Episode 34Nov 4, 2022· 45:02

Replay - Monique AJ Smith of Chat in the Garden

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About this episode

We're talking all things relationships and building community as I chat with Monique AJ Smith of Chat in the Garden. https://www.blogtalkradio.com/chatinthegarden More Show Notes From This Episode: What’s up my bloggy friends! I'm slowly updating the show notes for this and every episode of The Bloggy Friends Show. My new home base for all things Bloggy Friends can be found here:…

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Show notes & timestamps

00:00Podcast on African American Women in Sports

05:20Skydiving, Podcasting, and Email Lists

09:30Podcast Funding and Evolving Focus

14:24Virtual Networking and Personalized Programs

16:19Group Announcements and Mental Health Discussion

20:41Monetize Knowledge Before It's Needed

22:37Connecting & Growing Through Podcast

26:31Identify Your True Audience

29:08Email Engagement Outperforms Social Media

34:01Building Trust with Student Athletes

37:09Public Persona Pressure & Breakthrough

38:19Athletic Leadership: Overcoming Challenges

Full transcript

00:00

Welcome to the blogger friend show.

00:15

I'm really glad you were able to do this with me today.

00:18

I'm so excited about it.

00:20

And I think that what you want to talk about is going to bring my listeners some awesome

00:24

value because I know you said that you wanted to talk about how podcasting is very similar

00:29

to blogging.

00:30

Is that still right?

00:31

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:32

I mean, that's how I, I started out because for my reasoning, I'm dyslexic and I was concerned

00:41

about writing and something not coming out the way I want it to come out.

00:47

So I figured if I just talked about it, I'll be on the safe side.

00:51

That is fantastic.

00:52

I have, I absolutely love that.

00:54

Okay.

00:55

That's perfect.

00:56

So please just state your name and tell me what it is you do.

01:00

Okay.

01:01

My name is Monique AJ Smith.

01:04

I'm a leadership strategist for athletic departments, individuals who wish to advance an athletic

01:10

administration or sports business or the marketplace.

01:14

Wow.

01:15

Okay.

01:16

So now I know that you started Seeds of Empowerment.

01:19

Can you tell me a little bit about that?

01:20

Well, Seeds of Empowerment is my consulting side, which is what I just said, but I started

01:29

that in 2005.

01:31

I was a social commissioner for athletic conference and it just so happens that most of the women

01:38

in my conference excelled.

01:41

So I had other conferences asking me to speak at the athletic conference for women and I

01:48

did a lot of Title IX education, so I began to do that because the state of Virginia said

01:54

you got a side business consulting and you owe us some money as a business.

01:59

So I created a business in 2005 since I had to pay these taxes.

02:04

And so I just kept the name and went full time in 2013.

02:09

When I left the conference office, I went to work with the NCAA as a consultant and

02:15

they would send me out to do leadership retreats.

02:18

So it's still the same.

02:19

We're still planning Seeds of Empowerment and my tagline is a planning Seeds of Empowerment

02:24

to lead others to greatness.

02:27

Oh, that is so good.

02:29

I love that.

02:30

So when did the podcasting start becoming a thing that you were doing?

02:34

That's kind of funny.

02:35

Okay.

02:36

When I went full time, I came in contact with a publicist and she wanted me to help her

02:44

or one of her clients to...

02:47

So she wanted me to help her get her client a speaking engagement.

02:53

So then when I told her what I did, she had another client who wanted to have the longest

02:58

podcast, running podcast.

03:01

So she asked me, did I want to be a guest or a host?

03:04

And I said, I have control issues.

03:06

I'd rather be the host.

03:10

And in college, I majored in communications, mass media.

03:14

So I learned how to do radio and whatnot.

03:17

So there was that I knew how to do my own rundown sheet and things like that.

03:20

So they were so impressed.

03:23

They said, you want your own show and we have a different engineer for you.

03:28

So I joined Survival Radio Network with Clark Garrison and I had a different model because

03:34

I knew I wanted to interview all African-American women athletic administrators.

03:40

And for the first, hopefully it was the whole season, I was going to interview athletic

03:46

directors because that's what I was known for growing women into that field.

03:53

And he wasn't so, he was like, that's not a lot of women.

03:56

I said, watch.

03:58

So this month is my eighth season of the podcast.

04:04

So this month as in August is your eighth season.

