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What is your vision? Featuring Larry Easto. Podcast Session 1.
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So tell me about your business, Larry Isto.
Well, it's, it's, I'm on kind of a legacy stage right now. I'm, I'm trying to pull together some of the lessons I've learned along the way. I'm not in growth mode, I'm in the, in kind of contracting, pre-retirement, whatever that means. And so what I've done is, is start over the past year, couple of years. I've started pulling together a couple of projects. One is a book and one is a video course. And what I want to do is, is share some of the lessons I've learned from running different kinds of businesses. They've all been professional service businesses. I, I started, started work as a lawyer and then I got tired of being a lawyer and then
I did some consulting and then I became a writer and then I did some coaching and some training. My true passion is love, is, is writing. I just absolutely love writing and a secondary passion is helping others learn. So, writing the book was a, was a labor of love and, and the book is, it's called How to Succeed in Your Professional Service Business. And what I've done there is, is combine mindsets and marketing. So it just kind of fits into my sweet spot and allows me to talk about goals and purposes and passion and all those kinds of things. At the same time as addressing some strategies for succeeding in a small business. So it's, it's kind of a, kind of like my life, I guess. It's not a, a clear, straight direction, but it's a nice, a nice, a nice combination
of things that, that works well.
Yes, yes. Oh, that sounds good. So the book, is it already out?
Oh yeah, it's, it's out. It's, it's in, my distributor tells me it's, it's available at 40,000 bookstores around the world. I haven't checked, but that's what she tells me. But it is online, it's online sources and it's, it's hard copy on print on demand, which is an amazing process. So if, if somebody wants one book, they will print one book for you. And for me, I don't have to pay to print 10,000 copies of books to fit in warehouses. So that's, that's good. So yeah, it's, it's available online in three formats, hard copy, hardcover and electronic. And Amazon, Apple Books, all those folks have got it.
And thank you, thank you so much, because that definitely does help for myself to find it, as well as those that will be watching or that are watching this. So when it came to the book, and now that you're going into, as you stated, your legacy mode, what's your vision thereafter?
Well, the vision for me would be to, when I finish, to say, yeah, my life was worthwhile. I learned a lot of really cool stuff from experience. And even better, I had the chance to share it with other people. I love getting, you know, who doesn't like feedback? But I like people telling me that something I said made a difference in their life. Not to stroke my ego, but to feel that I have a purpose, I'm living purposeful. So my vision would be to sit back with maybe a glass of wine and say, yeah, I've had a really meaningful and purposeful life. I've really helped a lot of people. So that's going to feel good.
That's so sweet to hear, because it's a sweet spot of knowing that you've done a service, right? And that you'll be able to look back and see the service that you provided, and the knowledge, and pretty much the gifts and blessings that you provided for all those you've helped in the past and currently, because the book will live on, definitely.
Exactly, exactly. And I think probably over the past, I don't know, maybe over the past 10 years, I realized that that's probably my purpose here on earth, is to learn things and interpret them for others, so they can learn from them. So that, to me, is really exciting and gratifying. And, you know, it doesn't stop. It's not a once and done thing. It's just ongoing, just definitely ongoing. And that's exciting, too.
Absolutely. You speak about the experiences that you've had. Please share with me one of the most memorable experiences that you've had in starting all of your businesses and leading up to where you are now.
Probably, yeah, early, early in my, early in my consulting phase, I had, as I say, different phases. Early in the consulting phase, I was contacted by a lawyer and he had a, at the time, had a small practice in a small town, really, really, really busy. And he, he wanted to grow, but he didn't, didn't have those, didn't have the planning skills and didn't know what he wanted to do. So I, I worked with him and, and what I, what we did was helped him grow, first of all, from one lawyer and one secretary to three lawyers and four staff. And then about five years later, he made it to six lawyers and, and I think eight support staff. So it wasn't a case of my doing that. It was
a case of, of asking him questions that he hadn't thought of.
Yeah.
So I asked the questions that he hadn't thought of because it was outside of his area of expertise or knowledge or whatever. So I was more, more of a facilitator than a, than a, than a builder, than, than a director. I wasn't director of operations. I was more of the guys asking questions, saying, hey, have you tried this? Or what about that? Have you thought about the other thing? And that was, that was really gratifying. And it was amazing. I saw him, gosh, I guess I saw him five or six years ago at a, at a concert. And he'd retired and he was, was really happy. And he just rushed up to me and said, I'm so happy what you did for me. And this had been like 20 years ago. And he was so happy. And he said, it made my life as a lawyer so much more fulfilling. Wow. For me to be a lawyer. That, that was, that was great.
