Welcome to Wickedly Branded: Marketing, Magic, and The Messy Middle, the podcast where real conversations meet real strategies. I'm your host, Beverly Cornell, founder and fairy godmother of brand clarity at Wickedly Branded. With over 25 years of experience, I’ve helped hundreds of entrepreneurs awaken their brand magic, attract the right people, and build businesses that light them up.
From stepping into her father’s vision to scaling a company that’s changing senior care education, Isabelle shares how authenticity, courage, and systems create real growth. Together, they unpack the power of brand activation, overcoming imposter syndrome, and leading with both heart and strategy.
Three Key Marketing Topics Discussed:
- Authentic Leadership: How Isabelle modernized her father’s legacy and made the brand her own.
- Confidence in Visibility: What it really takes to step into the spotlight as a visionary.
- Systems for Sustainability: Why structure, clarity, and delegation are the backbone of long-term success.
Follow Isabelle:
Isabelle | LinkedIn
RAL Academy | Instagram
RAL Academy | Facebook
RAL Academy | TikTok
RAL Academy | Website
Dare to be Wickedly Branded
P.S. Take the first step (will only take you 3 minutes) to awaken your brand magic with our personalized Brand Clarity Quiz
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker (00:00):
Welcome back to the Wickedly Branded Marketing
podcast and to part two of thisvery powerful and inspiring
conversation.
In our last episode, we laid thegroundwork and shared insights
you won't want to miss, andtoday we're picking up right
where we left off and takingthat conversation deeper,
unpacking the strategies, thestories, and the inspiration
(00:21):
that will help you bring yourbrand boldly to life.
If you haven't listened to partone yet, I recommend starting
there.
The link is in the description.
So you can follow the fulljourney.
So without further ado, let'sjump back into the conversation.
Beverly (00:36):
So if you're listening to this chat today and you're
finding some things like about Ineed to get clear, I need to get
more intentional, or, someonewho needs to get clear and more
intentional about theirbusiness, the focus that
activating their brand needs tohappen.
They live more authentically,and in their purpose, then
please share this episode orleave us a comment and review.
Let us know that this is likehitting home for you, that
(00:58):
you've needed to hear this rightnow.
we'd love that if you did that,you'd tell us your biggest
takeaway.
because other people to discovermore of this kind of magic so
that more women can find theirpower, sit in their power, and
do that thing.
such great insights.
Isabel.
How have you found clarity inyour approach to building a
strong team while maintainingyour mission?
(01:18):
And how is the team related toyour brand and marketing as
well?
Like having a strong teammatters as part of your brand.
So talk a little bit about thatchallenge and what you've been
able to do to help solve that.
Isabelle (01:29):
Staffing, I think is the hardest part of any
business, right?
To grow and evolve and todelegate and elevate, you're
gonna have to bring on teammembers.
'cause at some point you can'tdo it all right?
In the beginning, you can do itall.
And then you start to say, okay,things are slipping and I need
to see what's getting to thebottom line and get rid of those
things.
so when it comes to staffing, Ihave made so many mistakes along
(01:51):
the way, whether that's hiringpeople with a great resume and
an amazing background, to thinkthat they can come in and really
dominate in the small businessspace isn't always a fit, right?
just'cause someone's, expensivedoesn't mean that they're always
the best.
or haven't really checked howthey line up with our core
values and seeing how are theygoing to act?
(02:11):
How are they going to lead andmanage So things I've learned
along the way the biggest clicheof them all, but it is so true.
Which is be slow to hire andquick to fire.
And I think that it really comesdown to you need to take the
time and energy to get to knowwho this person is, how they
work and if their work stylematches yours.
some business owners, set thedeadline and they actually want
(02:33):
it done three days in advance,right?
If that's you, you need to knowthat about you.
And then you need to hireaccording to that.
So when you give them thatdeadline and they do it a week
later, that's gonna trigger youif you are a more impatient
boss, right?
So I think the biggest thingI've learned on hiring is you
have to know yourself first.
Your triggers what you actuallywant, because it's one thing to
(02:57):
write it down, and it's anotherthing when someone does it.
You might actually be like, oh,actually I wanted this or that.
So you need to know you and whatyou want, and then it will help
you with hiring so much.
And, we've had some just reallydifficult things I've had to
fire all sorts of people and ithas not been fun.
And the biggest thing, is thatyou need to listen.
Be slow to hire, quick to fire,and know yourself, throughout
(03:20):
that hiring process.
Beverly (03:21):
Again, a therapy thing.
if you don't know yourself, youcan't lead well.
I always tell everybody I hire,bring onto the team that, I care
deeply about my team I feel likethey're humans first, like all
those things.
But when I'm going through mychecklist of things to do, I
might not say, Hey, how was yourweekend?
I'm just gonna tell you what Ineed.
And that doesn't mean that I'mbeing passive aggressive.
It doesn't mean that I'm mad.
(03:42):
and are you okay with that formof communication?
Yes.
Okay.
So I just wanna make sure,because that is how I
communicate and I don't want youto take it personal.
'cause if I have a problem,you're gonna know I have a
problem.
It's very rare that I ever havea problem.
I'm really upfront with peoplewho are in the interview process
about that, because there aresome people who could really be
like, that would be a triggerfor me, and I cannot do that.
And they have to be also awareof their things.
(04:04):
you have to have people who areemotionally, well enough to be
able to go, that's gonna be atrigger and I cannot handle
that.
Or I can get through that, orwhatever.
there's like a two-way street inthere, but I feel as I've gotten
a little older.
I'm much more clear about whatmy expectations are.
My core values are really uniquefor lots of reasons.
and I talk about them oftenabout these are my expectations
and communication is huge to me.
(04:25):
I believe communication is allabout building a trust bank.
When you can communicate before,during, and after, you are.
Establishing that, that theclient knows you're taking care
of the thing, and that'shonoring you, that's honoring
them, that's honoring the team.
It's honoring the brand.
So that trust bank is huge.
knowing yourself and knowingwhat is really important to you
(04:46):
is incredibly key for successfulhiring.
And that goes along with yourbrand too.
'cause if this is what you standfor, knowing your core values,
knowing your mission, knowingyour vision, and the things that
you want everybody to do everysingle day, whatever the thing
is that is important to you.
If you're not clear there, Like,how could you expect them to be
clear?
So expectations and clarity arehuge in that space as well.
(05:10):
So one of the questions I askpeople, often is this idea of,
as part of your branding andvisibility and showing up for
your business, what thing hasrequired you to have the most
courage in your business?
Isabelle (05:22):
actually I would say it's along that same vein of
hiring and staffing, the peopleon your team are gonna shine a
mirror right back to you of whoyou are, what you bring to the
table, your biggest mistakes,your biggest falters.
And I think that has been hugetoo.
I know something that Istruggled with in leadership was
(05:44):
being a people pleaser.
So I wouldn't necessarily be ahundred percent honest with
someone.
If I was super unhappy withtheir work, I would, do the
Oreo, where it's like positive,okay, a little bit negative,
okay, positive again, andthey're leaving thinking she
loves me, I'm the best.
I deserve a raise.
I'm worth a million dollars andI'm leaving.
I think they got the messagethat I hated, that I think they
(06:05):
understood.
And so then when they do thesame thing to me, I'm like, why
isn't anyone being honest withme?
Why isn't anyone telling me howit is?
And I realized, oh my gosh, I amthe problem.
I set the tone and all they'redoing is doing the exact same
behavior back to me because theythink.
That's all I can handle.
And it really has bit me in thebutt so many different times.
(06:29):
So I think that it's taken me alot of courage to look at those
things.
Dive deep into why I do that.
Where did this stem from?
How do I stop this?
What does it look like?
And it is incrediblyuncomfortable to face some of
the deepest things in you that,that sounds silly.
People pleasing, but really,that's like stems for me from
like childhood, right?
(06:49):
we've said therapy multipletimes here today, but I do think
Business ownership is therapy inits greatest form because you
are finding out so much aboutyourself.
And either you're gonna bulldozethrough those things, pretend
that they don't exist, andconstantly keep facing the same
exact problems.
So you can never elevate, neverget to that next level, or
you're gonna do the work to fixyourself.
(07:12):
Fix what's going on, apologize,try to change those behaviors,
do all of those necessary thingsto actually have that growth and
take it to the next level.
And I think a lot of people justwanna pretend that nothing's
actually going on.
Beverly (07:26):
Yes, amen.
Preach it all this is a mirror.
There's absolutely no question.
I joke like I was single and inthe business world, I was 35
years old.
I did therapy about some of mystuff and all the things I
thought I had.
Then I got married, started abusiness and had kids.
And boy, those three things willshine a mirror on you like
nothing you've ever seen.
(07:47):
And there's work to do if youdon't wanna continue to pass on
stuff.
If you wanna have a healthylife, you wanna have a healthy
relationship, these are allthings that you have to work on.
And either you're gonna bulldozethrough them and say, Hey, I
have had enough of this crap andI'm gonna fix it.
Or you're gonna sit in it andit's not gonna be fun.
And some of the bulldozing isnot fun too.
to be real honest, Isabel, likethat first.
(08:09):
The first little bit of that ishard.
One of our core values isdynamic.
And that's on purpose becausewe're always changing, we're
organic, we're growing, the newtrends, the new algorithms, the
new tech, But also as people, weare dynamic people and you need
to be dynamic to continue togrow and evolve and get to a
higher level of awareness andleadership and all those things
so that you can be better, servebetter, do better, all that in
(08:32):
the world.
So good stuff that bulldoze yourway through it, I'm thinking I
might start using that phrase.
So systems.
When you grow to 50 people, youhave to have some systems.
What have you either let go ofor delegated or done to make
your business feel moresustainable, for you
specifically, Isabelle?
Isabelle (08:51):
Wow.
at the beginning, it was just meand my father, and the one role
he took on was visionary andbasically the public facing
presence for the company.
I was sales, marketing, finance,social media, operations,
internal, external, hr, you nameit, every single role.
And so one thing that I reallydid and how I scaled this was I
(09:12):
sat in every single role, likefully sat in it.
And created all of the systems.
Here's how things go, here'swhat they're going to look like,
here's KPIs, scorecards, And asyou hire, not everyone's always
a great fit.
So sometimes you've gotta comeback to that and rehire and
figure that out.
But really worked on eachdepartment a little bit at a
time, and then would solelyfocus on one, build it all out,
(09:34):
until I felt that they werecomfortable where they needed to
be.
And then focus on the next one.
