AMY PORTERFIELD: Hey there, Amy Porterfield here. Welcome to another episode of The Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast. Thanks so much for tuning in.
Today’s episode is all about surrounding yourself with the right people to help you grow in your business. We’re talking about people that will be cautious with you and those that will cheer you on and those that will fuel you with inspiration and ideas as well as connect you with the people you really need to be connected with.
It’s so important to have the right people in your business so that you don’t feel like everything is on you to make it happen. When you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders with your business and you feel alone, that likely means you just don’t have the right people.
They don’t have to be in your business, they just need to be part of your inner circle to really help you when you need it. This is an important episode for anybody that ever feels like they might be a little bit alone as they build their online business.
I know that is so many of you because I’ve talked to so many of my students and those that listen to my podcast that say it sometimes gets a little bit lonely running an online business. I totally get it.
That’s why I wanted to invite my good friend, Christy Wright, to the show to talk about these four support roles to help you grow and build your business. Christy is a leading entrepreneurial expert and stellar business coach. I know her because she invited me to speak on stage at an event called The Business Boutique.
The Business Boutique is geared toward women who are starting or growing a business whether it be with a physical product, services, or online programs, products, and services as well. I got to speak on stage two times this year and am doing it one more time in Nashville in November.
Christy heads this entire event up. It is a stellar event. She brings in a lot of cool speakers and we will talk about the event at the end if anyone is interested. But, I really wanted to bring Christy on the show to talk about the different roles. I want you to ask yourself as we go through each role whether you have that person in your business and, if not, where can you find them.
We are also going to talk about having somebody in your inner circle that may be bringing you down and what to do about that. We’ve got a great episode for you today. I won’t make you wait any longer. Let’s go ahead and jump in.
Amy: Christy, thanks so much for being here. I’m so excited to have you on the show.
Christy: Oh my gosh, thank you for having me. We loved having you at The Business Boutique events so we are excited you’re going to be back this fall.
Amy: It’s going to be so fantastic. I love Nashville so I’m really extra looking forward to it. I can’t wait to be there. Since that’s coming up I thought I should have you on my show. You talk about so many important topics when it comes to building your business.
Before we get into the topic on hand today, tell my listeners a little bit about who you are and what you’re about. I want them to get more familiar with you in your own words.
Christy: Absolutely. I’m a certified business coach and I really love helping women start side and small businesses. That’s what The Business Boutique is about. We really equip women to make money doing what they love. I’ll tell you Amy, in my experience, I’ve done research for several years, there are some very unique pain points that women have in starting a side or small business.
We really try to come along side them and give them the answers they need, the tools they need, and also the advice and encouragement they need to go out and win. I’m sure you’ve experienced that from being at the event, but it’s both application of the business stuff but also a lot of fun to encourage them to go out there and do the thing.
Amy: It really is inspiring, definitely. You are a natural with this topic, all things starting a business. You are so transparent and honest about all of your struggles within your journey and things that come up and things related to your family and in the business world. Sometimes it all meshes together so it’s really fun watching you on stage.
When I came across you talking about these roles you need in your business I thought it would be a perfect conversation for my audience because one thing I learned from Tony Robbins is that you’ve got to surround yourself with the right people in order to keep moving forward.
One thing that Tony said a lot was to surround yourself with people who are doing bigger and better things than you so that you can aspire to that. But that’s not the only role you need in your business to feel totally supported.
I wanted to run though these four with you if you’re cool with that.
Christy: I would absolutely love to.
Amy: Great. I have a list of them but I would love for you to kind of dive into them. Then I have some specific questions related to each of the roles.
The first role I’ve heard you talk about is the connected role. Tell me about that.
Christy: This is the person that knows someone who knows someone who knows someone. Everyone knows someone like that. It’s the person that has so many connections.
What’s so great about having that connected role in your life, they can really help open doors and open opportunities for you. When you’re starting a small business you wear every hat. You do everything yourself and you’re just bootstrapping the thing to get it off the ground.
