Rural Futures with Dr. Connie Episode 12 Featuring Ali Schwanke

Rural Futures Institute Author

09/28/2018 Added

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[00:00:00.594](upbeat pop music)
[00:00:02.980]Why would you hire a development company
[00:00:05.040]out of Lincoln, Nebraska, when you can go hire,
[00:00:07.690]you know, the company that helped build
[00:00:08.890]some software out in Silicon Valley?
[00:00:11.200]Well, why, why wouldn't you?
[00:00:13.060]We can't get angry about someone not hiring us
[00:00:15.360]because we are part of the story
[00:00:16.920]that's being told in our region.
[00:00:20.200]Rural Futures, the podcast where we connect
[00:00:23.280]thought leaders and doers,
[00:00:25.030]at the intersection of technology
[00:00:27.070]and what it means to be human.
[00:00:28.860]Every episode, we talk with entrepreneurs, researchers,
[00:00:32.210]and achievers, to create impact for generations to come.
[00:00:35.861]And now, here's Dr. Connie.
[00:00:39.360]Welcome to the Rural Futures podcast.
[00:00:41.470]Joining me today is Ali Schwanke.
[00:00:43.770]She's the Founder and CEO of Simple Strat,
[00:00:46.080]the marketing agency for companies
[00:00:48.040]that are serious about growth.
[00:00:49.800]She's a sought-after speaker, consultant,
[00:00:52.050]and content creator, a Pipeline Entrepreneurs Fellow,
[00:00:55.000]and a member of the national Practitioners Council
[00:00:57.830]for the American Marketing Association.
[00:01:00.110]She's also wife to Bryce, who's a fifth-grade teacher,
[00:01:02.830]and mom to two boys.
[00:01:04.460]So you're doing it all.
[00:01:05.820]You're doing the whole, you know,
[00:01:07.340]work-life balance, and all that good stuff.
[00:01:10.240]But I'd love to dive into a little more about you,
[00:01:12.760]Ali, so tell our audience a little bit about yourself.
[00:01:15.730]Sure!
[00:01:16.838]Well, um, I'll definitely correct
[00:01:17.671]the not-doing-it-all-well. (laughing)
[00:01:20.516]Before we started-
[00:01:21.349](laughing) I just had to say that.
[00:01:22.182]Before we started recording,
[00:01:23.015]we were just talking about how I burned a pan
[00:01:24.740]with Pam spray in it, because I forgot
[00:01:26.760]that it was actually on the stove.
[00:01:28.100]So, most days I try a little bit harder than that,
[00:01:30.720]but I, but it's true, ya know, being a mom,
[00:01:33.570]and being a wife and those things are important,
[00:01:36.360]but I have a similar passion for running a business.
[00:01:39.600]And ya know, my first ever business, per se,
[00:01:43.860]was probably when I was six or seven.
[00:01:45.670]I was selling these greeting cards, door-to-door.
[00:01:47.960]So, it would have been like, in the probably, early '90s.
[00:01:50.630]And back then, everyone, ya know,
[00:01:52.010]had stationary and greeting cards.
[00:01:54.010]And I wanted to earn this tent,
[00:01:55.540]and so I went around selling these cards, door-to-door.
[00:01:57.930]And I had decided this was so easy,
[00:01:59.660]that I'd make my own catalog.
[00:02:01.220]And so I drew myself a catalog with clothes
[00:02:03.420]that I knew I could purchase from the local, like,
[00:02:05.140]Shopko, and nobody bought anything, but- (laughing)
[00:02:07.908](laughing) That is awesome, though!
[00:02:09.669]What a great story!
[00:02:10.530]So do you feel like you've always kind of had
[00:02:11.932]this entrepreneurial bent to you?
[00:02:13.801]I do, but I didn't start my business right out of college,
[00:02:17.830]and I did work for other people,
[00:02:18.940]which I think gave me some of the,
[00:02:21.060]here's what I wouldn't want to do, sort of perspective?
[00:02:23.721]You know, I often wonder if I had started earlier,
[00:02:26.410]what the world would look like, but I'm really thankful
[00:02:28.920]for the people that went before me and showed me
[00:02:31.220]a bit of the ins and outs before I actually had to
[00:02:33.190]kind of take the hard knocks myself.
[00:02:35.130]So, it wasn't something that you did right out of college,
[00:02:37.820]but what made you ultimately decide
[00:02:39.369]to become an entrepreneur and build a business?
[00:02:42.020]Yeah, I actually did have a photography business
[00:02:44.740]right out of college, and so I did that as a solopreneur
[00:02:49.030]at that point.
[00:02:49.863]Didn't have any employees, and I kind of
[00:02:51.560]got sick of the schedule with that,
[00:02:53.107]and decided to morph into marketing,
[00:02:54.890]but every time I worked for somebody,
[00:02:56.900]I had this sense that it was mine.
[00:02:59.640]And a couple companies, I got to the point
[00:03:01.920]that I was ready to buy in, as a partner, or an owner.
[00:03:04.840]And one time, I actually sat down with one of the companies
[00:03:07.370]I was working with to talk about
[00:03:08.660]becoming a minority partner.
[00:03:10.190]And this is one of those times that,
[00:03:13.300]you don't ever really talk about the ugly
[00:03:15.320]that goes on in business, and I remember this person
[00:03:18.670]just yelling at me and calling me
[00:03:21.852]an unthankful person because the number I proposed
[00:03:25.870]to them was not what they thought the business was worth.
[00:03:28.430]And they were kind of valuing sweat equity,
[00:03:30.390]which doesn't really have a numerical value sometimes.
[00:03:33.230]And at that point, I'm like, you know what?
[00:03:34.990]If I'm going to build something, it's going to be for me.
[00:03:37.440]Right.
[00:03:38.273]And so how long have you been building Simple Strat?
[00:03:40.330]When did you found it?
[00:03:41.380]And really, tell us a little more about
[00:03:43.330]what Simple Strat does.
[00:03:45.020]So, Simple Strat is about two-and-a-half,
[00:03:46.692]as of the recording of this, at the end of this year,
[00:03:49.650]it'll be nearing three years old.
[00:03:51.510]But prior to that, I had a couple of years
[00:03:53.130]where I was a solo consultant
[00:03:54.780]and really went in as a CMO for hire.
[00:03:57.572]In that experience, discovered that a lot of businesses,
[00:04:00.490]they really struggled with marketing, although I think
[00:04:03.010]I have a very well-rounded marketing skill set,
[00:04:05.310]because of all the things I've done.
[00:04:06.589]I'm an okay designer.
[00:04:08.230]I'm an okay content creator,
[00:04:09.880]but when you have a team around,
[00:04:11.700]you can do it so much better.
[00:04:13.660]So Simple Strat was birthed out of that realization
[00:04:16.240]that I can build this skill,
[00:04:17.830]and to tee with teams and people,
[00:04:19.680]and then that allows me to go out and really,
[00:04:21.690]kind of push these big changes in the industry,
[00:04:23.880]as opposed to doing all the, you know, kinda grunt work.
