November 20, 2024 • 17 mins
Part one of a three-part series to give helpful tips (beyond interior design) to our listeners: Introduction and Business Identity.
Ever felt like your business was a wobbly "block of jello," slipping through your fingers faster than you can grasp it? Escape that chaos with the insights from our special episode where I, alongside my husband and fractional COO, HB, unlock the secrets of business growth and design collaboration. Celebrating both a 30-year marriage and business partnership, we recount the pivotal moments when HB's compassionate intervention helped transform our design firm, Pasley Commercial Interiors. Through defining our unique offerings, streamlining our processes, and prioritizing client satisfaction, we've created a thriving environment not just for us, but for our business-owner clients as well. Learn how to turn your business challenges into opportunities for transformation and success.
In the latter part of our discussion, HB and I venture into the world of crafting a strong business identity and the art of staying focused as an entrepreneur. Drawing from personal inception stories, we illustrate how carving out a singular value proposition can help you resist the myriad distractions vying for your attention. As we share tales of early influences and the relentless drive for business efficiency, you'll discover how to keep your goals front and center, ensuring your efforts are always aligned with growth and value creation. This episode is a treasure trove of strategies for entrepreneurs ready to streamline their journey and enhance the impact they make in their industries.
Find more about HB at www.hbpasley.com
We welcome your questions! If you would like to learn more about us or connect for a conversation, please visit www.pasleycommercialinteriors.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Robin (00:00):
And e've been talking for weeks about design and
different elements of design andthings that we at Passable
Commercial Interiors can helpbusiness owners with.
But we've decided to do alittle give back and invite some
other business owners in toaddress other parts of business
and how to help your businessgrow in other directions.
HB (00:21):
Why not invite your husband?
Robin (00:23):
Why not?
He's sitting right here.
Yes, HB, you're my number onefirst fan of all business owners
.
HB (00:38):
I'm also your man for 30 years.
That's right.
We just celebrated when did weget married?
On election day, november 5th1994.
You remember that period oftime that you kept thinking we
got married in 93?
It went on for like a decade.
It's true, the boys were smalland your brain had melted, it's
totally true.
And you kept creating passwords.
You know the really bad onesthat have your birthday or your
kids' names in it.
And you'd always put 1993 in.
(00:58):
And I would say, why'd you dothat?
And she goes.
She'd say we got married thatyear.
Robin (01:04):
No 94.
She doesn't remember.
HB (01:06):
We did fall in love in 93.
Robin (01:08):
That's true.
That's what I remember mostimportantly.
HB (01:12):
Business growth is what I spend my career working on.
Yes, and it has been aprivilege at your invitation,
I'd like to point out to yourlisteners.
Robin (01:20):
Yes, that.
HB (01:21):
I have served at your request.
Robin (01:23):
You didn't wake up in over Wheaties.
One day demand that you help mewith my business.
HB (01:27):
No, Matter of fact.
I think a healthy part of ourmarriage is giving each other
the space that we need to becomethe best version of ourselves.
Yeah, so this is yourcommercial design firm.
Interior design firm.
Yes, but it's been really funthis year to rather than maybe
be an encouragement to you onthe side, like out in space, to
come in and spend time with Zane, who is also our son.
(01:49):
Who's your?
Robin (01:51):
Design assistant.
HB (01:51):
Design assistant number one, like Kato.
Yeah, and then Randi LynnJohnson sitting right here, I
can see her.
Can she hear us?
Randi Lynn (01:59):
I .
can hear you, hi, everybody
S o it's really been fun for me.
How do you think we should goabout our interview so that I
want to really help your clientswith a few of the things that I
do in business, because yourclients are business owners?
Robin (02:18):
Yes, well, I thought I would just give a little um for
like review why I invited you inwhen I I'd had my business for
about seven or eight years,maybe seven years when I first
started complaining to you abouthow I felt like, as it had
grown it, I would describe it asa huge block of jello that I
(02:41):
just couldn't get my my hands onit.
I couldn't get a grip on whatwas happening.
I mean, there was growth and Iwas making good money and all of
those things were right.
