Today’s interview is with Andy Ayers, AKA “The Southern Dad.”
Welcome to season three of the LeaderQuest Podcast! This season we are focusing on small business leaders who have had to pivot or transition during the 2020 Covid Economy.
Each interview was structured around three main questions:
How did your business pivot during 2020?
What does the future (2021) look like for your business?
What is a current problem or question that your facing?
During each interview, you’ll hear real stories from real business owners. They will share their highs and lows, along with important lessons learned along the way. You’ll be able to take their knowledge and turn it into wisdom.
Today is Andy Ayers, known online as “The Southern Dad.”
About Andy
I met Andy virtually a couple of years ago. We interacted a number of times of Instagram (his primary platform) and have had a couple of brief exchanges over the years. I was excited to have our first extended conversation and interview about his changing business.
One thing you’ve noticed if you follow Andy (and he talks about in the interview) is finding his stride as a business owner. He shares his strengths and weaknesses, as well as some of the crucial pivots he’s making this year.
Today’s interview is with Louis Tolentino of The Coffee Mill in Tehachapi, Ca.
Welcome to season three of the LeaderQuest Podcast! This season we are focusing on small business leaders who have had to pivot or transition during the 2020 Covid Economy.
Each interview was structured around three main questions:
How did your business pivot during 2020?
What does the future (2021) look like for your business?
What is a current problem or question that your facing?
During each interview, you’ll hear real stories from real business owners. They will share their highs and lows, along with important lessons learned along the way. You’ll be able to take their knowledge and turn it into wisdom.
Today is Louis Tolentino of The Coffee Mill in Tehachapi, California.
About Louis
Louis is a friend with an extraordinary business mind. I have immensely enjoyed our off-air conversations about life, family, and survival in this business economy.
This interview is a personal favorite and the wealth of information, his passion, and his plans for future growth and service are inspiring.
Throughout this interview, you’ll hear not only how he cares for his staff, but how he is bringing innovation to a crowded coffee market and the larger Tehachapi area. Tune in to get inspired!
We’re continuing our series on Marcus Whitney’s book Create and Orchestrate, and his eight core concepts to successfully run your business. In today’s post, we’re examining how to have a strong financial plan.
Financial Planning: An Introduction
It seems self-explanatory that a business needs to have a handle on its finances. Yet most new entrepreneurs don’t understand the importance of finance in their business. In my experience, finance is the aspect of business that most new entrepreneurs are weakest in. Understanding finance is critical to ensuring the sustainability of your business.*
Whitney’s assessment has been true not only of my own entrepreneurial journey but of many of the businesses I have coached and partnered with along the way.
I’ll never forget the first month I “made money” as a coach. Someone had actually written me a check, I was profitable … right?
Not so fast. There were the marketing bills I had to pay, the time spend on social media engagement, the debt collected by getting more education, the operations costs, and other bills to pay. All I had really done was gone slightly less in debt that month.
The next month, more people wrote checks. In the following months, there were a few more. Eventually, I was making more from my part-time hustle than I was from my full-time gig. That was when the profit started to happen.
Whitney highlights six key financial components every entrepreneur needs to be aware of in order to have a strong financial plan. These include:
For us, it’s enough to note them and talk about the implications from a coaching perspective.
The Benefits of a Strong Financial Plan
When I first began coaching, I spent my time focusing on leadership health and burnout. Immersing myself in the material and understanding the causes and symptoms, led me to coach my clients through what I call the “health and integrity pyramid.” We examine seven core aspects of everyone’s life and how they need to address pain points and growth opportunities in each of these areas.
The capstone project of the pyramid is financial freedom. This is important because it not only addresses personal and business financial components but to the ultimate goal of purpose-driven entrepreneurs: generosity.
Leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs are almost always on a mission. The work they do is to give their life meaning, but to extend that meaning and purpose to others. Leaders who are clear on their calling (the what and why of the work they do) almost always come out with a need to give back.
To be generous.
They want to bless others.
The journey they started on is ultimately not about them, it is about the people they get to help.
And along the way, if you’re focused on your debt, your limited finances, or your inability to get out of the red, you will be limited in the effect you can have on others.
First, we get their personal finances in order.
Then we get their business finances in order.
Finally, we get them to live a life of total generosity.
Total Generosity
Clients can always tell when it’s about the money. I learned this a long time ago. If I subconsciously bring to a relationship the need for a sale to pay my electric bill this month, my clients can pick up on that. Time and time again, I’ve seen this play out, not only in my own life but in those of my clients. When you have more “month than money” you can only do so much good in the world. However, when my finances are in order, I can multiply the effectiveness of my money and the blessing that I am to others.
If I’m focused on my own needs, I cannot serve those around me. It is only by being financially free that I can ultimately leave a legacy of influence and impact.
That’s why we focus on total generosity. This encompasses a strong financial plan that is free of debt, structured for profit, and able to give back freely.
