January 10, 2025 • 36 mins
The Why Not Today? Podcast - Season 3 - Episode 46, Linda Boosinger, Akros Consulting
In this episode of the Why Not Today podcast, we are joined by Linda Boosinger, Founder & Business Growth Consultant at Akros Consulting. Linda shares her courage journey from a difficult childhood to becoming a serial entrepreneur, business advisor, and project management expert. Having built 14 businesses and 27 revenue streams, Linda now uses her extensive expertise to advise small business owners on diversifying their revenue streams and creating scalable, sellable businesses. She emphasizes the power of taking baby steps and encourages us to see "Why Not Today" not just as a question, but as an incredible opportunity.
The “Why Not Today?” Podcast, hosted by Leslie Kane, showcases individuals who have boldly asked themselves, “Why not today?” and have taken courageous actions. In a heartfelt tribute to her father, Patrick Kane. This podcast serves as a beacon of encouragement, reminding us all that sometimes the most transformative moments begin with a simple question: Why not today?
Contact Linda -
www.AkrosConsulting.com/FITECommunity
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/linda.boosinger
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindapierceboosinger/
Contact Leslie -
Facebook - www.facebook.com/podcastwhynottoday
Instagram - www.instagram.com/whynottodaypodcast
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-kane-3825222/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Why Not Today podcast where we celebrate courage, determination, and the
(00:06):
power of saying, why not today?
I'm your host, Leslie Cain, and in each episode we dive into inspiring stories of individuals
who have taken bold steps, faced their fears, and embraced the possibility of today.
From entrepreneurs to artists, dreamers to doers, we explore the moments when they said
enough waiting, why not today?
Join me as we uncover the heartwarming, the audacious, and the transformative, whether
(00:29):
it's a lifelong passion, overcoming obstacles, or simply choosing joy, or guest share their
journey, and inspire us all.
I started this podcast in honor of my father, my father, Patrick Cain, who often said, why
not today?
And why not today, I feel like, is a movement to encourage and inspire people to live their
life and live it with purpose, joy, courage, and pursue your dreams.
(00:52):
And so I always ask or say, remember, you're just one decision away from changing your
life, or one, as I call them, why not today moments?
And so my guest today is Linda Boosinger.
Did I pronounce that right?
Boosinger.
Boosinger.
Just for your sounds.
Okay.
Boosinger.
So my name is my husband's name, so.
Okay.
So Linda Pierce, Boosinger.
(01:13):
That's right.
So I recently met Linda at a networking event, and she's the sister of Tina Johnson, who
I've had on the podcast a couple times, and I know Tina's backstory.
And so I was curious for Linda's, and I keep popping in, meeting you, and we had a great
call the other day, and I love everything you have that you're doing.
And so I'm excited to hear your story and all your businesses, and you're very creative,
(01:39):
and you sound a lot like me, bounce from here to here, all these ideas.
So Linda, why don't we start with a quick intro of who you are, not your whole life
story and not your courage journey.
I always have to tell people that because I say, don't do it, and then they go off on
this tangent.
And then a fun fact about you, and then we'll get into your courage journey.
Okay.
Well, Linda Boosinger, as we talked about, I'm from, you know, it's kind of the whole
(02:06):
things the courage story, right?
From the hills of Virginia, Lake Lynchburg, grew up in house with no running water, no
heat.
And you're not, for people that are just watching and not, or just listening and not watching,
she's not like a hundred years old.
Yeah, time when they didn't have running water.
Yeah, posture kids.
(02:26):
Yeah, yeah.
That to date, I've created 15 companies and 27 revenue streams.
So quite the...
Yeah.
All right.
So fun fact.
Well, a fun fact is I actually was a private investigator for a year.
Oh, did not know that.
(02:47):
Took a break from corporate, I mean, I have my own business, but all of my clients was
for Fortune 500.
And so kind of took a break from all that and did something completely different.
Okay.
Was it fun?
Did you enjoy it?
Yeah, it was insurance fraud.
It was over $8 million.
So it wasn't, you know, cheating spouses or anything.
(03:11):
I wasn't hiding wishes or anything.
So Linda, what does courage mean to you?
Well, I think it's the old saying everybody says it's, you know, being afraid and doing
it anyway.
You know, it's not knowing what's going to happen and just rolling the dice.
(03:32):
Yeah.
You know, the business starts out with, I want something to happen or I want something
to change and doing what it takes to make that happen.
Right.
Yeah.
And taking the steps.
And as I call them my why not today moments.
That's right.
You made that decision and your life completely changed.
So you've had a journey, lots of courage and why not today moments.
(03:55):
So share maybe your first why not today moment you're remembering your courage as your courage
journey and.
Oh my gosh.
First one I couldn't even tell you.
I mean, I have every day, I think to be honest with you as a business owner, you know, every
day is okay, what do I do now, you know, even going to a networking event is courage for
(04:19):
some people.
It is for me.
Absolutely.
And it's especially courageous.
We're just talking about one point on this evening is courageous to get out of your house
when it's cold even in the morning.
I have to leave.
Right.
Exactly.
Well, whether you're, you know, going from what I call a real job, you know, a payroll
(04:39):
job, when it pays you every week to starting your business or even to branch out or, you
know, do something different and it's, it's all those little steps count.
You know, I have a saying it says even baby steps will get you there.
Just start moving in that direction.
Often talk about on this on the podcast with guests is sometimes people's why not say moment
(05:01):
in their courage is literally getting out of bed some days.
Absolutely.
Yes.
Absolutely.
So, I mean, I think when I was, because I remember being like eight years old, I used
to go outside at night a lot and look up at the sky and the stars and, you know, it's
(05:23):
a big sky and I would see stars over there and I would think, okay, who's living under
those stars?
Who are they?
You know what I mean?
What are they doing?
So, it's always drawn to over there, something different beyond, you know what I mean?
So even at that age, it was, I want to go over on that side of the mountain.
(05:45):
Yes.
Problems being present in the moment.
You always jump into the next thing.
Yeah.
That's the thing.
I'm a creator because I've talked about this today with somebody else like I'm, I'm going
to, I mean, I want to renovation design business.
I own an interior design business.
I do trade shows, trade show and conference business.
Everything I do is creating something.
I help, I specialize in historic preservation.
(06:08):
So, you know, I'm always creating or renovating or restoring or whatever something.
So it's kind of like when an artist creates a piece of art, they don't just stop and then
just dust that one for the rest of their life.
They create another.
That's kind of where I fall off because I create something and then I'm terrible at
(06:28):
maintenance part.
I'm terrible at just living with, you know, so that's when I, on top of everything else,
I buy house, I live in it, I renovate it, I sell it.
I buy house, I live in a renovate site.
Over and over again.
You can board easily.
Yes.
Like I do, like jumping from thing to thing.
I did cut work for a company for 11 years, but I think I had six different positions
in that time.
(06:49):
Oh, wow.
I'm faster than that.
What's next?
That's right.
Right.
And so, you know, everyone's different, but that's, yeah.
So let's talk about your journey.
So you started in the Hills and you were in the foster care system?
Was foster child.
Yeah.
And then some relatives took me for a while and then I moved to Loudoun County when I was
(07:11):
about 15.
So I was here until the late nineties and then I moved to Tampa for family and jobs and
stuff.
I've been in Tampa for 25 years and built several large companies, including a stair
business.
I did that too.
(07:31):
I had that for a long time, been in the construction trade for 30 years and, but still worked up
here too, came up here a lot.
So how did you get the courage to start businesses?
Like when you, did you go, go to college?
Was it after college?
Did you skip college?
(07:52):
Did you start opening businesses?
You know, what was the first step in starting a business?
Or what gave you the inspiration to do that?
Cause it's kind of a scary thing.
Yes.
Yeah.
