One Big Idea 4 - Driving Operational Excellence: From Algorithm-Free Organic Scale to Transformational Self-Leadership

One Big Idea 4 - Driving Operational Excellence: From Algorithm-Free Organic Scale to Transformational Self-Leadership In this episode of One Big Idea, host Josh Elledge connects with Nikolas Hake, Scott Doggett, Carol Schultz, Andrew Lafuente, and Jane Monroe to break down the operational frameworks needed to scale modern businesses, refine organizational culture, and master executive self-leadership. Nikolas Hake, Founder and CEO of JUS Official Services, kicks off the conversation by detailing how emerging creators and brands can build compounding momentum without falling into short-term social media trends. Scott Doggett, Founder and Chief Servant Leader at the National Academy of Leadership Development, then shifts the focus toward corporate culture, exposing how executive perception directly impacts workforce engagement. Next, Vertical Elevation Founder and CEO Carol Schultz introduces the strategic deployment of a Chief of Staff to eliminate CEO burnout. Andrew Lafuente, Founder and Principal of Lafuente Sign and Awning, reveals how modernizing legacy B2B industries creates sustainable market differentiation. Finally, Entrepreneur and Keynote Speaker Jane Monroe closes the episode by mapping out the four dimensions of the self to help corporate executives lead with radical self-awareness. The One Big Idea That Helps You Win Online Without Following Algorithms with JUS Official Services' Nikolas HakeIn a digital landscape obsessed with immediate viral spikes, emerging creators and growing brands frequently dilute their positioning by frantically chasing fleeting algorithmic trends. Talent management expert Nikolas Hake explains that his "one big idea" directly targets this strategic error: long-term brand equity relies on building a structured, repeatable content engine that compounds over time. Many talent agencies focus exclusively on established names, leaving emerging professionals without structured guidance. By stepping in to provide early-stage support, transparent management, and flexible operational alignment, businesses can transition away from scattered, sporadic activity and anchor their brand around a single, highly cohesive value proposition. To build sustainable digital momentum, founders must shift from surface-level vanity metrics toward deep audience understanding and multi-channel alignment. Nikolas emphasizes that attempting to appeal to everyone ultimately erodes consumer trust. Instead, brands should prioritize message clarity, audit their communications across platforms, and focus on human-centric storytelling that creates real emotional resonance. By establishing structured content workflows and viewing digital visibility as a long-term marathon rather than a sprint, businesses can protect their core identity, navigate evolving software algorithms, and cultivate deeply loyal communities. Why Leadership Success Depends on Seeing People Beyond Their Job Titles with National Academy of Leadership Development's Scott DoggettMany executive teams attempt to resolve underlying corporate challenges like high employee turnover, low productivity, and team disengagement by rolling out new software tools or rigid corporate policies. However, leadership development expert Scott Doggett demonstrates that his core framework addresses a much deeper root cause: executive perception. When leaders subconsciously view their workforce through clinical or transactional labels—referring to employees merely as "resources," "leads," or "headcount to manage"—that underlying mindset inevitably seeps into daily operations. This dynamic erodes psychological safety, suppresses frontline initiative, and causes high-performing talent to disengage. To build an adaptable, human-centered corporate culture, Scott challenges executives to radically shift how they perceive their team members. When leaders intentionally view every individual as priceless—acknowledging their unique strengths, personal aspirations, and professional struggles—they unlock unprecedented levels of ownership, creative problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration. Transforming corporate culture does not happen through static mission statements; it is forged through micro-interactions, such as practicing intentional presence in meetings, offering constructive feedback after errors, and replacing dehumanizing corporate jargon with empathetic language. By auditing their daily interactions, leaders can create an environment where talent genuinely thrives. Moving Beyond Micromanagement Through Strategic Delegation and Leadership with Vertical Elevation's Carol SchultzSmall