IAM014 – Co-Founder & Social Entrepreneur Helps People Volunteer with Animals Around the World

Nora is a co-founder and CEO of Animal Experience International, a social enterprise and certified B Corp that helps people volunteer with animals around the world.

• CEO Hack: Start with Why Simon Sinek
• CEO Nugget: Be authentic
• CEO Redefined: Celebrating in everything. Controlling the legacy. #CEOLife

Website: https://www.animalexperienceinternational.com
Store: https://www.animalexperienceinternational.com/store/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/noralivingstone
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/animalexperienceinternational/

Transcription:

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place, Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I am CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:27

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I am CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today, I have Nora Livingstone of Animal Experience International. Nora, it's awesome to have you on the show today.

Nora Livingstone 0:39

Hi, thanks so much. It's great to be here.

Gresham Harkless 0:40

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, what I wanted to do was just read a little bit about Nora so you can hear about some of the awesome things that she's doing. And Nora is a co-founder and CEO of Animal Experience International. And that's a social enterprise and certified B Corp that helps people volunteer with animals around the world. So Nora, are you ready to speak to the I am CEO community?

Nora Livingstone 1:01

Absolutely, I am.

Gresham Harkless 1:02

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, the first question I usually have is just kind of give you the mic so to speak and ask if you can tell us your CEO story. What's your background? And what led you to start your business?

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Nora Livingstone 1:12

Yeah, well, I'm an accidental CEO, I sort of fell into it. I was, wow, a number of years ago, I found myself volunteering with a bunch of different animal organizations and Latin America, and then Asia, and then became a volunteer coordinator in a wildlife center in Canada. That's where I met my business partner. And I thought I would do volunteer coordination forever. And after a little bit, it just didn't, didn't really fit anymore, and left. And then a few years after that, she literally pitched the idea of AEI to me, and said, hey, you are a professional, volunteer coordinator. I'm a veterinarian, why don't we start a business? And I said, yeah, I mean, how hard can a business be? That will totally be easy.

You know, we did see, we saw a sort of like this massive hole that community-run animal programs really needed to have great volunteers that were set up for success and wanted to help but didn't know how to find them. And then, you know, on the flip side, there were tons of people that wanted to volunteer in animal programs that were ethical and real and safe but didn't know how to find them. So, we decided to do a kind of play the matchmaker game, which means I'm a professional matchmaker and volunteer coordinator and CEO, obviously,

Gresham Harkless 2:39

That's awesome. That's awesome. Like how you would kind of hold those different things ahead. But I love the fact that you guys were able to kind of see like an opportunity and see like something maybe wasn't done as efficiently as it could be, you were able to kind of step in fulfilling that void. So I think that's kudos to you and your co-founder for being able to do that. So I wanted to ask you, I guess a little bit more about like, what exactly do you guys do at AEI?

Nora Livingstone 3:02

Yeah, so, so what we do is, there are so many things, so there's only two of us, which means we do, we do a lot of learning into how to, how to run a business. But basically, as I said, it's sort of like a matchmaker program. So I go to all the programs. First, I make sure that like I said before, I'll say this a million times, though, to stress that they're, they're always safe, they're always ethical, they're always community-based, but we go there, and we build relationships with the programs. So we make sure there's an established volunteer program, we see what it would look like to live in the field at local hospitals with local families, and we set up an entire program. And then when we come back, those are the established programs that we send volunteers to. So that's one side of it, setting up the program, international volunteer programs with animals, but then the other side of it is the recruitment of volunteers.

So it's doing all the marketing that goes into, you know, having volunteers or people that want to volunteer and know that we exist, getting them to volunteer, we get everyone to sit down and have some type of Skype or phone interview so we can make sure that expectations are the same make sure we set them up for success. And also just make sure we are both kinds of on the same page. So they know what they're doing there, how to live in certain countries. And then they can ask any questions they have. We have a lot of people, this is the first time leaving the country. It's our first time volunteering. So it is a lot about not really coddling per se but just about really making sure people are comfortable and confident when they go away and yes, setting them on their way. So primarily it's individuals who volunteer, we've had this year, we'll have our 600 volunteers, go away and come back in one piece which is nice, but it is you know, it's professional volunteer coordination while also the marketing to get those volunteers the, the ongoing relationships with the placement partners and just trying to make sure everything, everything works as well as it can for an international trip.

