In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Tanya Karle, an Account Manager at Sherpa specializing in IT and project‑management staffing. Tanya shares a powerful personal story from a trip to Vietnam where she witnessed a land‑mine victim’s determination, shaping her perspective on gratitude and resilience. She emphasizes that success in staffing hinges on building genuine, mutually beneficial connections and leveraging one’s network for warm introductions. Her overarching business advice is to "invest in your people," urging companies to prioritize employee development. When reflecting on her younger self, she advises focusing on strengths rather than trying to overhaul weaknesses. Tanya defines happiness as being authentic and genuine. She cites the book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, highlighting that sustained effort outweighs innate talent. Her favorite quote, from the film About Time, encourages living each day deliberately as if it were the final day of an extraordinary ordinary life. Finally, she directs listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn (@TonyaCarley).
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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. Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today we have Tanya Karly with us. She's an Account Manager with Sherpa and she specializes in IT and project management staffing. So welcome to the show, Tanya.
Thanks, Tyler, glad to be here.
Of course, thanks for joining us. We'll dive in. The first question I have for you is is what's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Oh, this was such a fun question for me. So my dad came to the United States when he was 10 from Germany. My mother came here in her mid-20s from Vietnam. And I had the opportunity to go to Vietnam with my mother 20 years ago. And one morning we witnessed a man who had his legs blown off from a landmine. Drag himself physically with his arms across the street to the local market and set up a blanket. And there is no government assistance over there, and he had to make a living like everyone else. He would not allow anyone to give him money. He insisted on doing something for them, whether it was polish their shoes, put air in their bike tire. And this had just such an impact on me. Personally and professionally, it really puts things in perspective. And I think that just sums up most things in life is that it's all about our perspective and how we choose to look at things. And there's always somebody out there, you know, who would be so grateful for what you have. So that made a huge impact on me in my life and still to this day.
Wow, thank you for sharing that story. That is awesome. The next question I have for you is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that is within your expertise or industry?
Love this question. I get it a lot, especially with less than 4% unemployment right now. My, my biggest piece of valuable information would be it's all about connections, whether you're a candidate, whether you're a prospective employer. It's all about focusing on forging, building mutually beneficial relationships. Um, through these connections, you will be able to leverage your network, find the highly qualified, skilled candidates that can come with recommendations, um, through your business and personal network, as well as candidates. That's the best way to find your next position is leveraging your network, finding out who you know, who they know, and getting that warm personal introduction.
And it might tie in, but what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.
This does actually tie in, especially with— I'm going to harp on it— the less than 4% unemployment. It's all about invest in your people. You know, companies should always have this as top of mind. Just invest in your people. And, and that pretty much sums it up.
No, great advice. And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Oh gosh, this one was such a difficult one because there's so much I would tell my younger self. But the biggest thing I would say is tell my younger self that, you know, and, you know, focus my energies and efforts on really investing more time into building off of my strengths instead of wasting so much time and emotional energy and trying to force major improvements in or change my weaker points.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Mm, love this. I would say being your authentic and genuine self. Do that and happiness follows.
And what's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Best book, I'm an avid reader, so this was a hard one to narrow down, but I would say it is the book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. The biggest thing I learned from this and what sums it up is that no matter what, effort always trumps talent. And, you know, it's the difference between being successful is those who talk about it and those who do it. So, you know, you've got to be willing to invest in those small, actionable daily items, and that'll move the needle forward every single day. Keep doing that and you will get the results you're looking for. It's the whole concept of that, you know, invest 10,000 hours to become a master. Not many people will actually stick with it.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Oh, this is a good one. I really loved this because I love quotes. It is from one of my favorite movies called About Time. It's the main character, Tim Lake, is a time traveler. And at the end of the movie, he sums it up with his quote saying, "I just try to live every day as if I've deliberately come back to this day to enjoy it as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary ordinary life." And I just think if we all take that perspective and focus, instead of getting lost in the day-to-day rat race and the complaints of just don't miss the joy that, that's out there in your everyday.
Yes, thank you so much for coming on. And the last question I have for you before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find you online?
The best place to find me is going to be on LinkedIn. It's @TonyaCarley, and that is T-A-N-Y-A-K-A-R-L-E.
Perfect. Thank you again for coming on, Tanya. We really appreciate it.
Thanks for having me. Really enjoyed it.
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