It is a very scary thing.
And I think it's, honestly, I think it probably like everyone else has started out because
I had kids, you know, having business at home and sort of having, being able to make
(08:13):
your own hours and, you know, that kind of thing.
And again, we had our big stair business corporation that was sort of paying the bills.
So for me, it was starting my own business.
I, our resting connection as I worked for Sterling, well, system center used to be system
center and then it was Sterling software.
Kind of like AOL, kind of like that.
(08:36):
When my son was what, like two and now he's 34.
So that tells me back in the day.
Yeah.
So I was working for them doing software type stuff.
And then we started doing events on the side.
And then that's how I kind of got into events, doing conferences and things for, you know,
(08:56):
for the software company.
And then that rolled into, I ended up working with Dr. Jeff Goldblatt as a professor at
George Washington University and he was doing the Olympics and I was sort of on the committee
for the Olympics in the Atlanta.
And then they were trying to do the Olympics in Florida.
So it kind of took me to Tampa and then I started a celebrities for charity business.
(09:21):
So I took 200 celebrities to Las Vegas, to Los Angeles, to New Orleans, to New York.
The clients were my, that were like the daytime Emmys, the NFL.
These were big.
It was all for charity.
It was all putting celebrities together just to get people to come together to raise money.
So,
So with that, starting all these businesses, so that's a lot of businesses and it takes
(09:42):
a lot of work.
Like how did you, do you just wake up one day and like I'm starting this business?
Like how can we give people courage and hope and help them in their journey if they have
an idea?
Like did you wake up, have an idea and the next day start an LLC or what were your kind
of courage?
Why not say moments and steps and doing this?
Well, even when I first started, I was like, Hey, I want to have an event planning business
(10:06):
that's going to raise money for charity.
That's where I started.
Okay.
Well, how do you raise money for charity?
You got to have celebrities that are there.
The people are going to buy a ticket and come and visit them because that's kind of how
it was back in the day.
Cause you didn't have social media and you couldn't see, right?
So I found the closest event to me that was having some celebrities.
They were daytime stars, soap opera stars back then.
(10:28):
That was a big thing because I already had my NFL guys.
So I went to a, an event that had soap stars.
One of them was standing in line at the buffet.
I walked up and tucked his tag in and said, Oh, your tags in.
I just made it up.
That really didn't happen.
And he was like, Oh, thank you.
And I said, yeah, and then we started talking and I told him about the NFL and my guys and
(10:49):
that thing led to 200 celebrities.
That's just casually say your NFL guys.
So what was that about?
Like this thing.
I mean, I had the NFL was my client and I did Super Bowl parties.
I did at the Super Bowl.
I was in charge of events or an after the actual Super Bowl.
(11:10):
But again, ran into somebody.
I wanted to do this.
I like, okay, I go out and I say, how can I reach those people?
How can I find those people?
So where'd you come?
I want to go back, back, back.
You're diving too far.
Like, how did you like starting a business is scary?
I mean, I've run a business for 30 years, but hitting the button to start the LLC and
(11:30):
then figuring out what I want to do.
So how did you figure out, you know, what you wanted to do?
How did you get started?
How did you ramp it up so quickly?
Yeah, what are some of those steps?
Well, it's time you're going to teach a course on it.
So while you pick, while you're passionate about it, right?
I was passionate about that at the time.
(11:51):
Like I'm passionate about preserving historic properties now.
So I created a restoration design business that does just that.
And then that my passion drives whatever business I'm creating.
And then I'm networking.
So then when you're talking to people about it and you know, you go back and you look
at, you know, because the newest business I launched across consulting is coaching private
(12:16):
clients, small businesses, growing, you know, it's an advisory business to small businesses.
And that came about because you at this age, you know, I'm going to be 60 in two years.
I'm just sitting back thinking, okay, what did I do best at?
You know, even if you're 25 or 35 or 45, you say, what am I good at?
(12:38):
And finding that that you love and that you're good at, even when I'm teaching my clients,
I'm saying, okay, look at everything that you sell, you know, take it down to the core.
What's the one thing that your clients want that you can sell in your sleep?
What's the one thing that comes natural to you?
And focus back down on that because we go all over the place, you know, we start.
(13:00):
And changes, that's the thing.
My past game one thing.
So what is your one thing now?
Helping small business owners create that, you know, I'm writing a book.
It's called from income to empire.
It's making that shift between just creating a paycheck to creating a legacy.
(13:21):
And that's what's like.
That looks like, well, you have to watch my webinar next Wednesday.
It's on the clock to get the whole thing.
But the basically the program at the end of the day is you build partnerships, you know,
I'll give you, I'll give you a little free tip here.
Okay.
Okay.
(13:42):
So the biggest thing that people don't understand when they start a business is they think, okay,
I'm going to start a business and then I'm going to grow it and three, five, 10, 20 years,
I'm going to sell it and then I'm going to retire and live a lovely life.
So what I tell them is, okay, you, there's something called assets, right?
You have your laptop, your phone, your desk, you know, whatever you have, there's a difference
(14:05):
between your assets and that sales price, right?
The sole price at the end of the day.
So all that stuff in the middle, there's an accounting term for that's called goodwill.
Right.
So you have to take yourself out of the situation.
If yes, you have your desk and your phone and your calculator or whatever, but if you're
(14:26):
not in the picture, what's left of the business?
Right.
Most of the time people realize, oh crap, there's nothing left.
There's no business if I'm not there because I'm doing everything.
So that's why I teach people how to create partnerships and how to treat contracts and
understanding that if I'm a hairdresser and the lady in the cubicle next to me is a hairdresser,
(14:52):
and you both have your own business and somebody's trying to buy that business, how are you going
to stand out?
How are you different?
What's going to be different is her client list or her connections that she has with
her vendors or deals that she's made to get certain products that other people can't do.
It's all those extra things that are going to make your business more valuable than the
(15:12):
other one.
Yeah.
And that's what I teach people.
I used to, and my previous career worked in broadcasting, and I literally went to radio
and TV stations when people were selling them to value.
I mean, we valued the equipment, like I could tell you the value of a tower and a microphone
and all those things.
Right.
And then we also did the contracts like Howard Stern's contract, the different contracts
(15:35):
and things, their value and their advertising list and all those things, which are so important.
Oh my gosh.
I have so many funny stories about that, about having celebrities come to our events and
them getting their contract, what they want in their green room.
And sometimes it's just you're getting their contract and they put it in there to see if
(15:59):
you're paying attention.
But sometimes it's things like, can you pick the green marshmallows out of my lucky charms?
Because I don't want them in there.
Anyway, just talking about contracts, when you think about that.
Yeah, little crazy.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So in starting your businesses and through your journey, did you have moments that you
(16:20):
remember like you woke up, you couldn't sleep, you're like, okay, this is an issue.
I need to deal with, you know, it's starting.
Every day.
Yeah.
It's time.
Like that's what it is, keeping you up night.
And what gets you to act where most people roll over or don't sleep?
Well, that's what I...
Where was this modeled?
(16:40):
Like, you know, most people I can point back to, you know, parents were entrepreneurs
or where did you get your entrepreneurial spirit or is it just the fight in you?
I think it's the fight.
I think it's because I see something I want and I need money to buy it.
So that's what makes me driven.
And you get passionate about something.
If something's waking you up in the morning or the middle of the night and you're excited
(17:04):
to get to your desk or your computer to start doing it, working on it, then you're on the
right path.
Right.
And that's really what the key is.
And for me, once I build it, I can move on to something else.
So how do you build from starting?
Because you hear how many people start businesses and then they fail, you know, percentages
(17:24):
are so high or they give up or they quit, you know?
Well, you sort of create the structure, right?
The basic structure of it.
And then you start testing it.
