March 19, 2025 • 28 mins
George Krahn's path from working on a factory floor to founding his successful marketing agency, Proven Results, offers a masterclass in finding your niche and leading with purpose. After progressing through roles in production, quality control, accounting, and customer service, George discovered his passion for sales and marketing and took the leap to entrepreneurship – even as family challenges arose with his father's cancer diagnosis.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 2 (00:07):
Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast.
We are a community of leaderswith a network in over 350
cities around the world,dedicated to optimizing our
personal, professional andspiritual lives to have impact.
This show is where we have achance to listen and engage with
leaders who are living this out.
We love talking with leaders,so if you have any questions,
comments or suggestions to makethis show even better, please
let us know.
(00:27):
The best way to stay connectedin Canada is through our
newsletter at leaderimpactca oron social media at Leader Impact
.
If you're listening fromoutside of Canada, check out our
website at leaderimpactcom.
I'm your host, lisa Peters, andour guest today is George Chn.
In 2009, george founded hismarketing agency Proven Results
that specializes in serving themanufacturing, industrial,
(00:49):
construction and agricultureindustries.
His career in the manufacturingindustry started in 1997, and
for 12 years after that heprogressed through the roles in
production, quality control,accounting, customer service and
finally discovered his passionfor sales and marketing.
He has the unique ability tosee and understand the big
picture of entire systems, thetechnical details of specific
(01:12):
components, all the levels inbetween, and explain it in plain
English to others.
George has used his gift andhis life experience to determine
the best sales and marketingtools for manufacturers,
industrials, agriculture andconstruction companies.
Welcome to the show, george.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Thanks for having me, Lisa.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
It is nice to have you and we sort of came into.
Well, I know we talked a longtime ago after a podcast that we
had done with Braden, but Ihear you were just in Guatemala.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Yeah, that's right, that was a fun.
It was a global exchange tripfor Leader Impact, canada and
just yeah, it's such a, it's alife-changing experience and
like you can just say that andbut like you have no idea what
you're getting into, but it wasamazing.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I hear that all the time.
It's like you can say thosewords but until you experience
life-changing yeah.
So maybe we'll share more aboutthat later.
But we're going to get intosort of your professional story.
I'm wondering if you can sharemore about your professional
story, how you got to where youwere, because you have a great
bio.
It really sounds like you grewthrough the industry, so I love
that you know great bio.
(02:25):
It really sounds like you grewthrough the industry, so I love
that you know all components.
But if you have any pivotalpoints that sort of got you to
where you are in this journey.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, it's kind of funny how things come full
circle, but I guess there's acouple of pivotal points.
So one would have been when Iquit my last job 16 years ago
and I made the leap to startingmy own marketing agency.
So that was challenging on itsown.
But then my dad also had somehealth issues right during that
(02:55):
time.
So I had actually already givenmy notice at the plastic
factory where I worked and thenI agreed to stay on for another
year and then that my plan wasthat that would give me more
time to just prepare and just tobuild up my own business before
I fully took the leap.
And then that's when I got thenews that my dad was kind of
(03:19):
battling with lung cancer.
So then the business kind ofgot put on the back burner and
of course you take care offamily, right.
So spent a lot of time with mydad in that year and and I don't
regret it and uh, I I did endup, um, putting my job and
starting my agency after that.
So, um, so yeah, that was itwas, it was challenging, but
(03:44):
then, yeah, even just uh, dad'shealth issues on top of that.
So so that was one point and uh, yeah, so dad's up in heaven
right now and I've been, uh, um,doing my marketing agency for
the last 16 years.
So but another pivotal pivotalpoint I would say is when I
(04:04):
first got into it I was kind ofthinking I don't ever want to
hire any employees and I justwant to do as much as I can on
my own and I'll just kind ofleave it at that and be content.
And then it's kind of funny howlife throws you curveballs.
And I was actually teaching parttime at Red River College some
(04:26):
computer courses and businesscourses and stuff like that in
the beginning when I started,and then I realized that there
was a lot of bright young peoplein those classrooms and then,
almost by accident, they need todo some work experience, uh,
during the courses that theywere taking, some of those
(04:46):
business courses.
And then, um, I just said to mywife, hey, um, we should get uh,
this young lady to to just doher business, uh practicum, in
our agency and see how that goesor whatever, like she's really
bright.
And so I I think it was likethree or four weeks that she was
(05:08):
supposed to work for us, andthen I think it was after the
first week I told Helen, my wife, we need to hire this lady.
Like she is phenomenal.
She's just zipping througheverything that that I'm
throwing at her and and doing itwell, and so that's kind of
another pivotal moment where I'mlike okay, I think I changed my
(05:29):
mind.
I think we need to hire peopleso that we can help more
companies.
So that was the second majorthing.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
When you, going back to your first, when you quit
your job and you quit the joband you're going to start your
new company, I think what Iheard you say that was a year
sort of.
You stayed on for a year untilyou actually left.
Did you, when you quit your jobI remember quitting a job that
there was such a?
You know I didn't really wantto leave, but it was like I knew
I should leave Did you ever getthose feelings?
(05:59):
I mean, I know you're cause, Iknow your dad got sick, but did
you have any feelings leading upto that going?
This isn't the time to quit,but I want to quit, but I want
to do it my way.
I think is what I'm trying tosay.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, um, I did have some reservations, like you have
that security and I enjoyed myjob and everything, um.
But I guess it kind of comesdown to like there were a bunch
of different hats that I worewhen I worked at that company
and it's and he's still the bestboss I ever had, but I really
(06:35):
enjoyed the marketing piece, solike that that in the intro you
talked about how I found mypassion.
So I just wanted to spend moreand more time in that area
passion.
