How To BUILD A COMPANY That People Want To WORK FOR | Patti Massey & Allison Maslan

We all want a more inclusive, safe.

Respectful workplace for ourselves, for our employees. It is critical for our emotional well being, our mental well being, our physical well being. How do we make that happen? This is a priority right here, right now on the Scale or fail show. Welcome to the Scale or fail show. I am your host, Alison Maslin. I am also your business mentor. I am a business owner through and through and I am the founder of Pinnacle Global Network where we are the world leader in scaling businesses. We work with business owners all over the world to help them grow and scale their companies. And speaking of companies, we want to have a safe environment. We want to have a respectful environment. We want our employees to feel taken care of and happy. Right? So that they want to come to work and give their best. So I'm really excited for our guest today because she is the expert in all of that. With 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, Patty Massey is a leader and innovator who is committed to the growth of small businesses and particularly minority and women owned businesses. Patti is the owner and CEO of MICA Material Handling Solutions and MICA Learning, which uses technology to enhance employee performance through powerful e learning courses. We're going to talk about some of those today. With hundreds of clients, millions of learning experiences, and an emphasis on creating respectful, inclusive and safe workplaces, which is critical right now, MICA Learning provides a curriculum to some of the country's top organizations. In 2019, MICA was selected as one of the 50 fastest growing women owned businesses in the U.S. and in January of 2021, Patti will assume the leadership role as chairman of Women's Business Enterprise National Council which is wbenc of their forum. So, Patti, so glad that you're here.

Thanks, Allison. I'm delighted to be here. Thanks for inviting me to be on your show.

I am thrilled and I so respect with what you're doing in the world. And we've had an opportunity to work together also this year in Pinnacle Global Network. And you're just such an amazing human being and the value your mission to bring this work to the world, which is so important. So what led you to start mica? I know this is your. You've got two companies that you're running, but how, how did this become your mission?

Yeah, so The Genesis of Mica was actually launched in 1987 with myself and another woman and it stood for Massey Young Carol and later was rebranded to maximizing your company's assets When I bought out all of the partners after we took our original company public and sold controlling Interest. And after the sale we kept a small division that I later used as a launching pad for the current nt. So I'll just briefly mention Mica Material Handling. It was formed in 2004 when I collaborated with Procter and Gamble on a really big idea to centralize the repair and maintenance of their forklift equipment across all of their plants. And although that strategy never materialized, P and G introduced us to one of their tier one companies, Sunoco Products. And we began to grow from there. And last year we did 50 million and forklift repair, maintenance, waste management, over the road, trailer management. And it's all based on a technology platform that we built from scratch. And as a result of that, we just signed a contract with one of the largest big box retailers in the country. And we're so excited about the future growth trajectory of that business.

Wow, that is so impressive. I mean, how many business owners and women business owners can say they've built a $50 million? Not many, Patty. And you just kind of created this idea. That's what I love about the power of entrepreneurs being so innovative.

Yeah, it just started with a conversation. I mean we literally went over to P and G with a long term client and said, do you have anything that needs to be fixed? And the idea grew from there. So sometimes you just have to step into opportunities.

You know, you asked them what they needed. Right, right. I mean we try to read their mind. Sometimes we just need to ask them what they need. So how, what is your big picture vision? You know, I'm all about the vision and the power of the vision. How do you feel it's going to impact the business world at large?

Yeah. So for Michael Learning. So I'm going to pivot now to talk a little bit about that company, which is really where my passion. So I've been an entrepreneur, as you said, for 30 plus years and I've actually been working in the MICA learning space since the late 90s where we were doing workshops and then we converted to eLearning. In 2003 when we were really on the bleeding edge, we converted a workshop on diversity and inclusion and people said, you can't do that. This is touchy feeling. Personal information we need to share in a group, in person and break down barriers and get comfortable. Well, in fact we did it. We were able to create a virtual scenario online where people had that sense of comfort and were able to be vulnerable and share information because it was them and the team on the computer screen. And then we later pivoted to harassment prevention and Today, our biggest clients are work for hire, like City of New York, the City of Los Angeles. But we've worked with the top corporations in the country, like Kraft, Heinz, Citibank, PepsiCo, and today I say all of that to get to the point of today with all of the courses we've created. Over the years, I've come to focus on a strategy to create safer workplaces for everyone, but especially for women. So several forces kind of converged for me to personally redirect my attention beyond our existing client base. I mean, we still serve them and we love them, but I started to be starting to think about how we can make a difference in thousands of businesses across the country with our tools.