04:07

Wow, that's incredible.

04:09

So it's been a minute since you started.

04:13

And so now was it always called Chat in the Garden or really?

04:18

It's called Chat in the Garden be a couple of things because I grow people.

04:25

Growth is not comfortable.

04:27

And so I have to keep reminding people what they're going to look like when they work

04:30

with me.

04:31

You see, because it's going, growth is uncomfortable, but you can see what the end is going to be.

04:39

And so, and also, you know, let's just throw some Oprah in there.

04:42

Oprah has her serious conversations in the garden.

04:45

I love it.

04:49

Love me some Oprah.

04:50

I absolutely do.

04:51

And you're saying the thing about growth is uncomfortable.

04:56

I was just watching the Will Smith speech on fear and he said that he went skydiving

05:05

and it was all about how everything that you want is on the other side of fear.

05:11

That in those moments where you're scared as hell, like everything that could possibly

05:17

be your dream, like your bliss is on the other side of fear.

05:21

And I just, oh God, it's such a good video.

05:23

If you get a chance on YouTube, check it out.

05:25

Just Will Smith on skydiving.

05:27

So already, so we wanted to talk about that podcasting is a form of blogging.

05:33

And you said that it's because you email it out to your email list each week.

05:38

So one of the things that I harp on all the time, even though I'm horrible at it, is I

05:41

don't have an email list, but I tell people all the time they need one.

05:45

So let's talk about all those things.

05:47

Let's unpack it all.

05:48

Why should, why should people do podcasting?

05:50

Why should they have an email list?

05:52

And what are you doing to keep your email list engaged?

05:56

Wow.

05:57

I'm going to capsule this into my method called DCL method.

06:06

Okay.

06:07

Okay.

06:08

All right.

06:09

So the DCL method is drive, convert, and life line costs, lifelong customers.

06:17

So beyond, I'm pretty sure people are blogging, they're doing it as a business, correct?

06:25

Most of the time, yeah.

06:26

Right.

06:27

And the same thing with podcasting.

06:29

You should tie it to your business.

06:31

I mean, you know, if you're going to talk, might as well get paid to do it, right?

06:34

If you're going to write, might as well get paid to write.

06:38

And so what, what, what, what it is is that the podcast and the blogging becomes a lead

06:44

magnet, people want to know what you have to tell them.

06:48

All right.

06:49

So that's the key to drive people to a Facebook group, an email list or a website so that

06:57

you can convert them to lifelong customers.

07:01

So again, now the key thing is when you convert it, you have to listen because you got to

07:05

listen to what they really need, what they're asking for.

07:08

So it kind of develops like a community.

07:11

So converting can also mean community, but in my case, it becomes a garden because when

07:17

I began, because I joined a network and I had no idea what podcasting was, number one.

07:24

Okay.

07:25

And he called it radio networking.

07:26

So I was like, okay, what is this?

07:28

Then when I use podcasts and I felt better because I knew what radio was.

07:32

Okay.

07:33

Traditional.

07:34

I was like, I don't feel authentic.

07:36

So he said, you got to have a Facebook group to go with the podcast.

07:39

I was like, huh?

07:41

So all of this happened just like that.

07:44

I told him, want to chat in the garden.

07:46

He sent me to a guy to do my graphic.

07:49

All right.

07:51

And then the graphic, then the graphic went to a Facebook group.

07:54

So whenever I would talk about who I was going to interview, I talked about it in the Facebook

08:00

group.

08:01

Now I could have done a podcast and put it to Stitcher and all those places, but I wanted

08:07

to drive people to the Facebook group because beyond interviewing the people, because what

08:13

I interview about is the career path of the person sitting in the seat of athletic position.

08:20

Okay.

08:21

Or, or, or the C suite of sports business.

08:24

Okay.

08:25

So it's always the same question, but also I ask people in the group, do you have a question

08:31

for this person?

08:32

I can ask.

08:33

So it's a live piece.

08:36

And then it's also a replay.

08:38

So by me doing that, it allows me to have engagement because if you know, I'm going

08:44

to ask the same questions you asked me, that means you're going to go listen.

08:48

Yeah.

08:49

And what I really try to do is get them to listen live and then they can hit the button

08:55

and ask their question and come on, you know, that's brilliant.

08:59

Thank you.

09:00

Thank you.

09:01

Thank you.

09:02

So you record all of them live.

