April 22, 2025 • 32 mins
Eileen Dabrowski is back on the show to talk about her consulting business and the benefits of entrepreneurship in the logistics industry!
Eileen emphasizes continuous self-improvement and developing efficient work routines such as setting manageable goals, tracking progress, using resources, having scalable sales strategies for sustainable growth, and focusing on process implementation, leadership development, and documentation in consulting! Tune in for more valuable business strategies!
Eileen has a PhD, ABD from the University of South Florida in Curriculum & Instruction and is a leader and member of the Werner Enterprises Learning & Development Team. Eileen has been in the transportation/logistics industry since 2016 and oversees the development and facilitation of sales and account management enterprise-wide training programs, new employee onboarding, leadership development, employee culture, morale, and retention. She has a passion for company philanthropy initiatives and works hard to maintain and improve employee culture and morale to drive workforce efficiency and employee satisfaction.
Eileen serves the Chair of the TMSA DEI Task Force and is on the TMSA BOD, as well as the Chair of the TIA Programs Committee and is a proud member of the TIA Foundations Board. Outside of work, Eileen lives with her spouse and 4 dogs in Tampa and enjoys traveling, staying active, and volunteering in the community. Running, boxing, lifting weights, surfing, and reading are some of Eileen’s favorite self-care activities.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Came back with a bank window down.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yelling now money anything hey oh Got.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
The foot on the gas pedal to the metal when I'm getting to the.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Back hey Got the foot on the.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Gas pedal to the metal when the lane moving fast hey Let them all cross if they hate then let them hate them Make a bigger balls.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey what is up ladies and gentlemen? We are back. We are live. It is a freight coach podcast, the top podcast in transportation coming to you guys every single weekday, 8:30am Pacific, 10:30 Central, to break down some industry headlines. But most importantly, you guys provide some actual insight into what you can do with all of this information. If this is your first time tuning in, welcome. This is the real side of freight, ladies and gentlemen. And I say that before every single show. And what I mean by that is I only speak with transportation professionals because at the end of the day, you guys, I want to talk to the right individuals who have done what you're looking to do or who are currently doing what you're trying to achieve.
(00:58):
So you can take that information, apply it, utilize it, and see a meaningful difference in your business and your life. Happy Tuesday, everybody. I got a very special guest for you guys. I'm going to bring her up in a second here, but I do want to drop my little weekly reminder we got in our newsletter. It drops every single Wednesday. All right? So if you go to the freightcoach.com it will auto prompt you to register for that. Unlike others, I don't auto sign my contact list up and just bombard and spam and do all of that stuff because A, I wouldn't even know how to do that. But B, I believe in value driven content. And if you like what you hear on here, chances are you might like the newsletter as well.
(01:33):
So if you want to go and check that out, by all means, we would appreciate that. But with that being said, I got a repeat guest on. She was just on here a little bit ago. She was also instructing with me at the sales summit at the tia but she's kind of got some new stuff going on there, so. So I figured why not bring Eileen Dabrowski back on the show. Eileen, thank you so much for joining me here today.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Thanks for having me, Chris.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
No, it's my pleasure. Right. Like I, we've only. What's crazy is Eileen is I feel like I've known you forever and we've only talked a handful of times. And granted, we spent that entire day at the sales summit together there, but like, I just feel like I know you know, and I feel like exact same here.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
We're cut from the same cloth in a lot of areas out there.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Absolutely. And when you find a human that you mesh with in this industry, no matter where you live, how your business changes, you hang on to them. And that's what's cool about our industry and why I wanted to stay in it. So I'm pumped.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah. I mean, it's one of those things. And especially the older I get, you know, I've like, I'm going to be 39 soon. So, like, I feel like I've earned the older I get six statement here, Eileen, is it's like you kind of read like, at least for me, like I'm able to read people very well. And you know, it's like you, the first time we met and were talking and then kind of like where you are now with everything, like, I could see that urge. And then like, obviously I didn't find out until essentially like just before the sales summit, like, hey, FYI, this is what I'm doing now and I love it because I love people betting on themselves.
(03:10):
And you know, what was it, Eileen, that drove you to step out and be like, all right, I want to go out and do my own thing here.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah. So first of all, let me start with. It is probably top three most terrifying things I've ever done in my life. And like anybody who tells you, oh, entrepreneurship is easy and you're going to have a great time and it's always going to be magical. Promise you, that is the biggest load of BS you will ever hear in your life. It's. It is blood, sweat, tears, passion, work and I'm completely in love with it.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
So, you know, you said you're going to be 39, Chris, I turned 40 last year, which was like a big. Right. It just felt like the cliff and then I just got right from it. Right. So I'm going to be 41. And you know, you get to a certain point in your life, I'm so thankful that I've had the ability to work at, you know, a medium sized, family owned and operated, 100% private company, asset based repeal. And then I got to work for one of the world's largest.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Providers. Right. So I've seen both sides. I think it's made me a very well rounded human. I learned so much in those roles and you know, my whole life I've been asked to consult, but I'm a pretty ethical human. You know, there's not much we can actually control in transportation. So my moral compass and integrity have always been part of it. So I've consulted outside of transportation, but never within. And, you know, the older I get, the more I was like, man, if I don't do this thing, if I don't go for it now I'm going to wake up and be 50 and comfortable and never have taken a chance on myself. And then I had this really profound life thing happen. I had a close family member just suddenly, essentially collapsed in November of last year. Very young, you know, by all standards.
(04:56):
I told you, I'm 40. Very, very young human by, you know, today's kind of standards. Essentially just dropped and lost the will to live. And this was my godmother. So one of the people that had been, you know, when you think about core memories in your life and humans who have helped define you, definitely, she was. She was it. So seeing that happen to somebody I care about was kind of the first domino. Right. Okay. You don't know how long your Runway is. Right. Every day we wake up. It's a gift.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
We'll either do it or. Right. Because the one thing that I don't want to have in my life is regrets. I'm gonna make mistakes. I make mistakes every day. I'm gonna learn, I'm gonna grow. Right. But I know I have regret and the willingness to go out there. And she was my first kind of catalyst to have the guts and to kind of. Let's call it the fire. Right. Because you're comfortable. Right. And I also, you know this industry. Right. So our number one. Then I got really sick. Sick to the point of ending up in the hospital, probably. Why? Because I ran myself profoundly into the ground, as we also tend to do in transportation and being a caregiver and. Right. Trying to keep my family afloat.
