1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:04,380 Robert Plank: What if your company's biggest growth 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:08,400 roadblock is not your product, but it is your leadership team? 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:13,860 Well, Todd Westra is here because he helps CEOs, coos and 4 00:00:13,860 --> 00:00:19,200 CFOs align strategy and execution to scale smarter. He 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:23,480 is the host of the growth and scaling podcast, and he is the 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:27,740 creator of the growth readiness framework. And Mr. Todd Westra 7 00:00:27,740 --> 00:00:32,180 has helped hundreds of execs prep for 100 million plus 8 00:00:32,180 --> 00:00:34,760 growth. And we're here to talk about it. It's the marketer of 9 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,180 the day podcast with Robert plank. We're brought to you by D 10 00:00:38,300 --> 00:00:43,420 FY podcast.com where you can focus on high level interviews 11 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:47,500 while we handle the rest. And what we are handling today is to 12 00:00:47,500 --> 00:00:50,620 talk to some of these companies that they think they're ready to 13 00:00:50,620 --> 00:00:54,580 scale, but perhaps they aren't, and you need help from Mr. Todd 14 00:00:54,700 --> 00:01:00,420 and his scaling help and to get to growth readiness and just to 15 00:01:00,420 --> 00:01:03,240 talk about it, the problems and the solutions that are in front 16 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,000 of us. So, Mr. Todd, fellow podcaster, how the heck are you? 17 00:01:06,780 --> 00:01:09,480 Todd Westra: I am so good, and it's a pleasure to be on the 18 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:10,920 market of the day podcast, 19 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:13,860 Robert Plank: yeah, and it's like, I don't know if you come 20 00:01:13,860 --> 00:01:17,460 across this, but do you ever see like a name on your calendar, 21 00:01:17,460 --> 00:01:22,280 and you're like, that name like fits in with who, who I see have 22 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,160 already and I was like, do I already know him? Did I already 23 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:27,980 have him as a podcast? Because, like, just that the name Todd 24 00:01:27,980 --> 00:01:31,340 Wester, I did a double take. I was like, it just, it feels like 25 00:01:31,340 --> 00:01:34,760 a name that, like, matches my other podcast guest names for 26 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:35,300 some reason. 27 00:01:35,420 --> 00:01:37,640 Todd Westra: Oh, well, thank you. I mean, it's definitely not 28 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,960 a common name. It's from a really small part of North 29 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:44,740 Holland, and it wasn't part of the Netherlands, but it was 30 00:01:44,740 --> 00:01:50,080 like, literally, a Netherland nation in and of itself. And so 31 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,620 the name is very, not very uncommon, even in Holland. And 32 00:01:53,620 --> 00:01:56,980 so once you hear it, once you really don't ever meet very many 33 00:01:56,980 --> 00:01:57,220 more, 34 00:01:57,940 --> 00:02:00,180 Robert Plank: well, that's good domain name availability for 35 00:02:00,180 --> 00:02:00,780 you, right? 36 00:02:00,780 --> 00:02:05,460 Todd Westra: It works out really well. 37 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,660 Robert Plank: So, well, very nice, and so, as far as us 38 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,780 knowing about what Mr. Todd Wester is all about, what is the 39 00:02:12,900 --> 00:02:14,820 solution you provide? Who do you help? 40 00:02:15,660 --> 00:02:19,740 Todd Westra: Yeah, so honestly, you know, keeping it a little 41 00:02:19,740 --> 00:02:25,220 bit aligned with marketing. You know, I since covid, one of my 42 00:02:25,220 --> 00:02:28,040 businesses, my primary business, at the time, got completely 43 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,760 wiped out and and I didn't know what to do next. I was doing a 44 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,340 lot of like leadership consulting with Google and 45 00:02:34,340 --> 00:02:38,300 Google teams and executive teams out there. And within a week, I 46 00:02:38,300 --> 00:02:41,200 lost an entire year's worth of contracts, and I didn't know 47 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,200 what to do, so I started a show called the growth and scaling 48 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:46,840 podcast at the time, is called the leadership and business 49 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,700 podcast, but it evolved and and what I learned was I interviewed 50 00:02:52,780 --> 00:02:57,880 a huge chunk of business leaders at 250 interviews in 13 weeks, 51 00:02:58,300 --> 00:03:03,900 And it was phenomenal. I didn't know how good that would be for 52 00:03:03,900 --> 00:03:08,580 me, and I really feel selfish, because it felt like a very self 53 00:03:08,580 --> 00:03:12,120 serving therapy session, where every day I was talking with 54 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,060 multiple business owners, talking about the key decisions 55 00:03:15,060 --> 00:03:19,140 they made for growth and the biggest challenge they faced in 56 00:03:19,140 --> 00:03:22,640 trying to grow and scale their business. And I was like, there 57 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:26,240 are some things here. There are some things going on and and it 58 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,480 was really interesting, because I have always been a pretty 59 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,200 private entrepreneur, meaning I grew and scaled my own 60 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:35,780 companies, but I didn't really pay a lot of attention to what 61 00:03:35,780 --> 00:03:38,300 other people were doing, because it didn't matter. I just was 62 00:03:38,300 --> 00:03:41,620 focused on my business, my growth, my company, my team, my 63 00:03:41,620 --> 00:03:45,460 clients, right? And so as I started interviewing other 64 00:03:45,460 --> 00:03:48,820 people, I discovered that there are things