Episode 27 Transcript
Heather:
I am so excited to have Michelle on this show. We always have a good banter with the guests before the show. And I had to like restrain myself from asking questions of Michelle because I wanted to record the session. So welcome Michelle, it's so good to have you here.
Michelle:
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for having
Heather:
Oh,
Michelle:
me.
Heather:
so good to have you. Okay. So what we're going to do is I want to start with, like, as I told you before, and as my listeners know, we are all about getting through those really challenging moments of overwhelm business growth with less hustle. So I don't like to mess around and I like to jump straight in. So I think we'll just start there. I would love to know three tips that you have either for yourself. or for the many businesses that you help on how to grow with that less hustle grind, crazy, you know, stress reaction that a lot of us get.
Michelle:
Oh yeah, absolutely. And I know these tips only because I did them all wrong when I first started my business about 13 years ago. But my first tip is absolutely without a doubt, get a mentor. Don't try to figure this out on your own or a mastermind group. Something that other people are doing what you wanna do and they're way ahead of you. So learn from them. Don't recreate the wheel. That's my tip number one. Two is outsource what you don't love to do. I know when I first started my business, I felt like I was the only one who could do it all. I was doing it all and it was exhausting. And so letting go is so hard for an entrepreneur, at least it was for me. But that
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
is some of the best money you will ever spend is finding other people to do those things that you can do. And you could probably do really, really well, but is it really the best use of your time? And then my third thing is really looking at who are you surrounding yourself with? I'm a big believer in that you are the equivalent of the five people you hang around with the most. But you know what? You don't have to be best friends with these people. What podcasts are you listening to? Hopefully this show. What books are you reading? So even if your network isn't full of these brilliant minds, they're out there. So just go find them and go at it. Don't go at it alone.
Heather:
So I have a couple of comments on that. So the, you are the five people I have lived by that actually to the point. That's why I moved to Australia. So in, um, the States, when I lived in California, I was working for a guy named Tony Robbins, who's a speaker and his mentor is Jim Rohn and they, they would always say, you know, um, you're the average of the five people you spend your time with. I was in Australia running an event for Tony and I had this epiphany moment where I thought about the people in my life back in California. love them, sending them love, but was not a good peer group for me.
Michelle:
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Heather:
And so I have lived by that philosophy. So I love that you shared that.
Michelle:
Yes.
Heather:
And a question for you as well, because you talked about outsourcing point number two,
Michelle:
Mm-hmm.
Heather:
how do you know where to, to hire your next person? Like for you, if you think back to as you've been growing, where did you start? And how did you, you know, who are the roles that you looked for?
Michelle:
the very, very first person I hired was an accountant or actually a bookkeeper. And at the time my business wasn't huge. I could have done it myself, but I know my gifts and my strengths. I don't enjoy that. So sitting there and looking at spreadsheets all day every day isn't really my... So that was the first money I ever spent. And I still say it was the best money I ever spent. And after that, it was a virtual assistant, somebody that... you know, again, there are things
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
I could do, but it was just my, you know, trading time for dollars. If I'm, if I'm doing all the work and fulfilling it and marketing it. And so those were the first two hires back in 2009.
Heather:
What are your gifts? Because you said you know what your gifts are and you hired for people that could do other things. What are your gifts?
Michelle:
You know, I love interacting with people. I love to speak. I love to inspire, motivate, encourage other people. I love that our backgrounds are similar in that you worked for Tony, I worked for Zig Ziglar.
Heather:
I
Michelle:
And
Heather:
know.
Michelle:
so to have that as a baseline, it's just in my DNA.
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
And so to speak on a stage or to work with a group of people and feed into them or ask them questions so they can start really thinking about like their life purpose. That just lights me up. I could do it all day, every day. Posting on social media or, you know, doing customer service, not necessarily my love or marketing to some degree.
Heather:
Yep.
Michelle:
So, but it took me a while. I'm not gonna say I had that figured out when I first started. It took me a little while.
Heather:
I love the honesty. So good.