[00:04:27.100]So we focus on companies that are looking to grow
[00:04:29.750]through marketing, and that means you have to be
[00:04:32.030]forward-thinking and putting the consumer first
[00:04:34.720]and thinking through all those different types of things
[00:04:36.450]that are gonna draw someone in to your story,
[00:04:38.420]and then get them to act instead of just interrupting them
[00:04:41.040]and hoping that they pay attention.
[00:04:42.930]Well, I love how your journey has progressed
[00:04:45.330]and it sounds like you've had a lot of experiences
[00:04:47.380]that have led to this moment,
[00:04:48.650]but you've really embraced all those experiences as well,
[00:04:51.650]and learned from them.
[00:04:53.641](smooth jazz music)
[00:04:55.290]Alright, Ali, so one of the reasons we brought you
[00:04:57.700]on the podcast is because you are a maverick,
[00:05:01.161]and in our world, you are a rural maverick, right?
[00:05:02.520]So, tell us a little bit more
[00:05:04.610]about why Simple Strat is located here, and what advantages,
[00:05:08.190]and maybe disadvantages, that really entails?
[00:05:11.470]Yeah, so Simple Strat's headquarters,
[00:05:13.320]I guess I could say, if I use the HQ.
[00:05:15.690]We're in Lincoln, and one of the reasons
[00:05:18.930]why Lincoln's such a great community to build a business in,
[00:05:21.920]is there's this really interesting ecosystem of startups,
[00:05:25.270]and that's not just quote unquote tech startups.
[00:05:29.124]But, it's really anybody who's trying to be innovative
[00:05:31.810]with their business and make things happen.
[00:05:34.201]So there's the tie that you have to people and other people
[00:05:37.900]that are doing things like you, is incredible.
[00:05:40.810]We have, ya know, strong presence of Internet connections
[00:05:44.060]here in the city.
[00:05:45.502]We have the strong presence of legal support,
[00:05:46.960]and financial support, and that kind of stuff.
[00:05:49.310]But the challenges it presents in the Midwest
[00:05:51.430]is probably related to talent.
[00:05:52.990]You know, typically, when you're looking for people
[00:05:54.670]with certain skills and you have a certain size
[00:05:57.260]of the population, you know,
[00:05:58.720]how many of the population out there
[00:06:00.370]are certified inbound marketers
[00:06:01.920]with experience in B2B marketing,
[00:06:03.760]that have automation and lead generation on their resume?
[00:06:07.020]Ugh, not very many.
[00:06:08.300]So, that's probably the biggest challenge
[00:06:10.681]that I've seen so far in building a business here.
[00:06:13.350]And then there is,
[00:06:14.724]I don't know how we're going to get over this.
[00:06:16.530]We're working on it but,
[00:06:18.521]there's still the perception when,
[00:06:19.810]I went to a conference in Boston, and I remember someone,
[00:06:24.130]I told them I was from Nebraska.
[00:06:26.070]And they kind of like in the South,
[00:06:28.430]they're like, oh, bless your heart, ya know?
[00:06:30.761](laughing) Right?
[00:06:31.844]Like, that's what it felt like!
[00:06:33.101]They looked at me and were like, good for you!
[00:06:34.560]And I was like, good for me, like, what?
[00:06:35.393]Like, we don't get out of our cattle call, ya know?
[00:06:38.201]I didn't understand what that was supposed to mean.
[00:06:39.970]So we had this conversation about
[00:06:41.210]what their perception of the Midwest was.
[00:06:43.180]And yeah, they'd never been here.
[00:06:45.300]So I think building a business here,
[00:06:47.500]I can help us bring people to the region,
[00:06:50.300]and then they leave and go,
[00:06:51.982]"Holy cow, there is amazing stuff happening in Nebraska."
[00:06:54.861]Then we can be part of that change.
[00:06:57.250]But until then, we're just gonna continue
[00:06:59.480]to build this ecosystem, because everyone here recognizes
[00:07:02.180]that it's super powerful.
[00:07:03.860](mellow jazz music)
[00:07:05.550]Welcome to Bold Voices, our segment
[00:07:07.710]with rock star students from the University of Nebraska
[00:07:10.740]who are making a difference in rural.
[00:07:14.220]Hello podcast listeners, my name is Katie Bednarski,
[00:07:17.520]and I'm the Production Specialist
[00:07:19.060]of the Rural Futures podcast.
[00:07:21.260]With me today is Amber Ross, a junior agribusiness major
[00:07:24.810]from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:07:27.320]Welcome, Amber.
[00:07:28.320]Hi, Katie.
[00:07:29.160]Okay, Amber, so give us your elevator pitch.
[00:07:31.370]Who is Amber Ross?
[00:07:33.240]So, Amber Ross, is just your typical small-town girl.
[00:07:36.350]I grew up in Callaway, Nebraska.
[00:07:37.840]Graduated from Callaway High School.
[00:07:39.300]Callaway's got 500, little more than 500 people in it,
[00:07:43.260]and honestly, Callaway taught me most of what I know now.
[00:07:46.610]So, I carry what Callaway taught me as I go through life
[00:07:51.100]all the time and I refer back to it pretty frequently.
[00:07:54.100]Yeah, so talk a little about that.
[00:07:55.510]Why do you care about rural so much?
[00:07:57.980]I am your typical farmer's daughter.
[00:07:59.590]I learned all about hard work, about teamwork,
[00:08:02.930]about dedication, about perseverance,
[00:08:04.730]all that kind of stuff on the farm.
[00:08:06.550]But then, I also learned a lot growing up in a small town.
[00:08:09.860]I mean, it was, our high school was k-12.
[00:08:11.890]Everybody was in one building,
[00:08:13.630]and that puts a lot of pressure
[00:08:15.200]on high schoolers to do everything.
[00:08:18.530]I did speech, I did one-acts.
[00:08:20.782]I did volleyball, basketball.
[00:08:22.201]I rodeoed.
[00:08:23.241]I did it all, and there's not a lot of free time there.
[00:08:24.720]And so I came to college,
[00:08:26.670]and I wasn't used to having free time.
[00:08:28.300]I was so bored, I actually went out and got a job,
[00:08:30.950]so that I didn't just sit in my dorm room.
[00:08:33.620]You do, you just learn how to time manage.
[00:08:36.460]You learn about hard work.
[00:08:38.140]And, that kind of stuff is invaluable
[00:08:40.640]to a college student like me.
[00:08:42.780]So, how would you answer the question of,
[00:08:44.370]why rural, why now?
[00:08:45.800]So, we've seen through the patterns of history that,
[00:08:50.700]as we go through, people either want to live in the city
[00:08:55.204]for a time and they revert back and they wanna live
[00:08:57.160]in the smaller community, in the rural community,
[00:08:59.450]and I think, right now, we're really heavy into that.
[00:09:02.180]Everybody wants to live in the city where it's convenient
[00:09:04.610]and everything's right there where you need it.
[00:09:07.100]But I think we're gonna start seeing
[00:09:09.020]that go back to small-town feel, in just 10 years or so.
[00:09:13.570]I think we're really gonna see that change, again.
[00:09:16.010]And rural communities are going to become
[00:09:17.540]the trendy place to live.
[00:09:19.810]It's gonna be cool to be in rural.