And what do you feel like are the biggest challenges that you're taking on? Let's dive into some of those issues, because I feel like those are the emotional touch points that are so important right now.

Yeah. So, Allison, I know you've heard my story and many other of your listeners may have as well. Last, in late 2018, my brother was tragically killed in a traffic accident by a man who was drug impaired. So this guy crossed the yellow line at 11:30 in the morning. My brother's on his way to lunch, and an instant, my younger brother was gone. And what happened for me is that I realized I had an E learning course, unreasonable suspicion of drug and alcohol abuse. And I need to get more visibility for that message. If someone had intervened in the life of the man who killed my brother, he might still be with us. And I started to hear the thousands of stories from other people about what's happening in their lives because of this. And then meanwhile, of course, the MeToo movement was gaining momentum, and our harassment. Harassment prevention course addresses that issue, too. So, yeah, we just focused on that strategy of creating safety first in the workplace.

And so just I'd like to dive into that just a little bit more. Like, with the MeToo movement and obviously women speaking up more and being heard. I don't think that they weren't. Well, they're speaking up more now, and they're actually being heard, and things are being done about it. How do you feel like with the E Learning program that you have with Micah for safety in the workplace for her. So, you know, I want to make sure everyone really loves working here. And so we, you know, I'm so happy that we got that from you.

And let me point out, too, that in the state of California, if you have any employees, even just one, it is mandated that you have to train your people on sexual harassment. The same is true in New York and Illinois and Massachusetts. There are 10 states now, and by the end of 2020, they predict there will be 20 states that require it. So you're doing the right thing and the legal thing.

I know, I didn't know that. And I didn't know that till you told me that. And so that obviously created some urgency behind it, that it super important. And the safety first certification, what is that all about? Why did you create that?

Well, that actually includes three different topics. The first one is harassment prevention. The second one is the reasonable suspicion of drug and alcohol abuse. And then the third one is workplace violence and active shooter preparedness.

Wow.

Unfortunately, it's a course that people need to take and really all employees and their family members should know what to do if they encounter that unthinkable situation. And we partnered, interestingly, we partnered with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. They created a video that won a couple of Emmys. And they gave me permission. I'm the only company in the country, they gave me permission to cut it up and put it in my course.

Wow.

So we have some really powerful content in that course because they are also one of my clients. I train all the police officers in harassment prevention.

Yeah, well, that's because you're that good. You are that good. And it's just. Well, it's just so needed. Right. I mean, look, nobody ever wants to come. It has to deal with any of these things. But if you're prepared, you know, you're not a deer in the headlights and you at least immediately know how to act right. That save your life and life of others. Now, both of your companies are very successful. You've been a very successful entrepreneur. But creating, I know that's your mission, creating the safe space to work. You probably, I would imagine in 30 years of business, we've been in business almost about the same amount of time. You probably hit some bumps along the way, is my guess. And the business owners that are listening to this are like, how did she get to 50 million? How did she create all these successes? What have been the biggest challenges, you know, along the way that you could share? And what did you learn from that?

Yeah. So from the elearning standpoint, hiring the right subject matter experts that have the credentials to author the content has been very critical for us because if there is a lawsuit and there have been, these clients are asked to provide the documentation and the credentials of the authors. So some companies may think, oh, well, I can just stand up in a Work, you know, in a team meeting and say, don't touch her, but. Or don't do that. And that's not acceptable. And we realized early on that we had to find the best of the best content partners. So that required some creative financing. And what we came up with is a business model where it's truly collaborative, where they contribute their content, we contribute our technical skills, we jointly fund and create a course, and then we take it to market through our distribution channels and through their sales channels, because they're already selling their content in a different form.

