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Hosted by Steve Phipps of Wayfind Marketing, The Growth-Minded Marketing Podcast simplifies marketing for B2B CEOs ready to grow with confidence. Each episode offers real-world strategies, step-by-step coaching, and inspiring CEO interviews—all designed to help you align your marketing with your business goals, stop wasting time and money, and scale without the stress. If you’re a growth-minded leader tired of vague advice and underperforming tactics, this is your next step.
Douglas: I guess to me business is
the ultimate arena to do meaningful
work, with others and for others.
I kind of think that might.
Even be a little bit, the secret
to success is a willingness
to help other people.
Steve: That quote really
resonated with me.
It's from a recent conversation that I
had with my friend and fellow CEO Douglas
Skipworth and the way that he framed
business, not just as a way to generate
revenue and profit, but as an arena for
doing meaningful work with and for people.
That really stuck with me because
the longer I've led a business and
talked with others who do, the more
that I have seen that to be true.
When we lead with purpose and we
serve others well, growth becomes
about more than just numbers.
It's about something
sustainable and fulfilling.
And Douglass has built multiple
companies serving real estate
investors, owners and tenants.
But what ties them all
together is his mindset.
He is building to serve and to help
and he's creating opportunities for
others on his team to do the same.
He's building something that lifts people
up and that's his version of success, and
that's the kind of leadership that scales.
AnnieLaurie: You are listening to
the Growth Minded Marketing podcast.
I'm Annie Laurie Walters, joined
by our host Steve Phipps, president
and CEO of way find marketing.
on this podcast, we have practical
conversations to help simplify
marketing for CEOs and their teams.
And we also sit down with CEOs who are
applying these principles in the real
world, leaders who are aligning their
strategy, clarifying their message,
and building purpose driven businesses.
Steve: And Douglas is
one of those leaders.
He's built a group of companies focused
on real estate services, everything
from property management to staffing,
and he's done it with the strong
foundation of purpose and clarity.
AnnieLaurie: What really stood out to
me in this interview is how consistently
he returns to this idea of service,
not just servicing clients, but
serving his team and his community.
That mindset is shaping everything that
he's doing from how he's growing his
business, to how he does his marketing,
and every outcome that flows from that.
Steve: Exactly, and if you are a CEO
or an owner trying to lead through
growth without losing your footing,
this conversation has a ton of insight.
Let's get to it.
AnnieLaurie: Here's Steve's
conversation with Douglas Skipworth.
Steve: Welcome to the Growth-Minded
Marketing podcast, I am really
excited about today's guest.
So have with me today.
Douglas Skipworth and Douglas
owns several companies, all with
a kind of a real estate type bent.
And I'm gonna let Douglass share more
about who he is and what he does.
But Douglass and I got
connected probably about.
Six or seven years ago, and I think
it was through C 12, it was through
Kevin Wilkins and who connected us.
Yep.
And anyway.
Right.
So Douglas, welcome to the podcast.
Why don't you tell our listeners a little
bit about who you are and the companies
that you have and what you guys do.
Douglas: Yeah, thanks Steve.
It's great to be here.
My name's Douglas Skipworth.
I own several companies that help
real estate investors buy finance
and take care of their properties.
So you know how real estate investors
are always looking for good deals,
reliable help and easy money.
Our companies provide real estate,
brokerage, property management, hard
money lending and general contracting
to residential real estate investors in
Memphis and throughout the Mid-South.
Do you know anybody who owns rentals
or flips houses, that's who we help.
So if they need a realtor, a property
manager, a general contractor, or a
lender, that's kind of what we do.
Steve: So you have an interesting
story, so I know now you, you have
this collection of companies that Yep.
That are individual yet related.
Yes.
But where did you get your start?
Because that you didn't start out with.
Five or six companies, however
many is in the group right now.
But where did you get started?
Douglas: Yeah.
The short answer is I got into real
estate investing myself to lay a
foundation upon which I could build a
long lasting and people serving business,
which ironically became a business
that helps real estate investors.
So the longer version of the story goes
back to 1983 in Shreveport, Louisiana,
when a scrappy third grade basketball
team won A-Y-M-C-A championship.
