Cut The Tie Podcast with Thomas Helfrich
Episode 277
When Allison Norris had her paycheck pulled without warning and was tossed aside by a startup she helped build, she hit a wall—hard. Depression, doubt, and disillusionment followed. But in the rubble of burnout and betrayal, she made a decision: I’m going to build something of my own. In this episode of Cut The Tie, Thomas Helfrich sits down with the founder of The Dentele Group to talk about what it means to bet on yourself when nobody else will.
Allison’s story is a real and raw account of navigating failure, reclaiming confidence, and breaking away from traditional career expectations. From dental hygienist to founder of a growing recruiting agency and AI-powered hiring platform, Allison shows that the worst moments in your career can spark the best chapters of your life.
About Allison Norris:
Allison is the founder of The Dentele Group, a non-clinical recruiting agency transforming how dental professionals connect with opportunities. A former hygienist who left clinical care behind, Allison has since built a business—and a soon-to-launch hiring app—that prioritizes values alignment, authenticity, and smarter tech. With a no-BS approach, she’s helping reshape how hiring works in the dental world and beyond.
In this episode, Thomas and Allison discuss:
- From fired to founder: Allison’s turning point
After being blindsided by a startup, Allison faced depression and doubt before deciding to build her own company. - Cutting the tie to old beliefs
Allison shares how she had to let go of the idea that failure equals worthlessness—and instead learned to fail forward. - Family pressure vs. personal purpose
The tension of choosing entrepreneurship over tradition, especially when your parents don’t get it. - Launching a values-first recruiting agency
Why Allison prioritizes authenticity, alignment, and integrity in all her client and candidate relationships. - The hiring app that could change the dental industry
From Calendly to background checks, Allison’s AI-driven app simplifies and centralizes everything hiring managers need.
Key Takeaways:
- Betting on yourself changes everything
Your future shouldn’t be dictated by someone else’s rulebook. - Failure doesn’t mean you’re not enough
It’s redirection, not disqualification. - You don’t need permission to be a founder
If you’re not meant to build someone else’s dream, build your own. - Charge for your value, not your time
Your brain is worth more than a free “pick your brain” call. - The dream you’re chasing might be the one you never saw coming
Let go of what you “should” do—and find what you’re meant to build.
Connect with Allison Norris:
💼 LinkedIn: Allison Norris
📧 Email: allisonnorris@thedentelegroup.com
🌐 Website: thedentelegroup.com
Connect with Thomas Helfrich:
🐦 Twitter: @thelfrich
📘 Facebook: Cut The Tie Group
💼 LinkedIn: Thomas Helfrich
🌐 Website: cutthetie.com
📧 Email: t@instantlyrelevant.com
🚀 instantlyrelevant.com
Serious about LinkedIn Lead Generation? Stop Guessing what to do on LinkedIn and ignite revenue from relevance with Instantly Relevant Lead System
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Cut the Tie.
Today we're joined by AllisonNorris.
Allison, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I'm good.
How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:07):
I'm delicious Allison .
Where in the world are youliving in?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Atlanta, Well, actually Marietta, which is
right outside Atlanta.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
I'm up in Alpharetta, so we're not that far away from
each other.
Yeah, I didn't realize thatwhen we were just talking off
camera that you were in the ATLGorgeous day.
Yeah, I didn't realize thatwhen we were just talking off
camera that you were in the ATLGorgeous day.
Yeah, thank you so much forcoming on.
Why don't you introduceyourself and tell me a little
bit about your business?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Sure, sure.
So I am a former dentalhygienist.
I left medical in 2018.
And I started working at thisdental billing company because,
you know, as a hygienist, that'sall we think we can do is go
and do something with dentalinsurance, and and so I was
(00:50):
fortunate enough to help buildtheir consulting division over
there.
But it's a very politicalcompany and you know, there were
a lot of, there were a lot ofpolitics, let's say that.
And so I quit and well,actually I didn't quit.
There's a long story, butanyway.
So I started working at thisorthodontic tech startup company
(01:10):
, this aligner company, and Iput my heart and my soul into
that company.
I went to go pay my bills and mypaycheck wasn't in my account,
and that's when I found out thatthey were making me a
commission-only employee ratherthan a salary, and so I had a
(01:36):
very hard time with that.
I helped them launch the companyto the Atlanta market and then
just screw me away like trashright and um, and so I went
through a couple months ofdepression, really bad
depression, um, and we didn'teven have Christmas ornaments on
(01:56):
our tree that year.