and medium-sized business (SMB) CEOs frequently find themselves trapped in "operational overload," spending their valuable bandwidth managing daily meeting logistics, handling routine team communication, and putting out operational fires. Executive consultant Carol Schultz shares her foundational "one big idea" that solves this bottleneck: every CEO needs a Chief of Staff to serve as an operational force multiplier. Unlike a Director of Operations, who manages company-wide systems and department heads, a Chief of Staff focuses exclusively on managing the operations of the CEO's office. This crucial distinction allows visionary founders to reclaim up to 90% of their time, redirecting their focus toward high-level strategy, investor relations, and enterprise growth. Implementing a Chief of Staff requires a structured, multi-step transition process to ensure operational gaps are thoroughly documented before backfilling the position. Carol's proven framework involves auditing executive time, mapping critical operational tasks, and establishing clear delegation boundaries. Once implemented, this structure eliminates CEO burnout and prevents the executive from becoming an operational bottleneck. Paired with strategic authority-building tactics—such as establishing a streamlined press kit and securing targeted media guesting spots—CEOs can successfully step away from daily management minutiae and lead their organizations with clarity and vision. How Bold Thinking and Creativity Helped One Entrepreneur Beat the Competition with Lafuente Sign and Awning's Andrew LafuenteDisrupting a legacy industry does not require reinventing the underlying service; rather, it demands modernizing how that service is packaged, marketed, and delivered. B2B entrepreneur Andrew Lafuente outlines his "one big idea" on how he transformed a traditional manufacturing business into an agile brand serving major clients like Chase Bank, Trader Joe's, and Ralph Lauren. While traditional competitors in legacy sectors rely heavily on outdated word-of-mouth networks, Andrew embraced digital marketing, active social proof, and continuous competitive analysis to differentiate his brand, build trust, and capture market share. To convert industry analysis into scalable growth, leaders must view their competitors as a valuable source of market intelligence rather than a zero-sum threat. By regularly auditing market offerings, maintaining a polished and user-friendly digital footprint, and balancing local B2B accounts with high-profile national clients, legacy businesses can protect themselves against market downturns. Andrew highlights that maintaining strict attention to detail on digital channels—supported by proactive public relations, clear media kits, and strategic podcast appearances—allows modern founders to elevate their industry reputation, establish authoritative positioning, and drive predictable B2B revenue growth. Exploring the Four Selves Through a Journey of Self-Awareness and Leadership Growth with Jane MonroeTrue organizational transformation cannot occur until an executive learns the art of radical self-leadership. Keynote speaker and entrepreneur Jane Monroe introduces her core thesis on the road to leadership cohesion, which requires leaders to systematically explore and integrate four distinct dimensions of the self: the Known Self (public persona), the Hidden Self (private thoughts and boundaries), the Blind Self (unconscious behavioral blind spots), and the Mystery Self (untapped potential). Because executive ego often blocks self-awareness, leaders must actively build feedback loops to surface hidden blind spots before those unaddressed behaviors disrupt team dynamics. Unlocking the Mystery Self requires stepping far outside traditional comfort zones to dismantle limiting self-perceptions, much like Jane's own experience undertaking a 340-mile endurance kayak journey down the Missouri River. To cultivate leadership cohesion, executives must build a trusted advisory network—comprising coaches, mentors, or candid colleagues—who provide unvarnished, objective feedback. By prioritizing vulnerability over ego, normalizing continuous feedback within their corporate culture, and leading by example, business leaders can build resilient organizations rooted in mutual trust, psychological safety, and transformational growth. Links Mentioned in the EpisodeNikolas Hake on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolashake/JUS Official Services Website: https://www.jusofficialservices.info/Scott Doggett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdoggett/National Academy of Leadership Development Website: <a href="https://www.nationalald.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

