Employee to Entrepreneur Mindset: How to Start Thinking Like an Entrepreneur

In this conversation, we share how you can start thinking like an entrepreneur, and how to overcome the challenges that come with it. 

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Transcript

Building the entrepreneur mindset

Shanee Moret: [00:00:00] We keep seeing all these notifications that people are getting laid off at all of these different companies, and I wanna serve those people and the people that may be worrying about future layoffs or just maybe wanting to leave corporate in general, but they don't really know how. So in this conversation, I really wanna get.

Shanee Moret: The business owners and the entrepreneurs who have left jobs before who have built this entrepreneurial mindset to pour into the listener who may be wanting to leave. Right? So that's kind of the purpose of this conversation. The way that you raise your hand is at the bottom right of the screen. You just put your.

Shanee Moret: And so if you're an entrepreneur, if you've left, if you've dealt with those fears and challenges and stuff, that's kind of what I want for the room so that you know the listeners and corporate can be served. If you're listening, the only way that [00:01:00] people in your network can participate in the conversation or listen in.

Shanee Moret: Is if you click the three dots at the top right of the room and share the event. So, uh, do me a favor and share the event so that more people in your network can get exposed to this conversation and have the opportunity to chime in. All right, Brian, so have you left a job before 

I. . Absolutely. 

Shanee Moret: Okay. Uh, talk a little louder for me.

Brian Smart: So I'm gonna, I'm gonna turn my mic up a little bit. Let me know if it gets too loud. All right. 

Shanee Moret: How's it now? Yeah, that's much better. 

Brian Smart: Fantastic. So, yeah, absolutely. Uh, this was a conversation that I was having yesterday. Sorry. Good morning everyone. I'm Brian. And, uh, I create content. So one of the things that we were talking about yesterday was, uh, building, uh, building a brand that you can take with you [00:02:00] after you leave, right?

Brian Smart: A lot of the companies that I've worked with, I've signed, uh, NDAs with my contracts and I haven't been able to take the. that I've done with me. So I don't really have, um, a lot of my high profile clients. I, I wasn't able to use them in any of my portfolios. That at some point that that's what inspired me to, uh, start building my own personal brand.

Brian Smart: Right. Because before these layoffs Right, I was, I was experiencing. In a lot of the, a lot of the, uh, finance and higher ed companies because of the budgets, right? Yearly budgets and when those budgets change, right? You are at the mercy of whatever division or department that has the highest budget, has the [00:03:00] most money.

Brian Smart: So yeah, absolutely. I've had. I've had to leave at least two lucrative contracts cause of, uh, cause of, cause of that cause of, uh, budget cut, which is basically 

Shanee Moret: how, how, how long did it take you? Like what's the process before you're like, oh, I want to leave this job and maybe start something on my own to, to the point where you started something on your own.

Brian Smart: So usually, Uh, I feel that way going into a job . Uh, it takes me a, about, it takes me a couple of months to kind of feel my way through and see if, to see if, you know, wherever I'm at is gonna be a long-term stay. If it's something that, uh, something that I can deal with and if it's got the, the culture that I'm, I'm okay being around.

Brian Smart: Uh, the last position that I was in, Was with, uh, a Fortune [00:04:00] 500, uh, nonprofit. And, uh, it didn't, it didn't quite, didn't quite work out because they hired a lot of, uh, private consultants and I was. and midway through, they shelfed the product and I had to decide what I was gonna do. The moment they decided that, you know, if they were gonna start laying off.

Brian Smart: Uh, consultant. So, you know, it's, it, it really depends on, for me, it depends on what the, what the job is, what the work is, and what I've got lined up after the fact. Luckily, in that last position, that last, uh, contract that I had, I had already started building up, um, clients of my. From working inside the, uh, [00:05:00] the industry.

Brian Smart: So the moment I started seeing the layoffs happen, I started making my exit. 

Shanee Moret: Okay. So you started getting clients of your own and stuff? Oh yeah, absolutely. Okay. And how did you do that? Just how did you get your first, uh, independent. . So I started going to extra mile to kind of serve, you know, if there's a consultant in the room, maybe they're saying the same things happen, like people in their job getting laid off and maybe they're trying to maybe go independent.

Shanee Moret: How would they get their first client? Right. 

Brian Smart: I started having conversations. I started going the extra mile with the clients that I was already working with. I started talking and having convers. Uh, surrounding or about topics that they weren't able to discuss? Uh, with the, with the, the company that I was contracted with.

Brian Smart: Right. So when we started, [00:06:00] when we started the work, I would, I would go outside after hours. I would, and it's. That's kind of how I came up with the title for, uh, one of my podcasts created after hours because I worked longer hours, I worked harder, I went the extra mile. I did a lot of the things that most people would've considered, uh, they would, would've considered a waste of time because.

Brian Smart: I did it for free. Mm-hmm. and I, I guess that's, I guess that's how I got started. I just, I started offering top value free services right to the same clients so that once, that once their contract expired, they were gonna look for someone else to pick that, to pick up that slack, and I was the one I was already in play.

Shanee Moret: I love it. Thanks for sharing. I appreciate your share. Uh, Ron. What's up Ron?[00:07:00]

Shanee Moret: Ron, you have to unmute. You gotta click the microphone on the bottom right of your screen. All right. Until while, Ron. Okay. There you go. . 

Ron: Good morning everyone. Um, I think one of the, Uh, questions you, um, have to ask yourself is what are all your goals, not just your work related goals. And sometimes when you do that, you recognize that there's only so much time in the day and you have only so much time on this plan to get done what you want to do for maximum impact, for the, for the mark you wanna leave on this planet.