09:03

Yeah.

09:04

It's on blog talk radio.

09:05

Okay.

09:06

Okay.

09:07

So I'm, I'm not going to, uh, again, all I do, I do have an engineer.

09:13

She clicks the button and I have commercials because my commercials pay for the podcast.

09:20

And um, but I like blog talk radio because the pictures rotate as you talk.

09:27

So that gives me another income string.

09:30

But for me, it just offsets the cost of blog talk radio and my engineer and then the cost

09:37

to produce it.

09:39

And so, you know, when I first began, it was, um, uh, you want to do a shout out, you know,

09:47

but now I've grown to, uh, most of the time, uh, people, I have, uh, um, people with books

09:54

that want to either have them on college campus or books to improve the individual and athletic

10:01

director position.

10:02

Um, and cause one of them right now is called love.

10:07

Love is at the root of resistance.

10:09

And so she is a, um, um, a professor at a college, but during the pandemic, um, she

10:17

wrote a book, which was really key because now, um, our student athletes have found their

10:23

voice in all types of ways, meaning, uh, the government has said that now they can get

10:29

paid.

10:30

Um, then you had the social unrest and they want to be part of that.

10:34

So as an educator, you need to educate yourself, uh, how to direct them.

10:39

Um, and then, so she's got terms and it's a workbook and then, you know, just knowing

10:45

how you fit into it, you know, because I feel like the podcast is a part of activism because

10:52

if you want to know what black woman is and you have position and you keep saying you

10:56

don't know where they are, then all you need to do is just go to my site and look at all

11:02

those interviews and it helps you, uh, Awaking yourself to all of the fan.

11:10

That's why I call it Chat in the garden.

11:11

I have a magazine called significance because the tagline for chat in the garden is a chat

11:18

in the garden where significance blooms in athletics and sports business.

11:23

So, wow.

11:26

Okay.

11:27

Thank you.

11:28

And so it, it, it makes you feel like, okay, I am significant.

11:32

If you say it out loud, then you know, it's, it's about you.

11:36

And just ironically, last week, someone called me or text me and said they had an opening

11:43

that was closing on Sunday and they did not have any diverse candidates.

11:48

Could I recommend?

11:49

Well, I, because I'm a consultant, I have people was already in my portal of my clients.

11:56

So I'm texting them right then and then I said, look, would you move to blank place?

12:01

Okay.

12:02

Here is, here is the salary apply.

12:04

Had two, I think I had three people to apply.

12:10

I mean, this was on a Thursday night and on Friday we had three applicants and then she

12:16

says, okay, we need to pay you the universe.

12:18

She said, we need to pay you.

12:19

I'm like, okay, bet.

12:20

I love it.

12:21

I didn't do it to get paid.

12:24

And so, and then I said, okay, and out of these three, two of them are right in my podcast.

12:32

You can just go look them up and listen to it.

12:35

That's brilliant.

12:36

So you, so not only have you built a community and have these connections, you also now have

12:41

like a pool of people you can pull from for not just your podcast, but for any opportunity

12:46

that comes up.

12:48

That's amazing.

12:49

So now tell me how is it that you get people to hear about the Facebook group and hear

12:55

about the podcast?

12:56

Well, I talked about this in your article that you did.

13:00

I know, but for people who didn't read it.

13:04

What I do is I spent a lot of time on LinkedIn because this is a professional piece and I

13:11

look for titles that follow.

13:15

I mean, and that's the people that people who are not into sports, they don't realize

13:19

you can be academic advisor.

13:21

You can be a sports psychologist.

13:23

You can be a social worker in sports.

13:26

You can be athletic trainer.

13:29

You can be facilities.

13:34

You can be a marketer.

13:35

You can be in development, all of those things.

13:38

And so I look for those titles and then I invite them to the Facebook group.

13:45

This is general and we're up to 2100 people.

13:50

So you have 2100 people on Facebook.

13:53

What do you say to the people who are saying you can't build your business on Facebook?

13:57

Well, I agree.

14:04

I agree with that.

14:06

You can build a community on Facebook.

14:08

Okay.

14:09

Okay.

14:10

And then you have to do the work to convert them to customers.

14:15

Yes.

14:16

And that's where the L comes in.

14:18

I can convert you to, because again, I can go to an event and you to check the lady lady.

14:24

Oh my gosh.

14:25

You know, so they know and they stop.

14:29

So now I mean the same thing is seeing me in person or seeing me in my inbox.

14:34

Then there's opportunity to find out what are your needs?

14:37

What are your blockages?

14:39

What what's your your biggest need?

14:43

And then I create a program for that.

14:46

Ironically, because of the pandemic, I will have a reception of the big convention every

14:55

year so we all can meet each other and say how you doing?

14:57

Well, I did it virtually and because I didn't want to have any zoom booms, I created a question

15:05

I thought would keep the people off that weren't supposed to be there.

15:08

I said, what is a check in the garden?

15:11

Well, the answer is podcast.

15:15

But I don't know, they gave me long.

15:20

Dissertations and I was like, OK, it's a place where women can grow.

15:26

It is the best podcast in the world.

15:29

I mean, all these different I gotta use it.

15:32

So I made a T shirt for silhouette of all of the words on which became a what a product.

15:39

Love it.

15:40

That didn't even know I want to have.

15:42

So that's how that graphic that you shared with me came to be.

15:48

That's brilliant.

15:49

Yeah, I had no I mean, I was in the product business.

15:52

I was in the service business.

15:55

And so that began to tell me who are my front row people.

16:00

OK, you know, because you got an audience, you got to get people on the front row.

16:04

You got people on the floor.

16:05

Then you got people in the stadium.

16:08

You know, those are people that don't even say who who boo.

16:10

But mind you, when they see you, OK, why don't you be a little bit more engaged so I can

16:15

recognize your name?

16:16

Right.

16:17

You have to say these kind of things.

16:19

And so what I do in a group, I announce people's promotions and jobs and everybody does that

16:25

and everybody keeps coming back for that.

16:27

So there's always something fresh and new that's going.

16:30

Then I ask questions.

16:31

You know, we have a question about Naomi, you know, Osaka, you know, have you prepared

16:39

for your student athletes to tell you, I can't do blank because it's a mental health day.

16:44

Right.

16:45

How are you prepared for that?

16:46

And where is your money?

16:47

Is it in your policies?

16:48

So there's some great info.

16:50

So then, OK, now I have folks in my portal, let's say spent money.

16:56

So if you find out who's spending money with you continuously, then that's your route of

17:03

that.

17:04

You need to listen and prepare for them.

17:06

And they become people that spend money with you if you create the right program.

17:13

That makes sense.

17:14

That makes perfect sense.

17:15

Now, I can't remember if we mentioned this before or after we started recording you said that your ideal customer avatar is athletic directors is that correct.

17:24

Black women athlete.

17:26

Okay, we want to be that.

17:28

Now is that in. Now when I think athletic director I think only in the university system is it beyond that or is it just university.

17:36

Ironically, I started out with that as my target, but I have been, again, you find out who are your people, because it's been the most money with you.

17:46

High school athletic directors seem to be spending the most money with fascinating.

17:53

Yeah, because they, again, they don't see anybody looks like them and they want to be and grow from that, you know, feed from that. And then some of them may want to go on a college side but you know what they find that they have a good groove where they are they just

18:08

needed some resources and support.

18:11

And so just to be able to wait is you know, if you hear somebody else's going to something similar, you go like, Okay, this roller coaster is not bad, I can get back on it, because they have fun go up and down, up and down.

18:25

And it's worth it. You just need to be around you, it community is important to avoid depression.

18:34

Amen. Say that again louder for the people in the back.

18:39

That's so true and I'm working from home like working from home is damn lonely. And so I think that the fact that we are able to still connect with people in some way, like even doing the virtual podcast movement conference that I just did last week, even though

18:55

I felt the energy of the people you felt all the people that were being part of it, everyone's using the same hashtags we're all talking about the same thing, and we're all connecting on one united thing that gets us all excited.

19:09

And there's nothing quite like it like I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it.

19:13

Yeah. So, what is your number one tip for converting someone who just found you randomly to get them to not only listen to the podcast but to get them on the email list and eventually become the customer.

19:27

Well, you know, and the email is, I, again, I was not sold on it, it began. Okay.

19:35

And again I invested a lot in the business coaching. And I think one Christmas, I had mail chip for a while so let me just see about this. So, I began to because a lot of people when I was connected them LinkedIn said they did not have Facebook.

19:53

And what I began doing is putting the people who did not have Facebook on my email list, so that they can still enjoy the podcast. That's how I began the weekly replay.

