The trap of always wanting more clients and customers

Jessica T: 00:00:17

Hello, and welcome back to the eavesdrop on us podcast.

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I'm Jessica

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Susan: and I'm Susan.

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Jessica T: And this week we are just

going to, I don't want to say freestyle

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it, but we're just going to bring

a very open ended question to the

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table and see where that takes us.

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So the question is, what is standing out

to you or what are you sort of paying

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attention to business wise, because

between the two of us, we are constantly

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talking with entrepreneurs, whether it's.

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networking, whether it's our clients,

whether it's on social media.

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So I think somewhere in all of that,

there's something that has stood out to

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you, Susan, because I know there are a

few things that are standing out to me.

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So I'll toss the question your way first.

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What is sort of grabbing your

attention business wise this

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week

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Susan: are multiple

issues, for small business.

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I think it's interesting that, gas

prices are going back up and for small

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businesses that does make a big impact.

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Because whether you talk about supply

chain logistics, there will be an

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increase in price, manufacturing,

there will indeed be a price.

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So they've got you coming

and going on that one.

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So even if it's, you know, by five

cents, which most consumers are like,

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well, no big deal, I can suck it up.

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But for small businesses,

it could be a do or die.

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And we're having a harder time with these.

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I guess these fluctuations within

fuel prices for small businesses.

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So I think there's an impact there.

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I think there's also really

interesting topics to be had around.

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you get people that are really

truly work in the gig economy,

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they don't want to come back to

traditional small business framework

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of employer employee relationship.

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I think there's a minute, I think

we're very much in the middle of that.

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And that's interesting to witness.

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The other one is.

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You know, the great compromise for

small businesses and small business

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owners in particular, how do we

welcome back employees who maintain,

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hey, wait a second, I can get much,

if not all of the work achieved in

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a remote situation, the past two

years, two and a half years proved it.

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But, I think that's a very hot topic,

a very interesting one, because

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most think, well, wait a second,

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yeah, you're getting the work

done, but are we collaborating?

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Are we ideating?

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Meaning, are we creating and, welcoming

new ideas to creation and development?

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So I think those are the topics

that I'm seeing in the past week.

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Yeah.

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You know, I think the banking situation

is really catching the attention of

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small business owners because many

of them use, bank credit cards.

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I don't know if,

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Jessica T: help clarify that

cause I don't know what you're

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Susan: talking about.

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Yeah.

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And for small businesses, um, and

I'm talking zero to about half a

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million, they tend to use business

credit cards to support their growth.

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And one way or another, rather than

getting a traditional old school business

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line of credit, it's easier just to

go ahead and get a business credit

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card, rack up some numbers there and

leverage that for some maybe sky miles.

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In some programs, so they can get

a twofer, which is really from a,

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you know, marketing perspective.

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It lot of the business that would go

to traditional banks and it pulled

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them into the credit card market.

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Well, the challenge there, those credit

cards, their interest rates are ratcheting

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up higher and higher and higher.

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And because 90 percent of

them, tend to be variable.

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So, as the interest rate goes up,

so do the credit card debt numbers.

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And so folks are now

scrambling in small business.

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Okay, how do I take that revolving debt

and switch it over to a consistent debt?

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Maybe, you know, a nice business

loan, debt consolidation loan.

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So you're seeing a lot of that.

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So you've seen a lot of, heavy

decisions being made, ultimately, and

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Jessica T: I'm getting, I'm getting the

sense that, like, these are somewhat heavy

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topics are I don't know if they're always

the most engaging or interesting topics

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for business owners to, to engage with.

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Susan: They don't, they're like,

no, don't make me don't make me

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eat the overcooked spinach, please

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Jessica T: cheese.

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Yeah, for the most part.

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And I would say I've.

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Been paying attention to very

vastly different topics in

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this past week than you have.

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So I always think that in our

dynamic, that's interesting.

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So I'll give you like two or so

things that are sticking out to me and

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Susan: yeah, I'm, I'm genuinely curious.

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What are you seeing?

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Well.

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Jessica T: Less of the nuts and bolts kind

of things and more, you know, one of the

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things that I spend a lot of time doing is

I go on social media pretty consistently

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sharing content, but also I use it

pretty strategically for our business.

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So I pay attention to a lot of

the things people are posting.

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So two things really

stood out to me this week.

