Episode 18: Winning at Business and Life with Steven Donaldson

This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, tell me who you are and what you do.

Hey, I am Stephen Donaldson, and I am the founder and co-owner of Radiant Brands, a marketing and branding firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Stephen, great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?

The best thing about working in my industry is we get to deal with a whole range of industries, uh, and companies, uh, from, uh, technology companies, real estate development projects. We deal with So growing retail companies and all these companies that we have to brand and market, they all have challenges of their own, and it really keeps my interest, my knowledge base going all the time.

It's great. Question number 3: I hear from other business leaders that staying in a good work-life balance for them and their team members is a challenge. What are your thoughts?

I think that's really a challenge when you have your own business, and given that we're in a social media email, texting, always-on world now, it's really hard to know how to balance disconnecting from requests and set boundaries with clients and commitments. However, I think, I believe there's two parts to it for me. One is I always want to be responsive to clients in terms of setting expectations. Here's when we're going to have this done. Here's what's going to happen. Here's what my people are doing and they'll have it done. If they're just reaching out in the middle of the night or any time for some reason that's not urgent, I am not responding until I feel comfortable and I have the time. On the other hand, I'm always looking at the work we're doing. I'm always looking at the work other people are doing. I'm always reading and absorbing marketing information about what's going on. I'm always on in my world because I, It's the world I'm in. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

That's great. And it sounds like you've got a good handle on that all the way around based on how you describe that.

Um, pretty much, I think. But I would say that I have to not look at my phone to see who's talking to me sometimes. I have to be aware of balancing off what is important. But I realize I'm in charge. The devices aren't in charge. And I think that's what we have to keep in mind. And set the priorities both mentally and emotionally for what we have. If we're not, we're letting everything run us, and that is— why would I even bother being in business if that's what's going to go on?

That's sage advice. I love it. Question number 4: What other business— successful business leaders like yourself should be on my podcast?

That's a good question. Uh, I know several other companies that I've worked with that I would think would be very interesting to have on your podcast. There is a client and a good friend of mine, Barry Braden, who founded Fieldwork Brewing in Berkeley, and he is— and his business partner, actually, if you could get both of them, it would be great. The business partner is somewhat reluctant to be— he's the head brewer— in video or conference conversations, but nonetheless, They grew a brewery from a taproom and a main brewing facility to 7 taprooms, and they're going to expand to 14. He has an amazing business model, 153 employees, very high margin business, really understands the nature of growing a business and bringing good quality people in and scaling it. Isn't that the challenge of every business? How do you scale? And so I think he's a remarkable guy that way.

Great. What a reference. I'll reach out to him. Thank you so much. Question number 5: What insight or advice would you give to other business leaders?

What would I give to other business leaders? That's a really good question. First of all, it's not about you, no matter how smart you are or how incisive and insightful you are about things. You know, we all have things to learn, and your insights and your ability to see things in your industry that give you the ability to make good decisions and make things go in a certain way, there's always going to be a blind spot. And I believe any great leader, whether they're in business or in the military or in politics, acknowledges their blind spots and is open to criticism to see opportunities to make change, to get to solutions that they know they're committed to. And so whether it's getting your business to a certain size or, you know, launching new products or, you know, expanding coast to coast, those are all solvable problems, but it isn't just about you. And getting that input is vital to making your business grow and to contributing to others. Which I think that's what businesses are about besides making products. We're out here contributing to the communities we're in. We're supporting and benefiting everyone with what we're creating here and there.

That's really interesting. And I love that idea. It's not about yourself. It's to me that, that says that you don't want to, uh, you know, let your ego run everything. Is, am I reading you right?

Definitely. And I have worked with so many CEOs or higher management people in companies The ones that I run into who tend to focus on their agenda as the agenda, um, and they're not open to input of people close to them and not getting my input, I really can't work with them very well. And actually, it's not going to benefit their company. And, um, at some point they'll have a major problem, and I've seen it over and over again. So, um, That's, that's just something we all have to be aware of.

Absolutely. Very, very interesting advice. And question number 6, tell me about your first job.

So I had, I've been working since I was about 14 or 15, but the first real job that I would consider, you know, the payroll job with the W-2 and all that, was working at a Denny's in Vallejo where I grew up, uh, from 11 at night to 7 in the morning. It was right next to a 24-hour post office facility, and the shipyard was right across from us on the channel. And so it was always busy, and it was a very insightful— I mean, I would just say I worked for not good management in a terrible situation where I had to figure out what I was, you know, I was basically a busboy and a dishwasher. And you have to navigate a world of social personalities get paid and somehow deal with customers that may not even care about your existence. And when you're like 17 or 18, this is a big thing to get, you know, it's definitely big. And I think a lot of kids nowadays think that they're all supposed to, you know, get the perfect job and go right into a startup. When I hire people, just to relate it back to hiring people, um, I really look for Highly interdisciplinary, motivated people who understand I'm not here to tell them what to do. I'm here to give them an opportunity to get something done and figure it out and come to me to get solutions along the way.

That's great. So Stephen, thank you for being on the show. How can people find you?

Oh, they can find me through our website, radiantbrands.com. I'm listed in there and I have an email, stevend@radiantbrands.com. And if people are interested, they can follow up and ask questions or talk about what's up for them.

Excellent. Thank you so much. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, or Facebook and search for Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.