Ep48 Steve Campana - The Leadership Blindspot That Changes Everything

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:20
Steve Campana
the transformation doesn't come

00:00:02:20 - 00:00:09:19
Steve Campana
just from the learning or the experience. Our transformation comes when we take the time to reflect on the experience

00:00:09:19 - 00:00:35:24
Suzanne Taylor-King
Hey, hey. Welcome to a podcast where dreams meet. Determination and success is just around the corner. I'm your host, Suzanne Taylor King. And I'm here to help you unlock the full potential of your business and your life. Welcome to Unlock Your Way with SDK. Let's unlock your path to success together.

00:00:35:26 - 00:01:14:22
Suzanne Taylor-King
Good morning. Good morning everyone on this special Black Friday edition. I hope everybody is still full from Thanksgiving. And welcome to another live episode of Unlock Your Way with STK. And we are here today with Steve Campana, business coach, incredible, incredibly accomplished entrepreneur himself. And we met in the exchange community, which many of my followers know that facilitation training attracts some of the most amazing, amazing people.

00:01:14:28 - 00:01:16:24
Suzanne Taylor-King
Welcome, Steve.

00:01:16:26 - 00:01:21:18
Steve Campana
Good morning Suzanne. I look forward to our conversation and, connecting with your audience.

00:01:21:20 - 00:01:37:15
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yes, I'm really excited to dive in a little about your story because you had such a rich career before you became a coach. Tell us a little bit about that.

00:01:37:17 - 00:02:01:17
Steve Campana
Well, I was blessed, that I was able to, spend 43 years as a certified public accountant inside of, three different firms. And that was a journey unto itself. I had announced to the world in high school that I was going to be a certified public accountant or practiced public accounting. And really, at the time of that announcement, I really wasn't.

00:02:01:20 - 00:02:05:13
Steve Campana
I knew I like the accounting, but I really didn't know what a CPA did.

00:02:05:16 - 00:02:05:29
Suzanne Taylor-King
Wow.

00:02:06:10 - 00:02:33:01
Steve Campana
But because I had set that goal, I had a lot of academic distractions when I transferred to a Big Ten university. And, in the early 80s, there were thousands of accountants graduating, so I missed the boat for a couple of years before I was able to, meet a gentleman that, gave me a pathway, to get into the public accounting field, which basically was pass the exam and and everything else goes away.

00:02:33:01 - 00:02:44:17
Steve Campana
And that's what happened. So I was blessed, I, I was blessed the 80s, I think, for me was the glory years of public accounting. And, that's when I got started, so.

00:02:44:19 - 00:02:51:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
Well, it was also the glory years for some really good music, too. But that's a whole nother conversation as.

00:02:51:10 - 00:03:17:01
Steve Campana
Yeah, well, music was an academic distraction too. That was at least a half a point off my grade point to live music in town. So in any event that, I did that and I was blessed maybe the last 20 years of my career, I got accredited in business valuation and I became a significantly stronger, advisor and, and, ability to serve clients when, that opened up a whole new.

00:03:17:03 - 00:03:42:11
Steve Campana
It's almost like another language. Your analytical skills really improve a lot. So that's that's the background that led me to here. And, maybe. Oh, in about 2017 was kind of an earmark year. Most public accounting firms, including the one I was that had, you got rid of your ownership, usually around 65, which our firm had.

00:03:42:14 - 00:04:02:16
Steve Campana
And I attended Michael Hyatt's Achieve conference in 2017 and started my strength the strength journey. And I love that book, by the way, by Arthur Brooks. But so that's the path I'd been on. And, as of the end of 23, I'm no longer embedded inside a CPA firms. And my my true entrepreneurial journey began at that time.

00:04:02:18 - 00:04:30:19
Suzanne Taylor-King
Well, I, I love it because you're using, you know, some of your strengths to build on that entrepreneurial journey, which is, you know, so, so important. And I think a lot of people go on an entrepreneur journey not thinking about their personal strengths and the skills that they bring to the table. I often refer to it as the tools in your toolbox.

00:04:30:22 - 00:04:56:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
And, you know, I think missing that is really a shame for so many entrepreneurs. What skill really stood out to you based on your own learning of yourself? What? What was that skill or strength that stood out that, you know, kind of propelled you forward?

00:04:56:10 - 00:05:30:07
Steve Campana
Well, I might answer the question, starting with my lack of strength. Oh. Which is, you know, all progress starts by telling the truth. So maybe I'll start there. So, Suzanne, I spent 38 years being technically really, really good. So if those skills were were a nine, my, my emotional quotient skills, I did not spend I did not invest time on on the relationship side of my life outside of, you know, a really strong relationships with clients.