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One is a completely local thing.

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I have been obsessed with it and it is a

local air show that absolutely just like

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I've watched this air shows reputation

just absolutely go into the trash can.

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Oh my gosh.

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And I'm watching this

unfold on social media.

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So for context, there's this show

called Thunder over New Hampshire, and

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it's a really cool, they, they come.

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Every year, every other year, and

it's airplanes and different, you

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know, static displays and all of that.

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And it has a pretty solid reputation.

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People come to this.

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People travel from other

states to come to this.

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And, so that I could get into why

that specifically stood out to

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me, but I basically watched their

reputation go down into the trash can.

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And then.

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This really interesting.

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So, so Rachel, my sister has brought

to our attention that some of the

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changes that like Delta Airlines

is making As it relates to their

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points system and how that's going

to impact people starting in: 2025

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So it's people who leverage like credit

card points to gain access to the lounge

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to get perks on the airline and Delta made

this huge announcement that basically,

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I guess, puts the kibosh on any of

those point systems and I was like, Oh,

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there's such a good business lesson here.

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There is.

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I think a lot of us need

to be thinking about.

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So those are two things.

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That's why I'm like, we've got

some, lots of different things that

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are standing out to us this week.

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Susan: Oh, here's a fun one.

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Everybody loves to, the really, really

wicked smart people, as we like to

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say in New England, if we've been

diagrammed it, it's probably that

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credit card dynamic because small

businesses really do use them, heavily.

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Because they can, in

fact, smartly get double.

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If not triple return on any debt incurred

on those particular cards, right?

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So I think what's interesting there is we

see a real brand hygiene in play, right?

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Delta they brought in a guy from outside.

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So this is interesting too.

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But they brought an outside operator

to do it, which I thought was

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very interesting, quite honestly.

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An

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Jessica T: outside operator to

help sort of overhaul their...

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Susan: Oh, yes.

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Yeah.

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And, you know, for those uninitiated,

you know, it's one of those things

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where if you're leveraging credit card

programs for sky miles, which Delta

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calls it, or frequent flyer miles, It's

really interesting how you can really

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leverage that to grow your bottom line.

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I think it's pretty savage

for those that are into it.

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For those like me, it's a little

too much effort and energy to

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manage all of those moving plates.

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I like old school, but that's okay.

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To the point, they did bring

in a person from the outside.

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So Delta hired a, and I'm going

to use the phrase, a hatchet guy.

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Come in and slap chop that frequent

flyer program back into action because

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eventually effectively what they

did is they threw a wide net and

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they partnered with an elite card,

American Express, and they opened the

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doors to what it is to be an elite

business frequent flyer to the masses.

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And the business elite said, what the hey,

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Jessica T: before we get into, into

that, I mean, it really was cool.

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I mean, you and I, we would travel pretty

frequently before: 2020

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I would not call us like, we were not on

airplanes every single month, but Delta

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in this instance was our chosen airline.

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And we got to leverage going into the

Delta Lounge and hanging out there

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and, you know, getting some of the

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Susan: perks.

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Getting out with the swells, right?

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Yeah.

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We went to see people.

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And, and I think

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Jessica T: it's interesting that,

because I, you know, Rachel was saying

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to us, I have not looked at this.

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I have no idea what's happening

on the Reddit discussion

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boards, but people are outraged.

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They're so, so upset.

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And so I feel like there's,

there's really two.

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Business lessons that are standing

out to me that I think we are

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taking stock of me and you, Susan.

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And then I think our listeners

should definitely take stock of.

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And so we talked a little bit

about this behind the scenes.

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So what can I share the, I

think the two lessons are, and

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we could just expand on those.

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Of course,

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Susan: please.

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Well, I think the first curious

to hear what your positions are.

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I

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Jessica T: think the first one is sort

of what happens when you do open up

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the business to the quote masses in

this instance, and what happens to

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the, the name recognition, the brand,

when you sort of are appealing to

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as many people as you possibly can.

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Right.

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So they kind of opened the doors

and they said, Whoever uses American

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Express credit cards, whoever is, you

know, collecting points on these can

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partake in, upgrades on the planes,

perks in the lounges, et cetera.

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So there's that.

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And then I think there's the interesting

lesson that you pointed out to me

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a couple months ago in challenging

economies, companies, businesses.

