1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,180 Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening everybody, 2 00:00:02,180 --> 00:00:03,860 and welcome to today's episode 3 00:00:03,860 --> 00:00:06,120 of the NeverPeak Project Podcast. 4 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:08,140 I'm your host, Coach Ranger, 5 00:00:08,140 --> 00:00:12,180 and in 2024, I walked 2,642 miles 6 00:00:12,180 --> 00:00:14,600 across the United States of America. 7 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,200 Along that way, I met with dozens of entrepreneurs, 8 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,780 nonprofit leaders, and amazing community members 9 00:00:19,780 --> 00:00:22,840 that are making a real difference in their communities. 10 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:24,980 And the reason for that was to really learn from them 11 00:00:24,980 --> 00:00:26,380 and identify what it takes 12 00:00:26,380 --> 00:00:29,500 to make a successful business or organization. 13 00:00:29,500 --> 00:00:31,820 And in today's episode, I'm gonna be looking back 14 00:00:31,820 --> 00:00:34,280 at my time as the president 15 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:38,280 of the Northern California Herpetological Society 16 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,180 in Sacramento, California. 17 00:00:40,180 --> 00:00:41,280 And in today's episode, 18 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:43,560 we're gonna dive into three key principles 19 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,700 that you can take along in your journey starting today. 20 00:00:46,700 --> 00:00:48,640 The first one is going to be the importance 21 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,280 of having a clear mission statement 22 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:52,640 for what it is that you do 23 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,160 and the transformation that you offer your clients. 24 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:56,880 The second is going to be the difference 25 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,240 between selling someone something 26 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,920 and enrolling them in a vision. 27 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,760 And third, it's going to be about setting clear agreements 28 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:06,440 and boundaries with those that you work with. 29 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:08,000 Even if you're a solopreneur, 30 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,880 you will still be working with people from time to time, 31 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:12,980 whether it's people in your networking groups 32 00:01:12,980 --> 00:01:15,240 or vendors or customers. 33 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:16,480 I just wanna help make it clear 34 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,120 on how to set clear boundaries and agreements 35 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,040 with those that you come in contact with. 36 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:23,900 So sit back, relax, grab the beverage of your choice, 37 00:01:23,900 --> 00:01:25,880 and let's dive in as we learn 38 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:27,700 about my top three takeaways 39 00:01:27,700 --> 00:01:29,680 from working as the president 40 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,920 of the Northern California Herpetological Society. 41 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,440 So something that I think is extremely interesting 42 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,040 about the way that life works 43 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,160 is that people know you very differently 44 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,540 depending on where they met you. 45 00:01:41,540 --> 00:01:44,420 So for a lot of people, I'm coach ranger. 46 00:01:44,420 --> 00:01:47,160 For others, I'm the guy that walked across America. 47 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:49,160 But for some that knew me a few years ago, 48 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,440 I am the reptile guy. 49 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,340 In 2019, I adopted a ball python 50 00:01:54,340 --> 00:01:57,120 from a reptile rescue in Sacramento 51 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,600 called the Northern California Herpetological Society. 52 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:01,520 For the rest of the episode, 53 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,220 I'm just gonna call it NCHS to make it easier. 54 00:02:04,220 --> 00:02:06,640 But I adopted a ball python from NCHS. 55 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:08,360 I followed them on social media, 56 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:10,800 and I kind of thought that that was gonna be the end of it. 57 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,000 I got the ball python, his name is Scooter. 58 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:14,360 I still have him. 59 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:16,840 And he was a graduation gift for myself 60 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:18,580 from college at the time. 61 00:02:18,580 --> 00:02:21,700 But a few months later, I was following them on social media 62 00:02:21,700 --> 00:02:24,200 and I noticed that they had made a post 63 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,040 that they were looking for a publications director 64 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:28,800 to do their newsletter. 65 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:30,400 I expressed my interest. 66 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:31,740 I went to a few board meetings. 67 00:02:31,740 --> 00:02:35,560 I ran for the position and I lost. 68 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,880 I ran for it to be the publications director for 2021. 69 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,480 And I lost to another gentleman 70 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,360 that had more experience doing newsletters, 71 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:47,800 that had more writing experience, 72 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,120 and really want to get into that world more. 73 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:52,920 So I ended up just being on as a board member at large, 74 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:55,020 just a general guy on the team, 75 00:02:55,020 --> 00:02:56,900 but cut forward a few months later 76 00:02:56,900 --> 00:02:58,680 and that guy had to leave for some reason, 77 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:00,600 the guy that I had lost to. 78 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,760 So I moved into that position. 79 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,320 And then a few months later, the president had to step down. 80 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:08,600 So then I moved into that position. 81 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:09,840 And then the programs director, 82 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,380 the event planner had to step down. 83 00:03:12,380 --> 00:03:15,200 So again, I moved into that position. 