00:05:30:09 - 00:05:53:13
Steve Campana
And, as I started thinking about my strength to strength, I, I finally accepted the fact that when people told me, Steve, you're kind of unapproachable, which I, I didn't like that. But when I accepted that, I came across the article. I think it's Daniel Goleman. It's, Harvard Business Review article called What Makes a Great Leader?

00:05:53:16 - 00:06:01:04
Steve Campana
And that started my emotional quotient journey about the same time. I was probably that 2017 period.

00:06:01:06 - 00:06:01:18
Suzanne Taylor-King
Okay.

00:06:01:19 - 00:06:23:16
Steve Campana
So one of the things I spent five, six years on is really trying to work on those skills. You know, the the self-awareness, the self regulation and the social skills. To put me in a position to be an entrepreneur. And so if, if you haven't, it was very transformational for me to, to get there.

00:06:23:22 - 00:06:29:09
Steve Campana
I'm an accountant by training, but I joke that I'm trying to outgrow it and become an entrepreneur.

00:06:29:11 - 00:06:46:11
Suzanne Taylor-King
Was was there something in your life that spurred that journey that that made you think, oh, I need to work on me if I want to, you know, go to that next level.

00:06:46:13 - 00:07:09:27
Steve Campana
It would be the realization and acceptance that I didn't have a lot of connections outside of business. And and again, I am a fan of Arthur's book, but he uses that term. I had a lot of deal friends, and even though some of my clients were real friends, I really did not have a lot of real friends. And so that, you know, when you hit 60, 62, whatever that age would have been.

00:07:09:27 - 00:07:14:01
Steve Campana
Yeah, that was a big moment for me.

00:07:14:03 - 00:07:42:24
Suzanne Taylor-King
Wow. And so I you what I love about this is that, you know, you allowed that personal journey, you know, the inward, the introspection to fuel the business journey, not the other way around. And do you think that was kind of pivotal in you finding this path that you took?

00:07:42:26 - 00:08:10:03
Steve Campana
I would answer that yes. Because, I think my what I do statement is I acquire, apply and transfer knowledge and skills. But all of that had been really in the numbers side of the business. And it that realization, I really opened up my journey. So it went from Michael Hyatt. I started following Doctor Benjamin Hardy when he was first started blogging, and his written books and everything accelerated along this journey.

00:08:10:03 - 00:08:30:25
Steve Campana
So it went high hat and then Ben Hardy and then others. But in 2023, my last year, embedded inside a CPA firm's bed, co-wrote a book with Dan Sullivan, the founder, a strategic coach called ten X Is Easier Than two x. And he had this book contest and, I entered it, but I entered it as part of my personal growth journey.

00:08:30:26 - 00:08:51:22
Steve Campana
I didn't try to win any contest. But I was all in because that's. I'm wired that way. If I do something, I do it. And it was really comprehensive, of course, but Susan, I was one of ten people selected to go to his upper level Mastermind Live conference in Park City, Utah in the summer 2020. Guess who I met there?

00:08:51:23 - 00:08:56:02
Steve Campana
Guess who facilitated that? Someone you and I both know. Can you guess who that was?

00:08:56:02 - 00:08:58:01
Suzanne Taylor-King
John, John and Adair.

00:08:58:02 - 00:09:34:01
Steve Campana
That's where I met John in the decades from change. And everything started accelerating. There. Yeah. Wow. From that conference, just that experience and then follow that became an exchange member in December. That's shortly after that I met you. So I thank you so that that heading down and starting to read and invest in literature and trainings that were more about, not about the numbers side of my life, but about, yeah, you know, emotional quotient and working relationships and all of those things up.

00:09:34:03 - 00:09:59:06
Steve Campana
It led me to the people that are really inspiring me, to launch this, this business coaching business. So I'm in a stage of my life to make contribution. And I just want to help business owners, go through the stages of their business from, you know, from starting your businesses a job to ending up, you're running a self-managing company and leaving a legacy kind of that path.

00:09:59:09 - 00:10:35:16
Suzanne Taylor-King
Well, we're so aligned when it comes to that. You know, I feel so passionate about, you know, that exact message, the the message of that anyone can really work on themselves and have a business that they love and give value to the world, and you deserve that for yourself. And what I love most about your story, doctor Hardy's book, is easier than to acts in 2023.

00:10:35:18 - 00:11:05:01
Suzanne Taylor-King
Changed my life. Wow. We changed my business, changed my life because I was willing to read the book and take action on the things that he was suggesting. And one of the most powerful messages was that not to do list. I had to really look through my calendar and what is not serving me, what doesn't have an ROI for my business, what is in helping me grow?

00:11:05:03 - 00:11:43:01
Suzanne Taylor-King
What is it making me money and say goodbye to those things? It changed some relationships for me, which is okay, but it actually gave me space not only up here but in my calendar to get more meaningful work done. And I messaged him when I made those changes, and literally, he's not even a connection of mine. I just sent a message on LinkedIn and I told him of the action I was taking because of the book.

