PP 012: Pursuing your passion, a Business Takeoff Session with Kim Boudreau Smith

Kim Boudreau Smith is a multi-talented CEO and business leader with a legacy of empowering thousands of women. In this episode, she shares a business takeoff session, her amazing life journey and discusses her thoughts on the coaching industry, what will hold you back in business and why ultimately, you need to pursue your passion to find success.

Connect with Kim Boudreau Smith

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Business takeoff session: Kim Boudreau’s current business

Welcome back to another episode of positive productivity. I am thrilled to have Kim B Smith, the CEO of Bold Radio Station here with me today.

Hey, Kim! How are you doing?

Hey Kim! First of all I’m doing great, and you and I have the same name so we’re really doubly cooly awesome here today. And thank you so much for having me here. I love the title of your podcast, your show, because you know, what little that we know of each other here on social media, you’re all about… I know you walk your talk, and talk your walk. So I’m excited to be here today with you.

Oh, thank you so much. I am so excited to have you here, too, and we’ve been connected through several Facebook groups for quite a while, and I love that… If any of you have listened to Erica Castner’s interview yet, Kim and I were going back and forth in one of Erica’s Facebook Lives earlier this week about Kim squared because… Yeah Erica just kept on calling us Kim squared and that was awesome.

I love it.

So, Kim, you provide an elite radio hosting service for entrepreneurs. Can you share more about that with the audience, please?

Yes. It’s a nice… I like to say it’s a nice beautiful VIP service that we provide at Bold Radio Station. What we do is we try to remove all the fuss and muss for radio show hosting for the busy entrepreneur, the busy business owner. So all they need to focus on is content and getting their guests for the show, and of course they need to go out and do marketing for their shows even though Bold Radio does marketing as well.

But we try to remove everything. All the editing, and the production. We even have a Director of Operations who is the glue of the company, of the whole station, and she does e-mailing to the guests to get the forms out for all the proper information for our producers, and for the host for the day of the show. So, we really do try to remove all the fuss and muss I like to say.

Oh, wow. That’s huge. So where can people listen to your show?

Well you can go right on over to BoldRadioStation.com, and if we’re in the midst of a live show you will see it’s on the home page. If not you can go on over to the tab under your Meet the Hosts and get to know all our hosts and see their shows. And click on Previous Shows and Archived Shows and go from there.

Oh, fabulous. And that’s normally a question I ask at the end, but I was just so excited I had to ask it now.

I love it.

So how did you get into this and what has your journey been.

Oh wow. It’s been actually coming up to four year anniversary of Bold Radio Station launching my show, first and foremost, because I always do things for me first and foremost before I put out to the public and or offer to clients. But five years ago, yeah five years ago, I launched a radio show, because I’m an entrepreneur. I’m a business owner.

It’s a marketing tool – our podcasts, our shows are – it’s a marketing tool to get our voices out there, powerfully. And I was in the midst of participating in Anthology, books at the time, and I kept saying “I’m not a writer, I’m more of a talker.” I really want a radio show.

Well, I was working with a coach one time prior to this who kept talking me out of it. And this new friend of mine, I was talking to her one morning, and I said “You know, I really want a radio show.

And she goes, “Well then, do it.”

I’m like, “OK, here’s my terms and my conditions. You will be my first guest. We will market the heck up out of it, because I want to take it global on the first show.”

This is a great example of a great business takeoff: 

The product is valuable from multiple people, on one hand you have the listeners/clients, and on the other the talent/clients.

Well, we had 600 listeners the first show, and it went around the world.

So I launched then on a different platform, and I didn’t like that platform. After two shows in, I’m like, “OK why am I doing two shows a month? First of all, I need to be doing a weekly show, because I’m a serious business owner.” And consistency, consistency. “And what happens if something happens? I’m here all alone in my studio. I have no support.”

And then I went, “How many other business owners are saying the exact same thing?”

So off I went. I stayed on that platform for a while, built a following, and then off I went to develop the station, and then launched the station with just my show and my show only. And then 90 days later we took on our first clients.

Wow. I can’t even imagine how much work was involved in developing your own station.

There’s a lot and it’s nonstop. I mean, you know, four yeahrs into it, it’s nonstop. You know, technology changes. There’s always change. There’s growth.

You know, I think that’s one of the things that a lot of people don’t realize is, you know, Kim, when we have our own businesses, we don’t just, “Oh I can’t wait till we arrive and we can just land it.”

Well, we never arrive and get this completely landed because our branding evolves. Our branding grows. We grow. We change. Our ideal client may shift, and then the audience shifts, you know, of who we’re attracting and our businesses expand. Maybe we offer different products and services than we did two years ago when we started.

So it’s… You know, it’s like technology. Things are always ever-evolving and changing. And that’s the same thing you know with radio.

I never even thought about it that way with radio. But you’re totally right. I mean in the four years since I’ve started my business, it’s been a constant evolution. And even just since starting my podcast, I’ve evolved, and realized where my passions are. And yes, listeners, my passion is right now greatly in this podcast and the whole brand of Positive Productivity, and I can’t wait to see where it goes. 

So sorry for the shameless plug right there!

No. I love shameless plugs. Hahaha! 

Hahaha!

