117 – A divorce changed her life: Tom interviews Gina St George

Episode 117 – Gina St George
[00:00:07] Welcome to Screw the Commute. The entrepreneurial podcast dedicated to getting you out of the car and into the money, with your host, lifelong entrepreneur and multimillionaire, Tom Antion.

[00:00:23] Hey everybody it's Tom here with episode 117 of screw the commute podcast we got Gina St George here I've known this lady a long time and she's going to show you how to use systems and processes to run your business more smoothly and keep you from burning yourself out. So we'll hear from her in a minute. Our last episode 116 Andy Sokol was here and he's still got some of the same clients for 20 years. All right so he's got it. He's a client retention expert and he started his business on a totally shoestring budget. I don't want you to miss any of those tips that he's got for you. There's some really great lessons in that episode. All right our podcast app is in the App Store. You can also go to screwthecommute.com/app. And we have instructions on how to use it will do all kinds of cool things on your tablet or your cell phone. Take our take your favorite episodes with you and all kinds of good stuff. So check that out at school screwthecommute.com/app now our on demand Tv show is now current on Roku TV if you've ever heard of that some of you may have a Roku television that's already set up for Roku. If not you could buy a 40 dollar box at like Wal-Mart or Best Buy or or anywhere that sells electronic stuff for you on amazon and get thousands of channels and people like us can make channels. Now on these on demand things. So you're our first channel is up as it's called the public speaking channel and it has over a hundred thousand dollars in training on professional and public speaking. So check that out. And we also see as soon on Amazon Fire which is another type of on demand service and we'll be developing other channels like brutal self-defense and protection dogs delete those or other channels we have coming and of course Internet marketing stuff. So check that out Roku TV. Now our youth program is going where we're looking for entrepreneurial youth. And when I say youth I'm saying up to maybe early 20s if they're older than that they might be candidate for our regular podcast. But we want to feature the young people on once a month on our podcast. So if you know anybody that is entrepreneurial young person have them contact me at orders@antion.com. Of course it will be in the show notes and they might be able to be featured on an episode in our special youth program. All right. Today's sponsor is the distance learning school the internet marketing training center of Virginia. Don't even think about retraining yourself or sending your kids to college until you check out our webinar on higher education. I do not want you wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars and putting yourself and your kids under crushing debt. And we'll have that webinar in the show notes at screwthecommute.com or you can go directly to screwthecommute.com/webinars.

[00:03:37] All right. Let's get to our main event Gina St. George began her career as a chemical engineer and she was designing manufacturing processes. Later she moved to business process design and was assigned to troubled business areas that she turned around and grew them by sometimes up to seven times their I guess their productivity. But after burning out on corporate life she became a partner in a small business and learned that the reason small business owners are overworked and have a hard time scaling their business is that they lack the systems and processes that she's so good at creating. So today she's the speaker author and consultant to small businesses helping them grow their businesses and get their lives back. GINA Are you ready to screw. The commute.

[00:04:31] I don't want Andy to come over and beat me up because I taught him how to do it. Yeah. So good to see you. Good to hear from you.

[00:04:43] Great to be with you. Thanks for having me.

[00:04:45] So tell everybody what you're doing with these help how you're helping people now. Then we'll take you back earlier to that dreaded JOB and see how you got out of it.

[00:04:56] Well what I'm doing now is what I had to figure out a way to take all the things that I learned in a big complex organization and scale it so that it could be applied to small businesses. That was actually something I struggled with when I first started. Was how do you how do you implement processes and systems in a way where you don't overburden a small business.

[00:05:25] That's the one thing I wondered about where we're going to get into this topic because in a big business you've got 48 people you can say OK you do this you do that you do this sometimes you're just pointing at yourself when you're a solopreneur. How do I get this stuff done.

[00:05:42] Right. But a lot of it also can be outsourced. But in order to outsource effectively you have to define what needs to be done. And so so because you know that's something I learned the hard way because I outsource things without defining them well and you don't get what you really want. Well you don't define it very well for someone else to do.

[00:06:08] You get whatever they they think that you meant. That's not that. You could be back and forth 10 times if you're not clear with people and some of the places we outsource to. I tell people you've got to be extremely clear and pretend like there's a second grader because the English might not be their first language if you outsource out of the country.