Michelle:
Yeah.
Heather:
I could probably talk to you for 10 years on the Zig Ziglar stories, I'm sure.
Michelle:
I know, I know and Tony too. I mean, back in the day, they were sharing those, you know, doing
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
so much. Yeah, very awesome
Heather:
So,
Michelle:
things.
Heather:
so many good things in the world. Um, so this, so I've already introduced you to, to the group, but this is the part I really like where I want you to tell us how, how you work. So think. It could be a recent client, it could be one in the past, somebody that you made a profound change for, happy for you to say their name, not say their name, but walk us through a case study of how you work with somebody from start to finish.
Michelle:
You know, I love this question, and the first person that I think of is a doctor here in the States that we have done multiple books for, but how we work with him. So this, and his name is Dr. Jason West. He's amazing, and he has this natural ability to heal people without medications and more of a holistic wellness kind of approach. How we started working with him, he first came to one of my conferences because people kept telling him, you should write a book, you should share your story. came to this conference, we walked him through this whole process of mind mapping, you know, well, what is your story? What is it you could possibly share in a book? And so that was step one. Step two, he hired us to publish his first book and that whole process, you know, from a team basically to either help write it, but once it's written, especially to help mark or I'm sorry, to publish it with editing and cover design and all of the steps
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
that have to happen. And then finally to coordinate and coach and consult on, well, what now? What's the next step? And so that was his first book. He made an enormous impact in the world, not just for the people that read the book, but for his business. He said that the return on investment was seven digits or more. So, and those are not my words, but his, because he used it as a business card. He used it as...
Heather:
Yep.
Michelle:
don't take my word for it that I can help you, read this book and hear, they're all just client testimonials. And we have sensed in many, many other projects with him and so that's one of my favorite case stories to see where he started. He was already successful, but that book literally increased his credibility, authority, platform in ways that, he probably couldn't have imagined. I know we couldn't either.
Heather:
Do you know one of the most powerful I find marketing funnels is a book funnel.
Michelle:
Mm-hmm.
Heather:
Like it's so powerful, right? People get this tangible thing that they can have in their hands and they get to know you and it's such huge amounts of credibility and it's in a time investment as well and money depending
Michelle:
Oh yeah.
Heather:
on how you handle the funnel. But the time investment alone means you're so much more connected to the person, right?
Michelle:
Yep. And you know,
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
and that's why I'm so glad you brought that up because I say it all the time. Yes, I'm a publisher, but it's not about a book. It's about your story. But the book
Heather:
Yes.
Michelle:
is a door opener. One of the books I wrote was called Your Book is Your Business Card, because I do see it. It's not the end all be all. It's just the door opener. But people will throw away your business card, but they won't throw away your book. So leveraging it and really building on that authority that you get as an author. But most importantly, people get to know you, they get to like you and trust you when they know your backstory. So that's what a book allows you to do. Same with a podcast.
Heather:
Absolutely. Yes. Who's a good candidate for a book? Cause I work with lot, mostly service-based businesses, a lot of local businesses as well as, you know, beauty salons and obviously authors and speakers, which are prime candidates for books. But can any business, like you talked about a doctor, can any business have a book?
Michelle:
Yes, and it's funny, we've had some really unique industries that we've helped. One that comes to mind is the carpet cleaning industry. And in fact, we've done many books, believe it or not, that's another story podcast. But one particular author wrote, we wrote this book, it was called Nightmare Carpet Cleaners. And nobody is going to go look to read a book
Heather:
Oh my
Michelle:
like
Heather:
god.
Michelle:
this, right? But this, so, but how it was used was the business card. So owner of a carpet cleaning business goes to the local chamber, stands up and says, I'm a published author, gives it to their referral sources. So what they were doing is giving it to all these real estate agents and all these people putting them in those welcome bags. So nobody's reading the book, but when they think I need somebody to come clean my carpets, oh wait, this one guy, he wrote a book on it, let's call him. And I
Heather:
Oh
Michelle:
have so many great testimonials, but that's just an industry you would never think. they'd write a book on, you know, that, but it works. It just works. And it literally brought him tons of business and opportunities to be in the local paper and, you know, being a published author.