Ron: And so I recently had a friend who was at the state level and they created a big new. Chief Mobility Officer and he took on the job with Relish passion. And then 18 months in, he announced his resignation. And that seems shocking because they basically made this job for him. [00:08:00] But he said his wife and, and he had a goal that before their kids got to school age, they wanted to travel for a year.

Ron: And so that goal was in conflict with a full-time job. So I think so. The difference between gig work and entrepreneurship, there's a fine line. Sometimes you just have to free yourself up from the obligations of a daily commitment to an employer to get done what you need to get done in life. And that could be a series of gigs, or it could ultimately lead to, you know, a small business.

Shanee Moret: I love it. And, and so Ron, what was the kind of, you know, h how did you go through this process? Like, how long did it take you before you went from corporate to entrepreneur mindset and betting on yourself? 

Ron: Yeah. I it took me, uh, uh, 40 years of my career. I think, you know, I'm a, I recognize I still have a lot of juice in the tank and, um, [00:09:00] you.

Ron: I've reached that magic age of 60 where, you know, I may have a lot of energy and think like a 30 year old, but not necessarily everyone out there thinks that or knows that about me. And so I didn't, I was facing the choice of spending a considerable amount of time looking for my next gig or just inventing mine.

Ron: And when I thought about all the things I still want to do, uh, above and beyond my work, uh, it just made sense to. And, um, I, I jumped into the deep end and I have never for a moment regretted it or looked back. 

Shanee Moret: I love it. And, and what would you say to that person, Ron, that's making a great, you know, salary.

Shanee Moret: Let's say, let's say they're making $250,000 in a corporate job, uh, they wanna leave. What would you say to them? 

Ron: I would say look at the, um, look at the overall benefits, risks and rewards and, um, maybe the [00:10:00] $250,000 salary is used to fund, uh, a nest egg for a while so that you can. You know, one to two years of unstable income and you know, look at your job not as, oh, I've gotta protect this.

Ron: Um, you know, I've gotta protect this job at $250,000. Cuz you don't ultimately have control over that. You can have a $250,000 job one day and you can be. Um, 

Shanee Moret: let go redundant the next day, , 

Ron: right? And so think of that job as an investment and the money that's coming out of it is what goes into your freedom portfolio, so to speak, where you have the money to, um, uh, deal with the variability of income that comes with entrepreneurship.

Ron: I know in my case, it was made easier by the fact that I am blessed with two adult children that are both successfully launched. . And so for me it was more a, can I prove myself? Can I push the limits of what I'm capable of, uh, without [00:11:00] worrying about making money? And, um, and just put my story out there.

Ron: And, uh, that's been a really, really big exercise. I think the other thing is don't make the mistake of. Thinking that when you go out on your own, you're on your own. Oh, 

Shanee Moret: I'd love that. I love 

Ron: that. You know, Shene, I point to you. You know, we met because I was following your stuff and then you invited me to a class, and now I'm part of, you know, the Growth Academy, and I met so many people who are similarly situated in.

Ron: I've recognized, you know what? The things you got at work when you stopped by the coffee hour, you stopped by someone's office when you had a bad meeting just to chill out and, and, uh, vent a little bit. Or you went down the, you know, you were, you were thinking about something, but before you presented it, you wanted to talk to someone who you trusted, so you went to them.

Ron: Now you just do that in a different way. You do that with a community that you create for yourself, uh, online or, or in a community. Um, and certainly the Growth Academy is one spectacular way of doing [00:12:00] that because you get a lot of like-minded people who are figuring it out. You know, little things like you're figuring out how to use.

Ron: 10 different kinds of technology, Outreach and Outlook and Salesforce and Slack and teams. Uh, you know, and so I think that's where you, that's the, the office you go to, you know, in the morning and that's who you talk to and say, Hey, can you show me how to fix my computer to do this? And the help is there, as long as you're reciprocal about it too.

Ron: I mean, you have to invest in those relationships and be there for those people as. Which is what I'm 

Shanee Moret: trying to do now. Yeah. I love that Ron. And I have to say like I think that the community of entrepreneurs that, that, you know, I've had the blessing of like surrounding myself with and attracting. Has been way more valuable and supportive than any, uh, work, you know, workplace community or corporate structure community that I was ever a part of [00:13:00] personally.

Shanee Moret: Um, that's just my take on it. . 

Ron: Yeah, I think that's, I think that's a good way to look at it. Another friend of mine's an entrepreneur who started, uh, a couple companies, had the privilege of working with Dan Gilbert and started StockX, which is now a 4 billion company. I had him on my show and we were talking about, you know, what makes the difference in life.

Ron: And then certainly I have the benefit of aging experience on my side, and one of the things that really makes it for me and work. The, the right and the obligation and the freedom to choose who you want to work with. In our episode, really talked, uh, about creating a work culture because he did it successfully as an entrepreneur.

Ron: But we also talked about how to create an, you know, excuse my language, but how to. Create an a-hole free environment. You know, don't work with people who are difficult. You have the freedom not to have to work with people like that. And if you've been in a toxic environment as I was, uh, it's easy to make that decision to say, you know what, I'm gonna start choosing who I want to spend my time with.

Ron: I'm a [00:14:00] loyal person. I'm a hard worker. I don't create an, I give people good ideas. I. I love to connect with people. I draw energy from them. I try to give them energy back. I'm gonna find those people and forget about the rest, don't, don't come home venting or frustrated about it. Um, I have a son who's down in Austin, Texas, and he was, uh, contemplating a job change and after the third or fourth time, calling me to vent about an employee that was just really driving him nuts, I said, you know what the answer is, you need to leave that environment and, and find other people to work with.

