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Leading Through Change: Turning Chaos into Clarity with Executive Coach Beverly Jurenko · Epic Entrepreneurs

• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: I am Cliff McCray with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Today I'm excited to be joined by Beverly Jarinko, Beverly Coaching.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Beverly, thanks for being here.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: How are you doing today?
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I am doing very well, Cliff, and I'm so excited to have the opportunity to talk with you.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: Thank for thank you for the invitation.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you very much.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, let's go ahead and jump right in.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: So uh for those of you who may not know it yet, who is Beverly Duranko and what is Beverly Coaching?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: I yeah, I am an executive coach and I work primarily with high-performing leaders who tend to be in a moment of transition, often because their company is changing, their role is changing, or they are.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: Earlier in my career, I spent years inside organizations navigating growth, pressure, and change of control situations.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: And what has fascinated me wasn't just about strategy, it was about what happened inside people.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_02: And that's one thing that inspired me to go through the training and become a coach.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: I saw incredibly capable leaders lose their footing when the ground shifted.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_02: And and I've been one of them.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: I've been one of those people in a company going company going through transition where I felt like I was literally, literally losing my head.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: So my work is to help leaders find clarity and steadiness in moments where they feel destabilized.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_02: This has been one of the most exciting chapters of decades of a career.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I am truly dedicated and inspired by my clients.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay, yeah, love it, love it.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: So take us back to the very beginning.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: What made you say, you know, yep, I'm doing this, I'm starting that business?
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_02: Well, this is the third business that I've started.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: The first one was actually in 2003, um, in Houston, Texas, when I found myself wanting to do something meaningful, but also at home with two very young children and a husband who was traveling all the time for work.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_02: So I happened to start a janitorial business, which followed my time as being a private equity investor.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_02: I grew that business and sold it in 2007 and then started another business in 2016 in EdTech.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: That was a company called That's Math, which was attempting to provide family math engagement for parents and kids, elementary school kids, in English and Spanish in Texas.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: I sold that to my partners.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so this is my third time starting my company.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_02: It's a different phase for me.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not trying to build this and become a unicorn, but what I am trying to do is make a positive impact on other people, as many of them as I can in the next 10 years.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: I like that.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: I like that.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, so since you started, you know, quite a few businesses, I'm sure you can help out in, you know, maybe smaller entrepreneurs listening today.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: If you had to start any of those businesses from absolute scratch, no brand, no clients, no safety net, what would you do differently the second time around?
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that sounds like me when I started the janitorial business.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: I had a couple of people who wanted to do cleaning, but they didn't have business skills, and that's why they asked me to partner with them.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: And through my connections, I got a contract for 15,000 square feet of commercial cleaning.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_02: But I had no idea how to operate a janitorial business.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: It had never been something that I had thought of doing.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: I could barely clean my own bathroom, let alone clean 15,000 square feet of commercial space.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: So, what I would do differently is I would have been more conscious about bringing in an operating partner early.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_02: I have the business skills, I have the strategy skills and the finance skills.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: But uh running a floor machine, if you saw me in person, I'm not I'm not actually a big person, I'm not a small person, but you think about those big floor machines that bounce around.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it it wasn't my core strength.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I think if you're going to run a very physical business, you need to bring in somebody early who can handle the things physically that you can't handle.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, great.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: So, what would you say, you know, in digging into a little bit more, what's a lesson you learned the hard way as a business owner that no one really prepares you for?
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that is such an interesting question.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: What have I learned the hard way?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: I think running a business, now I'll switch back to the coaching business.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: Building a client list and getting to the point where you're not sweating every month to uh bring in new people takes time and it takes resilience.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: And if you look at each lack of response as a rejection, it's gonna hold you back from being aggressive and positive and connecting with people that can bring in new business.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: A lack of response isn't necessarily a no, it can mean not now or not yet, or a maybe.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_02: So taking everything as a sign of rejection is absolutely limiting.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: I think that people who are trying to build companies need to have this overwhelmingly positive outlook on the world that anything is possible.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_02: Today is a new day, I can do it, and I'm gonna try.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: And if it doesn't work out, at least I've tried and there's something I can learn from it.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I love that advice.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's good.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: So, what would you say is one common myth that people believe about running a business that makes you laugh now?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: This is um so so I actually teach um the foundations course at Mountain Bizworks, and I coach through Mountain Bizworks in English and Spanish.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: So um I think mindset has a lot to do with um uh actually, can can you just repeat the question?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_02: I lost the train of thought.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, you're fine, you're fine.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: What's one common myth people believe about running a business that makes you laugh now?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_02: The myth of running a business is that you can have it all.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_02: You can never have it all.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: It is so much work to run your own business.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_02: You have to be on day and night, ready for anything that can happen.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: If you truly want to build a business and be better than your competition, you never get to a point of coasting.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: There's always something new to learn.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_02: There's always somebody who's trying to gain a toehold into your space.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's it's not a place where you can stop and have a wonderful lifestyle and cash the checks.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_02: Running your own business is something that takes day-to-day effort and also resilience in terms of making sure that you do carve out time for self-care.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: So that that really is the biggest challenge, I think.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_02: Finding time for self-care and taking care of your whole self when you know that every day your business is something that needs your attention.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: So be honest, are you are you naturally more of an entrepreneur or an employee?