84 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:19,480 And that's what I call my three P's period of being in NCHS. 85 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:21,860 And that's not quite what we're gonna be talking about, 86 00:03:21,860 --> 00:03:24,080 but I'm gonna be talking about the three main lessons 87 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,800 that I learned during that time 88 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,440 and how it can apply to your business and solopreneurship. 89 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,360 So the very first thing that I want to hit on 90 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:36,160 is the importance of having a clear mission statement. 91 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,960 When I first got elected on as president, 92 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,500 one of the things that I noticed is our mission statement 93 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:45,080 and what folks thought we were there for 94 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,480 didn't quite align with what the board wanted to do. 95 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:50,400 Typically, herpetological societies 96 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,320 are more so conservation-based. 97 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:54,200 And at the time, 98 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,040 that is what our mission statement was focused on. 99 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,920 Whereas the board was more focused on rescue, 100 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:02,120 rehabilitation, and education. 101 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,800 So there's a little bit of a mismanagement and misstep 102 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,120 in terms of the real reason why we were there. 103 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,240 And that caused some issues when we were trying 104 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:12,660 to bring new members into the society, 105 00:04:12,660 --> 00:04:16,400 when we were trying to ask donors for donations, 106 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:19,360 was we all kind of said something a little bit different. 107 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,200 And again, that just led to missed opportunities, 108 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,080 people being a little bit confused 109 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:26,120 oh, you know, person A said this, 110 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,120 but now you're saying that. 111 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,400 It doesn't really help you solidify anything. 112 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,560 So one of the things that I worked on as president 113 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:35,840 one of the very first things 114 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:38,560 was updating our mission statement. 115 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,660 And that is something that I help entrepreneurs, 116 00:04:42,660 --> 00:04:44,220 community members, et cetera, 117 00:04:44,220 --> 00:04:46,940 work through constantly throughout my coaching. 118 00:04:46,940 --> 00:04:49,400 Not quite if getting a clear mission statement 119 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,260 for themselves, but understanding the purpose, 120 00:04:52,260 --> 00:04:55,720 whether I am doing a 12 week coaching session with someone, 121 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,120 I am figuring out what their coaching purpose is. 122 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,120 If they say that something's important to them, 123 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:01,800 I ask them why. 124 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,660 I really want people to be clear on their purpose, 125 00:05:04,660 --> 00:05:06,920 their why, or their mission 126 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,080 for whatever it is that they're doing. 127 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:11,720 And that is something that is very clear 128 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,240 and established in a lot of the nonprofit world. 129 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:18,060 All the nonprofits that I mentioned on my podcast 130 00:05:18,060 --> 00:05:19,440 when I was walking across America, 131 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:21,120 every single one of them had a mission statement. 132 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:24,240 It was clear, concise, and specific. 133 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:25,920 So I wanna give you just a few tips 134 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:30,020 that I take into account when creating a mission statement. 135 00:05:30,020 --> 00:05:32,560 The very first one is to make sure 136 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,160 that you are clear on the audience and people that you serve. 137 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:37,760 Who is your target demographic? 138 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:39,480 Who is your audience? 139 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,200 What is it that you really want to create for them? 140 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,640 What problem are you solving? 141 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:45,920 It's taking the person 142 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,120 and understanding what the end result for them is. 143 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:50,400 The other thing is being sure 144 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:51,920 that you're following the three principles 145 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:53,800 for creating a mission statement, 146 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,840 as outlined in the book, The Path by Lori Beth Jones. 147 00:05:57,840 --> 00:05:59,640 And those three are to make sure 148 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:03,000 that your mission statement is no longer than one sentence, 149 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:05,400 that a 12-year-old could understand it, 150 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:09,920 and that you're able to recite it under extreme pressure. 151 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:11,920 Now, that is something that I took into account 152 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:13,400 when I created my mission statement 153 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:15,240 for my walk across the country. 154 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:17,100 My mission statement for that was to highlight, 155 00:06:17,100 --> 00:06:19,440 learn from, and work with people across the United States 156 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,320 that are making a real difference in their communities. 157 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:24,720 It was something that I had to recite every single day 158 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:25,720 when I met someone new, 159 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,000 when they were asking me why I was doing this. 160 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,320 I recited it when I was in extreme heat, 161 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:33,480 extreme cold, in the rain, 162 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:35,960 when there's a bunch of traffic going by. 163 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,380 And when I would say that to kids, 164 00:06:38,380 --> 00:06:39,960 they would be able to understand what it meant. 