Welcome to the Million Dollar Multi-Op Podcast.Here, you're gonna find education, entertainment, and a little inspiration on how to get to the next level.Are you a DJ company owner that's looking for the secret sauce?Congrats, you found it.
What's up, everyone, and welcome to the Million Dollar Multi-Op Podcast.I'm your host, David Osborne with blueprintlearn.com.On today's podcast, we have Sally Ogden from, you're in Charleston, right?
Yep, from Charleston, South Carolina.Welcome, Sally.
Thank you, David.I'm so excited.
Over the past year, podcasts and interviews, we've had a lot of folks on the podcast that are DJ company owners and DJ adjacent.
But as I mentioned on our anniversary podcast, we've had a few folks that are not in our industry and that have been some of the most popular episodes because they provide a perspective that we're not used to hearing.
And that's why I invited Sally on today.I'm going to give you a quick little setup here, Sally. I got to see you speak on stage at the Stronger Business Summit.And then I got to be in the room with you and Chad Brown for the One Day to 100K.
So I've heard your messaging and I've heard what you can provide.And I am pumped to talk to you today.
Well, I am pumped to talk to you too.You always set the room up perfectly, lots of energy.So I knew this would be a lot of fun.
Heck yeah.Let's just kind of dive in.So I know you've got the brim and I know you've got a book, you've got a podcast, you've got some material out.Kind of talk to us about just who you are, what you do, kind of what your niche is as a professional.
Sure.So I am a business coach.I primarily work with female entrepreneurs to help them scale their businesses.Of course, my content is All applicable to men as well.But I'm really focused on helping people move past that seven figure mark.
What we typically find is that. Um, at the beginning of our businesses, we are very focused on.Uh, the easy sale, if you will write something that requires a lot more high touch.
Um, and I am very focused on helping them put together a sales and marketing engine that will help them remove a lot of that high touch from their business so that they can focus on the strategy side of things, which will really help them earn a whole lot more money.
and create a whole lot more freedom.
Yes, please.Yes, please.And I've heard nothing but rave reviews.Everyone that's worked with you and just has nothing but amazing things to say about the results that you help people get.
You know, I say this to everyone, make sure that when you are hiring a business coach that they have scaled a business other than just their own, because what you're looking for is, you know, real strategic advice that is applicable to your business.
And what most people are out there kind of teaching is, you know, I scaled my business.Now here are the systems that helped me scale.And they are basically only applicable to that person's business.
And they have no idea the results that they will get for your business, technically. And you just kind of cross your fingers, hoping that you'll get the same results.That is not what I do.
Instead, I have run 6 different businesses in 6 different industries.I've practiced labor and employment law for 10 years.
So I've really studied the employment relationship, the employer employee relationship, and looked at organizational effectiveness as a whole.
And then implemented a lot of those strategies to create greater organizational effectiveness in companies and seeing a 70% increase in their revenue as a result of those.
And so when I saw these strategies working for these other business owners, I said, hey, everybody in my family is an entrepreneur. I would love to be able to provide this information to other regular people just like myself.And how can I do that?
And that's how I ended up becoming a coach and creating the strategies that I now teach.
And you were just, just before we recorded, you were just on a panel.You're living this stuff.You're out there doing it.You're actively teaching in person.
And as I mentioned, like I was in the room with you and Chad Brown for One Day to 100K, a really cool seminar that you did here in Athens.You also do it in Charleston.And I guess you all have some other cities you're doing it in too, right?
Yes, so Chad and I really realized that there is a complimentary component between what we do is that obviously, if you're going to make more money, you would like to be able to keep it and not pay all of your additional earnings to the government.
And so that's kind of our theory is this idea that. I'll help you make it and he's gonna help you keep it.We're actually in the process of working to bring it online.So I think it's gonna be so exciting to have that available.So stay tuned for that.
That is game changer information, y'all.I sat in the room for it and it was, again, this is the reason why I wanted to invite Sally on today.And I know what you talked about.You talked very specifically about
Most of the time, to be able to create that sales and marketing engine, to create and get past those barriers, a lot of people focus on the business itself or what's already being done.And you were really teaching us in that room to really look
inside ourselves first.So I don't want to put words in your mouth, but kind of, will you, can you, would you kind of talk about like that first step approach?Just that, Hey, you're a business owner.You want to make some big moves.What's step one?
Where are we going first?
Yeah.So, you know, everybody thinks that, um, creating bigger results comes from external forces.
And what all of the larger CEOs know to be true, and most of the people that you would want to model your business after have come to learn is that it is really an inside job.
And what they mean is that we are incapable of creating results in our business that we do not currently believe are possible.
