Building a Business You're Proud of — With Dotty Scott

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Be The One TV show podcast interview series where I get to introduce you some extraordinary people who are being the one, being the one for themselves, for their clients, for their communities and the world. And today I have the privilege of introducing you to one of my favorite Wailas. Ms. Dotty Scott, who comes to us today from Vancouver, Washington. Hello, my dear friend Dotty.

Hey, Nancy. I'm so glad to be here today.

I am glad you're here because I must say, my friend, I love talking with you. We, we have so much in common and we go off on tangents and I suspect that might happen during the interview.

Or just a little bit too geeky sometimes. I don't know.

The secret is out. I'm a geek. And I love it. Let me share a little bit about Dotty. And Dotty is one of the authors featured in Volume 1 of Being the One: How to Lead Boldly and Live Your Vision. And that she does. Today we're going to be talking with her about leading boldly. Living your vision and staying true to what's important to you and building your life on your terms. And Dotty, you've definitely done that. So share with our audience a little bit about how you entered onto the path, the amazing path that you're on right now.

Nancy, it was a long time ago, and I don't really think that I would recommend anybody actually start a business this way. I didn't know any better, so I just jumped in and did it. I wanted to work from home. I did not want to work for a network marketing company. Nothing against them, but I wanted to have more control of the business and not have somebody tell me what I can and can't do, which is one reason I really consider myself unemployable anymore because—

we get to that point, don't we?

We do. I really don't need someone telling me what I can and can't do or when I can do it or any of those things. So I just basically picked something that I liked and I taught myself how to do it via, back then, forums. And physical books of reading. And I figured out how to go get clients. I'd never marketed anything in my entire life. I'm not a salesperson whatsoever, but I had to learn all of those skills as I went along. And I found people who were several steps ahead of me in whatever it was I was trying to learn. And I learned from them. And so I really put my feet to the fire and jumped in and just had no choice. I told myself there's no point in going back because anything that's terrible about being self-employed is still better than being employed.

Wow. That's really good. And One, I want to echo back to one of the things you said in terms of being unemployable. And I think the reason you're unemployable as well as I am is my thinking has changed into when I want more money, I think about how can I serve people and have them pay me for doing so.

That is very true. You don't think about going to somebody and asking for a raise or a paycheck. Yeah.

And yes, you're serving your employer when you're working at a job. And if you're happy in your job, stay there. Cause she did say, I don't recommend you start a business the way I did.

100%.

Keep that in mind. When I invited you to be part of the project, Being the One, which is really about How do you show up and live your vision?

Mm-hmm.

You and I have had many conversations. You're like, I build websites for people. Right? Yes. But you do so much more than that. What I see in you is you look for ways to help other people with the skillset that you have.

I really do. I do say I build websites for people because that's physically what I do. But when you compare what I do to an average website designer, I really do so much more because I'm trying to get not involved in their business, but I ask the questions that will help pull out things that will make their life easier, that will make things in their business work better. And there's so much more than web design in what I do, but I've always had a problem with conveying that in a concise sentence when someone asks what I do, because I do, I bring a lot more to the table than just web design.

If I was to be asked, what does Dotty do? Her business is making sure that your online presence is properly conveying your brand positioning and your offerings, that it is properly attracting your ideal clients, and that it makes you feel proud to send people there.

Oh, definitely.

That's what Dotty does. And oh, how do you do that? Is it SEO? Isn't this, is it that?

It's yeah.

And it's whatever you need.

Yeah. And it's even becoming, how can Dotty help you use AI to make your life easier?

I was going to go there next.

In your business processes, in your systems and all of that stuff.

Yeah. So listen carefully, my friends, because when you're committed to being the one to serve others with whatever your skill set is, and it doesn't— whether your skill set, websites, digital marketing, whether it's writing, whether it's house cleaning, whether it's pets, whatever your skill set and your passion is around, there's an opportunity for you to use that to help somebody else who will happily pay you.

Yeah, 30% agree.

And what I noticed that you do, and I think we've known each other almost 10 years now, I think.

Something close to that, yeah.

Yeah, it's really just about that, I believe. And what I noticed that you do is you keep learning and evolving as technology changes, as the resources we have available changes, which is why You're now into using AI, artificial intelligence, and showing people how to help it because it can be overwhelming.

Oh, it can be so overwhelming. I go to conferences a couple times a year. I make sure that I'm involved with different groups that educate you on whatever it is that you're trying to be educated on. And then for the last couple years, it's been AI for me. So I'm trying to stay on the leading edge. But I'm also a filter because that's the one thing that people really get tripped up on. And that is, is they don't know where to learn or what to learn.

Yeah.

What isn't important and what is important. And so I filter out a lot of the noise of what people just don't need to spend any time on and bring to the table the things that will actually move them or their business forward. The other thing I'd really like to say about this whole AI thing, it's been a big pivot for me in my business. And I can see the writing on the wall to where website design isn't gonna be something that maybe 5 years from now anybody's gonna hire a— they're gonna think they can do it themselves.

Like all these web design apps and stuff. They're there already.

They're there already.

They get information and they create a website.

But Nancy, you and I both know it's not the technical creating the website. It's the experience behind what works and doesn't work and how to put things together, how to make things flow. It's all of that. And I, but I can still see a time in the very near future where that's not really where I wanna be spending my energy. And so as a business owner, we need to be able to step back and evaluate what we're doing, what services we're offering, and see if there's a better way to serve than what we're doing now.

You know, there's a story that's coming to mind. Who remembers Blockbuster Video?

I used to work there. That was another age.

That was another age, but look what happened. It did not evolve when Netflix took over. Yes. That's why as business owners, we need to, like you said, keep looking ahead in terms of our ideal demographic, our target market. What do they need? What's the new technology on the scenes? How are people consuming our products? So if you talk about websites and website design, they have these apps now where you can get a templated website at the push of a button. You still gotta put a lot of information in, but you really don't even have to put a lot of information in anymore, Nancy. Oh, really?

Okay.

Yes.

You can put in your industry and it will take it from there. However, keep in mind, your site's going to be just like everybody else's.

Everybody else's. And is it going to have your unique, I would call it energetic blueprint, your language, your essence isn't going to come through. And maybe it doesn't matter if you're a plumber. I say it does, to tell you the truth.

I say it does too, but here's the truth and the reality.

Mm-hmm.

I would say 98% of all websites I've built over the last 20 years, the business owner can't tell me what makes them unique. They can't tell me why someone's gonna use their business over the other 100 that they could call in my area. They don't know any of that stuff. And so I feel I am better serving. Those people by letting them use AI tools now, or teaching them how to use AI tools that can help them bring that information out. So when they go and use a tool like a website design tool, they actually have valid information to put in there that will allow them to shine.

So I love that mentality and spirit that you're coming from rather than seeing those tools as competition and fighting up against it. You're like, how can I help people use those tools better?

Exactly.

Yeah. Yeah. So Dotty, I'll put all her information in the show notes and you can go to her website, premiumwebsites.net. She's also got another website called askdotty.com. I can't wait. And that's a phenomenal community to go and ask Dotty. And that's what I do. So good. And I love it. And you really have delved into AI. You're in the deep end of the pool, right? And you're swimming. You're doing so good. It's great. And I'm grateful to listen in on your shoulders at times.

I've got some super cool stuff coming down the pipeline.

I can't wait. I can't wait. Anyway, y'all want to make sure to follow Dotty, connect with her, stay in the loop because that filter she's talking about is essential because otherwise you're just going to be spinning your wheels and wasting your time and wondering why you're not making as much money as you could be.

There's a lot of rabbit holes out there.

Yes. Yes. I want to talk about the book again and your chapter contribution because You went in a different direction with the chapter in terms of sharing your story and also the free gift, the giveaway that you offered. Speak to that a little bit.

I didn't feel like people needed to hear why I became a website designer. It didn't seem like that was really going to serve anybody anything. So instead of writing about how I became a website designer, which let's all be honest, that's pretty boring. I really felt like there's a lot of people out there that are stuck in what they're doing. They either, they're unhappy at their job or they're already self-employed, but they're not really happy with what they're doing or with the results that they're getting. So in the chapter, what I really cover is how you can find the courage to have faith that there's something better out there for you instead of just being stuck wherever you are. It took me racking my brain on, on what to give for a free gift. You remember that, Nancy? I was like, I do. I don't know what to do. And there was one point where one evening I couldn't sleep and I really think somebody above gave me this great idea. I love photography. I love camping. I love hiking, all those things. And I love taking gorgeous pictures, but I've never really had a way that I was proud of to publish them. Well, just say that, publish them. And I also wanted to give people something that would help them dig deep inside for themselves, to help them try to figure out, you know, if I'm not happy with my life right now, What can I do to change? What can I bring into my life to get me to where I want to go? And so I created a beautiful journal using my photography.

Yes, you did.

And various prompts that are just meant for that person to read and just journal about, see what comes up for them. And a lot of those prompts are around self-discovery, courage, things that you can't answer real easily. They're— none of them are yes and no kind of a thing, but they're meant for you to actually really sit with that question, really think about how it affects your life. And journal about that so that you can be inspired, responsible for changing your life and getting you to where you want to be.

Absolutely beautiful. So Dotty, we're going to do our lightning round, which is our opportunity for the audience to get to know you a little more personally on another level. So we got to know about how you got started. What your business is, how you continue to evolve to be of service to others. Now we're going to get to know a few other things about Dotty Scott, and I'm going to start with what is one thing that you wouldn't want to live without?

I would not want to live without that inner voice that gives me the guidance to keep moving forward. That little thing inside of us, I call it a soul, some other people have other names for it, but it is my North Pole. It is what makes me go in the right direction.

That is such a yummy answer. And I'll tell you, I've had times in my life when I couldn't hear it and you feel really lonely. Yes. Yes. So part of the journal that you created or the practices that you live help you stay in touch with that voice, which is— Oh, totally. Yeah. Which is how you are in this beautiful space of serving, evolving. Well, so that's good. I don't want to live without that either.

All right.

Next up is who is one person, the one person you would love to meet dead or alive? And Squash?

I would say two, not one.

Okay, you can have—

we're gonna, we're gonna stretch the dead or alive a little bit. I would love to meet the real Spock, not the actor, but if there's a Vulcan out there that has these amazing logical people on that planet I would love to actually meet that. I know that's like in the future, way forward, but maybe. I really feel like we're not the only ones out here on this big, beautiful planet. We might be the only ones on this planet, but there's other ones out there. So, you know, I would love that. And the other person is way back, and again, doesn't really exist, and that's Xena. I don't know if you ever watched Xena: The Princess Warrior when you were a kid.

Oh yes.

And her friend, I think his name was Abby, but she was in the world of like fantasy characters, one of the only women. And she was super strong, super powerful. And she led an army of men. I loved watching that show when I was a little kid. I couldn't even tell you the actress's name. I don't even know if she's around anymore, but that concept of a person I would love to meet.

I love it. That's so cool. All right. Last lightning round question. What is your favorite food?

Hands down spaghetti, but It's not something that you can buy at the store or go to some Italian restaurant and get. It's homemade spaghetti sauce. I can even taste it just thinking about it right now. I can smell it.

I think I'm having Italian food tonight.

It is something that I learned how to make from my mom. I've enhanced the recipe a little bit. But yeah, but it's my favorite thing to cook. It's my favorite thing to eat. And fortunately I have self-control and don't cook or eat it all the time, or otherwise I'd be 100 pounds heavier. Are you kidding?

Exactly. And I love when you shared one of the reasons you love it aside from the great taste and you like to cook it and share it is memories that it brings. Yeah. Beautiful. Dotty, thank you for joining us today on Be The One TV. I am delighted to get to introduce you to all of the people that are watching out there. Make sure that you catch up with Dotty Scott and check out the show notes for where you can find her. And as we wrap up, any final word you want to share as for our listeners in terms of them being the one?

Take a chance and move forward. If you're stuck where you are right now, there's people out there that can help you, and I challenge you to grab onto somebody's hand, hold tight, and hang on for the ride.