So I just wanted to spend moreand more time in that area and I
had these otherresponsibilities that I needed
to take care of.
So that's kind of why I justpursued it and I'm like, well,
no, this is what I really enjoy,so I want to spend all of my
(06:55):
time doing this stuff.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah, and it's a good feeling when you know it's time
.
It is time I love this, it istime to move on.
You know so, well done.
And yeah, I get the wholedidn't want to hire.
So at the time you didn't wantto hire, were you working out of
your house?
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Or did you?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
have yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
That's kind of challenging because, yeah, doing
marketing for manufacturingcompanies and other companies,
so it is mostly advertising thatwe did at that time.
So our services have broadenedsince then.
But, yeah, fairly low barrierto entry, so it's just a laptop
and a good internet connectionand the knowledge obviously to
(07:37):
to do that well and stuff.
But, yeah, worked out of my ownhome, in my home office for
like the first six or sevenyears all by myself and then, um
, yeah, just kind of progressedfrom there.
So it got a little bitchallenging when we started
hiring people.
So well, to be honest, um,people actually came to our
(07:59):
house in the beginning and andthen then it got really awkward
and then you mix kids with, uh,with employees and stuff.
So then it's like, okay, no, wegot to rethink this.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
So, yeah, we did a few different things to address
that and yeah, that was a bit ofa journey, yeah, and I'm glad
you shared that, because I thinkthere's so many people that
think we have to start thebusiness, we have to go into a
big building to be you know andor maybe they used to think that
.
But you know what.
You can start it with yourlaptop and a good internet
connection.
(08:30):
You know, and you can run amulti-million dollar business
and you can do it worldwideright now, you know.
So it was a good share, sothank you for that.
Did you have any other pivotalmoments or would or did you want
to move on?
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah, I guess that that's mainly it.
So I guess, when you starthiring people like now we're a
team of seven, so five fulltimers and two casual people, so
and my wife has been able toexit our business now as well
and just kind of let her just dothe mom thing and stuff, so I
think that's been really goodfor our relationships.
But we work pretty goodtogether.
(09:08):
But uh, but yeah, so thosekinds of milestones happen and
yeah, now we're a team of sevenand we're just helping more and
more companies.
So it's, it's fun, it's it'smore enjoyable working together
with others than to just work inisolation, I think.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yeah, Well then, I'm excited to hear your best
principle of success, and I justwant to you know what is it.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
And do you have a story that illustrates that?
Okay, yeah, so there's onething that comes to mind.
So I would say look back to seewhat you need to do going
forward, to see what you need todo going forward, because, um
like, so there's this one ummarketing assessment that we do,
so that when, whenever we'rehiring anybody, we get them to
go through three differentassessments.
(09:54):
So the one is called themarketing dna test.
It kind of shows you how yourbrain is wired.
But anyway, there's one thingthat jumped out at me when I
first took that test.
There was this thing calledEdison Einstein.
Like there's these kind oflittle personas or strength
zones or whatever.
(10:15):
But basically what it is issome people's brains are wired
so that you need to kind of likeanalyze some data or what
happened in the past and then,as soon as you see that, then
it's like oh, I can see what'shappening here or the story that
the numbers are telling, andthen you know what to do going
forward.
So that's kind of how my brainis wired.
I like creating things and Ilike new ideas and stuff like
(10:38):
that, but I need to look at thedata that came in already.
So it's a little bit tough tostart from a blank slate, but
once you've got something goingand then you collect a bit of
data.
So that's kind of served mewell, like on a very small scale
, but also on a very grand scale.
So so one way that we appliedthat is A few years ago I did
(11:02):
this exercise called RFM,recency, frequency Money.
So you basically look at all ofyour clients that you've had
over the years and then justkind of going through that
exercise and basically what Iwas looking for is what's the
common denominator?
Where have we had our biggestsuccesses, where have we had our
biggest failures?
(11:22):
And then I started seeing thepatterns.
So it's like, oh, okay, it'soften manufacturing companies or
construction companies.
It's usually companies of thissize small to medium-sized
companies.
And then it's like, okay, well,we need to actually try to
(11:43):
niche down into that market andget more of those kinds of
customers and not be everythingto everyone.
And it made sense, becausethat's kind of my background in
the manufacturing industry.
So it makes sense why we wouldhave more success there, because
I understood all of thosedifferent things and I trained
(12:04):
my team on that.
So just kind of looking back tosee what worked the best and
then just using that.
And yeah, for years now we'vejust kind of focused on that
niche.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, so at the beginning you talked about the
assessment that you did.
That's sort of how your brainunderstand it.
Did you do that with the restof your team?
Has each of your team memberdone that?
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Yeah, so all of my team members have and that's
kind of like.
Even this morning I was at aleader impact event and and it
talked.
The speaker talked aboutfocusing on where you're strong
and like hiring people in yourareas of weakness.
So that's exactly why we do theassessments, like we look at
(12:49):
their personality type, howtheir brain is wired as far as
sales and marketing and ColbyIndex is another one we do.
But basically I'm looking forpeople to fill specific roles
because, yeah, I have a broadskillset and I can do each of
those.
But getting specialists in eachof those areas, now that's what
(13:10):
has really helped me, becauseI'm not a graphic designer by
any stretch and my one teammember in that area like that's
just something new that shebrought to the table and we
never really used to focus onthat, and now that's kind of
part of we're designing the adstoo.
We're not just taking whateverthe client provides to us.
(13:31):
So that's just one examplewhere finding people who are
strong in areas where you'reweak.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Yeah, great principle of success, thank you.
Want to talk a little bit aboutour failures, because I think
we all know we learn more fromour failures than our successes.