(06:09):
And I was like, damn, you're not going to make it to 45 if you keep up this. So it was like Domino 1, Domino 2. And then it was like, you know what? If you don't do this, you don't bet on yourself. You're never gonna know. So I did. And I gotta be honest with you, I started in early March. She. She was just with us. I actually got notification the Thursday were at TIA that she had passed right before I presented my learning lab, ironically enough. But, you know, it's the phone call you know is coming, but you're still never prepared. Right. And. And what I can tell you, the time that I was able to get with her because I work for me. Like, my laptop went with me to the hospital room. Right.
(06:57):
And, and I had the ability to be more mobile because I didn't have to be in an office. Right. So that's been one of the beautiful things about this for me. And it was just the right time in my life to kind of go for my dreams. And I haven't had a off, so stay tuned. Right. But you and I talked about Chris. That's pretty standard.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
It is, Eileen. And I, you know, I, I resonate with a lot of what you're saying. You know, like, I, I kind of look at this where, you know, I will never regret trying this. You know, like, no matter how far I go, like, yes, I have very large and audacious goals and everything, and I'm going to work really hard to make that happen. But you know what? It's a risk that you never know. Right. Like, I, I hope for the best. I work, you know, a lot and, you know, I hope that it happens. You know, I'm working for it to happen. I truly feel like it's going to. But ultimately that's not, I don't know. Right. Like, nobody knows what's gonna happen. Right.
(07:55):
And to your point with that, you know, I've had some life stuff happen here over these last couple of years as well that have, like, solidified why I show up every single day and do what I do because, like, you don't know, right? And it's like, I, I've, you know, and then, you know, again, the older you get, the more people, you know, who you grew up with that pass away and you're like, fuck, you know, like, I, I. There is a shelf life here for this. So it's like, I'll never regret trying. And, you know, when it comes down to, like, working every day, I remember when I first started doing stuff. Right. And eventually, Eileen, you'll learn to become more efficient. I'm not saying you're inefficient with your time now a little bit.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Let's be honest. I essentially, last day with a company, with this day started literally the next day while having all this life stuff going on. Right. So it's kind of a slow rol. And I've never been through here in my life, but there is not a single regret I have.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Yeah. And rest assured, you will start to develop a system to where it's like, it's not going to feel as overwhelming. It's there's always going to be that. That situation where you're like, what do I do here? And I've never experienced this before, but you'll go through it enough and you'll dial in your process to where it's like, hey, you're gonna get it in between, you know, seven and five, maybe it's, you know, 50 hours a week and stuff like that. Because contrary to what some on the Internet, you're not working 24, 7, 365, right? But what you will find, though, and this is something that I found is it's like how I spend my time outside of work is vastly different than I did prior to this, right? Like, when I am not at work, I'm working on myself, right?
(09:31):
Like, I'm trying to consume as much information as I possibly can to not, like, skip steps, but better prepared for when I hit next levels inside of my business. Because, like, that's the value. A lot of people who are already down the path that I'm trying to do put a lot of great information out there. You just got to pick it up and. And consume it. And then, you know, I'm finding other ways just to kind of like, become a better human really is like another part of it, right? How do I get in better shape? How do I be a better husband? How do I be a better father and all of that. So it's like how I spend my time outside of here is. Is this vastly different. And I equate it because, like, I'm never going to be good enough, right?
(10:08):
Like, that's another thing that I set. And it's not like, me, the person I mean, like, I'm never going to be in a position where I'm going to feel like I just figured it all out, right? Like were talking before the show, a situation that I'm going through right now, I've been doing this for 15 years. I've never had this happen. I'll put some content out after the fact to kind of, you know, explain it a little bit more to help better prepare people for it. But again, like, that's what I mean. Like, I'm never going to be good enough. I can always better. So it's like I'm on a constant pursuit of, like, how do I just level up? How do I become more efficient with my time? And one thing that I'm really committed to is my time.
(10:44):
How do I maximize these eight hours, right? Because especially from a sales and a prospecting thing, people aren't taking sales calls at 7:00 at night, like not at scale anyways, right? So it's like how do I amplify my efforts throughout the day? And you know, and when I was doing sales training and consulting work, that was like the biggest thing out there. People are like, hey, how do I teach my people a sales system that I can, that like they can follow? And one thing I came to realize really quick, everybody retains information differently, everybody learns differently as well.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
And, and that's what's kind of cool about kind of this new venture I'm on. So, so first of all, Apex Tide, right? When I was creating the name of my company, I thought about the two things that make me the happiest in the world, right? Mountains and the ocean. So to find something that kind of articulated these two things that are so profoundly important to me, I just knew the second. I took a first stab and created Apex Tide. Because if you don't go into your business with love and passion and truly believe in what you can do to help others, then you're in the wrong business. Now obviously I am doing this so that myself, my family, those I care about can have a better quality of life. I love to travel and travel is, you know, expensive.
(12:04):
Being a human is expensive today, right? So I wanted to be able to. How can I spend more time with my family and the people I love? My dog, right? I'm a dog mom. I love being able to wake up at home and things I've learned about myself in this journey. If I work out in the morning, it's better for me. I'm a kickboxer. I have to do it to stay sane. And now I have the luxury of doing that. I've learned I also do my best content development. Anytime I'm writing, building process, building marketing materials, building programming, I do that better at night. So what I've learned to do, take the morning for me, handle stuff as I need to throughout the day. But I'm doing almost a split and that's definitely not what I started with, right?
(12:50):
So I'm only a month into this, a month and change. I've already kind of figured out some efficiencies. But what I can tell you now, I've taken all the things that I loved about my past job and now I get to do it to help other, you know, primarily small to medium sized companies grow their business. And I get to do it by always staying true to me. And I'm really transparent with everybody. I work with, hey, I might not be the best fit. And this has to make as much sense for both of us. I want this to be a two way street. I'm really fortunate and so lucky, blessed, whatever you want to call it, that I haven't really had to go looking for business. Business has found me and I like to think that's because I'm not a BSer.
(13:34):
I'm gonna tell you straight. Like, if somebody comes to me and they're like, eileen, I really want you to help manage my accounting team. Hard packed. That gives me no joy.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Right?
