November 28, 2023 • 41 mins
What if you could cut through the fog of scaling your business and step into a successful senior executive role with more confidence than ever before? This week, I'm thrilled to chat with the incredible Laurel Rutledge, a seasoned entrepreneur, coach, and chief navigation officer who has made it her mission to guide women-owned businesses and up-and-coming senior executives towards success. Drawing from her own rich journey in the corporate world, Laurel brings a unique perspective to our conversation, particularly around the importance of building a figurative tribe and a robust support system to bolster your business and leadership journey.
Laurel's transition from corporate roles to becoming a business powerhouse is nothing short of inspiring. She gives us a snapshot of her time in the corporate world, working in accounting and HR roles, and how her experiences shaped her understanding of the significance of trust in a team, the essential role of internal audits, and most importantly, the courage to leave when the environment conflicts with your integrity. Our candid conversation extends into the realm of visibility and the role it plays in achieving success in both corporate and entrepreneurial landscapes.
Get ready for an exciting roller-coaster ride as we follow Laurel’s journey of evolving into an impact-driven entrepreneur. Despite initial hesitations, Laurel embraced podcasting as a platform for sharing inspiring stories, which now resonates with a vast audience. She shares her mission of making a significant, positive impact on K-12 education and how she has consistently kept her business thriving over the last six years. Tune in for an episode filled with personal insights, invaluable advice, and an inspiring conversation with the phenomenal Laurel Rutledge.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to the Black Directory podcast,
where we focus on bringing blackentrepreneur experiences to the
forefront.
Each week we will discuss thehighs, the lows and everything
in between.
I'm your host, Diamond Young.
Let's dive in.
Hi everyone, Welcome back toanother episode of the Black
(00:26):
Directory podcast.
I'm your host, Diamond Young,and we have a very, very special
guest today.
This is a long time coming.
You all don't know, but I knowshe knows.
We have Ms Laurel Rutledge herein the building.
She's an entrepreneur, a coach,a speaker, a consultant, a
radio, a podcast host.
She kind of does it all.
(00:47):
Basically, how are you?
I am great.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I'm so excited for this conversation.
Thank you so much for having meon.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Of course, of course.
Fun fact we met at a podcastconference back in May 2022, if
I'm not mistaken.
It seems like a long time ago,but it's crazy because we
realized that we both lived inHouston, so we were sitting at
the same table.
I went to this conference bymyself.
(01:16):
You know how that goes.
You don't know if you're goingto.
Is it going to be awkward, isit going to be weird?
I feel like I was welcome withjust so much love.
We just connected our wholetable.
Just really.
We were going out to eat after.
We were like, okay, this iscool.
It was just really nice to justmeet someone in the podcast
(01:39):
space At this point.
I didn't know anyone in thepodcast space.
Podcasting was still somewhatnew to me, but I didn't realize
what community really lookedlike when it comes to podcasting
and how it's not just now apodcast community.
Now we can pour into each otherbeyond it, but it was cool to
have that thing in commonoutside of both living in
(02:00):
Houston.
How do you feel about when wefirst met?
What do you remember from thattime, man?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
it was so cool because it was the same thing.
I went by myself as well.
When I got there and got to thehotel, I thought, okay, now I
could just go home, because Iwas flying from somewhere else.
I'm like, do I really want todeal with this?
I thought, no, you spent themoney, just go ahead and go the
same thing.
I just sat down at a table andmy introvert itself like Laura,
(02:29):
you're here, you need to talk topeople, see what people are
doing the same thing.
We sat at this table, westarted talking, found out we
were the same place, found outpeople were doing the same thing
LaGina, who's here, lagina Ray,who's here and has her own
radio show and stuff.
It was just not only a localconnection but, as you said,
just finding other people inthis space that you just
connected with.
(02:49):
It was amazing.
I really got some greatconnections out of that that I'm
really excited about.
I'm so glad I went and decidedto actually show up at the thing
Same.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
It was so worth it.
I think it was just so worth it.
We can talk for days about that, just the one event being for
Black podcasters getting thatspace for us.
It was just incredible.
If any of you are listening andyou're into podcasting, check
it out.
I'm not sure when their nextone is happening, but I believe
it's annual anyways, it was justincredible.
(03:23):
It's crazy how you can meetsomeone and you don't know that
they're going to be in your life.
I think that's a gem that wesee shows up in life of like oh
wow, who would have thought?
probably showing up here.
I will connect with them inthese other ways.
Again, just start building yourtribe and your support system
(03:43):
and all that stuff.
We're going to get more into atribe, but I want to take
everyone through your journey.
Tell us what it is that youcurrently do.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
I know I name like seven things, but so right now I
am Laurel Rutledge, your chiefnavigation officer.
I finally and I know we'regoing to talk about this whole
timing and shifting coming intothe thing that finally resonated
is no, that's the thing, it'sbeing trademarked right now.
As a matter of fact, what I dois I help multi seven figure
(04:16):
women owned businesses navigatethat tipping point.
So it's about five to sevenyears and about 15 to 20
employees where they have tomove away from being totally
accessible all the time.
You just can't do that andcontinue to run your business as
a CEO.
So I help them navigate thatconnection of their business
strategy and their peoplestrategy to ensure they're
achieving their goals.
(04:36):
And then the second piece of mybusiness is working with new
senior executives and corporate,because I ran that Gauntlet
right.
I was one of only two AfricanAmerican women in senior
executive positions in a globalcompany of 17,000.
So I know what it means to movethere.
And so, again, when you get tothat senior role, it's not about
what you know, it's not aboutwhat you've done, it's about how
(04:57):
you navigate that space now inboardrooms, with senior
executives, with your teams.
It is a whole new world and youhave to learn how to navigate
that space, and so that's whatI'm doing in that piece of my
business beyond, like you said,the podcast, the radio show,
that kind of stuff.
But those are the real kind ofpieces where I'm trying to
impact those women businessowners and then impact those
(05:18):
folks who are new into thatsenior executive space, because
you can be great there but it isa different world and you can't
always find the support youneed inside your organization.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
That is so true.
I remember, you know, just whenI was working at Twitter, I was
on the learning and developmentteam and one of the things I
was responsible for was ourcoaching program and at this
point I'm like, what does thatmean, what does that look like?
And we had a whole program forkind of what you're talking
about.
But I see the gaps now and Isee how you fill a gap right.
(05:52):
So when I was there, we havethese leaders where some of them
it was their first time reallyfilling in certain shoes whether
it was a CFO, it didn't matterreally like the level, it was a
range and whether it was themreally wanting to work on their
executive presence or speaking,or there was going to be an
(06:13):
acquisition.
Like the business changes, right, there's always new things that
the business is going throughand you really need leaders just
tapped in like really in theright mind space.
But we're all humans, so it'sthings where it's like imposter
syndrome, all sorts of thingsthat I'm sure that they were
going through, and we had tomatch them with all these
(06:33):
coaches just around the worldand it was so interesting.
It got to a point where westart having leaders that say
like hey, I want a woman coach,I want a coach that looks like
me, because everyone was lookingalike.
Yes, yes.
And I was like oh, this is sointeresting to me, so I got a
(06:55):
little taste from the outside ofjust hey, leaders need help too
.
Leaders need guidance as well.
So what is it that made youfeel like there's a gap, and I
know I can really help toconnect with that.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
You know, there were two things.
So one, in talking to myclients, especially those women
business owners, you know, forme it's always about who you are
, where you are, what you wantand what it takes to get there.
Those are the four keyfoundational questions, right?
And it's all about whetheryou're building a business or
you're building a career.
It all comes down to strategyand people, right?
(07:32):
So what I found was, in workingwith some of these business
owners, those questions wouldcome up about wait, you know,
but I love my people and Ireally want to make sure that
I'm available to them.
But now my calendar is so crazyI don't have time to do stuff
and I'm like, okay, well, thenwe need to fix that, well.
But then I've got 20 people butI'm not sure they're in the
(07:52):
right role and there's roleclarity issue.
I mean, it was the whole thing,right, and getting them to stop
and get back to what are youtrying to do, like, who are you,
the person that founded thisbusiness?
And I call it the foundersintensive, right?
Who are you to founded thisbusiness?
What?
What drove you?
Right?
Who are you and where are you?
And then, what are you tryingto do with that and let's go
(08:14):
back and get you grounded thereagain and then get your people
strategy connected to youroverall business strategy,
because it gets out of whackright, because we get really
invested in those, especiallythose first few people.
Right, the bootstrapped peoplewith us.
Not everybody can go with you tothe next place and you can't
retain the same level ofaccessibility in the same level
(08:36):
of connection when you've got 80, 90, 100 people as you did when
you have five, and so gettingtheir heads wrapped around.
It's not that you're mean now,it's not that you don't care.
Now it is moving from emotionto compassion and being very
strategic.
So that's the first thing thathappened.
And then I started talking topeople in these corporate spaces
who were executives and gettingquestions and concerns.
(08:58):
And here's the issue and I don'tknow, you know, how should I
say this and how should I?
I'm like, yep, you're in therebecause it'll, don't you think
you're crazy and you're notcrazy, but you do have to decide
which battles you're going tofight, how you're going to fight
them.
You have to play chess and notcheckers.