[00:09:21.780]I mean, I was there before it was cool,
[00:09:23.790]so I kind of already am on the trend, but (laughing)
[00:09:26.596]Because rural is cool. (laughing)
[00:09:28.580]You right! (laughing)
[00:09:30.404]You right!
[00:09:32.690]So with that mindset, how has the Rural Futures Institute
[00:09:35.721]impacted your college career
[00:09:37.520]and your future plans for beyond college?
[00:09:40.200]So, the Rural Futures Institute just has offered me
[00:09:43.430]a lot of different opportunities
[00:09:44.660]that I wouldn't have gotten any other way.
[00:09:46.620]I mean, I've gone to West Point and Columbus
[00:09:49.830]for serviceship experiences.
[00:09:52.070]Just those kinds of opportunities, I wouldn't have gotten
[00:09:54.470]if I didn't, ya know, work with RFI and work here
[00:09:57.950]in the office, and so, meeting those kinds of people
[00:10:00.550]who are real movers and shakers
[00:10:01.930]and doing some really cool things regarding rural
[00:10:04.884]has just changed my outlook on a lot of things, and so,
[00:10:09.370]in the future, my goal is to be a community developer
[00:10:13.130]at some point, of some sort,
[00:10:15.684]whether that be through the chamber work,
[00:10:16.990]or through economic development.
[00:10:19.120]And so, I wouldn't trade my experiences
[00:10:21.450]with RFI for anything.
[00:10:23.370]Well, thank you, Amber.
[00:10:24.730]I think that was really valuable.
[00:10:26.270]And thank you for being our student spotlight of the week,
[00:10:28.540]and giving hope to our generation
[00:10:30.730]of future leaders who want to make a better world for all.
[00:10:33.550]Thank you, Katie.
[00:10:35.118](mellow jazz music)
[00:10:40.510]So, one of the areas we like to focus on
[00:10:42.560]at the Rural Futures podcast is leadership,
[00:10:44.700]and obviously you've had a lot of experiences
[00:10:46.610]that you've learned from and you've used
[00:10:48.500]to develop as a leader.
[00:10:50.290]Tell us a little bit about your leadership philosophy
[00:10:52.540]and how you're using that to grow Simple Strat,
[00:10:54.900]but also your presence in the entrepreneur ecosystem.
[00:10:58.410]Sure.
[00:10:59.742]So a lot of people who have gone before me
[00:11:01.924]have given me a glimpse of what is good leadership,
[00:11:03.830]and then there's definitely those that,
[00:11:06.160]when I was working for people,
[00:11:07.470]I always kept a never note file,
[00:11:09.090]called things I will never do when I have a company.
[00:11:11.817]That's awesome. (laughing)
[00:11:13.502]And it was filled with things like, it's funny,
[00:11:15.880]because now, there are things on that list
[00:11:18.222]that I know I didn't understand the context at the time,
[00:11:20.324]and I'm like, oh, I'd never do that!
[00:11:21.157]And then when I get in a leadership role, I'm like,
[00:11:23.310]oh, that's why they did that, you know.
[00:11:26.670]And so I think that being a transparent leader
[00:11:29.640]and letting people know you have faults,
[00:11:31.410]but balancing that with the confidence and reassurance
[00:11:35.070]that here's where the company's going.
[00:11:37.480]You know, to be honest, every day is not great,
[00:11:40.110]and every day, I'd love to say,
[00:11:42.330]we had this amazing team meeting, and we all high-fived,
[00:11:44.810]and everyone is clear on the vision, and it's amazing,
[00:11:47.430]and you could still ask one of my team members,
[00:11:50.201]"What's this thing over here?"
[00:11:51.034]And I'd be like, we just talked about that!
[00:11:53.430]But talking to someone and talking with someone
[00:11:55.401]and having them understand
[00:11:56.840]are two completely different things.
[00:11:58.560]So, I think it's always a learning process.
[00:12:02.281]No, I agree, I think it is a learning process,
[00:12:04.700]and I loved how you talked about the context, too,
[00:12:07.450]because I think sometimes, as an employee don't work
[00:12:09.910]to understand to maybe what
[00:12:12.142]that other person's going through or what their needs are,
[00:12:14.380]so how can I also support that while also growing
[00:12:16.860]as a person and growing as an organization
[00:12:19.540]serving customers, et cetera.
[00:12:20.940]The whole idea of gender and leadership
[00:12:23.240]is such a big conversation right now,
[00:12:26.020]and as well as gender and entrepreneurship.
[00:12:30.500]You know, how would you envision
[00:12:32.190]this evolving in the future?
[00:12:34.644]Being a female who's a strong leader, also an entrepreneur,
[00:12:36.878]how do you see the future of leadership for women?
[00:12:39.870]Yeah, I think that's an interesting conversation.
[00:12:41.750]It's one that actually myself personally hadn't had too much
[00:12:44.820]up to this point, and I'm not the first person
[00:12:48.320]to sit out in the middle of the street
[00:12:51.780]and say, go women entrepreneurs.
[00:12:53.019]Not because I don't think that's important.
[00:12:54.441]It's just like I was asked by a reporter,
[00:12:56.627]"What is it like being a woman entrepreneur,"
[00:12:59.538]and it's just kind of like, what is it like to breathe?
[00:13:01.881](laughing)
[00:13:02.920]It's just this thing that I do!
[00:13:04.798]But if you take certain situations and break them down,
[00:13:08.040]there definitely are times that you start to think,
[00:13:11.180]Oh, maybe there are some disadvantages that exist.
[00:13:14.360]I have a couple people in my business that are men,
[00:13:18.650]and it's not been uncommon for people to assume
[00:13:21.830]that I'm working with them or for them.
[00:13:24.470]And I don't think that that's,
[00:13:26.270]I don't think anything negative
[00:13:28.656]about that person for thinking that,
[00:13:29.489]but it's just a natural thing that happens.
[00:13:31.400]I've done some social experiments myself,
[00:13:33.120]where like, does it matter if I wear glasses?
[00:13:35.110]Does it matter if I wear my hair's up?
[00:13:37.102]Does it matter if my hair's down?
[00:13:38.060]Do I wear a startup tee with a blazer?
[00:13:39.940]Do I wear a dress?
[00:13:41.430]All of those things affect your first impression
[00:13:44.320]and what people think of you,
[00:13:45.817]and I always want someone to think, "She is damn smart,"
[00:13:48.100]versus, "Whoa, I wonder if she knows anything"
[00:13:52.650]because of the way I'm dressed.
[00:13:54.630]So that's something that I've thought through,
[00:13:57.600]but there's definitely a need to have more conversations
[00:13:59.900]about it and it's getting women after work
[00:14:03.550]away from their families (laughing)
[00:14:05.678]to talk about it.
[00:14:06.681]That's probably the bigger challenge is,
[00:14:07.998]we have so many things to worry about,
[00:14:08.831]that having a conversation requires strategic effort.
[00:14:11.620]Absolutely.
[00:14:12.960]I mean, I think it's just this time thing is such a big one.
[00:14:15.870]And we have women leaving the workforce in droves right now,
[00:14:19.640]to start their own businesses, because they are thinking,
[00:14:22.777]"How do I have more flexible schedule
[00:14:25.617]"that I can control somewhat?
