2111 – Empowering Women in Business with GoBundance Women’s Cathy Christen

0:05Hey there, thoughtful listener. Are you looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers, influencers, influencers, and clients? Well, I've had private conversations with over 2 ,000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from. I've got a free video you can watch with no opt-in required where I'll share the exact steps necessary to be 100 % inbound in your industry over the next six to eight months with no spam, no ads, and no sales. What I teach has worked for me for over 15 years and has helped me create eight figures in revenue for my own companies. Just head to upmyinfluence.com and watch my free class on how to create endless high ticket sales appointments.

0:51Also, don't forget, the thoughtful entrepreneur is always looking for great guests. Go to upmyinfluence.com and click on podcast. I'd love to have you.

1:05With us right now is Kathy Christen. Kathy, you are the founder of GoBundance. You are also found on the web at kathychristen.com. We have the spelling for that in your podcast app. You can kind of click around. You can find exactly. Just click on the information icon, details, whatever you want. And you're going to find a direct link so that you can follow along. And lastly, Kathy, I'll mention that you are the author of a book. We'll talk about this a little bit. It's called Life as a Masterpiece, Design and Live a Life You Love Today. Kathy, thank you for joining us. I'm so excited to be here and serve your audience.

1:42It's been awesome listening to some of the episodes prior and feel blessed to get to give back. Yeah. Well, Kathy, thank you so much. Give us an overview of your work and certainly tell us a little bit about what GoBundance is. Absolutely. So I have been in the sales and entrepreneurship world for 23 years. I started very young, right out of college. I mean, I knew in my early teens, I wanted to own things. You know, I had seen those who had time and money freedom, and entrepreneurship was that key and was very excited early on for entrepreneurship. At 19, I got my first taste of running my first sales job and team with Cutco, and I fell in love, you know, with people, with freedom, with financial freedom, with time freedom and just really chased after that.

2:30I ended up going into management with the company and learned so much, grew so much, broke all sorts of records. And I hit a point a little bit later where I was just really unhappy. I'd been running my business. It was, I believe, year seven, year six or seven. And we were doing phenomenal. I was earning more money than I'd ever imagined, but I was so unhappy. And I just, I hit this point where I was really self-evaluating going, wow, like if this is success, I don't know if I want it. Like I have all the money in the world, my relationships had suffered. I didn't have the time to do the things I wanted to do.

3:07I wasn't taking care of myself. My health was awful. And that was a really big catalyst in my life that I talk about all the time where it was like, all right, am I going to move down to South America and be a missionary or can I continue this entrepreneurship thing? But it has to look different, right? And really did a lot of introspection to think about what was most important, what I wanted to do. Fast forward, really learn the power of systems, people, having the right people in the right seats and what you could really build, the culture you could build in an organization where you could truly be a business owner versus just a full-time operator.

3:43Cause I think in my first seven years, it was like full-time operator. Right. And that shift was transformational. I was able to start traveling six to eight months out of the year, starting in 08. I was able to really do what I want when I wanted with whom I wanted. It was really, really powerful. And for years, I've been teaching that to so many others, getting the right systems, backend culture in their businesses so that they really can enjoy the fruits of their labor. And in my mid thirties got a little bit lonely. I've been in a male dominated space for a long time. And I was like, where are women like me?

4:16Because a lot of friends growing up were like, Oh yeah, you're probably never going to get married. Nobody wants to marry someone who's on the go all the time. No one wants, you know, multiple businesses. You're so intimidating. And you know, my, my husband laughs and says, well, good. You were just waiting for me. that's it wait for a quality man who says that is absolutely an asset not yeah not a liability my goodness yeah and hopefully that is a thought that is continue it's kind of funny because my wife and i were just watching the sopranos last night and like we've never watched it but it was so funny seeing how attitudes have changed over the decades uh you know obviously this is in the late 90s.

4:59And, you know, he's just so beside himself. I don't want to get too many details, but he was just so beside himself that a woman was strong and in charge of a particular kind of group. And they just all of the old school McKee's Mo, you know, guys, it's just good. Listen, I'm glad the day is gone. And absolutely, that is an asset. And, And, you know, I think this is really an opportunity to, you know, to champion those who, you know, like your story, like you had to step into an energy and into a space that obviously many trailblazers, many, many amazing trailblazers. But I think the floodgates have opened.

