In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Kelly Andrew, owner and chief ideas officer of Filament Communication, an inbound marketing agency in Milwaukee. Kelly shares a formative story about her father's mantra, "If you don't like it, change it," which inspired her to leave unsatisfying jobs and start her own business. She emphasizes the importance of getting an online presence immediately, urging entrepreneurs to "start today" by building a website, blogging, and using social media. Kelly advocates for hiring a business coach and cultivating a strong support system to compensate for founders' lack of managerial experience. Reflecting on her younger self, she advises seizing every learning opportunity and listening to mentors. She identifies the people around you—team members and client relationships—as the key to happiness. Kelly discusses the book The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, highlighting the practice of focusing on the single most important daily task to achieve larger goals. Her favorite quote is Nike's "Just do it," which she uses as a mantra to overcome inertia. The episode concludes with Kelly providing her company's website (filamentwi.com) and her personal social media handles (search "Kelly E. Andrew"), inviting listeners to connect online.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right, everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. Today I have Kelly Andrew with us. She is the owner and chief ideas officer of Filament Communication, an inbound marketing agency based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So welcome to the show, Kelly.
Thanks a lot.
Of course, grateful to have you here, Kelly. We'll dive into the first one. The first question I have for you is is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
You know, when I thought about this, it was really, I grew up with parents who were very hardworking and, you know, kind of shaped me, of course. And one thing that my dad used to say was, "If you don't like it, change it." You know, if I would complain about something at school or, you know, something that I was annoyed with, he'd be like, "You've got the power to," to change that. So I've always taken that into my life of if I have a job that I don't like, it's time to figure out how to make something that I do like, which is how I got to starting my business.
I agree, I love that. The next one I have for you is what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Sure, so this one is super easy, start today. If you have a business, if you're even a side hustle, you've got to get yourself online. You know, if you're not posting, if you don't have a website, if you're not blogging, if you're not using social media, you're just behind the ball. And all of those things are cumulative. So the sooner you start, it's kind of like saving for retirement. The sooner you start, the more collateral you're going to have in years to come. So start today.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.
I really believe in getting a coach, having a great support system, having someone to be able to pull you up from inside your business every day and, you know, help you look at the bigger picture, help you put strategy in place and help you learn. When most of us start our businesses because we're really good at something, not because we're great at running businesses. So get a coach, take the help and you know, get the help to grow.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I would say soak up every opportunity to learn education. I was not necessarily your most stellar student in college. And when I look back on that today, I'm, you know, I take every opportunity I can to learn and grow and listen to people who've come before me. So I would pay a little closer attention.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
I think it's the people we surround ourselves with. That's been a fun part of why my business makes me happy is because I've been able to put a team together to work on, you know, on the inside that we really enjoy each other. We've been able to connect and build relationships with clients that are great. And that's really what makes me happiest.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
It's a book called The One Thing. It's by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. It's like Keller Williams is Gary Keller's business. This book really boils it down to if you have big goals, if you have a big vision for your life, but you're not really boiling it down to the most important thing every day, which might truly be like I need to get up and have my coffee and have some time to read and journal in the morning before I start my day. That's going to set me on course to achieve all the things that I want to achieve.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
I struggled with this one, but I think it's kind of corny. And of course a marketer would say this, but "Just do it" from Nike has been something that stayed with me over the years. And whenever I'm feeling stuck or feeling like, what am I going to do? You know, you just take action and the next thing will come.
Thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where is the best place for people to find and connect with you online?
Sure. Our website is filamentwi.com. And you can also find us on social media under that same Filament WI, like Wisconsin. And me personally, just search Kelly E. Andrew. I'm also on all the social platforms under that.
Perfect. Thanks again for coming on. We appreciate it.
Thanks, Tyler Wagner.
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