Ron: There are other creative people that get. Uh, that wanna work with you, you just haven't met '

Shanee Moret: em yet. I love that. And I just wanna say that for the first time, I did a little test this morning. For the first time ever, we're actually on LinkedIn audio, which is why I'm looking at my phone if you're watching on LinkedIn live video.

Shanee Moret: So right now we're on LinkedIn. Live on audio and video at the same time, which is pretty cool. Uh, and so if you're on video, put some questions in the [00:15:00] comments because we have some panelists up here, uh, that will be able to answer your question. And the same thing for those of you in the audience. If you wanna message me in question or just come up to the stage, raise their hand.

Shanee Moret: But Ron, I really appreciate you and thank you so much for your. Stay on stage, you know, in case, in case we have questions. Sean Carr, what's, uh, what would you say to someone who's on the fence of, you know, wanting to become a, an entrepreneur but not knowing how to leave their corporate job? 

Shankar: Good morning.

Shankar: Everyone from Beautiful But Chill San Antonio this morning. I would say to them to. See if they are ready to ease into entrepreneurship. Try to really understand what their definition of entrepreneurship is and see if the, the ideas that they have are correct or if that is just wishful [00:16:00] thinking. The best way to do that is.

Shankar: Talk to other entrepreneurs. Ask them what to expect, what their lives look like, um, what it was like at the beginning. And then make sure you are really set up for success. Have, uh, some plan around finances, around support. And also know that what you, you plan to do and offer to the world has a market. Uh, cuz otherwise it's a very d.

Shanee Moret: Start. Yeah. And I always tell people, so let's say you, you don't know where to find entrepreneurs. Like every, every local business that you probably shop at, like, you know, the small businesses, they have a business owner. Like you could just ask them like, Hey, how did you start your business? You know? It could be a local restaurant.

Shanee Moret: It could be a local boutique. Just start a local mechanic shop, whatever. Wherever you're going, just in your daily life, just be like, Hey, how do you start this business? Is it a family [00:17:00] business? What'd you do before? So on and so forth. And that's just locally. Then there's people online, like people on this stage that you could reach out to and ask the same questions.

Shanee Moret: That's to shorten your learning curve by a thousand percent. You need to expose yourself, uh, to entrepreneurs. And just a lot of learning comes from observations. So just seeing the way that they, uh, have their routines, seeing the way that they handle problems in real time, like a lot of that learning can't be taught in a presentation or a course or whatever.

Shanee Moret: So the relationships are. . 

Shankar: Yeah. And, uh, luckily a lot of entrepreneurs have this in common that they can't stop talking about business typi. Typically, the, the successful business people are very passionate about what they do and that they understand very quickly that they are never done growing. So they are constantly in [00:18:00] search for people who are like-minded, who are further along.

Shankar: so that they can learn and, and take shortcuts and keep growing. Continuous improvement, uh, seems one of the foundations of an entrepreneurial mind mindset for sure. 

Shanee Moret: I love it. And how long did it take you to leave a job, uh, skar from the time that you really thought about it to the time that you started your business?

Shankar: Um, in my case, I was kind. Forced into it by circumstance, but it was two weeks I was, uh, I had to relocate. I accepted a first job offer just to have it because I felt secure having it, and I realized that it was a very, very bad match, and I didn't want to continue going without a certain level of integrity in how.

Shankar: So within two weeks I decided to resign. [00:19:00] And there I was a freelancer.

Shanee Moret: Exactly. I love it. Heather, I know that you've been an entrepreneur for quite some time. What is, uh, what is what, what's the secret to kind of going from that employee or employment mindset to an entrepreneur? 

Heather Tucker: Well, uh, I'll speak from. A married standpoint because I think that it's important when you're married, before you quit your job, to have a discussion with your partner to see if it makes sense for the timing of, of you pulling back from having that consistent income.

Heather Tucker: Um, and for us, my husband has always had a very stable job. He's an. And has always had very good pay. And so at the point where I decided to become an [00:20:00] entrepreneur, I didn't technically need to be at, at work, I just like, I like the office, you know, like visiting with people at the office and I like, um, I like being busy.

Heather Tucker: I don't like being. . Um, I'm not gonna be a housewife eating bomb bonds. Like I definitely wanna be doing something and, and feeling like I'm 

Shanee Moret: contributing to . Hey, what, what do you have against the housewives? Eating bomb bonds? No, I'm just kidding. . 

Heather Tucker: Nothing. I just don't want to be 

Shanee Moret: hurt . Oh my God. 

Heather Tucker: Um, so yeah, so I, and I was in a very toxic environment for over 20 years, uh, was a sales environment and um, there was a lot of people that were stealing sales.

Heather Tucker: Uh, people looking over your shoulder all the time, even though you were doing a really good job. And I just got tired. Tired of it. And so coming up with something that I could do as an entrepreneur, that to me was, uh, the hard part because I, I'm [00:21:00] multifaceted, so I'm like, well, I love so many things, so how do I choose what I could?

Heather Tucker: And at the time I had a girlfriend who was selling jewelry through a multi-level, uh, company, like a network marketing company. And, um, I had already bought in some pieces, so I knew I really liked their jewelry and so I decided to go with, with their company and I was with them for a couple years and had the best experience ever.

Heather Tucker: And then, uh, from there, moved into, um, a weight. Like supplement type of company. So I did that for a couple of years and that aligned with me at the time because I had had my own weight loss journey with that company. And then there came a time where the network marketing company was saying, you have to show up and message a hundred people a day and like do.

Heather Tucker: Like, uh, forceful type of action things, and I don't know, I [00:22:00] just got like tired of them following me around as well, and I wanted to be like, feel more free in my spirit and not feel controlled by, by someone else. . And so at that point, that's when I decided to put my weight loss journey into a book. So I have a lot of steps like that.