You have to know when to callpeople on their crap and how to
do it, because people willrewrite history in a minute and
(09:18):
say, no, that's not what I meant, but that's what you said.
And so it's that ability to toin those senior levels, to to
navigate the nuances, Becausethat's what it is.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
And so it's how do I use my space, and especially as
black women and then otherpeople of color.
It's all of this stuff right.
If you bow up against somebody,mad black woman, she's just
being emotional, she all thestuff.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
We have so much more to think about before we even
speak.
It's heavy, the gymnastics.
Yes, it's heavy.
Open your mouth.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
And so being able to create a space for people to put
in a group setting right, wherethese new senior executives can
, one, find other group ofpeople who are new to, and two,
to really go through those samethings.
Who are you?
You didn't change who you arejust because you now in a senior
executive role.
Let's get grounded in thatagain.
Let's think about what your,your objectives are for this
(10:13):
role and for your team, andlet's create strategies around
these situations that you'refinding, so that you're showing
up in your power and whateverthat looks like for you.
Right, cause, when you workwith me, it's about no judgment.
It's all about you and I am inplace to serve you.
So we're going to get you towhere you need to be, cause my,
my journey was different, justlike everybody's journey is
(10:33):
different, but my experience isthe same.
Right, there are some commonfactors that I can help you work
through, because I've beenthere.
I've been there.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
It's almost like growing pains.
As you were speaking, that'swhat I kept thinking about.
It's like when you mentionedhow you can go from the
bootstrap team me and four orfive other people to just want
to scale Right, and it's likeyou know you're going to be in
the business of scale and it'slike not knowing what that's
really going to come with.
And it can be really hard tofor one, a lot of people don't
(11:05):
even have mentorship.
Some people that's what they'relacking.
It's like who do I go to?
That's not going to judge me.
You know things like that every.
Everything that comes with that.
Being vulnerable is another sideof it, even if you find a
person to lean into.
It's like being honest withokay, like hey, I don't know if
I'm the best at this.
I don't know if I'm reallyplaying in my strengths.
What do I do with that, youknow?
(11:28):
So that's all I kept thinkingabout as you were talking is
like it's the growing pains, andstill they start to show a,
even when I was playing in theamaesthe streaming.
It's like with who I was as aleader in the beginning when it
was five.
Can I be the same person, or doI have to grow and str like is
it going to change?
And not feeling guilty aboutthat.
Have you seen that with clientswhere there's a sense of guilt
(11:50):
as it comes?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
to Absolutely, oh dang.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
I have less time to talk all day with this you know
person that you know works forme or whatever.
Like what are you seeing?
What are some common issuesthat you think leaders are kind
of running into the most?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
That's a big one.
It's like I don't everybodywants a piece of me, right?
Everybody wants time on mycalendar, and, getting to that
place where you can recognizeone, you need to recognize your
own energy sources, right,because you only have so much,
so many resources time, energy,money.
You only have so much, and theone that is not renewable is
time, and so you got to reallybe a good steward of your time.
(12:28):
And so when I talk to peopleabout oh my gosh, you know,
everybody wants to be on mycalendar.
I don't have time on mycalendar.
It's about reframing theconversation.
It's not that you're notavailable.
That's what people are going tofeel.
They're going to feel like, oh,I can't get to her.
You've got to really reframe itand say you know what, because
(12:49):
of where we are in the business,there are some things that I
need to focus on as the founderof this business, because if the
business is healthy, that meansI can do more and more things,
not only for the business butfor you, and so I'm going to.
You'll see my calendar get lessand less available, because
there are some things that I'mdoing.
You're not making any excuses,you're not justifying, you're
not asking for permission.
You are being as transparent asnecessary to help people know
(13:13):
that it's shifting.
And then, when you do havepeople on your calendar, you are
very cognizant of your time.
Are you coming to talk to mebecause there's really something
going on?
Do I have decisions pushed atthe right level?
Because that's what I oftenfind is people are not
comfortable further in theorganization of just making a
decision.
So everything gets pushed up, soa CEO or a founder or the next
(13:35):
person down, or the next persondown they're involved in the
bowels of things that, had theytaken the time right to train,
to engage, to lift somebody up,for their confidence to be able
to do the thing they could thenlift up.
So that's the wholeconversation I have with them is
where should you be operating?
And then how do we design yourorganization including
(13:57):
conversation, training, skillgap analysis, role clarity so
that everyone is operating intheir lane intentionally and
then when you dip down, it'sawareness.
You know you're dipping down,there's a reason you're dipping
down and it is intentional soyou can pull back up.
It doesn't become a habit whereyou just stay there.
So it's really all about that,that comfort zone and that level
(14:19):
of the executive of thatfounder to say, nope, I've got
to operate differently.
I am running a business Like ano choice.
There's no choice right, and ifI want the business to be
healthy, I have to do somethingdifferent.
And then I need to bring mypeople along with me.
But I also need to be okay thatthey're going to be some folks
who aren't okay with that andthey just may not be with me
(14:39):
long term and I will love themas I help them be successful
somewhere else.
Right.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
That is a word I feel like just from what I've seen
from the outside looking in.
It's the decision making partthat I think a lot of people get
stuck on.
It's like, again, as businessesgrow, the decisions become
heavier, as it has more impact.
It's a delegation piece thatyou kind of were hinting at too,
(15:06):
and I think we talked aboutthis when I came on your show
like the power of delegation butletting go.
Sometimes you have that gripand you're just some people that
could be their issue where it'slike hey, you really don't have
the time to sit in all thesemeetings like you used to, and
to be in the weeds and all thedetails of things, and I think
(15:27):
that can be, a hard place tonavigate to is delegation the
idea of controlling what thatmay look like when you're needed
and when you're like you knowwhat they got it, and really
empowering your team to step in.
Because what happens is, if youkeep that control with you too
long, your leaders, even peoplethat are really qualified,
(15:49):
they're going to start by thetime you need them to make a
decision.
They're going to be like yousure, or they're going to be
stepping in their self and thenit's like, oh dang, when you
really need them to step in astep up.
It's going to be a transition.
So I see why it's important tostart that transition early,
when you first bring them on andempowering them to feel good
(16:12):
about like, okay, hey, you knowa lot about this business, I
trust you.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yes, lean into it.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Yes pivot later if we need to.
You know course, correct.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yes, I tell people use the blood on the floor bone
sticking out.
I'm like, if it's blood on thefloor bone sticking out, as the
founder you probably need to beinvolved.
If it's not, that you canprobably fix it right.
Give people a chance to Showyou their genius and if
something goes wrong, know thatyou're resilient enough to fix
it now.
You don't want to do somethingthat's gonna cost you a million
(16:43):
dollars or cost you 10 clientsor whatever that thing is.
That's blood on the floor bonesticking out, right.
But if it's just something'sdelayed or, you know, maybe it's
not as fast or something.
Take a breath, make sure youare being very clear with your
expectations of people.
Train them, do postmortemsright, here's what I expected
and and instead of saying oh,that's wrong, especially if
(17:05):
you're in creative spaces, say,help me understand how you got
to that, because they mayactually have some really great
logic and you may be the onethat changes Right.
Your perspective is like youknow what that makes a whole lot
of sense, yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Mm-hmm.
That's so possible, it's socollaborative.
It's a trust thing, it's abecause when people really feel
that you trust them, you theyreally get in their zone, like
they really start to have funwith it.
That's really that's what youwant ideally you want it is feel
like, okay, I can tap into mybest self, my, my genius, but I
want to switch gears for a bit.
(17:41):
I know we're yeah.
We're on a path, but I want totalk more about you and let's go
back to when you were incorporate.
What was that like?
What did you do?
How long like, take us throughthat, yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Man.
You know I was in corporatealmost 30 years, right?
So I came out of undergrad myundergrad is an accounting so I
came out of undergrad andstarted an oil and gas as an
accountant and, and in hindsightyou know, they hired five of us
new in May, right out of school, and in October they told us oh
sorry, oil and gas business, wegot to let all five of you guys
(18:15):
go, but we want you to staytill April, right?
So first job at a college,first layoff, thought, oh my
gosh, right.
And.
And then I ended up being in inhigh-tech and Still doing some
accounting, but more on the costof counting side.
And that's when I got intointernal audit and really
learned that I had a desire tothink about logistics and how
things moved and and what reallymade things go through
(18:36):
Manufacturing.
I mean, I just loved it.
And then, after my MBA, I wentback into, you know,
manufacturing at first andinternal audit, which, for those
of you who are listening, ifyou're trying to figure out
where you're going or if you'retrying to move somewhere else, a
great place to start anorganization is internal audit
only because and you don'tnecessarily have to be a
financial person, but it'sbecause you get a chance to see
(18:56):
the entire business and how itoperates, because good Internal
audit organizations are allabout being internal consultants
.
That's what they do.
Yeah, here's our processes.
This doesn't seem to be working.
Let's talk about how we coulddo that different, not only from
a compliance perspective, froma speed, efficiency, all those
kind of things.
So I did internal audit.
Then I wound up at Deloitte,which was awesome because that
(19:17):
was right after the in Rondebacle and I know I'm dating
myself, but that was right afterin Ron.
I actually saw in Ron happeneddowntown Houston, saw people
walking out with their boxes Iwas at the one at the time and
and we were, we had started.
You know, risk enterprise, riskmanagement.
That was one of the things thatcame out of that, you know,
with Sarbanes, oxley and all ofthat thing, and you know it was
(19:38):
fantastic.
It was a fantastic opportunity.
But after in Ron and Anderson,I thought I don't want to be a
partner and I was a seniormanager.
I'm like I don't want to be apartner because you're in
business with every otherpartner around the world in the
firm true, yeah, no, and youhave to buy in.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
And and there was just some cultural things around
Professional services at thetime.
That just didn't sit well withme.
And and one thing about myjourney is I've always been in a
place where I've learnedsomething new and that's been
great, but there's always beensomething that said, mmm, it's
time, something, you know,something started feeling wrong
and every time happenedsomething.
Somebody came and asked me Togo somewhere else and so I ended
(20:20):
up going to a casket companyright, it was actually caskets
and medical devices in theIndiana move back to the Midwest
and Was doing enterprise riskmanagement and then was asked by
the head of HR for the casketcompany if I'd ever thought
about HR.
I'm like, absolutely, let's dothis.
And so my first HR job was mesupporting nine 900 people in 91
(20:40):
locations.
I was supporting the or thelogistics organization, so I
know what lean means, right andand it was still in
manufacturing and he is still amentor of mine today.
He's the most phenomenalNominal human and and even
through that, you know, leavingthere, going back to the medical
device company still kind of anHR I just knew I needed to get
(21:01):
home.
And still stayed in HR for awhile and in manufacturing.
But then, when I got to thesenior ranks, I thought you know
, I'm not conflict avoidant atall.
You can't be an HR and beconflict avoidant.
I'm not conflict avoidant atall, but I don't want to be in
constant conflict and there'ssome things that I can tolerate.
(21:22):
I can tolerate Challenges.
I can tolerate gaps inknowledge.
What I can't tolerate is lion.
I can't tolerate lacks ofintegrity.
I can't tolerate rewritinghistory and then telling
everybody else they were wrong.
I can't tolerate saying we wantto hire people because they got
experience and then, when theyget their treatment, I'm like
their experience doesn't matterand their career just started
(21:43):
when they got in the door.
That I can't talk, okay.
And so I just decided this isn'tfor me and I, at December 2016,
I was looking around at myfamily.
I had not slept on a Sunday infive years.
I was traveling 80%.
I'd agreed to 50.
I was traveling 80%.
Both look, both domesticallyand internationally.
(22:05):
And I looked at my family inDecember and I was just
Irritated that people were inthe same room breathing my air.
I mean, it was just and Ithought it was bad.
These are people I love.
Right?
This is my mama.
I am not right.
No, no, no, ma'am, this is notokay.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
And you saw I was wearing on here.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I'm done, I'm done.
Walked in that February to myboss and said in Germany.
And I said I just need to letyou know we were getting ready
to do my performance review,right?
And I said before we go there.
I know they were not expectingI'm out, you've got till May and
I'm done.
And that whole process actuallyended up funding the start of
(22:43):
my company because they panickedthey weren't paying attention,
they wanted me to stay and I'mlike I'm not staying, you can
extend my departure date but I'mnot staying, I am leaving,
right.
And they ended up justextending it till the end of
December and and I was in, Imean I said I'd stay till
December.
I was 100% in.
I didn't sit on the beach tillDecember, I was here, we were
(23:04):
doing a big project.
I was, you know, focused andmaking sure some things were
happening, making sure there wasgood transition when I left.
But it was time.
I knew I could serve bigger, Icould serve broader, I could
continue to speak truth to powerand but I could do it in more
places.
And that's kind of what led meto to the entrepreneurship thing
.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
It was just, it was just time it was just time it
was time, so you left, but didyou know exactly what it was
that you were gonna do?
Or you were like, okay, I'mgonna kind of figure it out.
What did?
Speaker 2 (23:33):
what did that first six months look like Post leave
oh honey, I left like I'mgetting ready to start this
business.
March We'll be up and running.
This ain't no thing.
And that was January 2019, 2018.
2019, I'm like, well, I'm notgoing back to corporate, but we
(23:56):
got to figure this out and Iwill tell you it is now.
I'm in, now you're six, sothank you, jesus.
I have been able to keep thisbusiness moving with a lot of
self-funding right For six years, and it was not until really
2022, kind of that year of 2022,when I did some things in 2022
(24:23):
that I said this is it.
And what is interesting that Iwant your listeners to think
about is what I'm doing now isexactly what I said I was going
to do in January 2018.
When I did the first video formy website, I was like it's four
questions who you are, whereyou are, what you want and what
it takes to get there.
It is strategy and people,whether you're building a
(24:45):
business or building a career.
Right, all of those things Isaid day one yes, I came out of
corporate.
Right, I came out of corporateand so while I had coaches cause
I think every person needs somekind of mentoring coaches I had
coaches that were reallyphenomenal, but they'd been in
the services space, never incorporate.
So while we were saying some ofthe same words, we were meaning
(25:08):
something completely different.
So it gave space for me toallow other people's vision of
what I should be doing, whatservices I should be delivering
to them, become the new strategy.
Without even really thinkingabout it, I'm like, yeah, yeah,
yeah, I need a product.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I need to bedoing you know.
And I'm like I see no, now,finally, this is really it.
(25:33):
So if you're a product person,great.
If you come out of, you knowyour corporate space and you
came out of HR and what youwanna be is an HR consultant,
that is probably easier and aquicker turn.
That's not what I wanted to do.
And so if you are gonna stay inthe space you were in when you
left corporate, one, get anattorney.
(25:54):
Make sure you're looking atyour employment agreement so
you're not gonna run up againstany kind of issues there until
they completely disseminateright, non-compete.
Make sure you're not gonna getyourself in trouble, get an
attorney to look at that.
But if you're doing that, thenyou're probably gonna have a
faster trajectory.
If what your entrepreneurshipjourney desire is different than
what you've been doing for fiveyears, 10 years, 20 years, 30
(26:15):
years in corporate, that's alittle bit longer of a play and
just be okay with that.
Be okay with that.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
No, and I love what you're saying because I think
sometimes we think okay, I'mmaking my leap, I have my plans.
Some people already have itwritten out.
This is the plan, yes, butsometimes it either it's a few
scenarios.
Sometimes you do what you saidyou were gonna do and then it's
like, oh, I'm either not happy,or maybe I need more capital, or
(26:44):
something.
Like it's like a wall comes upwhere it's like oh, okay, maybe
I have to change course, or yougo down another path.
Like you said, people are gonnathrow suggestions at you, even
for me, like after they lay off,people are like oh, do you do
graphic design?
Do you do websites?
Do you do that?
Because you may have touchedthings throughout time.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
But I'm like I don't think I wanna do that.
I already know right now I'mnot gonna be happy doing that,
Right Right.
Y'all are gonna be happy, likewhoever the customer is, but I'm
not and it's just, it's sointeresting.
I think it's just important togive yourself that grace of have
the plan but create a littlewiggle room.
But don't forget you know why,you know your purpose and why
(27:26):
you're doing something, but knowthat it may not be like exact.
What do you think?
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Because you know again, as yousaid, there's some people who
are like crystal clear, andthat's what I talk about.
Get really clear on your vision, right, but your clarity on the
what is different than yourclarity on the how.
The how changes.
Right, make sure your what isclean, the how, will take care
(27:54):
of itself, cause I, for exampleyes, I come off as very
extroverted, right, I've got aradio show, I've got a podcast,
I've got a show on fire side,I've got all these things.
I'm out, I'm speaking, I'mdoing stuff.
I am introverted, I like beingwith just a few people or in my
house.
And I knew because of when Istarted, remember, my business
(28:15):
started in 2018, the COVID hit,you know, the Rona hit in 2020.
And it's all online and all ofthat.
And I didn't have a picture onmy LinkedIn.
My only Facebook page was mypersonal page.
I went on Instagram at all.
None of that.
I just was not a social mediaperson and I still don't love it
.
Right, I'm not.
That's not my jam.
I do it because I need to.
(28:36):
It's under duress at this point, but in 2019, I thought you
know what, laurel, if you're, ifyou're really serious and you
really want this business towork, you've got to be more
visible and I put down anintention in 2019.
I'm going to be more visible in2019.
I got more intentional about mypodcast, cause I started my
podcast in 2018, right, but itdidn't really take off.
(28:58):
Yeah, it's been a long time itdidn't really take off.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
I didn't realize how long you've had it.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Okay, yeah, it didn't really take off until started
in November 2018.
Didn't really take off till 19.
And I got really intentionaland consistent in doing that.
I.
And then I went on a radio show.
Somebody asked me to be on aradio show and from that I got
offered to have my own show.
That I first said, oh no, Idon't know, let me think about
it.
But it was like are you nuts?
Of course you're going to bethe radio show.
(29:23):
So I put the intention outthere, knowing what I needed to.
And now the radio show is threeyears old.
The podcast is going to be fouryears old right In November of
this year.
I've got like more people on myemail list.
I've got people all over theworld listening and tuning in
because I showed up.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
You do Like a lot of people and it's amazing.
Yeah, because I find what yournumbers are.
You were talking about it atthe conference, yeah, so I tell
you, we're sure listeners are upagain.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
So my listenership when I first did it was was
really low.
