1212: Manifest Business Success, Identify Your Zone of Genius, and Leverage AI-Powered Guidance with Founder and CEO Kareen Walsh

Robert Plank 0:04 Hey, we are here on this podcast to build our business, to build our legacy, and not to let the limitations of others become our own aligned action, leveraging AI so much, Kareen Walsh is here to get us on the right track for all of that. Kareen is a visionary business strategist, author, podcaster, investor, and a seven to eight figure entrepreneurial guide. She has so many amazing things to tell us about today. There's the Evolve methodology, evaluate, visualize, own, it, leverage, validate, exit, and it's easy to get lost in the confusion. Sometimes you need someone to just tell you, like, hey, stop doing this. You're you're blocked, you're making it too hard on yourself. Here's a better way. Karina is here to help us out. So glad to be speaking to you Kareen

Kareen Walsh 0:51 well, great to talk to you today. Robert, I'm excited to see how I can help your audience lead in a way that is aligned with who they are. Well,

Robert Plank 1:00 let's do it. Let's leave in a way that is aligned with who we are and to understand where you're coming from. What are you all about? We introduced you a little bit. But what's your current passion and focus?

Kareen Walsh 1:09 Yeah, so, you know, I find that I'm at this point where I want to assist others in really manifesting and creating what they dream of for themselves. And so I do that through business coaching. I do that through kind of the inner alignment of, like, who you are, and all that you do my My joy is, is really just those aha moments that occur from time spent with top leaders on how they can better materialize things that lift them up. You know, it's not, it's not just about the doing, and it's not just about what's in the bank. It's actually about the fulfillment process, and what makes you feel good on the inside, to show up for it all. So that's really what excites me. You know, every day, I also love music and I love to dance, and I love to move my body and, you know, and just express the joy of it all, which is a which is the part, the way I recharge,

Robert Plank 2:08 I love it. Yeah, so you wouldn't you enjoy living life. And you make some really good points here that you wonder, what's it all about? Is it about the money? Is it about the work? And you say it's this tricky concept called fulfillment, and helping others and getting to that next milestone and figuring out that goal. And you mentioned this term manifesting, and I love that, because you hear these scary statistics, like 3% of the popular only 3% has written goals. And so you think, Well, if you're helping these entrepreneurs, business owners realize their goals? Well, most people don't even have them, so we have to have them and then figure out how to get there and overcome the cognitive dissonance, self sabotage, all that messy stuff. And so how do we do it? What do you think people need to hear about? Where are they stuck?

Kareen Walsh 2:58 I mean, I think it's the stuckness comes from feeling that you you believe you have to know and do it all, and that you can't ask for help. Like I think that's where stuckness comes from. It comes from this pressure we put on ourselves that we are supposed to be at all and if we don't have the answer. Especially, I've seen this in entrepreneurs or people who are running business where the responsibility is on their shoulders to lead all the things, and so they feel like they have to posture that they know it all, and when, in fact, I find the most successful leaders out there are the ones that just say, I don't know. What do you guys think? Right? And you become more inclusive, and you become more curious, and you're you're finding a way to navigate that isn't so isolated. So I think that is the, the number one common thing I see, it's not about I don't know the strategy of how to get there. I think we're all masters of how, and we can figure that out. We can look it up. But I but really, to lead it, you have to be open with your inner growth as needed in order to allow for others to step in to support you. And I think we have a really, you know, mistrusting environment right now out there, and it's hard to to feel like you can rely on others to show up the way you need to, and those are the skills that have to be learned so we can be in it together, and we can grow together. And it doesn't have to all fall on you.

