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Unlock the secrets to business success and gain valuable insights from local industry leaders. Join us as we delve into the strategies, triumphs, and lessons learned of thriving companies, empowering entrepreneurs to elevate their businesses to new heights.
Sharon: [00:00:11] Hello everyone, and welcome to It's Time for Success, the Business Insights podcast. I'm your host, Sharon De Koning, and I am just thrilled you've tuned in today. You know, I always say that small businesses are the beating heart of our communities. But let's be real, sometimes it feels like you're shouting into a digital hurricane just to be heard. Today, we are going to talk about how to stop shouting and start growing. I am joined by the fantastic Christine Campbell Rapin. Christine is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to business mentoring and helping entrepreneurs find their growth in their engines. Christine, welcome to the show. Christine, please introduce yourself to me and my listeners.
Christine: [00:00:45] Thank you for having me. I will say I'm always a mix between your professional best friend and the professional ass kicker, who's actually going to help you commercialize your idea, find those dream clients repeatably, predictably, and bring the fun back into business, where really, you can be unapologetic about what you want and play with people who will support that, endorse it and want to be along for the ride.
Sharon: [00:01:07] I like the word you used. Unapologetic.
Christine: [00:01:09] Yes.
Sharon: [00:01:10] I feel like that happens a lot of times.
Christine: [00:01:12] We do. And here's the way, you know, if you're hiding from your real goals, here's a simple one. We talked about this in a recent event I had. When you look at your goals, is it, for example, 10K or is it ten with a comma 000? Because the unapologetic writes the comma and wants to be in the comma club. And those that are a little high, they're like, nope, I'm gonna shorten it and hide from it and back off a little. I'm like, no, I want to be on the comma club, and I want more than one.
Sharon: [00:01:40] I put commas.
Christine: [00:01:41] Good job.
Sharon: [00:01:42] Yay! That is awesome. Look at me go. I love it, love it, love it. Okay, today, I think because of your expertise, we talked about a few points that we want to focus on today. And one of them is the growth engine. Um, our entrepreneurs are listening and they are wanting to grow. I think that's what we all need to know. We need to grow. We need to develop. We need to help our communities. We need to be there for our team. We need to do all those kind of things. So let's talk about the growth engine and how that relates to you and what you want to talk about today.
Christine: [00:02:08] Well, I always tell clients like business growth is not as complicated as you're making it. In fact, I believe it's really elegantly simple. But note I said simple, not effortless. And I think when you go into business, first and foremost, you have to get really clear, is your goal commercial success? Because a lot of people say, I'm doing this for a passion. I said, that's cool, but passion before profit is dangerous. Profit that supports your passion all day long. And so I tell people, when you step into the world of business, if the goal is commercial success, then you need to understand that you're in the game of problem solving, and that means an engine. Solve one problem. It fires, tips it into the next engine. And like any kind of fuel combustion, you're the spark. But you need to have fuel sources. So in business, there's three key pillars. There's leads or what we call marketing. Marketing has one goal to stir interest of a buyer. If your marketing is not effective at lead generation, it's broken. But if we solve marketing and we have leads, 80% of businesses have leads that they don't do anything with. So I'm like solving leads or solving marketing isn't creating a business, it's solving a marketing problem. But once you have marketing, you have to have sales, which is not the same function. So we then have to solve sales. And I believe one conversation has the power to create a client. Yes, there is a volume game because if you only make zero offers, guess what? You have zero revenue and too many people are like, I don't have enough leads.
Christine: [00:03:29] I'm like, is it that you don't have enough or they're not the right quality? How many offers have you made and is it enough to hit your financial goals? And everyone goes, oh, this is a little uncomfortable. Yeah? stay with me. But now that we have sales, what happens is this fear factor or this real reality, which is I'm now splitting my focus between serving clients, which was what we thought was our goal and realizing that our goal is actually to run a business. Our clients are the reward. Which means while you're serving current clients, you have to be recognizing that your number one priority is your next client, finding them, getting an offer to them, getting the yes from them, onboarding them. And that's an engine. And so what I help clients figure out is who's a buyer? How will they move them? What makes them the must-hire and how do we stay in business development activity always so that we create stability and we actually get to write our own paycheck and have a really successful business where the reward is clients. And most people go, I've never thought about business this way. And I'm like, but that's what the goal is. That's the engine. They're like, I get it now. How do I create it?
Sharon: [00:04:32] So leads, you talked about marketing. Let's go back to point number one in your list. So marketing to you means what?
Christine: [00:04:39] Marketing to me is the ability to stir curiosity. When you're stirring curiosity, you're doing so with one goal to invite somebody to take action. And that action will either be I'm moving forward or I stop because what I find people do is they're like, you know, marketing is about noise. It's about visibility. I'm like, that's not enough. If the goal is commercial success, your goal is to make an invitation with marketing, which is movement. And you're either going to say, yes, I want more information or yes, I agree, or yes, I'm tell me more, or I'm going to say I'm in the wrong room. And the more effective our marketing is at splitting this decision-making moment, the more qualified people you will spend time with, the less tire-kickers that will come into your path. And so marketing is one goal for you to have an opinion that makes an invitation for somebody to make a decision, and the right people for you move forward and the rest fall away.
Sharon: [00:05:31] Yep.
Christine: [00:05:31] It's simple.
Sharon: [00:05:32] So those are different platforms. Of course, they're all different platforms. They're being present in the community. You're talking networking, probably you're talking the social media platform, LinkedIn in particular, more so probably. What else are we missing here?
Christine: [00:05:45] So I think that there's three easy volume ways to get in front of strangers Because let's be clear, strangers are fundamental to your business, and your goal is when you're meeting strangers to assess them. Are they potential buyers? Are they potential collaborative partners or are they just contacts that will not go anywhere? And so we like networking, we like communities. We like, to a degree, showing our character and our capabilities on a social platform. And I personally really like any kind of experiential room. So that could be speaking an event, a retreat or things like that. Because for somebody who is particularly in a service based business, I don't need to know what you say. I want to know what you do. And so I think experiences are the fastest way to do that. They're also the easiest way not to get caught in automation, not to remember that with so much AI, I don't know what's true and not true, but experiential, real face-to-face in some kind of way will be the fastest way for people to say I'm in the right place. I'm curious to know more or hell, I'm in the wrong room. Get out.
Sharon: [00:06:44] So what happens if a person's introverted?
Christine: [00:06:46] I'm introverted. You're fine.
Sharon: [00:06:48] Come on.
Christine: [00:06:49] And their strategies. Truthfully, people find this shocking. And I know this doesn't give you the indication that I'm an introvert, but 100% I am. But I choose strategies where I can be brave for small moments and then let my people come to me. I'm not going to go into the room and want to own the room. So in a networking space, it's actually easier for me to do like that 30 or 60 second intro, which again, I can be brave for a small period of time. And then if I'm effective at my marketing and I can create curiosity, my people come find me, which means I don't have to circulate the room. The room moves to me.
Sharon: [00:07:26] Right. Gotcha.
Christine: [00:07:27] As an introvert, I'm better to be responsive than to be directing. And so. Introverts, can you be brave for small moments? And if you can, then it is about, I need to be really effective in the small moment because I don't get the joy from working room to room to room in shaking hands.
Sharon: [00:07:43] No.
Christine: [00:07:44] But I am really, really good when people are like, I need what you have. Can you answer questions? Can I be responsive? I'm like, yes, all day long. And...
Sharon: [00:07:51] Right.
Christine: [00:07:51] Introverts speaking is actually one of the easiest ways because you've moved the room from the front. And truthfully, all you have to do is be visible so that somebody moves to you.
