Success Secrets Exposed - From B2B to ME!

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Welcome to Success Secrets Exposed with Sally A. Curtis, where we share stories of challenge, success, and inspiration, along with practical tips and strategies to move you forward to your success. And now, here is your host, Sally A. Curtis.

Good evening, good morning, and good day to you all, and welcome to another episode of Success Secrets Exposed. We're in for a great treat today. We're talking with an expert who has transitioned from working in corporate life and become a business owner of her own with lots and lots of diversity. So for those that are new to the show, I'm a content repurposing whiz for speakers, authors, coaches, and consultants, and I help them turn their books and/or their content into up to 2 years' worth of social media posts. To help them increase their visibility, their credibility, and their profitability. Effectively, I help them turn their existing content into new profits. And today I'm excited to share with you our guest, Jean Christ, who is a digital media award-winning creator, and she gained her media experience as a leader in both the high-tech and the publishing industries, working for several different companies. She has had a longstanding stride in raising breast cancer awareness. We'll probably touch on that a little bit today as well. And she's also authored 3 books in a trilogy series. So please help me welcome to the show Jean Kris from B2B2Me.

Hi, Sally. Thank you.

Thank you very much for joining us. It's lovely to see you again, and I'm really excited to have a really deep conversation and a great conversation about the, you know, the diversity and the continued success that you've had since leaving corporate life. So can I ask you, can you tell us a little bit of that backstory of how you went from sort of working for somebody else to having your own businesses and being so successful?

Sure. Well, I started my career in technology and transitioned into media and publishing. And then went into television, cable television. And while I was in cable television, we were being merged with another company. And during that time, I was one of the leading market sales managers. And I was asked to do some downsizing. And at the time, I was managing a couple offices, multiple staffs, sales, some marketing, production. And I ended up downsizing and taking on some other management responsibility. And it was happening very quickly. And still trying to keep up with the pace of continuing to reach your numbers and hit all of your goals. I bet. And over time, it was probably, I don't know, 6 to 12 months or so doing a lot too many performance reviews. And Really just downsizing, and it just continued. And over time, it ended up being that I managed about 60 people, and I let go of a lot of them.

Hmm.

And at the end, I didn't see it happening. But because I was exceeding my numbers and doing so well, I knew that they needed to have a core management team. I thought I was going to be one of the ones that they kept. But, um, they had some middle management coming in from the new company, and, you know, they said, you know, unfortunately we need to let you go. So, um, it was a heavy time. It was during a difficult time of my life with some other things going on, which I don't mind sharing with you if you want to know.

Yeah, yeah, I think that's, um, I'd love if you're happy to share some of that other stuff because I think that attributes to helping people realize, you know, when we're in our own stuff that, you know, we just think it's just us and that, you know, it's only us that have all these multiple things happening to us at the time. So I think it's lovely for the audience to realize that, you know, highly successful people do go through multiple challenges all at the one time too. So if you're happy to share a little bit more, that'd be great.

Sure. So I had just recently gotten divorced about 6 months prior or 5 months prior. And I was still having a bit of contention with my ex-husband and had to go back through the courts and file some judgments to have him leave the home. And that weekend that I got laid off, we began our co-parenting. It was a very emotional time for both of us, no doubt. And I was still going through breast cancer surgeries. I was I started this while I was employed there, and then that continued on for a few years afterwards. But what I didn't expect was the weekend that my co-parenting plan kicked in, and I left on a Friday and came back on a Monday, was to be laid off and to be let go. And it, it can hit you the unexpected at any time. And so, you know, expect the unexpected and, you know, you never can be prepared, I think, is, you know, the point. And, you know, it can happen to anybody.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think what I loved about the conversation we've had and the information that you've shared with me is that you sort of— you've never held on to the poor me tag or label for too long because you acted very quickly and decisively and sort of using the, you know, the COVID word, you pivoted very, very quickly. So tell us what you did next. So you've, you've, you're still going through your breast cancer surgery, you're now co-parenting, it's an emotional stage, you know, for that, and you've actually lost your job. And now you're going to need to work out what's next. Did you have an idea of what the what next was going to be?