that are consistent 65 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,020 and there are challenges that are consistent with people's 66 00:03:53,020 --> 00:03:57,460 inability to grow their business. And I say, I talked to 67 00:03:57,460 --> 00:04:00,540 a lot of people that have, that have launched businesses, and I 68 00:04:00,540 --> 00:04:04,860 say, look, it's easy to well, it's not easy to launch, but 69 00:04:04,860 --> 00:04:09,300 it's easier to launch with a team because the entire team is 70 00:04:09,300 --> 00:04:12,840 really dedicated to let's go launch. We're going to make some 71 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,060 money. We're going to make this thing work. It's going to be so 72 00:04:15,060 --> 00:04:18,660 exciting, and everyone's kind of on the same page. But then once 73 00:04:18,660 --> 00:04:22,100 they've launched, you get one guy who's like, Dude, we're 74 00:04:22,100 --> 00:04:24,380 gonna go raise a bunch of money and we're gonna buy all our 75 00:04:24,380 --> 00:04:26,660 competitors. We're gonna be the market leader, blah, blah, blah, 76 00:04:26,660 --> 00:04:29,240 blah. And then you get another guy who's like, Hey, we're gonna 77 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:31,760 go sell the business. We're gonna we're gonna three years 78 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:33,800 tops, we're gonna flip this thing, and we're all gonna be 79 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,620 millionaires. Then the next guy's like, you know what, this 80 00:04:36,620 --> 00:04:39,200 is fantastic. I love this business. It's a great 81 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,880 lifestyle. I want my kids to work here, and I think until the 82 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:45,520 day I die, I'm going to do this business. And they're all 83 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,640 business partners, and all three of those personalities look at 84 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:52,000 each other and they're like, Dude, we're awesome. Look at us. 85 00:04:52,300 --> 00:04:55,540 And in their heads, they're all going different directions. And 86 00:04:55,540 --> 00:04:58,360 every single one of those scenarios that I just mentioned 87 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:02,940 are three different growth strategies. And so to get going, 88 00:05:03,060 --> 00:05:07,080 what I learned from hundreds of interviews now has been that 89 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:11,100 most growth is stifled not because they have a bad idea, 90 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:14,220 not because they don't have market fit, but because the 91 00:05:14,220 --> 00:05:17,640 leadership is not aligned on which path they're going down. 92 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,140 And so they're literally all three secretly going different 93 00:05:21,140 --> 00:05:24,920 directions, limiting their growth. And a lot of companies 94 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:29,000 get stuck with 5 million or less in revenue, making great money, 95 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:32,480 but not becoming market leaders, not exiting at the price they 96 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:37,160 want to, and not realizing that that length of growth they were 97 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:37,940 hoping to achieve. 98 00:05:39,140 --> 00:05:42,280 Robert Plank: Man, that's huge, and you're quite the podcaster, 99 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:46,120 the storyteller. And I can definitely see how there's that 100 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:48,580 honeymoon phase at first where, like, there's these three 101 00:05:48,580 --> 00:05:51,700 diverging paths. And of course, it's great at first, but then 102 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:57,040 when the the s hits the fan and actually have to get to a goal, 103 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,320 you have to get somewhere if they're all pulling it apart, 104 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,520 then you stay stuck where you're at, and it's like, Man, I can, I 105 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,400 can only imagine, I mean, you're giving me flashbacks to, like, 106 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,640 this moment and that moment. And I can only imagine if someone is 107 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:11,640 saying, like, Well, hey, that's why I'm stuck, or that's why 108 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,000 that business kind of didn't go that way, or there was this 109 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,900 lying or duplicity or a conflict, or it just didn't work 110 00:06:18,900 --> 00:06:22,220 out because of the, just the lack of and like that word 111 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:26,000 alignment, man, that's such a chat GPT output, and it's such a 112 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,980 thing that sometimes women say that to me, sometimes about 113 00:06:30,980 --> 00:06:33,200 alignment, like, what does that mean? But the way that you put 114 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:37,820 it, from my simple man brain, I'm like, okay, alignment now it 115 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:42,280 actually has a meaning for me. And so when you jump in and 116 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:45,340 there's this lack of alignment, so to speak, in the kind of 117 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:48,460 secret secretly, even you said going in different directions, 118 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:51,040 like, how do you begin to tackle that problem? 