• 0:03Speaker 00

  Welcome to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur. You asked for it, so we made it happen. Every Friday, we're doing something a little different. Instead of one long conversation, we're packing in four of them, four experts, four big ideas, all in about the same time it takes to drink your morning coffee. We call it One Big Idea Friday, and the format is simple. I ask each guest one question, and they bring their single best idea for business leaders who want to grow without the noise. No fluff, no rambling, just the thing they actually want you to remember. I'm Josh Helig. Let's get into it.

• 0:44Speaker 00

  With us right now, with our next one big idea, is Nicholas Haake. Nicholas, you are the founder of JUS Official Services. You work in talent management. You're working with, you work with a lot of creators, a lot of folks that are streaming, they're building audiences, influencers. So you get to see a lot of cool stuff behind the scenes. Please, share with us your one big idea.

• 1:10Speaker 01

  My one big idea is that most creators and influencers, and even businesses, don't fail necessarily from lack of effort. They fail from scattered momentum. Right now, especially on social media, businesses have become an ultra-active environment. Everyone is posting constantly, launching constantly, pivoting constantly, and there's a lot of new marketing ideas, algorithms, and reactions you have to start considering. Founders and creatives alike feel pressured to always be doing more. What I've noticed is that they aren't necessarily struggling because they lacked effort. They're struggling because they lack that strategic

• 1:52Speaker 01

  clarity, that strategic knowledge and drive. They have multiple voices, brand voices, they have inconsistent messaging, inconsistent posting, random content styles, and a lot of changing audiences, offers, and strategies that shift every week depending on the latest trend, the algorithm. And even though they're active, nothing really compounds into what we need. So, and that's honestly one of the biggest reasons that businesses, creatives alike, stay invisible online. The founders who scale well aren't the loudest people in the room, despite common misconception. It is the people, or it's not the people

• 2:35Speaker 01

  posting the most content either. It's the people that create consistency between their positioning, their messaging, the psychology, branding, et cetera. A lot of founders think marketing is about constantly creating new ideas. But in reality, great marketing is usually about repeating the right idea clearly enough that the market really remembers it, that it hooks them. The brands that grow well, and sustainably, and efficiently, tend to understand a few things very well. How their audience thinks. You've got to understand your audience in order to really, truly provide the best content for them. You've got to also know what emotional factors and problems you can solve or address. Because

• 3:18Speaker 01

  we're all humans. We all have emotions. And you also got to know how to position yourselves differently, without confusing people. A lot, a lot of businesses and creatives will try to position themselves differently, but they'll confuse their audience from their main focus. And another thing is making sure that you create a reputable system. You've got to have predictability. You've got to have structure. You've got to have consistency. Instead of just random burst efforts, inconsistency is a massive issue in your ability to succeed. What we do here at JUS Official Services is we end up coaching clients on constantly making sure that your strategic cohesion is efficient across everything you do, whether

• 4:02Speaker 01

  that be your social media presence, your partnerships, outreach, branding, your content strategy, and even your operations. And honestly, even the way you just simply speak, either publicly or privately. Because once, once all these things kind of reinforce themselves together, momentum starts compounding, instead of resetting every month. In highly competitive social media markets, that compounding effect, it matters more than constantly chasing the next trend. I think the founders who win long-term are usually the ones who stop asking, what else can we do? Or what should we post today? Instead, you need to ask, what do we want people to remember us for? Once the market understands you clearly, growth gets dramatically easy.

• 4:47Speaker 00

  I love it. Nicholas, thank you so much for sharing your insights. So, one of the biggest insights I took, or got, was, you know, once you really figure out what your lane is going to be, and what your contribution, and what your content is going to be, commit to it. Quit trying new things every single week. You're could, I get it, you're confusing your audience. That makes a lot of sense. You know, there's followers, you know, they're not necessarily the most efficient, or, you know, flashy at what they do, but they're consistent, and I like it. And if they were to ever just, hey, folks, I'm just going to do a whole different thing from now on, I'd be kind of like, it's not what I subscribed

• 5:28Speaker 00

  for. So that makes a lot of sense, particularly if you can kind of line that up to, as you mentioned, your ideal person. Great advice. Nicholas, tell me just a little bit, we have about 30 seconds here, but tell me a little bit more about JUS Official Services, and who you work with, and kind of where you fit in.

• 5:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, so JUS Official Services, we started officially last year in July of 2025, but we didn't really start operations until January of 2026. We were able to take off very fast, because we built a model that wasn't expected. It broke the system. It wasn't fitting that standard that everyone expects is the industry standard. But the standard isn't perfect, and that's what we built our entire business model off of. The idea of helping people, flexibility, transparency, which is, lack of that is one of the biggest issues in this, in this industry. I believe that being able to work with the creative

• 6:33Speaker 01

  individuals I've had the pleasure of working with, such as Izzy Burns, Rebecca Ruhl, Adam and Jerome Bell Bastian, these are some of the up-and-coming artists of tomorrow. And being able to work with them, it's also taught me a lot personally, as well as professionally. I realized that, I'm sorry.

• 6:53Speaker 00

  No, go ahead, go ahead. You were going to finish up.

• 6:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, I realized that there's a lot of personality and emotion in this industry, and that's kind of where I'm at now, is kind of making sure that that isn't forgotten, because that matters.