So I'm wondering if you wouldshare maybe one of your greatest
, or just one, and what youlearned from it.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
There's a couple, but I'll just I'll just hold it to
one.
When I went on this Guatemalatrip it was actually part of my
business talk, so it's quitememorable, very fresh in my mind
, when I was starting out, inthe very beginning I landed my
first big client, and then I wasable to quit the part-time jobs
that I was doing on the side,so that was a key client for me,
(14:19):
and so it was a car shippingcompany from the usa.
And um, it was a friday, andthen I had this great idea for a
new ad campaign that I wasgoing to try out because things
were going quite well, and thenI I wanted to just try to keep
on ratcheting up further andfurther.
So I worked hard all day thatfriday and then by the end of
(14:43):
the day, I launched the campaignand I was super excited.
And then two days later, it wasSunday.
After church we were headed toa family gathering to just have
lunch there, and then, all of asudden, I got a text message
from Steve, the client, and hesaid what the heck is going on?
(15:09):
My credit card has been billedover and over throughout the
weekend and now we're up to$8,000 already, and and I.
I started getting I turnedwhite and felt sick to my
stomach, and $8,000 is about howmuch was spent in one month.
So now we had burned throughthat much cash in just two days.
(15:33):
So, yeah, I took action as goodas I could from my phone back
then.
So this is like over 10 yearsago already.
So I logged into the account, Ipaused it and I went through my
four principles that I talkedin my business talk, the one
that I shared in Guatemala.
But basically I stayed calm, Itook action, I paused or, yeah,
(15:58):
I minimized the damage so stopthe bleeding is one of the
principles and then I justreassured him that I would take
care of it.
I let him know that I was goingto a family gathering.
I said I'll check it out onMonday morning when I get to my
desk.
And then I found out that itwasn't in fact my fault.
I hadn't double checked thebudget and I think it was 10
(16:20):
times bigger than it wassupposed to be, or something
like that.
And so then I just said toSteve I'm going to make this
right, I'm going to pay thisback.
I can't do it in one shot, butI'll do it over the course of a
few months and I will pay backwhat I owe you.
This is my fault and youshouldn't have to pay for that
(16:41):
yourself.
So he was very shocked that Iactually offered that and
sounded like he may have beenburnt in the past by other
people and just surprised that Iwould actually own up to it and
pay back the money.
And yeah, so to us workingtogether for longer.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
That's a great story and it's interesting.
The phone call comes in.
You're with your family.
How many times have we, asleaders, done that?
When you're a senior leader,the phone can ring any time and
your response was you minimizethe damage, you pause the
account.
(17:20):
That's all you can do, that'sall you have control of, until
you can figure it out and comeup with an answer.
But um and so you spent thetime with your family.
Too many of us, we hit the road.
It's like I gotta go back tothe office.
I, you know.
So the calmness there cause youtalked about, you know, stay
calm, take action.
Uh, yeah, I did have.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
I did have trouble, like being present at the
gathering, because this $8,000thing is in the back of my mind,
so I will admit that.
But I figured, yeah, okay, I'vedone what I can do for now, and
he's probably doing somethingon the weekend too, and yeah,
monday morning we'll deal withit.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
We live in a world where we want things now.
Yes, you paused it and there'snothing you can do.
You can't get the 8,000 backand you'll look at it on Monday,
but too many of us we dropeverything.
If it's a client that's calling, I want to make them happy
right now.
Well, he answered the phone.
That was pretty good.
You did what you could.
(18:21):
Yeah, there's too much.
We drop the important thingstoo often.
So that was a great start.
I appreciate that.
Thank you.
Obviously, you are part ofLeader Impact and that is
awesome, and you know we wantpeople.
For anyone who's not listening,Leader Impact wants people to
grow personally, professionallyand spiritually for increasing
impact.
(18:41):
So I'm wondering if you'rewilling to share an example of
how the spiritual makes apractical difference in your
life as a leader.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Yeah, so I guess it comes down to the two main
commandments that Jesus talkedabout was love God and love your
neighbor as yourself.
So love God and love people,and that's also the motto of our
church that we attend.
So, yeah, I just do my best tolive that out and basically it's
(19:13):
showing love to others with myactions, not just saying it but
actually spending time withpeople or being compassionate in
certain situations and stufflike that, and that's really
where my spiritual life has.
It flows into my business andmy personal life all the time.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, I love that.
Love God, love people becauseit is in our actions.
And you know, people may notsay, oh yeah, he's a christian
by the way he's acting, but whenwe keep doing it and and then
maybe the the language we use,we might say something and but
it's, it's a lot.
It starts in our actions too,so that other people can see
this is how we, this is how weum react, this is how we are
(19:59):
love people.
So thank you for sharing that.
That Leader Impact is dedicatedto leaders having a lasting
impact.
So, as you continue to movethrough this amazing journey in
your own life, have youconsidered what you want your
faith legacy to be when youleave this world?
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah, that's a big question.
I have thought about it a bitin the past and I guess when I
was younger I would often justpray and say God, let me reach
as many people as possible.
You want to have a meaningfulimpact and not just like
(20:37):
reaching people or whatever.
And then, like when I was alittle younger or like in early
married life, I was like, oh,maybe, maybe I was meant for
this role in the church orsomething like that.
And then it's like, okay, no, Iwas totally wrong about that.
So now, over the years, it'slike it's become more clear,
like as you just keep walking infaith.
(20:58):
The years it's like it's becomemore clear Like as you just
keep walking in faith.
I can now see that that uh Godis using me through business.
So, um, yeah, it's uh just uhhelping good business owners
just uh grow their companies.