165 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:41,320 And it was one sentence, 166 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,920 there wasn't a lot of extra explanations or jargon, 167 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,760 and that was something that was able to quickly connect 168 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,240 with people all across the country. 169 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:51,600 I set it on the side of the road, 170 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,100 I set it on news stations, on radio shows, on podcasts, 171 00:06:55,100 --> 00:06:58,160 written format, and people were able to quickly understand 172 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,960 what that meant and really figure out 173 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,080 which part of that worked for them the most, 174 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:06,160 which one they really resonated with. 175 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:10,400 Whereas for NCHS, the mission statement that we landed on 176 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,640 was to promote the wellbeing of reptiles and amphibians 177 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,460 through education, conservation, and rehabilitation. 178 00:07:17,460 --> 00:07:20,360 Now that was something that anybody could understand. 179 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,360 That was something that when we set it at expos 180 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:24,560 or educational events, 181 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:26,760 or just to some random guy on the street, 182 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:28,360 it would give them a quick understanding 183 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:30,480 of what it is that we're about, what it is that we're due. 184 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:32,320 They can kind of fill in some gaps, 185 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:34,980 but it could lead into more conversation 186 00:07:34,980 --> 00:07:38,420 about the exact mission of what we're trying to create. 187 00:07:38,420 --> 00:07:39,780 Like, what do you mean by education? 188 00:07:39,780 --> 00:07:40,960 What does that look like? 189 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:42,360 What about conservation? 190 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:43,920 What about rehabilitation? 191 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:46,600 It gives people these different pathways to go down 192 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,760 and talk about to the people, the prospects 193 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:51,000 that we're meeting at shows, 194 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:52,160 whether they're gonna be a member, 195 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:54,960 whether they're going to adopt or be a donor. 196 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,340 And same thing with my walk across the country, 197 00:07:57,340 --> 00:07:59,520 to highlight, learn from, and work with. 198 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:01,140 Well, what do you mean by highlight? 199 00:08:01,140 --> 00:08:04,280 Oh, I mean that I'm going to have some folks on my podcast, 200 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,440 on my social media, highlight, learn from. 201 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:10,180 I'm going to learn from them on those episodes. 202 00:08:10,180 --> 00:08:12,080 I'm gonna ask them questions that I would wanna know about 203 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:13,960 so that I can apply to my business 204 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,260 and help folks later down the road. 205 00:08:16,260 --> 00:08:18,440 And work with, I wanna be side by side with them. 206 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:19,400 I wanna volunteer. 207 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:21,040 I wanna get to really know the inner workings 208 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,400 of their organizations and how that could apply 209 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:25,800 to what I wanna create. 210 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,160 So those are the three main factors 211 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:29,880 when it comes to writing it. 212 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:31,560 But you really wanna make sure that you also are clear 213 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,320 on who and what you're offering folks. 214 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,820 The next lesson that I learned from the non-profit work 215 00:08:37,820 --> 00:08:40,240 was to enroll, not sell. 216 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,320 Now, the difference between enrolling and selling 217 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,240 is that enrolling is really about inviting folks 218 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:48,720 to be a part of what you're trying to create. 219 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,160 You're focusing on shared values. 220 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:54,600 You're focused on shared vision as opposed to selling 221 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,080 is trying to get a product or a service in their hands 222 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,840 or life that could potentially help them. 223 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:01,240 Now, when it comes to enrollment 224 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,000 on the reptile non-profit side, 225 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,240 the biggest example of that was the membership 226 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:07,440 that we would sell. 227 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:08,820 We had a couple different models for it, 228 00:09:08,820 --> 00:09:11,480 either a monthly or a yearly cost basis. 229 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,700 But really the whole idea was that we were bringing in people 230 00:09:14,700 --> 00:09:16,960 that had shared values to us. 231 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,600 We were looking to bring in folks 232 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:21,680 that cared about proper husbandry, 233 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:24,420 folks that cared about conservation of wildlife, 234 00:09:24,420 --> 00:09:26,020 and folks that wanted to make a difference 235 00:09:26,020 --> 00:09:30,160 in a hobby and industry that they are actively a part of. 236 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,400 Now, when it comes to selling, 237 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:36,120 we didn't want to just push this down people's throats. 238 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:37,380 We didn't want it to be something 239 00:09:37,380 --> 00:09:40,040 that we felt icky about, right? 