I was so depressed and um, andso one day I woke up and I was
like I don't want to feel thisway anymore, and so I said I'm
going to, I want to, I want tocreate something of my own.
I feel like I should do this,you know, and so I did.
So I launched the Dentel Group,and so the Dentel Group is a
(02:19):
non-clinical recruiting agency.
We place candidates innon-clinical positions in the
dental industry, and then, about18 months ago, I started
developing an app, and so theapp is going to completely
change the way that we hire inthe dental industry.
So yeah, there's my story.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
That's amazing.
Good for you for bouncing back.
I love that you foundentrepreneurship as a way to
focus the negative energy intosomething positive.
In my course, I call that thebig bang versus the black hole,
and you go through a black holeof fear, of an excuse, heading
rapidly towards a void that endsup being something in creation
which is a big bang, and so thefaster you can get through that,
(03:00):
the faster you know sounds likeit took you a little, not not
well, probably took like it feltlike a forever, which it would
be in a back hole.
But you're through the otherside and you're like I ain't
going back to that shit again.
No, no, no.
So good for you.
I get you know and your story'sunique, but why do people work
with you?
What makes you unique?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I'm honest to a fault and my integrity and I'm very
authentic with people.
When we have clients that areworking with us, we're not just
placing a candidate in aposition.
We are aligning our candidateswith them based on their values,
their vision, and that's who Ichoose to work with or companies
(03:43):
that I align with.
I'm very selective about thecompanies I work with, so I
think that oftentimesheadhunters or recruiters get a
little bit of a bad reputation,and so what I've heard just from
people that have talked to methey've said that I'm not like
your typical recruiter.
(04:03):
I have heart about it.
So that's how I've always ledmy life and my business.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Are you, you know, just in these trying times, you
know when this is airing here?
It's, like you know, april 2025, right?
Are you finding like thepolitical turmoil and just the
markets and the craziness isanother time that you're trying
to avoid the black hole of, ohmy God, it's slowed down so bad.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah, a little bit.
A little bit I mean.
So in January I was slammed,slammed and it's been.
It's been a little bit slow thepast month and a half and that
makes me super nervous, but Ialways bounce back, you know,
and I've also.
It's a little bit my fault too,I'll be honest with you,
(04:50):
because I really haven't beenputting in as much effort on the
business development front as Ishould, because I've been
focusing a lot of my energy onthe app and getting that up and
going so, um, so yeah, that'skind of my fault.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, I was taking a note there, cause I was like, um
, you have a lot going on.
You said, screw it, we're goingto do it.
And you know, now you'rehitting every.
You know you're in theentrepreneurial journey and it's
, it's rough at times, as youknow, and it's, it's insane.
Uh, what would you identify aspart of that journey?
And it's, it's insane.
What would you identify as partof that journey?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
The B tie you had to cut.
I had to let go of the beliefthat failure meant I wasn't
enough, and so I had to learn to, to fell forward instead of you
know, and to stop playing bythe rule books.
You know, and, and and stopletting other people dictate how
(05:46):
my future looks.
When I, when, when I fullystarted betting on myself was
the day that I, I really foundme.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
So you had to believe in yourself.
That was a tie to cut.
You had to stop worrying whatothers thought and believe in
what you thought you should doand what you could do.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yeah, pretty much.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Yeah, that's a hard step because there's a lot of
people influence you.
And let me ask you differentlyDo you feel like some people in
your I don't presume people inyour life who were trying to be
supportive were doing theabsolute opposite of being
supportive?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Oh yeah, 100%.
I mean my.
So my husband, I'm telling youwhat like he was my rock through
all that.
I mean he's, and he's still,super supportive.
Um, now, my parents not so muchmy parents are.
You know the belief that youwork for somebody, you're an
employee, you get a WP, a W2paycheck and benefits and yeah,
(06:45):
and that's just how it is.
And so I'll never forget thetime that I was sitting in my
living room and my dad looks atme and he's like why don't you
just go back to something you'regood at, like cleaning teeth?
Speaker 1 (06:58):
And you're like, oh, I bought some for you.
Did you reach your pocket andbe like?
Speaker 2 (07:01):
I know, I know I was like I just go the middle finger
for those listening.
I didn't even know what to say,I was just and that was kind of
.