And then there's always uhgreat things that happen from
that, like they provide goodjobs, provide good jobs, they
support their local communitiesand they donate to like worthy
(21:21):
causes out there.
So if we can do our part andjust help these companies grow,
I see it all the time like theseare just such good business
owners and they're they'regiving back and and stuff like
that.
So that's how we're kind ofindirectly affecting those
things by doing our part andkind of figuring out what is
(21:44):
your life's purpose?
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Because God has all gifted us all talents and you
know we are expected to use them.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
So yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yes, it was a great answer.
Final question what brings youthe greatest joy, George?
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Okay.
So I would say, and so I have aservant heart, so we have a
service business, so that kindof goes hand in hand.
But I would say it's when I'mserving people using my
spiritual gifts so, like youwere talking about, we have
different gifts and talents.
Spiritual gifts, so, like youwere talking about, we have
different gifts and talents.
(22:22):
So I've noticed that when I'mserving and I'm not really in my
strength zone, like yeah, it'sokay too, but when I'm really
using what God has blessed mewith, that's when I have the
greatest joy.
And then but although it issometimes even just like like
serving people food, like I'veI've volunteered at some places
(22:43):
or whatever.
And then it's just like justserving people in that way or
waiting tables or whatever, likejust as a volunteer thing, so
that that brings me a lot of joyand but like like living out my
purpose in business.
And then just when you can seethat a company has growth and
(23:04):
when, when the owners andmanagers are just ecstatic about
how things have improved andyou actually kind of follow
through and, yeah, like we getchallenged sometimes like your
business has proven results.
So so let's see the results,prove it, it's in your name.
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
So where do you feel, because I know you've done a
lot of keynote speaking withyour company and now with Leader
Impact Do you feel that that'sone of your greatest strengths
to share?
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yeah, that's kind of what seems to be revealed here.
So it just seems like there'sthree things that are kind of
intersecting now.
So my faith, business.
And then there's thisconnection to Latin America.
So this trip was to Guatemala,so we actually have a second
home in Mexico and two of myteam members from my work team
(23:59):
are from Mexico.
So, um, I just finally realizedit when I was on this trip, um,
that it's no accident that thatwe have a base in Mexico
already and that and I'm nottotally fluent in Spanish yet,
but, uh, but I have four Spanishspeakers on my team, so that's
not by accident.
(24:19):
So I can see now that more andmore is being revealed and it's
all kind of coming together now,those three things.
So I think that's kind of howGod's gonna use me in business
just to kind of keep movingforward in that way.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Yeah, I love that.
You say it's no coincidence.
I believe that it's not thisrandom chain of events.
It it is, it's meant.
If you and I think sometimes ittakes us to step back like you
step back and go wait a minute,guatemala isn't Mexico.
I have a place you know and youlook at all and go I'm meant to
(24:55):
be here right now.
Sometimes that's all I think isI'm meant to be here right now
in this conversation or at thisplace, and you just smile and go
yep, that's where I wassupposed to be, I'm planted.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Sometimes you just take the next step.
Or you know inwardly, youeither hear you don't hear an
audible voice, but you know thespirit is saying you need to
move forward, to do this, andit's like I don't understand why
, but I'm going to do this.
So there's steps that you takeand then all of a sudden you
(25:28):
look back and it's like, oh,okay, I can see now what the big
plan is and okay, that makessense, and yeah, I'm willing.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Yeah, I like it that we had to wait to look back and
go.
Oh okay, I see it now, Becausesometimes, when you're in it,
it's not always easy.
It's not always easy decisions.
So you know.
Anyway, I want to thank you forjoining us, George.
That was a fun half hour.
Is there anything else you wantto say?
Did I miss any?
Do you have any stories that Icut you off Because you seem?
You seem to have some goodstories.
Actually, I'd like to hear moreabout your failings, but we'll
(25:58):
do that another time.
We all have so many, I'll pickone, yeah there was a second
feeling.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
I did talk about that in my Guatemala talk.
That was a time where one of myemployees made a mistake and
then I just went through thefour steps again and just didn't
lose my cool and just maderestitution, and it was just a
(26:25):
good reminder for me that yeah,even though I didn't personally
make that mistake, I'm stillresponsible and I still got to
own up to it.
And yeah, so that was anotherone.
Yeah, so that was another one.
And yeah, there's all theseopportunities to correct things,
because we are not perfectpeople and we're going to keep
making mistakes.
(26:45):
So is what it is.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Well, that's a perfect way to end.
We are not perfect people.
We will make mistakes and wewill move forward.
George, I want to thank you.
If anyone wants to connect withyou, if they want to engage
with you, what is the best way?
Speaker 1 (27:00):
So you can go to our website, provenresultsagencycom.
Or you can go to my LinkedInprofile.
Just search for George Krohn onLinkedIn and I think I rank
pretty good on there, so youshould be able to type in my
name.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Good, well, that ends our podcast, and I just want to
thank you again, and maybe oneday we'll meet in Guatemala.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Sounds good.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
All right, thank you, george.
All right, well, if you're partof Leader Impact, you can
always discuss or share thispodcast with your group.
And if you're not yet part ofLeader Impact and would like to
find out more and grow yourleadership, find our podcast
page on our website atleaderimpactca and check out our
free leadership assessment.
You'll also find on our webpagechapter one of Braden Douglas'
book Becoming a Leader of Impact.
(27:45):
You can also check out groupsavailable in Canada at
leaderimpactca or, if you'relistening from anywhere else in
the world, check outleaderimpactcom or get in touch
with us by email info atleaderimpactca and we will
connect you.
And if you like this podcast,please leave us a comment, give
us a rating or a review.
This will help other globalleaders find our podcast.