Now, on listen notes, I'mliking the top 10% on listen
notes of podcasts globally.
I just got a chartable allpodcasts, global reach.
I'm like number 14,000 orsomething out of the millions
and millions.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Right, thank you Lord .
Right, so it's coming.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
I just hit 15,000 downloads on the podcast.
Yes, you know, so it's.
It changes and I think as yousaid it is, it is deciding what
it is you want, what you want,and understanding how it may
come to you and how you getthere may be different and
giving yourself some grace.
That's so important that it mayshift.
It's important to know thatthat's okay.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
But that is so real, whether you know, if you're
listening, whether you're on thecorporate side or the
entrepreneurship side, gettingstuck on that.
How can have you stuck for along time?
Because I remember I just waslike, but this isn't the route
that I had written down.
I thought I was gonna get therethis way, like in this vehicle
(30:57):
that's this model and this colorand this car is supposed to
take me from A to Z, you know,and that pivoting is so
important and just knowing that,as long as your destination is
the same, like you know, if youfeel like no, this is for sure
the destination, this is thepurpose, it's what I'm meant to
do.
You have to really let yourselfkind of go through the motions
(31:20):
of the how, but as long asyou're moving, then technically
it's great.
But I've had another guest andy'all have said something
similar in the sense of thethings that you're doing.
Now it's not the things thatyou set out to do in the sense
of speaking or like that kind ofroute, like or that method to
getting closer to your audiencethan she was saying how she knew
(31:44):
she liked events, so she wasdoing events that she would kind
of kick off things and do thehosting.
People were really gravitatingwhen she would speak so they
wanted her to keep speaking andthey were like, oh, have you
ever thought about writing abook?
Like when you tell your storyhere and there's really Good,
and she's like I never thoughtabout writing a book or have you
ever thought about speaking?
It's like really people.
(32:05):
It's interesting thatdiscernment.
Sometimes people will mentionthings and you have to kind of
figure out what's somethingwhere you're like is this
confirmation I keep hearing thesame right or no?
like I'm just not doing that.
Like I hear y'all but no, andit's crazy how I sang yes
sometimes Can Bring you reallycloser to what you're trying to
(32:28):
do.
It's just not what you expected, or it may be something that
was out of your comfort zone orjust what your bucket list, but
it's like, oh, you know what.
I'm glad I said yes, yes tothis.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
Yes, and that that old saying, you know, luck is
when Preparation meetsopportunity.
Right, and so a friend of mineasked me to be on this radio
show.
She couldn't do it and somebodyneeded a guess, and I was like
sure, and and I was gonna showup, right.
I was like, oh, it's radio,I'll just, I'll just put my
t-shirt on yeah, I was like, no,I've not met these people
(33:00):
before.
Walk into the studio.
Oh, by the way, there's acamera there.
There's a camera there we livefrom, like what it's.
Luckily, I had like, I wasdressed up, I was nice, I was
professional, I was you know allthese things and because I
showed up and decided to beprepared right, I was ready, I
was willing to be there I said,yes, the producer saw something
(33:22):
in me, based on what she waswanting to do with the studio
and where she wanted the studioto go, that made her say you
know what?
I think I need you on the airand and so, being being able,
even if your initial thing is Isoh, I don't know, I had to go
back and be reminded by someoneelse.
Laurel, you said you wanted tobe more visible in 2019 and it's
showing up.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Oh, you're getting what you asked for.
What you asked for it's likeyou don't know, but it's like
what's technically this is stillyou know.
Like that's amazing.
I love Journeys and storieswhere it's like the timing or it
seems like something where whenyou said, yes, you would have
never thought all of this wouldcome after.
It's like okay, I'm gonna dothis one thing, that one Tuesday
(34:05):
or whatever day, and that wasthat like.
So it's always so interestingwhen it's like it opens up this
door.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Or it's like I'm glad I was just supposed to be
visibility for the business,right?
I wasn't talking about being apodcaster, I Was just doing that
.
To get other people to buy myown thing right.
That I didn't want to be reallydoing, but somebody else
convinced me I needed to doRight.
So now I love it.
Now I absolutely love it,because I'm like you.
(34:33):
I love hearing people's storiesRight what their journey is and
how they got there.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Yeah, it's just in the process.
That's really what it is andtrusting that all rows are gonna
lead to where you're trying togo anyways, and being yes.
Okay with that.
So for you so far in yourjourney.
What are you most proud of?
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Oh, you know, at the top of that list is that I am
here six years in.
I am here six years in and itis not perfect.
It's not even close to where Iwant it to be or where I know it
will be.
And I'm still here and I'mstill working and I'm still
moving and I am.
I am clearer now on the peopleI need around me.
(35:18):
Right, it's utilizing theskills that I have.
Because you again you hear yougot a scale.
You got to build your businessin a way that you can scale.
You got to have team.
And if you're going to scale,you got to have team.
And I had to say stop.
Yes, if you want to scale, yougot to have team, because you're
limited by the amount of timeyou can have.
But team doesn't mean W2.
Team can mean I'm going to hireother service providers and
(35:42):
that's going to be a contractualrelationship.
It works great.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
We move on.
That's what we were talkingabout.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
It's the how, and so I am most proud of being able to
still be here and and andknowing it's like like a switch
flipped, like I just I know that, I know that, I know that this
is where I'm supposed to be andthis piece of my business is
going to make an impact.
And I now know and havearticulated and put it out in
(36:09):
the universe and it will not.
It will not if it doesn'thappen, it won't be out of lack
of trying.
Is that my deep Y is thishundred million dollar
foundation that I intend tobuild is going after K through
12 education.
So part of my, part of myprofits is going to fund that
and then I'm coming.
You know, mackenzie Scott, I'msending you a note, right, bill
and Melinda Gates, amazon andT-Mobile and all y'all, we're
(36:32):
going to build this because wehave got to do something about
education, because that is thegreat equalizer.
And we got all this rhetoricabout indoctrination.
With the 1619 project, theindoctrination is happening in K
through 12.
When people like TexasEducation Association take over
the schools in Harris County, wesee you.
We see you Lewis County,diverse County, we see that
(36:55):
right.
And so combating the narrativeand combating the rhetoric is so
important and giving kids,regardless of socioeconomic
status, and access to anexceptional, free, public K
through 12 education.
I feel like if I don't dosomething in that space, I have
not done what God has put me onthis room to do.
And so my first, why?
(37:16):
Let me get these founders towhere they are not writing big
checks, that they are buildingthe businesses that they love
and having people around themthat they love, and these
executives, especiallyexecutives of color, that they
are able to navigate thosespaces.
Let me do that.
That's the, that's the stuffthat I can do in my zone of
genius.
And then let me do that heart,passion work, that social
enterprise work, which is, is isdoing what I can to impact K
(37:38):
through 12 education.
And it took me till this time,right that, five years perparing
to get to year number six, toget good and clear and okay with
.
That's what I'm going to do,and the people that need this
are going to find me if I keepshowing up and I'm like, yes, oh
man, that is such a word.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
I love that because it's like you have your goals
and the things you're after.
That are like on the businessside.
But it's also like, oh, how canI give you?
I have impact.
That's beyond me, that's beyondthe business, like what's the?
If I leave this earth, I wantto make sure I do this.
So I'm just so happy that youknow you share that with us.
I know you're going to reachthat and do that and I'm excited
(38:18):
just to support.
So before we go, I just wantyou to share with everyone.
How can we support you and howcan we find you?
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Awesome.
So you can find me on mywebsite.
So, Laurel Rutledge, all onewordcom and it is going through
a refresh, but there's a pop upright now where you can get on
my mailing list and you'll seeeverything there.
And I'd love to have you on mymailing list for my weekly kind
of emails and updates.
And then the other thing thatyou can do is really support the
, the podcast, go download andlisten to it.
(38:50):
No, listen to the radio show.
That really does make adifference and I want to hear
from you.
Right, If there's something youwant me to talk about, send me
a note.
I'm on social.
I'm either Laurel Kay Rutledgeor I am the Rutledge perspective
on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, all of that.
But again, you can get to me onmy website.
And then the last thing is toto get to me.
If you know of a woman founder,multi seven figure business
(39:12):
owner who's got that tippingpoint, tell her to get on my
website.
Let's just set up a call.
And if I'm not the right personhere's my commitment to all of
you.
If I'm not the right person,I'm okay with that, because it's
not about me, it's about youand I've got a great network so
I can absolutely connect someone.
So know that if you'rereferring someone to me and it's
not a fit, I will make sure todo what's in my power as a
(39:33):
servant leader to get them tosomeone who is.
So if you know that person whoneeds that, you know I am the
chief navigation officer and Ican help you get there with love
and support and with truth.
And then if you are a seniorexecutive, new to the senior
executive ranks, we're going tobe starting that group, that
group session, here soon.
So just get, just connect withme, get on my mailing list and
(39:54):
that's the easiest way.
So go to girlroutledgecom.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Yes, and that's why she is amazing.
As you guys can see, she hassuch a it's genuine, it's
sincere, it's not, hey, give meyour money, let's go which, hey,
I'm off for people getting tothe back Right.
It's just cool when you canfeel it and you can sense of
like, oh, wow, Like whensomeone's really truly aligned,
they're in alignment, they foundtheir purpose and they're doing
(40:19):
the work that they feel led todo.
So I'm just so happy that wehad some time today and that you
were able to just kind of bringus into your world and share
and just take us on that journeyof how you got to where you are
and just the impact that you'remaking.
And it's amazing work and it'sso necessary and it's so needed.
So thank you so much for beingon the Black Directory podcast
(40:41):
and I already know we're goingto talk again soon.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Absolutely.
Thank you so much for having me.
I just this was a blast and weabsolutely have to do it again.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
We will.
We definitely will Thank you.
Thank you for spending sometime with us Enjoying the show.
Be sure to subscribe and leaveus a rating and review Until
next time.
You're listening to the Black Directory podcast,
where we focus on bringing blackentrepreneur experiences to the
forefront.
Each week we will discuss thehighs, the lows and everything
in between.
I'm your host, Diamond Young.
Let's dive in.
Hi everyone, Welcome back toanother episode of the Black
(00:26):
Directory podcast.
I'm your host, Diamond Young,and we have a very, very special
guest today.
This is a long time coming.
You all don't know, but I knowshe knows.
We have Ms Laurel Rutledge herein the building.
She's an entrepreneur, a coach,a speaker, a consultant, a
radio, a podcast host.
She kind of does it all.
(00:47):
Basically, how are you?
I am great.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I'm so excited for this conversation.
Thank you so much for having meon.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Of course, of course.
Fun fact we met at a podcastconference back in May 2022, if
I'm not mistaken.
It seems like a long time ago,but it's crazy because we
realized that we both lived inHouston, so we were sitting at
the same table.
I went to this conference bymyself.
(01:16):
You know how that goes.
You don't know if you're goingto.
Is it going to be awkward, isit going to be weird?
I feel like I was welcome withjust so much love.
We just connected our wholetable.
Just really.
We were going out to eat after.
We were like, okay, this iscool.
It was just really nice to justmeet someone in the podcast
(01:39):
space At this point.
I didn't know anyone in thepodcast space.
Podcasting was still somewhatnew to me, but I didn't realize
what community really lookedlike when it comes to podcasting
and how it's not just now apodcast community.
Now we can pour into each otherbeyond it, but it was cool to
have that thing in commonoutside of both living in
(02:00):
Houston.
How do you feel about when wefirst met?
What do you remember from thattime, man?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
it was so cool because it was the same thing.
I went by myself as well.
When I got there and got to thehotel, I thought, okay, now I
could just go home, because Iwas flying from somewhere else.
I'm like, do I really want todeal with this?
I thought, no, you spent themoney, just go ahead and go the
same thing.
I just sat down at a table andmy introvert itself like Laura,
(02:29):
you're here, you need to talk topeople, see what people are
doing the same thing.
We sat at this table, westarted talking, found out we
were the same place, found outpeople were doing the same thing
LaGina, who's here, lagina Ray,who's here and has her own
radio show and stuff.
It was just not only a localconnection but, as you said,
just finding other people inthis space that you just
connected with.
(02:49):
It was amazing.
I really got some greatconnections out of that that I'm
really excited about.
I'm so glad I went and decidedto actually show up at the thing
Same.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
It was so worth it.
I think it was just so worth it.
We can talk for days about that, just the one event being for
Black podcasters getting thatspace for us.
It was just incredible.
If any of you are listening andyou're into podcasting, check
it out.
I'm not sure when their nextone is happening, but I believe
it's annual anyways, it was justincredible.
(03:23):
It's crazy how you can meetsomeone and you don't know that
they're going to be in your life.
I think that's a gem that wesee shows up in life of like oh
wow, who would have thought?
probably showing up here.
I will connect with them inthese other ways.
Again, just start building yourtribe and your support system
(03:43):
and all that stuff.
We're going to get more into atribe, but I want to take
everyone through your journey.
Tell us what it is that youcurrently do.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
I know I name like seven things, but so right now I
am Laurel Rutledge, your chiefnavigation officer.
I finally and I know we'regoing to talk about this whole
timing and shifting coming intothe thing that finally resonated
is no, that's the thing, it'sbeing trademarked right now.
As a matter of fact, what I dois I help multi seven figure
(04:16):
women owned businesses navigatethat tipping point.
So it's about five to sevenyears and about 15 to 20
employees where they have tomove away from being totally
accessible all the time.
You just can't do that andcontinue to run your business as
a CEO.
So I help them navigate thatconnection of their business
strategy and their peoplestrategy to ensure they're
achieving their goals.
(04:36):
And then the second piece of mybusiness is working with new
senior executives and corporate,because I ran that Gauntlet
right.
I was one of only two AfricanAmerican women in senior
executive positions in a globalcompany of 17,000.
So I know what it means to movethere.
And so, again, when you get tothat senior role, it's not about
what you know, it's not aboutwhat you've done, it's about how
(04:57):
you navigate that space now inboardrooms, with senior
executives, with your teams.
It is a whole new world and youhave to learn how to navigate
that space, and so that's whatI'm doing in that piece of my
business beyond, like you said,the podcast, the radio show,
that kind of stuff.
But those are the real kind ofpieces where I'm trying to
impact those women businessowners and then impact those
(05:18):
folks who are new into thatsenior executive space, because
you can be great there but it isa different world and you can't
always find the support youneed inside your organization.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
That is so true.
I remember, you know, just whenI was working at Twitter, I was
on the learning and developmentteam and one of the things I
was responsible for was ourcoaching program and at this
point I'm like, what does thatmean, what does that look like?
And we had a whole program forkind of what you're talking
about.
But I see the gaps now and Isee how you fill a gap right.
(05:52):
So when I was there, we havethese leaders where some of them
it was their first time reallyfilling in certain shoes whether
it was a CFO, it didn't matterreally like the level, it was a
range and whether it was themreally wanting to work on their
executive presence or speaking,or there was going to be an
(06:13):
acquisition.
Like the business changes, right, there's always new things that
the business is going throughand you really need leaders just
tapped in like really in theright mind space.
But we're all humans, so it'sthings where it's like imposter
syndrome, all sorts of thingsthat I'm sure that they were
going through, and we had tomatch them with all these
(06:33):
coaches just around the worldand it was so interesting.
It got to a point where westart having leaders that say
like hey, I want a woman coach,I want a coach that looks like
me, because everyone was lookingalike.
Yes, yes.
And I was like oh, this is sointeresting to me, so I got a
(06:55):
little taste from the outside ofjust hey, leaders need help too
.
Leaders need guidance as well.
So what is it that made youfeel like there's a gap, and I
know I can really help toconnect with that.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
You know, there were two things.
So one, in talking to myclients, especially those women
business owners, you know, forme it's always about who you are
, where you are, what you wantand what it takes to get there.
Those are the four keyfoundational questions, right?
And it's all about whetheryou're building a business or
you're building a career.
It all comes down to strategyand people, right?
(07:32):
So what I found was, in workingwith some of these business
owners, those questions wouldcome up about wait, you know,
but I love my people and Ireally want to make sure that
I'm available to them.
But now my calendar is so crazyI don't have time to do stuff
and I'm like, okay, well, thenwe need to fix that, well.
But then I've got 20 people butI'm not sure they're in the
(07:52):
right role and there's roleclarity issue.
I mean, it was the whole thing,right, and getting them to stop
and get back to what are youtrying to do, like, who are you,
the person that founded thisbusiness?
And I call it the foundersintensive, right?
Who are you to founded thisbusiness?
What?
What drove you?
Right?
Who are you and where are you?
And then, what are you tryingto do with that and let's go
(08:14):
back and get you grounded thereagain and then get your people
strategy connected to youroverall business strategy,
because it gets out of whackright, because we get really
invested in those, especiallythose first few people.
Right, the bootstrapped peoplewith us.
Not everybody can go with you tothe next place and you can't
retain the same level ofaccessibility in the same level
(08:36):
of connection when you've got 80, 90, 100 people as you did when
you have five, and so gettingtheir heads wrapped around.
It's not that you're mean now,it's not that you don't care.
Now it is moving from emotionto compassion and being very
strategic.
So that's the first thing thathappened.
And then I started talking topeople in these corporate spaces
who were executives and gettingquestions and concerns.
(08:58):
And here's the issue and I don'tknow, you know, how should I
say this and how should I?
I'm like, yep, you're in therebecause it'll, don't you think
you're crazy and you're notcrazy, but you do have to decide
which battles you're going tofight, how you're going to fight
them.
You have to play chess and notcheckers.
You have to know when to callpeople on their crap and how to
do it, because people willrewrite history in a minute and
(09:18):
say, no, that's not what I meant, but that's what you said.
And so it's that ability to toin those senior levels, to to
navigate the nuances, Becausethat's what it is.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
And so it's how do I use my space, and especially as
black women and then otherpeople of color.
It's all of this stuff right.
If you bow up against somebody,mad black woman, she's just
being emotional, she all thestuff.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
We have so much more to think about before we even
speak.
It's heavy, the gymnastics.
Yes, it's heavy.
Open your mouth.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
And so being able to create a space for people to put
in a group setting right, wherethese new senior executives can
, one, find other group ofpeople who are new to, and two,
to really go through those samethings.
Who are you?