Sharon: [00:08:00] Okay? Because that really relates to me. I am introverted as well. Like say I can talk all day long, I can do what I need all day, but I'm exhausted at the end of the day, like I'm tired. Like it takes so much out of me. Like even these podcasts, I'm exhausted later, but I do enjoy them and they're getting easier and easier as I go. But even like so networking, I'm part of BNI here out in Lloydminster. Um, and that's a new group out here, but it's a, it's a networking. It's like I don't sell to the room. I always say I sell through the room. So you got your 50 second presentation or minute presentation. You get up and you tell what you're talking about and that's it. But that's a structured networking event for me. Where have I gone to other events and I'm just kind of standing in the corner because I'm not, you know, you just kind of loiter. I'm not one to go up and talk to people like I'm, they have to come to me. Like, I can't do that.
Christine: [00:08:42] No. And that's where, you know, an introvert can play in a structured environment. It's like, I can play by the rules. And to be fair, like I ran an event last week, I said, the reason I like speaking personally because I'm an I am an introvert is that a coach of mine many years ago said 42 speaking gigs could take $1 million in sales if you're right and effective at it. And I was like, I could do something 42 days a year versus something 365.
Sharon: [00:09:05] Isn't that the truth?
Christine: [00:09:06] And if I could structure it where, again, I had systems and processes, and then I could outsource to the people that were brave and all I had to do was show up. I can manage, and it does take a lot. It takes physical strength, mental strength, hydration, and a lot of different things.
Sharon: [00:09:21] Mhm.
Christine: [00:09:22] And a good pep team around me to say, I can do this for a day. And I know coming out of that day, there may have been, in this case, I ran an event. I had 141 people go through the room, but there's probably eight people that want to have a conversation. Well, those eight people are my people, and I'll have eight conversations, but I'll have eight conversations over three weeks. I'm like, I can manage the energy of that.
Sharon: [00:09:40] Yeah, It's it's the like you say the people. Okay, so you're going up, you're speaking to different people, but you're speaking basically on business. So that's what you're doing. And those people come to you. But what happens if people like, how else would they get out? You said speaking events. How what happens if they're plumbers?
Christine: [00:09:56] I still think you got to remember that speaking is just influence one person to another. And it's very basic level. Like you and I are speaking, and it's a choice to be anything more than 1 to 1. So for plumbers, I said, you still need to speak about your business and that is still your vision, how you serve, your standards. Like you must communicate. And so therefore you must speak about it. The mistake, I think any business, it doesn't matter whether you're in trades, whether you're a service provider, whether you're selling a professional services, you have to have what I call a North Star. What is it that you guys stand for? And someone has to tell the world that even if it's 1 to 1. Because if you don't, people don't know you're in business. And that's why so many businesses die. They're like, I feel like the best kept secret. I'm like, well, did you tell anybody about your business, who you are, what you stand for and where you do business? And they're like, I thought so. I did it once and I said, once is not an engine.
Sharon: [00:10:48] Okay. So for me, because I do promotional products, we do lots of cool stuff here and it's really cool. We do silkscreen, we do our embroidery, we do vehicle wraps, we do signage, we do all that kind of stuff. And we have a phenomenal business. We've got three locations. So you're suggesting if I ever get offered to speak somewhere that's an avenue, I'm just using me as an example. If that's an avenue, I would get up and talk about It's Time Promotions and its values and how we can what we believe in. Is that correct?
Christine: [00:11:12] And add two components. First off, this is who we are and why we're unique in this industry. So what you do is still a vehicle, it's silkscreening or it's physical product or t-shirts or what have you.
Sharon: [00:11:21] It's yeah, everybody.
Christine: [00:11:22] So everyone's got to go, but everybody does that. You're like, but not everyone has three locations. Not everyone has the tenure in the business. And you're like, so this is who we are and why we're a good choice. And then what's really important is not just it's not the thing you do that's most important when you're speaking. It's why it matters. So you can say, you know, we do promotional products, which is just the vehicle, but it's like, if you want to show appreciation to a client or you want to create community spirit, physical, tangible goods are a way for people to take a brand and own it. So if you want somebody to really have that lived experience, then you need to equip them with products. We supply the products. And so I think that's true for every business. Don't tell me what you do. Tell me who you are and why it matters, and everybody will benefit from that. Because when I look across the landscape, and I'm looking for a service provider, anyone will do the service because you should all be good at the basic service.
Sharon: [00:12:15] Yeah, absolutely.
Christine: [00:12:16] I tell my accountant this, do not sell me on bookkeeping. You should be a good bookkeeper.
Sharon: [00:12:20] Yeah, yeah.
Christine: [00:12:22] Don't tell me that you're great at journal entry because that's the standard. But tell me how you'll advocate, how you'll see the numbers, how you know how to skate the line, defend the line, and how do you be a fun in front of the live for experience I want, which is I want to keep more of my money. And for you and your particular business. It's I want people to really, really be bought into the quality of the brand association and we're the best better of it. And when you do that, you don't compete in the same way as other people.
Sharon: [00:12:49] No. Okay. What about say so that's speaking, but can they not just do short clips? As well. And use it on social?
Christine: [00:12:57] 100%. Here's how to be effective. So less work, same impact. So if I was speaking somewhere, whether it's 30s at BNI, a two minute conversation somewhere, I can have somebody record that or I can take an audio podcast or a video podcast, like say, give me the asset I can very easy in today's world, take that into a software called, for example, Opus Clips is the one that we always start our content with. And guess what happens? I now have social media content for the next 30 days. They just upload it. It spits it up into anything from 18 seconds, 30s three minutes, two minutes. It puts all of the subtitles in it. It puts graphics in it. I don't need to do content every day. I'm not in the business of content, but I do want to be found. And so I can take small effort and use it effectively. And then guess what? It looks like my business is always current, topical, and alive because a lot.
Sharon: [00:13:51] Yeah.
Christine: [00:13:51] I think the biggest challenge is people make is there's somebody, there's a buyer every day. It sometimes feels like, you know, there's a mountain and a molehill and there's never any buyers. Like it's only 3%, but 3% are ready to buy today. 3% are ready to buy tomorrow. It's a different 3% stay at the table. But I don't want to be at the table exhausting myself.
Sharon: [00:14:08] No, it does get exhausting, yeah.
Christine: [00:14:08] I'm an introvert. I need I need downtime, but my business looks like I'm working, you know, every day of the week. But, you know, six months into the year, typical Canadian like you are, I'm like, I also spent six weeks at home in the first quarter because I got to sunny places. But my, my podcasts still run my social clips that come out of the podcast still run, I might go live twice, which, you know, just shows the current reality of my lived experience. And people are like, yeah, oh, so this is an engine. I'm like, did I not talk to you about having an engine for your business? Engines are important.
Sharon: [00:14:39] Do you find people still are stuck in a rut and not absorbing this new technology or this new wave? Do you see that in any of your clients or are they embracing it?
Christine: [00:14:48] I think we do have some that are like, I don't want to do it ever. And there's others that are frontrunners, but there's also now an overreliance on it. And I'll give you a good example. I have a client of mine who's like, you know, there's so much fear mongering around if you don't step into AI in the next 30 days, you're going to be left behind. And I do think you need to understand AI for a big portion of the planet doesn't still know what ChatGPT is. So don't think that you're behind people. It's really not as far ahead as you think. But what happens? She's like, you know, I feel like I should learn AI and maybe it would help my business. And I said, is that the immediate gain you need? Because she's like, well, I could automate my contracts and I could automate the onboarding. Like you do this in your business. I said, I do do this in my business today, but I didn't for four years. And part of it was because, well, how many contracts do we really have a year? If you have hundreds of contracts a year, then automating it makes sense. And you should learn how to do that. But if it's like I bring in 12 clients a year, I'm like, you learning AI is going to take 30 hours. Just write the damn contracts.