00:11:43:03 - 00:12:17:09
Suzanne Taylor-King
Well, we've now had a couple conversations. He's going to be on. My podcast is April and oh, the possibilities if you do that, work on yourself. Ten really is easier than two weeks. My business has quadrupled in income and impact and my relationships are better, which is just absolutely incredible that one book can do that.

00:12:17:11 - 00:12:36:24
Steve Campana
Oh, thank you so much for sharing that. And I, I did have a chance to meet Ben and he is just a very, very giving person. I mean, I'll give you just one example. You know, I'm most of the people that that, live conference knew each other. There were ten of us there that were meeting these people for the first time.

00:12:36:24 - 00:12:55:02
Steve Campana
And if he if he caught me out of the corner of the eye and I wasn't in a group, he would just look at me and wave me over. He would invite me into the conversation, invite me into the circle. And he did that throughout. He's just a very generous person, and I love the example you shared.

00:12:56:04 - 00:13:25:14
Steve Campana
One of his guests during the book contest was Doctor Allen Bernard, and he, I think is when he talks about, seemingly impossible goals. Would it be helpful to share a little bit about that was please. So he talks about seemingly impossible goals and you frame those this goal as seemingly impossible unless and the unless helps you identify the constraints the unless this happens.

00:13:25:16 - 00:13:53:07
Steve Campana
Wow. And stretch goals are seemingly impossible goals. They define us. Those are things that we aspire to. But more likely than not, are not within our current capabilities and skill set. So we we're not quite sure we don't have all the answers at that point in time. The last piece about that, they posit that seemingly impossible goals are actually have a clearer pathway because there's fewer ways to get there.

00:13:53:09 - 00:13:59:26
Suzanne Taylor-King
Oh, I love that. And that is that I feel that so true. So, so true.

00:13:59:28 - 00:14:20:13
Steve Campana
Can and so the point was that you actually can gain clarity around them because you you have to let go. What got you here won't get you there. So at your journey of what am I willing to let go of to get there and to accomplish those the final pieces, 80% of what you're doing has to be new, and you only retain 20% to do that.

00:14:20:14 - 00:14:39:12
Steve Campana
Oh, I really love that example that, you know, motivation and hope both come from a clear and compelling goal, a pathway to get there and the belief that we as individuals or companies have the agency to start down that path and course correct as we go.

00:14:39:15 - 00:15:30:26
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. And I well, I think it starts with I remember making the decision to let go of some things it last year, 2023. And my mentor said to me when will you make those changes? And, you know, as we were talking about it, it felt very heavy, very scary to walk away from a huge amount of income. But she said one statement to me and she said, if you want to go where you say you want to go with your business and your speaking and your book and all the things, you can't have a $10 product on the shelf that does something totally different.

00:15:30:28 - 00:16:04:03
Suzanne Taylor-King
You have to be willing to let go of that $10 product that you started ten years ago, and it was a $10 a month membership, product and she said, when I said today, right now. And I knew if I didn't make that decision, if I married, waited on that decision, I would find reasons to not let go of that amount of income.

00:16:04:05 - 00:16:29:15
Suzanne Taylor-King
But she really made me see. And the book, you know, it was this cry, I can connect the dots now, looking back that it it was set up for my success because I was willing to make that decision swiftly and do it before the end of the year. I think we were two weeks before the end of the year of 2023, and I said, I'll do it today.

00:16:29:18 - 00:16:30:15
Suzanne Taylor-King
Done.

00:16:30:17 - 00:17:01:24
Steve Campana
And did you find that open? I'm guessing that really opened a lot of bandwidth when you when you did that you it's it's it's really interesting. In fact on Miller, you know the coach builder platform that I'm part of which is business made simple in the small business right plan, one of our frameworks is a product review to help entrepreneurs, because we do tend to hang on to, we have legacy products in our office, maybe are no longer serving our audience, or need to be passed down to someone.

00:17:01:24 - 00:17:20:05
Steve Campana
That's maybe where you and I were ten years ago. There's still a market for it. But. But not for us anymore. Yeah, I, I love that concept. And I look forward to helping people think through those processes. What what? I did not know that we had a similar journey with that book. It's very interesting.

00:17:20:08 - 00:17:52:24
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. See what happens when you have a coffee chat with somebody and you actually discover. And, I will tell you, I was a member of exchange, you know, in 2023, and I would have called myself a dabbler in, in getting, you know, to the point with that community and the certification. But as soon as I had more bandwidth mentally, emotionally, physically in my calendar, I was able to get my certification.

00:17:52:24 - 00:18:27:29
Suzanne Taylor-King
I was able to build relationships within that community that they mean so much to me today, you know, and I wow, when I think about that, none of that would have been possible at my bandwidth before saying no to more things and and getting on that path to my single greatest purpose and I really feel as though that book was instrumental in allowing that to happen for me.

