways, if you're just looking for these degrees and and like whatever. But we know it happens and it's fine. It is what it is. But what should leaders be looking for when hiring talent and tech talent today versus what has traditionally like been thought of as hiring tech talent? Lydia Benham (26:02) Well, I mean, the r reality is is we live in a world where, you know, everyone's an autodidact. We're all teaching ourselves how to do things. I mean and and that is that that alone is going to be, you know how we survive, especially through the AI era, is you know, can we bend and flex and grow with it? Are we willing to upskill ourselves? Are we willing to take on new challenges? Are we willing to investigate, you know, new, new areas or new projects? because it really the what is going to be left behind is people that aren't able to, you know, change or be flexible in in how what they're doing and how they're doing it. and be tying back to, you know, as far as like traditional degrees, I mean, you know, coming from the technology background, like it hiring, you know, if you're hiring someone and you want something, a product built, I mean we're we're not looking for CS degrees or, you know, specific degrees. It's really you know It's can can you actually do it? I mean, really build something. Show us that you can actually Leslie Youngblood (27:13) Yeah. Lydia Benham (27:16) build something. because Leslie Youngblood (27:18) Mm. Lydia Benham (27:18) the reality is, you know, our concern is is it going to work? Can we deploy Leslie Youngblood (27:25) Mm. Lydia Benham (27:26) it? is it s is it a product that other people can use? it just it the traditional, you know, degree route is it is slowly I I don't wanna say this because You know, lot of people are gonna I I think it is slowly becoming Leslie Youngblood (27:43) Selling it. Lydia Benham (27:45) a little bit it's becoming a little bit obsolete. It is. I mean, in my day, it was literally, you know, I was told you have to get some degree. It doesn't matter what degree it is, as long as you had some degree on your resume, it opened doors and Leslie Youngblood (27:57) Green. Mm-hmm. Lydia Benham (27:58) and to a great degree, I would say a lot of that is still happening in the Midwest, especially with hiring. But reality is is you have these amazing talent pools that Have taught themselves how to build all these amazing things and they've taught themselves all these amazing skills. And I see it r live with my kids that are using technology and it's absolutely incredible. And it's just why would we put a barrier to entry, you know, that really has priced itself out of the market at this point for these kids Leslie Youngblood (28:30) Right. Lydia Benham (28:30) that, you know, they want to go and they wanna be part of the workforce and they they have a lot to contribute and it just it it just it kinda doesn't make sense anymore. Leslie Youngblood (28:40) Yeah, that is right. It is so true. And it's fascinating to see it happen before us. And I think that we've over the past few years we've kind of come in a circle too, or and I'm based in the Midwest as well. And when I grew up you go to High school, you gotta go to a good college. Get your degree. Get your degree. And then we saw, you know, all this like changeover and with young people today that I'm going to a trade school or I'm going into something else. Or I'm just gonna like go start working or I'm gonna do this. I'm like, that is amazing. Yes, you don't have to go to college to get your degree if you're ready to go forth into the world and you already have the knowledge and you're building your own thing. Like are you created a business while you were in high school and it's like bringing you monthly recurring revenue. It's like how the you know what I was Lydia Benham (29:27) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (29:28) doing in high school not thinking about that. So like I wish I'd had Lydia Benham (29:31) No, I was not either. Leslie Youngblood (29:33) right like no us in our encyclopedias were not thinking about that. Fortunately, unfortunately everybody, every generation's different, but that certainly wasn't ours. But it's just so I guess you know And I know like I feel like there's like all always gonna be discourse that it's harder for kids can't find jobs or the job market sucks, right? Like it's always it's always there, right? No matter how good the economy is. But the I feel like the true truth is, is like there's so much opportunity out there for you if you are willing to go after and get it. Like at a you know, no matter what age or stage that you're in. Lydia Benham (30:03) Mm. Well, and it doesn't yeah, and I wanna tie it back. I mean, building relationships really and it truly, I mean, that's huge. That is such a it is such a big deal. Leslie Youngblood (30:12) Yep. Totally. Lydia Benham (30:15) You know, it's just, you know, get out there, introduce yourself to someone. I mean, we all start somewhere, right? I I mean, right Leslie Youngblood (30:21) Mm. Lydia Benham (30:21) now I'm reaching back out to contacts I made like ten years ago. and Leslie Youngblood (30:26) Yes. Lydia Benham (30:27) you know, they they them answering the phone. It's and I'm being able to, you know, work with them in some capacity. And and that's huge and that means a lot. And I think it's just it's one of those things that is so