IAM843- Founder Helps Clients Build Relationships Through Social Media
Podcast Interview with Lisa Nicholls
Lisa Nicholls is a consummate networker and community builder who intuitively understands how to form genuine connections with people in real life and online. After a career holding customer-focused positions across a variety of industries, in 2009 Lisa founded Tira! Strategies, a consultancy dedicated to helping small business owners navigate the complex and dynamic world of social media. Lisa leverages her deep expertise in relationship building and communications to help her clients form meaningful relationships with customers online, building communities of loyal and devoted customers.
- CEO Hack: The Promodoro Technique to be more productive
- CEO Nugget: Find the people that support you in business and personal life
- CEO Defined: Autonomy to make decisions and be the leader I want
Website: http://tirastrategies.com/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theengagingentrepreneur
Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/tirastrategies
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisaanicholls/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaanicholls/
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Full Interview:
Transcription
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00:02 – Intro
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.
00:30 – Gresham Harkless
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 Lisa Nichols of Tierra Strategies. Lisa, it's awesome having you on the show.
00:39 – Lisa Nicholls
Hi, thank you. I'm excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me. And yeah, this is gonna be fun.
00:44 – Gresham Harkless
No problem. Super excited to have you on as well too. And before we jump in, I want to read a little bit more about Lisa so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Lisa is a consummate networker and community builder who intuitively understands how to form genuine connections with people in real life and online. After a career holding customer-focused positions across a variety of industries, in 2009, Lisa founded Terra Strategies, a consultancy dedicated to helping small business owners navigate the complex and dynamic world of social media. Lisa leverages her deep expertise in relationship building and communications to help her clients form meaningful relationships with customers online, building communities of loyal and devoted customers. Lisa, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?
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01:28 – Lisa Nicholls
I am so ready, yes.
01:29 – Gresham Harkless
Let's do it. All right. So to kick everything off, I wanted to, I guess, kind of start in the beginning. Could you take us through your CEO story? What led you to get started with your business?
01:38 – Lisa Nicholls
Sure. You know, to make this brief, because it's a longer story, but 10 years ago, Facebook wasn't as huge as it is now. And I was actually working at a local newspaper and we were doing some social media campaigns on behalf of our clients. And when the paper decided to close, as many of newspapers have gone that way, I was trying to figure out what to do and I loved that job so much. So I was looking around and realized that I couldn't find anything I loved as much and decided I would just open my own company and help businesses with social media because they didn't know how to use it and I did. And back then you could put up a Facebook page and people followed you like that because oh my gosh it's so new and it's so different now it's amazing. So 10 years later you know I just made the business go in a few different directions but I really I realized that I love to focus on social media and so that's where I really have all of my time focused on social media and helping people create a social media presence that really draws clients to them.
02:32 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, that makes so much sense and is definitely so powerful. And it's funny you said that because 1 of my last jobs is I worked with Patch and there were a lot of people who were former Patchers that actually went into a lot of digital marketing And a lot of it is because, and definitely correctly, if you find the same thing, where a lot of it's a lot more, obviously a lot of the skills are transferable, but also that story piece is so important. So when you have somebody that has that background and is able to showcase you in the best light, it really goes to another level.
02:59 – Lisa Nicholls
It does. And so funny, small world about that, but my boss who owned the newspaper actually went to work for the Reston Patch for a while and so I was pretty and 1 of our reporters went there too so yeah I was pretty tied into Patch when it was going on also.
03:12 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah absolutely yeah it's a super small world I know that a lot of people yeah end up transferring into different types of digital marketing spheres. And I know it's, you can rub shoulders with a lot of people that are former Patrick's, it seems, or in the industry. Absolutely. Awesome, so I know you touched on it a little bit about your business and how you serve your clients. Could you drill down a little bit deeper and let us know a little bit about that experience and how you set the clients you work with?
03:36 – Lisa Nicholls
Sure. So most of my clients I have, I do social media management where it's really just done for them. I go in, look at what they've got going on now, look at their platforms they're on, their content, and create a strategy based on what they want to get out to the world about their business and what the world wants to hear about them, from them about their business. And then we implement it. So we create content, we create graphics, and we start putting content out there and monitor it, engage it, create engagement among other businesses, and other people, and do that. So it's really designed to boost their visibility in front of their target audience.
