IAM2725 – Founder Works with Retail Leaders to Transform Their Business

Michelle DeNio is a Business Strategist who works with entrepreneurs, business owners, and organizations to create a customized strategic plan for growth resulting in more clients, more profit and more freedom. Having worked in many different industries and possessing expertise in the areas of operations, sales, leadership training, time management, and finance, she will help you come up with a clear, direct path forward, then assess how that plan is working and make adjustments along the way. Michelle believes that life is meant to be lived to the fullest and streamlining your business to give you more free time is crucial to your success.

• CEO Hack: Only follow a couple of mentors
• CEO Nugget: Be in line with you and follow people who align with your goals
• CEO Defined: Owning your life as you choose to define it

Website: https://www.michelledenio.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/michelledenio05
www.facebook.com/michelledeniobizstrategist

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michelledenio
Instagram: www.instagram.com/m_denio

Previous Episode: https://iamceo.co/iam426-business-strategist-works-with-entrepreneurs-to-strategize-their-growth-plan/

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Transcription:

Michelle DeNio 00:00

The entrepreneur life can turn you into somebody that you're not. And so as my younger business self, I would just say be yourself, be who you are. Be authentic to you. If something doesn't feel authentic, if it feels like you really have to try to be something that you're not, don't do it. I mean, because we've all tried to fit in this mold of what so somebody says an entrepreneur is, and it really the definition is different for everybody. So that is absolutely like if I could tell my younger self anything, it would be to just be you. Do you be you?

Gresham Harkless 01:07

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I Am CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today at michelle denial of michelledenayo.com. michelle, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Michelle DeNio 01:16

Thank you so much. I'm great to be here.

Gresham Harkless 01:18

Super excited to have you on. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Michelle so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Michelle Denial is a business strategist who works with entrepreneurs, business owners and organizations to create a customer customized strategic plan for growth resulting in more clients, more profit, and more freedom. Having worked in many different industries and possessing expertise in the areas of operation, sales, leadership, training, time management and finance, she will help you come up with a clear, direct path forward. Then then assess how that plan is working and make adjustments along the way. Michelle believes that life is meant to be lived to the fullest and streamlining your business to give you more time, more free time, and is crucial to your overall success. Michelle, are you ready to speak to the IMCL community?

Michelle DeNio 02:01

I am very ready. Super excited to be here.

Gresham Harkless 02:04

Me too. Super excited to have you on and glad to hear that you're ready. So I wanted to kick everything off by hearing a little bit more about what I call your CEO story and what led you to get started with your business.

Michelle DeNio 02:13

 Yeah, absolutely. My CEO story, I guess, is maybe a little bit different, but it really stems back to why I say that life is meant to be lived and loved. And we had a very, very close friend that passed away through A very short bout with lymph. At that moment in time, I realized that life is really very, very short. And you have to love what you're doing and you have to love the career you're in. And we need to be following our passions. And so that's really what's jump started me to become an entrepreneur and really start my business so that I could live life on my terms and I wasn't stuck in somebody else's mold. And so that's what we did. My husband and I moved from New York. We just decided we were going to live retirement. We moved to Florida to be three minutes from the beach, and here we are. And it's been amazing. And I'm so happy to make that, that I made that leap.

Gresham Harkless 03:06

 Yeah, I definitely appreciate you for sharing that with us and obviously sorry to hear, you know, about your friend. But I think that sometimes we do understand after something like that happens and traumatic, whether it be to us or to loved ones or family or friends, that, you know, time is precious and it doesn't just go on forever. You know, there's kind of an end to that hourglass, so to speak. And a lot of times we are waiting, or sometimes we think we have, I guess, more time than we sometimes do to be able to go after our passions, to love our loved ones and things like that. But it's sad that that has to happen or that does happen. But it's, it's, it's great to hear that you not only had that lesson, but then you. Sounds like you, you ran with it.

Michelle DeNio 03:43

Yeah, Yep, exactly. It's one of those things where, you know, life teaches us lessons whether we want them, whether we're ready for them or not. And so it's a matter of what we do with them.

Gresham Harkless 03:53

Exactly, exactly. So I wanted to zero down a little bit deeper. You talked a little bit about your business and I know, I read a little bit about it. Can you tell us a little bit more what you're doing with your clients?

Michelle DeNio 04:02

Yeah, absolutely. I work from a very strategic standpoint. So as a business strategist, my background is in operations. What I really focus on is helping people grow their business to whatever level they're looking to grow it to. So not everybody's looking for that seven figure, six figure entrepreneur organization. And so I really focus on what is your goal, what is your vision, how does that align with the clients you're trying to serve. And then we put a strategic plan in place, whether it's a long term plan or a short Term more of like a 90 day plan. Whatever really feels in alignment with you because ultimately if it's not in alignment and it doesn't feel good, you're not going to do it. That's the number one thing that leads to procrastination is it just doesn't feel right. So for me, focusing on whatever feels right to you in that moment, let's plan accordingly.