[00:06:30] That's true. That's true too. So you know one of one of the things that I teach is that first you design processes the systems support your processes and then you train people. And if the people are not employees which for a lot of small businesses they're not you actually have service providers and do certain things that you do. That's the final piece where you've already defined what it is you want and what outcome you want from the task that that person is doing. And it makes it easier if you do it in that order to get what you want.

[00:07:02] All right so give us an example of that in a small business.

[00:07:06] In the customer service and in customer service in selling this. This was something that my business partner when I first became a partner small business he was excellent at selling really really good. And he knew how to take care of his customers. He just had just an innate feel for that because he. That's just how he's wired and he's very good at it and he's very good at the customer care and all the customers love him and he's just really good at it. Well he had a problem with was duplicating himself. Right. And so what we had to do was we had to say what exactly is it that you're doing. And he had never done this. So I had to take him through the process of defining step by step what what exactly is it that you're doing in your sales interaction with a customer. And exactly what are you doing when you take care of a customer after the sale. What exactly are you doing if you're dealing with a complaint. What exactly are you doing. So we defined that.

[00:08:10] And then and that's called the process. That's that's the process the process. OK.

[00:08:16] The system if you think about it in terms of method versus machine. This is one of the things I talk about Man material method and machine as as the four pillars of operations of operating a business process is your method system is your machine. So in a lot of cases your system is software. but software all by itself doesn't get you what you want. So because you need to have a process to bring that system to life because when you begin with it it's just a shell it's a framework it has a lot of potential but until you bring it to life by designing your process and putting your process inside of that it it's just a piece of software and that's why so many people subscribe to a piece of software and they think it's the answer to every problem they might have right. And they never get anywhere with it. And then they canceled their subscription and you go back to where they were. I'm sure you've seen that.

[00:09:15] Well again. And thinking about your partner there some things just software are never going to be able to do. I mean yes software is not the voice inflection when they're having trouble and you're sympathetic and empathetic to it. Software. Doesn't do that. It just says okay I do this. You know and it's cold. So. So how did you take what that guy was doing and get it into something that somebody else could duplicate.

[00:09:42] Ok. So so so after process his system and so in in sales you have different types of CRM that are available out there. Contact resource management. So this is how you stay in touch with your prospects and your customers. And so. there's many out there. And when I work with customers I don't ever tell them to trash whatever system they might already have. There's certain ones I like that I will recommend if they have nothing but I will usually work with whatever they might be using. So. So you. So now you actually put you you you populate your system with the data associated with your customers and your your your pipeline and your your system then supports you because you can set reminders. You can. You can run reports. Which is also part of your process. And then the final piece is you train your people which is the man part of man machine method material. So you train your people and your people now understand the process and they understand what you do and why you do it. And then they understand how the system supports that so they know what kinds of reports to run the software reminds them to do certain things. And that's how you duplicate a really good salesperson so that you as a small business owner so many small business owners do all the selling. And so that's how. And if you're going to scale your business and you're the only sales person you're going to have a really hard time. So so duplicating your ability to sell by having other people selling is vital to you being able to grow duplicating operations where other people are delivering is a great first step. But when you're able to duplicate the selling process then you can really skyrocket.

[00:11:39] Yeah it's probably easier to duplicate the production right because they don't have to. I mean you don't have to be a personality you're not dealing with the customers directly is that. Is that a fair statement.

[00:11:51] That is a fair statement. That's that's easier to duplicate and systemize than than the sales process.

[00:11:58] That's where you suggest people start if they're brand new to this concept.

[00:12:02] Yes. Well one of the things that I have found is that a lot of times people will throttle back their marketing because they're afraid they can't deliver. So the best thing the best thing to systemize is your delivery. And then and then and then you can feel confident that when I sell I can deliver. And and when I sell I can deliver more. you know as you scale. So when you're confident that you can deliver what you're promising. now you can confidently market your marketing message will be more authentic because if you're not sure of your ability to deliver. that's going to come through and how you write it present your offer.