I love the fact that
Steve: you're taking this
back to the eighties.
Like, this is great, this
is gonna be a good story.
Douglas: Yeah.
Well, as corny as it sounds, that
really set me on a love of accomplishing
meaningful missions with teammates.
And so I hoped it would lead
to a great NBA career as a
point guard like John Stockton.
But in high school I ended up a
little too short and too slow.
So in college I studied
organizational leadership.
I thought it might be a, you know,
a position in the church because
there's hardly a better mission than
doing God's work with God's people.
but before I got the call,
I saw the light of business.
Okay.
Yeah.
You see, I fell in love with a
Memphis girl and realize I needed
a steady job to support my lady.
Steve: That does require finances.
Yes.
Yes.
I can attest to that.
Douglas: Yes.
Yeah, that the, what they
said, the R romance without
the finance is a damn nuisance.
So,
Steve: I haven't heard that before,
but that's a great description.
Douglas: That's flipping back to
the old eighties with in basketball
and listening to Big Daddy Kane.
Yeah, there
Steve: you go.
Douglas: But so I'm
telling you, this is great.
Steve: We're getting all
kinds of cultural references.
There you go.
This is great.
Douglas: So I wanted to learn all
I could about business, and so I
got a position with a commercial
bank here in Memphis back in 96.
And I've been with a commercial bank.
And I've been lending, underwriting
and borrowing ever since because
yeah, I guess to me business is
the ultimate arena to do meaningful
work with others and for others.
So I kinda, I kind of think that might.
Even be a little bit, the secret
to success is a willingness
to help other people.
So you kinda help yourself
by helping others.
So that's really kind of the impetus
in jumping off as to how I got
into real estate investing because.
As I got in into the banking world, I
realized I wanted to be on the other
side of the table instead of just the
advise, or I wanted it to be the advisee.
Okay?
And so again, I saw real estate investing
as an opportunity to lay that foundation.
And then I was gonna figure out
a business, but I knew that real
estate investing could provide
some cash flow and some assets.
Steve: For your lady and so
Douglas: for my lady and for the future
businesses and everything in the future.
Steve: Yeah.
So, so you're in banking, you're
interacting with real estate
investors, you realize that's
something you want to be doing.
So what, so you leave the
bank and you start investing.
Douglas: Yes.
Is
Steve: that kind of what it looked like?
Douglas: I sorta and that we, I left
out a couple stops where through the
bank I got into accounting and finance.
Mm-hmm.
And then was working, kind of left
that and was working in real estate
technology, underwriting loans, working
for banks with valuing collateral
doing automated valuations model.
Ken, if you think of Zillow, before
Zillow is what we were doing.
Yeah.
If so I learned a lot about real estate
investing and said, Hey, this is an
opportunity to do this on the side
while we're growing this business and.
That's when I was like, oh man, now
there's an opportunity to manage property
for other people that would generate a fee
so I could help manage my own property.
Those friends and family who we
were started managing for needed
help buying rental property.
So we started a brokerage, so this is
all Crest Realty, so Cresco Property
Management, Cresco Realty, and Down three.
So that was the
Steve: first.
That was the first company.
Was the, that was the
Douglas: first company was Cresco Realty.
We were doing property management
and real estate brokerage.
Still do.
And
Steve: so when did you start Cresco?
Douglas: Oh, we started third
party management in 2009.
Okay.
And then Cresco came about officially
excited to get a real estate
license and then a broker license.
So it took three years for me.
2012 is when CREST score started.
Steve: All right.
So 2009, you jump in.
2012 is when the company
officially launches.
Douglas: Yeah.
2007 is when I when I say
2003 to oh seven, I was kind
of buying rentals on my own.
Okay.
And it was 2009, we started helping
other people buy and manage.
Yeah.
So we started like, Hey, this is when
the business became the, when the idea
became a business, you know, on its own.
Okay.
Steve: So 2012.
You launched Cresco.
Yes.
So, so gimme a high level view.
What does it look like?
Because I mean, we're
talking what, 13 years?
Douglas: Yes.
Steve: And so you went from one company
to now a, you know, a group of companies.
Douglas: We, we got a group
of companies that help again,
the real estate investors.
