The Thoughtful Entrepreneur

Josh Elledge · UpMyInfluence.com & PodVerified.com
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Feb 24, 2022 • 17min

1083 - Helping Consumers Earn the Credit They Deserve with Trackstar's Clint Lotz

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge talks to the President and founder of Trackstar, Clint Lotz. Trackstar is a consumer advocate brand. It tackles problems in the space uniquely by building software that helps people help people. Specifically, they innovate the loan space. They saw an opportunity to put state of the art technology into the hands of lenders – they wanted consumers to be protected from false negative credit reporting by giving lenders data that’s fast, efficient, and accurate. Clint shares that there are many false negative reports floating around the American credit system, and Trackstar can build software to identify these false reports so that someone’s credit isn’t ruined. Clint also talks about how difficult it is as a consumer to identify and report these damaging false reports. For the most part, it’s an entirely manual process and it’s tedious and time consuming. Trackstar tackles this issue and allows for these types of checks and balances to be available quickly and efficiently. Josh and Clint also explore where Trackstar fits into the industry more holistically. He shares that most credit bureaus listen to their consumers, but their data is almost always inaccurate. They don’t seek to improve the quality of their data, Clint shares, and they’ve been aware of this for a long time. At the end of the day, this bad data and these errors are bringing consumer credit scores down. It’s a major issue, but it doesn’t improve their bottom line, so little has been done to address it. Who uses Trackstar’s tech? Those on the customer experience team are often the first to consider using this type of advanced data technology. Those who take charge of the customer journey are the number one candidates that Trackstar will connect with; they care about their consumer’s experience, which makes the investment in this technology all the more attractive. Clint shares that he believes lenders should do more than just lend money; they should invest in making the consumer journey fair, easy, and equitable. Trackstar identifies errors on credit reports and they are looking to work with personal, mortgage, auto, and other types of lenders. They also work with online aggregators who work with multiple lenders to extend their reach across the board. If you’re a lender or aggregator, there’s likely a big data oversight occurring somewhere in your business. Trackstar will help you serve your existing client base now – and actually add something positive, and in protection of the consumer, to the lending space. Want to learn more? Check out Trackstar’s website at https://trackstar.ai/. Check out Trackstar on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/trackstar-ai/.  Check out Clint Lotz on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/clint-lotz/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.
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Feb 23, 2022 • 28min

1082 - The Balance Between Automation and Relationship Building with Time on Target's Kevin Snow

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to veteran and the founder of Time On Target, Kevin Snow. Time On Target was originally launched as a public speaking and training company to train businesses on networking and sales. After being launched, Kevin was deployed with the Army overseas. With that, he had to pivot and then began offering prospecting services. He focused on tech firms and helping companies grow and optimize their sales teams. From there, Time On Target niched down even more and now they focus on helping companies discover how they sell and how their buyers make buying decisions. They add technology and automation to make things run faster so that sales teams have optimized ease of use. Kevin shares that building relationships is still extremely important when it comes to sales. You can’t assume your sales teams can cultivate good relationships - they sometimes jump too quickly to the sales processes. This is a byproduct of the environment of COVID. When we’re not interacting face to face, it’s harder to build those personable relationships. Kevin shares that he had to manually build in the “relationship” process into his sales funnel. You need to ask questions and actually get to know these leads. From there, you can educate them on where they could improve or automate, and this trust and expertise will lead to sales far more often. Josh and Kevin also share how being an introvert is actually a strength in the sales process. Introverts are curious, good listeners and are detail-oriented. Utilizing these skills helps you dig deeper so you can actually sell a real solution, not what you assume they need. You need to build your solutions to serve the lead first and foremost – a cookie cutter approach isn’t going to see success. It’s a lengthy process and it requires dedication and attention to detail, but you have to sell from a place of service first. Sales aren’t about convincing people, it’s about helping them know, like, and trust you AND your authority. If you can solve problems, that’s great, but listen to your market first. Ask yourself how many meaningful conversations you can have in a day and try your best to hit that target. Don’t pitch to someone – listen to them and offer a tangible solution. Accept that not everyone will be a fit for your solution and don’t chase and force leads that just aren’t fits. That’ll detract from your business’s value. Be a true solution provider and only pursue leads you can deeply serve. Want to learn more? Check out Time on Target’s website at https://www.time-on-target.com/. Check out Time On Target on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/time-on-target/. Check out Kevin Snow on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinesnow/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.
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Feb 22, 2022 • 22min