simple. But, you know, Leslie Youngblood (30:42) Yeah. Lydia Benham (30:42) it's not I don't it's not like formal education, you know, but it is, it's critical. I think, you know, what's that book? Your network is your net worth. I mean, that book was written for a reason Leslie Youngblood (30:51) Yes. Lydia Benham (30:52) and it is, and I just heard I heard a what did I just hear? It was great. I loved it. It was like a quote. It was Community is currency. And it really is, right? It's people Leslie Youngblood (31:01) Yeah. Lydia Benham (31:03) because, you know, we're people do business with people, literally, at the end of the day. I'm selling the same thing as like hundreds, hundred other people, right? We're not my what I do isn't any better than what they do. We do the same thing, right? But what's different Leslie Youngblood (31:20) Yeah. Lydia Benham (31:22) is that people get to work with me. And I hope that's a great experience. And then, you know, the working relationship with my competitors is different. And so really like that, I think that was essentially do whatever you do in life, you're in sales, right? You're selling yourself, you're selling Leslie Youngblood (31:38) Yeah. Sure. Lydia Benham (31:40) it everyone's in sales. And so learning how to Leslie Youngblood (31:42) Mm. Lydia Benham (31:43) create and like you know, a presence for yourself and build those relationships and build up your network and your community. It's really the difference of, you know, you being able to leverage people or lev leverage different opportunities for yourself than someone else that doesn't have that. Leslie Youngblood (32:02) Yes. But I mean it's so important. And that's what I love too about with all these conversations about technology. So at the end of the day, it's about people. It's about connections. Lydia Benham (32:11) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (32:12) It's about community. It's about the people that you know. And I think especially to having that community also is important for your success. whether you're helping and networking and connecting, but also to keep you inspired and like leveling up, right? Like Lydia Benham (32:27) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (32:27) you always want to be like inspired or like I don't you don't want to necessarily like be challenged in a bad way, but I'm like also compet competitive in like a healthy way. It's like, wow, that's amazing. Lydia Benham (32:36) Ha ha Leslie Youngblood (32:37) Like you're doing that, like, okay, I can do Lydia Benham (32:39) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (32:39) that too. Like you kind of don't know what you don't know. And just even just having somebody in your community or even just seeing them in your circle on LinkedIn and they have a post and you're like, huh, yeah. And and I think that, you know, there's so Much importance in the heart of people is just, you know, always going to be at the core of success. Like no matter as far as technology Lydia Benham (33:02) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (33:03) goes, like it's still so much all about people, and if not more than ever. And I think that too is something that is a unique advantage for women. Like we're social creatures, but we've never thought Lydia Benham (33:14) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (33:14) or maybe we're not like raised to utilize your network to like get further in business the way I think men. maybe are from like a younger age. And so it's like think about not that you're taking advantage of the people in your life, but like utilize them, like cultivate that and help others. And then they will also help you. Like and to also keep in mind, like you said, there's, you know, you're not the only one doing what you're doing. I'm not the only one doing what I'm doing. But that doesn't mean that what you will bring to it is not inherently important and unique because of what you bring and is is needed. Like, you know, you think about all the makeup brands. Like you said earlier. Like there's so many makeup brands and everyone's starting a new makeup brand this way and that. And so somebody that's starting to bring a makeup brand thing, I have something unique to bring. I'm gonna do something different. Mine's gonna be different. And they're Lydia Benham (34:02) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (34:02) doing it. And it can be like a massive success. But you have to believe and understand that like there's that magic like in you and that community that you're bringing. Lydia Benham (34:12) Right. Yeah. And that and and that's the thing is like, you know, I mean there's a lot of opportunity. Yes, is there competition, of course, but you also want competition because honestly Leslie Youngblood (34:21) Mm-hmm. Right. Lydia Benham (34:23) competition it motivates us and we see like other people's like products or companies were like, okay We need to build and build better because other people are Leslie Youngblood (34:31) Yeah. Lydia Benham (34:32) doing it and you know we don't want to be left behind, right? So you need that competition Leslie Youngblood (34:36) Right. Lydia Benham (34:37) and it's the same just personally, right? What are you if you're seeing, you know, Leslie Youngblood (34:39) No really. Lydia Benham (34:40) people are now now people are building, you know, AI