[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Business Forward. I'm Joe Reyes and today we're talking about how smart decisions and clear numbers can drive real business growth. You're watching now Media Television.
Welcome to Business Forward, the show where we simplify business growth and help leaders move for confidence into the next level of success.
I'm your host, Joseph Reyes. Today's guest is someone known for telling the truth and taking action and driving results.
Darrell Steed is the founder of Smart Wolf Consulting and brings more than 15 years of experience helping dealerships optimize fixed operations, streamline inventory and strengthen sales and marketing strategies.
His honest, results driven approach has helped countless businesses boost efficiency, increase sales and reduce wasted ad spend. Daryl, welcome to the show.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate being here and hope you're having a great day.
[00:00:59] Speaker A: Thank you. You too. Good to have you.
So in this first segment, Daryl, we're diving into a topic that many business owners quietly struggle with and that is the belief that they're not educated enough to lead effectively.
Street smarts. Life experiences in practical sense often matter to just as much, if not more than formal schooling, especially in today's fast moving business world.
So let's break down how leaders can use their real life stories as a competitive advantage.
So why is street smarts just as important as education and business, in your opinion?
[00:01:37] Speaker B: Well, street smarts, when you, when you break it down is we're learning a lot of things in school, whether it be elementary, high school, college, of a lot of things in the past, which is great to understand, but when we're in the present and how quickly things change, those are the things you learn in the streets. So when you look at like technology, by the time you learn, for instance, our phones, right, by the time you get a phone six months later. And that's kind of what street smarts is about, is you're seeing things happen in the moment. And then when you actually engage, ask questions and adapt, you can actually learn quite a bit more or faster by just paying attention to what's happening around you rather than just looking in a book and studying what happened before.
[00:02:22] Speaker A: So you kind of need both, huh?
[00:02:24] Speaker B: It is a combination of both. I mean, if you're going to go to school and get educated, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm not going to say that we should throw out the, the educational system, parts of it maybe, but not all of it. But is the, you know, you go and get a degree and how many times do we see people get a degree and they come out of four years of College and there's no job market.
And so, and like the industry I work in, the automotive industry, it's one or two of the highest paid careers out there in the world and it doesn't require a degree.
And so when you think about that is like when you want to make good money, do you really need the degree or do you need to be more apt to what's happening around you studying the things that are in the market. So I am more of the street smarts and on the job training. Right. Because I think you learn just as much in your job as you do like going and learning about your job.
[00:03:14] Speaker A: Yeah, agreed. Getting, getting to know how is just a beginning step to building a career and, and succeeding in a job or a business.
So, so what real life skills matter most when you're trying to grow a company, do you think?
[00:03:31] Speaker B: Well, I think the first one is being genuine, right? Like being like an actual genuine, compassionate person that is also has empathy. I think empath that we, we don't see as much anymore.
And then for me, I'm sure there's another word people like to use but having work ethic or hardworking is that so many people are looking for excuses. So many people are looking for the how do I find the 20 hour week job that makes me $500,000 a year and I mean I'm looking for it. So if it's out there, please tell me where it's at. I'm in.
But it's, you know, as many people have I've been around that are extremely smart and we're talking book smart, maybe even a little street smart, hard work out, perseverance and outbeats some of the smartest people in the world in almost every case. So it's, you really have to have that drive of I'm gonna do this and if it takes more hours, it takes more hours. If it takes a little bit more grit, it takes a little bit more grit. But I think that's the biggest one we see is do you have that perseverance and do you have that drive to be like to work or are you looking for the handout?
[00:04:36] Speaker A: Yeah, you said the right word, grit. You know, not, that's you just, that's just not something that's taught, you know, you just gotta I guess go through some, some life experiences that will beat you up and test you so to speak and see what you're made out of. And if you're soft, it'll hopefully strengthen you as you go through some pitfalls in life.
I Grew up in New York City, so it was a concrete jungle.
Yeah. You in Manhattan especially, you know, you had to learn how to defend yourself. You had to learn how to protect yourself from emotional, mental, and physical onslaughts, you know, so that really does work well in the. In the business world, you got to be tough a little bit and grow towards being tough, don't you think?
[00:05:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that. You see, some people, I'm not going to say it wasn't prevalent when you and I were younger, but I think it's more apt now than we ever saw, is that people wear their emotions on their sleeve. Right. Like, you've got to have a little bit of that thick skin and toughness of understanding. If I say I don't like you, or if I say like, and that's where you kind of get it from the streets. Right. Is that I don't like you. I don't like. It's not personal. Right. And it doesn't mean that we can't do business. And I think sometimes people like, oh, can you believe this? And they get it. They go right to their heartstrings rather than a business is business and personal is personal. And whether it's the New York and the city streets, you know, I grew up all across the country in some nice areas and then some not so nice areas, and you kind of realize you've got to take it all in and you have to learn what is a threat and what is not a threat. And you really. And I don't think you learn that in the. We'll call it the street there. The book smarts, right? You learn facts, you learn fictions, but you don't learn how to adapt yourself to certain situations.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: Yeah, you got to learn how to deal with people. If you look over my shoulder, you'll see I got back there a rhinoceros, and there you go. Had it for a long time. And one of the things it taught me is that you got to have thick skits, thick skin, and you got to charge forward while you have thick skin, or at least you'll develop that thick skin. So it's a stupid little thing that I found. I don't even know where I found it, but it just jumped out of me and said, you know, that's. That's what it's got to be like in business. You got to move forward, push forward, and. And have that thick skin. So how can owners use their life stories as a strength, do you think?