1081 - Best Practices for Podcast Guests with Outlier Audio's Spencer Carpenter

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge talks to the founder and CEO of Outlier Audio, Spencer Carpenter. Outlier Audio began during COVID-19. Spencer shares he worked extensively in the music industry before the pandemic in talent representation. During this time, he realized those who relied on in-person networking needed alternatives. Podcasting was an opportunity for people to perform virtually. Spencer shares that many people in the space either didn’t know how to podcast or didn’t have the time. This is how Outlier Audio was born!Spencer shares that the need for the space was the initial draw for him to podcasting, but what he realized was that in a world where advertising is constant, podcasts get you in front of audiences who actually want to listen to you. Inviting someone onto your show invites them to become a fan after their own interview and creates the impression of the personal touch of a genuine conversation. Listeners like what you have to say – you don’t have to sell yourself, you just have to be authentic. Josh and Spencer also explore what makes an amazing podcast guest. He shares that he’s scoured for the best tips across the web and compiled them (while also leaving out the redundancies and creating a succinct guide.) Optimizing the quality of your own audio is key. Also, don’t waste your opportunity as a podcast guest. You’re there to educate an audience, not sell your program or product. As a guest, be authentic and be a respectful, considerate guest to your host. Josh shares his take; a podcast is like a first date. Don’t run out of the gate trying to make a pitch. Spencer also shares that you don’t need to make a pitch to sell to someone’s audio. Just showing your authority and expertise in a real conversation will draw the right clients to you just from an audience base who hears you once and wants to learn more. It doesn’t matter what vertical you work in; you’ll only draw business to yourself from podcasting if you start from a place of service and value as a guest. Bring stories, anecdotes, and real nuggets to the table. But how does one get on podcasts, or prepare themselves beforehand? Spencer shares to keep things short and sweet when you pitch yourself as a guest and make sure to curate which shows you want to be on. Don’t throw spaghetti at the wall – go on podcasts in your niche and branch out as you gain more experience as a stand out podcaster. Want to learn more? Check out Outlier Audio’s website at https://www.outlieraudio.com/. Check out Outlier Audio on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/outlier-audio/. Check out Spencer Carpenter on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-carpenter-49988166/.  Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.
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Feb 21, 2022 • 23min

1080 - Starting and Growing Your E-Commerce Business with BeefySites' Jared Mitchell

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the owner of BeefySites, Jared Mitchell. BeefySites started as Jared’s passion project and it has now become an extremely successful company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their e-commerce businesses. Jared shares that the methods e-commerce businesses are using to grow aren’t actually improving their brand or business because it doesn’t build upon it. When your business depends on other factors, like platforms you don’t control, you have to build things from the ground up so you aren’t relying on those factors entirely for success.He also discusses things like the risks of relying mostly on Amazon for your e-commerce business. He shares that he's been shut down at least ten times by Amazon – so if you tell yourself it can’t happen to you, think again. Even competitors can shut you down between leaving false bad reviews and opening false trademark disputes. Amazon is a slippery slope for e-commerce companies, so absolutely do not put all your eggs in that one basket. Jared and Josh explore how to diversify your strategy and approach. Number one, you need to strive for perfection. First of all, sell QUALITY products and don’t cut manufacturing corners. Ship on time and have a competent and prepared customer experience team right off the bat. If you don’t, your brand and its reputation will suffer. Next, invest in selling e-commerce you’re passionate about. Yes, you can be passionate about making money, but that’s not going to be enough drive for you eventually. Sell products you use, care about, and enjoy talking about. Base your brand around things you care about on a personal level. Differentiating yourself in a busy market is another aspect that requires a tactical approach. Find your niche and be AMAZING at it. You need to then hone in on that audience, ideally one that needs a solution provided, and operate in that area. Become an expert in that niche and don’t make the mistake of trying to branch out into areas outside your zone of genius thinking you need a broader, more extensive reach. Only sell products you know well and like the back of your hand. Jared shares that people don’t want to be sold to, they want to be helped. You need to be the right solution to their problem and show your business is the expert in your space very quickly. You need to establish yourself as a real brand to your audience. As far as utilizing influencer marketing, Jared stresses caution. You need to manually check not just the size of an influencer's audience, but also the engagement they have with their audience. Influencers can often have “fake audiences”, so do this research before you even approach an influencer regarding a marketing campaign. Want to learn more? Check out Beefysite’s website at https://www.beefysites.com/.  Check out Jared Mitchell on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jareddmitchell/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.
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Feb 20, 2022 • 22min