00:18:28:02 - 00:18:45:13
Steve Campana
Yeah. That's great. Well, Daniel Laporte, she, she appears, as guest on our podcast, but she has a belief community equals velocity. Susan, I attended your connection call last Wednesday in. And, there were two people there. And yourself. So there were four of us from Exchange Community.

00:18:45:15 - 00:18:46:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah.

00:18:46:11 - 00:19:18:25
Steve Campana
Out of a very large community. There was that we had a zoom if people wanted to at 9:00 yesterday morning, a little zoom call for for an hour just to celebrate our, our get get two of those three people that were on your call Wednesday were with us. Wow. Yesterday. So that was that was really interesting. So community really is velocity and getting involved in in the right communities and and moving on.

00:19:18:27 - 00:20:06:09
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah I, I think so I think community you know, I've been researching and building a community since the early 90s. My first business, I had an incredible community that used to go on trips four times a year together and that, you know, it was before the internet, before cell phone. So the community was on a yellow legal pad, names, address, phone number and the the connections that I had within that community I was building were so much deeper because I feel like the the tangibility of that community was based on actual face to face relationships.

00:20:06:12 - 00:20:26:13
Suzanne Taylor-King
And I think that's a missing piece with so many online communities. They try to have this digital platform when really the magic. I think you can do a digitally on zoom, but there has to be connection between people.

00:20:26:16 - 00:20:41:07
Steve Campana
Yeah, I would agree. And then as you know from our facilitation community, it's it's the idea of unlocking the collective wisdom of the group. And the way you do that is the way you gather and create a space where more voices come into the room.

00:20:42:18 - 00:21:06:04
Steve Campana
And there's ways to do that, and it's very powerful. I use the facilitation because I have new training for CPA firms once in a while. And, this my example might be helpful for your audience of why that's so powerful. If you go to a 30, there's 30 attendees there, and you're training a technical topic in the first hour, it's very unlikely, even if you took.

00:21:06:06 - 00:21:35:10
Steve Campana
Are there any questions? And it's very unlikely that more than five people would have brought their voices in the room. Yeah, but by training, changing that experience from passive to active and using, questions and conversations as opposed to questions and answers. And then the way, we facilitate it with the breakout rooms and the reflection, within 75 minutes, all 30 voices will have had a chance to talk and have a conversation.

00:21:35:12 - 00:22:13:17
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's so powerful. And I think bringing people closer together like that is really incredible for anyone to learn how to do. And I remember the first time, and I would love to hear your first time using a piece of exchange within what you were doing. I had been running a monthly call for coaches for about six eight months, and at the end of the call, you know, it was the normal call with the speaker and all the things.

00:22:13:20 - 00:22:57:04
Suzanne Taylor-King
And at the end we had about five minutes left. I said, okay, to seal this in, I want to go around the room. Rapid fire and get everyone's biggest takeaway. And I went from person to person, in, in 10s or less. Tell me your biggest takeaway from today. And, you know, there was 30 some people in the meeting and I documented those 30 takeaways with my little note taker, and the email that went out afterwards was so impactful.

00:22:57:06 - 00:23:18:18
Suzanne Taylor-King
But the experience in the room now, everybody's contributing to the conversation. Everybody was voicing what their takeaway was. And so whatever my takeaway intention was, it was different for everyone, which that's just absolutely incredible.

00:23:18:20 - 00:23:42:06
Steve Campana
But your meeting recap with those 30 AHA's that made the experience different for everyone. Yes. And and, I don't know where this came from. I know we use it, from time to time, but the transformation doesn't come from the just from the learning or the experience. Our transformation comes when we take the time to reflect on the experience or the learnings.

00:23:42:06 - 00:24:05:12
Steve Campana
So that meeting recap was very powerful. I can share a couple of my facilitator ranges, so both were surprising. One one was at a training for a 20 minute training. I did, you know, I did. I wanted them to experience an interaction. So just just facilitated that by, when you've, you've seen teamwork and it's best.

00:24:05:17 - 00:24:33:18
Steve Campana
When is it been least effective that question. But my sense from the group was I really modeled the reflecting back to let that person know they were seen, heard, felt or understood in some of the things we can do to make them feel comfortable continuing to bring their voice in in the surprising And the meeting recap from that was that piece of the training where I spent a little more time telling them, well, here's what's happening behind the scenes.

00:24:33:18 - 00:24:46:10
Steve Campana
This is why letting that other person just very briefly, Suzanne, I Suzanne, I really appreciate what you said there. I could relate to that. Thank you for sharing that. That was their biggest takeaway.

00:24:46:12 - 00:24:48:03
Suzanne Taylor-King
Oh my gosh, I love it.

