Suzilla: Family Business Podcast

Every Second Counts

By focusing on effect you can affect a response with the people around you. The Bear season 2 is a real good example of the details a restaurant can have to create an experience. Other businesses can work on similar effects to change lives.  Let’s get into it.

Are you treading water or are you getting new experts in your life?

It is amazing how much people spend on time and money by avoiding experts. We see it a lot in our independent Insurance Agency. We are going to talk about experts today and the value they add. What happens when you cling to an expert? What does that do to your choices, your business, or even your lifestyle? Qualities that we look for every time. If you want to make big improvements in your life then surround yourself with experts. 

Are you an inclusive or an exclusive business?

Between last week’s SCOTUS decision and our town’s Prayer meeting masquerading as a 4^th of July Celebration, it’s time to sort some things out. Our business has always been inclusive by design. We suggest that people start looking for Friends of Stella lists and GSBA Memberships. It is going to be a tough time for a lot of people. The ability to run secular events/businesses is a key element for building community.

Nostalgia sucks in the long run

While we run a lot of mid-century with Suzie Health Solutions. We can not rest on that for Wenatchee Insurance. 

My teenager reminded me how bad nostalgia sucks when we walked into a 50s diner and were served substandard food, reduced sizes, between Marilyn Monroe and Elvis. Start looking at what a company is doing and what they are serving up. Did it peak in Highschool? Let’s take a look at nostalgia.

Lessons from the bottom of the ocean.

There are lessons everywhere to improve your business and yourself. Two hours after launch to see the Titanic, Titan lost contact with the surface. There are lessons everywhere and especially over the loss of five people that paid a quarter of a million dollars each for the ride to the bottom of the ocean. We are going to take a dive into the lessons. 

What are signs that you are adulting well?

Seriously, what signs does a person display when they have their house in order? What does it look like when they are a hot mess? We are no angels however there are habits that effect people display over and over again that promotes success as they define it. Let’s get into adulting.

Are kids interested in Branding

We are going to get into branding and marketing today thanks to Nikki Darling Productions brochure that I have in my lobby. We keep a rack in our lobby for local businesses brochures which is one of our regular community-building projects.

I was asked about branding by a customer this week and since we launched a massive campaign and am talking to a marketer today. Every action that you do impacts how the world sees and responds to you. What flags are you signaling to others? Are they seeing your signals or are they expecting a pattern laid out before you got there? Let’s get into building your brand.

Why do I look for Sacrifice in Leadership?

I learned from my time in the Army. It is a dividing line between management and leadership. A manager will cling  to self-importance that pretty Instagram image of what the top looks like. A leader will eat last, provide their best for the people around them from their own pockets.

It is where you find a servant leader.

When you select a company or nonprofit look for sacrifice before making a selection. The more toxic the environment, the less you will find sacrifice. The less the sacrifice, the more likely you will be impacted by thievery. 

Rainbow in the Room

We run an inclusive insurance office. This includes the LGBTQIA+ members of our community. We have been doing so for over a decade because things like supporting Gay Marriage and Section 1557 of the ACA are platforms of treating people well like people. We are going to talk about what we currently see, book bans, anti-healthcare legislation and what we are doing as a small business.

What’s your back up plan?

Since we have an insurance business we ask What If Questions all the time to each other.

Your partner gets sick, vendors fail, and equipment breaks down. How many backup plans do you have in place for your business and your family? It hasn’t been too long ago when the country got our backside handed by the lack of plans and safety nets. Let’s get into creating plans that do not infringe on current operations and increase your flexibility.