The Blind Spots That Derail Your Business Journey

Navigating entrepreneurship requires more than hustle – it demands a CEO's compass to guide you past blind spots and toward true success. Deb Coviello shares critical insights on finding your direction while building a sustainable business.

• Understanding your leadership style and unique value before diving into business activities
• Building a network early rather than waiting until you need clients
• Standing out through differentiation instead of competing on the same terms as others
• Developing a relationship-based approach to sales that doesn't feel pushy
• Creating systems to maintain connections and nurture relationships over time
• Investing in yourself through coaching and personal development
• Learning from "failures" by seeing them as valuable redirections
• Identifying your true strengths through the entrepreneurial journey
• Focusing on peace of mind rather than solely pursuing financial results
• Approaching business with patience, persistence, and genuine care for connections

Connect with Deb Coviello on LinkedIn or visit dropinceo.com to subscribe to her newsletter. Her book "The CEO's Compass" is available on Amazon and now as an audiobook.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the CEO's Compass
• 8:42 Understanding Your Leadership Style
• 15:14 Identifying Entrepreneurial Blind Spots
• 23:18 Building Relationships Instead of "Selling"
• 34:01 Creating Systems for Business Success
• 44:58 Investing in Yourself and Learning from Failures

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Elevate Media Podcast with your host, chris Anderson. In this show, chris and his guests will share their knowledge and experience on how to go from zero to successful entrepreneur. They have built their businesses from scratch and are now ready to give back to those who are just starting. Let's get ready to learn, grow and elevate our businesses. And now your host, chris Anderson.

Speaker 2: 0:25

Welcome back to another recording of the Elevate Media Podcast. I'm Chris Anderson, your host, and today, for those listening, you know your journey hasn't been easy. You're starting out, trying to build a business, become successful even replace your nine to five most likely and sometimes there are things we just miss. As we start out, we don't realize there are things we're going to have to deal with or overcome those blind spots within our journey, and so we brought on a guest to talk about just that how we can have a CEO's compass with us on our journey to avoid some of those blind spots, to figure some of that out as we're growing and learning. And Deb Coviello, welcome to the Elevate Media Podcast today.

Speaker 3: 1:08

Oh, chris, I'm so excited to be here and hopefully provide some valuable insights for your audience, because entrepreneurship is not easy, but it is passion work that I love doing.

Speaker 2: 1:18

Yeah, absolutely, Entrepreneurship definitely is not easy. I tell people it's simple. We overcomplicate it a lot of the times but it's simple, but it's not easy. It's definitely a road that you need to have a good connection with people and community and things like that. So excited to dive into this topic of having our own CEO's compass I know it's the title of your book as well and what that looks like. What does having a CEO's compass kind of mean for those listening?

Speaker 3: 1:48

Great question and again, thank you for that. You know, I wrote the CEO's compass back in 2021 with the mindset that it was for the CEO leader that has been amazingly successful in their career and that, all of a sudden, something changes for which they're no longer a rock star and what do they need to do differently in terms of their leadership. But here's the hidden secret I actually wanted the book to also be for those people that are moving up in their career or perhaps getting stuck at a new way of thinking. The same thing goes for entrepreneurship. So the first chapter is probably where you and I are looking at the entrepreneur, but the first thing I say in the book is I see you looking out the window. You're stuck, you're doubting yourself because you're now in a different landscape and you don't know what to do differently. So, basically, the principle is I want you to stop and think about who are you as a person. What is your leadership style? Are you open for maybe doing things a little bit differently? And, by the way, if you're not put the book down, I don't want you to continue. But a compass. The main principle is that so often we just want to hustle. We want to get the sale. It's all about those results. That's what a lot of the gurus say. Hopefully, chris, you don't say that, but really I try to change. The mindset is, you're really trying to navigate towards peace of mind, which is really a greater outcome, and so this is where the entrepreneur probably needs to pause a little bit, not just dive in and start doing networking and such, but really think about their why, their purpose and why are they doing this and really big picture stuff. And then along the way, you have to think about what are your different points on the compass that you need to kind of move in one way or the other to get to true north or peace of mind. So you may have some things about you know your people and your process and your different tools and platforms.

Speaker 3: 3:39

But from an entrepreneur's perspective, there's an interesting nuance here. I talk about the West and East compass point of past and pride. Now, in the context of a CEO, I tell them you should be looking at your people and understand the rich culture that they've brought with them. That's the past. And on the pride, what is that? Intellectual property or those unique gifts of your people on your team? Celebrate those and make sure you pull that forward, because nobody likes change, but they also like to be respected.

Speaker 3: 4:06

Same thing goes for the entrepreneur. Think about what you were absolutely amazing at in the past. You're not broken. You don't have to change. Think about those gifts that you have and bring them forward. Into who are you becoming as you try to serve others? And then the pride part. Well, you might have to swallow your pride a little bit. It's going to be a little bit tough, but at the same time, look at those gifts, those unique talents. You are special. Nobody else has had your exact experience. And package that bundle that hold on to it because you're going to be in pursuit of those people that really value your intellectual property. So the CEO's compass again chart your own adventure. It's focusing on peace of mind or true north, and it's a guide. It's not cookie cutter, but a guide for you to pick your adventure and your course to entrepreneurship and realizing great success.

Speaker 2: 4:57

Yeah, I love that and I think it is a compass, that kind of guide us, because no two paths on entrepreneurship is going to be the same. There might be similarities, you might, you know, have some of the same steps, but ultimately your end goal and where you're headed and how you get there is going to be different. And so like having that compass, cause it still keeps you on where you want to go, but you might have to keep, you might have to meander around things, but you know again that true north, like you mentioned, is always the same thing.

Speaker 3: 5:24

Yeah, and it's one of those things. It's not just okay, let me get my read all these books and figure it out. It's not cookie cutter, it's you can get a coach and a coach can tell you what to do, but at the same time, if you haven't taken that time to reflect on, well, why am I even doing this? Why am I ready to dive in and spend a lot of time investing in myself and people? It's really actually one of the most beautiful times of your life is a point of self-discovery, Like what am I made of?

Speaker 3: 5:52

Like you know, stop doing what I was doing in the past. I'm not made of that stuff. But yeah, I may have earned money at it, but was I really passionate about it and did I really serve people in the best possible way? So take the time as you move into entrepreneurship to really appreciate the time to reflect towards true north.

Speaker 2: 6:11

Yeah, I like that. And so, as we're, you know, talking about headed on our path towards true north, like we talk about our why, you know figuring out the why we've talked about that, a lot of that. And so once we find that why and understand that we're heading on the journey right, we're, we're going down the path, we're following the compass. I want to kind of dive into the blind spots, things that we might or people might not be thinking about. That come up, come up quite often with entrepreneurship, being your own CEO, even if you don't have employees or maybe a few, that that kind of can hinder or slow us down. Where are some of these blind spots? Let's dive into that. What are those those blind spots kind of look like? Or how could they, or I mean, are they, you know? What are those? I guess is where I'm going with it.

Speaker 3: 7:02

Yeah, it's, I appreciate that and you know. Talk to me in a year from now and I'll tell you a few more blind spots.

Speaker 3: 7:09

You know, one thing that can be a blind spot that I quickly discovered was you know, in the beginning, if you are saying, okay, I'm going to hang my shingle, I'm going to get my business cards, I'm going to create these beautiful 20 page PowerPoints that explain all the value that I can bring. And I was sitting one day and I realized, wait a second, I don't have any clients. So I don't have any clients. The first thing I need to do is go out and start connecting with people.

Speaker 3: 7:39

And the other blind spot if you're still in corporate or doing contract work that network oh my goodness, they never talk to you about building a network. Build a network now of people outside. Start talking to them, let them know what you're thinking, because the worst time to have a network or build a network is when you're at a luck or maybe you've been kicked out of the nest. So a blind spot is like cultivate your first degree and your second degree connections fast, because those are the ones that you're going to be practicing your elevator pitch and getting feedback on what your offers look like. So blind spot number one it's not about the PowerPoint, it's about who can you connect with and who can they connect you with? Are you ready for next blind spot?

Speaker 2: 8:17

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 3: 8:19

Okay, I discovered this early on. If you're thinking about again being a consultant or a fractional leader, or you've got some really cool product, just know it's extremely noisy out there and you're going to get very frustrated saying how am I going to compete with the competition? Well, that's the wrong mindset. What I found it was about what is it that differentiates you? What makes you unique? What is some really cool thing that somebody has called you or what did you say by accident? So the drop-in CEO? Is there anybody else that's branded the drop-in CEO? No, and, by the way, I've trademarked that.

Speaker 3: 8:55

Take the time to reflect on what makes you different and differentiate, because, rather than trying to keep up with the Joneses and what do I need to do slightly better and improve on the next consultant to fight for that business out there, stand out, stand out, come up with something really cool and be able to articulate your value very crisply in a plate, and your outcome is to just be interesting for people to say, oh my God, that's cool. I've never heard of that before. Tell me more. So building a brand is another blind spot. It's not about your service, it's about standing out.

Speaker 2: 9:28

Yeah, how do people do that Like? How do they like? That's a loaded question and let me kind of rephrase that If people are trying to stand out, what are the best ways for them to show that value and stand out, you know, in a sea of other individuals trying to do the same thing? Are there some good techniques to do it besides being yourself? Obviously, we hear that, but is there any other way?

Speaker 3: 9:50

There's so many things. I'm giving away the farm here, but honestly there's so many things. First of all is listen to what you say about yourself and, like I said, the drop-in CEO has a backstory that fell out of my mouth and somebody all of a sudden said oh my goodness, that is brilliant, tell me more. Another place to help build your personal brand is think back about. Where did you do some rockstar stuff in your corporate life where somebody either a customer or colleagues said, oh my God, you are the Superman of construction or something like that and it was so cool. But like you say, oh gee, shucks, and you let it roll off your shoulder, but like, write those nuggets down. And then lastly and I tell people a lot is just keep post-it notes or keep a journal of things that you're thinking, your unique insights.

Speaker 3: 10:37

People might say, forget it, that's not going to work here at the company. But save your intellectual property, write those thoughts down and tuck them away, because I sincerely believe that when you pull that thing out, that journal or those post-it notes, and start looking at it, it's going to start speaking to you and say, oh my God, I've been talking about this and I've had a few people say that's exactly the kind of leadership we need. And that's exactly what somebody said to me once when I stood out and just said what I was thinking. It may not resonate with everybody, but maybe they're not for you. Now, think about the people that what you say resonates with and take note, because that also, too, becomes part of your personal brand. It's not your cameras, it's not necessarily a great PowerPoint or business card, but it's how you make people feel what people remember you by a great PowerPoint or business card, but it's how you make people feel what people remember you by those two three, five talking points about what you stand for is going to make you stand out.

Speaker 2: 11:36

Yeah, that's very true, and I think going back to that, just knowing your values and knowing what's important to you, with it, with the business and on this journey, and that kind of ties into your why right?

Speaker 3: 11:44

It absolutely does. And, again, it is just a good journey to go on. Think about your why isn't? By the way, it can change multiple times. We're entrepreneurs. We change our minds a lot. Again, it's not a straight path, it's back and forth, and just start trying these different things. Hey, I'm the drop-in CEO. I partner with C-suite leaders and this is the kinds of problems I solve. Test it out on a friend, test it out on a partner and even at a networking, and just see what works. Don't worry about being perfect, don't worry about flubbing your words, just try it out and over time it could take you a year or so You're going to say that's it, that's my brand, that's what I stand for, that's how I stand out.

Speaker 2: 12:24

Yeah, very true, and I think, yeah, and I like that, you don't have to have it right away, like you don't have to have it figured out right this second. If you're starting a business, like that's something that you can have an idea on and it can morph and change and kind of become more specific as you go, so I don't think you have to have it set in stone right this instant. Said, things change, your ideas change, and to finally kind of get to that this is it kind of moment and you can really dig in.

Speaker 3: 12:53

And it's a beautiful thing when you say I've arrived. I have my message I stand out, I'm pretty cool and people recognize me for it. Right? Do I have time for another blind spot? One more?

Speaker 2: 13:05

Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 3: 13:06

Yeah, sales, ooh, ooh, that dirty word sales. That has been really, really challenging. The interesting blind spot that I had early on was through networking with my first degree connections. They wanted to support me, so they introduced me to second degree connections and, oh my, I got a few gigs out of the gate. I felt like I got this thing and the warm referrals are going to come in.

Speaker 3: 13:29

And then things dried up and I had to say to myself you can be victim to oh, it was COVID or oh, it was the economy. You have to control our own part of it. And I just didn't understand business development, that it was an ongoing process. And how can I do it in a way that didn't feel salesy? So I have read, I have listened and I have employed coaches myself to realize that it doesn't have to be feel grungy or anything like that, but it's really about building relationships and as much as the gurus say, you got to hustle, hustle, hustle, build that funnel.

Speaker 3: 14:05

Yes, you have to continually be prospecting, but really focus on the relationships, because I have found that the relationships from three, five, 10 years ago are what were feeding my pipeline now, and so it means you have to continually be planting those seeds of like hey, I care about you, hey, can I introduce you to somebody, and not always be looking for something in return. It is a long game, it is patient, but even if it's not a transaction, people will be generous. Because you cared about them, they will introduce you to other people. The network will grow, maybe a speaking opportunity, maybe an opportunity to write a blog post for somebody. But it's finding relationships of people that care about you and you care about them, and seeing how you could support each other. The transaction or the result comes later.

Speaker 2: 14:53

Yeah, and that's a good point. It's about relationships. So any tips on how to nurture those relationships? I mean you mentioned you're in the making. What have you found works for you? At least that builds that kind of bridge and connection.

Speaker 3: 15:08

Well, so I knew for a few years I was broken. I would try and say, well, who are the people that I want to network with? I wasn't really uber comfortable in going to large networking events. That's just not my thing. And then what happens is there's a mindset thing like, oh, I'm not good at networking. We've got to shift our mindset and find what is comfortable for you. And so I realized I needed a better system. Gone are the days of Google spreadsheets, post-it notes and all those things kind of database that was really good at capturing the information about people not only who are prospects but also great advocates and referral partners, and then having a system to keep me accountable, to continually check in with those people, because ultimately, consultants, service providers, come and go, but it's those that are top of mind, are the ones that'll stick, because you never know when somebody in your network says, oh, I know somebody, you want to be that person that they think about.

Speaker 3: 16:13

So number one was having a sales system that keeps me accountable for all those contacts that I really care about. The second tip was having the mindset of like oh, I've got to sell versus I've got to create relationships for which I can share my value and ultimately it's up to them. I can share my value and ultimately it's up to them. I can share my value, share my offer, but at the end of the day, yes, you're going to feel a little upset if you don't convert, but it's not your decision, it's their decision and all you can do is put the best value forward and say I'm good, I have been able to serve so many people.

Speaker 3: 16:47

And just because one person doesn't convert, don't take it to heart. Continue to network and nurture. Those are some of the things that I've learned about sales, and you know what I don't feel so edgy, I don't feel worried as much by putting forth my offer. I do have to continue to bring up my prices. That's still a challenge. I'm evolving, but find a way, a process, process, a method that it's about relationship building and just providing value.

Speaker 2: 17:13

Yeah, I agree on that. And um, and you could do it different ways. I mean, I've heard you get some people articles in a podcast, episodes, like just saying, hey, we're thinking about you, I thought you might find this interesting, things like that. Just, you know, what I do personally is, um, I'm a little old and I've just always been that way. I'll handwrite letters and seal them with a wax seal and then mail them off, just because you don't see things like that anymore. I've always enjoyed doing that. It's like, well, that's kind of unique. I can do that and just let people know I'm thinking of them or thank them for something they did in that way. I think that goes so much farther than just trying to do there's a place for, like the quote unquote hard sell, but I think there's so much more to just adding value because you bring the right people in and you you get the people who are ready and willing to kind of commit and take that step and and and trust you by you doing that.

Speaker 3: 18:08

Yeah, and again to your point, it's about standing out and being memorable. Now I have a challenge. I have terrible handwriting, so I do write notes, uh, when maybe sending my book to somebody, um, but there are services and I was introduced to it and I'm going to start using it real soon where you can go online and create a note for somebody and the service does send them a very nice card and kind of inserts your signature in there and kind of cuts through my bad handwriting and to your point.

Speaker 3: 18:40

It makes you memorable. So, anything you can do, you don't have to listen exactly to what Chris says, what I do. But what are you known for? Whether it's a gift or a note or an article, find out what it is to stay top of mind and the sales will come.

Speaker 2: 18:54

Yeah, and I think the more you can do and you mentioned something too I think it's important is, like the systems, having that sales system, that process at CRM, because we, you know, we rise and fall to the level of our systems and so having that is important. Is there a CRM or a prospect lead CRM system you use, that you really like, or one that you found has worked well?

Speaker 3: 19:17

It was recommended to me but it is called Engage Pro and really the purpose of it is to help you remain engaged with people that matter. Engaged with people that matter. So anybody that I bring on to the podcast, they're in there because I want to nurture those relationships. Any introductions that I have or prospects, they all go in there, and it was just before we came in here while I was at the curling.

Speaker 3: 19:41

I was actually going through and corresponding and asking permission to reconnect or share something with people and you stand out and they come back and those that come back and respond you say OK, they really also care about the relationship.

Speaker 3: 19:56

One other blind spot I learned is that not everybody has time to communicate back and after one or two touch points, if they didn't respond back, I'd write them off. It's like, ok, I'm just going to drop them. You know, drop them. And I learned that that is not the right mindset. Understand that some people life happens, they have no time to communicate with you, so you can't expect them to be equal in communication. But be persistent, not in a pesky way, but say you know, hey, you must be busy, I understand, but you know I still was thinking about you. I want to share something and I have found that there are buyers or prospects or people in your network that maybe by the sixth time that you connect with them, they'll say thank you, they'll apologize, but then they'll say let's talk, let's jump on a call. Be patient with people. Life is complex. It's not on your timeline, it's really theirs.

Speaker 2: 20:50

Yeah, I think that's so true and lots of stories with just the delay of messages or the length of the you know quote unquote sales pipeline and things like that. And yeah, I think be quick to start the relationship and slow to build it kind of thing, like don't be in a haste and try to force the relationship to build, but uh, be quick to try to meet new people is kind of. My thought is because you never know anyone's story and where they're at, and as soon as you can maybe meet them, um, then the relationship can start. And so, uh, it's funny, like example, like I had messaged someone on linkedin a while back.

Speaker 2: 21:24

We both went to the same school, I was doing stuff for our alumni program, so I was connecting with them and this was like two or three years ago. No, no reply or anything like that. After a couple messages, kind of like, just kind of let it be um, which again you know, I read down, and then, um, I forget who messaged back just this year, but we started conversation again and they ended up becoming our new director of marketing and content strategy. It's like and so like, not even client, but like ended up becoming part of our team now and and just um, yeah, just a crazy delay and timeline and just, you know, I think it all works out.

Speaker 3: 22:01

All happens for a reason and so um, that that, I would say, is probably a major blind spot is you need to be patient with the process and and the word is care and I just interviewed yesterday about Selling with Love. He was a wonderful person. Think about do you really care about the people in your network? Because if you don't, you're just hustling. And I got to make X amount of money. You might make those short-term results. Term results again.

Speaker 3: 22:25

Uh, this is actually my second book that I have to write, but it's a. It's about uh, stop chasing results, start pursuing peace of mind. If you're in it for the hustle, I gotta make a certain. I gotta get to seven fig, I gotta get to six figures. You'll get that, but you're gonna just kind of wear yourself out, never be happy. I, I know it's it's about you know, the greater opportunity is peace of mind.

Speaker 3: 22:46

I, my theme this year is connecting with humanity. It used to be go big, but then I started thinking well, go big, for what reason? So go big, okay, get good camera, get good audio, we'll talk about that as well, all those things. So if I needed to scale, I could, but what was the ultimate purpose was to connect with humanity. I don't want them to struggle as much. So just think about you. Know again, we talked about your why Don't think about the quick hustle. Be patient and invest in yourself. That's another thing that I thought is don't it's important to invest in coaches, people that can see you for what you need and may fill you in with those blind spots. Definitely, definitely get coaches in this journey, but also think about investing in yourself. So often when people are out there, they say, hey, join my community, come to my networking group, and you start spending a lot of money on other people's platforms.

Speaker 3: 23:35

And you may find valuable connections, but one thing that I found for me that was important is you know I'm going to invest in myself. Invest in myself, invite people onto my platform. I started a podcast, just like you, to build the relationships that I want to have versus being thrown into a sea of Barracuda and trying to swim and figure out who should I be connecting with? So find ways to connect with people you want to in a way that's comfortable for you versus going into others Again.

Speaker 1: 24:04

Just a quick plug there and also coaching.

Speaker 3: 24:07

Coaching is very valuable to this journey.

Speaker 2: 24:10

Oh, yeah, I agree, and it's like there's so much time.

Speaker 2: 24:16

You can speed up the process if you listen, someone else's got the life you want, or at the spot, you want to be at um and just seeing what they did and how they did it and not you're basically getting your ego, getting yourself out of the way, thinking you can do it on your own, or if you I don't know, maybe you feel ashamed of getting a coach because it makes you seem weak or something. I don't know. But once you can move that ego and pride out of the way and say, like I don't know it all, even like owning Elevate, like even if I love my team, they have a skill or talent in different areas of knowledge, I'm like I don't, I'm going to just go to you on this because this is your strength, like I don't know so much, and try to keep an open mind and learn from anyone. I think, yeah, it's so important to have those mentors, those coaches that can guide you, so, hopefully. So you missed some of these blind spots, right? Yeah?

Speaker 3: 25:10

And again you know, I appreciate you bringing me on to the show here and sharing some of the blind spots or best practices that I've been able to realize, but I wouldn't have been able to be where I'm at now. Practices that I've been able to realize but I wouldn't have been able to be where I'm at now.

Speaker 3: 25:25

And again I'm still I would say I'm successful because I have to find happiness and where I am in the process I'm far better off than when I was in a corporate role I had. My creative self is out right now. But just know it doesn't come without maybe some not damage along the way. But just realize that you're going to see things where you may have made an investment that wasn't correct or maybe the timing of an investment wasn't right. Don't feel bad and say, oh, I'm going to take down the shingle, I'm going to go back to corporate, unless it's something that you really, really love.

Speaker 3: 25:52

Just be ready to reflect and say, well, that didn't work. I've learned something. I'm going to go in a different direction. I'm a little bit smarter this time in terms of my work. Just be happy to realize those things that you know. Like I ran out of money, I had to take out some loans, I was betting on myself, et cetera, but what was the missing piece was I didn't have a really good sales process to continually fill that you know pipeline, as well as investing and expending on myself. So just be ready to learn some things. They're not failures. But what have you learned about you, your business, your clients, et cetera, to continue to avoid them.

Speaker 2: 26:30

have less risk and make smarter decisions.

Speaker 3: 26:33

So it's a wonderful journey, but be careful about running out of money.

Speaker 2: 26:37

Yeah for sure. Yeah, you definitely have to mitigate that risk. Pretty well, it reminds me of a song I don't know if you've heard the Greatest by Kenny Rogers. Basically, it's a song about this little boy who's playing baseball by himself. He's throwing the ball up and he's swinging, he's trying to hit the ball, hit a home run and stuff, and it's a ghosted old song. And his ghosted old song uh, basically he gets the third time trying, it's time to go in for dinner, so you're gonna try again. And he throws the ball up, swings at it and misses the ball. So you're like, oh, he never actually hit. It won the world, uh, and it ended up him. He's like man, I knew it was good but I didn't know I could pitch like that. So, like shifted, like it's not about him, he's like he. He's like, yeah, I missed, but okay, I'm good pitcher. So like it shifted, like that failure, like, as you're hearing, it shifts it to like, oh, but I'm good at this, like where I learned this and that.