And then each of thosedepartment heads now get to do
the same thing where they get tomake it their own and hire their
teams and elevate and grow fromthere.
it's been beautiful to watch,but it's also been beautiful to
be a part of because I didn'tknow that, that's how businesses
work.
You just see a business 10 yearsdown the road and you say, oh,
(09:57):
they've always been that way.
It started with one person, oneidea, and one thing.
And then it grows to becomethis.
And so to be a part of thegrowth and see how that actually
works, intricately was abeautiful thing.
Such a learning lesson.
'cause this is, 10 years ago.
So I'm in my twenties at thetime.
And really being able to dig inand learn that with zero
experience, my dad's giving meall the trust and faith in the
(10:19):
world that I can do this.
And thank God that I did.
it was fun to be able to seethat.
But I do think you really haveto sit in each thing, figure it
all out.
enough to know, to train someoneelse on this is what I want,
this is what I don't want.
And then they're gonna take itand make it their own from
there.
But you also have to be willingto go back in and say, this
(10:40):
isn't right.
This isn't what I want.
And take that time to retrain.
Take that time to continuallyonboard, because training is
never a one and done.
Beverly (10:49):
Yeah.
Systematically create yoursystems.
When did you bring EOS into thesystem?
Isabelle (10:53):
probably two years into starting the business.
So it's very early on.
Beverly (10:57):
So that probably helped you get the system for the
systems, which is great.
Isabelle (11:01):
Back in the day, I always joke, like I had these
big binders of all of our goalsand rocks and everything going
on, and like literally everyyear I'd have a massive binder
and now it's all online, UsingMonday or Asana or whatever you
want to use.
So things have developed overtime.
With the digital age and AI'sincredible, and now even being
(11:21):
able to use VAs for certainroles instead of hiring a
full-time person where theirsalary is astronomical.
There's just so many ways thatyou can do things cheaper,
easier, better, and I think it'sonly gonna get better and better
with AI developing,
Beverly (11:36):
Agreed.
Productivity and speed havechanged incredibly fast with
that.
This morning I actuallyonboarded a va, to do some, lead
development, operational stuffthrough Monday, setting up some
of those systems so that they'reready to go for us to use, but
the idea is you can get thingsdone and implemented and all of
that for the team in ways younever knew how to before.
(11:58):
So yes, I love that.
Thinking about ways ofsystemizing and getting.
Offloading that in differentways, It just depends on what
works for you.
But I remember so many days inthose days of how can I clone
myself?
And you clone yourself throughgood systems and SOPs.
That is how you clone yourselfand training.
So just start looming everythingthat you do in a day, and then
(12:20):
put those transcripts into chatand say, create an SOP and just
start building your library ofso p so that when you're ready
you can start offloading some ofthat work that drains you and
somebody who it drives them.
I have a magic hat round and inmy magic hat is questions.
It's more rapid fire.
A little bit more fun and sassyprobably.
(12:40):
what fear have you had toovercome to grow your business?
Isabelle (12:44):
Oh, fear of being disliked.
Beverly (12:47):
What's one thing you believed about branding or
marketing has turned out to becomplete bs.
Isabelle (12:53):
You have to be super pc.
Beverly (12:55):
If your business had a voice, what emotion or word
would it embody?
Isabelle (13:00):
Legacy.
Beverly (13:01):
What's been your most humbling lesson as an
entrepreneur?
Isabelle (13:05):
You can't please everyone.
Beverly (13:06):
How do you want your customers to feel after working
with you?
Isabelle (13:10):
Connected to the family of RAL.
Beverly (13:15):
Tell us about a time when you had to pivot and what
did you learn?
Isabelle (13:19):
Creating products that, I thought would be good
and they're a total bust and yougotta listen to the feedback and
do what you can to make it whatthe clients want it to be.
And sometimes you think you knowwhat they want, but you've gotta
just take it on the shoulder andjust realize that they want
something else.
Beverly (13:37):
Sometimes you think you know what they want, but they
don't really want that thing.
That's definitely humbling.
Okay, so that's the end of themagic cat round.
You did really good.
That was like eight questions intwo minutes.
Awesome.
so I also have a magic wand.
Okay.
And the magic wand, let's ustravel back in time.
And into the future.
Okay, so I'm gonna waive the oneand we're gonna go back to
18-year-old Isabelle.
(13:57):
And I want you to give Isabellethe piece of advice that you
wish she'd known that would'vesaved her some heartache and
grief over the years, if she'dknown it.
Isabelle (14:05):
Okay.
I think I would tell my18-year-old self, just
everything is going to work outso much more bigger and
beautiful than you imagine.
Keep your head down, keepworking hard, make connections,
network.
And, keep being true toyourself.
If you don't like something,don't do it.
And if you like something, goall in.
Beverly (14:26):
what would 18-year-old Isabelle say to you about how
you're living your life now?
Isabelle (14:30):
Oh, she would be so proud.
She would be shocked becausethis is not what I had pictured
for myself.
So she'd be absolutely shocked,but she'd be so beyond proud and
just given all the love andkudos in the world.
Beverly (14:44):
Okay.
I'm gonna wave the wand into thepresent time.
And I'm gonna ask you aboutsuccess.
When was the moment that youthought for the first time that
you were successful?
Isabelle (14:56):
That's such a hard question'cause I think
entrepreneurs are alwayssearching for the next.