Heather:
That is so smart. I would have never, ever, ever thought about the book strategy for referrals and the referral
Michelle:
Oh gosh.
Heather:
network. That is brilliant.
Michelle:
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I see if I have one here. So for me, you know, obviously full books, I think everyone has at least one book in them. But when you think of marketing, which is what we're talking about, I love to do what we call business card books. And this is literally I know you not everybody listening can see it, but it's just a little four by
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
six book. And this is my business card. I don't sell it. I give it away because it has and it has a purpose. If somebody reads this, they're going to get enough value that they could go and start working on a book without ever contacting me. But it's written in such a way that hopefully the natural conclusion after reading it is, you know what, I want to shorten this learning curve or I want to get this done right. Let me call her. Let me call Michelle. Let me call the company. And so that's how I'm seeing a lot of any type of business utilizing it when you think of it as marketing and you're, you know, you're investing in marketing already. be unique, be different, give them something they're not expecting. And again, they won't throw it away, which is amazing. We value books, we value books.
Heather:
I have book, like three bookshelves with books from back. I don't even know how long it goes. I
Michelle:
Same!
Heather:
know it's
Michelle:
And
Heather:
so
Michelle:
you
Heather:
true.
Michelle:
can't throw them away! You
Heather:
No.
Michelle:
know? It's just, I know, I'm the same way.
Heather:
No, I'm always looking at them and yeah, they're like my little jewels.
Michelle:
Yeah,
Heather:
So.
Michelle:
I love it.
Heather:
Oh my gosh. So before I move on to the next sort of train of thought, I did want to talk around a little bit more about the book idea because I feel like there's going to be people listening and they're like, I never thought about a book. Now I want a book. So
Michelle:
Mm-hmm.
Heather:
when you work with somebody, do you actually do everything from start to finish, like the ghost writing, extracting the stories, everything? Do they, what do
Michelle:
Yes.
Heather:
they have to do when you work with them?
Michelle:
Well, really nothing unless they want to do more. So we have some authors who come to us and say, I know I can write a book, but I don't want to spend the time. So we have writers that will interview, especially for somebody who's a leader, CEO, entrepreneur. Let us just interview you, get on a podcast like this, get on a zoom call. And then our writers will pull that everything you'd put into a books up here in your head. So just pulling it out of you. And then we'll write the first draft of your book. still
Heather:
Excellent.
Michelle:
allowing you to go in and add and change and it's going to be in your voice because it you know, it is your voice, we're just doing some of the heavy lifting. We have a lot of other authors though, who feel very comfortable writing. And that's awesome because then when they're ready with the final manuscript, then we do everything else. So I have editors, cover designers, printers. We do all of the distribution, which means getting it all over the world online. We do audio books, eBooks, all of the above. So somebody could come in, soup to nets and just, you know, within a couple of months. from concept, even maybe not even an idea yet, we can help pull, figure out the story, write the story, publish the story, and then help you to launch that book and build your platform.
Heather:
Hmm guys, that's absolutely brilliant listeners. Please listen to that because a big part of Your growth in your business is your leverage Michelle was even saying like a huge amount of her tips and strategies are like outsource right get help don't do this yourself and I just know personally from the marketing funnels that I built the book funnels are freaking Amazing now you have
Michelle:
Yeah.
Heather:
ideas for a referral network and this could be a really fantastic method for you to get your voice out to get your branding out to the world. So it's something you might want to consider.
Michelle:
And can I just add one thing because
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
I know your audience includes so many speakers and,
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
you know, I believe every speaker should have a book. I mean, I believe everybody should have a book. But here's one of the best reasons why a speaker should. Most everybody wants to get on big stages, right? Or they want
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
to command large, you know, honorariums and, you know, getting paid well. So when you have a book to an event planner, you're basically stage worthy. When you don't, they have to do a lot of research about you. They have to really dig in. But when you have a book, they can learn right off the bat whether or not you're a good fit. It makes them look good. If you're credible, right, you have that authority already. So getting on a stage is great.