[00:12:44] Very great customer is something I need. You know cause I'm kind of the chief cook and bottle washer do everything. I mean I like it. I don't have to do it but I enjoy it. But it's really something that if I was incapacitated or just wanted to disappear you know things definitely do slow down even though we have a lot of recurring income things set up but nobody sells like me. So it's something that me and and a lot of people listening to this or in the same boat. It's their personality and it's it's them that's doing everything. So that's great. So let's take it back to the beginning. I know you had a job. Let's take it way back like a high school college to have jobs then. How did you come up through the ranks.

[00:13:27] I. I had I got my first job my first real job. Like with a with an actual like pay stub when I was when I was when I was 15. I mean before that I I mowed lawns and babysat. I grew up outside Chicago. Florida is a better place to be this time of year although I do have a home in Michigan that sits vacant during the winter. Yeah. Yeah I actually love it a lot but this time of year like you know after the first snow I'm like oh that was really pretty. OK. Now I'm done. So yeah going back to high school I worked at Burger King for my very first job. That's one of the places that you can get hired when you're only 15. And then and then and then I worked at the big grocery chain in the Chicagoland area called Jewel and I bagged groceries and then I got promoted to checker. So I got to learn all the different lettuces and produce and and how to scan. And that was that. That was good.

[00:14:40] You know squeeze the melon to tell if it's good or not it's been fighting with that in my life.

[00:14:47] I didn't work in the produce department. So. So I was required to be able to identify all the produce so that I could charge people for the correct thing. So I know the difference between endive and escarole lettuce.

[00:15:00] You got me there too.

[00:15:05] So so I did that and when I went to college I had always been good at math and science and so I I majored in engineering. I got a degree in chemical engineering and when I was in college.

[00:15:19] Now that's a highly dominated male industry.

[00:15:25] And it was even more so back then because I graduated from college in 1992. Because I was college from 88 to 92. And you know it's funny that you say that because as I came up in my career from from college and then as a young engineer and as I got into management et cetera. people would would comment on that and talk about how you know how how do you do as as a woman and such a male dominated field. My answer was always that I really didn't think about it that way. I thought about myself as a person who was just being competent at my job and I was led with competence and I didn't let the other things bother me.

[00:16:05] Yeah but you have to have a special kind of mind. Because I dated a girl had three engineering degrees a chemical and a couple other ones and we butted heads all the time because she wanted me to to load the dishwasher so perfectly. Like it was the marching band in the dishwasher. It didn't last too long.

[00:16:29] I'm not I'm not nearly that regiment. And I and I work I live with someone who is not a linear thinker like I am. And so I've learned to be more flexible.

[00:16:45] It's like a ying yang kind of thing.

[00:16:47] Very very much. And you know what. Actually being with someone like that if I was with someone who is just like you.

[00:16:58] Oh I am. That's right. You call me machine gun.

[00:17:01] You could talk. She talks at one hundred and fifty words a minute with gusts up to 220.

[00:17:07] And I shoot questions at you.

[00:17:08] Yes exactly. You know before I could think about the answer to the first one she hit me with ten more. So. So OK so you did do well in engineering school.

[00:17:21] I did. And so the job the job that I did in college throughout college was I was actually a math tutor. And that was a great job to have because you could work for an hour at a time. They assign you students and you could meet them in different places on campus. And that was a job I did throughout. You know what. Because I did that not only did I learn how to do calculus but then I tutored calculus for the remainder of my time in college. I could probably still do a lot of calculus problems.

[00:17:51] All right but oh I got to do this. I got to ask you. So I didn't know this about you this new math that they're trying to put on people or do you know anything about that. I mean that there people were making fun of it online. They're showing a side by side screen of doing a simple math problem and the old way it's done in like two seconds and the old and the new way. It takes like five minutes to get the same answer.

[00:18:16] So I gather that's called Common Core math.

[00:18:19] Oh my gosh. Who thought this up.

[00:18:22] I don't know. You know what I'm we're getting into like a completely different area here but my my opinion is that. I really think that maybe somebody meant well with it but maybe there's a part there's a part of me that believes that they made math so difficult to learn because they don't want kids to believe that they can ever be good at math. And I remember a joke that I saw it was posted on Facebook where somebody posted their kids homework and the dad wrote on the homework saying I have a master's degree in engineering and I can't solve it the way you're asking.

[00:19:02] So it's not a joke it's a real.