And it was all, what do we need?
What do our investors need?
The first thing they needed after property
management was to buy and sell properties.
Okay.
That's the brokerage.
And then we were using
independent contractors.
Chuck in a truck to, to help
us take care of the properties
and you'll appreciate this.
Chuck in a truck becomes two chucks in a
truck and then it becomes a cluster chuck.
Yeah.
As, yeah, so managing a bunch of
independent contractors was too much, so
we started our own maintenance company.
Steve: Okay, so, so it's, so you're
growing, it's add on bringing,
know more clients and you're just
seeing that these are needs that
you are wanting and needing to meet.
And so really you're starting
these businesses as a means of just
continuing to extend what you're doing.
And really, like you said, I mean, when
you're using a bunch of independent
contractors, I mean, you don't
have a lot of control there at all.
So that's exactly, so what was
that doing to your investors and
the folks you're managing for?
What is that doing to
that experience for them?
When it was the contractors,
Douglas: Like I said it, it became
a, it came, it became a cluster
just because you lose control of
the contractors and the process and.
The cost can get outta hand,
the quality can get outta hand,
the timing can get outta hand.
The ser the good old service triangle if
you know the speed, cost, and quality.
Yeah.
And you just lose, you lose control
of those three variables, which
are so important in in, in all
businesses, but especially in a service
business like property management.
So that's where City Light.
We had Cresco Realty, Cresco Property
Management, and we'd started City Light
because we thought, oh, maybe we'll
do work for other property management
companies, other real estate brokerages,
and we don't know if Cresco Maintenance
is gonna do work for Cry like, or
for Keller Williams, since we're in
some ways competitive with clients.
So.
It's all just extensions
of customer service.
It's a little bit of a vertical
integration and kind of controlling the
process and bringing more systems to the
process as well as more control to the
process, more consistency to the process.
Steve: Okay, so, so you now have a
maintenance group and of course we've had
the opportunity to work with y'all in a
couple of capacities with Core Assist.
And we've had a chance that
y'all have been our client.
We are now your client.
Oh, right on.
That's right.
And so, you know, talk a little
bit about how you get into this.
Placement service that
you're now doing for folks?
Douglas: Yeah, so we zip, so we zipped
through, we started lending because
we had some clients who couldn't
they were international clients
and they couldn't borrow locally.
And then we had some people who were
credit challenged, think medical
bankrupt, medical bills, bankruptcies,
divorce, something that made
them hard to finance at the time.
And so we became a lender.
By borrowing from our
relationships to lend to them
and just capturing the spread.
So again, continuing to help the
investors and as we did that.
We all of a sudden had kind of a
scale in our business and there was
a lot of properties were managed,
a lot of people we were helping.
And so we turned to a company to help
us called Business Process Outsourcing.
And so we would send our utility
bills 'cause there are a lot of
properties that have utility bills
and we would send 'em overnight and
they would get processed in India.
And then they come back.
But the team that processed 'em was
nameless and faceless, and so that was
great, but it was also difficult to build
any kind of rapport and relationship.
And we said, man, it would
be really nice if we had it.
A person dedicated to us, not
just this nameless, faceless team.
And so we found a company that would
help us find a dedicated remote team
member, virtual assistant someone
to work outside of our office.
Yeah, and we got some
dedicated, that worked great.
And all of a sudden we started
adding more and more dedicated remote
team members to the point where.
There were so many, we thought, man,
maybe we should do this just for
ourselves because we have these sister
companies that we could have our own
little placement agency servicing these
different, our own internal companies.
And so we did that, oh, maybe 2018.
And.
Like anything.
If you have something
good, other people want it.
And so C 12 and Vistage and some of
these other groups that we were a
part of said, Hey, sounds like y'all
have got something that's working.
We'd sure like to try that too.
And so.
That's when it became a outsourcing
placement agency for for others
besides just our group of companies.
Yeah.
And it became core assist yes.
To help assist other companies with
their virtual needs their remote
staffing, virtual staffing needs.
So that's been great and we've
loved working with wayfind on that.
So it's been a lot of fun 'cause Well,
Steve: We've had a great experience.
We just onboarded a team member this week.