119 00:06:51,460 --> 00:06:55,120 Todd Westra: Oh my gosh, for me, it's fun. For them, it's 120 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:58,900 uncomfortable. And so we actually have an alignment 121 00:06:58,900 --> 00:07:02,340 exercise that we bring our clients through that literally 122 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,540 our first four or five weeks of our engagement is literally 123 00:07:06,540 --> 00:07:11,520 determining how to have the awkward conversation, because we 124 00:07:11,580 --> 00:07:15,000 interview their core leadership team and we identify 125 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:20,040 individually, what their intentions are, what they see as 126 00:07:20,220 --> 00:07:23,480 The growth strategy, what they see as an exit strategy, what 127 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:27,860 they see as limiters of their growth right now, and what they 128 00:07:27,860 --> 00:07:32,660 would do to enhance, you know, execute on the vision they see 129 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:38,840 and And inevitably, during those few weeks we we do an in depth, 130 00:07:38,900 --> 00:07:42,940 deep dive into their industry, who are the market leaders, who 131 00:07:42,940 --> 00:07:45,160 are their biggest three competitors, and why are they 132 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:49,180 growing better than they are? You know, what lessons could 133 00:07:49,180 --> 00:07:52,420 they learn? Why are they why are these three people on different 134 00:07:52,420 --> 00:07:56,800 paths? And when we do that, and then we sit down in a room with 135 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:00,600 all four of us, or sometimes five or six, but usually there's 136 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:05,040 three or four of them, and then ourself, we go in and facilitate 137 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:08,580 this awkward conversation of and we don't point fingers, but 138 00:08:08,580 --> 00:08:12,780 we're like, Okay, guys, here's what's happening outside, here's 139 00:08:12,780 --> 00:08:16,200 what's happening inside. And then we take each of those 140 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:20,420 things, and we need to converge and and get the crap out of this 141 00:08:20,420 --> 00:08:24,800 stuck position we're in, and then it gets really awkward. And 142 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,800 typically, the majority shareholder of the company has a 143 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:33,020 very strong opinion. And inevitably, when they all come 144 00:08:33,020 --> 00:08:35,900 out of this conversation where there might be tears and there 145 00:08:35,900 --> 00:08:39,980 might be some hurt feelings, but align on where they're going, it 146 00:08:39,980 --> 00:08:46,120 is exciting. It is thrilling. It is like, super awkward to super 147 00:08:46,180 --> 00:08:49,960 align and just ready for growth like it literally changes the 148 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,660 trajectory of a lot of these companies that are stuck in that 149 00:08:52,900 --> 00:08:56,320 at three to sometimes up to 10 million. They're just stuck. 150 00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:01,080 They just are going all over the place. And nothing wrong with 151 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,500 that. But if you want to be market leaders, if you want a 152 00:09:04,500 --> 00:09:08,760 strong exit, you got to align, and then it works out better for 153 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:09,540 everybody. 154 00:09:10,620 --> 00:09:12,840 Robert Plank: It almost sounded at first like a police 155 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:16,140 interrogation, like if two people, if they're in the same 156 00:09:16,140 --> 00:09:18,180 room, you're like, Well, can you get to the truth? But you 157 00:09:18,180 --> 00:09:23,240 separate them, and you kind of have the this kind of less small 158 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,760 like you had, the smaller in scope conversation you kind of 159 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,780 and then re merge forward of the truth. 160 00:09:30,019 --> 00:09:33,139 Todd Westra: They feel safe because they don't feel like 161 00:09:33,259 --> 00:09:36,079 they are worried about hurting that person's feelings. Because 162 00:09:36,079 --> 00:09:39,139 we keep it all confidential and and when we keep it 163 00:09:39,139 --> 00:09:44,079 confidential, it it, it. Truthfully, most founders are 164 00:09:44,079 --> 00:09:47,739 very passionate. They're very excited. But the reality is is 165 00:09:47,739 --> 00:09:52,659 oftentimes founders are the hardest ones to adapt to. Hey, 166 00:09:52,779 --> 00:09:56,379 we really got this thing I've been focusing on, but look at 167 00:09:56,379 --> 00:09:58,839 what's happening over here. We're actually way more 168 00:09:58,839 --> 00:10:01,319 profitable on this thing. I'm not even thinking about, and 169 00:10:01,319 --> 00:10:05,459 they don't even recognize it because their heart is here, but 170 00:10:05,459 --> 00:10:08,999 the business is already evolving over here, and they don't even 171 00:10:08,999 --> 00:10:13,379 see it. And so when they see it, and they can say, Oh, crap, I 172 00:10:13,379 --> 00:10:16,739 didn't realize we had 20% more margin there than we do here. 173 00:10:16,919 --> 00:10:20,899 Maybe we should go over there, you know? And it turns into a 174 00:10:20,899 --> 00:10:22,099 really fun conversation, 175 00:10:22,879 --> 00:10:25,159 Robert Plank: and it seems like a different kind of alignment, 176 00:10:25,159 --> 00:10:29,059 like I'm telling you, like I used up until three minutes ago 177 00:10:29,059 --> 00:10:31,459 when I heard that word, I would shut down. I would hate it. But 178 00:10:31,459 --> 00:10:35,719 like, the picture that you paint here, there's, like, the logic 179 00:10:35,719 --> 00:10:39,079 in the emotion. And sometimes, if, yeah, the logics over here, 180 00:10:39,079 --> 00:10:41,559 the emotions over here, and you say, Well, hey, I'm kind of 181 00:10:41,739 --> 00:10:45,699 ignoring or I'm ignorant of what we should be doing or what could 182 00:10:45,699 --> 00:10:48,759 be growing us. What makes money and I'm doing over here, what's 183 00:10:48,819 --> 00:10:51,939 fun? It's like a recipe for sabotage. And it's like, well, 184 00:10:51,939 --> 00:10:55,419 if you kind of re configured all that, and you said, Well, hey, 185 00:10:55,419 --> 00:10:58,839 let's get on the same page and say, yeah, hey, that if we grew 186 00:10:58,839 --> 00:11:02,279 this, then we could have that kind of emotional, fun 187 00:11:02,279 --> 00:11:05,819 satisfaction, and you wouldn't have to be living in two worlds. 