I love that. Again, innovation, right? Yeah. Right. There's always a way. And I do think that, you know, often people will hit a wall and go, oh, that's over my head. Or that's too costly. We couldn't do it. And here what you've done is say, let's figure it out. Let's create a new path.

I split the cost on the front end and we split the revenue on the back end. And then we support it all and we support the users and we help to market. So the other challenge we ran into is technology, because technology keeps changing and evolving. So originally everything was programmed in Flash. Well, now the Flash players don't work and the browsers don't support them, so everything has to be converted. So we just did a bid for a very large electric company. They have 500 courses that need to be converted to the new language that will play in the learning management systems. So that evolution of technology means you can't build it once and send it out there and just sit back and collect a paycheck. You have to continue to keep the content fresh because the laws are changing and the delivery methods are changing, and the technology that allows people to view the material is changing. And then you need to add the federal government, who's now requiring everything, is 508 compliant on top of that. So.

So how do you manage that? Because it is. And it's changing so quickly.

Mm. Yeah. So that our team is focused on making sure we stay on top of the laws. In fact, we just did a. An RFP with another very large company in Texas, and they said, well, you have to guarantee us that you are going to follow the law. And there were three lawyers on the call. They don't want the responsibility. They want us to monitor it to make sure if anything changes. And in the states they operate in that we change the content. So we are constantly monitoring that and refreshing the material. And that's another great reason to use a validated course. You know, not just do a check the box. You want it to be engaging, interactive, legal and powerful. And most importantly, you want people to walk away with skills.

Right. And if something were to happen, you can really show, hey, I've, you know, use this course that is, you know, this is the real deal. Right. We're following all the required guidelines and so forth.

Well, that was the other big challenge too that I wanted to mention because we built a learning management system way back in the beginning and it worked for about 12 years. And the city of LA actually put all of their employees, 60,000 people, through our learning management system in the day. And then we realized that the technology required to keep it current and to continue to develop our courses, it was a distraction. So what we did is we went to market and we found a product that we could use to deliver our courses. So you have to be innovative in the way you continue to deliver your business, not just when you develop.

Right.

As you evolve. Is we had a client that had 3,000 people, they wanted to put through the course in one week. And it was. And they had old technology, their computers were old. Oh my gosh, it was a support nightmare. We got them through it, but it was a wake up call. It's like we need to go make an investment again, you know, and it's a continual eye out for what's new, what's coming, keeping current on the content and the technology.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I, I would not consider myself a techie person, but I'm definitely learning. Like you have to be because, you know, which leads me to the next thing I want to talk to you about. With everything that's going on with the world with COVID 19, and some of you may be listening to the recording and we're back to work and all of that. But, you know, how have you maneuvered through this time period, pivots that you've made? Where are you at with all that?

Yeah, so it's interesting you bring that up. I was just on another call today with the Women's Business Collaborative, which is a group of women across the country that are CEOs and board members, and they all are trying to elevate the stature of women in business across the whole country. So we have state senators, we've got some very powerful women in that group. And one of the terms I kept bringing up, and I'm going to look at my notes, it says that this new situation is forcing all of us to become more digitally capable and that we've got to become digitally fluent and I think that's going to be the case for the long haul here is that back to work is going to look different than what work looked like six months ago. And I believe there's going to be a big demand for the kind of work we do in helping people to learn and to retain and apply what they've learned. But there's also going to be a lot more challenges in how we communicate and work and deal with issues when we're not in the same space all the time like we used to be.

Right? Yeah, definitely. I do think that digitally challenged will be like add digitally challenged. It would be like a whole, you know, kind of, you know, behavioral issue or something like that. But I do think it is. It's critical. We have to learn. We can't say we can't use it as an excuse to say that we're technically challenged or we're going to miss out.

Gotta get over it. Gotta get over it.

Yeah. So how are you continuing to serve clients, you know, at a high level when you haven't been able to be face to face with them?

