IAM406- Business Advisor and Trainer Helps Clients Be More Productive and Profitable

Diane is a business advisor and trainer focusing on helping small business owners and sales professionals succeed. As the founder of Seize This Day, she works with her clients to be more productive and profitable. She is the author of Lemonade Stand Selling, Expert Insights, and the upcoming Succeed Without “Selling.” Diane is also the host of the Accelerate Your Business Growth podcast, seen on Forbes and Inc as one of the best podcasts for small business.

• CEO Hack: Gratitude journal on most mornings
• CEO Nugget: It takes patience for people to realize your value
• CEO Defined: Empowering other people so we're all successful

Website: http://www.seizethisday.co/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dhelbig
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/seizethisgrowth
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/seizethisgrowth
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/seizethisgrowth

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dhelbig
https://eliteexpertsvideonetwork.com/Expert/business-expert-diane-helbig/

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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 0:30

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 Diane Helbig of Seize this Day, Diane, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Diane Helbig 0:39

It's awesome to be on the show. Thanks for having me.

Gresham Harkless 0:41

No problem. Super excited to have you on and what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Diane, so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Diane is a business advisor and trainer focusing on helping small business owners and sales professionals succeed. As the founder of Seize This Day, she works with her clients to be more productive and profitable. She is the author of Lemonade Stand Selling, Expert Insights, and the upcoming Succeed Without “Selling.” Diane is also the host of the Accelerate Your Business Growth podcast, seen on Forbes and Inc as one of the best podcasts for small businesses. Diane, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

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Diane Helbig 1:23

Yes, I am

Gresham Harkless 1:25

Awesome. Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I want to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. And what led you to get started with your business?

Diane Helbig 1:32

Okay, thank you. So back in 2005, late 2005 had a sort of life-changing moment when my father passed away and it was a turning point for me, I thought, I want to be doing something that is more impactful to the universe. My sister told me I should be a marriage counselor, my best friend said I should be a life coach. And when I researched everything and took a look at everything I realised I should be a business coach because that's what I know. That's what I do. That's what I'm passionate about. So I just got on the train and learned how to be a coach and talk to the people I worked for and changed my relationship with them. So I could still be bringing in revenue while I was launching my business. And as they say, the rest is history here.

Gresham Harkless 2:20

I am very glad to hear you are there. That's so obviously sorry to hear about your father passing away. But definitely, I know that running a business can seem like a marriage counselor, life coach, and so many other business, things that you need at your disposal to get the ball rolling, so to speak. So I wanted to hear a little bit more about what you do to kind of help support the clients that you work with. Could you break down exactly what you do? And of course, a little bit more about your podcasts as well, too.

Diane Helbig 2:51

Oh, certainly. Thank you. So I work, usually one-on-one with a small business owner or with their leadership team, doing strategic planning, helping them figure out really where it is they want to go, what's getting in the way of them going there. And then based on who they are set up processes and systems like a plan so that they can get there. Sometimes that means creating a sales strategy. Sometimes systems within the business hiring and re-organizing who's doing what it depends on can change over time as I'm working with them. And then I just stay with them while they're going through that. So it's like that trusted advisor, helps you answer the questions that you don't necessarily have the answers to and they do training.

So the training I do is really with any level of employee in any sort of company in any industry, around sales, leadership, customer service, time management, but those are my heavy hitter ones, just to help them develop tools that they can use so that they can be more effective and happier and whatever their role is. So that's what I do during the day. And then I have my podcast that I've had for think 10 years nice or lost track somewhere along the line.

I interview people from all over the world who have expertise in certain areas of business, and they share that expertise with the listeners, everything from taxes to sales to exit strategy, just you name it. And I'm really lucky, I would say it's turned into this really great thing. I get to talk to incredible people daily. So I get to learn to that's the cool thing. I don't have to listen to other podcasts. I get to listen to these folks.

Gresham Harkless 4:50

Telling my secrets.

Diane Helbig 4:53

I won't tell anybody. And so it's cool. I like it. It's been a lot of fun.