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
But it's also, I mean, talk about an increase in revenue, not only back of room sales, but one of the tips I give our author speakers is pre-sell your books. and make that's a huge part of what could be an additional revenue stream on top of your speaker fee.
Heather:
Smart advice. Love that. Okay,
Michelle:
Hehehe
Heather:
so think about a time that you have been overwhelmed, which I know we're all familiar with overwhelm because we grow our businesses, but the time for you Michelle, you're highly overwhelmed or you have moments of overwhelm. What's like a hack or tool or resource that you use to bring yourself back down and ground yourself?
Michelle:
You know, two things. One, I love to journal because that makes me kind of process things so much better. And I don't have to even be journaling about anything specific, but I try to make that a habit to do in the mornings, you know, my quiet time, if you will, and just recenter and just, you know, there's something about stepping back and the things that feel so big. It's like take a deep breath, step back. reframe, you know, what's the different way of looking at them different perspective. So that's one of the ways. But the other thing for me is I'm big on being out in nature, specifically the beach or somewhere near water. Because again, I feel like a lot of the at least for me, a lot of things I stress about the overwhelm. It is just your vantage point, your perspective on it. It's not necessarily the end of the world. So take a step back, go for a walk, go by the park or go to a nearby lake and just, you know, again, reframing it and stepping back a little bit. That's really big for me.
Heather:
You are not the only one that has said that. It is such a common theme with other people I've spoken to. The whole take your shoes off and get grounded and get outside and change your environment. I am the same Michelle, I do it all the time. Like if I have a really stressful time and I'm starting to wear the weight of my clients on my shoulders, I'm like, whoa, hold on. Get outside, get sunshine on
Michelle:
Mm-hmm.
Heather:
your skin.
Michelle:
Yes.
Heather:
It's not that crazy. Like you don't have, you're not responsible for their business problems.
Michelle:
No, no, but you know what though, I think that speaks to a really great entrepreneur though when they do care so much that stress
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
creeps in because if you didn't care well then what does that say about you so but
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
at the same time it's kind of like that you can't really serve other people and be good for other people if you're not taking care of yourself first so just getting out there breath, breathe in, you know this too shall pass.
Heather:
It's so true. Oh, I love that. So again, I'm going to give you bragging rights. So I want to know a little bit more around what makes you different, because there are definitely people out there in the world helping people write books, right? But what makes you extraordinary?
Michelle:
You know, it's funny, this was a conversation I was just having yesterday. You know, my background with Ziegler has really shaped so much of who I am. And so I'm not a fit. There are so many publishing companies out there, and I'm not a fit for everyone. But who I know I'm a thousand percent the fit for are people that have a bigger purpose. Meaning they're not just writing a book to write a book. They're really, truly wanting to make an impact. They want to... build a platform, not just for their own ego, but because they have that servant heart and they do want to serve more people.
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
But also, I would say people that are wanting to do what I did. So my, I won't go through my whole backstory, but it basically started with, I did work for Zig, but I left there, pursued another career completely. I wrote a book in 2009 with no intention to ever share it with anybody but my family. But famous last words,
Heather:
Ha ha.
Michelle:
that is literally what opened up a whole career of speaking and coaching and doing seminars and all of the things I do. So the people we help the most are ones that kind of want to build that same blueprint. They want to take their core message and get it out in many ways, not just a book, but a book, a podcast, coaching, speaking and all of the above. And you know what? That's part of what I feel like my gifting is and not everybody is and there are other reasons to write a book But those who see a book as part of that ability to help more people Those are the people we love to work with and no we can't
Heather:
I have to ask, what was your other career? Because now I want to know. Yeah.