But I also sometimes will go into companies, larger companies, and just create a strategy for 3 to 6 months. And then they have people who implement that and then I also do workshops about social media which I love doing because puts me in front of an audience with a microphone and I am just golden so I'll do workshops and speaking engagements and those are the big things that I do for clients and you know it's just so much fun. I love being able to look at what they've got going on with social media and create and make corrections that work. Because when you really look at it, a lot of people are doing the same things wrong over and over again. And so it's not, it's just taking the best practices and shifting their focus.
04:51 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, absolutely. And I love its music, the word visibility is always music to my ears, because I think so many times, and I'm sure you experienced this as well too, is a lot of times clients and people have really phenomenal products and services or things that they're doing, but they can't get it out to as many people and being able to understand the nuances. I love how you have a different approach to being able to help serve clients because I think that being able to get your name, your business, what you stand for, and all those things around your story out to the world is such a huge thing that people need to take advantage of.
05:21 – Lisa Nicholls
Yeah, and that's a good point that you bring up too. I always say that more people would buy our stuff if they knew what we did so what I have to do is help people see what other businesses do so they buy their stuff. Like people just don't understand it. And I love to take businesses that have kind of a weird thing that nobody gets and make that into something that the average person would understand. So yeah, that is just, I think the commonality among a lot of businesses, the more people who know what you do, the more they're likely to buy from you.
05:47 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, absolutely. I can't, I can't tell you the number of times I've heard entrepreneurs and business owners say, Oh, I didn't know you existed. I wish I knew that you were around. And a lot of that is because maybe they need a little boost in your social media strategy so that people know exactly what you do and how you do it so well.
06:01 – Lisa Nicholls
I didn't know you did that.
06:04 – Gresham Harkless
Why did you tell me that? I'm your best friend. I thought you did.
06:08 – Lisa Nicholls
Only on my website. I post about it all the time. But okay, nobody knows.
06:12 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, absolutely. But it's so important to kind of be where the people are. So that's why I love, you know, everything that you do, you help people to kind of understand that and understand how best to kind of leverage that. So what do you consider to be what I call your secret sauce or the thing you feel kind of sets you apart or your organization and makes you unique?
06:28 – Lisa Nicholls
Yeah, I think I have 2 things that set me apart. First of all, I think I'm really good at going into a business and taking this weird thing they do and making it palatable so that their audience really is interested in it. So a lot of my businesses have services or products that are really not normal, you know, And so it's hard for people to understand what it is, and it's hard to translate it to social media. And I think what I do well is go in and say, okay, well, we can't post about your thing that you sell all the time, because people would be turned off and that would get boring, but we can post about these other things that relate to your business and help them understand more about what you do. And I think I'm really good at that and I think I'm really good at building a community rather than just followers. So we don't, we focus on engagement, but we focus on getting people invested in what you sell rather than just liking it. So we create, for lack of a better word, brand loyalists and evangelicals about your brand so that they really just are gung ho and 100% behind you.
07:22 – Gresham Harkless
I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an Apple book or a habit that you have, But what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?
07:32 – Lisa Nicholls
There are a couple of things when we talked about this. I thought okay, what is it? So my top thing is a Pomodoro technique. I tend to leave to my own devices and go to the work that I like doing the most so excuse me I would end up spending hours creating graphics in Canva or, you know, doing fun stuff and letting all the other stuff slide. But with Pomodoros, it's a technique where you put a task in a 25-minute block and set a timer. When that time is up, you're done with that part of the task and you have a five-minute break and move on to something else. So now I just put all of my weekly tasks into Pomodoros throughout my week, and I tackle them. So the stuff that I hate doing, I put in there, and I can do anything for 25 minutes. So it just makes me a lot more productive every day, every week, every month. And because I can put my long-term goals and the things I need to do for planning in there, then it helps me make the time to plan and to have goals because, without goals, you've got nothing without working towards your goals. So, Pomodoros has been life-changing for me. They are amazing.
08:30 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, absolutely. I don't think I've heard of pomodores. I feel like I've heard the word but I didn't really understand exactly what it is. Is it like an app or is it something that is just a practice or something you do on a regular basis?
08:39 – Lisa Nicholls
Yeah, it's a technique. So, Pomodoro actually is a sauce, right? It's spaghetti sauce.
08:42 – Gresham Harkless
Okay, maybe that's what I heard about.