Because, you know, what I teach my clients is I could spend six months or a year creating
the perfect business, the logo, the website, everything I needed to do.
And then you put it out there and then you realize, oh, that's not what people want or
(17:48):
need right now.
Because the economy shifts, which is why I shift, which is why I diversify, which is
one of my classes, how to diversify in your own business.
You sort of like trickle it out there to see what, if people are really trying to buy what
you're trying to sell, maybe you're packaging it the wrong way.
Or maybe, you know, for me, having a business in Tampa where I renovate houses and construction
(18:11):
in the end of that world, I was doing that for a long time.
When I came here to Long County, it didn't fit the right mold.
I put it out there, but instead of customers coming to me or clients coming to me to help
them renovate their house, here builders were coming to me.
General contractors were coming to me and say, hey, we're missing that intro piece.
(18:33):
We're missing that warm and fuzzy piece.
We need you to go meet with the client and help them pick out things and explain how
it works.
And once you get their plan and you get everything done, then come to me as a general contractor.
That is completely different than how it is in Florida.
So it's also territorial.
You know, I already had the package.
It just didn't fit here.
So that meant I had to just shift it and that's okay.
(18:55):
You know.
Yeah.
You've done amazing things and I admire you and all the businesses and the success of
them.
I mean, I'm sure we have a short attention span, that's probably what it really is.
But we'll talk about it one day.
Well, and I'll tell you one thing that I read a quote by Warren Buffett a long time ago
(19:15):
and it has been my motto for life.
And that is, if you're not making money while you sleep, you will work till the day you
die.
So how do you make money while you're asleep?
I understand that.
But for somebody listening, they'll see your business is selling for you.
For example, right?
(19:36):
I have a website at cross consulting.com.
You can become a private client, but on there you can buy my program.
You can, you know, download something that's free on there or you can pay, you know, 2995.
You know, my most of my stuff is free, but you know, there are other websites that have
that they sell things, you know, book or book.
(19:57):
And that's somebody clicking in another country, another state somewhere else in the middle
of the night buying your 1299 is making me money while I sleep.
And it's not that.
Well, another reason, another way is I own a construction company.
I have a partnership with the flooring person, right?
(20:17):
So the flooring person is out there selling.
I never even meet the person.
I never even see the floor until the end of the job.
But that person is, you know, we're working together.
You know what I mean?
So sometimes the, and to me that's making money while I sleep.
It's just putting money into my pocket where I didn't take my time out of my day to do
(20:40):
something good like so many, you know, hours in the day, right?
Yeah, that is so true.
And I was listening to something the other day they were talking about multiple streams
of income and important it is.
And they also said people just starting a business.
You don't have the focus do the multiple streams of income.
You need to get the one started one built.
So what tips did you give for somebody starting a business?
(21:03):
How do you find the people?
How do you get the word out?
How do you, you know, find woke up and want to start a business?
How would you, if you didn't have the connections, your first one, how did you get the word out?
Where'd you find people?
Or how did you connect?
And I know it's changing every day.
To support you or for clients, you mean?
(21:23):
For clients, like how do you grow your business?
Get your word out about your business?
Yeah, well, you, yeah, find out who needs you.
You know, what I always say is, you know, how do you do that?
I was talking yesterday to some people with something.
I was talking numbers, which is one of my things.
And I was going really fast like this, this, this, this.
And they're like, Leslie, you're talking like Charlie Brown.
We can't even hear.
(21:44):
So let's dumb it down.
You know, like if you had somebody couldn't sleep, they had an idea.
They're scared to death to start a business.
They finally come up with maybe, and most people I found in talking to them, where
they start and where they're finishing are completely different.
And so if they just had that idea, that inkling, like, what are those first steps?
(22:05):
How do you get the word out?
How do you grow to be a successful business?
It's also about how are you wording it?
How are you phrasing it?
For example, if I wanted to start a business, I would go online and I would Google what
people are searching and what are the pain points?
And that's what I saw from my small businesses.
That's what I saw from my renovation clients.
(22:27):
It's what, like I'm known as the fire marshal out in the conference and trade show world
because my specialty is coming in at the last minute and putting out a fire.
Like my executive director quit in the middle of the night and our conference is two weeks
out.
What do I do?
And this has happened, by the way.
You know, it, yeah, exactly.
Can you come and fix it or stand in and do it?
(22:48):
Because I've done it for so long.
So I kind of know all that, I mean, whether I'm emptying trash or I'm running the show,
I know all the processes, right?
So that's kind of what that is.
But I did digress, but the, I forgot what we were talking about.
So do you use Google to use AI?
Yeah, sorry, the pain points, yes, the pain points.
(23:09):
That's the thing is you have to find out what your clients pain points are.
So in order to find out what their pain points are, what problem are you going to solve for
them?
So you go on Google and you type in, you know, like if I was doing renovation, where do I
find, how do I get started?
How do I get blueprints?
(23:29):
What's the first thing I do when I want to renovate my house?
How do I reach out to somebody?
How do I find a general, how do I know if a general contractor is giving me the right
price?
Once you find what other people are searching for, and you'll know that because it'll be
at the top of the list of the questions, what their answers are and what the questions
are.
You know how people do it all the time.
(23:50):
What is construction and then it'll finish the sentence for you and whatever sentence
is finishing is the top one in your area, right?
So then when you're doing your marketing material, your website or talking on the phone, you address
those pain points in your marketing material because that means those are the things that
people are trying to find right now.
(24:10):
So you're going to come up on SEO, on Google, and you're going to be, somebody's ears are
going to be perking up.
You know, I go get the grocery store and I'm talking to somebody and somebody else says,
hey, I renovating my bathroom and this thing happened.
What do I do now?
And I love that.
I love when people text me, I'm at the tile store and I don't know how to pick out the
(24:31):
right color ground.
I love that stuff.
You know what I mean?
So that's where you just talking with people and if you start saying those pain points,
this is what I saw for people, they're going to come to you.
They just, oh, I'm thinking about me and that's why I'm asking, digging deeper.
I do these for my own purposes.
You know, why not today start as a podcast and then I start an LLC just not sure where
(24:55):
I'm taking it.
So starting a business with an abstract idea, a phrase like, how would you dig deeper on
that?
I mean, I'm doing some coaching and mastermind and events, got swag and all the things, but
almost feel like I'm going too many places.
Well, because again, step back and because you are predicting what your client wants,
(25:21):
instead of actually letting your client dictate to you what they need.
Yeah.
And I've been there and I've been there.
You're just trying to guess.
Like I want all the pieces in place before I started to like launch the whole thing.
And then you're sort of wasted your time.
You didn't need a 10 page website.
I'm not saying you.
I'm just saying you didn't really need a 10 page website to sell your business.
(25:43):
Because it's about the personal part.
You know what I mean?
You know, so that's why I said to sort of trickle it out, talk to friends, talk to people,
join groups, you know, go on Facebook pages where people do what you do and see what they're
saying.
You don't even have to, you know, be a fly on the wall, you know, join a podcast group
or join a charity group, Facebook page where you can see how they're communicating and
(26:08):
what people are saying.
You know, I was talking to my marketing person today and she said, because I've been pushing
my, you know, my webinars and it's free because it's free for, you know, certain groups for
sure.
But she said, don't use the icons anymore.
Like the, you know, when you're posting about a promo and has like the fire and the check
(26:30):
mark and you know, which I like seeing that.
Right.
I do too.
And she's got my attention.
Well, because she follows the marketing world.
She says those icons, it screams that chat wrote it for you.
That's what people think now.
And it's a big thing.
So now you don't do those anymore.
But because she's in that and she's, you know, on the forums and reading the pages, she's,
(26:53):
that's why she's up on everything.
You know what I mean?
And that's what I do with construction.
