145: Insider Secrets of a Serial Interior Design Entrepreneur

Michele  00:00

Hello, my name is Michele and you're listening to profit is a choice. Joining me on the podcast today is Morgan Motsinger of Lot 35 Homes. Together Morgan and her husband Ryan own five businesses. Morgan and I have coached together for a year and in that time we discovered her superpower, starting businesses. And this episode Morgan will share how she made peace with being a starter, and how conquering fear allowed her to have more experiences in her personal and professional growth. I hope you enjoyed the podcast.

Michele  00:41

Every day empowered entrepreneurs are taking ownership of their company financial health, and enjoying the rewards of reduced stress and more creativity. With my background as a financial software developer, owner of multiple businesses in the interior design, industry, educator, and speaker, I coach women in the interior design industry to increase their profits, regain ownership of their bottom line and to have fun again in their business. Welcome to profit as a choice. Hey, Morgan, welcome to the podcast. 

Morgan Motsinger  01:13

Michele, thank you so much for having me. 

Michele  01:15

Oh, I'm excited to have you here. And to be able to chat with you. I think we have a lot of really fun things to talk about. And I'm excited to jump right in. And before we begin, I want you to share with our listeners today just a little bit about you and the businesses that you have and what your life is currently like.

Morgan Motsinger  01:36

Sure. So I live on the Oregon coast and my husband and I own a construction and interior design company called Lot 35 Homes. And we have a smallish retail space slash showroom in our area. And we have three kids, and a crazy puppy. And we're juggling all of our business needs. And also making time for our family and for ourselves. Our oldest daughter has special needs. And so that creates a different dynamic within our family in being able to have our business in a way that supports the care that we need to give for her. So that's our main business. And then over the last year, we started a couple of other ones. One is a coaching business for women who want to start their own business, not necessarily an interior design, but just want to be able to be home with their kids as much as they want to, and still be able to contribute to their household income. We put that business on hold because we started another one called Beach Box, which is a concessions trailer that we sell bonfire supplies out of. We live on the beautiful Oregon coast, we get a lot of visitors to our area every summer and with COVID quite a bit more of a trickle of tourists in our area than normal. But one of my favorite things to do, favorite experiences on the beach is to have a bonfire and have the s'mores and the whole experience there. It just makes it really memorable. And so we created a business to extend that same availability to make those kinds of memories for the people that visit our area.

Michele  01:37

Oh! So much you have going on. But I know that, so okay, so just so everybody knows you and I've been coaching together for the last year. And you just have such an interesting, personal dynamic that you bring to business and I really wanted to highlight it and talk about it because I've never met anyone just like you, which is normal, because we're all unique. But I have met other business owners who've had some of the same strengths that you have. And and I really want to just dig into that a little bit because that for those that are listening, you know, in my mind, and when we started working together, you had what I would consider the equivalent of three businesses. Right? So I know you how's it all under maybe the umbrella of Lot 35 Homes. But if we were to break it apart for the listeners, you had the construction part of Lot 35 Homes, which your husband Ryan is kind of the principal, executioner of all that work, right, then you have the shop, so the retail space that takes walk in traffic that people can come in and buy some home accessories and some things like that. And then you had a full service interior design company for a Lot 35, so they were all Lot 35 any one of those individually could be a full time business for any person.

Morgan Motsinger  04:39

Yeah, yeah, no doubt.

Michele  04:41

And between the two of you, you were running all three. And in all fairness, you did just open your shop just a few short months prior to COVID hitting. That had to be quite the smack.

Morgan Motsinger  04:56

Well thankfully, I already had a fairly low expectation of how things were going to go, maybe not low expectations, just realistic expectations that knowing that the first year was going to be tricky anyway, and probably wouldn't see profitability in that business for three to five years. So we we went into it knowing that it was going to be a business that was supplemented by the other two businesses. So in that case, they gave a little bit of relief. I think it would have been a lot more stressful if that was our primary business, and that we had to close for several weeks. But yeah, just going into it with the expectation that it really is just a very large marketing expense for the construction and design business gave some relief there.