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: I am an entrepreneur.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, perfect.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: And why would you say that?
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: I am uh I see myself as somebody who's very creative and very much willing to speak my mind and try new things.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_02: I also love working with people and managing them.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: If you look at my Enneagram profile, this uh this is something which comes out.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_02: I truly believe that the group can do better when we are organized and supporting each other and have the right cultural outlook.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: So, one thing that I try to do in every company that I've run and in working with other people is to maintain this mindset of welcome, belonging, inclusion, and importance because everybody has something to say and idea that is important.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_02: If we feel that we know it all, we are gonna be the first ones to fall because we do need other people and their input to succeed.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_02: So, as an entrepreneur, I love the process of creating and connecting the dots, but I do it in a way that involves and cherishes the input from the other people who are part of the process.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: I love that, love that.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do you personally handle stepping away from the business?
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, vacations, downtime, unplugging at the end of the day.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Are you are you a type of person, 6 p.m., I'm I'm done, I'm not taking any, not doing any more work, or do you work around the clock?
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: How do you handle that?
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_02: At this point in my life, I'm at a really great phase.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_02: In my coaching business, I can make my own schedule.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_02: So if I'm planning a trip or planning an outing or have a really good pickleball game that I want to play, I'll just black out my schedule and nobody can book an appointment with me.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm at the point now where I do what I want to do and I feel I have a good balance.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_02: I haven't always been this way.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: When I was working in corporate, when I was in the janitorial business and trying to grow the ed tech company, it was much more frenetic.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that that impacted my mental and physical health.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: So this is an area because I've been through it and I know the importance of seeing the long term and the balance and things when I feel I can help my clients look at who they are, what they want, what's important to them.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: So we can put together a plan that's going to be sustainable, not something where somebody is burnt out in six months.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: So looking back, what what do you attribute most to your growth so far in your business?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_02: Showing up, keeping trying, learning new things, testing tools with people, and being willing to being being willing to put myself in a place where I'm making myself vulnerable.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: I think that as a coach, that's the most important skill that you can bring to the table.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_02: Because I don't know what my clients want.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: I may have an idea from them, I may have business experience where I could tell them what to do, but I don't it's for them to decide what their path is.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: And that's the process of coaching that I uncover with them.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_02: So by making myself vulnerable, I feel that's the greatest tool to opening up a place of safety so people can look at what is coming up for them and be willing to change.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so switching gears here a little bit.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're building a team, you know, maybe you're looking to hire somebody to work with you or whatnot, what traits matter more to you than what's on someone's resume?
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_02: What traits matter more to me?
