Shownotes
Motivational Quote
Business Inspiration
Her disappointment that led to one new business after another – she now has 6! [3:03]Business Building Insight
Mistakes new business owners make [9:09] Steps to take when considering a business coach [11:20] What does it cost to have a business coach? [16:05] Determine if it’s working and what to do if it’s not [18:27] and [21:44]Success Trait
Fearless – What’s the worst that can happen? [23:38]Productivity/Lifestyle Tool
Zoho – Plan, track and collaborate using the project management app with more than a million users Balancing her schedule to ensure “me” time. [25:58]Valuable Book
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
Contact Links
Website Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Gift Basket Association WebsiteIf you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
Gift biz unwrapped episode 25.
Speaker:Coaching is all about feeling good and challenged.
Speaker:Hi, this is John Lee,
Speaker:Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gift to biz unwrapped.
Speaker:And now it's time to light it up.
Speaker:Welcome to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop
Speaker:and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host,
Speaker:Sue Monheit Hi there and welcome to the gift unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Whether you want own a brick and mortar shop sell online
Speaker:or just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover a new insight to gain traction and to grow
Speaker:your business.
Speaker:I am so honored to have Debbie Quintana of QT concepts
Speaker:joining us today.
Speaker:Debbie started her career in retail and worked her way into
Speaker:management almost immediately at 19,
Speaker:she was the manager of a local retail store and secretary
Speaker:to the president of a large electronics company.
Speaker:She then spent 12 years as a global security professional at
Speaker:Cisco systems.
Speaker:And after being laid off in 2010,
Speaker:she decided it was time to be her own boss today.
Speaker:Debbie is your classic serial entrepreneur.
Speaker:She owned six small businesses and loves each one equally Debbie's
Speaker:deep down.
Speaker:Passion is for small business owners and today she specializes in
Speaker:helping new businesses,
Speaker:launch and existing businesses Excel while all along the way,
Speaker:ensuring they are working as efficiently as possible.
Speaker:She's an active business coach,
Speaker:helping business owners all over the world,
Speaker:achieve their goals.
Speaker:Welcome to the show today,
Speaker:Debbie. Good morning.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:Is There anything you'd like to add to that intro before
Speaker:we get Started?
Speaker:Absolutely not.
Speaker:That's good enough.
Speaker:I wrapped it up,
Speaker:huh? Yes.
Speaker:You sure did.
Speaker:Well as our listeners know,
Speaker:we like to align the conversation around the life of a
Speaker:motivational candle.
Speaker:The light shines on you while you share your stories and
Speaker:experiences. So Debbie,
Speaker:shall we light it up?
Speaker:Let's do it.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So you are walking into a gift shop and to the
Speaker:right hand side,
Speaker:you encounter this big display of motivational candles.
Speaker:What color candle are you going to be attracted to?
Speaker:Absolutely lavender color lavender,
Speaker:the smell of lavender everything's lavender.
Speaker:I think it brings a sense of peace and calm to
Speaker:me. And because I'm moving at such a fast pace all
Speaker:the time that that really just kind of brings me to
Speaker:center And what would be a motivational quote that's on that
Speaker:candle? You know,
Speaker:I always say this and I live by this,
Speaker:which is you miss a hundred percent of the shots that
Speaker:you don't take.
Speaker:And I believe in that so heavily,
Speaker:I think it's so important to put yourself out there and
Speaker:see what happens.
Speaker:And I did that and I was pleasantly surprised at the
Speaker:results. So talk a little bit about that.
Speaker:How did you get started and how you put yourself out
Speaker:there for the very first time?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I think for me,
Speaker:This is going to sound odd,
Speaker:but I was very disappointed in some of the things that
Speaker:I was seeing out in the business world.
Speaker:And so my gift basket business,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:got started because my mom and I went to Costco and
Speaker:bought some gift baskets that just were not appropriate.
Speaker:So I was disappointed in that.
Speaker:So I said,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I can do that better.
Speaker:I started going to networking groups in the area that I
Speaker:was at and I wasn't happy with the results.
Speaker:So I started my own networking organization.
Speaker:And so I get very motivated when I feel that there
Speaker:is more for me to gain.
Speaker:It really brings me to the point of gosh,
Speaker:instead of just criticizing what's going on,
Speaker:maybe I should step up and see how I can do.
Speaker:And that's how I got started with all of my businesses.
Speaker:So put your money where your mouth is.
Speaker:Attitude. Yeah,
Speaker:absolutely. I wanted to talk to you specifically today about this
Speaker:whole concept of business coaches.