[00:14:27.827]"How do I continue to be involved with my family?"
[00:14:30.410]All these different things and also,
[00:14:33.120]the organizational cultures that don't support,
[00:14:35.438]what the modern lifestyle is
[00:14:37.750]and I think that's true for women, but also for men.
[00:14:40.060]We see more men wanting to be parents, and full-on, as well.
[00:14:44.222]Or just, couples in general, trying to figure out
[00:14:45.960]how to balance all this, or single parents, all of that.
[00:14:48.990]What advice would you give to women who are
[00:14:51.961]in the workplace right now who are thinking
[00:14:53.530]about starting their own business?
[00:14:55.520]Yeah, I have a book on my shelf that's called
[00:14:57.440]Secrets of Six-Figure Women,
[00:14:59.300]and I thought it was interesting
[00:15:01.234]because I didn't know this until I started reading it,
[00:15:03.570]that women typically don't make more
[00:15:05.930]than $100,000 in their business.
[00:15:07.550]And I don't know what the number was, don't quote me on it,
[00:15:09.810]but it was something like, more than 80% of women
[00:15:12.710]don't ever break that $100,000 mark.
[00:15:14.910]Just like any statistic, you can look inside and say,
[00:15:17.460]let's figure out why this is,
[00:15:19.370]and it might be because the number of businesses counted
[00:15:21.525]included part-time businesses, or Etsy businesses,
[00:15:24.450]or whatever, but at the same respect,
[00:15:26.850]why aren't women earning more?
[00:15:28.336]And if you go to any women's entrepreneur event,
[00:15:31.340]you'll notice a very interesting thing.
[00:15:33.230]You'll notice that there's a lot of women
[00:15:34.760]who have a business
[00:15:35.610]that's a celibate business, it's them.
[00:15:37.890]And 1099's or them and a VA, or something like that,
[00:15:41.090]because the idea of building something bigger,
[00:15:43.230]where you have to like, "I'm responsible
[00:15:44.907]"for six people's salaries."
[00:15:46.810]Every month when I write the check
[00:15:48.330]or press the button or whatever for payroll,
[00:15:50.775]I'm responsible for other people's livelihoods,
[00:15:53.320]and that's a big risk.
[00:15:54.830]Being responsible for just my livelihood
[00:15:56.600]isn't as big of a risk.
[00:15:58.130]And I think that's one of the challenges,
[00:15:59.810]and I wanna help people figure that out.
[00:16:03.870]But it is one of things that I struggle
[00:16:05.490]to find other women that have businesses
[00:16:07.470]that are employing people.
[00:16:09.383]I think that's a fascinating sort of aspect
[00:16:11.830]of entrepreneurship, because I think sometimes,
[00:16:13.769]we see this growth in what we call the gig economy,
[00:16:16.160]the 1099 employees, they just want to do gigs,
[00:16:18.750]maybe to support their family a little bit.
[00:16:21.411]But you talk a lot about this whole issue
[00:16:24.700]of the side hustle is easy.
[00:16:27.320]What's hard is the growth.
[00:16:28.970]What's hard, is saying you know what,
[00:16:31.030]I'm gonna put my stake in the ground
[00:16:33.010]and I'm gonna build a team,
[00:16:34.630]and I'm gonna go after this bigger business model,
[00:16:37.520]a bigger business concept.
[00:16:39.280]What would you tell people that were wanting to say,
[00:16:41.237]"You know what, maybe I need to go bigger?
[00:16:42.970]Yeah, I think that one of the things that's difficult
[00:16:44.913]from a side hustle perspective
[00:16:46.460]is a lot of side hustles start as just that.
[00:16:48.560]They're just a side hustle.
[00:16:49.510]THey're just a way to make some extra money.
[00:16:51.570]They might be kind of this random idea,
[00:16:53.490]but it's not like they've thought, "when I hit revenue x,
[00:16:56.807]"I'm gonna do y.
[00:16:57.947]"When I hit revenue this, I'm gonna do this."
[00:17:00.720]When you're building a business,
[00:17:02.110]you have some of those benchmarks and milestones
[00:17:04.080]already laid out 'cause you kinda,
[00:17:05.660]even if you didn't put together a plan,
[00:17:07.210]you still got somewhat of a,
[00:17:08.337]"In five years, we're gonna be this.
[00:17:09.837]"Okay, to get there I'm going to do this."
[00:17:11.370]When you're side hustling,
[00:17:12.310]you're still just kinda in the motion every day
[00:17:14.210]and you're not really thinking strategically.
[00:17:15.900]So when it becomes overwhelming, in the podcast
[00:17:18.980]where we were interviewing local entrepreneurs,
[00:17:21.290]one of the gals there said, "I either had to grow,
[00:17:23.357]"or I had to get scaled back."
[00:17:25.520]And people often have the fear of the unknown,
[00:17:29.920]even if it's better, they wanna stick with the known.
[00:17:32.530]And even in marketing I've noticed a lot of people now,
[00:17:35.410]it's so easy to start something.
[00:17:37.670]Seth Godin says, "It's easier than ever to start.
[00:17:39.557]"It's harder than ever to finish."
[00:17:41.300]Yeah, and I think that's interesting
[00:17:43.470]to hear some people who have lived this whole experience
[00:17:46.880]as more of a lifestyle.
[00:17:48.400]Like you said, it's like how you breathe, almost.
[00:17:50.440]It's not necessarily just something that you,
[00:17:53.460]I don't know, do part time, or just kind of dabble in.
[00:17:55.843]It's just how you, you're wired,
[00:17:57.810]and how you decided to live and make your living.
[00:18:01.030]But, I too, would like to dive a little bit
[00:18:03.480]into your podcast, because I think the other thing is,
[00:18:06.530]you have this message, not only with your business,
[00:18:08.890]but you as a person, as an entrepreneur who has scaled,
[00:18:12.320]and is employing other people, and ya know,
[00:18:14.870]we have so few female entrepreneurs in the US,
[00:18:17.600]and even, internationally doing this type of work,
[00:18:20.870]and scaling like that.
[00:18:21.880]I'd love to learn a little bit more
[00:18:23.010]about your Bar Napkin Business podcast,
[00:18:26.380]and why you started that,
[00:18:27.730]and what the message is behind the podcast.
[00:18:30.190]Yeah!
[00:18:31.023]The podcast is a local podcast,
[00:18:33.240]to the Midwest at this point, and we've interviewed
[00:18:35.420]nearly 50 entrepreneurs and small business owners
[00:18:37.329]really about the, we call it the down and dirty details
[00:18:40.081]of running and growing a business.
[00:18:42.530]'Cause I think we were a little bit over the fact
[00:18:45.480]that there's all these, startup x y z guys,
[00:18:48.050]venture capital funding,
[00:18:49.130]and they don't even have a product yet.
[00:18:50.560]There's a lot of really great things happening
[00:18:52.540]that require a lot of investment,
[00:18:54.111]but there's a lot of really just people
[00:18:57.450]that are grinding it out
[00:18:58.390]to make things work that provide a pretty good business,
[00:19:00.840]so it might be like one gal was building a candle business.