You didn't change who you arejust because you now in a senior
executive role.
Let's get grounded in thatagain.
Let's think about what your,your objectives are for this
(10:13):
role and for your team, andlet's create strategies around
these situations that you'refinding, so that you're showing
up in your power and whateverthat looks like for you.
Right, cause, when you workwith me, it's about no judgment.
It's all about you and I am inplace to serve you.
So we're going to get you towhere you need to be, cause my,
my journey was different, justlike everybody's journey is
(10:33):
different, but my experience isthe same.
Right, there are some commonfactors that I can help you work
through, because I've beenthere.
I've been there.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
It's almost like growing pains.
As you were speaking, that'swhat I kept thinking about.
It's like when you mentionedhow you can go from the
bootstrap team me and four orfive other people to just want
to scale Right, and it's likeyou know you're going to be in
the business of scale and it'slike not knowing what that's
really going to come with.
And it can be really hard tofor one, a lot of people don't
(11:05):
even have mentorship.
Some people that's what they'relacking.
It's like who do I go to?
That's not going to judge me.
You know things like that every.
Everything that comes with that.
Being vulnerable is another sideof it, even if you find a
person to lean into.
It's like being honest withokay, like hey, I don't know if
I'm the best at this.
I don't know if I'm reallyplaying in my strengths.
What do I do with that, youknow?
(11:28):
So that's all I kept thinkingabout as you were talking is
like it's the growing pains, andstill they start to show a,
even when I was playing in theamaesthe streaming.
It's like with who I was as aleader in the beginning when it
was five.
Can I be the same person, or doI have to grow and str like is
it going to change?
And not feeling guilty aboutthat.
Have you seen that with clientswhere there's a sense of guilt
(11:50):
as it comes?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
to Absolutely, oh dang.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
I have less time to talk all day with this you know
person that you know works forme or whatever.
Like what are you seeing?
What are some common issuesthat you think leaders are kind
of running into the most?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
That's a big one.
It's like I don't everybodywants a piece of me, right?
Everybody wants time on mycalendar, and, getting to that
place where you can recognizeone, you need to recognize your
own energy sources, right,because you only have so much,
so many resources time, energy,money.
You only have so much, and theone that is not renewable is
time, and so you got to reallybe a good steward of your time.
(12:28):
And so when I talk to peopleabout oh my gosh, you know,
everybody wants to be on mycalendar.
I don't have time on mycalendar.
It's about reframing theconversation.
It's not that you're notavailable.
That's what people are going tofeel.
They're going to feel like, oh,I can't get to her.
You've got to really reframe itand say you know what, because
(12:49):
of where we are in the business,there are some things that I
need to focus on as the founderof this business, because if the
business is healthy, that meansI can do more and more things,
not only for the business butfor you, and so I'm going to.
You'll see my calendar get lessand less available, because
there are some things that I'mdoing.
You're not making any excuses,you're not justifying, you're
not asking for permission.
You are being as transparent asnecessary to help people know
(13:13):
that it's shifting.
And then, when you do havepeople on your calendar, you are
very cognizant of your time.
Are you coming to talk to mebecause there's really something
going on?
Do I have decisions pushed atthe right level?
Because that's what I oftenfind is people are not
comfortable further in theorganization of just making a
decision.
So everything gets pushed up, soa CEO or a founder or the next
(13:35):
person down, or the next persondown they're involved in the
bowels of things that, had theytaken the time right to train,
to engage, to lift somebody up,for their confidence to be able
to do the thing they could thenlift up.
So that's the wholeconversation I have with them is
where should you be operating?
And then how do we design yourorganization including
(13:57):
conversation, training, skillgap analysis, role clarity so
that everyone is operating intheir lane intentionally and
then when you dip down, it'sawareness.
You know you're dipping down,there's a reason you're dipping
down and it is intentional soyou can pull back up.
It doesn't become a habit whereyou just stay there.
So it's really all about that,that comfort zone and that level
(14:19):
of the executive of thatfounder to say, nope, I've got
to operate differently.
I am running a business Like ano choice.
There's no choice right, and ifI want the business to be
healthy, I have to do somethingdifferent.
And then I need to bring mypeople along with me.
But I also need to be okay thatthey're going to be some folks
who aren't okay with that andthey just may not be with me
(14:39):
long term and I will love themas I help them be successful
somewhere else.
Right.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
That is a word I feel like just from what I've seen
from the outside looking in.
It's the decision making partthat I think a lot of people get
stuck on.
It's like, again, as businessesgrow, the decisions become
heavier, as it has more impact.
It's a delegation piece thatyou kind of were hinting at too,
(15:06):
and I think we talked aboutthis when I came on your show
like the power of delegation butletting go.
Sometimes you have that gripand you're just some people that
could be their issue where it'slike hey, you really don't have
the time to sit in all thesemeetings like you used to, and
to be in the weeds and all thedetails of things, and I think
(15:27):
that can be, a hard place tonavigate to is delegation the
idea of controlling what thatmay look like when you're needed
and when you're like you knowwhat they got it, and really
empowering your team to step in.
Because what happens is, if youkeep that control with you too
long, your leaders, even peoplethat are really qualified,
(15:49):
they're going to start by thetime you need them to make a
decision.
They're going to be like yousure, or they're going to be
stepping in their self and thenit's like, oh dang, when you
really need them to step in astep up.
It's going to be a transition.
So I see why it's important tostart that transition early,
when you first bring them on andempowering them to feel good
(16:12):
about like, okay, hey, you knowa lot about this business, I
trust you.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yes, lean into it.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Yes pivot later if we need to.
You know course, correct.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yes, I tell people use the blood on the floor bone
sticking out.
I'm like, if it's blood on thefloor bone sticking out, as the
founder you probably need to beinvolved.
If it's not, that you canprobably fix it right.
Give people a chance to Showyou their genius and if
something goes wrong, know thatyou're resilient enough to fix
it now.
You don't want to do somethingthat's gonna cost you a million
(16:43):
dollars or cost you 10 clientsor whatever that thing is.
That's blood on the floor bonesticking out, right.
But if it's just something'sdelayed or, you know, maybe it's
not as fast or something.
Take a breath, make sure youare being very clear with your
expectations of people.
Train them, do postmortemsright, here's what I expected
and and instead of saying oh,that's wrong, especially if
(17:05):
you're in creative spaces, say,help me understand how you got
to that, because they mayactually have some really great
logic and you may be the onethat changes Right.
Your perspective is like youknow what that makes a whole lot
of sense, yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Mm-hmm.
That's so possible, it's socollaborative.
It's a trust thing, it's abecause when people really feel
that you trust them, you theyreally get in their zone, like
they really start to have funwith it.
That's really that's what youwant ideally you want it is feel
like, okay, I can tap into mybest self, my, my genius, but I
want to switch gears for a bit.
(17:41):
I know we're yeah.
We're on a path, but I want totalk more about you and let's go
back to when you were incorporate.
What was that like?
What did you do?
How long like, take us throughthat, yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Man.
You know I was in corporatealmost 30 years, right?
So I came out of undergrad myundergrad is an accounting so I
came out of undergrad andstarted an oil and gas as an
accountant and, and in hindsightyou know, they hired five of us
new in May, right out of school, and in October they told us oh
sorry, oil and gas business, wegot to let all five of you guys
(18:15):
go, but we want you to staytill April, right?
So first job at a college,first layoff, thought, oh my
gosh, right.
And.
And then I ended up being in inhigh-tech and Still doing some
accounting, but more on the costof counting side.
And that's when I got intointernal audit and really
learned that I had a desire tothink about logistics and how
things moved and and what reallymade things go through
(18:36):
Manufacturing.
I mean, I just loved it.
And then, after my MBA, I wentback into, you know,
manufacturing at first andinternal audit, which, for those
of you who are listening, ifyou're trying to figure out
where you're going or if you'retrying to move somewhere else, a
great place to start anorganization is internal audit
only because and you don'tnecessarily have to be a
financial person, but it'sbecause you get a chance to see
(18:56):
the entire business and how itoperates, because good Internal
audit organizations are allabout being internal consultants
.
That's what they do.
Yeah, here's our processes.
This doesn't seem to be working.
Let's talk about how we coulddo that different, not only from
a compliance perspective, froma speed, efficiency, all those
kind of things.
So I did internal audit.
Then I wound up at Deloitte,which was awesome because that
(19:17):
was right after the in Rondebacle and I know I'm dating
myself, but that was right afterin Ron.
I actually saw in Ron happeneddowntown Houston, saw people
walking out with their boxes Iwas at the one at the time and
and we were, we had started.
You know, risk enterprise, riskmanagement.
That was one of the things thatcame out of that, you know,
with Sarbanes, oxley and all ofthat thing, and you know it was
(19:38):
fantastic.
It was a fantastic opportunity.
But after in Ron and Anderson,I thought I don't want to be a
partner and I was a seniormanager.
I'm like I don't want to be apartner because you're in
business with every otherpartner around the world in the
firm true, yeah, no, and youhave to buy in.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
And and there was just some cultural things around
Professional services at thetime.
That just didn't sit well withme.
And and one thing about myjourney is I've always been in a
place where I've learnedsomething new and that's been
great, but there's always beensomething that said, mmm, it's
time, something, you know,something started feeling wrong
and every time happenedsomething.