For a few weeks there, I didn't. And it was right before the holidays too, which is a very, you know, challenging time too. But I I gave it some hard thought about what I had done throughout my career so far. And I had already been through a variety of different areas throughout media, supporting a variety of different platforms and technology. And I said, I think it's time for me to start my own business. I think I was ready for it. I had been asked by multiple clients to do that and to go out on my own and that they would join me. So it gave me encouragement and inspiration to do that. So I figured it out. I, you know, learned how to start my own business, file the right paperwork, and get going. And within 30 days, I had my LLC formed and I launched Jean Kris Media. And I'm still in business. And I, um, really gave it a whirl as far as, um, you know, leaving behind that corporate workplace and starting fresh, starting something new. I was also given a non-compete, which at the time I really didn't think much about, but it really did put me in a bad position because I couldn't go back into the marketplace where I was for 2 years. And so I really had to start fresh. And so you had to, you know, be very creative and start with some new ideas. And so that's where I got very creative and down and dirty with, you know, coming up with new innovative ways to reach clients and do it all on my own.

I think too with— I think that's an interesting scenario there when you're talking about, you know, you've had some of your fabulous clients say, you know, can you help me out? They've asked. So I've got the rule of 3 that I work with in my business being entrepreneur. If I get asked 3 times, there's clearly a gap in the marketplace and they're obviously needing, you know, they're needing help with that. So how did you go around sort of helping these people that were asking you to help them and the non-compete to get started? Is that where that you've got the creativity coming in to be able to provide something different so you weren't competing?

Yeah, so I basically created— I took a whole— I created a portfolio and it was basically of all of the services that I had utilized throughout my career and, and kind of combined that all under the umbrella of Jean Chris Media. And then I went door to door and provided them to clients that I had formed relationships with over time, people that knew me, but it wasn't competing in cable television. It was basically offering digital media, different marketing services, a variety of different types of programs and project management services, social media. And social media was just, you know, starting. And so I, I educated myself. I just learned a lot and started you know, landing new clients. And I went across multiple industries, which is what I really supported throughout the years, a variety of different industry sectors.

Yeah. And I think too, hearing there that the fact that you've leveraged, um, and you've talked about your portfolio, you had all of these different skill sets. And so often we do have life experience and business experience, and we are across so many things. But one of the sayings that a friend of mine says, when you're inside the jar, you can't read the label. But often we don't know what all of these things are. And it takes a little bit of work and foresight to actually be able to reflect back to see what they are, to work out what your own opportunities are. Did you find because of being in that media umbrella that your strategic thinking helped you work that out? Or was that a kicking and screaming process for you as well? How did you find that process?

Yes, well, the part of knowing what I was good at and what I could do and what I was capable of was the easy part. The part of not knowing where to turn, where to go was the challenging part. And I was already networking with a variety of different women organizations. And I joined one organization that allowed me to take some classes and learn the incubator process to starting a business from the ground up. And that was really extremely helpful. And I created a business plan. I really kind of laid out the, you know, a map to what I wanted to do and what services I wanted to provide. And then I kind of put the, the plan into place. And I, I went forward with executing that plan. And I think what a lot of people do is oftentimes come up with the ideas and they don't necessarily follow through with delivering on those ideas and knowing how to go about it either. But going about it was the easy part for me because I had done so many different things and tapped into so many different businesses and technologies that it was just a matter of really putting it all together in a package and trying to offer different deliverables to customers that showed added value. So that incubator class was really, um, the trajectory for me taking off and really being able to do some unique, you know, content creation for clients.

And I think that that's the element that I'm really loving with the conversation with us is that you've actually packed from the get-go, you've actually packaged up. Whereas I see a lot of people when they're starting, um, that's, you know, create your signature program with me working with speakers and coaches a lot. that do provide services as well, but they provide that one thing that they think that they're in love with. And sometimes their clients actually don't want that one thing. Yeah. Whereas you've actually got more of a smorgasbord or more of a packaged approach or a services packaged approach that all sorts of intermixes with each other. It makes it— it makes you easy to buy because people can select based on what they're needing right now with, you know, some strategic help for you. Do you think that was what really helped you keep things off and work out where you were going to sort of specialize in that you had so much to work with initially when you first went out?