The truth is if you want to take your business to where you want it to be you are going to need help to get you there. That connected person can be a great relationship that can connect you with people that might have services or products or resources that can help you, especially when you’re getting started. It’s a really important relationship to have in your life.
Amy: Tell me this, when you have this person in your life I sometimes feel like I don’t have a lot to offer them. I don’t see myself as being really connected. I’m not the person everyone calls to say, “Do you have someone to do this” or “Do you have someone to do that?”
I do have some people in my life that are that person. Sometimes I feel a little bit guilty because I don’t have anything to offer them back in that respect.
Christy: That’s a great point. I will tell you to just rest your mind at ease. Here’s the thing about the connected person, the connected person loves being the connected person. They just get fun out of connecting you with other people so it is actually fulfilling to them for them to be able to meet needs.
That’s the reason you could say, “Man, I really wish I could have an awesome website,” and I can tell them I know someone who is a graphic designer and I will put them in touch and make the call right now.
They do that so willingly because they love being connected and love meeting that need.
Amy: I’m guessing it depends on your business in terms of who this person is connected to?
Christy: It’s interesting because it can really be just a matter of putting yourself out there. It depends on your type of business but also your stage of business. When you’re just getting started out you really need a lot of connections. You need a lot of resources and relationships to help you.
Later on down the line if you want to scale you may be looking for something a little more specific such as, “Does anyone know someone that has opened a brick and mortar store? I’m really interested in doing that and I need that specific help.”
When you’re starting out you’re really just needing any type of help. You’re needing graphic designers, you’re needing marketers, writers, accountants, bookkeepers. You need the whole gamut. It kind of depends on your stage of business as well as your industry in terms of what your needs are going to be.
Amy: That makes perfect sense. That’s the connected role. The next role you talk about is the creative role. Tell me more about that one.
Christy: This is usually the role I play. I’ll tell you Amy, I have a hundred ideas a minute and they are all brilliant, by the way. I think they’re brilliant anyway, so I am the creative person.
Most of my relationships with people, this is the role I play. This is the person that has a lot of ideas, they think outside the box. They just can’t help themselves but thinking in a different, weird, interesting, innovative way to do something. The creative person is so critical to your business. They are going to help you break through barriers that would normally hold you back and they will also help you stand out among all the competition.
You talked about this on social media but this person can help you do really creative things in your marketing so that you actually get noticed.
Amy: Okay, a lot of my listeners right now are saying, “That’s me.” They are the creative person. If they feel they are that creative role should they also still seek it out from somebody else?
Christy: That’s a great point. Creativity is something that’s definitely contagious. There’s an energy that’s created when you have people together bouncing ideas off each other, having brainstorming sessions. It can definitely help you.
I will tell you when you’re starting out in business the best use of your time is going to be to stay in your strengths. If you know you are strong in creative aspects, whether that’s marketing or graphic design or just idea generation, then you can fill those needs but find help and outsource and automate and delegate all of the other areas that you’re not as good at.
I have a lot of people help me with the detail side of things but I kind of fill the creative role in my life. That’s not to say I don’t bounce ideas off people. I certainly do, but the need is not as great there because I have that natural strength.
Amy: I think for me, one thing I’ve noticed about connecting with someone in the creative role is I have to feel really comfortable with them. This is just for me but I think some people can relate. My creative role would be one of my good girlfriends that also helps with the podcast. Her name is Gina (Gina Onatavia).
I worked with Gina when I worked with Tony Robbins. We have a short-hand conversation that we can do with each other and she knows my brand well. She knows me and always has great ideas.
I am not the idea person. I don’t have tons of ideas that come to me at once but it’s nice that she knows my business well. She knows me and I feel comfortable coming to her when I am stuck. I can ask her, “What about this?”
I feel like having a good relationship with that person in a creative role can help you come out of your shell if you need to.
Christy: It’s a very good point. You also want to make sure the creative person knows you. You brought up a very good point. You can have a creative person but if they don’t know you or your business or your brand their ideas may suck. Their ideas may not be in line with what you’re trying to accomplish at all.