[00:07:05] Speaker B: Well, I think if they. If they've actually went through some Adversity, like being vulnerable. Right. Which I know we're talking about, like, street smarts. Right. And being vulnerable is probably not the best thing in the streets, is being vulnerable. But when you have those situations and you share them, you lead from the top down because people see that you did have adversity that you didn't use as an excuse. You used it to define you. So, you know, I've lived in 30 different states in the United States and moved around when I was a kid, and I could have said, like, oh, man, the instability, like, made it to where I couldn't be successful. Or you share that and you say that's what made things an adventure. And me saying, like, I'm going to do something to ensure that I didn't let that define me. And so I think a lot of business owners think that if they give a piece of themselves or they open that up, that it makes them weak. And I actually believe by sharing some of the adversities and troubles you go through actually makes you one of the stronger people out there.
[00:07:59] Speaker A: So you're not afraid of being vulnerable.
[00:08:02] Speaker B: I think you have to be in a real world leadership of today. I'm not saying you have to give everything away.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: Right.
[00:08:08] Speaker B: But I think you have to show a piece of yourself so people realize that you actually have some of that, that, you know, human side of you. You can't just always be the, like, the rock or the tough stone. You have to show a little bit of, like, where you came from, what you do, what you care about.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Yeah. One. One thing I. It in my part, my. My lifetime, you know, I. I've gone through many, and I'm sure it happens to everybody, but it's a great big old fear that a lot of people have is. And that is the fear of being embarrassed, you know, And I've put myself, and I've been in many situations where I took a shot, you know, and I was humiliated and embarrassed. And every once in a while, I like to do something and take it and take a shot and see what happens. And if I get embarrassed, I think it's a good thing because it only strengthens me and it shows me that it's not the end of the world, you know?
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Yeah, you survived.
[00:08:58] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:08:59] Speaker B: You survived and you're here tomorrow. And more importantly, I think when you get embarrassed or you fail, like I like to fail, but I like to fail forward.
And it's. You go and take your shot or you get embarrassed is now you can reflect and say, what were you embarrassed? Or what did you fail at? Did you fail at the end game? Did you fail in the middle, the beginning? Like where did it go wrong? So that you know where you can be self critical and get better. And I think you learned that on the streets of like you're. Whether you're a good athlete or you're good at something. Like you have to figure out where you fit into the. We'll call it the jungle right. Of life.
And you don't have a choice but to kind of be vulnerable and take chances. Otherwise you're gonna, you know, you're the preyed on, you're not the one leading the charge. So I think that's when you apply that to life, is constantly take those chances. The worst that happens because you learn something you're not good at. The best that happens is you become extremely defined and strong in areas you didn't think you actually knew.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: And you take those big chances.
[00:09:53] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: Which can pay off big. Right.
So common sense, how do we make common sense into a competitive advantage?
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Well, you know, you can use a couple things. You got the golden rule, right. Treat others as you want to be treated. Which you know. And in common sense is a tough one because common sense isn't as common as one might think. It's actually apparently a skill set and which is oddly interesting to me. But what you have to do is the common sense is, is really just look at yourself and say, okay, is this how you would react? Is this how you would want to be treated? What would you. And I know it's always tough in the moment.
So if you can't do it in the moment, reflect and say, okay, use that common sense of like I wouldn't have liked someone talking to me like this or treating me like this or doing business. And just that piece of common sense, because there are levels of that makes you a better business. If you're actually having people challenge themselves to create an environment you would want to be part of, talk to engage in or buy from. And I think that's something that really helps people get better.
[00:10:58] Speaker A: Yeah. So. So that's something you pass on to the quote unquote followers or employees or your team. You know, hey, I'm questioning myself. I introspect a lot.
You should also and, and then give each other feedback sometimes, I guess. But yeah, I agree with that 100%. What's one, what's one street smart principle that every leader should know that streets
[00:11:23] Speaker B: ar principal is that it's always our people first. Okay. And so it's always people before profits. Because if you want profits, your people have to come first.
[00:11:32] Speaker A: Yeah. Your team. You can't downbeat your team. And sometimes it's easier to do that. You know, when something goes wrong and you want to lash out, you always have to bite your tongue because the tongue will get you in trouble. Every time. Right?
[00:11:44] Speaker B: Every time. Well, and at the end of the day, too, is you have to remember your team or what you're building is a reflection of your drive, your focus and your and how inspiring you are. So never blame your team. First, look inward. Okay. And then look to correct. But if they know that they're more important than your profits because inevitably one works with the other, then they'll go to war for you. And that's really what you're building is a team, a family, a tribe, whatever word you like to use.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: Yeah, good one. And at the end of the day, you'll succeed if the product or service you're offering is good and well delivered and it's going to take care of itself anyway. So treat the people right.