And so you know I first work with entrepreneurs on creating a strategic road map for where it is that they ultimately want to take their lives and their businesses because as entrepreneurs both they're totally intertwined.And
What I try to get people to do is step outside the business that they currently have.Because most people, when they're trying to think about what they ultimately want to create, are kind of standing at a stop sign, if you will.
And they're looking left and looking right and saying, which way do I go?Do I do this or do I do that? And whenever they come to me with that question, I always say, well, it depends, right?Are you going to Rome, Georgia?Are you going to Rome, Italy?
And so the path that you need to take to those two destinations is going to be wildly different. So the path that you need to be taking in your business currently is going to depend on where you ultimately want to end up.
And where you want to end up is guided only by you internally doing some soul searching and deciding what you want two things to look like, your lifestyle and your income.And you need to have
those two goals well-established at the very end of your life and say, what do I want it to be?What do I want this whole experience to be?And then ask yourself, now how do I create that, right?
What has to be true in order for that to become my reality?And that is a very different exercise than saying, what do I need to do next based on the decisions that I've already made thus far.
Because I really do want you to re-examine the model that you are using within your business.It may not be the model that you want to utilize for the long term.It worked for you for the short term.
And that's what I talk to a lot of people about is you can get to a half million dollars in sales with what I refer to as the easy sales, which is You know, it's based on high touch, like you engaging with someone else.It's one-to-one sales, right?
They're talking to you.They're getting a direct referral from maybe a previous engagement that you had. And then the backend delivery of that easy upfront sale is hell, right?
It's the hamster wheel from hell on the delivery, but you loved it because you got the cashflow upfront.
Now we tend to forget about that delivery part and then are like, Oh my God, now I have to go, you know, DJ 12 things in order to actually deliver upon everything that I committed to.
And instead, what I want you to think about is, OK, if I really wanted my lifestyle and income to be X and Y, then what would have to be true?
I would probably have to be doing less of these, you know, deliverables in person in the way that I have been doing them. So what would that need to look like?It would probably need to be that you put more time and energy in the upfront sale, right?
So the runway to getting to the actual conversion may be longer, but the delivery is quick and easy.
So again, that is what you want to be able to transition to in order to truly be able to remove yourself from an owner-reliant business and be able to scale.And there are lots of different ways to be able to do that.
Yes, you can do online things and programs, but it also means that you can have a sales and marketing engine you put in place and you have a lot of other people doing the deliverables, right?So
It's just rethinking the model based on what that end destination is and being willing to play with exactly how you run your business right now in order to get there.
Out the gate in the first 10 minutes, getting a level up.Look at you, Sally.Is that a record?Ian would know.It's behind the scenes.He'll know.Okay.I picked up a couple of things that you said here and I got a couple of questions.Okay.
Everything that I'm hearing you say is about intention, intentionality, right?Because you're saying, don't just kind of float through, don't just make these quick decisions.You have to have that roadmap.
And it's funny because when I talk to Chad, and I've lunched with Chad, because I know he's worked with you, and I hear your teachings through his mouth now too.You're having a good impact everywhere.
But that intentionality, and you're kind of reverse engineering.This is where I want to go. And then you just decide, how do I need to get there?What are the steps I take?
And as long as you know where you're going, you can kind of take some detours, whatever.But the first thing that comes to mind is the idea of self-awareness.I think you have to be pretty self-aware.
I find myself struggling a little bit, too, of how do you really know that the thing that you come up with in your head of where you want to be is actually where you want to be?Or how do you?
How do you work through that process if you're just not sure?So that self-awareness seems like a pretty big piece of the puzzle.And how do you cultivate that in clients or people that you're working with to get them to really get that visual down?
Yeah, expand their mind, right?And see things from a different perspective.And that's essentially what I'm challenging people to do. You know, obviously the way that I do it is unique to me.
I take you through some strategic questions that are meant to challenge you and get you to think more deeply and introspectively about why you've made certain decisions.
But, you know, how can someone else do it on their own if we're not working together?You know, one book I recommend to everyone is The Big Leap. Right?
And Gay Hendricks talks about living within your zone of genius versus living in your zone of excellence.And your zone of genius is where you are doing things that you're so gifted at that you cannot believe that other people will pay you for them.
like what I get to do.I can't believe people get paid for this.I love it.
There's nothing I love more than studying business and figuring out what's working in the market today and being able to share it with other people so they can get results faster. And then your zone of excellence is what you're capable of doing.
Maybe what you kind of like doing.Maybe sometimes you don't like it.I was really good at practicing law.The problem was I just hated it.
