WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.080 Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.960 we explore the journeys that lead to success. 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.220 I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:13.859 Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you 00:00:13.859 --> 00:00:17.100 insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:20.820 and experts who will share not just their expertise, 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.120 but the milestone moments that have reshaped 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:27.059 their journeys and led to significant achievements. 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.379 So if you're looking for motivation, you're in 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:33.560 the right place. Subscribe now and discover the 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:41.899 milestones that mark the path to success. Welcome 00:00:41.899 --> 00:00:45.179 to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business 00:00:45.179 --> 00:00:48.200 and Leadership. I'm your host, Sheila Slick, 00:00:48.219 --> 00:00:52.640 and today my special guest is Casey Jones. Casey 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:55.880 transforms overwhelmed coaches and consultants 00:00:55.880 --> 00:01:00.359 into essentialist CEOs, leaders who are both 00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:04.579 CEO, officer, or the chief executive officer 00:01:04.579 --> 00:01:09.140 of their business, and the chief experience officer 00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:14.260 of their life. Welcome to the show, Casey. Thank 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:16.040 you so much, Sheila. I'm so good to be here. 00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:19.200 Me too. And I absolutely love that title. So 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.319 I would love to learn what a chief experience 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:26.019 officer of your life is. Well, you know, what 00:01:26.019 --> 00:01:30.040 I've seen is, so I work with, I typically work 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:33.780 with people who had a successful run in corporate 00:01:33.780 --> 00:01:36.459 or working for other people and then went out 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:40.469 on their own. Usually we become entrepreneurs 00:01:40.469 --> 00:01:42.989 with this hope of, you know, the so -called financial 00:01:42.989 --> 00:01:45.090 freedom and being able to like make good money 00:01:45.090 --> 00:01:48.250 and have this a great life. But a lot of us, 00:01:48.269 --> 00:01:51.709 when we first make this transition, you wind 00:01:51.709 --> 00:01:54.870 up actually working longer hours for shittier 00:01:54.870 --> 00:01:57.569 benefits. Right. Like you've got a kind of a 00:01:57.569 --> 00:02:02.909 meaner boss. And and so a lot and we wind up 00:02:02.909 --> 00:02:07.920 often feeling like there is this. trade -off 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:10.180 and that you have to put the business first in 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:13.460 order to eventually earn the ability to have 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:15.939 a good life while you run your own business. 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:19.360 And so what I really work on with my clients 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:24.219 is how do you build the strategy and the systems 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:26.740 in your business so that you can really reach 00:02:26.740 --> 00:02:31.590 predictable like 30 to 50k months. but without 00:02:31.590 --> 00:02:34.090 sacrificing your life, while having a good life, 00:02:34.129 --> 00:02:37.550 while taking vacations with your family and doing 00:02:37.550 --> 00:02:40.289 the things that you love and having a really 00:02:40.289 --> 00:02:45.210 kind of rich experience. So are you helping them 00:02:45.210 --> 00:02:47.789 in the transition or once they've already taken 00:02:47.789 --> 00:02:50.949 the leap and they've left their corporate job? 00:02:51.789 --> 00:02:54.289 They're starting the business. It's a little 00:02:54.289 --> 00:02:57.169 bit of both. Most of the time my clients have 00:02:57.169 --> 00:02:59.289 already started the business, but oftentimes 00:02:59.289 --> 00:03:03.389 they either, they're typically in one of two 00:03:03.389 --> 00:03:07.469 places. They've either like just left and are 00:03:07.469 --> 00:03:10.990 trying to figure out how do they build this business? 00:03:11.050 --> 00:03:15.210 How do they do it right? Or they have been at 00:03:15.210 --> 00:03:18.069 it for a while and they're looking around and 00:03:18.069 --> 00:03:21.000 they think. I'm really good at what I do. Why 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:23.800 the hell can I not make more money doing it? 00:03:23.860 --> 00:03:29.539 This shouldn't be so freaking hard. And so, you 00:03:29.539 --> 00:03:32.780 know, my work is really helping them zoom out 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:36.740 just a little bit to kind of build the strategy 00:03:36.740 --> 00:03:40.580 and the systems that make the work a little bit 00:03:40.580 --> 00:03:46.520 simpler and a lot more profitable. So when you 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:51.259 say systems, are we talking? Software? No. Well, 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:54.340 sometimes it's things like automations. But when 00:03:54.340 --> 00:03:56.580 I think of systems, what I really think about 00:03:56.580 --> 00:04:02.240 is what are the repeated actions in the business? 