Absolutely.
And, and other people along the way, there's, there's a guy who was a clerk in a, in a big company. And after my first book, he got a hold of my first book and, and he decided he was going to be a, a financial planner. So he became a financial planner and wound up teaching financial planning at a college. And again, he thanks me for that. So that's, those are the kinds of things I, I feel really good about. Not, not stroking my ego and say, yeah, that person's happy because of something I did. Wow. That's good. That's good. That's what it's all about.
Absolutely. So because you were a lawyer, do you, did you find yourself helping more lawyers? Or?
Uh, no, no. Trying to, trying to, trying to work with lawyers, trying to do planning with lawyers is probably trying to herd cats. It's just, just not worth the effort, just not worth the effort. And, and lawyers, you know, I'm going to get in trouble for this, I'm sure, but many lawyers tend to be know-it-alls. And so I would offer a suggestion and immediately they would be finding problems. I would offer a solution and they'd be finding problems.
So it got to the point where I was working with them, I'd say, you know, I'm going to offer some solutions, but I don't want you to pick it apart. I don't want you to start attacking it.
Try it, think about it before you attack it. So now, I, I, I, I, um, I love how, how smart many lawyers are. Uh, I re- respect them, I, um, but I, I couldn't work with them on a, on a, on a, on a constant basis.
I love that, I love that. Uh, what are the biggest challenges you faced in building your vision?
Um, that's a toughie because I tend to be a bit of a maverick, maverick, and I tended to, to try to do things myself. And I think the biggest challenge is, was learning to let go, learning to, to, to let go of, of what I couldn't do, stay in my own lane, let someone who is better at it than I am do it. And it took a long time to, to, to be comfortable letting go of things.
Uh, so that was, that was the biggest thing. It was, I never had, you know, I've never had a problem with writer's block, or I've never had a problem with ideas. I mean, the problem is I have too many of them.
And, and I try to do too much. I'm blessed with a variety of skills, so I try to do too much.
And I'm finally, finally, finally learning, say, well, you don't have to do that. Somebody else can do that. You know, have somebody, hire somebody, a freelancer to do that. You don't have to do that. So that's the biggest challenge. It's just, you know, disciplining myself to, to focus on what I do best and delegate the rest.
Yes, and it's so funny because you mentioned earlier that lawyers were sort of like know-it-alls, and then you had a problem with letting go, and you were once a lawyer.
Bingo, bingo, oh yeah, oh yeah. It's, it's the curse of being multi-talented or multi-gifted, I mean, you know? If, if I can do it, why don't I do it now rather than wait for somebody?
And it's, yeah, it's a discipline thing, a discipline thing.
That's awesome. That's so awesome. And really, it made me laugh because it's funny to hear. When you decided or actually acknowledged that that was the challenge of letting go, did you create a team or did you mostly utilize freelancers?
Mostly freelancers. I didn't want to get into administration. I didn't want a big organization. I mean, I could do it. I've worked for, I have had, I have had positions of responsibility that I had other folks working for me. But I just wanted to keep it simple. And, and I, so I did, I thought I'd use freelancers. As a lawyer, I tried partnerships a couple of times and it just didn't work out. So it's easier to be a freelancer and everybody knows what the rules are and knows what the outcome is and all those kinds of things. And there's very little opportunity or need for dispute, dispute and power struggles and those kinds of things.
Yeah, yeah, that, that makes a lot of sense. In, in everything that you've done and where you see yourself at now, I know things change. But what is your why? What's your why? What is the legacy here for?
And? I think the why would be, be to learn, continue to learn new things and, and share them with others.
You know, I, I, I love learning and I also love helping others learn. I did a course in adult education a few years ago and that was a game changer. That just totally changed how I saw my own work and how I served clients and all those kinds of things. Every, every element, like all the different career phases, the common element was probably helping others learn. You know, as, as a lawyer, I didn't tell them what to do. I helped them learn what their options were and what the consequences of their options were. And as a consultant, same thing. These are, you know, this is the situation. These are, these are options. If you do this, this is likely to happen. So that, that to me is learning, it's facilitating rather than being project director.