Speaker:I think a lot of people who are starting out businesses
Speaker:or have businesses and reach kind of a pivotal point might
Speaker:consider a business coach,
Speaker:but it seems a little bit daunting perhaps,
Speaker:and maybe it's just not understanding specifically what that all entails.
Speaker:Can you talk to us a little bit about what does
Speaker:a business coach mean?
Speaker:What does someone do,
Speaker:who is a business coach?
Speaker:Sure. You know,
Speaker:I think that we all have a particular skillset that,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we may be really good at one thing and not so
Speaker:good at,
Speaker:at other.
Speaker:And we're not all born understanding how to run a business
Speaker:from start to finish and how to handle all of those
Speaker:different departments within a business.
Speaker:And so I think that when people are starting out or
Speaker:maybe not even starting out,
Speaker:just going down the line and having a business in your
Speaker:fifth or 10th or 25th year,
Speaker:it doesn't mean that you automatically know everything that you need
Speaker:to know to successfully run your business.
Speaker:And so a lot of people go down this path of
Speaker:being a business owner and they make a lot of mistakes
Speaker:along the way.
Speaker:And they're learning lessons,
Speaker:some expensive,
Speaker:some not,
Speaker:and eventually five,
Speaker:10 years down the road,
Speaker:they get to start achieving some of the goals that they
Speaker:want to achieve.
Speaker:A business coach can help you achieve your goals quicker.
Speaker:They can help guide you to not make some of those
Speaker:mistakes and to consider different ways and angles of looking at
Speaker:your business that you don't even know exists.
Speaker:I hired a business coach because I felt I was a
Speaker:little bit stuck.
Speaker:And once I met my coach and started working with him,
Speaker:his viewpoint and vantage point of me personally,
Speaker:and my business was something I,
Speaker:I had no clue about.
Speaker:I didn't look at myself or my businesses,
Speaker:the way that he did and he's very successful.
Speaker:And so he was really able to guide me and say,
Speaker:have you thought about this?
Speaker:And that sounds like a good idea,
Speaker:but let's look at it a little bit differently because I
Speaker:have experience in that area.
Speaker:Yeah. Someone with an outside view,
Speaker:looking in who has your best interests at heart,
Speaker:that information is so valuable because you're right.
Speaker:We get kind of narrow focused on exactly what we're doing.
Speaker:Absolutely. And when we don't know what we don't know.
Speaker:So for a business owner to start a business and think
Speaker:that, okay,
Speaker:I have everything that I need is just a huge misconception.
Speaker:And I made a lot of mistakes at the very beginning
Speaker:because I didn't have a coach.
Speaker:And I really want to prevent that from happening in the
Speaker:future for other people.
Speaker:Well, You know,
Speaker:I think a lot of our listeners,
Speaker:because we tend to be centered around the gifting industry,
Speaker:a lot of us are crafters or we've created a product.
Speaker:And so our skill and our expertise is in making the
Speaker:cookies or creating the jewelry or making beautiful floral arrangements or
Speaker:gift baskets.
Speaker:And that was what drove us to start a business.
Speaker:It's not necessarily that you have the business background.
Speaker:What I'm hearing you saying.
Speaker:Debbie is layering in that coaching in terms of business expertise,
Speaker:that then is compatible with the skill of a quality product
Speaker:that a business owner has,
Speaker:could number one,
Speaker:help eliminate a lot of time and money in terms of
Speaker:possibly doing something the slower way.
Speaker:I won't say the wrong way,
Speaker:but the slower way in terms of building your business and
Speaker:gaining success,
Speaker:and then also having just a different perspective on the business
Speaker:overall. Absolutely.
Speaker:We can do all of the education in the world and
Speaker:still start a business and not really know how to guide
Speaker:and direct the business end of things.
Speaker:I think for me,
Speaker:being able to experience what I've experienced with my businesses has
Speaker:really not only helped me in terms of not making my
Speaker:own mistakes,
Speaker:but of course,
Speaker:helping other people do the same thing.
Speaker:Now, you Mentioned earlier,
Speaker:you were talking about people who are five,
Speaker:10, 20 years potentially in a business is a business coach,
Speaker:a viable solution for someone who's just starting out.
Speaker:Oh, Absolutely.
Speaker:I think it's more important than anything.
Speaker:I think that it's very fun to start a business.
Speaker:You get pumped up,
Speaker:you get excited,
Speaker:you've got all these great ideas.
Speaker:There's all these wonderful things that come up,
Speaker:but we don't necessarily take a look at the things that
Speaker:are going to help run the business.