Robert Plank 4:28 And it tells me also that it's kind of like a gradient, right? It doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can offload some stuff for now and then. Even as far as how much you trust your team, trust your employees, you don't have to hand all your trust over, but possibly trust a little more than you're doing now to get yourself, like, further along than you are now. And so like, the the Doodle in my head, as you're saying, all that is like, there's, there's like, all this, this ego that holds us back, but then also, like, the low self esteem at the same time. So it's like, well, I. So arrogant that I can't let someone else do it, but I also allow myself to get crushed a little bit because I am overwhelmed and can't do it all. So I end up in this weird kind of middle space. And you're saying that the way to break through is to enjoy the learning and the not knowing and being curious, because it's kind of counterintuitive. Right? You want to be right. You want to make everyone see you're smart. And especially when I'm like, here on a podcast with you, I'm like, Hey, prove me wrong. Tell me the ways that I had it misunderstood, and tell me the right way to go about it. And so that's all good, as far as, like, the mental game. But then, like, what if someone says, okay, so I hear you. I need to, like, hire a team or delegate. But like, what's the what actions should someone take? What do you see out there, as far as, like, what people aren't doing and should be doing more of

Kareen Walsh 5:51 in order to build and scale their business? Is that the content, okay,

Robert Plank 5:57 in order to get to build goals

Kareen Walsh 5:59 Yeah, and in regards to goals. So first of all, you need a very clear vision of where you're trying to go. Like, what is the actual destination, right? So a lot of the times, we can set measurable goals, like, I want to make another 7 million this year, or whatever it is, but don't really understand what does that actually afford you? What's the tangible what does that look like at 7 million or, you know, whatever that target is, and understanding the the steps to take to get there, like, how do we reverse engineer from that vision? For example, that is one arena that I feel is there's sometimes these grandiose visions without tangible goals behind them. So that is one area to first clarify, is like, Okay, this is the vision. Now, what can we accomplish in this year? Because sometimes you have to assess, okay, if you're targeting, let's say a high number, because a lot of people lean into the things that they can measure. You know, sometimes it's impact, sometimes it's, you know, for the non for profit world, it could be something like, I want to feed a million mouths this year, but I've only fed two. So how do I go from two to a million, right? But there's still this form of measure. So maybe this year it's actually 500 is the target, because you only have proven two that could be fed, right? So then what do we have to do to incrementally step towards those? The vision we have to have incremental goals to break down in order to have everybody walking in lockstep towards that. And then the goal setting is something that I find is really important to dictate a strategy against those goals, but also the performance measurement over time in that year, like you want to evaluate cyclically. How are you doing as you're making traction against those goals so you can course correct faster. And so what does that look like? You mentioned my evolve methodology, and the E in the evolve, the first E is evaluate, and that's my retrospective exercise that I run. I run a free call where I do with anybody who wants to join, but really I try to train leaders to do this within their company, so that every 30 days, they're assessing with their team what is happening against the goals we have chartered towards this year. In this month, have we? How is our traction in this month? So that as leaders, we can make course correction decisions as to, yes, that's still a goal we're targeting towards. Let's just do these fall, you know, small tweaks, or it's a wow, we are so off center, the feedback has been, you know, really horrible for what we were trying to do. Let's scrap that, and let's go from this point forward and change what where we're headed. And I think that is a winning formula for traction in your business is really to to assess, in a cyclical way, how's it going, and be willing to change the course if it's not going in the right direction.

Robert Plank 8:59 I love it, so a better developed plan. And don't just say, well, in a year, I want to feed a million mouths. You say, Well, hey, you set that goal. I mean, you backtrack based on what actions you'll have to take. And then as you do it, you reassess, reevaluate, and say, Well, are we on track to do that? Or do some of these things need to be adjusted kind of living more in reality versus like, well, I need to make my moonshot. I need to have like, the B hag, big, hairy, audacious goal, but it's like, but if you don't even get 1% of the way there, like, are you really taking it seriously, and are you really involving others? And so as far as what you're building, like, what are your goals? What are you creating and planning?