agents and they're using them and it's accelerating their growth, then Leslie Youngblood (34:46) Mm. Lydia Benham (34:46) you need to be doing that as well. Like if they can do it, you can do it. and and you're right. I mean competition Leslie Youngblood (34:51) Yes. Lydia Benham (34:53) I think it it's it's healthy, it's good, it's a driving force and we all need driving forces in life. And and that's we we need to be using it, but also at the same time we also need to be helping each other because the reality is is there's there's enough business for all of us. I mean there really is. That's it. Leslie Youngblood (35:09) Hundred percent. Yes. Lydia Benham (35:10) I mean, I I'm not that's I feel like a lot of people like I get worried about it. I'm like, you know what, I I'm n I'm not. I'm not worried about it. I mean with what like there's more than enough business in this world for us to all, you know, have what we need and and do what we wanna do and and we can also all accelerate together, really. Leslie Youngblood (35:31) Yep, I completely agree. I completely agree. And Lydia, you have such a unique perspective too, because and you mentioned you're in the Midwest. Well, that wasn't always the case. You worked extensively Lydia Benham (35:40) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Leslie Youngblood (35:42) with companies in Silicon Valley and now you have been in the Midwest. And I would just love to know, like, what are some of the differences that you've noticed between these two massively different technology technology ecosystems? Lydia Benham (35:58) There's a lot of differences. there yeah. I know. I'm not sure if we have time. we might need like, you know, we might need like, yeah, Leslie Youngblood (36:00) Yeah. I'm sure like we could go a whole older hour talking about that. Part two. Lydia Benham (36:10) this might be a beverage conversation. Th so there's Leslie Youngblood (36:12) Yeah, ooh, yes. Lydia Benham (36:14) there's a lot there's just a lot of difference. I mean, I just think the priorities and like the KPIs are different, you know. I mean, I Leslie Youngblood (36:22) Yeah, we didn't. Lydia Benham (36:23) would say, you know, I mean Silicon Valley, like, you know, volume is a big deal. It just is. Like we're looking at, you know, high volume transactions, like high volume accounts. and I'm not saying I mean it is it's a priority also, you know, in the Midwest. but also I would say more often than not, you know, I would say relationships are a little bit more valued in the Midwest as well. I also, you know, I mean, just like that kind of Silicon Valley, like it's just go, go, go. I mean, there're still companies that have beds in their offices and people are sleeping there. And it is that, you know, grind it's it's a huge grind it, you know, out you know, mentality. It really, really is and and it, you know, it works. that's why you see a lot, a lot of young new hires, especially like on sales teams, because y I mean really it's it is like that hustle culture is is really, really big out there. I think for me kind of moving towards more business in the Midwest, it definitely helps me just personally, especially with that work life balance piece, just you know, of the hours, even though we're international and on all time zones. So I but I did that to myself. So I can't blame the Midwest on that. Leslie Youngblood (37:51) Ha ha ha. Lydia Benham (37:53) you know, and and but there are differences. I mean, there's a lot of differences. I I I love there there's also work life balance that's advantageous I think for women and families, you know, out of the Silicon Valley area. You know, I mean like it MAT leave and paternity leave, like those are real things. and they're respected. And I don't Leslie Youngblood (38:15) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Lydia Benham (38:18) know of many people that, you know, take that here. I'm talking about paternity leave. but there is, there's a there's just it seems like there's a healthier respect for, you know, that holistic life where you do have kids and things happen and, you know, it's kind of it's okay. It really is. and it's it's a little bit different, you know, here where you have a lot more in office policies. And this can also just speak to, you know, the tech world, but you know, the remote positions and remote working. it's a game changer especially for moms. and honestly, Leslie Youngblood (38:57) Mm. Lydia Benham (38:57) I think it's just for mental health, really. Like no one was meant to sit in like an a small office space like you know that many hours. It just it isn't conducive. And honestly, I don't I I know there's a lot of companies, you know, they're assessing like hybrid scenarios, especially post COVID, and you know, really looking at that employee output. but the reality is is, you know, when you group people together, they spend a lot of time not working together. versus Leslie Youngblood (39:24) Yeah. Lydia Benham (39:25) when people are actually, you know, sitting at home. but you know, it also it's a special breed of people that can actually manage their own time and make sure that they're actually following through on on you know the workload and and getting their things done. But I just say I think some of the biggest things are the pace, the pace is faster for sure. Silicon Valley is a little bit slower in the Midwest. I