Somebody came and asked me Togo somewhere else and so I ended
(20:20):
up going to a casket companyright, it was actually caskets
and medical devices in theIndiana move back to the Midwest
and Was doing enterprise riskmanagement and then was asked by
the head of HR for the casketcompany if I'd ever thought
about HR.
I'm like, absolutely, let's dothis.
And so my first HR job was mesupporting nine 900 people in 91
(20:40):
locations.
I was supporting the or thelogistics organization, so I
know what lean means, right andand it was still in
manufacturing and he is still amentor of mine today.
He's the most phenomenalNominal human and and even
through that, you know, leavingthere, going back to the medical
device company still kind of anHR I just knew I needed to get
(21:01):
home.
And still stayed in HR for awhile and in manufacturing.
But then, when I got to thesenior ranks, I thought you know
, I'm not conflict avoidant atall.
You can't be an HR and beconflict avoidant.
I'm not conflict avoidant atall, but I don't want to be in
constant conflict and there'ssome things that I can tolerate.
(21:22):
I can tolerate Challenges.
I can tolerate gaps inknowledge.
What I can't tolerate is lion.
I can't tolerate lacks ofintegrity.
I can't tolerate rewritinghistory and then telling
everybody else they were wrong.
I can't tolerate saying we wantto hire people because they got
experience and then, when theyget their treatment, I'm like
their experience doesn't matterand their career just started
(21:43):
when they got in the door.
That I can't talk, okay.
And so I just decided this isn'tfor me and I, at December 2016,
I was looking around at myfamily.
I had not slept on a Sunday infive years.
I was traveling 80%.
I'd agreed to 50.
I was traveling 80%.
Both look, both domesticallyand internationally.
(22:05):
And I looked at my family inDecember and I was just
Irritated that people were inthe same room breathing my air.
I mean, it was just and Ithought it was bad.
These are people I love.
Right?
This is my mama.
I am not right.
No, no, no, ma'am, this is notokay.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
And you saw I was wearing on here.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I'm done, I'm done.
Walked in that February to myboss and said in Germany.
And I said I just need to letyou know we were getting ready
to do my performance review,right?
And I said before we go there.
I know they were not expectingI'm out, you've got till May and
I'm done.
And that whole process actuallyended up funding the start of
(22:43):
my company because they panickedthey weren't paying attention,
they wanted me to stay and I'mlike I'm not staying, you can
extend my departure date but I'mnot staying, I am leaving,
right.
And they ended up justextending it till the end of
December and and I was in, Imean I said I'd stay till
December.
I was 100% in.
I didn't sit on the beach tillDecember, I was here, we were
(23:04):
doing a big project.
I was, you know, focused andmaking sure some things were
happening, making sure there wasgood transition when I left.
But it was time.
I knew I could serve bigger, Icould serve broader, I could
continue to speak truth to powerand but I could do it in more
places.
And that's kind of what led meto to the entrepreneurship thing
.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
It was just, it was just time it was just time it
was time, so you left, but didyou know exactly what it was
that you were gonna do?
Or you were like, okay, I'mgonna kind of figure it out.
What did?
Speaker 2 (23:33):
what did that first six months look like Post leave
oh honey, I left like I'mgetting ready to start this
business.
March We'll be up and running.
This ain't no thing.
And that was January 2019, 2018.
2019, I'm like, well, I'm notgoing back to corporate, but we
(23:56):
got to figure this out and Iwill tell you it is now.
I'm in, now you're six, sothank you, jesus.
I have been able to keep thisbusiness moving with a lot of
self-funding right For six years, and it was not until really
2022, kind of that year of 2022,when I did some things in 2022
(24:23):
that I said this is it.
And what is interesting that Iwant your listeners to think
about is what I'm doing now isexactly what I said I was going
to do in January 2018.
When I did the first video formy website, I was like it's four
questions who you are, whereyou are, what you want and what
it takes to get there.
It is strategy and people,whether you're building a
(24:45):
business or building a career.
Right, all of those things Isaid day one yes, I came out of
corporate.
Right, I came out of corporateand so while I had coaches cause
I think every person needs somekind of mentoring coaches I had
coaches that were reallyphenomenal, but they'd been in
the services space, never incorporate.
So while we were saying some ofthe same words, we were meaning
(25:08):
something completely different.
So it gave space for me toallow other people's vision of
what I should be doing, whatservices I should be delivering
to them, become the new strategy.
Without even really thinkingabout it, I'm like, yeah, yeah,
yeah, I need a product.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I need to bedoing you know.
And I'm like I see no, now,finally, this is really it.
(25:33):
So if you're a product person,great.
If you come out of, you knowyour corporate space and you
came out of HR and what youwanna be is an HR consultant,
that is probably easier and aquicker turn.
That's not what I wanted to do.
And so if you are gonna stay inthe space you were in when you
left corporate, one, get anattorney.
(25:54):
Make sure you're looking atyour employment agreement so
you're not gonna run up againstany kind of issues there until
they completely disseminateright, non-compete.
Make sure you're not gonna getyourself in trouble, get an
attorney to look at that.
But if you're doing that, thenyou're probably gonna have a
faster trajectory.
If what your entrepreneurshipjourney desire is different than
what you've been doing for fiveyears, 10 years, 20 years, 30
(26:15):
years in corporate, that's alittle bit longer of a play and
just be okay with that.
Be okay with that.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
No, and I love what you're saying because I think
sometimes we think okay, I'mmaking my leap, I have my plans.
Some people already have itwritten out.
This is the plan, yes, butsometimes it either it's a few
scenarios.
Sometimes you do what you saidyou were gonna do and then it's
like, oh, I'm either not happy,or maybe I need more capital, or
(26:44):
something.
Like it's like a wall comes upwhere it's like oh, okay, maybe
I have to change course, or yougo down another path.
Like you said, people are gonnathrow suggestions at you, even
for me, like after they lay off,people are like oh, do you do
graphic design?
Do you do websites?
Do you do that?
Because you may have touchedthings throughout time.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
But I'm like I don't think I wanna do that.
I already know right now I'mnot gonna be happy doing that,
Right Right.
Y'all are gonna be happy, likewhoever the customer is, but I'm
not and it's just, it's sointeresting.
I think it's just important togive yourself that grace of have
the plan but create a littlewiggle room.
But don't forget you know why,you know your purpose and why
(27:26):
you're doing something, but knowthat it may not be like exact.
What do you think?
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Because you know again, as yousaid, there's some people who
are like crystal clear, andthat's what I talk about.
Get really clear on your vision, right, but your clarity on the
what is different than yourclarity on the how.
The how changes.
Right, make sure your what isclean, the how, will take care
(27:54):
of itself, cause I, for exampleyes, I come off as very
extroverted, right, I've got aradio show, I've got a podcast,
I've got a show on fire side,I've got all these things.
I'm out, I'm speaking, I'mdoing stuff.
I am introverted, I like beingwith just a few people or in my
house.
And I knew because of when Istarted, remember, my business
(28:15):
started in 2018, the COVID hit,you know, the Rona hit in 2020.
And it's all online and all ofthat.
And I didn't have a picture onmy LinkedIn.
My only Facebook page was mypersonal page.
I went on Instagram at all.
None of that.
I just was not a social mediaperson and I still don't love it
.
Right, I'm not.
That's not my jam.
I do it because I need to.
(28:36):
It's under duress at this point, but in 2019, I thought you
know what, laurel, if you're, ifyou're really serious and you
really want this business towork, you've got to be more
visible and I put down anintention in 2019.
I'm going to be more visible in2019.
I got more intentional about mypodcast, cause I started my
podcast in 2018, right, but itdidn't really take off.
(28:58):
Yeah, it's been a long time itdidn't really take off.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
I didn't realize how long you've had it.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Okay, yeah, it didn't really take off until started
in November 2018.
Didn't really take off till 19.
And I got really intentionaland consistent in doing that.
I.
And then I went on a radio show.
Somebody asked me to be on aradio show and from that I got
offered to have my own show.
That I first said, oh no, Idon't know, let me think about
it.
But it was like are you nuts?
Of course you're going to bethe radio show.
(29:23):
So I put the intention outthere, knowing what I needed to.
And now the radio show is threeyears old.
The podcast is going to be fouryears old right In November of
this year.
I've got like more people on myemail list.
I've got people all over theworld listening and tuning in
because I showed up.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
You do Like a lot of people and it's amazing.
Yeah, because I find what yournumbers are.
You were talking about it atthe conference, yeah, so I tell
you, we're sure listeners are upagain.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
So my listenership when I first did it was was
really low.
Now, on listen notes, I'mliking the top 10% on listen
notes of podcasts globally.
I just got a chartable allpodcasts, global reach.
I'm like number 14,000 orsomething out of the millions
and millions.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Right, thank you Lord .
Right, so it's coming.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
I just hit 15,000 downloads on the podcast.
Yes, you know, so it's.
It changes and I think as yousaid it is, it is deciding what
it is you want, what you want,and understanding how it may
come to you and how you getthere may be different and
giving yourself some grace.
That's so important that it mayshift.
It's important to know thatthat's okay.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
But that is so real, whether you know, if you're
listening, whether you're on thecorporate side or the
entrepreneurship side, gettingstuck on that.