5:48And do you mind maybe talking about, you know, this transformational shift? Obviously, I know you work with a lot of both male and female clients, but, you know, certainly, you know, based on your background, I'm sure you have some thoughts on, you know, women's. I think what, you know, if we were to stereotype there, I believe sociologically, culturally, there are, I'd say, some some early traits that I think if we look back at old school sales, right? Right. Glenn Gary, Glenn Ross, you know, your boiler room kind of nonsense. That was just a very, very, quote unquote, masculine energy. But today it's my firm belief that the most successful evangelists, certainly anyone involved in sales growth, you know, that sort of thing, you know, can can pull from multiple, you know, kind of not just, you know, like you got to know your career.

6:48closing tactics. You've got to be able to talk someone into, you know, to your will or whatever, right? And it's all about, you know, you know, just objection handling and these scripts and all this other stuff. I don't see that being as valuable today. I see empathy as truly being one of the greatest skills, I'd say, for getting these more business aligned things that you want, in my opinion. Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, we've seen so many shifts, I think, just in general, what's happening in the world recently. Past environments definitely emphasize the, you know, assertiveness and competitiveness, which is great, right?

7:27Like these, we have those, and traditionally in the past, these were associated with masculine energy, right? And so this old school approach really prioritized aggressive tactics or high pressure techniques, Right. But the landscape has definitely evolved. And, you know, people recognize the value of integrating the feminine energy, which is characterized by empathy, by collaboration, by intuition. Right. And so I don't know that it's as much of a masculine or feminine. It's just kind of like the box. Yeah, we're totally stereotyping. Exactly. But those are, you know, like I said, known as care, you know, the feminine energy is known to be more empathetic and collaborative.

8:08And it's been incredible. Like with, you know, GoBundance, we have put together, I mean, we have these incredible shakers and movers. This is a group for high net worth women who want to have it all, you know, and we talk about health and relationships and fun and contribution and, you know, passive income and accountability. And we talk a lot about passive income because we want them to have more of their time, you know, and it's neat getting to talk about the ebbs and flows, the challenges of being a woman on top, a woman building and transitioning from, you know, almost like aggression or this, this like very like aiming for me to connection.

8:42Right. And so some of the old high pressure tactics that could alienate potential clients. Oh, totally. Like now modern approaches, we're seeing building relationships, right? Like you see all these, even network marketers, like commenting on Facebook and just making people feel good. Just out there. Just out there being a good person. And they need a foster trust. Best lead gen you can do. Best lead gen is so much more enjoyable than, you know, banging on doors and like, hello, can I introduce you to da-da-da-da? You know, it's like. Right. Because when they build those relationships, now you have long-term loyalty.

9:19You have referrals and hopefully not just one time, but constant referrals because they love you. You've helped them. You know their needs. You understand their needs. They feel understood. They feel heard. And they keep coming back to you, right? And so that feminine energy in sales, bringing that focus on nurturing the client relationships, creating value through understanding and empathy, right? This shift moves away from just a transactional interaction to really more meaningful engagements. And so that's been really beautiful to watch, the shift that's happened. And even men who are crushing it, that shift in nature of the active listening, the empathy, being able to really listen first and understand the customer's concerns, which again, leads to those stronger trust-based relationships.

10:06but the best approach really integrates both masculine and feminine energies and it's more inclusive. It makes the sales strategies just a lot more enjoyable, you know, for all parties and long-term success. So it's been really cool to watch the evolution from, even I started 23 years ago, the predominant masculine energy approach and just seeing now how that shifted. and it's been really enjoyable. Yeah, so to hit that proper balance, and again, aside from gender, this idea of we still have to lead in the dance, because if we have, in this relationship dynamic, it's you and maybe someone where there's an opportunity to engage in some way.

