Craig Tomanini

Check out more of Craig

Websites: Www.askcraigtee.com

LinkedIn: /askcraigtee

Event: https://projecthope.askcraigtee.com/hope

Show Notes

Robert Peterson 0:16
Welcome to the add value to entrepreneurs podcast, the place where we help entrepreneurs to not hate their boss. Our mission is to end entrepreneurial unhappiness. If you dream of changing the world, but you're not sure where to start. The Add valued entrepreneurs podcast will help you transform your life and business. This podcast is for entrepreneurs who want more freedom and fulfillment from their work so they can live the life that they desire. You deserve it, and it is possible. My name is Robert Peterson, Farmer passer turned CEO and the smiling coach. I believe that success without happiness is failing. But there is hope. Join us each week as we bring you an inspiring leader or message to help you. Thanks for investing time with us today. Today's guest loves God loves drums and is recovering control freak. He has helped hundreds of businesses add hundreds of 1000s in revenue with his stage six Business Growth program which focuses on three key areas strategic planning, technology and marketing. Craig Thomas Nene is a certified business coach and the founder of ask Craig T. Craig's faith drives his life and business and he knows that if God can redeem him, then anyone can be redeemed and step into a new life. Robert has an impactful conversation with Craig Tammany, about when life forces you into entrepreneurship. He grew up poor and recognized cars coming out of a carwash wet and offered to dry them for tips at 13. Making $80 for a couple hours of work is a pretty strong motivator for controlling your time and money. He focuses on helping people in four areas, finance, fitness, family and faith. If you're an entrepreneur who started their business with a purpose and a passion that has been lost in the busyness of the daily grind, we get it. That is why we've opened up our free strategy calls a lot of entrepreneurs probably including you just want a sense of clarity on the barriers holding them back that you need to overcome in order to accelerate your growth and achieve your dreams. These short 30 Minute Calls give you a chance to work with one of our coaches without any commitment or pressure. Scheduling is easy, just go to smiling cole.com. Let's jump on a call and get you the help and clarity you need. Select a time and let's build your business. It's time for you to add value. Well, Craig, thank you so much for jumping on the show today. I know it's taken us a little while because your schedule is so crazy and busy that you know, we had to squeeze you in.

Unknown Speaker 2:53
Well, I appreciate you squeezing me in you know, and you know, they say the best things are worth waiting for. So there you

Robert Peterson 2:59
go, now you understand the value of good. That's right. So Craig typically just let my guests share their own entrepreneurial journey. And that's kind of use that as a jumping off point for the rest of the conversation. So share with us your shifting to entrepreneurship and and what's your, you know, the impact you're making on the world now?

Unknown Speaker 3:18
Cool. So I guess my shift in entrepreneurship really was at 13. i The story that I tell often when I speak is I went to my mother looking for $20. And, you know, I grew up with a single mom, she raised an only child a boy child me and which meant we didn't have a lot, you know, we lived i I hate to use the word poverty. But I mean, it's probably the most economically accurate description. But it's not to say that we struggled, like my mother worked her butt off, was really what it came down to. She always had a couple jobs, you know, and like me now who always had like an entrepreneurial side thing that she was doing. So I think that's really where I got it from, you know, this that kind of way of living. But at that point, when I asked her for 20 bucks, she said, we don't have extra money, Greg, we just don't have it, you know, and if you want, you don't want to go to the movies with your friends, you know, you're gonna have to find a way to come up with the money and you the things you would always say is there's always a way there's never an excuse. That was her. That was kind of her catchphrase all the time. Don't make excuses, make solutions, things like that, you know, so she was a Marine. And, you know, she was in law enforcement part of my upbringing. So I had a pretty strict you know, household. And at that moment when she told me no, no meant no. So it also meant I had to go find a way to make 20 bucks really quick if I wanted to go to the movies with my friends. And I think the shift entrepreneurialism was I went to this carwash down the street from my house and it was one of the first touchless car washes you know, like the ones that have come and go and stuff. And even back then I noticed the cars never get dry when they come out the other side of the carwash, and it's still like that today, the blow dryers just they just don't work. And so I saw that as an opportunity. I went to the owner of the carwash and said, hey, could I stand outside of the other side of your carwash with some T shirts in a bucket? And just when a car tips? And he was like, Yeah, sure, go ahead. So I did that. And that Saturday, I made $80 In tips. So I always tell people, my first business was successful, because that was my first business, I made 80 bucks. And I didn't even have a name for the business or anything. So I went back every weekend after that, and I wiped cars down every Saturday and Sunday, and I was averaging about $400 a month in income at, you know, what, 15 years old. And so, I would say that's where I shifted into the idea and realized, I think very early that I was never going to work for somebody, unless I really had to, right, like, I've obviously had a bunch of jobs. But in my in the back of my mind, since a young age, I've always been kind of in that mode of, I'm an entrepreneur, I'm going to, I'm going to do what I can to earn my own money, because I don't want to work for somebody else. So, you know, kind of a blessing and a curse, I guess, right at the same time. Fast forward a whole bunch of years, you know, to about five years ago, I wrote a book, just really kind of getting the stuff out of my head that I had carried around with me my whole life, you know, through things like addiction, and you know, alcoholism, and I was touring in a rock band, you know, and so everything that comes along with that lifestyle. And I had recently at that time, just a few years before it given my life to the Lord. And I decided, you know, I needed to just do a purge, or I just need to get this stuff out of my head. So I wrote it down. And well actually, I started recording it first audio live, because that was easier. And then I had a friend who was helping me transcribe it. And he actually wasn't a Christian. And we got into some pretty heated conversations over faith. And he ended up telling me, he didn't want to finish the project with me. So I had to go back to writing it on my own. So it took a couple years, but I finally got the book out. And when the book came out, it was really, like I said, The purpose was was sell it was just to get out there friend asked how they can get a hold of it. And so I had put it on to a print on demand online. And figured I could it would be the easiest way to put it there, format it and send somebody a link to it. And so he got it. A bunch of other people subsequently started hearing about it. It was on Amazon, which I didn't realize even was a thing. I didn't try to distribute it on Amazon, it just went out there because of who I was using online. Anyways, long story short, probably too late. I, I started getting all these people finding me on social media, they would look up my name and and they would send me messages and say, Hey, I read your book. And I was like, You did like, wow, I should probably go log in and see what's going on with that. So you're the one, right, yeah, they're the one person well actually logged in. And at that point, I had sold over 200 copies. And I had no idea, you know, and so like there was this money sitting there. And I had no idea about it. But anyways, I'm having these conversations with people. And this one guy, he had a media company here in Colorado, and he had just started up to this like webcast thing, before podcasting really got cool. And you know, you did stuff like this, you did like a web show. And he had this format. It was ordinary people doing extraordinary things. And he had gotten a copy of my book too, and said, Hey, I just, I just wanted to, you know, get a chance to interview you if you don't want to be you know, if you're up for that. And I said, Sure. You know, I don't know why you'd want to talk to me, but Okay, and so I went and did the interview and, and he kept saying so let me get this straight. So people you wrote this book, people found the book, they found you on social media. And then they just kept asking Craig T questions, because my last name was Tommy Nene. And so I said, Yeah, I guess. And I went back and I watched that video later on. And I realized that he was the one who came up with the Ask Craig T. And so if you're watching, you know, you can't get any royalties now. Sorry. But um, anyways, that was, um, that was really the beginning of where I'm at now. And kind of the jump off point. As a coach. I got to a point where I was meeting with all these people and a mutual friend of yours. And mine said to me one day in a coffee shop, Hey, are you coaching people? And I said, No, I'm not coaching people. I'm just, I'm just talking to people. They have questions about my book and stuff. And he's like, I don't know, man. He's like, you've been doing a lot of these. He's like, I see you in here an awful lot lately. He's like, I think you're a coach. And I was like, I don't really like that word. I don't want to really be a coach. And he's like, No, he's like, I'm pretty sure you're a coach, and he kept kind of pushing. If I were to name drop, you'd be like, yeah, that's how he works. But um, I. I said, Wow, maybe I should embrace this. Maybe I should and take a step back and see if this is really what you know, God's calling on my life. Because up to this point, I've been working in this IT field and doing all these little side hustle things all throughout my life, but they never really had anything that was like, you know, that purpose and passion connection, right that you that everybody tries to search for. And I felt like that was the first time that I was really aligned with what I was supposed to be doing, you know, in terms of my passion and my calling, and really seeing a path forward in a way that I could, as an entrepreneur, make money at the same time and help other people. So hopefully, that was a summary. There's a lot I know.

Robert Peterson 10:38
No, it's fantastic. I mean, every journey is different, right? And there's, there's elements that somebody's going to hear and, and identify with. And so I appreciate, you know, how we discover that purpose. And that passion can can can vary, too. And so, I think many entrepreneurs start their business with a purpose and a passion. And the challenge for most is that they treat it like a job. And so it becomes a job because they don't know how to treat it like a business. That's right. And that's why you and I both have work that we do is because we can come alongside them and help remind them that no, wait, you're you're a CEO, and that doesn't mean chief everything officer that means you're the chief executive, and you get to decide how you're going to build this business. That's right. So let's talk a little bit about the book and what's been the obviously the impact of the book was helping you create something, a business, right? I mean, it became the business, the foundation for the business. But what does it meant to be an author for for you?

Unknown Speaker 11:45
Well, I mean, like I said, I didn't really set out to be an author unnecessarily. But since it's happened, you know, I've recognized a couple of things. One is that there's tremendous, I'll use your word is tremendous value in capturing a thought or a period in time, like a snapshot of your life. I've gotten back, it's interesting. And if you're an author watching this, you know, do this, if you've never done it, I've gone back and read my book a couple of different times right now that there's been, you know, years later. And it's profound, because the one thing that's really at least in my case, the one thing that's been really obvious to me, well, two things really one is that, that time is a benchmark for the rest of the journey, it's never going to change. It's like an anchor point in my life. And so to be able to capture it in any form, is really, I think it's an exercise in, in mortality, right? You realize, wow, I've been through all these things. And I could have died, like in my case. And then also, while somebody could read this, and they could, I could maybe prevent them from doing some of the stupid things that I did. Right. So but but that point in time never changes. And so then the other thing I realize is that I'm really, as a as a result of the things that I wrote about in my book, the drugs and the alcohol and all the stupid things that I did and got five, I realized that I not really very good at recalling chronology, in an accurate way. My wife actually pointed out after I published the book, she said, you realize that that didn't actually happen before that it was the other way around. And I was like, no, no, I'm pretty sure that that was that she's like, Honey, she's like, I knew you back then. And she's like, You were really messed up. She's like, I'm telling you. It's not it's not right. So. So it's funny, because as an author, even that inclusive of that, it was like, I read the book. And I laugh, because most people will read the book, and they'll have no idea what I'm talking about. Like they won't, they won't know that it's out of order. But when I go back, and I look at it, I'm like, Wow, I'm like, that's really a true snapshot of how messed up things really were in here, you know, and in here, when I started that journey, but the other thing it's done for me, as an author has really given me a jumping off point, like you said, this all became a business and before it became a business, it actually established. And I use this word carefully. But it gave me an identity. It gave me a platform, and that really turned into a brand and the Ask Craig T. You know, realization of that was really kind of the beginning of me understanding what my purpose was, as a business owner and as a Christian, and how those two things kind of came together. And that book was really the catalyst for the whole thing. It just kind of it kind of just gelled together and if I hadn't written the book, I definitively wouldn't, wouldn't be where I'm at. Like, this was the journey I was supposed to go on. And it's funny because I never wanted to write the book like it are and I wouldn't say I never wanted to. It wasn't a goal of mine. I had to write a book, I just wrote a book it just so it's, if you're listening, it's not easy to write a book. It's not, it's not an easy thing to do. But if you ever felt like you wanted to do it, do it because you never know where are leading you. And I've written three other books, you know, and none of them with the depth of this book, they were more practical in terms of like, How To books and things like that. But I'm writing my fifth book right now. And it is going to be it's a massive undertaking, I've been working on it for two and a half years. And I really want to finish it. But being an author also means there's a sense of responsibility, right? There's, there's an integrity involved in it, you can't just array like, you shouldn't just put a bunch of garbage down on paper and sell it and think that it's just a book because people read these things, just like they consume podcasts and things like this. They consume them, and they're there on a search, looking for information and looking for answers. And I think as an author, I've learned, you have a responsibility to be Integris. And to be responsible with the information that you know, to put it out the best way, you know how, because it's a foundational element to how people not only perceive you, but perceive, you know, the industry that you're in, or the content that you're writing about and things like that. So

Robert Peterson 16:23
yeah, I definitely like that INTEGRIS and being responsible as an author. So obviously, your tagline is business built on faith. And you mentioned your faith and your business journey kind of crossing paths through the book. So share with me a little bit about how your faith impacts your business life and your desires are.

Unknown Speaker 16:47
So it definitely ties initially back to that purpose that I mentioned, I did a, I did a little event, kind of as a science experiment. After I wrote the book, thinking, wow, there are that many people that really want to hear my story, maybe I should get out there and tell it. And so I put together a small little speaking event here in Colorado Springs, at one of the public libraries. And to my surprise, I had almost 200 people show up. And it's funny as since then, I've I've organized many events, and it's hard to get 200 people in a room. And I felt like when I did it, I had a very intentional focus on being vulnerable with my story, my testimony specifically, I had been asked by a local church here in Colorado Springs, they have a program called the edge downtown. And they they cater themselves to like drop ins, you know, mostly from homeless people that are just out on the streets. And they want this an opportunity for them to serve a meal, and to share the gospel with them. And what they do is they have a couple people come in each time they do it. Well, they invited me in to come and share my testimony prior to this event that I put on. And I think it revealed to me that my testimony, although faith based had some really practical applications to life in general. And I guess as a Christian, at that point, I hadn't really made the connection only, you know, a few years into it, I hadn't really gone. Wow, this stuff, whether you're a Christian or not, this stuff really just kind of makes sense, right? We use expressions all the time, like, you know, the golden rule, you know, or, you know, do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. And even myself not realizing prior to my Christianity, that those were things from the from Scripture. And I was like, Mister, I just started having these like connection points. Robert, I just started going. There's, there's something else that I'm supposed to be doing. And so then I had this event of my own, and had this massive turnout, which I didn't expect. And I got on stage and I I just got up there and just shared my testimony, all of the raw, you know, the drug in and the drinkin and the things that I was doing. And then the message was simply if I can be redeemed, then so can you because I was such a rotten person, right? It was that total depravity mentality that most young Christians have, right? They're on fire with the Lord. And I'm a wretch. And if God can say say that's all true, and that was the message I put out there, but I guess the way that it was delivered, the result of that was, I had 36 People from those data to those attendees, walk up to me afterwards and say, I really want to sit down with you and talk about the gospel, specifically the gospel. And I said, Wow, and I went home that night, I remember thinking, this is my purpose. Like I'm taking all of the things that I know how to do speaking, and being an entrepreneur and the business side of things, and I've got this book and it's kind of a catalyst. And I stepped back from the bottom of this whiteboard one day and I said, Okay, God, what are you doing? Like I've been in it for at this point, you know, 25 years. Are you telling me that I have a career change coming? Like I'm Tell me what you want me to do. Right. And I think that that was the first time, I really remember being in tune with the spirit enough to listen. Like I really heard some guidance. And you know, take that for whatever you want. But like, I felt like, I felt like I understood that my purpose was to be a business owner to be an entrepreneur. But with the underpinning that the one and only if I did nothing else thing was to share the gospel with other people. And it sounds weird to say that in terms of a business, like coaching, or speaking or anything like that, because that's not really the core of what we do. But I came to realize, as I walked through the journey, that the inner Twinings of my faith, were really the building blocks of my business, I kept saying to myself, I've owned 14 other businesses, why have they not succeeded? Up to this point? I mean, I've had some success, but nothing like monumental, you know, I'm no, I'm not the Bill Gates, or the Elon Musk of what I do. And why is that? Because I feel like I have the skills to do it. But I don't feel like I'm getting the throughput, you know, to get to that goal of the answer to me was, well, you're not following the model that you've been given, which is in Word. And there are a lot of practical principles that are very directly tied to things like money, and relationships. And you know, your faith, overall, your belief, what do you believe in your, your physical health, your emotional health, your spiritual health, and it all kind of just hit me at once, that my faith really was the model for how I was supposed to run a business. And so I stepped back from everything instead, okay, all these people I'm talking to, what are what's the common thread, and I realized that they were all telling me things in four categories, finance, fitness, what I call family or relationships, and of course, faith. And so I started this kind of intentional marketing journey, I stepped back. And I was like, Okay, so there's four F's, like, what does that mean? And so I went through a lot of like, you know, work on my own from a marketing standpoint, and philosophy, and reading scripture and going, you know, the blueprint is here. And when people have questions, I always, as I'm supposed to drive them back to the word I want to, I want to drive them back to a source that's unchanging. That is, you know, it's infallible, right? It's not man's depiction, or declaration of how things are supposed to be this is from the Creator. And I was like, if I follow that, as a model, I can't go wrong in my business. I mean, not that it's going to be easier. In fact, it's harder. But if I follow that, as a model, I can actually have success, by the creator's definition, I can fulfill the purpose that He is put inside of me. And finally, just understanding that if I'm in my faith element more often, if I'm more aware of it, that all of the gifts and the skills and the things that I have, are from him, and they're for him, that my focus is completely different. So when I engage with a client, it's not about what can Robert do? For me? It's about what can my understanding of the word and my my principles and my philosophies? What can all those things do for Robert? What can what can you don't I mean, because you talk a lot about, about adding value. To me, there's no greater sense of adding value than being aligned with what my creator wants me to do for another one of his image bearers. I mean, that's one of the it's so simple, right? It makes it makes so much sense to me, right now. So that's where I'm at, I'm in this place. And that's my faith has affected me on such a deep level as a business person, because every time I have to make a decision, and we make 1000s of decisions all the time, I'm like, wow, should I engage in a relationship with that person or business relationship? Or should I, you know, spend that 10 or $20, on that thing over there for the business? Or is that not gonna take me in the right you know, what I mean? Like everything. And it sounds daunting, and it really is to think at that level constantly, to like, how do I treat people? How do I handle my money? What do I do to myself physically, mentally, right, spiritually, all of those things are affecting the outcome of that purpose. And like I said, that purpose for me is bringing this to bear in my relationship. So as a coach, it's really challenging a lot of times because even from the very beginning of, you know, like from the vetting process when I get a new client And that wants to talk to me about being a coach with them. One of the first things I have to decide, and it's not really a decision anymore is, do I tell them that I'm a child of God first. Right. And it's this bold leading of that, that presents that faith part. That's, that's where the rubber meets the road. For me scripture talks about, you know, we'll be persecuted, even killed for the mention of of our relationship to the Lord. And I'm okay with that. Like, because while I'm here, I know that there's two things that are true. One, that that's my purpose, and two, that this isn't my home. So if what I'm doing here ultimately leads me to the other side of eternity, which is where I know I'm going, then why not have a good time while I'm here? Why not be honest and represent myself and my Creator, and honor my clients through all those things. That's what faith does in my business. So good.

Robert Peterson 25:55
We will be right back after this short break. This episode is sponsored by perfect publishing a different approach to publishing a book. Perfect publishing carefully chooses heroes of Hope, who exemplify living a life they created through faith, hope, patience, and persistence. No matter what page you open to, in this mini cube of hope, you will find a leader with a big heart, you will see you are not alone. The authors may share similar challenges that only hope and action could resolve. Get your free ebook at get a dose of hope.com. Welcome back, let's get back to more greatness. So earlier, you mentioned working in a coffee shop answering people's questions. And our mutual friend, basically, a connection, you know, came up and had a conversation with you. So let's talk about those connections. And you mentioned adding value and, and seeing connections in a different light. But how valuable are connections? How are they help you grow your business? How do you build newer connections or connections with people you want to have in your circle?

Unknown Speaker 27:02
Yeah, it's good. Connections are super important. I mean, just right up front, it I don't know, I don't know that you could put a price or a cost or a value tag on, on connections, good or bad, really, because I think one of the things that I've learned, I'm still learning, you know, people use expressions, like I'm a really good judge of character. I thought for a long time in my life, I was a really good judge of character. But I have to also be in context and realize where I'm operating from, at that moment. And the reality is, I don't necessarily think I'm such a great judge of character, what I'm hoping I'm getting better at is discerning relationships that are put in my path. And ones that are taken out, you know, one of the struggles I have, my wife tells me all the time, just caring, trust everybody, you love everybody, you're always willing to give them the benefit of the doubt right off the top. And, you know, that's why you get your feelings get crushed. And I've just, I guess, from a connection standpoint, it's more important to me to kind of put on that boxer mentality and take a couple hits, than to never have met a person. Because I don't know what I don't know about a connection until I get into a relationship of some sort with them. Now, how deep do I go into that relationship? Well, as I get older, I'm learning more about how to do that better, right? There are people out there that just want to drain you and suck your life out of you. And I, you know, those are people that I pray for, you know, because, you know, they, they need that help, too. But as a coach and as a business owner, as a speaker, as a father, as a husband, it's super important that I'm guarded, when it comes to connections, but I'm also open, if that makes sense. Like, it's, it's a balance, I think, between the two. And so I always kind of approach it like this. If somebody is put directly in front of me, I will I will always engage with that person, I will never just be like, you know, and I'm gonna walk away, like, I'm not gonna break eye contact. I'm not because I think that that's rude. And I also think, well, I know that there's no such thing as a coincidence. Those things get put into our path, those people get put into our path for a reason. And even if the reason is small in you know, maybe even one time I think that you as a as a person have a lot to offer other people from your experiences, even if it's just a one time engagement like you and I for example, I didn't know you before the speaking event that we did together, you know, and when I met you, I remember thinking, this guy is he's straight shooter. No, and he's and he's funny, and like he looks like Just all on the surface, he looks like he really wants to serve other people. He I watched you move around the room and talk to people and, and I've watched you do that several times since at different things and but that first time I met you, I walked away thinking to myself, that guy is that guy he's got he's gonna have an impact on people. And they're in the real obvious thing for me was that I wanted to be part of it somehow I didn't know what that looked like. But to me, that was like, Okay, I gotta further that relationship, I got to remain in contact, and then look where we're at. You know, like, we've done a lot of great things together since then. And so I guess my point is, connections are super valuable. But you also have to like exercise discernment for when a relationship isn't necessarily serving either of the people, right? It could be not serving them or not serving you. You know, it's just not. Because you don't have to go into it with this. You know, what's in it for me mentality hate that expression? You know, everyone, everyone's constantly saying, well, I could go do that podcast with Robert, but what's in it for me? You know, who cares? i Come on, I came on here going, I have no idea what we're going to talk about. And this could be for somebody who's listening, they get some some little piece of information out of it great than it was for them. It wasn't for me, it wasn't for Robert, it was for other people. And yeah, I just I think that unless you are open to exploring connections, you're never going to learn those things about other people.

Robert Peterson 31:27
So you mentioned obviously, this your your initial onboarding with a client, do I talk about my faith? Do I talk about these things. So let's talk about your your niche and what you've you've narrowed down to and who you really serve and what you really provide? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 31:44
And I always say thank you for letting me do that. Because it's otherwise it's kind of like a commercial other. So with a lot work, you niche down, it's super hard to not want to serve everybody. So when I ultimately made the choice, that I was, in fact, a coach, and I wasn't going to get hung up on the idea of, well, all the things that I just got hung up on. I guess for me, it was really an exercise of realizing where my gifts and talents and frankly, my passions lie. I went through some various coaching of my own, with several other people, part of another organization. And I invested some money, got some training around being a coach, I went through and got life coach certified. Initially, I did that because while it was one of the most available certifications out there, it gave me a framework to kind of operate from and figure out what I was going to do. But I also learned really quickly, I didn't want to be a life coach necessarily, for a couple of reasons, nothing wrong with life coaching, there's just a lot of them. And I just didn't see myself honoring the gifts that I had in that capacity because my gifts. And where I ultimately ended up as a business coach was because with 30 years of background in technology, technology is a sweet spot. For me, it's a conversation, I can have with out a whole lot of thought and preparation. Because I've been immersed in it in 30, for 30 years, I'm more than an expert in technology, you know, they say 10,000 hours, I've got that I've got that in spades. And then the other thing that I really love doing is marketing, I went to school for marketing. So some of my credentials, you know, I've got a four year degree in business with an emphasis on marketing, and specifically around, you know, what I like to call literal marketing. You know, like, if, if you're fat, stop eating junk food, you know, like, that would be like a marketing campaign. You know, it's probably not a good example, but you get the idea. And the other part of it was strategy, like I'm a, I'm a big chess player, you know, I love games of intrigue and strategy. And I mean everything down to you know, connect for you know, if it involves checkers, or chess, I'm all about it. Games like risk and things like that. And so I was like, How do I take all of those things, those three things and apply them to business, right. And I, I started doing some polls on people and I got some really great results back and it was most business owners have unhealthy businesses, because they either don't like to or don't know how to do strategic planning, marketing and technology. So what I tell people is, I help businesses experience measurable growth by establishing and this is the key word efficiencies through strategic planning, marketing and technology. And it's that efficiencies focus that I really like, for a period of time and technology when I was in corporate America. One of my job titles was a process improvement engineer, and I really enjoyed that job. It was so great to get in and understand And, you know, we would call it I guess, continuous improvement now CI and the idea of taking a process, understanding how it's working, making an adjustment, putting it into play, and then revisiting it and and kind of repeating that cycle, that kind of stuff in a very geeky way really trips my hammer, I just love I love doing it, because it's so applicable for business owners, right? You get into any situation with a business owner, whether their conceptual, they're at stability or growth, or they're, they're changing, it always applies, okay, where are you at? Where do you want to go. And I just have this really an a gift to be able to have a conversation with people. And it always seems to touch the other to marketing and technology, you can't make strategic redirections unless you acknowledge the elephant in the room. And today, technology is definitely one of the elephant in the room. So that's what I do. That's how I work with people. And I love it because it gets I get to work with people at a business level. And I get to inject that that concept of faith into my sessions, whether they're believers or not, I pray over all of my clients before I get on a call with them, I'm continuously in prayer for their businesses, so that they can they can experience the growth and the abundance and all of the things that God has planned for their business, whether they profess Christ or not. Right, I think it's a really great way to directly show as scripture says, they'll know that we're Christians by our love, right. And love was one of the most significantly underrated I don't know, attributes of of us because we're in his image. And if we can just do a better job of doing that, then everything else changes. And so as a coach, I get to, I get to do that, even if it's offline with people, like they don't, they're, they're not even aware sometimes that I'm doing that. But it's just such a great business model for me to be able to focus on business, and interject that faith all at the same time. And really hit those pain points for companies.

Robert Peterson 37:03
Oh, that's great stuff. Love that. So on that side of your, your own personal journey, how has gratitude served you in in the personal growth side?

Unknown Speaker 37:18
Hmm. If I'm honest, you know, it's an area of struggle for me. I think that me like a lot of people, we don't spend enough time thinking about it. Right, really thinking about what we're grateful for. I am certainly filled with gratitude. You know, I mean, I, I go to bed every night, and I thank God for all of the things that are happening in my life, and not just my business, but in my life as a whole. And in the lives of my, in the lives of my children, my wife, my in laws, like everybody that has been placed in that whole package. I'm super grateful for because, honestly, I can look back now I have the luxury of looking back now and going, Wow, before my relationship with the Lord. I mean, obviously, I was a train wreck. But, but it was these people in my life now that were there, they were present, I can look back and moments and go, like that person literally saved my life, you know, or that person made me think about that thing differently. So I mean, it's easy to go to the topic of abundance, and even directly to money and business growth and all that. But those aren't the things I like to talk about. I like to talk about my gratitude in regards to the fact that I'm here. And I'm constantly asking myself the question, you know, why are you here, to other people to myself. And I think that that's a reminder, at least for me, to just recognize that we should be more grateful. Because look, if and I wouldn't be doing myself a disservice if I didn't do it this way. We don't know that we're going to make it through this podcast. It's just the reality. Everything could just lights out. And you just don't know. And so when I think about gratitude, I instantly go to the place of and I tell my kids this all the time. I'm like, Guys, when you go to bed at night, like when you get up in the morning, and you say I didn't sleep well. Have you ever asked yourself the question why? Like, is there something that you didn't resolve or something you didn't handle before you went to bed? I know for me, I sleep like a rock when I actually lay my head down and go to sleep because I know that I've taken inventory of the things that are, you know, prudent in my life, that attitude is is a main topic I know that I haven't rung somebody without dealing with the aspect of resolving that issue with them directly because I can't sleep if those things are on my mind. And that, to me is also gratitude, right? Like, if, if I'm not, I guess you know what I'm saying, I just, I feel like you got to, you got to handle your business. And then gratitude follows that. And it's so important, but I mean, if like I said, if it was me, and I'm honest, I'm not great at it, you know, I take a lot of things for granted, there are moments where I stop and go, you should be a lot more grateful for the things that are going on in your life, you know, and it's not the things you have, it's just where you're at in life. And so I need to be better at that we all need to be better at that, I think.

Robert Peterson 40:44
So with all the business success you've had, what's your biggest challenge?

Unknown Speaker 40:51
Just one, I will on camera, admit that I am. Probably the biggest control freak. I think as business owners, it's something we all struggle with. You know, you get through all of this purpose versus passion, and you build the thing, and you got your baby, and it's starting to walk. And then you're like, I don't know, I need to hire somebody, or I need to, I need to trust this person to do this thing that I used to do all myself, otherwise, I can't scale. And I preach this to my my clients all the time, when it comes to scalability, and capacity planning, I'm like, you have to relinquish control. That's probably the biggest struggle I have is control. I am. I'm working through it, though. And I'll give you a proof. I'm in the process of waiting for an offer to come back for a salesperson, you know, this is an area that I certainly am very good at doing. I've got a really great conversion rate, you know, however you want to do that. And so because of that, I find myself going do I really want to give this up to another person who can't convert at the rate that I convert out, possibly. But what it means for me is if I do give that up, when I give that up, it will free me up to do other things to continue to grow. But more importantly, to bless other people with what I'm doing as a company overall. Because there's, there's more to what I'm doing than just the coaching parts. Now. There's other things that I'm evolving to, and I need to give up that control in order for that to happen. That's my that's probably my biggest struggle. If not my biggest it's definitely in the top two.

Robert Peterson 42:34
Nice. Well, I appreciate you sharing. So you mentioned your routine at night. You mentioned prayer, what are the routines for your non negotiables?

Unknown Speaker 42:46
Yeah, so prayer, my prayer life at night, my prayer life in the morning. You know, I have actually have on my calendar, time blocked out to spend, it's sounds weird, but I still have time blocked out to spend with the Spirit. Specifically with the Spirit, I block out two hours every Saturday night at 10 o'clock. Usually the time after my wife has either gone to sleep or she's about to go to sleep. And I'll I'll do all kinds of different things I'll consume, you know, some content, maybe on YouTube, that's an easy thing to do lay in bed when she's asleep, I can put headphones on and, and you know, listen to some other other things that are relevant, or I might be in the word, it's hard, it's hard to read at 10 o'clock at night for me, I have a tendency to want to fall asleep. So I'm not gonna say that I read a lot of Scripture at 10 o'clock. Sometimes. And if you're if you're whether you're a believer or not, this is a great technique, I think just as a business owner, as a person is to go somewhere. And this is hard, but somewhere where it's green, quiet, and leave your phone and any other technology out of the room, turn off the lights, some would call it meditation, but just I call it active listening, you know, we have a lot of these thoughts that kind of come through our heads. And to me, of course, there's a discernment piece there, whether or not it's actually the spirit or something else. But you know, to me, those are the times where I have a lot of clarity, and I'll, I'll have a little notebook with me, where I can just, you know, take some inventory of the things that pop into my head. And it seems really manic when I'm doing it, you know, but then I'll close the notebook and I go back to it a couple days later. And this is one of those things that's not negotiable is you know, along the lines of journaling, I do that regularly. I will say we do it every day. But I do it regularly. I journal and I revisit my journals probably on a quarterly basis because I want to go back and like I said with the book I want to go back and see where I was at snapshot in time. Right and kind of where was my head on on the 14th of November at you know two o'clock in the afternoon like where was What was I thinking about what was going through my head? And what did I do? Or what did I do? And so I would say that those are definitely routines. The other thing is, my family, you know, I'm a big time management proponent. So I, it's one of the things I teach my clients is, you know, effective time management. So again, I have to drink my own kool aid here. And that means, you know, managing my entire family's calendar on my phone, you know, that's how I manage my time. And so my wife, you know, now knows if something has to happen with the kids, she comes to me, we put it on the calendar, but it's law, once it's in my calendar, it's going to happen. But adversely, the things that's not negotiable is I will never compromise my availability. So if you go to my calendar, if I send you a link, or whatever, to schedule, my time, you're gonna get my time when you have my time. And I'm gonna be here on this call. Because I also really believe in just that do say you're gonna do honoring your commitments and that kind of thing. So I guess those are the things that are not negotiable, you know, family is a big deal for me. Church is obviously a big deal for me. I'm a leader in my church. And so I have a lot of responsibilities there that are tied to that. So when I commit to doing those types of things, those are not negotiable items. For me. A good question would be like, what is negotiable? And those aren't good answers. You know, it's usually my health, you know, like, I always compromise for my own health, I always, you know, I might not sleep as much as I probably should, you know, or I might skip that workout, you know, or whatever. So, I'm human, it happens.