[00:12:21] Speaker B: For sure.
[00:12:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Good. Good conversation.
So we're going to move on to our next segment. Coming up, we'll be talking about motivation and why entrepreneurs lose it and how to stay consistent when the road feels really long.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back with more insights, tools and real talk to help you grow your business.
This is Business Forward on Non Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Joe Reyes and you're watching Business Forward on NOW Media Television. Let's get back into it.
Welcome back to Business Forward.
Want more of what you're watching? Stay connected to Business Forward and every NOW Media TV favorite live on demand anytime you like. Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or or iOS and unlock non stop bilingual programming in English and in Spanish. Are you on the move? You can also catch the podcast version right from our website at NowMedia TV.
From business and news to lifestyle, culture and beyond, Now Media TV is streaming around the clock. Ready whenever you are.
Welcome back to Business Forward. We're here with Darryl Steed. And now we're diving into an issue where every entrepreneur faces, and that is staying motivated. When progress feels painfully slow, a lot of people start strong. But staying committed through the long stretches is where the results are really built.
Entrepreneurs often burn out because they expect fast results.
This segment helps viewers understand discipline, consistency, and how to create momentum even when motivation is low.
So, Darrell, why do entrepreneurs often burn out on their dreams?
[00:14:08] Speaker B: Man, that's a tough One, I would say what I've seen and I've experienced is it's. It's the consistency, right? Is they. They thought, whether you're going into business or you're taking on a project or a side hustle or whatever it is, it's like, oh, I'm like, I. My grit, I'm gonna. I'm gonna win at this very quickly.
And what you don't realize is starting a business or doing anything is you don't even know what you don't know because you haven't done it. And so when a lot of these unknowns come at you, then it's.
It takes the discipline and consistency of knowing there's going to be a lot of roadblocks, a lot of speed bumps and a lot of, like, slowdown, so to say. And you're. You've got to weather through it. I can tell you from my own point of view, opening my own consulting company, I mean, the first year was fantastic. It was great. And the second year, a little slower. And then you realize, okay, you got to get this grit going. And then the fourth year, all of a sudden I was like, wow, I didn't even realize. I didn't know what I didn't know. And then the fourth year, you kind of really figure it out.
But I also think that's, you know, people struggle with that and all things. Like, I compare a lot of my successes to my health journey. So at one point, I used to look like I ate me, you know, so I was a lot bigger and everything else. And you don't lose weight in a day or a week or a month. It's consistent. And that motivation really comes in is, I heard it from. I don't know if it was from Alex Hermosi or somebody like that that said, like, discipline, like, you find out discipline and your consistency when you do the things you don't like for long periods of time, like, anyone can say they go to the gym or anyone say they do their business, but what are the things you hate to do or don't like to do, then when you do those every time, regardless if you like it or not, that's that true discipline and consistency. And so that's where I think people miss it. They think it's, I'm my own boss, I'm going to be better. It's going to be better if I'm an entrepreneur. Well, you actually, I can tell you that from everybody that I'm around in my circle that has their own business or entrepreneurs, you work more as your own business than. Than you ever do for another business.
And so I think people just kind of don't realize that it does take a lot of discipline. Right. Which in turn is consistency. I think those two things go hand in hand.
[00:16:19] Speaker A: Yeah. You don't have the luxury of clocking out and say, okay, well, I'm going home.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: No, not at all.
[00:16:27] Speaker A: You put the business on your back and you take it home with you.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: Well, I think you also have to understand those mistakes, too.
[00:16:33] Speaker A: Right.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: Like when you put it on your back is like when you make a mistake. Like, if I work for you and I make a mistake, like, the company, like, can kind of figure it out. When you make a mistake, it's. You own it. Like, there is no, like, oh, it was another guy. Or like, oops or something like, no, that Oops is your own business. And so you have to be just as. You have to take just as many risks, but then you have to be equally as careful of the risks you take, because there isn't. There's not a safety net behind you. You are bootstrapping or financing your own safety net. So you really have to be careful about what you do. But at the same time, if you're too careful and you don't take those risks, you don't grow.
[00:17:10] Speaker A: Exactly. That's so true. And it's scary. You know, entrepreneurs often wake up in the morning excited and terrified at the same time.
You know, so I hear that from people all the time. So how do you stay motivated when progress is slow?
[00:17:27] Speaker B: Well, I trust in.
For me, it's a little bit different than I think for some people. A lot of people say they'll trust in their abilities and they trust and that they're going to find a way to make it happen. And I'm not saying that that's not valid. I mean, I'm sure it is for some people. For me, I trust my support. And my circle I surround myself with is that I have, you know, my wife is absolutely supportive of everything we do, and so she's always there. My kids know what we do and what I'm building so that they have those, you know, things in life. And then just the circle. I surround myself with people. So, you know, I surround myself with people that want to make other people successful.