And so what I tell people is begin to analyze what you do and look at it and say, am I really living in my zone of genius? living up to my full capacity?Am I doing something that I can't believe I get paid to do?
And if I'm not, what would that look like, right?What would the business need to look like in order for me to feel that way?Or what would need to be removed from the business in order for me to begin to feel that way?
And how can I take those items off of my plate and do one of three things with them, delegate, automate, or eliminate them?And those are our three choices.You know, I heard somebody else say, simplify them.I guess that's simplify is automate to me.
But those are our choices.And so, you know, I want people to continuously say, I deserve to love what I freaking do every single day.And you do.Yes, there are going to be very challenging days as an entrepreneur.But
At the end, if you're not going to just take a Polaroid picture of a day, but you're going to actually zoom out and let the camera look at the comprehensive view of your life, are you really loving it?
And if you can't say that you do, you might be living in that zone of excellence.And again, what I want to challenge you to do is level up to that zone of genius.
I can speak from experience.I used to be a teacher, used to teach elementary school general music, and it was one of those things that was definitely in a zone of excellence for me, and I was good at it.I liked it okay, but it definitely wasn't.
I'd try to go into work every day.I was like, oh.And then when I eventually stopped teaching, a lot of people were like, but why are you quitting teaching?You're so good at it.I'm like, God, I'm just like, meh.And now I still teach.
I teach people all the time, but it's in a way that I love.Basically, if David has a microphone, David is happy. It can be on stage, on a podcast, talking to people.
If I've got a way to talk and help solve people's problems, I am my happiest sense of self.And that manifests itself in the business world, in building and scaling systems, but also is entertainment.
I help people solve the problem of their parties and get it to work.The getting it to work is the most fun part.
So I think that's some- Yes, and kudos to you.I love hearing about that transition.I mean, more people need to tell that story.
Right that I didn't stop there and that is the whole concept of my book hitting rock middle was the idea that I think my theory is that way too many of us stop. There, stop at the zone of excellence and think this is just how it has to be.
And it doesn't.You can create an entirely different life anytime that you want or an entirely different business anytime that you want.You know, if you're feeling burnt out, which is how I hear a lot of entrepreneurs.
you know, what I hear them saying today, you know, I'm burnt out.I get that.But there are definite solutions to that.
And one of them is making this significant shift to, you know, putting in place a sales and marketing process that is going to aid you in the amplification of your business and not have it be all dependent day in, day out on you.
You said something kind of towards the, some minutes ago about like, when you talked about what you do as a coach, you said something like, I'm paraphrasing, you help people kind of see what's possible in their business that they didn't think was possible.
And like, you could only really achieve those results when you believe that you can.And something I've been really thinking about it lately, maybe it's just my age, but like,
You there's a lot of quotes about you're only able to really capitalize or fulfill opportunities when you're the right version of yourself to meet those.
Do you find that a lot of your coaching just ends up being therapy?
Uh, yes.You know, honestly, everyone is true.You know, it is 20% tactical guys and 80% built on. How you see yourself and how you see the world, right?
The lens through which you see the world and no one wants to hear that, but fundamentally it's true.
So, yes, I teach a whole lot of tactics, but really at the end of the day, it is about holding people accountable to the implementation of those tactics and.
by that accountability, all I'm helping them to do is to ensure that they overcome their fears that things won't work out the way that they want.Everybody has self-centered fear, the fear of not getting what we want or losing what we already have.
And very often, business owners are terrified of making changes, especially if they're doing OK. They feel terrified.If I try to seek that next level of success, what if everything in my business falls apart?
Or what if I wasn't meant to seek that level of success?If you ever feel that dream within you, then Again, quantum physics says that you wouldn't have it within you if it wasn't meant for you.
And so all it is your job now is to do the work to remove any barriers to achieving it.And the barrier to achieving it 99% of the time is you.Here's the crazy thing, guys.It is not external forces.It is not the economy.It is not the election.
It is not... Any of that stuff because how do I know that?Because factually, there are many business owners right now that are absolutely crushing it.And so. If that is true, then that means that you have the capacity to do the same.
And if you're not, then you have to ask yourself, is it really tactical or is it really based on, am I not achieving the outcomes I ultimately want?Because my beliefs do not mirror those outcomes.
If I do not believe that I either deserve it or I have the capacity to create it, or I am in alignment with it. I cannot achieve that outcome.Why?It is not because it's some crazy voodoo, whatever thing.
It is because your beliefs directly control your thoughts on a daily basis, right?A core belief that you're not good enough or not enough, which is something I struggle with all the time.