188 00:11:05,819 --> 00:11:08,819 So I'm really curious about about, like, what this looks 189 00:11:08,819 --> 00:11:11,099 like, right? Because here we are talking in, like, abstract 190 00:11:11,099 --> 00:11:14,759 theory. But then, as we've been saying, podcasting stories the 191 00:11:14,999 --> 00:11:17,939 adventure, that's what it's all about. And so as far as, like, 192 00:11:17,939 --> 00:11:20,539 some of these companies that you, like, sat down with and 193 00:11:20,539 --> 00:11:23,719 help. Do you have a cool story in that department to share? 194 00:11:24,319 --> 00:11:27,319 Todd Westra: Yeah, I'll tell you one I'm experiencing right now 195 00:11:27,319 --> 00:11:31,219 as we speak. You know, it's, it's an interesting one, because 196 00:11:31,219 --> 00:11:35,539 it's a, it's a business incubator and and they've been 197 00:11:35,539 --> 00:11:39,079 around for about two years just going on. Man, almost two years. 198 00:11:39,979 --> 00:11:44,319 They have a $10 million fund. They've got an amazing array of, 199 00:11:44,859 --> 00:11:50,019 I think, just about 200 companies that are in launching 200 00:11:50,319 --> 00:11:55,359 in this business incubator. They've got a, probably about a 201 00:11:55,359 --> 00:12:00,039 200,000 square foot building that they purchased, and have 202 00:12:00,099 --> 00:12:03,599 office space. It's a co working environment. They have trainers 203 00:12:03,599 --> 00:12:08,399 coming in all this really, really, really cool operation. 204 00:12:09,419 --> 00:12:13,499 Now imagine for a second the leadership team. There is a very 205 00:12:13,499 --> 00:12:19,139 experienced, very well exited entrepreneur at the head, and he 206 00:12:19,139 --> 00:12:24,199 is inspired. He is inspiring. He is passionate about small 207 00:12:24,199 --> 00:12:27,739 business, small business growth. He's an adjunct professor at the 208 00:12:27,739 --> 00:12:33,439 university nearby, and teaches for free entrepreneurship like a 209 00:12:33,439 --> 00:12:38,899 more visionary man You can't imagine, right? But inside of 210 00:12:38,899 --> 00:12:42,219 the inner workings of this organization, there's some 211 00:12:42,219 --> 00:12:45,999 misalignment. There are some people who are who are doing 212 00:12:45,999 --> 00:12:49,479 things in a way that aren't aligned with his vision, and 213 00:12:49,479 --> 00:12:53,019 it's causing a little bit of friction. And so I was recently 214 00:12:53,019 --> 00:12:57,699 brought in, just a few weeks ago, to come in and help realign 215 00:12:57,939 --> 00:13:01,319 leadership team, the focus, the mission, the drive of this, of 216 00:13:01,319 --> 00:13:06,059 this operation. How profitable do we want this fund to be? How 217 00:13:06,179 --> 00:13:09,419 many more funds do we want to raise money for? Are we only 218 00:13:09,419 --> 00:13:12,839 seed, or are we doing a little bit of follow up, you know, 219 00:13:12,839 --> 00:13:16,439 follow on investing and all the little things right that that 220 00:13:16,439 --> 00:13:19,979 could be part of this environment that typically cause 221 00:13:19,979 --> 00:13:24,799 these types of operations to fail, we are now experiencing a 222 00:13:24,799 --> 00:13:30,319 whole new set of inspiration and revelation on where we can take 223 00:13:30,319 --> 00:13:34,459 this, this, this for fun project, and turn it into 224 00:13:34,459 --> 00:13:38,179 something that will impact multiple, hundreds of small 225 00:13:38,179 --> 00:13:41,679 businesses and their ability to grow and scale and launch. And 226 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:44,799 so it's interesting, because here's an environment with 227 00:13:44,799 --> 00:13:51,639 launch all around the fund is in launch mode, the the the co 228 00:13:51,639 --> 00:13:56,019 working space is in launch mode, but they've launched, and now 229 00:13:56,079 --> 00:14:00,839 it's this realignment stage, and I share this, hopefully without 230 00:14:00,839 --> 00:14:06,359 offending anybody. But it's been magical to see that, just like 231 00:14:06,359 --> 00:14:10,379 any other business, a year or two down the path, the pathway, 232 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:14,879 it's like everybody's aligned in the launch. It's now launched. 233 00:14:14,999 --> 00:14:19,499 It's now kind of operating, and yet, now the misalignment starts 234 00:14:19,499 --> 00:14:22,519 to appear. Well, I want to do this. Well, I think it should do 235 00:14:22,519 --> 00:14:26,419 this. Well, I think it should do this and and now we're in this, 236 00:14:26,479 --> 00:14:31,279 this beautiful, I truly think it's beautiful alignment stage 237 00:14:31,279 --> 00:14:34,459 where everyone's like, Oh, that probably is the better path we 238 00:14:34,459 --> 00:14:39,199 should go, oh, that does make sense. Oh, our investors would 239 00:14:39,199 --> 00:14:41,859 like this level of transparency. Maybe we should change our 240 00:14:41,859 --> 00:14:46,899 reporting process. Oh, you know, and it is kind of now evolving 241 00:14:46,899 --> 00:14:51,219 to the point where we have 250 mentors in the waiting who want 242 00:14:51,219 --> 00:14:54,759 to help these small businesses. We've got founders who are not 243 00:14:55,359 --> 00:14:59,019 they're missing each other. They're not wanting to bug them 244 00:14:59,019 --> 00:15:02,459 because they're worried. About bugging them. We're setting 245 00:15:02,459 --> 00:15:04,679 expectations, we're setting roles, we're setting 246 00:15:04,679 --> 00:15:07,379 responsibilities. And it's just a beautiful thing, like 247 00:15:07,439 --> 00:15:11,099 honestly, it's it's a very fun example of what's happening 248 00:15:11,099 --> 00:15:15,059 right now in this operation, and how we're seeing that growth 249 00:15:15,059 --> 00:15:19,679 affect not only the incubator and the fund, but also every 250 00:15:19,679 --> 00:15:23,659 business in the incubator is now watching this process of 251 00:15:23,659 --> 00:15:27,259 evolution from launch into, let's grow this thing. 