Guest Speaker Series: Impact and Alignment with Kaci Brown

Hey, everybody is Tara Bryan and you are listening to the course building secrets podcast. Whether you're a coach or a CEO, the success of your team and clients is based on your ability to deliver a consistent experience and guide them on the fastest path to results. This podcast will give you practical real life tips that you can use today to build your online experiences that get results and create raving fans. Why? So you can monetize your expertise and serve more people without adding more time or team to your business? If you're looking to uncover your million dollar framework, package it and use it to scale you're in the right place. Let's dive in.

Hey, everybody, welcome to the Course Building Secrets podcast. I have an awesome special guest today, Kaci Brown, and I am so excited for you to meet her and hear about all the things that she is up to welcome Kaci, why don't you give us a just a little bit of an overview of who you are and what you are all about?

Well, first, thank you so much. I'm super excited to be here. If if there is anyone watching the replay or whatever you might see we've got two rescue kitties that might come in and out of the background. But I'm a mom of four, I was blessed enough to marry my high school sweetheart. But our life has not always been rainbows and butterflies, we've had definite shifts and challenges and pivots along the way. And I am an entrepreneur at heart. And I love helping people step into the lifestyle businesses that they really want to build, that builds up the alignment of spending time with those that they love, whether you have a family or you want to travel, and really zoning in the expertise. So it's simplifying business, and just creating one singular path to what your expertise is, and serving and creating the impact that you want in the world. So a lot of what I do is around coaching and consulting, scaling the on the brink of six figures to seven and eight figure businesses. But most of all, like living in alignment with your soul filled purpose and doing it in a way that's just unapologetic, and really puts you into that arena of being worthy of being part of the people that you serve. So I'm really super excited to be here and just share more about that journey. And I'm happy to answer any questions along the way, Tara, you know, I love you. And I am so excited to see you on this path and being such an amazing leader in the space. So wherever we go from here, it's going to be awesome.

Very cool. Awesome. So, so excited that you are that you're here that you're doing what you are supposed to be doing. So share with us a little bit. So so our, our audience, our our course builders, agency owners, people who are doing one on one work, shifting to group shifting to putting their their expertise into a package program. How do you help? Or how what like, what advice do you have for people who are on that journey of? Maybe they're burnt out? Maybe they're kind of maxed out in their one on one? How do you help them transition? What kind of tips or tricks do you have for them to transition into some packaging what they're doing?

Oh, my goodness. Okay, so first and foremost, I want to say I know exactly where you are, when you say burnout. And in preparing for the podcast, I know we had a little bit of conversation, I feel like I've had like four cycles of burnout in my own life. And I used to run a Facebook ads agency. So I know what it's like to wear all of the hats to be responsible for the sales, for the delivery, for the creative for the brand, and all of that type of stuff. So my number one advice is where you are at right now. Just take a few minutes to really think about what you want to build to really think about what you want to create. And give yourself the permission to dream as big as possible of what that looks like, what type of life you want to create and then reverse engineer the business that aligns with it. And when you say burnout, it's usually because we think we have to be in a continuous hustle loop that we have to be the one solution, the only person that can do everything in our business. And what I really encourage you to do is when you reverse engineering, pinpoint what your one thing the one zone of genius is that you bring to the table that feels effortless for you like as easy as breathing. Because that right there is the one thing that you can scale in your business. And I'm willing to bet you're probably under charging for, because it feels so ridiculously easy that you can do it in your sleep that you should not, which is a dangerous word to have a conversation with internally, you should not be charging X, Y and Z. Because it is so fun. It is so fulfilling. And it is so easy. But that is what your clients and your customers want the most and is honestly the most valuable thing. And if you can create a business structure in a no nonsense way to get them the result faster. You've just changed your life. And so I would encourage you to really do some digging and see, does my business fit? What we just talked about right now? Am I working towards that type of business? Or have I not even given myself the time and the space to evaluate? Because sometimes we build a business and we're trapped? And we're like, how the heck did I get here. And I just I just want to let you know, you're not the only one that has had those internal conversations, I've had a lot of niching down, I've had a lot of kind of pivots and refinements and evolutions. And, you know, there's some in the industry, especially in an online that, that have have made people feel shameful for shifting their business model or changing something. And I don't think anyone should ever feel guilty for doing what is best for them in their life and in their business.

That's awesome. I love that. So one of the things is, is that so often when we get started in our business, we start from our skill set, right, we start from what we maybe been doing in corporate or maybe what we went to school for, or whatever our expertise is we sort of start from that technician or skillset perspective, one of the things I love about you, Kaci, is that you you have taken that skill set matched it with that purpose and legacy and and sort of the bigger sense of of who you are and match those together. What advice do you have for somebody who's sort of in that space of, you know, maybe they went out on their own, because they were really good at doing the thing? And now they're finding that maybe there's not as much purpose or maybe legacy in that, and there's something else that's calling to them?