240 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:41,300 And that was something that got brought up a lot 241 00:09:41,300 --> 00:09:44,000 was that our people weren't salesmen. 242 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:45,520 They were keepers. 243 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:47,200 They were people that cared about husbandry. 244 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:48,880 They were the board members. 245 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,360 And I think something that really highlighted that was 246 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,600 at each of those events that we went to, 247 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:57,000 we would typically have a raffle basket. 248 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,560 And what I noticed was the two gentlemen, 249 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:01,740 the two of the husbands of the board members 250 00:10:01,740 --> 00:10:03,880 that were fantastic at selling, 251 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:06,920 they wouldn't say, hey, buy this ticket. 252 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,720 They would say, hey, do you want to support our mission 253 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,980 of rescuing and rehabbing animals? 254 00:10:12,980 --> 00:10:16,240 Now, that was a lot more of a, 255 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,080 I don't know, a hook than, hey, buy this ticket 256 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:22,080 so they can win this prize. 257 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:23,920 They were really able to wrap people in 258 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,760 based off of a shared value 259 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:28,420 and then bring them into that conversation. 260 00:10:28,420 --> 00:10:30,660 And we sold hundreds and thousands of dollars 261 00:10:30,660 --> 00:10:33,040 worth of raffle tickets that went straight 262 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,760 to helping the animals that were within our care. 263 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,080 Now, when it comes to applying this to your business, 264 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:42,560 I think the biggest thing is to share the things 265 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:44,360 that are important to you as an individual, 266 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:46,640 that share things that are important to you as a company, 267 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,540 and really show those values through the things 268 00:10:49,540 --> 00:10:52,680 that you create in the public eye. 269 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:54,680 Something that I've noticed is companies 270 00:10:54,680 --> 00:10:58,280 like Tony's Choco Lonely do this fantastically. 271 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:00,860 Their big thing is that they don't support child 272 00:11:00,860 --> 00:11:02,760 and slave labor in the cacao industry 273 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:05,580 and the cacao suppliers that they work with. 274 00:11:05,580 --> 00:11:09,120 They pay double or more the typical daily rate 275 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,360 of cacao farmers in those regions. 276 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:14,320 And they talk about this constantly on their social media. 277 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:16,520 They're not saying, hey, buy our chocolate, it's the best. 278 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:18,200 Hey, buy our chocolate, it tastes great. 279 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:20,240 They're saying, we are here for people 280 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,240 that wanna support what it is that we're trying to create, 281 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,440 which is fair and equitable trade and commerce 282 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:28,840 throughout the entire world. 283 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:32,120 We just so happen to do that by selling chocolate. 284 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:34,160 If you wanna be a part of that, fantastic, 285 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:36,080 here's our link, but more importantly, 286 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,520 we wanna make people aware of this issue that is happening. 287 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,640 And that is a fantastic example of socialpreneurship, 288 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:44,760 which I'll get into in another episode, 289 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,560 but really it's about showing the dream outcome 290 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:50,000 and vision that you wanna create 291 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:51,980 from your product or service 292 00:11:51,980 --> 00:11:54,000 so that others can feel more empowered 293 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,300 when they buy that and partake in that. 294 00:11:56,300 --> 00:12:00,840 It's about creating a community rather than just a customer. 295 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:02,440 And I think that that is something huge 296 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:03,900 when it comes to creating a movement, 297 00:12:03,900 --> 00:12:05,620 which if you wanna learn more about that, 298 00:12:05,620 --> 00:12:09,560 I would recommend Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson. 299 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:10,800 I'll put that in the show notes 300 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,240 so that you can check out the Amazon copy, 301 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,600 but really about creating a movement 302 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:18,660 around your service or product. 303 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:22,120 Now, moving into the final lesson that I learned 304 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:23,920 that I wanna share with you guys today 305 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:27,240 is the importance of making clear agreements. 306 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:28,400 Now, nonprofit work, 307 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,100 just like most any other organizational structure, 308 00:12:31,100 --> 00:12:35,000 is really based around people working together. 309 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:37,000 And it's not just people working together, 310 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,400 it's people communicating with one another. 311 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:42,920 And that is something that is going to be a constant 312 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,560 throughout anybody's journey of solopreneurship, 313 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:48,760 entrepreneurship, whether you have a team, 314 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:50,800 whether you have virtual assistants, 315 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:53,560 being able to set clear agreements 316 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:55,640 and expectations with one another 317 00:12:55,640 --> 00:13:00,560 is extremely important for creating the vision, 318 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:02,840 the mission that you're trying to achieve 319 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:07,840 because ambiguity often leads to confusion and inefficiency. 