Well, actually, I didn't have that much marketing experience at the time. What really was helpful was my sales skills because I knew how to go about negotiating and go about listening to customers and being able to understand their needs. And then, you know, if they said, these are our goals, I would be able to tap into that and say, okay, well, how about if we were to do XYZ and, you know, come up with some ideas and, you know, propose some, you know, creative ways to help them with their business. And then it's a discussion and, you know, you know, if they're interested to work with you, then, you know, you move the needle forward. And so that's, that's really what was helpful was my sales and sales management experience. And then the marketing came along the way for me because I never really created marketing collateral per se, nothing really fancy. And then I started doing a lot more of that, and that came along the way with doing media and publishing and a variety of other things. So it just kind of grew with what I was doing.

Yeah. And I think if you bring that back down to you having really good conversations, listening really well, Yes, it's a sales process, but the thing that I really want to stress here, because we speak to so many people as it relates to marketing and we think marketing is the be-all and end-all, but you actually, if you have the business development, and I'm going to call that the real conversations with people, that's where the magic happens. That's where you get your first lot of traction is through that business development, those conversations. Yes, they may be sales conversations, but if you treat the sales conversation in a very authentic manner, then that's how you create success. From there as well. You also mentioned, um, when we were talking and in the notes that we've, we've gone through, that you had felt like you were being held back for years. And, um, and obviously that was where you ended up, um, you know, creating the packages that you did. But you've also talked about that you took risks and you learned to laugh at your mistakes. So can you talk us through that a little bit as well?

Sure. So when I was in corporate, I would always, you know, give credit to, you know, the talent and the teams that, you know, I supported. And I was never really, you know, patting myself on the back enough and really taking responsibility for— not responsibility, but really taking enough credit for what I was doing. And, you know, being strong leaders, you need to be able to speak up and say, you know, this was my baby too. And so starting your own business, it's all your own baby. And, you know, you do everything from the ground up on your own to start, especially if you're on a low budget, which so many small businesses are. Yeah. And, and so you learn that those skills that in leadership— I took many leadership and mentoring and coaching classes. And then, you know, the light bulb goes off and you're like, oh, this is, I think, what they meant a long time ago. And, you know, then it was, you know, not an issue. And I then became the risk taker and just started, you know, doing different innovative things that I really was passionate about and enjoying. And, you know, going back to corporate, I remember in my last job, I went into my vice president multiple times and I said, you know, I enjoy what I'm doing. However, I can do more. You know, I'm a little bored with what I'm doing with, you know, just performance management. Give me more responsibility. I'm not even asking for more money, but I want to do more creative things. And it wasn't the structure of the organization to do that. You know, they didn't want to go outside of the box. And, you know, as a market manager, this is what you did. So I think I was, you know, trying, you know, I was trying to do what I was passionate about, but it wasn't what they were interested in. And they had, you know, very structured and kind of serial-minded way of looking at how the business should run. So I respect that. But But, you know, now I was able to, you know, turn the table and really show that I had creativity in many different ways. In technology by creating a mobile device and in fashion and creating a fashion brand and, you know, doing things that I had never done before with production and operations and sourcing products and writing a trilogy book, self-publishing, and just doing things that I— it was exciting for me because I was able to self-educate myself.

Yeah, and play along the way and produce— play and produce effectively.

Right. And I wasn't scared to do it. And if I made a mistake, you know, you have to learn to laugh at yourself and, and learn from it because it's all a growing process. And if you don't Do that, um, you know, you're never going to learn and be able to grow from that experience.

I think you've touched on, um, an element there. I was talking to my, um, son who's, uh, 19, and we were talking about the difference between generations, as you do with, you know, your kids. Um, and, um, they, they want knowledge and to be perfect and to understand it, you know, instantaneously. And when you were talking about the light bulb moment, I was saying to him, you know how we've got, you know, the Sensor light out the front. Well, think of that sensor light and the way information and learning and life and experience occurs is you're going down a hallway and there's sensor lights, but they just take a little while to turn on. Like you're waiting for them to turn on. And that's, you know, those light bulb moments. They don't necessarily come just because you run through and they all come, they all turn on. You know, it's just got to— they'll land in your brain when you're ready. And I think that's so true. And you shared that so well. well by— A, you had, you know, you were juiced up by learning things and experimenting and trying new things and being creative. So now you've actually had that free rein like a kid in a lolly shop to explore and to create, which enabled you to create the diversities of business. So do you want to share with the audience a little bit about some of that, you know, the tech stuff, but also the lingerie, if that's the right— if I've used the right word there, and then the books? So to talk us through, you know, they're juicy projects. That's a lot to be doing on top of building a media business. And yeah, talk us through some of that.