00:24:48:03 - 00:25:16:11
Steve Campana
Just paying off for spending the time to do that. And the other one was kind of a is I my facilitation skills are improving. I put on a training and with this audience, I was I structured it that look, I'm happy to do the training, but there will be a minimum of two breakout worms because I really, you know, for you to get benefit, it has to go from passive to active, which was agreed to.

00:25:16:13 - 00:25:40:08
Steve Campana
And I was thinking that that part of the training would be my biggest challenge. And the two breakout rooms were the best part of the meeting, and, I needed to spend a little more energy on the other parts of the meeting. So it's just a complete surprise so that, that opportunity to connect with others and.

00:25:40:08 - 00:25:52:23
Steve Campana
Yeah, and bring out the collective, it's it's very powerful. So those would be two examples, about the facilitation, listening to your talk, I do have another example on my journey in the last year that might be helpful to you.

00:25:52:23 - 00:25:54:12
Suzanne Taylor-King
I would love it. Yeah.

00:25:54:15 - 00:26:23:22
Steve Campana
So, you know, when you're, when you're a, an owner and you've had long standing client relationships, the people you're talking to about solutions to the problems, they already have your trust. Okay. And my base is I acquire apply and transfer knowledge and skills. And so I assume my audience has the same level of interest to be at the same level of detail as I do, which is, is not, not true.

00:26:24:11 - 00:26:52:00
Steve Campana
So I was starting my journey kind of telling people at the beginning of 2024, you know what I'm no longer better at? Hey, here's what I'm going to be doing. But I started explaining, you know, I was very passionate about some of the leadership things we're learning and exchange and that the saw and I found in reflection, I'm just leading with explaining, and I've really had to flip that to, I thought from the book The Advice trap to stay curious longer.

00:26:52:03 - 00:26:53:03
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yes, yes.

00:26:53:18 - 00:27:23:18
Steve Campana
And, really that that idea that people don't buy from us because they understand what we do, they they get comfortable with us and make a purchase decision and go to the confidence level to, to interact with us because they believe we understand them. Yeah, we we understand them. Not that they understand us. And so that was, that was about, oh, probably July when I had that reflection and a moment that, oh, wait a minute.

00:27:23:18 - 00:27:32:21
Steve Campana
You you can't one you don't have their trust from the get go. So you have to really, be curious longer, I guess. So that was

00:27:32:25 - 00:28:11:16
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah, that was on that the same scene really powerful lesson for me a couple years ago. One of my connections. I offered some help in regards to something he was working on, and he said no. And I thought, he doesn't understand. I'm giving him something of value because he doesn't even know he needs it. So at that point, when you're offering help to someone or, hey, I've been there, would you like some insights on that?

00:28:11:16 - 00:28:52:01
Suzanne Taylor-King
Or would you like to know how to do that? It's so important not to jump to the prescription and really stay in that diagnosis phase. I hate poking pain points, but the curiosity phase that you mentioned is so, so important because if you just offer and spew help out to everyone, it becomes not only less valuable, but people think you have an ulterior motive for offering that help.

00:28:52:08 - 00:29:27:16
Suzanne Taylor-King
And I'm going to use my LinkedIn in for me. I just offered it to you before we went live. I have a full course on how to set up your LinkedIn profile, how to connect it to your website, how what to say in your profile. I mean, it's easily a $5,000 coaching program, but if I just sent that to you after connecting with you on LinkedIn, well, one, you probably wouldn't look at it or you would say, well, who she thinks she is sending me this stuff, right?

00:29:27:18 - 00:29:54:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
So by sending your content to strangers or you know, barely connected people, it's a really big turn off. Today's day and age. And I think more people need that message that it's about, hey, Steve, I can't believe we're not connected on LinkedIn. I just sent you a connection request, so I'm going to be tagging you in the show.

00:29:54:10 - 00:30:13:27
Suzanne Taylor-King
And, you know, I have a ton of LinkedIn resources. If you're looking at, you know, growing your profile and your presence there, would that be helpful? And if you say no, well, obviously I'm not sending anything to you. And that's about being a value to other people.

00:30:14:00 - 00:30:38:23
Steve Campana
Yeah, I want caught my eye. And what I've resonated with me is would that be helpful to you. So to continue along the lines of being curious, a long longer, I would normally start explaining how I would help them and I don't do that anymore. Yeah, I do that. Suzanne. This is what I heard from you. Might be as simple as I can help with that.

00:30:39:06 - 00:30:41:18
Steve Campana
Would you like to see what that might look like?

00:30:41:20 - 00:30:42:18
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah.

00:30:42:20 - 00:31:01:15
Steve Campana
Or would it be beneficial to you? Would you like to see that? What that might look like and and follow up with that. So, your, your idea that asking that question really resonates with me. Would it be helpful to you if I, if I share with you this LinkedIn course, and if they say no, then, then it's not the right time for them.