You want to have someone that has a level of trust with you where their ideas are going to help you reach your goals. That’s a very good point.
Amy: Okay, good. We’re on the same page there. The next role you talked about is the cautious role. I think I’m going to like this one. Tell us more about that.
Christy: This is the How person. I’ve heard it said that in every marriage there’s a Wow person and a How person. I am the Wow person. This is the person that comes home every single day and says, “Wow, I have a new idea that’s going to be so amazing.”
The How person is going to say, “Well, how are we going to execute it? Where will we get the money? What are we going to do? What are the details? What are the facts? What are the figures? Show me the spreadsheets.”
My husband is this person in our marriage. What’s so great about the How person or the cautious person is that they actually help you follow through. Amy, if it was up to me I would have 100 ideas a minute and wouldn’t execute on any of them. It’s not on purpose, I just get so excited about the idea and then I lose interest.
The cautious person helps you poke holes in your idea even though they are very painful holes, by the way. They poke holes in your idea but they help you think things through. They help you make your idea better. They craft it. They think of things you might not have thought of. They cover bases and details you probably didn’t plan for.
Bottom line, they help you avoid mistakes. I can get so excited about my idea and get tunnel vision and I tend to glaze over and not see the mistakes that could bring up. This cautious person will help you avoid those mistakes.
Amy: That makes sense. I’m seeing, Christy, how different you and I are. I am always connected with people that are totally different than me and bring something totally different to the table. It must be why I love you so much. I am definitely the cautious role. This is me.
Anybody that comes to me with their big ideas and tells me this is great and that is great, I always ask how they are going to do it. That really translates into my programs because so much of what I teach is how to do it.
I also see the value in these different roles in my life because one thing that can really put a lid on my creativity is when you get into the how too much it’s hard to think of new ideas because you’re so in the weeds with things.
I must have Tony on the mind today because he keeps coming to mind with these different things, I remember when he would have a big idea and would share it I would be quick to say, “Well, wait a second, if we do this then how are we going to do that,” or this or that. He would always say, “Stay in the idea right now. Don’t get into the weeds just yet” because it could totally cut us off in terms of thinking of some amazing things we could do.
I see how all of these roles are really important. One is not more important than the other but they definitely have to work together.
Christy: There is a good rule of thumb I heard from a friend one time. It uses the marriage example of the Wow person and the How person, but it is the equivalent of the creative person and the cautious person.
The rule of thumb is if you are in a marriage with someone that is opposite from you (most of the time opposites attract, like you said) when the Wow person comes home with an idea the How person is not allowed to ask any How questions for 24 hours.
Amy: That is so smart. It is so good. It just squashes everything.
Christy: Well, to the Wow person like me, it feels like you’re raining on the parade. It’s like I haven’t thought through any of that, let me be excited about that right now.
But here’s the catch, after 24 hours if the Wow person is still talking about the same Wow idea, which they have likely moved on to 17 more ideas, but if they are then the How person can start to ask How questions for actual follow through and execution.
Most likely, the Wow person has moved on to something new by then.
Amy: That is a great little lesson. I like that tip for sure. That reminds me, let’s say the cautious role is not your spouse and we’re talking business stuff. Who are you looking for? What qualities are you looking for in a cautious role and how close to your business do they need to be? Do they need to be inside your business?
Christy: These are all going to be roles that are in your life. They consult with you or they are a friend or acquaintance. They are someone you can bounce ideas off of and have them speak into your business.
Obviously, like you said, it needs to be someone you trust. It doesn’t matter what their skill set is if you don’t trust their ideas or what they are going to contribute.
Really, the cautious person is going to be someone that is very good at details. They are good at follow through, they are good at execution, they are naturally going to analyze things and look at it from a lot of different angles.
Depending on your personality style whether you’ve taken a DISC assessment or Myers-Briggs, most people that are detail oriented serve certain types of roles. They might be an accountant or bookkeeper or that type of thing.
You just want someone that has that as their natural wiring. They can’t help but be detail oriented because that’s how they were created to be. Those are the people that are going to be really good at playing the cautious role in your life.