Well, first I want to say that I, I did a lot simultaneously and I was told by a lot of female entrepreneurs that, Jean, you're doing too much. You need to focus. Just do one thing. You know, I would produce wine and food festivals. Just do that. Just, just have that as your core niche. Well, no, that's not just what I wanted to do. I mean, I was doing that, but I wanted to do more. Mm-hmm. And so, you know, I continued to follow my heart and my passion and continue to multitask. And if anything, that's a really great trait of mine because I was able to stay focused and You know, every day just kind of manage multiple projects. And so I first created my trilogy series. It was my— after going through 4 years of breast cancer, the saga kind of continued with multiple surgeries and so forth. I decided to document what was going on,

and

that's how the trilogy series started. But it was a book that was over 400 pages. Wow. And I consulted with somebody and they said, no, no, No, you have to break this down. This could be multiple books. I said, oh, that's a great idea. So it took a lot of— a lot more time to break that down, but I broke it down into 3 separate books, and they were right. I had the book about breast cancer, and I was a widow before that, so that became, you know, my pursuit of happiness and, you know, life as a survivor, not just a breast cancer survivor, but a survivor being a widow and kind of moving on with my life. And then I had a book about divorce, and it wasn't the divorce process, it was the process that I went through. And I wanted to make it humorous because it was such a terrible experience for me that I had to find the silver lining in it. And so I added a lot of comical, you know, jokes and things to the book.

Yeah.

And then I, you know, hired an illustrator and so forth to make that happen. And then, um, I was at the same time, you know, starting these new businesses. And when I finished the book on breast cancer, I still was going through my surgeries, and I realized that somebody needed to come out with more contemporary fashion for breast cancer. So I started to do that. And I really wasn't certain that this was going to be you know, an avenue for me for career. But it did turn into that, and I just put pen to paper and started designing. I really was never a graphics designer or anything like that. And one day when I was in the hospital for 10 days, I started, you know, really sketching out what I envisioned, what I would have liked to have worn. And lo and behold, I came up with a fashion line. So I took it from A to Z. you know, did the whole thing. And, you know, I networked from top down with top, you know, partners that are in the fashion industry. And, you know, people would meet me and say, you know, the CEOs of a lot of fashion companies out of New York and say, who are you? You know, and in 12 months. They're like, you didn't grow from the mailroom and, you know, just step your way up. up from here. And I'm like, no, why do you have to do that? And I would be really shocked that they would say that to me, but that's their expectation. And it was a very traditional way of doing business. But, um, so having newcomers like myself, you know, enter a new industry like that, you know, they were threatened. And it was, it was, it was challenging and, uh, you know, to be accepted. Um, but, you know, so I was doing a lot of different things and then I also was frustrated as a working woman of carrying all these cords in my pocket and, and having all this technology, as we still do today, honestly. And so I developed a mobile charger and where it's a universal charger, one charger that you ditch the cords and it, it's a pocket size. It's like the size of, you know, very small. And it has retractable cord and You can use it for everything. However, it has not gotten into manufacturing. So I got the patent on it and everything, and I didn't have the funding. So with the funding, I had to decide, because I was self-funding, where do I go? So I went with the fashion line and not with the mobile device. And the mobile device is available if someone is interested in buying the intellectual property to move forward. So—

Beautiful. So can I come back to— because I find it interesting, and I love also too that when you hit the fashion industry, because of course that's such a longevity, people in the fashion industry have been around for years and generations and all those sorts of things.

Exactly. Family history.

