January 24, 2025 • 34 mins
Unlock the secrets to entrepreneurial success with Tye Threats, the innovative CEO and founder of WTV Consulting. Tye's journey from a 23-year career in Fortune 500 companies to leading her own consulting firm is nothing short of inspiring. Learn how her unique ability to bring order to chaos and lead teams with clarity has driven her self-retirement from corporate America. Tye shares her insights on being adaptable in business, emphasizing the need to stay committed to outcomes while being flexible with the process.
Discover the transformative power of strategic partnerships as we discuss how a legacy of entrepreneurship has shaped one individual's approach to business. From hands-on corporate training to international growth, the conversation highlights the significance of collaboration and organizational planning in achieving business success. Tye shares anecdotes of working with diverse clients, the thrill of team-building, and the importance of fostering a supportive work environment.
We also dive into the nuts and bolts of scaling a business efficiently. Tye offers strategies for optimizing operations, including the benefits of outsourcing recruitment and the necessity of aligning skill sets with business goals. Explore the critical role of technology and strategic partnerships in refining business operations and client engagement. Whether you're reassessing outdated processes or seeking to enhance operational excellence, this episode provides a roadmap to driving your business forward with innovation and strategic insight.
Tye Threats
Write the Vision Consulting Group
tye.threats@wtvconsulting.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Storie Titus (00:17):
Welcome back to Market it with Atmo, where we
give you the tips, tools andstrategies to help your business
be successful.
The tips, tools and strategiesto help your business be
successful.
Today we have on the show CEOand founder of WTV Consulting,
ms Ty Threatts.
It's nice to see you again, ty.
Tye Threats (00:32):
Likewise, it always feels like home coming to visit
here.
Storie Titus (00:35):
I love it.
I love it.
It's very cozy when you'rearound.
It is, it is.
I love it.
So can you start off by tellingus kind of what your background
is and what you're doing now,how you came into WTV Consulting
and starting your own business?
Tye Threats (00:54):
Absolutely so.
I always say I grew up incorporate.
I did start when I was twoyears old and somehow ended up
staying there for almost 23years.
I always say that what kept methere is I loved every single
thing about business, no kidding, and I always feel like that
was the best on the job trainingI did not know to ask for.
So imagine being able to havethat much experience while
(01:15):
you're going through earningyour degree, but getting a
chance to test things hands onand just continuously grow and
promote.
And so everywhere I went, everycompany that I worked in was
always larger.
Fortune 500 companies Didn'tplan on that either, but again,
it was just part of the biggerplan.
Overall, as I kind of spent mytime there, I progressed the
(01:36):
ranks, like I said, to seniorleadership, had an opportunity
to, I will say, dip my toe intoquite a few areas in business to
really learn not only whatparts I love the most, but I
think it's really important tounderstand the other areas that
are impacted by the areas inwhich you serve in.
And so for me, I think someyears in I don't know how many
(01:58):
years it was just startedgetting to a point where
everyone was clear on what theyneeded me for, but they could
not find a title.
So it was just kind of likeyou're going to stand up, this
team, build this and do that,but we don't know what to call
you.
So it was just always somethingright.
And so what I learned after awhile is that I was operating as
a mini consultant with insideother companies, and so I
(02:20):
realized I'm very good atidentifying a problem, so it
could be a problem or a forwardthinking strategy in which a
company should be taking.
But I'm very good at bringingclarity to chaos, and so I'm a
strong communicator.
So I was always good at sayinghey guys, I think this is what
we should be doing and this ishow we can do it, and being able
to kind of gather everyonearound that and move things
(02:41):
forward.
And so once I would finishdoing that because I worked in
large enterprises I would justbuild a team and move on and go
do something in anotherenterprise.
Storie Titus (02:51):
Being able to build a team is hard in itself,
but to get them to see yourperspective and move forward
with it.
Tye Threats (02:57):
It's even you have to be a special kind of person
for that.
I agree.
And you know what, when you seethe special talents that people
bring right, so it's like I mayhave the insight that, hey, we
need this, but when you find theright person and you put them
in that that role, it reallytakes it to a different level.
And so it's just always been anamazing journey, and I think I
knew that I was going to selfretire, which is where I am now.
(03:20):
Right, so I'm not old enough toretire yet, but just kind of
self-retire and focus onbuilding a consulting firm and
team that is able to supportmultiple businesses that may not
necessarily want thetraditional large company
consulting teams, and maybethey're really looking for what
(03:41):
I call battle-tested CEOs thathave rolled up their sleeves and
worked in those particularroles to really help lead their
now problems right.
So that's what I've been doingfor two years.
Now It'll be three years.
Wow, and it's insane to thinkabout it.
Storie Titus (03:58):
Congratulations on that.
So that's how I got here.
My goodness, I'm sure there's alot more to each and every
portion of that story.
But can you take us back alittle on your background?
Would you say your earlyexperiences in life influenced
your approach to business today?
Tye Threats (04:13):
Yes, it has.
What I've learned to be isalways married to the end result
and flexible to every singlething that happens in between
right, Because everythingchanges, especially technology.
I mean outside of technology.
Anything can make something inbusiness change, and I really
think the most successfulbusinesses I've seen were those
that were most adaptable and sobeing in companies and
(04:34):
organizations that we're notgoing to stop doing what it is
that we set out to do justbecause something is thrown in
between Right, and so we alwaysunderstood what the outcome of
it is, that we needed but wasvery flexible, you know, and how
we arrived there.
So I thought that that's alwaysbeen something that stood out
to me.
Storie Titus (04:52):
I love that.
So can you share how your lovefor business evolved into the
creation of your consulting firm?
Tye Threats (05:01):
Yeah, so I guess I was getting a dual doctorate's
degree, right and everythingright.
I'm like I'm going to learnhere and then I'm going to do
this.
You know what?
I think the purest form of justknowing what a person is meant
to do is paying attention towhat they do when they're very
young, right?
And so, growing up, everyone'slike, hey, I want to be a doctor
(05:22):
, I want to be a lawyer, I wantto be this, I want to do that.
I kid you, not ask anyone in myfamily.
It's like she always had a desk, several staples.
She was writing something downtelling people what to do.
We don't know what the businesswas called, but she was really
leading the business, Right.
And so later on, like I'm justlike what it was that I loved
most was organizing, problemsolving and communicating Right,
(05:45):
and we won't talk about how myname was always in the conduct
book for talking but, that's notthe point, but I think for me.
I also came from a family ofentrepreneurs that always had
great ideas on what they wantedto do and for somehow, my brain
was always just like this is how.
I was always the how.
Whatever your idea was, I'mlike this is the how, this is
(06:05):
how we're going to do it, and Iwould help get them there, and I
wanted to understand more.
What is it that I know that'shelping me get them there, and I
think that that's where thathands-on training in corporate
came from, as well as thateducation knowledge behind it
really fueled it for me.
Storie Titus (06:21):
Yeah, and then initiative to to learn all those
different things.
A lot of people are very narrowfocused.
And so you gave yourself theability to learn and see things
in other people right.
Tye Threats (06:31):
Very true.
Storie Titus (06:32):
That's hard.
A lot of people set goals andwhere they want to be, but have
no idea how to get through itall to the process.
Tye Threats (06:40):
And so you help businesses with that right.
Storie Titus (06:44):
And your clientele .
It's not only in Texas or theUS, you're also national.
Tye Threats (06:49):
Absolutely so.
We are across all 50 states andinternational, and it's funny I
was having this conversationwith someone the other day when
they was like you don't mindtraveling here, do you?
And I'm like, no, my entirecareer was like that.
So before COVID came and reallybridged the gap of it not
seeming so weird, we were alwayseverywhere.
Every company I worked for itwas just you never only did
(07:11):
business where you were, and soI am grateful for that, because
I do think a lot of businessowners Now, if you are a local
business and a staple in thecommunity, we need you there,
right.