Speaker 1 (13:43):
So I know what I'm good at and where I can add value. I'm still learning. I start my day every day by reading, and I end my day every day by reading or listening to a podcast. Just because that's how much changes in our industry. And if I'm not current, I can't help the people that I work with. Right.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I think that's exactly how you need to attack this. Right. Is, you know, one thing, like when you're out there working with your clients, Eileen, is it a lot of, like, process implementation? Because I think, like processes and systems, that's something that I personally struggled with early on. Like, because I just don't write shit down, right. Like, I know what to do in my head, but if I ever want to grow and scale, I need a system to follow. And that's one thing that, you know, was kind of profound for me here that I've really just kind of started adopting over the last, like six months is like implementing a sales system, you know, and it's like finding a scalable, repeatable process that you can follow every single day. Now, are there days that I missed? Yes.
(14:45):
Like yesterday I didn't hit my call goal for the day because, like, I had some other shit going on that took my time away and that was part of it. But this morning I got in, we had a resolution, and I started hammering out again. Like, there are going to be days that you are going to, you know, things are going to happen, life is going to happen, business is going to happen, but the next day, I can't let two days come. You know, one day become to two and two to three. And that's what derails a lot of people out there. And that's why I believe in small and sustainable shifts to it. Right? Like, I believe in starting low and working your way up.
(15:19):
Hey, if you've never made cold calls before, if you've never done something before, Start with a manageable number that you can hit every single day repeatedly for 30 days straight. And then again, you track your progress and the time it takes you to complete said tasks. So say it takes you three hours. If you get it down to an hour and a half, that is a massive increase in productivity. And then I believe in just add five. Don't overwhelm yourself. Double it. Add five. Add and then do that. Because again, it's about building it up. And then you find little ways to increase your outputs. And you know, I've been talking about this on the show. I actually brought the book in today because you were going to be here.
(15:56):
I would highly recommend everybody buys this book and reads this because there's little tips and tricks inside of that book that help me become even more dialed into my systems by preloading calls out there. Because I like to have every prospect's website up when I call them so I can ask them something about that. And now that I've started to preload five calls, I've been able to increase my output and my cold call power hour that I do every single morning. And again, like, this is just what you figure out as you're going on because there is no real playbook for you to follow. There's a framework, but it's on you as the individual entrepreneur or operator to go in there and find, hey, how can I get a little bit better? How can I increase my output by just a little bit more?
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Exactly. Well, and let's be honest, we're battling a really difficult market that all of us keep hoping is rate. We've been saying it's going to change and loosen up for years. I do feel a little bit of that in the market. But I think one of the things that really very much matter, regardless of the size and scope of your business, we're all transportation providers. At the end of the day, that's what we do. We deal with the headache of transportation so our clients don't have to, and we optimize it. We are the communicators. We deal with all the headache of it. Right? That's why they pay us. So whatever we can do to help our team be more efficient, more productive and eliminate kind of noise, as I call it. Absolutely incredible.
(17:22):
And if you have KPIs, you have clear position descriptions, you have work construction, you have process, you have actual training, then accountability becomes so easy. Right? But if you're holding people accountable to a system, oh, we'll sit with Joe and he'll show you how to do things. And then tomorrow you're going to sit with Fred and he's going to show you a totally different way is doing it. Process allows you to create some standardization and also helps with accountability. It helps people with performance. Like, I always crave feedback. And one of the things that I think our industry really profoundly sucks at is regularly giving feedback because we're usually in the trenches.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Putting out fires. As you said, there's always an issue. There's always something new to learn, which is why I love it. The second I think I know it all, I'm going to check myself right out. Right. Because I am delusional. Thoughts from Fantasy island all day. Right. But a lot of what I do is either review tech text. Right. What are we using to our highest and best use? Build process, help develop salespeople, both shipper facing and carrier facing. Some of it is leadership development. How can I help folks that are next in line from a succession planning standpoint, be their highest and best human? Right. And I have a mantra, and my former Tampa team will definitely back me up on this, but it takes zero effort to at least try to be a good human.
(18:46):
And, and people who disrespect truck drivers or people in kind of helping professionals, man, that's bad business. And that's called being a crappy human. And that's just not who I am. And now that I. I get, I have the. The pleasure of working for myself, I'm really transparent and clear. If somebody comes to me and I don't think it's a good fit or my moral compass doesn't align with kind of what they do, I'm gonna be transparent and just be like, hey, I don't think this is a good fit, but I'm happy to connect you with other folks. Right? Because the reality is I'm not always going to be the best. But what you are going to get with me is honesty, transparency. And I'm a documentation queen, so lots of documentation, right?
Speaker 2 (19:30):
No, and that's exactly it, right? Like, you knowing that is profound. Like knowing who you want to go after, who you want to work with. And you know, it's like it's you. You go through so many stages when you're starting out. You go through, you know, at least for me, like, I didn't make a dollar for like 12 months in business, right. And I'd like, I actually made my first money after like 15 months in at that point. And, you know, for you to be able to do that, right? Now is. It's amazing, you know, and you knowing kind of like how to structure who you want to go after, what you want to go after is like light years ahead of where I was when I first started. You know, I was just going after anything. Right.
(20:10):
I didn't know what the hell I was doing, you know, and now it's like the experience that you get. Like, you know, I, I wish I would have got to a, you know, a, a pricing model where I was, you know, stopping trading dollars for hours earlier than I did. Right. And you know, again, I figured all of that stuff out there and you know, I, I was fortunate to get involved in an entrepreneur organization early in it and like learning from people who again were further down the path. And you know, now it's like I'm, when I'm going out there and trying to develop business for, for my freight brokerage, like I know exactly who we're going after. At the end of the day, I know exactly what I want to go after.
(20:51):
And then at the end of the day, if it's not a fit, I'm not afraid to walk away. Like, I believe in myself enough. I don't care how tough the market is. I will in to get more business out there. It just, you know, again, there's more uncertainty. But like, I'm not going to, if I'm not vibing with somebody, I'm right there with you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Cool. Yeah. And you wish them continued success, but it's just not going to be you on that journey with them. And I think that's pretty cool. The other thing that I think really set me up for success is even. And I always believe in travel budgets being restricted to save jobs. Right. So let me go ahead and just start with that. But you know, the past couple years we've been in a really difficult freight market. When I was working for, you know, a corporation and travel was cut, I still made the investment in myself to go to conferences, to go to trade shows, to learn, to network, to grow.