It's just that I couldn't.
I could not get a handle.
I just felt like it was.
I was going to be at its mercyall the time and it was in
control of me.
And I remember you coming in myoffice one day and sitting down
(03:03):
with so much compassion for thestate I was in and we just you
just started talking aboutthings that you were already,
you know, working on with otherpeople and other clients, and
over time, you I began hiringyou to do those exact things,
and so at the end of last year,I told you I needed you to come
(03:24):
in and be more of a fractionalC-suite kind of COO in our
company where you would helpexecute those things like being
able to identify what we did asdifferent from someone else.
Processes, because our industry, where we're dealing in details
(03:51):
all the time and that's thestuff that can make or break a
project was processes.
And most importantly for me wasclient experience, because I
wanted that to be kind of ourshining golden part of what we
did.
HB (04:05):
Okay, so why don't we break our convo into those three
sections?
I love those.
Okay, I've loved working as abusiness coach for several years
, but I do enjoy fractional work, which to me if you've heard
this term before and you're notquite sure how to place it it
just means instead of having aconsultant or an advisor work
for one day or you go see themonce a month or whatever that
(04:26):
looks like they are able to joinyour team, sort of as a
temporary special member toaccomplish some particular work
with you, and for me it feels alittle bit like a part-time work
.
But of course I love youfull-time, but part-time work to
be fractional with you.
We did work on those threeprimary areas and I find that
with all of my clients, thesethree are essential for growth.
(04:49):
But part-time work to befractional with you.
We did work on those threeprimary areas and I find that
with all of my clients, thesethree are essential for growth.
So if you're a business ownerand, like Robin, sometimes the
business has grown to a placewhere it really feels a little
more like chaos than like aclear plan, if you have grown to
a place, that you're prettythankful for but you don't know
how to grow to the next place,like you feel like you're
plateauing a bit, everybody'sskills are starting to tap out.
(05:12):
Or if you've got a really smartteam but you have trouble
getting everybody to work on thesame thing at the same time.
Or the old dilemma not knowingwhat to work on next.
All of those things are coveredby what you just said and I
think that would help ourlisteners to your podcast know
is this a worthwhile journey tostay with us for?
Robin (05:30):
a couple of episodes maybe.
Yeah, does that seem okay?
That?
HB (05:32):
sounds great.
So the first topic was I callit business identity.
Robin (05:38):
Yes.
HB (05:40):
It's that conversation I had with you many years ago, when
you, like many other geniuseswho have expertise right,
realize you could do more thanone thing.
You're really good at it.
You could do residencies, youcould do offices, you could do
restaurants, you could dorenovations or you could do new
builds.
I mean, you were discoveringthat your skills and natural
(06:02):
graces could just get youanywhere.
And then you ran into theproblem that everybody runs into
, which is where Randy Lynncomes in, because she's putting
an event together.
Right, randy Lynn, and becauseshe's putting an event together,
right, randy Lynn?
And she goes hey Robin, here'sa microphone.
Tell us, give us five minuteson what you do.
Robin (06:19):
Right, and what happens?
I do everything.
Yeah, you start going through alist, right?
HB (06:28):
And almost all the nerds do this.
So if you're a nerd and you owna business, I bet you're guilty
of this.
Somebody asks you what you doand you start listing your
capacities, you start listingyour skills.
It's like reading a menu and Idon't know if you've been paying
attention, but usually when youdo that people's eyes roll back
in their head Because nobodywants to hear a list.
Robin (06:47):
Because they just don't know.
Where would I associate you ona map?
Where would I put you?
HB (06:54):
That's exactly right.
So maybe there's a couple ofcomponents that I would
brainstorm up right now as we'reworking on this together.
How do you start to firm upyour business identity so that
when somebody hands you themicrophone, you can pull off a
five-minute awesome and thendrop the mic, kaboom at the end?
I think the first part is torealize that people actually
(07:15):
want to know you, not what youdo.
Robin (07:18):
You remember what we started working on first.
HB (07:21):
And now, if I say Robin, what do you do?
How do you begin that story?