Actually, and she's been awesome.
Fantastic.
And so, we get to be the beneficiary
of an opportunity that you saw
and turned into a business.
Douglas: Yeah, well, as you can tell,
it's like I'm really good at planning
and organizing and I've kind of got
some super skill, strong skills around
operations, customer service, finance
but I tend to overcomplicate things.
Attempt to attempt
multiple things at once.
Tend to maybe to keep my own division
in my head and not communicate it.
Well.
So after we started these companies,
we didn't necessarily communicate
this vision clearly to the team, which
caused a lot of internal confusion.
But then also there was
some external confusion.
And so.
Because of our strength, our natural
strengths over here, and then our
natural areas where we're gonna
mess things up or our weaknesses.
Then we obviously needed some
marketing and sales type of help.
And that's kind of where we
came to Wayfind initially with
choruses to help us simplify that
message, clarify that message.
Because as you can even hear
in this story and we can maybe.
Save it to the end, but we're engaging
you again to help us do some more
redesign simplifying, clarifying
position ourselves in the marketplace
with some brand architecture to get
the fancy, to get the fancy marketing
Steve: term.
Well, and I love the fact that we're
getting to work with you guys because.
You know, is I started wayfind little
over 10 years ago and one of the things
that to me is really important is,
yes, we help people with marketing
and communication but really, I mean,
our mission is we wanna help other
companies do more good and, yep.
One of the things that I've heard you
say several times in this conversation,
okay is people serving like you said at
the get go you wanted to do something.
You saw an opportunity through
business to serve people and.
Having a team that is working together.
You know, you mentioned that idea of
obviously in the context of a church
or, you know, going back to third
grade in Louisiana, the early eighties.
Yeah.
You know, in your John Stockton days.
Yeah.
There you go.
And.
But just that love of having a
team of people and doing something
that, you know, is gonna have
some sort of a positive impact.
It's, I would love to just take a
minute and unpack that a little bit.
Like what does that look like
for you through your businesses,
how you work with your team?
Douglas: Wow.
That's great.
Yeah, serving people is important.
That, I mean, it's part of
our, we our core values.
You know, we always care, CARE and
it's character, it's accountability,
it's results and it's energy.
But one of, one of the things
we talk about is really like it,
the business we're in is like.
We love the city.
We love real estate and
we love helping people.
And if you don't love those three things
or two of those three things, it's gonna
be hard to work with us because the
cities we work in the real estate we do
and serving people it's just who we are.
I mean, if you know, some
of it is faith-based.
You know, one of my favorite, you
know, new Testament verses is Mark
10 45 where it says Jesus didn't come
to be served, but to serve and to
give his life as a ransom for many.
So we are here to serve.
And we believe that.
But we also kind of along those lines,
Steve: want
Douglas: to serve each other, not
just the clients, and not just, and
we work with a lot of rental property.
So we work with a lot of residents and
tenants, and so we wanna provide a good
experience for them, but internally, we
wanna have a team that's working together.
I, you know, I play point guard
kind of men as we mentioned, and
so I love letting everybody shine.
That's kind of the role of the point
guard, and that's something that we
as a, has surrounded ourselves with.
Similar like-minded folks who are here
to, you know, to do more for others.
Oh, back to that.
You know, it's, maybe it's a little
some might think it's a little hokey,
you know, the Enneagram, you know, but
I'm a Enneagram three, wing two, so
it's like I love to accomplish things,
you know, I love to help people and so
that is a lot of what we do around here.
Steve: So I wanna dig into
this a little bit more, please.
Sure.
There's a couple of things here.
Now you mentioned a little while ago,
as you guys have grown there, there's
been some confusion internally and
externally and that'll get to, I
definitely we'll come back to what
you mentioned a little while ago, and
that's getting consistency of messaging
both internally and externally.
But really I think for CEOs
who are listening, I just wanna
reiterate sort of the subtext
of what I'm hearing from you is.
A key part of this is obviously
you have a clear vision, a mission,
a desire for this to not just be
something that generates revenue.
So you can take your wife out
on nice dates, but it's, this is
something to impact the people.
You're ser, you're serving the residents,
your team investors, et cetera.