20:06

Then I began to put the sponsors of the podcast at the top, and then the park you know and then they get the replay the bottom, so that they will also get that feel of this is what's going on.

20:21

This is who supports us.

20:23

And then it was then then it began let me say okay this is my event coming up.

20:28

This is my book, this is my t shirt.

20:31

This t shirt goes on sale.

20:33

And so, then the email list began to really convert, because they will respond, like one guy I said on the podcast that I made a magazine like I said, and the magazine was to help people realize you got to package, just specialized knowledge.

20:54

Right to monetize it. But more importantly, you got to be able to put something out there. Because if you get a pink slip.

21:04

That's not the time to go put your shingles.

21:07

You need to be began to cultivate what you're known for in a consulting manner while you were working.

21:15

I couldn't get them to see that part so I began the magazine with the same title significance math like in business. I mean, and so, by doing that.

21:26

I got to fold, help them to cultivate and how to project themselves, because they're not thinking about that. What's the problem to serve, especially at more than one institution, what do you know for what people keep asking you about.

21:40

And it was, let me encourage the next generation of the position, because we got a lot of sports management majors out there. So, I said it on the podcast and then I got set it in email, and then I got a read email back from a high school coach who wanted

21:59

to buy the magazine for all of his players.

22:03

Okay.

22:04

So it's the engagement.

22:06

So engagement is key it sounds like it sounds like that is like the secret sauce that's not so secret that everybody needs, because the biggest thing that I see is most of these people that create these Facebook groups, they, they make it clear from the beginning

22:21

that all they're there for is to sell something. And it sounds like even though yes you are trying to monetize. You're not making that the goal, you're making the fact that you're actually trying to help people and serve them.

22:34

Yeah.

22:36

I see you nodding your head.

22:38

Yeah, yeah, I mean, I mean, honestly, you know, I mean you serve first and ultimately relationship, and my main, my main business is I go to campuses, and I do staff retreats or student athlete workshops.

22:53

And, and, and so they get to know who I am.

22:58

And they're more likely to build a podcast or listen to the podcast.

23:04

And they know no one trust me, because they know what I'm going to say. How am I going to teach there's peace, did they grow from it. I had a young lady who came out.

23:13

Isolation. She was a stay at home mom who had been athletic administrator who had been a coach, but she wanted to get back on the ramp.

23:22

Listen to the podcast gave her life, so she can get back on. So when she got her job at a division one mid major guess who she brought in to do a staff retreat. Yours truly.

23:36

You see, so you serve first.

23:39

And then you be able to grow your business.

23:43

And then from there like one of my favorite people in the whole world is Denise stuff filled Thomas she says I serve, I deserve.

23:53

Because if you serve then you deserve to be paid.

23:57

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, like I said that part about recruitment for position. Yeah, I do that naturally. And I was funny I was a business coach and she said you need to get paid for that and I said well how

24:12

do that she says, Well, you should charge the people who get the job of the sentence but I never thought about that. I still had it in place. But you see what happened on the universe, brought that to me, I need to go to universities and say, Hey, which is the whole point

24:31

of the podcast. Yeah, you know, you need to find them and I have them here in the garden.

24:39

That's fantastic. And and not only do you have amazing people in your garden you have already pruned your field to make sure it's damn good.

24:46

Thank you.

24:48

That's awesome. So, um, let's talk a little bit, a little bit more about the email list, and the reason, the reason I keep harping on this is because I think it's, I think it's so important that people understand that email is not dead.

25:01

And that, you know, you don't have to do it in a spammy way. So, so if you were if you were talking to someone telling them why they need an email list, what would you say, email is the best conversion, because you really can validate like, oh, that is so good.

25:23

You got so many golden nuggets coming out of your mouth this morning that's that's just fantastic. This flows, dear, this flows. Yeah, it's like you've been doing this for a while or something.

25:34

But you know I didn't know what I was doing. So that's the key. When you are educated you have to learn how to become entrepreneur, because you are my whole my whole life is always to educate to influence both my parents for school teachers.

25:48

You know so I'm all about let me show you and teach you. And then I can influence how you perform or think you found saying, I do. And so, with the email is you have the captive audience, because they open.

26:05

I have a client right now that she wants to sell a course. And so I was teaching her how to figure out who are the people are your, your heart and your want. I said so let's look at she had she had a long she had a list she'd been a business for a while.

26:21

This is her first time working with a social list. I said, Now let's. Okay, I have a business coach called a mark Tyler, and it's called traffic sales and profit is caused rack to shot.

26:34

So since them out to see who email to see who is really going to hear you. And for those Bible scholar is like David and the shepherd, he says they will know my voice.

26:46

So you want to see who can hear who hears your voice. Who are your shoe.

26:52

The rest of she's gonna keep on going but you say come on back. Those people are going to come back to where you are. So when you hear that when you see that those people who actually open.

27:05

And then click.

27:07

I had something to click. Okay, so she had like 1000 people. Okay, then she had like, maybe 200 to open, but she had five to click. I said so the five that click, you need to call them.

27:26

The others you send them another email to see if they can, you know, come on with it, because, because now I said now you're going to ask those five to be your beta of your program to make sure that you go in the right direction and offer them

27:40

a special price surface, but she already created so she needed to have some kind of piece because sometimes you don't get free is not it.

27:50

You know, discount partner together.

27:56

You know I mean, inviting you see I'm saying, so that they will because you know everybody who signed up for stuff don't necessarily attend. That's true. That's very true, especially when it's something that's free.

28:08

Exactly. All right. So, but you want to say I want you to help me create this you know be a part. And so that doesn't happen on a Facebook.

28:19

Whatever that happened on Facebook guess what you still got a DM.

28:23

And that's when you seem to be spamming because that Facebook will stop you need the button too many times. Right. So for instance, I'm giving a plan a connecting event at the Washington Mystics game.

28:37

Okay.

28:38

Alright, so I put it on Facebook, the first time to find out what data and writing.

28:43

So the people that said I'm interested.

28:47

DM them. Okay, I got 10 tickets about.

28:52

I got seven tickets. Yeah. Okay.

28:57

So now I'm going to do this week is put it in my email, when I send the replay out.

29:05

And they look, you got seven tickets left. I bet you anything, I get more engagement response and clicking from the one on one that sent to somebody to email, email, email versus somebody saying on Facebook and scrolling down, because they don't, I mean,

29:26

Facebook doesn't show everybody everything, even if it's in your group. Right.

29:31

Again, that becomes you own that your email list is something that you own a mail temp is makes it so easy to click and print, you know me, and, and you can have.

29:43

Well now, you can go up to 2000 emails for free, because I have a landing page and you click it and you get it.

29:52

Okay.

29:53

So you don't have to like do any of that messy programming stuff.

29:57

I mean, I would consider that because I mean, yeah, all I do is even an email is, if you want you click. And then when you click, I see you click and I know how to talk to you and find out why you didn't finish the process.

30:14

I see that sounds better to me than just sending them something that they may or may not have even wanted.

30:19

So you have a landing page that says, if you want to get the email, the replays to your inbox, click here. That's on Twitter. That's on, but it's the landing page from now.

30:31

So, okay, I love it. So now, in the, in the, the article that we were referencing earlier, I will leave it in the show notes and it was called tips from real podcasters on how to find podcasts guests.

30:43

And so we've already talked about the fact that you use your private Facebook group and you use LinkedIn to be able to find guests. Have you ever had any trouble finding a guest, or keeping the guest on the schedule.

30:56

Oh, well, yeah.

31:00

And, and but you know what I'm booked right now until May 1, and it's now August, the second week in.

31:10

That's amazing.

31:11

Yeah.

31:13

But so, so I had to do. So right now I'm checking with the September people to see if you still are still available. Okay, so I do do that. And so I had two people who

31:26

one person said I'll be the first time going back to work. So she didn't want to. Okay, fine. Put you.

31:33

And then I'm going to send this the next one to me. Okay, so then I have another hole. I can't find her she not answering. Okay, I gave her a couple of days done. Next person. Yeah, so I mean I really, I have an intern who, who emails the guests, the script and

31:52

the call in. And, and so I do was just confirmed, and I'm looking, and now I'm looking for, again, interesting positions in athletics.

32:05

And actually, I like the book piece, because that's really influential because if you read something then you get ownership with it.

32:15

And then, and most of the people are my sponsors on my podcast. And then I look for those engagement people, those people who are the most engaged. And I said, Are you ready to join and they love it because they are always there.

32:32

It's like, they wake up and look at me like everything congratulations congratulations. I just believe that they need to be rewarded.

32:40

I can't get over how amazing, listening to you talk about your community is because it sounds like it's such an engaged group of people that really care about what it is you have to say what it is that you're creating, and they want to be part of it.

32:55

Yeah, yeah, it's amazing to me, my husband, my very first reception that we did I think it was six years ago, and I heard him tell his mother, it was like, everybody listens to her.

33:14

I don't know what to say. I didn't notice it either, because I'm doing is just enjoying the community, you know, and I just enjoy meeting new ones and find out, you know what their needs are I did a workshop, virtually for athletic conference for all women.

33:35

I listen, you know I listen to what they need and then I create something, you know most of them did is frustrated because it just not heard.

33:44

And so how do you get trust to be second lieutenant. So these are things I've been doing for 30 years, I've been, you know, I was a pioneer myself.

33:53

I was a flight director 28 years old I'm now 53. I teach sports marketing and sports management courses at Hancock University. I'm around the students, I'm trying to make sure that they're really great administrators for these positions.

34:07

And one of the things that, like, for instance, the kids now again can transfer.

34:15

Just put the name in a portal.

34:17

If you're a president administrator and a coach How do you avoid that today's kids, they got to know you know and trust them. Can I trust you do you know about me, not just because the way and I can get you in their paycheck.

34:29

What are you doing about me do you know I'm my only child. Do you know that my grandma my dad, you know, what do you know about me. And if you know about me, I will go to a brick wall for you.

34:40

So I created a workshop called newly committee after after the game newly way game.

34:49

Because you know how I don't know how old you are but you remember that would put the little, the little sheets up to see if they matched. Yeah.

34:57

And then coach and play it. So I get that by listening. That's a frustration. And then I create a program, and this program actually goes with the university workshops that I do.

35:11

So, yeah, listen and talk, it's a two way street.

35:15

Well it sounds like everything that you're doing, not only in your business in your business in your podcast in your magazine and your everything it's all connected.

35:22

Yeah, and I didn't look.

35:25

It's a download honey, it's to God be glory because I, again, I had no idea, and I was like, Oh, okay. And when they. That's why you gotta have some quiet time to listen to it is, and I'm not talking about with somebody told you with somebody told you with

35:44

somebody told you, I think you have to sign it with your business coaches.

35:49

Because it's like, I watched a movie about fast food.

35:55

And the stuff they put in things to make you hungry.

35:59

It's the same way in the, in the business and they do things that make you hungry. Now when I do it, I'm trying to do it in a way of triggering what I know you already said, and what you need.

36:12

You know, so I'm not trying to make a problem that's not there. But I may make you aware of a problem to not aware of any keep you from going through a pitfall. Yeah, so I got one more thing I did.

36:26

And I didn't, I didn't know what happened. Okay, I went to a conference, it was called changing faces.

36:32

And I went ahead, I said, you know, I think I might do this was anthology, and she said, What is something that you went through that you want everybody to know so for me, by being a public figure.

36:48

People thought, Oh, how great how great but you don't know what goes behind all of that.

36:53

And so I had.

36:56

I think it was almost 20 years ago.

36:59

I was like again one of the first athletic administrators on the conference office that was over all women that over women's program but my title was singing woman's administrator.

37:10

And people are looking at what does that do, what do you want. And I don't. Okay. And then I got all these young ladies looking at me older, because they want to be able to get their university to see them in the same light.

37:24

And I did a book called literally and figuratively.

37:27

And I covered it in this chapter called public figure mass exit stage left.

37:33

And so, I'm also able to. So I put something in the Facebook group. I said did Naomi and.

37:43

And, uh, bowels, Simone bowels trigger anything for you.

37:49

Do you push through.

37:51

Do you feel like, you know, you can't go on, because again nobody's talking about the administrator can you imagine all of these plates going around.

38:03

And you don't, and you can continue to point out.

38:07

And I'm trying to say, I know, I've been there. So you see the pub that that's the name of the book. So I'm able to give that out without even making call some outside when you go on.

38:17

And I'm able to go on when people go into the stuff they post. I said look you might want to check this out, and this is my athletic administrative journey, so that tells them.

38:26

I want to know how she got there. But then I give them the tools. That's usually what I do, I use the tools, because most of the time your advancement is based on how you deal with know and disappointments.

38:40

And so if you can not take it personal, not make assumptions, always do your best and being a pecker with your word, you'll be able to put one of those things that was compartments and be able to press for.

38:54

And that's what I talked about in the book, and that's what I do in my consultants with one on one. I do the head work first and then offer some type of skill set.

39:03

One of my favorite things about what everything that you just said is that you don't just tell someone your story, or someone else's story, or you don't even just you don't even just talk, you give the tools, so that someone who's trying to better themselves

39:20

can actually do it. That, that really, that really struck me I really enjoyed that.

39:26

So, whenever you start your podcast episodes like every episode you go into are you.

39:33

Whenever you're starting them are you thinking to yourself. Okay, how can I empower someone today, or what is it that when you're going into your episodes that you're thinking.

39:43

I'm going to meet this new person and find out what was a career path.

39:49

What's the advice for others, and what are her current initiatives. So depending upon what she says, either I just let her talk, or I add to it based on what she says, but most of the time, it's their time, because I do I do my Johnny Carson in the

40:07

beginning. I tell them everything that's going on in my world and whatnot. I've already done my piece. Okay. And then I bring my guest on. And you know the funny thing about three or four of these folks who said they met me over the years and I sat them down

40:23

and said, Hey, there's something in them. One girl said I got the job because I did a one on one with you, and you told me to to qualify. She wanted to be move up academic advising. I said well how many people have improved their grades, because

40:40

of you, and blah blah. I said you need to have numbers you got to qualify. And because she qualified in her interview she got the job.

40:48

I don't remember saying it.

40:52

You've moved people and you didn't even realize it. Yeah.

40:56

So and I guess in that sense it is a little bit like blogging how sometimes you'll you'll have someone say they read something that you wrote, and it really moved them and they're like, you have no idea you even wrote it because I have what's called writer's amnesia,

41:09

where I write a blog post and I literally forget I wrote it. I have no idea I wrote it. It got me in a lot of trouble in college people used to think I was plagiarizing my, my papers because if they read them back to me I didn't know I wrote it.

41:23

So, so yeah that's very interesting that that you have had people say that you said something that moved them and you didn't even remember saying it.

41:31

You need to have something in the bottom of your blogs to say it this mood you respond.

41:40

Here's my email, or here's this or here's my community.

41:45

I'm not saying get prizes.

41:48

But you know, I would like to highlight you. You know what I mean. I love it. I love that's brilliant I never even would have thought to say as a call to action just reach out.

41:59

I'm looking for the next best talent.

42:06

You may already be a winner.

42:10

Well, one of the things that you had been talking about you've been talking about the DCL method. Is there anywhere that people can get some more information about that.

42:18

Well yes, I'm going to put it in my pay hip store. So, okay, pay hip.com backslash seeds of empowerment. Okay, and it will be gonna be DCL method, and I'm going to put a coupon for any listeners here, and the coupon will be I think I've called it.

42:40

Yeah, yeah blog, blog, excuse me, BLO GG why the name of your.

42:49

Yeah, so we just put in coupon. BLO GG why you'd be able to have a printable, so you can put up remind you of how to DCL your podcast for your blog.

43:03

Yeah, I love that that's fantastic well I will put that in the show notes along with all the good stuff that we discussed here today. Is there anything that I didn't ask you that you wish that I had.

43:13

Oh, no, I've enjoyed the conversation.

43:19

Again, and well my question would be, you know, to your audience, if there's someplace that you think I can serve your community, please just email me at Monique AJ Smith at season power.info, but I love to connect on LinkedIn.

43:38

So my name is Monique AJ Smith.

43:41

And we will drop all those links in the show notes as well and it's going to be a bloggy friends.com. And I think we're just going to say bloggy friends.com backslash chat in the garden.

43:51

So that's what's going to be. Absolutely. Well, where can people find you online. I know you mentioned LinkedIn and we mentioned the Facebook group but is there anywhere else that you wanted to tell people to find you.

44:02

Well, I listen to my podcast and chat in the garden.com. And my magazine is on Amazon season on Amazon significance significance. Okay.

44:15

Especially if you if you're interested if you know somebody's like administration who wants to advance in their career.

44:21

I'm your girl.

44:23

That's fantastic. I really appreciate you doing this with me today. I hope you enjoyed it I know I did.

44:29

Thank you so much. Thank you.

44:59

Thank you.

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