(21:44):
And I honestly believe that my volunteer work in the industry and being involved with different industry associations like tia, where Chris and I started, and TMSA and Women in Trucking and all these associations have really set me up for success. And people find me like I was going to build a website, I was going to create a LinkedIn, I was going to do all this stuff and I was like, no, I don't need to. At least right now I could change my Mind down the line. But that's a beautiful problem to have in your second month of existing, Right?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Yeah. Social selling, though, Eileen, is a highly underutilized method out there. Right. And you know, from my perspective, there's multiple ways to develop business and for what you're doing, like getting out there and just, you know, networking with people at conferences and stuff like that is going to be crucial for you because, you know, again, more people are out there, people are traveling, you know, no matter what, even if their budgets are restricted, people are out there. I mean, you got to get out there and shake hands with people, be in front of them, see what they're looking for and everything in a, you know, because like where I think a lot of people don't know that they need help until they start talking to people. Right. And it's like for me, I mean, I am self, admittedly my own worst enemy at times.
(23:07):
Like I am out there, like, I will just figure it out, right. And a lot of it boils down to just kind of like my past, like I've just had to figure out my whole life, right. So it's like I have a very hard time accepting help from other people. I. I really do. It's not necessarily a good thing. It is at times, but it's not at times as well. So it's like getting out there and understanding that, like, you don't have it all figured out and that's okay. But also realizing nobody has it all figured out. The highest I know will openly admit that, hey, I don't know what I'm doing most days. I'm just fucking winging it. And I'm like, I'm going into it.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
With heart, passion, right. And belief in myself and my ability to make a difference. And I think if you have that, I don't want to say you figure it out, but it's sort of like throwing spaghetti at a wall and. Right. You learn really quickly where you should not spend your time. And that's why, like, I've always in sales, getting to a no is equally as important as getting to a yes because then you can focus your energy elsewhere. Right? So get to your no, wish them well and move on and focus on somebody who's going to be a bigger, better fit for you.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah. People need to start framing that as a win in sales is knowing who not to go after. Right. Like, I talked to a guy this morning, we had a great conversation. Turns out we're not a fit. That's fine. But here's the way that I perceive it now. Now I know who not to call. Now I'm not going to continue to call because, again, getting somebody on the phone in a cold call is a lot of luck. And I say luck in the sense of, like, you're catching them at the right moment where they're willing to pick up the phone. Because most people, if you pay attention in your personal life, as your professional life, you're rarely answering phone numbers that you don't have saved in your cell phone. Right. It's like, a lot of people have those tendencies out there.
(24:54):
So it's like for me, knowing who not to go after, getting that verbal, like, hey, man, we're not a fit. We only do this, and I don't do that. Awesome. Onto the next one. Right? But on the flip side, I also had another really good call this morning from somebody who was a fit. And, you know, we vibed on some things. Again, I'm not your pushy sales rep that's out there. At the end of the day, like, I understand we need to earn our way in. I understand that there are existing partnerships, relationships. I'm not here to step on anybody's toes, but I'm here to provide a service when you need us. And that's my sales strategy. That's my approach, and that's what I'm sticking with. Right. Because I look at brand awareness out there in the market.
(25:30):
I want people, no matter what, whether they say no to us today, they put us on the bench, whatever it is, I want them to have a positive remembrance or at least, hey, we talked to these guys. I don't remember. Let's call them. Let's reach back out to them. I think we're ready at this time. I don't want them to be. You know, throw us onto the. We will never call you again for whatever reason. Is that going to happen? Yes, it is inevitable. Somebody's going to have a bad experience with me. But I want to put my best foot forward to ensure that is, at a minimum, that happens.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
I'm the exact same. And. And I think that's part of the challenge for other folks. And why, you know, some people are more successful than others. First of all, you. You mentioned constantly throwing your goals further out. So some people accomplish a goal and they go check, I'm done.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah, Right.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
As I hit that goal, I'm kind of like you, target number one. Right? Be successful my first month, get clients. Right. I have goals every month, and I do something every year. With myself. Two things, actually. I put myself on a PDP personal development plan, and I also make a dream board. Every year, I have a dream board in my home office. I have a little version of it on my mirror. Right. And I want my dreams to haunt me. I want to see them so often. And what a dream board is for anybody who's not aware. It's eight to 10 things that you want wholeheartedly to accomplish, and it's some type of visual that triggers that response. Right. So this is going to sound silly, but it's meant to blend the personal and professional together.
(27:06):
So one of my life goals is to swim with a whale shark. And I know that's probably very bizarre, but I've been trying to my whole life, go to Mexico. I've been all over the world, and then I see videos of. Right. People in Tampa Bay swimming with whale sharks. I'm like, damn it. Right? Like. So every year for the past seven years, swim with the damn whale shark has been on my dream board. But guess what? It's going to stay there until I cross it off.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Right. So you have to challenge yourself to grow as a human, regardless of if you're entry level, just joining the industry, senior leader, owner of a company. It doesn't matter what level you are. You're not done.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Yeah. No.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Second. You think you're done quietly right off into the sunset, and we wish you the best. The other thing that you said that's really important to me, Chris, you never burn a bridge in this industry. Reputation is everything, and it's the one thing that we can control. There's no way to make everybody happy. But hopefully you're not going to hear, oh, Eileen is a huge jerk. She treated me with disrespect that should never. Because I go out of my way to not do that now. Am I going to have sometimes a direct, uncomfortable conversation with somebody? Right. If it's not absolutely part of this industry, but it's not going to be in a way that makes people feel less than.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Yeah, no, I. I couldn't agree more with that. Eileen, I'm excited for you know, with what you're about, you know, you're about to embark upon and, you know, like we had talked in the past. Right. Like, it is the most uncertain I've ever felt in my life about a lot of things, but it's also the most at peace that I've been because I truly feel like I am on the right path of what I'm supposed to be doing. With my life. So I'm just really excited for you from that regard. But, Eileen, how does anybody reach out to you to find out more about what you got going on if they need help with anything that you might offer?
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Yeah, so for sure, connect with me on LinkedIn. I'd love to connect that way. I have a very high tech email address. It's ApexTideConsultingMail.com. Feel free to ping me there. Definitely make it as easy as possible. But whether it's a transparent networking, you know, conversation, does this make sense? Hey, I just want to pick your brain. Happy to connect. Because I believe that our industry is only going to get better the more we collaborate. And instead of kind of fighting each other and pinning it, let's learn from each other. And if we all have our niche, then let other people be great at something you're not. And that. And that's exactly where I'm at in my life. I'm not the best at everything, but I know where my strengths are.