And since then, you know, we'vekind of have a drift in our
relationship since I launched mycompany, which is weird.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
So just identifying a tie to cut, it sounds like
that's one you should identifyand get that.
You know what I say throw theturd on the table and then see
how it cleans up.
I'm going to throw a turd onthe table today.
Dax, I love you, you wereinsensitive and I think you were
trying to be helpful, but thatwas a dick thing to say and I
think you should apologize.
And you might be like I didn'tknow.
I'm from the 40s.
I mean, what do I know?
I'll see you in the 40s 50s,and so my point is don't let
(07:45):
that one fester.
There's no need to.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah, I know, I know, but it did hurt.
(08:11):
Oh yeah, I'm sure that one cutwas searching for jobs and I was
super qualified, right.
But now, knowing what I know,now there was a reason that I
wasn't getting hired right.
I know those reasons now, butback then I thought that my work
(08:32):
ethic and and my experiencewould get me a position, and it
didn't.
And anyway, long story short, Iguess I just had a moment of
clarity and it was.
You know, I wasn't meant tobuild someone else's dream, I
was meant to create my own.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yeah, to be fair, when I started my company I it
wasn't that I didn't apply forliterally over a thousand jobs
we got zero replies.
I guess I was unhirable at thatpoint, I don't know.
And that's a you know, you getforced in the entrepreneur route
a little bit sometimes too, andthe same time you're, you do
and you don't like you want togo there but you're still
(09:13):
looking for that safety net,that crack cocaine.
But once that safety net goesaway and you figure it out,
you're full on and it's scaryshit.
And I tell people this Don't go.
If someone says, hey, here's abunch of money to be running
this part of a company and it'sthe right environment, I'd
probably take it and just keepmy stuff going on the side.
I can adjust.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
I'm not saying no to corporate, but I don't bet on it
full time anymore.
Hell, no, I don't.
I don't believe in that lieanymore.
What's a lesson you would giveto the listener?
Um, a lesson, um, that you knowsometimes, um, sometimes, the
(10:01):
dreams that come true are thedreams that you never even knew
that you had, and so my entirelife I worked for someone else
and I thought it was supposed tobe that way, you know, and I
thought that I had to be on thesame path.
You know that my parents wantedme to be on, and I never, I
(10:23):
never really took theopportunity to ask myself, you
know, what I wanted.
And so let me get to my point.
So, to the people that arelistening or will be listening,
the setbacks and the failuresyou may think that those things
are disqualifying you now, andthey may make you question your
(10:47):
worth, and they may make youquestion who you are or your
value, but, um, they're actuallyredirecting you.
Redirecting you not, uh,dictating your future,
essentially.
So, if you're gonna fail, failreally humbly, you know, I mean
(11:09):
actually I even say this failany way you want I.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
I humbly, loudly, quietly, whatever.
Learn from it or it is afailure.
Exactly.
That's peace and listen.
Once again.
I'm terrible at giving.
I'm great at giving advice andnot fine.
I fail miserably repeatedly inso many areas.
It's I say like I have no creds, like at all.
My wife's like read my book andshe's like seriously, I'm like
just go with it, so I'll leaveit at that.
(11:34):
It is triggering a smallrewrite.
Let's just say it that way.
All right, rapid fire questionfor you.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Okay, who gives you inspiration?
Speaker 1 (11:48):
My kids, why is that?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
I don't know they inspire me more than anybody
else does.
I don't know they inspire memore than anybody else does.
You know they're the reasonthat on hard days that I keep
going.
You know, on the days that Iget out of a meeting that just
went horrible, they're rightthere and they're really truly
(12:23):
the reminderbacks and everythingthat they go through it almost
reminds me of resilience Love it.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
What's the best business advice you've ever
received?
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Resilience you know, love it.
What's the best business adviceyou've ever received?
I would say charge for thevalue that you provide and not
necessarily the hours that yougive, maybe.
No, I was trying to think ofsomething.
You know it's what was.
There's always people onLinkedIn that are saying let me
pick your brain, let me pickyour brain.
And I had people pick at mybrain every day.
(12:56):
It felt like, you know, and Iwould get so excited and I would
get on these calls.
And then I realized, oh my gosh, I just gave them a ton of my
intellectual property andthey're going to take this and
they're going to run with it,you know.
So I mean, know your value,know your worth.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
And then yeah, charge for it.
Charge for it.
