February 21, 2025 • 34 mins
“I want to be great at what I do”
This week on the YMI Talking Podcast, we sat down with Catherine Garrity-Frans from Compass Point Consulting. Catherine (a Lehigh Valley native), shares how her competitive nature and determination has fueled her success.
Tune in to hear how that relentless drive powered her success and shaped her journey.
Get inspired! Episode is live!
For more info on YMI insurance visit our website at ymiagency.com
Or give us a call at 610-868-8762 to see how we can better protect your business and family.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
So I work for a firmcalled Compass Point Consulting.
So like Jimi said, we workwith family businesses.
And primarilywe work on the family,
the businessand the strategy. Right.
So all three domainsis what we call them.
They all have to work togetherin order
to have a successful familybusiness, just like, you know.
So, so anyway, we,we meet our clients
(00:22):
where they're at, right?
So we might meet a clientand they might not need
as much of the leadership work,but they might need to help
plan their transitionor their next chapter
or whatever it may be.
So, it's differentfrom what I was doing before.
Obviously, I'mno longer in a hospital,
but it's still people.
And you're still, you know,you're still getting
(00:44):
to talk to people,learn their stories.
And this is a wholedifferent game
of feeling fulfillmentfrom families like you're we're
helping families make family,make their family business work.
And, that's areally encouraging thing.
Welcome to Why Am I Talkinga podcast where the guests are
(01:05):
so good?
You'll wonder whythe host is even talking.
In each episode, you will hearone of the leaders
of the Lehigh Valleysvibrant business hub.
They will tell you the keysto their success,
the mistakes they've made,and what they have
in store for the future.
Here is the host ofWhy Am I Talking from
why am I insurance?
Jimi Honochick.
(01:30):
Right.
That is me, Jimi Honochick.
And this is another.
Why am I talking?
But this isa new way of doing it.
Noelle, you are here.
I am here, and I am new.
You are.
We introduced you,I think, in the
last episode. Yes.
So people have an ideaof what to expect?
Yes, I know whatI look like. Yes.
But you havebeen an awesome addition.
(01:51):
Thank you.
You've been here,what, three weeks? Yeah.
And, you have helpedkeep me, grounded,
which is nice. I try.
I tell anyonewho steps into that role, like,
you have to manage upbecause you have to manage me.
You have to figure outhow to do that.
And you've done a very good job.
No, you have been greatat being managed.
So thank you for that.
(02:13):
But, you know, the contenthas been awesome.
And kind of like this episode,the content is awesome.
Yes.
It was, it was amazing.
She was great.
Yeah.
Catherine, just is someone whoI feel like enters a room
and you can feel her presence.
Yeah.
She's very warm and personable,and I feel like
I could talk to her for a while.
Yeah, yeah, we did talk to her.
(02:34):
I know, Iliterally said I was like,
I'm bummedthat this episode's ending.
I know I was upset, too.
I was like an adviceepisode for me.
I was just listeningto what she was saying.
Yeah, yeah.
It is like for someonelike yourself
looking to get into sales, it isbasically a perfect
episode for that.
It was perfect. Yeah, yeah.
She she walked the walkand talk the talk and,
(02:54):
we really like it about her.
Yeah. She's wonderful.
Yeah.
So maybe we should dive into it,I think so. Awesome.
All right, well,without any further ado,
we are now goinglive with Cathrie...
Not her name,Catherine Garrity-Franz.
Yes.
All right,I got it right that time.
You did.
We'll see. You all right?
Live? Yeah.
All right, all right.
See you. Bye bye.
(03:20):
All right.
We are here with an episodethat I know
is going to be fantastic.
You can feel the energyas soon as she
comes into the room.
And this is going to be great.
Catherine Garrity-Franzfrom compass Point Consulting,
thank you so muchfor coming here.
I cannot waitto dive into this episode.
Thank you.
Thanks so much for having me.
I'm excited to be here.
Your career has been, nothingshort of impressive.
(03:41):
So I want to start there.
Because we willget to Compass Point.
There's a lot totalk about there.
But I just feel likepeople should know
where you're coming from.
So walk us throughhow you got to where you are.
Yeah, absolutely.
So, I grew up inthe Lehigh Valley,
went to Emaus High Schoolfrom there.
(04:01):
I went to Bloomsburg University,which is not too, too far away.
Did you love Bloomsburg?
I did, but I did notwhen I was viewing it
like touring it.
I definitely it was not myfirst choice, but,
but the tennis coach,I met him and I was like,
I need to go here. So.
And then I fell in lovewith the campus
and kind of gave me a whole newappreciation for it.
(04:24):
But it definitely,it surprised me
because it was not onthe top of my list. Yeah.
Yeah.
So I went to Bloomsburgand from college,
when I started out,I really didn't.
I didn't know whatI wanted to do.
I went for I applied forspeech pathology, very different
from the business world.
Yeah.
(04:44):
And then I switched to business.
Like, right when I started,my tennis coach asked me,
oh, why speech pathology?
I'm like, I really don't know.
And then switched to business.
And again, like, there'sjust so many avenues
to go business.
I'm like, what do I want to do?
I started I did an internshipat Olympus and it was in the IT
(05:06):
department, and I hated it.
Yeah.
Like I can't sit at a deskall day, so I knew I didn't
want to do that.
And then from there,my next internship was at Uline
Shipping Supplies,and I was in sales,
and I loved it.
Did not expect to love it.
Like, this is going to be great.
Like, this is what I want to do.
So, anyway, I accepted a jobthere post-college
(05:30):
and then ended up,getting an opportunity
at B Broad Medical,for medical device sales
and ended upsearching my mind and, packed up
and moved to Florida.
And yeah, I worked for B broadfor a couple of years.
Great experience.
Learned a ton. I, I moved whenI moved down to Florida.
(05:52):
I was a sales associate,and then I got a full time
territory in DC.
So that's where I continuemy career there.
And I'm sure you knew a lotabout medical devices
going into that.
No, a whole lot of none.
So how do you make that?
Like, is it fake ittil you make it?
Like, what did you do to reallyget yourself comfortable
to sell medical devices?
(06:13):
Yeah.
So, I definitely underestimatedhow hard it would be.
So obviously I had a bitof a business background
from what you learn in college.
And then so I started out,everyone says, oh,
you don't need to knowanything about med device.
You know, you just go inand they teach you everything
you need to know,which is absolutely true.
Yeah, but it's still a lot.
(06:33):
Yeah.
It's still a lot to to learn.
I remember my firstcouple weeks of training.
I'm like, I'mnot going to make it.
I just bought my eyes outall the time.
My parents are like, oh.
This is not good.
And are you in Floridaat this point?
Yes.
So yeah, separatefrom everything you know
and love. Yes.
Just plunged into the deep end.
Yeah.
Plunge into the deep end.
(06:55):
My now husband,but boyfriend at the time,
he was in upstate New York,so we were doing long distance.
So that was a wholenother element.
And, yeah, it was,it was tough, but,
but I met some great peopledown there that really helped me
and, get comfortable and and,yeah, guided me along the way.
So you were telling meabout, an experience,
which I guessis like the final for B
(07:17):
Bron, right where you go throughand you have to do your final.
Tell us a littlebit about that experience
and kind of how that shaped you.
Yeah.
So that one was actuallyat my more recent job.
So I worked for B Bronfor four years.
And then I transitioned toBoston Scientific,
which was a similar roleof selling medical devices
in a different space.
But but anyway, we had to dolike a final week of training.
(07:42):
And in that week,they had this thing
called the hotseat.
And at any pointthey can call you up,
like in front of the classand all the trainers
and put you on this hotseat.