But if you have a businessthat's flexible enough to expand
your clientele across statelines and even international,
that really is helpful forgrowth, and so for me, I am
(07:31):
grateful that I didn't wait tolearn that I just kind of
cheated, I knew that.
Storie Titus (07:37):
No, you set yourself up for everywhere you
go in your path, right?
So would you say that's themost rewarding part of having
such a diverse clientele?
Tye Threats (07:45):
Absolutely, it is so exciting.
As a matter of fact, I think myfamily and team gets excited
when it's like, oh, I have aclient here, we may have to
travel there, and everyone'slike, well, if you go, can I go
with you?
Or you have consultantsfighting to be on certain
contracts because it may requirean on-site visit, and they're
like, hey, I haven't been toColorado or I want to go to
Wisconsin, right?
(08:05):
So I think that that's excitingtoo, because not only are you
expanding who you can reach andwho you can help, but, again,
it's always nice when it comeswith, you know, a nice little
trip.
Storie Titus (08:16):
Of course, and to be able to give that to your
staff is probably reallyrewarding.
Absolutely, that's wonderfulreally rewarding for you.
Absolutely, that's wonderful.
So navigating from being thesole business owner to creating
a team around you and stillbeing the business owner how did
you navigate through all that?
I'm still navigating throughthat.
Tye Threats (08:38):
That is so true.
So for me, like I always say, Ilove to pay respect to those
that are entrepreneurs by heartby saying that I'm the fake one,
because I did learn by growingup in corporate.
So my mindset was always likeit takes a team, and because I
have worked in so many differentcapacities, I understood how to
build the team.
So for me, even buildingdifferent teams like OK, if I
(09:02):
want to serve more than oneperson at a time in terms of a
contract, or if I know that Ineed different skill sets, then
being able to bring in, you know, other small business owners
and or people on a contract typebasis is how we started.
But as we continue to grow, thechallenge is always still as a
CEO and founder of a business.
(09:23):
Still, as a CEO and founder ofa business, you are the base,
and so people are buying basedoff of your experience, and so
being able to transition part ofthat has still remained a
challenge.
Sometimes I started leaninginto more strategic partnerships
.
That just came to me likesomewhere toward one quarter
last year.
I couldn't tell you which oneit was, but I was like you know
(09:44):
what?
Maybe, instead of trying tobuild a dedicated person, maybe
lean more into strategicpartnerships, but it does remain
a challenge.
I always tell people, even ifyou're starting out as a
solopreneur, still build an orgchart.
What type of support do youneed?
Right?
So maybe your vision is not tohave such a large business to
begin with, but you are thesolopreneur and so when do you
(10:08):
need to focus your time?
Do we need a part-time?
You know admin that helps.
Do we need to partner with amarketing agency to have them do
certain parts?
Because we can't be all thingsin a business, and so it's
really understanding who'spayroll and who is contract and
who is subcontract out right?
Storie Titus (10:23):
That's a good point to think about because, I
mean, a lot of business ownersdon't have those thoughts and
don't think they can handle itall right and that's where I
feel like a lot of them kind ofstart to fail.
So, would you say keycollaborations how has that
helped the growth of yourbusiness?
Collaborating with partners?
Tye Threats (10:41):
Absolutely.
I always say partnership is thenew growth model, and so that
has been the single way that mybusiness has continued to grow
Right.
It's always a partnership.
Even in taking some of my firstcontracts was a partnership
what helped my business surviveits first year and exceed almost
triple of what.
(11:01):
I did in corporate waspartnering with another company,
and so that helped me gain thecapital that I needed to build
my internal team.
And then I start saying, hey,if I'm going to be serving here,
then how do I get an admin tohandle there, right?
And then again, what are thosethings where it's like, well,
I'll just touch on marketing,right.
(11:22):
It's like who's going to do mymarketing, who's going to, you
know, build this right?
And so being able to kind ofthen start shelling out some of
those other roles.
Storie Titus (11:32):
Yeah, it seems like you really love kind of
coaching and training people whoare interested in growing.
So do you have like an internprogram you use to kind of bring
people on and really vet whothey are, Because it kind of is
personality but also educationbased?
So for people that I hire orbusiness owners that I work with
, I would say people you hirebecause you have to have a
(11:54):
strong staff around you and itfeels like you really look for
certain things in people.
Maybe you weren't even lookingfor them, but they kind of arise
.
So what do you do with yourbusiness right now to help grow
that?
Tye Threats (12:07):
Well, one thing I learned last year was I need to
not be that person anymore.
I just want to be honest, likefail fast.
Right, that is, the thing inbusiness is fail fast.
And when I say that is that youcan start out very clear on
understanding.
Like, hey, I need to hire aproject manager.
I'm never going to miss on whattype of project manager I need
because I understand the typesof skill sets and the type of
(12:28):
growth that they're looking for.
I'm not going to miss out onthe type of consultant that I
need.
But when we start getting intoother roles, sometimes I learn
that being too close tosomething or not as experienced
in certain things, I always sayyou need to know just enough to
be dangerous.
But knowing enough doesn't makeyou the expert.
And so what I did was actuallycame across a client which, in
(12:50):
serving this particular clientin his business, it actually
made me think you know what youneed to partner with a
recruiting firm and you need tonot be in the middle of the
hiring process for certain roles.
And the reason why is becausein corporate I was absolutely a
great leader.
I still am, but I was alwaysclear when someone needed to be
(13:11):
fired.
You know it's like, hey, I gaveyou the tools or resources,
we've got every single thinglaid out, you know whatever.
But when it came to owning abusiness and you're in the
startup phase, you there'ssomething psychologically that
makes you feel like you're atthe mercy of the people that
says pick me, when all I owe youis the paycheck.
Right, but sometimes I don'tknow what it is, but I know that
(13:34):
it exists.
We start questioning ourselves.
And so I said you know what?
I wouldn't question myself if Iknew I wasn't the sole owner of
this decision, because now I'mlooking at failure.
I'm looking at now I'm going tohave to go and rehire.
You know all these differentthings.
And when I started stepping outof the process and saying you
know what?
I'm going to hire an expert inrecruiting, tell them what I'm
(13:54):
looking for and get a team, Ibuilt a team.
I have a team of 30 CEOs thatwe meet in CEO roundtables.
Our site is soliciting some ofthem that do the same type of
work that I do to help me vetpeople that I wanted on my team,
and then they can give me themost.
You know candidates, or thebest candidate for that role and
(14:14):
let me select from it.
It has helped me so much morefocus, more on what the job
needs to be, what they need tobe coached to, and less guilty
about.
Should I be firing them ifthey're not performing?
Storie Titus (14:26):
That takes a lot of emotional I mean thought and
exhaustion to go through thatprocess and time away from what
you really need to be focusingon Very true.
That's a good point.
I hadn't thought about that.
Having a recruiter or someonelike that vet the people that
you want if they do it right.
Tye Threats (14:43):
That's true.
I underestimated thesensitivity that the area would
bring about.
Right, because I never was 100%a business owner, maybe on the
side, but not 100%.
And you're like, this is mylivelihood.
I have to, you know, keep thisgoing.
And you start carrying adifferent type of guilt, like
did I not see this?
Did I hire the wrong person?
(15:04):
I'm just like that's.
You know, how do I fix that?
Which, you know, we're alwaysgrowing ourselves.
Storie Titus (15:10):
Right and so.
Tye Threats (15:11):
I thought that that was healthy.
And it does matter who youpartner with.
I mean, they have to be good atwhat they do and not just any
recruiter.
He so happens to be my clientand that's great.
I was very clear on how he didthings and I liked it so yeah,
and I'm sure you vetted him tobe sure that your your focus is
aligned right.
Storie Titus (15:28):
Yes, that that is important.
So on to the next.
You mentioned the differentphases you're in in business.
So we kind of work off of abuild, launch, grow scale.
What phase would you say you'rein right now?
