IAM2194 – The Right Ingredient and the Entrepreneurial Spirit in a Business Journey

Gresham Harkless shares his experiences and lessons learned and offers valuable advice for those navigating the transition from traditional employment to entrepreneurship.

Gresham emphasizes the importance of having strong leaders and effective training in managerial roles.

He provides actionable advice on building a personal brand, including setting clear goals and being resourceful.

Gresham highlights that everyone has the tools to create and share their narrative, contributing to a diverse media landscape.

Episode Link: Career Path Angel Show

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Transcription:

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Gresham Harkless Teaser 00:00

Was the saying, I could do bad by myself, and I was like, yeah, yeah, I'm gonna bet on myself and see.

And so I did get another position, but the light switch was on. Like, things had changed. My mentality was different. If I'm gonna bet on anybody, I'm gonna bet on myself.

Intro 00:14

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from I AM CEO Podcast, and I wanted to share with you one of the episodes that I was a guest on for someone else's podcast.

I always talk about how important it is to build a media company. One of the next best things you could do is be on somebody else's media company.

So I had the pleasure of being a guest on this podcast, and I wanted to share a little snippet with you because it would help support the 8 business pillars we've really been trying to focus on with a lot more of our content and a lot more of the solo episodes that I'm doing.

So make sure, of course, that you subscribe to our podcast. But, of course, you take some time out. Check out the show notes.

And subscribe to the podcast that I've been featured on as well too, and get to learn about some of those 8 business pillars and how you can continue to leverage and build that up so you can go from builder to architect to, of course, rock star and luminary.

So this is Gresh signing up. I hope you enjoy this I AM CEO special episode.

Angel Mary 01:07

Now we have all of this technology at our disposal, and I wanted the podcast to be something special where people feel proud of what they've accomplished even though we may all take a lot of different windy turns in our career, which is the average is five career changes.

Now how about you? Tell me about you, and tell me about how you got into podcasting.

Gresham Harkless 01:34

Yeah. It's so funny. And that's why I love your podcast because, much of what you talked about is exactly what I felt like I was searching for, like, in your podcast because you don't know what you don't know until you realize you don't know it.

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And usually, that's when it's can feel like it's too late to jump in and do that. But for me, like, I've always been, like, interested in entrepreneurship and business and like, learning a lot around what that is and what that looks like.

And I started a family newspaper when I was ten years old because my dad was in the military, went to entirely different country.

But I hopped on Microsoft Word. He went to, I don't it was it was close to UAE, the United Arab Emirates.

So he got stationed there for an entire year. And, obviously, it wasn't close. We didn't have Skype, FaceTime, all these ways to instantly connect.

And that's when I really started to start that family newspaper to capture, like, some of the things that were going on in our family.

So I would hop on Microsoft Word, find some clip art, and find out stories that were happening in our family.

So everything from a squirrel getting in my grandma's kitchen to, a marriage that didn't happen that was supposed to happen, just all those things, I started to capture.

So fast forward a lot of years, I took I call it, like, a media company mindset, which is a lot of, like, what we do related to digital marketing.

It's trying to understand exactly, what your audience is looking for, what content they're looking for. If they're looking to start a career, for example, like, what things do they need to know and all those things that you did so well.

And that's what I did, but it was just capturing all those things that were going on our in our family.

And I would send the subscriptions, send the papers to my dad, and we'd sold the subscriptions to family members and people that were close to our family.

And, for me, that is really what started a lot of things that I was doing. So when I realized, like, hey. I have entrepreneurial tendencies. I was that kid that sold potato chips on a playground. I was like, okay. What do I wanna be when I grow up?

Angel Mary 03:35

At Risa?

Gresham Harkless 03:36

I yes. Exactly. Exactly. I was definitely that kid. And, yeah. I mean, like, when I didn't know what I wanted to do, didn't know who I was and all those things, I went back to those stories.

And that's why I said, hey. I'm interested in this entrepreneurship and business thing. Don't really know what that is. What can I learn about it?

Angel Mary 03:53

So love that, that though. I love that you were resourceful. And there was an era when we were growing up when you pick one role and one job, stay at one company.

That is not the case today. And I'm thankful for that because, otherwise, I would look like a mess. How about you? What was what's your background?

Gresham Harkless 04:11

Yeah. It was very, I guess, not exactly the same, but very similar. And I almost wonder because, like, you go through these processes and steps and jobs and jump to job to job.

And you almost feel like you're doing it wrong, and you're making a mistake. Because I grew up where my dad was in the military for twenty years, worked for the government.

And then my mom worked for a utility. She has her own embroidery business now. But at that time, like, you grew up in a very much twenty years here and then you retire. It's very structured environment.

So I felt like as I graduated, which was during the economic crisis, it was just, like, chaotic where I went from job to job to job, largely because I was looking for a man.

So I was looking for your podcast, Angel, before I even knew it. And, I was trying to find out like how how do I navigate this? Like, what should I be doing? What should I be learning? What should I not be learning?