Amy: Perfect. Fantastic. Moving on to the fourth role, the cheerleader role. This one sounds extra good. I like this one. Tell me more.
Christy: The cheerleader role is the person that literally cheers you on all the time. Amy, you and I talk backstage at The Business Boutique sometimes. It is very vulnerable, as you know, to walk on stage.
You are putting yourself out there. You are in the spotlight. It feels so vulnerable. You are opening yourself up to rejection and it’s a really scary thing. It’s the #1 fear for most people, public speaking.
This is a true story, at all of my speaking events, I have a person whose job when I walk off stage is to look at me and say, “You did great.”
Amy: Stop it! I need that.
Christy: You do because we all need a cheerleader in our life. The truth is a lot of things we are doing in business are risky and scary and vulnerable. When you create a product or service and you put it out there for the world to analyze or reject it feels very risky and vulnerable and scary.
You need that person to cheer you on and keep you confident, to keep you going. I have a friend like this in my life, Ashley. She is just a natural encourager. Everything I do, everything anyone in her life does, she is quick to give them words of encouragement. She is quick to cheer them on and champion them.
Like all of these roles, it’s just how she’s wired. You don’t have to ask her to cheer people on, that’s what she naturally wants to do because that’s who she is. I appreciate people like this in my life so much and I know you know this from social media, but there are people who will be quick to tear you down.
They will be quick to criticize you or reject your idea so having someone in your corner to pick you up sometimes and remind you that you’re doing a good job can be so important in business.
Amy: It is so important because it gets a little bit lonely sometimes. To have someone you know is always cheering you on, there is nothing better than that. I would definitely give that role to my husband, Hobie. He is my biggest cheerleader all the time.
I’m thinking about these roles as you go through them. I think I have chosen my team wisely because they know my personality. I’m a natural worrier and I’m hard on myself. They step up to the plate and they know when they need to be the cheerleader. I can think of everyone on my team and how they’ve played that role.
I feel you know if these people are in your life because they come to mind right away as you go through these roles. If someone doesn’t come to mind let me ask you about that. Now that we’ve gone through the four roles, if someone doesn’t have the creative role or the cautious role, or the cheerleader or the connected role, where do they find these people?
What do they need to do to make sure they are surrounded by the right people to help build their business and just to support them along the way?
Christy: I think you brought up a good point earlier. I hadn’t previously thought about it but I think the key for all of this working for you and working for your business is that it is someone you trust.
I would definitely start there. Start in your inner circle. If it’s not immediate family and best friends then it’s acquaintances or someone you know from church or from work or somewhere in your community. But I would definitely start in your circle.
The trust element, even if it’s just a referral from a friend that can say, “Hey I know someone,” or “I have someone who is great at this, they are so creative,” maybe you have a connected person that knows a creative person.
Starting with your inner circle is going to be so important because even if you were just to somehow seek out or find someone that’s naturally gifted in any of these areas, if the trust isn’t there it doesn’t really matter what their skill set is. I would guess and hope that you probably already have these relationships in your life. You just need to look at them through a new lens.
I never thought of Ashley as the cheerleader until I wrote a blog about having these four relationships in your life. Then I thought that Ashley is so that for me. It takes looking at it through the lens to realize you may already have them.
Amy: I don’t want to put you on the spot but I bet you have some words of wisdom here. As you go through these four roles I am thinking that some people listening right now might have somebody in their life that is actually a detriment to moving forward in their business or the success or getting something off the ground.
In watching you at Business Boutique and hearing your personal stories, I feel you have probably had some experiences with setting boundaries or making sure you have the right people in your life and may have actually done something to get the
people that were in your life that weren’t right to move on and go their own way and not be so close to you and get in the way of your success.
I’m trying to ask if you have any words of wisdom for somebody that might have someone in their life that’s not the right role.
Christy: That depends on what the relationship is. If it’s family you can’t get rid of them.
Amy: I hear you. That’s a little different story.
Christy: They are all right there. But the truth is you can stay in relationships with people and then in your mind you know exactly how close you allow them to be.