Yeah, that's why this podcastcosts $1,000 once you appear.
Okay, okay, um, so, uh, um.
You know, I think reading andeducating yourself is part of a
daily routine.
Try to read like 10 pages a dayon something related to
(13:35):
something you're trying to getbetter at, or cut a tie to
whatever.
What's the must-read book fromyour perspective.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
There was a book that I had started not too long ago
and it was called the MountainIs you, and so it basically
helps you recognize the patternsthat you go through and
basically self-sabotage and howto take that self-sabotage and
get over that.
You know, like get over, stopself-sabotaging.
(14:03):
You know it was by BriannaWiest, I believe.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
W-I-E-S-T.
Awesome.
I love that.
If you could go back in timeand change something and do
something differently, whenwould you do that in your life
and what would you change?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I would change at any point in my life, any point.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
This is your show.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Oh, my goodness gracious, I would.
I'm a nerd.
I would have leaned into moreof the entrepreneurial, like I
would have done what I wanted todo, rather than listen to what
my parents wanted me to do.
That's what I would do, andthat would have been what I
(14:49):
wanted to do, rather than listento what my parents wanted me to
do.
That's what I would do, yeah,and that would have been
starting like in college.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Yeah, yeah, I agree, I'll share this.
I remember sitting on the beachafter three months of
PricewaterhouseCoopers training,right Right after that, right
as the dot com was kind of goingand all these people were
partying they're so excited toget going on their jobs.
I to get going on their jobs.
I'm sitting there.
I was like depressed.
I was like is this really whatthe hell I'm going to do for the
rest of my life is sit in acube and code and do shit like
this?
I was like there's got to bemore to life.
(15:15):
This one guy came up to me andhe was like he was a friend of
mine.
He said why are you so?
Whatever, I was like thought ofmyself higher than a cube guy
anyway, and I and then you siton it for 20 some years anyway.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
So I, I feel, it.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
You get these moments , you shut them down because you
have school loans, debt, otherstuff, and anyway, it's just
yeah, yeah, it's uh, yeah, it's.
It's crazy.
Um, you know, if there's aquestion I should have asked
today, but I didn't, what wouldthat question have been and how
would you have answered it?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
um.
The question would have beentell me about your app.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I'm sure a few of your website shows, but you can
explain it.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Tell me about your app.
Well, no, the app is pretty cool.
It basically provides hiringmanagers with everything they
need in one spot without havingto leave.
Provides hiring managers witheverything they need in one spot
without having to leave.
So, you know, companies will beable to drop all the different
software systems like Zoom andCalendly.
(16:21):
And you know, video the video,or that is Zoom, isn't it?
The background check software,all that kind of stuff.
It's pretty neat.
It's all powered by ai andeverything's ai these days, but
it's really cool.
I was.
It's been a really greatlearning experience because I've
got to learn about likealgorithms and you know like
(16:41):
it's been really neat to learn.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
So yeah, it's.
I would hope the links you'reabout to provide in the next
question are going to explainall that.
So how do people get a hold ofyou and who should do that?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Sure, anybody can get a hold of me If they want to
talk.
I'm very friendly, so I rarelycheck my website.
To be honest with you, they canalways email me.
It's AllisonNorris atTheDentelGroupcom.
Or they can find me on LinkedIn, of course, and it's just
Allison Norris, awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Allison, thank you for coming on today.
I appreciate it.
Thank you and for thoselistening, listen, go cut a tie
to something holding you back.
Get out there, Unleash the bestversion of yourself.
Follow on Apple Spotify and, ifyou're a YouTuber, hit the
subscribe button.
Thank you so much for listening.
Until next time, go cut a tie.
Welcome to Cut the Tie.
Today we're joined by AllisonNorris.
Allison, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I'm good.
How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:07):
I'm delicious Allison .
Where in the world are youliving in?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Atlanta, Well, actually Marietta, which is
right outside Atlanta.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
I'm up in Alpharetta, so we're not that far away from
each other.
Yeah, I didn't realize thatwhen we were just talking off
camera that you were in the ATLGorgeous day.
Yeah, I didn't realize thatwhen we were just talking off
camera that you were in the ATLGorgeous day.
Yeah, thank you so much forcoming on.
Why don't you introduceyourself and tell me a little
bit about your business?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Sure, sure.
So I am a former dentalhygienist.
I left medical in 2018.