08:43 – Lisa Nicholls
Yeah, but beyond that, yeah, probably.
08:44 – Gresham Harkless
That's probably why.
08:45 – Lisa Nicholls
Yeah, but if you look at the Pomodoro technique, and I don't remember the person who created it, it's not anything you can buy. I don't think you're, you know, it's just a technique to do your time block. So they may have built it up to do tasks, but I, you know, I just use it the way it is. And so sometimes I'll put things in 2 Pomodoro blocks, like 2 15 15-minute blocks if it's a bigger task. But again, it's just that productivity for me is so much better. I'm just not a, I don't know, I think
09:08 – Lisa Nicholls
I have trouble focusing on things. So this just really helps me knock out my work, make sure my clients are happy, do my long-term planning, do my short-term planning, and get everything done. And it also helps me with my family life. So before this I was bleeding into the evenings and my son was upset with me. And so now I actually have it like at 05:00, start dinner, you know, or, you know, I'm working till 4, I'm working till 6, and then I put it away. So it's been super helpful.
09:33 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, absolutely and I feel like there's a lot of power for I feel like there are even studies that say when you start to say I'm going to do this in this amount of time you start to figure out or you become superhuman and you get it done and that's that amount of time And I think so many times if we're like, oh, I need to get this done by the end of the day, then it starts to take the entire day. But the amount of time that you have, those constraints allow you to really figure out how to make things happen.
09:56 – Lisa Nicholls
Yeah, I think that's exactly, you're correct. Yes, yes. Yeah, I've had tasks that could be done in an hour and the day later, I'm looking at it going, I really spent 8 hours, how did I spend 8 hours? Well, I checked my email and I did this and I did that. So yeah, it just helps me be much more productive. So that is my big, big hack as a CEO.
10:14 – Gresham Harkless
I absolutely love that. I'm glad to hear I'm also not the only 1 as well too. So that helps me feel a lot better. And so now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something you would tell a client or if you happen to be a time machine you might tell your younger business self.
10:31 – Lisa Nicholls
So there again are a bunch of them, but I think for me, my big thing is to find your tribe and hold on to them. And I think we use the word tribe a lot in terms of the relationships we build, but I think having been in business for 10 years and over the years, just having friends come and go, I think finding those people that support you no matter what both in business and in your personal life are it's just crucial to being a successful business person. The ones who share your values, the ones who you know when you have a bad day you can go crying too and they lift you up and just I think it makes all the difference in the world to have that amazing support network and I will, there are days when I will just, I have a gratitude journal and I'll sit back and be grateful for the people that are in my tribe, for my people, for my sisters in my business organization. I just am so grateful for the people who are in my life because they are so high quality and it takes a long time to develop those relationships and they tend to happen naturally, but just find your tribe and hold on to them and you know, you And be a good supporting person and friend to them also.
11:37 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that goes so deep because I think so many times in business, we talk a lot about numbers and strategy and goals and all those things, of course, they're of extreme importance, but we so many times forget about that human aspect of business and being able to have that tribe that you spoke to because a lot of times, if you're not, I guess, whole or at least supported from a relationship standpoint, or you don't feel your cup is full, so many times that fills into, you know, your clients and fills in the work that you're doing, you're not always showing up as your best self. So having and finding that drive of those people that you can kind of lean on or talk to or just, you know, express anything with allows you that opportunity to show up in your best self in so many different other ways.
12:17 – Lisa Nicholls
It does and I think it helps you grow your business and make it through, you know, as a business owner the tough times and then the resources are amazing. I can always look to somebody who I know for something that I need or you know it's just gosh it makes all the difference in the world for me.
12:31 – Gresham Harkless:
Yeah, absolutely. Success is a team sport they say, so you want to make sure you have the right team and tribe in place. And so now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question. What should the definition of what it means to be a CEO? And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So Lisa, what does being a CEO mean to you?
12:47 – Lisa Nicholls
So I love this question. And again, had to give a lot of thought to it. But I think for me, I really subscribe to the idea of servant leadership. And similar to many of the organizations I volunteer my time to, where I am a leader to help others. And So as a CEO, that carries through everything I do. I can choose to use my time as a business owner to help other businesses in any way that I want, whether it's to volunteer, whether it's to offer products, whether it's to support them through low-cost offerings. So I just love that for me, it allows me the freedom to run my business the way I want to be the kind of leader I want that can help other people. And so that is everything I carry through into my Facebook group, into my business, into the volunteer work I do. So yeah, it's just the autonomy to make the decisions and to be the kind of leader that I feel like I want and I want in my business.