• 7:06Speaker 00

  jusofficialservices.info is your website. It's going to be a great conversation, Nicholas Haake. Again, you're the founder. Thank you so much, Nicholas, for sharing your one big idea.

• 7:18Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 7:23Speaker 00

  With our next one big idea, it is Scott Doggett. Scott, you are the founder of the National Academy of Leadership Development. You're based here in the Orlando area, and you are also the author of the book, Priceless: See People Differently, Lead People Better. Scott Doggett, thank you for sharing your one big idea. Love to hear it.

• 7:47Speaker 02

  Well, thanks for having me, Josh, and I'm so excited to be here and share my one big idea. It's funny, everywhere I go, I hear executives talking about trying to solve these big issues, right? Customer experience, and retention, and innovation, and these are the big buzzwords. And they're spending a whole bunch of time, and money, and resources, in trying to improve employee engagement, and organizational performance. And underneath it all, there is a deeper issue going on, and that's what I'm here to talk about. It's a perception problem. Now, here's the really good news that I'm here to share with you all, is that fixing this, and improving this, does not require these huge budgets. In fact,

• 8:31Speaker 02

  it doesn't have to cost a lot of money at all, and it doesn't require these big, complicated systems, or a whole bunch of time. In fact, it often starts with something much, much simpler. It requires a shift in perception, a change of heart, and also a daily commitment in treating people like they matter. And yes, leadership skills, yes, they do matter, but skills without that humanity really very rarely help to create those healthy cultures. Because the way that leaders see people truly shapes the way that they treat people. And

• 9:11Speaker 02

  then the way that people are treated shapes how engaged they become. So here's the thing, we all place labels on people, whether we, we realize that we're doing it or not, right? So think about it, somebody walks into your office, or down the hallway, you see someone, and we put a label on them. Maybe, oh, there's that person, that person's emotional, or they're, they're new, they're inexperienced, or, oh, they're just an intern, or, there's my poor performer, or there's my high performer, right? It goes good and bad. Or, or we even just look at them based on their title, or rank, or even based on their educational, like, background. We put all of these labels on people, and the moment we do that, it

• 9:56Speaker 02

  often changes our tone, right? Our, even the level of our patience, our empathy, the level that we listen to that person, and even the level of respect that we show that other person. The problem is, people can actually feel the way that we see them, even if we don't say that part out loud. And when people consistently feel that that feeling of being dismissed, or being undervalued, or being unheard, or unseen, that's when engagement levels drop. Right? That's when people stop bringing their ideas. That's when they stop taking initiative.

• 10:42Speaker 02

  That's when they stop speaking up and they stop giving that extra effort that is so valuable for any leader in with their team members. However, when we can start to make people feel trusted, and respected, and valued, and supported, that's when people give more of themselves. That's when you start to see more creativity, more ownership, more collaboration, more energy. And that, over time, ladies and gentlemen, is what impacts everything, right? That's what improves customer experience, and retention, and innovation, and accountability, and productivity, and yes, even culture. Because higher engagement doesn't just make people happier,

• 11:28Speaker 02

  it actually creates better business outcomes.

• 11:33Speaker 02

  This is what I'll leave you with. Culture is such a huge topic for me. It is not created through slogans and what we put on the wall, right? It is created in those everyday interactions, the meetings. It's how people are treated when they make mistakes, or when they have those big wins. And we are spending far too much money trying to solve these problems with disengagement, and burnout, and turnover, when all employees want, all they want is to feel respected, and valued, and heard, and treated like human beings. I have seen this. I've seen employees thrive under one leader, and then completely shut down under another leader. And it's not them that changed. Their talent didn't change. It's the environment that changed, right?

• 12:18Speaker 02

  One leader saw them as a problem to be managed. The other one saw them as someone who was worth developing and investing in. Guess what? That one leader got compliance. The other got full-on commitment. So here's one thing that I would challenge people to try today. This one thing that you can literally try today. The next person that you see, the next person that walks in your office, I would challenge you to say, what label might you be placing on that person right now? And then replace it with this. Replace it with, "That person in front of me is priceless." "That person is a priceless human being. They have a story." I may not know what that story is, but they have a story. They have struggles. They have family at home that love them.