Yeah, that's such a great question. I had a, I had a discussion with a client the other day, and she's actually she's running an agency, and there's she feels like her life is calling her to a different area, that's actually in more of a volunteer role, that doesn't necessarily pay as much as her skill set. So I would say there's two ways to look at this. There's those of us who can step into a purpose that is also perfectly aligned with a product or service in selling our zone of, of excellence in our expertise, that doesn't have to be separated, right. So like, for me, I love coming alongside of businesses for the long run, understanding their lifestyle, understanding their family, understanding their passions and their goals. And very specifically creating a business outcome that supports that. And the ripple effect of impacts that they want to create. So mine is aligned with the product and service that that that i i sell like for, for lack of a better term to keep it in. Now hers, she runs an agency. We're coaching her on how to step into the CEO role of that agency. So she can maintain the scalability and the income that will support her, and being able to not only have the free time to volunteer, but also the resources to divert to, you know, building whatever she wants in association with that nonprofit that she wants to support. And I'll give another example. One of my clients, one of the first clients that I have is a dog trainer. And as they started to scale like they are like doing really, really well. They're very humble about their numbers. So I won't get into that here. But not only does this business support that family, but it also supports five other nonprofits. So I would encourage you to evaluate your skill set and see, is this something that 100% aligns with the work that I do on the output that I create that is in alignment with my purpose, then great, if it is not, is it something that I want to leverage to essentially create the cash flow for me to build orphanages in Africa to support organizations that rehabilitate sex trafficking. Like there's, there's different ways for us to support that purpose in different ways. And I think it's just getting really, really creative about what we're going to do to leverage the skill sets and the talents that God gave us and that we're blessed with. And there's nothing wrong with also going all in and making a complete shift to where just figuring out because if it is a nonprofit, then what is the skill set that you bring to that nonprofit? And how can you market that, like, there's different ways to do it. But I would say, a lot of people start their business because they figure out a way to make money. And the first evolution that we realize is that if we only keep our decisions based on the amount of money that we can create, we're totally limiting the potential that we have in ourselves and the potential that we have for impacting others. Because impact is leverage. And when you have a fire lit in your soul, to create something bigger and better than yourself, you are going to push yourself harder, you are going to push yourself further you are going to inspire your team and the people who work with you more than you ever thought possible by just creating X y&z widgets, selling them for a 30% profit margin.

Yeah, so powerful. I love that great examples. Very cool. So one question I always ask everyone. Well, I asked the women that I interview is, as a busy mom, business owner, and wife and everything else, you know, how do you fit it all in? How do you focus on all of the things that you need to focus on and focus on yourself and making sure that you are kind of feeding your purpose in your soul as well?

Okay, so I took a deep breath in, because this is one that I have been working on for years. And in one word, I can summarize it, but I'd really like to dig deep into it. And I'd really love for you to share to how you've incorporated it in your business. Because I think as women and moms, we have this idea of a role of that everything that we have to be to everybody. And we typically are low man on the totem pole, everyone goes before us, you know, we put ourselves last. But the one word that I want to share is boundaries, and also like worthiness. In serving other people, I struggled this this for a really, really long time that I put all of my worth into what I could do for other people. And then if I wasn't doing for other people, then what really did I have to contribute to, and not even society, but like my family, like what, what was my purpose outside of that. And in the last couple of years, I've realized, in my heart of service that I get to be included in that list of people that I serve. And it is an untangling of a lot of guilt that, that we've put our replay and loop in our minds that I can't take this time to do XY and Z because somebody needs me to do something else. And when we realize the people that we love in our lives, want us to take care of ourselves as much as they appreciate us loving on and supporting them, we give them the opportunity to be that support for us. So in the recent months, like in this new year, I started going to the gym, I started swimming, I started focusing on my health, I've started reading more, I've cut back the amount of time that I work. I work three days a week, so that I can support my family but also so that I can have a couple hours a day to do whatever I want to do without feeling guilty. And that could be just sit down and have a glass of wine and read a book. So but it took me putting the boundaries in place first, to be able to carve out those pockets of time for myself. And what what is really surprising is when you start carving out those boundaries and only taking sales calls on a certain day are only doing XY and Z on other days. You realize that not only you respect yourself more but everyone respects yourself more And so I feel like that's, that's a one two punch is the boundaries and the worthiness. And I definitely would love to have to hear how how you've incorporated the same thing because I know this is something we talk about a

lot. Yeah. Well, and it's, it's absolutely the same thing, right is the boundaries and saying, you know, here's the time that that I need in order to show up, it's like, you know, when you're on the airline or on an airplane, and they say, put your mask on first and then put your kids mask on, right? You You cannot help them if you have no oxygen. And that's, that's so much, you know, the lessons that I've, I've learned too is, is, what do I need to do to show up for myself, take care of myself so that I can show it better for my clients and my, my family, and, and everything else? So I think the more we can do that, the more the more we're able to give. And the more we're able to stay fulfilled because yeah, I mean, for me, I wake up earlier than the rest of my family. So I can have that time. So I, you know, work out I read I do have my coffee and and my quiet time. And it's funny, because when when like one of the kids will wake up early. I'm like, no, no. Go back to my go to bed. Right? Right. Like, no, no, this is mommy's time. But, but in the same sense. Like, they know that it's my time, right? They know that if I'm, you know, reading or I'm, you know, working out or I'm doing whatever, that that's Mommy's time and, and unless there's some sort of emergency, they've gotten pretty good at doing it. But for sure the worthiness of like this, this is something that's important to me that I need to make time for, it's easier now that kids are a little bit older, they're a little bit more independent, versus, you know, when they were little, and that was, you know, there were toddlers or whatever, and was harder to harder to do that. But so, so, so very important. For all of us tonight, and I think boundaries and worthiness, I mean, such, those are two totally key words. So if somebody is listening, and they're struggling with that, I would absolutely recommend, you know, how do you set those boundaries and, and even the boundaries within yourself, like, I think the worthiness is a boundary that you're setting to say I am worthy. Therefore, my boundary is I need to take the time. And even if it's only five or 10 minutes at first, it's still carved out time that you're taking for yourself, where you're saying, This is my time.