Robin (07:24):
Well, before I tell you what I do, let me tell you why I
do it.
HB (07:28):
Exactly.
Robin (07:29):
Yeah.
HB (07:29):
And then you've got a couple of different stories that
explain why you do what you do.
I coach all of my clients tolearn how to do this.
Start telling a story from yourchildhood or your early years
in high school, maybe college atthe latest where you discovered
something about yourselfthrough a success or a failure,
or maybe something that happenedwith you or to you, your family
(07:49):
, an influence of a mentor.
Usually there's a human in thestory and it was the moment
where you realize you had astrength in an area.
Sometimes we realize that welove a thing because it causes
us pain when we fail in it.
Sometimes we learn we havestrength in it because we're
just amazing.
We start getting trophies whenwe're really young.
(08:10):
I was just talking to a guyyesterday who literally started
getting math trophies.
I can't even imagine this.
I can never have one he was inlike the second or third grade
and he started amassing mathtrophies and he never even
calculated until I asked himthis question.
This guy's over 50.
I asked him over a beeryesterday with some other
business people when did youfirst know that you had these
(08:30):
really great math skills?
Because he's a financialanalytics guy, a super nerd.
And he sat there for a secondand he went.
I was in like the second grade,I started getting math trophies
and he goes.
Nobody's ever asked me thatbefore.
So we all have these inceptionstories.
If you begin your microphonetime with a personal story that
tells me a little bit aboutwhere you came from, then that's
(08:55):
the first step in developingyour business identity, because
you don't have a businesswithout you.
Robin (09:00):
Oh, that's really good.
You know, what I like aboutthat too is that when you're in
these business gatherings maybeit's a mixer or a networking
thing, or you're in a meeting,or you're at a retreat or
whatever You're meeting newpeople we're all doing the same
thing.
What do you do?
Well, what do you do?
And to hear somebody start witha story, I think it's almost
(09:23):
like a reset for conversation,because no one's been doing that
in the room, most likely, and Ifind we all are drawn to story
I mean just as humanity and sowhen you can start with a story,
I think it's way more engaging.
HB (09:39):
In the same way, if you opened a technical magazine
right now that was related toyour industry and you just
opened to any random page andthere's a person's face on one
side and then a list oftechnical drawings on the other,
you will not be able to controlyourself.
You will unconsciously studythe face first.
We're designed to look at humanface and to want to see
(10:03):
humanity.
That's the way that God made usso.
Telling a story is how we bringour face into every business
identity combo.
The second part of businessidentity maybe that we could
throw in today to kind of keepthis going is a very simple
concept and, as you know, I likeword pictures or pictures.
(10:24):
If you're from Alabama, thathelped me understand how to
develop a story that has a point.
And when you're a businessleader, you can't afford to take
the microphone and startlisting things.
So what does that mean?
It means that you have to comeup with one primary value that
(10:46):
you offer.
Everybody knows this.
You've read tons of articles bynow.
If you're listening to thispodcast, you know that you're
supposed to have a singularvalue proposition, right, okay,
if you're in sales, you'vecertainly been beaten about the
head with this a whole lot.
The challenge is you alwayshave to say no to a bunch of
things to say yes to one thing.
So how do you decide whatthat's going to be?
Now, the word picture that Iuse I call it the archer bow
arrow target.
(11:07):
Or my friend Eddie recentlytold me HB, stop calling it a
list.
Robin (11:13):
Now that's really funny from the guy who didn't want
people to give him a list.
HB (11:16):
Isn't that ironic?
Is it ironic or just sad?
Robin (11:20):
I think it's ironic.
HB (11:21):
Okay, let's just call it the archer.
Okay, I like to envision anarcher, and that's the person's
heart, it's who they are, it'sthe story.
Then I like to see the bow,which means that's their skills
and their giftings and theirabilities, that's you and all
(11:44):
your technical nerd powers.
And then I like to see thearrow.
That is the value proposition.
And then, across the field, isa target, and that target
represents your ideal clients,the people that you're trying to
deliver your unique value to.
And all four of these elementsare super important.
They're integrated.
But here we are at the arrow.