13:41 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, that's so powerful. And so many times I say like a lot of times being a quote-unquote CEO means, you know, being like an artist and you get to really paint a picture on the canvas that you want, you get to be the leader, you get to be the change, you know, you hope to see in the world. And I love that just because so many times we forget, I guess, the autonomy and even the power we have in order to write that and create that. But I love that definition just because it hits home directly to that and also the direct effects of sometimes us being and serving on a really high level can have on the world.
14:11 – Lisa Nicholls
Very true, yeah, yeah.
14:13 – Gresham Harkless
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. Well, Lisa, truly appreciate that definition. I appreciate your time even more. 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 of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.
14:28 – Lisa Nicholls
Sure, I always love to, It's so funny because when I talk about social media, I think, and I'm gonna give you guys a little bit of tip wisdom from me who's been in it for a while. But I think that the 2 top things to be on social media are authentic and consistent. And if you can master those, you are so far ahead of the game. And the funny thing is I was listening to singer Jason Derulo, who has millions of followers on his Instagram and he was on a radio show. And he said, well, consistency and authenticity are the 2 biggest things that are crucial to gaining his following. And I said, oh my gosh, me and Jason, right? So if you guys can master that, I think you're going to be so far ahead of the game. It's amazing. And then in terms of getting in touch with me and following me, I think you asked that, right?
So I have a Facebook group called the Engaging Entrepreneur, and it's open to anybody who wants to better learn how to use social media for their business. So we do a lot of fun challenges. I give tips every day, there's a lot of interaction. And that's a great way to find me. And then of course, my social handles, Facebook, I'm Tara Strategies, I'm on Instagram under Lisa a Nichols with 2 L's, Twitter, I don't use that much. And I'm linked in. And I am if you guys wander to my website, just know that actually, hopefully by the time this airs, it will have been revamped because it is very old right now. So we've got cool new colors that kind of match that painting there. And yeah, and a big revamp. So we just went through rebranding.
15:49 – Gresham Harkless
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. Very, very exciting. And we will have the links and information and the show notes as well for Terra Strategy. So you can get all the Lisa, join the Facebook group, and hear about all the awesome things. And I love that consistency and authenticity message as well. I think so many times I say, you can't lose if you run your own race. And so many times we're running somebody else's race, but being authentic to you and being authentic to yourself on a regular basis and a daily basis is so important to being successful. We're talking about social media or just showing up as leaders in this world. So I appreciate that reminder so much and I hope you have a great rest of the day.
16:22 – Outro
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.
00:02 - Intro
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.
00:29 - Gresham Haekless
Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the Gresham Haeklesspodcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Gems Collins of jimscollins.com. Jims, it's awesome having you on the show.
00:38 - Gems Collins
Hi, thanks so much for having me.
00:41 - Gresham Haekless: It's a pleasure to be here. No worries, a pleasure. It's ours. Before we jump in, I wanted to read a little bit more about Gems so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Gems is an online course specialist working with entrepreneurs in multiple industries to design, create, and launch their online courses. With a master's in global management and a 15-year career in project management, Jim started her own business when she married a US serviceman and her career trajectory changed. Jim truly believes in the power of experience as an education and loves the versatility of online courses to spread the passion and purpose of entrepreneurs. Jims, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?
01:16 - Gems Collins
I sure am excited to be here.
01:18 - Gresham Haekless
Awesome, let's do this. So to kick everything off, I wanted to kind of rewind the clock a little bit here, a little bit more on how you got started, what I like to call your CEO story.
01:28 - Gems Collins
So yeah, I mean, it kind of started when I joined the military community. So as my bio and you beautifully explained, I had 15 years in project management behind me. I had all these plans to go and open my own consultancy. And then when I joined the military community, and I actually moved to America from, I was living in Abu Dhabi at the time came over to America. And it just kind of changed everything, you know, starting from scratch all over again, the ability to find a job that kind of lit me up whilst having to move every kind of 2 or 3 years just really took its toll on me. I struggled with a lot of confidence issues and lack of self-worth and that kind of thing and decided that it was kind of up to me to take it into my own hands to make my professional fulfillment what I wanted it to be. So I decided to start my own business where I was going to help other military spouses to start their own businesses. And I did this by, I created an online course to walk them through the process of understanding what your purpose is, what's your why, you know, how you create a business plan or your pricing marketing, all of that kind of stuff.