00:04:02.419 --> 00:04:04.800 So oftentimes my clients, when we first start 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:07.800 working together, they built a referral -based 00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:10.520 business. So they kind of wait for someone to 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:14.419 come to them where they've said, hey, can you 00:04:14.419 --> 00:04:18.819 help me with X? My client will be like, oh, my 00:04:18.819 --> 00:04:21.620 God, of course I can help you with that random 00:04:21.620 --> 00:04:23.980 thing that maybe I haven't really quite done. 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:25.779 But I'm smart. I can figure it out. And so they 00:04:25.779 --> 00:04:28.220 go and they do that thing. But the problem is 00:04:28.220 --> 00:04:30.579 when you do that over and over again, you basically 00:04:30.579 --> 00:04:34.439 are always doing everything as a standalone project. 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:39.480 Nothing compounds. You're doing everything kind 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:42.399 of for the first time every time, which means 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:46.350 it's a lot of manual work. When those referrals 00:04:46.350 --> 00:04:49.870 slow down or dry up, it becomes incredibly, what 00:04:49.870 --> 00:04:52.350 do you do? If you've always, if you've done a 00:04:52.350 --> 00:04:54.889 million slightly different things for a million 00:04:54.889 --> 00:04:57.850 slightly different people, it then becomes when 00:04:57.850 --> 00:04:59.449 those referrals dry up, you're like, well, dude, 00:04:59.550 --> 00:05:01.170 I don't even know what to do. I don't know where 00:05:01.170 --> 00:05:03.050 to go to drum up business. I don't know what 00:05:03.050 --> 00:05:07.589 to tell people I do. Oftentimes what it is is 00:05:07.589 --> 00:05:09.810 that we've spent so much time working in the 00:05:09.810 --> 00:05:12.870 business that we haven't really taken the time 00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:15.029 to work on the business. And what I often say 00:05:15.029 --> 00:05:18.129 is a lot of my clients before working with me, 00:05:18.230 --> 00:05:21.769 they don't realize this, but the way I look at 00:05:21.769 --> 00:05:24.050 it is they haven't built an actual business. 00:05:24.889 --> 00:05:27.149 They've built a full -time side hustle. It's 00:05:27.149 --> 00:05:29.370 just a collection of a bunch of random projects 00:05:29.370 --> 00:05:33.139 that don't really tie together. There's a lot 00:05:33.139 --> 00:05:35.779 of missed opportunity in terms of how do you 00:05:35.779 --> 00:05:38.459 get really clear on like productizing your offer 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:42.579 and having a repeatable system of how you onboard 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:45.879 clients and how you deliver like incredible results. 00:05:46.259 --> 00:05:48.879 And I often think about how you can't improve 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.480 a process that doesn't exist. And so the only 00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:55.639 way we get better at what we do or we take big 00:05:55.639 --> 00:05:57.720 leaps forward in getting better at what we do 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:02.100 and making more money from it is. really building 00:06:02.100 --> 00:06:05.379 those systems, those processes, and then doing 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:07.839 it over and over again and tweaking it and making 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:11.240 it better over time. Yeah, no, and that's important 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:14.980 because sometimes those repetitions is what will 00:06:14.980 --> 00:06:18.240 get you to that finish line, but it's what gets 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:21.699 boring. You lose that momentum sometimes, right? 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:24.800 Because it's just not going at the pace that 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:28.920 perhaps you wanted. I know that... With a lot 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:30.620 of the women that I've worked with, one of the 00:06:30.620 --> 00:06:32.920 things, and it came to mind because you said 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:36.399 the word referral. Yeah. Referral is really comfortable 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:39.959 because the work is coming to you. Oh, yeah. 00:06:40.100 --> 00:06:43.720 But having to be consistent with that outreach, 00:06:44.060 --> 00:06:49.199 that's a whole different arena. And it's a necessary 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:53.379 part, in my opinion. of any successful business 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:56.399 because that's how you're going to grow. That's 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:59.500 how you have that system where you're perhaps 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:03.279 repeating what's working and what's not. And 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:06.339 it's also where you have more control. If you're 00:07:06.339 --> 00:07:08.300 always sitting around waiting for a referral, 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:13.459 you don't control anything. And that sucks. That's 00:07:13.459 --> 00:07:17.100 just not fun at all, right? We were talking earlier 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:21.100 about timelines, but 20 years ago it was build 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:24.240 it and they will come. But the world has evolved 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:27.839 to the point where we do even have tools that 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:29.939 will help you automate some of those processes. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:33.160 Now, a lot of people are using automation. So 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:36.019 I've been very active on LinkedIn and I changed 00:07:36.019 --> 00:07:38.839 the way that I was trying to connect with people 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:44.529 being more intentional. And it really does. connect 00:07:44.529 --> 00:07:46.930 you with the right people when you're not just 00:07:46.930 --> 00:07:51.009 sometimes filtering to try and get quantity over 00:07:51.009 --> 00:07:54.810 quality yeah and it really made a difference 00:07:54.810 --> 00:07:58.410 and it just changed the way that I was connecting 00:07:58.410 --> 00:08:01.829 with people it was almost fun rather than feeling 00:08:01.829 --> 00:08:06.490 like it was a chore yeah it makes it more human 00:08:06.490 --> 00:08:09.829 and I think that's the hard part about that's 00:08:09.829 --> 00:08:12.800 the that is the trade -off with like systems, 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:16.759 automations, AI, all of it, is that if we lean 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:19.399 too hard into it, we lose the humanity and we 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:21.879 lose the purpose behind why we do it in the first 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:24.500 place. And it's like, you know, LinkedIn is supposed 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:28.379 to be a social network. It's supposed to be about 00:08:28.379 --> 00:08:31.759 connection and building real relationships. And 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:35.840 if everything is automated, it's not. And it's, 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:38.500 you know, I used to really love LinkedIn. It's, 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:41.009 I would say over the last... three or four years, 00:08:41.149 --> 00:08:45.330 90 % of my revenue has come from LinkedIn. But 00:08:45.330 --> 00:08:48.049 it's not as fun as it used to be because so much 00:08:48.049 --> 00:08:51.409 of it is automated. So much of it is AI that 00:08:51.409 --> 00:08:54.129 it's harder to feel like you're having real conversations 00:08:54.129 --> 00:08:58.149 with real people. And I used to accept like freaking 00:08:58.149 --> 00:09:02.230 every connection request and I'm so much. I'm 00:09:02.230 --> 00:09:05.289 so much less likely to because there are so many 00:09:05.289 --> 00:09:07.129 of them where I'm like, I know I'm going to accept 00:09:07.129 --> 00:09:09.269 this and I'm immediately going to get a canned 00:09:09.269 --> 00:09:14.769 pitch. And I don't want that. What would be like 00:09:14.769 --> 00:09:17.970 one key takeaway or piece of advice to anyone 00:09:17.970 --> 00:09:22.830 listening that perhaps is waiting on those referrals 00:09:22.830 --> 00:09:27.350 to feel more comfortable reaching out? So the 00:09:27.350 --> 00:09:30.960 biggest thing. is look we learned we learned 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:33.519 10 times more and 10 times faster from taking 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:35.500 action than from sitting around kind of thinking 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:39.159 about things and the emphasis I always make is 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:43.320 that you know if if the challenge is or the the 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:45.820 goal is that you want to find that financial 00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:49.860 freedom then you need to seize the reins and 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:52.100 you need to take control of that and and that 00:09:52.100 --> 00:09:55.379 means you know that means reaching out that means 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:57.759 kind of building those relationships and I think 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:01.720 A lot of us feel like that is kind of icky or 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:05.080 it's too salesy. But what I always talk about 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:08.120 is the idea of if you genuinely believe in your 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:13.899 heart that your work can really add value or 00:10:13.899 --> 00:10:18.799 help people or solve real problems, then I truly 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:22.559 believe you have a responsibility to make sure 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:26.309 that as many people that you think you can help 00:10:26.309 --> 00:10:29.070 know about you and about your ability to help 00:10:29.070 --> 00:10:33.070 them like sales outreach all of it when done 00:10:33.070 --> 00:10:37.409 well it's an act of service it's not you don't 00:10:37.409 --> 00:10:39.450 have to think of it as a purely selfish thing 00:10:39.450 --> 00:10:42.490 it is about you truly connecting with people 00:10:42.490 --> 00:10:47.250 who you both feel called to serve and you feel 00:10:47.250 --> 00:10:49.350 like you really can serve and you really can 00:10:49.350 --> 00:10:54.120 help them so how would you respond to somebody 00:10:54.120 --> 00:10:56.360 that said, no, I'm trying to connect. And I'm 00:10:56.360 --> 00:10:58.240 thinking of that person that's just starting 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:01.559 out. And I have some people in mind and perhaps 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:04.820 I have these conversations where one of the things 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:06.639 that they struggle with when they're trying to 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:09.460 take that leap is, well, I'm not going to have 00:11:09.460 --> 00:11:11.860 that very same salary the moment that I start 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:14.440 working for myself. What are some things that 00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:17.620 you would say to someone that perhaps isn't happy 00:11:17.620 --> 00:11:19.940 where they're at now, but they're not taking 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:22.860 that leap? And maybe two, three years have gone 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:25.279 by and they've had that thought because you said 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:28.440 take action in their minds, but they've done 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:31.019 nothing about it. They haven't even like started 00:11:31.019 --> 00:11:34.659 a side gig. So, okay. So I think that whenever 00:11:34.659 --> 00:11:38.019 there is a thing I want to do and I notice I 00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:41.240 am not doing it, I know that there are usually 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:45.019 two things going on. First, there is something 00:11:45.019 --> 00:11:48.340 about that that makes me, that kicks up a fear. 