10:55It's, they may not be aware of opportunity or possibilities that you or I might see. So I'd say in the responsibility of leading in the dance, you know, to me, I think, you know, suggesting next steps, you know, asking questions that move the conversation along. So I would say in the sense of, you know, yeah, no, it is still very valuable to, you know, to learn some of the structure involved in this. And by the way, we just kind of launched into kind of like sales tactics and techniques, because I know you have this amazing background in this. And I don't mean to monopolize the conversation with this topic.

11:37Tell me more about, is this what you do with CoBalance? Or do you mind maybe kind of shifting into more of like, because I think it's more of a transformational leadership experience. Go ahead and dive into that, please. Absolutely. Yeah, it's definitely more encompassing. So sales has been my background. I grew up in sales and entrepreneurship, helping people build businesses, you know, within a sales organization. And then outside of it, when they started their own law firm or chiropractic practice or private equity or whatever they did, I started helping that through the years. And so there was a season, probably 15, 17 years ago, started really helping people build and scale businesses.

12:12And then probably about seven, eight years ago, that shifted to helping, really helping people step away from the business. And I started little by little in probably 2008 with that. But it really became such a prevalent thing. I think when I got married and then started having kids, I'm like, people need to know what I figured out years ago. Before it was just so I could travel and have fun. But I realized there were a lot of infrastructure and so many companies were just not set up to succeed. It wasn't set up to scale and it definitely wasn't set up for the business to run without the owner there.

12:46And so really digging back in and I had people who've had businesses for five, seven plus years going, man, I just launched that, but I don't know. Maybe it is better. Like I remember having a client for a decade say, maybe it is better for me to just go back and be a W2. And I was like, what? But the problem was like they were lacking certain backend. So that's my area of expertise is culture teams, backend systems. I do a lot and help a lot of our women in GoBundance with that aspect in their businesses so that they do have more time freedom? Like how do they get more of their time back so that they can spend time on the things that matter most?

13:20Because we have all these type A go-getters, you know, entrepreneurs, let's go, let's build. And many times we can do that and sacrifice things that are important to us. We say, we're doing this for our family. Our family is the most important thing, yet our calendar does not reflect that. You know, we want to have time for it, but we stay busy, busy, busy. And I just remember being that person. I'm like, wow, my family hasn't seen me. They're like, you become a workaholic. And in my mind, I'm like, I'm doing this all for my family. Right. But I had to really understand what that looked like to make sure that I was enjoying the now while living for the future.

13:54And I think that's what abundance is about. It's about creating abundance in all areas of life and really making sure that people are enjoying every step of the journey and not just, you know, burning themselves dry till they get to that destination to then enjoy. Right. We want to enjoy every step of the way. And so how do we make that happen? Yeah. Kathy, can you share a little bit more about, like, tell me about, like, your business and your work? Like, you know, when you're engaging with people, can you just be really explicit? Because a lot of times people listen to this podcast very intentionally because they're searching for the guest.

14:28It comes up quite often in SEO. So let's say someone said, who's this Kathy person? Now they've been listening to our conversation. They heard me prattle on, but they really just want to get to know you and exactly what you do. And if there are opportunities to engage with you, what that might look like. Beautiful. Well, I would say on my website, which they can look, you know, kathykristin.com. Kathy's with a C. And then Kristen is like the name Chris, C-H-R-I-S. And then the number 10, T-E-N. So kathykristin.com. they can actually get a free download. That's five systems. Every high level executive or entrepreneur needs to buy back 10 hours a week.

15:07And so these are proven systems that I have used now for almost two decades for myself that I've been helping others for over a decade and a half to really get clear. I feel like so many entrepreneurs are overwhelmed with a non-stop to-do list, and they're not alone. And high level leaders, sometimes they struggle to find time for family health, personal fulfillment, because they spend more time working in their business than on their business, right? And so I have a methodology that I put together called our faster framework, where you can buy back at least 10 hours of your week that you can reinvest into your business, into your relationships, or just your personal well-being, right?

15:43It's different for everybody. And so we kind of walk through a framework for a decision. I'll kind of give you an overview of it. And then, you know, they can dig in and look at the, it's a free, it's a freebie there. But, you know, framework for decision-making and making sure that there's a model for that when things come in and out of the business. Automation of routine tasks is so important. I've had clients I've worked with and have had thriving multi-million dollar businesses, and they still weren't utilizing a CRM at its maximum, you know, use. Or I had one that was like, what's a CRM? I'm like, I'm sorry, what?

