Episode 128: Drive your Profit with Storytelling with Elizabeth Barry

I usually forget to push the record button, but I just did now.

So was I supposed to record that last episode?

Oh, my God, could you imagine?

Oops.

Oh, sorry.

So apparently we're gonna talk about storytelling, and it's important. And Barry. So our guest is named Elizabeth. Barry. And here we have Barry the maintenance guy.

Right?

Oh, so Barry the maintenance guy, you know, storytelling is important, Right.

And Scientifical Report from California was saying the same thing.

You know, Barry, I got a question for you. We get started. Before you go. I know you're. You're pretty aware of Elizabeth. She's a very popular speaker. But what about the language she uses? What do you think about the way she communicates?

And they were cussing up a stone. Profanity's left. Profanities, right?

Yep. Barry, you've nailed Elizabeth down. She's the walking F bomb. Yeah, I know. Embarrassing but true.

All right, well, we don't use those kinds of words on this show. Not always, but. Mike, where's that clip of Trump saying wrong? Wrong.

I will a great, great wall. No, no, it's. It's buried. I'm sorry, that's all.

No, because last episode, I was like, like two or three times. I was joking. I was like, wrong.

Oh, this one. Here it is. Here it is. Wrong. It's just not cut. Right. Someone's voice at the end. Wrong. I think it's Hillary Clinton, like, jumping right on him and saying, no. Right, Right.

The greatest clip. Well, welcome everyone, to the Profit first podcast.

Episode one, 28, eight. Yes. Where are you, Elizabeth?

I'm here, baby.

I'm here. There you go.

128.

Yes.

You scream so loud, your computer.

My computer turned on down the hallway. How does that happen? I don't know.

That was so freaky.

The computer. Holy crap. What's going on?

Jump to life. Welcome everyone, to the show, the Profit first podcast. My name is Chris Kern. I'm the founder of Fractal Recording and Pause youe Life.

And I'm Mike Michalowicz, the author of Profit First. And have you bought Surge? That's my newest book. Yeah, the Pumpkin Plan. Profit first is being re released as a second edition, all that stuff. And I'm joined in studio by Christina Bulduk.

Hi again.

She's back.

Yes.

You haven't quit your job yet. You threatened a few times. I ain't really. She's back. And you, you're back too. Back listening to the Profit first podcast. This is a show where we discuss all the elements of profitability. And we started off last week with brand positioning, your personal brand, and how the outside world sees you. Today we'll take a little bit further and see how you can communicate with the outside world through storytelling. And none other than Elizabeth Barry's going to be joining us in just a minute to do exactly that.

That's right. I'm psyched for this one. And you can find us as a podcast anywhere. You listen to podcasts. You can subscribe and rate and review us as well. You know, you can give us five stars. You have our permission. And it really helps the show a lot. Helps more people find the show. A lot of people love the show because it's not about revenue. See, revenue is. Revenue is. But profit is totally screwed him up. Yeah.

Yeah. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what rhymes with a tone. Like, I don't even know how to rhyme with that.

Well, profit is great. That's what I'm.

I need. I need to. So there's a. Profit is great, and I'm so confused. Revenue is great and profit you'll never hate.

Oh, there you go.

Yeah, there you go.

Don't hesitate.

Yes, don't hesitate. I just say, like, it builds the slate foundation for your house. But that was so bad.

So, profit first podcast dot com. Have you been to that website, Profit first podcast dot com. Have you binge listened to our show on a Saturday? I mean, people are talking. You know, some people go on vision quests. They take a bunch of mushroom, you know, mushrooms and go trip out in the desert. Some people binge listen to this show. That's just what they do.

It's true. Elizabeth. Is absolutely true. I think someone emailed us and said there are binges.

I actually did that.

Have you done.

Last time I was out in la, I went into the desert there and took a few shrooms and binged on your show. It was awesome.

Nice, nice, Very nice. So, Chris, where can people find out more about us, bro? Where can they listen into us?