So unfortunately,I got put on hotseat.
I think it was, I went,I think it was Thursday
or Friday.
It was one of the lastdays. Yeah.
So I had like made itthrough the whole week
(08:03):
without gettingon this stupid seat.
And anyway, I got put on itand I bombed it.
It was a role play on.
It was a doctor,and I had to sell it to him
and basically walk him throughwhat to do,
and I, I just did awful.
So I sat downand like everyone in the
room, knew it was awful.
(08:25):
I know it was awful.
I sat down, I'm like again,holding back my tears,
like, don't cry, don't cry,I didn't cry.
But, you know, they very nicelysaid, okay.
Yeah.
Like, what do we learnfrom that?
You know, and and I'mjust sitting there
mortified. Yeah.
And then they said, okay, doesdoes anyone want to come up
(08:45):
and do it again?
I don't know what came over me,but I shot my hand up.
I'm like, I'mgoing to go again. Yeah.
And then I'm walking up.
I'm like, what am I doing?
I don't even know what to saydifferently than
when he did last time.
And and anyway, so I went again.
It was better thanthe first time.
It still wasn't great.
But in that moment, I,I ended up the
(09:08):
one of the main trainersthat was there.
He was presenting at a meetinglike a company wide meeting.
We had a couple weeks later,and he had given me
a shout out on stage,and I remember like,
that was the first timeI realized like, wow.
Like I really didsomething that I never
would have donea couple of years ago,
even though I failed,honestly failed twice.
(09:29):
But, it was the first timewhere I was like, wow.
Like, I've really grownas a professional
and it's okay to mess up.
And like we just saidbefore, like you fake it til you
make it.
You know, I think the biggestthing about that industry is
you have patientslives on the table
that you can't lie. Right.
So as much as fake ittil you make it,
(09:51):
is is the motto.
It also has to be like,if you don't know
the answer, just sayyou don't know the answer
and then you know,continue from there
and go find out the answer.
Yeah. So yeah.
So I'm getting, I don't know ifwhat the word is like
true bravery out of youlike to pack up
and go to Florida, right?
With no support system,no family,
(10:13):
and launch into a careeryou knew nothing about.
And then to goback on the hotseat, right?
Like you could have easilysaid, nah,
that was a bad experienceand I never want
to do that again.
But you didn't likewhere does that come from
that any bravery or ability toto conquer goals like that?
Yeah, I thinkhonestly my, my upbringing,
which I'm sure we'll talka little bit about, but,
(10:35):
I grew up with three olderbrothers, so I think,
that definitely,made me a little bit tough.
Right.
And just, you know,I love my brothers
to death, but, you know,you say things and
boys are different than girls.
Even though some of my friendswho have sisters, I'm like,
oh, I could never,could never do that.
(10:56):
So it goes both ways.
But, but yeah, I don't know.
I think just a matter of like,knowing who I am and and wanting
wanting people to see mein the way I can see myself.
And, I'm really competitive.
You really don't want to lose,anyone listening that knows me
is probably like, yeah. Oh.
(11:17):
But anyway, I, I really, I,I pride myself on that, and I,
I want to begreat at what I do, so.
Yeah, let's let'sgo to your upbringing,
Lehigh Valley born and raised.
Tell us kind of what yourfamily situation was like
and kind of what shaped youinto being this person.
Yeah.
So, I grew upin the Lehigh Valley,
(11:37):
like you said.
I went to Saint Thomas Moore.
So I have three older brothers.
My oldest brother is15 years older than me.
And then my othertwo brothers are, two years
and four years older than me.
So essentially, when I was born,there were four
of us in the house.
And then my older brotherobviously moved out
like soon after,a couple of years after,
(12:00):
but anyway,so house was chaotic.
My dad at the time was travelinga ton for work.
My mom was a stay at home mom.
My dad was like, always.
He had a great systemwhere he would always
be back on the weekendsand he would be back
like throughout the weeks, too.
But he did travel like, a decentamount for his work.
And anyways, I went to SaintThomas Moore
(12:21):
for my whole kindergartenthrough eighth grade
and I loved it.
And then I went to Emaushigh school and I'm like,
what is this?
Which I absolutely loved.
High school, unpopular opinion.
I feel like most people hatehigh school, but,
but I loved it.
And it was that was truly likemy step into the world.
(12:43):
I feel likethat was the first time
I've ever,there's the diversity,
the people, the language,the everything.
Like, I justyou're very sheltered
in an environmentthat you've grown up
in your whole life,and then all of a sudden
you're in a class with,you know, 30 other people
and then a larger classof 600 or 700 people.
(13:07):
And it's just it wasso, so different.
And I really feel like thatshaped me to who I am.
I really learnedmy love of people
and getting to know peopleand different types of people
when I was there.
And, I got reallyinto sports and, yeah, I just,
I loved it, so.
And let's talk about sports.
So tennis was your big one?
(13:28):
Yes. Tennis was my big one.
Did you playall of the sports now?
I, I sat bench for basketball.
Oh, I was a bench sitter too.
I was really good at it.
Yeah, I was really good at it.
So I'm pretty tall.
So everyone expected meto be good,
but I was, I was not,but I loved
I loved basketball, like,I loved watching basketball.
(13:48):
You know, I was I was onfreshman team, obviously.
And they're you're pretty good.
And then oncethe year started to go out,
I'm like, okay,I'm not good. Anymore.
Because the competitionthere is is next level
and the peopleare next level. And, yeah,
I feel like high schooltaught me how to lose
because I wasn'tI was no longer the best.
(14:08):
Whereas at Saint Thomas MooreI was the tallest.
I was, you know,I was always starter.
Tennis is different, right?
Because you didn'thave that in grade school.
But, you know, I was playing,playing at the clubs and stuff
and doing things like that,but yeah,
then you go to high schooland you realize, like, wow,
people are reallygood at sports.
Yeah.
But you were good enoughthen to take tennis to college.
(14:30):
Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
Which was awesome.
So I was super fortunatefor that.
I reallywhen I realized basketball,
you know, was notgoing to be in my future,
I still played,but I really focused on
tennis and, Yeah, I,I ended up meeting
the tennis coachat Bloomsburg about,
I think it was a yearbefore I graduated.
(14:51):
So my junior year, and Ireally, really liked him.
I got to meet some of the team.
He was at a local event.
They were doinga fundraiser at West End.
And, anyway, so I met him thereand I was like, oh,
I keep you really coolto play in college.
And he asked meto send him some tape.
So then I startedapplying to schools for,
for tennis and, yeah.
And then I got toplay in college,
(15:11):
which was incredible.
And, yeah, I feel like mycollege experience
wouldn't have been the samewithout that. Yeah.
And yeah, I it's almost chickenor egg like, are you competitive
because you played sportsor were you drawn to sports
because of howcompetitive you are?
That's a great question.
I, I, I think I like sportsbecause I'm competitive.
(15:32):
Yeah.
Yeah, I, I just, I love it,I love, I love to yell at a TV,
I love to yellwhere I'm at. It's great.
So, so sales iskind of the perfect,
you know, rolefor someone like that
in your current role.
Let's talk about,you know, Compass
Point a little bit. Yeah.
You know it is familyconsulting for family
(15:54):
businesses right.
Give us a littlejust broad brush sort
of what you guys do.
Yeah. Absolutely.
So I work for a firmcalled Compass Point Consulting.
So like Jimi said we workwith family businesses.
And primarilywe work on the family.
The businessand the strategy. Right.
So all three domainsis what we call them.
They all have to work togetherin order
(16:16):
to have a successful familybusiness, just like, you know,
so, so anyway, we,we meet our clients
where they're at, right?