I have people in my life that I know I can speak to 100% unfiltered because there is 100% trust. There might be another relationship of a friend or acquaintance that you will have 30% or 50% trust with them. The things I talk to them about are open but still filtered and still cautious and still protective over how much I let them into my life.
I think what it comes down to, especially in business, is you really need to be careful about who you allow to speak into your life. If you allow people to speak into your life and you give them a say and a voice and a microphone and they are negative or tear you down or make you doubt yourself or make you worry then you’re sabotaging not only your own personal success and ability but also the businesses’ potential.
I would be very cautious who you allow to speak into you. I’m not saying you need to surround yourself with “yes” people that only cheerlead you and don’t tell you what problems are coming down the road.
But, if you have someone whose constant go to is negativity or why something won’t work or why you should worry about something then they can say all they want but in your mind you’re not letting it go past the gate of something you take as a credible source you are actually going to consider and listen to.
I think you just have to be really careful about who you allow to speak into your life and into your business depending on who that person is and the level of trust you have with them.
Amy: Those are such great words of wisdom. I’m totally behind you on that one, for sure. I absolutely love this topic. I’ve never really explored these different roles. I can see how all of them are incredibly important. Thank you so much for sharing these roles with us.
Before we wrap up, I want you to tell everybody about The Business Boutique, who it’s for, what it’s about. I talked about it in the beginning but I think it’s best to hear it from you. You are definitely front and center on that stage offering so much incredible value.
You have incredible speakers as well. We’re going to be in Nashville together so tell everyone about that event.
Christy: This is a two-day event for women that are interested in starting, running, or growing a business. What is so cool, Amy, is that we have seen this event fill up with women that are just the dreamers. You see people that want to do something but they don’t know what they want to do; you also see people that have an idea and are trying to get it off the ground.
Then you have the builders that have a successful business and it’s running but they want to take it to the next level. They want extra improvement. They want to reach their goals or overcome certain challenges. It’s amazing to see how this message and lineup of speakers that we’ve created, which has been so intentional, covers every aspect of business that they need to know to get their idea all the way through growing and scaling their business.
One of the most common questions I get in my coaching sessions is around social media. You add so much value, Amy. We love having you on that stage. The women love you because it’s such a pivotal part of making their business successful. We love having you there.
We also have Dave Ramsey as well as his daughter, Rachel Cruz, speaking on money. We have Donna Miller. Crystal Payne, the money-saving mom. We have an incredible lineup of speakers to cover all of these aspects of business.
The women walk out at the end of two days and they have not only the tools and answers they need to go win in business, but they are fired up and ready to do so.
Amy: That’s so true. I love how tactical it is. You have people talking about the bookkeeping aspect of things and balancing everything and getting your business in order in terms of having a physical product or an online product. You really get into the nitty gritty of things and I think that’s why I loved it so much.
Plus, there is a whole layer of inspiration. You get fired up, like you said. Thank you for letting me be a part of it. I can’t wait to do it again. It’s going to be an awesome event. I’m definitely going to link to it in the show notes so I’ll let everybody know where they can find it.
Christy, thank you so very much for being here. I can’t wait to see you in Nashville.
Christy: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
Amy: There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this interview with Christy as much as I have. I hope you do what I suggested at the very beginning. I want you to think about these four roles: The connected role, the creative role, the cautious role, and the cheerleader role.
I want you to look at your inner circle. Do you have these people in place to support you? If you don’t that means you’ve got to get out there, maybe in the real world, with real networking, or online and start connecting with people at a different level than you are now in order to find those people that will really help you in your business so you don’t feel like it’s always all on you and that you’re alone.
You can definitely find the support you need. You might just need to work at it a little bit to make sure you have the right people in the right places.
Thank you so very much for tuning in. I can’t wait to connect with you again next week. Remember, if you are interested in The Business Boutique, go the http:// amyporterdev.wpenginepowered.com/124 and you can get all the details about The Business Boutique.
I hope to see you there in Nashville if you feel that’s a good fit for you. If not, I’m going to see you again next week on the podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Bye for now.