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you know, depending on what services

and products, you know, that you

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offer can evaluate, like, where

do we want to spend our time?

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Do we want to sort of double down on the

bigger spenders, the people who are going

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to spend the most with us, and we're going

to love on them and take care of them.

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And so there's that interesting, like,

where are you spending your time?

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Which customer group or client

group are you really loving on?

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Because they're the ones, when you

look at it, they're the ones bringing

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in the revenue for the business.

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Yeah,

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Susan: they butter your bread.

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They're the, you know, they pay the bills.

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Yeah.

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really get that clear and who they are.

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Yeah.

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Jessica T: So I think for the first one,

you sort of stepped into that, that point

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of opening the business to the masses.

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It's a brand hygiene conversation.

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Like what, what stands

out to you with that?

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Susan: Well, think when any

small business, large business,

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or even intermediate, so small,

small to medium sized enterprise.

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There's your life cycle there.

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I think at any stage, whenever you

open it up to the masses, you have to

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be committed to a short term period.

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it's not one and done and

it's never going to close.

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Right.

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It's a risk.

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It's a very big risk, quite

honestly, because you're

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going to get flush with money.

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You're going to have a smaller staff

deal with effectively a tsunami of

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customer service requests because

they never ever hire to support it.

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So, you know, whoever the core people

are that are on staff, God bless them.

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It really does feel like a tsunami, but

what it does effectively it's short.

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Gain of market share, right?

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So what I'm going to do is I'm going

to open up the doors and everybody

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and I do mean everybody is going

to have the opportunity to see what

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it's like to live behind the walls.

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The paywalls in this instance.

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So you have everybody that could

be literally flying in economy.

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Man, they're, they're at

the back of the bus, right?

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They're way in the back.

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They paid a hundred

bucks for their flight.

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And yet, because they have an American

Express card, can go into the Delta

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Sky Lounge with Johnny and Janie

who are screaming bloody guts out

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in the middle of the Sky Lounge.

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And hello, dear traveler.

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We all know who you are.

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And the business people

are like, what the hell?

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I'm paying thousands.

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They pay a hundred bucks, and I'm

paying thousands for amenities

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and I'm not getting them.

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So there was some serious pushback,

quite frankly, from the business elites

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saying, you, you gotta do something.

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This is getting a little ridiculous.

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And then you had also the

staff that was sick and tired

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of dealing with the tsunami.

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And then we realized also, wait a second,

we're polluting the brand at this point.

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And I hate to use that phrase, but

that really is the phrase that's

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used in business and industry.

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They're polluting the brand.

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And they're making it pedestrian.

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When they wanted to be elite,

rarefied, in experience, and there

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was nothing rarefied, and the

experience was nothing to chat about.

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So they had to make a decision.

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They really rode that sucker

out to the very last mile.

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Jessica T: I don't think the

two of us have the behind the

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scenes for the decision making

on opening, you know, the doors.

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Like we're not privy to those discussions

or, or anything, but what I think about

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our clients and I think about the small

business owners that we work with, and

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it's like, well, why, why should we be

paying attention to this massive decision?

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I think.

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So many are seduced by this.

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Well, we could get more volume and we

can get a lot more money if we do this.

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And it feels good in the moment

because there's that influx of cash.

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Now that can look like a

lot of different things.

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I think in the service based space,

it's lots of low ticket under a

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hundred dollars kind of items,

these kinds of membership sites.

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Do you know what I'm saying, Susan?

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So I think it looked like a

lot of different things or

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like reward programs for other

businesses who may have products.

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And so.

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It's tempering that decision to make

a knee jerk reaction to say like,

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we just want to make a lot of money

right now and we're feeling nervous

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and we need a, we need volume.

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And so you, you make that decision.

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Yeah.

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You open the doors without looking at the

bigger picture of like, wait a second.

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What is our brand?

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What do we want to be known for?

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Is that short term cash

influx or volume influx?

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Are we prepared to handle it?

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Right.

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Yes.

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From a staffing standpoint.

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Susan: That's super important

point, Jessica, because right

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now, hiring is really challenging.

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I mean, it's really genuinely a challenge

to get people up off the sidelines of the

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economy right now into small business,

small to medium sized enterprises.

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As business leaders and owners,

do we really want to wear

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those folks out right now?

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I don't think it's in our best

interest at the moment and nor do I

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think it's fair to give them whiplash.