I mean, there's a number of
different people that You'all serve.
Douglas: Yep.
Steve: But I'm also hearing
within that, that there's an
importance of one understanding.
Your own strengths and weaknesses.
And so what I wanna bring into this
conversation for a moment and of course
as you've already mentioned, we've
had the opportunity to work together
and we've had a lot of interaction
with Matt Jones who's your president?
President, COO.
Yep.
And so, you know, in the context
of, do you guys, I can't remember,
do you guys do EOS and traction?
We do.
We absolutely do.
Okay.
All right, perfect.
So, so you're, this is, you and I are
gonna be on the same page here then.
So in terms of leadership, I think
about the visionary and the integrator.
And so is it safe to say,
Douglas, that you're visionary
and Matt's the integrator?
Douglas: Yeah.
Very safe to say.
Yeah.
Steve: So how, what impact has that had
on your company to once you brought him
in, once you got those roles clarified.
What impact did that have on your
business as far as growing it and
really fulfilling your mission?
Douglas: Oh man.
You, that's, it's been amazing.
We're so thankful.
We've got a great working relationship.
We both get to play in our strength
areas, and we just brought a lot
of clarity and calm to the team.
A and to the, you know, the services
that we're providing because.
Again, people are playing
to their strengths.
We think of unique ability, the way people
are wired up, things that they're good at,
and try to make the weaknesses irrelevant
by allowing people to pick up the slack.
And so we've been able to implement
a lot of what we dreamed of and able
to really make it up, make it real.
So making it so, so we'd like to think
of it, like, make it up, make it real.
Make it recur.
So, or make it repeatable.
And so it's like, okay, we can make it up.
You know?
I guess it takes a certain skillset,
but most CEOs can make it up.
Steve: Yeah.
Yeah.
Douglas: And a lot of entrepreneurs
can make it real because they've got
the energy and the vision to make it
real, but making it recur, making it
systematized, making it happen over
and over with more and more excellence.
Isn't always the CEO or an
entrepreneur or a founder, strong suit.
So to have a team and to have other
people to take that and that's their
strength area has been incredible.
So we've done one thing, we've also
done a lot of around this is like.
I alluded to the Enneagram,
but we've used Culture Index.
Mm-hmm.
We've used Enneagram, we've
used some other, the Clifton
strengths, the 34 strengths.
Yeah.
So we've used any tool we can, the five
Love languages, I mean, you name it.
We're trying to understand ourselves
and our teams so we can all play to
our strengths and rely on one another.
Steve: So a point that I want to
make here for our listeners is.
Growing a business is a holistic
endeavor, and it's not just
having a solid marketing plan.
It's not just having a clear sales
process and great salespeople.
It, the business itself, it the
structure, the leadership it's.
I know businesses that can grow, but
internally, they're just a cluster.
They're, they are just an absolute mess.
And so I think really the challenge
and the goal is growing, but growing
in a way that's healthy and you know,
so I love what you guys have done.
It is that recognition of.
As the CEO, you have certain things that
you're good at, casting the vision, you
said the customer service and then having
others on your team who bring their
strengths to the table so that, again,
you get this, it's putting all the puzzle
pieces together and so I think it's just
important as the CEOs are thinking about.
How you're growing your business.
Yes, you need an effective
marketing plan and I love clarity.
We're gonna come back to that.
But you also internally, if you
don't have that alignment, if you've
got the wrong people in the wrong
seat, if everybody on your team is
confused, it's gonna very difficult.
You might be growing, but
your business isn't healthy.
And that's, yes that's not sustainable.
Douglas: That's we came through that, you
know, we wandered through the wilderness.
And before we got into the promised
land, I mean, we were out there.
Doing these things go going and
growing and the kind of things we
mentioned earlier, trying to, to boil
the ocean, trying to do it all at
once, trying to never saw a bad idea.
Squirrel, you know, chasing the squirrel.
Yeah.
The shiny object e everything
entrepreneurs, founders, you know, get
are typically are notoriously guilty of.
We, we did that.
So it took a lot of time and effort to,
step back and some humility, you know, or
some maybe you have no choice when you're
on the bottom to to look up and to when
you get knocked down to ask for a hand up.