Yes! We have to do it! You know that’s one of the things I see is women business owners – a lot of women are afraid to promote themselves. Well, it’s like, “Well if you don’t promote yourself, who’s going to do it?”

You can’t rely and depend upon everyone to be out there promoting yourself. You’ve just got to lead the way.

So, radio or podcast?

Oh, absolutely. So I’m a little bit curious. What is the difference between a radio show and a podcast?

Oh my gosh, there’s quite a bit difference. First of all, a radio show, 9 times out of 10 a radio show is live. So if we hiccup or burp or whatever so to speak there’s no stopping and starting over. A radio show is live radio.

Now we do have hosts sometimes that are out of town, or we have guests that are in Australia and there’s time challenges and things like that, they do pre-record and then we just air them like they’re live. All our shows are recorded, and then hence turned into a podcast so that there’s a permanent shelf life. So that’s the one major-major difference between a radio show and a podcast. Podcasts are pre-recorded and radio shows are live at a specific time every week that the host, you know, is reserved and purchased the airtime.

Wow. OK. I mean I guess that was more obvious than I thought it was, but I love that. And I don’t know how I hadn’t thought about it being live, but that’s huge.

And I love the fact that you are repurposing it for evergreen content because I’m sure that the hosts get a lot more… I was going to say readership, but I guess it’s listenership? What do you call it?

Yeah, listeners. Definitely listeners, just like with the podcast it’s, you know, its listeners. That plays. The downloads. Yes.

And you know, Kim, I think I’d be totally crazy and foolish if we didn’t record any of these shows, you know, for the shelf life. I mean the day and age that we live in? Oh my gosh, you know, those are the two most beautiful things that I like about radio show/podcasts. And then a book. They have permanent shelf life.

You know, if our shows are recorded, they have a permanent shelf life. So does a book. And, you know, and I think that is so amazing. And the beauty of technology is, not everybody can always listen live when a show is live.

Where do you listen to a podcast?

For me, this is what I do. I like to listen to shows either at 6 a.m. in the morning when I’m enjoying my cup of coffee and my protein bar. I’m a dunker, so I’ll dunk healthy. And I’ve done my meditations, and my new puppy has been taken care of and everyone’s, you know, everyone’s resting. Then I like to listen to podcasts then, or I love to listen to shows when I’m folding laundry because I really despise folding laundry, and it makes folding laundry more enjoyable.

I was about to say, “Folding laundry? What’s that?” 

Yeah, hahaha.

We’re sort of out of the basket but I think you just helped me find a method that will work to fold laundry and get it put away.

Yeah exactly. I’m out of the basket or off the counter as well. The other time I like to listen to podcasts is when I’m preparing, like dinners, you know when I’m making a salad, you know the preparation and stuff like that. I like to have a podcast on.

So we were talking a little bit pre-show about how I’m like, just in the past few months, I’ve started really listening to all these people that I’m subscribed to on podcasts and I’ve gone back to the beginning of each of their episodes, so I’m currently at like the end of 2012. So that totally reinforces what you were saying about recording the radio shows and putting them in podcast form.

But I do have a question for you about people who are getting on Facebook live and the other video platforms that are associated with social media right now. Would you recommend that all these videos be re-purposed and put on to blogs and YouTube and all of that, too?

Yes, yes. And we do that over at Bold Radio, by the way. Bold Radio Station does not repurpose the shows as blogs, but we immediately – once they are done and is all over, and it’s recorded – we put over to YouTube. You know, we use other multiple platforms for the visibility. But I encourage my hosts to reuse their shows for blogs if you are a blogger.

I’m not a big blogger but boy! You wanna talk about having a blogging and keeping things simple? I mean take three to five sentences form a show, type it on your blog, and then link, you know, the audio to it, you know, so people can move forward and get the rest of what those three or five points that you made from the show. There’s your blog. I mean talk about simple, simple.

Adapting your business to takeoff

Oh absolutely, and I’m just… I have to apologize because I’m going back through my e-mail really fast so I could name the service that I’m using. But I actually just found a great transcription service. I heard of a couple in the last couple weeks. Rev.com.

Yes.

That’s actually not the one I’m using, and I’m so embarrassed that I don’t remember what… Trint. I’m using Trint which is all A.I. So I just submit my MP3 and then it gives me a transcription which I do need to go in and edit because A.I. is not always perfect. 

But I’m putting those… Like I’m taking the podcasts and putting them in a blog format with the whole transcription because I know that there’s going to be members of the audience that can’t necessarily listen to what I’m talking about, or maybe you want to read it on their own time. Because while I love to listen there’s sometimes when I just can’t and I might peruse the text at my convenience.

Yeah, and that’s great. There’s so… You know something, Kim, there are so many ways out there for all of us now. 

You know, this is probably… I’m going to go off track a little bit here. It’s probably a whole other show it… It really still ceases to amaze me how people… First of all, the nasty four letter word, “Busy.” “Busy, busy, busy, I’m so busy. I can’t even breath I’m busy. Oh my God I’m busy, busy, busy.” But we have technology here… I mean my desktop syncs to my laptop syncs to my iPad syncs to my phone. 

Adapting your product for a business takeoff will take time:

Time to get to know your clients better, know what would make their experience more comfortable and valuable.