I go on and I join, you know, renovations Facebook pages and I read what people are talking
about.
So, never sleep.
I get up at five a.m. because I get too good full hour.
(27:14):
It's the best time to think for me and get more work done because it's seven, 38 o'clock
is when my guys and my crews and construction are on site and they're, you know, getting
the plywood and somebody didn't show up or got the wrong paint color, you know, whatever
the heck is going on, you know, so you're currently renovating a house.
Oh yeah.
We have me living in the house that you're renovating.
(27:35):
I'm well, I'm living in a house that I'm renovating.
Yes.
It's 8,000 square feet of all renovation.
Floods I have multiple jobs in Florida that they're pretty, yeah, that I'm helping the
crews run.
Yeah.
And unfortunately, some of my clients that we just finished their houses last year were
lost their house in the floods when the hurricanes came.
(27:58):
So they are, you know, we're trying to very quickly put their house back together so they
can get home.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, it's, I'm glad.
I'm glad we have the crews and we were able to jump in and get it done.
So and I'm at clients here too, because I have crews here too.
Right.
Yeah.
And I'm excited about.
Yeah, I was going to say all the things you're doing are very exciting.
(28:21):
So how would you, and it was kind of talked around it, but yeah, somebody to say why not
today and do the things.
And I'm thinking of somebody I know that I'd love to connect you with that loves decorating.
She can build stuff.
She's, I'm definitely didn't get, I don't have those genes in my body, but you know,
and she's like, I'd be great at this, but she's working a J O B because she needs that
(28:42):
job and it's scared to try something new.
And so how would you encourage somebody like that?
Yeah, exactly.
Well, if she really loves do it, start doing it for a friend and then promote you did it
for a friend.
You know, social media or share that information and somebody else will speak up and say they
(29:05):
need it.
You know, that's kind of how it's, it's just planting a seed and then it's a good way for
you to find out if you really love it.
Right.
If you like it, you like doing it for yourself.
You know, that's the thing.
I think my biggest regret is not getting a hobby.
And I needed work is my hobby.
I found.
(29:25):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I know you had Sam Horn on recently kudos to you because that was a big catch there.
I didn't realize it until she was on.
Like I didn't know you were such a rock star.
But you know what, I do, I will say one of my superpowers is I'm not afraid to ask.
(29:45):
So what's the worst thing somebody can say is no, and there's in my other career with
Mary Kay, I've known a lot of the super duper top people and invited them to stuff and they've
come people are like, why?
She asked, right?
That's right.
That's right.
Well, you know what, what I've learned is it's kind of like when they say, when's a
good time to have kids and we have six kids and two grandkids, there's no such thing as
(30:08):
the right time to have kids.
So there's never the right time to start your business.
There's never the perfect time.
So just baby steps again, it just.
Why not today?
That's right.
Just on those moments.
Yeah.
Well, when I hear why not today, I think about the times that I've said this isn't the right
moment.
And that's why I'm, I think the perfect moment doesn't exist.
(30:30):
You create it, right?
And I think that's just again, if you're passionate about it, it will drive you.
It really will drive you.
And maybe you're even just passionate about going on that two week cruise that you want
to go on because that's just as much of a driver for me as being passionate about what
(30:52):
I'm doing.
Yeah.
You have to work for it.
Right.
Several years ago, my brother wanted to give my mom a trip to Italy.
He's like, but you know, maybe she'll just go on her own.
I'm like, she's not going by herself.
And he's like, well, who wants to go?
I'm like, I'll go.
And I didn't have the money set aside to go on a trip to Italy.
And we decided at the end of August and we were on the airplane October 1st.
(31:14):
Oh my God.
That's amazing.
Because I have my own business and I know how to hustle and work like I was able to,
you know, and when you have your own business, you have the capability to work a little harder
and make more.
If you're working for somebody else, you're basically on a fixed income unless you're
getting paid commissions that you get paid, which you get paid, whether you work really
(31:35):
hard or slack all day long and don't really do much.
You're still getting paid the same amount.
And you know, and like professions, like teachers, like you can be the best teacher
that ever lived and you're still going to get paid the same as the same teacher that
taught as long as you did.
Well, that's why you do a little bit on nights, a little bit on the weekends and until you
(31:56):
get enough clientele that you can cut back on your hours or part time or, you know, luckily
maybe even quit altogether.
You know, if you have a dream.
But it does take an entrepreneurial mindset.
There are a lot of people that will never own their own business because that's like
they'll never, yeah, and they'll never, and we need all those people, but there's that
(32:18):
don't understand.
I've got a good friend in the teaching world and like our worlds are so different and like
she's like, are you done working?
I'm like, I'm never done working.
Right.
Right.
But, you know, and I love what, you know, people like, Oh, you got to work.
I'm like, Oh, I get to work.
I love what I do.
Right.
Well, I mean, I have a military family.
(32:39):
My husband's 21 and a half years in the Air Force.
And he definitely needs a real job.
I like I said, I call it a real job.
You know, you hit get up and that's the has to go have somewhere to go.
Somebody tell him what to do.
Hey, well, he's used to that.
Yeah.
So yeah, yeah, I'm not, I'm not very employable.
And again, it takes every kind.
(33:02):
Well, I think into the day why not today isn't isn't really a question.
It's an opportunity.
That's what I like.
I'm a lot.
Why not say it's not a question and opportunity.
Opportunity.
Yep.
So true.
So I always try to tie my guest back to my dad and people are like, I never knew your
(33:23):
dad.
And one of the questions is how do you know my dad?
And so as we talk, and I know we've had a conversation before.
And I think a lot of the things that I could tie back is you working in Florida and he
redeveloped St. Petersburg.
He was.
Yes.
He was with all the redevelopment and a lot of the same things that sounds like you're
doing and making a difference.
(33:46):
And you know, he always owned his own company as long as I was alive.
And so, you know, watching that and him developing in different companies.
And he does that.
I mean, St. Pete, everybody wants to live in St. Pete.
Such a cool town.
Yeah, he did a lot of different, you know, we heard him talking about it.
And then as I've gotten older, I've gone to these places.
(34:07):
I'm like, Oh, I was in Rochester.
And I'm like, Oh, yeah, my dad redeveloped worked on the redevelopment of this.
I'm like, Oh, I'm sitting right here.
So it's kind of cool to see that.
Oh, that's because I geek out on economic development.
I know that sounds crazy, but I love that part.
I love, you know, being part of that in the community because I'm on the board of low,
you know, like the local planning agency and the board of adjustment and appeals and, you
(34:30):
know, of course, the chair of historic preservation advisory boards, but that's all city.
It's all growing the city.
It's all observing, but also actually moving forward.
He taught a class at a local middle school and it was called boomtown.
And I don't know if he'd be interested.
I still have a, not even a DVD, a VHS tape of it.
(34:54):
Oh, not a full notebook on all his notes on it, but he would go into school and bring
empty cereal boxes and things and have the kids design a city.
Oh, I love that.
And what should be in here and the jokie shared all the time was one of the kids are like,
so when you get out of college, where are you going to live?
And one kid said, my room.
(35:14):
Yeah, that's why we like it so big.
Yeah, no.
Yeah.
So, but yeah, he did that.
So lots of similarities.
Well, thank you, Linda, for all your insight and ideas and encouragement.
Anything else you'd like to share before we close?
No, I mean, I, I can, you know, if you're not making money, you know, I'm not.
You know, when you're going to bed, you're going to be fine while you sleep, you'll work
(35:35):
to the day you die.
So that's the idea.
Yeah.
I mean, that'll encourage you if nothing else.
Well, thank you for being the guest and sharing all your stories.
And I'm excited about when why not today is going with why not today swag that I am partnering
with nonprofits that if you buy a T shirt or a cup that a person percentage is going
(35:59):
to go to a different nonprofit and we're going to keep switching them up because I am
passionate about that.
So just giving back makes a difference.
So thank you for everybody for listening and joining us on this inspiring journey.
Remember, every day is an opportunity to take action, chase your dreams and make a difference.
So why not today?
Yeah.
Make sure to subscribe, share and keep pushing forward.
(36:19):
You can find everything you need to know about why not today at the why not today podcast.com
and find me on Facebook.
Yeah.
So I will share all your contact information.
I love meeting new people.
Yeah.
Thank you and until next time, everybody stay motivated, keep making things happen and say,
why not today?
Bye.
Thanks.
Welcome to the Why Not Today podcast where we celebrate courage, determination, and the
(00:06):
power of saying, why not today?
I'm your host, Leslie Cain, and in each episode we dive into inspiring stories of individuals
who have taken bold steps, faced their fears, and embraced the possibility of today.
From entrepreneurs to artists, dreamers to doers, we explore the moments when they said
enough waiting, why not today?
Join me as we uncover the heartwarming, the audacious, and the transformative, whether
(00:29):
it's a lifelong passion, overcoming obstacles, or simply choosing joy, or guest share their
journey, and inspire us all.
I started this podcast in honor of my father, my father, Patrick Cain, who often said, why
not today?
And why not today, I feel like, is a movement to encourage and inspire people to live their
life and live it with purpose, joy, courage, and pursue your dreams.
(00:52):
And so I always ask or say, remember, you're just one decision away from changing your
life, or one, as I call them, why not today moments?
And so my guest today is Linda Boosinger.
Did I pronounce that right?
Boosinger.
Boosinger.
Just for your sounds.
Okay.
Boosinger.
So my name is my husband's name, so.
Okay.
So Linda Pierce, Boosinger.
(01:13):
That's right.
So I recently met Linda at a networking event, and she's the sister of Tina Johnson, who
I've had on the podcast a couple times, and I know Tina's backstory.
And so I was curious for Linda's, and I keep popping in, meeting you, and we had a great
call the other day, and I love everything you have that you're doing.
And so I'm excited to hear your story and all your businesses, and you're very creative,
(01:39):
and you sound a lot like me, bounce from here to here, all these ideas.
So Linda, why don't we start with a quick intro of who you are, not your whole life
story and not your courage journey.
I always have to tell people that because I say, don't do it, and then they go off on
this tangent.
And then a fun fact about you, and then we'll get into your courage journey.
Okay.
Well, Linda Boosinger, as we talked about, I'm from, you know, it's kind of the whole
(02:06):
things the courage story, right?
From the hills of Virginia, Lake Lynchburg, grew up in house with no running water, no
heat.
And you're not, for people that are just watching and not, or just listening and not watching,
she's not like a hundred years old.
Yeah, time when they didn't have running water.
Yeah, posture kids.
(02:26):
Yeah, yeah.
That to date, I've created 15 companies and 27 revenue streams.
So quite the...
Yeah.
All right.
So fun fact.
Well, a fun fact is I actually was a private investigator for a year.
Oh, did not know that.
(02:47):
Took a break from corporate, I mean, I have my own business, but all of my clients was
for Fortune 500.
And so kind of took a break from all that and did something completely different.
Okay.
Was it fun?
Did you enjoy it?
Yeah, it was insurance fraud.
It was over $8 million.
So it wasn't, you know, cheating spouses or anything.
(03:11):
I wasn't hiding wishes or anything.
So Linda, what does courage mean to you?
Well, I think it's the old saying everybody says it's, you know, being afraid and doing
it anyway.
You know, it's not knowing what's going to happen and just rolling the dice.
(03:32):
Yeah.
You know, the business starts out with, I want something to happen or I want something
to change and doing what it takes to make that happen.
Right.
Yeah.
And taking the steps.
And as I call them my why not today moments.
That's right.
You made that decision and your life completely changed.
So you've had a journey, lots of courage and why not today moments.
(03:55):
So share maybe your first why not today moment you're remembering your courage as your courage
journey and.
Oh my gosh.
First one I couldn't even tell you.
I mean, I have every day, I think to be honest with you as a business owner, you know, every
day is okay, what do I do now, you know, even going to a networking event is courage for
(04:19):
some people.
It is for me.
Absolutely.
And it's especially courageous.
We're just talking about one point on this evening is courageous to get out of your house
when it's cold even in the morning.
I have to leave.
Right.
Exactly.
Well, whether you're, you know, going from what I call a real job, you know, a payroll
(04:39):
job, when it pays you every week to starting your business or even to branch out or, you
know, do something different and it's, it's all those little steps count.
You know, I have a saying it says even baby steps will get you there.
Just start moving in that direction.
Often talk about on this on the podcast with guests is sometimes people's why not say moment
(05:01):
in their courage is literally getting out of bed some days.
Absolutely.
Yes.
Absolutely.
So, I mean, I think when I was, because I remember being like eight years old, I used
to go outside at night a lot and look up at the sky and the stars and, you know, it's
(05:23):
a big sky and I would see stars over there and I would think, okay, who's living under
those stars?
Who are they?
You know what I mean?
What are they doing?
So, it's always drawn to over there, something different beyond, you know what I mean?
So even at that age, it was, I want to go over on that side of the mountain.
(05:45):
Yes.
Problems being present in the moment.
You always jump into the next thing.
Yeah.
That's the thing.
I'm a creator because I've talked about this today with somebody else like I'm, I'm going
to, I mean, I want to renovation design business.
I own an interior design business.
I do trade shows, trade show and conference business.
Everything I do is creating something.
I help, I specialize in historic preservation.
(06:08):
So, you know, I'm always creating or renovating or restoring or whatever something.
So it's kind of like when an artist creates a piece of art, they don't just stop and then
just dust that one for the rest of their life.
They create another.
That's kind of where I fall off because I create something and then I'm terrible at
(06:28):
maintenance part.
I'm terrible at just living with, you know, so that's when I, on top of everything else,
I buy house, I live in it, I renovate it, I sell it.
I buy house, I live in a renovate site.
Over and over again.
You can board easily.
Yes.
Like I do, like jumping from thing to thing.
I did cut work for a company for 11 years, but I think I had six different positions
in that time.
(06:49):
Oh, wow.
I'm faster than that.
What's next?
That's right.
Right.
And so, you know, everyone's different, but that's, yeah.
So let's talk about your journey.
So you started in the Hills and you were in the foster care system?
Was foster child.
Yeah.
And then some relatives took me for a while and then I moved to Loudoun County when I was
(07:11):
about 15.
So I was here until the late nineties and then I moved to Tampa for family and jobs and
stuff.
I've been in Tampa for 25 years and built several large companies, including a stair
business.
I did that too.
(07:31):
I had that for a long time, been in the construction trade for 30 years and, but still worked up
here too, came up here a lot.
So how did you get the courage to start businesses?
Like when you, did you go, go to college?
Was it after college?
Did you skip college?
(07:52):
Did you start opening businesses?
You know, what was the first step in starting a business?
Or what gave you the inspiration to do that?
Cause it's kind of a scary thing.
Yes.
Yeah.
It is a very scary thing.
And I think it's, honestly, I think it probably like everyone else has started out because
I had kids, you know, having business at home and sort of having, being able to make
(08:13):
your own hours and, you know, that kind of thing.
And again, we had our big stair business corporation that was sort of paying the bills.
So for me, it was starting my own business.
I, our resting connection as I worked for Sterling, well, system center used to be system
center and then it was Sterling software.
Kind of like AOL, kind of like that.
(08:36):
When my son was what, like two and now he's 34.
So that tells me back in the day.
Yeah.
So I was working for them doing software type stuff.
And then we started doing events on the side.
And then that's how I kind of got into events, doing conferences and things for, you know,
(08:56):
for the software company.
And then that rolled into, I ended up working with Dr. Jeff Goldblatt as a professor at
George Washington University and he was doing the Olympics and I was sort of on the committee
for the Olympics in the Atlanta.
And then they were trying to do the Olympics in Florida.
So it kind of took me to Tampa and then I started a celebrities for charity business.
(09:21):
So I took 200 celebrities to Las Vegas, to Los Angeles, to New Orleans, to New York.
The clients were my, that were like the daytime Emmys, the NFL.
These were big.
It was all for charity.
It was all putting celebrities together just to get people to come together to raise money.
So,
So with that, starting all these businesses, so that's a lot of businesses and it takes
(09:42):
a lot of work.
Like how did you, do you just wake up one day and like I'm starting this business?
Like how can we give people courage and hope and help them in their journey if they have
an idea?
Like did you wake up, have an idea and the next day start an LLC or what were your kind
of courage?
Why not say moments and steps and doing this?
Well, even when I first started, I was like, Hey, I want to have an event planning business
(10:06):
that's going to raise money for charity.
That's where I started.
Okay.
Well, how do you raise money for charity?
You got to have celebrities that are there.
The people are going to buy a ticket and come and visit them because that's kind of how
it was back in the day.
Cause you didn't have social media and you couldn't see, right?
So I found the closest event to me that was having some celebrities.
They were daytime stars, soap opera stars back then.
(10:28):
That was a big thing because I already had my NFL guys.
So I went to a, an event that had soap stars.
One of them was standing in line at the buffet.
I walked up and tucked his tag in and said, Oh, your tags in.
I just made it up.
That really didn't happen.
And he was like, Oh, thank you.
And I said, yeah, and then we started talking and I told him about the NFL and my guys and
(10:49):
that thing led to 200 celebrities.
That's just casually say your NFL guys.
So what was that about?
Like this thing.
I mean, I had the NFL was my client and I did Super Bowl parties.
I did at the Super Bowl.
I was in charge of events or an after the actual Super Bowl.
(11:10):
But again, ran into somebody.
I wanted to do this.
I like, okay, I go out and I say, how can I reach those people?
How can I find those people?
So where'd you come?
I want to go back, back, back.
You're diving too far.
Like, how did you like starting a business is scary?
I mean, I've run a business for 30 years, but hitting the button to start the LLC and
(11:30):
then figuring out what I want to do.
So how did you figure out, you know, what you wanted to do?
How did you get started?
How did you ramp it up so quickly?
Yeah, what are some of those steps?
Well, it's time you're going to teach a course on it.
So while you pick, while you're passionate about it, right?
I was passionate about that at the time.
(11:51):
Like I'm passionate about preserving historic properties now.
So I created a restoration design business that does just that.
And then that my passion drives whatever business I'm creating.
And then I'm networking.
So then when you're talking to people about it and you know, you go back and you look
at, you know, because the newest business I launched across consulting is coaching private
(12:16):
clients, small businesses, growing, you know, it's an advisory business to small businesses.
And that came about because you at this age, you know, I'm going to be 60 in two years.
I'm just sitting back thinking, okay, what did I do best at?
You know, even if you're 25 or 35 or 45, you say, what am I good at?
(12:38):
And finding that that you love and that you're good at, even when I'm teaching my clients,
I'm saying, okay, look at everything that you sell, you know, take it down to the core.
What's the one thing that your clients want that you can sell in your sleep?
What's the one thing that comes natural to you?
And focus back down on that because we go all over the place, you know, we start.
(13:00):
And changes, that's the thing.
My past game one thing.
So what is your one thing now?
Helping small business owners create that, you know, I'm writing a book.
It's called from income to empire.
It's making that shift between just creating a paycheck to creating a legacy.
(13:21):
And that's what's like.
That looks like, well, you have to watch my webinar next Wednesday.
It's on the clock to get the whole thing.
But the basically the program at the end of the day is you build partnerships, you know,
I'll give you, I'll give you a little free tip here.
Okay.
Okay.
(13:42):
So the biggest thing that people don't understand when they start a business is they think, okay,
I'm going to start a business and then I'm going to grow it and three, five, 10, 20 years,
I'm going to sell it and then I'm going to retire and live a lovely life.
So what I tell them is, okay, you, there's something called assets, right?
You have your laptop, your phone, your desk, you know, whatever you have, there's a difference
(14:05):
between your assets and that sales price, right?
The sole price at the end of the day.
So all that stuff in the middle, there's an accounting term for that's called goodwill.
Right.
So you have to take yourself out of the situation.
If yes, you have your desk and your phone and your calculator or whatever, but if you're
(14:26):
not in the picture, what's left of the business?
Right.
Most of the time people realize, oh crap, there's nothing left.
There's no business if I'm not there because I'm doing everything.
So that's why I teach people how to create partnerships and how to treat contracts and
understanding that if I'm a hairdresser and the lady in the cubicle next to me is a hairdresser,
(14:52):
and you both have your own business and somebody's trying to buy that business, how are you going
to stand out?
How are you different?
What's going to be different is her client list or her connections that she has with
her vendors or deals that she's made to get certain products that other people can't do.
It's all those extra things that are going to make your business more valuable than the
(15:12):
other one.
Yeah.
And that's what I teach people.
I used to, and my previous career worked in broadcasting, and I literally went to radio
and TV stations when people were selling them to value.
I mean, we valued the equipment, like I could tell you the value of a tower and a microphone
and all those things.
Right.
And then we also did the contracts like Howard Stern's contract, the different contracts
(15:35):
and things, their value and their advertising list and all those things, which are so important.
Oh my gosh.
I have so many funny stories about that, about having celebrities come to our events and
them getting their contract, what they want in their green room.
And sometimes it's just you're getting their contract and they put it in there to see if
(15:59):
you're paying attention.
But sometimes it's things like, can you pick the green marshmallows out of my lucky charms?
Because I don't want them in there.
Anyway, just talking about contracts, when you think about that.
Yeah, little crazy.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So in starting your businesses and through your journey, did you have moments that you
(16:20):
remember like you woke up, you couldn't sleep, you're like, okay, this is an issue.
I need to deal with, you know, it's starting.
Every day.
Yeah.
It's time.
Like that's what it is, keeping you up night.
And what gets you to act where most people roll over or don't sleep?
Well, that's what I...
Where was this modeled?
(16:40):
Like, you know, most people I can point back to, you know, parents were entrepreneurs
or where did you get your entrepreneurial spirit or is it just the fight in you?
I think it's the fight.
I think it's because I see something I want and I need money to buy it.
So that's what makes me driven.
And you get passionate about something.
If something's waking you up in the morning or the middle of the night and you're excited
(17:04):
to get to your desk or your computer to start doing it, working on it, then you're on the
right path.
Right.
And that's really what the key is.
And for me, once I build it, I can move on to something else.
So how do you build from starting?
Because you hear how many people start businesses and then they fail, you know, percentages
(17:24):
are so high or they give up or they quit, you know?
Well, you sort of create the structure, right?
The basic structure of it.
And then you start testing it.
Because, you know, what I teach my clients is I could spend six months or a year creating
the perfect business, the logo, the website, everything I needed to do.
And then you put it out there and then you realize, oh, that's not what people want or
(17:48):
need right now.
Because the economy shifts, which is why I shift, which is why I diversify, which is
one of my classes, how to diversify in your own business.
You sort of like trickle it out there to see what, if people are really trying to buy what
you're trying to sell, maybe you're packaging it the wrong way.
Or maybe, you know, for me, having a business in Tampa where I renovate houses and construction
(18:11):
in the end of that world, I was doing that for a long time.
When I came here to Long County, it didn't fit the right mold.