So even when it's slow, you go to those people and they'll either, you know, they help you out or they give you, like, you know, some kind of guidance or motivation. And so it just keeps you in that positive circle. And I think when you keep your mindset in a positive state rather than the scared, the worried, the fearful state, you're always going to find a way to find success may not be. And that's the other part. It may not be the success you want, right. But it moves you forward into the success you need. Right. Like, so I think everybody's looking for the big deal, the big thing. And it's like sometimes just getting like, if, if I wanted a ten thousand dollar contract a month, right, And I only got a thousand, you're like, that's a failure. No, you needed that success because that one's going to get the next one. And you really have to measure the small wins rather than the big wins. Right. You have to look at everything combined.
[00:18:54] Speaker A: Yeah, I like to say that if you could sell one, you could sell two.
If you could sell two, you could sell four.
[00:19:00] Speaker B: Yeah, you gotta start, you always gotta start with one. And you gotta stop looking at like, it wasn't the one you wanted, it's the one you needed to get to
[00:19:06] Speaker A: the next one right now. So how does discipline play into all of this and staying motivated?
[00:19:13] Speaker B: Well, so staying motivated is. Disciplines and motivation typically don't go together, right? No one's excited. No one's like, when you say discipline, like, I've got to make 50 calls a day or I've got to reach out to 20 new clients and everything else. Because you're getting told no a lot. Like, or they're not interested or not right now.
And so staying motivated is like you, you have that discipline which can actually challenge some motivations, right? Because you're going like this. Oh, another call, another like. But I think that's where the motivation comes in, is you have to internally go like this. No one got to a yes without hearing a no.
And you know, for me, and I know it's going to sound very corny, it's like dad joke, ish. But like for me, when I hear no, it's. I use the actual phrasing of the letters no. And for me that just means next opportunity to ask another question.
And so when I hear a no, I just, it's. I don't, I'm not on a no yet. I haven't asked the right question to get a maybe or a yes.
So fact finding, building relationships.
And so by being disciplined to the fact that no doesn't affect me mentally as it does some others, is that it's more of a challenge to find the answer that keeps me motivated to really, when you go like this, you heard 15 different no's over three months with somebody. And when you hear that yes, that's the payoff. The motivation of like this one didn't get. This didn't happen in two or three calls. This happened in 15 or 20 meeting like. But when you get that one, that one almost kind of gives you that motivation for the next 12 months because you're like, it just shows you that discipline pays off, that you can't give up.
[00:20:45] Speaker A: You know, this reminds me of one of my favorite movies, the Will Smith movie in Pursuit of Happiness.
[00:20:51] Speaker B: Pursuit of Happiness. I mean one of the greatest stories ever told.
[00:20:54] Speaker A: Love that. I love stories like that. And it's such a. And you know, and every no gets you closer to a yes.
[00:21:01] Speaker B: And if you do get the yes too soon and listen, I'll take all the yeses on the first try. I'm not going to say no. Okay, I'm in. However, I think that people also need to understand when you get those yeses too quickly, right? Either you have the most dynamic product ever, which I mean if you have that good for you, or you're more than likely going to be fighting with the client that said yes that quick because they didn't actually understand what you do. So then it's going to be what's that relationship once you get it. So I always want to make sure as I'm asking questions, I want a few nos so that we can get to the true yes so that I get to those really fulfilling relationships and partnerships.
[00:21:36] Speaker A: You sound like the, you sound like a great salesman to me. So how can leaders create small wins to keep going as they trough through the, through the nose.
[00:21:46] Speaker B: Well, so the small wins is really simple as you have to like be okay with small wins and make small wins, build them in to the like the scape. So if you're only ever looking at the top of the mountain as a win, everything else looks like a failure. You have to then build these in of like a win can be if you have a team of like a guy who's struggling, made three appointments in a row and that showed, right? Like that's a win. Like and you need to celebrate that so that he now knows celebration to those type of behaviors rather than hitting him with the bad behavior or the like corrective behavior because he missed one. No, I'm not going to talk about that. When he makes these little micro wins, we celebrate every one of those micro wins till it becomes a habit and then we celebrate slightly bigger wins. And so you have to train your brain and your people, what wins look like and the type of celebration you give to each win. It can't just be the end result. It's got to be the things in between.
[00:22:40] Speaker A: Yeah, this is good stuff. So is there a mindset or what mindset might you share with us to help you stay committed? Let's say when, if no one believed in you or in your case, you have support. But what if you have, you know, family and friends who don't support you? I mean, it's hard to stay motivated and committed. Any mindset recommendations you can make?
[00:23:01] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, if you had nobody and you just said you're the lone wolf, so to say, right? The lone soldier. And you're going at this alone? Well, one, reach out to me. I'm. I'm a, I'm a buddy, guy was in the military, so I'm always going to have someone's back. But two, if you are in that mindset, keep in mind two things, right? If you believe in yourself, okay, that's the first thing you have to do. You have to believe in yourself, even if it gets a little shaky. But two is anything that you want to happen will happen, but you have to be graceful with the timeline it will happen in, right? Don't put yourself in a position of pressure that you're like, I got to get this done in six months, you'll start to make radical emotional decisions. Just keep doing what you're doing and let time. Okay. Make sure you give yourself enough time to let the success come to you.