And I started working at thisdental billing company because,
you know, as a hygienist, that'sall we think we can do is go
and do something with dentalinsurance, and and so I was
(00:50):
fortunate enough to help buildtheir consulting division over
there.
But it's a very politicalcompany and you know, there were
a lot of, there were a lot ofpolitics, let's say that.
And so I quit and well,actually I didn't quit.
There's a long story, butanyway.
So I started working at thisorthodontic tech startup company
(01:10):
, this aligner company, and Iput my heart and my soul into
that company.
I went to go pay my bills and mypaycheck wasn't in my account,
and that's when I found out thatthey were making me a
commission-only employee ratherthan a salary, and so I had a
(01:36):
very hard time with that.
I helped them launch the companyto the Atlanta market and then
just screw me away like trashright and um, and so I went
through a couple months ofdepression, really bad
depression, um, and we didn'teven have Christmas ornaments on
(01:56):
our tree that year.
I was so depressed and um, andso one day I woke up and I was
like I don't want to feel thisway anymore, and so I said I'm
going to, I want to, I want tocreate something of my own.
I feel like I should do this,you know, and so I did.
So I launched the Dentel Group,and so the Dentel Group is a
(02:19):
non-clinical recruiting agency.
We place candidates innon-clinical positions in the
dental industry, and then, about18 months ago, I started
developing an app, and so theapp is going to completely
change the way that we hire inthe dental industry.
So yeah, there's my story.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
That's amazing.
Good for you for bouncing back.
I love that you foundentrepreneurship as a way to
focus the negative energy intosomething positive.
In my course, I call that thebig bang versus the black hole,
and you go through a black holeof fear, of an excuse, heading
rapidly towards a void that endsup being something in creation
which is a big bang, and so thefaster you can get through that,
(03:00):
the faster you know sounds likeit took you a little, not not
well, probably took like it feltlike a forever, which it would
be in a back hole.
But you're through the otherside and you're like I ain't
going back to that shit again.
No, no, no.
So good for you.
I get you know and your story'sunique, but why do people work
with you?
What makes you unique?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I'm honest to a fault and my integrity and I'm very
authentic with people.
When we have clients that areworking with us, we're not just
placing a candidate in aposition.
We are aligning our candidateswith them based on their values,
their vision, and that's who Ichoose to work with or companies
(03:43):
that I align with.
I'm very selective about thecompanies I work with, so I
think that oftentimesheadhunters or recruiters get a
little bit of a bad reputation,and so what I've heard just from
people that have talked to methey've said that I'm not like
your typical recruiter.
(04:03):
I have heart about it.
So that's how I've always ledmy life and my business.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Are you, you know, just in these trying times, you
know when this is airing here?
It's, like you know, april 2025, right?
Are you finding like thepolitical turmoil and just the
markets and the craziness isanother time that you're trying
to avoid the black hole of, ohmy God, it's slowed down so bad.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah, a little bit.
A little bit I mean.
So in January I was slammed,slammed and it's been.
It's been a little bit slow thepast month and a half and that
makes me super nervous, but Ialways bounce back, you know,
and I've also.
It's a little bit my fault too,I'll be honest with you,
(04:50):
because I really haven't beenputting in as much effort on the
business development front as Ishould, because I've been
focusing a lot of my energy onthe app and getting that up and
going so, um, so yeah, that'skind of my fault.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, I was taking a note there, cause I was like, um
, you have a lot going on.
You said, screw it, we're goingto do it.
And you know, now you'rehitting every.
You know you're in theentrepreneurial journey and it's
, it's rough at times, as youknow, and it's, it's insane.
Uh, what would you identify aspart of that journey?
And it's, it's insane.
What would you identify as partof that journey?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
The B tie you had to cut.
I had to let go of the beliefthat failure meant I wasn't
enough, and so I had to learn to, to fell forward instead of you
know, and to stop playing bythe rule books.
You know, and, and and stopletting other people dictate how
(05:46):
my future looks.
When I, when, when I fullystarted betting on myself was
the day that I, I really foundme.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
So you had to believe in yourself.
That was a tie to cut.
You had to stop worrying whatothers thought and believe in
what you thought you should doand what you could do.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yeah, pretty much.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Yeah, that's a hard step because there's a lot of
people influence you.
And let me ask you differentlyDo you feel like some people in
your I don't presume people inyour life who were trying to be
supportive were doing theabsolute opposite of being
supportive?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Oh yeah, 100%.