So we might be at a clientand they might not need
as much of the leadership work,but they might need to help plan
their transitionor their next chapter
or whatever it may be.
So, it's differentfrom what I was doing before.
(16:38):
Obviously, I'mno longer in a hospital,
but it's still people.
And you're still, you know,you're still getting
to talk to people,learn their stories.
And this is a wholedifferent game of feeling
fulfillment from familieslike you're we're helping
families make familymake their family business work.
(16:58):
And, that'sa really encouraging thing.
So how did you findthe transition
going from medical devicesales to this family
consulting that is, you know,not a 180, but it
definitely a transition.
How did that go for you?
Yes, it'sdefinitely a transition.
So full disclosure,my dad owns Compass Point.
So we are a family businessof our own.
(17:19):
And, I really did not haveworking for Compass
Point on my radar.
But in 2020, I was living in DC,and with the shutdowns,
I decided to,come home for a week,
which ended up being much longerthan a week.
And in that time, I wasI was living with my mom
and dad, and, I justwe started having
(17:42):
great conversations aroundCompass Point
and what he was doingand the clients that he had
and the friendsthat he was making
because, like, his friends arehis clients, right. And,
anyway, in that time,I was listening to him
on calls, lots and lotsand lots of zoom calls,
and just realized, like, wow,this would be really cool
(18:03):
to do someday.
So we started talking about,the opportunity
to maybe come work for himsomeday.
Again was not on the radarat that time,
but kind of started talkingabout a timeline of some sort
and it actuallywas a couple of years from now
and then, I sold himto hire me sooner.
Oh, right.
(18:23):
So, I, you know.
Your sales background exact.
Yeah.
He told me to get into sales,so there we go.
But anyway, so he,he wants to retire
at a certain age, and it's,you know,
several years from now.
But he had that age in mind,and the opportunity for me
wasn't going to be for anothercouple of years.
(18:44):
And then I startedthinking like, wait a minute,
but you're the person who Iwant to learn
everything from and,and really, like experience
being a familybusiness together.
So that's how I sold him on,on starting a little bit sooner.
So, anyway, it's it'sbeen an awesome
transition, differentfrom what I was doing
before, like I said.
(19:05):
But also, I've learned a tonand I'm continuing
to learn a ton,and the people that I work
with are amazing, like,just so helpful and smart
and willingto lend a helping hand
no matter what and teach me.
And, that's something thatI didn't necessarily
always experience with peoplein the corporate world.
(19:27):
It's much more like, you know,you kind of fend for yourself
and yeah, people help youalong the way. Absolutely.
But this feel of workingfor a family business
consulting firm, like,we feel like
a family of our own.
And I strongly believein that and
and believe that. Yeah.
And I mean, your dadis everywhere
(19:48):
and knows everybody,but you know, that's
that's one partof running a business.
But what I have always foundinteresting with him is
you came in hereand articulated the vision
and the missionof Compass Point so well,
and I think your dadhas done that right.
Like that's his strategy.
And and he'svery thoughtful about it.
Absolutely.
And I thinkthat probably carries
(20:09):
through to yourguys, clients like you
bring this real thoughtfulnessto your clients
and the approach there.
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, my dadbelieves in family
more than anything else, right?
And that's what we tellour clients like that's why
we do what we do iswe believe in family.
You know, every family hasits challenges.
And our jobis that we want to help
(20:31):
things work like, right.
We want we want things.
We want businesses to grow.
We want them to thrive.
You know, 90% of the businessesin the United States
are family owned. And,you know, we want
we want to continue thatand help people along the way.
So and you, you must bein the right place
because, you know,before we do this,
I ask you a bunch of questionsand the theme
(20:53):
through all of themwas family, family,
family, family.
And, you know,talking about your family
and your upbringing,talking about starting a family,
and your goals there.
And it's justclearly kind of the heart
of what you do.
So congrats, I think, onfinding the right place for you.
Does it feel like you'vefound your home?
It really does.
You know, it sounds so cliche,but I, I really
(21:16):
do feel like that.
And I told somebodythe other day, I'm like,
I feel like I am where I belong,and I really,
I really love family.
I love my own family.
I love the family I'm creatingwith my husband, and I,
I love other people's families.
Like I told you,I love seeing, like,
your family at Disneyworld.
I'm like, this is so great.
Like, it just that brings meso much happiness.
(21:38):
And, yeah.
So it's it'sfun to be living that out
each day. Yeah.
I want to get back to salesa little bit, because it's,
you know, such a hot topic for,for people, for listeners.
Just advice that you might give,you know, to someone either
starting out in sales or someonewho wants to kick up
their sales, abilities, like,what have you found
(21:58):
to be successful in those roles?
Yeah, I, I personallyhave found that being myself
has helped mebe successful, right?
I mean, if I walk into a roomand I'm not myself, which,
to be completely honestwith you, when I first started,
I think I was trying to besomebody that I wasn't
and I wasn'tsuper successful with it.
(22:20):
Right.
That's whyI was an associate, right?
To try to figure out, like,okay, you go mess up a few times
and then we'll give youthe big accounts.
But I learned so muchin that time
about like, who I was.
And, and then the salescome with it, right?
Like you, you work hardand sales is tough, right?
Like you, you're told noso many times.
And I feel like at a young age,young being out of college
(22:43):
and just, you know,having to be okay
with being denied constantly,that's a really tough thing.
And it's a tough place to be.
But your resiliencethat you grow over time
and then when you get the win,like my competitive self.
Right, I'm like, oh my gosh,this is amazing.
Like I love this feeling.
So I think sales is such afulfilling thing.
(23:03):
Obviously there's thefinancial aspect tied to it
as well as just likethe good feeling that you
I mean, see,you're hitting your number,
but then you're also,no matter what
you're selling, right?
You sold somethingto help people.
And specifically a med devicelike that was
that was my passion.
Behind it was I was physicallylooking at somebody, right.
Who could have beenmy my mom, my dad, my siblings,
(23:27):
my somebody else's mom, dador siblings or aunt, uncle,
whatever it might be.
And really, like, that'sthere was such a passion
behind that of like,okay, I know I'm doing something
for something bigger than me.
And I think when I thoughtabout my career like,
I that's somethingthat always stuck out,
like, yes, like I always wantto make sure
(23:48):
that I'm doing somethingthat I'm passionate about
and that I love,and that's serving
a greater good of somethingthat's bigger than myself.
That's great.
Who do you think has hadthe biggest impact on you,
whether you know,during your career or anywhere?
I mean, you know,you had the tennis coach,
you kind of inspiredyou to go an approach
that I'm sure you've had mentorsat each stage, like,
(24:09):
who would you sayhas had the biggest
impact on you?
Yeah, I would say thatthe biggest impact,
in my life has been my mom.
My mom was just incredible.
Like, in the Dictionary ofIncredible would be her name.
She she was amazing.
Like, she was a real term.
(24:30):
She worked so hard.
She raised four children.
She had an incredible marriagewith my dad.
Like,they were just unstoppable.
And I, I've always lookedat their relationship
and and wanted my ownto, like, model
that in certain ways.
And the way that she hadso many friends from so many
(24:50):
different areasand aspects of life,
like I would just be like,how do you keep up
with all these people?
And, just her way ofliving, like,
I, I have a bad habitto think of the future and oh,
what if this happens?
What if that happens? And,she had really helped
me, like, think about.
Okay, but what if the good parthappens, right?
(25:13):
Like, what if that happens?
What if this happens?
Like, stop worryingso much about
the future and, like,be in this season of life.
And I know I talk to youa little bit about that
beforehand, but, you know,I think being being content
with the season of lifethat you're in is something
that she really,really pushed for me.