252 00:15:28,279 --> 00:15:30,859 Robert Plank: Very nice. It almost feels like long term 253 00:15:30,859 --> 00:15:33,139 dating or marriage, where there's the but, like, with 254 00:15:33,139 --> 00:15:35,959 multiple people involved, right? With like, the different ages, 255 00:15:36,199 --> 00:15:39,019 and then with the like, well, and there's always like, when 256 00:15:39,019 --> 00:15:41,679 you have like, you know, like partners or people on your team, 257 00:15:41,679 --> 00:15:44,319 there's always that kind of psyching yourself out of like, 258 00:15:44,379 --> 00:15:46,899 so I want someone more like me, or someone who's more on the 259 00:15:46,899 --> 00:15:49,839 extreme, and you're saying like, well, what's more important is 260 00:15:49,839 --> 00:15:52,299 to have that common goal that you're all working towards. That 261 00:15:52,299 --> 00:15:56,739 way you can get that all figured out. And then that way, when as 262 00:15:56,739 --> 00:16:01,079 your company grows, you know who is not a fit and who is a fit, 263 00:16:01,079 --> 00:16:03,839 who to reject, and who to attract? And it becomes like a, 264 00:16:03,959 --> 00:16:07,799 like a feedback cycle, similar to you had your your podcast 265 00:16:07,799 --> 00:16:10,799 here, you figured out the commonalities, the kind of Think 266 00:16:10,799 --> 00:16:13,739 and Grow Rich, like, what are all the things that totally were 267 00:16:13,739 --> 00:16:16,739 in common that worked, and then that became the company, and 268 00:16:16,739 --> 00:16:19,499 then that became how you attract, you more people. And 269 00:16:19,499 --> 00:16:22,579 it's, it's wonderful and beautiful to think about, as far 270 00:16:22,579 --> 00:16:25,639 as the people involved. But I'm sure that it's not all easy, 271 00:16:25,639 --> 00:16:28,399 right? I'm sure there's all kinds of drama and hiccups, 272 00:16:28,459 --> 00:16:31,699 super sharing some of that. Where does it go wrong? 273 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,440 Todd Westra: Super awkward, super emotional. You do find 274 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:42,700 that that most successful founders are the ones who can 275 00:16:42,700 --> 00:16:47,320 detach and remove their emotion from what's logically happening, 276 00:16:47,860 --> 00:16:50,680 and those that cannot stand that, and they're very 277 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:55,720 emotionally driven, they end up getting stuck, or they fail. And 278 00:16:55,780 --> 00:17:01,140 it's it's having the right reporting mechanisms to see what 279 00:17:01,140 --> 00:17:06,180 is logically working versus what you hope is working. And so 280 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,540 those two things need to collide. And I think that most 281 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:13,380 small businesses, especially, there's a lot of love for the 282 00:17:13,380 --> 00:17:16,200 founder because they're so energized, they're so motivated, 283 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:19,380 they're so exciting and and you just want to believe that their 284 00:17:19,380 --> 00:17:22,220 passion is telling you the right thing, but when it comes right 285 00:17:22,220 --> 00:17:25,700 down to it, when the reporting is looked at and the stats are, 286 00:17:25,940 --> 00:17:31,040 you know, if you have stats to look at, you see, actually, this 287 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:34,940 path is working way better than our initial launch trajectory. 288 00:17:35,300 --> 00:17:39,080 Let's, let's maybe change gears a little bit and see what 289 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:43,360 happens when we lean into that instead of this, and that is 290 00:17:43,420 --> 00:17:45,820 perfect pivot, in my mind, 291 00:17:46,599 --> 00:17:49,179 Robert Plank: very nice. So better reporting and that idea 292 00:17:49,179 --> 00:17:53,499 of detaching, it's not saying don't have emotions, but perhaps 293 00:17:53,619 --> 00:17:56,859 there is, at the moment, too much emotions and not enough 294 00:17:56,859 --> 00:18:00,659 data. And when you detach, that you can kind of, there's blind 295 00:18:00,659 --> 00:18:03,839 spots, right? You you can see what the the actions can take 296 00:18:03,839 --> 00:18:06,599 and what success really looks like. And so this is a 297 00:18:06,779 --> 00:18:10,559 fascinating conversation, but I have to admit, I know almost 298 00:18:10,559 --> 00:18:14,399 nothing about startups and incubators and that whole world, 299 00:18:14,399 --> 00:18:16,979 but you're the expert here. So in this conversation we're 300 00:18:16,979 --> 00:18:19,499 having, what's the missing question? What should I be 301 00:18:19,559 --> 00:18:21,379 asking you? I just don't know what to ask you. 302 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,820 Todd Westra: You know, I would say probably the thing to ask 303 00:18:25,940 --> 00:18:30,860 is, oftentimes people in launching business mode feel 304 00:18:30,860 --> 00:18:33,620 like they need to bring in that one guy. They need to bring in 305 00:18:33,620 --> 00:18:35,780 that, that one person who's going to make all the 306 00:18:35,780 --> 00:18:40,780 difference. While that is partially true, it's almost more 307 00:18:40,780 --> 00:18:45,100 important to understand that even bringing in the right 308 00:18:45,100 --> 00:18:49,960 person, if there's not clarity on what you want them to do and 309 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:55,120 how you want them to plug in, it never works out, and so they end 310 00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:58,660 up feeling frustrated. You know, in the past year, I've probably 311 00:18:58,660 --> 00:19:02,940 talked to 200 different fractional leaders, mostly 312 00:19:02,940 --> 00:19:06,060 fractional CMOS, because I love marketing, and I network with a 313 00:19:06,060 --> 00:19:10,500 lot of marketers, but also fractional CFOs, they come to me 314 00:19:10,500 --> 00:19:13,860 and they're like, Todd, Ah, I understand what you're talking 315 00:19:13,860 --> 00:19:17,340 about, because I went in to take this contract with this company, 316 00:19:17,340 --> 00:19:20,100 and I spend the first three months trying to figure out what 317 00:19:20,100 --> 00:19:24,320 They actually want me to do, you know, and so, so alignment is 318 00:19:24,380 --> 00:19:28,280 the key foundation. Once that's in play, you can bring someone 319 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:31,100 in who has a really unique gift and special need, you know, 320 00:19:31,100 --> 00:19:34,760 special talent, and you know exactly how to plug them in, and 321 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,060 they know how to be plugged in, and they're feeling like the 322 00:19:38,060 --> 00:19:42,640 world is, is there opportunity? Now, instead of okay, this guy's 323 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:45,340 telling me