• 13:03Speaker 02

  They have strengths that they bring. If nothing else, they are worth dignity, and the respect, and the time that I can give them right now in this moment. And the way that I see them in this moment is the way that I'm going to lead them. It's the way that I'm going to make them feel. And ultimately, better leadership experiences is what create better business outcomes. And so, Josh, that's my one big idea for you today.

• 13:25Speaker 00

  And what an idea it is, Scott. Thank you so much for sharing that. Again, you are the founder of the National Academy of Leadership Development. Your website is nationalald.com. Scott, your book, new book, it's called Priceless. See People Differently, Lead People Better. It's available on Amazon and everywhere else. And you can also get to it at nationalald.com, including some great workshops and resources that you've got all linked up. Thank you so much, Scott, for sharing your idea.

• 13:56Speaker 02

  Great. Thanks for having me.

• 14:02Speaker 00

  With our next one big idea, it's Carol Schultz. Carol, you've been a longtime friend. You are the founder and CEO of Vertical Elevation. You're found on the web at verticalelevation.com. Carol, please, share with us your one big idea.

• 14:20Speaker 03

  Josh, good to be with you. My one big idea is that every CEO, whether you're in a large company, or in the SMB space, needs a chief of staff. And how that epiphany happened for me was that I actually had my own chief of staff for, gosh, about four years. I was at the gym one morning, and I was talking to my buddy Ted, who's a fractional head of sales. And we were just chatting about this, that, or whatever. And I was grousing about something, I'm sure. And he said, "Carol, you should be a fractional chief of staff. You know more about the SMB space than anyone I've ever met." So I thought, wow, that's a really nice thing to hear from someone. And when we, my chief of staff and I, I thought, "God, I've got a chief of staff.

• 15:05Speaker 03

  How come that never dawned on me?" But what actually dawned on me was that I'm not the fractional chief of staff. I go in, I fix these companies up, free the CEO. Because what happens is, in these small companies, CEOs are spending way more of their time than they should be in the business, like involved in minutia. They have no business spending their time in. So as an organizational strategist, I put these processes and frameworks together. I go in, I work side by side to the CEO. And what that did for them, and what that does for them, is it frees 90% of their time. So they can now spend 90% of their time

• 15:47Speaker 03

  working as a visionary, scaling their company, not wasting their time in meetings they have no businesses being at. And then I exit out of them in three to six months, and backfill myself with the chief of staff for them, either fractional or full-time, depending on the size of the company.

• 16:05Speaker 00

  Carol...

• 16:05Speaker 03

  It's as simple as that.

• 16:06Speaker 00

  Yeah. Tell me about the difference between what a chief of staff is, and let's say, a director of operations, for example.

• 16:16Speaker 03

  Right. So you're head of operations, whatever you want to title that person. That person manages the operations of the company. The chief of staff manages the operations of the CEO as their force multiplier, as their partner. The chief of staff is the bridge between the CEO and the rest of the team. They go to meetings in place of the CEO. Occasionally, CEOs do need to go to those meetings, right? A great example of that is Virgin Atlantic. Remind me what, Richard Branson, right? He sits down with his chief of staff daily. The chief of staff briefs him on everything that's going on, and he goes off on his jet to go helisking, or whatever he wants to do.

• 17:01Speaker 03

  Right? So, so that's just an example of the importance of a chief of staff at freeing 90% of the CEO's time, if not more.

• 17:13Speaker 00

  Yeah. And I would imagine, then, kind of last question on this is, tell me a bit more about what happens, both in the life of the founder/CEO, and then operationally. Obviously, there's some opportunities here.

• 17:30Speaker 03

  I'm not sure if I get that question you're asking me.

• 17:33Speaker 00

  Yeah. So what's the transformation? Like, you know, if you have a chief of staff in place, what happens? Like, paint for us a vision of why this is so powerful.

• 17:45Speaker 03

  Right. So I have a client currently, in fact, that's a great example of this, who everyone adores working for him. Greatest guy in the world, but he will tell you he is the worst leader ever. Right? So he hates running meetings. He doesn't want to go to any meetings. He really just wants to do the work that he has to do. And he wants to entertain clients and build his business. Right? So as we've started putting things in place for him, he's now, he just reaches out to me and he says, you know, "What should I be doing? What don't I have to do? Are you, you know, you can handle all this for me."