Heather Tucker: That then led me to write another book, you know, to talk about my, my husband and I, our sexless marriage. And then that went into coaching and now and then that went into to speaking on stage. I think there's just different layers of entrepreneurship and everyone has their own journey. Um, but I will say if you are married to have these conversations, uh, and make sure that it does make sense for you as a couple, because the last thing that you wanna do is put more pressure on your marriage, especially financially, and you don't want it to then impact the bedroom.

Heather Tucker: Finances impact the bedroom 

Shanee Moret: more than anything else. Um, [00:23:00] so, so let's actually answer this question. Maybe because there's people in the audience that they've voiced their opinion to their partner maybe a couple times, maybe once, twice, twice or four times. They're like, Hey, I wanna leave this very quote unquote stable, high paying corporate job and take a risk and bet on myself and build this amazing thing.

Shanee Moret: And their partner is like, , um, you're the breadwinner, right? Like settle it down Now. Uh, what would you say to, uh, to that person for anyone on stage? Popcorn, you know, anyone could have had this experience.

Heather Tucker: I don't have that experience, so I'll let someone else share. 

Brian Smart: I'll jump in here. 

Shanee Moret: Brian's like, I've had that experience, , 

Brian Smart: right? Because, uh, I've never, I've never really had a job [00:24:00] mindset. I've always been, I started out as an entrepreneur. My first business, I started it when I was five, and it's always been, you know, the next business.

Brian Smart: All of them haven't been. Six and seven figures. But it's always, I've always 

Shanee Moret: been What business did you start when you were five? 

Brian Smart: So I started a, uh, I started a small toy store. Okay. So the neighborhood, the neighborhood that I was in when I was younger, it was, uh, it was 

Shanee Moret: kind of a, so you charged kids to play with your toys?

Ron: Yeah, basically , 

Shanee Moret: you're like, I'm not gonna, you're not gonna play with these toys for free . No, 

Brian Smart: no. You gotta pay for it. Right? Cause you don't have them. It's, it's business. Right? so, damn. 

Shanee Moret: And 

Brian Smart: it, it was a mindset that I learned, I learned from watching my uncles right. I watched how they did business and it just, it stuck.

Brian Smart: I liked it. I liked the freedom, but. But when I got married, that was a, that was [00:25:00] a different issue, and I still had this same, uh, this same entrepreneur mentality. Like I, I probably only held, I probably only held maybe, maybe one actual job, you know, as far as the status quo is concerned. I probably had one job my whole life and, you know, I'm, I'm a little older, so that's a, that's a big deal when.

Brian Smart: When you're talking about getting into a relationship with someone, cause my, my wife has a, a, my wife has a PhD, so she's, she's like one of those corporate type with the real jobs and the, the steady pay. And you know, I'm like the hood that's always talking about, you know, being an entrepreneur and living my dreams and.

Brian Smart: You know, every year is not the best year. One year I might do a couple hundred thousand and 

Shanee Moret: I do and go wherever I want, when I want . 

Brian Smart: Yes. That's what it's about for me. I'm serious. That's, that's, that's, that's [00:26:00] it. That's all I care about. Oh, 

Shanee Moret: I know you're serious. I'm the same. 

Brian Smart: Yeah. I don't even care if the money's not there.

Brian Smart: I just want to do what I want to do when I want to do it. But it's difficult when you. You know, someone else that doesn't have that same mentality, you know, they, people tend to look at you like, you know, maybe you're a slacker or you don't want to work, or, you know, you, you've just given up on life and it's, it's, that's not what it is.

Brian Smart: You know, I, I think, I believe, believe entrepreneurs have more. You're living than corporate types. Mm-hmm. , right? Because if you don't have that passion, then you're not gonna succeed. You know, there are times when there are times when the money's just not there. The clients are just not there. And you, there's no, there's no, there's no scapegoat, there's no, um, there's no cushion.

Brian Smart: There's nothing to catch you when you're falling. . You, you just gotta get up every [00:27:00] day and you gotta, you gotta stick to the grind every single day. 

Shanee Moret: Yep. I get that. So what 

Heather Tucker: really, can I ask Brian a question, cuz I think this might be 

Shanee Moret: important. Yeah. Ask him this question too, Heather. Like what made the shift?

Shanee Moret: Yeah, 

Heather Tucker: like Brian, so. emotionally. How, how does your wife support you in those times of, you know, lack, uh, financially? Is she pressuring you to, to go get a job because that's what she likes, or does she still honor your entrepreneurial lifestyle and, and all of that? Uh, also, uh, uh, just I'll share real quick.

Heather Tucker: Uh, I think it's really important that if your wife or husband is not support. And doesn't know how to give you that emotional support. That's the time to hire a coach or mentor, uh, that understands because you know, the understanding, the mindset of the entrepreneur, that's a whole thing that the nine to five people just don't, they just don't [00:28:00] get.

Heather Tucker: So I'll pass it over to you, Brian. 

Shanee Moret: Damn. Brian, I need you here more often. Who has the sound board? That's you. Yeah. Did you like that? Yeah. Uh, 

Brian Smart: yeah, it, I think it depends on the time. It depends on, it depends on what's going on. Like, there have been points during our relationship where she's been supportive, but, you know, I had a, I had a whole lot of, uh, I had a, to.

Brian Smart: uh, emergency cash, right? So it's not that big of a deal, you know, if you've got a, a few hundred grand just in case. But if you know your, if your surplus is running low, then you know, people tend to, people tend to get a little nervous. They tend to get a little edge. You know, the, the worry starts to set in, and I've just never been that kind of person.