this, this guy's telling me that I don't know 324 00:19:45,340 --> 00:19:49,840 which thing to do, and they get paralyzed, right? So, so that's 325 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:53,560 the question is, like, it's not as much about who you don't 326 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:59,020 hire, it's who you don't fire, and it's not having clarity on 327 00:19:59,020 --> 00:20:04,680 what to. Do with the people that I think I need. That's it. And 328 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:05,340 it seems like 329 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,580 Robert Plank: setting expectations is huge as CDs as 330 00:20:08,580 --> 00:20:11,700 it is. And you wonder, well, is this going to limit me? It was 331 00:20:11,700 --> 00:20:13,860 just setting a bunch of rules, and you're saying, No, it's the 332 00:20:13,860 --> 00:20:18,120 opposite, because if there's not enough of that documented 333 00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:20,780 written down, then you have the pulling apart, and then the 334 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,920 parental assistance. And so I can see how it makes it makes 335 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,400 sense from a guy like you, from the outside looking in, because 336 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,160 you seen this, you eat, breathe and sleep this stuff. But if 337 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:34,400 someone says, Hey, I'm one of these struggling startups 338 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:39,620 companies, and I need Mr. Todd's wisdom, because he sees problems 339 00:20:39,620 --> 00:20:42,640 even I don't see. How does someone know if they're a good 340 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,640 fit to reach out to you? And if they are, where do 341 00:20:45,940 --> 00:20:48,640 Unknown: they go? The easiest way is, we have a free 342 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,840 assessment on our website called growth readiness. Literally, is 343 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:57,220 growth readiness.com? Are you growth ready? I tease people a 344 00:20:57,220 --> 00:20:59,800 lot because I'm a part of a lot of mastermind groups, and I'm 345 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,480 like, Okay, let's just pretend today you had all the funding 346 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:07,800 you needed to do that magical shift in your company. Are you 347 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,560 ready for that funding? Like if I gave it all to you today, 348 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,920 let's say it's $10 million let's say it's $50 million let's say 349 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:19,140 let's say it's $100,000 if I gave it to you today, would you 350 00:21:19,140 --> 00:21:23,300 really know how to deploy it? And so we look at it in 12 351 00:21:23,300 --> 00:21:26,600 growth signals, and we allow people to take a free assessment 352 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:32,000 at growth readiness.com, to identify where they stand in 353 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:36,020 these 12 areas of growth readiness. And they're very 354 00:21:36,020 --> 00:21:40,120 common sensical, but they're very telling, because what I 355 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:45,040 found is that of the I honestly have only had about 70 different 356 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:49,300 leaders take the assessment so far. It's fairly young. But the 357 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:54,100 trends that I'm seeing is this, when people honestly answer 358 00:21:54,100 --> 00:21:58,960 these responses, they understand that there's maybe three or four 359 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,200 growth readiness signals that they're super strong. They're 360 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,440 gifted in these areas. They understand finance, or they 361 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,920 understand marketing, or they understand their client avatar, 362 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:12,660 but they're horrible at the at three others, and then they can 363 00:22:12,660 --> 00:22:15,840 kind of muscle their way through five or six others and between 364 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:18,540 the 12 things, if you really understand the three or four 365 00:22:18,540 --> 00:22:22,220 that you're weakest at, that's where you need to hire. That's 366 00:22:22,220 --> 00:22:25,220 where you need to build a position for someone to come in 367 00:22:25,460 --> 00:22:27,800 and handle those things that you've just been ignoring. 368 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:31,220 Because it's easy to ignore the stuff you're not good at and 369 00:22:31,220 --> 00:22:33,920 dive into the stuff you're good at, which is good. You should do 370 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,900 that, but plug someone in, put them in the right spot, and make 371 00:22:38,900 --> 00:22:42,340 sure that you're at least aware of where you stand on these 12 372 00:22:42,340 --> 00:22:46,180 growth readiness signals, and when you do that's when you know 373 00:22:46,180 --> 00:22:49,780 when to engage with us, because we come and build the alignment. 374 00:22:50,260 --> 00:22:54,580 We help build the strategy with your team. We align the team 375 00:22:54,580 --> 00:22:59,200 along with the leadership's goals, and then we deploy a vast 376 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,460 network of fractionals who know how to plug in to the 377 00:23:02,460 --> 00:23:06,240 environment that we just spent six months understanding. And so 378 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:07,620 it's a really, really beautiful thing. 