Gresham Harkless 5:09

No, that's awesome. And yeah, I know, there's a lot of obviously a lot of moving parts that people probably don't, you know, take into account, but congratulations on the 600th person. That's, that's awesome. And just, you know, you guys have been able to kind of know that there's a lot of people that want to volunteer, but sometimes they can't find the opportunities and sometimes people have volunteer opportunities but don't know necessarily, how to let people know about them. So that you being a matchmaker and you guys being that, matchmakers are doing awesome things.

Nora Livingstone 5:40

Oh, thank you. I'm nodding my head and thanking you.

Gresham Harkless 5:43

I love it. I love it. I love it. So I guess my upcoming question now is just like, what do you guys feel makes you unique?

Nora Livingstone 5:50

Yeah, I think our unique selling point I would say is that you know, we're the only social enterprise that works specifically and like strictly only with animals. You know, my background is in volunteer coordination. And then, well, my business partner, Dr. Heather is called Dr. Heather, because she's a veterinarian. And so it does mean that my background and her background is this perfect kind of business marriage that shows it isn't with massive air quotes. It isn't just about a safe and ethical well-managed trip, it's also about a trip that is safe and ethical for the animals, you know, we can provide, you know, we can really provide. I'm trying to not say safe, and unethical so many times. But we can make sure that the program is perfect for all the parties involved. And then looking at us being a registered social enterprise, and then a certified B Corp, you know, looking at all those metrics, it really does show off that, that we have been able to really think about the community, the planet, or the people volunteering and everyone involved.

Gresham Harkless 6:59

Yeah, that makes sense. Because, especially with you having so many different stakeholders, and of course, obviously, you know, the animals are at the forefront, making sure that everybody is on the same page and has the same information, has the same expectations is very important to kind of do all that. So you guys are doing an awesome job of doing that.

Nora Livingstone

Thank you.

Gresham Harkless

You're welcome. And the next question I have is what I call a CEO hack, which might be a book or an app or just something that you find is, one of your favorite or most go to type of resources that you do on a daily basis that helps you be more efficient and effective as a CEO. So do you have a CEO hack you can share with us?

Nora Livingstone 7:34

Absolutely. Early on, in the game, when I realized I was a CEO, and I didn't know what I was doing. And I was furiously reading a whole bunch of different, different business books and being really confused about what I was doing and why I was doing it. I did read Start With Why by Simon Sinek. And I loved it. Because it really does boil everything down to get started a business for sure. And you know, it is, this my only job. So I do want it to be successful financially. So I can pay off my student loans, my groceries, and things like that. But it is looking at success and how it's not, how the metric of success is different for everyone.

You know, society will tell you that success looks this way. And, your parents will tell you one thing, but this book really gets to the nitty gritty of why you're doing it. And I think every single day, not just at the end of fiscal or not just at the end of a month, if you really look at why you're doing it and make sure that you have been successful that day for your why is really, really important. Because not every day, I'm going to talk to a client and not every day, I'm going to have a client come back and have like a really great conversation about this amazing program they did, there'll be days that I'm just kind of like slogging away at marketing or, you know, building the website. And so if I just keep on remembering why I'm doing this, you know, for the animals for these new travelers, for these local communities, then, you know, every day successful, which makes it a nicer, nicer day to swallow when it's a little more of a lonely day.

Gresham Harkless 9:15

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And you can't see me but I'm emphatically shaking my head as well too because it's definitely a roller coaster ride. So being able to put, our put everything in perspective and say, okay, this was a bad day. But I still get to do this little small nugget that helps me to do what my exact why is. So I think that's a phenomenal kind of CEO hack. And so now I wanted to ask you, which asks you for a CEO nugget since I know you read all those books and have been experiencing and running your business. Do you have like a word of wisdom that you yourself would give to us as CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business owners?

Nora Livingstone 9:48

Yeah, you know, I would say and it's a little bit ironic, but I would say to just really think about being authentic, and I know that authentic is kind of like a buzzword right now, but I would say the fewer buzzwords you use, and the more you are actually you, the happier you are going to be because you're going to be your true self. But the more people around, you are going to be happier to help, happier to be clients want to buy your product or your engagement, your service, you know, there's like two people on the planet that know what they're doing. And the rest of us are totally pretending.