[00:23:43] Speaker A: Yeah, it's not easy. If it was easy, everybody would do it, right?
[00:23:46] Speaker B: For sure.
[00:23:48] Speaker A: So, Daryl, for those who want to learn more about Smart Wolf consulting or connect with you, where can they reach you? How can they reach you?
[00:23:56] Speaker B: So you. I've got a website at www.smartwolfconsulting.com I also have one at that talks about like some other things I
[email protected] but you can also find me on social media and as you guys see the website, you'll see their social media links there. But I'm on LinkedIn, I'm on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram.
And whether you're an automotive or you're just want build processor teams, I'm here to help you guys eliminate the hurt. Like when you hear the truths that aren't coming true, right. I want to help you guys get to that level where no's don't become a problem.
[00:24:30] Speaker A: Very cool. My son would love you. He's a car guy through and through.
All right. Up next, we'll tackle a tough truth, and that is taking ownership of your life and business and why nothing changes until you do. We'll be right back.
We'll be right back with more insights, tools and real talk to help you grow your business.
This is Business Forward on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Joe Reyes, and you're watching Business Forward on NOW Media Television. Let's get back into it.
Okay. Welcome back to Business Forward.
In this segment, we're getting into something foundational, and that is ownership. I'm here with Darrell street and we're going to be talking about a fantastic conversation. Too often business leaders blame the market or the team or the economy or circumstances when they feel stuck because they believe external forces control their success.
But real change begins the moment someone says, it's on me.
So, Daryl, why is taking responsibility the first step to success?
[00:25:36] Speaker B: Because at the end of the day, every excuse you put in front of you. Okay. Is a reason why you can't do something. So you have to basically really redefine how you map or how you think of, like, if I'm can only control me and I'm the one that's going to get these results, then it's on you. And if you're teaching, training, coaching, if you're a manager, then inevitably it's on you because you have to get in the trenches. You can't just tell people what to do. So I'm the type of trainer that of course I'll do virtual with you, but I'll show up to your store, I'll do all these things because if I can't do it with you, you don't have that belief in why. And so at the end of the day, you have to take accountability for what you do, how you hold yourself accountable, and then making sure that, that you stay on top of what you do, your craft. Right. Constantly improving yourself. If you don't, then you're like, you're not coming to work for yourself. You're not coming to work for your clients, you're not coming to work for your team. And so I'm really about making sure that you stay accountable to yourself because that's how you raise the lid or you raise the level for everybody around you.
[00:26:36] Speaker A: Yeah. So you have a very strong sales background.
[00:26:40] Speaker B: Sales and coaching and training.
[00:26:44] Speaker A: Fantastic. So how, how can business owners stop making excuses and start taking action? Any tips or tricks on that?
[00:26:52] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, the first one I would say is like, if you're an Owner or, you know, general manager or something. Where you're directly influencing profitability is you have to stop. And I know what I'm about to say is going to sound kind of crazy, but you have to stop focusing on the profits being your main objective. And you got to start focusing on the experience.
I use one experience at all times because they are one of the more profitable retail stores, which is Nordstrom. You go in there, you pay $80 for a tie. I can go get the same tie for $30 from Mervyn's or J.C. penney's. But when you go into Nordstrom's, they make everyone feel like the 800 credit score, you've got an assistant, they walk you through.
They never worry about their profits, they worry about the experience. And they hire the people that want to actually give experience. They hire the people that want to be great at their job. So part of it is you're hiring and part of your focus, focus on your people and then focus on the people that want to be great at their job. Don't focus on the people that want to be okay.
And when you're doing interviewing, stop asking them what their five year plan is. Ask them what their plan is right now. How are they going to be the best. Right. Five year plan. I'm not the same person I was five years ago. Like, so whatever I told you, I, I was guessing. What do I want to do right now to be the best employee, to be like where I need to be by the end of the year.
Right. Like, and so that they can see, yes, we need to know if they have future goals. But I think we like want to develop everyone into this. Well, what do we need right now in the moment for the culture and when you start doing that, when the people that I train and develop and coach, they go like this. It's, we're going to talk about the five year goal. But what I really want to focus on is how do I get you to where you want to be right now? Because if I get you there right now, getting you where you want to be in five years becomes adamantly easier because you become focused, motivated and consistent to the goal.
[00:28:40] Speaker A: And so you're, you're, your work as a coach and consultant is not just limited to the automotive industry.
[00:28:47] Speaker B: No, I mean that's where I started because that's where I have a lot of experience for sure.
Doing, you know, acquisition operations, things of that nature. But no, I've had quite a few clients now that it's retail or I've actually Had some clients, life coaching.
As I told you, I used to be a relatively large individual. I enjoyed all life had to offer three or four times.
And I decided that I was going to go on a health journey. And that was part of that discipline and motivation.
I lost just over £100. I work out every single day. But that's part of those disciplines I bring to people is like whether you want to work out or it's your mental workout or whatever it may be, is you have to be disciplined to it, but you can do it in a positive way. There's so much negativity out there. I want to focus on how we can keep ourselves in a positive way.