320 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,240 And I'm gonna pull out a little bit of a Ted Lasso quote 321 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:12,720 here, but really when it comes to setting agreements, 322 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:16,180 it's about being curious, not judgmental. 323 00:13:16,180 --> 00:13:19,560 And when I say judgmental, I don't mean negative, right? 324 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:22,060 I mean that you're creating stories in your head 325 00:13:22,060 --> 00:13:23,800 about what something means. 326 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:25,500 It's being able to ask questions, 327 00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:29,480 ask clarifying questions about the events, 328 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:31,580 about the expectations. 329 00:13:31,580 --> 00:13:33,480 That was something that came up for us a few times 330 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,480 was we'd be asked to do an educational event. 331 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,480 We would say, great, we'll do our normal setup. 332 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,520 The vendor would say, that's fantastic. 333 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:42,600 And then we would show up 334 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:44,380 and then the vendor would communicate with me 335 00:13:44,380 --> 00:13:46,640 that that wasn't quite what they were expecting. 336 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:48,200 They were so happy with it, 337 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:50,920 but they were hoping it would be X, Y, and Z. 338 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,960 Then later on, what I would do is 339 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,140 when we would set up these educational events, 340 00:13:56,140 --> 00:13:57,520 I would ask very specifically, 341 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:01,080 what do you expect from us during this event? 342 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:05,000 And that just led to so much more clarity, happier vendors, 343 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,680 greater, better presentations on our part 344 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:10,000 that really aligned with what the vendor 345 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:11,960 was trying to create for their audience. 346 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:14,780 Whether it was a school, another nonprofit, 347 00:14:14,780 --> 00:14:17,120 or just another reptile expo, 348 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:19,560 it helped us make sure that we were hitting 349 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:21,520 all the points that we were supposed to hit. 350 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:24,360 And especially in the cases where there was a donation 351 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,360 or a monetary exchange involved, 352 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:28,000 we wanted to be sure that we were hitting 353 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,280 all the expectations extremely clear. 354 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,520 When it comes to the organizational side, 355 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,880 it's not just about working with the event director 356 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:39,080 with the vendor or the host, 357 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:40,960 it's the event director working with 358 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,840 the individual volunteers and other collaborators on it. 359 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:46,280 Whether we're working with another nonprofit 360 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,960 or just people on our board and volunteers, 361 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:50,120 being able to say, hey, 362 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:51,840 this is exactly where we're gonna be, 363 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,000 this is what we're gonna do. 364 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,680 Martha, you do this, Rebecca does this, et cetera, 365 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:57,760 down the line. 366 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:00,600 Being able to see exactly what everybody else is doing 367 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,200 and how to do it helps a ton. 368 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:05,960 Now, something that I saw that comes up 369 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:09,960 as like a little bit of an extra pro tip are bucket words. 370 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:11,360 And when I say bucket words, 371 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:13,600 those are words that are very small, 372 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:16,120 but they hold a lot inside of it. 373 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:19,520 So for example, if I wanted to say someone 374 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:21,680 is a good communicator, 375 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,560 and I just put good in front of communicator, 376 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,880 everybody kind of has different ideas of what that means. 377 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:29,600 But when you really look at that bucket 378 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:31,960 and you look in that good bucket, 379 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:34,080 you see that it means things like 380 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,400 they are able to form a coherent thought, 381 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:38,080 they're able to organize a speech, 382 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:40,880 they're able to have good eye contact, 383 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:45,200 they have a good way of expressing themselves, 384 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:46,400 et cetera, et cetera. 