I mean my.
So my husband, I'm telling youwhat like he was my rock through
all that.
I mean he's, and he's still,super supportive.
Um, now, my parents not so muchmy parents are.
You know the belief that youwork for somebody, you're an
employee, you get a WP, a W2paycheck and benefits and yeah,
(06:45):
and that's just how it is.
And so I'll never forget thetime that I was sitting in my
living room and my dad looks atme and he's like why don't you
just go back to something you'regood at, like cleaning teeth?
Speaker 1 (06:58):
And you're like, oh, I bought some for you.
Did you reach your pocket andbe like?
Speaker 2 (07:01):
I know, I know I was like I just go the middle finger
for those listening.
I didn't even know what to say,I was just and that was kind of
.
And since then, you know, we'vekind of have a drift in our
relationship since I launched mycompany, which is weird.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
So just identifying a tie to cut, it sounds like
that's one you should identifyand get that.
You know what I say throw theturd on the table and then see
how it cleans up.
I'm going to throw a turd onthe table today.
Dax, I love you, you wereinsensitive and I think you were
trying to be helpful, but thatwas a dick thing to say and I
think you should apologize.
And you might be like I didn'tknow.
I'm from the 40s.
I mean, what do I know?
I'll see you in the 40s 50s,and so my point is don't let
(07:45):
that one fester.
There's no need to.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yeah, I know, I know, but it did hurt.
(08:11):
Oh yeah, I'm sure that one cutwas searching for jobs and I was
super qualified, right.
But now, knowing what I know,now there was a reason that I
wasn't getting hired right.
I know those reasons now, butback then I thought that my work
(08:32):
ethic and and my experiencewould get me a position, and it
didn't.
And anyway, long story short, Iguess I just had a moment of
clarity and it was.
You know, I wasn't meant tobuild someone else's dream, I
was meant to create my own.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yeah, to be fair, when I started my company I it
wasn't that I didn't apply forliterally over a thousand jobs
we got zero replies.
I guess I was unhirable at thatpoint, I don't know.
And that's a you know, you getforced in the entrepreneur route
a little bit sometimes too, andthe same time you're, you do
and you don't like you want togo there but you're still
(09:13):
looking for that safety net,that crack cocaine.
But once that safety net goesaway and you figure it out,
you're full on and it's scaryshit.
And I tell people this Don't go.
If someone says, hey, here's abunch of money to be running
this part of a company and it'sthe right environment, I'd
probably take it and just keepmy stuff going on the side.
I can adjust.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
I'm not saying no to corporate, but I don't bet on it
full time anymore.
Hell, no, I don't.
I don't believe in that lieanymore.
What's a lesson you would giveto the listener?
Um, a lesson, um, that you knowsometimes, um, sometimes, the
(10:01):
dreams that come true are thedreams that you never even knew
that you had, and so my entirelife I worked for someone else
and I thought it was supposed tobe that way, you know, and I
thought that I had to be on thesame path.
You know that my parents wantedme to be on, and I never, I
(10:23):
never really took theopportunity to ask myself, you
know, what I wanted.
And so let me get to my point.
So, to the people that arelistening or will be listening,
the setbacks and the failuresyou may think that those things
are disqualifying you now, andthey may make you question your
(10:47):
worth, and they may make youquestion who you are or your
value, but, um, they're actuallyredirecting you.
Redirecting you not, uh,dictating your future,
essentially.
So, if you're gonna fail, failreally humbly, you know, I mean
(11:09):
actually I even say this failany way you want I.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
I humbly, loudly, quietly, whatever.
Learn from it or it is afailure.
Exactly.
That's peace and listen.
Once again.
I'm terrible at giving.
I'm great at giving advice andnot fine.
I fail miserably repeatedly inso many areas.
It's I say like I have no creds, like at all.
My wife's like read my book andshe's like seriously, I'm like
just go with it, so I'll leaveit at that.
(11:34):
It is triggering a smallrewrite.
Let's just say it that way.
All right, rapid fire questionfor you.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Okay, who gives you inspiration?
Speaker 1 (11:48):
My kids, why is that?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
I don't know they inspire me more than anybody
else does.
I don't know they inspire memore than anybody else does.
You know they're the reasonthat on hard days that I keep
going.
You know, on the days that Iget out of a meeting that just
went horrible, they're rightthere and they're really truly
(12:23):
the reminderbacks and everythingthat they go through it almost
reminds me of resilience Love it.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
What's the best business advice you've ever
received?