Michelle:
Yes, oh my goodness. So I quit literally, I mean who quits the Zig Ziglar organization? But I did, I was in my young 20s and I had a recruiter offer me a software sales job. Actually first in IT outsourcing and then I ended up for the next 12-13 years in software sales. And you know it was one of those situations, I don't know if you can really, I was good at it. I from the outside looking in had all the things I thought I wanted. And I was kind of miserable because it wasn't really what
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
I was, you know, like I could do it, but it wasn't my passion in any way. And, um, but it was a long journey and I was, I was tied to it, my golden handcuffs, if you will, for so long. But I, you know, I got to a place in my life where it was like, I can't do this anymore. I've got to do something that fills my soul and I've got to do something that I feel like is part of my purpose. And that's when I started the journey of writing my own book, you know, and then eventually. it turned into much more but that's kind of how it went.
Heather:
So I'm hearing a theme, a little bit of a theme and just sensing it, I guess, from our conversation and your energy, not only the people that you work with that wanna get their voice out and wanna essentially just help the world and other people. I feel like, so I wanna talk to you a little bit about passion and hope. Um, specifically around those times where, like you were talking about your software sales job, where you, you inside, you're like, I'm okay at this, but I just don't know if I'm meant to do it and you feel stuck and you're spinning your wheels. Do you have any thoughts or ideas or advice for people that have felt really flat? for a very long time
Michelle:
Mm-hmm.
Heather:
and I think a lot of the world has given what we've just come through as well.
Michelle:
Oh yeah.
Heather:
What would you say to them to reconnect with their little soul?
Michelle:
I was so, I mean, that is exactly where I was. And, you
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
know, with nobody to really talk to about it, because to everyone else, like, oh, she's making good money. She's successful. She. But honestly, I just maybe it's been my age. I had just I had kids. I was dropping them off at daycare every day. It was
Heather:
Yeah
Michelle:
just not a good time. And I thought, you know, when you're when you're giving up so much, it's like, is this really worth it? And for me, it wasn't. And so, but I couldn't quit. I couldn't leave it. So I was really stuck for a long, long time. But, and I have a grasp on the hope. I'll never forget this day. I was having a really hard day at work one day and. I remember I was trying to leave to go to my son's Halloween party at his little school and my boss wouldn't let me go because I needed to do something that he needed me to do. And I just remember sobbing and sobbing like this can't be all there is. And I went to a bookstore that day, later that day, and there was a mug that had an inspirational quote on it. It was actually
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
a Bible verse and it was all about hope and it was all about just
Heather:
Yeah.
Michelle:
hang on there. You know what? It is going to get better. I grabbed onto that with everything I could. I'm like, you know what? There is a bet, my best days are ahead of me. This is not all I'm created for. I was created to make a difference. It just hasn't come out yet. You know, like I just, but I had a shift from a lot of fear. Like, oh my gosh, is this it too? No, I truly do believe I was created for more. And the key word that kept coming up for me during those years when I really lost hope was difference maker. I just want to make a difference. At the
Heather:
Oh.
Michelle:
time I didn't know it was through books and speaking. I just wanted to know that my life made an impact for someone else. But it was many, you know, it was a while later that it kind of all the pieces, the puzzle pieces came together and, you know, put me on the path that I'm on today. But it was a while. So anyone listening that's feeling that way, don't give up. I mean, I do believe your best days are ahead of you. They were for me. And, you know, if you have a heart to serve, I promise you there's people out there. to serve.
Heather:
Oh my gosh, that's so good. Thank you. Yeah, oh, beautiful. I just feel like there's so many people that needed to hear that right now somehow. So thank you
Michelle:
Don't we
Heather:
for
Michelle:
all?
Heather:
sharing
Michelle:
I still
Heather:
that.
Michelle:
need to hear it.
Heather:
Same with me. I like, I have this little saying, this sort of motto that is beyond fear is freedom. Have you ever heard of
Michelle:
Hmm,
Heather:
that one?
Michelle:
not just like no, not like that exactly. I love that though beyond fear is freedom.
Heather:
isn't it interesting?
Michelle:
I Love
Heather:
So
Michelle:
that. You know, somebody
Heather:
yeah.
