This episode is a compilation full of the insights and inspiration for small business owners from Small Business Owners Community Conference and Awards held last October 16 & 17, 2024 at the Miller High Life Theatre in Downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Hosted by Grace Bruins, the episode features an incredible panel of guests sharing their wisdom.

Key Takeaways:

Build Your Tribe: Talmar Anderson highlighted the importance of having a supportive community of peers for business owners. Your team is not your emotional support system—seek out masterminds, accelerators, and coaching to build those valuable connections.

Trust Your Instincts: Sara Deacon drew an interesting analogy with butterfly feet, reminding us that trusting our gut feelings can guide us to make the right business decisions. It's crucial to tap into that 6th sense to find your path and opportunities.

Adapt and Move Forward: Nikki Lee discussed resilience by drawing inspiration from kangaroos and hippos. Instead of focusing on the past, small business owners should look forward and keep moving, just like kangaroos. And like hippos, even if things seem tough on the surface, keep pushing and running towards your goals.

Personal Healing for Business Success: Christine Welch, founder of Clarity Collab, talks about overcoming psychological blocks and transforming personal and professional trauma. Christine shares insights from her journey, including her new initiative, IGNITE-Women of Integrity, and offers advice on business ownership, delegating tasks, and focusing on strengths.

Creativity and Trust in Business: Kimberlee Grob talks about blending creativity with commerce in the floral industry. She shares her journey, crafting personalized arrangements that capture emotions and celebrations, while also offering valuable insights on customer trust, navigating challenges, and building loyalty through exceptional service.

Mastering Business Pitches: Precious Williams, founder of Perfect Pitch Group, talks about her journey from overcoming challenges as a plus-sized African-American woman in business to becoming an international speaker and corporate sales trainer. Precious shares her powerful insights on defining your narrative, authentic self-presentation, and creating unforgettable pitches. She offers actionable advice on positioning, packaging, and pitching to help entrepreneurs amplify their message and stand out in competitive markets.

Making Women's Voices Heard: Sharon Ringier, editor-in-chief of Possible Woman Magazine and host of a new podcast, discusses about the power of visibility and voice for women in business. Sharon shares how the magazine, originally a one-time project, became a global platform for women to share their stories without the pressure to “sell.” She also talk about her podcast’s mission to empower women entrepreneurs, focusing on storytelling, overcoming self-doubt, and prioritizing impact over sales.

Listen now to the unique perspectives from our amazing guests. Let's empower each other and grow stronger together!

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Talmar Anderson

LinkedIn

Connect with Sara Deacon

LinkedIn

Connect with Nikki Lee

LinkedIn

Connect with Christine...

Grace chats with entrepreneurial maven Sharon Ringier about the transformative power of visibility and voice for women in business. Sharon shares insights from her journey as the editor-in-chief of the Possible Woman Magazine and her newly launched podcast, underscoring the importance of giving women a platform to thrive.

Originally launched as a one-time publication, the magazine quickly became a global project, helping women share their expertise and stories without feeling pressured to “sell.”

Sharon also talks about the joys and challenges of launching her podcast and her mission to empower women entrepreneurs worldwide. This conversation explores the power of storytelling, overcoming self-doubt, and focusing on impact over sales.

Episode Highlights:

01:10 - It is giving women a voice. I run a a mastermind as well, and the thing I kept hearing was they were trying to understand how to get visibility, how to even articulate themselves and get their voice out and let people know that they were there without it always being so salesy and pitchy because people are tired of being sold to.

06:40 - The women I meet are so dynamic. I've been so blessed to meet so many amazing women, and it doesn't matter their walk. Their stories are just phenomenal.

08:29 - If this is in people's hands, how many babies are you saving? So it's like we have to get out of our own way and start thinking, who can we save? It's not a sale. It's who can we save? When I started thinking that way and helping others think that way, it changes how we respond to our fears.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Sharon Ringier

LinkedIn

Join Grace Bruins as she sits down with Precious Williams, the unstoppable force behind the Perfect Pitch Group. In this episode, Precious shares her journey from facing challenges as a plus-sized African-American woman in the business world to becoming a renowned corporate sales trainer and international speaker.