Christine: [00:15:49] So I think there's a mix between that early adoption and the ones who are fearing left behind. But technology isn't a saviour if the foundations aren't in place. Right. And I read a great quote this morning that said, don't think that automation replaces access and don't think that automation changes the need for people to want to talk to another human being. Because I made a fundamental principle in my own business five years ago, I said, relationships are what we're about. Handshakes. My word. I know how to build business. I'm going to build it eyeball to eyeball with you. There's different pathways in terms of access, but you're going to always get a face, a human and mostly me and my friends thought I was crazy because they're like, you can't scale it. I'm like scaling me something different to every person. I don't want to build funnels. I don't want to build complicated tech. I don't want to be removed from this because it's really fun watching people build their businesses. I love watching the eyeballs, the light bulbs, the real actions happen. And now I watch my friends who went so heavy into tech three years ago now, suddenly waking up and saying, you know, relationships are the new capital. I'm like, they were always the capital there.
Sharon: [00:16:54] They should have been always. Yes.
Christine: [00:16:56] And they're all like, how do you actually, you know, build relationships? I'm like, well, first off, stop treating them like hit and run and then stop trying to automate every access point away from a human. Yeah. People, people who actually reach the real human being. They're like, I run an event. They're like, am I talking to Christine's team? I'm like, you're talking to Christine. Do you want to get on the phone? They're like, it's really you? I'm like, I gave you my phone number. Yes, it's really me.
Sharon: [00:17:18] It's me.
Christine: [00:17:19] And they're like.
Sharon: [00:17:20] I'm not an AI agent. Yes.
Christine: [00:17:22] I'm like, but it's choice. And so I think when you look at technology, as long as you're in alignment with your choice, get the foundations right. Tech is just special sauce on top, but it's not the saviour without it, right?
Sharon: [00:17:34] Yeah. And you don't have to go down the deep dive where you're trying to embrace everything. Just figure out what you need for that technology and roll with that one. If that's what you're.
Christine: [00:17:42] Will you implement it? Because everybody around has said, you know, I spent most of us have spent some level of hours, dozens or hundreds building custom gpts playing in the latest tech, whether it's Claude and ClaudeCode or ChatGPT or whatever. And I said, how much of what you created are you actually using every week in your business today? And, and I get crickets. And I'm like. So what's different now? Are you going to operationalize what you built? Or is it just cool because a cool factor is just hiding behaviour?
Sharon: [00:18:12] That's right.
Christine: [00:18:12] Talk to a client if that's what you need.
Sharon: [00:18:14] Go talk to a client. You're right. Yeah. And even like you talked about the handshake because I don't know. We're on Zoom right now, don't get me wrong, but I'm Zoomed out. I'm Zoomed out and I feel that the whole world is. And those meetings and those like even. I went down to the city the other day, I had some questions about some stuff and she said, do you want to come on, do want to jump on Zoom? And I'm like, nope.
Christine: [00:18:35] Yeah.
Sharon: [00:18:36] We had a sat in their boardroom. We hammered out some stuff. We stood up and we shook each other's hands and I said, thank you very much for your help. And then I left, and I, you know what? Now I, I'm closer to her. I know I am because I got to feel her energy, her vibes. Can't feel that over Zoom.
Christine: [00:18:49] No. And lots of people have never learned the skill of visual energy transfer. Like I joke to people, I have been on a digital screen every year since 1996. That was the year that Skype was first introduced. Skype just retired last year, as many of you might know.
Sharon: [00:19:03] I remember that, yup.
Christine: [00:19:04] But I Skyped, and to this day now I Zoom. But every Sunday with my parents is 1996. I built relationships for decades on a digital platform. And I, when I'm running my own events, I said, I know energetically how to push into that screen, but most don't. And so I heard something in a room I was part of with peers, you know, other fellow entrepreneurs. And they said, the real room is the internet. Now you have to get into physical spaces. You are checking your energy, you're talking commitment. And truthfully, it's the only way we focus. It is because when we're behind a screen, all of us are multitasking and none of us are super effective at it. But if you're in a real room, you're like, I'm sorry, am I disturbing you? Why are you on your phone? And you know, when I have physical meetings and this afternoon, I'm actually having, um, a past client come to do an interview, but she's coming to my home to do it, and I'm like, it'll be eyeball to eyeball relationship to relationship. And that's why I think curating real spaces in real time that aren't edited and aren't highly polished and are real, I know I have the capability of owning that, and I know it will help me be a competitive going forward because people are like, you're really you. I'm like, I don't have editing skills. Like the filter doesn't exist.
Sharon: [00:20:17] No. That's right.
Christine: [00:20:18] So people know what they get. And it's the fastest way to build trust.
Sharon: [00:20:22] Yeah. So you're talking about that behind the screen. I hope none of my BNI members are listening, but we're hybrid one over here in Lloydminster. So it means we're in person only one week. First Thursday of the month and the rest are over Zoom. I can tell by people's face, like, even if you slide your emails over in front of the camera, you can still feel that.
Christine: [00:20:40] Because you feel the typing. I would still say like, I'm not hybrid is here to stay. So if you, if you haven't learned to master this...
Sharon: [00:20:46] There's so many advantages to it. Do not get me wrong.
Christine: [00:20:49] ...curate and commit to either, you know, building a table where you invite and do things like that. Like a big part of our business now is we're doing it in person. Mastermind in Kananaskis in June, and I wanted to do it in some other cool part of the world because it would be interesting for me to go there. And my coaches at the time was like, you know, the world wants to go to your backyard. Like it's near Banff. Is it, is it, is the place you're going like, does it look like that? I'm like, it looks like Banff. The world will want to come to your place and there's a calling card to in person, not at the exclusion of hybrid because it's like I have to get on a plane, I have to do this. And I said, I will always pay to be in the right room. But I'm very intentional about curating the room and really recognizing that my room, for what I need right now in my business.
Sharon: [00:21:37] Right. Yeah. Kicking over. You can overdo yourself too, right? Overcommit. So it's got to be the right one.
Christine: [00:21:42] I can't be in a room every day. I'm like, that would kill me. As an introvert.
Sharon: [00:21:45] It is. It's 100% exhausting. Okay, so I think we've done okay for that part. Should we move on to the next part, please? Okay. Followers versus buyers. How to turn those likes on social media. We talked about social media into real money in the bank. Okay, let's roll with this one. This is what we're needing.
Christine: [00:22:01] So there's a really important distinction when you are creating social media content. What's your intent? And I have a client of mine who I have known. He's a peer in a community, not BNI, but very similar. And I said, all of your content seems to be designed to get applause. Applause from your peers. People who buy into either what you do, your peers who sell what you sell. And I said, you judge your content and what you think you want to create more of based on the applause which is a "like" in the world of social media. And I said, do you see this as income producing activity? And he's like, yes. I said, why? But they're none of your peers are buyers. And so I think there's a really important distinction to recognize. What is your purpose of social media? And if the intent is to build clients, the goal is not a "like." And truthfully, in my business, for example a "like," I will never get a "like" unless you're already a client. And here's why, right? Because my content is designed to talk about solving a problem. You don't want to be publicly applauding, I have it. So if I'm getting a lot of likes, I don't see that as a good thing. And then I look through who's liking and it's like current clients are like, yes, I get it.