Michelle:
said it to me one time too that fear is the opposite of faith You can't have both at the same time. That
Heather:
Very
Michelle:
was like
Heather:
true.
Michelle:
a wow. Okay, so it's just a shifting of perspective again
Heather:
Gosh, such good advice.
Michelle:
I'm gonna go.
Heather:
So I want to talk, I want you to tell us a little bit more about what you do. And I heard you earlier say you have conferences and that's how you met the doctor who was your amazing client. Yeah, what are all the things that people can do to attend, find, listen to your amazing advice and work with you as well?
Michelle:
Absolutely. So there's several ways that we help people to find their story or publish their story. One is, you know, through our done for you publishing services, the publishing company's performance publishing group. After COVID, we haven't been doing the conferences as much, maybe once a year. We used to do them four times a year, but that's another way. And all of that information is on performance publishing group. But another thing that I'm doing that, so within the company, there's really different divisions. The publishing is one division. The other is speaking and training and leadership. So I'm also doing a lot with companies, not necessarily helping them to write books, maybe, but helping them to get clarity on their story. Because as a leader, you need to know who you are, what you stand for, and how, again, it's all about serving people. And so how to build that trust within teams and all that. So that's just some of the other ways. But it all ties in to find your passion, your purpose, that will lead you to your story, which you all have, everyone has. And but our stories are gifts, I believe, and gifts are meant to be shared. So the last part of that is, okay, how can you share your story in a way that will impact people? and also build your platform.
Heather:
Absolutely. The power of a story. There's so many people that love the whole Simon Cynic, the, what is it, the power of your why. And they
Michelle:
start
Heather:
watch
Michelle:
with
Heather:
it and they
Michelle:
while.
Heather:
watch it and they watch it. And then they go, but I still don't know how to do mine.
Michelle:
Yes, oh I know well yes you teach what you most need to hear is something somebody said to me one time and I'm like that is so true right because
Heather:
Hehehehe
Michelle:
we're all growing and learning and nobody has it completely figured out that's for sure I know I don't.
Heather:
No, no. So where can people go to find out about you? What sort of links, URLs, offers, things that you can share with the listeners.
Michelle:
Yeah, if anyone's even thinking about, gosh, do I even have a story? We do free strategy calls. So that's one of the best
Heather:
Perfect.
Michelle:
ways just to, just to, you don't even have to commit yourself. Just, just. figure out if you do or not. And that's, if you go to performancepublishinggroup.com, there's a link there to schedule that and all. But I am on social media, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, reach out to me, I'm incredibly human, just like everyone, like you and everyone listening. So if you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out and happy to help.
Heather:
You guys should all go follow Michelle right now. She's so
Michelle:
Now.
Heather:
lovely and you should be watching this video. I know about 15% of you guys watch us on YouTube. So you should go watch the video and get to know her too because she's just beautiful. So
Michelle:
Thank you.
Heather:
do you have any last thoughts on hustle, grind, stress, overwhelm that you can share before we say goodbye?
Michelle:
Yeah, you know what, nobody on the planet is exempt from the overwhelm, right? We're all busy and all I'll say is life is not going to all of a sudden magically get less busy. It's always going to be that way. So what can you do now while you're busy to live life? I do believe in find your passion because your passion is it's not the end all be all but it's a clue. It's a clue to your purpose. I just happen to believe you're not going to have a purpose in life that you hate, right? You know, so find that sooner rather than later and but You mentioned fear. Don't be afraid to just take a chance. What's the worst thing that can happen? Right? Take a chance. Put yourself out there. You will never, I always say this for authors, you'll never regret writing a book. Same with those listening. You'll never regret stepping into your greatness, taking a chance and doing what you are built to do.
Heather:
And on that note, I think that is the perfect place to close this episode. Guys, we have the links as always in the show notes at hustle rebellion.com. Michelle, thank you so very much for taking time to share your wisdom with our listeners. It's been an absolute pleasure having this chat.
Michelle:
Oh Heather, I loved it as well. Thank you so much for having me.