[00:19:03.920]And she was at the point that she was
[00:19:05.440]outsourcing production, and how does that all work.
[00:19:07.870]And another guy developed a patent for something
[00:19:10.920]that he and his buddies had just kind of ran with
[00:19:14.470]and now it's a business and they're selling online
[00:19:16.270]and shipping everywhere.
[00:19:17.292]It's more like a Shark Tank sort of feel,
[00:19:20.880]but it's happening right here in the Midwest.
[00:19:23.030]Yeah, absolutely ama-, I think sometimes
[00:19:24.880]when people think of rural,
[00:19:25.980]they think of the entire Midwest.
[00:19:28.750]And so this is something we've talked a lot
[00:19:30.380]about with our audiences, and I get asked a lot,
[00:19:33.697]"How do you define rural?"
[00:19:34.940]And I'm like, "Well, it really kind of depends
[00:19:36.410]on the context, right?"
[00:19:37.570]And so if you're on the East Coast or West Coast,
[00:19:40.050]you define the whole Midwest as rural,
[00:19:43.000]where a lot of times people in Omaha
[00:19:44.680]wouldn't define themselves as rural,
[00:19:46.640]or Lincoln wouldn't define themselves as rural
[00:19:48.540]if you're thinking about just Nebraska.
[00:19:50.730]I think, though, the hyper-localization
[00:19:53.070]of what people want to hear and know is such a key part
[00:19:57.610]of while we see everything grown exponentially
[00:19:59.840]and get bigger, at the same time people need to know
[00:20:01.740]how that applies in their own life.
[00:20:03.250]And so it's awesome to hear about Steve Jobs
[00:20:06.240]and the next big company, as in Gazelle,
[00:20:08.991]but I think what it missing sometimes
[00:20:10.807]is the conversation you're having and that podcast.
[00:20:13.631]You don't have to get a multimillion dollar investment deal
[00:20:17.410]to do well in business.
[00:20:19.260]Yeah, one of the things that we found was
[00:20:20.840]that people wanted to hear like,
[00:20:22.290]we talked about the story of Zip Line Brewery
[00:20:24.290]and how that started.
[00:20:25.520]And when you hear someone else that is kind of like you
[00:20:28.500]or not just looks like you or acts like you
[00:20:30.470]but they could be your neighbor down the street,
[00:20:32.410]if they did it, I could probably do this.
[00:20:34.710]So it was designed to show some of the,
[00:20:37.070]I mean there's also a lot of hard stuff
[00:20:38.450]that goes into building a business,
[00:20:39.810]and we didn't wanna sugar-coat the fact
[00:20:41.370]that you have to pay attention to the numbers.
[00:20:44.040]We started to see trends that came out of conversations.
[00:20:46.280]You know, Matt and I, my cohost,
[00:20:47.540]would just look at each other and kind of be like,
[00:20:49.077]"Yep, here we go again," 'cause they'd talk about people,
[00:20:51.660]or they'd talk about financing,
[00:20:52.900]or they'd talk about needing lawyers,
[00:20:55.110]and I appreciate good lawyers.
[00:20:57.950]It's just essential and you can't look over that.
[00:21:02.060]Well, I think even if you're doing just your own thing,
[00:21:04.960]getting started, you have to have that team in place.
[00:21:07.680]I mean you need to have an attorney, an accountant,
[00:21:10.300]people that can help you through the fine print
[00:21:13.289]of owning a business and the legal issues
[00:21:15.710]and the accounting issues that you're gonna have
[00:21:17.890]if you're gonna take an income for a product
[00:21:19.700]or service and try to get that out.
[00:21:22.160]Yeah, I mean the day that I realized
[00:21:24.010]that I didn't have to know the answer
[00:21:25.080]to every accounting question, I was ecstatic.
[00:21:28.730]Todd, if you're listening, you've been a lifesaver.
[00:21:30.910]It's been amazing and we went through some legal paperwork
[00:21:34.250]in our operating agreement lately and Bart Delosha
[00:21:37.550]helped us out with that and he just,
[00:21:39.129]he understands the Midwest entrepreneurial culture,
[00:21:42.710]he has experience in the valley,
[00:21:44.273]it's just that sort of resource available here
[00:21:47.130]in our rural Midwest, I guess,
[00:21:48.840]for people that are on the Coast is amazing.
[00:21:51.279](mellow jazz music)
[00:21:53.750]One of the things we've talked about
[00:21:55.220]in our rural communities is the need
[00:21:56.730]for more entrepreneurship.
[00:21:58.170]We need, we're not gonna pull in a lot of big companies.
[00:22:00.849]There are fewer and fewer big companies that even exist.
[00:22:04.591]How would you envision more of what's happening here
[00:22:08.000]in I would say our Lincoln startup community?
[00:22:10.900]Omaha is a great startup community.
[00:22:13.000]How could you see rural and urban connecting
[00:22:14.929]through entrepreneurship, and helping maybe
[00:22:17.840]support more entrepreneurship in our rural areas?
[00:22:19.919]Yeah, I think one of the challenges that we have
[00:22:22.730]with rural, and even in the Midwest,
[00:22:24.471]entrepreneurs still learn from each other.
[00:22:27.270]And someone asked me if I had to give advice to someone
[00:22:30.100]about entrepreneurship, what would it be?
[00:22:32.800]And my advice is find a powerful community
[00:22:35.630]that can push you and challenge you
[00:22:37.387]and is gonna know the things that you don't know.
[00:22:39.500]I think, though, the fact that we have access
[00:22:41.220]to all information also makes it very hard to know
[00:22:43.930]what information we should pay attention to,
[00:22:46.290]and when I'm living in a rural community
[00:22:48.270]of maybe 300 people it seems like my world is very small
[00:22:51.300]and there's no resources available.
[00:22:53.010]But in fact you are connected by the Internet
[00:22:55.910]and it just requires a little bit more strategic navigating
[00:22:58.240]to find the people that you would call your people,
[00:23:01.130]and then don't disregard the fact
[00:23:03.710]that being together in person is super-valuable.
[00:23:07.350]So if there's an entrepreneurship summit
[00:23:09.470]in the middle of your state, go.
[00:23:11.338]Use it as a chance to go and meet people.
[00:23:14.180]Yeah, absolutely.
[00:23:15.013]I think what we've found, I used to work
[00:23:17.450]with the Entrepreneurship Club down in southeast Nebraska,
[00:23:20.380]and it was always amazing to me, great groups of people
[00:23:23.080]getting together, and everybody knows
[00:23:25.020]that you have a business, I have a business,
[00:23:27.707]but they didn't know a lot about one another's businesses
[00:23:30.320]or how you could like, "What are those partnerships,
[00:23:32.827]"how can we leverage what each other's bringing
[00:23:35.287]"to the table so that we're winning together
[00:23:37.927]"rather than thinking we're competing
[00:23:39.647]"or there's no partnership potential here."
[00:23:42.310]Yeah, people in the Midwest, what's interesting,
[00:23:43.699]we work with clients from all over,
[00:23:45.630]and I spend a lot of time in other cities
[00:23:47.810]doing either speaking or we're a hot spot agency
[00:23:51.990]so we work with a lot of software,
[00:23:54.210]but people in different communities
[00:23:55.790]tend to have a different view
[00:23:56.860]on what competition can and can't do.