And it was tough, right?
(25:34):
When you'reyou're going to college,
you're away from your familyand then you move
somewhere else, then you movesomewhere else
and there's just a lotof change happening.
So how do you find the beautyin what you're currently living?
Yeah.
She was justshe was so awesome at it.
And, yeah, she's definitelywho inspire me to
to be the person that I am.
So.
And that's a great wayto think about things.
(25:56):
Right.
Because you can look atyou have moved to Florida.
You're all by yourselfthere are these things
that can scare you,or you can try to find
the beauty there.
And so to have someonewho kind of put
that in your brain.
Yeah, that's pretty awesome.
Yeah. It's awesome.
So what's next for you?
Where do you see yourself going?
Yeah.
So what's next is my husbandand I are starting a family,
(26:19):
and that's very. Exciting.
So exciting. Graduation.
Thank you, thank you.
So, Yeah.
So we're having a babyin a couple months,
so that'll be big transitions.
So when I was listeningto all the podcast
people who have kids, I'm like,okay, I got to talk
to this person.
I got to talk to you.
But anyway,so so that's obviously
a big transition comingthat we're super excited for.
(26:40):
And then long term, you know,my goal is that once my dad,
is ready to retire,that I would be capable
enough to,to take over the business
and continue it.
And that'sa big part of why I decided
I wanted to come here.
Where I'm at in life right nowwas because I want to continue
his legacy,and I want to continue
(27:01):
what we do tohelp family businesses. So,
we currently live in Delaware,so I'm hoping we,
we come back tothe Lehigh Valley
because I really do.
I do love it here.
And, I love the people here.
So I don't wantto go off a tangent,
but I do love Delaware.
We lived in Delaware.
Did you other.
Sorry.
Yeah, yeah.
It's a it's a cool statethat people forget exists.
(27:22):
Yeah.
But, you know, thinkingabout the Lehigh Valley,
too, like, there's so much,more here to say. Yes.
You know, it's,there's just there's things
there's more things to do.
Right? And I, and I find thatthe community here,
I'm not just saying thisbecause you're
sitting in front of me,but I do.
I really feel like the communityin Delaware,
(27:42):
is, is very differentfrom the Lehigh Valley.
And even just in terms of workevents and networking,
people here are different.
And I, I, I feel like that's whyI love coming back here.
So, yeah.
What are some of yourfavorite things to do here?
Well, I love touring park.
Pulling upacross the street I'm like,
oh my gosh, I haven't beenthere in years.
But I used to go thereall the time.
(28:03):
I really, really love Bethlehem.
The food scene is awesome.
Like, every time I come,there's a new restaurant
around here.
There's a Topgolf coming.
So very exciting that,you know, I, I really,
I feel likeI love the people here.
That's the main thing.
Yeah.
Obviouslythe people we work with,
the clients we work with,the friends I have here
that still live here, just.
(28:24):
Yeah, I love it.
And my favorite thing of allis my childhood home
that I grew up in.
So that's right downthe street from here.
Oh, really?
Yeah. Yeah.
So I, Yeah, I love my home.
Yeah. A lot of memories.
Yeah.
Compass point is, you know,based on Lehigh Valley,
and I think most of your clientsare probably in this area.
But do you go beyondthe Lehigh Valley?
I think you guysexpand beyond that. We do.
(28:47):
Yeah.
So we're, our firm is basedin the Mid-Atlantic, so.
Excuse me.
We havewe're in the Mid-Atlantic,
and we have clientspretty much all over.
A lot are in the Lehigh Valley,but we are expanding a lot
in, like, the Philadelphiasuburb area, like a store area.
That's where a lot of our newerclients are at as well,
(29:08):
which is great.
That's awesome. Yeah.
Good for you guys.
All right.
I, I, it kills mewhenever I'm enjoying
a conversation as much.
And then I'm like, wait,we have to wrap it up.
So I can.
I got two thingsI want to hit you with.
All right.
The first one iswe are sponsored by Hocus Pocus
Cleaning Services.
It's incredible.
They do an amazing job.
They just clean my house.
Recently I clean our offices.
(29:29):
And they do something.
If you're a disorganized person,they can come in and
do redo your whole.
Are you looking at me?
And it's it's truly magical.
And so I like to askall of our guests
if you could haveone magical ability,
what would it be?
My magical ability.
It would be to fly.
(29:50):
Oh.
I would love.
Oh, yeah.
I heard someone say,you know. All right.
That makes me so happy.
I love the idea of being able togo anywhere and be with anybody,
and then be able to come back towherever your home
is or whatever, and justbe like, be with people.
(30:10):
And I wouldlove to be able to fly.
That's awesome.
Yeah. Great.
Having just been in Disney,and being on rides
that feels like flying.
Get it right.
Oh, except not the Orlando planeride home. I'm sure that.
No, no, I, I have storiesI'll tell you I fly.
Yeah, yeah, my family islucky to be alive.
(30:31):
And then, I mean,the last thing I want to do
is just turn it over to you.
Is there anythingthat we didn't hit
anything about Compass Point?
Anything about you, your familythat we should
have talked about?
I do have one storyI want to tell. Yes.
So.
So my mom passed away in 2021,and, before she passed, we,
we knew thatthat the time was coming.
(30:53):
And her brother, my uncle Billand my Aunt Linda,
had basically, you know,the whole family's just
in like, disbeliefthat this is happening, right?
We had the timeline and stuff,so they
chartered us a private jet,and they got us this insane home
(31:14):
in Marco Island, Florida,and they flew my whole family
down thereas a final trip for my mom
and for our family too.
My husband actually ended upproposing to me there
so she could be a partthat was not his plan.
But when the timeline,when the timeline started,
(31:34):
you know, he was like, I'mgoing to do this now.
Obviously I didn't knowat the time.
But anyway, he proposed to methere as my mom was able
to be there for that.
And that experience isseriously like
one of the happiestmoments of my life.
And I think aboutwhat my family like,
talked about and spent timetogether, like through
(31:56):
that short amount of time.
I think we were there.
We ended up we're supposed togo for a week, but we ended up
only bewant to say, for four days
because my mom was gettingprogressively worse.
But we had a private jetthat could take us home,
and it was justthe most incredible thing.
And my uncle Billactually ended up
passing very shortlyafter my mom, which was tragic.
(32:16):
And my Aunt Linda is still hereand she's super healthy and,
you know, her and my uncle Billare like the most
generous peoplethat I have ever known
in my life.
And for them to do that,like for our family, it's just
it's like unexplainable.
I don't even knowhow to talk about it
because it was themost incredible trip ever.
(32:38):
And, Yeah, I guess this is athis is a thank you to my Aunt
Linda and my uncle Bill,but I just, I always want
to tell peoplethat story because, like,
giving to people.
And it's made mewant to give back to people
if I say I can't afford that,but but, you know,
I think the generosityand the importance of family,
(32:59):
that both her,like my aunt and uncle
believed in and and they knew,like how amazing
that would be for my mom.
My mom loved the beach.
We go to the beachevery year as a family,
so they wanted togive her one last trip
to the beach.
And yeah, it'smy favorite story.
So there's nothing I can saytill I close out on that.
That's incredible.
And I think it speaks to,you know, like you said,
(33:20):
giving of yourself andand being there for others
and the ripple effect,like you're
still talking about this,it makes such a difference
on you and your worldview.
And like those acts of kindness,they they travel a long way.
They really do. Yeah. So.
Well, thank you for coming on.
Thank you for sharingyour stories.
This was incredible.
And, Catherine, I can't saythank you enough. Awesome.
(33:42):
Thank you. Jimi.