And I think when you are authentic with yourself, and with people around you, that gives permission for other people to be themselves, you know, and not get drawn into business, you can peacocking and, and things like that. Because at the end of the day, if all we do is business-speak, then that's when we become faceless CEOs of faceless corporations. And, you know, that's, that's not why I got into it. And I'm sure that's not why most people get into it, you know, we believe in what we're doing. And if, if we believe in what we're doing, and we let other people believe, and we're ourselves and other people want to help, you know, they want to help people with faces, not faceless CEOs, I guess. And so yeah, the nugget would be just, you know, ask for help, be yourself. And you've helped other people as well because we're, we're all making it up.

Gresham Harkless 11:17

No, it's very true. Like, I think that there is no script to running a business and being a CEO, even though you know, we learn and we read about people that have been successful, often things change, and they change sometimes very rapidly. So sometimes you are just kind of learning, and you're going through the ups and downs, and you're not, and you have your insecurities, or being unsure. So being able to be authentic, and say, you know, hey, I'm going through this struggle, sometimes that is a way that you can attract the right people in your life more than anything else.

Nora Livingstone 11:46

Yeah, absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 11:46

Awesome, awesome, awesome. So I know, we're gonna have like a different range of CEOs on this podcast. So what we're really hoping to do is trying to redefine, like, what it means to be a CEO. So I wanted to ask you very specifically, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Nora Livingstone 12:01

You know, I think being a CEO means, you know, like, celebrating all the successes that a company has, but also learning from all the mistakes, and learning from things that happen. But I would say, the sort of most important thing about seeing a CEO is that, is controlling the legacy. You know, there's with AEI specifically, there are no programs that we have like an asterisk beside, we whole-heartedly support all of our partners, we whole-heartedly support all of our clients, anytime they go away, we want to help them out for the whole trip, we want to make sure all the programs are awesome all the time. And I think being a CEO means you don't have to make excuses. There's not like an oh, I don't want to do this.

But my boss over here is making me have this phone call, you yourself get to read and write everything that you ever wanted to be about a boss about a business, about everything. And it also means that you can, you get to control any negativity or anything that's around, I'm thinking specifically about social media, you know, we're a company. So anytime someone writes something that is, like outwardly negative, or talking about animal abuse, or talking about, you know, something negative about our clients, I get to immediately just shut it down online, which I really, really like. And that is like the true sort of like, hashtag CEO life is saying like, nope, there are no trolls allowed. This is what we're doing. Here, we are. We love our clients, love animals, and love what we're doing. And I don't have to, I don't have to have a bunch of nonsense around me.

Gresham Harkless 12:02

No, that makes perfect sense. And you said, yeah, controlling the legacy? Is that what you said?

Nora Livingstone 13:47

Yeah, yeah.

Gresham Harkless 13:49

That's very powerful. Because it puts everything in perspective as well too, for yourself, but also for your company, as well. So Nora, I truly appreciate you taking some time out of your schedule. What I wanted to do was pass you the mic, so to speak for one last time to see if there was anything additional, you wanted to kind of tell our readers or listeners about AEI? or even about business in general.

Nora Livingstone 14:10

Yeah, I would say, well, obviously, check us out online, animal experienceinternational.com It is a mouthful. But once you get there, it's great. You know, I would just say again, like we, we do this because we love it. And you know, I said I'm an accidental CEO, and I'm, I hope others can be too. Because, yeah, you know, the reason we're here is we love what we do. We want other people to love what we do. So if anyone has any questions for me about AEI, about what I do, or how they can get involved, I would certainly super, sincerely love to have a chat with them. So they should definitely contact me.

Gresham Harkless 14:51

Sounds good. Sounds good. And the best way for them to contact you is to go to the website.

Nora Livingstone 14:55

Absolutely. Yeah.

Gresham Harkless 14:57

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, Nora, thank you. So much for you know, all you're doing taking time out of your schedule, but all the awesome things that you're doing for you know, everybody that's volunteering, but also for the animals themselves. So I truly appreciate you know, all the great things you're doing for the world.

Nora Livingstone 15:11

Oh, thank you so much. This was a lot of fun. Thank you so much for having me on.

Gresham Harkless 15:15

No problem. Have a good rest of the day.

Nora Livingstone 15:17

You too. Take care.

Outro 15:18

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I am CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating, grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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