[00:19:05] It's not a joke. And actually the governor of the state of Florida just this past week has eliminated Common Core math. So this is the state of Florida is going away from Common Core math. And back to the previous methods of learning math like you and I learned.

[00:19:21] Oh yeah. So. All right. So then. So you got a job out of college right. And what was that.

[00:19:30] My first job. I I I did project work for building chemical plants and so we were building very we were designing and building very large installations. So you're talking about like a three hundred million dollar construction project with all the different disciplines of engineering. So I did the process design work.

[00:19:52] And and then I worked with the other disciplines know the mechanical engineers work with the rotating equipment and the civil engineers build the buildings and put in the foundations and the electrical engineers do the control systems and so that that that in and of itself enabled me to learn about how different things work together to make a nice Symphony.

[00:20:16] That's where you cut your teeth on. So that's right. Fast forward to the when you decided that hey you know this I'm tired of this. I want to start my own business. A transition that you save money that you just stop one day. How did that transition come about.

[00:20:33] So what happened for me is is that the the last thing that I was doing in my corporate career I was doing a lot of acquisition work. So I was working for a company that was buying a bunch of other companies and this was very valuable experience for me because I got a lot of insight into how how operations are evaluated by big companies which changed the way I think about my approach to a small business because I know if you want to be bought what they look at in being able to in putting a value on you and whether or not they're even interested in having your business if you operate the right way. So I did a lot of that and I and I flew around and I was away from home a lot and I've been in 46 of our 50 states because I because I traveled a lot when I did that and I found myself getting divorced and basically I realized how much of my life I had allowed allowed my job to consume. And and I decided that it couldn't be that way that. That I just wasn't going to have my life be that way and I and I made that decision. It was it was after I had just I had just moved I let my ex-husband keep the house and almost everything in it and I decided I wanted to downsize and simplify my life. So I moved to a condo and I didn't have any furniture yet because it hadn't been delivered. So my very first night on my own I was in my condo and I got dinner at subway and unwrapped my sandwich sitting on the floor of my living room because I had no furniture that's thought it over I'd say that is starting over and I remember thinking I am so accomplished and I'm so good at what I do. Yet this is my life. And and I knew in that moment that something needed to change because I could not continue living like that. So what I did was I started seeking and I tried to figure out what it was I wanted to do. I invested in real estate. This was in 2006 when that was a really hot thing to do until 8 and then by 2008 I wasn't doing that anymore. and that wrote a book. I wrote a book on leadership because that was a skill that I had. and and so basically what I did was start working at the time. I was so. So what I did was I laid a lot of groundwork. for my exit. Well for me because I had the false start and real estate. Over what period of time. It was less than a year. By the time I decided I was going to do something different and I was going to use my my business systems process and business growth skills that I was going to apply to small business. So I laid that groundwork by working evenings and weekends. I did a lot of my work sitting at a coffee shop on Saturdays and and so I did a lot of that. I didn't give up my income immediately. And when I had enough of the groundwork laid then I said in order for me to do well at this I have to do it full time and that was when I left. BUT I WAS READY RIGHT. SO I JUST I DIDN'T JUST I DIDN'T JUST ONE DAY haphazardly quit my job and give up my income and I'm now an engineer.

[00:24:10] What do you plan and you make sure things are right. Right.

[00:24:14] Yeah. So I was I was responsible about it. Right.

[00:24:18] So how did it go. How was the initial startup of the business.

[00:24:24] Actually it went very well. I was able to close the business very well.

[00:24:29] What was the business. The business was.

[00:24:34] It was it was. There were two things. Part of it was I was immediately consulting on small business growth and systems for scaling a business.

[00:24:47] How did you get clients right immediately.

[00:24:51] I did that in two different ways. Some of it was just the contacts that I made through networking. But but part of it was I got business through private equity firms because since I had experience doing acquisitions I would do evaluations of small businesses that were being acquired. So I worked for the the buyer of of that business. So I did the evaluation on the buying side for the small business that was selling.

[00:25:27] Did you did you put out any products on how to set your business up so that the saleable is a part of your systems and processes.

[00:25:36] It is it's actually you know what. I could probably do a course only on that. Thank you for the idea.