[00:23:59.080]I love competition 'cause it pushes us the be better,
[00:24:01.900]but it also means that most companies can find out
[00:24:04.960]pretty much everything that you do
[00:24:06.130]because you put it on your website
[00:24:08.410]or they can ask around, so they're so shy
[00:24:11.180]about sharing what they're doing, which means they don't
[00:24:13.680]connect with other entrepreneurs,
[00:24:15.090]or they don't seek out communities
[00:24:16.540]'cause they're just afraid of connecting to the point
[00:24:19.670]that it's gonna be a detriment.
[00:24:21.390]When I think that we're now at a point in our world
[00:24:23.620]that you should be connecting 'cause if you don't,
[00:24:26.710]your next opportunity is gonna come from a human being
[00:24:29.940]versus from some sort of a Web search.
[00:24:32.950]And I think that's a critical point.
[00:24:34.410]Businesses grow by human beings and those relationships
[00:24:37.990]are still incredibly important.
[00:24:40.170]I know you've also talked about this challenge we have
[00:24:42.830]sometimes around not hiring the people we know
[00:24:46.260]or the people around us.
[00:24:47.530]The local business is not always getting hired.
[00:24:50.052]Tell our audience a little bit more about that experience
[00:24:53.300]and how you think just employing one another,
[00:24:56.551]doing more business to business work and investment
[00:24:59.930]with one another could help spur on our own economy.
[00:25:03.450]Yeah, this is like a catch-22,
[00:25:04.900]because I think, I don't know who, someone smart,
[00:25:07.600]said it once, but I don't know who it was,
[00:25:10.343]but you're always an expert 60 miles outside of your market.
[00:25:11.600]What they basically meant is you have a chance
[00:25:15.590]to establish your reputation for one or two specific things
[00:25:19.170]that you're known for and outside the market,
[00:25:21.370]because you're an unknown, it's somewhat shiny and new
[00:25:24.870]and you can, like that is actually a lot easier
[00:25:27.230]than doing it in your local market.
[00:25:29.600]The interesting thing is, a lot of times the people
[00:25:34.110]that are looking for the services that are local,
[00:25:36.860]they don't know that they exist here
[00:25:38.160]or they assume they don't exist here.
[00:25:39.970]So why would you hire a development company
[00:25:43.730]out of Lincoln, Nebraska, when you could go hire
[00:25:46.183]the company that helped build some software
[00:25:48.170]out in Silicon Valley?
[00:25:50.073]Well, why wouldn't you?
[00:25:52.050]And you start to break down some of the,
[00:25:53.570]you start to understand the myths
[00:25:54.810]and preconceived notions that exist in the Midwest,
[00:25:57.850]and it's up to us to change those.
[00:25:59.670]So we can't get angry about someone not hiring us
[00:26:02.660]because we are part of the story
[00:26:04.230]that's being told in our region.
[00:26:06.060]I love that.
[00:26:06.893]I love how you've so strongly come in as a leader
[00:26:10.830]and an entrepreneur and really has, in a short time,
[00:26:14.200]you've experienced so much success and growth.
[00:26:16.930]But I'd love to know, too, about your experience
[00:26:18.660]as a Pipeline Fellow because, and some of what you're doing
[00:26:21.960]to just not only grow your agency but also,
[00:26:26.010]really just grow the capacity in thinking in general
[00:26:27.993]around entrepreneurship and innovation.
[00:26:30.860]Pipeline is actually accepting applications for next year,
[00:26:33.402]Oh, great. Through October 22d,
[00:26:34.520]but the organization itself is designed
[00:26:38.840]to help high-growth entrepreneurs,
[00:26:40.500]and there's a whole application process
[00:26:42.620]that accompanies it and they're there for the entrepreneur,
[00:26:45.633]yes the businesses too, but they recognize
[00:26:48.010]that entrepreneurs typically have multiple things
[00:26:51.030]they're involved in their lifetime,
[00:26:52.700]and it's backed by the Kauffman Foundation,
[00:26:54.953]so they want people who have amazing entrepreneurial talent
[00:26:59.860]to stay in the Midwest and build businesses here
[00:27:02.110]and build capital here.
[00:27:03.570]I'm involved now this year.
[00:27:04.740]We start Module Three actually tomorrow
[00:27:07.040]here in Lincoln and Omaha, and it's designed to help us
[00:27:10.673]go through all the different things
[00:27:12.660]that you would go through, it kind of feels like my MBA.
[00:27:14.810]I never got my MBA.
[00:27:15.860]It very much feels like that.
[00:27:18.130]But we're building a software product
[00:27:19.500]that has a much higher scalable model to it
[00:27:22.060]than an agency, so we're actually using a lot
[00:27:24.330]of the learning that'll apply it
[00:27:25.430]to that specific product right now,
[00:27:28.000]and it's just a wealth of people and it's, I mean,
[00:27:30.550]pardon my French but it's a good (bleep) kicking,
[00:27:32.140]like it really is. (laughing)
[00:27:33.406]I'm prepared tomorrow to get everything that I turned in
[00:27:37.920]for homework absolutely ripped apart
[00:27:39.380]because I need to get better, and I need those people
[00:27:42.260]to challenge me in places that I think I'm already set.
[00:27:44.880]Well, it sounds like a strong network, though,
[00:27:46.500]just like you said earlier,
[00:27:47.620]those relationships are so important,
[00:27:49.930]and what a great way to say, "You know what?
[00:27:52.487]"I don't know it all."
[00:27:53.510]I mean, you've already said this in building a team,
[00:27:55.670]so you're building a team at the agency
[00:27:57.200]and outside of the agency to help you continue to grow
[00:27:59.910]and help the firm continue to grow.
[00:28:02.060]I think that's just brilliant.
[00:28:03.340]I'm a huge fan of Pipeline and everything they're doing,
[00:28:05.840]and just appreciate that, but I also know
[00:28:07.940]that this is a prestigious program.
[00:28:10.160]You do have to apply, get accepted,
[00:28:12.180]and so it'll be exciting to see where you go from here
[00:28:14.930]and where the agency goes from here.
[00:28:16.493](mellow hip hop music)
[00:28:19.373]You know, I also wanna go back to something you said,
[00:28:21.053]you don't have your MBA.
[00:28:22.993]I think sometimes what stops people is they,
[00:28:25.420]especially women, they don't feel like,
[00:28:27.267]"Oh, I need this certificate or training,
[00:28:29.357]"I need more, more, more, before I apply for maybe
[00:28:32.657]"that higher position, or I launch my venture,
[00:28:35.227]"or grown the venture,"
[00:28:36.330]and I think that can really be tricky for a lot of people,
[00:28:40.674]but I know the research says more women,
[00:28:42.893]they wanna be perfect at something before they execute,
[00:28:45.860]whereas men sometimes will just execute and learn it,
[00:28:48.680]and not be afraid to learn it along the way.
[00:28:51.070]So I'd love to know how do you think
[00:28:53.602]not having that degree has been a benefit to you?