385 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:47,920 So that's something to be on the lookout for 386 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:50,040 in your organizational structure, 387 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,160 that whenever somebody uses a bucket word 388 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,600 like good, bad, exceptional, 389 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,320 you really ask them, what do they mean by that? 390 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,520 What does that look like to them? 391 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,000 That is something that after I started using it, 392 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,760 really changed the game in terms of understanding 393 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,200 what my fellow volunteers expected from me, 394 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:12,120 but also the people that we were working directly with. 395 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,720 So a modern day practical example of this 396 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,000 is the BRN group that I'm a part of, 397 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:19,240 the Business Referral Network 398 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,040 through the San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce. 399 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,160 Is the very first meeting I asked them, 400 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,640 what agreements would you like to set now? 401 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,480 So for example, some of those included, 402 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:31,360 we wanna start right on time, 403 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,760 we wanna be laser when we speak, 404 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:37,680 and we wanna get out at the time that we have agreed upon. 405 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,040 Very time focused group, I love that, 406 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:41,960 we're very efficient and down to the mission 407 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:43,440 of why we're there. 408 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:45,000 So that is something that I would recommend 409 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:46,840 that you set with your team as well, 410 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,520 is what agreements would we like to make with one another? 411 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,080 Because it's about setting those ahead of time, 412 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,560 but also talking about them so that as issues arise 413 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:57,400 or as agreements aren't being met, 414 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:00,560 people feel empowered to have that conversation with you, 415 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:02,200 to kind of get you back on track, 416 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:04,760 or you can initiate that conversation with them 417 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:08,200 to get where you want to go. 418 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:09,920 So when it really comes down to it, 419 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:12,480 I would say that those are my three main lessons 420 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:15,240 that I learned from being the president 421 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,000 of a nonprofit for a few years. 422 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,800 So whether you're running a rescue or a revenue based 423 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,920 business, the principles of leadership really do stay 424 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,920 the same when it comes to purpose driven management. 425 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:27,360 Take time to clarify your mission, 426 00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:29,200 really enroll your audience in the world 427 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,120 that you wanna create and show how your product 428 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:32,880 or service fits into that vision, 429 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:34,760 and establish clear agreements with those 430 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:35,960 that you're in partnership with. 431 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,080 I really hope that the lessons and tips that I shared today 432 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,440 are impactful and useful for you on your journey 433 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:45,160 of creating the business that you wanna see in the world. 434 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:46,320 Let me know what your mission is, 435 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:48,040 go ahead and share it with me on Instagram, 436 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:52,000 I'm gonna post a carousel about today's episode. 437 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,560 Let me know what your mission is. 438 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:56,360 My Instagram handle is just at within range underscore 439 00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:58,520 coaching, that information will be in the show notes. 440 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,280 And if you wanna learn more about aligning your business 441 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:03,680 with purpose, reach out to me. 442 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:05,920 I'd love to help you out on your entrepreneurial journey 443 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,440 to help you align with your purpose, 444 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:10,920 set the accountability structures to get there, 445 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,000 and work towards purpose driven action 446 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,560 so that your business and bottom line grows. 447 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:19,520 And that's all I have for today's episode. 448 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:20,760 This week on the podcast, 449 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:22,920 we have some extremely exciting things planned. 450 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:25,880 On Wednesday, I'm dropping an episode with Ty King 451 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,600 from the Arkansas Podcast Collaborative. 452 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:30,760 They're an amazing nonprofit that helps podcasters 453 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,480 all across the country build, monetize, 454 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:35,480 and grow their podcasts. 455 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:37,720 And on Friday, I'm going to be going down 456 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,160 to the Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce 457 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:45,080 to record a entrepreneurship update for everybody. 458 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:47,040 And I'm gonna be using the fancy new equipment 459 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:51,000 that Chris Lynn and her team have built up in the chamber. 460 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,280 So I'm hoping that we'll have some fantastic audio 461 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:55,800 and video for that episode. 462 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:59,160 But until then, remember that the best is yet to come, 463 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:01,320 as long as you're willing to make the decision 464 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,000 to never settle, never quit, and never peak. 465 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:10,000 I'll see you guys in the next episode.