Not burying our heads in the sand, like we don't know what real life brings to us, but how to. How to attack it or how to approach it in a way that still keeps your mental mindset. And then if you're doing physical mindset, like in place to where you can be better for everybody around you.
[00:29:47] Speaker A: Yeah. So that journey, you had to be very intentional.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: I would. Yep. That was at least what I had to be. So it was seven days a week, very extensive dieting. It was very extensive exercise, sleep.
But it was disciplines of. Okay. And what it actually taught me. Right. Because, I mean, I've fluctuated weights all my life, is it taught me that if you want to do something, the only one that gets in the way is you.
And where that translates into a lot of coaching and businesses, that's the exact same thing in business. If you say you want to be like, oh, let's just use automotive, because I'm very skilled in that area, is you're a salesperson, you want to be a gm. The only thing that's going to stop you is you. Now, I'm not going to say you're not going to get roadblocks in your way and you're not going to get speed bumps, because that's life. That's where the street smarts come in. Like, life is going to deal you some speed bumps, some roadblocks, some adversity, and you've got to get through that. You might have to go work at another store because the one you're working at will never let you get there. There are stores like that, but the only thing that gets in your way is you making excuses why it can't happen if you want it to happen. Now, is it going to happen in a year? Probably not. Can it happen in five to ten years? Probably so. So you will have to make a plan.
But you have to want it. And you have to know that, like, when someone. And you know, we've seen the movie. If you haven't seen the movie, you're missing out. But go watch any Rocky movie, right? And he says it in all ser movies, like, everyone has a plan till you get hit in the mouth, right? And it's not how much you fall, it's like, what you do when you get it. That happens. And it's not going to happen one time in life either. No, no, you're going to get punched in the mouth two, three, four dozen times.
So don't think because you're like, oh, man, I made it through that. Now I'm clear. No, no, no, no, no. That was just the warmup. So it does take that adversity. And I tell entrepreneurs, if you wear your heart on your sleeve or you don't have that grit and discipline, think about it, like, don't jump into something until you realize, like, you're probably the first year of your business or whatever, your side hustle, you're probably going to get hit in the teeth once a week, and you're going to have to constantly do that. And that's where I think the health journey really helped me, was. I mean, there were weeks where I gained weight. I was like, I don't understand this. I'm not eating, I'm working out, and I'm going up. Like, it was frustrating. And then you see drops, you see this. And now I maintain it. I still work out five days a week. And when I'm showing people that is like, I show them that picture to say, guys, this was what everyone. Like, this is what I did. I made these cherries, and everyone said it couldn't be done. And now look at this. And so it was the only thing that I had to decide was, did I want it?
And I think that mental motivation and that accountability to yourself, when people see it, you don't have to talk about it. They see it. And that's how I lead.
I'll tell people, I'll show people, but they see me doing it. And so that's also one of the ways that when you lead and coach, that is really effective in my. In my experience.
[00:32:33] Speaker A: Yeah, I. I'm a baby boomer. And when I was growing up, you know, guys, you didn't cry, you know, in public. You didn't wear your emotions on your sleeves, you know.
So, Ben, and kudos to you.
I did the car. I've been on the carnival diet for almost two years now. And I lost a bunch of weight and it's changed my life too, is you just got to stick to it. And that's what the challenge occurs, you know.
So what happens inside a company when the leader grows?
[00:33:01] Speaker B: Personally, what I see happen when you see this, which I mean, I wish I say I see it a lot, I don't think we see it as much as we need to, but when you see a leader starting to grow, whether they're growing mentally, they're growing physically, like they're like their health journey or a combination of both, is you see other people wanting to work for them and they get awe inspired. Right? There's an awe inspiring moment where you start talking about where you work and you start talking about the people you're around you and what you. And then the other thing I typically see, which is an interesting one, is when someone goes through a journey, health, mental education, whatever it is, they're developing themselves, they start evaluating their people if that's the right circle they have around them. Because they start realizing that especially if you're going on like an educational or in mind opening journey of like understanding things, they go, they're starting to learn more things about themselves, about people and about the environment. And then they start going like this, do I have the right people? Even if they like this person, they start wondering, do I have the right people in place? Because as you grow, your circle should grow in the sense of like, you don't want to have a circle that's limited. Like, I only believe I can do this. Okay, if you're 19, I guess that circle is fine. Then you say you want to do the next thing. Okay, your circle should become more influenced than this. And then it should be, and I'm not saying more people, their knowledge, their experience should become vast. And then you want to surround yourself with people that want to go to where you're going.
I would never want you in my circle. If you're like, hey, I'm good, making $2,000 a month for the rest of my life, I'd be like, he's not in my circle. Because that's great. When you're young, I need people that say they want to get to here so that I'm constantly putting myself around those people.
[00:34:35] Speaker A: Yeah, it's almost like, show me who your friends are and I'll show you who you are. Right? That kind of.
[00:34:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
And same thing as like, show me who your friends are and I'll show you if you're like financially or not just financially, but or life rich Right. Like, because you can tell exactly how they live through their friends.
[00:34:51] Speaker A: Exactly. I agree 100%. So how does. How does a accountability change a person's future?