This is where I wanna go. I know I wanna start a business, but I know I wanna learn things before I start a business. But I didn't really have any of that, so I graduated.

Angel Mary 05:11

Do you feel like, when you were in that zone right before you were about to step out into entrepreneurship, the reason why you didn't feel confident to step out is because you felt like you needed to be kind of in the real world first for a little while.

Gresham Harkless 05:26

That is true, but I also felt like I didn't have as much of an environment to support entrepreneurship.

And I felt like that's where the podcast really, like, it really mentored for me. Like, me getting an opportunity to interview entrepreneurs and business owners and CEOs, find out how they started their business and and things like that.

Between that and being in a networking group, it made entrepreneurship a reality. It was something that I always wanted to do, but I didn't feel like I knew exactly how to navigate that.

So yeah. That and just being able to be in that environment, it really changed things tremendously.

Angel Mary 06:05

So can I just say something? I think this is really important to share. For me and for you, and I think you're gonna agree with me on this.

And for the listeners hearing, how do you know when to pivot from a career professional into entrepreneurship?

Gresham Harkless 06:20

Yeah. So for me, I literally got a kick in the butt, and I was laid off. And I did get another job after I was laid off, but it was me getting laid off that really changed things for me.

I felt like I did all the things I was supposed to do. I have my bachelor's from Howard. I got my master's from Georgia. I feel like I had and I did all the, I played the game the way I was supposed to play. The way that I saw it.

But I love what you said about that leadership piece because I did feel like as I went into the workforce, I didn't have the leaders.

Like, I had jobs where and it it wasn't because of me, Angel, or anybody else listening. It was because that's just the time it was in where I had managers that literally left jobs as I was training, many times.

I got jobs that, were promised to me verbally that were pretty much removed from me. So, like, I had a lot of really not ideal experiences, which kind of said for me, like, yeah.

You might be nervous about starting this business or doing this thing, but in that's a part of you.

And I'm definitely a man of faith as well too, so I prayed on it, all the things, because, yeah, I felt like if I'm gonna lose, I might as well lose on my terms.

And that's where I was when I got laid off. It's like I was working a job, working with kids, doing running sports camps all across, Northern Virginia, which is where I am.

And I left that job because I didn't think it was stable. I took another job. That job is where two of the managers I had left from the three week training that I was doing.

So I said, this isn't stable either. So I went back to working with the kids, and I was laid off. And at that point, I was like, what's the saying? I can do bad by myself.

And I was like, yeah. I'm gonna bet on myself and see. And so I did get another position, but the light switch was on. Like, things had changed. My mentality was different.

And it granted, I was living at home with my family, so that helped out a lot as far as, like, not having that overhead.

But I said, if I'm gonna bet on anybody, I'm gonna bet on myself. So I'm not sure if you have had that experience.

Angel Mary 08:25

I see that where it's experiences where I've been hired in positions, and then they immediately let go of the director ahead of me or something.

And then I'm carrying the load of the director. Leaders need training. So many leaders get put into management positions, and they have absolutely no communication skills, no social skills, no understanding of emotional intelligence.

Like, there's so many things these people have not been trained on. They're just good worker. Great.

You're getting a promotion. Now you're over ten people. That's not how you're gonna grow your business the right way.

You need to definitely have great training. Otherwise, they're gonna say and do things in a way that puts them in the level of an employee mindset.

Whereas in a man management mindset, you have to actually have more of an entrepreneurial spirit.

Gresham Harkless 09:14

Yeah. Well, I'm almost wonder because, like, in those experiences, like, how do you navigate that from promotion per se.

Because I think you don't wanna ruffle feathers where you're having somebody who's been there for ten years and feels like they are, doing all the things that they need to do and they want that managerial position.

But you also know from like, someone that's promoting somebody or bringing somebody in that position, it's different set of skills.

It's not just saying you've been here long enough, so let me just take this job. How do you navigate that? Or is it somebody, calling Angel and saying, hey. I need some help with this person that I wanna bring on.

Angel Mary 09:53

Well, I think a part of this is if you have this drive on the inside and you have so many skills and value to offer, that's a confidence piece on the inside as an employee if you're in the employee track. Right?

Now if you're in a position and you're doing your job right, everything, like, everything's going great, your performance reviews are great, but they're not promoting you, you might be, unfortunately, and this may have happened to you too, put into a position where they can't even imagine you out of that role.

Like, oh, no. We can't promote him because if we promote him, who's gonna do that job?

Gresham Harkless 10:28

Who's gonna do this work?

Angel Mary 10:29

That's what happens. So there actually has to be a delicate balance in not just doing your work to the best of your ability, but being seen and being visible.

Gresham Harkless 10:40

I think, as a male, you look at things in a tiny different way. You don't realize how much your upbringing plays such a big part in the things you do or sometimes the things that you don't do.