(29:35):
If somebody asked me to do something that somebody else is better suited for, I'm going to tell them, hey, you could work with so and so.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
I think that's perfect. Eileen, thank you so much for your time today. If you guys can't find Eileen for whatever reason, hit me up. I will gladly put you guys in contact with her, but that is going to be it for today. Ladies and gentlemen. As always, if you got value in what you heard, subscribe to the show. You guys, if you're feeling really ambitious after this one, which you should be, rank the show on itunes and Spotify because that's how we reach other people is because if you saw value, chances are your network's going to see value as well. I appreciate you guys. I love you guys and we'll be talking to you soon.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Bye, everyone.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
We just end the show, Eileen. There's no cool.
Came back with a bank window down.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yelling now money anything hey oh Got.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
The foot on the gas pedal to the metal when I'm getting to the.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Back hey Got the foot on the.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Gas pedal to the metal when the lane moving fast hey Let them all cross if they hate then let them hate them Make a bigger balls.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey what is up ladies and gentlemen? We are back. We are live. It is a freight coach podcast, the top podcast in transportation coming to you guys every single weekday, 8:30am Pacific, 10:30 Central, to break down some industry headlines. But most importantly, you guys provide some actual insight into what you can do with all of this information. If this is your first time tuning in, welcome. This is the real side of freight, ladies and gentlemen. And I say that before every single show. And what I mean by that is I only speak with transportation professionals because at the end of the day, you guys, I want to talk to the right individuals who have done what you're looking to do or who are currently doing what you're trying to achieve.
(00:58):
So you can take that information, apply it, utilize it, and see a meaningful difference in your business and your life. Happy Tuesday, everybody. I got a very special guest for you guys. I'm going to bring her up in a second here, but I do want to drop my little weekly reminder we got in our newsletter. It drops every single Wednesday. All right? So if you go to the freightcoach.com it will auto prompt you to register for that. Unlike others, I don't auto sign my contact list up and just bombard and spam and do all of that stuff because A, I wouldn't even know how to do that. But B, I believe in value driven content. And if you like what you hear on here, chances are you might like the newsletter as well.
(01:33):
So if you want to go and check that out, by all means, we would appreciate that. But with that being said, I got a repeat guest on. She was just on here a little bit ago. She was also instructing with me at the sales summit at the tia but she's kind of got some new stuff going on there, so. So I figured why not bring Eileen Dabrowski back on the show. Eileen, thank you so much for joining me here today.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Thanks for having me, Chris.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
No, it's my pleasure. Right. Like I, we've only. What's crazy is Eileen is I feel like I've known you forever and we've only talked a handful of times. And granted, we spent that entire day at the sales summit together there, but like, I just feel like I know you know, and I feel like exact same here.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
We're cut from the same cloth in a lot of areas out there.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Absolutely. And when you find a human that you mesh with in this industry, no matter where you live, how your business changes, you hang on to them. And that's what's cool about our industry and why I wanted to stay in it. So I'm pumped.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah. I mean, it's one of those things. And especially the older I get, you know, I've like, I'm going to be 39 soon. So, like, I feel like I've earned the older I get six statement here, Eileen, is it's like you kind of read like, at least for me, like I'm able to read people very well. And you know, it's like you, the first time we met and were talking and then kind of like where you are now with everything, like, I could see that urge. And then like, obviously I didn't find out until essentially like just before the sales summit, like, hey, FYI, this is what I'm doing now and I love it because I love people betting on themselves.
(03:10):
And you know, what was it, Eileen, that drove you to step out and be like, all right, I want to go out and do my own thing here.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah. So first of all, let me start with. It is probably top three most terrifying things I've ever done in my life. And like anybody who tells you, oh, entrepreneurship is easy and you're going to have a great time and it's always going to be magical. Promise you, that is the biggest load of BS you will ever hear in your life. It's. It is blood, sweat, tears, passion, work and I'm completely in love with it.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
So, you know, you said you're going to be 39, Chris, I turned 40 last year, which was like a big. Right. It just felt like the cliff and then I just got right from it. Right. So I'm going to be 41. And you know, you get to a certain point in your life, I'm so thankful that I've had the ability to work at, you know, a medium sized, family owned and operated, 100% private company, asset based repeal. And then I got to work for one of the world's largest.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Providers. Right. So I've seen both sides. I think it's made me a very well rounded human. I learned so much in those roles and you know, my whole life I've been asked to consult, but I'm a pretty ethical human. You know, there's not much we can actually control in transportation. So my moral compass and integrity have always been part of it. So I've consulted outside of transportation, but never within. And, you know, the older I get, the more I was like, man, if I don't do this thing, if I don't go for it now I'm going to wake up and be 50 and comfortable and never have taken a chance on myself. And then I had this really profound life thing happen. I had a close family member just suddenly, essentially collapsed in November of last year. Very young, you know, by all standards.
(04:56):
I told you, I'm 40. Very, very young human by, you know, today's kind of standards. Essentially just dropped and lost the will to live. And this was my godmother. So one of the people that had been, you know, when you think about core memories in your life and humans who have helped define you, definitely, she was. She was it. So seeing that happen to somebody I care about was kind of the first domino. Right. Okay. You don't know how long your Runway is. Right. Every day we wake up. It's a gift.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
We'll either do it or. Right. Because the one thing that I don't want to have in my life is regrets. I'm gonna make mistakes. I make mistakes every day. I'm gonna learn, I'm gonna grow. Right. But I know I have regret and the willingness to go out there. And she was my first kind of catalyst to have the guts and to kind of. Let's call it the fire. Right. Because you're comfortable. Right. And I also, you know this industry. Right. So our number one. Then I got really sick. Sick to the point of ending up in the hospital, probably. Why? Because I ran myself profoundly into the ground, as we also tend to do in transportation and being a caregiver and. Right. Trying to keep my family afloat.
(06:09):
And I was like, damn, you're not going to make it to 45 if you keep up this. So it was like Domino 1, Domino 2. And then it was like, you know what? If you don't do this, you don't bet on yourself. You're never gonna know. So I did. And I gotta be honest with you, I started in early March. She. She was just with us. I actually got notification the Thursday were at TIA that she had passed right before I presented my learning lab, ironically enough. But, you know, it's the phone call you know is coming, but you're still never prepared. Right. And. And what I can tell you, the time that I was able to get with her because I work for me. Like, my laptop went with me to the hospital room. Right.