• 18:29Speaker 03

  And that's exactly the transformation for him. I've already removed him from most of his business. Like I said, not as his chief of staff, as his organizational strategist, working side by side. But when I backfill myself with that chief of staff, he will have everything in place. So the chief of staff just gets to pick up what I've put in. Because the chief of staff may not be in the next, is not an expert at all the things that I do. But they can take everything I've put in place and carry that forward to continue supporting him. So he's not wasting his time thinking, "Do I have to run this meeting? Do I have to run that meeting? We're just building a culture of feedback for him." And when I fly back out to California next month,

• 19:10Speaker 03

  he has to run that first meeting. "This is what we're doing. This is what a culture of feedback looks like, because I do not have one. Here's what's going to happen." And then I will take that from him and continue to build it, and put it in place, so that that chief of staff can pick it up and carry it forward.

• 19:25Speaker 00

  Carol, I love this. There's your one big idea to our friends listening right now. Get yourself a chief of staff. Carol, how can you help with that? I think you've got some resources, and obviously, this is what you do.

• 19:38Speaker 03

  Yeah, this is what I do. I mean, the best thing to do is you can go to my website, as Josh mentioned, verticalelevation.com. You can book a call with me. We can talk about what your challenges are, what's working, what's not working. And we can talk about what my nine-step process looks like. It covers about 80% of what all you CEOs need. The other 20% generally comes from me working side by side and learning what's in the blind spot. That's actually almost more important than the other 80%. So don't just go out and hire a chief of staff, because you're going to miss easily that 20%, if not a little bit more than that, on what you need.

• 20:12Speaker 00

  Excellent. Carol Schultz, your website, verticalelevation.com. Carol, thank you so much for sharing your one big idea.

• 20:21Speaker 03

  My pleasure, Josh.

• 20:25Speaker 00

  With our next one big idea, it is Andrew La Fuente. Andrew, you are the founder and principal and president of La Fuente Sign and Awning. You are found on the web at lafuente sign and awning.com. Andrew, it's so great to have you. Please share with us your one big idea.

• 20:48Speaker 04

  Josh, good morning. Thank you for having me. The one big idea that I have is understanding your competition as you grow a business, both regionally and nationally. We do custom awnings and in our market here, you have some good awning businesses. And even at a national level as well. So we took a lot of time to understand what people are doing online, how their operations work, seeing what they're doing in terms of ads and market outreach and taking those ideas and trying to improve on them. So we do a lot with social media. We probably have one of the best social media campaigns and networks in the whole country. We do a lot with Instagram, a lot with Facebook, and we've really perfected that.

• 21:33Speaker 04

  And that has been really been able to put us above everybody else in this, in this field.

• 21:40Speaker 00

  How is it that understanding your competition led you to really go social media heavy? And you know, and quite frankly, not, you know, a lot of your business is commercial. So why you would think that investing a lot of time and effort into Instagram would be kind of a really kind of a B to C play. But you guys have made that an integral part of a very B to B business.

• 22:07Speaker 04

  Yeah, and that's a great question. So this industry, it's a very old industry. I'm actually one of the youngest, if not the youngest awning owner in the whole country at 36 years old. So a lot of these guys, they just haven't incorporated Facebook, Instagram, other social media platforms to the extent that they could. So when people look at what we're doing there, they just think it's incredible at the B to B level. And it just gives this much more elevated look and feel to the company and what it is that we're doing.

• 22:41Speaker 00

  Yeah. And then, you know, Andrew, I wonder if there are other folks like me. I don't really concern myself too much with quote unquote competition. However, I'm curious what you find the greatest value to be around understanding the competitive landscape, particularly as it applies to, you know, the, the type of service that you want to provide for your customers. Why is that important?

• 23:09Speaker 04

  Sure. Yeah, I think it's important simply because you don't want to become too complacent. You know, if I look at the landscape of other awning companies and I just say to myself, oh, I think we're the best, you know, what we're doing now is good enough. We don't really have to do anything else. I think that you eventually just flatline. But when you have good competition, that forces you to think a little bit more creatively, think more aggressively. And you say to yourself, okay, you know, this awning company here in Massachusetts is doing this, ones down in Florida are doing something else, you know, I see them excelling in certain things. So you just kind of take what other people are doing and you perfect it and you tweak it a little bit to your liking. And I think that it's, it's just good for the overall market to have good competition.