379 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:10,980 Robert Plank: Yeah, it sounds like this seems very powerful, 380 00:23:10,980 --> 00:23:13,980 and it's like you've been, you've been asking the hard 381 00:23:13,980 --> 00:23:16,740 questions, even, as you say, when you jump into a company and 382 00:23:16,740 --> 00:23:19,740 you know, you get an understanding. It's like you ask 383 00:23:19,740 --> 00:23:23,060 these questions to figure out the weaknesses, to figure out 384 00:23:23,060 --> 00:23:25,700 what the change should be, and who to hire, and you know how to 385 00:23:25,700 --> 00:23:31,640 beef it up. And so it's it can have this, this path forward, if 386 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,280 we have the help of someone like you, and the place to go is 387 00:23:34,460 --> 00:23:40,100 growth readiness.com. Growth readiness transforms midsize 388 00:23:40,100 --> 00:23:44,680 firms from a complacent drifting to powerful ascension through 389 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:48,820 their proven three step journey, which is alignment, engagement 390 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:51,640 and partnership. You can go there. You can take that 391 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:55,180 assessment. You can book that 15 minute alignment call and get 392 00:23:55,180 --> 00:23:58,780 some of the mess clean up, get some of these problems figured 393 00:23:58,780 --> 00:24:02,820 out, and they're your execution partner with these growth 394 00:24:02,820 --> 00:24:06,780 values, grounded, resilient, observance, wisdom, tenacious 395 00:24:06,900 --> 00:24:11,100 and harmonious. They engineer your ascent with precision, 396 00:24:11,340 --> 00:24:14,940 ensuring every step is measurable and aligned with your 397 00:24:14,940 --> 00:24:19,500 vision, so you can go there and get educated and take the test 398 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,280 and book that call and go on that next step. And so that's 399 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,640 growth readiness.com and my understanding is that there's, 400 00:24:25,700 --> 00:24:28,280 there's other resources too, right? There's a podcast. 401 00:24:28,579 --> 00:24:31,519 Unknown: There is a podcast growth and scaling.com Yeah, 402 00:24:31,519 --> 00:24:35,059 growth and scaling.com and it's the growth and scaling podcast 403 00:24:35,059 --> 00:24:38,479 with Todd Wester. You can find it everywhere. Podcasts are 404 00:24:38,479 --> 00:24:42,879 played, and we have over 500 interviews with CEOs talking 405 00:24:42,879 --> 00:24:47,319 about their growth journey. It's, it's phenomenal. I re 406 00:24:47,319 --> 00:24:51,459 listen to them often because I forget the stories after I 407 00:24:51,459 --> 00:24:54,159 record them, I'm like, that was awesome. That was a cool 408 00:24:54,159 --> 00:24:57,639 company. I really love their journey, and it's so fun. So 409 00:24:57,639 --> 00:24:57,879 enjoy. 410 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:00,780 Robert Plank: It's great education. Conversation and 411 00:25:00,780 --> 00:25:03,420 networking and then to revisit. And one thing I want to fit in 412 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:07,200 here, just even for my own personal memorization, is with 413 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:10,860 this podcasting you have this Holly lands mic, and maybe we 414 00:25:10,860 --> 00:25:14,460 can do do an unofficial product placement here. Can you tell us 415 00:25:14,460 --> 00:25:16,980 about that Holly land mic? Because it just you explained to 416 00:25:16,980 --> 00:25:18,600 me before the show. It sounds so amazing. 417 00:25:18,780 --> 00:25:22,940 Todd Westra: Yeah, it honestly is super cool. As a podcaster, I 418 00:25:23,420 --> 00:25:26,900 have my own studio. I have my own cool mics and all the other 419 00:25:26,900 --> 00:25:29,900 stuff. But when I'm when I'm out and about, like, today, I 420 00:25:29,900 --> 00:25:33,920 literally, I can plug in this Holly land mic. I've got two 421 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:40,240 mics that just attach to my lapel. They're super long 422 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:43,480 distance. They're like, I think 380 feet, or something like 423 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:47,620 that. I can go away from my from my connector to my laptop, and 424 00:25:47,740 --> 00:25:53,500 then I can have a guest Put on a mic, and it picks up, it goes. I 425 00:25:53,500 --> 00:25:56,260 actually use it all the time on my phone. I have a plugin that 426 00:25:56,260 --> 00:26:00,300 fits on the bottom of my phone, and I can then go around and 427 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:04,740 open up my Riverside app, which is the second favorite tool, and 428 00:26:04,740 --> 00:26:08,760 boom, it just it goes, I can record the audio. Sounds 429 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,780 perfect. I love Holly land. I love Riverside. These are 430 00:26:12,780 --> 00:26:15,660 fantastic tools if you're if you're getting into podcasting, 431 00:26:16,140 --> 00:26:18,660 Robert Plank: because I know that as a podcaster, for years, 432 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:24,140 I've been afraid of like, hosting a show mobile, right? 433 00:26:24,140 --> 00:26:28,160 Yeah, the dream of, like, you know, you go, you're sitting in 434 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:30,980 your car, you drive to a park, you go to a co working space, go 435 00:26:30,980 --> 00:26:33,440 to a friend's house, and, like, have your your phone in a 436 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:36,440 tripod, and you're saying, with the Riverside app, it's like, 437 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:38,240 we, we can do it now. 438 00:26:38,780 --> 00:26:41,920 Todd Westra: It is literally the coolest thing ever i i have 439 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:48,460 found I can send a link to my Riverside studio to a guest or a 440 00:26:48,460 --> 00:26:51,820 friend or even someone standing there with me, and they can have 441 00:26:51,820 --> 00:26:55,240 their phone open. I can have my phone open, and we literally get 442 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,300 the two camera angles. We get the two audio feeds. And then 443 00:26:58,780 --> 00:27:02,340 once the interview is done, Riverside uses AI to, like, 444 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:07,260 automatically edit a good chunk of the interview, and then all 445 00:27:07,260 --> 00:27:12,060 you're doing is adding overlays and maybe some, you know, text 446 00:27:12,060 --> 00:27:15,060 and stuff like that on it. If you're pulling out shorts and 447 00:27:15,060 --> 00:27:16,860 stuff like that from the interview, it's, it's 448 00:27:16,860 --> 00:27:20,420 phenomenal. I absolutely love the combo of hollyland and 449 00:27:20,420 --> 00:27:25,220 Riverside and, you know, I wish I get I had time to tell you all 450 00:27:25,220 --> 00:27:28,400 my affiliate links, but I won't, but maybe I'll send them to you 451 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,620 Robert, like him in the show notes. 