And so that's kind of where we got
where kind of eating some humble pie.
Maybe that's a better way to say it.
Yeah.
Where we had to come to, to
way fine and be like, Hey we.
We need some help.
We aren't doing what we wanna be doing,
or we've confused ourselves and our
team and our market or, Hey, can you
help us clarify this or improve this?
Because it's not on our own.
We can't do what we want do.
Steve: Absolutely.
So, so let's go ahead and we'll
start landing the plane here.
And I wanna Okay.
Kind of wrap this up with
this whole point of clarity.
So.
Internally, getting that alignment,
as you said, in doing that you get
this clarity but let's talk about
clarity as it relates to a brand and
helping people in the marketplace
know who you are and what you do.
Because I think you've experienced
moments of clarity and as you and I have
talked, you know, and there are places
where you recognize we need more clarity.
So
Douglas: yes,
Steve: I think and I just wanna
set context here for just a minute.
The mistake that I think a lot of
companies make is they will plug
money into a marketing campaign.
They'll put it into paid ad campaigns
or whatever the initiative is, but
they overlook really a cornerstone,
and that's is what you do clear to
the people you're trying to reach.
Is it easy for them to understand?
And so again, as you said, you know,
we've worked with y'all to bring some
of that clarity and now you have sort
of a new phase of additional clarity.
So, so share, if you would, kind of your
perspective and your experience on why
clarity is important and what happens
when you get it and in thinking in
terms of the brand and the marketplace.
Douglas: Yeah, that's good.
I mean, I think.
When you don't have it, it's clunky,
it's messy, you know, it's too much.
It's unclear whether that's internally
and I heard it one time, you know, if
there's confusion in the workplace,
there's confusion in the marketplace.
Yes.
So, I, if you're not clear
internally and can't articulate
it, communicate it, share it.
Then it gets, it does it,
it gets lost in translation.
And so we, we definitely found that.
So, so one, one thing that is beneficial
of getting clar, simplifying and
getting clarity is the internal
communication improves exponentially
because you're able to communicate.
You know, you're on the same page.
Literally you're, whether you put it
on one page or you're, you know, you're
all able to sing off the song sheet.
So it, it's very helpful.
And then too, when you enter
the marketplace, you're
all saying the same thing.
So it's a lot more helpful when
you're having conversations with
prospects or existing clients.
Everybody is say, is sending the same
message, they're speaking the same
language, they're talking the same talk.
So that is really.
Been, I think the two benefits for
us the internal and the external.
And then it's, it kind of positioning
ourselves both internally and externally.
It's almost like you have two
constituents from the message.
The message has the internal clients
and the external clients, but the
message is the same and the message
is what you gotta get clear and then
communicate it well with both groups.
Steve: Yeah.
Yeah.
And I would say too that message
exists at multiple levels.
You know, I'm thinking about.
Like for a group of companies like yours
you have this overarching sort of brand
and there's a thread that runs through
all of it at a high level, but then as
you drill down into specific companies and
within those companies, specific service
lines and different things that you do.
Having that clarity becomes more
important, especially as your
companies grow or it's in anyone's
company as they grow and as the
founder, you know, nobody cares more
about your clients than you do, and.
But you don't have the capacity
to have a conversation with every
one of your clients and customers.
Yeah.
And so having that consistency makes
it much more likely that the folks
you're serving are going to have a
consistent experience because they're
hearing the same thing and your team
is on the same page like you said.
So yeah, I think that's
incredibly important.
And so Douglas just yeah go ahead.
Well, and
Douglas: The only thing as you were
talking, one thing that reminded me also.
With both groups internal, externally,
it gives you a lot of confidence as a
leader, as a leadership team to, I mean,
it's just an internal, it's an intangible,
it's a peace of mind to know that you've
got a message that you can articulate
that resonates, that gets the response.
So there's a lot of it's an intangible,
but it's in invaluable, priceless.
It's amazing, you know.
Steve: I love that.
And especially in organizations
where you have salespeople who are
communicating and it's not just
buying a product off of a website.
That confidence becomes
incredibly important because
your buyers, your prospects, your
customers, they pick up on that.
Yeah.