(28:05):
Thank you for engaging with usand remember impact starts with
you.
Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast.
We are a community of leaderswith a network in over 350
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(00:27):
The best way to stay connectedin Canada is through our
newsletter at leaderimpactca oron social media at Leader Impact
.
If you're listening fromoutside of Canada, check out our
website at leaderimpactcom.
I'm your host, lisa Peters, andour guest today is George Chn.
In 2009, george founded hismarketing agency Proven Results
that specializes in serving themanufacturing, industrial,
(00:49):
construction and agricultureindustries.
His career in the manufacturingindustry started in 1997, and
for 12 years after that heprogressed through the roles in
production, quality control,accounting, customer service and
finally discovered his passionfor sales and marketing.
He has the unique ability tosee and understand the big
picture of entire systems, thetechnical details of specific
(01:12):
components, all the levels inbetween, and explain it in plain
English to others.
George has used his gift andhis life experience to determine
the best sales and marketingtools for manufacturers,
industrials, agriculture andconstruction companies.
Welcome to the show, george.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Thanks for having me, Lisa.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
It is nice to have you and we sort of came into.
Well, I know we talked a longtime ago after a podcast that we
had done with Braden, but Ihear you were just in Guatemala.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Yeah, that's right, that was a fun.
It was a global exchange tripfor Leader Impact, canada and
just yeah, it's such a, it's alife-changing experience and
like you can just say that andbut like you have no idea what
you're getting into, but it wasamazing.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I hear that all the time.
It's like you can say thosewords but until you experience
life-changing yeah.
So maybe we'll share more aboutthat later.
But we're going to get intosort of your professional story.
I'm wondering if you can sharemore about your professional
story, how you got to where youwere, because you have a great
bio.
It really sounds like you grewthrough the industry, so I love
that you know great bio.
(02:25):
It really sounds like you grewthrough the industry, so I love
that you know all components.
But if you have any pivotalpoints that sort of got you to
where you are in this journey.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, it's kind of funny how things come full
circle, but I guess there's acouple of pivotal points.
So one would have been when Iquit my last job 16 years ago
and I made the leap to startingmy own marketing agency.
So that was challenging on itsown.
But then my dad also had somehealth issues right during that
(02:55):
time.
So I had actually already givenmy notice at the plastic
factory where I worked and thenI agreed to stay on for another
year and then that my plan wasthat that would give me more
time to just prepare and just tobuild up my own business before
I fully took the leap.
And then that's when I got thenews that my dad was kind of
(03:19):
battling with lung cancer.
So then the business kind ofgot put on the back burner and
of course you take care offamily, right.
So spent a lot of time with mydad in that year and and I don't
regret it and uh, I I did endup, um, putting my job and
starting my agency after that.
So, um, so yeah, that was itwas, it was challenging, but
(03:44):
then, yeah, even just uh, dad'shealth issues on top of that.
So so that was one point and uh, yeah, so dad's up in heaven
right now and I've been, uh, um,doing my marketing agency for
the last 16 years.
So but another pivotal pivotalpoint I would say is when I
(04:04):
first got into it I was kind ofthinking I don't ever want to
hire any employees and I justwant to do as much as I can on
my own and I'll just kind ofleave it at that and be content.
And then it's kind of funny howlife throws you curveballs.
And I was actually teaching parttime at Red River College some
(04:26):
computer courses and businesscourses and stuff like that in
the beginning when I started,and then I realized that there
was a lot of bright young peoplein those classrooms and then,
almost by accident, they need todo some work experience, uh,
during the courses that theywere taking, some of those
(04:46):
business courses.
And then, um, I just said to mywife, hey, um, we should get uh,
this young lady to to just doher business, uh practicum, in
our agency and see how that goesor whatever, like she's really
bright.
And so I I think it was likethree or four weeks that she was
(05:08):
supposed to work for us, andthen I think it was after the
first week I told Helen, my wife, we need to hire this lady.
Like she is phenomenal.
She's just zipping througheverything that that I'm
throwing at her and and doing itwell, and so that's kind of
another pivotal moment where I'mlike okay, I think I changed my
(05:29):
mind.
I think we need to hire peopleso that we can help more
companies.
So that was the second majorthing.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
When you, going back to your first, when you quit
your job and you quit the joband you're going to start your
new company, I think what Iheard you say that was a year
sort of.
You stayed on for a year untilyou actually left.
Did you, when you quit your jobI remember quitting a job that
there was such a?
You know I didn't really wantto leave, but it was like I knew
I should leave Did you ever getthose feelings?
(05:59):
I mean, I know you're cause, Iknow your dad got sick, but did
you have any feelings leading upto that going?
This isn't the time to quit,but I want to quit, but I want
to do it my way.
I think is what I'm trying tosay.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, um, I did have some reservations, like you have
that security and I enjoyed myjob and everything, um.
But I guess it kind of comesdown to like there were a bunch
of different hats that I worewhen I worked at that company
and it's and he's still the bestboss I ever had, but I really
(06:35):
enjoyed the marketing piece, solike that that in the intro you
talked about how I found mypassion.
So I just wanted to spend moreand more time in that area
passion.
So I just wanted to spend moreand more time in that area and I
had these otherresponsibilities that I needed
to take care of.
So that's kind of why I justpursued it and I'm like, well,
no, this is what I really enjoy,so I want to spend all of my
(06:55):
time doing this stuff.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah, and it's a good feeling when you know it's time
.
It is time I love this, it istime to move on.
You know so, well done.
And yeah, I get the wholedidn't want to hire.
So at the time you didn't wantto hire, were you working out of
your house?