Brian Smart: Like the [00:29:00] situations I have been in in my life have been so tumultuous, so chaotic that not having a job or not having money is like the least. Of my concern over the, over the years I've had, my dad was a pastor, so I met a lot of his friends and they have helped to support me and a lot of my uncles, they've been really supportive.

Brian Smart: I've got some really successful, uh, uncles that are real estate, um,

Brian Smart: and they. Um, they have always been, they've always been really helpful to keep me going. Even if the surplus was locked, even if, you know, nobody in, in my immediate circle was right there saying, Hey, you know, rudin and cheering me on. So I, I guess I've always had those mentors that you were [00:30:00] talking about.

Brian Smart: And to answer your questions janay or to respond to that? Uh, I think it really depends on how much surplus you have. You know, if you've got a million bucks, nobody cares if, uh, nobody cares if you're not working until the million dollar runs out. Mm-hmm. . 

Shanee Moret: Yeah, that's true. And uh, you know, I went through this and rightly so, right?

Shanee Moret: Like, because when I left, uh, my job. For context, it was in 2018. Then I started getting on LinkedIn. Uh, went from freelancer to marketing agency owner to then education company owner, and. . It was so risky what I did, but I, I wasn't leaving like a job with golden handcuffs, so I was leaving a job that like, barely helped me and my daughter survive.

Shanee Moret: But I left with nothing. , like, it was like, it was like, make it in in a couple [00:31:00] weeks, get some clients, or I'm gonna have to, like, I would lose my car, move in with my mom for a coup a little while. , you know, but when you don't have much, I think like what other option do you have? Like the upside was like, if I take this risk and bet on myself, then my only goal at the time was I could work at home and she could be home with me versus having to go to a daycare.

Shanee Moret: Um, and then the worst thing that could happen, lose car, lose apartment, move in with mom for a little bit and just get a job and then deal with the shame that that comes with the failure, which is probably the hardest thing out of all of those things. Um, but yeah, I, I faced a lot of judgments like . I've faced so much judgments like, you're doing this with a baby.

Shanee Moret: Like, go get a real job. Um, and there was just a lot of fear, but the kind of support started to come. , the results came. And I think that that's important. Exactly when they start seeing the, the, that [00:32:00] it's not a joke that like you're getting clients, that you're also taking it more seriously yourself. Um, and that's why I tell people, if you're in the beginning of your journey, like don't waste energy trying to convince people that it's gonna work because you're gonna need that energy to actually make it work.

Shanee Moret: And then those results will convince them by itself. 

Brian Smart: Absolut. Absolutely this, uh, this last time that, uh, that I left, uh, the contract, the private contract that I was, I, I was holding, it was right before my last daughter was born. And the first two, I didn't spend enough time with them. I was so. Trying to make, you know, a living that I wasn't living life with them.

Brian Smart: So I made the decision this time that I would do, like you said, I wanted to be there. I wanted to, I wanted her to [00:33:00] know me more intimately. I wanted her to know for me more. from a, from a friendship standpoint, not just dad. I want to,

Brian Smart: depending on like always,

Shanee Moret: are we losing him? 

Tara Murney: Yeah. 

Shanee Moret: Brian, you keep cutting out

Shanee Moret: and, and I love the, you know, what he's saying is really powerful too. Um, and maybe we'll do like a room. One day for like, uh, showing appreciation or like if you're the partner of an entrepreneur to share tips on how to support, because that's another thing. I feel like the partners don't get enough credit.

Shanee Moret: They have to deal , they have to deal with attitude, with drama , with tears. Um, [00:34:00] you know, that's a fact with Feistiness. Uh, at 2:00 PM you're like on top of the world at 3:00 PM you're like, growling. Leave me alone like, so, uh, they have to deal with a lot and they don't know what's coming every day. Um, so let's just show them appreciation.

Shanee Moret: Uh, Michelle, how did you leave a job? Or, you know, what advice would you give to someone that wants to leave a job and start their own thing, whether that's a, a big business or just become a coach or whatever. 

Michelle: Hi. Thanks for having me up here, Shana. I'm loving this convers. You know, so I'm just going to plow into like my own personal experience to answer that question.

Michelle: So I grew up with a retail family. It was a mom and pop shoe store and you know, growing up my, all my dad cared about and I, you know, call it a generational thing, but it was the store not make enough money. You know, I grew up thinking we were freaking broke, to be honest. And [00:35:00] hindsight, we weren't. My parents did very well with the store.

Michelle: So me and my brother were raised in the same exact environment. He took off and went. He went to Albany. He got a business degree. He learned a coding language that nobody, you know, knew how to do. It's archaic at this point, but that held him to a job at JP Morgan where me, I ran the other direction. I also have a very artistic mind, you know, and I would dabble here.

Michelle: I didn't follow the traditional career, the you. Traditional career path. Wound up being, um, a photography major. Worked in a hospital for 25 years, photographing brains and eyeballs. Um, I had Wow. 

Shanee Moret: Real brains and eyeballs. Real, 

Michelle: yeah, real brains and eyeballs. It was a monte through amount of Wow. Yeah, so that's where, so I just did the thing, you know, got up, got my paycheck.

Michelle: Um, never had to worry about being an entrepreneur or anything like that. Just floated, you [00:36:00] know, lived paycheck to paycheck basically. Cause I wanted to travel the world. I'm like, this is my life. I wanna see things went to China anyway, so I never had the entrepreneurial mindset. I have the artist mindset and.