And even after we hit somethingmajor, it's really hard to sit
in that celebratory moment.
But I do think that I feel themost successful when I am not
working, when I am in mybackyard with my son, with my
(15:17):
husband, with the dogs, and weare just relaxing and enjoying
the evening and having fun as afamily together.
I look around and say, I havethe time freedom, the money
freedom, the mental freedom, thespiritual freedom to be here, be
present in this moment.
No distractions, no call coulddisrupt me from this.
(15:38):
This is everything that I'veever wanted and needed.
this is beauty, this is life,this is family, and this is
freedom and success to me.
Beverly (15:46):
Success to you is freedom.
That's a good way to positionit, for sure.
Okay.
I'm gonna wave my wind and we'regonna go into the future far
into the future.
decades and decades.
For what you do and how you helpnot only your clients, but their
clients, their customers, theirpatients.
What legacy do you hope peoplewill say about your brand and
(16:08):
the impact you've had, on othersat your eulogy?
What do you hope or what do youthink they're gonna say?
Isabelle (16:15):
I think that, in two veins, just like you said, the
students that I'm helping gainthat financial freedom and live
in their life that they'vedreamed of, I think that they're
just gonna be grateful that mycourage, my authenticity got
them to get to their next level.
And I could have, when my dadpassed, I was left three cash
flowing businesses.
I could have sat back and just.
(16:36):
Done nothing for the rest of mylife.
I don't have to do this.
This isn't, what brings in themoney, my care homes is what
brings in the money.
So I think that they would begrateful that I went out there
and kept the legacy going sothat they could provide that
same legacy, that same financialfreedom to their families.
And I think that, the seniors inour homes, I hope that they
(16:58):
would all be very grateful thatwe stood up for injustices for
the elderly and that they wouldbe grateful that we launched
this entire system and brandsthat really helped give seniors
another option where they canget the love and attention that
they need in those last years oflife.
Beverly (17:14):
That's beautiful.
so many people affected by that.
For sure.
Even the people who work in thehomes There's a lot of ripple
effect in that.
I think your vision and your,your impact is incredible.
And I'm here cheering you onIsabel, because that powerful
mission.
I love that so much.
Okay, so I'm gonna wave themagic wand and we're gonna come
back when we're back here in ourconversation and the last thing
(17:34):
I really wanna talk about isthis idea of being wickedly
branded.
The name of my company isWickedly Branded.
What does being wickedly brandedmean to you?
How do you specifically show upWickedly branded and what advice
would you give our listeners tobe more wickedly branded?
Isabelle (17:50):
I would say that we show up wickedly branded in
everything that we touch and do.
You can tell it has our flavoron it.
Everything has the same colors,logos, voice, font system, and
it really just matches.
when it's a RALA product, and Ithink that's good.
You need to have thatrecognizable, branding.
Beverly (18:09):
what does it mean to you?
How do you show up?
And then.
What advice would you give tolisteners to be more wickedly
branded?
Isabelle (18:16):
Advice to be more wickedly branded.
I would say, make sure you aredoing audits on your branding
all the time.
No matter how you show up.
They should look and feelexactly the same.
I love when people go as far asevery time you see them, they're
wearing white and that is partof their brand.
Like whoever you are in that goall in on that.
Colors mean a lot.
(18:36):
Sounds mean a lot.
And branding is so importantbecause that's how people
recognize you.
That's where the trust begins.
So branding is a number one.
It's how you show up in theworld and.
You need to figure out what yourlane is and go for it.
Go all in and just become that.
Beverly (18:52):
That's a great explanation and great tips for
the listeners.
Yesterday I was at the state ofthe community with the faithful
chamber, so our congressman wasthere.
all kinds of people theretalking about what the community
is like and what's happening AndI was in line with my back
facing to somebody to get foodand I have pink in my hair.
And actually when I go toevents, I actually put a little
(19:12):
bit of sparkle in my hair aswell.
I spray a little bit of magicdust in my hair and the person
behind me was like, I know whothat is in front of me.
she could tell right away thatwas Beverly because that's part
of my brand.
I recently had a, client, sendme a message.
It was pretty cool.
he said, this is what happened.
My boss came to me and he said,we still good with that wickedly
(19:33):
company.
That girl's brand has a lot ofglitter and unicorns and
everything is purple and pink.
And then he says, so from a fewLinkedIn posts.
You can identify her brand name,her color theme, her brand style
and differentiator, all frommemory.
His boss says, yeah, nevermind.
She's good.
that is exactly what you need todo.
everything you touch needs tohave your specific touch, when
(19:55):
you're clear and you know yourmessage and you know your voice,
it becomes a lot easier todevelop that and pull that out
for your brand as well.
Such good tips, Isabelle.
Okay.
So where can our listenersconnect with you and learn more
about your work and what you'redoing and maybe attend one of
your boot camps?
how can they, find you,Isabelle?
Isabelle (20:12):
We're on all forms of social media at RAL Academy, and
if you head to the website,RAL101.com, you can download a
free bootcamp book or schedule acall with me and the team at
RAL101.com.
Thank
Beverly (20:27):
you so much for being here, Isabelle.
This has been a reallyincredible conversation.
I hope today's episode has lit alittle bit of a fire in you,
give you some new ideas, butmost of all, inspired you to
take some action towards moreclarity, because here's the most
important thing that I can sharewith you.