16:17And they had this for - Don't do that to yourself. And so, you know, reducing time that we're spending on manual reoccurring tasks, like scheduling or follow-ups, like a lot of these things can be, you know, automated. And so just looking at what are all the different things, like when I sit with clients, we love to sit and write down every single thing they need for their life and business to run. And then being able to really take a look at it and say, okay, what needs to get automated? What needs to get delegated? We have a whole process we go through to make sure it gets done. Because that's the third thing is systemized delegation, right?

16:47Making sure that the delegation structure empowers the team to operate independently while obviously also giving you your freedom, right? And not to feel like the stress or pressure when you're out of town with your family on vacation that you should be working or they need you. They don't. They need you to guide the ship. They need you to be the example. They need you to show them what's possible so that they have a model and hopefully they can chase after that for themselves one day, right? Time blocking for priorities is the fourth one in the faster method. And this is huge because it helps so much with mental energy and just being able to be so much more productive.

17:23But looking at, OK, this is time with my kids. No one interrupts me during that time. Hey, this is time here. Or if there's an emergency, again, there's a process for how decisions will be made if I'm not there. So making sure that there's proper time blocking for planning, for leadership, for other CEO level work. Like that's what you as the owner should be spending your time. And I see so many high level execs and top, you know, great entrepreneurs who have businesses that are doing five, seven, 10 million or more. I mean, I'm working with a client right now whose business is in the 20 million plus range.

17:56And I mean, she, I'm looking at her schedule and I was like, why are you just like, well, they needed help with it. And I was like, stop. And I see this more prevalent in women than in men where they naturally take on more. Like, don't worry, I'll help you. They're like, oh, how do I do this? or they're, you know, those who report to them will come with issues or questions and they're like, oh sure. Yeah, no, I'll take, don't worry about it. I'll take care of that. Or I'll take care of that. And they take on so much more than they should. I'm like, no, I'm like, that's their monkeys do not take.

18:23And so, you know, having a proper systems in place to, to, to reallocate, to protect themselves with their schedule to say, Hey, you know, let's schedule a meeting for tomorrow to go over that. Or, Hey, I want you to pretend you're me. I want you to come up with the best solutions for this. And then let's meet later today at 4.30. So you can present to me what you came up with and we'll go from there. And really empowering their team to make decisions and to think like them. And when they do that and they take the proper time for training and developing people the right way, oh my gosh, it's a game changer.

18:54But so many top level people say, I don't have time for that, right? To do the proper training, to be in depth, to work with them. I'm like, you don't have time not to if you ever want to step away from your business. Because if If you don't take time to develop those people, you will be stuck in your business for indefinitely until you figure out how to let loose of the reins, how to train others and duplicate yourself. Right. And that last thing we talk about is reporting on KPIs, making sure that you are always in the know, no matter where in the world you are, no matter where you are with your family, you know, making sure that tracking is happening and you're able to have decisions made quickly and effortlessly to be able to have data driven decisions made.

19:33yeah kathy kristin look at the time we are done your website is kathykristin.com to our podcast friend just click around in the app you can find the exact spelling it's not too hard we've done it for you your book as well kathy if we had more time we'd talk more about this it's called life is a masterpiece design and live a life you love today to our friend listening simple just go to the website and you'll find a direct link you can get on Amazon. It's on Kindle. It's on paperback. Kathy Kristen, you are the founder of GoBundance, which, you know, didn't talk about that a whole lot. There's so much to talk about with you, Kathy.

20:15It's been a great conversation. Thank you for joining us. Thank you, Josh.

20:24Thanks for listening to the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Show. If you are a thoughtful business owner or professional who would like to be on this daily program, please visit upmyinfluence.com and click on podcast. We believe that every person has a message that can positively impact the world. We love our community who listens and shares our program every day. Together, we are empowering one another as thoughtful leaders. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this program, if you're looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers, and clients, I have had private conversations with over 2 ,000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from.

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