Have you ever seen an arrowwith more than one tip?
Robin (11:57):
No.
HB (11:57):
Thanks for answering correctly.
I hope all the listeners homewere able to answer that
correctly.
But at or before, robin, no,there's no such thing.
So you would never think aboutshooting a value prop with three
pitches on it.
The only reason people do thatis they think somehow internally
that it's generous.
I don't want to withhold allthese things that I can do.
Robin (12:17):
Right.
HB (12:18):
It would be more fair if you just told somebody what you
love to do the most and then letthem sort out and find out the
other ones later, because thereis an okay thing with priority
and even in a conversation, whenyou first get to know someone,
you don't yell all four thingsthat you want to talk about over
the first cup of coffee.
Robin (12:34):
Just weird.
HB (12:35):
I want to list these four things.
We're going to talk about theseover the next 15 minutes.
Just weird.
So one of the ways the questionthen comes.
Well, how do I find that out?
Well, let me ask you thisquestion If I interviewed 10 of
your best clients, the peoplethat you love the most, and said
, what magic thing did thiscompany actually do for you?
Like if I did that for you,Robin, that's it.
What one thing would thesepeople say was the magic thing
(12:59):
that Robin did for them?
Let me put their answers into alittle data pool and turn that
into a sentence that's going tobe very close to your value
proposition, to the point onyour arrow.
This is a quiz for you.
It's unfair.
You weren't expecting to answerit, but in the last year, let's
say even in the last six months, we took 10 of your best
clients and I asked them thatquestion what do you think, what
(13:23):
are a few words you think thatyou would hear from them at this
point?
Robin (13:26):
You've done this before.
This is a new exercise for you.
I help them see what they can'tsee, visualize space that's not
there, or visualize what couldbe done with a space that is
there.
HB (13:37):
Yeah, now you're pointing at something really important In
interior design.
People have opinions and theyhave ideas, but they're
frightened that if they don'tmake the right decisions, they
end up with a product and paidfor something that cost but did
not actually produce profit.
Right, your unique ability isto come into a space and see on
behalf of a business owner, notjust to make it pretty, but how
(13:59):
do we make this thing functionand make you more money?
Make it profitable, becauseyour brain works that way.
You can visualize not only theend game that serves them, but
the steps to get there.
Aha, that's the person I wantto hire.
Take me through this.
I need a guide.
Okay, I think that in yourbusinesses if you're listening
to the podcast, I bet there'ssomething like that in your
(14:20):
business where people would.
They might not name yourproduct like you think they're
going to, they might not say thephrases that are on your sign,
but they'll describe somethingthat you solved an emotional
problem, a feeling problem, Likefor you, robin.
I think you solve a fear thatI'm going to spend a bunch of
money and not get the outcome,and I'm trying to make this
(14:41):
place look great, but I need itto function.
I'm not sure what to do.
It requires an expert.
That's really close to yoursingular value proposition,
which is what I do interiordesign that helps businesses
grow.
Yes, you do, and that's veryspecific.
A lot of people do interiordesign, but yours is
specifically focused on thebusiness owner.
(15:02):
So and that came, not becauseyou didn't know it already, but
when we worked together overtime we pressed and pressed and
pressed and smushed anddistilled and boiled it and
pressed it and filed it andhammered it until we got down to
as few words as possible.
I'm looking at the back wall ofyour office right now and it
says on the back wall designedto help your business grow, and
(15:24):
now you're comfortable with thatsingular value proposition.
You do a lot of differentthings, a lot of different
things.
Yeah, how does it make you feelto go out into the world and
lead with that singular valueproposition and not list
everything now?
What has that done?
Robin (15:38):
It has helped me stay focused, first of all, and not
get distracted, because I am anentrepreneur at heart, which
means I'm always thinking aboutanother business.
This helps me stay focused,because I have a problem with
that anyways.
But I think the other piece ofit is it naturally links back to
the first question you askedabout.
(16:00):
You know who I was, because itdraws upon what's naturally in
me.
So since I was a little girlthat played business instead of
house, I think about.