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Or did you?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
have yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
That's kind of challenging because, yeah, doing
marketing for manufacturingcompanies and other companies,
so it is mostly advertising thatwe did at that time.
So our services have broadenedsince then.
But, yeah, fairly low barrierto entry, so it's just a laptop
and a good internet connectionand the knowledge obviously to
(07:37):
to do that well and stuff.
But, yeah, worked out of my ownhome, in my home office for
like the first six or sevenyears all by myself and then, um
, yeah, just kind of progressedfrom there.
So it got a little bitchallenging when we started
hiring people.
So well, to be honest, um,people actually came to our
(07:59):
house in the beginning and andthen then it got really awkward
and then you mix kids with, uh,with employees and stuff.
So then it's like, okay, no, wegot to rethink this.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
So, yeah, we did a few different things to address
that and yeah, that was a bit ofa journey, yeah, and I'm glad
you shared that, because I thinkthere's so many people that
think we have to start thebusiness, we have to go into a
big building to be you know andor maybe they used to think that
.
But you know what.
You can start it with yourlaptop and a good internet
connection.
(08:30):
You know, and you can run amulti-million dollar business
and you can do it worldwideright now, you know.
So it was a good share, sothank you for that.
Did you have any other pivotalmoments or would or did you want
to move on?
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah, I guess that that's mainly it.
So I guess, when you starthiring people like now we're a
team of seven, so five fulltimers and two casual people, so
and my wife has been able toexit our business now as well
and just kind of let her just dothe mom thing and stuff, so I
think that's been really goodfor our relationships.
But we work pretty goodtogether.
(09:08):
But uh, but yeah, so thosekinds of milestones happen and
yeah, now we're a team of sevenand we're just helping more and
more companies.
So it's, it's fun, it's it'smore enjoyable working together
with others than to just work inisolation, I think.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yeah, Well then, I'm excited to hear your best
principle of success, and I justwant to you know what is it.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
And do you have a story that illustrates that?
Okay, yeah, so there's onething that comes to mind.
So I would say look back to seewhat you need to do going
forward, to see what you need todo going forward, because, um
like, so there's this one ummarketing assessment that we do,
so that when, whenever we'rehiring anybody, we get them to
go through three differentassessments.
(09:54):
So the one is called themarketing dna test.
It kind of shows you how yourbrain is wired.
But anyway, there's one thingthat jumped out at me when I
first took that test.
There was this thing calledEdison Einstein.
Like there's these kind oflittle personas or strength
zones or whatever.
(10:15):
But basically what it is issome people's brains are wired
so that you need to kind of likeanalyze some data or what
happened in the past and then,as soon as you see that, then
it's like oh, I can see what'shappening here or the story that
the numbers are telling, andthen you know what to do going
forward.
So that's kind of how my brainis wired.
I like creating things and Ilike new ideas and stuff like
(10:38):
that, but I need to look at thedata that came in already.
So it's a little bit tough tostart from a blank slate, but
once you've got something goingand then you collect a bit of
data.
So that's kind of served mewell, like on a very small scale
, but also on a very grand scale.
So so one way that we appliedthat is A few years ago I did
(11:02):
this exercise called RFM,recency, frequency Money.
So you basically look at all ofyour clients that you've had
over the years and then justkind of going through that
exercise and basically what Iwas looking for is what's the
common denominator?
Where have we had our biggestsuccesses, where have we had our
biggest failures?
(11:22):
And then I started seeing thepatterns.
So it's like, oh, okay, it'soften manufacturing companies or
construction companies.
It's usually companies of thissize small to medium-sized
companies.
And then it's like, okay, well,we need to actually try to
(11:43):
niche down into that market andget more of those kinds of
customers and not be everythingto everyone.
And it made sense, becausethat's kind of my background in
the manufacturing industry.
So it makes sense why we wouldhave more success there, because
I understood all of thosedifferent things and I trained
(12:04):
my team on that.
So just kind of looking back tosee what worked the best and
then just using that.
And yeah, for years now we'vejust kind of focused on that
niche.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, so at the beginning you talked about the
assessment that you did.
That's sort of how your brainunderstand it.
Did you do that with the restof your team?
Has each of your team memberdone that?
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Yeah, so all of my team members have and that's
kind of like.
Even this morning I was at aleader impact event and and it
talked.
The speaker talked aboutfocusing on where you're strong
and like hiring people in yourareas of weakness.
So that's exactly why we do theassessments, like we look at
(12:49):
their personality type, howtheir brain is wired as far as
sales and marketing and ColbyIndex is another one we do.
But basically I'm looking forpeople to fill specific roles
because, yeah, I have a broadskillset and I can do each of
those.
But getting specialists in eachof those areas, now that's what
(13:10):
has really helped me, becauseI'm not a graphic designer by
any stretch and my one teammember in that area like that's
just something new that shebrought to the table and we
never really used to focus onthat, and now that's kind of
part of we're designing the adstoo.
We're not just taking whateverthe client provides to us.
(13:31):
So that's just one examplewhere finding people who are
strong in areas where you'reweak.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Yeah, great principle of success, thank you.
Want to talk a little bit aboutour failures, because I think
we all know we learn more fromour failures than our successes.
So I'm wondering if you wouldshare maybe one of your greatest
, or just one, and what youlearned from it.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
There's a couple, but I'll just I'll just hold it to
one.
When I went on this Guatemalatrip it was actually part of my
business talk, so it's quitememorable, very fresh in my mind
, when I was starting out, inthe very beginning I landed my
first big client, and then I wasable to quit the part-time jobs
that I was doing on the side,so that was a key client for me,
(14:19):
and so it was a car shippingcompany from the usa.