Kareen Walsh 9:44 Yeah, so, I mean, this year has been a foundational year for me. So I've been in business now just 10 years, over 10 years in this practice of one of my main revenue streams, I have a consulting firm where i i place experts into complex. Projects to deliver against them, and that has been a really nice, consistent revenue stream that doesn't require so much of my time anymore, because I've built a team, and, you know, it's running really well that then it gave me time to assist entrepreneurs in building their businesses. So where I'm focused today, though, is where I realized, over the years, I started my coaching practice, I'd say, about seven years ago, and all roads still led to me, and that felt quite daunting, you know, like where I don't have the time and capacity to serve everybody that you know demands time for me from me. So how could I duplicate myself? And so this year, I ventured into technology, and I cloned myself in AI where you can have an entrepreneurial guide based on all my practices, methods, conversations, etc, and go and ask her the questions you have in the moment, so that you're getting the support you need to move through whatever is blocking you as you build and grow your Business or lead from, you know, a more positive mindset, like, wherever you need the support, you can leverage my Hey careen app to do that. And I think that's been a really cool new venture of mine this year that has set about foundation for me now, as I come on podcasts, or if I go do my keynote talks, or I am, I am doing, you know, workshops with people, but then they want more support from me. I can now guide them there. If I don't have the time in my schedule to support them that they actually are getting support. I'm not leaving them hanging like that. That was a big thing I wanted to solve for and so that has been the focus this year, is just getting that into more hands and trying to have a larger scale of impact without depleting myself in the process.

Robert Plank 11:47 Very cool and very amazing. And I saw that in your bio, the Hey Kareen app, and there's always the kind of like, the mistrust of AI like, Well, is it quite there? Is it giving me the right answer? So if I'm understanding you correctly. You kind of piled all your little blog posts, podcasts, books, all that sort of stuff,

Kareen Walsh 12:07 workshops, yeah, like every way I have answered any question that has come my way is now loaded into the machine, and then you give it guidelines. So the difference between like a chat GBT is that that is a more blanketed way to get information and get your answers based on how you ask your question. But the information is vast that it pulls from, whereas this is very poignant information with a personality, right? Because it's mimicking mine, and it's, it is about my content, not not this, like, vast, you know, network of information where it's just randomized, you know,

Robert Plank 12:46 Oh, yeah. And do you track what people put into it? Do you do you see, like, what the most popular questions are?

Kareen Walsh 12:54 So right now, when we launched this year, this year's version was totally anonymous, and yes, I can see what's being asked and used, but I have no idea, like, who it's coming from. And we purposely did that because we wanted to make sure there wasn't, you know, any bias information, or that if people ask very sensitive questions that it didn't, you know, get captured in the system. That way. What I'm finding, though, is there is a need more, because we only, we only launched the app version of it, and now there's demand for like, the web version of it, so that people can be at their desktop using it while they're working. And so we're looking into expanding past that. Common questions that generally come through are a lot around people management, what to do when they're they're trying to find the right hire. What is, what do they do when they're actually trying to fire someone because they're no longer a fit or they've outgrown the position? I do get a lot of strategy questions that come through the how do i questions? And then sometimes there's, like, there have been a few questions that come through, which are the stuckness questions, like, I'm really not feeling it today. How do I motivate, you know, to step into this business that I built that I'm no longer passionate about? Like, I remember when that question came through, and I was like, Oh yeah, I've been there. Like, I know what that feels like. And the mindset movement through it is to really start to ask yourself, like, have you actually outgrown your business, and do you need to focus on your exit, you know, from the role you're playing, or from the business itself? And so it's been really cool to Yes, collect the information just to see what how people are using it, but also to validate that the things that I know I felt over the years, and the way that I answered I moved through it, or found the tools to move through it are being leveraged to help others, which is really great,

Robert Plank 14:50 very nice. And so out of what you mentioned there about like, those top questions, just kind of the whole idea of like, well, motivating myself. You kind of broken a little bit of a decision tree there, right? There's like, well, if I'm stuck or burnt out, or whatever it is, is it because I'm just having a bad day? And then that means, well, there's all we have all heard about, all the mindset techniques, just, you know, affirmations, go do your your dancing, do your music, do your self care. Or is there is something real external. Have you really hit the end of your road, and then time to plan your exit, or hire different people to take on responsibilities, and that's helpful. But then the whole idea of hiring someone, putting them on a task, setting them loose, it's so scary, right? It's like giving up all of that. How to mindset thinking that you mentioned before, and it is kind of a weird new way to think, right? Say, like, hey, I need this done. Let me figure out the scope of the project. You know, see if someone's qualified, put someone in, meet with them, check the milestones. But like, what's your advice, or what's your method to the madness? As far as like, if someone says, Hey, hiring and firing, it's such a there's so much to it. It's so such a messy concept. How do we decode that?