Christine: [00:23:09] Yes, I'm public about it. Yes, I'm getting a bigger result. But you've got to really think about your content. I'm like, this doesn't mean I don't do social media, but I don't lose sight of the fact I have a lot of lurkers who don't want to say, I actually don't have enough buyers, I don't have enough leads, I don't have enough activity, and I'm the world keeps thinking I'm okay. And so you gotta remember is your goal movement for a buyer? Then design your content to talk to that. Make a very clear call to action, which isn't applause. It's something else. And it should be also something likely that is a little private because a lot of us sell in something, you know, people are like, I don't want the world to know that I have this. Or remember, if they've engaged in your social media, the whole world can see that. So I think there's, there's an important piece in when you're designing content, you have to also remember this. And this is a key of marketing, especially in today's service world, you don't get paid for what you do. You get paid for your opinion on how it should be done.
Sharon: [00:24:07] I'm so good at giving my opinion too.
Christine: [00:24:09] And you need to like. But the world in the last ten years has taught us that opinions should be hidden or that should be really polarizing. You're not for everybody in the way you see, the world is not for everybody. So if all you're getting is applause, that's also concerning. But your people need you to see and hear and have trust in your character, your credibility, and your capability. And so I want people to be really clear. The intent isn't likability. The intent is honest trustworthiness and a very clear opinion about what is needed to create a lived outcome. It's not the vehicle of how. It's not the vehicle of the framework. I know that's a toll tax to get my outcome. I know I have to pay something. My question is, should I put my trust in you to spend that money with you?
Sharon: [00:24:53] Okay. All right. Because like, even for myself and I think a lot of us out here and correct me if I'm wrong listeners, but I've always thought social media is more so just to know, hey, we're here like presence. Yeah. Like it's not like, like one thing. Of course, you know, we'll put like, sometimes our suppliers will give us price breaks and we put that out there. I don't want to be like, that's one thing we always talk about as a team. We don't want to be pushing product. That's the last thing we want to do. We want to educate as much as possible.
Christine: [00:25:19] People don't want to be sold to, but they need to know you're in a business to serve. It has a price, which has a price tag. So when we're designing social content or we're designing any kind of content, whether it's a speech, networking strategy, physical product, anything, I always say to people 10 to 15% of the time, you should remind people you're in business for business. 10 to 15%. Like if people don't know that you could use clients, don't be surprised if you don't have clients. But the other pieces are again, speaking to the lens in which you are, which is your character, your capabilities of service and clients of tomorrow want to see you winning. So it's okay to talk about here's product that's going out the door. Here's the cool new things we printed for a latest client. Here's the thank you letter we got from somebody, or here's how we contributed to this, people we gave some donation to local charities so they could have good swag for their events. Like people want to know the people behind the business, right? But if you don't ever tell people you're in business, I think you missed the point. And anybody who does great volumes of lead generation on social media have the sale happen off social media. So, be aware that the goal is again, curiosity.
Sharon: [00:26:29] Mhm.
Christine: [00:26:30] People verifying and validating. Am I in the right space? But then make sure they know how to call you, connect with you, email you, and you have to be responsive to that because the numbers are pretty shocking. Like if you don't respond within a minute or two minutes, people have called the next person.
Sharon: [00:26:46] Right?
Christine: [00:26:46] And what's the most frustrating thing I'm gonna pick on the realtors. You know, there's hundreds and hundreds of realtors in any town. Mhm. Not very many make stable income, but those that do have a good system in place for returning phone calls because what's the number one complaint? I saw it this morning on my LinkedIn feed. Somebody like I'm trying to buy a pretty significant customer service CRM. I've owned all the big players. I can't find a human to call me back.
Sharon: [00:27:13] Yep.
Christine: [00:27:14] So leads age quickly.
Sharon: [00:27:16] And yes.
Christine: [00:27:17] It doesn't mean that the lead has solved its problem.
Sharon: [00:27:20] Mhm.
Christine: [00:27:20] But be responsive in a good way. And that's when some automation can help, but also structure your business to be an engine to support that because too many people do all the activity of social and they never think about why they're doing it. They never think about the strategy behind it. And for us, I know that people are validating am I human? Am I predictable? Am I out there? And what are we winning with? So we have to play the game, but we also can choose the rules we're setting to subscribe around. And I think too many people seek the applause. And that's just because you're likable doesn't mean you're seen as a must-hire. I would rather be seen as a must-hire for the right people when they're ready.
Sharon: [00:27:57] Right. What about websites? Yeah. What do you have on your website for traction? Tell me like, how can people upskill.
[00:28:03] Their website? So first thing, if that makes sense.
Christine: [00:28:05] Yeah. First thing you need to remember about websites is this. The website is just a place in the universe, a badly designed website. If it has the right person on, it will still make you money. That's not to say that a really beautiful website that has nobody on it will help you. And so when you're building a website, you need to think about the website is not about you. It's about somebody else knowing, am I in the right place? What's the outcome you supply and how do I know if you're the person I should have a next step with? Once you have the foundations of what makes a website effective, you must recognize you must do something to drive traffic to it because it's just a place.
Sharon: [00:28:42] And what's that?
Christine: [00:28:43] So you can do simple things like, if you if you communicate with people orally, you can tell people, we have a website. Here's the address. Let me send you a link. Let me give it to you. If you're speaking, you should be clear. What's my website? What do I want you to do when you get there? We could do something always simple call to actions on our email. We include it in our email. We can take more elevated strategies around promoting the website, not just organically like the first couple suggestions I made, but maybe you are doing paid traffic. If you have a product that sold at a geography level, you should be thinking about your Google ranking. You should be looking at your Google reviews. You should be looking at the SEO of your website, the technical backend of your website. Because guess what search engines are how people find something that's unknown. And now with the world of Claude and ChatGPT and other AI engines, people are using that kind of service to replace traditional search.
Christine: [00:29:35] You need to think about that, but you need to be able to recognize what are people searching for and ensure your website has the answer. And a funny thing happened in my business a couple of months ago. I had a person in Edmonton who was wanting to bring in a speaker for an event, and so she went to her favourite AI engine and said, I'm looking for Canadian speakers in Alberta who would be a good fit to Speak on my platform. Because we speak, we're very clear about our curated content. We have a very clear who we serve, how we serve, why we are a smart choice. My stuff gets scraped by the AI people, and I came up as her number one choice and she said, well, I'm glad because I already know her, but this helped reinforce. So she called me. She sent me the screenshot. She's like, well, obviously you're a low risk because the world, the AI engine said that you're a good person. But those were all those dominoes in the engine working together. And, and I said, you know, but a big part of that is we're active and active in an effective way. So websites, I said, you have to make sure that you're clear about who you serve, what you serve. And if somebody's in the right room and then you have to drive traffic to it, which is you have to tell people it exists and you can do that organically, but then you can also step into paid ways because you want the world to trust that you're not one in a bazillion hidden things that your name comes up over and over and over again. And that's the compound effect. People still use the web.
Sharon: [00:31:03] Yes we do, and we check it for Google reviews. So make sure those are there as well.
Christine: [00:31:08] And for sure, at a company that is again bound by Geography Catchment, you absolutely need to look at being seen on the platforms that are driving intelligent learning models like Google. The Google My business, everybody should have one. Google reviews. And here's a tip for long term, you always need to be seen as winning in the current marketplace. Right. So people trust current information. It gives us a sense of validation. So that means, you know try to be current every quarter. So that means a new product, a new update, a new testimonial, a new shipment, a new something that we can show social proof that we're winning in the current. And when I tell my clients, when we turn over a calendar year in January, you should have strategically mapped out what is your first Google review? What is your first client testimonial? What is your first piece of product moving out? Because when you declare your winning in the new year, you're miles ahead of everybody else who now looks like their age because they were winning last year.