Michelle: When I had my kids, we made the decision. I have four kids that, you know, I, I would stay home even though my husband was not making a ton of money at the time. It's just kind of, you know, you gotta weigh out daycare versus staying home. What's, what's more pro, you know, cost effective. And then, you know, I started, uh, making jewelry and started dabbling in this stuff, and I still never learned how to have that entrepreneurial mindset.

Michelle: You know, I'm a mom of four, uh, who learned about gemstones. Crystal started making jewelry, but, but it was always a mom thing. It was a mom hobby, and it really wasn't until a few years ago, I mean, I've had this business for. For over 10 years. And it really wasn't until a few years ago, and, and my gosh, if I had [00:37:00] jumped into rooms like yours or met Chene, you know, 10 years ago, I would be in a very different position because now, even 

Shanee Moret: though I have, I heard that this week from someone

Shanee Moret: Yeah, it's truth. 

Michelle: Um, and. And this is, this is the importance of these conversations is, is if I could save anybody the struggle that I went through in learning, and I'm still, why do you think I'm, I'm coming in your room, Janette, like, and learning from you. You know, you've gotta learn how to be an entrepreneur if that's what you choose, you wanna do.

Michelle: I could sit here in my garage, make jewelry and sell it to my local moms in the pickup line. That's not where I want to go. I wanna empower people. And by sitting in rooms like this and taking classes and getting educated, that's how you do it. So, you know, if I, if anybody's in the audience that's, you know, on the younger side or just waffling or just has a hobby and wants to take it, you know, just again, listen to these people because they're really smart.

Michelle: And now I'm [00:38:00] understanding the whole entrepreneur and I mean, I'm talking, I didn't understand where I was just collecting cash from people. Not doing an Excel spreadsheet, not keeping record of anything. Not do you know my, my spending and all that and gosh, was I stupid or un uneducated I should say, when it came to business 

Shanee Moret: And well, how could you be?

Shanee Moret: They don't teach us any of this stuff. Right? Like and that's a whole other conversation. That's a whole 

Michelle: other conversation. Cause I'm going through it now with my four kids. I'm like, guys, you've gotta learn social media. You gotta learn entrepreneurialship. You know, so I'm. At least, very least teaching my kids how to do this as I'm still learning and they're watching.

Michelle: It's like you, like someone said earlier, someone's always watching. You know, people are seen and that's, you said it, Shana, you know, like I had a grandfather tell me. Very young shall Beth, you're not gonna amount to anything, you know, to this day. My father-in-law, they all have an opinion, and you have, I think that's the first [00:39:00] process of entrepreneurialship, is blocking out that negative energy with people's toxic opinions.

Michelle: Go your path, do your thing, and hang out. With the right people, the right community, and it's gonna make life easier, you know? No, I don't have a ton of people sitting here making, I'm sitting here right now just doing it myself. But I've got a team, I've got a crew, I've got, um, a community that I can go to now that, Hey, listen, how you know I learned, I learned chat, G P T.

Michelle: From Yousay on Saturday. You know, so these are things which was a phenomenal course, by the way. Um, and I'm using it like crazy. But these are the things and these are the tools that people have to acquire. Um, so back to your original question, you know, what advice do you have for an entrepreneurs and the, you know, what, do the thing, do it smart and surround.

Michelle: With the correct people. You know, you need a community and you need to be able to have people that you can trust to ask [00:40:00] for advice and to do things. And people who, who are knowledgeable, who've been around the block in this. So that's my 2 cents Janee hand in the back. I 

Shanee Moret: love it. I love it. And when you know people, people often come to me and they're like, oh, I just wanna help people.

Shanee Moret: And it's like, well, if you wanna help people, you're gonna need money. You're gonna need attention. Right? Like yesterday, Mr. Beast released a video where he helped a thousand people cure their blindness, you know, their partial blindness or whatever. And it's like, you can't do that without money. And how'd he get his money?

Shanee Moret: He got his money by being the most watched creator on TikTok and YouTube. Um, hundreds of millions of followers. So like, if you want to help people, it's almost like at this point the way things are going, you have a responsibility to get seen by as many people as possible to share your message, to let them know how you could help them.

Shanee Moret: And. to, to monetize, to create something [00:41:00] valuable enough that people want to buy from you, so that you have, you know, your cup is your cup. Runni over, um, Tara, uh, Angela or Tara? You wanna chime in? Go ahead Angela. You were here for, um, 

Angela: sure. Yeah. Uh, wow. Uh, so last night I had my first client, which was fantastic for me.

Angela: Um, And I, I've had the golden handcuffs for the past 12 years as a divorcee of an entrepreneur. And so, uh, needless to say, I kind of got, you know, screwed in the divorce. Um, because at that time he wasn't really showing anything. So I've been like this whole provider for years. Um, and now I've given myself luckily enough of a cushion to go.

Angela: Um, but I too am an artist. I've like had my hands in all kinds of pots. I've done anything from fashion wholesale in New York City. I've been a flight attendant, attendant in Detroit. I've been a landlord in Detroit. Um, [00:42:00] Know what it's like to own properties. I've always surrounded myself with entrepreneurs, thank God, and I've always only ever worked for entrepreneurs, so I've always felt out of place in this job.

Angela: Um, but it's allowed me from to be like, I guess the sole provider for my boys. But now I'm at this point where it's like, geez, I'm 45 years old. I have all these skills, which is wonderful, but I, you know, I went to school for psychology and like that's my passion. Like to be able to like tap into the human element and it's like man versus the machine.

Angela: And being in this global pre-production operations, like understanding the engineer. and all of that. It's like, um, it's, it's kind of tricky to like hone in on, on, on from the macro to the micro. Um, but I'm, I'm at this point where I'm just willing to jump. [00:43:00] Like, and, and network and freelance, and if it's consulting and coaching and doing whatever it is, because I'm a bit of a unicorn and I feel like I'm doing myself an absolute disservice all the way around by staying and working for anyone.

