Blue Shirt Leadership Podcast

Before I introduce my guest today, let me share some of his wisdom. Here are two powerful comments from this episode. 

"If somebody comes at you selling, the answer is yes or no. The stakes are really high. ...if you came at me saying 'you have an interesting business, I would really like the opportunity to get to know you, somebody who's successful in business, how you got to where you're at, who you know, how I might be able to help you, and I'd love to be able to share as to what I'm about', it would have gone a whole different direction."

"How did you meet your wife? Your spouse? How did you find your babysitter? How did you find the house you're in? ... we all do network. The problem becomes is that when we introduce the notion of 'we have to sell to make a living', all of a sudden it becomes a whole lot more difficult. ...But it's really the same thing."

My guest today was a pleasure to interview and truly a SAGE in his understanding of networking and selling. Frank Agin is the president and founder of AmSpirit a networking organization exchanging business referrals and business leads within groups of entrepreneurs and professionals.

Ultimately Frank desires to empower the growth and success of entrepreneurs, sales representatives and professionals through the exchange of qualified referrals.

On this episode, Frank shares some fantastic insights on how to share your message, make genuine connects that result in sales. 

You can contact Frank through LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankagin/ and through his website https://www.amspirit.com/

 

Unedited Transcript Below

 

Unknown Speaker  0:06  Welcome to the SAGE Mindset podcast where we believe all great leaders are self aware, stay accountable and have a mindset that fosters growth and empowerment in their lives in the lives of those they lead. When you listen to this podcast, you could expect to learn about the small changes you can make in your behaviors and thinking today that will create massive change for the future of your leadership and business. Hi, I'm Kyle Gillette, owner of Gillette solutions and hosted this podcast. Thanks for listening. My guest on today's show is a lifelong student and mentor, a professional network and he's an avid connector of great people. Everyone he meets, he looks to connect with someone he already knows. He's the owner of am spirit business connections. He's a speaker, author and podcast hosts. I'm excited to introduce to you today my friend and amazing business owner, Frank again.

Unknown Speaker  0:56  Frank, thanks for being here. I appreciate it.

Unknown Speaker  0:58  How's it going today? It's gone. Well, thanks for having me on the program.

Unknown Speaker  1:02  Yeah, I'm glad you're here I networking is one of those things that's for some people a nightmare for others, they really enjoy it, and then probably everything in between. But I will tell you, for me, it's become more and more something that I'm excited about and enjoy. Whereas before, I didn't know what the heck I was doing or how to do it. So what got you in the first place engaged into networking and excited about it and getting a business going?

Unknown Speaker  1:26  Well, I guess the first point I want to make is that we all network, I'll go out and I'll work with groups of people in transition, or people who are in corporate America and I'll always ask the question, how many people you know, scale of one to five? You know, five being great one being horrible. Where are you? Nobody's a five. You might have one or two fours, a few threes. Lots of twos and ones and twos. And then I'll go on and ask them is okay, how did you meet your wife, your spouse? How'd you find a babysitter? You know, How'd you find the house you're in? You know, and people start to realize that We all do network. The problem, the problem becomes Kyle is that when we introduce the notion of we got to sell to make a living, all of a sudden it becomes a whole lot more difficu

My guest today is the CEO of Career Gig, which focuses on helping freelancers do their freelancing while getting all the benefits of being a regular employee. Career Gig is a platform that allows freelancers to not only find work, projects, and opportunities but also connects those freelancers with benefits.

One of the big challenges of a self-employed independent Gig worker is you have a lot of freedom. You have independence, you can work when and how you want to work, but you don't have some of the full-time benefits of health insurance, life, disability, or retirement.

Career Gig is built around the idea of connecting highly skilled professionals who do not want a full-time job and prefer the flexibility of freelance and contract work with benefits. The platform connects freelancers with companies that are looking for those highly skilled individuals to do work.

In addition to being the founder of Career Gig, my guest is the author of the books Agile Brand and the Center of Experience. My guest also hosts the Agile World podcast.

He's a brilliant businessman and with a mission to find better ways to connect people to the things they value most. I'd like to introduce to you, Greg Kihlstrom.

To connect with Greg, you can visit his website https://www.careergig.com/

Today I have Glen Cooper, a business broker, and coach in Denver, Colorado. He is the co-founder and managing partner of Colorado Business Brokers, a recently formed collaborative partnership of business brokers and coaches in Colorado.

He has been doing this work for over 40 years. He sold my very first business as a broker in 1979!

In this episode, Glen and I discuss the importance of adjusting to change and expecting change in business. We must realize that reinvention is necessary. Glen says it this way, "Reinvention is necessary in business because the world changes around you. You're not gonna get away with not changing. And here we go again, COVID-19 is gonna change the way we do business."

Later in the episode, Glen shares his four ingredients to building your business which are: Purpose, Promise, Offer, and Difference. 

Tune in to hear his explanations of how he has handled change and how to apply these four ingredients to grow your business! 

You can connect with Glen by visiting http://www.coloradobusinessbrokers.co/

"Look into the pain to find purpose." That's one of many pieces of SAGE wisdom that my guest, Nathaneal Zurbruegg shared on this episode. 

Nathaneal has had an extraordinary life including some miraculous experiences with his health. In this episode, Nathan shares some key insights that will help you have a flourishing life and business. 

Some of his insights include

Looking into the pain you have in your life and finding purpose through it.

Take the time to write everything you want to do, be, and have in your life to help drive you to action.

Choose to flourish despite your challenges and limitations. 

As someone who has survived multiple kidney transplants and is hard of hearing, Nathaneal exemplifies perseverance, staying on mission, and making the best of challenging situations.

If you would like to learn more about him or have him speak at your event, please visit https://nathanaelzurbruegg.com/ to connect with him.

In today's episode, I interview award-winning Merchant Services provider Steven Quick. In this interview, Steven shares great insight on being there for your customer, making sure you have the best interest at heart and how to know when people don't have yours, and the importance of staying focused on your purpose. 

Steven has been a service business owner for eight years. He has spent that time has been spent servicing 40+ Auto dealership, government, police, and rental companies. 

Steven was a Sr. Yellow Page Advertising consultant for nine years. In 2016, he started SQ Merchant Services LLC. SQMS is a 2018 BBB Torch Award recipient. His focus is beyond merchant services and into being a consultant for business owners. 

His process creates profitability and increases the bottom line of the business through motivation, creativity, and thinking outside of the box.

You can find him at https://sqmerchantservices.com/.

If you're like me, there are seasons where you feel held back. Like there's something in the way or someone (myself) preventing the opportunities and blessings.But what are we to do in these situations? For me, I go back to the SAGE Mindset. Self-awareness, Accountability, Growth, and Empowerment.If we work through these 4 areas of personal/professional development, we can get back on track.I'm aware that there are some doubts creeping in. Now I want to lean on two of my personal values of ambition and community to help me through. -- Self-Awareness.Next, I step into more Accountability and will reach out to my wife, my coach, and two friends this week to get support on what could be holding me back. -- AccountabilityThird, I have a Growth Mindset. I need to remind myself of this and get some perspective on the lessons I'm learning from the doubts and fears. -- GrowthFinally, what needs to happen in my life to empower me to move forward in my business and these fears/doubts Whatever that is, can I share it with other others to empower them? -- EmpowermentJust running through these 4 areas reminds me of what it is to have a SAGE Mindset & helps me in times like these.

My guest on Today's episode is Nancy Leavitt a JD Power and Associates - Distinguished Agent. She is an agency owner with American Family Mutual Insurance.

 

In this episode, Nancy shares about the importance of failure, connecting with the success of your customers, and staying determined through challenging business times. 

 

I was very impressed with what Nancy had to say and took a lot of notes! Have a pen and paper ready as you join us on this episode. 

You can connect with Nancy, please visit http://www.nancyleavittagency.com/

My guest today is Jen Hope. She is an executive coach and business coach. She works with great companies that have mindful leaders. Jen helps her clients with marketing, strategy, and planning among other things. She's originally from the midwest but now lives in the Seattle area and is loving the PNW LIFE. 

In this episode, Jen and I discuss the importance of being authentic on social media. Answering the question: Should I promote myself or my business? Along with sticking with your ideas to watch them play out and building systems to make it happen.

You can find Jen at https://heyjenhope.com/

Also here:

https://www.instagram.com/heyjenhope/

https://twitter.com/heyjenhope/

In this episode I interview Dr. Connor Robertson who is a doctor of chiropractic and has shifted his focus to being a business consultant, podcast host of the Prospecting Show and is a startup growth specialist.

Dr. Connor Robertson and I dive into the importance of eliminating waste and being purposeful with your workday and your life! One of my favorite lines from this episode is, "Anything worth doing, is worth doing every day. And anything worth doing every day is worth scheduling."

Dr. Robertson speaks on his EPAD approach to work, the power of doing and thinking you CAN do, and finally learning how to remove money from the equation (you got to listen to this part to fully understand what he's saying).

You can reach him at https://anchor.fm/the-prospecting-show

"We can never disconnect our physical reality from the emotional and mental reality. Science has proven they go hand in hand." - Dr. Andrew Murry

Dr. Andrew is a chiropractor in the Pacific Northwest. In this episode, I interview Dr. Murry and his wife, Sammy. They are stepping into a bold new adventure. As of mid-July they will be opening their chiropractor offices and begin accepting patients. 

In this interview, we get insights into the process they went through to get to this courageous place, amazing insights on health and wellness, along with a pretty neat love story! 

Please join me in this episode. To connect with Dr. Murry, you can visit their website Connect Family Chiropractic by going to https://www.connectfamilychiro.com/