You CAN Develop Resourcefulness in Business (Here’s How!)

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0:39Welcome back to the Jasmine Starr Show, where we discuss business mindset and today, becoming as resourceful as you possibly can. And let me tell you, resourcefulness is underrated. I mean, think about it this way. Resourcefulness is the ability to get things done, even when the odds are stacked against you. Back in college, I had a marketing professor who was notoriously known for never giving an A in his class. So he was verbose and he was ostentatious and he would love to give soliloquies on marketing. Okay, so our 90 minute class would be him talking straight for 90 minutes while all the students furiously, man, we were writing notes.

1:21After an entire semester, all the students would have about an encyclopedia size notebook filled with notes from his class. Now, there wasn't just a lot of information. There was so much you had to memorize for his final, the final that comprised 70 % of your class grade. Okay. But there was one small aspect that was unique to his final exam that I had never seen before or since. Okay. He told his students that he would build his final exam in front of people who wanted to sit in and discuss sit with him. Okay. So he opened his office beginning around 12 PM for this process. Some people guessed he would be there for an hour.

2:08Some people guess, you know, he's going to be there three hours. I was one of the first students in the office and a small group of us sat on the floor while he reviewed a semester's worth of his notes. Okay. And so then, you know, slowly students began to leave after the second hour. And then it dwindled down to just two students, myself and another student at around the three hour mark. Dr. Sibley said that he wasn't even close to halfway done. So then I'm like, okay, based on my quick calculations, I was like, he's going to take six to seven hours to create this final exam. But, but I also knew that if I stayed the entire your time, I know exactly what I would need to study for.

2:52That is when I decided that I wasn't going to leave Dr. Sibley's office until he did. Seven hours later, I walked to the campus cafeteria for dinner and I was so exhausted. But I had Dr. Sibley's entire final. I was the only student who knew every question and answer on that test. Now, as long as I memorized it, I was guaranteed an A on that exam. And I was guaranteed an A in the class. But here's the crazy part. Getting an A wasn't saved for the smartest person in the room. It was simply available for the students who had the ability to get it done. I was the only student willing to spend seven hours sitting on the floor working through my final exam with my professor.

3:41I was literally nothing more than resourceful. I was determined, but I was mostly resourceful. And I've carried this skill. Yes, it is a skill. It is something that can be built. You're not born being resourceful. You go out and get it, honey. You learn it. And I have carried this with me, this aspect of what I've built my entire career. And the hard truth is just this. In business, it's rarely the case that you have access to all the resources that you'd like. But I don't believe that this is necessarily a bad thing. This is where you're forced to learn how to think creatively and find solutions with what you have available.

4:20It's about making the most of your time, your skills, and your budget to achieve your goals. Like no matter what. So you don't have a lot of time. You ain't got a lot of skills. You don't have a big budget. You're going to get it done no matter what. Why? That's the cost of entry. That is the price we all must pay to get onto bigger and better things. In fact, having a lack of resources is how most entrepreneurs learn to be resourceful. But at the end of the day, it's a skill you and anyone else can develop. So let's talk about how we can do that now. In this episode, we're going to go over the four strategies that will help you develop resourcefulness, daily practices to improve and strengthen your resource muscle.

5:02Y 'all, this is like going to the gym for your resource brain. Okay, let's get cracking. Strategy number one, adopt the MacGyver mindset. Okay, do y 'all remember MacGyver? It was a show that was really popular in the 80s. Now, I never watched that show personally, but I have to tell you, I have this weird fascination with the 80s. I mean, the opulence, the big everything, the over-the-top fashion. It's just like dripping in sequence and diamonds and big hair. I don't know why. I think it's really, really interesting. Oh, and we can't forget big everything, big mustaches. And this was made really popular by MacGyver.

5:42It was a very popular show in the 80s. Now, like I mentioned, I had never seen an episode of like that show or my Emmy Vice or The A-Team. I have to tell you, my parents were super conservative. I did not watch a lot of television. I was not part of that cultural conversation, even if they were watching it. But I love reading historical accounts of the impact those shows had on creating American culture. Okay. Well, enough about my love about like American culture. I want to get to my main point. My main point is that MacGyver is the name of a very resourceful secret agent on the show, but this is not your average show.