You know, we have… All of this technology is so savvy. Why is it that we are so darned busy? I mean we’ve got all this stuff here at our fingertips. Like, you know, that Rev.com, you know and you know the transcribing, and you know… Things like that, that we can just click a button and upload, but we’re so busy when we have things at our fingertips that are supposed to make life even easier. But that’s a whole nother show.

And some times those things are so obvious that we just miss them. 

Oh, there’s no on track on Positive Productivity.

I love it. Hahaha!

Hahaha.

So then that brings up a really interesting point, because I really wanted to launch this podcast like three months before I did, but I was just so busy that I couldn’t get to the editing and I couldn’t… I wasn’t happy with the graphics that I myself was trying to make and I didn’t have the transcription service and the website wasn’t ready. But I was trying to do it all myself.

H2 Perfection doesn’t exist in a business takeoff

So, I love that you are providing that for your hosts, like a lot of that, because just that step like takes away so much of… so many of the reasons that you could be stalling because you can’t wait for perfection in order to put something out. You just need to get it going.

No, and you know that’s the other thing, Kim is… First of all, there isn’t such a thing as perfection, and I think that needs to be… That word needs to be removed from the Webster dictionary. You know, and from our whole vocabulary because that perfection can keep us paralyzed as far as moving forward. One, and two, you know, this is where business owners need to understand, I think there was a day and time that we could have launched a business with nothing in our pocket.

I beg to differ now, because you know we have to pay for hosting fees for our website. We need a website because we live in a website world. I mean you know, and then… Of course social media is free – to have all those accounts are free – but you need some money. You really do need some money and it’s like you said Kim. You know, you’re a mom. You know? And you’ve got twins, and you’ve got a, you know, a significant other, and there’s so much else in life that we have to do that we are not meant to do at all.

The CEO of GM, she doesn’t do at all. She’s not down on the line building the cars. So, it’s so important that when we launch a business, we’ve got a few bucks in our back pocket. Or, you better be working somewhere or have some kind of income coming in so you can turn around and put it back into the business.

And I’m not saying go out there and hire a whole team out of the gate, because I did not do that when I launched the station. I was producing shows. Four years later, no, you wouldn’t want me producing shows, but I was producing shows, you know, because I couldn’t afford, at that time, to have a whole production team. But I did have a producer where him and I were splitting things up.

You know, so it’s like, I say to people: “I don’t know “What’s your budget.

Two hours a week at I don’t know, $25 a week or something? Hire somebody for those two hours to really help you. Because if you’re sitting there trying to design graphics and you’re not a graphic designer, trust me, ten hours later, you’ve got far more time and money invested into that graphic than you would at two hours for $25.” So…

Oh my gosh, you are so right. And that’s exactly what I did I found myself trying to do my podcast logo, and I was not happy with it. And I put like a ridiculous number of hours into trying to come up with my own logo. And then finally I took it to Upwork, and I found a great designer that I’m going to be working with hopefully for years to come. And I won’t share his rate because maybe by the time this airs he’ll have gone up. Yes, I am encouraging him to raise rates, because he’s worth more than what he’s charging me.

But he got my logo and all the graphics put together in just a matter of hours, and then I sort of kicked myself in the butt and I was like, “Why didn’t I do this to begin with?”

Yeah. 

You know there’s so many areas that we can go to, and hire people. You know, there’s Fiverr.com and Upwork.com, the local high school or college or whatever. You know, we just may have to be a little savvy and do some work in the very beginning of finding the right person and build that relationship. Because as the business grows, you know, these people hopefully will grow with you and you can turn right around and give them more work. See, I love that. I love that a lot.

Before the radio, was there another business takeoff for Kim Boudreau

What was your entrepreneurial journey before you became a radio host?

1. So, I’m laughing. I own a local fitness business, and that was my first business.

I was in corporate America. I was climbing corporate ladders like there were no tomorrow. And I always taught like aerobics part-time, after work or whatever I would teacher aerobics part-time and that came natural to me because I grew up dancing. And this one gym that I used to work out at, the manager came to me, and she said, “You know, we have got some woman members that want a trainer and we know that you know what you’re doing. I mean they don’t want to take a male trainer. Would you be interested?”

And I’m like “Well, yeahh. You know, sure!” 

You know, and this is how I learn. This is how I launch businesses. I’m not one for sitting down for hours on end, and investigate, and get out there and look into things. Trust me, I do look into things but not to the extreme of that, because that will paralyze me. That zaps my energy. It’s just not my niche.

So yeah. A couple of ladies hired me, and then I… Then at that time I met this guy (who became my first husband) taught me a lot about personal training and fitness training. Taught me a tremendous amount, and I launched a business. So I was doing corporate and my fitness business.

And then this couple ended up having children, and opening up another insurance business, and they were going into homes doing personal training before we all knew what this was. And they turned clients over to me, and I eventually stepped away from corporate and launched a full-time fitness business.

My first year in the… summertime in Michigan hit, and I sat here and went, “I’m in so much trouble. I did not see this coming.” and it plummeted. Thirty years later it still does. 

Plummeting’s very common before and after a business takeoff:

Be prepared for things to change as the years go by, sometimes it doesn’t have to do with the modeling, but the circumstances.