Thanks for having me.
Absolutely. All right.
Bye bye.
Thanks for listening toanother episode of the
Why Am I talking podcast.
If you enjoyed thisand want to hear more content
from amazing personalitiesin the Valley, please subscribe,
leave a rating anddrop us a quick review.
So I work for a firmcalled Compass Point Consulting.
So like Jimi said, we workwith family businesses.
And primarilywe work on the family,
the businessand the strategy. Right.
So all three domainsis what we call them.
They all have to work togetherin order
to have a successful familybusiness, just like, you know.
So, so anyway, we,we meet our clients
(00:22):
where they're at, right?
So we might meet a clientand they might not need
as much of the leadership work,but they might need to help
plan their transitionor their next chapter
or whatever it may be.
So, it's differentfrom what I was doing before.
Obviously, I'mno longer in a hospital,
but it's still people.
And you're still, you know,you're still getting
(00:44):
to talk to people,learn their stories.
And this is a wholedifferent game
of feeling fulfillmentfrom families like you're we're
helping families make family,make their family business work.
And, that's areally encouraging thing.
Welcome to Why Am I Talkinga podcast where the guests are
(01:05):
so good?
You'll wonder whythe host is even talking.
In each episode, you will hearone of the leaders
of the Lehigh Valleysvibrant business hub.
They will tell you the keysto their success,
the mistakes they've made,and what they have
in store for the future.
Here is the host ofWhy Am I Talking from
why am I insurance?
Jimi Honochick.
(01:30):
Right.
That is me, Jimi Honochick.
And this is another.
Why am I talking?
But this isa new way of doing it.
Noelle, you are here.
I am here, and I am new.
You are.
We introduced you,I think, in the
last episode. Yes.
So people have an ideaof what to expect?
Yes, I know whatI look like. Yes.
But you havebeen an awesome addition.
(01:51):
Thank you.
You've been here,what, three weeks? Yeah.
And, you have helpedkeep me, grounded,
which is nice. I try.
I tell anyonewho steps into that role, like,
you have to manage upbecause you have to manage me.
You have to figure outhow to do that.
And you've done a very good job.
No, you have been greatat being managed.
So thank you for that.
(02:13):
But, you know, the contenthas been awesome.
And kind of like this episode,the content is awesome.
Yes.
It was, it was amazing.
She was great.
Yeah.
Catherine, just is someone whoI feel like enters a room
and you can feel her presence.
Yeah.
She's very warm and personable,and I feel like
I could talk to her for a while.
Yeah, yeah, we did talk to her.
(02:34):
I know, Iliterally said I was like,
I'm bummedthat this episode's ending.
I know I was upset, too.
I was like an adviceepisode for me.
I was just listeningto what she was saying.
Yeah, yeah.
It is like for someonelike yourself
looking to get into sales, it isbasically a perfect
episode for that.
It was perfect. Yeah, yeah.
She she walked the walkand talk the talk and,
(02:54):
we really like it about her.
Yeah. She's wonderful.
Yeah.
So maybe we should dive into it,I think so. Awesome.
All right, well,without any further ado,
we are now goinglive with Cathrie...
Not her name,Catherine Garrity-Franz.
Yes.
All right,I got it right that time.
You did.
We'll see. You all right?
Live? Yeah.
All right, all right.
See you. Bye bye.
(03:20):
All right.
We are here with an episodethat I know
is going to be fantastic.
You can feel the energyas soon as she
comes into the room.
And this is going to be great.
Catherine Garrity-Franzfrom compass Point Consulting,
thank you so muchfor coming here.
I cannot waitto dive into this episode.
Thank you.
Thanks so much for having me.
I'm excited to be here.
Your career has been, nothingshort of impressive.
(03:41):
So I want to start there.
Because we willget to Compass Point.
There's a lot totalk about there.
But I just feel likepeople should know
where you're coming from.
So walk us throughhow you got to where you are.
Yeah, absolutely.
So, I grew up inthe Lehigh Valley,
went to Emaus High Schoolfrom there.
(04:01):
I went to Bloomsburg University,which is not too, too far away.
Did you love Bloomsburg?
I did, but I did notwhen I was viewing it
like touring it.
I definitely it was not myfirst choice, but,
but the tennis coach,I met him and I was like,
I need to go here. So.
And then I fell in lovewith the campus
and kind of gave me a whole newappreciation for it.
(04:24):
But it definitely,it surprised me
because it was not onthe top of my list. Yeah.
Yeah.
So I went to Bloomsburgand from college,
when I started out,I really didn't.
I didn't know whatI wanted to do.
I went for I applied forspeech pathology, very different
from the business world.
Yeah.
(04:44):
And then I switched to business.
Like, right when I started,my tennis coach asked me,
oh, why speech pathology?
I'm like, I really don't know.
And then switched to business.
And again, like, there'sjust so many avenues
to go business.
I'm like, what do I want to do?
I started I did an internshipat Olympus and it was in the IT
(05:06):
department, and I hated it.
Yeah.
Like I can't sit at a deskall day, so I knew I didn't
want to do that.
And then from there,my next internship was at Uline
Shipping Supplies,and I was in sales,
and I loved it.
Did not expect to love it.
Like, this is going to be great.
Like, this is what I want to do.
So, anyway, I accepted a jobthere post-college
(05:30):
and then ended up,getting an opportunity
at B Broad Medical,for medical device sales
and ended upsearching my mind and, packed up
and moved to Florida.
And yeah, I worked for B broadfor a couple of years.
Great experience.
Learned a ton. I, I moved whenI moved down to Florida.
(05:52):
I was a sales associate,and then I got a full time
territory in DC.
So that's where I continuemy career there.
And I'm sure you knew a lotabout medical devices
going into that.
No, a whole lot of none.
So how do you make that?
Like, is it fake ittil you make it?
Like, what did you do to reallyget yourself comfortable
to sell medical devices?
(06:13):
Yeah.
So, I definitely underestimatedhow hard it would be.
So obviously I had a bitof a business background
from what you learn in college.
And then so I started out,everyone says, oh,
you don't need to knowanything about med device.
You know, you just go inand they teach you everything
you need to know,which is absolutely true.
Yeah, but it's still a lot.
(06:33):
Yeah.
It's still a lot to to learn.
I remember my firstcouple weeks of training.
I'm like, I'mnot going to make it.
I just bought my eyes outall the time.
My parents are like, oh.
This is not good.
And are you in Floridaat this point?
Yes.
So yeah, separatefrom everything you know
and love. Yes.
Just plunged into the deep end.
Yeah.
Plunge into the deep end.
(06:55):
My now husband,but boyfriend at the time,
he was in upstate New York,so we were doing long distance.
So that was a wholenother element.
And, yeah, it was,it was tough, but,
but I met some great peopledown there that really helped me
and, get comfortable and and,yeah, guided me along the way.
So you were telling meabout, an experience,
which I guessis like the final for B
(07:17):
Bron, right where you go throughand you have to do your final.
Tell us a littlebit about that experience
and kind of how that shaped you.
Yeah.
So that one was actuallyat my more recent job.
So I worked for B Bronfor four years.
And then I transitioned toBoston Scientific,
which was a similar roleof selling medical devices
in a different space.
But but anyway, we had to dolike a final week of training.
(07:42):
And in that week,they had this thing
called the hotseat.
And at any pointthey can call you up,
like in front of the classand all the trainers
and put you on this hotseat.
So unfortunately,I got put on hotseat.
I think it was, I went,I think it was Thursday
or Friday.
It was one of the lastdays. Yeah.
So I had like made itthrough the whole week
(08:03):
without gettingon this stupid seat.
And anyway, I got put on itand I bombed it.
It was a role play on.
It was a doctor,and I had to sell it to him
and basically walk him throughwhat to do,
and I, I just did awful.
So I sat downand like everyone in the
room, knew it was awful.
(08:25):
I know it was awful.
I sat down, I'm like again,holding back my tears,
like, don't cry, don't cry,I didn't cry.
But, you know, they very nicelysaid, okay.
Yeah.
Like, what do we learnfrom that?
You know, and and I'mjust sitting there
mortified. Yeah.
And then they said, okay, doesdoes anyone want to come up
(08:45):
and do it again?
I don't know what came over me,but I shot my hand up.
I'm like, I'mgoing to go again. Yeah.
And then I'm walking up.
I'm like, what am I doing?
I don't even know what to saydifferently than
when he did last time.
And and anyway, so I went again.
It was better thanthe first time.
It still wasn't great.
But in that moment, I,I ended up the
(09:08):
one of the main trainersthat was there.
He was presenting at a meetinglike a company wide meeting.
We had a couple weeks later,and he had given me
a shout out on stage,and I remember like,
that was the first timeI realized like, wow.
Like I really didsomething that I never
would have donea couple of years ago,
even though I failed,honestly failed twice.
(09:29):
But, it was the first timewhere I was like, wow.
Like, I've really grownas a professional
and it's okay to mess up.
And like we just saidbefore, like you fake it til you
make it.
You know, I think the biggestthing about that industry is
you have patientslives on the table
that you can't lie. Right.
So as much as fake ittil you make it,
(09:51):
is is the motto.
It also has to be like,if you don't know
the answer, just sayyou don't know the answer
and then you know,continue from there
and go find out the answer.
Yeah. So yeah.
So I'm getting, I don't know ifwhat the word is like
true bravery out of youlike to pack up
and go to Florida, right?
With no support system,no family,
(10:13):
and launch into a careeryou knew nothing about.
And then to goback on the hotseat, right?
Like you could have easilysaid, nah,
that was a bad experienceand I never want
to do that again.
But you didn't likewhere does that come from
that any bravery or ability toto conquer goals like that?
Yeah, I thinkhonestly my, my upbringing,
which I'm sure we'll talka little bit about, but,
(10:35):
I grew up with three olderbrothers, so I think,
that definitely,made me a little bit tough.
Right.
And just, you know,I love my brothers
to death, but, you know,you say things and
boys are different than girls.
Even though some of my friendswho have sisters, I'm like,
oh, I could never,could never do that.
(10:56):
So it goes both ways.
But, but yeah, I don't know.
I think just a matter of like,knowing who I am and and wanting
wanting people to see mein the way I can see myself.
And, I'm really competitive.
You really don't want to lose,anyone listening that knows me
is probably like, yeah. Oh.
(11:17):
But anyway, I, I really, I,I pride myself on that, and I,
I want to begreat at what I do, so.
Yeah, let's let'sgo to your upbringing,
Lehigh Valley born and raised.
Tell us kind of what yourfamily situation was like
and kind of what shaped youinto being this person.
Yeah.
So, I grew upin the Lehigh Valley,
(11:37):
like you said.
I went to Saint Thomas Moore.
So I have three older brothers.
My oldest brother is15 years older than me.
And then my othertwo brothers are, two years
and four years older than me.
So essentially, when I was born,there were four
of us in the house.
And then my older brotherobviously moved out
like soon after,a couple of years after,
(12:00):
but anyway,so house was chaotic.
My dad at the time was travelinga ton for work.
My mom was a stay at home mom.
My dad was like, always.
He had a great systemwhere he would always
be back on the weekendsand he would be back
like throughout the weeks, too.
But he did travel like, a decentamount for his work.
And anyways, I went to SaintThomas Moore
(12:21):
for my whole kindergartenthrough eighth grade
and I loved it.
And then I went to Emaushigh school and I'm like,
what is this?
Which I absolutely loved.
High school, unpopular opinion.
I feel like most people hatehigh school, but,
but I loved it.
And it was that was truly likemy step into the world.
(12:43):
I feel likethat was the first time
I've ever,there's the diversity,
the people, the language,the everything.
Like, I justyou're very sheltered
in an environmentthat you've grown up
in your whole life,and then all of a sudden
you're in a class with,you know, 30 other people
and then a larger classof 600 or 700 people.
(13:07):
And it's just it wasso, so different.
And I really feel like thatshaped me to who I am.
I really learnedmy love of people
and getting to know peopleand different types of people
when I was there.
And, I got reallyinto sports and, yeah, I just,
I loved it, so.
And let's talk about sports.
So tennis was your big one?
(13:28):
Yes. Tennis was my big one.
Did you playall of the sports now?
I, I sat bench for basketball.
Oh, I was a bench sitter too.
I was really good at it.
Yeah, I was really good at it.
So I'm pretty tall.
So everyone expected meto be good,
but I was, I was not,but I loved
I loved basketball, like,I loved watching basketball.
(13:48):
You know, I was I was onfreshman team, obviously.
And they're you're pretty good.
And then oncethe year started to go out,
I'm like, okay,I'm not good. Anymore.
Because the competitionthere is is next level
and the peopleare next level. And, yeah,
I feel like high schooltaught me how to lose
because I wasn'tI was no longer the best.
(14:08):
Whereas at Saint Thomas MooreI was the tallest.
I was, you know,I was always starter.
Tennis is different, right?
Because you didn'thave that in grade school.
But, you know, I was playing,playing at the clubs and stuff
and doing things like that,but yeah,
then you go to high schooland you realize, like, wow,
people are reallygood at sports.
Yeah.
But you were good enoughthen to take tennis to college.
(14:30):
Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
Which was awesome.
So I was super fortunatefor that.
I reallywhen I realized basketball,
you know, was notgoing to be in my future,
I still played,but I really focused on
tennis and, Yeah, I,I ended up meeting
the tennis coachat Bloomsburg about,
I think it was a yearbefore I graduated.
(14:51):
So my junior year, and Ireally, really liked him.
I got to meet some of the team.
He was at a local event.
They were doinga fundraiser at West End.
And, anyway, so I met him thereand I was like, oh,
I keep you really coolto play in college.
And he asked meto send him some tape.
So then I startedapplying to schools for,
for tennis and, yeah.
And then I got toplay in college,
(15:11):
which was incredible.
And, yeah, I feel like mycollege experience
wouldn't have been the samewithout that. Yeah.
And yeah, I it's almost chickenor egg like, are you competitive
because you played sportsor were you drawn to sports
because of howcompetitive you are?
That's a great question.
I, I, I think I like sportsbecause I'm competitive.
(15:32):
Yeah.
Yeah, I, I just, I love it,I love, I love to yell at a TV,
I love to yellwhere I'm at. It's great.
So, so sales iskind of the perfect,
you know, rolefor someone like that
in your current role.
Let's talk about,you know, Compass
Point a little bit. Yeah.
You know it is familyconsulting for family
(15:54):
businesses right.
Give us a littlejust broad brush sort
of what you guys do.
Yeah. Absolutely.
So I work for a firmcalled Compass Point Consulting.
So like Jimi said we workwith family businesses.
And primarilywe work on the family.
The businessand the strategy. Right.
So all three domainsis what we call them.
They all have to work togetherin order
(16:16):
to have a successful familybusiness, just like, you know,
so, so anyway, we,we meet our clients
where they're at, right?
So we might be at a clientand they might not need
as much of the leadership work,but they might need to help plan
their transitionor their next chapter
or whatever it may be.
So, it's differentfrom what I was doing before.
(16:38):
Obviously, I'mno longer in a hospital,
but it's still people.