Known for her vibrant personality and authentic approach, Precious explains the importance of defining your own narrative, showing up as your authentic self, and making an unforgettable impression. Her insights on packaging, positioning, and pitching offer small business owners the tools to amplify their message, connect with audiences, and stand out in competitive markets.

Tune in as Precious brings her vibrant energy and profound insights, peppered with personal anecdotes and actionable advice to inspire entrepreneurs to redefine their paths.

Episode Highlights:

02:57 - I'm great at pitching, but let me show you how I can train your sales team in innovative practices, client acquisition, business development, and being able to do that on such a massive scale for companies that I don't get hired because I'm black. I don't have a Brazilian butt lift nor 6 pack abs. I am black on both sides, and yet I'm winning because they're hiring someone who can change the game and transform how they think about sales and business development and still keep it funky and fresh.

04:46 - My typical client looks nothing like me because I'm working with companies and corporations. So when you hear Blackstone, Verizon, LinkedIn, Google, Microsoft, my clients are like world leaders in their zones of genius, yet they're trying to enter new industries, or they need to change the narrative on how they're seen. And so they bring in someone like me, who's not going to give them the same thing that they've been getting from other sales trainers.

08:01 - Here's one business lesson I wish I had learned earlier in the game is to teach people how to define who I am. So I define the narrative. So many people want to put me in a coach category. I'm not a coach. I'm a trainer and international professional speaker. I am a 5-time number one best-selling author. And so some people, they've been hearing coach so long, they think that everything that I do is coaching. No, it's not.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Precious Williams

LinkedIn

Grace talks with floral business expert Kimberlee Grob about the intricate balance of creativity and commerce in the world of flowers. Kimberlee shares her journey in the floral industry, emphasizing the unique art of crafting customized floral arrangements that speak to individual emotions and celebrations.

From navigating the pandemic’s challenges to insights on understanding customer needs beyond price, Kimberlee’s experiences are a blooming inspiration for small business owners.

Kimberlee brings her wealth of experience and heartfelt stories from her journey as a florist, showcasing her dedication to making every arrangement a meaningful gift. Tune in to learn how Locker’s Florist built a loyal customer base through trust, creativity, and top-notch service.

Episode Highlights:

03:08 - I often say that being a florist is very much like being a hairdresser or bartender. We are there at the very best and worst times, and we hear everything. You're getting married. You had a fight with your wife. It's your big anniversary. You had a new baby. I mean, all those highs and lows.

04:57 - It's a psychology thing. You have to train yourself to be open to what the customer needs and what's going to have the best effect for that, because that's what keeps them coming back. If it costs a little bit more than what they expected, but they get a bigger reaction to it, that's a win, and they're still going to call you again.

07:15 - As business owners, you have to be like a hummingbird and be willing to backtrack and rethink something, and approach it from a new direction. I hate to use the word pivot, but being able to hover and maybe back up and reassess is a great skill to have.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Kimberlee Grob

LinkedIn

Grace chats with trauma coaching expert Christine Welch, exploring the core of overcoming life's unseen obstacles. Christine unpacks the psychological blocks that hold us back and shares transformative strategies from her three-year journey as the founder of Clarity Collab.

They discuss the profound impact of personal and professional trauma and the steps necessary for overcoming them, along with Christine's newly launched IGNITE-Women of Integrity initiative. Christine shares her rich background in emergency services and how it has shaped her approach to trauma coaching and life coaching.

Their engaging conversation is peppered with insights into the struggles of business ownership and practical advice for delegating and focusing on one's strengths.

Episode Highlights:

02:51 - What I have discovered is that very often there's some underlying components to what's keeping you stuck, and usually that's some type of icky safety trauma something.