[00:28:57.130]Yeah, I think there's really drawbacks
[00:28:59.050]to not having an MBA specifically in business,
[00:29:01.530]because there's some things that I struggle with,
[00:29:04.500]some stuff, there's a lot of emphasis on finance
[00:29:08.290]in your MBA, and that's all, that's wonderful,
[00:29:10.990]I've gotten a lot of that through Pipeline,
[00:29:12.522]as well as just sitting down with mentors
[00:29:14.960]and getting a former CFO, who's been a CFO for a long time
[00:29:18.650]sitting down and actually talking through things
[00:29:20.384]and asking me, "Why do you do this?
[00:29:22.607]"What's going on here?"
[00:29:24.380]So really getting some of that feedback has been helpful.
[00:29:26.154]So I think that when you look at business,
[00:29:29.082]there really isn't a, I mean there's definitely models,
[00:29:32.980]and there's things you have to know,
[00:29:34.010]but so much of the theory is tested
[00:29:36.560]when you actually put it into practice.
[00:29:38.610]So like the best businesses have come out of people
[00:29:40.962]that were going to Harvard Business School
[00:29:42.720]or going to Stanford, and they got an idea,
[00:29:45.110]and they were able to act on it.
[00:29:47.000]It wasn't the other way around where they were like,
[00:29:49.117]"I better get this degree, and then I will get something
[00:29:51.717]"and then I can get move in this super-linear fashion."
[00:29:55.110]It's very abstract, and there's no checks
[00:29:58.222]that you can check off the boxes
[00:30:00.670]to be able to get where you need to go.
[00:30:02.453]Well, I think that's such an important point
[00:30:03.950]because I know here at the University
[00:30:05.730]we have a lot of students and they're always wondering,
[00:30:07.637]"Well, how did you get to where you are?"
[00:30:10.300]And it's so funny as you talk to more and more people,
[00:30:12.390]it isn't a linear path.
[00:30:13.760]It's generally pretty windy,
[00:30:15.330]you just have to learn what you want, how to get it,
[00:30:17.881]but that also to roll with it a little bit
[00:30:20.490]when things get challenging
[00:30:22.390]or things don't go the way you had expected them to go
[00:30:24.870]and that resiliency is such a huge part of it all.
[00:30:28.090]But it's also like growing this whole life.
[00:30:30.512](mellow jazz music)
[00:30:32.950]I'm really fascinated by how you're running a business,
[00:30:37.590]a successful firm, having a family,
[00:30:40.250]but also really connecting and still learning
[00:30:43.500]and growing as a person, a professional,
[00:30:45.560]as an entrepreneur.
[00:30:46.740]So tell us some of your secrets to,
[00:30:48.903]I don't even wanna call it work-life balance any more.
[00:30:51.360]I know now the word's like work-life integration,
[00:30:53.670]but how are you just maintaining and growing your success?
[00:31:01.140]Yeah, I think some of it comes from modeling.
[00:31:03.714]A lot of times you don't have a person you can look to
[00:31:07.110]as to what they should look like.
[00:31:08.670]So if you grow up in a home where your mom stayed home.
[00:31:11.580]You don't know what it looks like for your mom to work.
[00:31:14.630]If you grow up in a home where your mom owned a business,
[00:31:16.710]that's gonna be much different, so myself,
[00:31:19.570]my dad's always been in IT,
[00:31:21.230]and I remember when I was a little girl,
[00:31:23.687]I'd go into their bedroom to say good night,
[00:31:25.620]and I'd look over on my dad's night stand,
[00:31:27.540]and I remember the book to the day.
[00:31:29.120]I'm sure he had tons of books there on any given day,
[00:31:31.140]but on this day, the book there that said
[00:31:33.390]Intro to Visual Basic.
[00:31:34.910]And if you know what Visual Basic is,
[00:31:36.160]it's a programming language, and my dad was in IT,
[00:31:39.000]and he had to constantly be learning new languages
[00:31:41.310]in order to continue to provide value in his job.
[00:31:44.500]And I just, I would look over at him and he's reading
[00:31:46.790]this Visual Basic book at night before he went to bed,
[00:31:49.070]and that was just like what he did.
[00:31:50.990]And so now my kids know that I'm always,
[00:31:54.060]if they walk in, they're like,
[00:31:54.893]"Oh, mom, are you taking a class right now?"
[00:31:56.527]"Oh, mom, are you on a webinar right now?"
[00:31:58.370]If I have my headphones in and I'm on the computer,
[00:32:00.042]it might be Spotify,
[00:32:01.390]but my kids think I'm always taking classes.
[00:32:02.930]And I think normal for us is just that
[00:32:08.700]we're always gonna be learning, we're always growing,
[00:32:10.910]and my kids always know that I'm gonna expect them
[00:32:14.140]to earn or build a business out of something.
[00:32:16.640]It doesn't have to be a huge thing,
[00:32:17.980]but you know, kid, you wanna go buy some new shoes,
[00:32:20.860]let's talk about mowing lawns
[00:32:22.150]and how that can lead to some revenue.
[00:32:24.860]He made his own babysitting flyer
[00:32:26.350]and I made him use Microsoft Word
[00:32:28.540]and made him write it, so it's funny, 'cause he writes,
[00:32:30.977]"I will watch your kids while you go holiday shopping,"
[00:32:33.190]and I was like, "Interesting."
[00:32:34.180]He's like, "I Googled that." (laughing)
[00:32:35.040]Like, great!
[00:32:36.893]I love it!
[00:32:37.726]I love that you're making that your own flyer!
[00:32:39.013]Awesome!
[00:32:40.314]But it's just gonna become the new normal for us,
[00:32:43.580]and I have to admit that some days, if you come to my house,
[00:32:46.990]there's gonna be like eight baskets of laundry
[00:32:49.900]that people are just living out of,
[00:32:51.360]because I don't have time to put them away.
[00:32:52.730]I'm not gonna be that Martha Stewart,
[00:32:54.880]I'm gonna be the Sarah Blakely,
[00:32:57.720]who sings, (laughing)
[00:32:58.553]that's my thing, you know, so...
[00:32:59.864]Oh, that's awesome.
[00:33:01.470]I think it's great,
[00:33:02.303]but I think these are other conversations
[00:33:03.870]that have to happen, right? Yeah!
[00:33:05.273]I mean, this whole idea of doing it all
[00:33:07.480]is like totally exhausting and I think
[00:33:09.830]even if it looks like you're doing it all,
[00:33:12.020]something's not happening that's quite right.
[00:33:14.790]I think you're trying to keep your marriage alive
[00:33:18.520]and going, trying to be a good mom to the kids,
[00:33:20.750]but also this modeling and setting a new example
[00:33:23.570]of what life looks like moving forward,
[00:33:25.670]because for this next generation,
[00:33:27.520]it is gonna be very different than previous generations.
[00:33:30.440]Right.
[00:33:31.273]Yeah, and helping everyone around you understand,
[00:33:33.320]that's probably the hardest part for me,
[00:33:34.550]is when you are in an environment
[00:33:37.070]where people aren't familiar with women entrepreneurs,
[00:33:40.150]you constantly face this interesting dynamic
[00:33:43.950]where they just don't get you like I think
[00:33:45.680]when you have conversations with someone
[00:33:47.340]who maybe works part-time, which is fantastic,
[00:33:49.513]versus the, "I can't go to that school thing,
[00:33:52.727]"'cause I actually have to be gone for a work trip."