And that was really successful. But after probably 6 to 8 months, I found that more people were actually coming to me for support with creating their own online courses than they were starting businesses. So I was getting people further down the line who were looking at ways to scale, expand, generate more revenue, and add different income streams to their business. So it was sort of a natural pivot. And so since then, I've been creating courses with people, so helping them through the process or doing it for them. So basically people who are just like, I really wanna do this, but I don't have the time, can you help me pull this together? And so it's kind of just grown from there. But you know, as you said in my bio, it's just something that I feel really passionate about because people have online courses are a great way to reach more people. And you know, entrepreneurs generally have this spirit of giving and educating and inspiring and leading. And I think online courses are a really good way to do that, to reach more people.
03:20 - Gresham Haekless
Yeah, I think you definitely hit the nail on the head and I was actually just kind of touched on that because I feel so many times, I feel like we all have our gifts that we are, are we are bestowed upon us to give to the world. And I think that as you talked about, I think sometimes the struggle or the frustration is not being able to service as many clients directly, but being able to kind of have an online course where it kind of lives online and has the ability to showcase your expertise, help out so many more people because you're able to kind of replicate yourself is a phenomenal thing to do.
03:51 - Gems Collins
Yeah, exactly. And I think it takes some of the pressure off, especially people who literally just trade time for money. So people who are doing one-to-one coaching or can either teach an aspect of what they do so that people can learn it for themselves, freeing the business owner up to then do more stuff to offer themselves to different types of people. But like I said, it's just a really good way to get your gifts into the hands of other people, to really help other people to get your name out there, and to grow your business in a way that maybe allows you to step back 1 day. So you're not having to work as much on the business constantly.
04:20 - Gresham Haekless
Yeah, absolutely. Working definitely in the business or something. I think most of us sometimes get trapped in when we start the business, we're really passionate about it. We love and don't realize all the things that you have to do. And a lot of times we get trapped in and sometimes we get some that might describe the worst job ever. But a lot of times we know that there is light at the end of the tunnel in a way that we can kind of replicate ourselves in such a big way thing that we can do.
04:46 - Gresham Haekless
Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I know you touched on it a little bit and can you take us through a little bit more on how you serve your clients? What exactly does that process look like for you working with your potential clients?
04:54 - Gems Collins
Yeah, so the main 1 that I do is the kind of done with your program. So I work with people who want to learn how to implement courses themselves because maybe they're going to do multiple ones, but they don't really know where to start. They have an idea, but they don't really know where to go from there. And really the first thing I do is get people to validate their idea because there's no point in creating a course that then nobody has any interest in buying. And so it's either testing the idea with your current audience or finding an audience that needs what it is that you have to offer. So we go through a process of, I guess, market validation, understanding that there's a need for it, and then really understanding what the client transformation looks like. So the purpose of the course is always not what do I want to tell you, but how can I help you? What transformation do you want to go through? So what are you going to come out with at the end of this?
So whether it's they're learning a new skill, A lot of this, you know, people do a lot of mindset courses, teaching you ways to deal with anxiety, stress, a lot of social media marketing strategies. I do a lot of bookkeeping courses, which is actually quite interesting. So what does the transformation look like? And then we go through a big brain dump, so a content brain dump. So what's everything that you need to teach people? And then how do you order it? What's fluff, what's necessary? And then how do you teach it in a way that is understandable for somebody who isn't the expert? So obviously as the course provider, you're the expert.
So you deliver things in a way that other people who know the content would understand. So it's about how we can scale it back and teach it to people who don't necessarily understand the first thing about what it is that you're teaching them. And then we go through, you know, the flow. So I make sure that it all makes sense. We beta test it and then we launch it. So we go through a marketing strategy and a launch plan and then the follow-up. So what a lot of people think is that you launch a course into the universe and then that's it job done. But that's not, that's really just where the work starts because then you've got to follow up, nurture, get feedback from people, and tweak it based on what people are saying, what works, and what doesn't work. So it's quite an evolutionary process for the first sort of 2 or 3 launches.