03:40 - Sometimes we carry around trauma in a backpack forever. Like this thing happened to me or around me, and there's some belief that I have to carry this around forever. It keeps me safe.

04:32 - The key to trauma is that it doesn't always have to be a great big thing. Sometimes it's little tiny events that occur over and over and over again. Sometimes it is that one big event, but trauma can look different, feel different, and sound different to everyone. But we all experience it at some point in our lives.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Christine Welch

LinkedIn

Join host Grace Bruins as she explores the power of AI for business with Nikki Lee from Genhead. In this episode, Nikki shares her journey from film to tech and highlights the transformative potential of AI in the business world.

We get to hear how Genhead’s innovative AI solutions can help small businesses thrive and maintain a personal touch in an increasingly digital world. Nikki also offers inspiring advice for business owners on the importance of moving forward and embracing new technologies without fear.

Nikki brings her unique perspective and practical strategies aimed at helping small businesses compete and succeed in a competitive market.

Episode Highlights:

01:25 - AI lead generation, that's finding leads, bringing them into our CRM that we refer to as Gensuite, and then dripping them into highly personalized AI messaging so we can give that personal touch to that prospect at a capacity and rate that just---let's be real---no normal person can do. That is such an essential part to growing a business, especially in a world where paid media is just becoming increasingly more expensive and harder for smaller businesses to sort of get that skin in the game.

03:17 - By learning that myself, I saw all of the possibilities that AI could help and benefit my life, and I'm just so inspired to help bring that to business owners and also customers.

07:51 - AI can be a really great way to help you get to that place where you can hire a proper executive assistant that can then use those processes that we're helping put in place to make even their job better.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Nikki Lee

LinkedIn

Grace Bruins connects with award-winning event emcee, Sara Deacon, from 360° Emcee. Sara shares her journey from coaching to finding her true passion as an event facilitator and emcee, offering invaluable insights for business owners looking to host impactful events.

In this episode, Sara is a beacon of wisdom, revealing the significance of trusting your instincts and the value of authentic engagement. Hear about her remarkable experiences, including sharing a stage with celebrity surfer Bethany Hamilton and her unique approach to event facilitation that ensures attendees feel seen, heard, and engaged long after the event is over.

Episode Highlights:

01:45 - I realized that was really where my passion was, being on stage and then event facilitation. Event emcee-ing was something that that came into my world, and I could be happy doing nothing else but this.

05:48 - The magic happens when I can have a little bit more of a back and forth and conversation around what's the vision of the event and what are we trying to accomplish, and offer input and suggestions in a way that still leaves the person in-charge in charge.

07:22 - Businesses like yours that as you're starting and growing, you know what you're doing. As far as your craft, you understand your business, but do you understand the money side of it? And that's hopefully where you can find a good partner or a mentor to help you along the way.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Sara Deacon

LinkedIn

Grace Bruins sits down with hiring expert Talmar Anderson to unpack the unique challenges faced by small business owners in building effective and loyal teams. Tamara brings her seasoned insights on hiring and managing staff, drawn from her experience at Boss HQ.

Together, they discuss practical strategies for overcoming the common pitfalls in recruitment and leadership, emphasizing the importance of defining success in roles and understanding the true cost of hiring for potential rather than capability.

Talmar shares her patented "bossification" process, designed to streamline hiring and foster a stronger leadership culture within small businesses.

Episode Highlights

01:26 - We are serving clients with our first in-person event in Savannah, Georgia in January. We're teaching business owners how to really step into that CEO and how to hire a trusted second-in-command, how to really build that leadership team that they can count on so they can step out.

02:51 - The key is we have to take the time to sit down and decide and define what success is in this role before we start to write employment ads and job descriptions and interview people because we can't build positions around personalities.

06:43 - We're spending too much time fixing people's mistakes. We're spending too much time trying to get them to truly understand what they need to do or worse, trying to get them to care about moving up when they're like, "I kind of like just being this person."

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Talmar Anderson

LinkedIn