* Whitney, Marcus. Create and Orchestrate: The Path to Claiming Your Creative Power from an Unlikely Entrepreneur (p. 61). Creative Power. Kindle Edition.
I got my start as a small business owner somewhere around age 10. I wish I would’ve known then how much I loved it. My mom’s boss needed help around his yard and I became his yard person. Every Saturday I’d rake leaves, mow the lawn, chop wood, and clean up debris.
My next small business came working at a tractor salvage yard working alongside my dad. From age 15 to 21 I worked every summer and most weekends helping farmers get their equipment running.
I’ve also spent time in franchise-owned small businesses, nursing home facilities, and owning my own LLC. My entire career has been in and around small businesses and their owners. Their commitment to not just meet a need for their family, but their community has always inspired me.
Recently, was having a conversation with a small business owner around some of their plans for future growth and expansion. The ingenuity, creativity, and innovation from the heart of this individual energized me. The world needs more of this, especially now.
Which is why 2020 has hurt so many people.
Planning for Quarter Four
There are, at the time of publication, 100 days left in 2020. Many of us, if not all of us, have had the craziest year we’ve ever imagined.
Celebrate! You have survived more than you ever thought possible.
Rejoice! You have found a new level of creativity, clarity, and calling.
Commend yourself! You have discovered grit, tenacity, and mental toughness much greater than you originally gave yourself credit for.
And I want to encourage you to keep going.
The world needs you, your voice, your passion, your experience, your expertise, your product, and your smile.
With the next 100 days, you have a choice.
Quit now, with all you’ve already gone through.
-OR-
Push through and find extraordinary success.
Two weeks ago, one of my clients recently made a goal for 2020: to grow their business by 25%. They are clear and focused. We identified necessary tasks, potential obstacles, and the daily habits that would be necessary to make this happen.
Last week, when we checked in on that goal, they had already made significant progress.
Plant + Preparation = Success
A plan, plus the proper preparation, equals success.
Will you reach all of your goals in 100 days? Probably not. In fact, I hope not. Otherwise, your goals are too small.
But what could you accomplish in 100 days?
To lose one pound of fat a week (seven days), you must be in a calory deficit of 500 calories per day. This means that in 100 days you could lose more than 14 pounds. How much more energy would you have without 14 unnecessary pounds weighing you down?
If you sent three email requests for an introduction, in 100 days you could have up to 300 new contacts on your phone.
If you woke up thirty minutes early to read a challenging book, in 100 days you would spend an extra 50 hours in personal growth.
Each of these on their own would speed up your path to success. Combine some, or complete them all, and 100 days from now you will hardly recognize your current self.
If you’re already on that plan, stay the course. Voices will start to creep in telling you to slow down, veer off course, or distract yourself with the next shiny object. Ignore those voices. Use them as fuel and motivation that you’re on the right path.
There are tremendous benefits to thinking big in life, business, and goals. Mitch Matthews reminds us that in his interview for the Building With Purpose Conference. He was our featured speaker, and he didn’t disappoint.
There are loads of good takeaways from his presentation, but start by checking out this clip below:
Building With Purpose
This excerpt is a part of the FREE online conference I’m hosting called Building With Purpose. This course will help you pivot during this time of social distancing and working from home.
For many of us, it’s a new experience. These experts will help you gain clarity and momentum and experience success.
Registration is completely free and is currently open.
In this conference, we hear from leading experts in:
Coaching
Business Consulting
Human Resources
Finance
Digital Marketing
And more
If you’re interested in starting or growing a business or even just wondering how to maximize your time and what to do next, enroll in the free conference.
To follow up, I’m offering all attendees a complimentary session.
Mitch reminds us of the importance of continued growth. He reminds us that small, gradual improvements lead to big change. You conquer your fear by going just outside of your comfort zone, challenging yourself, rising to the occasion, and repeating that. Day in, day out.
Ready for more? Here are three ways for you to take action immediately.
1.) Don’t be afraid to experiment
This is pure gold from Mitch, and something I remind my clients of consistently. We experiment, with 100% effort, ways to grow. Sometimes our business plan limits creativity instead of inspiring action. Find ways to experiment with growth and see what new exciting opportunities open up. Did you fail? That’s okay, great scientists know that success only comes from good experiments. Pick yourself up and try again.
2.) Enjoy the surprises along the way.
Mitch’s story about the growth of his podcast is inspiring. What started out as an experiment is now literally transforming millions of lives around the world. The joy he had as he told the story reminds us all to enjoy life’s surprises when they happen. Even in our current climate, the world is full of wonder and joy if we’re looking for it.
3.) Spend time dreaming big … then dream bigger!
Our success is only capped by our imagination. The bigger we dream, the more we invest in our future, the more success we will have. Even if you’re just starting out, don’t dream of touching dozens, hundreds, or thousands of lives. Start by expecting (and planning) on touching millions and see where your mind takes you.
How did your business pivot during 2020?
In this conference, we hear from leading experts in: