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/
Previous Episode: https://iamceo.co/iam406-business-advisor-and-trainer-helps-clients-be-more-productive-and-profitable/
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Transcription
Diane Helbig 00:00
What I find so often is my clients feel like they're the only ones having this problem. Even though everyone I talk to has the exact same problems and challenges, they feel like they've tried different things and nothing's working. And so they. 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 so in it on a daily basis that you can't really see it as a whole.
Gresham Harkless 00:59
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 01:09
It's awesome to be on the show. Thanks for having me.
Gresham Harkless 01:11
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. And Diane is a business advisor and trainer focusing on helping small business owners owner Helping small business owners and sales professionals succeed. Say that three times fast. As a founder of sees 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 and has been seen on Forbes Inc. Magazine and it is one of the best podcasts for small business. Diane, are you ready to speak to the IMCO community?
Diane Helbig 01:53
Yes, I am.
Gresham Harkless 01:55
Awesome. Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story and we'll let you get started with your business.
Diane Helbig 02:02
Okay, thank you. So back in 2005, late 2005 had a sort of life changing moment. 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 our marriage counselor. My best friend said I should be a life coach. And when I researched everything and took a look at everything I realized 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 talked 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 did it in 2006. And as they say, the rest is history. Here I am.
Gresham Harkless 02:51
There you go. Here you are. That's obviously sorry to hear about your father passing away, but definitely I know that sometimes running a business can seem probably sometimes like a marriage counselor and life coach and so many other business things that you need at your disposal to keep the ball rolling, so to speak.
Diane Helbig 03:09
So true.
Gresham Harkless 03:11
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 breakdown, you know, exactly what you do and of course, a little bit more about your podcast as well?
Diane Helbig 03:21
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 does they want to go, what's getting in the way of them going there, and then based on who they are setting up processes and systems like a plan so that they can get there. Sometimes it means creating a sales strategy, sometimes it's systems within the business, hiring, reorganizing, who's doing what, it depends. And it can change through 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, help you answer the questions that you don't necessarily have the answers to kind of role. And I do trainings. 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, like 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 in whatever their role is.
Gresham Harkless 04:35
So.
Diane Helbig 04:36
So that's what I do do during the day. And then I have my podcast that I've had for I think 10 years.
Gresham Harkless 04:43
Nice.
Diane Helbig 04:44
Sort of lost track somewhere along the line. And 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 Too, you know, that's the cool thing. I don't have to listen to other podcasts. I get to listen to these folks talk to me.
Gresham Harkless 05:19
They tell her my secrets.
Diane Helbig 05:23
I won't tell anybody. And so it's cool. I like it. It's been a lot of fun.
Gresham Harkless 05:29
Nice. Well, I definitely appreciate that, especially that you hit on those essential aspects of business, because I think people always say, like, sales is the lifeblood of business, but you, once you get those sales, you gotta make sure your customers are happy. So customer service is huge. And as you manage your team, you gotta 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 05:50
Yeah, yeah. You really, it's. It's all the legs of the stool, and you can't really be successful if one of them is shaky. Right. It really does. It really is about the whole system.
Gresham Harkless 06:01
Yeah, that makes sense. And do you find that. Because I think that, you know, 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 kind of see the forest for the trees, I guess you can say.
Diane Helbig 06:20
Yeah, I do. What I find so often is my clients feel like they're the only ones having this problem. Even though everyone I talk to has the exact same problems, challenges, they feel like they've tried different things and nothing's working. And so they, 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 so in it on a daily basis that 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 07:03
Yeah, absolutely. Especially, you know, 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 crises, sometimes, sometimes we do feel like we're the only person that's going through it.
Diane Helbig 07:16
Yep. Yep. Absolutely. Yeah.
Gresham Harkless 07:19
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 kind of sets you part and makes you unique?
Diane Helbig 07:29
So I have a saying. I can only live in reality. Won't you join me here? And I say that to all of my clients. I often say it 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 aren't honest with ourselves about, this is my life. These are my struggles. This is, you know, these are my opportunities. Whatever it is, we end up sort of, you know, in a. On 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. You know, 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 interest 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 08:34
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 specifically. She's listening. But, you know, exactly as good points as I can. But, you know, the really big thing is just 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. Where I am. This is, you know, exactly who I am, what my strengths and weaknesses are. 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's just that this is what I'm working with. This is how I can get to where I need to be.
Diane Helbig 09:12
Right. Right. I'm real pragmatic. Right. Because so if I use myself as an example, there. Sure. There are 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 of 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 I just think 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. You'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 this way, you'd get a different result. You know, let me tell you what I'm hearing, what I'm seeing. It's just my clients are going to do whatever they're going to do. Their decisions are theirs. Just give them another way of looking at things, I guess.
Gresham Harkless 10:06
Yeah, absolutely. And I think what you spoke to before is that validation as well too, because I think a lot of times, you know, running a business can 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 a day, seems like. But at the same time, if you're able to bounce those ideas off of somebody, and sometimes it's just to have that listening ear, which goes so much farther than anything else, but also to have that expertise and perspective you bring as well too, is definitely an awesome add on.
Diane Helbig 10:37
Yeah, thanks.
Gresham Harkless 10:39
I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted 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 10:50
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. 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 11:23
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 hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?
Diane Helbig 11:36
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. That sounds good. Oh, that's interesting. Are you kidding? I'm jumping on that. Okay. Now I have to create that website. Right. We just need to take a breath now. I'll get it done, but not all at the same time. So we just have to say what's 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, 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 12:35
Yeah. Well, I love both of those kind of aspects, especially because they kind of align just as far as far as understanding the process. Understanding the process that it takes to build an empire, as we're all trying. Well, not all, but a lot of us are trying to do in 30 days or less. And then also, you know, just understanding that it's also a process for people to realize how great you are and how great the things that you are 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 13:04
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Because it's like you said, you know, we think we're going to put it out there and instantly we're going to be on Forbes. It's just not true.
Gresham Harkless 13:12
Yes, yes. The overnight success is a. Is not true at all. Exactly that. It's just 10 years to do that. Right?
Diane Helbig 13:21
Yep. That's right. That's right.
Gresham Harkless 13:23
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 13:35
Okay. To me, what a CEO means is someone who is empowering other people to be successful so that the collective is successful, you know, so. So that we. The company's successful. 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 14:09
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's so many different stakeholders. And just understanding, again, like kind of the forest for the trees, and understanding, like, this is what will help the collective grow and the organization, the stakeholders, just so many different, you know, p pieces that are involved. Understanding what that looks like.
Diane Helbig 14:31
Yeah. Yeah.
Gresham Harkless 14:33
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 14:47
So thank you for this. I. 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. I'll try and give you a way to go. No obligation, you know, beyond that. And so folks can go to my website at Seize this Day 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 that's that. Thanks for the opportunity.
Gresham Harkless 15:24
No problem. Thank you so much. Your podcast information is also on there as well too.
Diane Helbig 15:28
Yes, it is. Thank you for that.
Gresham Harkless 15:30
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. 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 15:47
Thanks, you too.