Trust is important for our employees, our clients, and our potential customers and as entrepreneurs, we need to learn how to create it. As business professionals, we need to learn how to choose who to be in partnerships with so that we are able to protect ourselves and our businesses from lawsuits and poor decisions.

Our guest today is Mary Kelly. Dr. Mary C. Kelly has many titles, but her favorite is as a teacher. She is focused on teaching professionals to navigate the economy, build their business, be a true leader, and get more done. Mary has authored thirteen books on business leadership and today she is sharing with us a few ways not to be easy prey in business.

Show Notes:

• [1:05] - Dr. Kelly primarily works as a corporate speaker and advisor to improve profit growth.
• [1:44] - Businesses need to make sure that they are protecting themselves against people who want to sue them for stupid things.
• [2:31] - When you are interviewing someone coming into your business, you have to be careful of the questions you ask.
• [3:12] - Dr. Kelly also points out the importance of keeping your brick and mortar location safe and secure.
• [4:22] - Mary shares an example of campsites getting sued by people who were taking advantage of the owners.
• [6:01] - In 2020, vulnerabilities became more apparent to business owners.
• [8:48] - As a business, one of the number one things people want to know is if you can deliver what you say you can deliver.
• [9:06] - Dr. Kelly gives several tips for businesses including Google searching yourself and watching your Yelp reviews.
• [11:08] - Mary references a book that she co-wrote regarding trust in the business world. How you build trust with your employees is how they build trust with your clients.
• [12:29] - Chris shares how he approaches business partners.
• [14:10] - Mary admits to some early mistakes she made after taking the advice of someone else that cost her in thousands of dollars.
• [16:01] - Don't be afraid to differentiate and brand yourself for the core values of your business. Let people know what your core values are.
• [17:49] - Your posts on social media are being looked at. How are you and your business being perceived?
• [20:17] - Recording conversations are a good idea so you have a clean copy of tough conversations that may need clarification.
• [22:35] - There are so many bad business consultants out there and Mary describes how this can be detrimental to your business.
• [24:09] - Mary admits a mistake she learned from with a book deal and an example of working with a medical firm that experienced a scam.
• [25:57] - Mary's dad was recently a victim of a scam that is similar to a previous Easy Prey episode with Jim Browning.
• [27:01] - Chris shares an example of a scam he fell victim of.
• [28:12] - We need to help others to not make the same mistakes.
• [29:37] - If you are a leader in an organization, always assume that someone is watching everything you do and say.
• [31:18] - It is not our clients' job to stay in touch with your business. It is your job to stay in touch with your client in a way that adds value and trust.
• [33:09] - Dr. Kelly wrote a book about business during Covid-19 and shares a lot of her research that can benefit current businesses.
• [34:29] - Mary shares current scams for businesses during Covid-19 and how common they are.
• [35:29] - There are several car dealership scams going on at the moment as well and Mary describes what this looks like.
• [36:57] - If you sign anything, take a picture of it.
• [37:49] - Chris shares another current scam that has been very common lately with overcharging customers as their business practice.
• [39:17] - We need to not be afraid to ask clients for referrals and feedback.
• [41:37] - When it comes to mistakes, own up to them and move on. Mary shares her free productivity sheet that she uses every single day to help avoid mistakes.

Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.

Links and Resources:

• Podcast Web Page
• Facebook Page
• whatismyipaddress.com
• Easy Prey on Instagram
• Easy Prey on Twitter
• Easy Prey on LinkedIn
• Easy Prey on YouTube
• Easy Prey on Pinterest
• Productive Leaders Web Page
• Mary C. Kelly on Twitter
• Mary C. Kelly on Facebook
• Mary Kelly, PhD, CSP, CPAE Commander, USN on LinkedIn