1079 - Competent, Cost-Effective Outsourced Website Development with Inn8ly's James Hipkin

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with the CEO and founder of Red8 Interactive and Inn8ly, James Hipkin. Inn8ly offers websites without worry. James shares that Red8 Interactive is a custom web development company focused on acting as a constructive general contractor for mid-sized design agencies. They offer quality, outsourced development services to major enterprises. However, James shares that they noticed that smaller businesses (who generally weren’t at the level to invest in Red8 Interactive’s services) desperately needed their expertise and support. With this in mind, James then founded Inn8ly. They now offer cost-effective subscription-based software for small businesses. Their proposition is solving the problem many business owners have – they don’t WANT to be master developers. They want to have a cost-effective, professional and competent team to manage their websites for them. They send emails, develop, and update all of these development aspects on the behalf of their clients. They also actually answer the phone! James shares that actually reaching your outsourced development teams is one of the biggest issues in the industry. Even if a business owner IS competent in web development, is it a cost effective use of their time to manage it? Inn8ly makes it as smooth and easy as possible, so business owners can truly operate in their zone of genius and focus on what really matters. Josh and James also explore how many SMBs don’t hold their developers to high enough standards. James shares that when he talks to business owners who struggle and underutilize their website, he observes massive confusion around digital marketing. When you invest in tactics in isolation, you’re not looking at things holistically. He describes the ideal framework is to treat your website and digital marketing like a tire and wheel hub. Your website should be the wheel hub, your digital marketing tactics and channels should be the spokes, and your content marketing and messaging strategy should be the rim that holds everything together. The power doesn’t come from each piece of the puzzle, but rather the connections you make by following a holistic model. Tactics in isolation is just noise; the power of your strategy comes from connecting everything together. You should be driving people to your website FIRST, not your social media. That’s what builds long term relationships with your audience – when you rely on tactics in isolation (especially ones beyond your control, like using platforms you don’t own), you become susceptible to many more strategic risks. Want to learn more? Check out Inn8ly’s website at https://inn8ly.com/. Check out Red8 Interactive at https://red8interactive.com/. Check out Inn8ly on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/inn8ly/. Check out James Hipkin on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshipkin/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.
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Feb 19, 2022 • 22min

1078 - The Truth About Business Growth with Corporate Value Metrics' Ken Sanginario

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge talks to the founder of Corporate Value Metrics, Ken Sanginario. Corporate Value Metrics offers a value creation software platform they created eleven years ago to help companies control the value of their businesses. Their platform can help double or even triple a company’s value over the course of 3 to 5 years. It’s being tested all over the United States and even around the globe!Ken shares that they offer three different tiers of their software. Their lightest tier is for business averaging less than 5 million in revenue annually. Their next tier is the middle tier, aimed at growth, for those businesses making 5 to 15 million in annual revenue. The highest level tier is aimed at businesses making 15 million or more in revenue. Their software offers a unique flexibility and flexes with the size of the company as well as the vertical.  Josh and Ken also explore how businesses get started with this software. Their onboarding process helps identify fifteen different points of consideration that tells Ken and his team what the company needs strategy wise, as well as laying out a timeline for success. The problem is that revenue and profitability growth don’t just happen on their own, but too many business owners focus on ONLY these factors – you have to grow within your means to avoid imploding. Ken calls this phenomenon “growing for broke.” What he learned by observing this is that business owners should NOT focus on these factors directly, but rather the qualitative aspects of their businesses that will naturally lead to growth. The truth is, if you’re only focused on growing as fast as possible, you’re actually eroding the value of your business because you haven’t prepared it for that level of growth. Ken also discusses the importance of identifying blindsports and imbalances. The weakest parts of your businesses are constraints, and if you ONLY grow within your comfort zones (where you’re usually already thriving), there’s more pressure on the weak areas of your business. You have to balance what you grow and invest time and quality into in order to grow sustainably. THIS work is what triples the value of a business. There aren’t external factors here – this is all within your control. What Ken and his team have found is that business will do one (or all) of three things that are common mistakes. They either chase revenue by stretching beyond their core competency in their product offerings, slash costs that are “non-customer facing” which can lead to a lack of efficiency, or they merge with or acquire another business which can often become too complex to direct. If your business isn’t strong in its own foundation, any acquisition or merger will fail. All of these mistakes actually erode the growth and value of your business.  Want to learn more? Check out Corporate Value Metrics’ website at https://www.corporatevalue.net/. Check out Corporate Value Metrics on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/corporate-value-metrics-llc/. Check out Ken Sanginario on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ksanginario/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.
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Feb 18, 2022 • 22min