New York as well, you know, on top of that, you know, the height of the, you know, fashion area. How did you go about getting there? their acceptance? Because, yes, you were, you were a newcomer, you were. But I'm gonna say you were a significant newcomer because you knew your stuff, you knew what you were doing, you knew new business, you understood sales and having the right conversations with people. So you were a significant newcomer. You weren't somebody feeling their way through. How did you manage to, I suppose, turn that around from being that that newcomer that they were threatened by to being accepted and actually getting your business up and running? Because, you know, there's obviously the element

there. That's a good question. Um, I got a little creative there. And a couple things, I called top-down on some fashion organizations. I did join a couple different leading fashion organizations. I, you know, Googled them. I, you know, I looked into what was local and even the ones out in California. And I, I participated, I traveled to them, and I attended some of the leading conferences. So that was one thing. And then secondly, I reached out to some of the leading publications, and I landed a couple jobs to write for some of the publications. And I actually got my own column with one of the intimate apparel magazines, and was able to have a series of articles for them called Breast Briefs, and that was my own column. And so it was such a nuance of a new category for post-surgical mastectomy undergarments that I was being accepted because it wasn't really stepping on toes as such a new category. And, um, so I did that, and then I did that for a few other magazines. Mm-hmm. And then started writing for a variety of other magazines, with articles and blogs and, you know, live tweets and things like that. So I got my entree that way, and then when that kind of took off, I started my own blog and started doing it for myself when I launched my own e-commerce business, when the brand was ready to roll.

Yeah, beautiful. I love that you've, as you said, you've gone top-down to, you know, to connect with the right people. organizations. But what I've— I also highlighted there was that you actually created a voice for all of the women that were experiencing what you've experienced, experienced, but in a way that they were going, oh my God, finally somebody understands what— that we, you know, we need something comfortable and we need all of, you know, the apparel to be right. So you've actually created You've actually created a voice for everybody. And then, you know, through the publications, you built the awareness and sort of almost built the tribe and the— you deepened the conversation out in the public arena, which wasn't there originally. Would that be fair to say?

Yes. And then, you know, I placed ads in all of the leading publications and, you know, did my own work there. And then I had speaking engagements. So, you know, I participated and, you know, spread the word that way. And then I also became a board member at Susan G. Komen, which was right down the street from where I lived, and, you know, helped spread the word and by creating awareness by working very closely with their organization and helping them with media and in the local market.

Yeah. So key phrase I'm going to say there is you contributed, you've really contributed to that. I'm going to call it a cause, that cause, that industry, those women, that that scenario in multiple ways that actually helped, helped that explode for you. And then were able— was able to sort of monetize that through your, through your e-commerce store, etc.

Yes.

Yeah, brilliantly. And is that, I suppose, that part of the story, does that map out into the trilogy side of things as well? And you talked about, you know, the divorce— sorry, you talked about the beginning of your life and then the divorce. What was— did we get on to what the

third No, thank you. I didn't mention the third. The third is called Live Your Dreams, and that was about starting a business and really living your dreams and being that, that really that innovation and creation of the new technology. So the 3 books, I just happen to have the covers here.

Yeah.

That started out with Bliss, which is the series is called My Pain Woke Me Up. And because it literally woke me up physically and literally. The second one was called Legal Injustice, and the third is called Live Your Dreams. And I've written a couple of follow-on books, but I haven't published them yet. One I just recently wrote for the International Global Publishers called Empowering Women to Use Their Voice. Mm-hmm. And we decided not to publish it. They changed the format of the book that it was going to go in. And so I'm now trying to decide if I'm going to publish it by myself or, you know, partner with someone else. And then I've written another book just about small business experiences that I've gone through called— I've changed the title a few times— called Idiocies, or really turning sour lemons into lemonade. So something like that.

Yeah, beautiful.

Anyway,

but no, that's great. I wanted to make sure we'd covered that all up based on this story. I thought there was, you know, there was a little bit more to that book scenario. So thank you.

Yes, you know what, I really enjoy writing and, you know, writing for myself, writing for others. It's very cathartic for me and it's helped me to move on and it just gives me inspiration to write. And, you know, tomorrow I have a— Friday I have a piece coming out for the New York Women in Film and Television. I write for them and blog for them for, you know, a festival producer who's out of Cyprus. So, you know, I'm doing diverse work and I really enjoy it.