Gresham Harkless 05:00

That makes perfect sense. And so it kind of sounds like a lot of times with clients you work with, you kind of have to do that inner work or maybe even exploratory work on what you want to have in your life and how you want your life to look. And then you're able to kind of, it sounds like get the tools in order to do that.

Michelle DeNio 05:16

Yeah, I always start with the end in mind. I work from the, you know, what are, what are we trying to accomplish? What is the point? B. I don't want to start at point A, because if we don't know where we're going, it's very hard to put a map in place. It's no different than getting in your car with a gps. I mean, if you just get in your car and start driving, but you don't know where you're going, the GPS isn't going to be able to direct you. And so I focus very similar. You know, in business you've got to know where you're going. And if you don't know where you're going, you cannot put a plan in place.

Gresham Harkless 05:45

Right. I, I definitely appreciate that because I feel like, and I usually say this a lot, that a lot of times we seem to not sometime have that time or create that space in order to do that inner work or create that vision of what we want to have our life look like. And a lot of times we need that so that we can actually execute on a strategy or even have a strategy in place. But if we don't do that inner work before, it's really hard to get to. Like you said that that end destination.

Michelle DeNio 06:08

Yeah, absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 06:10

Nice. And, and so now I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And it could be for you or for your organization. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart? It makes you unique.

Michelle DeNio 06:18

What sets me apart, in my opinion, is my ability to look from the customer's point of view. And so a lot of times when you're putting a strategy in place or you're working with somebody, or you're trying to grow your business, you're looking just from your own eyes. And so when I work with a client, I always try to be a customer of that client, because if you aren't, you really don't know how your client's receiving the information. So from the back end, it might look really, really great. But then if all of a sudden, if you try to be a customer, it's like, wait a second, that didn't execute well at all. So for me, if you're not a client of your clients, it's very hard for me to understand exactly the full picture view, and that's really important to me is making sure we have a full picture view of what exactly we're trying to accomplish.

Gresham Harkless 07:06

Absolutely. And I think a lot of times when, you know, we have great ideas, we have great visions for what we want to create in the world and see built and informed. And I think a lot of times it's very hard, and sometimes we need, it sounds like, you know, the help of people like you that are able to kind of bounce ideas off of, but see that different perspective because we're so kind of entrenched in what we see in our vision that sometimes we don't see if it's applicable to, you know, a potential customer or client or if it's just something that we can only use.

Michelle DeNio 07:34

Yeah. I mean, you've got to understand the language that your clients are speaking. And so even though perhaps maybe the plan and everything is imperfect play, but if you're not executing it or speaking in, in a language that your clients are understanding it. And sometimes just those small tweaks. So being able to do that market research, I spend hours doing market research for my clients and getting inside of different, you know, Facebook groups or communities and just asking questions based on, as if I was a client to really understand, okay, this is exactly what they're saying. This is how you need to put yourself into the market, because this is exactly what your client is saying you're struggling with.

Gresham Harkless 08:10

Absolutely, absolutely. And someone that may not be familiar with what market research is, is that just looking into, you know, your potential clientele, what they look like, what they're interested in, and things like that and gathering that information.

Michelle DeNio 08:22

Yeah. Yep, absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 08:24

Awesome, awesome, awesome. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an Apple book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Michelle DeNio 08:36

One of the things I. This has changed throughout my career as a CEO and in, as an entrepreneur, but I, I heard this from Somebody else. And it's actually a hack that I really incorporated, and one of that, and that is to only follow, like a couple mentors. I think it's so easy. In this online space, we have access to everybody. We have access to every freebie, every download, Tony Robbins, Gary Vee. I mean, the list goes on and on. And the reality is that can actually be detrimental to your success, so because everybody's got a different, varying opinion of how they grow business. So for me, my hack is to pick a few to three, maybe you know, that you really, really align and resonate with and stay super laser focused on that. If those are the ones that you really resonate with and you want to use and trust their guidance and mentorship, then stay with that and don't let the shiny object syndrome of everybody else's opinions, because the second you let all of those other opinions in and their other methods and techniques, it's going to get overwhelming and confusing and you can't really piece together a piece here, a piece there. It really doesn't work. So for me, that's been my biggest hack, is picking the few that you really, really want to resonate with. Follow their podcast, follow their freebies, follow their emails, and stick with it.

Gresham Harkless 09:56

Absolutely. Yeah. And. And it kind of goes back to what you were talking about in the beginning, because I think a lot of times when we kind of, you know, like you said, there's so much information that we have at our fingertips to listen somebody's podcast or download their. Their ebook or whatever that might be that we can get so much information and try to incorporate literally every single aspect. But a lot of times we don't also realize that that person that we're getting that download or listen to that podcast from might have a vision for themselves, and that might even not be in alignment with what we're kind of hoping to do. So I don't know if you find that a lot with the clients that you work with.