Your message matters.
Your work matters, and the worldneeds to hear what you have to
(20:48):
say, but you have to show up.
Marketing isn't just about thevisibility aspect though.
It's about the impact you makewhen you show up.
It's about connecting with theright people in a way that feels
true to you.
Isabel talked all about thatauthenticity and being real.
we want you to show up that wayand keep showing up that way.
Keep sharing your brilliance andkeep making what we call magic
(21:10):
in the world.
And hey, if you ever feel stuck,know that you don't have to do
this alone.
We're here to help you turnyour, spark, your clarity into a
wild fire of success.
Until next time, dare to bewickedly branded.
Welcome back to the Wickedly Branded Marketing
podcast and to part two of thisvery powerful and inspiring
conversation.
In our last episode, we laid thegroundwork and shared insights
you won't want to miss, andtoday we're picking up right
where we left off and takingthat conversation deeper,
unpacking the strategies, thestories, and the inspiration
(00:21):
that will help you bring yourbrand boldly to life.
If you haven't listened to partone yet, I recommend starting
there.
The link is in the description.
So you can follow the fulljourney.
So without further ado, let'sjump back into the conversation.
Beverly (00:36):
So if you're listening to this chat today and you're
finding some things like about Ineed to get clear, I need to get
more intentional, or, someonewho needs to get clear and more
intentional about theirbusiness, the focus that
activating their brand needs tohappen.
They live more authentically,and in their purpose, then
please share this episode orleave us a comment and review.
Let us know that this is likehitting home for you, that
(00:58):
you've needed to hear this rightnow.
we'd love that if you did that,you'd tell us your biggest
takeaway.
because other people to discovermore of this kind of magic so
that more women can find theirpower, sit in their power, and
do that thing.
such great insights.
Isabel.
How have you found clarity inyour approach to building a
strong team while maintainingyour mission?
(01:18):
And how is the team related toyour brand and marketing as
well?
Like having a strong teammatters as part of your brand.
So talk a little bit about thatchallenge and what you've been
able to do to help solve that.
Isabelle (01:29):
Staffing, I think is the hardest part of any
business, right?
To grow and evolve and todelegate and elevate, you're
gonna have to bring on teammembers.
'cause at some point you can'tdo it all right?
In the beginning, you can do itall.
And then you start to say, okay,things are slipping and I need
to see what's getting to thebottom line and get rid of those
things.
so when it comes to staffing, Ihave made so many mistakes along
(01:51):
the way, whether that's hiringpeople with a great resume and
an amazing background, to thinkthat they can come in and really
dominate in the small businessspace isn't always a fit, right?
just'cause someone's, expensivedoesn't mean that they're always
the best.
or haven't really checked howthey line up with our core
values and seeing how are theygoing to act?
(02:11):
How are they going to lead andmanage So things I've learned
along the way the biggest clicheof them all, but it is so true.
Which is be slow to hire andquick to fire.
And I think that it really comesdown to you need to take the
time and energy to get to knowwho this person is, how they
work and if their work stylematches yours.
some business owners, set thedeadline and they actually want
(02:33):
it done three days in advance,right?
If that's you, you need to knowthat about you.
And then you need to hireaccording to that.
So when you give them thatdeadline and they do it a week
later, that's gonna trigger youif you are a more impatient
boss, right?
So I think the biggest thingI've learned on hiring is you
have to know yourself first.
Your triggers what you actuallywant, because it's one thing to
(02:57):
write it down, and it's anotherthing when someone does it.
You might actually be like, oh,actually I wanted this or that.
So you need to know you and whatyou want, and then it will help
you with hiring so much.
And, we've had some just reallydifficult things I've had to
fire all sorts of people and ithas not been fun.
And the biggest thing, is thatyou need to listen.
Be slow to hire, quick to fire,and know yourself, throughout
(03:20):
that hiring process.
Beverly (03:21):
Again, a therapy thing.
if you don't know yourself, youcan't lead well.
I always tell everybody I hire,bring onto the team that, I care
deeply about my team I feel likethey're humans first, like all
those things.
But when I'm going through mychecklist of things to do, I
might not say, Hey, how was yourweekend?
I'm just gonna tell you what Ineed.
And that doesn't mean that I'mbeing passive aggressive.
It doesn't mean that I'm mad.
(03:42):
and are you okay with that formof communication?
Yes.
Okay.
So I just wanna make sure,because that is how I
communicate and I don't want youto take it personal.
'cause if I have a problem,you're gonna know I have a
problem.
It's very rare that I ever havea problem.
I'm really upfront with peoplewho are in the interview process
about that, because there aresome people who could really be
like, that would be a triggerfor me, and I cannot do that.
And they have to be also awareof their things.
(04:04):
you have to have people who areemotionally, well enough to be
able to go, that's gonna be atrigger and I cannot handle
that.
Or I can get through that, orwhatever.
there's like a two-way street inthere, but I feel as I've gotten
a little older.
I'm much more clear about whatmy expectations are.
My core values are really uniquefor lots of reasons.
and I talk about them oftenabout these are my expectations
and communication is huge to me.
(04:25):
I believe communication is allabout building a trust bank.
When you can communicate before,during, and after, you are.
Establishing that, that theclient knows you're taking care
of the thing, and that'shonoring you, that's honoring
them, that's honoring the team.
It's honoring the brand.