And I just sat down and invented a program that I marketed through community education. Took off like there was no tomorrow. It was the introduction to strength training for women that couldn’t afford for Kim Boudreau Smith to come knocking on their door for private training.

I knew there were other women out there that needed this. So we did an eight-week program. Then we took a second eight-week program and did an advanced program from that, so the women can continue on. A video came out of that, so I marketed it a video here locally.

So that’s how I started my first business. About seven years ago, Kim, I stepped online and went, “I don’t want to leave my house anymore. I want to work out the house, and I want a global presence.” And I launched KimBSmith.com online via internet globally and just kept getting involved with anthologies for my visibility. I went to coaching school. Got my certification.

I’m not a coach, I want to make that loud and clear. I’m an advisor and a consultant for women who have been in business a minimal of two years and they’re trying to get to the next, you know, third fourth and fifth year of their business. I help set up processes and systems, and lower payroll, and you know lower the expenses so that their profit margin becomes bigger. And, you know, help them with the marketing and things like that. That’s just how I just got started. It’s all based upon my experiences.

That’s fabulous. 

Coach Vs. Adviser, who do you need for your business takeoff?

And can I just touch upon the coach versus consultant and advisor for just a moment? Could you expand upon that? Because actually, I’ve been going through the same thing I am not a coach. I call myself a strategist, but it’s basically a consultant and advisor, the same as you. Well, not the same as you but you understand what I’m saying. But could you expand on that a little bit?

Yes. Gosh. Coaching – and this is how I was trained through my certification – coaching is something where we guide… This is a very biased opinion, coaching is where we are supposed to, as coaches, go to Toys R Us and buy pompoms and be the cheerleader. Guide and support our clients, because our clients have the answers.

We are just there to maybe help them as they’re turning left as opposed to right is my analogy going down the street, to take the proper turn or the adjustments towards what they are arriving to. We’re not there to tell, advise, consult or anything like that.

That may happen down the road in the relationship, but as a coach we are here to listen, to pull out the answers that are already inside our clients.

That’s a very short summed-up version that I’m talking about. A consultant or an advisor… I’m a consultant-advisor-strategist. I go in, and I look around. I ask my clients, “OK. What is it… Where do you want to be? What’s that your angst? What’s going on?”

It could be anything from, “I’m overwhelmed. This business is eating me up alive. My time management, my systems, my processes. I don’t know where to begin. I’m not the business person. I’m the, you know, the cook, or I’m the vet or I’m whatever. I’m not a business person and I don’t have the right people in place.”

So I will go in and help them move with job descriptions. What they’re looking for, setting the systems and the processes, marketing, all that. I mean the A-to-Z soup to nuts of the businesses.

I don’t sit there and go, “Oh, so, you know. What is this going to look like?” or “What’s this?”

I advise. I consult, and I give options that people can pick and choose from, because what I might be advising today – three options today – may not work, but I give them options for them to try. And I also say, “Rule of thumb – 90 days. Try something for 90 days and then de-brief and see if you need any tweaking or if something needs to be changed.”

That’s the same thing in my fitness business, when people wanted to start “diets,” which diets is a buncha garbage. 

Haha!

Modeling it’s important to an effective business takeoff:

The first couple of years will be dedicated to analysis and modeling, like Kim’s saying. After that comes the business takeoff, once you have the product modeled through experience.  

You know, make changes. Leave things in place for 90 days. It takes our bodies to adjust. It takes our minds to adjust. You know, habits to recreate and reform, 90 days, then come back and do a small debrief, and see what else what’s working and what else you can tweak.

I don’t like to go back and say, “OK, let’s visit what’s not working.” OK, let’s not spend time on that. Let’s see what’s working and then how can we take what’s working and go to the next level.

Oh I love that. 

Start with a coach, consultant, advisor straight up before takeoff or not?

And I have to apologize because I might be opening up a huge can of worms right here. And listeners, I would love for you to visit the show notes page and give your comments about the question I’m about to ask.

But for anybody who’s just starting out building their own business, and for people… And then later for people who are already in business, do you recommend that they start with a coach? That they start with an advisor? And what do you have?

I’ve always worked with coaches. I leveraged myself with like-minded individuals, so I have friends, colleagues, mentors, coaches. I’m a big proponent in please surround yourself with tribes, and your tribe may be someone that you walk side by side with, or they’re kind of like around the time frame and the experiences of where you are in your business. Align yourself with people that are a couple of yeahrs ahead of you, and have been tasting the experiences. And then align yourself with people that are maybe time frame behind you and haven’t tasted everything yet that we’re experiencing.

I believe in surrounding myself with A, B and C. So, collaborate, collaborate, collaborate. Village support group. And find your mentors, find a coach. And then once you get rocking and rolling, then you can take a look at maybe a consultant or an advisor.

Oooh… I’m going to open up a whole…! Since you opened up the can of worms, I’m going up a can of worms, Kim.

Oh you could totally blame me.

Hahaha! Yeah, you opened it. I’m going to jump in.

You know, we as human beings, we like to bastardize everything. I mean, look at technology. We bastardize everything. I mean everyone’s driving up and down roads on their phones, and text messaging, and talking, and blah, blah, blah.