452 00:27:30,859 --> 00:27:32,419 Robert Plank: Yeah, we'll take him in the show notes, and then 453 00:27:32,419 --> 00:27:35,419 also they can go to your podcast and see your links in those show 454 00:27:35,419 --> 00:27:37,819 notes. But like, yeah, you're, you're, you're inspiring me a 455 00:27:37,819 --> 00:27:40,539 little bit because, like, you know, I'm, like most podcasters, 456 00:27:40,539 --> 00:27:45,699 I'm at a desk, but like, the dream of, like sitting at a or 457 00:27:46,059 --> 00:27:48,219 something, oh, I mean, I'm excited 458 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,740 Todd Westra: now I am in a studio, but it's not my studio. 459 00:27:53,740 --> 00:27:57,040 I just happen to be at this co working space that has a studio, 460 00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:00,180 and I didn't have time to get all their cameras and lights and 461 00:28:00,180 --> 00:28:03,180 stuff set up, but it's good enough for my, my Riverside and 462 00:28:03,180 --> 00:28:04,740 Holly land, and it's working. 463 00:28:05,460 --> 00:28:07,860 Robert Plank: Well, I think we got, might have to have you 464 00:28:07,860 --> 00:28:10,680 back, and I don't want to go too far over time, but, like, real 465 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,260 quick. So like, these co working spaces, like, can you get, like, 466 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,960 a day pass? Or is there possible, like, find something 467 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:18,840 in your town and just go and have a set for a podcast? 468 00:28:19,140 --> 00:28:24,800 Unknown: Did this? This studio. It's in Provo Utah. It's, it is. 469 00:28:26,060 --> 00:28:29,060 It's a mission. It's, it's, honestly, it's a mission from 470 00:28:29,060 --> 00:28:31,520 the founder of this place, like I was saying, he's a very, very 471 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:35,840 passionate man, very, very loving, very he's made his 472 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,540 money. He doesn't need any more. He's just kind of out there to 473 00:28:38,540 --> 00:28:42,940 help other people. And so this space has room for, like, 250 474 00:28:44,860 --> 00:28:49,840 entrepreneurs. They have a fund to help with seed funding. They 475 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:52,240 have a podcast studio. They've got everything. It's called 476 00:28:53,140 --> 00:28:56,980 iHub. And the iHub of Utah, Innovation Hub Utah, I think 477 00:28:57,220 --> 00:29:03,120 it's just ihub.org It's it's a very, very cool, cool 478 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:08,100 organization. And, yeah, nice cameras, nice lighting, nice 479 00:29:08,100 --> 00:29:10,860 everything. I just happened to plug in my laptop today because 480 00:29:10,860 --> 00:29:14,640 I didn't have time to to finagle all the other stuff. But it's 481 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:15,600 really cool in here. 482 00:29:16,140 --> 00:29:17,640 Robert Plank: Well, very awesome. Well, we're living in 483 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,500 the future. And so if you want to drink some of that Todd 484 00:29:21,500 --> 00:29:26,540 Westra Kool Aid, and grow your company and have this better 485 00:29:26,540 --> 00:29:33,140 outcome. Reach out their phone number is 844871, grow. 844871, 486 00:29:35,540 --> 00:29:39,560 grow. The podcast is the growth and scaling podcast. Where we 487 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:44,200 really want you to go is growth readiness.com. Go ahead. Do it 488 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:46,960 right now. And before I let you go, Mr. Todd, it's time for the 489 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,500 finale, The scary part of the podcast where I tried to stump 490 00:29:50,500 --> 00:29:54,100 you, I tried to put you on the spot by asking about a fun or 491 00:29:54,100 --> 00:29:57,700 interesting quote or lesson that has served you. So what comes to 492 00:29:57,700 --> 00:29:59,920 mind as far as a fun or interesting quote or lesson? 493 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:04,920 Todd Westra: Percent, no success can compensate for failure in 494 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:08,700 the home. That's one of my favorite quotes I love to live 495 00:30:08,700 --> 00:30:14,280 by. And if you're a dad, a husband, partner who who cares 496 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:19,020 about the other people in your life, no startup, no business 497 00:30:19,020 --> 00:30:22,100 growth, no strategy can compensate for failing to be 498 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:26,180 there for those people that truly love you, and so I live 499 00:30:26,180 --> 00:30:30,020 and die by that I have seven kids. I've got a beautiful wife. 500 00:30:31,340 --> 00:30:36,260 We've we've had ups and downs financially, but I've never 501 00:30:36,260 --> 00:30:40,300 failed to be there for my kids now they're adulting, and I've 502 00:30:40,300 --> 00:30:43,720 got some out of the house and a few left at home, and I just, 503 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:47,260 I'm a huge advocate. No matter what you're trying to do with 504 00:30:47,260 --> 00:30:51,340 your business and your life, if you're sacrificing your family 505 00:30:51,340 --> 00:30:55,240 to do it, I think it's the wrong move. So Right? That's it. 506 00:30:55,900 --> 00:30:57,880 Robert Plank: I agree completely. That's powerful, 507 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,780 that's helpful. And the thing about that is we go to growth 508 00:31:00,780 --> 00:31:04,800 readiness.com. We've been speaking with Mr. Todd Westra, 509 00:31:04,860 --> 00:31:08,100 podcasting expert, growth and scaling expert, it's been such 510 00:31:08,100 --> 00:31:10,500 an education speaking to you. Thanks for being here. 511 00:31:10,740 --> 00:31:13,740 Todd Westra: Thank you. Appreciate it heck.