And you're still, you know,you're still getting
to talk to people,learn their stories.
And this is a wholedifferent game of feeling
fulfillment from familieslike you're we're helping
families make familymake their family business work.
(16:58):
And, that'sa really encouraging thing.
So how did you findthe transition
going from medical devicesales to this family
consulting that is, you know,not a 180, but it
definitely a transition.
How did that go for you?
Yes, it'sdefinitely a transition.
So full disclosure,my dad owns Compass Point.
So we are a family businessof our own.
(17:19):
And, I really did not haveworking for Compass
Point on my radar.
But in 2020, I was living in DC,and with the shutdowns,
I decided to,come home for a week,
which ended up being much longerthan a week.
And in that time, I wasI was living with my mom
and dad, and, I justwe started having
(17:42):
great conversations aroundCompass Point
and what he was doingand the clients that he had
and the friendsthat he was making
because, like, his friends arehis clients, right. And,
anyway, in that time,I was listening to him
on calls, lots and lotsand lots of zoom calls,
and just realized, like, wow,this would be really cool
(18:03):
to do someday.
So we started talking about,the opportunity
to maybe come work for himsomeday.
Again was not on the radarat that time,
but kind of started talkingabout a timeline of some sort
and it actuallywas a couple of years from now
and then, I sold himto hire me sooner.
Oh, right.
(18:23):
So, I, you know.
Your sales background exact.
Yeah.
He told me to get into sales,so there we go.
But anyway, so he,he wants to retire
at a certain age, and it's,you know,
several years from now.
But he had that age in mind,and the opportunity for me
wasn't going to be for anothercouple of years.
(18:44):
And then I startedthinking like, wait a minute,
but you're the person who Iwant to learn
everything from and,and really, like experience
being a familybusiness together.
So that's how I sold him on,on starting a little bit sooner.
So, anyway, it's it'sbeen an awesome
transition, differentfrom what I was doing
before, like I said.
(19:05):
But also, I've learned a tonand I'm continuing
to learn a ton,and the people that I work
with are amazing, like,just so helpful and smart
and willingto lend a helping hand
no matter what and teach me.
And, that's something thatI didn't necessarily
always experience with peoplein the corporate world.
(19:27):
It's much more like, you know,you kind of fend for yourself
and yeah, people help youalong the way. Absolutely.
But this feel of workingfor a family business
consulting firm, like,we feel like
a family of our own.
And I strongly believein that and
and believe that. Yeah.
And I mean, your dadis everywhere
(19:48):
and knows everybody,but you know, that's
that's one partof running a business.
But what I have always foundinteresting with him is
you came in hereand articulated the vision
and the missionof Compass Point so well,
and I think your dadhas done that right.
Like that's his strategy.
And and he'svery thoughtful about it.
Absolutely.
And I thinkthat probably carries
(20:09):
through to yourguys, clients like you
bring this real thoughtfulnessto your clients
and the approach there.
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, my dadbelieves in family
more than anything else, right?
And that's what we tellour clients like that's why
we do what we do iswe believe in family.
You know, every family hasits challenges.
And our jobis that we want to help
(20:31):
things work like, right.
We want we want things.
We want businesses to grow.
We want them to thrive.
You know, 90% of the businessesin the United States
are family owned. And,you know, we want
we want to continue thatand help people along the way.
So and you, you must bein the right place
because, you know,before we do this,
I ask you a bunch of questionsand the theme
(20:53):
through all of themwas family, family,
family, family.
And, you know,talking about your family
and your upbringing,talking about starting a family,
and your goals there.
And it's justclearly kind of the heart
of what you do.
So congrats, I think, onfinding the right place for you.
Does it feel like you'vefound your home?
It really does.
You know, it sounds so cliche,but I, I really
(21:16):
do feel like that.
And I told somebodythe other day, I'm like,
I feel like I am where I belong,and I really,
I really love family.
I love my own family.
I love the family I'm creatingwith my husband, and I,
I love other people's families.
Like I told you,I love seeing, like,
your family at Disneyworld.
I'm like, this is so great.
Like, it just that brings meso much happiness.
(21:38):
And, yeah.
So it's it'sfun to be living that out
each day. Yeah.
I want to get back to salesa little bit, because it's,
you know, such a hot topic for,for people, for listeners.
Just advice that you might give,you know, to someone either
starting out in sales or someonewho wants to kick up
their sales, abilities, like,what have you found
(21:58):
to be successful in those roles?
Yeah, I, I personallyhave found that being myself
has helped mebe successful, right?
I mean, if I walk into a roomand I'm not myself, which,
to be completely honestwith you, when I first started,
I think I was trying to besomebody that I wasn't
and I wasn'tsuper successful with it.
(22:20):
Right.
That's whyI was an associate, right?
To try to figure out, like,okay, you go mess up a few times
and then we'll give youthe big accounts.
But I learned so muchin that time
about like, who I was.
And, and then the salescome with it, right?
Like you, you work hardand sales is tough, right?
Like you, you're told noso many times.
And I feel like at a young age,young being out of college
(22:43):
and just, you know,having to be okay
with being denied constantly,that's a really tough thing.
And it's a tough place to be.
But your resiliencethat you grow over time
and then when you get the win,like my competitive self.
Right, I'm like, oh my gosh,this is amazing.
Like I love this feeling.
So I think sales is such afulfilling thing.
(23:03):
Obviously there's thefinancial aspect tied to it
as well as just likethe good feeling that you
I mean, see,you're hitting your number,
but then you're also,no matter what
you're selling, right?
You sold somethingto help people.
And specifically a med devicelike that was
that was my passion.
Behind it was I was physicallylooking at somebody, right.
Who could have beenmy my mom, my dad, my siblings,
(23:27):
my somebody else's mom, dador siblings or aunt, uncle,
whatever it might be.
And really, like, that'sthere was such a passion
behind that of like,okay, I know I'm doing something
for something bigger than me.
And I think when I thoughtabout my career like,
I that's somethingthat always stuck out,
like, yes, like I always wantto make sure
(23:48):
that I'm doing somethingthat I'm passionate about
and that I love,and that's serving
a greater good of somethingthat's bigger than myself.
That's great.
Who do you think has hadthe biggest impact on you,
whether you know,during your career or anywhere?
I mean, you know,you had the tennis coach,
you kind of inspiredyou to go an approach
that I'm sure you've had mentorsat each stage, like,
(24:09):
who would you sayhas had the biggest
impact on you?
Yeah, I would say thatthe biggest impact,
in my life has been my mom.
My mom was just incredible.
Like, in the Dictionary ofIncredible would be her name.
She she was amazing.
Like, she was a real term.
(24:30):
She worked so hard.
She raised four children.
She had an incredible marriagewith my dad.
Like,they were just unstoppable.
And I, I've always lookedat their relationship
and and wanted my ownto, like, model
that in certain ways.
And the way that she hadso many friends from so many
(24:50):
different areasand aspects of life,
like I would just be like,how do you keep up
with all these people?
And, just her way ofliving, like,
I, I have a bad habitto think of the future and oh,
what if this happens?
What if that happens? And,she had really helped
me, like, think about.
Okay, but what if the good parthappens, right?
(25:13):
Like, what if that happens?
What if this happens?
Like, stop worryingso much about
the future and, like,be in this season of life.
And I know I talk to youa little bit about that
beforehand, but, you know,I think being being content
with the season of lifethat you're in is something
that she really,really pushed for me.
And it was tough, right?
(25:34):
When you'reyou're going to college,
you're away from your familyand then you move
somewhere else, then you movesomewhere else
and there's just a lotof change happening.
So how do you find the beautyin what you're currently living?