Yeah, yeah, that's how it started for me. And it's funny because like, I knew myself enough that I knew I had to kind of like, I had to manipulate my own way of thinking. And we have four kids, we have two boys and two girls, I'm very self conscious about the way that I teach the boys and the teach the girls like there is an equality. But there is also like, I understand the view that I need to set an example for our sons. And I also need to set an example for our daughters. And what really got me going into this is when I first started doing this, the commitment was I was committing to eight hours of self care a week. And if you are an entrepreneur or a solopreneur, you know, scaling or building anything, you know that eight hours a week are precious. So that was really hard for me to maintain. Because I had already reverse engineered my schedule to be able to take the kids to school to pick them off, pick them up when they got onto the bus stop, and I wasn't compromising on that. So my eight hours had to come from somewhere else. And it came from like the working time. And that was already a struggle. But then I also kept playing like I replaced the loop of guilt in my brain with what do I want my daughters to see. I don't want them to see a mom feeling guilty about taking time for herself. I want them to be excited when I come home and then I got my nails done. I want to take them to get their nails done sometimes and I want them to experience that. I don't want them to feel guilty about doing something for themselves. Right because there's this there's there's a pendulum swing that if we go too far to the right or to the left, we can completely be selfless to others but but like completely, like exhaust our own internal resources to be able to be that servant that we want to for others. So I had to come back to the center and I also didn't want to create an environment where they saw where my boys saw and they created this definition of a mom. That was always at my beck and call always available for everything like there was a there is a balance of independence that I wanted for my kids. And also, to make sure that they have that self confidence to know, they, I want them to serve. I totally want them to serve. But I don't want them to serve at the detriment of themselves themselves. Yeah. And I had been living that example for them where it's like everybody, everybody, everybody first right like shirt off your back, which is not a bad way to be. But it only it does get to be kind of murky, when you don't include yourself in that, that that grace. So for me, it took, like rewriting that program in my brain to see like, what am I really communicating with my kids, for me to finally like commit. And and now it's a lot easier. So I'm still I'm still it's still one of those things where you fight for those boundaries from yourself. But it's totally worth it in the end, because it's it's, it's such a better and more peaceful existence.

Yeah, awesome. Very cool. Well, um, so two more things very quickly. One is what book or resource or, or tool do you recommend for our audience to help them with either their mindset, their purpose, or even packaging what they're doing in a different way?

Okay, all right. So there's, there's a few books, because I have gotten to read a lot of books lately. I will definitely say for the mind shift of, of just totally shifting your filter on what's really, really important in life. A Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. And I actually just finished one called in the US, it's going to be pronounced lady Clementine. But in the British, it's lady Clementine, for Winston Churchill's wife. And what's interesting is everything that we just talked about, like with the way that women struggle with boundaries and things like that, like we're we're talking about a story of over two world wars, supporting her husband as the prime minister, and seeing just a glimpse of the inside of almost 100 years ago, women who struggled with the same thing, interesting. And so I really like I really liked the perspective of that book, and its historical fiction. So it's, it's a little bit of, of based on fact and research, but also like, where the author took the liberty to fill in some gaps. But I think the way that it represents like just the humaneness of us and what we do as wives and women, and you know, in business and out, it really just shows how much more work there is, and having conversations. And I feel like these conversations extend to the brand and the way that we do business, because the moment you put your human back into the business that you create, that is someone that no one else can compete with, because you are only you, you're the only one with your experiences with your perspective and the way that you can communicate and connect with people. And that's powerful. The more that people realize that that is part of their magic that they bring to the table, the better off we'll all be

very cool. I love it. Okay. And then the last question is, where can people find more about you and what you are up to? If they're interested in in being a part of what you've got going on?

Well, I'm actually under a rebrand right now. So the new website will be up soon, this podcast is actually probably going to light a fire under me. And so the main website is going to be KaciBrown.co And that's K A C I. My mom was crazy creative. And definitely connect with me on Facebook. I like to show up there and social media and Instagram and things like that. And that is Kaci Brown HQ. And I am very active in my private messages and DMS because conversations really, really are important to me.

Awesome, very cool. Well, thank you so much for being on today. We appreciate all of your insights, and I look forward to the next time that we connect.

Absolutely. Thank you.