Kareen Walsh 16:09 Yeah, I mean, I think if you're going to scale, you have to bring people in to do the things that you no longer need to be doing, or that are kind of under your pay grade in order to advance and and it is daunting, it takes a good percentage of your time upfront to bring in train and monitor that person to make sure they're a fit. But the process of the relief that occurs from where you're spending your time on the things that someone else who's less qualified than you to be doing it, meaning, like you've outgrown that role, you've mastered it. Go teach someone else to do it and then monitor it. So I think where people miss a lot of of the hiring process is that they think they're going to hire this person and they're just going to be able to take on that job and be left alone and manage it in a way without any supervision or performance management or check ins on are they doing the job you hired them for the right way? So I love to encourage my clients to make sure that they have checkpoints, especially within the first 90 days of that person working with them or that service even that they've hired. I mean, you need to do this for vendors too, right? Just because the vendor says they're the expert doesn't mean the way they're going to implement something is is the right way for you. So you still have to guide them as the client, but really make sure that you're measuring performance against what you have brought them on. Now, performance management is another trigger word that people have that kind of shuts them down, right? Robert, like, it's, yeah, it's one of those things like, like, I really why, you know, like, there's this that, because the systems that some HR staff, the staffing side of large companies, that a lot of people have been exposed to, the way that that performance management ran, really had nothing to do with the job that that person was hired for. So it felt like a waste of time. The coolest thing about being an entrepreneur and a leader of your own business is that you get to design what performance means for you. So in order for you to make sure that who you hired is the right fit, you have to also before they start really be articulate and to how are you going to measure that they are the right fit for the work? And what are you going to put in place to check in to make sure that happens and and be consistent about that, so that it not only makes it easier if, God forbid, you have to let them go because they weren't a fit, but you'll figure that out faster than dragging them on and draining your funds without the performance that you're looking for. So I think that's one of the missing steps on on people management, and especially in entrepreneurial ventures, where you're kind of going so fast and you want to see things happen in a certain way, and you're you're overwhelmed with doing it all, and now you have to bring someone in to supposedly take something off your plate, but it feels twice as stressful because now you have to monitor them. It's temporary upfront the extra effort to bring somebody on the right way and also measure them for the performance that's needed to have the ultimate success in your business. So you can step away from the roles that are beneath your payroll, and

Robert Plank 19:24 that's very helpful, and that's a great insight, that there will be temporary stress, and that you maybe need to set your expectations low, because we'd all love it to be like, Oh, I'm doing 17 different things. I'd love it if someone took this off my plate, and I bet that they'll do it faster and better, and I'll, I'll just be blown away with how good a job. It's like, no, they probably won't do it the way that you do it, or as good as you at first, but you're saying, measure the performance and check in. And it might feel like you're kind of like pulling double duty until they get up to speed, but it's like a necessary phase to go through. So otherwise, you'll just continue with more of the being burnt out, stressed out, spinning your wheels, pick your your metaphor for how just overwhelming and stressful the situation is. And it definitely takes. Yeah, and so I'm curious about you and like, your personal transformation. Would you say? Like, the big difference between now and when you started. Was it this kind of management mindset, or was it something else, like, what is there something that you have really evolved with yourself? Yeah,