So, Douglas, just to as we wrap this
up what's one piece of advice based on,
maybe it's something that we've already
talked about, maybe it's something else
that we haven't touched on yet, but.
What piece of advice would you give to
that founder, that, that CEO, who they are
working to build and scale their company?
From your experience, what would
you share with them that you think
would be really important for them
to know as they grow their company?
Douglas: Yeah, I think, I mean,
to continue with the theme of
the clarity in simplifying.
Whether that's the marketing message,
but even back before that, and we
alluded to EOS or referenced it, you
know, getting clear on the vision,
getting clear on the target market,
getting clear on the core values,
getting clear on the purpose, your niche.
So just getting that clarity again, not
only does it get the team on the same
page, it gives you a lot of confidence.
It makes things repeatable and scalable.
It, it improves.
Your receptivity to the market.
I mean, the market, you know, they
are way more receptive to a unifying
and clarified message, clarifying
message, not a confusing message.
You, we've learned that.
So clar I mean, clarity
is cash is king, yes.
But clarity is king.
You know, for sure.
So, however, clarify everything and
simplify everything at the same time.
Steve: Fantastic.
I love that.
And you know, I think it's just.
To close.
On that note, man, clarity and
simplicity are beautiful things, but
folks don't need to underestimate the
amount of work and time and energy
that goes into getting there because if
it was easy, everybody would have it.
But as you and I both
know, a lot of folks don't.
And so I love the fact that you guys have.
You guys have and are continuing to
put in the time and the effort and
the resources to get that clarity for
your internal team, for your existing
customers and those that you are gonna
have opportunity to serve in the future.
Douglas: Yeah.
You said it well.
I mean, we are, we're still refining it,
still revising it, still working on it.
It's a never ending work in process,
so trying to make it better.
Steve: Fantastic.
Douglas, thank you so
much for joining me today.
I had a blast picked up.
This was great.
Some fun phrases.
Oh.
Douglas: Yes, it was fun.
Steve: But thank
Douglas: you
Steve: man.
Looking forward to having more
conversations with you in the future
and thanks again for joining us.
Douglas: Yeah, absolutely.
Just gonna leave it with,
if anybody wants to connect.
Yes, they can, you know,
connect, where can they find
Steve: you?
Douglas: Yeah, LinkedIn is a great one.
And then my link tree is just, you know,
link tre slash skipworth and that's got
a link to all the websites, got a link
to some of my con all the contact info,
so, can put everybody in touch that away.
Steve: Fantastic.
Absolutely.
All right, thank you so much.
And we'll also make sure to include
that in the show notes so people thank
can get to you and we'll put links
to your company websites as well.
Douglas: Awesome.
Okay, man.
Thanks Steve.
Great being with you.
AnnieLaurie: Steve, that was such a great
interview and one thing that I'm thinking
about just having listened to it, is that
Douglas isn't just building companies.
He's building a mission around helping
others, and I just love how that
purpose is showing up in showing
through in everything that he's doing.
Yeah,
Steve: absolutely.
He's not only solving business problems,
he's intentionally creating these spaces
where people thrive and that shows up
in the customer experience and in the
company culture it's all connected.
AnnieLaurie: And you know, it's
a reminder to me that leadership
isn't just about setting a vision.
It's also about aligning people and
aligning your strategy and the systems so
that the vision can actually come to life.
And when you get that alignment right,
that's when we really start to see
marketing work the way it's supposed to.
Steve: 100%.
When you're leading with clarity
because you have internal clarity,
then marketing doesn't feel forced.
It becomes a reflection and
an extension of who you are
and what you're already doing.
Well.
AnnieLaurie: Steve, I'd like
to take a minute, pull a few
threads from the conversation.
Douglas talked about clarity, and
especially as his company grew,
why is that so critical for CEOs?
Speaker: Well, growth brings
complexity and it's exponential.
And so if you don't have a
clear documented strategy.
For your business and your marketing,
then your team can't repeat a
clear message 'cause they're not
hearing a clear message internally.
And ultimately what that leads to is
hitting friction in your marketing,
your sales, and your operations.
And so this clarity both internally and
externally, keeps everyone aligned and
focused and moving in the same direction.