Tye Threats (15:42):
Yeah, so I felt like I was in between two.
Storie Titus (15:45):
And sometimes we are right.
Tye Threats (15:47):
We are, because always between the grow and the
scale and so, um, for us, Ithink it's a combination of both
.
Um, I don't think I know right.
So we're constantly growing,but then it gets to the point of
how do we scale right?
Um, I think that um 2024 statswas very, um, eye-opening in a
lot of areas where I'm like,okay, this is where our time is
(16:09):
going.
The 12 months really go by, youknow, and a lot of things
happen.
We are only what, 14 days intothe year, and a lot has already
happened, and so when?
you step back and you look atyour year, which I'm such a huge
proponent for.
Just where are we?
What do we want to stop, start,continue.
What did we do well, what canwe do better?
(16:32):
And in looking at some of thosethings, it's like you know what
.
It's an opportunity to kind ofstart refining how we do things
and then look at how do we scaleit right.
And then also, when I think ofscale, I look at it from two
different ways, like not only somuch how can it operate on its
own, but, because I am CEO,business development and all
these things in one.
It's like how can youtransition some of these things
(16:54):
off to bring in trained teammembers to handle it?
And if those team members donot exist yet, how are you
building and scaling so that youcan, you know, bring that
training in without it being asmuch disruption?
Storie Titus (17:07):
Absolutely so.
You kind of you focus on thosethings in your own business, but
you also, it seems like youguide your clients in the same
methodology.
Tye Threats (17:15):
Absolutely, absolutely.
That's great.
Storie Titus (17:17):
And have you received all well responses from
that methodology?
And obviously, if you're stillgrowing and scaling, you're
doing a great job.
It's true.
Tye Threats (17:26):
I meet a lot of my clients in well, I don't know I
meet them in all phases, right,but a lot of our startups tend
to be in the build phase, but alot of the other clients are
somewhere they're growing orthey're needing to scale.
So it's always like a we have arevamp of a mess that's going
on, and I actually love messlike chaos coordinator.
(17:47):
I'm like you know what, the moreproblems the better, because
it's like I just kind of wave mymagic wand because Ty ties it
together Like that's no punintended.
Storie Titus (17:55):
I love that tagline.
That's going to be the title ofthis Ty ties it together.
Tye Threats (18:00):
I love that.
Storie Titus (18:03):
So what would you say?
How are you strategicallyplanning to move to the next
level or the next scale phase ofyour business right now?
Tye Threats (18:11):
There are so many things right, so how am I
planning?
So a few things is that they'reum.
Well, how do I want to phrasethis?
Looking at the biggest demandthat we had last year?
um, we are looking through howto solve it, and when I say how,
to solve it and when I say howto solve it, I think it's a huge
(18:33):
program management perspectivethat can can come in there for
the type of clients that we needto serve, and so, building out
what does that look like and amI the person to build it Right?
I think in order to scale thatpiece, I myself have to step
back and hire the right personin that role that can say, hey,
(18:54):
these are all of the you know inthis particular bucket, all of
the things that we had and thisis how we would build it.
So I think for me that's oneaspect.
The other easy part what?
you would say, is easy, the easypart is like how do you serve
the existing businesses that arealready standing?
Right, so you have thebusinesses that are in the build
(19:16):
phase Right, and they require agreat demand of things.
Right, and there's quite a fewelements there that we're
focusing on.
How do we build the right thingfor them?
Right, because it's notpossible to believe that we can
continuously serve them asone-offs.
Right, that's insane.
There's not enough hours in theday, not enough revenue in that
(19:38):
bucket, so that to me is likeour problem child there.
But the easy part for me hasbeen how do we serve the
existing businesses that come inthat need certain things, and
that is more of.
As we grow, how do we scale?
And just, we did a lot ofrealignment in the team and also
(19:58):
looking at what additionalpositions we could fill, because
we have a pretty good processwith how we onboard our clients,
understanding who is an expertin which area to be able to help
these businesses.
Who is an expert in which areato be able to help these
businesses?
Because when you focus onsomething like operational
excellence and really helpingthe business that's already
established really run better,you come across different
(20:21):
industries and so you can't bean expert in all industries,
right.
So just being able to kind ofsegment the team that way has
really helped and then also kindof deciding what we will take
on and what we won't take on,because we don't have to say yes
to everything.
I think going into year threewe have understood we don't have
to say yes to everything and abetter process for us helps us
(20:43):
serve our clients even better,and it's the same thing we teach
them.
Storie Titus (20:48):
It is, and to step back and look at yourself and
be like am I following thisprocess, that I'm guiding others
on Listen mirror moments.
Absolutely so.
Which of the five steps of thecustomer journey would you say
has been the most impactful stepfor driving client satisfaction
and growth?
So the five steps of thecustomer journey customer it's
(21:08):
kind of what you just mentioned,like walking through them, them
through each step of the way,um kind of building what they
have, giving them thatsatisfaction of delivering it
and then making sure that it'sworking appropriately, so you
could scale so do you mean frommy particular business?
Tye Threats (21:26):
how am I doing that or how do we do it for our
clients?
both honestly I was gonna saybecause we kind of went back to
top of the funnel on our problemchild right, which is like the
awareness right, becausesometimes, when, when we talk
about awareness right and it'sjust the whole, how do we even
know if we're the right people,you know, to help them?
Sometimes you can't say yes toeverything, right, and that's
(21:48):
refining who we are, what we doand how we serve, right.
And so in doing that part, Ithink for us internally it's
like we've got to refine thatpart a little bit better.
When it comes to our smallerbusiness segment, when it comes
to our corporate segment, it's alittle bit different.
But with our clients I'll takean example.
(22:09):
Sometimes clients come to us andthey're trying to launch a new
product or something or a teamwho knows, right, but really
kind of taking them through thephases of who are we serving,
what are we doing, who are wetrying to attract, how are we
going to build this?
And then how does theoperational piece work, which is
what I love, right, becauseeveryone's like great, we spent
so much time here on buildingthat.
(22:30):
But then how does it work?
Like what holds it together,right, so that we can truly know
how to work through that phase.
I'm trying to think of whatelse.
Storie Titus (22:41):
So you're kind of describing reinventing the
business.
It seems like you walk intoevery new client thinking, okay,
how can we reinvent what youhave and make it work for you?
Is that kind of the same path?
Tye Threats (22:56):
We can use that, because a lot of them think that
things are broken or all islost, right?
I just had a client that Hiscompany's been around 15 years,
okay.
And so you know, I'm thinkinghe's asking me how to deal with
this new company that he'sbuilding and he's kind of like
(23:17):
we've been here 15 years but Idon't think that we're operating
the way that we should, right.
And so even in just kind ofwalking him through that, we
actually discovered quite a fewthings.
So while we were solving onechallenge in the business, we
kind of understood a lot ofopportunities for other things.
(23:39):
So for him it's like you'restructured wrong, right, or I
wouldn't say structured wrong.
We can be structured betterbecause we've grown.
After 15 years there's a lot ofdifferent things that's in there
.
What are the types of tools andtechnology and processes?
After 15 years there's a lot ofdifferent things that's in
there.
What are the types of tools andtechnology and processes?
So it also got to a point wherepeople always realize when
they're losing money, but thenthey're like we need to be
(24:00):
selling this or we should bedoing that, and that's.
That's not the case, for thisbusiness has been in business
for 15 years.
What was happening was that theway in which he services
accounts and his clients theirinternal processes, you know was
not in place, where they weremissing and not responding to a
lot of clients in timely mannersor not seeing what it was that
(24:21):
they needed because theyabsolutely had no process.
It can come through oneperson's email, another person's
email Maybe they're using theinfo one and it's not routed to
these other people.
Storie Titus (24:30):
No consistency.
Tye Threats (24:32):
Like half are using the website, some are not using
the website to order things,and so they're losing out on
existing business that they havealready.