1077 - Writing a Book to Push Your Business Forward with The Author Incubator's Dr. Angela Lauria

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the President and CEO of The Author Incubator, Dr. Angela Lauria.The Author Incubator is exactly what it sounds like – they help create and incubate authors. Angela shares that people approach her and her team when they have an idea for a book, but not necessarily the knowledge or skill sets to write their first book. What Angela shares is that her ideal clients have a successful business and idea for a book, but don’t necessarily see themselves as “authors”. She shares that a well written book can improve your business in all facets – and it can communicate effortlessly and clearly with your audience. The Author Incubator helps train their clients and their support systems to incubate these authors in the most holistic and effective ways possible. You have to treat a book with this ‘incubation’ mindset to write a real, impactful piece of literature. Angela also shares some of her clients’ success stories and how they leveraged their books after becoming published. Between generating new revenue for their business with their books, authors can also create networks using their written work as well as create marketing campaigns that celebrate their book and their business. No matter how Angela’s clients utilize their works, there are endless options and opportunities when you’ve written something successful, succinct, and authoritative. She also shares some thoughts on giving away your book during marketing campaigns versus selling it. Giving away your book grants you more reach and eyes on your business and campaign, but this may not necessarily translate into sales right away. On the other hand, if you choose to charge for your book, you’ll likely see more sales from those who purchase it, but less publicity and reach. How you market your book all depends on your business strategy and goals for the book. Josh and Angela also explore how often these books are actually read by those who receive it. According to Angela, 16% of these books have even ONE page read. It doesn’t sound great, but she shares some hopeful insights. The good news is that while non-buyers are unlikely to read your book, once someone buys it from you, they’ll not only READ your book, they’ll share it with the people around them and likely read it more than once themselves. Again, this is all impacted by how you decide to utilize your book and share it with your network. Want to learn more? Check out The Author Incubator’s website at https://theauthorincubator.com/. Check out The Author Incubator on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-author-incubator/. Check out Angela Lauria on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelalauria/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.
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Feb 17, 2022 • 21min

1076 - Grit and Tenacity in Business with Ron Coury

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge talks to the author of Tenacity, Ron Coury. Ron is a Las Vegan businessman who survived the Marines, corruption, and cancer – and successfully ran over twenty businesses throughout his career. Ron shares that he was a student in Brooklyn when he was drafted into the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He chose boot camp with the hardest training but ultimately wasn’t sent as the war de-escalated. Ron shares that the grit he gained through the military is what afforded him the business mindset that led to his success. Train to teach yourself that failure isn’t an option. You can’t predict the hurdles, but you know they’ll be there. Ron says that the key is not to let the hurdles and challenges stop you. Work your way around each obstacle and solve the problem. After Ron got out of the Marines, he shares that he moved to Las Vegas. The city afforded him the ability to enter into many verticals that are very specific to Vegas – he then started a business, but maintained many side gigs. He was in the tavern business to start with and he scaled and grew. He shares how he grew his business and retained customers – and all the innovations he made along the way. Adding video poker to the bar business also opened doors into the gaming business as the industry developed. Josh and Ron also explore how to know when you should start your next business venture. He says it’s not always a conscious feeling, but he wanted to continue to grow and challenge himself – so he did. He trained and led his team to continue to nurture his various businesses as he would continue onto the next challenge and venture. But how do you know who is fit for the job? When you see someone with amazing talent, bite the bullet and invest the time and money into training them to make the same decisions you would make. Ron shares he would constantly shadow people, and though it can get boring, it teaches your best employees how to act as you would in times of struggle or crisis. But what about when you can’t control the outcome? Gauge pivoting by predicting how an industry will develop. You can’t always accurately predict, but look over the context clues and innovations in technology to stay on the cutting edge of your vertical. You need to stay on top of these changes to stay successful. This is all part of having grit and tenacity as a business owner. Want to learn more? Check out Ron Coury’s website at https://roncouryauthor.com/. Check out Ron Coury on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/roncouryauthor/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.
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Feb 16, 2022 • 22min

1075 - Protecting Your Intellectual Property with Martin IP Law Group Rick Martin