6:16Unlike typical action heroes, MacGyver, he didn't use guns and he didn't use any weapons. Instead, he relied solely on his knowledge and ingenuity. In-ju-in-ity? enjoy it. He depended on his knowledge and chutzpah. I'm just going to say that. And he would use this to get out of like bad situations. So MacGyver was famous for using everyday objects, like normal things, like a paperclip, some chewing gum. And then he would create these amazing inventions that solve problems. Okay. I'm saying this. And as I'm saying out loud, the show sounds dumb, but according to historical data, MacGyver was like the show.

6:53Okay. So anyway, how do you apply the MacGyver mindset in your business? Well, just like MacGyver, you have to focus on what you do have. Don't have a computer? Go to the library. Don't have a gym membership? Go for a run or do bodyweight exercise at home. Can't afford a business mentor? Listen to free resources like podcasts or YouTube. So whenever I get into these sticky situations, it's very common for JD, my business partner, my husband, to be like, We got to MacGyver this. We got to get as ghetto and scrappy as possible. Do we have chewing gum? Or we're going to hit our profitability margins.

7:27Do we have a paperclip? Oh, we're going to solve how we're going to do this hiring process with HR. It's just, the thing is, scrappy doesn't have to equal crappy. I take a lot of pride in understanding that what we're able to do so scrappy is the same caliber, the same quality, the same value that our customers and clients really find across the board. So I think that our minds try to talk us out of resourceful action because it's unfamiliar. We would rather just say like, I wish I had the money. I wish I had the team. I wish I had the resources. Okay. We wish all of that. But just remember that there are people out there doing more with less.

8:05I always think that. Now you might be thinking, okay, Jasmine, but MacGyver is a fictional character. Okay. No problem. I totally agree. That is true. MacGyver is fictional, but so is Rocky Balboa. are you going to tell me right now? Are you going to tell me right now that we can't learn hard work, determination, resilience, and humility from Rocky Balboa? I don't think so. Y 'all, I will use these fictional characters. And I like think about the impact, the way they show up. Oh, you want to know what? Russell Crowe, Gladiator. I mean, come on guys. If you're ever having a bad day and you're like, I can't do this.

8:42And then you see Joaquin Phoenix put his thumb down to Russell Crowe and Russell Crowe's like, I got this. I always think to myself, I need to Russell Crowe this ish right now. I think though, that one of the reasons why like MacGyver, Rocky, you know, Russell Crowe and the gladiator, the reason why we find it so inspiring is because they didn't have anything. They didn't have the tools or the resources, the name, the pedigree, the money to work their way out of a situation. And yet they did. So let's start thinking, what would MacGyver do in this situation? And I know that's a stupid, you might say, this is a really stupid strategy.

9:24Well, it's easy to remember. Simple doesn't mean that it's stupid. It is literally asking yourself, can I find a way with what I have? Strategy number two is mind mapping. Okay, this is a visual brainstorming technique. It's a way to spark new ideas and connect them to each other. Now to do this, see y 'all, for all your creative lovers, like your girl's creative, like I'm very visual, this is going to help a lot teaching your brain how to be resourceful. Okay, so what we're going to do is we're going to grab a pen and a piece of paper and you're going to plop your central problem or your goal, smack dab in the center of the piece of paper, right?

10:02And then we're going to let ideas flow out by branching every thought, every possibility, no matter how crazy or weird it might seem. You never know when two seemingly unrelated ideas might collide and create a perfect solution. So what happens is we have to give our brain the creative freedom to think of every dumb idea. I love dumb ideas. It is the dumb ideas that lead us to really great ideas. Or sometimes that dumb idea is actually not so dumb. but we won't give ourselves the time or the liberty to do that. And so mind mapping is just a great way to be like, hey brain, you're free to think however you want.