Yeah, Profit first podcast dot com. That's the way.

Oh, you said that. I'm sorry.

Yeah, that's like the. Dude, I think I'm tripping, dude.

What have you been up to, bro?

I hurt my back and the very lower back. Like, the very lower. Like right above my butt skin.

The cornhole. So you've heard you injured your cornhole.

That's what I want to vacuuming. And usually it only lasts a couple days, but right when I hurt my back was like, right. On Saturday, my wife and I decided to Do a bunch of house cleaning. And we're like, okay, we're gonna do some house cleaning. And I was vacuuming, so I hurt my back. And as soon as I hurt my back, I realized, like, I had to finish vacuuming. And my wife's out in the backyard raking leaves. And I'm like, how am I gonna leave my wife out there by herself raking leaves? So I went out, I continued to work the whole rest of the day, and I really messed up my back. That's been hurting for, like, two weeks now. It's still not better, and I think I messed it up. Elizabeth, did you ever hurt your back in a. In the desert near LA while you were eating mushrooms?

Not during that. During a Pilates. Pilates class a long time ago. And that was pretty much the worst experience of your life. Don't hurt your back. Whatever you do, don't hurt your back while you're listening today. That's for sure.

So what do I do, though, Elizabeth? Do I just literally lay down for three days?

Yeah, you actually do. You lay down for a few days. You put ice on it. They say ice and heat, but ice actually worked for me. And within three days, you should be. You should be pretty good. But definitely, like, lay down during the day. That's. That's what I had to do. It was. It was awful. It was.

I should learn how to do these podcasts while I'm laying down.

This is so funny. Like, we. We on our side here. Just totally dropped and I thought you got pissed at me, Chris.

Yeah, you, like, didn't answer.

Chris. You're like, I hurt my back. I'm like, like, how far? And you're like, down really low. I'm like, your cornhole. And it just went silent. It went silent. He went silent. Oh, he got. That was. That was the. Too far. I went too far. Finally.

Wow.

Yeah.

Barry, what am I gonna need to fix my back?

You're gonna need a couple of horses, a couple of mules, saws, hammers, nails, monkeys, Pumas. Yeah. Beans, coffee and biscuit. And a little.

Oh, oh, I totally forgot the fat back. I stuck. Stepped on the fat back. Yes. Slathered up with fatback. All right, we gotta get rolling, so I wanna skip everything else. Oh, except for shout outs. Do we have any shout outs?

We do have a shout out. This is from Dale Nichols, and he actually is a recent fan. He said, hi, Mike, Christina, and Chris, I wanted to let you know that I promote the Profit first book and podcast as the Pay Yourself first envelopes. Dave Ramsey method in percentages. He actually was turned on to us by the Jonathan Patoshnik episode Service Autopilot. He's a member of that. So he listened to that episode and he like, oh, my God, this is brilliant. And he has actually now been downloading and binge listening to us. And he said that we are changing how he handles his business.

Dude, you're my brother. You're my brother. And I'm actually. When we're recording this, I'm leaving for Dallas. Not tomorrow. Oh, tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

I think I'm going to that event to speak.

There you are. Yes. Service Autopilot.

All right, see you there. Well, hopefully we had drinks together.

Mike's such a rock star. He's like, I think I'm going to that event. I think he's speaking there. I'm not sure.

I sound like such a tool. And every. Every time I run into someone like, oh, I heard you're speaking at so and so, I'm like, I. I'll have.

My people call your people.

I know, I'm such a tool, but really, it's just because I'm traveling so much. It's not bougie. I'm not a bougie Doojee. All right, I'll tell you who's not tools. It's Nextiva Receipt, Bank Zero, Fundbox, and Fundera. I want to thank all those companies. We'll give you more details. We'll kind of sneak them in. During our interview with Elizabeth. Those are our corporate partners.

Prompt me.