Kareen Walsh 20:30 I think, I think a big version of evolution for me was about the fourth year into my business. I was doing the I was doing everything. I was that person that I'm talking about, where it was all on my shoulders, and I was feeling very heavy minded around the thing, like I the accounting side, the invoicing side, the collect that, you know, like that side of things, just was like, why I am the at the time, I was doing strategic work with my clients, so I was like, I'd rather go do that, right? And I realized that I think it was in 2017 going into 2018 No, maybe a year prior 2016 into 2017 I was challenged myself to say, Hey, okay, Kareen, what if your target revenue stream for your company. At the time, I made a good like, maybe it was like half a million a year in my business, but I didn't have a team, and I didn't expand past myself. It was like me, right? What if you targeted seven figures, so double it, but you only could spend 10% of your time in the business? What would that strategy need to be, and who would you have to become to lead that? And that was a big shift for me, because it forced me to not do it alone, and it forced me to realize that if I just brought in other people to do certain things and kind of sell those services and let them do execution and bring in my admin team, then I could actually enjoy where I like to lead from, still have money in the bank as needed, employ the right people that had the independence that I wanted them to have in order to the autonomy to do their job. And literally, I was able to accomplish that in six months after I had such a focus on on who I had to be to do it. And I think that was the biggest evolution, was that just as much as I'm capable, in order for me to grow past myself or my results, I had to look at myself to say, Well, who do I have to become? And that was a foundational move for me, that like each year, I would start to focus like that too. Where do I want to be spending my time? What is the impact I want to have? How can I manage my capacity so that I'm not sacrificing my health for it, and then that would that is what shaped my strategy, because I had proven a really big stretch goal for me, never achieving that before in a very short period of time, just by thinking strategically different and also giving myself permission to change in order for it to happen. You know

Robert Plank 23:20 yeah, and that's great. And I love your thinking here. It's almost like a math problem where you say, like, well, here, here, like, in math, when you think math classes, and again, like a, like, a half page long proof, right? You have to say, like, I need to solve this, and that leads to this, then leads to this. And it's like, and so you're like, well, the math equation is, I want to accomplish this amount of money in my business, but I only have my upper limit on this amount of time. So where does that leave? That leaves with hiring other people who will do these things. And then the plan begins to take shape, and that's great, and that's helpful. It, of course, doesn't solve the problem in a cup, in a few minutes in a podcast, but it points us in the direction that we need to go and so as far as making you look good on a podcast, which is what we're here to do, right? We're here to talk about you and what you've accomplished. What am I leaving out here? Is there a missing, hidden, invisible question in our conversation? But I should be asking you, I just don't know. To ask you,

Kareen Walsh 24:18 I don't know if it's a I think, just to add on to what you just asked, you know of the biggest shift for me, I realized I had to know the role in my business that made the most sense from my innate skill set, so my zone of genius. I don't know if you like, some people use that terminology, but it's like knowing your zone then leading from that actually is is a differentiator that I think I now help others focus on, and I actually created a quiz for so people can identify it faster and then realize why they're feeling that pain in their business. It's potentially they're misaligned in their own role. And so that, I think, is something that I just want to share. And that, you know, knowing there are three distinct roles in every business, you have a creator. So the someone that thinks about the products, the services, etc. You have the entrepreneur who, like, loves to sell and market and kind of get out there with the deal and and make sure that there's overall revenue coming through. And then you have the operator, the one that's executing. So this is called the CEO quiz, so that you know which one you fall into the most. And when I identified that for myself, it made it so much easier than to invite other people's in. And I think that's one of the first steps to take, is, you know, identify a role that lights you up entrepreneurship and leadership of others is a choice. I think a lot of people trip up into it, because they might have had an idea, but then they're like, Well, what is this now that I own and I'm doing and that piece to get out of your own way, I think, is to actually know where you're trying to lead yourself, because then that makes it so much easier to lead others.

Robert Plank 26:02 That's great. So figure out where you fit and be in that zone of genius. And where can someone find that quiz so they can figure out where they fit?

Kareen Walsh 26:10 Yeah. So it's just that, heykareen.com

Robert Plank 26:14 Alright, heykareen.com take that quiz.