Robert Peterson 46:42
Nice. All right. On that note, how important is playing fun for building your business building yourself?

Unknown Speaker 46:51
Well, I mean, I'm, it's me right now. I mean, I've got, I've got an assistant, I think we have fun when we work. You know, I think that that's, I think culture is really important, you know, when you're working, because you're going to spend a great majority of your time doing that, but I don't know if I would call it fun. As much as I would call it. Culture, because you could enjoy your work. And I guess that could be fun. But play time, I like that word, I like play time. Play time for me is music. Whether I'm listening, or I'm playing, I've got, you know, my drums in my studio out in the garage. And you know, whenever time permits, in a lot of times these days, it's kind of impulsive, but I love going out and playing music, whether it's my drums or grabbing the guitar, or the mandolin, or whatever, and just, you know, jumping on the piano, and just playing music, whenever I can do that stuff. To me that time playing with my kids is a time like I loved getting on the floor, and playing with my, my son with his trucks, or playdough with both of the kids are, you know, going shooting with my 22 year old, you know, or doing doing stuff that is with my family, because that's all that's all one thing. And so, you know, hanging out with friends, I don't, I don't have a lot of friends really, to be honest. Like, I know a lot of people, but I don't have a lot of friends and you know, getting to do things with friends is it's cherished because those things are they're pretty rare, especially as busy as everybody is in the world today and so disconnected, you know, through things like technology, you know, it's rare you get together and you know, get to go see a concert or go to a sporting event or something, you know, and I love those times, you know, my father in law will come and go, Hey, let's go to an Air Force game. I'm an Army guy, but you know, we'll go to the Air Force game and I'll wear my army shirt to cause problems. But I love those times. That's fun for me, and I don't get to do it often. But when I do, man, I love it.

Robert Peterson 48:55
Nice. All right. So the way we started was sharing your entrepreneurial journey where we end is you sharing, you know, Craig's words of wisdom so what would you share?

Unknown Speaker 49:06
Oh, my goodness. Let's see. I think it'll it'll probably sound corny, but I'll just go with this because it just popped into my head.

Unknown Speaker 49:22
You know, there's so many opportunities in this life, too. Be self centered to be focused on ourselves. And I think no, I know, I know. When it when it comes to business, or just a relationship you might be in or anything really I think that the thing we need to be aware of most is my If we just say it's not about you, that's how she would say it's not about you. So I think an awareness that it's not about you, and that maybe even more importantly, you're probably part of the problem that somebody else is experiencing. And I know that's weird wisdom. But like, if we were just more focused on I guess I'll say it like this, be kind. Be kind to other people. That's that's an easier way of saying it. Just be kind, where you feel the urge to serve yourself behind.

Robert Peterson 50:37
Greg, thank you so much for joining me today. What a wonderful journey and experience and I love the impact that you're making for others in the world.

Unknown Speaker 50:46
Thank you so much for having me on, Robert. I really appreciate it. And I value and I'm going to use this title with you. I value our friendship, I consider you a friend.

Robert Peterson 50:55
That's a mutual so thank you. This episode is brought to you by intentional decisions that lead to massive success. Now, those aren't companies promoting our show. They're qualities that you need to build your business and take control of your life. So to help you out, I'm offering my most popular worksheets to help you plan the future you want and audit your calendar today. The best way to get what you want is to know what it is and start making sure that your calendar matches. You can download them free today at add value mindset.com. If you will take action by just completing these two activities, they will change your life and business. I promise you a new level of results in the coming year. The problem is that we make things so complicated and we lose focus on what is really important. These tools will help you refocus on what matters most. When you align your passion with your purpose and your work. You can be happier and start doing the things you wanted to in the first place like spending more quality time with the kids. To get your free copy of the tools to start tackling your busy schedule. Go to add value mindset.com If you enjoy this show, please like subscribe, leave a review but most importantly, if you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Share Share Share. In our next episode, Gabe Nelson shares the Robert Noel the importance of investing in the community. He's an owner for a pre professional women's soccer team. Their goal is to empower women through soccer

Noelle Peterson 52:26
games shares a challenge many business owners face and getting caught up in activities they shouldn't like email, social media and other distractions from doing the thing that you do