• 23:55Speaker 00

  Yeah. And so, you know, obviously if they're running experiments, you kind of, you know, it's almost like you get to outsource your, your R and D, you get to see what other folks are doing. And then maybe not necessarily be first to market, but like, you know, how could we improve upon even that, which, which we're seeing or feedback you get from other customers and say, you know, well, how, how could we even, I get it. That, that's very, very cool. So it's not like, you know, oh, those guys across the street, those dirty birds, we're going to put them out of business. It's not at all that energy, right?

• 24:31Speaker 04

  No, no, no, absolutely not.

• 24:33Speaker 00

  Andrew, tell us a little bit, because you have quite a success story with La Fuente Sign and Awning. Do you mind sharing just a little bit about who you do work with? Cause you, you have quite some popular clients.

• 24:49Speaker 04

  Yeah, thank you. Yeah, we've, we've had an opportunity to work with some really great clients all across the country. Those include Chase Bank, Trader Joe's, J McLaughlin, Ralph Lauren, The Cheesecake Factory. And it's cool just to see the clientele that we've had across the spectrum, everything from a small mom and pop shop to these national brands to regional brands. We do a lot of work with restaurants too, and the restaurants are always cool because, you know, you go into these places and they always want to take care of you. They always offer free meals and everything else. You're reluctant to take it just because as a business owner, you know what people go through and you know what the struggle is like.

• 25:31Speaker 04

  But it's very interesting because you get a pulse on what's happening in so many different cities and markets across the country. And just as an entrepreneur, a business owner, it's just cool to see what's happening in different places. And even how you redirect certain marketing campaigns, certain strategies in those different markets. It's not like what works in Boston is going to work out in California or Texas or Florida. You have to look at things, you know, at a macro level. So it's, it's a very cool experience. I really do enjoy it.

• 26:03Speaker 00

  Yeah. Well, Andrew La Fuente, to our friend that's listening, who, who should be reaching out? First off, I just recommend to anyone who wants to see some really cool signs and, you know, kind of like, you know, what's being done. A lot of these things, you, you know, these architectural features, sometimes you take for granted, but I really love some of your videos and, and photos on your website where you kind of show off the work that you do. But who should be reaching out and, and, you know, kind of what, where do they go from here? What do they do?

• 26:38Speaker 04

  Yeah, absolutely. So I always tell people, if you own a business, if you own a home, there's an opportunity for us to work together. On the residential end, we do a lot with retractable awnings. We've built some really beautiful custom products for people's decks, even window awnings, stationary awnings as well. And then obviously the, the B to B, anything related to storefront signage, patio signage, awnings, coverings, shade structure, different shade solutions. So we can really help on those two ends of the market.

• 27:11Speaker 00

  I love it. Well, listen, I live here in Orlando, Florida. So if it weren't for our awnings and, you know, all the places like, you know, when you're a local, you are constantly looking for shade, you know, whether it's parking or where I'm going to sit or where I'm going to stand. It's, you know, we'll be out just talking with neighbors and instantly like I could see each of us kind of looking at the ground like, where's the shade? So thank you for, Andrew, thank you for keeping things cool and shady. Your website is lafuente sign and awning.com. Andrew, thank you for sharing your one big idea.

• 27:52Speaker 00

  With our next one big idea, we've got Jane Monroe. Jane, you are found on the web at keynotejane.com and embracecatering.com, which we'll talk about in just a second. Jane, it is so great to have you. Please share with us your one big idea.

• 28:10Speaker 05

  Well, I'm so excited, Josh, to talk about the road to leadership cohesion. And this is a road I've been on for the last 20 years. And it's about learning all the different sides of yourself for the ultimate self-awareness of who you are, which then parlay's into great leadership style. Because if you learn to lead yourself first, then you are a great example for leading others and teaching them to lead themselves. So let's talk about this road a little bit. There are four different ways I encourage people to look at themselves. We are all who we think we are and other people think we are. That's, that's your known self. We're also who we know we are, but other people don't realize.