I've been thinking aboutbusiness since I was a little
girl and how to make businesseshappen and how to make them grow
and how to make them profitableand how to cut the waste and,
you know, trim things off andhow to make this thing expand
(16:22):
and do what we want it to do.
And because I'm wired like that, I'm wired to think about my
clients' work, my clients'businesses and their projects.
That way, it's natural to me.
I don't go in thinking abouthow we can pull the newest,
hottest trend into their space.
I am always thinking about howcan we make their business grow
(16:43):
and how will what we're doingmeet that end goal?
HB (16:46):
Cool, I love to hear you talk that way, because that
means that focusing yoursingular business identity
around this Archer concept isnot only for sales or for the
acquisition of the new client.
It's to keep your team focused,which is what you just
described Exactly.
And e've been talking for weeks about design and
different elements of design andthings that we at Passable
Commercial Interiors can helpbusiness owners with.
But we've decided to do alittle give back and invite some
other business owners in toaddress other parts of business
and how to help your businessgrow in other directions.
HB (00:21):
Why not invite your husband?
Robin (00:23):
Why not?
He's sitting right here.
Yes, HB, you're my number onefirst fan of all business owners
.
HB (00:38):
I'm also your man for 30 years.
That's right.
We just celebrated when did weget married?
On election day, november 5th1994.
You remember that period oftime that you kept thinking we
got married in 93?
It went on for like a decade.
It's true, the boys were smalland your brain had melted, it's
totally true.
And you kept creating passwords.
You know the really bad onesthat have your birthday or your
kids' names in it.
And you'd always put 1993 in.
(00:58):
And I would say, why'd you dothat?
And she goes.
She'd say we got married thatyear.
Robin (01:04):
No 94.
She doesn't remember.
HB (01:06):
We did fall in love in 93.
Robin (01:08):
That's true.
That's what I remember mostimportantly.
HB (01:12):
Business growth is what I spend my career working on.
Yes, and it has been aprivilege at your invitation,
I'd like to point out to yourlisteners.
Robin (01:20):
Yes, that.
HB (01:21):
I have served at your request.
Robin (01:23):
You didn't wake up in over Wheaties.
One day demand that you help mewith my business.
HB (01:27):
No, Matter of fact.
I think a healthy part of ourmarriage is giving each other
the space that we need to becomethe best version of ourselves.
Yeah, so this is yourcommercial design firm.
Interior design firm.
Yes, but it's been really funthis year to rather than maybe
be an encouragement to you onthe side, like out in space, to
come in and spend time with Zane, who is also our son.
(01:49):
Who's your?
Robin (01:51):
Design assistant.
HB (01:51):
Design assistant number one, like Kato.
Yeah, and then Randi LynnJohnson sitting right here, I
can see her.
Can she hear us?
Randi Lynn (01:59):
I .
can hear you, hi, everybody
S o it's really been fun for me.
How do you think we should goabout our interview so that I
want to really help your clientswith a few of the things that I
do in business, because yourclients are business owners?
Robin (02:18):
Yes, well, I thought I would just give a little um for
like review why I invited you inwhen I I'd had my business for
about seven or eight years,maybe seven years when I first
started complaining to you abouthow I felt like, as it had
grown it, I would describe it asa huge block of jello that I
(02:41):
just couldn't get my my hands onit.
I couldn't get a grip on whatwas happening.
I mean, there was growth and Iwas making good money and all of
those things were right.
It's just that I couldn't.
I could not get a handle.
I just felt like it was.
I was going to be at its mercyall the time and it was in
control of me.
And I remember you coming in myoffice one day and sitting down
(03:03):
with so much compassion for thestate I was in and we just you
just started talking aboutthings that you were already,
you know, working on with otherpeople and other clients, and
over time, you I began hiringyou to do those exact things,
and so at the end of last year,I told you I needed you to come
(03:24):
in and be more of a fractionalC-suite kind of COO in our
company where you would helpexecute those things like being
able to identify what we did asdifferent from someone else.
Processes, because our industry, where we're dealing in details
(03:51):
all the time and that's thestuff that can make or break a
project was processes.