[00:25:41] Yeah I I'm thinking that because that's extremely valuable because most small businesses including my own for many years just to sell stuff know take the money and sell some more so take the money but no real exit strategy.

[00:25:56] Yeah. So I actually offer that as a bonus. And in other course. But I've never done a course only on preparing your business for sale. I should say yeah that'll be the next course that I create. So I was able to do that kind of stuff immediately and then I became a partner. and in an existing business it was actually two businesses. So one was a litigation support business that did document management copying scanning and all kinds of trial prep related activities and then the second business was a shredding business. And so I became a partner in both of those businesses. And so as far as that is concerned I was my one of my early clients. So I actually had my own business to work on to systemize and scale.

[00:26:52] Beautiful. Anything crazy funny happen along the way.

[00:26:58] You know the funniest thing that happened and this happened within the first year that I was there. Yes we had you know in document destruction a lot of times your customers are government entities. Because they have things that are confidential and and need to be securely destroyed. And we had a contract with with Broward County and specifically the Broward County sheriff's office and they had had a a document hold order which means you're not just allowed to destroy anything because of litigation. And that document hold order had lasted for seven years and for seven years they destroyed nothing. And you can imagine like how many records get created by an entire county right over the course of seven years. And so their document hold order had been lifted. And so they wanted to destroy seven years worth of records all at once and it was near the end of their fiscal year and it had to be done and invoiced before the fiscal year was over. And we had. Four weeks to do seven years worth of shredding.

[00:28:18] How many millions of documents.

[00:28:21] Well they don't count it by documents but we were inspired to pound them in truckloads. We charged by the box. But in terms of well just to give you an idea of the scale of it over the course of three weeks we we invoice something like seventy five thousand dollars. So it was a lot of boxes. And so so. So talking about systems to be able to scale an operation. knowing that we had very limited time to do this and knowing that we had only so much equipment and we also had to service our regular customers. And because you have because of the regulations in that industry with all the background checking that you have to do with employees we couldn't just staff with temps. So what we did was this was my system and my process. So we had we had the route drivers go out. The first thing they would do in the morning is they would go to the recycler and dump the load of shredded paper first thing in the morning. They'd run their routine route what had been scheduled for the day. And then they would they would dump the truck again at the recycler and they would bring the trucks back to our location empty. And so what we did was we lined up all the trucks. And we ran all of them simultaneously because you're normally the trucks are out the shredders on board the truck. And so the truck is out doing. Doing the destruction wherever at the customer's. So we brought all the trucks back to our facility and overnight we operated all of them simultaneously. For until all the trucks were full. So we were we were shredding from like 6:00 p.m. until about three o'clock in the morning. And we did. And then in the morning in the morning all the trucks were full and so the drivers would go out and they they would they would take the load to the recycler do the regular thing and then we'd do it all over again. The next day and so. So that was what we did. Over the course of it was like three and a half weeks that we got all of it done and we were able to complete the job. Oh so this was actually really funny. The county did not want our trucks at their facility because they were afraid if they were shredding trucks at their at their location day after day after day after day shredding seven years worth of regular there. And so yes they were afraid that the news would come start asking questions about why they were doing so much destruction. So we we we were fetching we were fetching pallets of boxes by the truckload and then they were also delivering them to us at the end of the day. And so day after day after day this was our system that we had set up and we shredded a lot of paper.

[00:31:22] I think we could have done this job in two days.

[00:31:25] I would have just driven but over the causeway and dumped them in the ocean. That would work it out but that would've been lying about the fact that we actually shredded.

[00:31:39] Yeah. Oh wow what a crazy crazy situation.

[00:31:44] So so what. How do people work with you. What would they if people needed this kind of help. What what kind of things they have for them. Well I actually have two main things that I offer. The first is is my general how to scale your business. And so this is for people who have an existing business and we can look at all of your processes and systems and put in place. what it will take to a get your life back. Because a lot of times your people as business owners do too much and they're wearing too many hats and there are a lot of things that they could automate or outsource and they don't know how to so. So we can we systemize get your life back and and you can scale another program that I have is I offer for people who are. getting started laying a lot of the groundwork so that they can actually get started knowing that they have systems in place so that again they can confidently market knowing that they can deliver. So. So that's so that's similar but different because for some people just getting started.