It’s like, what the hell is so important that we are so not present to the red lights, the green lights, and blowing through red lights, because, you know, we’re up the back end of someone else? And that’s the same thing with coaches. And this is same thing with doctors, and lawyers, and accountants. I mean there’s bastardization in every industry, and I see a lot of bastardization in coaching.

I see a lot of coaches that are trying to stuff their clients into a box, and that a lose/lose situation.

And I see so many people that are desperate to get their businesses up and out the door, make money, have clients, sell their products and their services, that they buy into it. And it’s a crock of crap, because you know… That was my biggest fight when I was going through my coaching and when I got off my coaching my first coach said, “Well you’ve got to have products and services.”

I said, “I’m not designing products. I customize.” Because me, Kim Smith, is different from you, Kim Sutton. So my needs over here for my business are going to be completely different to yours. Why am I going to create a box? I hate boxes. I don’t like boxes at all. I feel stuffed down into a box. I can’t…!

H2 The issue with coaching and consulting before takeoff

So a lot of coaches will say, “1-2-3, A-B-C, this is how it works. Go do it.” Well that’s not how it works for everybody.

You know like… You know, Kim, we’ve got the society of opt-ins and things like that. I’ve never done an opt-in. They don’t work for me. But I’ve had so many coaches say, “Well you’ve got to have an opt-in and give something away for free.

And that’s fine. That works for some people. That’s stuff isn’t… I’ve tried it. It has never worked for me.

So that’s the big thing that people listening… You know, make sure when you’re interviewing coaches, and consultants, and strategists, and advisors that, they’re going to work for YOUR needs. Not for theirs. For yours.

Absolutely. I’ve had coaches from both sides of that as well. Like, I’ve had a coach who wanted to put me on one side, and help… Wanted me to define more and like really pare down my ideas. And then I’ve had another coach who totally embraces and supports me in whatever I’m working now. And I’m not saying that the other coach didn’t.

But I admit that I have Chronic Idea Disorder, and I have so many projects going on at any given time. But rather than trying to squash them – and I’m not saying go out and spend all the money that you’ve got on a team to help you bring them to fruition – but don’t let your coach squash your passions.

They happened to me, with the radio show. I mean… I love opinions, I love sounding boards, I love to talk out loud. “I’m going through this. Please just be my friend. Be my sounding board for a minute. I gotta hear… gotta say this to somebody out loud so I can hear myself and then receive the feedback.”

That doesn’t mean it’s going to be the right answer and it’s going to work. It doesn’t mean my foot is going to fit into that so-called glass slipper. I take that, and who knows? Five months down the road it may work then, and a light will go on and I’ll go, “Oh yeahh. I remember so-and-so saying… Oh OK.” Or it may work now. 

You know something? It’s a really interesting online… When you own your own business, online-offline world that when we own our own businesses. We really have to be ready to go into our backyard and clean up our own doo doo, our own doo doo before we can help somebody else. And women don’t like to do that.

Before and after takeoff, be aware you as an owner will have to clean after yourself,

And that’s risk not being enough compromised to your passion, purpose and business, to see the consequences.

Women are big at helping, helping, helping, helping, helping. And I’m going to call every woman out. If they’re not helping themselves first, and cleaning up their own garbage in their backyard first, there’s no way you can possibly help somebody else. You will crash, through health. Through… You will crash. You will… I did it. I did it. That was one of my things.

So did I, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. 

Compromise to the takeoff, and yourself

I mean, and it was actually just this year. So, before I really got serious about this podcast and that realization of having to take care of myself and the power of the word “No.”

Yeah yeah.

And I still struggle with the word no. I cannot deny it.

Oh, I love the word no. Ha. yeahhhh… I love the word no. I mean as much as we use the word “Yes.” I love the word “No.”

And sometimes the word “Yes” can just get us into a lot of trouble. “Oh, can you do this for me today?”

“Yes.”

And then I look at my to do list and it’s already like three miles long. Ugh…

Yeah I’m married… I’m married to a man like that. My husband. He’s wonderful. He just is a yes man. And he’s awesome in this industry, in his career. And at home he just wants his wife to be very happy. And he says “yes” when he’s never going to do it, and it’s like.

With my personality, it’s like, that’s one of the worst things you can do. Because then… I’d bringing the guns out. You know, it’s like now I’m going to go after you. “You said yes.”

Right. “You said you would do this.”

And in a reasonable amount of time. I don’t care. You know, just go tell me in a reasonable amount of time. But then you don’t want me to go buy it. Because now I’m going to come after you.

Flexibility is part of any compromise

And that’s the other thing, you know, Kim, with everybody listening is. That’s the same thing with all of us. Don’t say yes to somebody because you feel you are so desperate for the visibility and, “Oh my God. I’ve got to get my business out there.”

Then we as business owners start dropping balls. Are you kidding me? Do you want that kind of reputation? You don’t follow through on commitment. You don’t follow through on paying bills. You drop balls, you’re late, you don’t show up.

And let me tell you. I see it, all the time. Week after week, I see it all the time. Don’t do that. That’s a nasty reputation to try to undo.

Thank you. Amen.

Yeah.