10:39Your brain, y 'all, is a powerful computer. Your brain wants to figure it out, but are we giving it the time and the ability to do that? So think of it like this. Your brain already knows the potential solutions, but sometimes you got to do a little digging to find them and connect them. And that's where mind mapping comes in. Okay. So I think it might help if I give a tiny example. So this is, audible, right? So I'm going to try to be as descriptive as possible. Let's say you're a local bakery and then right smack in the center of your page, your central problem is to increase foot traffic. You want to get people into your bakery.

11:13So you start branching out with every single thought or possibility, no matter how off the wall it seems. Okay. And then things start to flow, like offer a cupcake and tea happy hour or partner with local businesses or host events or create a loyalty program. These are all ideas to increase foot traffic. Now, now it's time. We're gonna add a little bit of magic. You explore further possibilities. Now, I want you to aim for at least three under each branch. Okay, so imagine you have your center problem, increased foot traffic, and then you have these branches coming out like offer cupcake, tea, happy hour, another branch, partner with local businesses, and then underneath each of those, aim for at least three crazy big ideas without limitations.

12:01So for example, under partner with local businesses, you might brainstorm ideas for collaborations with boutiques, churches, schools, or even local restaurants or coffee shops that don't currently offer dessert options. Okay, now we're getting somewhere. So some great collaboration ideas pop up with restaurants, but we can make this even better. Now let's revisit that loyalty program branch. Okay. Remember those like branches that we started off? There was like a loyalty brand program. And then there was partner with local businesses. What if you create a joint loyalty program with these restaurants?

12:37Like, so here's how it could work. People who eat at the restaurant and then visit your bakery with a receipt from the restaurant earn bonus points to one or both programs. I mean, y 'all, y 'all, when we mind map, we can come up with really creative solutions on how to make this work. Okay. So moving on to the next strategy and becoming more resourceful. Strategy number three is, okay, I'm, you know what? I told myself, don't go there, Jasmine. Don't go there, Jasmine. Don't go there, Jasmine. Stick to the point, but I'm going to go there, Jasmine. Okay. When we talk about mind mapping, I want to give now a personal example of my business.

13:16And sometimes I like to give examples of other businesses because I don't want to talk so much about myself, but you want to know what? I'm going to talk about myself in the hope and the light that it speaks to another entrepreneur with where they're at. So we talk about being resourceful and we talk about mind mapping. So recently we launched a live course experience called Your Biggest Launch Ever. And when we were getting into creating the content, we had so much content to create. This is not like a course telling you what to do. This is an entire SOP. It is entire standard operating procedure on how to launch.

13:48This is the what, but it's also the how. So there was so much detail that went into it. So that by the time I needed to create bonuses, incentives for people to invest, I was so far behind the eight ball. And I was like, okay, you have to be resourceful. You can either drive yourself into the ground trying to create this extra content, or you can take a good hard look at what are the objections that people would have to buy? What is a bonus or a resource that you can create to overcome their objection? and then I asked myself, do you have to be the one to create it? So we did a little mind mapping.

14:32How could I get bonuses where I wasn't the person who was creating it? And so then I just started thinking, okay, what might we do here? What would we do there? And so then what I did was I listed every objection why somebody wouldn't buy. And then I was like, I think that if we had this bonus or an extra resource, they would buy. And I think that this person is so good at it. So we reached out to collaborators to create bonuses for this program. And in exchange for that, they got to drop a mention of a low ticket offer or a lead magnet. So for example, when it came to buying, I thought that somebody's resistance, their objection or their fear, why they wouldn't buy is like, well, you know, if I'm going to make an offer, I really do need like a newsletter list.

15:19I need to have people to sell it to. And the person who I am like so blown away with how she grows her newsletter list is Amy Porterfield. So I asked her to create a training and I'm like, listen, I know you've done trainings, but this isn't training for like, I need to start a newsletter. This is for business owners with a newsletter who are looking to up level their strategies to grow their business to then make their offer. And so she created that. And then, you know, I was talking to Ashlyn Carter and I said, people have a very hard time writing and coming up with copy. We have templates that we give people, but we really want to teach them how to personalize it.

15:56So she created a whole resource on using AI with our templates and her prompts to create copy for your launch sales emails and sales page. And so what I was doing was mind mapping to come up with a solution. But here is how being resourceful actually connects to strategy number three. Now, the next strategy to becoming more resourceful is strategy number three, barter. So same, same, but different. I'm going to come back to this in a second. Come back to the bonus conversation. Okay. I worked at a restaurant through college and there's something restaurant managers often say, and it's that they're quote, food rich, money poor.

16:35Okay. So what does this mean? Well, it means that they have a ton of product, but not a very big budget. So anytime they can use food instead of cash, they do. Like, you know, it's like we would get rewarded. So if they had like a special and the other person's like, the first person to sell, you know, seven specials will get dinner on us tonight. Or if they needed me to work a double, they're like, hey, you can order any entree in between your shifts. Or I was... How many times, y 'all? I don't even know. It's like one of my career highlights being employee of the month. Now, employee of the month for the entire organization, not just the restaurant.

17:17So I worked at a barbecue restaurant. It's kind of like a chain here in Southern California. It's called Lucille's. But Lucille's is under an entire company. And they also did like Hoff's Hut and Lucille's and a couple other restaurants. So I was named Employee of the Month. You guys, I don't even know why. I think it's still so freaking cool. I got a jacket that I've never worn, but Lucille's Employee of the Month jacket. I mean, come on, y 'all. Anyway, part of being Employee of the Month is you got at least one meal every week for that month. Okay. So this is, you know, they're just using food as a way to say thank you, like rewarding staff.

17:51You know, if you work a double shift and you're like, hey, here's some food. Okay. So when we think about this concept, food rich, money poor. I have to tell you, they were in the business of trading their food for getting what it is they want. That was essentially them bartering with their employees. But I feel like I learned such a big lesson because I still am not above trading when the value is equal and documentation is in place. Here's why. You're able to get somebody to try your product or service who otherwise might not have and then vice versa. So I think that when I think about how bartering takes place now, let's go back to this idea of courses.

18:28When I had asked Amy to create a bonus for my course, Your Biggest Launch Ever, she had also asked me to create a bonus for her course, Digital Course Academy. And so in a way, this bartering was that like, she didn't have to pay me for creating the bonus. I didn't have to create her for the bonus. We're creating a win-win. Our audience is similar and yet a little different. And that is like a barter. but let's break this down even more. I work with a videographer and I wanted to get an at-home studio setup. So I just wanted to be able to sit down, turn a camera on, have lights and be able to record a video.

19:03But I needed that setup and I needed it synced up with my laptop and I wanted to use my podcast recording mic. And there was all these little pieces that I just didn't have time, energy, or even knowledge on how to do. And so I reached out to him and I said, Hey, could I get a quote for how much it might be for you to buy the equipment that you need and set it up. And he's like, sure, absolutely. But would you be open to doing one of your consulting sessions with me in exchange? And I was like, okay, I freaking love this idea. And so what he did is he said, it's going to take me about this many hours to do the setup, to do the ordering and do the install.

19:40And I said, great, well, we can exchange that however many hours that you're using to set up my studio for however many consulting hours. And I felt like it was such a win because I got to do what I love and he found that very valuable. And then I got my office set up. So here are three tips I have for you if you're considering trading your products or services with somebody. Tip number one, make sure it's mutually beneficial. The core principle of bartering is that it's mutually beneficial. Both businesses should gain something of value that they wouldn't have otherwise. And then you need to clearly define what each party needs to ensure that trade is fair.

20:17Now, when I was working with Max to do this trade, I literally set up in an email, hey, I am treating you like a consulting client. I'm going to be putting you in my funnel for consulting. I'm going to be requiring that before a consulting session, you go through the preliminary questions and give me the data that I need, or else I can't treat this like a regular consulting session. So I had to make sure that he was on the same page about doing that work. And I was on the same page about being facilitating to his schedule when it came time to setting up. Tip number two, give and ask for clear expectations.

20:52Before finalizing the barter agreement, yes, y 'all, I dropped out of law school, but I will absolutely get an agreement. Now, I didn't need Max to sign a contract. I didn't send a contract for Amy to sign, but I did absolutely send emails. And I'm like, just recapping what we talked, here's X, Y, and Z. And then that person responds and be like, yep, got it. And then that acts as enough clarification that if we ever needed to revisit the terms of the agreement, it was there in that email. And it is totally okay for you to have a clear discussion about expectations. Outline the scope of work, the timelines, how are you going to deliver it?

21:28Anything that you think is going to make sure that you guys are on the same page. I know you might say like, It seems a little excessive. It seems a little unnecessary. I have to tell you, just having a document in place can save you a world of headaches down the road. And when I was in law school, I can't tell you how many cases we read where if there was just a simple agreement in place, so much would have been saved. Even if it was just like, not even like a contract, but like a text message outlining what you were agreeing to so that the judge would be able to say, hey, I have enough information here to say like, you did not uphold your end of the contract.

22:01Okay. Tip number three, treat it as you would a cash payment. For product-based businesses, this shouldn't be a concern. It's like, my product is X dollars. Now, if you have to include packaging and shipping, okay, go ahead, but itemize that. But for service-based businesses, deliver work that meets your normal standards and it reflects your best effort and it really complements your brand. Because I firmly believe a happy barter partner can lead to a long-term collaboration, word of mouth referrals, testimonials. You have to avoid the mindset, well, this is only a trade or well, they're not really paying for it.

22:39No way. No way. Expect and deliver the same level of quality in return. Because quite honestly, I would love to barter again with Max or I would love to find other collaborators for future resources so that it's mutually beneficial. I never look at it as like a one-time thing. Okay. Those are the three tips when it comes to bartering. I'm going to move on to strategy four for being resourceful. Play the leftover game. Okay. I should probably start by saying, I say play the game, but I'm going to be very clear. I don't eat leftovers. I don't know why y 'all. I do not know why I find leftovers the most disgusting thing ever.

23:17I don't know why I've been like this as a kid. My parents, it drove them crazy. Now, the only caveat was that my dad would always know. Okay. here's what I think. My dad, my dad's from Mexico, has a very thick accent. And one time he was watching a cooking show on PBS and it was French food. And still to this day, he calls it refugé, which I honest to God have no idea what that word is, but I'm 99 % sure he's saying it wrong. Okay. Whatever the French word is that they said in that show back in like 1997, refugé, I'm sure it's not pronounced that way, but my dad still to this day will be like, Like, oh, I can make dinner a little refugee, which I think is closely an approximate French word for like remaking leftovers, but turning leftovers into something else.

24:05Refugee. I hate that word because I know it's wrong, but my dad insists on using it. I will eat his refugee. I will not eat leftovers. But if my dad can turn a previous night's dinner into a new dinner that looks nothing alike, then I eat it. But leftovers, y 'all, you will never see your girl walking back with a doggy bag. Not because I'm not above it. Not because I'm not like frugal or appreciate it. It's just, I know I'm not going to eat it. I will not eat leftovers. I know it's so weird. Like people at Thanksgiving who like take Thanksgiving like leftovers. I'm fascinated. I'm, my mind is boggled.

24:37My husband and his sisters, when they go to their mom's house, they all bring their own containers for like Thanksgiving leftovers. They're like, this is going to be so amazing. And I just look at the container and it has all of the food like next to each other, like touching, like cranberry is touching stuffing. but cranberry isn't hot, but stuffing normally is. So the next day I'm just like confused. How do y 'all cook this? Anyway, I'm off track. I'm just saying I don't eat leftovers, but I play the leftover game when it comes to being resourceful. Okay. So every business accumulates leftovers in some sense, like unused materials, dead stock inventory, unrepurposed content, or even underutilized software.

25:19I want you to challenge yourself, Or if you have a team, challenge your team to brainstorm creative ways to repurpose or utilize these leftovers. The goal is to have a little leftover waste at the end of the month. Very, very, very little. If you have a lot of leftover, man, that's such a waste of time, money, and energy. Now, this does not only lead to cost savings, but it creates a culture of resourcefulness. You're always thinking, how might we use this, reuse this, save this, repurpose this? Okay, now I'm going to go back to restaurant days. Y 'all, I'm talking so much about food. I think I'm hungry.