Yeah. So one of our clients, the city of Los Angeles, we work with the Office of Emergency Management and they have disaster service workers. So when you see, when you become an employee of the city, you sign an oath that you will serve if needed. Well, one of their E learning courses needed to be updated, and so we dropped everything and we said, what is it that you need? First question, how can we provide it? Give us the content, get the lawyers to vet it, and we'll turn it over, turn it around in a day or two. So I think that our mindset of being very customer centric is serving us well. And we got kudos from them and very thankful that we escalated their issue to the top because we knew how critical it was for what they were working on. And likewise, the city of New York, another big client, we're working on some projects for them and we said, how can we help you to more expediently get your projects done so you can move on to the next thing? So we're always looking for ways to expedite for them.

Yeah, that's awesome. So you've been able to kind of sort of maneuver through this time and help others do the same.

Right, right. And I'm doing new projects at the same time. So our community service is. We very quickly created a book on coronavirus best practices in the workplace when everything first started to hit the fan. So that's been out for well over a month. And we got rave reviews from people saying how helpful it was. Then we created one on working from home. How to figure out how to be productive for a basic level, an intermediate level, and an advanced level. And now we're working on yet another project about how to recover, you know, re enter the workplace, whatever the new normal is going to be. So we're not only doing our project work, we're also trying to serve our community as well.

Wow. And that's going to be a big demand, Patty, is for people, you know, because I do think it won't just be business as usual. I do think we'll get back to our, you know, the ways we work, but it's going to be at a different level. I don't think this digital thing is going to go away in any way. It's going to just continue to speed up. And what I'm excited about is the business owners like you, that have been creative are now creating innovative revenue streams that beyond this, you'll carry forward. Because I think that we need to be able to continue to communicate with our customers in the marketplace. Right. In these new ways.

Right. I totally agree. I just think that life is going to be different for a while and maybe for a very long time. And we need to adapt. I mean, that's kind of my word of. Of the week, word of the month. I mean, we have to adapt. Answer?

Yeah.

You know, and I think we're seeing that. We're seeing that with so many people that are reaching out within your community especially, and being helpful to each other and all of the extra mentoring and brainstorming and mastermind groups so that we can get out of our own heads and look at, you know, what else could we do? How could we serve our communities and whatever our passion or movement is?

Yeah. I mean, for us in Pinnacle, it's just. For me, it's been very heartwarming, you know, because our mentors and they, they run their own companies and they've been very successful in business and they've just stepped up and said, hey, what can we do? And they've just been, you know, on with clients daily, you know, helping them through this time. And it's just been really awesome to see all of the brilliance that's coming out of this. And so I think you had something that you wanted to share with everyone.

Yeah. Well, we actually have several free resources on our website and it's micalearning.com so we have a couple of ebooks, we have five ways to prepare your content to deliver in A digital online format. So we're trying to give people some coaching based on what our experience is. But more importantly, if somebody sends me an email, I would be happy to give them my implicit bias elearning course. Because my biggest fear is that we as a society already had issues around that topic, and I'm afraid they're going to be amplified by what we have gone through. So we don't want people pointing fingers at the young people that were on the beach and saying, you caused this.

Right.

Or Chinese American friends or. Or our elderly population. So I feel like we could all use a dose of deep breath and have some empathy for the people around you.

So that's a great resource and that's something that people could share with others. You know, instead of getting in their face, they could just hand them that information. And so it's. Can you say your website again?

Sure. It's Micah learning and that's mycalearning.com and to get the free E course on implicit bias, just send an email to infomica learning.com perfect.

And we will also put that there on the video. And this has been so enlightening. And, you know, thank you for all the work that you do and in the world, Patti, because I know you work hard. You've got this other very successful company, and I know that you are really on a passion and a mission to have people have a safe workplace, feel respected in so many ways. It really is a mission of yours.

It is. It truly is. I mean, I could coast off into the sunset, but like, no, not yet. I'm still having fun and I still feel like there's work to be done. So I'm creating a movement of safety especially.

Yes, you are. Yes, you are. And it's super, super inspiring. So thank you for being with us on the Scale or Fail show today and all that you're doing in the world.

Thanks, Alison.