And I’ve dealt with it. I’m not going to… I’m going to be totally transparent with that. I have been that person. So… and it, I mean, Wow, yeah, you’ve got my mind blown now because… I mean I really could have used this whole conversation like, four years ago. 

So if you’re listening, I think.. you really got to embrace it. Stop being the yes girl. Stop being the beck and call girl, saying that you can do everything all of the time, because you can’t.

No. No. And stop expecting other people too, to give stuff away for free. You know, I love when people say “Hey, hey. Can we have a phone call? I really want to pick your brain.”

Well my brain’s not pickable but it’s available for rent. I mean… And I’ll have a phone call. I don’t care. If I have the time, I will have a phone call. You know, but, here’s the other thing is, you know, people look for stuff for free.

Well no. You know all my wisdom didn’t come for free.

Oh absolutely. And mine didn’t either. I love that.

Yeah, yeah.

Being completely rigid of how things should go on a business takeoff it’s a mistake,

You could lose opportunities, burn bridges, just by thinking things should go one, and just one, way.

You’re like taking things out of my brain, like and just, it’s like, you’re the internal… I don’t even know how to describe it right now. Like you’re taking stuff that’s been in my personal experience and just blasting it right now and saying, “Don’t do it.” That’s fabulous.

And, by the way. It is OK that we have been, in the past, the girls that have said yes and we show up late to a commitment. You know, show up, and apologize for being late. But stop it there. I mean I’ve been around people… and I just did that this morning, by the way.

I had a phone call. It was scheduled at 9:30 and for some odd reason I’m out walking my dog thinking it’s like 10 a.m. And you know… And she calls, and I called her back, and I’m like “Oh my God. I thought it was 10 a.m., and for some reason I had 10 a.m. on my brain. It was 9:30.”

And she said, “Don’t worry.” I said, “I’m out walking my dog, but I can talk.”

And she goes, “No. Just call me when you get home.”

You know that’s flexibility. Just show up, and apologize, and also be strong enough to allow if that other person is angry then move on. Then it’s just not the right situation, or allow the other… you know, allow that other person, you know, to whatever, and then just move on. Because I’ve done it.

I mean I’m like “Ooh, I’ve got the wrong day.” I made a mistake and you know I apologize. And if I can make this up that’s fine.

That’s, by the way, that’s how I met my husband. And you know, and if I can make it up, and if you allow me to make it up, I will make it up. And if…

Proof that flexibility might be just what you need for that business takeoff

Wait… It’s how you met your husband. I have to interrupt you. You have to expand on that now…

Ooh, we’re not supposed to bring the personal stuff into this, but we will.

So I met my husband, and I was at the extreme tail end of my first marriage, my divorce, and he was waiting for me to meet up to have a cocktail. And I got this horrible phone call from my soon to be ex husband. Brought me to my knees with some news. And I mean horrible brought me to my knees. I mean, just devastated me.

So I left my current husband waiting, and waiting, an waiting. And I don’t… Listen, I don’t stand people up. I may run late because of traffic or whatever.

But an hour later, I called him and I said, “I’m not coming, number one. Number two I am so over the top sorry. I don’t stand people up. You know, I may run late, but I don’t stand people up. I apologize. Something went down. I’m not going to share it. But I would love it if one day you would let me make this up to you. And if you don’t. I totally, totally, understand.”

And he hung up. The next day, he called me and said, “You know what? I’ve been through a divorce, and it’s not easy going through a divorce. Kids – with kids or without kids. It’s, you know, it’s emotional.”

And I said “Thank you” and he goes, “If you ever want anyone to talk to… So yes, I will let you make up for last night.”

And I said, “Great. Pull up the calendar. My treat.”

And my husband is a little traditional. He’s a little old-fashioned when it comes to stuff like this. I said, “It will be my treat. And I’m not going to argue.” And I said, “…and let’s find a day.”

And you know, he allowed me to make that up to him. He didn’t let me pay. We made up. There was a huge fight. But, yeah, he allowed me to make that up and he’s… And when he made that phone call and I got off the next day… and when I got that phone call I said, “Now, there’s a man I will marry one day.”

Well, oh my gosh you and I need to like just talk sometime off of Skype. Sorry, listeners.

Yeah.

I actually went through very similar with my husband. So yeah. And it sounds like our husbands are very much similar you know. yeah.

So that’s a really good example. You know, like when you know God we forgot something, or you know… I mean how we’re human beings.

You know, bottom line, we’re human beings. It happens. But, you know, show up, and show up. I mean, and don’t show up by saying you know “My cat puked. My dog vomited. My father… Aging parents…” you know and that whole personal baggage. Don’t show up with that.

I’m to a point, seven years into this online business, I just… I don’t even know how to respond to that anymore. I don’t. When it comes to business it’s business. I don’t know how to respond to that. I mean except from the fact, you know, “I’m sorry you are overwhelmed with your life, but by the way, we all have lives.”

So you know, “Hey I messed up. I’m sorry. Allow me to make this up. If not…”

And you have to be OK that that person may be angry. It’s because it’s not us, and that takes a lot of work on oneself.

You just gave me a huge nugget for the day. I mean especially because I just came out of the past… Well, we’ve just come out of like, 12 days of sick kids and… And I was sharing, you know, “I’m sorry. You know, the kids are all sick.”