And um, it was a friday, andthen I had this great idea for a
new ad campaign that I wasgoing to try out because things
were going quite well, and thenI I wanted to just try to keep
on ratcheting up further andfurther.
So I worked hard all day thatfriday and then by the end of
(14:43):
the day, I launched the campaignand I was super excited.
And then two days later, it wasSunday.
After church we were headed toa family gathering to just have
lunch there, and then, all of asudden, I got a text message
from Steve, the client, and hesaid what the heck is going on?
(15:09):
My credit card has been billedover and over throughout the
weekend and now we're up to$8,000 already, and and I.
I started getting I turnedwhite and felt sick to my
stomach, and $8,000 is about howmuch was spent in one month.
So now we had burned throughthat much cash in just two days.
(15:33):
So, yeah, I took action as goodas I could from my phone back
then.
So this is like over 10 yearsago already.
So I logged into the account, Ipaused it and I went through my
four principles that I talkedin my business talk, the one
that I shared in Guatemala.
But basically I stayed calm, Itook action, I paused or, yeah,
(15:58):
I minimized the damage so stopthe bleeding is one of the
principles and then I justreassured him that I would take
care of it.
I let him know that I was goingto a family gathering.
I said I'll check it out onMonday morning when I get to my
desk.
And then I found out that itwasn't in fact my fault.
I hadn't double checked thebudget and I think it was 10
(16:20):
times bigger than it wassupposed to be, or something
like that.
And so then I just said toSteve I'm going to make this
right, I'm going to pay thisback.
I can't do it in one shot, butI'll do it over the course of a
few months and I will pay backwhat I owe you.
This is my fault and youshouldn't have to pay for that
(16:41):
yourself.
So he was very shocked that Iactually offered that and
sounded like he may have beenburnt in the past by other
people and just surprised that Iwould actually own up to it and
pay back the money.
And yeah, so to us workingtogether for longer.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
That's a great story and it's interesting.
The phone call comes in.
You're with your family.
How many times have we, asleaders, done that?
When you're a senior leader,the phone can ring any time and
your response was you minimizethe damage, you pause the
account.
(17:20):
That's all you can do, that'sall you have control of, until
you can figure it out and comeup with an answer.
But um and so you spent thetime with your family.
Too many of us, we hit the road.
It's like I gotta go back tothe office.
I, you know.
So the calmness there cause youtalked about, you know, stay
calm, take action.
Uh, yeah, I did have.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
I did have trouble, like being present at the
gathering, because this $8,000thing is in the back of my mind,
so I will admit that.
But I figured, yeah, okay, I'vedone what I can do for now, and
he's probably doing somethingon the weekend too, and yeah,
monday morning we'll deal withit.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
We live in a world where we want things now.
Yes, you paused it and there'snothing you can do.
You can't get the 8,000 backand you'll look at it on Monday,
but too many of us we dropeverything.
If it's a client that's calling, I want to make them happy
right now.
Well, he answered the phone.
That was pretty good.
You did what you could.
(18:21):
Yeah, there's too much.
We drop the important thingstoo often.
So that was a great start.
I appreciate that.
Thank you.
Obviously, you are part ofLeader Impact and that is
awesome, and you know we wantpeople.
For anyone who's not listening,Leader Impact wants people to
grow personally, professionallyand spiritually for increasing
impact.
(18:41):
So I'm wondering if you'rewilling to share an example of
how the spiritual makes apractical difference in your
life as a leader.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Yeah, so I guess it comes down to the two main
commandments that Jesus talkedabout was love God and love your
neighbor as yourself.
So love God and love people,and that's also the motto of our
church that we attend.
So, yeah, I just do my best tolive that out and basically it's
(19:13):
showing love to others with myactions, not just saying it but
actually spending time withpeople or being compassionate in
certain situations and stufflike that, and that's really
where my spiritual life has.
It flows into my business andmy personal life all the time.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, I love that.
Love God, love people becauseit is in our actions.
And you know, people may notsay, oh yeah, he's a christian
by the way he's acting, but whenwe keep doing it and and then
maybe the the language we use,we might say something and but
it's, it's a lot.
It starts in our actions too,so that other people can see
this is how we, this is how weum react, this is how we are
(19:59):
love people.
So thank you for sharing that.
That Leader Impact is dedicatedto leaders having a lasting
impact.
So, as you continue to movethrough this amazing journey in
your own life, have youconsidered what you want your
faith legacy to be when youleave this world?
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah, that's a big question.
I have thought about it a bitin the past and I guess when I
was younger I would often justpray and say God, let me reach
as many people as possible.
You want to have a meaningfulimpact and not just like
(20:37):
reaching people or whatever.
And then, like when I was alittle younger or like in early
married life, I was like, oh,maybe, maybe I was meant for
this role in the church orsomething like that.
And then it's like, okay, no, Iwas totally wrong about that.
So now, over the years, it'slike it's become more clear,
like as you just keep walking infaith.
(20:58):
The years it's like it's becomemore clear Like as you just
keep walking in faith.
I can now see that that uh Godis using me through business.
So, um, yeah, it's uh just uhhelping good business owners
just uh grow their companies.
And then there's always uhgreat things that happen from
that, like they provide goodjobs, provide good jobs, they
support their local communitiesand they donate to like worthy
(21:21):
causes out there.
So if we can do our part andjust help these companies grow,
I see it all the time like theseare just such good business
owners and they're they'regiving back and and stuff like
that.
So that's how we're kind ofindirectly affecting those
things by doing our part andkind of figuring out what is
(21:44):
your life's purpose?
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Because God has all gifted us all talents and you
know we are expected to use them.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
So yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yes, it was a great answer.
Final question what brings youthe greatest joy, George?