Speaker:How are you going to handle operations?
Speaker:How are you going to handle your bookkeeping?
Speaker:How are you going to handle marketing?
Speaker:And so oftentimes a lot of my clients come to me
Speaker:and say,
Speaker:I provide this amazing service,
Speaker:or I make this amazing product,
Speaker:but it's not selling.
Speaker:I don't know how to get it out there.
Speaker:And the first thing I look for is their marketing plan.
Speaker:And there isn't one.
Speaker:So I think we get excited about the product or the
Speaker:service that we provide,
Speaker:but we don't look at it from a holistic standpoint of
Speaker:how are we really going to get that product or service
Speaker:out there to where we can start making money Very point.
Speaker:And of course,
Speaker:that's why you start a business in the first place is
Speaker:to make money.
Speaker:Yes. So for people who are listening right now,
Speaker:what are some signs or triggers that would suggest that they
Speaker:possibly could use a business coach?
Speaker:The number one mistake that I see people make is they
Speaker:throw together,
Speaker:well, they do one of two things.
Speaker:They either throw together a quick down and dirty website for
Speaker:that. They just create themselves or they'd go and they pay
Speaker:thousands of dollars to have a website created,
Speaker:but there's no traffic and no business.
Speaker:And they think that just because they put a website out
Speaker:there that people are going to find it.
Speaker:And so if you are paying attention to your metrics and
Speaker:you're not getting anybody coming to your site or they're coming
Speaker:to your site and they're not purchasing that right,
Speaker:there is a huge trigger to say,
Speaker:something's wrong.
Speaker:Yeah. Whether it's a website or a shop.
Speaker:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:If you're not getting any traffic.
Speaker:Absolutely. For me,
Speaker:it is all about the traffic.
Speaker:It's all about.
Speaker:Can you set your business up in a manner that is
Speaker:going to get you the traffic that you need?
Speaker:And once you do get that traffic,
Speaker:they actually come in and purchase.
Speaker:That would be the major trigger of why you should consider
Speaker:a business coach.
Speaker:Is there anything else you would say?
Speaker:Well, I think for your own personal planning and support and
Speaker:motivation, a business coach can provide all of those things.
Speaker:A business coach,
Speaker:a good one can really identify your strengths and weaknesses and
Speaker:really help you work the heck out of your strengths.
Speaker:And then also guide you and train you on your weaknesses.
Speaker:I have clients that come to me and say,
Speaker:I know I need to be on Facebook.
Speaker:I have no idea what it is.
Speaker:I need to be trained.
Speaker:Can you do that for me?
Speaker:And then I have clients who come to me and say,
Speaker:I just paid this person to do this entire website,
Speaker:but I don't know how to use it.
Speaker:I want to do it myself moving forward.
Speaker:Can you train me to do that?
Speaker:So we run the gamut of motivational of business,
Speaker:support of training,
Speaker:whatever you need.
Speaker:Typical coaches can provide that.
Speaker:Okay. So let's say someone is listening and they say,
Speaker:all right,
Speaker:this sounds like something I should check into.
Speaker:What is the progression of,
Speaker:how do you find the right person?
Speaker:What are the costs?
Speaker:Walk us through what the different steps are.
Speaker:If someone was to get started from scratch,
Speaker:never having been with a coach at all.
Speaker:Sure. So I think first things first is to really identify
Speaker:and be ready to answer this question because every coach is
Speaker:going to ask this,
Speaker:where are you right now?
Speaker:And where do you want to be?
Speaker:And have that ready?
Speaker:Because that will help whoever you speak to decipher whether or
Speaker:not they can help you.
Speaker:So that would be one thing.
Speaker:The second thing would be to,
Speaker:there are lots of resources and a lot of different coaches
Speaker:out there,
Speaker:but I would sit down and say,
Speaker:I really feel that I need a coach that has this
Speaker:level of experience and really kind of put together your own
Speaker:level of skillset that you're looking for in a coach.
Speaker:And then start asking around,
Speaker:get a referral.
Speaker:Facebook's got a great,
Speaker:great way of connecting us with coaches that have similar interests
Speaker:and likes as we do.
Speaker:And then if you can't find a coach,
Speaker:then you sit down and you talk to them and really
Speaker:start to feel whether or not they're the right coach for
Speaker:you. And that's just a feeling that you're going to get.
Speaker:It's that conversation that you have most coaches will do a
Speaker:half hour.
Speaker:I do a half hour free consultation where I just want
Speaker:to talk.
Speaker:I just want to get to know you.