And so my why, I think, is, is facilitating, kind of a, you know, I make mistakes and I spend the money and I get the headaches and I pull away the lessons and pass them on to somebody else.
Sounds like a good idea. In you and what you do in helping professionals find their way through, I see that on the website you focus on simplifying marketing for them. In the dynamics of Larry Easto and the field that you're in, what is it that you find most that you help them with?
Oh, marketing, absolutely, marketing. We're in an age when everybody is an expert on just about everything. And there's so many experts on marketing telling all of us, but telling professionals, "If you do it my way, you're going to be successful." Well, that sounds kind of good. But we have different skills. We have different resources. We have different ideas. So what I try to do is help them. And the buzzword is, catch line is, you know, "Attract new clients as easily as you make friends." Because that's what it's all about. So it's more a case of, you know, okay, yeah, pay attention to online marketing and pay attention to network and be aware of all those things. But when it comes down to it, do what is best for you.
Do what best leverages your own personal strengths. I tend to be an introvert, so I try to avoid group scenes where I have to go and see a lot of people. My website is, I love writing, so content marketing is perfect for me. And active in-person networking scares the bejeebers out of me. So it's a case of finding what's right. Now, the interesting thing is, when I was actively networking, I was fairly good at it. And people would say, "Wow, you're really good at it, but I hate it." Well, how can you be so good at something you hate? Well, you do what you got to do, right? And so that's what it was about. So it's a case of finding what really works for you and your clients. And just don't chase clients, attract friends.
And it's so much easier that way, so much easier that way.
I love that Larry, don't chase clients, attract friends. And that's, that's the biggest thing. One of the things that I hear consistently and, and speaking with guests and leaders such as yourself is that communication and relationships are so much more important uh, to keeping the business afloat and making sure that you're authentic and genuine. And what you said definitely hit the mark of what most leaders say is, is that it's um, it's important to make sure that you, you are about the people, you know, your business is, is making friends and
Yeah, yeah.
And so when they're in high so my head is going here and I have all these thoughts, so I'm trying to organize them. You, you deal with professionals and these professionals sometimes have it all down packed and they come to you for marketing. What's the challenge, what's that push that you have to give them in order to actually go into action and do what you're, what you're advising?
You really can do it, you really can do it. It, it's not that, it's, it's not, you don't need an MBA from, from a business school to, to market services. All you, all you really need is, is, is to have a good handle on who you are, who your clients are, who your ideal clients are, and how you help them. That's, that's it in a nutshell. You know, so that includes branding, that includes communications, that concludes, you know, that drives all of the online marketing. So you want your brand to be consistent. Your brand is all about what distinguishes me from everybody else and why does that help clients? So it, it's a case of, yeah, I, I can really do it. And unfortunately, you know, many of us get, get so involved in, in the, the professional service part of our business
that we, we don't, we can't see how we can apply those skills in other aspects of the business.
You know, and so all I'm trying to do is to say, again, hey, have you tried this? And think of marketing as attracting friends. You're not prospecting, you're not looking for gold, you're looking for a friend. And you're not looking for a friend. You want to attract people that will be as good for you as they are for you. You are as good for them as they are for you. It's a mutual benefit there. So I think a lot of it is just demystifying, demystifying the theory, demystifying the rigid thinking, demystifying the checklist. And so, yeah, just do it like you do, do it like you make friends.
Absolutely. And so, what tips do you have for entrepreneurs, leaders, or business owners?
I think it starts with having a really good understanding of who you are and what you're all about. And this includes body, mind, and spirit. You know, we all have intuitive senses that sometimes we ignore, sometimes we don't. They can be valuable resources. And spirituality is a connection with something higher. And when things are going tough, connect with it, connect with nature, or just calm down. Let the spiritual side of you play a role in the whole thing. So often, people get locked up into a specific role, that lawyers have to act this way, or doctors have to act this way, or whatever. No, no, it's interpersonal relationships. It keeps coming back to getting along.
And the best way to get along with people is to know who you are, and, you know, be authentic all of the time, rather than just when it suits you.
Thank you for being here today. I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes continue to move forward. It's going to get more and more fun, and we'll have more and more engagement as well. We'll invite people to participate in the show. And thank you for giving us your time and attention. Have an excellent time building out your vision and becoming a vision pro yourself.
Page updated November 13, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated
