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Your Second Act isn't just about starting over; it's about starting smarter. You’ve left the safety of a structured career to follow your passion, and while the opportunity is exciting, the uncertainty is real. You have the vision and the drive, but without a roadmap, that leap of faith can quickly feel like a freefall.
Welcome to Second Act Business Owner, the podcast dedicated to ensuring your new venture lands on solid ground.
Hosted by Lee Gray—an award-winning ActionCOACH, certified executive trainer, and serial entrepreneur—this show is for the courageous professionals who are trading corporate stability for entrepreneurial freedom. Lee understands that being an expert in your field doesn’t automatically make you an expert in running a business.
Each week, we strip away the fluff to provide the real-world MBA training you need to turn chaos into clarity. From navigating the emotional rollercoaster of ownership to mastering the mechanics of profit, Lee brings the structure and strategy required to build a legacy.
Hit follow and let’s get to work.
Ep21_merge
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Welcome and Theme
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[00:00:00]
Lee Gray: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Second Act Business Owner podcast, and we are on episode 21. You remember when you were 21? Maybe you are 21. You really wanna listen in because today we're going to talk about education as a growth strategy. Get out of the office. Why education is a growth strategy. You're welcome.
I'm giving you permission to travel. That's what I'm giving you here today. We're gonna talk [00:01:00] about that. The core message is this The right education, the right room, and conversations can change how you think, can change how you feel, how you lead, how you grow. Your business cannot outgrow your own thinking.
Your business cannot outgrow your own thinking. When someone contemplates investing in education, boy, that comes back to me, because we know if we don't grow through education, we're gonna get the same results over and over again.
BizX Conference Story
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Lee Gray: I recently had the opportunity to attend BizX, which is an event that ActionCOACH puts on each year for us as coaches.
So I attended a conference on day one with other coaches. There were over 100 of us in the room sharing best practices, and being in the room with those people is absolutely amazing. I mean, I cannot tell you how amazing it is to me. The second [00:02:00] two days were with my customers. A couple of my customers joined us.
We have an award ceremony. They can be nominated for a number of different awards, and when, when they win an award, they go to the front of the room, they go to the stage in front of all these people in a tuxedo and an elegant gown, and they get to be, applauded and recognized for basically working on their business.
'Cause that's what it is when you win an award , at ActionCOACH Business Coach BizX. The second two days I spent with some people I have a feeling you'll probably recognize. Brad Sugars, Micah Michalowicz, Jeffrey Gitomer, and Dr. Ivan Misner. I bet you know at least one of those. I've attended this BizX conference that ActionCOACH has every single year since I've been a coach.
That's 11 years. And the, like I said, the first day is spent with other coaches, and we get in front of each other, which is really intimidating. I was actually invited to speak to the coaches, [00:03:00] and it was a shorter presentation, and it was actually on speaking, which I'm actually gonna talk about this in another podcast.
But being able to perform, because that's what it is. When you're at your best in front of your peers, you're absolutely at your best. So I encourage you to take educational opportunities to present and be among and in front of your peers. I spent time in the room with other business owners. There were several hundred people who attended the conference, all stepping away from the office to learn from people doing big things, and had the kind of conversations that you , don't have when you're in the routine day-to-day, opening the door, walking into work, working all day, and going home.
So that's a big, big, big physical shift and a big mindset shift
Education Not Expense
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Lee Gray: It all reminded me that education is not an expense. It's one of the smartest investments that a business owner can make. The real question is, when contemplating an investment in your education, how much will it cost you [00:04:00] not to get the education?
So let's say you decide not to spend that one or two grand or however much it is to educate yourself so that you can become a different person, different business than you were before. Wow, that costs you for the rest of your business life, it costs you to not get that education.
Intentional Learning Questions
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Lee Gray: A couple questions. When was the last time you intentionally learned something that could make your business better? And I wanna, I wanna talk about the word I'm using here, too. So I, I oftentimes hear myself and others say, you know, "What could you change about yourself? What could you change..." I, I'm not suggesting to change for the sake of changing.
You go to a conference so you can make decisions to make something better. You know, we're not going to change. And I think that probably is, like, such a n- a nebulous term. Like, "Oh, uh, I just wanna change my results." No, no, no. Change is a nebulous word that means nothing unless you s- make it so. For example, I'm going to attend a conference so that I can meet [00:05:00] people.
I'm going to learn two or three things that I can bring back and apply to my business to make it grow better. I'm not just going there to change. I mean, heck, trees change. We want to be intentional about changing. The second question is, are you learning only when there's a problem, or are you staying ahead of the next challenge?
So what's an example of that? AI. AI, AI, AI. Everybody wants to know more about AI. Suddenly, people feel behind the, the business curve when it comes to AI. So you're seeing all these people scramble to create AI content and AI learnings and things like that, and that's okay. I still want you to, to learn when things are on the cusp of technology or on the cusp of some kind of business opportunity l- such as AI.
That shouldn't be the only time you invest in yourself and in education.
New Perspectives and Energy
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Lee Gray: And the other thing I think that's really important is, we cannot solve every problem we have inside the business. We have to go outside of the business to get the answers we're looking [00:06:00] for oftentimes.
When we're in the day-to-day, we tend to see the problem through the same lens over and over and over again. And at the conference that I attended had so many BFOs, blinding flashes of the obvious, which is what we seek to find in life and in business. Education gives us new ideas and new perspectives.
It's hard to believe that, in our own little world, we're not doing everything we possibly can right. , Trust me, we're not. There's, there's things to learn, and there's things to unlearn when we go to a conference, and sometimes Learning is about, and education is about what not to do. There's a perspective from people outside of our company that is just different.
They might ask us a question about our industry that we're like, "What? What did you just say?" 'Cause they don't see it through the same lens as us. And then, you know, permission to question, this is what I've been always doing, but when I go someplace else and I'm [00:07:00] outside of my normal day-to-day, I can question is, it's normal to me, but is it normal for business?
Is it normal for me to continue doing this if, if I wanna achieve the goals that I wanna achieve? And finally, oh, this is my favorite one, is getting out at a conference and the energy that comes with it. The food is different, the place is different, the people, everything is different, and that energy, if it's a conference worth its weight in gold, is gonna have energy that automatically brings you to a, a different feeling, a different space.
That's what we're looking for, to get our energy up. We're more awake, more alive, more alert, ready to take on that information.
Client Takeaways in Action
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Lee Gray: One of my clients, Karen Tase, shout out to Karen Tase, founder of Elysian Med Spa in Panama City Beach. She attended the conference, took time away from her day-to-day, made a five-hour drive to get there, and she took notes furiously. I mean furiously, the whole time she was there. Before I even got back, she sent me a list of all the things that she learned and the things that she's going [00:08:00] to apply from learning.
She said, "I'm gonna look at what my industry is doing wrong." She said, "I'm going to gather ... I'm gonna find out where my top clients gather, and I'm gonna make a decision to be there." That was one of my key takeaways too. If we want new customers, we have to be in the same rooms with them. And then making pricing a marketing tool.
I mean, if you're the most expensive, be proud of it. If you're the cheapest, be proud of it. I mean, you've heard of low cost leader, why can't we be high cost value deliverer? Be proud of the product and service that you ... The price, if it matches your services, be proud of it.
And then what vendors can we partner with? Our vendors are working with other people and see businesses all the time. How can we leverage that relationship? And her last one was, uh, one of the speakers talked about the flame within us, and that flame has to be ignited, and so she's going to be intentional about finding the flame And it helped the employees in her business ignite that [00:09:00] flame.
So wow, that was beautiful that she came back with those action items, and that's about the right number for a two or a three-day conference. And there's other things that'll keep coming back to you, and you can't just leave the notes on the shelves, and I'm gonna give you some strategies for that later, too.
Sometimes the breakthrough isn't a new tactic. It's a new way of seeing a problem. And it's also an opportunity for a business owner to be gone and see what breaks in the business while you're gone. You know, you're not on vacation. You're working, but you're away from the business. So if you find things working, there's an opportunity to work on that and the systems that might go along with it.
Choosing the Right Event
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Lee Gray: So why... what about the conference is important to do? First of all, do something that is purposeful, not just something that's interesting, although if, if you can get both, that's great. But not every conference is worth your time or investment, so decide, you know, what you wanna learn before. Do you wanna be around other business owners?
Do you wanna be around people in your industry? Do you wanna be around a mix of people, outside of your industry? And, and ask, well, [00:10:00] what problem am I, am I trying to solve? ... If I go to this conference, am I thinking about, okay, how am I gonna come back and, and systemize my business better, or do I wanna get, um, be a better leader?
You know, make decisions around that. Do you want more knowledge? Do you want to improve relationships going forward with, with your - people, your team, your vendors? , Who do I wanna learn from? Do you wanna listen to dynamic speakers that are published and... or do you wanna listen to more technical speakers?
Either is okay. And is the investment something that's worthwhile for you in 90 days? That's a question. So if you need stronger leadership, look for a leadership conference. If you are looking for more customers, marketing, , CRM, AI kinds of workshops would be right for that. Need better systems? Then go to a workshop where people talk about how to improve or leverage your systems.
And if you're starting a business, go to one on the basics and fundamentals of business Do not attend events just to attend. Go with attention. That's the thing I want you to take away from that, because if you spend all that money and you don't get anything out of it, it'll be hard to do it [00:11:00] again and invest in one that is.
The Room and Networking
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Lee Gray: The room matters also as much as the content. The room I was in just with other coaches, wow, some of these coaches are, are doing things I'd never thought of in doing coaching before, helping other businesses. So I learned so many things from them. And guess what? Now I have been around long enough, people are learning from me.
My peers are learning from me. You get that back and forth, those endorphins. I'm helping you, you're helping me. It's just really, really great. And then being in the room among those speakers, Brad Sugars, Ivan Misner, Michael Michalowicz, and some of the other speakers we had in the room, wow, , amazing.
Oh, Jeffrey Gitomer. , Amazing people to be in the room with, and every one of them wants to shake your hand and talk to you and sign their book and, and give you a little piece of advice, and that's priceless. You may learn from, , from the speakers, and that's great, but what happens in those hallways is, is priceless.
I mean, I learned more about Ivan Misner having a conversation with him right outside the room than I would've any other time in my life, and I feel gifted. I, I feel like that was a real gift. You also [00:12:00] can establish strategic partners, which we did, and, people who challenge the way you think, and that's who you wanna be around.
As leaders and as owners, you know, no one's challenging us because nobody wants to, make us mad. So we've gotta be around people who challenge the way we think and challenge what we're doing, for every new or second act business owner, this matters enormously.
You don't have to know everything, but you do need to be in the rooms that stretch you. So get around those people who know more than you.
Turn Notes Into Execution
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Lee Gray: Finally, the fourth thing is you got a notebook full of great ideas. I took 17, not kidding, pages of notes, plus I recorded some things, and all of those notes without execution might as well not go, save my money, or go and just sit on the beach, which I did sit on the beach for half a day when I was in Florida.
So here's what you do after the e- event, and the ideal, you do it on the airplane on the way home. Go through all your notes, highlight all the BFOs you have. So I've got BFO, BFO, all... And then I've got share with customers, all these ideas. And then I went through [00:13:00] and marked everything that I thought was an A idea, then everything that I thought was a B idea, and everything that I thought was a C idea.
Then I went back and scratched off the Bs and the Cs, then I picked my top three As. Decided which one of those has the impact. We're already working on it now in our business. Put one action on your calendar from that event the week you get back, and then one thing on your calendar for 30 days so you keep the momentum going.
Share it with someone who can hold you accountable. If you don't have a coach or a mastermind group, find one. Remember, people don't, are not held accountable to ourselves. It's, not in our nature. So if you want to achieve something different and better than you currently have, you gotta have someone hold you accountable to it, and then give yourself a 30-day check-in.
Always ask them, too, when I'm selecting an educational conference, how does it apply to me?
Final Challenge and Wrap
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Lee Gray: So getting away from the office isn't avoiding your business. It's not avoiding your business. Sometimes it, it's exactly how you become the leader [00:14:00] you're meant to be. Choose one learning opportunity over the next 90 days, a conference, something.
Go and be intentional about it, and then share that stuff with someone. Share it with me. I'm happy to listen to you. I'm in my second act. You're in your second act. Let's second act together. It's a nice dance. If you're ready to grow your business, if you're ready to take another look, call us. We have workshops that you can attend on a monthly basis, and we're happy to have a 20-minute phone call or even do a diagnostic with you in your business.
What I feel like expressing is the excitement that I still have from coming home from that conference a couple of weeks ago. A little bit of stress, you know, packing, flights, delays, those kinds of things. It was all worth it. It was worth every minute of it. It was because I invested in every minute I was there. I was awake and ready. What do you feel like expressing?
If you've liked today, I hope you tell other people about what you've heard, because if we can help more people, then the world gets [00:15:00] a better, bigger piece of the pie, and that's all we're about, abundance. Everyone deserves a second act they know and love.