I put it out there, but instead of customers coming to me or clients coming to me to help
them renovate their house, here builders were coming to me.
General contractors were coming to me and say, hey, we're missing that intro piece.
(18:33):
We're missing that warm and fuzzy piece.
We need you to go meet with the client and help them pick out things and explain how
it works.
And once you get their plan and you get everything done, then come to me as a general contractor.
That is completely different than how it is in Florida.
So it's also territorial.
You know, I already had the package.
It just didn't fit here.
So that meant I had to just shift it and that's okay.
(18:55):
You know.
Yeah.
You've done amazing things and I admire you and all the businesses and the success of
them.
I mean, I'm sure we have a short attention span, that's probably what it really is.
But we'll talk about it one day.
Well, and I'll tell you one thing that I read a quote by Warren Buffett a long time ago
(19:15):
and it has been my motto for life.
And that is, if you're not making money while you sleep, you will work till the day you
die.
So how do you make money while you're asleep?
I understand that.
But for somebody listening, they'll see your business is selling for you.
For example, right?
(19:36):
I have a website at cross consulting.com.
You can become a private client, but on there you can buy my program.
You can, you know, download something that's free on there or you can pay, you know, 2995.
You know, my most of my stuff is free, but you know, there are other websites that have
that they sell things, you know, book or book.
(19:57):
And that's somebody clicking in another country, another state somewhere else in the middle
of the night buying your 1299 is making me money while I sleep.
And it's not that.
Well, another reason, another way is I own a construction company.
I have a partnership with the flooring person, right?
(20:17):
So the flooring person is out there selling.
I never even meet the person.
I never even see the floor until the end of the job.
But that person is, you know, we're working together.
You know what I mean?
So sometimes the, and to me that's making money while I sleep.
It's just putting money into my pocket where I didn't take my time out of my day to do
(20:40):
something good like so many, you know, hours in the day, right?
Yeah, that is so true.
And I was listening to something the other day they were talking about multiple streams
of income and important it is.
And they also said people just starting a business.
You don't have the focus do the multiple streams of income.
You need to get the one started one built.
So what tips did you give for somebody starting a business?
(21:03):
How do you find the people?
How do you get the word out?
How do you, you know, find woke up and want to start a business?
How would you, if you didn't have the connections, your first one, how did you get the word out?
Where'd you find people?
Or how did you connect?
And I know it's changing every day.
To support you or for clients, you mean?
(21:23):
For clients, like how do you grow your business?
Get your word out about your business?
Yeah, well, you, yeah, find out who needs you.
You know, what I always say is, you know, how do you do that?
I was talking yesterday to some people with something.
I was talking numbers, which is one of my things.
And I was going really fast like this, this, this, this.
And they're like, Leslie, you're talking like Charlie Brown.
We can't even hear.
(21:44):
So let's dumb it down.
You know, like if you had somebody couldn't sleep, they had an idea.
They're scared to death to start a business.
They finally come up with maybe, and most people I found in talking to them, where
they start and where they're finishing are completely different.
And so if they just had that idea, that inkling, like, what are those first steps?
(22:05):
How do you get the word out?
How do you grow to be a successful business?
It's also about how are you wording it?
How are you phrasing it?
For example, if I wanted to start a business, I would go online and I would Google what
people are searching and what are the pain points?
And that's what I saw from my small businesses.
That's what I saw from my renovation clients.
(22:27):
It's what, like I'm known as the fire marshal out in the conference and trade show world
because my specialty is coming in at the last minute and putting out a fire.
Like my executive director quit in the middle of the night and our conference is two weeks
out.
What do I do?
And this has happened, by the way.
You know, it, yeah, exactly.
Can you come and fix it or stand in and do it?
(22:48):
Because I've done it for so long.
So I kind of know all that, I mean, whether I'm emptying trash or I'm running the show,
I know all the processes, right?
So that's kind of what that is.
But I did digress, but the, I forgot what we were talking about.
So do you use Google to use AI?
Yeah, sorry, the pain points, yes, the pain points.
(23:09):
That's the thing is you have to find out what your clients pain points are.
So in order to find out what their pain points are, what problem are you going to solve for
them?
So you go on Google and you type in, you know, like if I was doing renovation, where do I
find, how do I get started?
How do I get blueprints?
(23:29):
What's the first thing I do when I want to renovate my house?
How do I reach out to somebody?
How do I find a general, how do I know if a general contractor is giving me the right
price?
Once you find what other people are searching for, and you'll know that because it'll be
at the top of the list of the questions, what their answers are and what the questions
are.
You know how people do it all the time.
(23:50):
What is construction and then it'll finish the sentence for you and whatever sentence
is finishing is the top one in your area, right?
So then when you're doing your marketing material, your website or talking on the phone, you address
those pain points in your marketing material because that means those are the things that
people are trying to find right now.
(24:10):
So you're going to come up on SEO, on Google, and you're going to be, somebody's ears are
going to be perking up.
You know, I go get the grocery store and I'm talking to somebody and somebody else says,
hey, I renovating my bathroom and this thing happened.
What do I do now?
And I love that.
I love when people text me, I'm at the tile store and I don't know how to pick out the
(24:31):
right color ground.
I love that stuff.
You know what I mean?
So that's where you just talking with people and if you start saying those pain points,
this is what I saw for people, they're going to come to you.
They just, oh, I'm thinking about me and that's why I'm asking, digging deeper.
I do these for my own purposes.
You know, why not today start as a podcast and then I start an LLC just not sure where
(24:55):
I'm taking it.
So starting a business with an abstract idea, a phrase like, how would you dig deeper on
that?
I mean, I'm doing some coaching and mastermind and events, got swag and all the things, but
almost feel like I'm going too many places.
Well, because again, step back and because you are predicting what your client wants,
(25:21):
instead of actually letting your client dictate to you what they need.
Yeah.
And I've been there and I've been there.
You're just trying to guess.
Like I want all the pieces in place before I started to like launch the whole thing.
And then you're sort of wasted your time.
You didn't need a 10 page website.
I'm not saying you.
I'm just saying you didn't really need a 10 page website to sell your business.
(25:43):
Because it's about the personal part.
You know what I mean?
You know, so that's why I said to sort of trickle it out, talk to friends, talk to people,
join groups, you know, go on Facebook pages where people do what you do and see what they're
saying.
You don't even have to, you know, be a fly on the wall, you know, join a podcast group
or join a charity group, Facebook page where you can see how they're communicating and
(26:08):
what people are saying.
You know, I was talking to my marketing person today and she said, because I've been pushing
my, you know, my webinars and it's free because it's free for, you know, certain groups for
sure.
But she said, don't use the icons anymore.
Like the, you know, when you're posting about a promo and has like the fire and the check
(26:30):
mark and you know, which I like seeing that.
Right.
I do too.
And she's got my attention.
Well, because she follows the marketing world.
She says those icons, it screams that chat wrote it for you.
That's what people think now.
And it's a big thing.
So now you don't do those anymore.
But because she's in that and she's, you know, on the forums and reading the pages, she's,
(26:53):
that's why she's up on everything.
You know what I mean?
And that's what I do with construction.
I go on and I join, you know, renovations Facebook pages and I read what people are talking
about.
So, never sleep.
I get up at five a.m. because I get too good full hour.
(27:14):
It's the best time to think for me and get more work done because it's seven, 38 o'clock
is when my guys and my crews and construction are on site and they're, you know, getting
the plywood and somebody didn't show up or got the wrong paint color, you know, whatever
the heck is going on, you know, so you're currently renovating a house.
Oh yeah.
We have me living in the house that you're renovating.
(27:35):
I'm well, I'm living in a house that I'm renovating.
Yes.
It's 8,000 square feet of all renovation.