All right. Her name is Elizabeth Barry, and she is a seasoned brand marketer and sought after marketing coach and consultant. She actually owns Elizabeth Barry Consulting, but she's also a curator for the TEDx events that populate the New York City area. I spoke. Oh, my God. I got a fly in my throat. That's how I started my speech. Hold on. I need a slug of water.

Elizabeth.

Well, you know I have that effect.

Yeah, you choked me up. Well, you had me speak at the Hoboken event you did two, three years ago. I've been to many TEDx events, world class. And you did it on a budget. I couldn't believe it. And then you did another one, and you just pulled off another one. Tedx women just recently, right?

Yeah, I did this one pretty much myself in a month and a half. And it was. It was even 10 times top, top notch than the one that we did that I planned for for seven months in Hoboken. So Mama's got some skills going on.

Mama's got skills. All right, listener, put your 7 point seat belt strap system on. Get ready for a ride. Elizabeth Barry's here on the show. Welcome officially. All right, so here's the deal, Elizabeth. Besides me having secret crush on you.

If you want game show music, let me know. By the way.

Yeah, we'll throw that, we'll throw that on. Now let me do my build up again. All right, Elizabeth, besides me having a secret crush on you, why is storytelling so important?

Well, storytelling is important because it's well for businesses. Right. I think that storytelling is important because it creates an emotional, excuse me, an emotional connection.

So for businesses, the same thing in your throat there.

Yeah. Think about going to a networking event the way I like to describe storytelling and the importance for brands or companies that when you go to a networking event, what do you do? Well, usually someone asks you, well, what do you do? And of course I answer, well, I'm a mermaid or I'm a jockey, because I can't stand that question. But if they ask me that question or if I ask them that question, I usually find two different scenarios. The first thing is someone answers with four or five things that make no sense to me because they're talking about insider jargon from their company that I have no idea what they're talking about. Or it's a 45 minute story and you're on your second drink and they still haven't reached their point. So, you know, I think that storytelling is important for clarifying your message and having an effective form of communication with the other person or audience that you're speaking to. Because if you can't explain it, you don't understand it and neither do they.

Is there a structure to storytelling? Do you just kind of go into a story or is there some kind of elements that are important?

I think there's a lot of elements that are important. I think that at first you have to kind of ease into the why. It's either being safe, staying inside the box, thinking, oh, we have to stick to the facts. This is who we are, these are the bullets. Or playing it a little bit more risky and creating a little suave, adding a little sex appeal to what it is that you're talking about. But. But what I do is I've actually bucketed the storytelling process into five sections where it's, first we build you up, then we craft the plan, then we deliver the story, we create a marketing mindset. And then before I let anyone go, I talk about confidence and lessons in handling stress. Because once you start building your story and Getting it out there. You're going to be kind of hit with a lot of obstacles out there. But there is a few tips and tactical plans that you could put into place to tell a good story. And it starts with where you've been, where your current state is, and really where you want to go.

Okay, so first I want to talk about kind of the sexing it up. You said. You know, we can just go with plain old facts or you can put some sizzle to it. But could that Jade, the facts, I mean, is that even ethical? How do we sizzle things up but still be true to who we are and truthful?

That's the cool part, right? And that's the biggest question on every corporation's mind, right? Are we gonna be unethical? Well, the problem there is this. And if we're talking about corporations here, sexing up anything, it's kind of like putting, having a mannequin. Okay? You can put a rag on a mannequin and put her in the window and no one's gonna look at it, but you could put a beautiful sequins black, short cocktail dress on it. It's the same mannequin, but it's telling a different story. Right? And the value of telling a story for corporations and brands and companies, organizations is that they can either have what it is that they've been talking about for years, the same thing, or they can, they can relate to people in different ways. And I think that most people are scared to kind of take that risk. And the problem there is that not only do you have the fear that your customers and your clients might get bored, but heck, dude, if you're the guy or the girl at the top, you're gonna get freaking bored at the top. And guess what? So are your employees. So if you don't consistently evolve your brand's story and create campaigns, your employees are going to be bored to pieces. They're going to come in, they're going to do a 9 to 5 job, and then they're going to get the heck out of there. And the people that they're talking to, the people that they talk to on the phone at events all day long are going to get that same appeal. So there's not only value in I'm doing air quotes here. Marketing or brand storytelling for your customer and your audience base for social. Ooh la la. It's also for the sanity of your as an entrepreneur, as a CEO, as a cmo, as well as your employee base to get them jazzed up, to feel like they have something to come into or to that's inspiring them.