06:52 - Gresham Haekless
Yeah, that makes so much sense. And I love how everything kind of started out with that kind of testing piece. Cause I think so many times, especially as entrepreneurs, we get so in love with our idea and so in love with what we're doing, that a lot of times we don't get that market feedback to know if it actually does have legs and it can potentially create that opportunity that we're all hoping and looking for. And I think that I love the kind of step-by-step process and being able to kind of understand each of the nuances of it. Because I think as you said so well and so eloquently, a lot of times we think that by the time we launch our course, all we have to do is just put our shingle up, so to speak, and then everybody's gonna be running to our doorsteps. But there's really a lot more in that process.
07:32 - Gems Collins
Yeah, a lot of people have that, you know, build it and they will come mentality, but it's completely the other way around. It's, you know, what they want and build it for them rather than just assuming that everybody wants what you have to offer. And, you know, it's an ego thing sometimes, because, you know, we think we have all the best ideas, But a lot of it is understanding what the market wants and then also understanding how to explain to them that it is what they want and that it's what they need.
07:52 - Gresham Haekless
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's what you kind of touched on with that. I always say the true definition of somebody who is an expert is somebody who is able to kind of explain it to a 3-year-old or explain it to a fourth grader. And if you're able to take your expertise and communicate it in such a way that that person becomes an expert or that person becomes at least a few steps further along in their process, then you have created something that's truly phenomenal.
08:15 - Gems Collins
Exactly, The transformation has to take them at least 1 or 2 steps further than where they currently are. Yeah.
08:20 - Gresham Haekless
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. And this could be for you personally or your business or a combination of both. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?
08:31 - Gems Collins
I think for me it's the connections that I build with people and I know that that may not be unique in that everybody builds different connections, everybody builds connections with their audience. But for me, I generally become friends with every single 1 of my clients and it's because I get to know them on a level that is more than just what is your business about, but it's what are you about. Because of your business and your personal life, as much as there's a crossover, people often show up in 2 different ways. And I think the best way to help somebody is to understand both versions of them, the business persona and then the professional. And so for me, even before we started working together officially, I make a point of getting to know somebody on a personal basis before we even go down that route. And then it's, and again, this is probably nothing secretive or new, but it's, I always under promise over deliver. I always go above and beyond for my clients because that's what gets people coming back to you, it's what establishes trust and it's what gets you recommendations and referrals. And to me, that's the lifeblood of my business is referrals from other people. But I just genuinely love getting to know people. I love getting to know the face behind the business, and understanding why they do what they do because I feel that's the way that I can serve them best.
09:36 - Gresham Haekless
I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an Apple Book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?
09:47 - Gems Collins
I am in love with a morning routine. I don't start my day until I feel that I've done the thinking and the doing that I need to do before my day starts. And so I make a point of getting up early, I'll drink my coffee, I read a few chapters of the Bible and then I journal about my day, about what I've read, just anything to get kind of the thoughts that aren't related to my business down on paper so that then my brain is kind of free and open to get started for the day. And I'm not, I'm not 1 of those people that's like, Oh, if you're not up by 4:30, then you've missed the best part of the day. Like I get up when I'm ready to get up, like when my body's ready I get going. I never rush myself to start at a certain time unless I have an appointment, but I generally don't book any appointments before 8:30 anyway because for me I need to be performing at my prime in order to work with people. And I know that I don't work at my best if I'm feeling rushed to do something or if I haven't had time to get my workout in, have my breakfast, do my morning routine. So for me, it's that kind of golden hour or 90 minutes in the morning to just set myself up for success for the rest of the day.
10:47 - Gresham Haekless
I love that hack. And so now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget, and this could be a word of wisdom or piece of advice. It might be something you would tell a client, or if you hopped into a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.
11:01 - Gems Collins
It's going to get rough. It's not always going to be plane sailing and people who tell you that there are 7 secrets to success or the 1 thing that you need to do every day as none of that exists. So there are going to be times when it gets really tough and you'll want to quit or you'll wonder why you started in the first place. But the 1 thing that I believe will get you through any of those challenging situations is the why behind what you do. So why did you start your business in the first place? And I don't mean to impact more people or to make money or to do this, but you know, why in terms of the legacy that you want to leave behind, the people that you want to make an impact on. For me, it was to make my husband proud. And then I'm currently pregnant. So it's showing, you know, my child what it looks like to be a successful entrepreneur. So it's the why, the internal why, not the external why. And that's going to be the thing that gets you from like, okay, I don't want to show up today. Or I don't want to do this thing or nobody's listening to me or I'm not seeing the revenue that I used to see when you have those moments, having a really strong why is going to be what gets you through.