So that trust bank is huge.
knowing yourself and knowingwhat is really important to you
(04:46):
is incredibly key for successfulhiring.
And that goes along with yourbrand too.
'cause if this is what you standfor, knowing your core values,
knowing your mission, knowingyour vision, and the things that
you want everybody to do everysingle day, whatever the thing
is that is important to you.
If you're not clear there, Like,how could you expect them to be
clear?
So expectations and clarity arehuge in that space as well.
(05:10):
So one of the questions I askpeople, often is this idea of,
as part of your branding andvisibility and showing up for
your business, what thing hasrequired you to have the most
courage in your business?
Isabelle (05:22):
actually I would say it's along that same vein of
hiring and staffing, the peopleon your team are gonna shine a
mirror right back to you of whoyou are, what you bring to the
table, your biggest mistakes,your biggest falters.
And I think that has been hugetoo.
I know something that Istruggled with in leadership was
(05:44):
being a people pleaser.
So I wouldn't necessarily be ahundred percent honest with
someone.
If I was super unhappy withtheir work, I would, do the
Oreo, where it's like positive,okay, a little bit negative,
okay, positive again, andthey're leaving thinking she
loves me, I'm the best.
I deserve a raise.
I'm worth a million dollars andI'm leaving.
I think they got the messagethat I hated, that I think they
(06:05):
understood.
And so then when they do thesame thing to me, I'm like, why
isn't anyone being honest withme?
Why isn't anyone telling me howit is?
And I realized, oh my gosh, I amthe problem.
I set the tone and all they'redoing is doing the exact same
behavior back to me because theythink.
That's all I can handle.
And it really has bit me in thebutt so many different times.
(06:29):
So I think that it's taken me alot of courage to look at those
things.
Dive deep into why I do that.
Where did this stem from?
How do I stop this?
What does it look like?
And it is incrediblyuncomfortable to face some of
the deepest things in you that,that sounds silly.
People pleasing, but really,that's like stems for me from
like childhood, right?
(06:49):
we've said therapy multipletimes here today, but I do think
Business ownership is therapy inits greatest form because you
are finding out so much aboutyourself.
And either you're gonna bulldozethrough those things, pretend
that they don't exist, andconstantly keep facing the same
exact problems.
So you can never elevate, neverget to that next level, or
you're gonna do the work to fixyourself.
(07:12):
Fix what's going on, apologize,try to change those behaviors,
do all of those necessary thingsto actually have that growth and
take it to the next level.
And I think a lot of people justwanna pretend that nothing's
actually going on.
Beverly (07:26):
Yes, amen.
Preach it all this is a mirror.
There's absolutely no question.
I joke like I was single and inthe business world, I was 35
years old.
I did therapy about some of mystuff and all the things I
thought I had.
Then I got married, started abusiness and had kids.
And boy, those three things willshine a mirror on you like
nothing you've ever seen.
(07:47):
And there's work to do if youdon't wanna continue to pass on
stuff.
If you wanna have a healthylife, you wanna have a healthy
relationship, these are allthings that you have to work on.
And either you're gonna bulldozethrough them and say, Hey, I
have had enough of this crap andI'm gonna fix it.
Or you're gonna sit in it andit's not gonna be fun.
And some of the bulldozing isnot fun too.
to be real honest, Isabel, likethat first.
(08:09):
The first little bit of that ishard.
One of our core values isdynamic.
And that's on purpose becausewe're always changing, we're
organic, we're growing, the newtrends, the new algorithms, the
new tech, But also as people, weare dynamic people and you need
to be dynamic to continue togrow and evolve and get to a
higher level of awareness andleadership and all those things
so that you can be better, servebetter, do better, all that in
(08:32):
the world.
So good stuff that bulldoze yourway through it, I'm thinking I
might start using that phrase.
So systems.
When you grow to 50 people, youhave to have some systems.
What have you either let go ofor delegated or done to make
your business feel moresustainable, for you
specifically, Isabelle?
Isabelle (08:51):
Wow.
at the beginning, it was just meand my father, and the one role
he took on was visionary andbasically the public facing
presence for the company.
I was sales, marketing, finance,social media, operations,
internal, external, hr, you nameit, every single role.
And so one thing that I reallydid and how I scaled this was I
(09:12):
sat in every single role, likefully sat in it.
And created all of the systems.
Here's how things go, here'swhat they're going to look like,
here's KPIs, scorecards, And asyou hire, not everyone's always
a great fit.
So sometimes you've gotta comeback to that and rehire and
figure that out.
But really worked on eachdepartment a little bit at a
time, and then would solelyfocus on one, build it all out,
(09:34):
until I felt that they werecomfortable where they needed to
be.
And then focus on the next one.
And then each of thosedepartment heads now get to do
the same thing where they get tomake it their own and hire their
teams and elevate and grow fromthere.
it's been beautiful to watch,but it's also been beautiful to
be a part of because I didn'tknow that, that's how businesses
work.
You just see a business 10 yearsdown the road and you say, oh,
(09:57):
they've always been that way.
It started with one person, oneidea, and one thing.
And then it grows to becomethis.
And so to be a part of thegrowth and see how that actually
works, intricately was abeautiful thing.
Such a learning lesson.
'cause this is, 10 years ago.
So I'm in my twenties at thetime.
And really being able to dig inand learn that with zero
experience, my dad's giving meall the trust and faith in the
(10:19):
world that I can do this.