[00:34:58] Speaker B: Well, the moment you find yourself accountable or hold yourself accountable, which may be the hardest thing that we all struggle with as humans, is a true accountability is the moment you decide what life you want to live financially, physically, emotionally with your partner. Because when you're accountable to that is, you're accountable to yourself first. You cannot be accountable for other people before being accountable to yourself.
Then once you're accountable to yourself, then you can then decide the type of person you want to be, because it inevitably comes down to you. You essentially become your own mirror that you're looking at all day long and going like, hey, man, it starts and ends with what I do.
Everything else around me is noise could be influenced. But at the end of the day, I still have this choice.
And that makes it to where life, at least for me, has become very clarifying and easy. Because I don't have to say there's no blame. There's not like, hey, man, I starts here, ends here.
[00:35:52] Speaker A: Very cool. So. So what choices would one make to take control of their business businesses again, if they lost it?
[00:36:02] Speaker B: Like, so I would. The first thing I tell everybody is stop talking about where you want to go and show me how you want to get there. Right. Everyone wants to talk about, I want more profits. We need to grow. How many of you guys are actually doing it? Or are you making excuses why you couldn't do it? I always hear, oh, our ship's too big. We can't turn it.
Start turning it. Stop talking about what you can't do and start showing me what you can.
[00:36:25] Speaker A: So take action.
[00:36:27] Speaker B: Actions always.
[00:36:29] Speaker A: All right, this is. This is a great segment.
We're out of time on this segment. We'll be right back.
Up next, we're wrapping. We're wrapping up something every business owner needs to deal with, and that's how to become a leader that people actually want to follow.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back with more insights, tools, and real talk to help you grow your business.
This is business Forward on NOW Media television.
And we're back. I'm Joe Reyes and you're watching business Forward on NOW Media Television. Let's get back into it.
Okay. Welcome back to business Forward. Don't miss a second of this show or any of your NOW Media TV favorites. Streaming live and on demand whenever and wherever you want.
Grab the free non media TV app on Roku or iOS and enjoy instant access to our lineup of bilingual programs in both English and Spanish. Do you prefer podcasts? Listen to the Business Forward anytime on The Non Media TV website at NowMedia TV, covering business, breaking news, lifestyle, culture and more. Now, media TV is available 24 7, so the stories you care about are always within reach.
So back to Business Forward. In this final segment, we shift into the heart of leadership. Being the kind of person others trust, respect and want to know.
Leadership isn't perfection. It's honesty, consistency and humanity. We're here with Daryl Steed and he's a strong leader and he has a consulting firm in that area. And so we're going to talk now about building stronger teams, developing deeper trust with your team members and long term loyalty. So Daryl, why do people follow leaders who are real and not perfect?
[00:38:18] Speaker B: Well, because that's exactly why is they're real. And I think some of the things that I see true leaders doing is one, as we talked about earlier, is the vulnerability, right, Is like showing them that you can fail. So something that I do that a lot of people in the industry or just in other industries that I don't see do is for instance, I'll give an example. If we're making calls, right, we got to make some calls, we got to make some appointments.
I'll make them with them and show them that like, just because I get a hold of the person doesn't mean that I'm going to win, right? And they see that as like, it's, you're not going to win every time. What you're doing is you're, you've got to go through the process, you've got to go through the consistency and you have to do the things. But when they see that, okay, you have failures doesn't mean that I'm going to fail every time. I'm probably going to make more than they do. But they see that like, okay, so he doesn't win every time. You allow them to know that it's okay.
So I think some of that vulnerability and showing them through actions that we're going to give all the tools to make you successful. But it may not work in a perfect world, right?
And, and then you have to have grace when they fail. I think we immediately go to corrective action or disciplinary action, one or the other.
And I think you have to have more grace to be a great leader that people want to follow as instead of going directly to the corrective or disciplinary, go to seek for understanding before we go to corrective because There could be a missing element here that we need to understand so that we're not correcting, we're read coaching. And I think then people understand that you're not immediately going to why they're flawed because we're all flawed. None of us are perfect. So now we go to seek to understanding. So they actually there's that empathetic pathway of like, I want to help you get better, but I need to make sure we're on the same place of understanding here.
And so it's just a different way of coaching. But I think when you do that, people then go like this, like, hey, this guy cares. Yeah. And I will tell you, as somebody I consider to be an inspirational leader, I've been told is that I built many teams and the first thing they say is, yeah, he's a hard at, like he's on me. Right. He wants me good. But at the same time, they know that like I'm in the trenches with them. If something happens, I'm there to support them inside and outside of work. Right. Oh, something happens to your family, I'm there to help you. Like, because you have to be these things now. That does not mean you're going to be friends. Right. Like, I know there's this always this manager to friend thing. Like, no, you can be supportive and be a leader without being like buddies. Right. And I think that's where a lot of people are. They don't, they don't understand that. So they fear from that empathy and that grace and that, you know, seek to understand rather than. And they go to the disciplinary corrective. And I think that's the difference of, you know, inspirational leaders and then coaches or managers.