Yeah.
She was justshe was so awesome at it.
And, yeah, she's definitelywho inspire me to
to be the person that I am.
So.
And that's a great wayto think about things.
(25:56):
Right.
Because you can look atyou have moved to Florida.
You're all by yourselfthere are these things
that can scare you,or you can try to find
the beauty there.
And so to have someonewho kind of put
that in your brain.
Yeah, that's pretty awesome.
Yeah. It's awesome.
So what's next for you?
Where do you see yourself going?
Yeah.
So what's next is my husbandand I are starting a family,
(26:19):
and that's very. Exciting.
So exciting. Graduation.
Thank you, thank you.
So, Yeah.
So we're having a babyin a couple months,
so that'll be big transitions.
So when I was listeningto all the podcast
people who have kids, I'm like,okay, I got to talk
to this person.
I got to talk to you.
But anyway,so so that's obviously
a big transition comingthat we're super excited for.
(26:40):
And then long term, you know,my goal is that once my dad,
is ready to retire,that I would be capable
enough to,to take over the business
and continue it.
And that'sa big part of why I decided
I wanted to come here.
Where I'm at in life right nowwas because I want to continue
his legacy,and I want to continue
(27:01):
what we do tohelp family businesses. So,
we currently live in Delaware,so I'm hoping we,
we come back tothe Lehigh Valley
because I really do.
I do love it here.
And, I love the people here.
So I don't wantto go off a tangent,
but I do love Delaware.
We lived in Delaware.
Did you other.
Sorry.
Yeah, yeah.
It's a it's a cool statethat people forget exists.
(27:22):
Yeah.
But, you know, thinkingabout the Lehigh Valley,
too, like, there's so much,more here to say. Yes.
You know, it's,there's just there's things
there's more things to do.
Right? And I, and I find thatthe community here,
I'm not just saying thisbecause you're
sitting in front of me,but I do.
I really feel like the communityin Delaware,
(27:42):
is, is very differentfrom the Lehigh Valley.
And even just in terms of workevents and networking,
people here are different.
And I, I, I feel like that's whyI love coming back here.
So, yeah.
What are some of yourfavorite things to do here?
Well, I love touring park.
Pulling upacross the street I'm like,
oh my gosh, I haven't beenthere in years.
But I used to go thereall the time.
(28:03):
I really, really love Bethlehem.
The food scene is awesome.
Like, every time I come,there's a new restaurant
around here.
There's a Topgolf coming.
So very exciting that,you know, I, I really,
I feel likeI love the people here.
That's the main thing.
Yeah.
Obviouslythe people we work with,
the clients we work with,the friends I have here
that still live here, just.
(28:24):
Yeah, I love it.
And my favorite thing of allis my childhood home
that I grew up in.
So that's right downthe street from here.
Oh, really?
Yeah. Yeah.
So I, Yeah, I love my home.
Yeah. A lot of memories.
Yeah.
Compass point is, you know,based on Lehigh Valley,
and I think most of your clientsare probably in this area.
But do you go beyondthe Lehigh Valley?
I think you guysexpand beyond that. We do.
(28:47):
Yeah.
So we're, our firm is basedin the Mid-Atlantic, so.
Excuse me.
We havewe're in the Mid-Atlantic,
and we have clientspretty much all over.
A lot are in the Lehigh Valley,but we are expanding a lot
in, like, the Philadelphiasuburb area, like a store area.
That's where a lot of our newerclients are at as well,
(29:08):
which is great.
That's awesome. Yeah.
Good for you guys.
All right.
I, I, it kills mewhenever I'm enjoying
a conversation as much.
And then I'm like, wait,we have to wrap it up.
So I can.
I got two thingsI want to hit you with.
All right.
The first one iswe are sponsored by Hocus Pocus
Cleaning Services.
It's incredible.
They do an amazing job.
They just clean my house.
Recently I clean our offices.
(29:29):
And they do something.
If you're a disorganized person,they can come in and
do redo your whole.
Are you looking at me?
And it's it's truly magical.
And so I like to askall of our guests
if you could haveone magical ability,
what would it be?
My magical ability.
It would be to fly.
(29:50):
Oh.
I would love.
Oh, yeah.
I heard someone say,you know. All right.
That makes me so happy.
I love the idea of being able togo anywhere and be with anybody,
and then be able to come back towherever your home
is or whatever, and justbe like, be with people.
(30:10):
And I wouldlove to be able to fly.
That's awesome.
Yeah. Great.
Having just been in Disney,and being on rides
that feels like flying.
Get it right.
Oh, except not the Orlando planeride home. I'm sure that.
No, no, I, I have storiesI'll tell you I fly.
Yeah, yeah, my family islucky to be alive.
(30:31):
And then, I mean,the last thing I want to do
is just turn it over to you.
Is there anythingthat we didn't hit
anything about Compass Point?
Anything about you, your familythat we should
have talked about?
I do have one storyI want to tell. Yes.
So.
So my mom passed away in 2021,and, before she passed, we,
we knew thatthat the time was coming.
(30:53):
And her brother, my uncle Billand my Aunt Linda,
had basically, you know,the whole family's just
in like, disbeliefthat this is happening, right?
We had the timeline and stuff,so they
chartered us a private jet,and they got us this insane home
(31:14):
in Marco Island, Florida,and they flew my whole family
down thereas a final trip for my mom
and for our family too.
My husband actually ended upproposing to me there
so she could be a partthat was not his plan.
But when the timeline,when the timeline started,
(31:34):
you know, he was like, I'mgoing to do this now.
Obviously I didn't knowat the time.
But anyway, he proposed to methere as my mom was able
to be there for that.
And that experience isseriously like
one of the happiestmoments of my life.
And I think aboutwhat my family like,
talked about and spent timetogether, like through
(31:56):
that short amount of time.
I think we were there.
We ended up we're supposed togo for a week, but we ended up
only bewant to say, for four days
because my mom was gettingprogressively worse.
But we had a private jetthat could take us home,
and it was justthe most incredible thing.
And my uncle Billactually ended up
passing very shortlyafter my mom, which was tragic.
(32:16):
And my Aunt Linda is still hereand she's super healthy and,
you know, her and my uncle Billare like the most
generous peoplethat I have ever known
in my life.
And for them to do that,like for our family, it's just
it's like unexplainable.
I don't even knowhow to talk about it
because it was themost incredible trip ever.
(32:38):
And, Yeah, I guess this is athis is a thank you to my Aunt
Linda and my uncle Bill,but I just, I always want
to tell peoplethat story because, like,
giving to people.
And it's made mewant to give back to people
if I say I can't afford that,but but, you know,
I think the generosityand the importance of family,
(32:59):
that both her,like my aunt and uncle
believed in and and they knew,like how amazing
that would be for my mom.
My mom loved the beach.
We go to the beachevery year as a family,
so they wanted togive her one last trip
to the beach.
And yeah, it'smy favorite story.
So there's nothing I can saytill I close out on that.
That's incredible.
And I think it speaks to,you know, like you said,
(33:20):
giving of yourself andand being there for others
and the ripple effect,like you're
still talking about this,it makes such a difference
on you and your worldview.
And like those acts of kindness,they they travel a long way.
They really do. Yeah. So.
Well, thank you for coming on.
Thank you for sharingyour stories.
This was incredible.
And, Catherine, I can't saythank you enough. Awesome.
(33:42):
Thank you. Jimi.
Thanks for having me.
Absolutely. All right.
Bye bye.
Thanks for listening toanother episode of the
Why Am I talking podcast.
If you enjoyed thisand want to hear more content
from amazing personalitiesin the Valley, please subscribe,
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