00:31:01:15 - 00:31:06:19
Steve Campana
They may circle back to it or come back to it. That wasn't the right time now. So thanks for sharing that.

00:31:06:22 - 00:31:31:20
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. And and I think a couple of people that I've offered that too, because it's all based on my journey on coming into LinkedIn. And I have many other resources that are very, very similar. And I've offered it to numerous people and they'll say, oh my gosh, that sounds amazing. How much is it? I'm like, no, no, you misunderstand.

00:31:31:22 - 00:32:04:12
Suzanne Taylor-King
This is not something I do or sell. Well, this is just value that I give to my connections based on what I did for myself. So if you like my LinkedIn profile and you see how it's bringing people to me, I'd love to share what I did with you because you're one of my connections and that, well, one everybody who has received that information goes, wow, Suzanne, this is amazing.

00:32:04:12 - 00:32:32:21
Suzanne Taylor-King
Thank you so much. So you're building those relationships based on value. And I think being of massive value, I'd love you to speak to that a little bit because to me, nobody wants your opt in. Nobody wants your free PDF, nobody wants your video series until they know you and that you care about them.

00:32:33:02 - 00:32:45:14
Steve Campana
Well, I would I agree with that, that that comes back to they they feel that we get them, we let them know they were seen, heard, felt or understood.

00:32:45:16 - 00:33:19:15
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Jim, for adding to the conversation here in the comments. Helping rather than selling. Absolutely massive value is something you know that exchange you know the certification that we're in together, is so, so good at the ask and give framework of being a value to other people. And you you said something interesting about being approachable earlier.

00:33:21:07 - 00:33:24:22
Suzanne Taylor-King
I think that's part of it.

00:33:24:24 - 00:33:48:18
Steve Campana
Yeah. For me, that was part of my emotional quotient journey is just being more open, more forgiving. I appreciated Jim's comment helping rather than selling. I, I've used something similar that and then I try to work with this, but, like people selling professional services that know you're there to serve, you're serving them with something that will help solve their problem.

00:33:48:18 - 00:34:18:07
Steve Campana
You've got to get over, the idea that you're selling something and, and what I found helpful and one of the transitions inside the public accounting world, because I was around a lot of smart people, and I'm a sponge in the last eight years in my career, I did have the the ability to just listen. And I, I never went in knowing how I would solve a problem or if they easily even had a problem.

00:34:18:14 - 00:34:49:17
Steve Campana
But I was able to match up what I heard was something I've done in the past and and that was very powerful. So that's a transition. Now I've got to develop that, that, skillset around my current product offering. But when you get to that point that you're not sure how you can help them, but, you know, you can, even if that might be a referral to someone else, that's not within my breadth of expertise, but I know someone who would be perfect to get your website up and running to help you with your LinkedIn profile.

00:34:51:13 - 00:35:13:21
Steve Campana
That's when you're really starting to add value and you're shifting from selling to service. And then you mentioned the value. I'm a big believer in having product. This is this is this does come from the small business flight plan and Don Miller stuff, but have have products with the stated value. I'm in the results economy now.

00:35:14:15 - 00:35:31:29
Steve Campana
Dan Sullivan comma not the time and effort. You know our times right now. Yes. This product. And then to your point whatever that stated value is overdeliver on that. And your stated value for this is this. Make sure you deliver value above that.

00:35:32:01 - 00:35:58:23
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. Yeah I just surprised one of my one on one clients. I learned a new skill with an AI tool. And basically I can take your face and your, your body and put it in different images. So it's like playing dress up to me. I can decide where you're at in the picture, what outfit you have on.

00:35:58:25 - 00:36:22:06
Suzanne Taylor-King
And I learned it for myself. I learned, and it's not something I'm going to offer the public. It's not going to be, you know, some new offering for me. It's a skill I have in my toolbox. And my photos turned out so well. Everybody was commenting on them. And one of my clients said, wow, when did you have a new photo shoot?

00:36:22:09 - 00:36:51:10
Suzanne Taylor-King
And I said, I, I did a thousand photos yesterday in less than an hour. All different outfits, all different cities, all different scenes. And my client looked at me and said, how well I learned this new skill. And it's unlike other eye photos because it's actually my face. I'm just putting different clothes on myself. And I said, I can do one for you if you would like.

00:36:51:13 - 00:37:20:17
Suzanne Taylor-King
Well, he was so blown away by the results that he said, how much do I owe you for this? I'm like, no, no, this is part of what you get when you work with me. My one on one client, whatever I'm working on for me, you're going to benefit from that. And because I'm learning and I'm growing in that skill department, in the toolbox department, you're going to get that.

00:37:20:20 - 00:37:32:12
Suzanne Taylor-King
You're going to receive that when you work with me. And to me, that's the astonishment. You want your people to feel astonished in value when they spend time with you.