Gresham Harkless 4:59

Nice Well, I definitely appreciate that especially that you hit on those essential aspects of business. Because I think people always say sales is the lifeblood of business. But once you get those sales, you have to make sure your customers are happy. So customer service is huge. And as you manage your team, you have to make sure you have those leadership skills, too. So it's kind of like if any of those wheels fall off, you're gonna be in trouble.

Diane Helbig 5:21

Yeah, yeah, really, it's the other legs of the stool, and we can't really be successful if one of them is shaky. Right? It really does. It really is about the whole system.

Gresham Harkless 5:30

Yeah, that makes sense. And do you find that because I think that as business owners, we're so close to what we're doing on a day-to-day basis, and the business itself that sometimes we need to either bounce ideas off of somebody or have that different perspective so that we can see the forest for the trees, I guess you can say,

Diane Helbig 5:50

Yeah, I do. What I find so often as my clients feel like they're the only ones having this problem, even though everyone I talked to has the exact same problems and challenges. They feel like they've tried different things, and nothing's working. And so they really are at a loss.

And they being able just to hear things from someone, it could be what they were thinking it gives them validation, or maybe it's a whole new idea they could never think of before because as you said, you're still in it on a daily basis, you can't really see it as a whole. So it's great to bring somebody in from the outside who can look at it from different angles and say, Well, have you thought about this? Or this is what I see. Right? Just gives you a whole other way of looking at your business.

Gresham Harkless 6:32

Yeah, absolutely. Especially, somebody that has your expertise as well, too, because you have worked with other businesses. So you do know that, hey, you're not the only person even though when we're in the midst of crisis, sometimes we do feel like, we're the only person that's going through it.

Diane Helbig 6:47

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 6:49

Nice. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce, and this could be for you or for your organization, but what do you feel sets you apart and makes you unique?

Diane Helbig 6:58

So I have a saying, I can only live in reality, won't you join me here? And I say, to all of my clients, I often say that when I'm training, because wishing is great. And we are where we are. And our reality is what it is. And if we don't, if we are honest with ourselves about this is my life. These are my struggles. These are my opportunities, whatever it is, we end up sort of in a hamster wheel that doesn't get us anywhere.

So I think my secret sauce is that I am your raving fan, and I am also your mom, like, I'm going to tell you that outfit looks terrible on you. Because I know what's best for you. I always have your best interests in mind. And sometimes you need to hear these things. And at the same time, I'm really optimistic. I mean, I'm one of the most optimistic people on the planet. I think anything's possible, if we're just willing to dig in and find the answer.

Gresham Harkless 8:07

Yeah, I think that's huge. And I definitely appreciate that perspective. You can always appreciate Mom's perspective because she's always right. And that's for my mom's profession, specifically. But exactly how to get points as I can. But the really big thing is just to understand, I think sometimes people get frustrated because they're not exactly who or where they want to be. But I think a lot of times, you have to really say, Okay, this is where I am. This is exactly who I am, what my strengths and weaknesses are, and this is how I need to get to where I want to be. And it doesn't necessarily mean you're not being optimistic. It just says This is what I'm working with. This is how I can get to where I need to be. Right,

Diane Helbig 8:45

Right. And real pragmatic, right? Because so if I use myself as an example, there are sure things I wish I could do that I wish I was good at. I'm not. And I can decide, do I want to spend all my time trying to be good at it? Or do I want to find someone else who's good at it? And do I want to do the things that I can excel at? Well, it's the latter, I want to be happy, right? Because then that leads to more success.

And sometimes I think that's part of the reason why people hire someone like me, it's not to pat them on the back and go, you're doing a great job. We're doing a great job, part of it. But it's also to say, Have you thought about this? Have you thought about that? Maybe if you communicated this way? You'd get a different result? Let me tell you what I'm hearing and what I'm seeing. It's just my clients are gonna do whatever they're gonna do their decisions are theirs. Just give them another way of looking at things, I guess.

Gresham Harkless 9:37

Yeah, absolutely. And I think what you spoke to before is that validation as well, too, because I think a lot of times running a business can be super lonely, super scary at times because you don't know if you're making the right decision or the wrong decision, even though we're making like 100 decisions, he seems to like, but at the same time, if you're able to bounce those ideas off of somebody, sometimes it's just to have that list. Something here, which goes so much farther than anything else. But also to have that expertise and perspective you bring as well to it's definitely an awesome add-on.