If that core belief is you're not enough, it controls the thoughts that you have on a daily basis.And those thoughts control the actions you take, right?
Whether they are bold and big and whether they put you out there or whether you hold back, whether you're starting the podcast or you're not, whether you're showing up on social media or you're not, right?
All of those things, whether you're launching the new website, how much you put yourself out there and those actions then directly control the outcomes. And so those outcomes that you get then reinforce those core beliefs.
And so how are you going to break that cycle completely on your own when you do not have a different perspective?You ultimately just can't because you can only see the world through your lens.You need right?
A person to be able to show you that mirror to say, is this what you want?Is this what you really want to go after?And ask you those tough questions.
And that's where a business coach myself, you know, I've seen the best results is she's been able to challenge me and say, you know, the results you're getting are simply the result of your own choices.You know that, right?
And I'm like, Oh, she's like, so what choices do you want to make next time?Right?What are the choices that you're going to make differently this week to get different results.And if I were left to my own devices, I would blame external forces.Why?
Because everybody else is. everybody else's.But it is just the easy way out, guys.It's so much harder to do the internal work and turn the mirror on yourself and ask yourself, how can I get better?
What's my part in my business not achieving the goals that I want it to?And how can I change that?
That's like, it's like actually having an actual gold nugget in my hand, Sally, like, okay.
So one of the things that people in my position in my industry, people that educate people that are on stage, people that talk in this sort of sphere, one of the things that we comment on a lot is that a lot of people in our industry, specifically in the DJ industry,
will easily go spend five grand on a new set of turntables or the latest tech or the latest light or whatever because they believe that external thing is going to make them a better performer and it just simply does not.
And we also know that most likely those people will never, well I shouldn't say never, are unlikely to spend $5,000 on coaching. Because it's hard.It's uncomfortable.Someone said this one time, comfort is a huge enemy of progress.
There's another way to say it.When you're comfortable and you don't have to push past discomfort, it's easy to stagnate.
And I thought, you said something, when you were just describing everything about self-belief, all I'm thinking about is the movie Inside Out 2 that I saw with my kids.And I was like, oh, yes.
Because in the character, it's her self-belief about who she is and her, I am a good person, or I am selfish, or whatever it might be in that movie, ultimately dictates how she treats people.And you're just spitting coaching-level advice here on it.
Um, yeah, but I mean, most of those thoughts are kept inside ourselves.Let's be honest.Right.Most of the thoughts are not aired to other people.And most of them have to do with how we see ourselves and our inner critic.
And we are absolutely the worst.Um, we treat ourselves far worse than we would ever treat anyone else.You know, I used to.
when I did a lot of one-on-one coaching in the past, would say to my client, I want you to write on your hand one day all of the things that you say about yourself.
And then on that hand, you have to, when you see anybody, hold it up to wave at them and show somebody the things that you believe about yourself.So try that exercise, right?Not even, you know, just figuratively, not even literally,
you know, write it on a piece of paper and imagine yourself at the conclusion of the day, handing that to someone else and saying, this is what I think of me.
And if you're not willing to, then you know, probably your inner critic needs a little bit of work.And that's a great test to say, you know, am I standing in my own way?Let me evaluate the things that I say to myself on a daily basis.
If they're not helpful things, then you are likely holding yourself back.
And there's a lot of ways that I think you can keep the pressure on yourself, so to speak, you know, because I, just like you, I'm giving out advice, but a lot of times I'm like, I should just listen to that same episode I just recorded from, I gotta listen to that one for myself because I need that same message for David.
But I'm fortunate that I've got to a place in my career that I have a community of other professionals that push me. that they don't even directly say to me, Hey, David, what you been up to lately?What are you achieving lately?How is business going?
Just to be in their presence makes me feel like I should be trying harder.You know, I'm like, there's just what they say.
Like when you're the, or if you're in a room of 5 millionaires, you'll be the sixth, like the, the, the content that you're around, the people that you're around.That's why I give shout outs, like mentor pods and like other coaching programs.
Just that accountability is so powerful.That's why, Sally, when you're coaching one-on-one, it's just so powerful.
And correct me if I'm wrong, most of my experiences with coaching, the biggest benefits I've ever had from them aren't in the direct lessons.
That's a big part of it, but it's like, just to be there and just thinking about the fact that I have to show up pushes me the other six days of the week.
Oh, it's so true.Yeah.And we do find many studies show that at least for female business owners, you grow your business two and a half times faster when you do it in a community of other women.
And that is because you're more accountable to your peers than you are yourself.And so you can set up that roadmap, but again, if you don't have that accountability to following through on it, you're likely going to find reasons why it won't work.