So for those of you that are wanting this information, this great information, definitely check out that micalearning.com and we will also put that information below so that you have that. And remember, if you have not subscribed to the Scale or Fail show yet, do that right now. We have new shows that are coming out every week. We also have well over 100 shows that you can find just about any topic on business and business growth. So much there for you. And you can find our podcast on any platforms where podcasts are aired. We are on Spotify, we're on iHeartRadio, we're on iTunes. All the above if you want to learn about Pinnacle Global Network and how we mentor business owners like you to grow and scale their business, you can reach out to us@pinnaclegn.com and until next time, get out there and elevate yourself because you are worth it. Bye everybody.

From my experience, business owners think way too small in this disruptive marketplace. You have to stay innovative or you won't be here anymore. Business is not easy, but you don't have to do it alone anymore. We take you by the hand every step of the way so that you can finally take those hopes and those dreams and make them a reality. I'm Alyson Maslin. I am the founder and CEO of Pinnacle Global Network. We guide and empower business owners around the globe to grow and scale companies that change the world. Pinnacle Global Network is a private mentoring and mastermind network where our business owner clients are partnered with the CEO for private mentoring and small group masterminds. The most important amazing live events and a vibrant community of supportive entrepreneurs. In Pinnacle, we work with business owners that are at the six, seven or eight figure level. They're established business owners that have been running their companies 5, 10, 20 or more years and they're either stuck at the same level and they just can't get beyond that, or they've been on a great trajectory, but they want a much bigger leap. So my father was my biggest inspiration and he built the largest chain of women's clothing stores from 1955 to the early 80s.

He had such a passion for his.

Work and that really rubbed off on me. Started my first business when I was 19 and have built 10 companies over the last three decades. And so now in Pinnacle Global Network, I take that wisdom and experience, experience for all those years in business and I get to pay it forward with my team to help our clients really grow and thrive.

We have an amazing team at Pinnacle Global Network and it all stems from Alison. Her core values, her vision, her mission in life. And she really has attracted like minded individuals who have the same vision and mission for our clients.

The team are a bunch of rock stars. These are some of the most talented, diverse, exciting, experienced people you'll ever meet. They have all grown multi million dollar businesses and they all really, really care about the client's success.

We know what it's like to start a business. We know what it's like to grow a business. We know what it's like to scale a business. We've been there, we know the ups and downs. We've made a ton of mistakes and we now get to share the benefits of our experiences with all of our clients.

What clients who work with us can expect is to get all of us. We bring a hundred percent of our heart, our head, our knowledge, our experience, our team to what someone wanting to solve.

There's a lot of support out there for the startup business owner. So we really focus on the established business owner. Because something happens like you get traction in your business and all of a sudden really hard and they get overwhelmed, they get exhausted. And the truth is, is that if you're the one that is delivering your product or service, your business cannot scale. And so we help our clients build a team managed company so they're actually able to leave for a good period of time and the business continues to thrive. We work our scale it method and help them figure out their multiplier so they can replicate themselves and their offering and their business actually multiplies in profits and the number of people that they impact.

The Pinnacle community is just an incredible tribe of business owners that get together and speak the same language. Having people that are on the same path as you is so incredibly important and so powerful. It's a big part of our program.

When you come in as a business owner, growing a business business or scaling a business, it gets lonely at the top. And this is an environment that you are never alone.

We become your advisory board. We actually will stand behind you. So when you take a step forward, guess what we do? We take a step forward so you can't go back. And so it's not just about business, it's about helping you be the best version of yourself.

So for businesses to really scale, the business owner has to move away from being a boss, where they're micromanaging and telling people what to do and basically then they have no life to shifting into being a leader where they're empowering their team to stand up and take ownership so that they can take it and run with it. And the business owner actually then gets their life back.

And transformation is not an option when it comes to entrepreneurship. Transformation is required. As you grow your business, you get to a new level level and you have to transform as a person, as an organization. We're set apart because we help people transform. And that's probably our greatest challenge and our greatest strength.

Success is not created in a silo. Smart business owners know that if you want to get to the top, you have to work with someone that's been there, that's done it, that walks their talk and so that you have this geo force behind you and you get there in a fraction of the time. Having a coach is not just a luxury. It is one of the most important things that you can do to grow your business.

It.