Speaker:I want to understand where you are,
Speaker:where you're going,
Speaker:what you've done,
Speaker:what you haven't done,
Speaker:what you're looking for and make sure that I feel that
Speaker:I can help you.
Speaker:And then the last thing is qualify your coach.
Speaker:It's like going to a financial planner that doesn't have any
Speaker:money. You want to make sure that your coach is successful.
Speaker:That they're not just a coach that went to a fancy
Speaker:coaching school that got their certification,
Speaker:but they really are successful.
Speaker:And they have a legacy of running their own businesses.
Speaker:To me,
Speaker:that's pivotal.
Speaker:That's key.
Speaker:So they've actually done what they're teaching.
Speaker:Yeah. They've walked their talk.
Speaker:They've experienced it.
Speaker:They're able to relate stories of their own experiences with what
Speaker:you're getting ready to go through that right there is really,
Speaker:really good.
Speaker:Critical. Do you feel it's important to have someone that you
Speaker:can meet with face to face?
Speaker:Or what about a virtual coach?
Speaker:I think coaches are good,
Speaker:but you have to have the face-to-face engagement.
Speaker:I typically try not to just coach on the phone.
Speaker:I do,
Speaker:but I try really hard to use Skype for me.
Speaker:I like to see their face.
Speaker:I like to see their breathing patterns.
Speaker:I like to see how they react when I try to
Speaker:take them out of their comfort zone.
Speaker:I think those things are very important.
Speaker:Okay. So it can still be somebody who's not in your
Speaker:immediate area because you can connect via Skype.
Speaker:Absolutely. So you go through the initial 30 minutes and I'm
Speaker:sure Debbie,
Speaker:that you also want to judge,
Speaker:whether you are going to want to work with somebody as
Speaker:well. Cause it has to be a two-way street.
Speaker:You of course want people to listen and be able to
Speaker:work comfortably with your suggestion.
Speaker:So it's gotta be an agreement both ways.
Speaker:Absolutely. I mean,
Speaker:I have had conversations where I start asking questions and I've,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I'll never forget this one interview I had with somebody.
Speaker:She knew everything.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it was one of these conversations where I started asking questions
Speaker:and she had an excuse for everything.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:you feel like saying,
Speaker:well, why are you calling me?
Speaker:You'd have this figured out already.
Speaker:Why are you calling me?
Speaker:And so I'm very careful of what type of clients I
Speaker:take on.
Speaker:I think it's very important that if you're going to hire
Speaker:a coach,
Speaker:you have to be open.
Speaker:You have to be ready to come out of your comfort
Speaker:zone a little bit and you have to be absolutely 110%
Speaker:honest as to what you're doing and what's working and what
Speaker:isn't working.
Speaker:You bring up a good point because honesty,
Speaker:if you're going to hire a business coach,
Speaker:you have to be honest or you're wasting your money.
Speaker:Yes. I,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I'm not going to judge.
Speaker:I don't judge people.
Speaker:I want you to call me and tell me what it
Speaker:is. You've tried.
Speaker:What's not working and be frustrated and be upset and cry
Speaker:and kick and scream.
Speaker:Whatever you need to do from an emotional standpoint,
Speaker:I'll support it because I think that it is hard.
Speaker:It's not easy to be a business owner.
Speaker:We know that we've been through this.
Speaker:It's not easy.
Speaker:And so you have to be vulnerable.
Speaker:You have to be open and honest.
Speaker:You can't call and,
Speaker:and have a conversation with a coach and say,
Speaker:oh, my business is doing great.
Speaker:I want to take it to the next level when it's
Speaker:not. And to the client that you were interviewing that you
Speaker:were just talking about.
Speaker:If they're not willing to at least listen,
Speaker:be open and maybe there's a little bit of kickback,
Speaker:right. But be open to going back and forth about a
Speaker:potential plan.
Speaker:And then,
Speaker:but then still committing to it,
Speaker:even if it's over and outside of your comfort zone.
Speaker:Absolutely. And that's part of the issue.
Speaker:A lot of people don't want to move out of their
Speaker:comfort zone,
Speaker:which gets them stuck,
Speaker:but they don't realize It.
Speaker:There's a saying that goes around.
Speaker:That says the magic happens when you go outside your comfort
Speaker:zone. Absolutely.
Speaker:A hundred percent agree.
Speaker:All right,
Speaker:30 Minute conversation,
Speaker:you both agree that it looks like it's going to work
Speaker:and you want to work together.
Speaker:What happens from there?
Speaker:So we have the conversation of budget.
Speaker:How much money are you willing to put into this?
Speaker:Here's my typical recommendation and here's how much it's going to
Speaker:cost. And I typically issue an estimate.
Speaker:So I made the decision when I started my coaching business,
Speaker:that I was going to be highly affordable,
Speaker:that I felt that I wanted to be helping more people
Speaker:instead of putting people in a position where they couldn't use
Speaker:me for a long time.
Speaker:So I actually cut my rate by 50%.
Speaker:When I first started,
Speaker:I built out at one 50,
Speaker:I bill out at 75 an hour now,
Speaker:and I did that on purpose because people need to be
Speaker:able to afford a coach.
Speaker:And that's the number one reason why people don't hire a
Speaker:coach. They're too afraid of the cost.
Speaker:They're afraid they can't handle the initial cost.
Speaker:And they are afraid that they can't handle the costs.
Speaker:Long-term coaching is not a short-term solution.
Speaker:It's a long-term solution.
Speaker:It's a process.
Speaker:So what typically happens is I'll talk to them about budget.
Speaker:I want to make sure that they can afford me.
Speaker:I want to make sure that they can afford me for
Speaker:a long time.
Speaker:So if they are on a really,
Speaker:really tight budget,
Speaker:then I'll say,
Speaker:look, let's meet every two weeks,
Speaker:but just for 30 minutes,
Speaker:instead of an hour,
Speaker:that way you can afford to see me every two weeks
Speaker:as time moves on and your business gets better,
Speaker:you will be able to have more time together,
Speaker:but for now,
Speaker:let's just do it this way.
Speaker:And then the other thing that I do is I go
Speaker:and I look at the business,
Speaker:I ask for passwords and logins and all sorts of foundational
Speaker:data so that I can see what's going on from a
Speaker:business standpoint.
Speaker:And then we start coaching and I issue homework and I
Speaker:have homework and we just start going down the line,
Speaker:checking off boxes of things that we need to investigate and
Speaker:things that we need to do.
Speaker:Okay. And kind of as an aside for my curiosity,
Speaker:only since you're doing this particular business,
Speaker:the coaching side of QT enterprises,
Speaker:there's only a certain number of hours in a day.
Speaker:Do you ever fill up where you can't accept any more
Speaker:clients? Yeah.
Speaker:So the best thing about starting and owning your own businesses,
Speaker:that you can set your own schedule.
Speaker:So my coaching schedule is three days a week from seven
Speaker:o'clock in the morning until four o'clock in the afternoon.
Speaker:And as many clients as I can book during those times
Speaker:I book.
Speaker:And then after that,
Speaker:I just have a waitlist.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Okay. So that was,
Speaker:I took a little detour there.
Speaker:Sorry. We're back.
Speaker:We're back on the road again now.
Speaker:Okay. So what should people feel in terms of results?
Speaker:How do they know if things are working well with their
Speaker:coach and they're moving the ball forward for their business Growth?
Speaker:Yeah, I think there's two different ways.
Speaker:One of them is,
Speaker:is more emotional than anything else.
Speaker:It's how you feel,
Speaker:it's that you feel that you're doing the right things,
Speaker:that you feel that the,
Speaker:that, that ball is moving.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you're starting to gain more confidence.
Speaker:You're learning more,
Speaker:it's that emotional piece of the business.
Speaker:So confidence that you've got everything in control.
Speaker:And then what about the sales ticket?
Speaker:Well, so that's another thing is one of the things that
Speaker:we look for are metrics.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:how many website hits are you getting?
Speaker:How many people are going to your Facebook page?
Speaker:How many sales are you getting or is your phone ringing
Speaker:is email happening.
Speaker:All of those metrics kind of put together a really good
Speaker:story and we expect that's going to happen.
Speaker:So do You set some targets in advance,
Speaker:like after you've talked and you've done the cost and someone's
Speaker:onboarded with you,
Speaker:do you set specific targets?
Speaker:Yeah. So I'll what I'll do is I'll kind of take
Speaker:a look at this and go,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:we just started a Facebook page,
Speaker:brand spanking new.
Speaker:There's not a single like on it at all.
Speaker:I'll sit back and I'll go,
Speaker:Kay, look,
Speaker:we need to get this up to a hundred likes within
Speaker:a week.
Speaker:And here's what I'm going to do.
Speaker:And here's what you're going to do.
Speaker:And in a week,
Speaker:you and I need to take a look at that and
Speaker:see if we did it.
Speaker:And then in six months,
Speaker:this is where we need to be.
Speaker:And then conversion,
Speaker:and really come up with just a plan related specifically to
Speaker:Facebook. And You do the same thing then for sales or
Speaker:Twitter or whatever the goals.
Speaker:Yeah. And Then some of the goals come down to one
Speaker:of the goals could be,
Speaker:you're really uncomfortable speaking in public.
Speaker:So we're going to work on that.
Speaker:And in three months,
Speaker:you're going to be ready to get up in front of
Speaker:your networking group and give your 10 minute spiel.
Speaker:And so you either did it,
Speaker:or you didn't,
Speaker:and you either got good feedback or you got bad feedback.
Speaker:And so,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:we'll work on those types of things along the way in
Speaker:terms of getting you out of your comfort zone so that
Speaker:you can do some of the things that you need to
Speaker:do for your business.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:Okay. So this next question I know,
Speaker:would never happen with you,
Speaker:Debbie, but just for other people,
Speaker:what are the signs that a coach is not working for
Speaker:you and how do you make those steps to disconnect?
Speaker:Yeah, so this can happen.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:and to be honest,
Speaker:it has happened to me.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I've gotten to the point with a couple of clients where
Speaker:I'm just not the right coach for you.
Speaker:And for a variety of reasons,
Speaker:one reason could be that there are deeper emotional issues that
Speaker:are happening and maybe a lack of support from your family.
Speaker:Maybe some type of,
Speaker:some type of an issue of some sort that where you
Speaker:really need to go see a therapist by dabble in that
Speaker:I'm, I'm licensed to.
Speaker:But if you're having deeper emotional issues and anxieties and things
Speaker:like that,
Speaker:then going and seeing somebody else,
Speaker:it might be a better idea.
Speaker:And that's happened where I can't really move you in this
Speaker:direction because your anxiety level is so high.
Speaker:So that's one area In that case,
Speaker:Debbie, you may just be putting them on pause.
Speaker:Absolutely. But I will identify a point where you know what,
Speaker:I cannot help you anymore right now,
Speaker:right? This is not the right time for us to work
Speaker:together. I'm going to refer you out to this person.
Speaker:Will you go see him or her,
Speaker:and then report back to me and let me know how
Speaker:things are going.
Speaker:Oftentimes we'll get connected with a therapist and we'll have a
Speaker:conversation so I can share what I'm seeing and off they
Speaker:go. And then yes,
Speaker:absolutely. They come back.
Speaker:So that's from my vantage point from a client's vantage point.
Speaker:If you're working with a coach that you don't feel is
Speaker:truly listening to you and you feel like they're just kind
Speaker:of following their program,
Speaker:you're going to get that feeling in your chest and in
Speaker:your soul.
Speaker:You're going to feel that you're not going to look forward
Speaker:to your coaching sessions.
Speaker:You're going to be questioning whether or not the money that
Speaker:you're spending is right.
Speaker:Coaching is all about feeling good and challenged.
Speaker:And so if you're getting ready to have your coaching session
Speaker:and you're cringing and you really don't want to do it,
Speaker:that's a good sign that this is not the right coach
Speaker:for you.
Speaker:Okay. Final question here on coaching.
Speaker:What would be the duration of having a coach or should
Speaker:someone always have a coach?
Speaker:I believe coaching is longterm.
Speaker:And I think that if you can find the right coach
Speaker:and stick with them,
Speaker:you will continue to see great growth because they know you
Speaker:so well.
Speaker:So for me,
Speaker:I really have to get to know my clients thoroughly.
Speaker:I have to understand their fears.
Speaker:I have to understand what their comfort zone is.
Speaker:I have to understand their personal situation.
Speaker:There's a holistic approach that I take from a coaching perspective.
Speaker:And so the longer of a relationship that I have with
Speaker:that person,
Speaker:the better I'm going to be in the better that they're
Speaker:going to be.
Speaker:I believe strongly that you should always have a coach.
Speaker:I still have mine.
Speaker:I've had them for over 10 years and that relationship has
Speaker:benefited me more than I could ever even express.
Speaker:Great information.
Speaker:Thank you,
Speaker:Debbie. I really appreciate that.
Speaker:And it gives us a lot of insight into exactly what
Speaker:coaching looks like on both sides of the spectrum,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:from your perspective,
Speaker:as well as your clients,
Speaker:we're going to move on now to the reflection section.
Speaker:This is a look at you and what's helped you with
Speaker:your success along the way.
Speaker:So Debbie,
Speaker:what natural trait do you have that you think has helped
Speaker:you to succeed?
Speaker:I'm fearless.
Speaker:I don't get too scared about anything.
Speaker:I always sit back and say,
Speaker:what's the worst that can happen.
Speaker:And if I can answer that question and the answer is
Speaker:that I start over again,
Speaker:or I try a different approach,
Speaker:then I'll go for it.
Speaker:But I'm pretty fearless.
Speaker:I don't let much intimidate me.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:it's very interesting because this is now,
Speaker:when you,
Speaker:when this interview goes live,
Speaker:you're going to be the 25th interview that I've done.
Speaker:And this whole concept of fear comes up all the time.
Speaker:I think it's just a general,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if you're going into business for yourself,
Speaker:there's a level of fear before you even open the doors.
Speaker:And there's an extent to which everyone can surpass it because
Speaker:they've gone live.
Speaker:If you will,
Speaker:whether it's an online site,
Speaker:a retail shop that's opened,
Speaker:et cetera,
Speaker:but continuing to be able to be fearless and having that
Speaker:as a trait for yourself,
Speaker:I would say just catapults you further along.
Speaker:And the other people who aren't comfortable with fear have to
Speaker:just be comfortable with not being comfortable because you're going to
Speaker:have fear all the time.
Speaker:Absolutely. I mean,
Speaker:there's a difference between being fearless and nervous.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I get nervous every time I do something,
Speaker:that's just a natural trait,
Speaker:but I always sit back and reflect on what the worst
Speaker:that can happen.
Speaker:And what's the best that can happen.
Speaker:What am I really going after here?
Speaker:And if I do this,
Speaker:how could the result come?
Speaker:And then I punch and see what happens.
Speaker:And I don't always succeed.
Speaker:I've failed millions of times,
Speaker:but at the end of the day,
Speaker:if you don't give it a shot,
Speaker:then where are you going to be?
Speaker:Exactly what tool do you use regularly to keep productive or
Speaker:to create balance in your life?
Speaker:There's two different things that I do.
Speaker:One of them is a tool called Zoho.
Speaker:It's a project management database and everything that I do goes
Speaker:in there.
Speaker:And one of my staff manages that you could imagine having
Speaker:six companies,
Speaker:the number of tasks that have to get done on a
Speaker:daily basis,
Speaker:not to mention all of the services that we provide through
Speaker:my company through QT.
Speaker:So all of that gets centralized and I have a dashboard
Speaker:that I can go to.
Speaker:I go there four or five times a day to see
Speaker:what's going on.
Speaker:So operationally that's one tool.
Speaker:The second thing is my schedule and making sure that my
Speaker:schedule is balanced,
Speaker:that I have a good amount of time.
Speaker:That's just my time.
Speaker:That's reflection time.
Speaker:That's whatever I want to do.
Speaker:It's not scheduled.
Speaker:It's just whatever I decide that I want to do with
Speaker:that time is what I do.
Speaker:Whether I go to the spa or if I want to
Speaker:work, whatever,
Speaker:it doesn't matter.
Speaker:That helps me with the balance part of it.
Speaker:And the Zoho database helps me really stay and keep everything
Speaker:in perspective in terms of what has to get done.
Speaker:If not,
Speaker:I end up doing whatever is top of mind for me,
Speaker:as opposed to the things that absolutely need to get done
Speaker:in that given day.
Speaker:So you were actually specifically scheduling time on the personal end,
Speaker:right? Within your schedule and keeping those kind of sacred that
Speaker:time sacred.
Speaker:Absolutely. My Monday and Fridays,
Speaker:I have completely open schedules to do whatever I want.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So all of a sudden,
Speaker:right after we get off our interview,
Speaker:a client calls and they have reached a disaster with something
Speaker:in their business.
Speaker:And for whatever reason they have to talk to you on
Speaker:Friday, what do you do?
Speaker:My clients come first.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:they know they can text me at 11 o'clock at night.
Speaker:And if they're having some type of a major issue,
Speaker:I call I'll,
Speaker:I'll fill in that spot.
Speaker:It won't be long.
Speaker:It'll be maybe be a 15 minute or 20 minute deal,
Speaker:but I take it.
Speaker:I need them to depend on me.
Speaker:They have to know that if they're having some type of
Speaker:an issue that they can depend on me and I'll tell
Speaker:you at first,
Speaker:I wasn't like that.
Speaker:At first,
Speaker:it was like,
Speaker:you know what?
Speaker:I don't take calls on Fridays.
Speaker:I can't help you.
Speaker:And then I got to the point where I was like,
Speaker:how would I feel if that happened to me?
Speaker:And I really need you right now and you're not available.
Speaker:So I do make myself available.
Speaker:I'm liking that answer because you're still getting your personal time,
Speaker:but you are going to be there for your customers,
Speaker:which shows the loyalty and commitment you have to the business.
Speaker:Absolutely. I mean,
Speaker:they have my cell number.
Speaker:They text me,
Speaker:they'll ask,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:our typical process is that they send me a text and
Speaker:say, are you available for 10 minutes?
Speaker:I'm having an issue.
Speaker:I really need to talk to you.
Speaker:And I'll say,
Speaker:I will call you in 20 minutes.
Speaker:Cause I'm sitting at dinner with my family or yes,
Speaker:please call me right now.
Speaker:They know,
Speaker:and they know that they can do it.
Speaker:And they use it.
Speaker:They exercise that gift.
Speaker:Biz listeners.
Speaker:Think about that also with your customers,
Speaker:how do they feel if they can't reach you or they
Speaker:need help.
Speaker:And it's something that can be very quick that you can
Speaker:do. And I think everybody recognizes and respects personal time,
Speaker:but you also,
Speaker:specially as a business owner,
Speaker:have to be able to work with your customers.
Speaker:If there's an emergency or a really significant issue,
Speaker:Debbie, let's move on.
Speaker:And I'm really curious for the answer to this question.
Speaker:What book have you read lately that you think our listeners
Speaker:could find value in?
Speaker:Gosh, it's so funny that you say that.
Speaker:Cause I hardly ever read.
Speaker:There is a book by Gary Vaynerchuk.
Speaker:Actually he has several books that I absolutely adore and one
Speaker:of them is called crush.
Speaker:It, he wrote it several years ago and I've probably read
Speaker:it four times,
Speaker:but there's a book called crush it.
Speaker:And again,
Speaker:his name is Gary Vaynerchuk.
Speaker:He's Gary V Gary B.
Speaker:He's a straight shooter,
Speaker:tells you how it is,
Speaker:no fluff and stuff.
Speaker:He just fires me up.
Speaker:Every time I read something he does or watch his videos,
Speaker:the guy just really,
Speaker:really fires me up.
Speaker:So I definitely recommend that book.
Speaker:I Love that book too.
Speaker:Perfect. I'm so glad that that was your book and give
Speaker:biz listeners just as you're listening to the podcast today,
Speaker:you can also listen to audio books with ease.
Speaker:I've teamed up with audible for you to be able to
Speaker:get an audio book,
Speaker:just like Gary V's crush it,
Speaker:that Debbie's recommending and you can get it for free.
Speaker:All you need to do is go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make a selection.
Speaker:Okay. Debbie,
Speaker:I would like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:This is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable Heights
Speaker:that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside a beach house?
Speaker:Ooh, where is this beach house?
Speaker:And when do I get to calm?
Speaker:It's gotta be a beach house in Santa Barbara.
Speaker:It has to be this ultimate dream would be to go
Speaker:back where I grew up.
Speaker:I grew up in Santa Barbara as a little girl and
Speaker:loved it there and have great memories from there.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:the beach is a place that provides me with peace and
Speaker:just absolute,
Speaker:pure clarity.
Speaker:So yeah,
Speaker:in that box would definitely be a beach house for sure.
Speaker:I could see you there so easily.
Speaker:Yes, that's me.
Speaker:And how can our listeners get in touch with you?
Speaker:My personal email is debbie@debbiequintanadotcomandmywebsiteiswwwqtconcepts.com.
Speaker:As Our listeners know,
Speaker:you can go over to the show notes page and all
Speaker:the information on Debbie's context will be there.
Speaker:Facebook pages,
Speaker:websites, anything else will also be there so that you can
Speaker:get in touch with her.
Speaker:Debbie, thank you so much for the valuable gift of sharing
Speaker:all of this great information about coaching your insights on how
Speaker:you run your business,
Speaker:how others should get out of their comfort zone.
Speaker:All of these really important things to help us gain traction.
Speaker:Thank you so much for joining me today and may your
Speaker:candle always burn bright?
Speaker:Thanks so much.
Speaker:I appreciate it.
Speaker:Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:in life.
Speaker:It's our gift to you and available@giftbizonrap.com
Speaker:slash tools.
Speaker:Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the
Speaker:next episode.
Speaker:Would you like to be on the show or do you
Speaker:know someone who can provide valuable insight from their experiences?
Speaker:If so,
Speaker:we'd love to hear from you.
Speaker:All you need to do is submit a form for consideration.
Speaker:You can access the form@giftunwrapped.com
Speaker:forward slash guest.
Speaker:That's a gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash G U E S T today's show is
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