think the Midwest definitely leans more on traditional kind of thinking, especially when it comes to hiring. and I think some of those things are keeping I think that they're impacting growth. But I do see Leslie Youngblood (40:11) Mm. Do you think Lydia Benham (40:12) that as more, you know, people are doing more business here or setting up offices here, you know, we're we're seeing that other concepts can thrive and seeing how that works where we're not fully, you know, going full like Silicon Valley effort. But, you know, hey, like here's your like mid break. you know, do whatever you want. Like go go for a walk. It's you earned it, right? We Leslie Youngblood (40:37) Mm. Lydia Benham (40:38) all need those like brain times, but you know, just really looking at people more as like w we're we're human beings, right? We have all kinds of needs that keep us going throughout the day. And it's not just, you know, we're not in the day and age where you're monitoring people. And I know people, you know, some Leslie Youngblood (40:57) Yeah. Lydia Benham (40:57) companies they put software on computers to monitor how long they're sitting in front of it and just like I mean at at some point Leslie Youngblood (41:05) Crazy. Lydia Benham (41:06) you gotta ask yourself, is this are you hiring children or are you hiring workers? Leslie Youngblood (41:10) Right. Right. I mean, right? Like are you if you don't trust them to sit and get their work done, why are you hiring them? That makes no sense. So you can monitor them, but Lydia Benham (41:18) Right. Nope. Leslie Youngblood (41:21) I'm not in charge of those decisions for the for those places. But it is a little wild to to think about that. Lydia Benham (41:27) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (41:28) But I'm I'm curious, like what do you think needs to change for Midwest companies to become more competitive, Lydia, with Silicon Valley? Because I feel like you kind of touched on a couple of things there. I'd love to hear your take. Like, is it embracing more of that fast pace or is it embracing more like thinking outside the box more, like from your perspective, what what would it Lydia Benham (41:50) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (41:50) take to get Midwest companies to be more competitive with the coasts? Lydia Benham (41:55) I think it's more well, I think it's also I mean, honestly, just you like some of it's location, right? You have a lot of the new the new companies, like the new technology, like they they locate on the coast for a reason, right? For because there's more funding there, there's more opportunities, there's more business. so I mean, s some of those things you're we're just not going to be able to overcome just because of where we're located. But what we do need to do is start building up these ecosystems where, you know, some of those people they want to come here. and I think a lot of that it it does have to do with funding funding new businesses, funding new ideas, new concepts, you know, making sure that Leslie Youngblood (42:36) Hm. Lydia Benham (42:37) we're building up those those economies here. and I know where there's a lot of things that are being done within states and within chambers that this is being looked at. And it's also, you know. mm maybe stepping outside the box a little bit just to see, you know, yes, it's different, but is it solving a problem that we have right now? And if that answer is yes, then, you know, maybe we can, you know, figure out how we can get over this learning curve hurder hurdle or, you know, get past this idea that we've lived with our entire lives, to be able to do something Leslie Youngblood (43:15) Yeah. Lydia Benham (43:16) that's gonna be bigger than us. Leslie Youngblood (43:17) Yeah, yeah, a hund I mean, yes, a hundred percent. W looking ahead, Lydia, what do you think every founder and business leader needs to understand about AI to remain relevant over the next few years? Lydia Benham (43:33) I think you need to understand that it's a tool and it's not going away. I mean, like really. And I I feel like that is so abrupt, but it it is not going away, right? It just it's not. It's here. and it's it's a tool that we can use. It doesn't have to take over our lives. It doesn't have to be something it's you know, you know, super evil. I also do think that people really this really need to start understanding. you know, how to leverage it like ethically and safely. Those dialogues need to start happening because we Leslie Youngblood (44:06) Yeah. Yeah. Lydia Benham (44:09) are just in the consumption phase right now. People are putting stuff on their computers. It's just you don't own it. It's the same thing as social media. You post stuff, you don't own it. You upload things into, you know, AI, you don't own it. and just having those conversations about what that looks like, because just, you know, coming from my background is the reality is is You know, there are there are some security and safety concerns. but it doesn't mean that you can't manage it. You I mean, it's just like like your bank, right? Save your passwords, don't let people see your passwords. But maybe you don't let, you know, an agent have full access to your computer or your server, or you know, Leslie Youngblood (44:50) Mm. Lydia Benham (44:50) just really you know, I we talk a lot about, you know, setting up guardrails. It's just making sure that you you can you can still participate. But you're just making sure you're safe. It's like going outside and putting on your sunscreen. It's literally the equivalent of that. but that is a conversation, you know, those we need to be having Leslie Youngblood (45:09) Yeah yeah. Lydia Benham (45:11) more of those conversations now. Leslie Youngblood (45:12) Yes, yes, I totally agree. I think that's super, super smart and important for everybody to remember. Now, this is one question that we ask all of our guests, Lydia. What is one piece of serious lady business advice you wish more women took seriously? Lydia Benham (45:29) I think my biggest piece of advice would be just get out there and do it. If you it doesn't matter if you even know fully how to do it. If you just want to be there, Leslie Youngblood (45:42) Mm. Lydia Benham (45:42) just get out there. I mean put yourself out there, be brave. Yeah, maybe you might vomit later afterwards, but just get out there and do it. And then, you know, you ha you can get whatever you need to recover, but really and truly, like that's what we just need to do. I mean, because we're just gonna have to be brave, put our big girl pants on. Because if you don't do it, no one else is gonna do it for you. And if you wanna be there, you're gonna have to put yourself there. And we all do it. I mean it's all, you know, that's why we t I tell my daughter, I'm like w every day, what it we're doing something that scares you. Really and then truly. Like that Leslie Youngblood (46:22) Yeah. Lydia Benham (46:22) is like what's your thing that scares you? Cause this we're doing it. Leslie Youngblood (46:27) Right. I love it. And you survive and you realize like one, Lydia Benham (46:31) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (46:31) everybody else is scared. Hello, you have to realize everybody else is scared. Nobody else knows what they're doing. And you're not gonna die. So what's the worst that could happen? Nobody knows. Lydia Benham (46:37) Mm-hmm. No, nobody knows what they're doing. I be I can't tell you how many like tables or meetings I've been in and I'm like, those people have no clue what they're talking about. I'm like, well Leslie Youngblood (46:48) Yeah. Lydia Benham (46:48) I don't even know why they're here. Leslie Youngblood (46:51) Right? And you're like, they who these people? For real? And then you're like, dang, Lydia Benham (46:55) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (46:56) okay, I'm not doing so bad. Yeah. Lydia Benham (46:58) No, I know, I know. That's what it is. You just have to get out there because you realize like it's not it's just it's only scary when you're not there. But once you're there and you see, you know, what's happening Leslie Youngblood (47:08) Yeah. Lydia Benham (47:09) and who else is there and then maybe you figure something out, you know, it's just you just have to be there though. Leslie Youngblood (47:14) Totally. There's like an acronym for fear. It's like false emotion appearing real or something. I don't know if that's the right one, but I was Lydia Benham (47:20) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (47:21) like, that is fear because it's not true. You're just like making it all up in your head because as soon as you Lydia Benham (47:26) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (47:27) do it, it's never as bad as you think it's going to be. And you are Lydia Benham (47:31) No. Leslie Youngblood (47:31) better for having gone through that. And so I think, and especially right now, do it scared with technology, with AI, with learning. The putting yourself out there, like you can do it in the comfort of your own home, right? Like you don't have to Lydia Benham (47:46) Mm. Leslie Youngblood (47:46) go out and like build an app or try to build an agent in front of people. It's not like a talent show, like, right? Like you can do it in the comfort of your own home and go on YouTube, right? YouTube again, like and learn and get tips Lydia Benham (47:59) Yeah. Leslie Youngblood (48:00) and really, you know, be able to take those the like work through that fear in like a really like self-regulate regulated way from the comfort of your own home. So what are you waiting for? I love that. Yes. Lydia Benham (48:09) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right? I know. There's no excuse. Leslie Youngblood (48:15) No excuse. No excuse, Lydia. Now for our listeners who would love to connect with you outside of the podcast today, we would love for you to drop some links and where they can find you, Lydia. Lydia Benham (48:25) Okay, yeah. you can find us on LinkedIn at Tear Access. and then you can also find us on Instagram at Tear Access and you can also find me on LinkedIn as well. Leslie Youngblood (48:36) Perfect. And we will also drop those links in the show notes for everybody listening. Lydia, thank you so much for joining us to talk some serious lady business today. We will have to make another part two over cocktails to get some more of the tea on Silicon Valley. Lydia Benham (48:47) Yes. Yes. Leslie Youngblood (48:52) Everybody stay tuned for Lydia Benham (48:53) We will. Leslie Youngblood (48:53) that one. We appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day, Lydia. Have a good one. Lydia Benham (48:59) Thank you. Thank you so much, Leslie. Leslie Youngblood (49:02) Thank you.