(06:57):
And, and I had the ability to be more mobile because I didn't have to be in an office. Right. So that's been one of the beautiful things about this for me. And it was just the right time in my life to kind of go for my dreams. And I haven't had a off, so stay tuned. Right. But you and I talked about Chris. That's pretty standard.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
It is, Eileen. And I, you know, I, I resonate with a lot of what you're saying. You know, like, I, I kind of look at this where, you know, I will never regret trying this. You know, like, no matter how far I go, like, yes, I have very large and audacious goals and everything, and I'm going to work really hard to make that happen. But you know what? It's a risk that you never know. Right. Like, I, I hope for the best. I work, you know, a lot and, you know, I hope that it happens. You know, I'm working for it to happen. I truly feel like it's going to. But ultimately that's not, I don't know. Right. Like, nobody knows what's gonna happen. Right.
(07:55):
And to your point with that, you know, I've had some life stuff happen here over these last couple of years as well that have, like, solidified why I show up every single day and do what I do because, like, you don't know, right? And it's like, I, I've, you know, and then, you know, again, the older you get, the more people, you know, who you grew up with that pass away and you're like, fuck, you know, like, I, I. There is a shelf life here for this. So it's like, I'll never regret trying. And, you know, when it comes down to, like, working every day, I remember when I first started doing stuff. Right. And eventually, Eileen, you'll learn to become more efficient. I'm not saying you're inefficient with your time now a little bit.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Let's be honest. I essentially, last day with a company, with this day started literally the next day while having all this life stuff going on. Right. So it's kind of a slow rol. And I've never been through here in my life, but there is not a single regret I have.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Yeah. And rest assured, you will start to develop a system to where it's like, it's not going to feel as overwhelming. It's there's always going to be that. That situation where you're like, what do I do here? And I've never experienced this before, but you'll go through it enough and you'll dial in your process to where it's like, hey, you're gonna get it in between, you know, seven and five, maybe it's, you know, 50 hours a week and stuff like that. Because contrary to what some on the Internet, you're not working 24, 7, 365, right? But what you will find, though, and this is something that I found is it's like how I spend my time outside of work is vastly different than I did prior to this, right? Like, when I am not at work, I'm working on myself, right?
(09:31):
Like, I'm trying to consume as much information as I possibly can to not, like, skip steps, but better prepared for when I hit next levels inside of my business. Because, like, that's the value. A lot of people who are already down the path that I'm trying to do put a lot of great information out there. You just got to pick it up and. And consume it. And then, you know, I'm finding other ways just to kind of like, become a better human really is like another part of it, right? How do I get in better shape? How do I be a better husband? How do I be a better father and all of that. So it's like how I spend my time outside of here is. Is this vastly different. And I equate it because, like, I'm never going to be good enough, right?
(10:08):
Like, that's another thing that I set. And it's not like, me, the person I mean, like, I'm never going to be in a position where I'm going to feel like I just figured it all out, right? Like were talking before the show, a situation that I'm going through right now, I've been doing this for 15 years. I've never had this happen. I'll put some content out after the fact to kind of, you know, explain it a little bit more to help better prepare people for it. But again, like, that's what I mean. Like, I'm never going to be good enough. I can always better. So it's like I'm on a constant pursuit of, like, how do I just level up? How do I become more efficient with my time? And one thing that I'm really committed to is my time.
(10:44):
How do I maximize these eight hours, right? Because especially from a sales and a prospecting thing, people aren't taking sales calls at 7:00 at night, like not at scale anyways, right? So it's like how do I amplify my efforts throughout the day? And you know, and when I was doing sales training and consulting work, that was like the biggest thing out there. People are like, hey, how do I teach my people a sales system that I can, that like they can follow? And one thing I came to realize really quick, everybody retains information differently, everybody learns differently as well.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
And, and that's what's kind of cool about kind of this new venture I'm on. So, so first of all, Apex Tide, right? When I was creating the name of my company, I thought about the two things that make me the happiest in the world, right? Mountains and the ocean. So to find something that kind of articulated these two things that are so profoundly important to me, I just knew the second. I took a first stab and created Apex Tide. Because if you don't go into your business with love and passion and truly believe in what you can do to help others, then you're in the wrong business. Now obviously I am doing this so that myself, my family, those I care about can have a better quality of life. I love to travel and travel is, you know, expensive.
(12:04):
Being a human is expensive today, right? So I wanted to be able to. How can I spend more time with my family and the people I love? My dog, right? I'm a dog mom. I love being able to wake up at home and things I've learned about myself in this journey. If I work out in the morning, it's better for me. I'm a kickboxer. I have to do it to stay sane. And now I have the luxury of doing that. I've learned I also do my best content development. Anytime I'm writing, building process, building marketing materials, building programming, I do that better at night. So what I've learned to do, take the morning for me, handle stuff as I need to throughout the day. But I'm doing almost a split and that's definitely not what I started with, right?
(12:50):
So I'm only a month into this, a month and change. I've already kind of figured out some efficiencies. But what I can tell you now, I've taken all the things that I loved about my past job and now I get to do it to help other, you know, primarily small to medium sized companies grow their business. And I get to do it by always staying true to me. And I'm really transparent with everybody. I work with, hey, I might not be the best fit. And this has to make as much sense for both of us. I want this to be a two way street. I'm really fortunate and so lucky, blessed, whatever you want to call it, that I haven't really had to go looking for business. Business has found me and I like to think that's because I'm not a BSer.
(13:34):
I'm gonna tell you straight. Like, if somebody comes to me and they're like, eileen, I really want you to help manage my accounting team. Hard packed. That gives me no joy.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Right?
Speaker 1 (13:43):
So I know what I'm good at and where I can add value. I'm still learning. I start my day every day by reading, and I end my day every day by reading or listening to a podcast. Just because that's how much changes in our industry. And if I'm not current, I can't help the people that I work with. Right.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I think that's exactly how you need to attack this. Right. Is, you know, one thing, like when you're out there working with your clients, Eileen, is it a lot of, like, process implementation? Because I think, like processes and systems, that's something that I personally struggled with early on. Like, because I just don't write shit down, right. Like, I know what to do in my head, but if I ever want to grow and scale, I need a system to follow. And that's one thing that, you know, was kind of profound for me here that I've really just kind of started adopting over the last, like six months is like implementing a sales system, you know, and it's like finding a scalable, repeatable process that you can follow every single day. Now, are there days that I missed? Yes.