Yeah. I think one of the things that you also talked about was, and it's very, very, very evident now, you've actually listened to your needs. And you've actually created an action plan because, you know, that's your, you know, get stuff done type of person. And then you've actually acted on it. So you talked about being woken up. What would that— what was other than that, you know, you wanted more and you wanted to be creative? What other ways do you think that you've listened to your needs and/or that you see other women starting to do, because you talked about empowering women, and this is, you know, something that I get really passionate about, is that, you know, at certain times, at certain ages, we have things, you know, happen, and then we awaken. So for me, when my— when I was turning 40, my mum had, you know, a very significant stroke, and she wasn't able to speak or move. But through a, you know, a very, very conscious moment, you know, she touched me and she said, Sally, stop settling for You know, and that was literally the Mack truck. So I'd had the, you know, the feather, I'd had the brick, and now this was the Mack truck to, you know, change direction and do more. And we see that with women a lot and with the empowerment of women. So how, how would you help them identify what their needs are and have that forward movement and just be brave and courageous to do, do the things that are inside of them like you've been able to do so well?

Yeah, well, you know, it's funny, I was told that when you experience tragedy, that's oftentimes your most creative time or moment in life. And it wasn't just breast cancer. I think I've been through a variety of other personal tragedies in my life, and those have been times of inspiration for me where you can kind of sit back and find your quiet space. And, um, you know, whether it was during COVID or, you know, during a tragedy, you know, someone's passing or whatever it might be, you know, you, you, you know, can think about what it is that you might aspire to do and then, you know, think about, are you happy? And, you know, my first book was was talking about the pursuit of happiness, and I realized I wasn't happy in my life for 15 years being married. And once I stepped out of that, I kept trying to fix it and trying to make it better, and I realized you can't change anyone's behavior if they're not willing to change themselves. And the same goes for me with business. I can't change how I'm going about things, um, if I'm not inspired and happy with what I'm doing. So if you're happy, you know, you can accomplish a lot and move forward with many different diverse things and take on more. And I think that's what's allowed me to kind of move the needle forward by not looking at things, you know, staying positive and really trying to, you know, take on You know, not, not achieving too, too much, but really just trying to move, move forward in life.

Yeah.

Personally and professionally. Yeah.

I think through, as you, as you're saying, listening to that with, you know, um, finding your happiness and getting into flow and your energy, uh, rises and, you know, we talk about vibration rises as well. You actually start to attract the right things at the right time and synchronicity starts to set in and, you know, you find the right people and that, that comes through inspired creativity, creativity, and those sorts of things as well. So for those women that are listening or know women that have gone through lots of, lots of things in their life and/or those women that keep getting told you're doing too much, you know, just find that one thing, clearly you're the person to be able to help them, you know, do all those things that they're wanting to do. Talk us through how you actually help your audience and the business Consult— consulting offer that you have as well?

Yeah. So, um, if someone was— would be interested to partner, to work with me, I'd be happy to, you know, understand what they're trying to accomplish, what their goals might be, and then really just trying to, um, see if we can map out a plan to, um, whether it's media marketing, you know, writing, um, whatever it might be. And then just trying to help them with that. I am offering a free consultation, and if the first 20 people sign up for a free consultation by contacting me, you're going to receive a free copy of your choice of one of the trilogy series books as well. So just an offer that I have. But, you know, I— this is something that I'm— I've always enjoy doing. I've been doing less of it for the past few years because my own brand kind of took the forefront to get that off the ground. But now I have that established and have partners that are helping me with that. So I'm trying to get back into the mainstream of Jeanne Chris Media and doing what, what I enjoy doing. So being, um, you know, newsworthy and business savvy to help other people

Be that and very much the mentor of helping those people that know that they can do so much more and, you know, get a bit frustrated by being said, no, no, just do the one thing. And I think that was the point that I really wanted to get across is when you've— when you're one of those people that is a multitasker and you do have the— get into that inspired state and you are a take-action person, And it is possible to do multiple things. But if you're getting told by mentors or coaches and that sort of thing, maybe there's an opportunity to find somebody that understands the fact that you want to do diverse things. And I think that was the point that I really wanted to make, that it is something that you are totally adept at for yourself, but it's also an area that you'll be able to coach and mentor people through.

Or they may not know where to turn, Sally. They may not know where to go next. next to make that next step happen. And so they're at kind of, um, uh, you know, at a place where they don't know how to, how to do that. So yeah, it all depends, but, um, absolutely.

Yeah. And I think that's the important thing too, is, is actually realizing that yes, you can map things out, but sometimes you just need somebody to help you have that next little step. You know, what's that next step? And, and that can be, you know, the mapping out or the right person or the right you know, the right organization to join, going, you know, connect with this person. It's those sorts of little steps that are so significantly monumentally creating things and making things happen fast. And you've certainly had the diversity and the experience of doing that, but particularly with having that sales background there as well. So let's now, as we've still got lots of time to discuss, you talked about, and like any great entrepreneur, when you've come out of corporate, Right. Where you've had support staff around you, and yes, you took on a lot and you were doing a lot yourself, but now you're in business for yourself. You've actually now starting to do— now needing to do everything yourself in the initial stages, and now where you are, you've actually got partners that actually help with that. Can you walk us through some of that process of, you know, doing it all yourself to the point now where you actually have partners that enable it, enabling you to have, you know, getting your time back to be able to contribute and provide more?

Yes. So, you know, you can't be an expert at everything. So that's one thing you have to accept and realize. And as an entrepreneur, in order to be successful, you have to let other people in. So as a solopreneur, you know, people might think you're doing this all by yourself, but You might run the business by yourself, but it's important, I think, to collaborate and to partner. And so I found that you don't have to have a full-time staff to, to, you know, grow your business, but you pull in resources as needed. And that's what I've done in the past. I am not the expert at everything that I do, but I know what I'm capable of and what I'm not. And when I know that I've got too much on my plate or something that I know that I'm not able to do, you know, I know who to call. So it's always good to have that, you know, Rolodex of, you know, people that you know who to call for, um, you know, partners that you do want to work with, and then, you know, be able to have them, you know, bring them in on different projects. So I work with freelancers, with contractors, with different partners. And then, you know, and just touching upon the agreement piece of it, I think it's important to have simple agreements. I, I know that that kind of bogged me down in my business when I first got started. I lost a lot of business because I was coached and advised through, you know, legal counsel when you first start your business to do it a certain way and have these long contracts. contracts, and I lost business that way. Yeah. And so I got smart and savvy about it and created my own agreements and then, you know, had them help me with finalizing the final terms and conditions. And I think it's important to understand what all the T's and C's mean, but you don't have to necessarily drive how it all works. And, you know, we're not a lawyer, we're not CPAs, we're not, we're not wearing all these different hats. But as long as you understand the business fundamentals of how to get things done, And, um, you know, I may not be the graphics expert, but I can pull in a graphics expert or videographer, photographer, you know, whoever I may need to get a project completed, then that's success. And that's how you can, you know, deliver for your customers.

Yeah. And I think that, that collaboration and the Rolodex or the little black book, whatever you want to call it, that key network around you of, you know, knowing who you can go to and utilize as resources. as resources and vice versa, I think becomes very, very important. And I've certainly seen a rise in the last couple of years where people have actually gone from that co-competitive space into that more collaborative space since COVID because we all sort of had to adapt and sort of work out what we were doing next and all those sorts of things.

Right. You couldn't go to the water cooler and pull somebody on a project anymore. You had to figure out, oh, who do you call? Yeah, that's exactly

right. That's exactly the analogy. You know, we used to have those water cooler conversations and then they were suddenly gone and it's like, oh, I've actually got to, you know, crap, I've got to rebuild these relationships or I've got to, you know, who do I go to? Because, but, and yeah, perfect. And I think that's such a great way to leverage your own expertise because then you can do more of what you're brilliant at because you're bringing in people that are also brilliant or gifted in other areas. Brilliant. From closing comments as we sort of move towards the end, one of the comments that you said was success comes by doing things that feel great, not what others tell you. So do you have any closing remarks as we sort of get towards the end of the show?