And thank God that I did.
it was fun to be able to seethat.
But I do think you really haveto sit in each thing, figure it
all out.
enough to know, to train someoneelse on this is what I want,
this is what I don't want.
And then they're gonna take itand make it their own from
there.
But you also have to be willingto go back in and say, this
(10:40):
isn't right.
This isn't what I want.
And take that time to retrain.
Take that time to continuallyonboard, because training is
never a one and done.
Beverly (10:49):
Yeah.
Systematically create yoursystems.
When did you bring EOS into thesystem?
Isabelle (10:53):
probably two years into starting the business.
So it's very early on.
Beverly (10:57):
So that probably helped you get the system for the
systems, which is great.
Isabelle (11:01):
Back in the day, I always joke, like I had these
big binders of all of our goalsand rocks and everything going
on, and like literally everyyear I'd have a massive binder
and now it's all online, UsingMonday or Asana or whatever you
want to use.
So things have developed overtime.
With the digital age and AI'sincredible, and now even being
(11:21):
able to use VAs for certainroles instead of hiring a
full-time person where theirsalary is astronomical.
There's just so many ways thatyou can do things cheaper,
easier, better, and I think it'sonly gonna get better and better
with AI developing,
Beverly (11:36):
Agreed.
Productivity and speed havechanged incredibly fast with
that.
This morning I actuallyonboarded a va, to do some, lead
development, operational stuffthrough Monday, setting up some
of those systems so that they'reready to go for us to use, but
the idea is you can get thingsdone and implemented and all of
that for the team in ways younever knew how to before.
(11:58):
So yes, I love that.
Thinking about ways ofsystemizing and getting.
Offloading that in differentways, It just depends on what
works for you.
But I remember so many days inthose days of how can I clone
myself?
And you clone yourself throughgood systems and SOPs.
That is how you clone yourselfand training.
So just start looming everythingthat you do in a day, and then
(12:20):
put those transcripts into chatand say, create an SOP and just
start building your library ofso p so that when you're ready
you can start offloading some ofthat work that drains you and
somebody who it drives them.
I have a magic hat round and inmy magic hat is questions.
It's more rapid fire.
A little bit more fun and sassyprobably.
(12:40):
what fear have you had toovercome to grow your business?
Isabelle (12:44):
Oh, fear of being disliked.
Beverly (12:47):
What's one thing you believed about branding or
marketing has turned out to becomplete bs.
Isabelle (12:53):
You have to be super pc.
Beverly (12:55):
If your business had a voice, what emotion or word
would it embody?
Isabelle (13:00):
Legacy.
Beverly (13:01):
What's been your most humbling lesson as an
entrepreneur?
Isabelle (13:05):
You can't please everyone.
Beverly (13:06):
How do you want your customers to feel after working
with you?
Isabelle (13:10):
Connected to the family of RAL.
Beverly (13:15):
Tell us about a time when you had to pivot and what
did you learn?
Isabelle (13:19):
Creating products that, I thought would be good
and they're a total bust and yougotta listen to the feedback and
do what you can to make it whatthe clients want it to be.
And sometimes you think you knowwhat they want, but you've gotta
just take it on the shoulder andjust realize that they want
something else.
Beverly (13:37):
Sometimes you think you know what they want, but they
don't really want that thing.
That's definitely humbling.
Okay, so that's the end of themagic cat round.
You did really good.
That was like eight questions intwo minutes.
Awesome.
so I also have a magic wand.
Okay.
And the magic wand, let's ustravel back in time.
And into the future.
Okay, so I'm gonna waive the oneand we're gonna go back to
18-year-old Isabelle.
(13:57):
And I want you to give Isabellethe piece of advice that you
wish she'd known that would'vesaved her some heartache and
grief over the years, if she'dknown it.
Isabelle (14:05):
Okay.
I think I would tell my18-year-old self, just
everything is going to work outso much more bigger and
beautiful than you imagine.
Keep your head down, keepworking hard, make connections,
network.
And, keep being true toyourself.
If you don't like something,don't do it.
And if you like something, goall in.
Beverly (14:26):
what would 18-year-old Isabelle say to you about how
you're living your life now?
Isabelle (14:30):
Oh, she would be so proud.
She would be shocked becausethis is not what I had pictured
for myself.
So she'd be absolutely shocked,but she'd be so beyond proud and
just given all the love andkudos in the world.
Beverly (14:44):
Okay.
I'm gonna wave the wand into thepresent time.
And I'm gonna ask you aboutsuccess.
When was the moment that youthought for the first time that
you were successful?
Isabelle (14:56):
That's such a hard question'cause I think
entrepreneurs are alwayssearching for the next.
And even after we hit somethingmajor, it's really hard to sit
in that celebratory moment.
But I do think that I feel themost successful when I am not
working, when I am in mybackyard with my son, with my
(15:17):
husband, with the dogs, and weare just relaxing and enjoying
the evening and having fun as afamily together.
I look around and say, I havethe time freedom, the money
freedom, the mental freedom, thespiritual freedom to be here, be
present in this moment.
No distractions, no call coulddisrupt me from this.
(15:38):
This is everything that I'veever wanted and needed.
this is beauty, this is life,this is family, and this is
freedom and success to me.
Beverly (15:46):
Success to you is freedom.