[00:33:55.310]And they're like, "Well, you're your own boss, Ali,
[00:33:57.377]"why do you have to be gone?"
[00:33:59.133]If I have to explain this to you right now,
[00:34:00.984]we're not gonna have this conversation.
[00:34:02.770]Well, it's great that those options
[00:34:04.840]are available for anybody.
[00:34:06.790]I mean we see more and more parents
[00:34:08.920]that aren't even living together, but making things work.
[00:34:11.540]Single parents making things work.
[00:34:13.590]I think more dads are staying at home with their kids and,
[00:34:16.420]or starting to work for their wives' businesses,
[00:34:18.820]so we're seeing a lot of different dynamics around that,
[00:34:21.867]and I think technology enables much of that.
[00:34:24.190]I think we'll see more of that in the future.
[00:34:26.333](mellow jazz music)
[00:34:28.500]well, Ali, I'd love to hear from you.
[00:34:30.860]What are some words of wisdom
[00:34:32.610]you'd love to leave our audience with?
[00:34:34.390]I think one of the things that I end up talking
[00:34:36.820]with most entrepreneurs about is the idea of
[00:34:38.832]marketing always feels like
[00:34:40.980]because there's so many things you can do,
[00:34:43.220]there's always more opportunities and platforms
[00:34:44.673]than you can execute on,
[00:34:46.430]it's always gonna take twice as long as you think it will,
[00:34:49.300]so because you can launch, let's say,
[00:34:52.140]a square space site overnight.
[00:34:54.280]Growing the traffic to that Website
[00:34:56.040]doesn't happen overnights.
[00:34:57.790]Growing the leads in your business,
[00:34:59.130]growing the effect on social media.
[00:35:00.670]You can buy fans, but those aren't authentic,
[00:35:03.020]so why would you do that?
[00:35:04.770]So I think we talk a lot about the idea
[00:35:06.720]of building this marketing foundation
[00:35:08.470]and having a why behind everything,
[00:35:10.340]and once that happens, when all those pieces are in place,
[00:35:13.470]it is so fun, 'cause it feels like
[00:35:15.470]when you start pushing that boulder forward,
[00:35:18.150]and the inertia gets going, it feels like
[00:35:20.370]you are moving so quickly.
[00:35:21.740]That's what it feels like for our company now,
[00:35:23.590]but holy cow!
[00:35:24.860]We spent like a year putting so much in place
[00:35:27.512]that now it feels like the inertia's
[00:35:29.870]finally caught up with us.
[00:35:31.500]And it just equates to that like there's no such thing
[00:35:35.250]as a run at success, and it sounds so simple,
[00:35:38.840]but it's so hard to do.
[00:35:40.540]But it's an excellent point because I think we hear about
[00:35:42.840]the successful person after they've put 10 years into
[00:35:45.940]being successful, so you see how big they are now,
[00:35:48.440]but it took that work and that effort and that focus
[00:35:52.053]to really get it done.
[00:35:53.880]If you're a new business and you wanna get started,
[00:35:55.770]even if you're a startup, you probably should go claim
[00:35:58.013]all of your handles on social media
[00:35:59.940]so no one else goes out and gets them,
[00:36:01.620]but then just pick one to be active on,
[00:36:03.730]or one to run ads on where you figure out
[00:36:06.010]what your message is and you figure out
[00:36:07.660]if the audience is there and then you can start
[00:36:10.220]to kind of expand outward,
[00:36:11.630]but I think it's this kind of like all in one buffet,
[00:36:14.650]and then everyone kind of gets mediocre
[00:36:16.210]in their content on all those platforms,
[00:36:18.300]and then, or in their approach
[00:36:19.650]and they just can't do one thing really well,
[00:36:22.362]so paring it down and focusing,
[00:36:24.650]and again that sounds so simple,
[00:36:26.440]that I almost feel bad saying it,
[00:36:29.170]but it happens so much that I think
[00:36:31.220]it needs to be driven home.
[00:36:33.030]Yeah, I mean it's hard to be everything to everybody
[00:36:34.893]and everywhere, especially on social media.
[00:36:37.640]Well, everyone well say, the worst answer to a,
[00:36:40.717]"Who are your customers,"
[00:36:42.160]I asked this in email this morning,
[00:36:43.460]and he replies back, and it's super-genuine,
[00:36:46.010]it's from the heart, but he says,
[00:36:47.427]"Actually, we can sell to everybody,"
[00:36:48.990]and he lists like all these examples,
[00:36:50.840]and I was like, "Okay, I didn't ask who you could,
[00:36:53.167]"who do you want to and who is the most profitable?"
[00:36:55.700]So those types of business questions like comes
[00:36:58.230]from marketing you might have a service
[00:37:00.190]that you're really passionate about.
[00:37:01.720]When I look at the numbers and I might see
[00:37:03.680]that your profit margin in
[00:37:04.710]that particular service area is like 2%.
[00:37:07.413]" Well, we just like that a lot more."
[00:37:09.220]Yeah, okay, do you wanna feel good at the end of the day,
[00:37:11.320]or do you wanna drive value and revenue?
[00:37:14.490]If that's the case, we're gonna have to focus
[00:37:15.880]on this kind of boring business over here
[00:37:17.470]because that has a much bigger potential for you to grow.
[00:37:20.080]A lot of people want to breeze over that part
[00:37:23.170]and they just wanna get started doing this stuff,
[00:37:24.990]'cause it doesn't feel like we're doing anything.
[00:37:26.920]But that critical thinking, there's been a lot of research
[00:37:30.130]that has come out in the past, at least probably five,
[00:37:32.210]10 years that critical thinking and strategic thinking
[00:37:35.160]is that skill that everybody needs
[00:37:37.002]for the next generation of business,
[00:37:39.307]'cause we have so many things that are automated now,
[00:37:41.880]how do we critically think so that we make
[00:37:44.000]the right decisions with the tools and the automation,
[00:37:46.351]and if we sidestep that, then we end up kind of
[00:37:49.350]just having this vanilla approach to everything else
[00:37:52.370]and if there's another company out there
[00:37:54.680]that does what you do and you don't have a clear why,
[00:37:57.933]why are they in business, why are you in business?
[00:37:59.869](mellow hip hop music)
[00:38:02.310]Thanks for listening.
[00:38:03.550]Subscribe so you don't miss next week's episode
[00:38:05.322]with renowned international futurist Thomas Fry,
[00:38:09.400]whose work spans the future of agriculture, education,
[00:38:12.980]the drone industry, and more.
[00:38:16.010]Driverless technology is going to have
[00:38:18.880]such a profound effect on the divisions between rural
[00:38:22.470]and urban areas because I think it extends out
[00:38:26.580]the urban areas in such far distances in every direction
[00:38:30.500]couple hundred miles farther than it ever was in the past.
[00:38:33.800]That changes our perspective in so many ways.

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Rural Futures with Dr. Connie Episode 12 Featuring Ali Schwanke

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