Sharon: [00:32:05] It's perception. That is so clever. I never thought like it's always behind the scenes and you're focusing forward already on all those things.
Christine: [00:32:12] And that's the key, it's like, I'm thinking about what's my next client. And so what we bring to clients, and I said, both new businesses and business that's been around for a lot of years is I'm here to help you bring in the next future client and to reduce the proximity, to reduce the time frame. And we do it by really thinking about what does the buyer need to see, feel and experience that says, I'm only making one phone call if I answer my phone or touchpoint, they have the business. Because clients come into our world, they're like, I know it's going to be uncomfortable, but you're really going to help me win. I'm like, not just win once over and over and over again.
Sharon: [00:32:45] And I think that's my favourite line of mine right now. It says, you got to be comfortable being uncomfortable in business, I think. And if you're wanting to grow, you need to be uncomfortable. Even when I had like our business coach. Damn, he made me uncomfortable so often.
Christine: [00:33:00] That is a good sign.
Sharon: [00:33:01] So often. Jared. Yeah, it was.
Christine: [00:33:04] I always say I'm a mix between your business bestie. I'm sitting on the same side of the table as you, not across from you. But I am also here on occasion to put my foot to your butt and say, get moving. Yeah, you said you wanted this. This isn't congruent behaviour. What's going on? And that's why I've always said very clearly to my people, I am more a mentor than a coach. I know what the sequence is to create success. I've done it for 30 years. We've created $1 billion. This is my skill set, but I'm here to help you find your sequence. I'm here to ask you to check your speed, which means you're in control of it. But starting at zero is really the most labour-intensive. So don't do the hokey pokey. Slow it down, but don't stop and think about the compound because I said there's the golden bit, the reward is clients.
Sharon: [00:33:48] Yes. And as entrepreneurs and I think I can, because I do sit on BNI, and I do know I do network, even though I'm introverted, we just get in, we get in the trenches like sometimes me and one of my buddies, we just go for a drink after work and complain about life and business. Yeah. Or whatever, because we're literally heads down, go, go, go, go, go. But you need to get out of there. So if you're in that, my take on it and you can correct me because you know more if I'm on, if I'm literally work, work, work in front of my desk here, working constantly, I'm not focused on what you're talking about.
Christine: [00:34:18] Correct. 100%. And that's what happens, like that roller coaster that you feel you are trying to solve by putting your head down and being really focused, is the what you're actually creating by that very behaviour. So I said, I'm the blond's blind spot checker. It's like I am looking further ahead than you. I'm helping you say, yes, you're busy, but are you effective? Because it's truly a not a question for most entrepreneurs of effort, it's effectiveness. And are you seeing the runway? And we all know we have to be both the CEO and the employee in the emerging space. Right? But I said, I'm a much better CEO than I am an employee, and sometimes I need to fire my butt, which is leave the office. You're not productive. You need to change the scenery. And truthfully, this, that you're really focused on like the 10,000th website update is not going to help you find a client in the next 30 days. Go do something different. What conversations in front of you? And we're in a blind spot. We always are. We cannot see are for our own forest, for the trees. Having somebody to vet ideas with and having somebody who has a specific role to look at your runway for you and to help you see and reprioritize just creates the stability you lack. And I'm like, I tell my entrepreneur friends, I don't like being on fire. I don't like running the risk of not making payroll. I don't like chasing money for 30 days in a month. I'm like, I have a system. Money's paid in the first three days. So we're really clear. It stretches at worst. If we have late payments till the fifth day of the month, and then we don't have to debate it. Every month we have a system for how many days are we speaking? How many? What's our strategic focus? And I tell all my clients, we talk about it every session. What's your biggest rock to move your business this week, which helps you get out of the employee work and really thinking what's needed further ahead and is what I'm doing working effectively.
Sharon: [00:36:07] So do you think that's when you pull in your team for some of that? Like, what happens if you have a team? When do you pull them in to move those rocks?
Christine: [00:36:14] So I think a big part of the question becomes, what's the, what's the fastest way to create the result? And so in a case where it is the team has skill that you don't have that leverage the skill because it's faster when you've got to recognize that when you have team, you're not abdicating responsibility for communicating the goal line, communicating the lived experience and setting and holding the standards. But then it's saying, who's the best person for the job? And what I say to my team on a really regular basis is, do you have what you need to create the result that we're shooting for? And if they don't, then it's when it comes back to me and I have to think about the structure, support or training they need. But I've got to look at who has the better skills. And for the leader of anybody who has people, whether they're contractors or staff or even advocate partners, like your partners would be in the BNI circle, am I equipping them to be successful in the result I want?
Sharon: [00:37:04] Right. yeah.
Christine: [00:37:05] And, can they do something equally or better than I? And then I also have to ask myself my question what am I better at than nobody else in my team could do? And I've got to make sure I'm focused on those things.
Sharon: [00:37:15] Yep yep yep. Absolutely. We just incorporated EOS and say, yes, it's been a year now and it's been mind blowing. And it's really exciting to watch my team because you call them the LET team. But one of them is like, so she's running our production. She's the lead of our production team. So she's got people underneath her. But it's so exciting to watch her because she's very quiet and introverted. She's been with me for like six years now. She's just a little girl when she started, and it's so cool to watch her grow and expand and absorb the whole process. Like they're just invested. They do.
Christine: [00:37:48] And here's the thing. You have all permission officially from the day to day. You hear this, you have permission to win. You have the permission to be unapologetic about I want to win. And when I have team members, clients, peers say to me, I'm overwhelmed. I have a very controversial response to that. The only thing I hear is that you're not winning.
Sharon: [00:38:07] Damn it, I'm not winning.
Christine: [00:38:09] And and you're wired to win. So that's the problem. Because, you know, I said, if you are driven to an outcome, you have a fire in your belly. Do you have a lot of work? Yes. That doesn't mean you're overwhelmed.
Sharon: [00:38:21] Okay.
Christine: [00:38:22] Overwhelmed is I have a lot to do and I'm not winning to see it's worth it. So I always go back to the question with my team or clients or peers and said, all I hear is wah wah wah wah wah. I'm not winning. So I always flip the switch and said, what will it take to win? What resources do you need? What bandwidth do you need? What can I provide support. And at the end of the day, you are winning. You're just not paying attentio.
Sharon: [00:38:45] Right. Yeah, yeah. No, we're winning. We're winning. Let me lay it out like that. Yes, I do feel overwhelmed some days, especially because we have high seasons, low seasons, and I do get called in to help for different things. But yeah, no, it's exciting. It's it's exciting for sure. Okay. Are we done with that topic? Are we ready for the next one? Okay, keeping it simple. Why you don't need fancy, expensive computer programs to grow. Just good old-fashioned talking to people like networking.
Christine: [00:39:08] Yeah, I will tell you this. And it's not a popular narrative, but while business is a numbers game to a degree, like if you don't have a lead, you cannot have a offer, you cannot have a sale. So there is some basic math, but don't get lost in the conversation that it only takes one right conversation with one right person to have a one great result. And so I always tell people, get back to the basics of human-to-human conversation, communicating very clearly the outcomes you stand for. Because the tech is not your fastest path. And when I say things should be elegantly simple, it's like two things predict your revenue in 90 days, which means you don't need to do the 10,000 things you have on your to do list. If you have 10,000 tabs in your business open at any given time. You are not winning. Two things. Predict your revenue. If you do not have the revenue you want, then do less and only do these two things. And here's the kind of math I tell my clients. Two things are how many people you're meeting that are potential buyers. So again, buying behavior is the key to all of it. And how many offers did you make and what was the outcome? Because all, all offers have to have a decision, yes or no.