12:02 - Gresham Haekless
Yeah, that's so powerful. And definitely, thank you. Congratulations in advance on the new edition. Thank you. And it reminded me so much. I saw this meme, I think it was, and it was a guy who was doing push-ups. And he was saying, I wanted to quit until I looked over and saw who was watching. And it was like his son that was looking at him. And that legacy piece that you touched on is so huge because I think that as it says in the 7 halves of highly effective people, you really wanna begin with an end in mind. If you understand and say, this is what I want my legacy to be. It allows you to get through those rocky moments, get through those great moments as well too, to understand these are the things that I need to do in order to fulfill the legacy that I want to have.
12:41 - Gems Collins
Yeah, exactly. It's not necessarily just about what you want to do, but it's about, like you say, the legacy, the impact that you want to leave behind afterward. Yeah, it's so important.
12:48 - Gresham Haekless
Absolutely, absolutely. And so 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 this show. So Jims, what does being a CEO mean to you?
12:59 - Gems Collins
To me, it means having the freedom and flexibility to do what I want whenever I want, but knowing that I'm having a positive impact on everybody that I serve, whether they become a client or they're just somebody that's part of my network. It's having the ability to share who I am with my people, to have a positive impact on their lives, and to be able to do it from wherever I am in the world, whatever I'm doing at any point in time.
13:22 - Gresham Haekless
I love that. I love how it ties in with how you guys started as well too in being a military spouse and having that ability to again, be able to be anywhere in the world. But again, I think so many times we forget the impact that we have. Obviously, we sometimes see it in the clients that we work with, but a lot of times we forget in podcasts that we're on or words that we speak to people and how that kind of creates that domino effect, not just in our lives, but also in their lives. And it goes on and on.
13:48 - Gems Collins
Exactly. And I think seeing it as more than just an opportunity to make money, it's an opportunity to change lives. And for me, that big, you know, there was a big shift when it was a client isn't an opportunity to pay bills. A client is an opportunity to change someone's world and improve, you know, their life and improve what they're doing in business or in life, whatever it is. And I think having that mindset and that frame of mind just changes it from being something that I have to do to make money to something that I love to do because I want to change lives and impact people.
14:15 - Gresham Haekless
Yeah, absolutely. It starts to definitely become a calling, not just something you have to do with something you get to do that you're appreciative of getting the opportunity to kind of do that on a day-to-day basis. Exactly. Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Jims, I truly appreciate that perspective and I appreciate your time even more. 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 of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things you're working on. Thank you, yeah. I mean, I think, like I say, always have a strong why. And if there's anybody listening who, you know, you listen to this podcast and you read the newsletter and you're ingesting all the great information that's been put out there, but you haven't started your business yet, just go for it. Like there's no reason not to.
You'll fall down, but you'll learn and I encourage you to continue failing because the only way that you're going to get better is to learn from the mistakes that you make, the things that didn't work so you can make them work next time. So don't be fearful. Fear is just something that is in your mind right now. It's not a real thing. So just take that first step because somebody, multiple people out there need what it is that you have and you're doing them a disservice by not doing what it is that you were born to do. So take that first step and get started. And if business coaching online course creation is something that you need help with, then please do reach out. The best place to find me is my website, which is just www.GemsCollins.com. I also spend a lot of time on Instagram and I'm just at Gems Collins and that's Gems but with a Gresham.
15:39 - Gresham Haekless
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. And we'll definitely have the links and information in the show notes as well too. But definitely fear is false evidence appearing real. And if we remind ourselves of that, and just as you said, like a lot of times we don't realize when we start something we will fall, I almost always think of the little kid that can't walk. And when the kid falls down, No 1 says, hey, maybe walking isn't for you. Maybe that's not your thing. The kid gets up and does it over and over again until we're now adults and we're walking around and running around and doing all types of phenomenal things. So I think it's something we need to remind ourselves of. So I definitely appreciate that reminder and I hope you have a great rest of the day.
16:17 - Outro
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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