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_02: Let me think on that for a second.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_02: I uh I value in people the the character that they bring to the table.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_02: And when I talk about character, I think character comes in many forms.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_02: But there's a straightforwardness and an honesty and authenticity that I see in some people, and those are the ones that I strive to be around.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: Another thing that I look for is the willingness to strive for excellence.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: Not everyone wants to do the hard work, to look at the details, to keep making mistakes and learning to become excellence, imminent in their field, you might say.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: I look for people to be around who have that drive and enthusiasm and who want to be truly the best they can be.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_02: That's very important to me.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_02: And the last thing that I look for is opinions and views and world experiences that are different from mine.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_02: I was born into this body.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_02: I have only one life that I know.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_02: But other people come from different backgrounds, neighborhoods, races, religions, all sorts of forms of diversity that can bring a creativity and insights that I don't have.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: So I want to be around people who would tell me they disagree with me.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: I want to be around people who will tell me they have other ideas, because we together we can create a new model, a consensus, a new way of looking at the world so that we can truly be innovative and be the best that we can be.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: So what's one thing you know you would do intentionally for your employees to keep your workplace positive, motivated, and productive, especially during stressful times.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um I really like the book Radical Candor by Kim Scott.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: And she talks about the value of challenging people professionally while caring for them personally.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: Too often we don't tell people what we really think when they're giving them feedback.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_02: We tell them things are okay when they're not, when we want something more or we want something different.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: With practice, we can be better at telling people what we want and where things need to change while showing them that we are aligned with them, we care about their development, we want them to be successful, and we're here to enable them to be so.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: And equally, we don't help people when we celebrate their successes.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_02: So both sides of that candor are things that I strive to create in the cultures, in the businesses I'm in.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's really good advice.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: So what we're going to head into now is what's called the quick fire round.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, basically, I'm going to give you, I'm going to say one word, and basically, I want you to give me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear that word in regards to running your business.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: First word is educated.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: Keep learning.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_02: That's not one word.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: I guess that's not really what you wanted.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, no, no.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: No, because that's perfect, but you you can expand upon it.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's you your answer doesn't have to be one word.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just going to give you one word.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: Education is never ending.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: You should never stop trying to be educated.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: Next word is planning.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_02: Planning.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: A long time to go, a long time ago, I was in planning and analysis for an oil and gas company.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_02: So when I hear the word planning, I think Excel models because I was building these gigantic multinational Excel models looking at inflation and currency and oil prices and gas prices and capital costs and all that.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: So it takes me back to a an intense period of Excel models in my life, building Excel models.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: Inspiration.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_02: What is consciousness?
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_02: I think we we seek, we uh lately I've been thinking a lot about what is consciousness.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_02: And that has been something that has inspired me to look more at how we were all we are all so connected.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: Next word is commitment.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: Say yes to life.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Next word is discipline.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: Do it.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_02: You won't be sorry.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: I like that.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: Next word is risk.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: Holidays.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, risk holidays.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_02: Risk holidays, yes.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: So we have a tradition in our family of playing risk together.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: I have two children who are now in their 20s, but over the course of the years, somehow everybody loves to get mommy when we're playing risk.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm always the first one to lose and be out of the game.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then the last word is execution.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, hard to give one word.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: I the first word was critical.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: We can have fantastic ideas, but if we don't know how to execute, nothing is going to happen.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_02: I strongly believe that uh a large portion of success in business comes purely from executing, making a plan and doing it to see what happens, learn from there, and then do it all over again.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: If we don't execute, we're not gonna get anywhere.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_02: So it's critically important.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: Agree, agree.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, and and I want you to be as candid with this answer as you can.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: But if a small business owner is listening to the podcast episode today and is and feels stuck or overwhelmed, what's a piece of advice you'd want them to hear from you today?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_02: If you're feeling stuck and overwhelmed, don't feel lost because you're not alone.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_02: We all feel this way from time to time.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: But take out a piece of paper and try to make a list of what's important.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_02: Just let yourself write down a list of words, bullet points, paragraphs, whatever works for you, even draw a picture.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_02: And something happens as the thoughts go from your head through your arm down to that paper, through the pencil, where just by putting things on a page, you can gain a lot of clarity.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: So give yourself 10 minutes to brainstorm and just do a download of what comes to mind when you ask yourself what's important.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: From there, you can look at it and ask yourself, what is the next one thing I can do now that will move me forward towards achieving my dreams?
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: And there you have it.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: No, I love that.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate that advice.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, what's next for Beverly Coaching?
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what should people be excited about for in the near future?
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_02: I am really excited that in early March I'm going to California to get a certification in group Enneagram coaching.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: I'm already an individual Enneagram practitioner, but this is taking it to the next step where I will be able to offer this to management teams.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_02: So after I come back, I will be looking for management teams to put this into action.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: So if there are any teams out there who would love to do a group Enneagram exercise, I guarantee there are going to be so many insights and how you show up and work together that can help you perform better as a team.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm very excited about that.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, perfect.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: So, and you know, finally, what's what's the best way for someone to connect with you or or contact you and to learn more about what you do or what you got going on?
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_02: You can find me on LinkedIn.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_02: It's Beverly Jarenko, J-U-R-U-R-U-E-R- R-E-N-K-O.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: It's Beverly like Beverly Hills.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: And you can also find me on my website www.beverlycoaching.com because I'm Beverly and I offer coaching.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_02: So why not Beverly Coaching?
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_02: And you can find me on Instagram in the same handle.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_02: I offer a free 30-minute initial meeting with anybody who'd be interested in talking about what's coming up to see if it might be a good fit to work together with me as your executive coach.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you so much, Beverly.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this has been fantastic.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you so much for sharing your story, your perspective, and the real behind the scenes of building your business.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh really appreciate everything you're doing for the community and wish you continued success.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's been a pleasure.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you.