00:37:32:14 - 00:37:59:29
Steve Campana
And and I appreciate that's a great chair, Suzanne. And I will tell you that you just share that maybe sometime in the last two weeks that yes, they look so I mean, they are real. Those images. Yes. I had the same thought that, wow, this lady has the coolest pictures. And you would had you not shared that. There is no way I would have thought that that wasn't a professionally shot imagery way.

00:38:00:05 - 00:38:05:25
Steve Campana
It's it's pretty amazing. And you're mastering that craft because they're really well done.

00:38:05:27 - 00:38:40:17
Suzanne Taylor-King
Thank you so much. And you know, when I look at my clients tend to be much like yours, busy owning a business, maybe multiple businesses and taking three days and thousands and thousands of dollars to have the clothes, the outfits, the travel to do a photoshoot just isn't in the realm of possibility. And so now, not that photo shoots aren't valuable.

00:38:40:17 - 00:39:31:29
Suzanne Taylor-King
I mean, I have an incredible photographer here. We're going to spend some time together, this winter. But this is so wonderful when you're looking at the online space and the constant need for images and all of that. So when I really think about what you do and you're bringing in other learnings that you have from other people and you're you're bringing them together and synthesizing them with your strength for your clients, how did you realize that that combination of skills, I mean, I see it, I see the connection between your skills from your corporate life to what you're doing.

00:39:32:01 - 00:39:37:18
Suzanne Taylor-King
But how did you see that connection when you were doing it?

00:39:37:21 - 00:40:04:29
Steve Campana
How? It again, is jumping out from there, and I don't remember the exact names, but up until we're about 40, we really do observe that technical side of things. And that part of our brain slows down at around that age. But I think the answer to the question that I believe I heard was, you really shift to that next level, where it's your knowledge of how to apply.

00:40:05:02 - 00:40:36:00
Steve Campana
You may not learn that new algorithm as fast as the young engineer or the young, but but your your experience brings it to life. And so the ability to do that, another thought that came up is I was fortunate that I did work in industries that were comparable. People that make move store, are built things, but the knowledge transfer between I had a, a foundry.

00:40:36:02 - 00:40:56:00
Steve Campana
I learned I learned as much from my clients. But this example I'll share because it applies to so many businesses such there there's three ways to make money. You make it on the sales side because your your product is more value in the eyes of the customer. You make it on the purchasing side because you're able to purchase the raw materials.

00:40:58:20 - 00:41:16:03
Steve Campana
Because of your purchasing power or your relationship, you're able to buy better or you make it on the conversion. And that's taking the raw materials and converting them to something of value. And I was able to share that story across industries. Hey, let's take a look at this, that we looked at these three things. Where are you strongest?

00:41:16:03 - 00:41:36:28
Steve Campana
Where are you weakest. So just, you know, being aware of what work over here just because it's a different industry or a different experience test. Right. See if it lands. There it was. It was very it was very beneficial to me. To. I've been blessed with, one I was around a lot of smart people, and I was blessed with really, really good clients.

00:41:36:28 - 00:41:56:21
Steve Campana
And it was more a collaborative relationship than that. And so just just like you did, you shared the example with the photo images on this call. You shared the example with the LinkedIn. Those are things that you're working on in your toolbox. They're working for you and you're sharing them with others.

00:41:56:24 - 00:42:29:13
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. And I, I think one of the things that is interesting here is that when I was first starting in this journey, I thought I was going to struggle. I didn't know how I was going to translate my business into the online space. Back in 2010, and my coach at the time said to me, well, what did you used to do for a living?

00:42:29:16 - 00:43:03:14
Suzanne Taylor-King
And I said, was a dental hygienist for 20 years. That doesn't that doesn't that doesn't connect. Like, what's the big deal? Oh, do you understand that for 20 years, every hour you were talking to a new person and this light bulb went off in my head that I saw the connection between that 20 years of experience. I've been working in the dental field since I was 16.

00:43:03:15 - 00:43:24:25
Suzanne Taylor-King
Oh my gosh, I know how to connect with people. And all of a sudden, you know, so much opened up because I understood the connection between that career and this career and it it really transformed my thinking on having my own business.

00:43:24:27 - 00:43:44:05
Steve Campana
And that's, that's fantastic. You know, that's going for like for me, relating to your story, that's going from the unapproachable. Yeah. The approachable. And you had that. You had a jump start. And what a great insight that, that friend or mentor of yours gave you to go from strength to strength.

00:43:44:08 - 00:44:11:22
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah, yeah, I love that so much. And I love that. That brings us all circle back to, you know, that journey for you, realizing that you had these strengths, bringing them out into the world and helping clients. And I think helping others is truly, you know, I always thought it was because I was in the health care space for years.