Kareen Walsh 26:18 Yeah. And let's see what comes up, because I love to that aha moments that come from that have been so cool to help people get a quick breakdown of why they feel in pain, but also where they thrive, and then they start leaving from there

Robert Plank 26:31 100% and there's something powerful about taking a quiz, because there's like, what you think you are and what you actually are, right? Like, I had a cat a few years ago who pretended he was like a big, giant, scary lion. It's like, No, you're just like this little five and yeah. And so when, when there's like, questions asked of you, and you answer them honestly, and then you see the result on the other side. You might be surprised about what you thought versus what you are and where you should go, and it might be the answer saying, like, you know, this is why I've been so just arrogant, stuck up, trapped in my own head, take your pick, and now I can kind of open up and say, Okay, well, here's where I fit in my own company. Am I a creator, entrepreneur or operator? And then how can I kind of assemble my team that way? There's multiple people working on the problem multiple brains. It's not just a one person organization which, like, as you said, really holds you back. You might get to half a million a year, but then it's so it's like is not sustainable. So let's get to that next step. And so as far as some call to actions next step here is that the only place to go, or do you have some other links to drop?

Kareen Walsh 27:41 Well, heykareen.com is also where you can download the Hey careen app. If you want consistent content, you want some prompts around staying in the conscious mindset of leading your business, or use the AI and then Kareen Walsh.com is where we can connect if you do want me under the hood of your business, as I like to say, are all up in your business to support you in helping you grow and scale in an aligned way. But and then you can follow me on Instagram or connect with me on LinkedIn. Those two places are great as well to just initiate a conversation and see how I can support you.

Robert Plank 28:16 Very cool. They call those micro commitments, right? You showed them on a podcast, maybe they got some little nuggets, and they say, Okay, I'll follow on Instagram, I'll install the app, I'll take the quiz, and I'll see where that takes me. And if I if I get some results from it, then I'll continue. And that might even lead to Kareen being under the hood or up in your business. And as far as wrapping up our conversation, sending people to those excellent resources. It's time in the podcast now to put you on the spot a little bit, because I like to ask my guests about a quote or lesson that has served them in the past that they can pass on to us and you've already shared so much. But in the spirit of a grand finale of wrapping up our conversation, Does anything come to mind as far as a fun, interesting or helpful quarter lesson, yeah,

Kareen Walsh 29:02 I mean, you said it at the start of our conversation was, don't let the limitations of others become your own. And that was the biggest lesson learned for me, and I was grateful to learn that at like 23 when I hit a glass ceiling, where it just showed me that if I'm going to step into someone else's container to lead. There are limitations to that, because it's up to that leader then to take me to where I want to go, versus for me, I had to learn, well, if growth is a, let's say, an important value of mine, I need to make sure that I'm in growth based environments. So I love to use that quote, because I think a lot of people get stuck in the expectations of others for their life, or for how they choose to earn, or for what their business is when it's really limiting, if you're not finding and doing the path created for you, like the definition of that and going after it. It, because really, limitations of others can can come from fear of you surpassing them, but truly, it's your it's your path, and it's your right to create the the future that you want for yourself. So that's the thing I lead by, and it's the quote that I love to share with others, because sometimes we need the permission to move past the limitations of others and create what it is we desire,

Robert Plank 30:24 very nice we just might need better friends, better peers, coaches, mentors, to be in that better environment so that way we ourselves can succeed and thrive. You say, Well, if there's a plant that's having trouble growing and it's in the shade all the time, maybe it needs to be moved out into the sunlight or get some fresh air, and so your breath of fresh air can and should be. heykareen.com that's K, A, R, E, E N, so that way you can spell it correctly. heykareen.com Kareen Walsh, who has the app, who has the quiz, who has the Instagram, go check her out if you enjoyed and learned some helpful, insightful tips from her. And thank you Kareen Walsh for showing up and giving us some very excellent advice today.

Kareen Walsh 31:10 Thank you so much, Robert for having me. It's been great.

Robert Plank 31:15 Thank you for tuning in to the marketer of the day podcast. Marketer of the day is managed by dfy podcast. Claim your 12 podcast boosters at dfy podcast.com/free, you. Transcribed by https://otter.ai