That's a good way to positionit, for sure.
Okay.
I'm gonna wave my wind and we'regonna go into the future far
into the future.
decades and decades.
For what you do and how you helpnot only your clients, but their
clients, their customers, theirpatients.
What legacy do you hope peoplewill say about your brand and
(16:08):
the impact you've had, on othersat your eulogy?
What do you hope or what do youthink they're gonna say?
Isabelle (16:15):
I think that, in two veins, just like you said, the
students that I'm helping gainthat financial freedom and live
in their life that they'vedreamed of, I think that they're
just gonna be grateful that mycourage, my authenticity got
them to get to their next level.
And I could have, when my dadpassed, I was left three cash
flowing businesses.
I could have sat back and just.
(16:36):
Done nothing for the rest of mylife.
I don't have to do this.
This isn't, what brings in themoney, my care homes is what
brings in the money.
So I think that they would begrateful that I went out there
and kept the legacy going sothat they could provide that
same legacy, that same financialfreedom to their families.
And I think that, the seniors inour homes, I hope that they
(16:58):
would all be very grateful thatwe stood up for injustices for
the elderly and that they wouldbe grateful that we launched
this entire system and brandsthat really helped give seniors
another option where they canget the love and attention that
they need in those last years oflife.
Beverly (17:14):
That's beautiful.
so many people affected by that.
For sure.
Even the people who work in thehomes There's a lot of ripple
effect in that.
I think your vision and your,your impact is incredible.
And I'm here cheering you onIsabel, because that powerful
mission.
I love that so much.
Okay, so I'm gonna wave themagic wand and we're gonna come
back when we're back here in ourconversation and the last thing
(17:34):
I really wanna talk about isthis idea of being wickedly
branded.
The name of my company isWickedly Branded.
What does being wickedly brandedmean to you?
How do you specifically show upWickedly branded and what advice
would you give our listeners tobe more wickedly branded?
Isabelle (17:50):
I would say that we show up wickedly branded in
everything that we touch and do.
You can tell it has our flavoron it.
Everything has the same colors,logos, voice, font system, and
it really just matches.
when it's a RALA product, and Ithink that's good.
You need to have thatrecognizable, branding.
Beverly (18:09):
what does it mean to you?
How do you show up?
And then.
What advice would you give tolisteners to be more wickedly
branded?
Isabelle (18:16):
Advice to be more wickedly branded.
I would say, make sure you aredoing audits on your branding
all the time.
No matter how you show up.
They should look and feelexactly the same.
I love when people go as far asevery time you see them, they're
wearing white and that is partof their brand.
Like whoever you are in that goall in on that.
Colors mean a lot.
(18:36):
Sounds mean a lot.
And branding is so importantbecause that's how people
recognize you.
That's where the trust begins.
So branding is a number one.
It's how you show up in theworld and.
You need to figure out what yourlane is and go for it.
Go all in and just become that.
Beverly (18:52):
That's a great explanation and great tips for
the listeners.
Yesterday I was at the state ofthe community with the faithful
chamber, so our congressman wasthere.
all kinds of people theretalking about what the community
is like and what's happening AndI was in line with my back
facing to somebody to get foodand I have pink in my hair.
And actually when I go toevents, I actually put a little
(19:12):
bit of sparkle in my hair aswell.
I spray a little bit of magicdust in my hair and the person
behind me was like, I know whothat is in front of me.
she could tell right away thatwas Beverly because that's part
of my brand.
I recently had a, client, sendme a message.
It was pretty cool.
he said, this is what happened.
My boss came to me and he said,we still good with that wickedly
(19:33):
company.
That girl's brand has a lot ofglitter and unicorns and
everything is purple and pink.
And then he says, so from a fewLinkedIn posts.
You can identify her brand name,her color theme, her brand style
and differentiator, all frommemory.
His boss says, yeah, nevermind.
She's good.
that is exactly what you need todo.
everything you touch needs tohave your specific touch, when
(19:55):
you're clear and you know yourmessage and you know your voice,
it becomes a lot easier todevelop that and pull that out
for your brand as well.
Such good tips, Isabelle.
Okay.
So where can our listenersconnect with you and learn more
about your work and what you'redoing and maybe attend one of
your boot camps?
how can they, find you,Isabelle?
Isabelle (20:12):
We're on all forms of social media at RAL Academy, and
if you head to the website,RAL101.com, you can download a
free bootcamp book or schedule acall with me and the team at
RAL101.com.
Thank
Beverly (20:27):
you so much for being here, Isabelle.
This has been a reallyincredible conversation.
I hope today's episode has lit alittle bit of a fire in you,
give you some new ideas, butmost of all, inspired you to
take some action towards moreclarity, because here's the most
important thing that I can sharewith you.
Your message matters.
Your work matters, and the worldneeds to hear what you have to
(20:48):
say, but you have to show up.
Marketing isn't just about thevisibility aspect though.
It's about the impact you makewhen you show up.
It's about connecting with theright people in a way that feels
true to you.
Isabel talked all about thatauthenticity and being real.
we want you to show up that wayand keep showing up that way.
Keep sharing your brilliance andkeep making what we call magic
(21:10):
in the world.
And hey, if you ever feel stuck,know that you don't have to do
this alone.
We're here to help you turnyour, spark, your clarity into a
wild fire of success.
Until next time, dare to bewickedly branded.
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