00:44:11:27 - 00:44:39:09
Suzanne Taylor-King
You were in a helping profession for years. So it makes sense, you know, to use that knowledge that you've accumulated in that career and use it to help other people. And I just think what you're doing is so wonderful. How can our listeners find you and get in touch with you? I know you have lots of new, you have a new website coming soon and all kinds of fun stuff you're working on.

00:44:39:12 - 00:44:59:10
Steve Campana
Yeah, right now LinkedIn would be the best way to reach out. I'm not the marine biologist. You'll see an image of me, but there is a Steven Campana that if you Google my name, he will come up. He's from Canada, and he's he's well renowned. That's not me. Yeah, but you can find me on LinkedIn.

00:44:59:12 - 00:45:23:06
Steve Campana
The website will be Campana Business Coaching. Well, that that will come out. The website I put up five years ago when I was kind of exploring what to do. It'll give you some insight into my background. My my book, my black belt billiards book is on there. I wrote that 20 years ago. I'm an avid pour pool player, enthusiast, all you could go there.

00:45:23:06 - 00:45:45:04
Steve Campana
It's Campana for performance coaching, but it's really just it's not designed for a business. It's more of a a fancy bio of myself and the stuff I've dabbled in so they can reach out there, and look for the website, looking to launch and really have that up and running. And I'm really looking forward to, to continuing to add value.

00:45:45:07 - 00:46:07:10
Steve Campana
That's, I want I want to be a builder. And as we wrap up, Suzanne, I'd be happy to exit with, something I first, it's a little poem that Lou Holtz in the late 80s. I heard him speak. It's called The Builder, and I haven't recited it in several years. But there's something about this connection with the space we have today.

00:46:07:12 - 00:46:27:08
Steve Campana
You're talking about building. We're talking about building a business. But ultimately, we want to be builders. You said we want to serve, Jim said. We want to use something, but it's it's helping, not selling. So we're here to serve. We want to be builders. And if it's appropriate time, I could do my best to repair all that and share that with you.

00:46:27:08 - 00:46:46:01
Steve Campana
And I'm so appreciative for the opportunity on on Black Friday, or the day after Thanksgiving to be able to connect with you and look forward our continued journey. It's so, so exciting. We've had a parallel path. Yes, that. Would you like me to share?

00:46:46:03 - 00:46:47:01
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yes, please.

00:46:47:02 - 00:46:47:17
Steve Campana
Okay.

00:46:47:23 - 00:46:48:23
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah, I would love it.

00:46:48:25 - 00:47:12:04
Steve Campana
Okay. I saw a group of men in my hometown. I saw a group of men tearing a building down with a heathen, a ho and a mighty yell. They swung a beam and the sidewalk fell. And I asked the foreman, are these men skilled? The type you would hire if you were trying to build? He laughed, and he said, well, I know indeed for common laborers, all I need for I can tear down in a day or two.

00:47:12:06 - 00:47:38:17
Steve Campana
But it took a builder ten years to do, and I thought to myself as I walked away, which of these roles am I going to play? Am I the type that constantly tears down as I make my way foolishly around? Are my the type that's trying to build with care so that my family, friends and community will be glad I was there and make it a great day.

00:47:40:07 - 00:48:04:14
Suzanne Taylor-King
Thank you so much for sharing that. And everyone rewind and listen to that again from your perspective in your business, in your journey. I love it. Steve. Thank you so much for being here. Look forward to more conversations and look forward to talking about cool in the future as well.

00:48:04:14 - 00:48:13:07
Steve Campana
Very well. I've enjoyed our time and look forward to connecting again. Thank you so much for inviting me on, into your community and on this show.

00:48:13:10 - 00:48:18:18
Suzanne Taylor-King
You're so welcome. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you next Friday. Thanks. This is.

00:48:18:21 - 00:48:19:14
Steve Campana
My.

00:48:19:14 - 00:48:47:05
Suzanne Taylor-King
Thank you for tuning in to another empowering episode of Unlock Your Way. I hope you found today's discussion inspiring, and you're ready to take your business and personal growth to that next level. If you're feeling is fired up as I am and eager to unlock that full potential, I'm here to help you on your journey and provide that personalized guidance tailored to your unique goals and challenges.

00:48:47:07 - 00:49:13:29
Suzanne Taylor-King
Simply book a one on one coaching call with me, and we'll dive deep into your business aspirations and see how we could co-create a roadmap for your success. And whether you're striving to scale an enterprise size or just getting started. I'm here to support you every step of the way. To schedule your coaching call, simply visit the website and unlock your way with SI.com.

00:49:14:02 - 00:49:52:29
Suzanne Taylor-King
Click on the Book a Call button and we'll turn your dreams into that reality. Subscribe and review on your favorite podcast platform and on YouTube. Plus, you can join over 800 entrepreneurs in the Idea Lab, Facebook group. Let's make success as an entrepreneur happen together. Until next time, I'm AK. Keep dreaming big. Stay focused. And most of all, have fun while you're doing it.