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:51.700 or a limiting belief or an insecurity of mine. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:57.759 And I need to get curious about why. What is 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:01.840 it about that? Why am I scared of it? What does 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:05.200 not taking action do for me? How does that keep 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.139 me safe? Just get curious about it. It's not 00:12:07.139 --> 00:12:09.120 about judgment. It's not about a critic. Just 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:12.500 genuinely get curious and think about what are 00:12:12.500 --> 00:12:14.500 the other things in your life that have made 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:18.909 you feel that way. Number two. Every single time. 00:12:19.750 --> 00:12:22.649 Part of the reason why I am not taking action 00:12:22.649 --> 00:12:25.110 is because the thing that I want to do feels 00:12:25.110 --> 00:12:30.490 really big and unwieldy and intimidating and 00:12:30.490 --> 00:12:35.169 it's just too much. So my recommendation always 00:12:35.169 --> 00:12:40.009 is you need to break it down into the tiniest. 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:44.940 simplest, littlest freaking steps. So think about 00:12:44.940 --> 00:12:47.460 what are the first three things that you could, 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:51.080 each thing that you could do in five or 10 minutes. 00:12:52.039 --> 00:12:57.820 It's like, oh, I don't know, go on to godaddy 00:12:57.820 --> 00:13:02.320 .com and buy the domain or go update, like whatever, 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:05.039 whatever it is. The first three things, make 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:06.759 sure that they are really, really simple and 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:09.059 really, really easy. And then start doing them. 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:10.740 And as soon as you come up with those first three 00:13:10.740 --> 00:13:12.700 and you do them, you come up with the next three. 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:15.960 And keep making them simple. The thing to always 00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:18.440 remember is that when you are doing something 00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:21.179 new that you haven't done before, inertia is 00:13:21.179 --> 00:13:23.799 working against you. You are pushing that giant 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:27.820 boulder up a freaking hill. And it's going to 00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:32.100 be really difficult at first. And so you want 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:35.179 to make it as simple and easy as possible because 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:37.139 what will happen is then you'll start to be like, 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:40.879 oh, whoa, look at me. I'm like checking off some 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:44.580 of these boxes and that hill starts to flatten 00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:46.299 out just a little bit. You build a little bit 00:13:46.299 --> 00:13:48.620 more confidence. It gets a little bit less scary 00:13:48.620 --> 00:13:51.320 and you start to build the momentum. The key 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:57.259 is find ways to just get started and also to 00:13:57.259 --> 00:14:00.059 keep reflecting back on like, What are the emotions 00:14:00.059 --> 00:14:04.700 that are coming up? Why is this scary? You know, 00:14:04.700 --> 00:14:06.620 where does that come from in your life and in 00:14:06.620 --> 00:14:08.580 your background and in your childhood? And if 00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:13.940 you do those two things, three months, six months 00:14:13.940 --> 00:14:16.759 down the line, you'll be genuinely shocked at 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:20.179 how much you have been able to move forward and 00:14:20.179 --> 00:14:24.559 how much you have been able to do. I like that. 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:29.120 So where can we connect with you? So on every 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:35.039 social media platform, my handle is abetterjones, 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:37.740 but you can also look up Casey Jones, Casey with 00:14:37.740 --> 00:14:43.980 a K, and then also essentialistceo .com. Well, 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:46.840 thank you so much for joining me today. Thank 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:49.820 you, Sheila. This was really fun. I'll leave 00:14:49.820 --> 00:14:52.600 all of her information in the description. And 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:55.259 thank you all for tuning in to another episode 00:14:55.259 --> 00:14:58.279 of Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership. 00:14:58.659 --> 00:15:00.059 Until next time.