Do you find, like, things have shifted and changed a little bit or improved for women, or do you feel like it's kind of in that state where there still is a lot of, I guess, reconditioning that the world and women merely need to do and even men to understand that in order to be like that great leader, first of all, it's possible.

And not only is it possible, it's happening. And that also that this is something that young daughters and even men should be aware of, like, what's happening.

And that's why part of, like, why I say, like, everybody is a media company. Everybody's a media business, whether you have a podcast or a blog or website, whatever it might be.

And a lot of what we do, like, our foundation is helping people to build those media companies.

And I think whether you're within an organization and you're building your personal brand, that is an opportunity for you to build that media company whether you're on LinkedIn or Instagram or TikTok or blogs or whatever it is.

You have this opportunity to change the narrative, and that's one of the most powerful things I think we have today where we don't have to see the same people pushing the same agendas and with the same ideas out there.

We now all have it really in our pockets to be able to say, hey, this is the world that I live in. I do see that, hey, we can do things together.

We can podcast together. We can have different conversations. It doesn't have to be what is made the agenda by people that are quote-unquote in power.

And I think that's one of the most powerful things about being that media company and seeing that we do have this power tools to not just lead in our position.

I often say if you're really great at the things that you do, you have really great products and services, but you don't market it, you don't get it out there, you don't promote it, are you really making the impact that you could?

And I think once you start to realize that, you do start to say that there are sometimes different ways around building your media company.

I always say you should build your media company, build your brand. But hopping on somebody else's podcast where they get to build you up is a great way to hear about all those awesome things you've been able to do.

And Angel's definitely being modest. She's done phenomenal things. Her LinkedIn could definitely show, like, all the awesome things she's been able to do.

So I think once you get that opportunity to have that back and forth and people get to sometimes see the greatness we don't see in ourselves and share that. That's where it really becomes phenomenal.

So for people that are thinking about doing the blog and the podcast or whatever that might be to share your genius ultimately, make sure that you do that.

And I think it becomes something that is very similar to a muscle. Once you start to share a little bit out, you do still have that insecurity, honestly, about, I didn't get enough likes, or is anybody going to like this? Is this a value? Is this all those things?

But I think what we start to see, like, when you start to talk with, quote-unquote successful people and however you define it, you realize that it's not always a straight path. It's not always perfect

So the same thing should happen with marketing, where when you're putting things out there, it's a fully an experiment for you to learn and try different things.

And sometimes, as much as we're building our personal brands and building our businesses and making sure that we we're catering to the algorithms, we're also building ourselves.

So as much as I have that comparison of being able to jump out of a plane. You're doing that every time you post something if you're not comfortable doing that.

And I think that's great. Yeah. It ends up being, like, really that great opportunity to show who you are and what you can do.

So I love that, we get the opportunity to do that on a daily basis, and it could be something that you can make that impact in and remind people of how great they are, all ultimately by you sharing all the awesome things you're doing.

Angel Mary 14:28

What are three simple steps that you think that they can take today to build up their brand?

Gresham Harkless 14:35

I think you can build a personal brand in many different ways. And I think a lot of times people get overwhelmed, especially businesses and entrepreneurs because they try to be everywhere, try to spend the time on all the places.

I look at marketing a lot like going to the grocery store to figure out what ingredients you're gonna put into making your favorite dish.

If you don't know what you're trying to make, if you don't know what your goal is, if you're trying to get a new job, if you're trying to build out your business, then it makes it really hard to pick those quote-unquote ingredients and put them into the cart.

So I think that's one of the the biggest things is get really clear on what your goals might be, because that might be the difference between creating a TikTok because you wanna build a little bit more of a influencer type of profile versus getting a job.

So you're gonna basically build that out on LinkedIn. And each of those platforms have their pros and cons, so they're not necessarily just what I mentioned.

But understanding what you're trying to do is gonna be one of the biggest things. And then be very very resourceful. Resourceful could be time, or it could also be money.

So are you going to take your resume and potentially give it to someone that does know a lot more around resumes and can build it up so that you can get that job?

Or are you potentially going to DIY it, and maybe you do a lot of how to videos around whatever your expertise is?

And you can do that honestly to build that brand or build that business or continue to get your business out there, but you can also do that to get a job.

You hear a lot of times people will build up their personal brands in order to get a job and position because they've shown themselves as being a value to the market, and these businesses want to have them.

So understand, like, a lot of these things can ultimately overlap more than anything else.

Angel Mary 16:14

You're absolutely right. I totally agree with that.

Outro 16:17

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh again, and I hope you enjoyed that special episode of the I AM CEO podcast.

Just like I mentioned in the beginning, we're really trying to laser focus on these 8 pillars to show you as a builder how you can leverage these 8 pillars and really level up there, so it helps to level up your business and organization.

So hope you enjoy this episode, and definitely please check out the show notes so you can learn more about the pillar, learn more about the person that I guested on their episode and of course, learn more a little bit more about us as well too.

This is Gresh signing out. Hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

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