Christine: [00:40:19] And so if you can focus on more of the right highly qualified people and more offers, guess what? You, by natural inclination, you'll have better bottom line. So I say to people, if until you hit the number that you want, 80% of your day should be spent just on these two things, not redesigning a website, not writing a book, not doing 10,000 things because that's some day revenue and you can't afford you don't even know it someday is gonna get here, even when you're hitting the numbers you want. And you have this level of, I'm gonna say your own division of, I'm successful at this level. It's comfortable at this level. You still have to spend 50% of your time on business development because clients graduate projects will defer. And while you do not control what somebody says, yes, you can control how many people you're in front of that are buyers, and you can control how many offers you have. And here's the shocking thing: sales solves almost every problem because it funds. It funds your cashflow. It funds your ability to outsource, it funds your knowledge learning. It funds your mistakes. But don't forget, without that, you don't have a business. So I always say to people, it's actually really simple. The problem is we know it.
Sharon: [00:41:22] Isn't that the truth?
Christine: [00:41:23] And I said, but if you're not great at implementing what you know, then you need an accountability partner or a mentor who can be both your cheerleader and your ass kicker in equal measure, depending on what you need next.
Sharon: [00:41:34] So even like I have to take because again, I'm not one I my business coaches always say, look at your phone like it's green. Like that's making money. Your phone's making money. There's no way in hell I feel comfortable doing a cold call or to reaching out. I can't, I can't.
Christine: [00:41:49] You don't have to.
Christine: [00:41:50] And oh, good. And, and what I always tell people, it's, it is the most inefficient pathway to finding clients out there.
Sharon: [00:41:56] Okay, good. Because I hate it. Hate it. Yeah. I won't do it.
Christine: [00:41:59] And, and here's the thing. If you can put up a beacon in some way that says, this is who I am, this is what I stand for, and you can get loud. Your people find you, in which case you're never making a phone call. That's cold. I have people that come in to listen to. Like anybody listens to your podcast, they've already bought into something that you believe in. So you're like, do you need this service? They're already warmed to you. We don't. We do all of our stuff that's experiential. Speaking and networking are the two biggest ways we grow our business. We do do some paid ads, but when we've paid for ads, we've said we're holding an event that solves this problem. If you need that problem solved, come into the event. So I might call the person who's registered for my event, but it's not a cold call.
Sharon: [00:42:39] Right, people registered. It's a warm call.
Christine: [00:42:41] I have a known problem that they say they need. And I'm like, hi, are you going to be there on Tuesday? Because here's how you'll win if you come into the room. In which case I've never tapped out of my warm network because I'm always bringing in new people who said, I need your support. And so we don't waste time at all on cold outreach.
Sharon: [00:42:57] No. Yeah. That's something I, I could never do. Never, never, never. But there is a so the networking thing I'm getting better at. I'm, I'm a better networker.
Christine: [00:43:05] But there is a point of difference today where someone has put up their hand and said, I need help. A phone call in different generations is the best path. Texting way more effective than email? Email would be the third. But there is a place also for snail mail, postcards, physical, tangible products. You've got to think about how do I disrupt the distraction for my buyer who needs a solution but is just simply distracted?
Sharon: [00:43:28] And everybody's busy.
Christine: [00:43:29] All of us.
Sharon: [00:43:30] All of us. Like the whole world. Every customer that comes in, I talk to them. What's your pain point? Busy. Staffing. Like, it's they're flat out, flat out. And even I find for people who, because I think we're making a mirror of what you're talking about because I do do the podcast and I do network and I do, I think we built some trust out here. I hope so anyways.
Christine: [00:43:47] You are, you got three locations.
Sharon: [00:43:49] Yeah. So I think the people who maybe are thinking about coming my way, they do not have the time to send me the logos to do all that kind of stuff. Like it has to be up to me. So I have to figure out that pain point for them to make it easy for them to switch, if that makes sense.
Sharon: [00:44:04] Yeah.
Christine: [00:44:04] Because they're just too busy. I know that for a fact. They're just too busy to do all that kind of stuff.
Christine: [00:44:08] Yeah, yeah. But that's also the good thing is that's also a solvable problem. And it's like right now we have this much business when we don't solve it, but if we solved it, we create this much more. At some point you'll go, that's worth investing and solving. And I always say capacity is a solvable problem.
Sharon: [00:44:22] Okay, so...
Christine: [00:44:23] Like, you have to be thinking, we said, what's the key to an engine? Always know for every problem you solve, you're going to create an X1 and you're going to go, that's cool. This is part of the game. And I think the funny thing about the emerging entrepreneur, which is primarily who we support. It's it's this truth. If you love the problem solving, you will have a longer runway for your business.
Sharon: [00:44:44] Mhm. Okay. Yep. I 100% agree with that 100%.
Christine: [00:44:47] So it's like, what problem are we solving today? Okay. That's the that's the strategic big rock. And there's times I said, well, all of us will go, I know that could be solved, but it's just not choiceful.
Sharon: [00:44:57] And right.
Christine: [00:44:58] Sometimes we get to choose when that timeline changes track. Other times we get hit by a two by four something that's external. But it's a problem solving game. Business, by its very nature, is a business solving problems, and it's also the business of people. So that's why I said relationships, simplicity, conversation are never going to go out of style. And they're the fastest path to every outcome you need because it's the most direct feedback loop you can get.
Sharon: [00:45:23] That's even like, so if someone comes up to me, I'll figure it out. I'll get it. And that's just my attitude. It's just, I'll get it. And it's so true. And I think you need to have that. I never thought that's an entrepreneurial trait, but it is 100%. Yes. Okay. The power of one. What's your secret sauce?
Christine: [00:45:37] So I always talk about in my clients a cascade, right? A waterfall. So we solve leads, we lead to sales, we solve sales, we lead to systems. Nothing happens. Great, because you're selling a unicorn. It happens by the one drop of the waterfall. That gets compounded into changing everything. So to me, I always say to people, I want you to make one commitment, get off zero. I've got to solve problems. But today nothing is served. If I stay at zero and everyone talks about the one problem percent compounded is this mathematical wizardry. It's the eighth wonder of the world. But nobody really talks about how do you get the 1%? Well, I'll tell you how to get there. A commitment to get off zero. What's the one thing that needs to be done? And as an entrepreneur specifically, what's my fastest path to cash? Because if I'm leading, either self as a solopreneur or a team, if I'm a leader of people or advocates or partners, my number one responsibility is the survivability of the organization, which is where's my income producing activity? What's the biggest rock I need to do to focus on that? And how do I win that today?
Sharon: [00:46:33] Mhm.
Christine: [00:46:34] Focus on the one thing because you have to constantly triage and you need to triage today activity, which is path to cash path to cash because sales solves almost everything.
Sharon: [00:46:44] One thing I started doing, and just because my iOS, he told me to, the guy told me to. Clarity breaks. Yeah, they work. They do work. I thought it was hocus pocus and I kind of didn't want to do it.
Christine: [00:46:54] And now you see it. They work well and I do it in my business. I take quarterly CEO days and they're typically half days, truthfully, but I have them built up for the year. And those are not current project days. They don't take the to do list. It's not a catch up day. It's not a in the weeds business. I check with number one, what's my direction? Number 2 am i plan where I want to play number three. Am I liking the newest clients that have been coming into our business? Because that tells me if my marketing and messaging is accurately serving who I want to serve and I go, what am I proud of? And because I'm a person who also says I'm a leader, it's a play date and a reward day. So I like spa. Next Friday or two Fridays go. At the end of the month, we're going to go to Vernon, to the Sparkling Hills Resort, and I get a half day, which is private time in the quiet room, a spa service. And I said, this is me checking in as a CEO. Do I love the life I'm building? What am I proudest of and what's the next 90 days? What's the runway? What am I focused on? What's the biggest thing I'm going to want to say is success by my measure.
Sharon: [00:47:52] That's brilliant.
Christine: [00:47:53] It's not the to do list. I tell all my clients, I want you to have a quarterly CEO day. You could do them more frequently. I just happen to choose quarterly because it works for me as a rhythm. And every client who eventually says, I know you've talked about this for months and does it, they're like, oh my God, I need more of these.
Sharon: [00:48:08] It would be good. So even so, what I found with my clarity breaks when I say I started doing them. I think I've done three. So...
Christine: [00:48:14] Good job.
Sharon: [00:48:14] I gotta stay on it. First day I was like, what do I even think about? Like, I literally like, like, I literally was like deflated and I had my notepad because I'm supposed to have my notepad and my pen and I'm ready and it's blank. I asked, so you say you go to the CEO. You go to your quarterly CEO event. So you already have kind of a list in your head of what your first thing is.
Christine: [00:48:34] You know, first thing is like, where am I winning? What's my proudest moment in the last 90 days? What gets me super excited? How are my clients winning? What I love about the current clients I'm serving, what do I love about the opportunities I've been part of, the rooms I'm part of? So I'm like, it's very much big picture of what do I want more of? Not what do I hate and what give me draining energy. And yes, there is an audit of that, but I don't start there. I start with this simple goal because it's my number one goal for the year is how do I love my life even more?
Sharon: [00:49:03] That's beautiful.
Christine: [00:49:04] And so the CEO conversation is the business is just one aspect of it. But I'm like, I don't do this for the economics. Truthfully, I don't need to, but I do it because it's like, it is super fun watching entrepreneurs build their dreams. And it's super fun to sit front row in their dreams. And so it's like, am I playing in a way that feels like oxygen? And so that's another question you could ask is like, what feels like oxygen in my business right now? It's expansive, it's energetic, I enjoy it and make a note around. I want more of that.
Sharon: [00:49:30] Okay, I like it. And then it's also I like it a lot.
Christine: [00:49:33] One of the things I don't like doing, it's like, well, how can I change that? Remove it, eliminate it or outsource it? Okay, great. Well, that's a project. I don't solve it in the day. I make note of it in the silence and I put that in the okay, that goes into next week's, you know, regular meeting rotation. But here's also the really important thing, my friends, please always budget this. Like if you were in the world of corporate, you would have a budget for team training rewards. I don't care if you're a solopreneur. I have a line item CEO days and I don't take them in my office. I like, I'm an introvert, so I don't want to also play with anybody on my CEO day. So no, I go to a coffee shop. I've never tried and bring a, I have a specific notebook for it. So it's again, not my daily task, of the same energy. I also go to the spa because I love that and I create the space, but I have funded it.
Sharon: [00:50:25] Right.
Christine: [00:50:25] So I also say there's no point not using that money.
Sharon: [00:50:28] Yeah, yeah.
Christine: [00:50:29] So Christine, that time does not get moved. Absolutely.
Sharon: [00:50:32] Love it so much.
Christine: [00:50:33] The sky is falling from a personal perspective. So, you know, we have a family need.
Sharon: [00:50:38] Yeah.
Christine: [00:50:39] It changes the game, but nothing moves it for business. Nothing.
Sharon: [00:50:43] Okay. Giving back this is really important. I think it's hugely important. Anyways, let's talk about giving back. Yeah.
Christine: [00:50:48] You know. You got to remember two things. You're a work in progress and so is everybody around you. And it's important to say, where can I give from what I've learned and how do I structure that? So for us, we do giving it a couple different ways. We think about, we take a percentage of our revenue and give back to causes we care about. We also think back, how can I bring skills and expertise and give back in a way that's structured? So for us, like the podcast, is a give back, there's no revenue for it. It is designed. My podcast. When I started, it was designed entirely for me to find people my clients should hire. When they, when they built the foundations that I have helped them with, they're going to want to add gasoline so they don't know how to hire that, but I know how to hire it. So maybe I could vet that for them. So the podcast in many ways was a gift back to my clients. And it's also a bit of both a love letter and a asskicking to my clients. Because if they're facing a problem, I'm like, I'm going to record an episode for you. And then you always have this in your ear and you always have a way to tune this back. But it is intentional about, I'm a work in progress and there's somebody behind me. How can I reach and support them too, and decide what that looks like from a capacity point of view and make it a non-negotiable. And so you've got to remember that you should do things in your business because they feel good.
Sharon: [00:52:00] Yeah, 100%. I agree.
Christine: [00:52:02] And I always say to my clients, 30% of your day gets to be completely irrational because it's fun and creative and it gives back to you and to others around you. How are you spending it? Because again, there's no point at being at the end of the period and you didn't do it. Yeah. So I think it's important that we we're intentional with that.
Sharon: [00:52:18] I like the idea of the proceeds, like the percentage of it and the podcast. Um, for sure, different ways to find out how what you're saying is find out your capability of giving back. Yeah. It's important.
Christine: [00:52:29] And so we have, we have the podcast, which I said, we, we give a percentage of our proceeds to veterans because my husband and my brother are veterans and I care greatly about that community and I want to find ways to support them. We also will give back, you know, to people that are building something like I might come and bring, I'm going to say my influence to somebody else's stage because I know that their client who's just starting. And we also run like an event series where people keep saying to me, I can't believe people don't have to pay to get in the door. And I'm like, because if you can take this and run with it, I see that as a give back.
Sharon: [00:53:00] Right? Yeah.
Christine: [00:53:01] Wait, so we don't, we only sell a VIP offer, which is $100, you know, your ticket was free. There'll still be 30% of people that are like, I'm ready to roll. And I'm like, $97 is the smartest investment you can get. You got all kinds of access. But I do it because if I can help curate the table, that helps you win. I know that ripple is really big because I want to see more entrepreneurs win. Like people that spend time spinning their wheels break my heart.
Sharon: [00:53:27] It's it's disheartening. I always say it's, you're just buying yourself a job. And it's, it's hard. It's hard.
Christine: [00:53:32] And there becomes a time when you're like, I'm no longer wanting to buy myself a job because sometimes buying a job is amazing. I mean, I'm a great boss. And so I'm yeah, yeah. And I, I remember to this day, my mother still ask, like, are you making any money on your business? I'm like, oh, for the love of God, when are you gonna stop asking me that? Don't know when it is because it hasn't happened yet. But I said, you know, let's be clear. I gave myself a higher salary than I was ever paid corporately as an employee.
Sharon: [00:53:53] Right.
Christine: [00:53:54] But there comes a time and place where you're like, I don't think I want a job anymore. I think I want a business that actually sustains beyond its reliance on me. And when you do make that shift, you're gonna need somebody to show you how. So you got great EOS team. I love that program and platform. I like what they do. And other people will choose mentors that just say, okay, I need that too, because you don't know how to do that yet. Oh, you don't, but you might choose. And if you choose, get support to get it effectively implemented.
Sharon: [00:54:19] I reached out to my business coach many years ago, and I was in business for a few years, and it was to the point where I was like, Holy doodles, I don't know if I can do this. When oil crashed, I just bought a second location and it was absolute chaos. And I thought about it. Actually, I didn't even know because this was back in 2000, probably around 2015, I'm guessing. And the whole business coaching thing wasn't that known yet like it was. But I mean, it was like, now you can get a coach for almost everything or a mentor for almost everything. But back then it wasn't. And I was listening to a book. It's, um, you are a badass by Jen Sincero. It's one of my go-to books. And, uh, she was talking about having a coach that she didn't have a dime to spend, but she got a coach and it changed her life. And on, on she went. So I was like, okay, I'm going to research that business coach. I was like, dang, I was out for my walk with my anyway. So I get back and I punch in my computer business coach and Jared pops up from Calgary. Close enough. That's great. Read the reviews which we talked about how important they are. There was somebody that left a review that is actually my supplier in our industry and the promotional products world. So I reached out to her, I says, hey, I see blah, blah, blah, Sharon, you'll never turn back. I had them, I think for in excess of five years. But with that being said, before I made that phone call, I had a call from my mom saying that she's got lung cancer and I'm in Alberta. She's in Manitoba. And I thought to myself, how can I go out there and spend two weeks or three weeks after surgery with her when I am the business?
Christine: [00:55:39] I remember that day. I had a similar day.
Sharon: [00:55:42] And then I phoned up. That's when I say, I'm going to take this leap. I can't afford it. I don't know what I'm doing. And obviously in business and in life. And I reached out to him and it was a game-changer.
Christine: [00:55:52] I'm glad because I remember, you know, we had a I have aging parents. I'm at that age and my mother-in-law fell and, uh, they had to make the decision to terminate her life because she had a brain aneurysm. And I had just onboarded three new clients that week, private clients. So they had hired me, they didn't hire my business. They hired me. And the first phone call after the service was to my coach that said, I can't be in this circumstance when my parents go,
Sharon: [00:56:18] No.
Christine: [00:56:19] And because my coach, I did have one at the time said, because you're a good person and you have good people who hired you, they will care that you've lost a parent. Or in this case, it was a mother-in-law, but they'll care for about a week because after that they spent big money. They're scared about to get a result, and they can't delay that result because you're not capable of delivering service. Right? So she said, and so I the first phone call I had made was to my coach at the time said, my business has to look dramatically different in a year. And he's like, you're one of the only people on the planet I know who would have that light bulb go off in that trajectory, happen quickly. And he's like, and that's why your business accelerates at the rate it does, because we make decisions and we move, we make decisions and move. And it's not about the decision being perfect. It's about how do I make this right? And for you, you're that's what I'm hearing from you. It's like, this was this was a period where the investment was, I have to make it right because I don't want to stay where I am. And was it perfect? No. But you also took a pathway five years in the making, which I applaud because people need to hear that too. It's not a Band-Aid. If you need open heart surgery to change something fundamental in your life or your business or your structure, it is not a Band-Aid. Stop looking for them because trust me, somebody will sell you one.
Sharon: [00:57:26] Yeah. They will.
Christine: [00:57:27] I'm not a Band-Aid. I'm open heart surgery.
Sharon: [00:57:29] So, yeah. Anyways, he's changed my life. I was able to go out and spend time with my mom. And we have systems in place now, and we've morphed to like, I like that. And so I do believe that we need help. Damn it. We need help. And don't be shy to ask for help. Don't be that person. It's okay. It is. It's okay. Okay, so I think we're winding up here. Anything you would like to add to our for our viewers? Before we jump to my last question.
Christine: [00:57:52] I think I just want to say one thing, and it is, if you can dream it, you can build it. It doesn't mean you build it on your own. Just don't be ignorant enough. Like I always tell clients, you're the spark. I'm a fuel source. There are fuel sources out there, but you will never build what you imagine on your own. And just because you if you can see it in your brain, it's possible.
Sharon: [00:58:11] Yeah. Okay. So what is your favorite book and why?
Christine: [00:58:13] So the thing that always really reminds me is called the 12 week year. And it is all about we've talked a lot about today how I see the world in 90 day cycles. And that's what this book is built on, right? How do you see your goals in the 90 day cycle so that you don't do it the some day thing you do? The I'm operationalizing this quickly. What can I accomplish in this frame? What is the nearest pathway to the outcome? And if you read that book and I usually read it every couple of years, I haven't read it this year yet, but it really helps remind me you're moving slower and you can move quickly. If you simply look at what are the milestones I'm chasing. Stop looking for a unicorn. Look for the next one.
Sharon: [00:58:50] Do you find. I find it a little bit in business too, and I think that kind of is like the book. So because I've had, you know, I met with my business coach over the years and I have different books because it was a separate book from my business coach, and I'd make notes and stuff, and I had all these ideas and situations. It's not a vision board per se, but sometimes I flip through it and it's like, oh, accomplished. Yes, accomplished. Like you don't even know you're moving forward if you don't look back either, or if you don't have those goals written down, you need to do that.
Christine: [00:59:17] I feel you do because, you know, it always feels like you're in the foothills.
Sharon: [00:59:21] Mhm.
Christine: [00:59:21] Like when you're building because the mountain just gets bigger or the goal gets bigger, or the vision gets bigger and it shifts and it morphs. And so there's a chance of that. You really don't see clearly the milestones. And we're terrible. That's why I also said it. I have a budget for play. I have a budget for reward. And we have a real habit. And if anybody follows me on social media, you'll see like we toast champagne whenever we have a win and client signing a major client moment. We are built with that and we're budgeted for it. And part of that habit is because I've watched so many people work so hard and still feel I didn't get there or I didn't do enough. And I'm like, you forgot all the stacked wins that got you here.
Sharon: [01:00:04] You do forget the stacked wins. So I think taking the wins and the celebrations are so important. That's one thing I probably don't do is celebrate enough. But...
Christine: [01:00:11] But you will.
Christine: [01:00:13] Book helps you do that because it's like I actually again, I can see my measure of progress because you're constantly really looking at it with again, proximity.
Sharon: [01:00:21] Mhm. Well, thank you for that. I'm going to. So 12 year, 12 week year. And who's the author? Do you know, off the top of your noggin or.
Christine: [01:00:27] I don't know, off the top of my noggin?
Sharon: [01:00:28] No, that's fine. I'll research it. I'll Google it. It'll have it. It's fine. Okay. So can you tell our listeners how to get Ahold of you?
Christine: [01:00:35] I can, this is super simple, and I want you to see how simple this is. So my name is Christine Campbell Rapin, and guess where you can find me. Christine Campbell Rapin on every social platform. And my website is christinecampbellrapin.com. And you're thinking, what was the second last name? Rapin R-A-P-I-N.
Sharon: [01:00:50] Rapin. Awesome. Okay, fantastic. And I know I was on your website. There's lots of information on there, So definitely go on there. Um, and your podcasts are on there as well. I've seen, and if they don't follow you on LinkedIn, I would highly recommend to follow Christine on LinkedIn as well. Okay, so our after our podcast, it'll our notes, it'll have all these links as well for our listeners.
Christine: [01:01:10] Perfect.
Sharon: [01:01:10] So I really appreciate you coming and helping me today with our listeners. I learned a lot from you, and I think I'll be in touch again, because I think that you and I have similarities in life. So thank you. Thank you so much for joining us. If we've hit a learning curve lately or have a question you're dying to ask, please reach out to us. We love hearing your stories because let's face it, we've all tripped over the same hurdles. So if you have a story, if you have a hurdle out there, please reach out to us. Either we can find somebody that can talk about it, or maybe you'd like to join us on our podcast. We'd love to have you on a podcast as well to any of our listeners. Until next time, stay curious, stay adaptable, and keep lifting each other higher. Thank you so much for joining us, Christine.
Christine: [01:01:46] Yeah, it's my pleasure.