Michele  05:39

Awesome. Okay, so you're a mom to three children. One, sweet Annie, as we've talked about, has special needs. So there is a need for you to be at home. On occasion, Ryan, as well, I know you guys were balancing your schedules back and forth, so that you could care for your family, and then also run these businesses, COVID hits, we're coaching together in just a couple of months when all that started happening. And I remember when you and I were talking to each other about even working together, potentially, one of the things you said to me was I'm also looking to start a small coaching business on the side to help other women or moms in particular, who need as you mentioned a second ago is to be able to stay at home and bring in an income, you know, maybe for a completely different reason than the one that you had. But nevertheless, it's important, why did they want to be home? And what are the ones? And I remember thinking at that time, okay, that is for businesses, that's a lot. But okay, we can do it. Like if that's what you want to do list. And we spent a few months trying to kind of pull apart some of the pieces and looking at what was working and not working. Or it could be worked differently, primarily on the interior design side, some on the shop that kind of went through a flux, just because of COVID, and then some on the construction side as well, and marrying all of them together. And then you built sweepy coaching and started the launch for that. Have you always wanted to own your own firm Morgan? Has that been something that has always been a dream? Or did it just kind of show up out of need? And then you realize you liked it? How did that first seed get planted?

Morgan Motsinger  07:21

Oh, yeah. So I don't think I ever considered owning a business in my life. We knew when we got married, that I was going to work and but then be a stay at home mom, that was always the plan. And I did that for eight years. And then when Luke, my youngest was six months old, I just felt I didn't, I didn't need to do anything to contribute to our household income, necessarily, we were doing fine. But I felt the need for myself to have something to do that was outside of my house and outside of myself and outside of my comfort zone. And so that was the primary push for me to do something was just like, I need a creative outlet. And I think I'm just going to try this, let's just kind of like, I'll just make this a little hobby side business. And maybe I'll have a couple of projects a year, and it's just going to be very relaxed, and but not realizing like that is not my personality, my personality is like sweet, let's do all the things and like, make it as like professional as possible from the outset. And I went into it with just an open mind of like, I don't know what I'm doing. And so I'm just gonna learn as much as I possibly can from any place I can get my hands on, and anybody who's willing to teach me anything about interior design and about running a business. And little did I know that the design piece of it was gonna be maybe 10% of the job. And people will tell me, people will say like, oh, man, your job must be so fun. You probably just you just shop for people all the time. And I'm like, Yeah, not really like that's about, you know, maybe 10 to 15% of it. And the rest of it is really just running the business and running the backend of it. And thankfully, I really, really, really enjoy that part of it. And the thing that was surprising to me too, was how much like joy and confidence and sureness about my own abilities came with the building of the business like and it wasn't based on like, Oh, yeah, I know what I'm doing. It was really based on Wow, I found out that I can figure these things out. And I know where to look to learn these things. And I found that extremely empowering and very true to myself as a serial learner. And I am really invested in my own personal growth. And that became a way for me also to just grow as a person and expand my awareness of what's out there and what's possible and learning is really exciting. And it's, it's scary to say I don't know how to do this, but that has been one of the biggest thrills of this whole thing. Okay, so I have

Michele  09:58

Okay, so I have to ask you this because I am genuinely curious. We talk about imposter syndrome. We hear about it all the time. You're going out here going, I don't know anything about all of this, but or I know small amounts I'm gonna go, who can teach me? So you already went in knowing that you had a lack of understanding education. And sometimes you didn't even know what you didn't even know.

Morgan Motsinger  10:24

Right? Yeah. Okay. Yep.

Michele  10:26

Did you ever feel like you had imposter syndrome? Or did you feel like whatever, I'll figure it out, because now I've been empowered by learning. So sure, I'll just learn the next thing. Sure, I'll just keep learning.

Morgan Motsinger  10:36

I think that's been a muscle that has built up over time. So in the beginning, it did feel a lot more scary to take risks, and to put myself out there because I felt the weight of the things I didn't know. But now I feel instead of feeling it as a weight, it feels like a possibility of what I am going to be able to learn. And so instead of, you know, I still get those feelings like somebody is gonna, like, figure out that I don't know what I'm doing. But instead of feeling like that's, like, I want to shrink away from that I, I accept that as a friend, because that means like, growth is in front of me.