And so that was one way that wefixed, like, how do we
streamline the process forserving your existing clients so
that they remain clients?
Because I always say, if wekeep looking at we need clients,
(24:52):
we need clients, we need money,we put that much remain clients
.
Because I always say, if wekeep looking at we need clients,
we need clients, we need money,we put that much focus there.
It's like putting money in abag with a hole in the bottom
right, because if your internalprocesses are not good, then
your retention will be terribleand we will always be at the top
of the funnel looking forclients again.
So that was one of the thingsthat we helped solve for him.
And then the other thing iswhat type of technology do we
(25:13):
need?
And when I say that I'm notjust talking about your internal
processes so for him and thetype of business that he had, is
there a way that we canexercise an AI component to
really help with your marketingefforts that when they're
reaching out to their clients,it's not we're not marketing?
but when you're reaching out tothem, he's saying, hey, this is,
this is the process Once theybecome interested and they
(25:35):
respond back.
Then now I'm searching throughmy team and who's going to
handle what and haveaccountability to be able to
provide a quote back and thetype of business that they had.
There's AI tools and componentsthat you can send your client
all that information upfront andthen start tracking a different
type of way.
Right, and so we're still inthe process of putting that in
(25:56):
place.
But such a time saver and we'renot looking for bodies to do
this it can take one person todo this at that point in time,
and then who oversees that?
So I think a lot of times,clients, they focus on their
missing clients or their missingmoney, but sometimes their
operational structure and thetype of technology that they
should have in place isnon-existent.
(26:17):
We can't manage our teamsefficiently or effectively or
get our clients what they needif we don't have processes,
tools and technology in place tobe able to do it.
I always say it's a peopleprocess or technology thing.
Right, and so for him it wasall of them.
Storie Titus (26:31):
It's a people processor, technology thing
right and so for him it was allof them.
And sometimes when you're abusiness owner and you have that
umbrella view, you really bringa focus on the business to
rebuild the structure.
It's almost like the frameworkfor a house.
You've got to make sure yourbase is stable and structured
correctly, or it's all going tofall down in the end right, I
love that analogy going to falldown in the end, right?
(26:55):
I love that analogy.
Make it, and you you taking thetime to educate yourself and
your team constantly on whattools to use is is taking a ton
of time and effort out of theirday-to-day task, I'm sure.
So what would you say on thatpoint?
What technologies and platformsdo you use right now to market
who you are and really show yourclients or prospects what you
have to offer them?
Tye Threats (27:15):
So for me, we are still in one of those strategic
partnership phases, right?
So a lot of times, anytime, I'mspeaking somewhere at a
conference and people are like,hey, how do you help us do that?
Right, and so that's the firstthing, right.
And so the second thing is thatLinkedIn outreach has been like
the best option for us, which Iwould have never thought Right,
(27:39):
because that was just not myworld, right.
But that was where a majorityof our prospects came from,
unless it was a direct RFP orsomething.
Then, like I said, the otherbiggest one that is now kind of
overshadowing a lot of things isthe strategic partnerships.
People are just kind of like,hey, I work with this person and
(27:59):
they do this and they have ateam, right, right.
So I think that's been thebiggest thing for us.
I do see a lot of area ofopportunity for people.
When we talk about awareness, Iam very sure that everything
starts with a search, even as aleader, if I want to be a better
leader and I don't want to tellmy leader that I'm failing at
(28:20):
something, I'm going to start bysearching, and so I always say
that.
Never underestimate the powerof blogs.
I'm always shocked when we getwebsite bookings that I'm just
like how did you find that?
Because we don't put a lot ofemphasis there.
So I do think that for usmoving forward in 2025, there is
opportunity for a lot of things.
I think what has sustained usin starting has been the
(28:43):
partnerships, and then alsospeaking engagements, as well as
LinkedIn.
Outreach methods has worked forus.
Storie Titus (28:50):
Absolutely, and so , at the end of the day, what
advice or tips would you giveother business owners, whether
they're starting out, whetherthey're scaling and moving to
the next phase, what advicewould you give them?
Tye Threats (29:03):
I would say what I say all the time is you can have
it all, but you cannot do itall.
So, first, understanding thatyou need a team and a structure.
And what does that look likefor your business, even if you
chose to run it solo by yourself?
How do you create the mostefficient processes and leverage
technology, whether that'sproject management tools,
(29:26):
automations you know socialmedia tools to be able to post
on multiple platforms at onetime right?
There's a lot of things that weshould be doing that I think
that people take them as singletask where there are ways to
automate it.
Also, advice I would give tonew business owners is that you
know people do not expect you tobe 24 hours and so create
(29:50):
business hours from thebeginning, because you need that
time, even to prepare, workingon client proposals after hours,
if we're always saying thatwe're available 24 hours when
we're not seen as a realbusiness.
And two, it just really takesaway your time and focus to be
able to do things To seasonedbusiness owners.
(30:11):
Some of them may know what aconsultant is and some of them
may not, right, but I always say, if there's a pain point in
your organization or I wish wecould do X, start searching for
a consultant.
It's not a business coach orsomeone that you need to do that
, it's a consultant right.
And when you vet yourconsultants, look for someone
(30:31):
who has done the work you knowbefore that can walk you through
it.
I've had more people that, in a10 minute conversation of
discussing their challenge, wasvery clear that you and your
team are the ones that can canhelp me with it right.
And so sometimes if you're notsure what to ask or how to tell,
when they're able to tell youand walk you through it and
(30:55):
bring that clarity to what it isthat you're going through,
that's who you should hire andyou'll save more, You'll start
earning more faster by doingthat.
So that's my advice that Iwould have on on both ends.
But at the end of the day, youknow, hire some help.
Storie Titus (31:12):
Absolutely and help that is vetted Absolutely.
Tye Threats (31:16):
Absolutely.
And you know what?
Don't just go by reviews, right, people can pay for them.
Get on the phone and talk tothem, give them the questions
like hey, this is a challengethat I'm dealing with, and see
what advice that they give you.
You will know if it'sresonating with you if they're
able to do it and if someone'snot willing to do that, they're
(31:38):
probably not the person that youshould hire.
And I say that as a consumerand as the business owner that
offers those solutions.
If someone cannot tell me, like, pre-vet me, and tell me what
it is that I need, where I thinkto myself why didn't I call you
yesterday?
They're probably not the personfor me, regardless to what the
Google reviews say.
Storie Titus (32:03):
Absolutely, and I would definitely say we do that
in this business all the time.
Where are you?
And if they don't know, weshould know, yeah, and where
they need to go.
So for our listeners who wantto connect with you or learn
what you do or maybe have ameeting I know your first
consultations are- we alwaysoffer free 30-minute
consultations.
Tye Threats (32:18):
Oh, okay, and so they can always find us on
Instagram.
It's at WTV Consulting.
So Whiskey Tango Victor.
Storie Titus (32:26):
Consulting.
Tye Threats (32:27):
And actually that's across all platforms.
So it's for X, it's forInstagram, it's for Facebook and
for LinkedIn.
So the same thing on LinkedInvisit our company page, connect
with me personally on LinkedInas well too, ty Threats, and I
would love to absolutely hearmore about what it is that
you're doing, what visions thatyou have for your company, what
(32:48):
challenges you think has kind oftangled you up a bit and see if
there's a way that we're ableto help.
Storie Titus (32:53):
Right and from my own experience, Ty, even if you
aren't able to help and yourecognize that you're a great
connector, I can connect youwith the people.
Tye Threats (33:02):
You need to know I will never tell you that I'm the
person that can do something.
I'm like you, know what itsounds like you need, and that's
why I say always know justenough to be dangerous.
I live very heavily in theoperational space and from an
operations lens we look at thebusiness as a whole.
So I don't care where it falls,I don't care if it's marketing,
I don't care if it's branding,I don't care if it's your
(33:23):
operations, it really doesn'tmatter what it is.