• 28:56Speaker 05

  And I call that our hidden self. And then there's the person in us that we don't recognize, but other people do. That is the blind self. And the last one, and the most fun is the mystery self. This is the person you don't know yet and nobody else knows either. And about 15 years ago, my sister convinced me that we needed to paddle a kayak down the Missouri River for 340 miles. I am not an athlete. I cannot throw or catch a ball. I don't know what she's talking about, but somehow she convinces me that we need to do this. So we start training and we start paddling. We don't even own a boat. We buy a boat. We learn to paddle. We train in the gym. We do all the things and we paddle down the Missouri River and oddly enough, win our

• 29:41Speaker 05

  division, which was a little crazy. Now, why is this important to the road to leadership cohesion? Because through the years since we've started doing this, I fully consider myself to be an athlete, not just a tiny athlete, a solid endurance athlete. And I never saw myself that way when we were kids. Now, listen, I can still not throw or catch a ball, but I can paddle 340 miles down the Missouri River. I can bike for 80 miles over two days. I can do all these endurance things. I am 100% an athlete. So I take this knowledge about me now that I had no idea existed.

• 30:22Speaker 05

  And then now when my team says, hey, Jane, what do you think about XYZ? Instead of saying, I don't think we can do that, or that's not what I want to do. Now I've got this abundance mindset where I say, we've got work to do, but I think that's possible. And it all started by me stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something I didn't think I could do. Now that's the mystery self. That's the most fun. But there are other ways we can tap into other parts of us, like your, your blind self, the people, the things you don't know about yourself, but other people do. I say, get a coach, go get a coach. And that could be somebody that you actually pay good money for, or that can be a friend

• 31:06Speaker 05

  or a family member or a colleague who will shoot you straight when you have questions about your leadership gaps. And they can come in and say, hey, have you considered your team is seeing you in this perspective? And often you have not considered that. And so then if you're humble enough to embrace that, you become a better leader by allowing other people to show you your blind self. And then that becomes part of your known self. Oh, I could talk on this forever. So what I would recommend you do is go find your blind self. Go get a coach, go get a mentor, go ask somebody to help you through a something that you would like to know more about that you think you might be standing in your own way.

• 31:50Speaker 05

  Cause I bet you are.

• 31:52Speaker 00

  I don't know if you can answer this question in about 30 seconds or under. Why, why is it so difficult or challenging for us to see that side of ourselves?

• 32:02Speaker 05

  Ego, Josh. It's just simply ego.

• 32:07Speaker 00

  And that's, that's important, right? So there may be an element to just self-preservation, self-protection, that we're not willing to live at that level of vulnerability. You know, if I start thinking about, you know, kind of my stoic and kind of Buddhist journey, you know, and kind of like discovering and learning the self, it really is, it's a very vulnerable path that, that, you know, by ourselves, we may not be that motivated to figure that out because it might feel scary, which is why, you know, having a coach to navigate you there and back, you know, kind of deconstruction, reconstruction is probably pretty valuable. And Jane, do you do, obviously you speak on this. Do you also coach around this as well?

• 32:52Speaker 05

  You know, I don't really coach, except in a very small circle of my, my inner circle of, of business colleagues that we all kind of coach each other. But I do not, at this point, have a coaching business, although that, you know, I'm a young woman, that may come, we'll see.

• 33:09Speaker 00

  And Jane, I also want to point out that you have a very successful, thriving

• 33:15Speaker 00

  catering business in, in, in which, which town are you in? Kansas City, right?

• 33:21Speaker 05

  I'm in, I'm in Kansas City and St. Louis with the catering company. It's a beverage catering company, so beverage only, no food. And let me tell you, that's a lot of fun.

• 33:31Speaker 00

  That website, by the way, is embracecatering.com. And then Jane, you are also a respected speaker in your region and beyond. And your website for that is Jane Monroe. Grit, giggles, and getting real. Go book Jane, go see some clips and go see, learn all about the great work Jane that, that you're doing. Jane, thank you so much for sharing your one big idea.

• 33:55Speaker 05

  Josh, I appreciate the time.

• 34:01Speaker 00

  Thanks for listening to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur. If your goal is to grow your business, increase revenue, and build authority without gimmicks, this show is designed for you. Each episode gives you practical insight from leaders who have turned trust and credibility into real business results. If you value short, thoughtful conversations that respect your time, make sure you're subscribed. We publish daily 15-minute episodes focused on growth that actually compounds. And if you're interested in being a guest, or you want to turn podcast appearances into measurable business growth, visit podverified.com. You can start for free with your Pod Verified score, along with free podcast guest training and a free media kit builder.

• 34:44Speaker 00

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