(14:45):
Like yesterday I didn't hit my call goal for the day because, like, I had some other shit going on that took my time away and that was part of it. But this morning I got in, we had a resolution, and I started hammering out again. Like, there are going to be days that you are going to, you know, things are going to happen, life is going to happen, business is going to happen, but the next day, I can't let two days come. You know, one day become to two and two to three. And that's what derails a lot of people out there. And that's why I believe in small and sustainable shifts to it. Right? Like, I believe in starting low and working your way up.
(15:19):
Hey, if you've never made cold calls before, if you've never done something before, Start with a manageable number that you can hit every single day repeatedly for 30 days straight. And then again, you track your progress and the time it takes you to complete said tasks. So say it takes you three hours. If you get it down to an hour and a half, that is a massive increase in productivity. And then I believe in just add five. Don't overwhelm yourself. Double it. Add five. Add and then do that. Because again, it's about building it up. And then you find little ways to increase your outputs. And you know, I've been talking about this on the show. I actually brought the book in today because you were going to be here.
(15:56):
I would highly recommend everybody buys this book and reads this because there's little tips and tricks inside of that book that help me become even more dialed into my systems by preloading calls out there. Because I like to have every prospect's website up when I call them so I can ask them something about that. And now that I've started to preload five calls, I've been able to increase my output and my cold call power hour that I do every single morning. And again, like, this is just what you figure out as you're going on because there is no real playbook for you to follow. There's a framework, but it's on you as the individual entrepreneur or operator to go in there and find, hey, how can I get a little bit better? How can I increase my output by just a little bit more?
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Exactly. Well, and let's be honest, we're battling a really difficult market that all of us keep hoping is rate. We've been saying it's going to change and loosen up for years. I do feel a little bit of that in the market. But I think one of the things that really very much matter, regardless of the size and scope of your business, we're all transportation providers. At the end of the day, that's what we do. We deal with the headache of transportation so our clients don't have to, and we optimize it. We are the communicators. We deal with all the headache of it. Right? That's why they pay us. So whatever we can do to help our team be more efficient, more productive and eliminate kind of noise, as I call it. Absolutely incredible.
(17:22):
And if you have KPIs, you have clear position descriptions, you have work construction, you have process, you have actual training, then accountability becomes so easy. Right? But if you're holding people accountable to a system, oh, we'll sit with Joe and he'll show you how to do things. And then tomorrow you're going to sit with Fred and he's going to show you a totally different way is doing it. Process allows you to create some standardization and also helps with accountability. It helps people with performance. Like, I always crave feedback. And one of the things that I think our industry really profoundly sucks at is regularly giving feedback because we're usually in the trenches.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Putting out fires. As you said, there's always an issue. There's always something new to learn, which is why I love it. The second I think I know it all, I'm going to check myself right out. Right. Because I am delusional. Thoughts from Fantasy island all day. Right. But a lot of what I do is either review tech text. Right. What are we using to our highest and best use? Build process, help develop salespeople, both shipper facing and carrier facing. Some of it is leadership development. How can I help folks that are next in line from a succession planning standpoint, be their highest and best human? Right. And I have a mantra, and my former Tampa team will definitely back me up on this, but it takes zero effort to at least try to be a good human.
(18:46):
And, and people who disrespect truck drivers or people in kind of helping professionals, man, that's bad business. And that's called being a crappy human. And that's just not who I am. And now that I. I get, I have the. The pleasure of working for myself, I'm really transparent and clear. If somebody comes to me and I don't think it's a good fit or my moral compass doesn't align with kind of what they do, I'm gonna be transparent and just be like, hey, I don't think this is a good fit, but I'm happy to connect you with other folks. Right? Because the reality is I'm not always going to be the best. But what you are going to get with me is honesty, transparency. And I'm a documentation queen, so lots of documentation, right?
Speaker 2 (19:30):
No, and that's exactly it, right? Like, you knowing that is profound. Like knowing who you want to go after, who you want to work with. And you know, it's like it's you. You go through so many stages when you're starting out. You go through, you know, at least for me, like, I didn't make a dollar for like 12 months in business, right. And I'd like, I actually made my first money after like 15 months in at that point. And, you know, for you to be able to do that, right? Now is. It's amazing, you know, and you knowing kind of like how to structure who you want to go after, what you want to go after is like light years ahead of where I was when I first started. You know, I was just going after anything. Right.
(20:10):
I didn't know what the hell I was doing, you know, and now it's like the experience that you get. Like, you know, I, I wish I would have got to a, you know, a, a pricing model where I was, you know, stopping trading dollars for hours earlier than I did. Right. And you know, again, I figured all of that stuff out there and you know, I, I was fortunate to get involved in an entrepreneur organization early in it and like learning from people who again were further down the path. And you know, now it's like I'm, when I'm going out there and trying to develop business for, for my freight brokerage, like I know exactly who we're going after. At the end of the day, I know exactly what I want to go after.
(20:51):
And then at the end of the day, if it's not a fit, I'm not afraid to walk away. Like, I believe in myself enough. I don't care how tough the market is. I will in to get more business out there. It just, you know, again, there's more uncertainty. But like, I'm not going to, if I'm not vibing with somebody, I'm right there with you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Cool. Yeah. And you wish them continued success, but it's just not going to be you on that journey with them. And I think that's pretty cool. The other thing that I think really set me up for success is even. And I always believe in travel budgets being restricted to save jobs. Right. So let me go ahead and just start with that. But you know, the past couple years we've been in a really difficult freight market. When I was working for, you know, a corporation and travel was cut, I still made the investment in myself to go to conferences, to go to trade shows, to learn, to network, to grow.
(21:44):
And I honestly believe that my volunteer work in the industry and being involved with different industry associations like tia, where Chris and I started, and TMSA and Women in Trucking and all these associations have really set me up for success. And people find me like I was going to build a website, I was going to create a LinkedIn, I was going to do all this stuff and I was like, no, I don't need to. At least right now I could change my Mind down the line. But that's a beautiful problem to have in your second month of existing, Right?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Yeah. Social selling, though, Eileen, is a highly underutilized method out there. Right. And you know, from my perspective, there's multiple ways to develop business and for what you're doing, like getting out there and just, you know, networking with people at conferences and stuff like that is going to be crucial for you because, you know, again, more people are out there, people are traveling, you know, no matter what, even if their budgets are restricted, people are out there. I mean, you got to get out there and shake hands with people, be in front of them, see what they're looking for and everything in a, you know, because like where I think a lot of people don't know that they need help until they start talking to people. Right. And it's like for me, I mean, I am self, admittedly my own worst enemy at times.