How do you evolve your story? I mean, once the story is written, I think it's like a children's book or any other book. It's the same story over and over. Does the story really evolve? And how do you freshen it up?

I mean, my answer to that would be this, Michael, when was the last time you went out with your friends and you had a. A few glasses of wine, you had the.

10 minutes ago.

I know, I know, right? 5:00 clock somewhere. So, you know, you go out with your friends, you have a bunch of wine, you have a bunch of cocktails, and it was the greatest night ever. You know, you did some karaoke, you danced on a few tables, you came home and you're telling. You could tell that story for 40 years, and it never gets old. And there's always something different that comes about. So I think that when. When I think that there's a fear, I think that there's fear and safety. Where organizations, they come up with that question, they say, well, how can our story evolve? Well, think about ancient times, right? Ancient times created stories through around the Fire. They created stories by designing images on walls. I mean, that has character, that has grace. And the way my Elizabeth Barry's vision of working with companies and entrepreneurs on evolving their brand story is doing campaigns. Okay? And I think a quarterly campaign is something that you can measure results, you can track, you can benchmark and keep moving forward. You're not tweaking anything, but you're bringing life to the story. And that's how you keep everyone entertained, inspired, educated, and informed.

Well, let's put this on a profit first budget. So the folks listening into this show, small businesses, the word campaign to me sounds like money. I don't know if I can afford to do this. Can I, as a small business owner, be doing these campaigns and refreshing my stories and telling them in new ways?

Yeah, yeah. I think when you're thinking about profitability and brand storytelling, I think the thing that comes to my mind is a great quote. It's if you can't tell it, you can't sell it. You know, I like that one. And you're right, Mike. I'm actually faced with that obstacle all the time when I'm starting to market myself and everyone says, oh, again, it comes back to the fear base. You say the word campaign and it's dollar signs. And for me, I think it might just mean a little bit of consulting. So my advice is the evolution of your Brand can just. It doesn't have to be a huge campaign. It doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars like Pepsi or Coke or IBM or Apple. It can be a little bit of consulting that can help along the way that helps that organizational story get out there in a new way. Because you know what that does? It fights complacency, and it gives everybody within the organization, and that's paying attention to the organization a little bit of life. And that's where you get that sex appeal.

And do you find it's also just the spoken word meaning? If I went to a local event, that I could freshen up my story, and then when you go around the room and say, everyone, introduce yourself and what do you do for a living? That I can actually start building in a new, fresh story and market myself that way?

Absolutely. I mean, I was very popular within the Hoboken business scene for 14 years, and one time they asked me to. I created the first Women in Business council there. But as I was doing that, one of the presidents was sick one day, so I ran the event. Now, of course, I'm a rule breaker like yourself. So I went in there and I made all these, like, instead of they had a breakfast, so I made placemats that were all these inspiring words, and I put them down on everyone's plate. Because at every single event they go to, that's what they do. They stand up and they're like, hi, my name is Elizabeth Airy, and I do this. Well, I changed. I changed the rules, and I had people talk about what inspires them. They went around the room, and by the end of the. By the end of them going around the room, there were people crying and pointing at people across the room saying, and we went to school together, and I watched her kids grow up. So again, it's like taking that same story that people have talked about for weeks on weeks and weeks, and just kind of twisting it around a little bit. There's no, you know, unethical part about that. You're not changing the facts. It's just giving a little bit of a different approach.