I will see that and I'll say,hey, you probably need to hire
this type of person, and I lovewhen I know them, because then I
can refer them.
But sometimes, if I don't, I'llbe able to give you some tips
on hey, just go and considerthis, or you know, this is how
you find that.
But I will always either knowsomeone to connect you to or
(33:45):
know what that thing is that youneed to be connected to.
Storie Titus (33:47):
Well, you're amazing, Ty.
Tye Threats (33:48):
Thank you so much for all the tips and insight.
Storie Titus (33:51):
I know I learned a lot today and I hope everyone
else out there did so.
We'll see you again.
Thanks again, and for all ofour listeners out there, I'm
your host Story and we'll seeyou next time on Market it with
Atma.
Welcome back to Market it with Atmo, where we
give you the tips, tools andstrategies to help your business
be successful.
The tips, tools and strategiesto help your business be
successful.
Today we have on the show CEOand founder of WTV Consulting,
ms Ty Threatts.
It's nice to see you again, ty.
Tye Threats (00:32):
Likewise, it always feels like home coming to visit
here.
Storie Titus (00:35):
I love it.
I love it.
It's very cozy when you'rearound.
It is, it is.
I love it.
So can you start off by tellingus kind of what your background
is and what you're doing now,how you came into WTV Consulting
and starting your own business?
Tye Threats (00:54):
Absolutely so.
I always say I grew up incorporate.
I did start when I was twoyears old and somehow ended up
staying there for almost 23years.
I always say that what kept methere is I loved every single
thing about business, no kidding, and I always feel like that
was the best on the job trainingI did not know to ask for.
So imagine being able to havethat much experience while
(01:15):
you're going through earningyour degree, but getting a
chance to test things hands onand just continuously grow and
promote.
And so everywhere I went, everycompany that I worked in was
always larger.
Fortune 500 companies Didn'tplan on that either, but again,
it was just part of the biggerplan.
Overall, as I kind of spent mytime there, I progressed the
(01:36):
ranks, like I said, to seniorleadership, had an opportunity
to, I will say, dip my toe intoquite a few areas in business to
really learn not only whatparts I love the most, but I
think it's really important tounderstand the other areas that
are impacted by the areas inwhich you serve in.
And so for me, I think someyears in I don't know how many
(01:58):
years it was just startedgetting to a point where
everyone was clear on what theyneeded me for, but they could
not find a title.
So it was just kind of likeyou're going to stand up, this
team, build this and do that,but we don't know what to call
you.
So it was just always somethingright.
And so what I learned after awhile is that I was operating as
a mini consultant with insideother companies, and so I
(02:20):
realized I'm very good atidentifying a problem, so it
could be a problem or a forwardthinking strategy in which a
company should be taking.
But I'm very good at bringingclarity to chaos, and so I'm a
strong communicator.
So I was always good at sayinghey guys, I think this is what
we should be doing and this ishow we can do it, and being able
to kind of gather everyonearound that and move things
(02:41):
forward.
And so once I would finishdoing that because I worked in
large enterprises I would justbuild a team and move on and go
do something in anotherenterprise.
Storie Titus (02:51):
Being able to build a team is hard in itself,
but to get them to see yourperspective and move forward
with it.
Tye Threats (02:57):
It's even you have to be a special kind of person
for that.
I agree.
And you know what, when you seethe special talents that people
bring right, so it's like I mayhave the insight that, hey, we
need this, but when you find theright person and you put them
in that that role, it reallytakes it to a different level.
And so it's just always been anamazing journey, and I think I
knew that I was going to selfretire, which is where I am now.
(03:20):
Right, so I'm not old enough toretire yet, but just kind of
self-retire and focus onbuilding a consulting firm and
team that is able to supportmultiple businesses that may not
necessarily want thetraditional large company
consulting teams, and maybethey're really looking for what
(03:41):
I call battle-tested CEOs thathave rolled up their sleeves and
worked in those particularroles to really help lead their
now problems right.
So that's what I've been doingfor two years.
Now It'll be three years.
Wow, and it's insane to thinkabout it.
Storie Titus (03:58):
Congratulations on that.
So that's how I got here.
My goodness, I'm sure there's alot more to each and every
portion of that story.
But can you take us back alittle on your background?
Would you say your earlyexperiences in life influenced
your approach to business today?
Tye Threats (04:13):
Yes, it has.
What I've learned to be isalways married to the end result
and flexible to every singlething that happens in between
right, Because everythingchanges, especially technology.
I mean outside of technology.
Anything can make something inbusiness change, and I really
think the most successfulbusinesses I've seen were those
that were most adaptable and sobeing in companies and
(04:34):
organizations that we're notgoing to stop doing what it is
that we set out to do justbecause something is thrown in
between Right, and so we alwaysunderstood what the outcome of
it is, that we needed but wasvery flexible, you know, and how
we arrived there.
So I thought that that's alwaysbeen something that stood out
to me.
Storie Titus (04:52):
I love that.
So can you share how your lovefor business evolved into the
creation of your consulting firm?
Tye Threats (05:01):
Yeah, so I guess I was getting a dual doctorate's
degree, right and everythingright.
I'm like I'm going to learnhere and then I'm going to do
this.
You know what?
I think the purest form of justknowing what a person is meant
to do is paying attention towhat they do when they're very
young, right?
And so, growing up, everyone'slike, hey, I want to be a doctor
(05:22):
, I want to be a lawyer, I wantto be this, I want to do that.
I kid you, not ask anyone in myfamily.
It's like she always had a desk, several staples.
She was writing something downtelling people what to do.
We don't know what the businesswas called, but she was really
leading the business, Right.
And so later on, like I'm justlike what it was that I loved
most was organizing, problemsolving and communicating Right,
(05:45):
and we won't talk about how myname was always in the conduct
book for talking but, that's notthe point, but I think for me.
I also came from a family ofentrepreneurs that always had
great ideas on what they wantedto do and for somehow, my brain
was always just like this is how.
I was always the how.
Whatever your idea was, I'mlike this is the how, this is
(06:05):
how we're going to do it, and Iwould help get them there, and I
wanted to understand more.
What is it that I know that'shelping me get them there, and I
think that that's where thathands-on training in corporate
came from, as well as thateducation knowledge behind it
really fueled it for me.
Storie Titus (06:21):
Yeah, and then initiative to to learn all those
different things.
A lot of people are very narrowfocused.
And so you gave yourself theability to learn and see things
in other people right.
Tye Threats (06:31):
Very true.
Storie Titus (06:32):
That's hard.
A lot of people set goals andwhere they want to be, but have
no idea how to get through itall to the process.
Tye Threats (06:40):
And so you help businesses with that right.
Storie Titus (06:44):
And your clientele .
It's not only in Texas or theUS, you're also national.
Tye Threats (06:49):
Absolutely so.
We are across all 50 states andinternational, and it's funny I
was having this conversationwith someone the other day when
they was like you don't mindtraveling here, do you?
And I'm like, no, my entirecareer was like that.
So before COVID came and reallybridged the gap of it not
seeming so weird, we were alwayseverywhere.
Every company I worked for itwas just you never only did
(07:11):
business where you were, and soI am grateful for that, because
I do think a lot of businessowners Now, if you are a local
business and a staple in thecommunity, we need you there,
right.
But if you have a businessthat's flexible enough to expand
your clientele across statelines and even international,
that really is helpful forgrowth, and so for me, I am
(07:31):
grateful that I didn't wait tolearn that I just kind of
cheated, I knew that.
Storie Titus (07:37):
No, you set yourself up for everywhere you
go in your path, right?
So would you say that's themost rewarding part of having
such a diverse clientele?
Tye Threats (07:45):
Absolutely, it is so exciting.
As a matter of fact, I think myfamily and team gets excited
when it's like, oh, I have aclient here, we may have to
travel there, and everyone'slike, well, if you go, can I go
with you?
Or you have consultantsfighting to be on certain
contracts because it may requirean on-site visit, and they're
like, hey, I haven't been toColorado or I want to go to
Wisconsin, right?
(08:05):
So I think that that's excitingtoo, because not only are you
expanding who you can reach andwho you can help, but, again,
it's always nice when it comeswith, you know, a nice little
trip.
Storie Titus (08:16):
Of course, and to be able to give that to your
staff is probably reallyrewarding.
Absolutely, that's wonderfulreally rewarding for you.
Absolutely, that's wonderful.
So navigating from being thesole business owner to creating
a team around you and stillbeing the business owner how did
you navigate through all that?
I'm still navigating throughthat.
Tye Threats (08:38):
That is so true.
So for me, like I always say, Ilove to pay respect to those
that are entrepreneurs by heartby saying that I'm the fake one,
because I did learn by growingup in corporate.
So my mindset was always likeit takes a team, and because I
have worked in so many differentcapacities, I understood how to
build the team.
So for me, even buildingdifferent teams like OK, if I
(09:02):
want to serve more than oneperson at a time in terms of a
contract, or if I know that Ineed different skill sets, then
being able to bring in, you know, other small business owners
and or people on a contract typebasis is how we started.
But as we continue to grow, thechallenge is always still as a
CEO and founder of a business.
(09:23):
Still, as a CEO and founder ofa business, you are the base,
and so people are buying basedoff of your experience, and so
being able to transition part ofthat has still remained a
challenge.
Sometimes I started leaninginto more strategic partnerships
.
That just came to me likesomewhere toward one quarter
last year.
I couldn't tell you which oneit was, but I was like you know
(09:44):
what?
Maybe, instead of trying tobuild a dedicated person, maybe
lean more into strategicpartnerships, but it does remain
a challenge.
I always tell people, even ifyou're starting out as a
solopreneur, still build an orgchart.
What type of support do youneed?
Right?
So maybe your vision is not tohave such a large business to
begin with, but you are thesolopreneur and so when do you
(10:08):
need to focus your time?
Do we need a part-time?
You know admin that helps.
Do we need to partner with amarketing agency to have them do
certain parts?
Because we can't be all thingsin a business, and so it's
really understanding who'spayroll and who is contract and
who is subcontract out right?
Storie Titus (10:23):
That's a good point to think about because, I
mean, a lot of business ownersdon't have those thoughts and
don't think they can handle itall right and that's where I
feel like a lot of them kind ofstart to fail.
So, would you say keycollaborations how has that
helped the growth of yourbusiness?
Collaborating with partners?
Tye Threats (10:41):
Absolutely.
I always say partnership is thenew growth model, and so that
has been the single way that mybusiness has continued to grow
Right.
It's always a partnership.
Even in taking some of my firstcontracts was a partnership
what helped my business surviveits first year and exceed almost
triple of what.
(11:01):
I did in corporate waspartnering with another company,
and so that helped me gain thecapital that I needed to build
my internal team.
And then I start saying, hey,if I'm going to be serving here,
then how do I get an admin tohandle there, right?
And then again, what are thosethings where it's like, well,
I'll just touch on marketing,right.
(11:22):
It's like who's going to do mymarketing, who's going to, you
know, build this right?
And so being able to kind ofthen start shelling out some of
those other roles.
Storie Titus (11:32):
Yeah, it seems like you really love kind of
coaching and training people whoare interested in growing.
So do you have like an internprogram you use to kind of bring
people on and really vet whothey are, Because it kind of is
personality but also educationbased?
So for people that I hire orbusiness owners that I work with
, I would say people you hirebecause you have to have a
(11:54):
strong staff around you and itfeels like you really look for
certain things in people.
Maybe you weren't even lookingfor them, but they kind of arise
.
So what do you do with yourbusiness right now to help grow
that?
Tye Threats (12:07):
Well, one thing I learned last year was I need to
not be that person anymore.
I just want to be honest, likefail fast.
Right, that is, the thing inbusiness is fail fast.
And when I say that is that youcan start out very clear on
understanding.
Like, hey, I need to hire aproject manager.
I'm never going to miss on whattype of project manager I need
because I understand the typesof skill sets and the type of
(12:28):
growth that they're looking for.
I'm not going to miss out onthe type of consultant that I
need.
But when we start getting intoother roles, sometimes I learn
that being too close tosomething or not as experienced
in certain things, I always sayyou need to know just enough to
be dangerous.
But knowing enough doesn't makeyou the expert.
And so what I did was actuallycame across a client which, in
(12:50):
serving this particular clientin his business, it actually
made me think you know what youneed to partner with a
recruiting firm and you need tonot be in the middle of the
hiring process for certain roles.
And the reason why is becausein corporate I was absolutely a
great leader.
I still am, but I was alwaysclear when someone needed to be
(13:11):
fired.
You know it's like, hey, I gaveyou the tools or resources,
we've got every single thinglaid out, you know whatever.
But when it came to owning abusiness and you're in the
startup phase, you there'ssomething psychologically that
makes you feel like you're atthe mercy of the people that
says pick me, when all I owe youis the paycheck.
Right, but sometimes I don'tknow what it is, but I know that
(13:34):
it exists.
We start questioning ourselves.
And so I said you know what?
I wouldn't question myself if Iknew I wasn't the sole owner of
this decision, because now I'mlooking at failure.
I'm looking at now I'm going tohave to go and rehire.
You know all these differentthings.
And when I started stepping outof the process and saying you
know what?
I'm going to hire an expert inrecruiting, tell them what I'm
(13:54):
looking for and get a team, Ibuilt a team.
I have a team of 30 CEOs thatwe meet in CEO roundtables.
Our site is soliciting some ofthem that do the same type of
work that I do to help me vetpeople that I wanted on my team,
and then they can give me themost.
You know candidates, or thebest candidate for that role and
(14:14):
let me select from it.
It has helped me so much morefocus, more on what the job
needs to be, what they need tobe coached to, and less guilty
about.
Should I be firing them ifthey're not performing?
Storie Titus (14:26):
That takes a lot of emotional I mean thought and
exhaustion to go through thatprocess and time away from what
you really need to be focusingon Very true.
That's a good point.
I hadn't thought about that.
Having a recruiter or someonelike that vet the people that
you want if they do it right.
Tye Threats (14:43):
That's true.
I underestimated thesensitivity that the area would
bring about.
Right, because I never was 100%a business owner, maybe on the
side, but not 100%.
And you're like, this is mylivelihood.
I have to, you know, keep thisgoing.
And you start carrying adifferent type of guilt, like
did I not see this?
Did I hire the wrong person?
(15:04):
I'm just like that's.
You know, how do I fix that?
Which, you know, we're alwaysgrowing ourselves.
Storie Titus (15:10):
Right and so.
Tye Threats (15:11):
I thought that that was healthy.
And it does matter who youpartner with.
I mean, they have to be good atwhat they do and not just any
recruiter.
He so happens to be my clientand that's great.
I was very clear on how he didthings and I liked it so yeah,
and I'm sure you vetted him tobe sure that your your focus is
aligned right.
Storie Titus (15:28):
Yes, that that is important.
So on to the next.
You mentioned the differentphases you're in in business.
So we kind of work off of abuild, launch, grow scale.
What phase would you say you'rein right now?
Tye Threats (15:42):
Yeah, so I felt like I was in between two.
Storie Titus (15:45):
And sometimes we are right.
Tye Threats (15:47):
We are, because always between the grow and the
scale and so, um, for us, Ithink it's a combination of both
.
Um, I don't think I know right.
So we're constantly growing,but then it gets to the point of
how do we scale right?
Um, I think that um 2024 statswas very, um, eye-opening in a
lot of areas where I'm like,okay, this is where our time is
(16:09):
going.
The 12 months really go by, youknow, and a lot of things
happen.
We are only what, 14 days intothe year, and a lot has already
happened, and so when?
you step back and you look atyour year, which I'm such a huge
proponent for.
Just where are we?
What do we want to stop, start,continue.
What did we do well, what canwe do better?
(16:32):
And in looking at some of thosethings, it's like you know what
.
It's an opportunity to kind ofstart refining how we do things
and then look at how do we scaleit right.
And then also, when I think ofscale, I look at it from two
different ways, like not only somuch how can it operate on its
own, but, because I am CEO,business development and all
these things in one.
It's like how can youtransition some of these things
(16:54):
off to bring in trained teammembers to handle it?
And if those team members donot exist yet, how are you
building and scaling so that youcan, you know, bring that
training in without it being asmuch disruption?
Storie Titus (17:07):
Absolutely so.
You kind of you focus on thosethings in your own business, but
you also, it seems like youguide your clients in the same
methodology.
Tye Threats (17:15):
Absolutely, absolutely.
That's great.
Storie Titus (17:17):
And have you received all well responses from
that methodology?
And obviously, if you're stillgrowing and scaling, you're
doing a great job.
It's true.
Tye Threats (17:26):
I meet a lot of my clients in well, I don't know I
meet them in all phases, right,but a lot of our startups tend
to be in the build phase, but alot of the other clients are
somewhere they're growing orthey're needing to scale.
So it's always like a we have arevamp of a mess that's going
on, and I actually love messlike chaos coordinator.
(17:47):
I'm like you know what, the moreproblems the better, because
it's like I just kind of wave mymagic wand because Ty ties it
together Like that's no punintended.
Storie Titus (17:55):
I love that tagline.
That's going to be the title ofthis Ty ties it together.
Tye Threats (18:00):
I love that.
Storie Titus (18:03):
So what would you say?
How are you strategicallyplanning to move to the next
level or the next scale phase ofyour business right now?
Tye Threats (18:11):
There are so many things right, so how am I
planning?
So a few things is that they'reum.
Well, how do I want to phrasethis?
Looking at the biggest demandthat we had last year?
um, we are looking through howto solve it, and when I say how,
to solve it and when I say howto solve it, I think it's a huge
(18:33):
program management perspectivethat can can come in there for
the type of clients that we needto serve, and so, building out
what does that look like and amI the person to build it Right?
I think in order to scale thatpiece, I myself have to step
back and hire the right personin that role that can say, hey,
(18:54):
these are all of the you know inthis particular bucket, all of
the things that we had and thisis how we would build it.
So I think for me that's oneaspect.
The other easy part what?
you would say, is easy, the easypart is like how do you serve
the existing businesses that arealready standing?
Right, so you have thebusinesses that are in the build
(19:16):
phase Right, and they require agreat demand of things.
Right, and there's quite a fewelements there that we're
focusing on.
How do we build the right thingfor them?
Right, because it's notpossible to believe that we can
continuously serve them asone-offs.
Right, that's insane.
There's not enough hours in theday, not enough revenue in that
(19:38):
bucket, so that to me is likeour problem child there.
But the easy part for me hasbeen how do we serve the
existing businesses that come inthat need certain things, and
that is more of.
As we grow, how do we scale?
And just, we did a lot ofrealignment in the team and also
(19:58):
looking at what additionalpositions we could fill, because
we have a pretty good processwith how we onboard our clients,
understanding who is an expertin which area to be able to help
these businesses.
Who is an expert in which areato be able to help these
businesses?
Because when you focus onsomething like operational
excellence and really helpingthe business that's already
established really run better,you come across different
(20:21):
industries and so you can't bean expert in all industries,
right.
So just being able to kind ofsegment the team that way has
really helped and then also kindof deciding what we will take
on and what we won't take on,because we don't have to say yes
to everything.
I think going into year threewe have understood we don't have
to say yes to everything and abetter process for us helps us
(20:43):
serve our clients even better,and it's the same thing we teach
them.
Storie Titus (20:48):
It is, and to step back and look at yourself and
be like am I following thisprocess, that I'm guiding others
on Listen mirror moments.
Absolutely so.
Which of the five steps of thecustomer journey would you say
has been the most impactful stepfor driving client satisfaction
and growth?
So the five steps of thecustomer journey customer it's
(21:08):
kind of what you just mentioned,like walking through them, them
through each step of the way,um kind of building what they
have, giving them thatsatisfaction of delivering it
and then making sure that it'sworking appropriately, so you
could scale so do you mean frommy particular business?
Tye Threats (21:26):
how am I doing that or how do we do it for our
clients?
both honestly I was gonna saybecause we kind of went back to
top of the funnel on our problemchild right, which is like the
awareness right, becausesometimes, when, when we talk
about awareness right and it'sjust the whole, how do we even
know if we're the right people,you know, to help them?
Sometimes you can't say yes toeverything, right, and that's
(21:48):
refining who we are, what we doand how we serve, right.
And so in doing that part, Ithink for us internally it's
like we've got to refine thatpart a little bit better.
When it comes to our smallerbusiness segment, when it comes
to our corporate segment, it's alittle bit different.
But with our clients I'll takean example.
(22:09):
Sometimes clients come to us andthey're trying to launch a new
product or something or a teamwho knows, right, but really
kind of taking them through thephases of who are we serving,
what are we doing, who are wetrying to attract, how are we
going to build this?
And then how does theoperational piece work, which is
what I love, right, becauseeveryone's like great, we spent
so much time here on buildingthat.
(22:30):
But then how does it work?
Like what holds it together,right, so that we can truly know
how to work through that phase.
I'm trying to think of whatelse.
Storie Titus (22:41):
So you're kind of describing reinventing the
business.
It seems like you walk intoevery new client thinking, okay,
how can we reinvent what youhave and make it work for you?
Is that kind of the same path?
Tye Threats (22:56):
We can use that, because a lot of them think that
things are broken or all islost, right?
I just had a client that Hiscompany's been around 15 years,
okay.
And so you know, I'm thinkinghe's asking me how to deal with
this new company that he'sbuilding and he's kind of like
(23:17):
we've been here 15 years but Idon't think that we're operating
the way that we should, right.
And so even in just kind ofwalking him through that, we
actually discovered quite a fewthings.
So while we were solving onechallenge in the business, we
kind of understood a lot ofopportunities for other things.
(23:39):
So for him it's like you'restructured wrong, right, or I
wouldn't say structured wrong.
We can be structured betterbecause we've grown.
After 15 years there's a lot ofdifferent things that's in there
.
What are the types of tools andtechnology and processes?
After 15 years there's a lot ofdifferent things that's in
there.
What are the types of tools andtechnology and processes?
So it also got to a point wherepeople always realize when
they're losing money, but thenthey're like we need to be
(24:00):
selling this or we should bedoing that, and that's.
That's not the case, for thisbusiness has been in business
for 15 years.
What was happening was that theway in which he services
accounts and his clients theirinternal processes, you know was
not in place, where they weremissing and not responding to a
lot of clients in timely mannersor not seeing what it was that
(24:21):
they needed because theyabsolutely had no process.
It can come through oneperson's email, another person's
email Maybe they're using theinfo one and it's not routed to
these other people.
Storie Titus (24:30):
No consistency.
Tye Threats (24:32):
Like half are using the website, some are not using
the website to order things,and so they're losing out on
existing business that they havealready.
And so that was one way that wefixed, like, how do we
streamline the process forserving your existing clients so
that they remain clients?
Because I always say, if wekeep looking at we need clients,
(24:52):
we need clients, we need money,we put that much remain clients
.
Because I always say, if wekeep looking at we need clients,
we need clients, we need money,we put that much focus there.
It's like putting money in abag with a hole in the bottom
right, because if your internalprocesses are not good, then
your retention will be terribleand we will always be at the top
of the funnel looking forclients again.
So that was one of the thingsthat we helped solve for him.
And then the other thing iswhat type of technology do we
(25:13):
need?