Michele  11:15

It reminds me of the book by I think, is Carol Dweck, where she talks about growth mindset, versus a fixed mindset in the people that succeed are the ones that look at things as an abundance, like learning more, and the ability to grow, and they recognize that where you are right now is not where you're going to be. So they don't think that like you've hit a certain age and you've learned all you can learn it every day is a learning opportunity. And, you know, How big can my horizons grow? And what can't what is available? What can I do? So they're constantly out there looking to be stretched and pulled, versus those that show up with more of a fixed mindset. And that is the mindset that says, I'm as smart as I'm ever going to be. I know what I'm going to know it's really going to get any better. For me, it's really much more of a scarcity complex than an abundance complex. And to really think about that for you, but you know what, there's something about you that might shock people because you like to push boundaries. You like to work outside of your comfort zone. What is one of the things you love to do all by yourself? 

Morgan Motsinger  12:25

I love to ride my motorcycle.

Michele  12:28

Ride your motorcycle, you love to get on that motorcycle, go on down the Oregon coast, by yourself do like I am just like astounded that I think is amazing. 

Morgan Motsinger  12:38

Oh, thank you. Well, it was absolutely terrifying. When I went to that course, I had never been on a motorcycle before. And I was well that's not true. I when I was in college, I got on a little. I mean, it was like maybe a three foot.

Michele  12:53

Little like a moped?

Morgan Motsinger  12:54

Well, it was like a really tiny one. My knees were up by the handlebars. And I was going down a little dirt road and nobody was around me, thankfully. And I tried to make a turn and the turn radius wasn't as sharp as I thought it was. And I drove it right down into a ditch. So that was my first experience with a motorcycle. So when I went to this class, I was extremely intimidated. But the woman who was teaching the class.

Michele  13:20

Oh, nice. Yeah,

Morgan Motsinger  13:20

I'm so glad it was her because she shared that she was never interested in motorcycles. She was scared of them. And then she started dating this guy that was really into motorcycles. So she took the course and I think it was 15 years later, she was probably in her, I don't know, mid 50s. But she said 15 years later, she and he teach courses all over the state. And they write all the time, and she absolutely loves it. And so that was it was good for me to hear to that, you know, just because it's scary right now, doesn't mean that it's going to be scary in a little while. And they're still

Michele  13:54

okay, I say that again, say that's

Morgan Motsinger  13:56

Just because it's scary right now, doesn't mean that it's not going to be scary in a little while or that it's going to be less scary and a little while. I love the idea of there's nothing from our past self that we that will push us towards the future. But if we can make decisions based off of what our future self would tell us, I think we would move forward with a lot more boldness and confidence. I would agree with that.

Michele  14:25

Our past selves usually going to hold us back out of fear. It'll say you've never done this before or done this before. Or it's gonna say, based on experience, this might not work out so well. You know, what is it that there's a quote, I'll have to look up who it is and see if I can find it for the show notes. But it pretty much says, make your goals or dreams as big as you want them to because in 50 years, they're still not going to be big enough. They're still going to seem small, which I think is very similar to what you're saying. What would our future self tell us today? Not what does our past self tell us today?

Morgan Motsinger  14:56

Yeah. And what would our future self thank us for today? What decisions? You know, even in regards to self care and our health and eating well and working out, like what would our future self say? Like, thank you for getting up and doing that workout? Because I'm stronger today because of what you did. 

Michele  15:12

Right? Yeah, that's it, that is a really cool way to look at it. And it also helps us get past that imposter syndrome. Right now, I'm not saying to put ourselves in some crazy awkward position where we're going to let let down the homeowner or where we know what's going to fail. That's not what we're saying. But we're saying, when you work in a custom business, like all of us work in, if we know, every single thing on every single project, we're probably bored out of our minds. Like, let's be honest, I don't want to be bored every day, I look for something else in something else. And the other day, I was looking at, I'm working on some company valuations. And I looked at a company valuation, and I saw something that I hadn't seen before. And I was like, Okay, now that is cool. Now, I want to go back and look at this and do that. And I mean, I know, most people would think I was total nerd when I even said that. But again, it's just finding little things that you can capture. And you think I want to know more about that. Or I'm, I'm excited about that. And just the ability to see outside of all those things. What was it that made you want to choose a motorcycle to start working that muscle? 