And most importantly for me wasclient experience, because I
wanted that to be kind of ourshining golden part of what we
did.
HB (04:05):
Okay, so why don't we break our convo into those three
sections?
I love those.
Okay, I've loved working as abusiness coach for several years
, but I do enjoy fractional work, which to me if you've heard
this term before and you're notquite sure how to place it it
just means instead of having aconsultant or an advisor work
for one day or you go see themonce a month or whatever that
(04:26):
looks like they are able to joinyour team, sort of as a
temporary special member toaccomplish some particular work
with you, and for me it feels alittle bit like a part-time work
.
But of course I love youfull-time, but part-time work to
be fractional with you.
We did work on those threeprimary areas and I find that
with all of my clients, thesethree are essential for growth.
(04:49):
But part-time work to befractional with you.
We did work on those threeprimary areas and I find that
with all of my clients, thesethree are essential for growth.
So if you're a business ownerand, like Robin, sometimes the
business has grown to a placewhere it really feels a little
more like chaos than like aclear plan, if you have grown to
a place, that you're prettythankful for but you don't know
how to grow to the next place,like you feel like you're
plateauing a bit, everybody'sskills are starting to tap out.
(05:12):
Or if you've got a really smartteam but you have trouble
getting everybody to work on thesame thing at the same time.
Or the old dilemma not knowingwhat to work on next.
All of those things are coveredby what you just said and I
think that would help ourlisteners to your podcast know
is this a worthwhile journey tostay with us for?
Robin (05:30):
a couple of episodes maybe.
Yeah, does that seem okay?
That?
HB (05:32):
sounds great.
So the first topic was I callit business identity.
Robin (05:38):
Yes.
HB (05:40):
It's that conversation I had with you many years ago, when
you, like many other geniuseswho have expertise right,
realize you could do more thanone thing.
You're really good at it.
You could do residencies, youcould do offices, you could do
restaurants, you could dorenovations or you could do new
builds.
I mean, you were discoveringthat your skills and natural
(06:02):
graces could just get youanywhere.
And then you ran into theproblem that everybody runs into
, which is where Randy Lynncomes in, because she's putting
an event together.
Right, randy Lynn, and becauseshe's putting an event together,
right, randy Lynn?
And she goes hey Robin, here'sa microphone.
Tell us, give us five minuteson what you do.
Robin (06:19):
Right, and what happens?
I do everything.
Yeah, you start going through alist, right?
HB (06:28):
And almost all the nerds do this.
So if you're a nerd and you owna business, I bet you're guilty
of this.
Somebody asks you what you doand you start listing your
capacities, you start listingyour skills.
It's like reading a menu and Idon't know if you've been paying
attention, but usually when youdo that people's eyes roll back
in their head Because nobodywants to hear a list.
Robin (06:47):
Because they just don't know.
Where would I associate you ona map?
Where would I put you?
HB (06:54):
That's exactly right.
So maybe there's a couple ofcomponents that I would
brainstorm up right now as we'reworking on this together.
How do you start to firm upyour business identity so that
when somebody hands you themicrophone, you can pull off a
five-minute awesome and thendrop the mic, kaboom at the end?
I think the first part is torealize that people actually
(07:15):
want to know you, not what youdo.
Robin (07:18):
You remember what we started working on first.
HB (07:21):
And now, if I say Robin, what do you do?
How do you begin that story?
Robin (07:24):
Well, before I tell you what I do, let me tell you why I
do it.
HB (07:28):
Exactly.
Robin (07:29):
Yeah.
HB (07:29):
And then you've got a couple of different stories that
explain why you do what you do.
I coach all of my clients tolearn how to do this.
Start telling a story from yourchildhood or your early years
in high school, maybe college atthe latest where you discovered
something about yourselfthrough a success or a failure,
or maybe something that happenedwith you or to you, your family
(07:49):
, an influence of a mentor.
Usually there's a human in thestory and it was the moment
where you realize you had astrength in an area.
Sometimes we realize that welove a thing because it causes
us pain when we fail in it.
Sometimes we learn we havestrength in it because we're
just amazing.
We start getting trophies whenwe're really young.