And do you find stories are stickier? Do people remember them longer? And I'll just kind of couch that when I go to an event and someone stands up and is like, I'm Arthur. I'm an accountant. He sits back down. I'll never remember Arthur the accountant. But if someone tells a story to me, it seems like it resonates in my mind for a long time, especially a really compelling one, because I'll feel compelled to tell others about it. Is that true? For most people, when we hear stories, they're stickier.

Well, it's definitely true. I've seen it happen. I ran my events like that for four and a half years in Hoboken. But I'll tell you one thing, Mike. There's two kinds of customers. There's needs based and solutions based customers. So if you're going to an event and Gary the accountant stands up and somebody's launching a business in that room, they're gonna remember that guy because they need an accountant. But half the other room that doesn't need an accountant won't. But if he gets up there and he's like, you know what? Over the weekend I went and I flew to, you know, to Morocco, and I had a great time at the beach, and I hopped on a camel and I came back in 24 hours and it was awesome. Like, people are gonna remember that guy. And the beautiful part about that story, sticky kind of story, is that no matter what Greg did or said, he's going to be able to create three or four times more people networking with him after the fact to want to go up to him. Because how many times you go to a networking event or a business event or a conference and, you know, there's people standing in the corner with their, you know, sucking their thumb, like they don't know how to connect with one another. So the beautiful part about storytelling and just having fun with it is just that very moment being able to give a reason for someone to come up to you and say, hello.

Does storytelling translate to profit, though? So I hear you on the kind of the improving your presence and awareness. But do you find it translates into money?

Yes, it does, Mike. The very essence of that is it goes back to that quote. If you can't tell it, you can't sell it. But. But I think what people forget here is that marketing is to sales as to sales is to marketing. And I think that if you're not out there creating a reason for engagement, creating a new way to talk to your buyer that can give you $200,000 worth of business, then you're missing out on that profitability. Because there's always a reason to pick up the phone. There's always a reason to put a white paper out, a webinar, a blog post, an article to go to an event. I think that complacency and fear as well as safety stand in the way of storytelling, which can equate to sales and profitability. And just think about the additional networking there. I mean, people come up to me at my TEDx events, and the last event that I had, I went up there and I thought, you know, I had Wayne Dyer's daughter sing. Sky Dyer was at my event. Here it is. I grew up with Wayne Dyer as my mentor and her daughter singing. And I had all these people coming in from LA and Chicago, and I was up on the. On the stage and I hosted, and people wanted to come up and talk to me. I became the star, and who would have thought? And I got all these opportunities because of that. So, again, it's kind of just putting yourself outside the box.

How do you walk that fine line between, you know, speaking to your customer or potential investor or whoever it is and telling them your story and being genuine versus them kind of thinking, wow, this person's really trying to sell me really hard? How do you walk that fine line and not get to that tipping point?

Oh, that's a great question. I love that question. Because I think it's really just your belief system, right? If you're. If you, if you come off as a salesperson, you have. There's no belief there. You're just. You're. You're on the layer. You're like. You're like a box. You are like a black box. You come up, you're a mechanic. You shake someone's hand and you're, you're. You. You look them up on LinkedIn and you say, this, this, this, this. I worked with someone like that. It was awful to go inside the room with someone like that, as opposed to someone who's more relaxed, someone who comes to the table prepared. Preparedness is something that's so relevant, but yet we forget that, you know, and we get nervous. So I think that the fine line between being too salesy and being authentic is being prepared, being relaxed, and feeling comfort in knowing that you have something different to bring to the table.

So, oh, you got a hallelujah. What if I have a true blemish on my story? Like, you're too young for this, Elizabeth, but back in the 70s, Tylenol had a real problem when someone was planting poison in the Tylenol capsules. I don't know if you ever. Yeah, in the 70s, it was crazy. And Tylenol bounced back. But what if there's something that the world knows about you? Big brand or small little brand, but your world knows about you is a blemish. You can't just ignore it. I don't think. Or can you? How do you get around that or how do you use story to navigate a situation like that?