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Like, oh, yeah, I'll hire you, bring

you into this environment, and then

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I'm going to open up the spigot so you,

you get a tsunami coming in at you.

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It's grossly unfair to our employees.

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Jessica T: And I know you, you

and I have seen that with some

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of our clients, especially where.

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That is the small business lesson.

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The volume has been such that

it is wearing on the team.

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No one talks about this.

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You know, it's so fascinating to me.

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It's like, it's all the outward,

like the volume and we're so busy and

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we're getting all these clients and

it's like you and I see the fallout

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of that where it's like, and it's

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Susan: heavy people.

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Yeah.

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It's, it's really quite honestly

sad because now you start getting,

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let me give you the three horsemen.

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There's four horsemen to this,

but we won't go down that path.

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I want to stay on these two topics because

I think there are a lot of yummy lessons

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here we can share with each other on this.

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But when you introduce that tsunami

to a small enterprise and you

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don't have the reach back or the

ability to leverage many, um, you

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end up getting folks calling out.

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You get folks extending

holidays or vacation time.

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You may even get wellness or PTO

requests because they're riddled with

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anxiety and they're shutting down.

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Or I

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Jessica T: would even say it

manifests as well in pushback.

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Uh, requests that you're asking of the

team, delay, like things are taking

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Susan: longer.

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We harnessed a new term

of today, quiet quitting.

317

: 00:18:11

And they just won't do it.

318

: 00:18:13

So they'll hear you and they'll do the

head bobbing like the little animal in

319

: 00:18:18

the back window like, you know, bobbing,

but here's the thing, they won't do it.

320

: 00:18:24

Yeah.

321

: 00:18:24

So they'll say yes, but no go.

322

: 00:18:27

They won't do it.

323

: 00:18:28

So I think, you know, when we're

talking about a tsunami, opening

324

: 00:18:31

the spigots to the greater masses,

if you do so in a small business

325

: 00:18:38

environment, do so knowingly and

for a very Very limited time.

326

: 00:18:44

I think Delta overstayed

their welcome on that one.

327

: 00:18:47

Yeah.

328

: 00:18:47

I'm

329

: 00:18:48

Jessica T: just curious to, from your

perspective, and I don't want to go,

330

: 00:18:51

cause I want to get to the second lesson,

but I'm curious how, what that would

331

: 00:18:55

look like for a small business to quote,

open the spigot or welcome the tsunami.

332

: 00:19:00

Like, I think from my perspective,

it's the sort of low ticket kind of

333

: 00:19:05

offers it's the memberships it's,

it's, it's those things, but I'm

334

: 00:19:08

curious, cause you work with a lot of.

335

: 00:19:10

You know, not the nuts and bolts

kind of businesses, trades,

336

: 00:19:13

restaurants, things like that.

337

: 00:19:14

Like what would that look

like for them to open the

338

: 00:19:17

Susan: spigot?

339

: 00:19:18

A lot of times you'll see that as a

one year blowout sale where effectively

340

: 00:19:25

the clothes on their back are on sale.

341

: 00:19:27

You'll see our restaurants put

prices back to the year that

342

: 00:19:32

they opened, which as a business

advisor would drive me shit crazy.

343

: 00:19:38

Because it's just say you're going to

feed everybody for free for that day.

344

: 00:19:42

Just say that, just say that, but

it's, you know, kind of gimmicky.

345

: 00:19:46

They'll do that.

346

: 00:19:47

other ways that I see it too, is

for my e comm folks, what they'll

347

: 00:19:50

do is they'll lower the paywalls.

348

: 00:19:54

So normally you see a good, better,

best in an e comm environment.

349

: 00:20:00

And depending on the price

point that you buy in.

350

: 00:20:04

What was grayed out is

not grayed out any longer.

351

: 00:20:07

You get a sneak peek to see,

Ooh, I am actually missing

352

: 00:20:12

something behind that wall.

353

: 00:20:14

Maybe I'll rethink my decisioning

on not to go up for or down for.

354

: 00:20:20

So, that's the quick and ready.

355

: 00:20:23

I can think of,

356

: 00:20:24

Jessica T: I want to also put

this in here that at the risk of

357

: 00:20:28

that sounding potentially elitist,

like only people who can afford

358

: 00:20:31

this can see behind the paywall.