Morgan Motsinger  16:22

Oh, I don't know. I like the sound of an engine. I didn't grow up in a household that we had that my my younger brother rides motorcycles. So I think that was probably some of it, too. That was like, Oh, yeah, okay, I know somebody else who I could ask questions, if you know if I had any wonderings about it. Yeah, I'm not sure. I think it was just then the unknown and the challenge of it and the excitement around it. And I also, you know, I kind of like that there's, it's, it's a little bit like gender stereotypical to be a dude thing. And I'm like, I can do that.

Michele  16:59

But what your husband doesn't ride does he?

Morgan Motsinger  17:00

Not yet. He said that he'll get his endorsement. And we'll, we'll do some rights together at some point. But the thing that I was surprised about that I really like is how meditative it is. Because it requires so much attention and concentration. When I'm on it, it turns the rest of my mind off in a way that not a lot of other things do because I am always thinking about the next thing and how to improve something and learning. It's, you know, it's always churning in my mind and the motorcycle writing that really helps to just turn that off.

Michele  17:34

I was talking I can't remember if you and I were the ones that had this conversation or not. But I remember having the conversation. One of the books we had to read in AP English all the way back in my high school days was Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintenance. And it was this man that was going around the country. I guess he went on some long ride with his son on the motorcycle. But it was one of the things that it always made me think about was, you know, when we're in a car, or we're in an automobile, a closed automobile, and we're driving, we're really not part of the action. We're being carried along as the action and movement, right. But when you're on that motorcycle, you are in it, like you feel the wind you I told my mother the other day when I was a young girl, I went riding on a moped with my cousin. And while I spent the night and went all over town, my mother was mortified. She's like, I would have never let you do that. I said and that's why at 53 did not tell her that. But I remember I got sunburned because we were young. I mean, I was Middle School, right? We didn't even think about putting on sunscreen, we had on shorts and tank tops, no helmets, on a moped riding around like on the streets driving up and downtown. I mean, it was I, I can't believe that I did it. But I never told her because I think I knew enough not to know, I probably shouldn't. But you know, when you're out like that bugs, everything, you are a part of the whole thing. So you do have to shut off those other pieces, so that you can be in it in that moment. And I know that's one of the other things that's really important to you and all that you do is trying to be very present in the moments of your life.

Morgan Motsinger  19:17

Yeah, yeah, definitely time is our only non renewable resource. And so how we spend it is really important. And, you know, I'm just as guilty as anyone at not paying attention to where I'm spending that. But our situation with Annie definitely lends a perspective that is forefront in our minds, more so than a lot of other people. That makes us pay attention to how we're spending our time and how and who you're spending it with. 

Michele  19:47

Exactly. So let's talk about some of that for a minute because I think you and I found that to be part of your why. Right part of that that driving force behind you. Two things I want to talk about without one is how it led you to also want to do Beach Box so that you can have those experiences. But before we get to that, so don't don't let me forget, we're gonna talk about that. But let's talk about your passions. Because one of the things that I really want to highlight on this podcast is the fact that you are a serial entrepreneur. I mean, anybody who has five businesses going right now is a serial entrepreneur and you just start. And I don't, I don't think you record I do not believe you recognize that about yourself when we started working together. And it kind of came out through coaching. And I think you felt kind of bad about it. Like I'm starting the next thing, I've got this desire to start the next thing, and we sat back and fix this next was a good book for you as well, where we're talking about you, you mentioned it even in the pre show, the business hierarchy of needs, and really making sure that we're working in your passion, as we always say, we want to build a business that you love, and that you're passionate about. We can work in corporate for people that we hate doing the job that we hate, but that would be awfully stupid to go create a business that we detest, like it just doesn't make any sense. So every one of these businesses that you have either helped build are or are continuing to build. You have a passion about there's a drive, there is something pushing you to bring that into existence. And I think all of them in some way or experienced bass.

Morgan Motsinger  21:33

Yeah, yeah.

Michele  21:34

When did you realize that that experience piece was so important to you? Was it after Annie's diagnosis? Or is that always been something that if you even look further back has been a driving factor for you?