Speaker 2: 27:26

In those moments of like failure, like on entrepreneurship, like, so we're gonna mess up, we're gonna not do something right, we're gonna, you know, invest in the wrong thing or learn, you know, but the what's the lesson learned? Like, maybe you see a strength out of that. It's a great song, uh, again, the greatest by kenny rogers. Um, just that visualization watching the boy trying to hit this ball. It's like, oh man, okay, maybe he shouldn't play baseball. He's like, no man, I'm a really good pitcher, like, and so it's cool. That's what I was saying. When you're saying that, like we can learn from any moment, um, and it's only a failure if you just fully, fully, give up completely, because anything you can learn from or improve from, so I so support what you say.

Speaker 3: 28:07

And again, that's the discovery and being reflective, because, on a similar note, I came into this journey thinking I'll be a consultant, coach, drop into businesses, solve business issues, and I still do that. But in the process I was, you know, during my discovery time, guesting on podcasts, didn't have my own, and then I said, oh, I want to do this. And once I started doing it, I have had so many people say, deb, you got this great voice Okay.

Speaker 1: 28:37

I'll keep using that.

Speaker 3: 28:38

And then you know, I thought, oh, speaking. Well, the interesting thing is I'm not really getting speaking gigs, but I'm getting asked to be a master of ceremony or moderator for panel discussions because I've launched a new website it's coming soon Media 3L. Because I love the media, I love being able to communicate and have people hear me and also hearing the voices of others. So in the discovery process I realized I'm a creative, I'm a content creation engine and actually that's the work I really, really love to do. It's not about failures, it's also some subtle successes that you find along the way.

Speaker 2: 29:22

Yeah, absolutely. Very well said. And so this is, deb. This has been a great conversation. I love digging into the blind spots because I think it's more practical, like people they hear you know. Here's the things you should do to succeed, but very seldom do we talk about. Here are the things where we've struggled or here are the things that might catch you up and here's kind of things to look out for. So I appreciate you being on and sharing all this. I would love you know if people want to get connected with you. Obviously, let them know about your book a little bit too. Where can people connect with you, learn more from you and even get your book?

Speaker 3: 29:56

So, chris, I just want to say thank you for having me on the show. It's been a pleasure sharing the mic with you. But, yeah, I would love to talk to people or just connect with me. Two ways you can find me on LinkedIn that's my playground, deborah A Coviello or the Drop-In CEO Direct. Message me, let's have a conversation, or maybe even subscribe to my newsletter by going to my website dropinceocom D-R-O-P-I-N-C-E-Ocom. There's a contact page. You can sign up for my newsletter but also the book, the CEO's Compass. Just go to my products. You'll find the book. It's on Amazon or other outlets and quick shout out. I have just released the audio book if you prefer to listen. So again, thank you so much for the opportunity. Hopefully I provided some valuable insights to you and your audience.

Speaker 2: 30:44

Absolutely, yeah, so everyone listening make sure you check out, get connected with Deb, check out her books and get a copy or hear it on Audible. And, yeah, just make sure you continue to learn and dig into those blind spots that we talked about today. Again, deb, thanks so much for being on the LV Media Podcast. Thank you so much, absolutely. And if you're listening to this and you know someone who is starting on their journey entrepreneurship, share this with them. Help them realize there are some obstacles that they need to try to avoid or learn from along their journey, and make sure you go like, subscribe and leave us a review. It helps us get this in front of more ears so we can make a bigger impact in the world together, and we appreciate everyone who does tune in and follows the show. Couldn't do it without you. But until next time, go out there, continue to elevate your life, elevate your brand, and we'll talk to you again soon.

Speaker 1: 31:38

Thank you for listening to the Elevate Media podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. See you in the next episode.