Well, I think those sorts of stories do happen and brands do mess up. I mean, this is. We're all human here. You know, there's a lot of human error and these things happen. And now with social media, it's just kind of like turning up the volume with that. I think that the best way to overcome a horrific, you know, like, heart wrenching, gut wrenching situation like that is through customer service. Customer service is a part of your brand story. How you do things, why you do things, you know, the Simon Sinek why, how, where, when, you know. So I think if something does happen within your organization and you and you have that blemish, I think that it can come down to or, you know, just. It could be very specific for any sort of obstacle. But I think customer service would be a great answer for that because if you come out and you help people, think about the last time you went to call or to call someone to get some sort of help and that person was really kind and nice to you as opposed to being standoffish. Now when something happens in an organization and you're standoffish because you know that you're in the rut, like your butt's on fire, man. But if you're kind and you're empathetic, then the other person and, or the huge audience base may be empathetic too. This happens with Volkswagen, happens with all these recalls all the time. So customer service can come into play there.

Yeah, that's actually. Thank you for that feedback. And that is how Tylenol played out that story. When poison was found, two or three people died. It was horrible. Tylenol came out and said, here's what happened, here's what we discovered. We're recalling every single bottle of Tylenol throughout the country. It cost them millions. And they went and replaced anyone that had Tylenol. They said to ship it and we'll get you a brand new tested one. They went uber. Customer service. But can small businesses afford to do that too? Elizabet. If I have some kind of blemish, maybe I'm a computer guy and I accidentally actually propagated a virus on my client's computers. Can I afford to actually play up the customer service and get that fixed or do I have to kind of walk away with my tail between my legs?

I think it's never good to walk away with your tail between your legs because that lives with you forever. And, you know, you gotta have a lot of therapy to Go back to that one. So not all of us can have the funds. But I think that if you are authentic and real and open and honest, I think that people can really empathize with that. So if there's, if there's an obstacle or if there's a situation that's a challenge, some customers may come back and say, well, thank you for being honest. So again, it really would just depend on the situation. But I would say never walk away with your tail between your legs. Always come and honestly is the best policy with those sorts of things. And as, as well as authenticity, I.

Think, Elizabeth, our listeners can use your help in using storytelling. So I'm kind of going to put you on the spot here a little bit. But if you could share with our listeners where they can find out more about you, but maybe also tell us the story about company, that would be pretty darn cool.

Cool, Coco. Well, you can find me@elizabethbarryconsulting.com and you know, the cool part about my story is that I was working in the dance industry. I was in sales and I kicked it out of the water. I mean, I blew the sales out of the water as 26 year old in New York City at Dance Magazine. And then I went on to their competitors and I ended up leaving corporate life after a year and a half in New York City. And I said like, I don't want to be selling people that they something they don't need. I was meaning customers across the country, small business owners that I was selling thousands of dollars worth of ad ad sales to. And their ads were horrible, their websites were horrific. So I didn't find it intrinsically rewarding to do that. So I quit and I launched my own business. So I launched the first strategic marketing firm for dance at that point in time because that's what I knew. And I was a strategic marketing consultant. It was a time when websites were really becoming something. So of course my clients were like, oh, we need a website. And I was like, oh yeah, I can build you one. I had no clue what I was doing. But some of my best work was done in the beginning. And I went from evolving from the dance industry into wellness, into entrepreneurs, a lot of women in business. And then I started curating TEDx events. And here I am today just becoming a more of a brand story consultant. I started something called marketing coaching. It's kind of fun. It's a different sort of, it's a different sort of outlet, right? I mean, sometimes people just want to call me once a week. To give marketing advice. I call myself the secret cmo.

I love it. And I bet, I assume back in those corporate days, you must have been with those sales on the phone constantly, right?

I was, you know, I was the cool sponsor.

Please say yes, you guys. Say yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes, I was.

Oh. Cause you were using your next Diva phone system. Yes, I was. That was how I do storytelling.

Horrible.