But it really… It doesn’t matter. Just the apology, though, has to be there, and the effort to make things up. And I… Oh my gosh. You just blew my mind, because I have been sharing more than I needed to, but it really doesn’t matter. It just matters what I’m going to do from here on out.

Yes.

Wow. Total mind blow. Thank you.

You’re welcome.

H2 Taking action inside your own live before a business takeoff

So, I’m going to ask one more question, and then I want you to share again where listeners can find you.

But what you see being the biggest hurdle that your hosts struggle with before they come to find you? Like, what holds them back? And what is the one step that you can give listeners who are thinking about a radio show? 

I’m totally circling back around to the beginning of the interview here. But what is that one step that you would encourage them to take so that they take the action in their lives to do what they want to do now.

First of all, stop waiting for everything to be perfect. You know, sometimes when we’re hand writing – I mean the expression “Dot your i’s. Cross your t’s.” Take a piece of paper and a pencil and do printing or cursive, I don’t care. Dot your i’s and cross your t’s on that piece of paper, It’s not perfect.

Then do it again. It will look different. And then do it again. It will be different again. And then do it again even more. It will be different again. You know, so don’t wait until that dot above the i is completely perfect above the i. It will never be. And move forward. You know be a little bit….

I like to say, “Be consumer savvy.” So like, if you’re going out to buy a TV, you know, do you go in to just one store and look at the TV? Or do you go into one store look at all the different brands of the TVs and then weigh out your pros and cons and narrow it down to your brand. It’s the same thing with hosting a radio show. It’s the same thing with a podcast – What kind of equipment to use? And it’s the same thing with what platforms, and what kind of car we’re going to drive, and things like that.

So, you know, be a little bit consumer savvy, so to speak, but you don’t have to know it all that you’re the expert. Unless you want to be an I.T. expert or a platform expert. You know, and move forward. Because how we launch, and Kim I know that, like you’re saying on the show here, you’re going back to like John Lee Dumas and listening to the beginning and some other podcasters.

Let me tell you. Go back to the beginning of their shows, then come to today with one of their shows. Oh my God. It’s night and day. It’s totally different. They’ve evolved. They’ve grown.

And that doesn’t mean one show is better than the other. It’s not at all. It’s evolution. It’s like parenting. You know, it’s like all that.

Each day hopefully we learn. And I don’t believe in mistakes but the lessons that are presented to us so we can go back and do it better.

No absolutely, I love that. 

Why “Cheap” can’t go with a business takeoff

And I just want to share, quick. When I started this business four years ago, I was greatly undercharging… GREATLY undercharging. And that is how I won some of my first projects. But it’s also how I lost some. People didn’t believe that I had the skills or the competence to do what I was trying to do because I was undervaluing.

But also, when I started, I really didn’t know where I was going with it. I was just going for any work possible. And I was listening to a Facebook Live or recorded Facebook Live with Cliff Ravenscraft yesterday. He was talking about podcasters -but I think you can go into your… into the radio shows as well – don’t do a show just because you think it’s what people want to hear. Or you know, you think you can make money off of that. 

Do it because you’re passionate about it. Because you’re going to find a lot more content, and you’re going to be sounding a lot more exciting in your recordings and even on air, if you really are passionate about what you’re doing.

It’s so true.

You know, so many people… Our whole world, Kim, has been made decisions based upon fear, lack, money, and we end up so unhappy. When, how about if we shifted and did things based upon from our heart. You know from the gut, the tummy tum space, you know of the intuition or… You know , let’s just, let’s not even get-woo woo down that road. I don’t want to… You know, some people think that’s so woo-woo.

But how about if you just went upon your heart. You know, do you… It’s like driving a car. You know, I see people drive cars, and a month later, “I can’t wait for my next car.” Well, whatever happened… You’ve only had this car for a month? I mean, don’t you love this car? What was the purpose of this car?

It’s just knowing the purpose and the destination of everything. What’s the purpose of the podcast? What’s the purpose of the radio show? What’s the purpose of this whole business?

If we are not passionate about that purpose, I’m going to tell you… We will quit. We will pull the blanket up over our heads and we’ll quit and lose hope.

Oh absolutely. 

It might be very tempting to go cheap on a business takeoff,

Most people think offering the same results on a lower price will get them the initial success they need. But, although it’ll get some money in your pocket, “some” isn’t enough for a serious takeoff. 

And I just have to throw in there, though, that I don’t think it’s ultra woo-woo. I was actually really focused on just the money for the longest time. And then a friend introduced me to Danielle LaPorte and I read The Desire Map and The Fire Starter Sessions.

Yes!

And that was huge for me. Like, just changed my whole outlook on my business altogether. Like, “Why am I doing what I’m doing.”

And I realized that money was not the right reason anymore.

You know… That’s what… OK, this is not a “Rah rah woman!” situation pro-, you know, burn bras, Jane Fonda kind of a thing, because I don’t believe in that. There’s a place for men. Do you know that women… We are the paradigm shift of this energetic world that we need?

Yeah, men are more you know black-white-logic thinker, you know “I’m the, you know, Fred Flintstone, caveman, bread-winner of the family.” and that’s their, a lot of their, DNA genetic makeup.