[00:40:56] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Being a, being friends with your team members may not always be the best approach to relationships.
So, so, so building a trust then is what you're saying is you want to be honest, you want to be consistent getting in the trenches with them.
Any other thoughts about how to build trust with a team member?
[00:41:18] Speaker B: Well, I think you have to allow them to. I think you have to give them the ability to trust you.
You have to put them any position to where let's say there's a risk or they're saying there's another. You need to put them in calculated decisions to where you say, guys, just do this, you're going to be successful so they can trust you when it comes to fruition. So don't put someone with no experience and say, yeah, go to it, you'll be fine. And then they fail and fall on their Face. That's silly.
Give them the coaching and the adaptation and lessons and then put them in their first situation. Something small.
So that when you say, go ahead and do this, that you know they're going to be successful rather than. Right. That they fail. Right. You need to put yourself in a position of guidance to success rather than guidance to failure.
Then they go, he told me to trust him. It worked, right? Now, the next time you say, hey, guys, trust me on this, they're going to say, hey, the last time he told us. Right. The last night. But I don't think we do that. I think we tell people more than show people and guide people. And we have to get away from telling and we have to get more to interactive.
[00:42:24] Speaker A: Yeah, Good advice. So what kind of traits do you see in these types of leaders that make people feel safe?
[00:42:34] Speaker B: Vulnerability is one. The other one is somebody who is constantly evolving. And that's why I say either body or mind. Right. Health or mental is always looking to not be better. Not looking to like I want to be better, is looking to educate themselves on other things coming or new things coming so that they're constantly staying in front so that their people are never found behind.
Right. The leaders that stick or the. The ones that say they're leaders or managers that say, this is what I've been doing for years and it works. They're the most dangerous type of leaders because they have found a skill set that works for them, that may not work for everybody else. And because they can do it, very few people that are honed into something they've been doing for 20 years can teach it because they do things, it's just natural for them, but they don't know how to teach it. So when you find people constantly challenging what they know to evolve, they're the leaders that you typically see more successful because they're putting themselves in a bad state, they can fail. Which people are seeing that. And then when they persevere, they're like, look, that person, man, he just went and did this whole thing. And you know, you see with marathons, not that I'm ever going to run 1 because 26 miles just seems silly to me. But these guys that say, I'm gonna run it, they've never done it before. And they do it, you go, wow. I mean, I know that I physically could do it if I wanted to.
Not something I want to do. But it's. When you see stuff like that is they push themselves to something they didn't think they could do. Someone sees that it Creates an awe inspiring moment to follow to be, to be intrigued by. Like, it doesn't mean you're gonna go do it, but you definitely are intrigued by the fact that that person completed it.
[00:44:08] Speaker A: Yeah, you get, they get some respect out of that.
So, so how does a business owner inspire their team without putting fear or pressure on them?
[00:44:18] Speaker B: I mean, the easy answer is money, right? I mean, money inspires a lot of people. But I, I do everything I can to stay away from just doing money. Because money has a, at some point reaches a limit, is that you have to inspire them in getting to know them. Which when I'm about to say guys, does not mean we become friends. I know this whole friends to managers thing. I can be friends with anyone I work with and it's fine because I know how to keep it separate.
You have to get to know them and actually take interest in their life. Who are their kids, who are their family? What do they got going on? If you want to give money, here's a radical idea. Instead of giving money to someone, find out what vacation they want to go on or what, like bill they have or something that nature. And instead of giving them a bonus, pay it for them from the business. They don't get taxed on it. Now you understand what they're going through. Have you ever seen someone that says they want to go on vacation so you give them a bonus that they don't use it on that because they got it used on something else?
If they want, like they have something like that, pay it for them and make them go.
They have a bill or they have something they're behind on, pay it for them. Not part of their pay plan. You pay it, show them that you're the type of person that pays attention to their people.
They got to work hard to get this type of bonus or something. Right. But that you paid attention because you want to make sure that they're always okay, taken care of and it'll help you because it makes them mentally back in the game. Right? If you've got something going out here, you, you come to work. I know we always like to say leave home at the door and business that, I mean, let's get real guys. That's just something we say. It never really happens. So if you can take an interest and solve some of these noises out here, they're gonna go to war for you like you've never seen.
[00:45:56] Speaker A: It's good advice. Thanks for that. I, I just learned something seriously important today. So Daryl, if anybody wants to reach out to you, how can they find you?
[00:46:05] Speaker B: Well, first because we live in social media all over the place is that you guys can catch me on social media but I also have this website, smartwolf consulting.com you guys can click and you'll see the social media icons up there. But Facebook, Instagram, tick tock, LinkedIn, if you guys are on there, drop me a DM or a message. I'm always loving to meet new people, talk to new people and seeing how I can help people move forward.
[00:46:29] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm going to do that. Well, Daryl, this has been incredibly, incredibly valuable. Thank you.
So enjoy this conversation and thank you for your transparency, your practical wisdom and today's conversation reminds us that leadership is built on authenticity, responsibility and consistent action. To our viewers, thank you for joining us. Stay accountable, stay real and keep moving your business forward. We'll see you next time on Business Forward.