Yes.

Yay to sponsors.

Did you travel a lot? Say yes, I did.

Yes, I traveled all the time.

Okay. Did you use Receipt Bank? Because if you didn't, that's the most powerful tool you can use to organize all the receipts that you collect while traveling.

I'm actually going to do that now.

You zeroed it on that one.

Good one. Christina and Xero, we don't know if you know this. Elizabeth is our corporate partner who does an accounting system. Probably the best, the world's best accounting system. So we highly suggest you consider using that if you're not yet. But I will tell you one thing, and I gotta be honest. You're gonna get people hiring you just listening to you on the show. And they're gonna. You're gonna get some great clients, and then one or two are gonna be the bummers. And don't blame me, but they're gonna be the bummers and they're not gonna pay on time. You should use Fundbox to collect the funds. They don't do collection calls. They actually release the funds to you. And then when the client does pay you, whenever they do pay you, you simply return the funds to Fundbox. Pretty amazing, right?

Little cash flow.

Did I hit our corporate partners there? Did I miss someone? Oh, Fundera.

Fundera.

No, we did next tv. That's why I kind of tried tricking. I'm like, do you use the phone? She's like, I never use the phone.

What is that?

Yeah. So I'll leave Funder as the cliffhanger. But Elizabeth, thanks again for joining us one more time. Where can they go, our listeners go, to find out more about you? Great. We'll have that in the show links. Elizabeth, thanks for joining us. Okay. And there is one more corporate partner I want to thank. Chris. It is.

Please.

It is.

Yes.

And what Fundera does is if you need a loan for your business, we're actually getting new equipment. I'm gonna talk with Ron, but some new equipment for the new office for our podcasting so we can get another microphone on there. Yeah, we don't need a loan because we take our profit first. Yeah, but in some cases, you do Need a loan? Fundera is a one stop shop. You don't go to all the individual banks anymore. You just go to fundera f u N-E-R-A.com and they search out the loan for you, come back with the best options, you pick what you want, and boom. And there's no fee for. For. For Funder. No, there's no.

Who wants to fill out 19 different loan applications?

Oh, I do. I do. That's a joke. I know. No one does. You're crazy. Back in your hole if you feel that way. Geez. All right, I think we got. We didn't. Sorry, sorry. So, dude, Chris, what'd you learn, bro?

Yes, well, I learned a lot, actually. One thing I will say is there's an old saying I learned from sales. Tr when you asked her, does this, you know, do stories really help, you know, grow profitability? And she said yes, and she said mostly focused on the sales process. And there's an old quote that says, facts tell, but stories sell. So you can tell somebody facts all day long. They don't care. But the stories are what sells. If you tell the story of, you know, a client that you have that you worked with and it went really well and they were really happy, or maybe a time when you had a client and there was some catastrophe and you miraculously fixed it and made it all better, those stories are the things that actually push people past that point when they'll. And then they'll hire you. So in terms of sales, which I know, sales is revenue, you can definitely build your revenue with stories.

Dude, that's juicy.

Juicy.

Yeah. Josie. Josie Frodi. What do you got?

I think Josie just, you know, when she hit on. Don't be ashamed of your mistakes, you know? No, nobody's perfect. Your company isn't flawless. And don't run away from that. You should own it and use it as part of your story to say, hey, you know, we made this mistake. This is how we grew from it, and this is why we're here at a better place now.

So when you make a mistake, don't build a wall around it. Admit it. I will build a great, great wall. Go.

All right, Donald.

I just love that sound. I love that he says great, great like that's his adjective instead of, I will build a magnificent wall. I will build a huge wall. I will build a great, great wall. Well, it's like greater than the Great Wall of China.

That's the thing. The Great Wall of China is only one great in their name. So he Put two.

My wall will be greater than the Great Wall of China. I will call it the Great Great Wall of America.

It's a spectacle.

Funny, you're making fun of him, but by the time this airs, he might be president.