Angela: And, um, I guess fortunately slash unfortunately, I've been the only one making the decisions, uh, you know, since, since I got divorced. And, um, I guess I, I don't know. It's, uh, I, I think that it's important to always surround yourself with people who are willing to take those risks because that's where you get your support system.

Angela: And, um, I appreciate you and your lives and everything so, so much because you've given me a lot. Of insight and courage and, um, I just 

Shanee Moret: wanted to say that. Thanks, Angela. I appreciate that. And I saw your second video, your job. Oh, [00:44:00] thank you, . Awesome. Tara, you wanna chime in? Yeah, this is a great 

Tara Murney: conversation.

Tara Murney: So, you know, I hear a lot of people that always sit in there like, I hate my life, right? I have this big dream for my life, you know, where I wake up and I'm so passionate and I'm excited every single day. My talents are used, right? They're max capacity, and we're kind of like office politics and irrational bosses or workplace bullies just don't exist, and where I make a living and it doesn't require me to sell my soul.

Tara Murney: I hear this from people all the time, and then I ask. Them. Well, why don't you just dabble into entrepreneurship? And they're like, that journey's way, way, way too hard. Right? Well actually it's, it is hard. It has its highs and its lows, but there is some beautiful things that come out of leaving your nine to five job that you app.

Tara Murney: Absolutely hate waking up every day too, where you're not using your gifts and your potential and just going out on your own. And I [00:45:00] know it takes a lot of courage, but in that courage and curiosity, and I talk about this a lot, shene, you know, that like I'm always like, come on, just be curious and follow the curiosity because it leads to beautiful things.

Tara Murney: But I think people. Stuck and they hate their jobs and they don't really like the entrepreneurial journey because they're afraid. They kind of focus on others and they don't really focus on themselves, and they have that kind of fear of success and they don't really know how to define their comfort zone, and they don't have a great entrepreneurial mindset.

Tara Murney: But if you hang around people, like the people here up on the stage, the people I know, there's tons of people down here below that are extremely successful in their entrepreneurial journey, and you just. Follow their lead and learn and kind of stumble through the challenges. That's how we grow. And so I love the entrepreneurial journey and I love the challenges and I love learning from other people.

Tara Murney: Like Shekar is my tech guy. . Thank God for Shakara. I'd be dead in the water. like completely and shena. I could sit here all day and praise. [00:46:00] What kind of human being you are and how much you've like kind of challenged me to lean in and grow. So it's really about being around the right people and challenging yourself and going back to what you loved as a child.

Tara Murney: Like why are we sitting here at a job we absolutely hate where we are not absolutely applauded and valued and respected for our gifts? Like lean into what you love to do as a. And go and chase that. So that's the only recommendation I have for anybody who's listening. And don't be afraid. Curiosity and courage have some beautiful things in the finish line.

Tara Murney: If you look at the most successful podcasters on the planet, they're successful because they invested in a life of curiosity. It's curiosity that leads those questions that gets them to kind of ex. Span through their comfort zone. It's curiosity, 

Michelle: guys. 

Heather Tucker: Tara, you know what you, what you're saying, what? Um, I'm thinking like, wow.

Heather Tucker: Cuz I remember when I was in corporate that I really felt like I lost myself and I became who other people needed [00:47:00] me to become, to do the role of the. And so the, the biggest thing, the biggest like win for me as an entrepreneur is that I've been able to really identify who Heather is and who I've always been, but I had to push her down for so many years, for so many different reasons.

Heather Tucker: And so if you feel lost and you feel like you've lost yourself, uh, in someone else's world or someone else's identity, I feel. Entrepreneurship will actually give that back to you because it is a journey back to yourself, don't you think? 

Michelle: Torin? 

Tara Murney: Yeah. So you just touched on one of the most important things in life.

Tara Murney: There is a book called The Five Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronny War. I highly suggest y'all have it on your bookshelf. And she interviews these people on their deathbeds. They're all in palliative care, and they all have the, the regret of not being able to be who they truly were and show up as somebody else for everybody else in their life and is one of their biggest.

Tara Murney: And let [00:48:00] that land really hard in, or let that land really hard on your heart because everybody is walking around, well not everybody, but a lot of people, guys are walking around this planet and they're so miserable and so disconnected because they have no idea who they truly are anymore. So this self-reflection and this journey back to self, that excavating and removing all of the conditioning, and you gotta be this, you gotta be that.

Tara Murney: You gotta do this. This is what success looks like, and you gotta have this to be successful. Remove all of. And you'll figure out who you truly are and who like, and what your gifts are and how you can share them with the world. And there is nothing guys more magical than that. There's not amount of money you could ever put on that.

Tara Murney: So I I love that Heather. Half of the time we have all these masks. We wear all these masks, take the masks off and just be who you are. 

Shanee Moret: Yeah. And if you're, especially if you're a minority, like you come from a different culture or you're a woman or whatever, I mean, there's not that many models of. People that have bet on [00:49:00] themself that have been successful.

Shanee Moret: So like, just like listening to Brian, right? Like he knew it was possible because of his uncles. So just like when you bet on yourself, you never know, like who you'll inspire to bet on themselves just through what you're doing, right? Because you came from a similar situation or circumstance or whatever.

Shanee Moret: So, . You know, like with every decision I make or almost every decision I make, I try to think of, you know, the person that I could inspire and then, and then when they do better on themselves and they grow, they influence even more people to do the same thing. So you're doing good in the world by just. You know, taking action and aligning your purpose with your work.