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Okay.
So I would say, and so I have aservant heart, so we have a
service business, so that kindof goes hand in hand.
But I would say it's when I'mserving people using my
spiritual gifts so, like youwere talking about, we have
different gifts and talents.
Spiritual gifts, so, like youwere talking about, we have
different gifts and talents.
(22:22):
So I've noticed that when I'mserving and I'm not really in my
strength zone, like yeah, it'sokay too, but when I'm really
using what God has blessed mewith, that's when I have the
greatest joy.
And then but although it issometimes even just like like
serving people food, like I'veI've volunteered at some places
(22:43):
or whatever.
And then it's just like justserving people in that way or
waiting tables or whatever, likejust as a volunteer thing, so
that that brings me a lot of joyand but like like living out my
purpose in business.
And then just when you can seethat a company has growth and
(23:04):
when, when the owners andmanagers are just ecstatic about
how things have improved andyou actually kind of follow
through and, yeah, like we getchallenged sometimes like your
business has proven results.
So so let's see the results,prove it, it's in your name.
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
So where do you feel, because I know you've done a
lot of keynote speaking withyour company and now with Leader
Impact Do you feel that that'sone of your greatest strengths
to share?
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yeah, that's kind of what seems to be revealed here.
So it just seems like there'sthree things that are kind of
intersecting now.
So my faith, business.
And then there's thisconnection to Latin America.
So this trip was to Guatemala,so we actually have a second
home in Mexico and two of myteam members from my work team
(23:59):
are from Mexico.
So, um, I just finally realizedit when I was on this trip, um,
that it's no accident that thatwe have a base in Mexico
already and that and I'm nottotally fluent in Spanish yet,
but, uh, but I have four Spanishspeakers on my team, so that's
not by accident.
(24:19):
So I can see now that more andmore is being revealed and it's
all kind of coming together now,those three things.
So I think that's kind of howGod's gonna use me in business
just to kind of keep movingforward in that way.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Yeah, I love that.
You say it's no coincidence.
I believe that it's not thisrandom chain of events.
It it is, it's meant.
If you and I think sometimes ittakes us to step back like you
step back and go wait a minute,guatemala isn't Mexico.
I have a place you know and youlook at all and go I'm meant to
(24:55):
be here right now.
Sometimes that's all I think isI'm meant to be here right now
in this conversation or at thisplace, and you just smile and go
yep, that's where I wassupposed to be, I'm planted.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Sometimes you just take the next step.
Or you know inwardly, youeither hear you don't hear an
audible voice, but you know thespirit is saying you need to
move forward, to do this, andit's like I don't understand why
, but I'm going to do this.
So there's steps that you takeand then all of a sudden you
(25:28):
look back and it's like, oh,okay, I can see now what the big
plan is and okay, that makessense, and yeah, I'm willing.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Yeah, I like it that we had to wait to look back and
go.
Oh okay, I see it now, Becausesometimes, when you're in it,
it's not always easy.
It's not always easy decisions.
So you know.
Anyway, I want to thank you forjoining us, George.
That was a fun half hour.
Is there anything else you wantto say?
Did I miss any?
Do you have any stories that Icut you off Because you seem?
You seem to have some goodstories.
Actually, I'd like to hear moreabout your failings, but we'll
(25:58):
do that another time.
We all have so many, I'll pickone, yeah there was a second
feeling.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
I did talk about that in my Guatemala talk.
That was a time where one of myemployees made a mistake and
then I just went through thefour steps again and just didn't
lose my cool and just maderestitution, and it was just a
(26:25):
good reminder for me that yeah,even though I didn't personally
make that mistake, I'm stillresponsible and I still got to
own up to it.
And yeah, so that was anotherone.
Yeah, so that was another one.
And yeah, there's all theseopportunities to correct things,
because we are not perfectpeople and we're going to keep
making mistakes.
(26:45):
So is what it is.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Well, that's a perfect way to end.
We are not perfect people.
We will make mistakes and wewill move forward.
George, I want to thank you.
If anyone wants to connect withyou, if they want to engage
with you, what is the best way?
Speaker 1 (27:00):
So you can go to our website, provenresultsagencycom.
Or you can go to my LinkedInprofile.
Just search for George Krohn onLinkedIn and I think I rank
pretty good on there, so youshould be able to type in my
name.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Good, well, that ends our podcast, and I just want to
thank you again, and maybe oneday we'll meet in Guatemala.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Sounds good.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
All right, thank you, george.
All right, well, if you're partof Leader Impact, you can
always discuss or share thispodcast with your group.
And if you're not yet part ofLeader Impact and would like to
find out more and grow yourleadership, find our podcast
page on our website atleaderimpactca and check out our
free leadership assessment.
You'll also find on our webpagechapter one of Braden Douglas'
book Becoming a Leader of Impact.
(27:45):
You can also check out groupsavailable in Canada at
leaderimpactca or, if you'relistening from anywhere else in
the world, check outleaderimpactcom or get in touch
with us by email info atleaderimpactca and we will
connect you.
And if you like this podcast,please leave us a comment, give
us a rating or a review.
This will help other globalleaders find our podcast.
(28:05):
Thank you for engaging with usand remember impact starts with
you.
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Intentionally Disturbing
Join me on this podcast as I navigate the murky waters of human behavior, current events, and personal anecdotes through in-depth interviews with incredible people—all served with a generous helping of sarcasm and satire. After years as a forensic and clinical psychologist, I offer a unique interview style and a low tolerance for bullshit, quickly steering conversations toward depth and darkness. I honor the seriousness while also appreciating wit. I’m your guide through the twisted labyrinth of the human psyche, armed with dark humor and biting wit.