Morgan Motsinger  21:47

Oh, that's a good question. I think it must be in my DNA. But the the really important and pivotal change that came with getting Annie's diagnosis was the awareness of fear, and how limiting that feeling was. So when Annie was three and a half when we got her diagnosis, and she was going to preschool, and was getting, you know, some speech therapy services there. And I, this, you know, this was like, maybe a week or two, after we got her diagnosis, I picked her up from school. And she was watching all of her little friends get on the bus. And she just started crying, and she just wanted to get on that bus so badly. She wanted to ride it. And we, I think we lived five blocks from the school. So it wasn't like, it didn't make a lot of logical sense for her. For her, yeah. And for me, I also was like, I can't put my three year old on this bus, like, it was really scary. And I had in that moment, this realization that my fear was withholding a really positive and wonderful experience for her. And so then I called the school and got her scheduled to ride the bus to school, and she was so happy. And she would sit in our front room watching for the bus and would just be so happy and joyful when that bus pulled up. And she loved Gwen's bus, who, you know, the woman who drove the bus for her for a year, she loved seeing her and she it was safe for her, you know, that wasn't the issue is really just my own self going, what if and thinking about all the terrible things that could happen and my baby, you know, and so I think having that experience of seeing that as the fear was being the barrier between where I was and what the positive experience could be, that has really impacted how I've moved forward and all of our businesses is, you know, I absolutely bumped into fear all the time. And some of the fear is bigger than others, when we signed the lease on our space. That was terrifying. Because of the unknowns and the what ifs and the Am I gonna be able to do this. But I think like I mentioned before, like, anytime I bump into fear, I just cannot allow that to be the thing that stops me anymore. And that has opened up a whole world of possibility. When I haven't allowed that to restrain me. And there's there's other things I need to take into consideration obviously, like, just because I'm scared of something doesn't mean Oh, I should go do it then. But it has definitely been a catalyst for me to think about what's possible, and the reasons why I'm not going to do something and if those are good enough reasons are not you know,

Michele  24:31

I, I had an a somewhat similar experience to that I was raised in a home where you I mean, you know, entrepreneurship, I'm in my 50s it was not a big thing, not saying we didn't have mom and pop shops, but it certainly wasn't. There were no side hustles there wasn't as much cottage industries, we just didn't have the same kind of dynamics. And I also was just raised in a home where you didn't kind of follow the rules. Everything was just going. Follow the rules. Whatever the rules, whoever made them up, I mean, I remember thinking What a stupid rule you can't wear white after Labor Day, it's still 95 degrees, I'm wearing white. But when we moved into this house, our kids were little, and they were starting to do things like, I want to try t-ball or can I try basketball, they were in that, you know, they're little boys, they very much are in that I want to try these things. And I remember at the time I was doing a Bible study, and it was talking about how we are as parents impacts how our kids are. And one of the things that it said was, what is the legacy in the heritage in the inheritance that you're giving your children and not just money. In other words, I can't give my children an inheritance of kindness. If I'm hateful, I can't give my children and inheritance of working through a fear if I won't work through my. And one of my things was I had always wanted to play tennis, but that had just not been a thing for me. And I remember signing up in our new subdivision to be on the tennis team. Now all those other women had played and if anybody knows the Atlanta market, ALTA the Atlanta Lawn and Tennis Association is a big whopping deal down here. And I had never been on a tennis team and I go out to join the tennis team in the neighborhood. I didn't know how to buy a racket. I didn't know how to hold the racket. All I knew was and I've said this before, I can get some really cute outfits, I will get a cute skirt. And I might look like a fool. But I'm gonna be the cutest one out there on that court. So that's what I did. I started taking lessons. But what it was in me was, how can I tell my children, it doesn't matter if you're not the best at it. I had always done things where I was the best at it. I had always competed when I could win. Like I knew if I if I thought I don't care about that. Or if I thought I can't win, I just wouldn't compete. Well, I was still removing the opportunity for a great experience in the learning of. And so I forced myself to conquer the fear of looking stupid, that is a big deal to me. I conquered that fear to say I can't tell my children go do it if I won't do it, because now I'm living hypocritically. And that that's a no, that's a deal breaker for me. And so we ended up winning and our whole division for the whole city. I came in at the very bottom. And what really mattered to me more than anything, I hired separate coaches, like I had to go all in because I was way behind. But it was putting forth that effort because it was something that I wanted to do, I wanted to try it was I was going to be great at it. I knew I was never going to be like, you know, high end of it. I just wanted to try it. And that changed the way I saw a lot of things, especially raising boys coming from a household of girls. It changed the way that I let them approach. Sure you can try that. Sure, you can give that a try. I was probably still more of the careful, cautious one between my husband and I naturally. But it changed to me. And I think that I still go back to that when I think about building a business. I push through that fear and it was okay. If I looked a little stupid, it was okay, if I got it wrong. It was okay. If I didn't understand all the rules. I still survived it. And we still did. Okay. So how can I now pick that up and apply that over here? And I think that's a very similar thing for you is picking up an experience in one area and moving it to another. And sometimes we don't even know that we're passionate about something until we try it. 