Michelle DeNio 10:28

I do. And that actually probably leads into the next thought you have. But yeah, really, for me, it's. It's just because somebody. Everybody's definition of success is different. So following somebody's plan and methods and techniques for their vision, if they have a totally different vision of success than you do, their techniques and methods aren't going to work. And so for me, that's been my biggest habit, really, truly is follow the people that have the same goals and visions and aspirations as you do and value the same things in your life as you do. So for somebody who who doesn't value enjoying life like I do and living retirement and knowing that life is short. I'm not going to follow that person because they probably have a method of, you know, work all day long, hustle, hustle, hustle. That's just not me. So you've got to know what you. What is important to you, what. What do you value, and then follow those people.

Gresham Harkless 11:21

Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's kind of like your CEO nugget, what you feel you would tell your younger business self.

Michelle DeNio 11:26

My. Yeah. And to really be in alignment with you. And I think it's so easy for entrepreneurs. We've all been there. My younger self is like, well, this is what so and so is doing. So I'm going to follow this lead. And so we become the entrepreneur. Life can turn you into somebody that you're not. And so as my younger business self, I would just say be yourself. Be who you are. Be authentic to you. If something doesn't feel authentic, if it feels like you really have to try to be something that you're not, don't do it. That's. I mean, because we've all tried to fit in this mold of what so somebody says an entrepreneur is, and it really. The definition is different for everybody. So that is absolutely. Like, if I could tell my younger self anything, it would be to just be you. Do you be you and stay in your lane and feel confident in it. Feel confident that no matter what person you're bringing to the table is exactly who you should be bringing to the table. And you don't need to alter that for anybody.

Gresham Harkless 12:33

Absolutely. Yeah. I think that's so powerful just because I think, like, we kind of touched on, you know, a couple times, is that there's so many kind of external factors that kind of pulled us to do this or do that or be this or be that, that. It's sometimes hard to, I guess, find yourself, and sometimes you have to do that work in order do that to find, you know, who you are, what makes you unique, what's your secret sauce, so to speak, and then also have an idea of exactly, like, what that vision is and go through and execute it. But I think that there's, you know, so much noise that sometimes we can lose sight of that and maybe not even feel confident in doing that.

Michelle DeNio 13:03

Right. Yeah. I mean, it. It can tear you down, but it can also lift you so high and so find what lifts you up and leave behind the things that really feel like we're tearing you down.

Gresham Harkless 13:15

Absolutely. I love that, and I love that Reminder. And 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, Michelle, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Michelle DeNio 13:28

Being a CEO to me is owning my life exactly as I see it. And so for me, being a CEO is, yes, making an impact and impacting the lives of others, but for me, it's owning my life is. I choose to define it. And my definition of life is exactly what I want it to be, and that's being a CEO. When you can define every aspect of your life, you can define how much you work, how much you spend, how where you live, how much time you take off. It doesn't matter. But I can define every single aspect of my life as a CEO. And that's what's important. And that's what being a CEO means to me.

Gresham Harkless 14:13

Nice. I love that. And I love how you mentioned the word owning, because I think a lot of times sometimes it's like having the life, but owning seems so much powerful because it seems like you have control over it. You can dictate or make the decisions based off of that. And you can make the life that you want, not somebody else's life or something else that you saw on Instagram or whatever. You could actually build a life that you want that's in line with exactly who you are.

Michelle DeNio 14:37

Yeah. And own every aspect of it. I always say that. And own your responsibility and own a commitment. And if I make a choice, I get to own that. And whether it's good, bad, indifferent, it doesn't matter. But I've made that choice, and nobody else is dictating that for me.

Gresham Harkless 14:51

Exactly. Exactly. And understanding everything is all in line. It's not necessarily siloed or separate as well. So thank you so much, Michelle. I appreciate that definition and I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do was 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 they can get a hold review and find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

Michelle DeNio 15:11

Yeah, absolutely. I, you know, I tend to hang out still on Facebook. I haven't jumped over to the Instagram bandwagon yet. So I'd love to have you come and hang out with me in my Facebook community. It's called find the right clients for your business. Or you can just reach out my name. Just. I'm listed both my personal page and my business page on my name and Facebook. Or you can, you can email me. But yeah, for me it's just about just enjoying your business. And so if I, you know, if you aren't feeling it and you're ready, like, it's okay to pivot too. If you're feeling like you're in business or you've started something and it's no longer fun, take a step back, take a couple weeks off and just really think about it and, and make that pivot. Don't let anybody tell you that pivoting is bad in business. Pivoting is a bad, you know, evolution and growth and change. And so focus on that and make sure that whatever you're doing, you are loving it and you are having fun and you are feeling like this is the best thing that ever happened to you. Because if it doesn't, it's time to take a step back. I always share all of my life lessons and whatever I can. So if I can inspire or keep you motivated, please, you know, I'd love to stay connected with you on Facebook and see how we can, how we can motivate each other.

Gresham Harkless 16:31

Nice. I definitely appreciate that. And they always say success is a team sport. So being able to have people you can lean on and connect with and interact with is always great to increase the likelihood of success. So, Michelle, thank you so much again for your time. We will have all your links in the show notes as well so that everybody can follow up with you on Facebook in your Facebook community. And thank you so much again. I hope you have a great rest of the day. Thank you.

Michelle DeNio 16:53

I appreciate it.