AnnieLaurie: That's really good.
He also mentioned that each new company
that he started came from solving
a need that he was observing in his
customers, and that's really good.
How would you advise CEOs to think about
that when it comes to their own business
leadership, their own marketing, you know.
Just taking that initiative, you
know, what would you, how would
you advise or coach somebody?
With regard to that?
Steve: I would say it, it starts by
listening to your customers and it's easy
sometimes when you're leading a business
to lose sight of that, to lose that
connection and really when it comes to
marketing and a lot of things in business.
A lot of those problems that we face
are really clarity problems because
we lose sight of who it is that we're
serving and what they actually need.
And especially as marketplace
needs are changing it's
important to continue listening.
And another thing that's important is
Douglas wasn't about chasing trends.
Yes, it's important to be mindful
of what's going on around us in the
marketplace and what those trends
are, but he was continually focused
on what his what his customers needed.
He was paying attention and saw those
opportunities to continue serving.
And I mean, he was building real
solutions around known and communicated
customer pain points, and they had
a way of solving those problems and.
Out of all that's how
marketing should function it.
It should be something that is
focused on meeting real needs.
And when we get that clarity that we've
been talking about, marketing is clearly
communicating the information to the
right audience so that they then can make
the best decisions for who they wanna
work with and what services they want.
And so ultimately, it's.
Having that clarity so it's
not just broadcasting noise.
AnnieLaurie: When Douglas said, I
think this might be a paraphrase
or direct quote, he said.
We didn't always communicate
the vision clearly to the team.
You know, I think that's
something pretty common and just
something everybody contends with.
What would be your advice
for a CEO in that spot?
Steve: What's interesting is this
correlates to another CEO interview
that I did this morning, and it
again, it goes back to alignment.
Clarity of knowing your why, your purpose
and your mission, and then document it.
What people often overlook is that your
marketing, your messaging, fundamentally,
it's an expression of who you are
as a company and how you're trying
to solve your customer's problems.
So when you don't have that internal
clarity, it becomes much more difficult
to communicate that to your audience.
So once you get that.
Then make sure that you're clear
on who your audience is, what
their specific needs and problems
are, how you solve those problems.
And then you build your messaging and
that's the words that you're using to tell
people what you do and why it matters.
You get your messaging clear and
then at that point, your sales and
your marketing team can share it.
It's consistent and because
if your team can't say it.
If they're giving conflicting
or differing explanations, then
your customers are confused.
And ultimately we know that confusion
is gonna hurt your business.
You're gonna miss opportunities.
And so marketing starts internally.
It becomes more powerful when you
have that clarity of your mission
and your vision and your values.
And then you get your team around
that, and then that's when your
messaging becomes truly powerful
when you connect it back to your why.
As we've seen here with Douglas
and one other thing I'll say about
Douglas as well, is he's recognized
these places where maybe that
wasn't being clearly communicated
and he's taken steps to solve that,
Hey, it's Steve and.
If anything in today's
episode resonated with you.
Now, I want you to know you don't have
to figure marketing out on your own.
Here at wayfind, we offer marketing
coaching services for CEOs and their
teams who want clarity, alignment, and
results that actually move the needle.
We've helped leaders simplify their
marketing, get everyone on the
same page, and create a strategy
that they can confidently execute
without wasting time or money.
If you're ready for clarity and
traction, head over to wafi marketing.com
and click on discuss Your Marketing.
Drop me a note and I'll follow up
personally, whether you're ready
for coaching or just want some help.
Thinking through your next steps,
AnnieLaurie: Again, big thanks to Douglas
Skipworth for joining Steve for this
conversation, and thank you for listening.
Steve: If this episode sparked
something for you, there's probably
another CEO in your circle who'd
benefit from hearing it as well.
Go ahead and share it.
Send it their way.
AnnieLaurie: And don't forget to
follow, like, subscribe, so you
don't miss anything that's coming.
Next, we've got more CEO
stories and strategy.
First insights coming your way.
Steve: We will be back soon with
more conversations to help you
simplify your marketing so you
can grow and scale your company.
AnnieLaurie: We'll see you next
time on Growth Minded Marketing.