[00:32:57] Yeah I imagine you get into some businesses that you say well let's look at your processes and systems and you look around and there aren't any you got fires to put out everywhere.

[00:33:07] Well let me tell you something. In doing the work that I've done with private equity firms I have seen businesses that have you know 35 million dollars in revenue per year that operate off of spreadsheets and written logs. I'm not lying.

[00:33:28] I believe I totally believe it. I totally believe it in knowing how your business is just kind of grow organically without thought much you know and if the orders come in you take the money. And a lot of times these processes and systems are magic get pushed to the background just trying to keep afloat. So where would they go to. We're going to have links to all your stuff in the show notes. So what do you have. Is that where these are described these systems.

[00:33:56] Yes. Yes. I'm also on on Facebook. I have a page there. My my handle is business dragon slayer. I use that because my last name is St George. And so most Americans don't get that. So I'm going to explain that St George was the knight that killed that slay the dragon.

[00:34:20] Who was Saint Bernard.

[00:34:21] Hahaha. I'm not sure I know because I actually was there a person named Saint Bernard.

[00:34:27] I mean when I was in Maryland I went by this church and it was called St. Bernard and I thought oh I'm laughing like it's gotta be such a joke. Yeah. A Saint Bernard. I know the way you get up to see Bernard. Yeah. So business dragon slayer that's your handle at Facebook right. Yes. And. then you're going to have links in your show now show notes to my offers to offers and so forth. So that's great.

[00:34:59] And I offer I offer a free consultation for anyone who is who is interested in having their business evaluated and I can I can assess how I can work with you.

[00:35:10] And you speak on this topic too right.

[00:35:12] I do. I do. I do a talk on the. On the on the pillars of business operations and how you can actually lay a stable foundation so that you can grow and be stable and be confident moving forward. So I have a visual where I talk about the four pillars. And then I stand on a chair and talk about how stable the chair is and how it wouldn't be if it didn't have all four of those pillars itself.

[00:35:40] So if you ever fall off.

[00:35:42] I have yet to fall off. But it but it always scares the. The event promoter especially especially when I jump up and down on the chair.

[00:35:53] All right well we got to take a brief break for our sponsor message then we'll come back and we'll ask as we always do. What a typical day looks like for Gina and how she stays motivated so today's sponsors the distance learning school the internet marketing training center of Virginia. That's IMTCVA.org. Of course be in the notes with all the other good stuff. Now let me ask you folks do you know what colleges and universities are doing. According to gradeinflation.com, they're raising grade point averages to. Make it look like they're doing a better job of teaching when there's a mountain of evidence that says that they aren't. So I really want you to watch the eye opening higher education webinar at screwthecommute.com/webinars to potentially save yourself and possibly your loved ones friends and neighbors hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt when you go for higher education. But I gotta warn you be prepared to be mad when you see some of the things these places are doing to you and your family. So check it out at screwthecommute.com/webinars.

[00:36:59] All right. Let's get back to Gina St George. She's a process and systems expert with a long history of success in this field so now that you've you're on your own. Gina what do you like working about working for yourself the best and what's the worst part.

[00:37:17] The best thing that I like. Has to do with animals. I really like that. We do have an office although I do a lot of work without going to my office. But I get to hang out with my dog all day.

[00:37:31] I go to German shepherd looking at me right now. They want to get rid of her. Let's go play.

[00:37:36] Isn't it cool to be able to work with your dog.

[00:37:39] I do. I love animals.

[00:37:41] I enjoy that. And several years ago after I rescued my Doberman who I still have. I learned about the whole world of animal rescue and. I became a kitten bottle feeder. And this is something that not just anybody can do because kittens who are orphans and aren't weaned yet they have to be fed every two three four hours depending on how old they are and how big their stomach is at the time. And so you need to keep them with you. And so a person with a normal job cannot do that because in normal job you can't take kittens to work with you. So. So between the fact that if I go to my office I can just take my bag of kittens with me or I work at home. I can I can feed kittens and over the course of the last many years since I started doing it back in 2014 I've probably saved. 200 kittens.

[00:38:39] Congratulations.