The women… We are to lead by joy, by health, by being happy, doing what we love to do. And then the money will come, and that is what a lot of women – because I work mainly with women – lose sight on. They lose sight on that.

And it’s… If we all could live like that, I’m not John Lennon, by no means, but man oh man, talk about peace and talk about less road rage, talk about less guns shooting, I’m just a proponent and believer of that.

If we were all living that way, less stress, we’ve got all this technology. I mean, things sink. Why are we so stressed out? Oh, because we’re packing more into our schedule. It’s ridiculous.

A business takeoff relies on compromise, flexibility, but above all Purpose

That’s my opinion, and I can be guilty of that too. So, don’t get me wrong here, but it’s… We women need to lead. I mean, I love watching women, “Oh yeahh! I started making soaps in my basement. OK. Now I’m in 20 stores, farm markets and I love my career. And this is it.”

I’m like holy crap! You know? I mean, that’s how this works. That’s how life… That’s what God created human beings for.

Wow. If you’re a man listening to this, and… I just want you to think about what you do day-in and day-out, and think about, are you passionate about it? Do you love it? Or are you just doing it because you think you have to?

And then for the women listening, are you supporting your significant other – whether it’s a man or a woman – are you supporting your significant other to be pursuing their passion and their purpose?

And if… I’m not trying to continually plug Cliff Ravenscraft, but I just want to share this quick story. He shares his own journey. He was working in insurance, and he just dreaded getting out of bed every morning. And I can see so many men who go through that, and so many women too. They dread getting out of bed in the morning because they’re just not passionate about what they’re doing. And finally his wife said: 

“You need to be doing podcasting full time. I will go out there and I’ll get a job (because she was a stay at home mom) I will go out there and get a job so that you can do this full time. But it’s what you need to do.”

So I want all of you to look at yourself, and at your significant others, and figure out what you can do to pursue your own passions and your productivity. Because we are not on this earth, and we are not living these lives, to be miserable and unhappy in what we do every day.

Any business takeoff could crash, but it’ll crash faster if it’s heavy to you,

Business owners need to understand that to give value you must see it and appreciate it yourself first. Only a salesman can sell something they don’t personally like.

You know that… You’re right, Kim. And you’re right, and it’s so interesting you use, you know, the insurance example because that’s my husband’s career. You know? And he’s third generation.

He loves it, cause he now loves going in, and trying to educate, ans giving people options, because he has his hands on a lot of insurance companies, that when in turn, when he goes to quote, you know, for property and casualty and employee benefits, he can teach the people, “Look. If you have this, then that will lower this. But if you have this…”

You know? I mean, he loves to educate around something that is necessary, so to speak, in our country.

And I love that he loves what he does. And if that’s what he loves to do, then it’s our responsibility to support other people and what they love to do.

Yes, absolutely. You know, so… You know, I mean that’s what he does. And he loves it. You know, he enjoys it, and it’s a fast-paced industry and he’s still pounding payments 30 years later, drumming up new business, maintaining old business, and things like that. And you know off he goes. But one of his ways of decompressing is golf.

So, you know, we have to have… I don’t like the word “balance” but we do have to have those negotiations in life so to speak. But again, with the man leading with what he does, is totally different than what a woman leading with what she loves to do. It’s just different genders of course, and things like that.

Right, absolutely. Well, Kim, thank you so much for this incredible conversation. I’ve loved every second of it and I’m sure the listeners have as well.

H2 Final words and contact

Where can they find you online? And where can they connect and get to know more about you and hopefully work with you?

Well, they can seek me out on Facebook – I’m Kim Boudreau Smith on Facebook. B o u d r e a u Smith. You can go to BoldRadioStation.com, or you can head on over to KimBSmith.com. I’m on LinkedIn and I’m on Twitter. Those are pretty much the only places right now I’m dancing on social media. Your best bet is just to swing by on Facebook or go over to the Web sites and just go through the connect page and reach out that way as well.

I’m sort of laughing. That’s the “only” places. That was like a whole bunch.

Well, I’m trying to get better with Instagram, and one of these days very soon I will, but that’s enough. I don’t remember being in all of those platforms. It’s just, you know what, it just adds more work for myself, and I am not interested.

No, and just like in our businesses, we have to embrace what we’re most passionate about. And if you’re not passionate about that platform then why do it.

Yes, I agree.

You don’t have to do it just because everybody else.

That’s right.

Last tip on a successful business takeoff: 

People will also notice when you’re not administrating your own efforts, and in some industries that’s a big no-no.

Well, thank you again, Kim. This has been an absolute joy, and I have enjoyed every single second.

Thank you. I have too. Thank you so much for inviting me on here. We need to maybe do this again and have like a party on your podcast. Party on your podcast.

Oh I love that idea. Stay tuned, listeners. Kim squared will be doing Party on the Positive Productivity podcast. Wow, that is a tongue twister.

That is, but I love that tongue twister. That’s awesome.

Yeah. yeah. We’ll have to set that up. 

Well thank you again for listening. Thank you Kim for being here today. If you enjoyed this episode and you want to learn more about business takeoff and other Positive and Productive things, all the links and everything will be in the show notes over at theKimSutton.com/podcast, and I look forward to having you listen to future episodes.