(23:07):
Like I am out there, like, I will just figure it out, right. And a lot of it boils down to just kind of like my past, like I've just had to figure out my whole life, right. So it's like I have a very hard time accepting help from other people. I. I really do. It's not necessarily a good thing. It is at times, but it's not at times as well. So it's like getting out there and understanding that, like, you don't have it all figured out and that's okay. But also realizing nobody has it all figured out. The highest I know will openly admit that, hey, I don't know what I'm doing most days. I'm just fucking winging it. And I'm like, I'm going into it.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
With heart, passion, right. And belief in myself and my ability to make a difference. And I think if you have that, I don't want to say you figure it out, but it's sort of like throwing spaghetti at a wall and. Right. You learn really quickly where you should not spend your time. And that's why, like, I've always in sales, getting to a no is equally as important as getting to a yes because then you can focus your energy elsewhere. Right? So get to your no, wish them well and move on and focus on somebody who's going to be a bigger, better fit for you.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah. People need to start framing that as a win in sales is knowing who not to go after. Right. Like, I talked to a guy this morning, we had a great conversation. Turns out we're not a fit. That's fine. But here's the way that I perceive it now. Now I know who not to call. Now I'm not going to continue to call because, again, getting somebody on the phone in a cold call is a lot of luck. And I say luck in the sense of, like, you're catching them at the right moment where they're willing to pick up the phone. Because most people, if you pay attention in your personal life, as your professional life, you're rarely answering phone numbers that you don't have saved in your cell phone. Right. It's like, a lot of people have those tendencies out there.
(24:54):
So it's like for me, knowing who not to go after, getting that verbal, like, hey, man, we're not a fit. We only do this, and I don't do that. Awesome. Onto the next one. Right? But on the flip side, I also had another really good call this morning from somebody who was a fit. And, you know, we vibed on some things. Again, I'm not your pushy sales rep that's out there. At the end of the day, like, I understand we need to earn our way in. I understand that there are existing partnerships, relationships. I'm not here to step on anybody's toes, but I'm here to provide a service when you need us. And that's my sales strategy. That's my approach, and that's what I'm sticking with. Right. Because I look at brand awareness out there in the market.
(25:30):
I want people, no matter what, whether they say no to us today, they put us on the bench, whatever it is, I want them to have a positive remembrance or at least, hey, we talked to these guys. I don't remember. Let's call them. Let's reach back out to them. I think we're ready at this time. I don't want them to be. You know, throw us onto the. We will never call you again for whatever reason. Is that going to happen? Yes, it is inevitable. Somebody's going to have a bad experience with me. But I want to put my best foot forward to ensure that is, at a minimum, that happens.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
I'm the exact same. And. And I think that's part of the challenge for other folks. And why, you know, some people are more successful than others. First of all, you. You mentioned constantly throwing your goals further out. So some people accomplish a goal and they go check, I'm done.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah, Right.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
As I hit that goal, I'm kind of like you, target number one. Right? Be successful my first month, get clients. Right. I have goals every month, and I do something every year. With myself. Two things, actually. I put myself on a PDP personal development plan, and I also make a dream board. Every year, I have a dream board in my home office. I have a little version of it on my mirror. Right. And I want my dreams to haunt me. I want to see them so often. And what a dream board is for anybody who's not aware. It's eight to 10 things that you want wholeheartedly to accomplish, and it's some type of visual that triggers that response. Right. So this is going to sound silly, but it's meant to blend the personal and professional together.
(27:06):
So one of my life goals is to swim with a whale shark. And I know that's probably very bizarre, but I've been trying to my whole life, go to Mexico. I've been all over the world, and then I see videos of. Right. People in Tampa Bay swimming with whale sharks. I'm like, damn it. Right? Like. So every year for the past seven years, swim with the damn whale shark has been on my dream board. But guess what? It's going to stay there until I cross it off.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Right. So you have to challenge yourself to grow as a human, regardless of if you're entry level, just joining the industry, senior leader, owner of a company. It doesn't matter what level you are. You're not done.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Yeah. No.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Second. You think you're done quietly right off into the sunset, and we wish you the best. The other thing that you said that's really important to me, Chris, you never burn a bridge in this industry. Reputation is everything, and it's the one thing that we can control. There's no way to make everybody happy. But hopefully you're not going to hear, oh, Eileen is a huge jerk. She treated me with disrespect that should never. Because I go out of my way to not do that now. Am I going to have sometimes a direct, uncomfortable conversation with somebody? Right. If it's not absolutely part of this industry, but it's not going to be in a way that makes people feel less than.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Yeah, no, I. I couldn't agree more with that. Eileen, I'm excited for you know, with what you're about, you know, you're about to embark upon and, you know, like we had talked in the past. Right. Like, it is the most uncertain I've ever felt in my life about a lot of things, but it's also the most at peace that I've been because I truly feel like I am on the right path of what I'm supposed to be doing. With my life. So I'm just really excited for you from that regard. But, Eileen, how does anybody reach out to you to find out more about what you got going on if they need help with anything that you might offer?
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Yeah, so for sure, connect with me on LinkedIn. I'd love to connect that way. I have a very high tech email address. It's ApexTideConsultingMail.com. Feel free to ping me there. Definitely make it as easy as possible. But whether it's a transparent networking, you know, conversation, does this make sense? Hey, I just want to pick your brain. Happy to connect. Because I believe that our industry is only going to get better the more we collaborate. And instead of kind of fighting each other and pinning it, let's learn from each other. And if we all have our niche, then let other people be great at something you're not. And that. And that's exactly where I'm at in my life. I'm not the best at everything, but I know where my strengths are.
(29:35):
If somebody asked me to do something that somebody else is better suited for, I'm going to tell them, hey, you could work with so and so.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
I think that's perfect. Eileen, thank you so much for your time today. If you guys can't find Eileen for whatever reason, hit me up. I will gladly put you guys in contact with her, but that is going to be it for today. Ladies and gentlemen. As always, if you got value in what you heard, subscribe to the show. You guys, if you're feeling really ambitious after this one, which you should be, rank the show on itunes and Spotify because that's how we reach other people is because if you saw value, chances are your network's going to see value as well. I appreciate you guys. I love you guys and we'll be talking to you soon.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Bye, everyone.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
We just end the show, Eileen. There's no cool.
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