359

: 00:20:33

I think the bigger point that

we're talking about here is

360

: 00:20:37

emotional decision making.

361

: 00:20:39

It is the reactionary, like

we need to be making money.

362

: 00:20:43

So we need volume.

363

: 00:20:44

So we're going to do these things

without the bigger picture.

364

: 00:20:47

Really good point.

365

: 00:20:47

Well, and I think even more

importantly, it's being clear on.

366

: 00:20:52

Who generally, what is

your brand all about?

367

: 00:20:55

Who is it that you're, you're

generally trying to target?

368

: 00:20:57

Because when you make those emotional

decisions, you're muddying the waters,

369

: 00:21:01

you're creating confusion and you're

potentially overwhelming your staff.

370

: 00:21:05

So it depends.

371

: 00:21:06

I think there's a bigger lesson

here for the business owner,

372

: 00:21:10

which is to really get clear on

like, who are you trying to serve?

373

: 00:21:13

Don't make emotional decisions

based on, Oh, we could make, you

374

: 00:21:16

know, a cash influx here by doing

this without looking at those

375

: 00:21:21

Susan: other pieces.

376

: 00:21:21

Jessica T: It's the short

term decision making.

377

: 00:21:23

Susan: Yeah, I think you're, you're

making a terrific point for folks.

378

: 00:21:27

Um, one thing that I really want to

emphasize, if you will, what you used

379

: 00:21:31

in terms of brand hygiene and a phrase

I always used with folks is, do you ever

380

: 00:21:38

remember, Louis Vuitton going on sale?

381

: 00:21:42

When's the last time you saw

a Bentley on Labor Day sales?

382

: 00:21:47

Yeah, that's right.

383

: 00:21:48

Never.

384

: 00:21:48

Now, I'm not suggesting that everybody

be a Bentley, everybody be a Louis

385

: 00:21:54

Vuitton, but I do suggest strongly

know who you serve, know how best

386

: 00:22:01

you serve them, and offer that.

387

: 00:22:04

It's a social contract you're

making with that community.

388

: 00:22:08

So, yeah, I think brand hygiene

is really important around that.

389

: 00:22:13

because you want to see more traffic.

390

: 00:22:16

Lowering your prices is not

going to guarantee that.

391

: 00:22:19

Well, and

392

: 00:22:19

Jessica T: as we've acknowledged,

more traffic is not always a good

393

: 00:22:22

thing, you know, and that's one of the

lessons I know that you want you and

394

: 00:22:25

I unpack with our clients is more of

the, the frequency model in a business

395

: 00:22:32

versus relying so heavily on volume.

396

: 00:22:34

Cause we have seen so many people burn

themselves out, burn their team out and

397

: 00:22:38

then burn bridges with a lot of, you

know, their, their clients and customers.

398

: 00:22:42

The second one was, it was a

lesson you taught me, which is

399

: 00:22:46

in difficult economies, you know,

you really got to get clear.

400

: 00:22:50

Who are you serving?

401

: 00:22:52

And in this case, Delta, their client

customer base tends to be more of the

402

: 00:22:58

professionals, people who are willing

to, they want more of a, a luxurious

403

: 00:23:02

experience flying, you know, so.

404

: 00:23:05

In that instance, the business lesson

was some will double down on the higher

405

: 00:23:11

paying, client base, as opposed to

going for the, like, we need the volume.

406

: 00:23:16

So there's fewer clients who pay

a little bit more and less who

407

: 00:23:19

pay fewer, who pay less, I guess.

408

: 00:23:22

Right.

409

: 00:23:23

Susan: Yeah.

410

: 00:23:23

You nailed it because look, you know,

I'm old enough to remember back in the

411

: 00:23:27

days Delta was always a premium brand.

412

: 00:23:31

Always a hundred percent.

413

: 00:23:34

Always.

414

: 00:23:35

And those of you that travel on Southwest

JetBlue and what are the others right now?

415

: 00:23:42

Spirit, my goodness.

416

: 00:23:43

How does I,

417

: 00:23:44

Jessica T: this is not me.

418

: 00:23:45

I hope I do not sound like a snob in this

instance, but my goodness, I don't know

419

: 00:23:48

how, like Southwest gives me anxiety.

420

: 00:23:51

Yes.

421

: 00:23:51

And

422

: 00:23:53

Susan: I know I, and you know what, I,

I'm going to just say I'm long enough

423

: 00:23:59

a traveler and I'm old enough where.

424

: 00:24:02

I put my time in.

425

: 00:24:04

I'm at the stage in my life

where I don't want to find what

426

: 00:24:08

grouping I should line up in and be

grateful for a damn bag of peanuts.

427

: 00:24:15

And if you know what those two

references are, you get bonus points.

428

: 00:24:18

I just like

429

: 00:24:19

Jessica T: knowing what seat I have.

430

: 00:24:20

If I don't know where I'm

sitting, I'm just like sweating

431

: 00:24:23

before I even get on the plane.

432

: 00:24:24

Susan: But that's, this

is what I'm speaking to.

433

: 00:24:26

Like, Delta watered down the apron,

and I don't mind telling you, the

434

: 00:24:31

last time we were in a Sky Lounge,

And yes, I'm absolutely bougie people.

435

: 00:24:36

I'm at the time in my life

where I don't want to.

436

: 00:24:39

I will pay a premium price for a

premium experience and I was not

437

: 00:24:44

getting that as a supporter of Delta.

438

: 00:24:47

Last time I was in a Delta

Sky Lounge in the mouses area.

439

: 00:24:53

So you know where that big mouse lives.

440

: 00:24:55

So you already know what state that

You should, I had to think about

441

: 00:24:59

Jessica T: that reference for a second.

442

: 00:25:00

I was like, what are you talking about?

443

: 00:25:02

I'm tracking.

444

: 00:25:03

Susan: Yeah.

445

: 00:25:04

So when we were there, when I was there,

in particular, I had to go down there

446

: 00:25:09

for some business and personal reasons.

447

: 00:25:11

And when I was down there.

448

: 00:25:13

I wanted respite.

449

: 00:25:15

I wanted to be in a quiet zone.

450

: 00:25:18

Now it's not library like, but

it is quieter than being out in.

451

: 00:25:24

The waiting area to, to board the

plane before you get on the, the

452

: 00:25:28

plane, and to my point, it was rowdier.

453

: 00:25:31

It was ridiculous.

454

: 00:25:33

They had to have staff from the lounge

downstairs before you jump onto the

455

: 00:25:38

elevator and say, sorry, we're full.

456

: 00:25:41

We have to wait for people to leave.

457

: 00:25:42

And that's because Johnny, Janie,

Jill and Janet are all up there

458

: 00:25:47

with mom and dad, screaming their

lungs out, wiping out everything.

459

: 00:25:53

Because, of course.

460

: 00:25:54

they're wiped out after running

after their kids for five to

461

: 00:25:58

seven days and paying at least 1,

500 a day at the mouse's place.

462

: 00:26:03

They're spent.

463

: 00:26:05

So mom and dad aren't watching the

kids as they probably normally would.

464

: 00:26:10

And the point I'm ultimately making is, if

it sounds elitist, so maybe, but you know,

465

: 00:26:16

honestly, I paid a premium for a ticket.

466

: 00:26:19

And I wanted a quiet

area and that wasn't it.

467

: 00:26:22

it got me looking at other airlines.

468

: 00:26:25

Jessica T: And I think that that's the

lesson is who is your client or customer.

469

: 00:26:31

Yeah.

470

: 00:26:31

And are you giving them the experience

that they asked for paid for?

471

: 00:26:40

You know, and are you, are you

being really thoughtful about that?

472

: 00:26:43

And so that, that's why I think

these two lessons are connected.

473

: 00:26:46

It's the the quick expansion, the quick

influx, the quick tsunami, because you

474

: 00:26:51

just want to make money without really

being thoughtful of like, wait a second.

475

: 00:26:54

This is what our brand stands for.

476

: 00:26:55

This is who we serve.

477

: 00:26:57

This is how we show up for them.

478

: 00:26:59

And we felt we've really fallen

short of that the last couple years.

479

: 00:27:04

So I think when I see, I understand

the outrage because I don't know if

480

: 00:27:08

I travel enough to really qualify

for all those Delta perks anymore.

481

: 00:27:12

You probably do.

482

: 00:27:12

I don't, I don't really travel that much.

483

: 00:27:14

Um, I

484

: 00:27:14

Susan: do.

485

: 00:27:15

And I can tell you, yes.

486

: 00:27:17

There is outrage and you, and you even get

to know who the people are because more

487

: 00:27:22

or less you've seen them over and over.

488

: 00:27:24

Right.

489

: 00:27:25

But if I may interrupt you for

this one point, how does this

490

: 00:27:28

impact the small, small businesses?

491

: 00:27:31

Go create something new, get creative.

492

: 00:27:34

Don't be lazy and water down a brand

that you put your heart and soul into.

493

: 00:27:40

So

494

: 00:27:40

Jessica T: how would

creating something new

495

: 00:27:41

Susan: help them with that?

496

: 00:27:42

If you want that influx of dollars.

497

: 00:27:45

If you want new, fill in the

blank, go create something new.

498

: 00:27:50

Go engineer, go do a joint

venture, go do something but

499

: 00:27:54

honor what you've already created.

500

: 00:27:58

Is it sacred?

501

: 00:27:58

You can't change it, morph it,

model it, or, you know, modify it.

502

: 00:28:03

Of course you can't.

503

: 00:28:05

But I'm saying do so at your own risk.

504

: 00:28:09

You've invested in a terrific

opportunity or offering for your

505

: 00:28:14

clients and community and market share.

506

: 00:28:17

Honor that.

507

: 00:28:17

Leave it alone.

508

: 00:28:18

Go create something new if

you want to enjoy new money.

509

: 00:28:22

Do you see where I'm going on that?

510

: 00:28:24

I do.

511

: 00:28:24

Jessica T: I just, I think in the, in

connection with what we were saying,

512

: 00:28:29

I, I think it's because of the, the

clients and entrepreneurs that I spend

513

: 00:28:33

a lot of time within our business.

514

: 00:28:35

And I sense a lot of them are making that

emotional, like, Oh, we need more money.

515

: 00:28:39

Like, let's just go do this.

516

: 00:28:40

So that's why make something new.

517

: 00:28:44

With a huge, huge asterisk next

to it, you know, think through it.

518

: 00:28:50

Are you doing this just because you're

feeling like you need to make money?

519

: 00:28:53

Are you feeling like you're just doing

this from a purely emotional standpoint?

520

: 00:28:57

Because the money will always

feel really good in the moment.

521

: 00:29:02

But what about on the other side?

522

: 00:29:04

You know, and I think

523

: 00:29:06

Susan: Well, that goes back

to the original lesson.

524

: 00:29:08

Don't make any decision in fear.

525

: 00:29:10

Yeah.

526

: 00:29:11

Right?

527

: 00:29:12

The moment you make a decision

from fear, you're, you're

528

: 00:29:15

screwed because it's flawed.

529

: 00:29:17

There are going to be holes

like Swiss cheese all over it.

530

: 00:29:21

So, you know, really go through, be

disciplined, go old school, do a SWOT,

531

: 00:29:27

a strength, weakness, opportunity,

threat, you know, really get an outside

532

: 00:29:33

support, you know, because this.

533

: 00:29:35

Protect you from the personal bias, right?

534

: 00:29:38

Be disciplined.

535

: 00:29:39

Don't be reactionary.

536

: 00:29:41

Respond to what you see, not react.

537

: 00:29:47

And that's all good discipline.

538

: 00:29:49

That's good hygiene, as they would

say also, you know, when I think, I

539

: 00:29:52

Jessica T: think in relation to the,

the, the discipline and practicality

540

: 00:29:56

that we're, we're bringing this.

541

: 00:29:58

We're trying to take this big lesson of

like Delta and like what this gigantic

542

: 00:30:02

company can teach small businesses.

543

: 00:30:05

I think the other thing too is

right now evaluating and looking

544

: 00:30:09

at your most profitable services.

545

: 00:30:11

We, I love how you and I

do this very frequently.

546

: 00:30:15

We're like, okay.

547

: 00:30:16

So are what are we interested in

really promoting right now when

548

: 00:30:20

we email our list or we're talking

to people, you know, in networking

549

: 00:30:24

situations like what are we looking for?

550

: 00:30:25

What kind of entrepreneur

are we looking for?

551

: 00:30:27

What service do we want to promote?

552

: 00:30:28

And I love how the two of us

will look at of all the different

553

: 00:30:31

programs and services we offer.

554

: 00:30:33

What's the most profitable?

555

: 00:30:35

What tends to bring in the most money?

556

: 00:30:37

Which clients stick around the longest?

557

: 00:30:39

Right?

558

: 00:30:40

That's the frequency that we have.

559

: 00:30:42

Which I

560

: 00:30:42

Susan: adore.

561

: 00:30:43

How can I say thank you?

562

: 00:30:45

Please, give me a chance to say thank you.

563

: 00:30:47

I always look.

564

: 00:30:49

I will go through three walls trying to

find the opportunity to say thank you.

565

: 00:30:54

Well, and

566

: 00:30:55

Jessica T: I think For people

listening, it's thinking through,

567

: 00:30:59

are, their services and products

that you're offering that great.

568

: 00:31:03

It brings some people in the

door, but it's taxing on you.

569

: 00:31:06

It's taxing on your team.

570

: 00:31:07

And at the end of the day, it's

not actually profitable or really

571

: 00:31:09

doing anything for the business's

bottom line and the business's

572

: 00:31:12

overall brand and who you're, you

know, do you know what I'm saying?

573

: 00:31:15

Susan: I do.

574

: 00:31:16

Yeah.

575

: 00:31:17

Yeah.

576

: 00:31:17

You know, don't get distracted.

577

: 00:31:19

And it's very easy when you're in

an emotional state, um, to become

578

: 00:31:26

distracted, quite honestly, you

know, um, when you are reacting.

579

: 00:31:33

You can be distracted when you're

responding, you're a little bit more

580

: 00:31:37

sober, a little more focused, a little

more centered, and I'm not talking,

581

: 00:31:43

you know, ideal perfections here.

582

: 00:31:44

I'm talking just in general,

the decisions tend to be a bit

583

: 00:31:48

more sound, less whiplashy.

584

: 00:31:53

And I promise you your team and staff

will genuinely appreciate you for that,

585

: 00:31:57

that thing alone, because you have

to remember when they leave, they're

586

: 00:32:02

going into chaos out there as well.

587

: 00:32:06

So if they can come into work

to a place that's kind of

588

: 00:32:09

calm, predictable, at the best.

589

: 00:32:13

it goes a long way for employee

sustainability, you know, they're not

590

: 00:32:17

going to be looking for another gig.

591

: 00:32:20

When you do that.

592

: 00:32:21

So I think we have,

593

: 00:32:22

Jessica T: my goodness, we have, we've

touched on so many, like, we started

594

: 00:32:26

out talking about gas prices and air

shows, then we were like, Delta is

595

: 00:32:29

it, we're going to talk about Delta.

596

: 00:32:31

So I think we've,

597

: 00:32:32

Susan: what we usually do, isn't it?

598

: 00:32:34

I mean, these conversations are

what we have at least once a day.

599

: 00:32:39

Yeah, I know.

600

: 00:32:39

Jessica T: I love, I love that.

601

: 00:32:40

I'm like, what's standing out?

602

: 00:32:41

Like, what, what, what are you

paying attention to right now?

603

: 00:32:43

So I think with that said,

we have unpacked that topic.

604

: 00:32:48

There's nothing really else

that we can unpack with that.

605

: 00:32:51

I think, I certainly got a lot from that.

606

: 00:32:54

A good reminder.

607

: 00:32:55

so I think to wrap up Susan,

is there anything else that

608

: 00:32:58

you wanted to offer or share?

609

: 00:33:01

Susan: One thing, um, what I would

encourage everybody, we didn't

610

: 00:33:05

even really deep dive on the Delta

experience, but I would love to encourage

611

: 00:33:10

folks if you wanted to learn more

about it, there are the point guys.

612

: 00:33:14

com.

613

: 00:33:15

just.

614

: 00:33:16

Google it.

615

: 00:33:17

And I promise you, you're going

to see at least 10 articles

616

: 00:33:20

on how they've revamped it.

617

: 00:33:23

And if you happen to be a Delta Frequent

Flyer, you should have received an email

618

: 00:33:29

from them advising you of how the program

has moved the chairs around, if you will.

619

: 00:33:36

So, you know, be curious.

620

: 00:33:38

We'll find out more.

621

: 00:33:39

And

622

: 00:33:39

Jessica T: with that, thanks

so much for listening in and

623

: 00:33:43

we'll catch you next time.

624

: 00:33:44

Susan: Bye bye.