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Resilience you know, love it.
What's the best business adviceyou've ever received?
I would say charge for thevalue that you provide and not
necessarily the hours that yougive, maybe.
No, I was trying to think ofsomething.
You know it's what was.
There's always people onLinkedIn that are saying let me
pick your brain, let me pickyour brain.
And I had people pick at mybrain every day.
(12:56):
It felt like, you know, and Iwould get so excited and I would
get on these calls.
And then I realized, oh my gosh, I just gave them a ton of my
intellectual property andthey're going to take this and
they're going to run with it,you know.
So I mean, know your value,know your worth.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
And then yeah, charge for it.
Charge for it.
Yeah, that's why this podcastcosts $1,000 once you appear.
Okay, okay, um, so, uh, um.
You know, I think reading andeducating yourself is part of a
daily routine.
Try to read like 10 pages a dayon something related to
(13:35):
something you're trying to getbetter at, or cut a tie to
whatever.
What's the must-read book fromyour perspective.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
There was a book that I had started not too long ago
and it was called the MountainIs you, and so it basically
helps you recognize the patternsthat you go through and
basically self-sabotage and howto take that self-sabotage and
get over that.
You know, like get over, stopself-sabotaging.
(14:03):
You know it was by BriannaWiest, I believe.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
W-I-E-S-T.
Awesome.
I love that.
If you could go back in timeand change something and do
something differently, whenwould you do that in your life
and what would you change?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I would change at any point in my life, any point.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
This is your show.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Oh, my goodness gracious, I would.
I'm a nerd.
I would have leaned into moreof the entrepreneurial, like I
would have done what I wanted todo, rather than listen to what
my parents wanted me to do.
That's what I would do, andthat would have been what I
(14:49):
wanted to do, rather than listento what my parents wanted me to
do.
That's what I would do, yeah,and that would have been
starting like in college.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Yeah, yeah, I agree, I'll share this.
I remember sitting on the beachafter three months of
PricewaterhouseCoopers training,right Right after that, right
as the dot com was kind of goingand all these people were
partying they're so excited toget going on their jobs.
I to get going on their jobs.
I'm sitting there.
I was like depressed.
I was like is this really whatthe hell I'm going to do for the
rest of my life is sit in acube and code and do shit like
this?
I was like there's got to bemore to life.
(15:15):
This one guy came up to me andhe was like he was a friend of
mine.
He said why are you so?
Whatever, I was like thought ofmyself higher than a cube guy
anyway, and I and then you siton it for 20 some years anyway.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
So I, I feel, it.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
You get these moments , you shut them down because you
have school loans, debt, otherstuff, and anyway, it's just
yeah, yeah, it's uh, yeah, it's.
It's crazy.
Um, you know, if there's aquestion I should have asked
today, but I didn't, what wouldthat question have been and how
would you have answered it?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
um.
The question would have beentell me about your app.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I'm sure a few of your website shows, but you can
explain it.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Tell me about your app.
Well, no, the app is pretty cool.
It basically provides hiringmanagers with everything they
need in one spot without havingto leave.
Provides hiring managers witheverything they need in one spot
without having to leave.
So, you know, companies will beable to drop all the different
software systems like Zoom andCalendly.
(16:21):
And you know, video the video,or that is Zoom, isn't it?
The background check software,all that kind of stuff.
It's pretty neat.
It's all powered by ai andeverything's ai these days, but
it's really cool.
I was.
It's been a really greatlearning experience because I've
got to learn about likealgorithms and you know like
(16:41):
it's been really neat to learn.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
So yeah, it's.
I would hope the links you'reabout to provide in the next
question are going to explainall that.
So how do people get a hold ofyou and who should do that?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Sure, anybody can get a hold of me If they want to
talk.
I'm very friendly, so I rarelycheck my website.
To be honest with you, they canalways email me.
It's AllisonNorris atTheDentelGroupcom.
Or they can find me on LinkedIn, of course, and it's just
Allison Norris, awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Allison, thank you for coming on today.
I appreciate it.
Thank you and for thoselistening, listen, go cut a tie
to something holding you back.
Get out there, Unleash the bestversion of yourself.
Follow on Apple Spotify and, ifyou're a YouTuber, hit the
subscribe button.
Thank you so much for listening.
Until next time, go cut a tie.
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