Shanee Moret: I remember that poll I did, there was like 5,000 votes or something, and I asked the question, is your work aligned with your purpose? And 50% said no. Remember that? It was like, when was that? Two weeks ago. Yeah. And it was so sad. . That is sad. [00:50:00] That's sad. 

Brian Smart: Entrepreneurship is messy. No one likes to get messy.

Tara Murney: Yeah, but what is more messy, Brian? Is it the entrepreneurship journey or is it sitting in a job or going to workplace? Sitting at a cubicle and you. Your life, nine to five, what's more messy? 

Brian Smart: I, Hey, I agree with you 100%, but I think that goes back to what Shanee was saying. You know, you really need to have someone to look to, to say, oh, it's true.

Brian Smart: They did that so I can do that. Right? Without. Without having that model, it's almost like, um, when you're cleaning your house, you know, the moment you start cleaning, you expect it to get messy, but you've seen people clean their house before. You've cleaned your house before, and you've successfully, you know, gotten rid of the mess.

Brian Smart: A lot of people have not seen anyone, you know, uh, be successful [00:51:00] as an entrepreneur. So it's the little scary 

Shanee Moret: It is. And then because they, that stuff's not on their radar. They don't, they're not exposed to it on social because the algorithm doesn't show them that type of stuff. So it's just like, you know, that's why, uh, people can say what they want about Grant Cardone.

Shanee Moret: But, you know, he was the model, like I saw, he's like, I came from a bad environment. I used to not have any money in all this stuff, . And he's like, come to this webinar. And I was like, well, if it's possible for him, it shouldn't be possible for me. So I kind of just started, uh, putting myself out there on social.

Shanee Moret: But Janet, uh, what's up Janet? You'll be the last. Good 

Janet Domenack: morning. Um, let's see. This has been a great room. I'm just kind of e listening in and my, my, 

Michelle: um, I 

Tara Murney: guess journey 

Janet Domenack: has been a very, [00:52:00] Rough one, but I don't think I would trade it for anything. Mm-hmm. , I really enjoy having this, um, kind of a freedom that I've never had 

Michelle: before.

Michelle: I worked, uh, long hours 

Tara Murney: in other jobs 

Janet Domenack: and I had that, the places I didn't wanna work or didn't wanna be at, I didn't even wanna wake up in the morning and now I can wake up and, uh, enjoy what I'm doing. And, and even though I. It's like other issues in my life. I mean, I've had health issues and I've had personal issues, family issues.

Janet Domenack: It's still worth taking this entrepreneurship at a hundred percent. You know, my energy 

Tara Murney: and I'm, I'm still 

Janet Domenack: working in, I'm still learning how to do it all. Um, but I. Would never trade it for the, for the world. And I have a supportive family and [00:53:00] friends who have helped me through a lot of the things that I've been having to deal with.

Janet Domenack: And I, and some of them are kind of know what's been going on in my life, but, 

Shanee Moret: um, And you have us, Janet. 

Janet Domenack: Yes, that's what I was trying to apply. 

Shanee Moret: I have you all just say it. You have us , , 

Janet Domenack: and uh, hopefully, 

Tara Murney: um, 

Janet Domenack: I continue to have you all, I'm going to, you know, fight my, my, um, other issues that I have now and I'm.

Janet Domenack: in a different mindset. I have to think more positive. I actually, you know, I, I am, that's the one thing that I've been doing is thinking, you know, it's gonna be okay. Life is great. Um, yeah, you can try to push me down, but I'm gonna keep on going. I don't care. Whatever it takes, it's like I'm gonna find the happiness in whatever.

Janet Domenack: Facing. So, [00:54:00] um, the one thing that I am facing, I'm, I'm kind of like scared all, all at one time, but I am excited because, um, it's, they're dealing with it, they're dealing with my, um, problems that I have. So I'm very excited and, and, and I shouldn't be, it's kind of like a weird situation, but I, I'm. I'm happy that I'm alive and I'm happy to be able to share my 

Shanee Moret: experience and

Shanee Moret: I love that, Janet. And, you know, yeah, I love, I love the sound effects, Brian. Um, yeah. . Yeah. And I feel like, you know, I feel like it's, it's really sad how many people, and again, it's not, it's not that they. They just don't know what to do. They don't have a model. A lot of people going to work and just being miserable at work and being treated bad at work.

Shanee Moret: And um, you know, even if we do, even if we reincarnate one day, we can't assume that. So let's [00:55:00] just assume we have one life and it's, uh, there's a limited amount of it. . So really I feel like it should be a human right, that people feel happy when they go to work and that their work is aligned with their purpose.

Shanee Moret: And um, that's kind of why I wanted to have the conversation. If it could just inspire one person to bet on themself and then go impact more people and become a model for others to do the same, then it's worth it. So I want to thank everyone who participated in the conversation today. Uh, I appreciate all of you for joining.

Shanee Moret: I'll be live in an audio room. Like this one tomorrow at around 9:00 AM too. I'll create the event shortly and any final words from the speakers on stage, 

you can do it. Entrepreneur, entrepreneurs 

Shankar: can change the world by solving problems and that is a 

beautiful thing.

Ron: I. Say, just lean into the people you just heard from. They're wonderful people, [00:56:00] and the universe is speaking to you when you hear them.

Shanee Moret: I love it. And thank you, Brian, for the sound effects today for everyone in the room. All the speakers on stage, you know, it takes a lot of courage to come up in front of like a hundred people or more and share your perspective and your story and some tips. So, uh, follow them. I'll give you about 30 seconds to do so, and God bless you.

Shanee Moret: Have a phenomenal day. Go better on yourself. Chow.