(08:10):
I was just talking to a guyyesterday who literally started
getting math trophies.
I can't even imagine this.
I can never have one he was inlike the second or third grade
and he started amassing mathtrophies and he never even
calculated until I asked himthis question.
This guy's over 50.
I asked him over a beeryesterday with some other
business people when did youfirst know that you had these
(08:30):
really great math skills?
Because he's a financialanalytics guy, a super nerd.
And he sat there for a secondand he went.
I was in like the second grade,I started getting math trophies
and he goes.
Nobody's ever asked me thatbefore.
So we all have these inceptionstories.
If you begin your microphonetime with a personal story that
tells me a little bit aboutwhere you came from, then that's
(08:55):
the first step in developingyour business identity, because
you don't have a businesswithout you.
Robin (09:00):
Oh, that's really good.
You know, what I like aboutthat too is that when you're in
these business gatherings maybeit's a mixer or a networking
thing, or you're in a meeting,or you're at a retreat or
whatever You're meeting newpeople we're all doing the same
thing.
What do you do?
Well, what do you do?
And to hear somebody start witha story, I think it's almost
(09:23):
like a reset for conversation,because no one's been doing that
in the room, most likely, and Ifind we all are drawn to story
I mean just as humanity and sowhen you can start with a story,
I think it's way more engaging.
HB (09:39):
In the same way, if you opened a technical magazine
right now that was related toyour industry and you just
opened to any random page andthere's a person's face on one
side and then a list oftechnical drawings on the other,
you will not be able to controlyourself.
You will unconsciously studythe face first.
We're designed to look at humanface and to want to see
(10:03):
humanity.
That's the way that God made usso.
Telling a story is how we bringour face into every business
identity combo.
The second part of businessidentity maybe that we could
throw in today to kind of keepthis going is a very simple
concept and, as you know, I likeword pictures or pictures.
(10:24):
If you're from Alabama, thathelped me understand how to
develop a story that has a point.
And when you're a businessleader, you can't afford to take
the microphone and startlisting things.
So what does that mean?
It means that you have to comeup with one primary value that
(10:46):
you offer.
Everybody knows this.
You've read tons of articles bynow.
If you're listening to thispodcast, you know that you're
supposed to have a singularvalue proposition, right, okay,
if you're in sales, you'vecertainly been beaten about the
head with this a whole lot.
The challenge is you alwayshave to say no to a bunch of
things to say yes to one thing.
So how do you decide whatthat's going to be?
Now, the word picture that Iuse I call it the archer bow
arrow target.
(11:07):
Or my friend Eddie recentlytold me HB, stop calling it a
list.
Robin (11:13):
Now that's really funny from the guy who didn't want
people to give him a list.
HB (11:16):
Isn't that ironic?
Is it ironic or just sad?
Robin (11:20):
I think it's ironic.
HB (11:21):
Okay, let's just call it the archer.
Okay, I like to envision anarcher, and that's the person's
heart, it's who they are, it'sthe story.
Then I like to see the bow,which means that's their skills
and their giftings and theirabilities, that's you and all
(11:44):
your technical nerd powers.
And then I like to see thearrow.
That is the value proposition.
And then, across the field, isa target, and that target
represents your ideal clients,the people that you're trying to
deliver your unique value to.
And all four of these elementsare super important.
They're integrated.
But here we are at the arrow.
Have you ever seen an arrowwith more than one tip?
Robin (11:57):
No.
HB (11:57):
Thanks for answering correctly.
I hope all the listeners homewere able to answer that
correctly.
But at or before, robin, no,there's no such thing.
So you would never think aboutshooting a value prop with three
pitches on it.
The only reason people do thatis they think somehow internally
that it's generous.
I don't want to withhold allthese things that I can do.
Robin (12:17):
Right.
HB (12:18):
It would be more fair if you just told somebody what you
love to do the most and then letthem sort out and find out the
other ones later, because thereis an okay thing with priority
and even in a conversation, whenyou first get to know someone,
you don't yell all four thingsthat you want to talk about over
the first cup of coffee.