Yes, you know, basically You should do what, what you feel is right for you and your business, not what, you know, don't listen necessarily to what other people are advising you on what, what you should be doing. As far as your inspiration, you know, your inspiration comes from within, so make sure that you're following through with your dreams, you're living your dreams. But it doesn't mean you shouldn't Take, you know, we all should take constructive criticism and take it to heart and be able to act on that. So, you know, you need to walk the fine line and be able to know when you're able to, you know, take advice and apply it to what you're doing. And then when you're able to just disregard all the clutter, all the noise, you know, because the noise can, can bog you down and it can distract you from your main challenge of what, what you're trying to accomplish. So, you know, I just had a couple things that I, I, I wrote down. You know, definitely laugh from your mistakes and learn from them. You know, network and collaborate at high levels. You know, be genuine and authentic with yourself and with your customers. Be a good listener and a communicator. You know, get creative and have fun. Don't forget the fun part because that's what this is all about. Um, you know, be newsworthy and business savvy with whatever you're doing. You know, you did this for a reason, and it's not just because this is the greatest, best, you know, device or whatever product, you know, program that you're innovating, it's because you're doing this for a reason that you started a business. So keep that at heart and, and don't lose sight of, you know, what the initial goal was when you started your business. And I think if you do that, you'll be happy and you'll be successful with what you're doing.

Yeah, beautiful. I think too, if I come back to my sign, which is this, you know, you know, trust your instincts, take advice, take criticism, but always trust your instincts. I'm going to ask you, because you've said this phrase a couple of times, when you say be newsworthy, lots of listeners may hear that and go— and I've worked with a couple of media houses and I remember her saying, but everyone always says to me, but I don't have a story that's newsworthy, I can't get free publicity. And that may sort of be the inkling of it. But in your definition of what What is newsworthy? And, you know, is it something— can it be something significantly small but still newsworthy? Explain that to us so the audience have got that as a great takeaway too.

Okay, yes. So, you know, whatever it is that you do, you know, own it. You know, know your 30-second elevator pitch. You know, know what it is that you do and be able to communicate that to others. know, you know, what you can do to help, you know, the market that you're, you're servicing. So, you know, just being, being able to communicate that to other people is, is newsworthy. So it doesn't mean that you have to have, you know, hundreds of press releases or people picking up on what you're doing. But if you need that type of business, Call me and I can help you with that. So, but, you know, it all comes from, you know, being able to, you know, have the right sound bites of what, you know, you're doing. I think today with everyone using social media, they're using those keywords, they're using a lot of those, you know, strategic ways to communicate in the market with how to attract, you know, different readers and viewers to their business. And, and it's, it's talking that talk. It's really being, you know, newsworthy about what it is that they're marketing.

Yeah, brilliant. Thank you. And it is just as simple as, you know, knowing with clarity, conviction, and in a compelling way, compelling story, this is what I do, this is how I help, and this is how I serve. It's— it can— newsworthy is the clarity of that.

Yes.

Yeah, beautiful. And so just for those that are listening, as we're getting towards the end of this show, if you are looking for that media support, if you are looking for growth within your business and you want to talk to somebody that does actually do lots of diverse things and has had multiple things on the go at once, and if you're somebody like that that's struggling to find the coach or a mentor in that area, then do have a chat to To Jean Criss, and you can find her at jeancrissmedia.com. That's J-E-A-N C-R-I-S-S-M-E-D-I-A dot com. And she has some offers there where she'll offer a 15-minute business consultation as well. So it's been an absolutely fantastic and fabulous conversation. I've loved that we've been able to talk about multiple things all at once and having happiness and success at the same time. I think the greatest lesson for me is that life is a journey and we just need to seize that bull by both horns and get on its back and ride it and steer it in whatever direction and wrestle it wherever it needs to go. And that's that conviction that we have and need to find within ourselves to take charge and have and live the life that we most desire. So any last closing comments as we go to the end of the show? And I thank you very, very much for sharing so much with us.

Oh, thank you, Sally. This really was enjoyable, and I appreciate being on the show. Um, just basically, I'm open to new clientele, and I'm also open to partnering with new agencies and new contract opportunities. because I am looking to grow the business. So thank you for the opportunity to, you know, have some exposure on your show. It's been great.

Thank you so much, Jean. Thank you very much for everyone joining us today. I hope you get some great tips, some fabulous inspiration, and you go out and make, make the day exceptional. Thank you very much. You have a great day, and I'll see you next week on another episode of Success Secrets Exposed. Till then.

That's it for this week's episode. Thank you so much for joining us, and I trust that you got some inspirational tips to move you forward. You can find this episode along with many more on your favorite streaming platform such as iHeartRadio, Spotify, iTunes, and more. See you next Thursday at 7 PM Eastern time for more Success Secrets Exposed with Sally A. Curtis.