How can have you stuck for along time?
Because I remember I just waslike, but this isn't the route
that I had written down.
I thought I was gonna get therethis way, like in this vehicle
(30:57):
that's this model and this colorand this car is supposed to
take me from A to Z, you know,and that pivoting is so
important and just knowing that,as long as your destination is
the same, like you know, if youfeel like no, this is for sure
the destination, this is thepurpose, it's what I'm meant to
do.
You have to really let yourselfkind of go through the motions
(31:20):
of the how, but as long asyou're moving, then technically
it's great.
But I've had another guest andy'all have said something
similar in the sense of thethings that you're doing.
Now it's not the things thatyou set out to do in the sense
of speaking or like that kind ofroute, like or that method to
getting closer to your audiencethan she was saying how she knew
(31:44):
she liked events, so she wasdoing events that she would kind
of kick off things and do thehosting.
People were really gravitatingwhen she would speak so they
wanted her to keep speaking andthey were like, oh, have you
ever thought about writing abook?
Like when you tell your storyhere and there's really Good,
and she's like I never thoughtabout writing a book or have you
ever thought about speaking?
It's like really people.
(32:05):
It's interesting thatdiscernment.
Sometimes people will mentionthings and you have to kind of
figure out what's somethingwhere you're like is this
confirmation I keep hearing thesame right or no?
like I'm just not doing that.
Like I hear y'all but no, andit's crazy how I sang yes
sometimes Can Bring you reallycloser to what you're trying to
(32:28):
do.
It's just not what you expected, or it may be something that
was out of your comfort zone orjust what your bucket list, but
it's like, oh, you know what.
I'm glad I said yes, yes tothis.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
Yes, and that that old saying, you know, luck is
when Preparation meetsopportunity.
Right, and so a friend of mineasked me to be on this radio
show.
She couldn't do it and somebodyneeded a guess, and I was like
sure, and and I was gonna showup, right.
I was like, oh, it's radio,I'll just, I'll just put my
t-shirt on yeah, I was like, no,I've not met these people
(33:00):
before.
Walk into the studio.
Oh, by the way, there's acamera there.
There's a camera there we livefrom, like what it's.
Luckily, I had like, I wasdressed up, I was nice, I was
professional, I was you know allthese things and because I
showed up and decided to beprepared right, I was ready, I
was willing to be there I said,yes, the producer saw something
(33:22):
in me, based on what she waswanting to do with the studio
and where she wanted the studioto go, that made her say you
know what?
I think I need you on the airand and so, being being able,
even if your initial thing is Isoh, I don't know, I had to go
back and be reminded by someoneelse.
Laurel, you said you wanted tobe more visible in 2019 and it's
showing up.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Oh, you're getting what you asked for.
What you asked for it's likeyou don't know, but it's like
what's technically this is stillyou know.
Like that's amazing.
I love Journeys and storieswhere it's like the timing or it
seems like something where whenyou said, yes, you would have
never thought all of this wouldcome after.
It's like okay, I'm gonna dothis one thing, that one Tuesday
(34:05):
or whatever day, and that wasthat like.
So it's always so interestingwhen it's like it opens up this
door.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Or it's like I'm glad I was just supposed to be
visibility for the business,right?
I wasn't talking about being apodcaster, I Was just doing that
.
To get other people to buy myown thing right.
That I didn't want to be reallydoing, but somebody else
convinced me I needed to doRight.
So now I love it.
Now I absolutely love it,because I'm like you.
(34:33):
I love hearing people's storiesRight what their journey is and
how they got there.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Yeah, it's just in the process.
That's really what it is andtrusting that all rows are gonna
lead to where you're trying togo anyways, and being yes.
Okay with that.
So for you so far in yourjourney.
What are you most proud of?
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Oh, you know, at the top of that list is that I am
here six years in.
I am here six years in and itis not perfect.
It's not even close to where Iwant it to be or where I know it
will be.
And I'm still here and I'mstill working and I'm still
moving and I am.
I am clearer now on the peopleI need around me.
(35:18):
Right, it's utilizing theskills that I have.
Because you again you hear yougot a scale.
You got to build your businessin a way that you can scale.
You got to have team.
And if you're going to scale,you got to have team.
And I had to say stop.
Yes, if you want to scale, yougot to have team, because you're
limited by the amount of timeyou can have.
But team doesn't mean W2.
Team can mean I'm going to hireother service providers and
(35:42):
that's going to be a contractualrelationship.
It works great.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
We move on.
That's what we were talkingabout.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
It's the how, and so I am most proud of being able to
still be here and and andknowing it's like like a switch
flipped, like I just I know that, I know that, I know that this
is where I'm supposed to be andthis piece of my business is
going to make an impact.
And I now know and havearticulated and put it out in
(36:09):
the universe and it will not.
It will not if it doesn'thappen, it won't be out of lack
of trying.
Is that my deep Y is thishundred million dollar
foundation that I intend tobuild is going after K through
12 education.
So part of my, part of myprofits is going to fund that
and then I'm coming.
You know, mackenzie Scott, I'msending you a note, right, bill
and Melinda Gates, amazon andT-Mobile and all y'all, we're
(36:32):
going to build this because wehave got to do something about
education, because that is thegreat equalizer.
And we got all this rhetoricabout indoctrination.
With the 1619 project, theindoctrination is happening in K
through 12.
When people like TexasEducation Association take over
the schools in Harris County, wesee you.
We see you Lewis County,diverse County, we see that
(36:55):
right.
And so combating the narrativeand combating the rhetoric is so
important and giving kids,regardless of socioeconomic
status, and access to anexceptional, free, public K
through 12 education.
I feel like if I don't dosomething in that space, I have
not done what God has put me onthis room to do.
And so my first, why?
(37:16):
Let me get these founders towhere they are not writing big
checks, that they are buildingthe businesses that they love
and having people around themthat they love, and these
executives, especiallyexecutives of color, that they
are able to navigate thosespaces.
Let me do that.
That's the, that's the stuffthat I can do in my zone of
genius.
And then let me do that heart,passion work, that social
enterprise work, which is, is isdoing what I can to impact K
(37:38):
through 12 education.
And it took me till this time,right that, five years perparing
to get to year number six, toget good and clear and okay with
.
That's what I'm going to do,and the people that need this
are going to find me if I keepshowing up and I'm like, yes, oh
man, that is such a word.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
I love that because it's like you have your goals
and the things you're after.
That are like on the businessside.
But it's also like, oh, how canI give you?
I have impact.
That's beyond me, that's beyondthe business, like what's the?
If I leave this earth, I wantto make sure I do this.
So I'm just so happy that youknow you share that with us.
I know you're going to reachthat and do that and I'm excited
(38:18):
just to support.
So before we go, I just wantyou to share with everyone.
How can we support you and howcan we find you?
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Awesome.
So you can find me on mywebsite.
So, Laurel Rutledge, all onewordcom and it is going through
a refresh, but there's a pop upright now where you can get on
my mailing list and you'll seeeverything there.
And I'd love to have you on mymailing list for my weekly kind
of emails and updates.
And then the other thing thatyou can do is really support the
, the podcast, go download andlisten to it.
(38:50):
No, listen to the radio show.
That really does make adifference and I want to hear
from you.
Right, If there's something youwant me to talk about, send me
a note.
I'm on social.
I'm either Laurel Kay Rutledgeor I am the Rutledge perspective
on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, all of that.
But again, you can get to me onmy website.
And then the last thing is toto get to me.
If you know of a woman founder,multi seven figure business
(39:12):
owner who's got that tippingpoint, tell her to get on my
website.
Let's just set up a call.
And if I'm not the right personhere's my commitment to all of
you.
If I'm not the right person,I'm okay with that, because it's
not about me, it's about youand I've got a great network so
I can absolutely connect someone.
So know that if you'rereferring someone to me and it's
not a fit, I will make sure todo what's in my power as a
(39:33):
servant leader to get them tosomeone who is.
So if you know that person whoneeds that, you know I am the
chief navigation officer and Ican help you get there with love
and support and with truth.
And then if you are a seniorexecutive, new to the senior
executive ranks, we're going tobe starting that group, that
group session, here soon.
So just get, just connect withme, get on my mailing list and
(39:54):
that's the easiest way.
So go to girlroutledgecom.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Yes, and that's why she is amazing.
As you guys can see, she hassuch a it's genuine, it's
sincere, it's not, hey, give meyour money, let's go which, hey,
I'm off for people getting tothe back Right.
It's just cool when you canfeel it and you can sense of
like, oh, wow, Like whensomeone's really truly aligned,
they're in alignment, they foundtheir purpose and they're doing
(40:19):
the work that they feel led todo.
So I'm just so happy that wehad some time today and that you
were able to just kind of bringus into your world and share
and just take us on that journeyof how you got to where you are
and just the impact that you'remaking.
And it's amazing work and it'sso necessary and it's so needed.
So thank you so much for beingon the Black Directory podcast
(40:41):
and I already know we're goingto talk again soon.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Absolutely.
Thank you so much for having me.
I just this was a blast and weabsolutely have to do it again.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
We will.
We definitely will Thank you.
Thank you for spending sometime with us Enjoying the show.
Be sure to subscribe and leaveus a rating and review Until
next time.
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