Robin (12:34):
Just weird.
HB (12:35):
I want to list these four things.
We're going to talk about theseover the next 15 minutes.
Just weird.
So one of the ways the questionthen comes.
Well, how do I find that out?
Well, let me ask you thisquestion If I interviewed 10 of
your best clients, the peoplethat you love the most, and said
, what magic thing did thiscompany actually do for you?
Like if I did that for you,Robin, that's it.
What one thing would thesepeople say was the magic thing
(12:59):
that Robin did for them?
Let me put their answers into alittle data pool and turn that
into a sentence that's going tobe very close to your value
proposition, to the point onyour arrow.
This is a quiz for you.
It's unfair.
You weren't expecting to answerit, but in the last year, let's
say even in the last six months, we took 10 of your best
clients and I asked them thatquestion what do you think, what
(13:23):
are a few words you think thatyou would hear from them at this
point?
Robin (13:26):
You've done this before.
This is a new exercise for you.
I help them see what they can'tsee, visualize space that's not
there, or visualize what couldbe done with a space that is
there.
HB (13:37):
Yeah, now you're pointing at something really important In
interior design.
People have opinions and theyhave ideas, but they're
frightened that if they don'tmake the right decisions, they
end up with a product and paidfor something that cost but did
not actually produce profit.
Right, your unique ability isto come into a space and see on
behalf of a business owner, notjust to make it pretty, but how
(13:59):
do we make this thing functionand make you more money?
Make it profitable, becauseyour brain works that way.
You can visualize not only theend game that serves them, but
the steps to get there.
Aha, that's the person I wantto hire.
Take me through this.
I need a guide.
Okay, I think that in yourbusinesses if you're listening
to the podcast, I bet there'ssomething like that in your
(14:20):
business where people would.
They might not name yourproduct like you think they're
going to, they might not say thephrases that are on your sign,
but they'll describe somethingthat you solved an emotional
problem, a feeling problem, Likefor you, robin.
I think you solve a fear thatI'm going to spend a bunch of
money and not get the outcome,and I'm trying to make this
(14:41):
place look great, but I need itto function.
I'm not sure what to do.
It requires an expert.
That's really close to yoursingular value proposition,
which is what I do interiordesign that helps businesses
grow.
Yes, you do, and that's veryspecific.
A lot of people do interiordesign, but yours is
specifically focused on thebusiness owner.
(15:02):
So and that came, not becauseyou didn't know it already, but
when we worked together overtime we pressed and pressed and
pressed and smushed anddistilled and boiled it and
pressed it and filed it andhammered it until we got down to
as few words as possible.
I'm looking at the back wall ofyour office right now and it
says on the back wall designedto help your business grow, and
(15:24):
now you're comfortable with thatsingular value proposition.
You do a lot of differentthings, a lot of different
things.
Yeah, how does it make you feelto go out into the world and
lead with that singular valueproposition and not list
everything now?
What has that done?
Robin (15:38):
It has helped me stay focused, first of all, and not
get distracted, because I am anentrepreneur at heart, which
means I'm always thinking aboutanother business.
This helps me stay focused,because I have a problem with
that anyways.
But I think the other piece ofit is it naturally links back to
the first question you askedabout.
(16:00):
You know who I was, because itdraws upon what's naturally in
me.
So since I was a little girlthat played business instead of
house, I think about.
I've been thinking aboutbusiness since I was a little
girl and how to make businesseshappen and how to make them grow
and how to make them profitableand how to cut the waste and,
you know, trim things off andhow to make this thing expand
(16:22):
and do what we want it to do.
And because I'm wired like that, I'm wired to think about my
clients' work, my clients'businesses and their projects.
That way, it's natural to me.
I don't go in thinking abouthow we can pull the newest,
hottest trend into their space.
I am always thinking about howcan we make their business grow
(16:43):
and how will what we're doingmeet that end goal?
HB (16:46):
Cool, I love to hear you talk that way, because that
means that focusing yoursingular business identity
around this Archer concept isnot only for sales or for the
acquisition of the new client.
It's to keep your team focused,which is what you just
described Exactly.
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