I know, and he'll put me in jail. First I put Hillary, now I'm gonna put Michalis shits in jail. All right. Last thing I wanted to share for my takeaway was it was something she snuck in the very end. She goes, you know, social media turns up the volume. So when there's negative stuff, social media starts chit chattering about the negative stuff. You can't avoid it anymore. It's kind of like ripples in the water. You drop a pebble and it just keeps on going out. That's what social media does. Even if you're a micro small business. One person starts yip yapping about what they don't like, it starts spreading out. Powerful stuff, Chris.

Really. And she also said, be prepared and be relaxed too. I thought those were wise words as well.

Dude, she's that type of person. She came to my house. This is like maybe six months ago, maybe a year ago now. We were talking business. And this is, you know, my house is where our business is. She sat down. There's a bench in the living room. Sit down. And she does the yoga style sitting. And you know, when someone can do that on a hard bench, they are relaxed, that they are chill.

That takes talent. Yeah, yeah.

She's like. She starts doing this yoga stuff on a bench. All right, Chris, take us out of here, bro.

Yes. So by the way, profit first podcast com.com ready? That's. That's the URL. The URL. The Universal Record locator. Is that what it stands for?

Universal? Yeah, that's exactly what it stands for.

Profit first podcast dot com, all our episodes. And you can find links there to itunes and Stitcher and Tunein Radio every place you can hear it. I hope you're subscribed already. You can subscribe to our show. You can also rate and review our show. You can give it five stars and you can write in there. Mike Michalowicz is so handsome and dream.

No, no, it's true, it's true.

There you go. Profit first podcast dot com. And of course, behind everything, behind Mike, behind Christina is the one and only Obi Ron Kenobi. And you have built Profit First Professionals. It's an organization that is absolutely changing the world. It's such a no brainer that I'm surprised it took this Long, but wow. A company that provides people to you that are gonna actually stand by you and hold your hand and lead you to the profit land.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Hell no. Wow. He nailed it. So. Oh, my wife just got on the airplane. She has her seat. No, she just texted me. She's found her seat on the airplane. Okay. So we're only two years old. You know that we just had our two. Yeah, We've turned two years old.

Toddlers.

Christina, Me and Ron are kind of the original gang. And then Aaron came on Hallaj, Kelsey recently. Lenny right before. Lenny Kravitz before. And now we're looking for two more people. So if. If you want to work with the most awesome, insane company in the world that's changing the world, email Christina. Christina. Mike McAllen is one way or Christina at Profit first professionals. Now, what is profit first Professionals? We're an organization set out for. With one purpose and goal in mind. To eradicate entrepreneurial poverty. If you are not taking a profit distribution every quarter from your company, you're experiencing entrepreneurial poverty. And we're gonna fix it. Here's what you need to do. Go to profitfirstprofessionals.com. do it right now. There's no time to giggle, gaggle around. Then click on the find button button. Fill out the form, gives a little information about your business. We'll introduce you to an accountant, a bookkeeper, or a business coach, depending on your needs, who will help drive properly in your business. For every single quarter, you'll be having a profit distribution. Now here's the deal. Yo, pal, you need an accountant or a bookkeeper anyway. You're probably working with a coach anyway. Why not have someone that's already masterfully skilled in that and can drive profit in your business? Well, that's what we do. Again, profitfirstprofessionals.com. go there right now. Do not dilly dally. Go to the find button, fill out the form. We will hook you up.

It's insane. Hallelujah. You know, everybody wants to have their own company, but like me, I don't. I'm not a business person. I'm not a entrepreneur. I'm more of a technician. So a lot of people want to have businesses and earn money, but they don't know how to make profit. And that's where profit first professionals comes in. So thank you, everyone. Thank you, Elizabeth. Thank you, Mike and Christina and everyone in the background over there.

And yeah.

Oh, messed up my mute. So we'll see you next week. Thanks for listening. And look, we really are happy to be part of your profit journey. So thanks for listening, everybody.

See ya.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Sam.