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to patent attorney and the owner of Martin IP Law Group, Rick Martin. Rick works with a broad array of clients, from the individual inventor to corporations. They can do patents, trademarks, and anything to do with IP. They’ll work with multimillion dollar companies, their employees, and everyone in between. Rick and Josh explore the risks of not going through the proper trademark and IP steps when trying to develop a product. Rick shares that it depends. It’s a good idea to register your ideas from the beginning – there are requirements and duties as far as policing that trademark, and you have to make efforts in protecting your intellectual property. Trademarks are specified based on domestic or international registration. Outside of the U.S. if you don’t register your trademark, that protection stops overseas. Trademarks are generally protected by common law but need to also be registered to be protected federally. When you see your content has been copied, that falls into the category of copyright violations. If you record a video, that is automatically protected; you’d have to register such a piece of content before pursuing a lawsuit, but it’s federally protected. Rick shares that you should contact an attorney if your content was infringed online. The next step is typically sending a cease and desist letter before trying to file a lawsuit. Registering your domain is not all it takes to protect your brand. You have to protect your intellectual property and protect your identity as an entrepreneur and as a brand. Rick shares some basics, too. Copyrights protect creations and the expression of ideas. A logo, for instance, can be protected by both trademark and copyright laws as they require creative design. A trademark links the goods or services provided to consumers back to the provider of those goods and services – and prevents confusion in the marketplace around where products come from.It’s definitely worth the investment to have an attorney assist you in filing to register intellectual property. There are websites that advertise doing it yourself, but Rick shares that having the advice and guidance from an expert in the space is essential, especially if you’re serious about protecting your intellectual property. If you apply for patent protection incorrectly, your IP can become public domain and there’s not much that can be done if someone infringes that IP in such a circumstance. Invest in an attorney and get the experts on top of things – before you lose your IP. Want to learn more? Check out Martin IP Law Group’s website at https://ipsolutionslaw.com/. Check out Martin IP Law Group on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/martin-ip-solutions/. Check out Rick Martin on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickmartinlaw/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.
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Feb 15, 2022 • 24min

1074 – Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Company Culture with Ascribe Educational Consulting’s Sonia Lewis

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge talks to anti-racism impact strategist and the CEO of Ascribe Educational Consulting, Sonia Lewis. Sonia shares that she has done this work for over ten years – and the last two years have seen quadruple the work for her, understandably. Diversity, equity, and inclusivity should be a part of each and every organization, no matter how small. Every team member should feel a part of the whole, and Sonia works strategizing and developing how to make an inclusive space for every member of a team. Sonia shares that they facilitate a lot of conversations – and do a lot of listening. Sonia also talks about what doesn’t work and they collaborate with these organizations to help develop that team inclusivity.Josh shares his take – we all have blind spots. Sonia shares some ways to educate yourself. Individuals who have worked hard and worked their way up to achieve their goals sometimes don’t realize how many others missed out on those opportunities. The United States is a talent-resource rich country. No one is coming to take what you have, which is a primary fear that many groups feel, Sonia shares. That’s just not reality – equity comes with having perspective on your own situation. Equity is about meeting the needs of those who are most marginalized, disenfranchised, and most vulnerable in an organization. More often, those individuals are black, indidgenous, female, LatinX, LGTBQ+, and/or a lower socioeconomic status. Equity means creating opportunities for those in these marginalized groups. The truth is, it will never be an even playing field, and that’s what equity is all about. Josh and Sonia also discuss how they’ve heard entrepreneurs struggling to hire a diverse team. It’s all down to how you treat people and the world around you. Everything you say and do impacts how you’re perceived, and if your company culture isn’t dialed in, having a truly inclusive and diverse team just isn’t possible. Positive messages of inclusion are absolutely essential.Sonia also shares some of her incredible background. She shares that her experiences have helped her to spread the message that children should be seen and heard. Encouraging children to be open about their struggles, especially those in marginalized communities, is critical to fostering a better future generation. According to her website, Sonia Lewis's debut children's book focuses on encouraging children to trust their voice and adults to do the same. Be ready for reflective questions, insightful conversation, and a new perspective on how children see and experience the world. Pre-order her book here. Want to learn more? Check out Inspired Ascribe Educational Media’s website at https://www.ascribesuccess.com/. Check out Sonia Lewis on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonia-lewis-your-antiracist-solutionist/. Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:✅ We are actively booking guests for our DAILY Entrepreneur Success Podcast. Schedule HERE.✅ Are you a 6-figure consultant? Let us fill your sales schedule and move you to 7-figures. Learn more here.✅ Check out our free Authority Transformation Masterclass.

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