Floods I have multiple jobs in Florida that they're pretty, yeah, that I'm helping the
crews run.
Yeah.
And unfortunately, some of my clients that we just finished their houses last year were
lost their house in the floods when the hurricanes came.
(27:58):
So they are, you know, we're trying to very quickly put their house back together so they
can get home.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, it's, I'm glad.
I'm glad we have the crews and we were able to jump in and get it done.
So and I'm at clients here too, because I have crews here too.
Right.
Yeah.
And I'm excited about.
Yeah, I was going to say all the things you're doing are very exciting.
(28:21):
So how would you, and it was kind of talked around it, but yeah, somebody to say why not
today and do the things.
And I'm thinking of somebody I know that I'd love to connect you with that loves decorating.
She can build stuff.
She's, I'm definitely didn't get, I don't have those genes in my body, but you know,
and she's like, I'd be great at this, but she's working a J O B because she needs that
(28:42):
job and it's scared to try something new.
And so how would you encourage somebody like that?
Yeah, exactly.
Well, if she really loves do it, start doing it for a friend and then promote you did it
for a friend.
You know, social media or share that information and somebody else will speak up and say they
(29:05):
need it.
You know, that's kind of how it's, it's just planting a seed and then it's a good way for
you to find out if you really love it.
Right.
If you like it, you like doing it for yourself.
You know, that's the thing.
I think my biggest regret is not getting a hobby.
And I needed work is my hobby.
I found.
(29:25):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I know you had Sam Horn on recently kudos to you because that was a big catch there.
I didn't realize it until she was on.
Like I didn't know you were such a rock star.
But you know what, I do, I will say one of my superpowers is I'm not afraid to ask.
(29:45):
So what's the worst thing somebody can say is no, and there's in my other career with
Mary Kay, I've known a lot of the super duper top people and invited them to stuff and they've
come people are like, why?
She asked, right?
That's right.
That's right.
Well, you know what, what I've learned is it's kind of like when they say, when's a
good time to have kids and we have six kids and two grandkids, there's no such thing as
(30:08):
the right time to have kids.
So there's never the right time to start your business.
There's never the perfect time.
So just baby steps again, it just.
Why not today?
That's right.
Just on those moments.
Yeah.
Well, when I hear why not today, I think about the times that I've said this isn't the right
moment.
And that's why I'm, I think the perfect moment doesn't exist.
(30:30):
You create it, right?
And I think that's just again, if you're passionate about it, it will drive you.
It really will drive you.
And maybe you're even just passionate about going on that two week cruise that you want
to go on because that's just as much of a driver for me as being passionate about what
(30:52):
I'm doing.
Yeah.
You have to work for it.
Right.
Several years ago, my brother wanted to give my mom a trip to Italy.
He's like, but you know, maybe she'll just go on her own.
I'm like, she's not going by herself.
And he's like, well, who wants to go?
I'm like, I'll go.
And I didn't have the money set aside to go on a trip to Italy.
And we decided at the end of August and we were on the airplane October 1st.
(31:14):
Oh my God.
That's amazing.
Because I have my own business and I know how to hustle and work like I was able to,
you know, and when you have your own business, you have the capability to work a little harder
and make more.
If you're working for somebody else, you're basically on a fixed income unless you're
getting paid commissions that you get paid, which you get paid, whether you work really
(31:35):
hard or slack all day long and don't really do much.
You're still getting paid the same amount.
And you know, and like professions, like teachers, like you can be the best teacher
that ever lived and you're still going to get paid the same as the same teacher that
taught as long as you did.
Well, that's why you do a little bit on nights, a little bit on the weekends and until you
(31:56):
get enough clientele that you can cut back on your hours or part time or, you know, luckily
maybe even quit altogether.
You know, if you have a dream.
But it does take an entrepreneurial mindset.
There are a lot of people that will never own their own business because that's like
they'll never, yeah, and they'll never, and we need all those people, but there's that
(32:18):
don't understand.
I've got a good friend in the teaching world and like our worlds are so different and like
she's like, are you done working?
I'm like, I'm never done working.
Right.
Right.
But, you know, and I love what, you know, people like, Oh, you got to work.
I'm like, Oh, I get to work.
I love what I do.
Right.
Well, I mean, I have a military family.
(32:39):
My husband's 21 and a half years in the Air Force.
And he definitely needs a real job.
I like I said, I call it a real job.
You know, you hit get up and that's the has to go have somewhere to go.
Somebody tell him what to do.
Hey, well, he's used to that.
Yeah.
So yeah, yeah, I'm not, I'm not very employable.
And again, it takes every kind.
(33:02):
Well, I think into the day why not today isn't isn't really a question.
It's an opportunity.
That's what I like.
I'm a lot.
Why not say it's not a question and opportunity.
Opportunity.
Yep.
So true.
So I always try to tie my guest back to my dad and people are like, I never knew your
(33:23):
dad.
And one of the questions is how do you know my dad?
And so as we talk, and I know we've had a conversation before.
And I think a lot of the things that I could tie back is you working in Florida and he
redeveloped St. Petersburg.
He was.
Yes.
He was with all the redevelopment and a lot of the same things that sounds like you're
doing and making a difference.
(33:46):
And you know, he always owned his own company as long as I was alive.
And so, you know, watching that and him developing in different companies.
And he does that.
I mean, St. Pete, everybody wants to live in St. Pete.
Such a cool town.
Yeah, he did a lot of different, you know, we heard him talking about it.
And then as I've gotten older, I've gone to these places.
(34:07):
I'm like, Oh, I was in Rochester.
And I'm like, Oh, yeah, my dad redeveloped worked on the redevelopment of this.
I'm like, Oh, I'm sitting right here.
So it's kind of cool to see that.
Oh, that's because I geek out on economic development.
I know that sounds crazy, but I love that part.
I love, you know, being part of that in the community because I'm on the board of low,
you know, like the local planning agency and the board of adjustment and appeals and, you
(34:30):
know, of course, the chair of historic preservation advisory boards, but that's all city.
It's all growing the city.
It's all observing, but also actually moving forward.
He taught a class at a local middle school and it was called boomtown.
And I don't know if he'd be interested.
I still have a, not even a DVD, a VHS tape of it.
(34:54):
Oh, not a full notebook on all his notes on it, but he would go into school and bring
empty cereal boxes and things and have the kids design a city.
Oh, I love that.
And what should be in here and the jokie shared all the time was one of the kids are like,
so when you get out of college, where are you going to live?
And one kid said, my room.
(35:14):
Yeah, that's why we like it so big.
Yeah, no.
Yeah.
So, but yeah, he did that.
So lots of similarities.
Well, thank you, Linda, for all your insight and ideas and encouragement.
Anything else you'd like to share before we close?
No, I mean, I, I can, you know, if you're not making money, you know, I'm not.
You know, when you're going to bed, you're going to be fine while you sleep, you'll work
(35:35):
to the day you die.
So that's the idea.
Yeah.
I mean, that'll encourage you if nothing else.
Well, thank you for being the guest and sharing all your stories.
And I'm excited about when why not today is going with why not today swag that I am partnering
with nonprofits that if you buy a T shirt or a cup that a person percentage is going
(35:59):
to go to a different nonprofit and we're going to keep switching them up because I am
passionate about that.
So just giving back makes a difference.
So thank you for everybody for listening and joining us on this inspiring journey.
Remember, every day is an opportunity to take action, chase your dreams and make a difference.
So why not today?
Yeah.
Make sure to subscribe, share and keep pushing forward.
(36:19):
You can find everything you need to know about why not today at the why not today podcast.com
and find me on Facebook.
Yeah.
So I will share all your contact information.
I love meeting new people.
Yeah.
Thank you and until next time, everybody stay motivated, keep making things happen and say,
why not today?
Bye.
Thanks.
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