Diane Helbig 10:08

Yeah, thanks.

Gresham Harkless 10:11

Well, I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this could be an app, a book, or a habit that you have. But it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Diane Helbig 10:22

I do a gratitude journal. I try and do it every day, I have to be honest, I don't do it every day. But I'm pretty good about it. And I try and do it in the morning. So I can get my day started out, right? And I write down three to five things that I'm grateful for, whether they've happened or not as if they are a thing. And it just puts my focus and my energy in a place that is so forward-moving. That's where I get a lot of my energy to really tick things off the list and get things done.

Gresham Harkless 10:56

I absolutely love that. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice. Or if you can happen to a time machine. What would you tell your younger business self?

Diane Helbig 11:08

Wow, okay, well, so my nugget is you can do anything you want to do. You just can't do it all at the same time. So because as business owners and entrepreneurs, we have a bad habit of, oh, I want to do that. Well, that sounds good. It's interesting. Are you kidding? I'm jumping on that. Okay, now I quit that website. Right, we just didn't take a breath. Now. I'll get it done, but not all at the same time. So we just have to say, What's a priority, I'll do these things now.

So that I can get there. And I find myself not only reminding myself of that but reminding clients of that a lot. That's not necessarily what I would tell my younger self, I think I would tell my younger self to be patient because other people have to have the opportunity to realize your value. And it's going to take them longer than it took you. Right, like I know my value, but other people need, you just gotta be patient.

Gresham Harkless 12:09

Yeah, well, I love both of those aspects. And especially because they aligned just as far as understanding the process that it takes to build an empire as we're all trying when not all but a lot of us are trying to do it in 30 days or less. And then also just understanding that it's also a process for people to realize how great you are, and how great the things that you're building and creating are that for the world to find that out. So it takes time. It is a process to do both of those.

Diane Helbig 12:39

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Because it's like you said, we think we're gonna put it out there and instantly we're gonna be on Forbes, it's just not true.

Gresham Harkless 12:45

Yes. Yes. The overnight success is not true at all.

Diane Helbig 12:51

Exactly.

Gresham Harkless 12:52

That it took 10 years to do that, right?

Diane Helbig 12:55

Yeah, that's right.

Gresham Harkless 12:57

Well, now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote-unquote, CEOs on the show. So Diane, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Diane Helbig 13:08

Okay, to me, what a CEO means is someone who is empowering other people to be successful, so that the collective is successful, so that the company is successful, and we are all successful. And I think a good CEO is someone who embraces the idea that they do not have to know everything, they do not have to do everything, that really their job is to listen to other people and build them up.

Gresham Harkless 13:43

I love it. I love that perspective. Because I think a lot of times when you have an organization or you're building a team, there are so many different stakeholders, and just understanding again, the forest for the trees and understanding like this is what will help the collective grow in the organization, the stakeholders, just so many different pieces that are involved, understanding what that looks like.

Diane Helbig 14:05

Yeah, yeah.

Gresham Harkless 14:07

Nice. Well, Diane, I truly appreciate your time and all the awesome things that you're doing. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you can let our readers and listeners know. And then of course, how best people can get a hold of you.

Diane Helbig 14:20

So thank you for this. I love this format that you have, I think this is really fun. I would say I am happy to offer a 30-minute complimentary phone consultation to anyone who wants to talk about any business issue. We'll beat it up in 30 minutes, we'll try and give you a way to go. No obligation beyond that. And so folks can go to my website at seizethisday.co and sign up for it and they can sign up for my newsletter if they want to keep an eye out for my new book that's going to be coming out soon. And thanks for the opportunity.

Gresham Harkless 14:57

No problem. Thank you so much for your time. podcast information is also on there as well, too.

Diane Helbig 15:02

Yes, it is. Thank you for that.

Gresham Harkless 15:05

Yes, no problem. Okay, perfect. So we'll make sure to have that link and that information in the show notes as well so that everybody can follow up with you and see all the awesome things you're doing, of course, that upcoming book which is coming out, but Diane, I appreciate your time all the awesome things you're doing and thank you and I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Diane Helbig 15:20

Thanks, you too.

Outro 15:22

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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