Or, you know, I hit a roadblock and therefore that revenue stream I wanted to grow, it's not viable.You know, you'll come up with reasons on your own, but most of the time when you're with other peers, you don't want to come up with those reasons.
In fact, you want to come up with ways to overcome those obstacles, or heck, you bring them to the group and then other people have experience with those very same obstacles and help you get past them much faster.
but you don't have to do it on your own.And yes, back to your point about the investment in a piece of technology, you are not alone in that happening within your industry.It is everywhere, right?
We fiddle with our product way more than we work on our process.So the product getting better 99% of the time isn't going to have an ROI.
Like you investing in the $5,000 piece isn't going to have enough of an ROI, meaning unless your customers are coming to you saying, hey, your equipment is subpar, don't fix a problem that they are not telling you they have.
Instead, fix a problem that they are saying they have.
And if that problem is a lack of talent, if that problem is lack of access to people, an inability to get someone on a random Tuesday for a speaking event to DJ, then listen to what your customers say are the problems that need to be fixed by you.
And most of that is about dealing with the process of serving your customer versus fiddling with your product all the time.
Again, gold.Again, gold.I wish that
more people took that information to heart and carved out a day a week, a day a month to just start thinking about the process or just start thinking about not just doing the work, but like about the work and thinking on another level higher up than just doing it.
Yeah.I mean, it makes you 60% more money. 60%.Why?Because I do.I don't take clients on Mondays.I always spend Mondays are blocked off to work on the business instead of in it.And, you know, find whatever day of the week works for you or half days.
It doesn't matter.Everybody's like, Oh, I can't do that.I can't afford to do that.Actually you can't afford not to.Yeah. Right?
I mean, you really can't because all of the growth that is available to you and sitting at your fingertips is going to sit there and eventually disappear.
But unless you take advantage of it, and unless you have a strategic plan to take advantage of it, you're just going to sit there and believe that somebody is supposed to find you and, you know, think you're amazing and give you business.
And it doesn't matter how good you are. That is not how the real world works, right?No one is coming along to crown you as the best DJ business owner or the best DJ in the world.Just like no one's coming to crown me as the best business owner.
Instead of me sitting back and saying, well, I have great content.I know what I'm doing. Like, if I'm good enough, people will just find me.That is BS.They will not find you.No one's coming.Instead, you've got to put yourself out there.
You've got to be the one to say, OK, let me figure out what the process is that I need to take to go find them.And the better you get at that, the more money you will make.
Trust me. Um, this is a great, I think a great way to end our conversation that, um, we, we crossed paths through Chad Brown.You even just call that like a DJ for a speaking engagement on a Tuesday.
I think you may have been talking about me on that one. I was.There's so much value.So much value in just taking the time to be strategic.It is not comfortable the first time you do it.It is hard.It is hard for me.I am a straight up ADHD character.
And for me to be like, okay, I'm gonna turn off all my distractions.I'm gonna sit down and I'm just gonna have a social media planning day.And then I go to my accountant and be like, hey, how can we write this off?With my business retreat day.
but it pays so much dividend when I do it.When we just casually react to things, that's where I make my biggest... Blunders, I'm like, ah, I haven't posted on social media in like a month, whoops.
But if, you know, build that plan out, take the time to do things, like you said, let people know who you are, be out there, put yourself out there, that also requires some good self-image as well.
Sally, this has been, we could probably go for hours.
But how can we find you?How can people find you, your coaching, your Instagram, buy your book, how can we find them?
Um, so I am launching a new website today.I am hoping it gets up.Um, but so you can always go to grow with the brim.com.I have a ton of free resources on there.
Um, I always end up recommending, um, the five ways to increase your revenue because these are just five core things that everyone should know.Um, and they can help make you more money quickly.Um,
That and probably the 10-minute tool that'll save you 10 hours, this matrix I've put together, then share.Both of those are amazing.So go there, get those.And you can follow me on Instagram.It's at the underscore brim, B-R-I-M-M.Shoot me a DM.
I'm always checking them and responding.You can even book a free strategy session with me on the link in bio there, too.
I love that.So much, so much wisdom.This is what I said at the top of the podcast.
This is why I like having guests on the podcast that aren't in our industry, because they can offer a much higher level view of things that we're not even seeing for ourselves, because we're just so used to looking at the old, you know, the Facebook groups and all the things that we see other DJs talking about.
So as always, we have some free resources as well, blueprintlearn.com slash resources.We'll put a link to, All Sally's stuff in the show notes for this.And again, Sally, this has been such a pleasure.Thanks for coming on.
Absolutely.Thanks for having me, David.
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