[00:38:41] And so I love that I can't save every cat in the world but the ones that I'm able to I do and it's its own reward because they love you. The kittens that I rescue grow up to be great pets because they've been handled a lot by a human from very earliest time of their life. And so that is actually like not even a business thing. But that's like the thing I like most about what I do now is that I get to have my pets around me and I actually get to contribute to to the lives of other animals.

[00:39:10] The worst part is probably the cat. When you have to work you can't have more kittens around.

[00:39:19] The worst part you know actually it's hard for me to think about what the worst part because there's. You know initially you know when you're used to going to an office and interacting with people you know at first maybe that was hard but you know today you have meetings using these video conferencing tools. And so I'm around people all day. They're just not in the same room right.

[00:39:44] Right. Most standard thing I tell people that miss the corporate life is just go buy a water cooler and stand by it and gossip to yourself. So what's a typical day look like for you besides the kittens.

[00:39:59] Besides kittens are actually seasonal because cats reproduce seasonally and so kitten season began in Florida. Kittens actually start showing up in March but they're there. There's kittens coming out of your ears. Come July. And that and that continues through like September and by October. It's drying up. And usually if I continue doing it I'll have my last foster right before Christmas. And then and then I get a break.

[00:40:40] Now I know you've done some RV travel. Do you take them with you on the road.

[00:40:46] That's the best thing about having an RV is bring all the animals with you and so fun bottle feeding kittens. They just come with us to fill.

[00:40:52] That is so nice. That's truly lifestyle business right there.

[00:40:57] It is it's very very very much. I hope that's one of my favorite things about it.

[00:41:02] All right. So what how do you stay motivated. I mean kittens will probably keep you pretty motivated if things aren't going perfectly in the business. How do you how do you stay motivated.

[00:41:13] You know the biggest thing that motivates me is I'm a pleaser and that's just kind of how I'm wired and I adamantly believe in keeping my promises. And so. once I actually started getting hired for stuff back in the beginning I was motivated by making sure that if I made a promise that I was keeping it. And so. So today one of my biggest challenges is continuing to deliver while at the same time marketing. So balancing those two activities because you can't stop marketing but then you have to deliver because now you have customers. But I am I am motivated by the fact that people count on me. Like how I'm motivated that I have a kitten counting on me.

[00:41:58] They even say a lot of people that volunteer and elder people they live longer because they're totally focused on somebody else rather than their own aches and pains. So that's a great thing and then I use the little variation of that because I I make a big deal about I'm going to do something and I publicize it to the world and then I'm like I'm too embarrassed not to do it. So I'll scratch and crawl do whatever it takes to get it done because I don't want to look like I have just a big B.S. dreamer. So that's just a variation on that.

[00:42:35] Well I mean I do not want to be a liar. So if I've promised something I will deliver it.

[00:42:39] You're awesome. I wish more people like you in the world. That's for sure. So thanks so much for coming on. It's been great catching up with you.

[00:42:47] It was it was wonderful talking to you. It's been too long.

[00:42:51] I know. We're going to have to get back together and I think there's gonna be some excuses maybe for you to be up in the area. One of the kids got a job up here so maybe we'll get together when you get up there. So. Thanks so much for coming on. Everybody check the show notes and yeah every single business on here needs this kind of stuff either. If you're starting a business. Boy it'd be so much easier if you did it right from the start. Let me tell you I think because so many of us just get thrust into this and gung ho but then we end up making a big mess that Gina has got to come in and clean up for us or help us clean up. So if you could do it right from the start. Perfect. If you're already into it everybody including me and there's multiple systems and processes in any business so it's not just fix one thing I imagine right.

[00:43:42] Of course not. Yes. I mean marketing is a system. Delivery is a system. Customer service is a system. It's you. You have many different things.

[00:43:50] Exactly. So. So anyway check out all her stuff in the show notes please download the screw the commute podcast app at screwthecommute.com/app. This is episode 117. So if you go to screwthecommute.com/117 they'll take you directly to the show notes for this episode and next episode I'm going to tell you the ins and outs of broadcast the e-mail. This is still where the big money is in the internet marketing business field. So if you get a chance subscribe and review over it iTunes and I'll catch you on that next episode.

Join my distance learning school: https://www.IMTCVA.org
OR
Join the mentor program PLUS get a FREE Scholarship to the School: https://www.GreatInternetMarketingTraining.com