And when I say that I'm notjust talking about your internal
processes so for him and thetype of business that he had, is
there a way that we canexercise an AI component to
really help with your marketingefforts that when they're
reaching out to their clients,it's not we're not marketing?
but when you're reaching out tothem, he's saying, hey, this is,
this is the process Once theybecome interested and they
(25:35):
respond back.
Then now I'm searching throughmy team and who's going to
handle what and haveaccountability to be able to
provide a quote back and thetype of business that they had.
There's AI tools and componentsthat you can send your client
all that information upfront andthen start tracking a different
type of way.
Right, and so we're still inthe process of putting that in
(25:56):
place.
But such a time saver and we'renot looking for bodies to do
this it can take one person todo this at that point in time,
and then who oversees that?
So I think a lot of times,clients, they focus on their
missing clients or their missingmoney, but sometimes their
operational structure and thetype of technology that they
should have in place isnon-existent.
(26:17):
We can't manage our teamsefficiently or effectively or
get our clients what they needif we don't have processes,
tools and technology in place tobe able to do it.
I always say it's a peopleprocess or technology thing.
Right, and so for him it wasall of them.
Storie Titus (26:31):
It's a people processor, technology thing
right and so for him it was allof them.
And sometimes when you're abusiness owner and you have that
umbrella view, you really bringa focus on the business to
rebuild the structure.
It's almost like the frameworkfor a house.
You've got to make sure yourbase is stable and structured
correctly, or it's all going tofall down in the end right, I
love that analogy going to falldown in the end, right?
(26:55):
I love that analogy.
Make it, and you you taking thetime to educate yourself and
your team constantly on whattools to use is is taking a ton
of time and effort out of theirday-to-day task, I'm sure.
So what would you say on thatpoint?
What technologies and platformsdo you use right now to market
who you are and really show yourclients or prospects what you
have to offer them?
Tye Threats (27:15):
So for me, we are still in one of those strategic
partnership phases, right?
So a lot of times, anytime, I'mspeaking somewhere at a
conference and people are like,hey, how do you help us do that?
Right, and so that's the firstthing, right.
And so the second thing is thatLinkedIn outreach has been like
the best option for us, which Iwould have never thought Right,
(27:39):
because that was just not myworld, right.
But that was where a majorityof our prospects came from,
unless it was a direct RFP orsomething.
Then, like I said, the otherbiggest one that is now kind of
overshadowing a lot of things isthe strategic partnerships.
People are just kind of like,hey, I work with this person and
(27:59):
they do this and they have ateam, right, right.
So I think that's been thebiggest thing for us.
I do see a lot of area ofopportunity for people.
When we talk about awareness, Iam very sure that everything
starts with a search, even as aleader, if I want to be a better
leader and I don't want to tellmy leader that I'm failing at
(28:20):
something, I'm going to start bysearching, and so I always say
that.
Never underestimate the powerof blogs.
I'm always shocked when we getwebsite bookings that I'm just
like how did you find that?
Because we don't put a lot ofemphasis there.
So I do think that for usmoving forward in 2025, there is
opportunity for a lot of things.
I think what has sustained usin starting has been the
(28:43):
partnerships, and then alsospeaking engagements, as well as
LinkedIn.
Outreach methods has worked forus.
Storie Titus (28:50):
Absolutely, and so , at the end of the day, what
advice or tips would you giveother business owners, whether
they're starting out, whetherthey're scaling and moving to
the next phase, what advicewould you give them?
Tye Threats (29:03):
I would say what I say all the time is you can have
it all, but you cannot do itall.
So, first, understanding thatyou need a team and a structure.
And what does that look likefor your business, even if you
chose to run it solo by yourself?
How do you create the mostefficient processes and leverage
technology, whether that'sproject management tools,
(29:26):
automations you know socialmedia tools to be able to post
on multiple platforms at onetime right?
There's a lot of things that weshould be doing that I think
that people take them as singletask where there are ways to
automate it.
Also, advice I would give tonew business owners is that you
know people do not expect you tobe 24 hours and so create
(29:50):
business hours from thebeginning, because you need that
time, even to prepare, workingon client proposals after hours,
if we're always saying thatwe're available 24 hours when
we're not seen as a realbusiness.
And two, it just really takesaway your time and focus to be
able to do things To seasonedbusiness owners.
(30:11):
Some of them may know what aconsultant is and some of them
may not, right, but I always say, if there's a pain point in
your organization or I wish wecould do X, start searching for
a consultant.
It's not a business coach orsomeone that you need to do that
, it's a consultant right.
And when you vet yourconsultants, look for someone
(30:31):
who has done the work you knowbefore that can walk you through
it.
I've had more people that, in a10 minute conversation of
discussing their challenge, wasvery clear that you and your
team are the ones that can canhelp me with it right.
And so sometimes if you're notsure what to ask or how to tell,
when they're able to tell youand walk you through it and
(30:55):
bring that clarity to what it isthat you're going through,
that's who you should hire andyou'll save more, You'll start
earning more faster by doingthat.
So that's my advice that Iwould have on on both ends.
But at the end of the day, youknow, hire some help.
Storie Titus (31:12):
Absolutely and help that is vetted Absolutely.
Tye Threats (31:16):
Absolutely.
And you know what?
Don't just go by reviews, right, people can pay for them.
Get on the phone and talk tothem, give them the questions
like hey, this is a challengethat I'm dealing with, and see
what advice that they give you.
You will know if it'sresonating with you if they're
able to do it and if someone'snot willing to do that, they're
(31:38):
probably not the person that youshould hire.
And I say that as a consumerand as the business owner that
offers those solutions.
If someone cannot tell me, like, pre-vet me, and tell me what
it is that I need, where I thinkto myself why didn't I call you
yesterday?
They're probably not the personfor me, regardless to what the
Google reviews say.
Storie Titus (32:03):
Absolutely, and I would definitely say we do that
in this business all the time.
Where are you?
And if they don't know, weshould know, yeah, and where
they need to go.
So for our listeners who wantto connect with you or learn
what you do or maybe have ameeting I know your first
consultations are- we alwaysoffer free 30-minute
consultations.
Tye Threats (32:18):
Oh, okay, and so they can always find us on
Instagram.
It's at WTV Consulting.
So Whiskey Tango Victor.
Storie Titus (32:26):
Consulting.
Tye Threats (32:27):
And actually that's across all platforms.
So it's for X, it's forInstagram, it's for Facebook and
for LinkedIn.
So the same thing on LinkedInvisit our company page, connect
with me personally on LinkedInas well too, ty Threats, and I
would love to absolutely hearmore about what it is that
you're doing, what visions thatyou have for your company, what
(32:48):
challenges you think has kind oftangled you up a bit and see if
there's a way that we're ableto help.
Storie Titus (32:53):
Right and from my own experience, Ty, even if you
aren't able to help and yourecognize that you're a great
connector, I can connect youwith the people.
Tye Threats (33:02):
You need to know I will never tell you that I'm the
person that can do something.
I'm like you, know what itsounds like you need, and that's
why I say always know justenough to be dangerous.
I live very heavily in theoperational space and from an
operations lens we look at thebusiness as a whole.
So I don't care where it falls,I don't care if it's marketing,
I don't care if it's branding,I don't care if it's your
(33:23):
operations, it really doesn'tmatter what it is.
I will see that and I'll say,hey, you probably need to hire
this type of person, and I lovewhen I know them, because then I
can refer them.
But sometimes, if I don't, I'llbe able to give you some tips
on hey, just go and considerthis, or you know, this is how
you find that.
But I will always either knowsomeone to connect you to or
(33:45):
know what that thing is that youneed to be connected to.
Storie Titus (33:47):
Well, you're amazing, Ty.
Tye Threats (33:48):
Thank you so much for all the tips and insight.
Storie Titus (33:51):
I know I learned a lot today and I hope everyone
else out there did so.
We'll see you again.
Thanks again, and for all ofour listeners out there, I'm
your host Story and we'll seeyou next time on Market it with
Atma.
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