Morgan Motsinger  28:40

Yeah, that's true. And I think going in with the mentality of like, I may never be the best at this I, but that's okay. In the learning of the thing, it may not even matter what the thing is, but you know, you're creating new neural pathways, and you're creating growth and excitement just around learning and curiosity and how important that is, especially as adults to entertain that piece of our childhood that just wonders like, what or why it works like that. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And and to approach the what if with, like, curiosity instead of dread terror?

Michele  29:17

Yeah, yeah. No, I love that. I love that. And that. That's one that that has been one of my favorite things about our time together over the last year in meeting was seeing your curiosity and your openness to direction, right? Because not only did you have it, you would come to our coaching sessions and say, here's what I want to do. But I don't really know how, or here's the next challenge. And we would kind of work through those. One of the things we talked about, again, was building businesses that we love and feeding these passions. And one of your passions is to create business, you love the process of creating business, right, that kind of that, that that groundwork that we would use that framework we would use to build the business that brings you joy. And so after doing it five times now, right, you can start to see those pieces. But I remember you feeling a little like, maybe that was a bad thing.

Morgan Motsinger  30:13

Yeah. And the guilt came from what I thought was not following through with it. So that I considered like I better do it all the way or it's a failure, or I'm, you know, I'm a quitter. And I don't think I'll ever forget that coaching call that we did when we talked about my results from the strengthsfinder quiz and saying no, like, that's not everybody has that. That ability to think forward and to think about the possibilities and the growth mindset. Not everybody has that. And so I need to figure out a way to not just like, celebrate and support that, but then shore up, what's going to come after Where is my strength, like tenacity is definitely not my strength. That's 100%, one of my weaknesses, which makes sense when I get tired when it's the day to day and the the continuing structure building of that. But I really get excited about the on the front end of a business, for sure.

Michele  31:15

And so what was so cool was not trying to tell you, we need to diminish your passion, we need to cut down on your strengths. Instead, it was how do we take your strengths and support them? And then what do we need to put in place to support the businesses that you're creating. And that was when we talked about creating implementer positions, like the management positions, if you go all the way back to EMA, you've got the entrepreneur and then you have the manager and then had the technician, we we looked at every one of your businesses and asked ourselves, where does Morgan fit in? Is she the technician here? Is she the manager here? Is she you know, the visionary and weird she needs to be the visionary and where she needs to be the technician so that we knew where to start pulling you if you will, out of your business. And then we also looked at it and might have fixed this next. And you know, for those that are maybe new to this fix this next is by Mike Michalowicz, and I'm Fix this Next advisor. But one of the things we looked at was that impact and legacy which is at the top of that business hierarchy of needs, which is important to you, which means that these businesses are about more than Morgan. They're about more than Ryan, that they have a brand and that they mean something and that they have a legacy that carries on beyond you. And so with that in mind, we needed to make sure that they could be sustained without you doing every job in that company, and in every one of the five companies because you were being spread way too thin. And since then, so what are some of the things that you've done? After that revelation, I remember that being like a huge AH HA, for us to start really slotting the pieces and seeing the strengths of what you were bringing to the table, and then being able to acknowledge them and to support them. What what are some of the things that you have put into place across the five companies that have allowed you to have that freedom to really spend some time building again?

Morgan Motsinger  33:14

Yeah, so one of them was to go ahead and just put suivi coaching on hold. So I, I already have a couple of women that has still reached out to me to you know, just have some conversations with them. And I love doing that. But as far as having that be a business that's being built right now I just I don't have the bandwidth for it. And that is okay, so I put that on hold for this year. And then for the other businesses, it's really been about hiring the proper teammates that have skills that I do not have that excite them. And that can be can shore up our systems. And, you know, it's, it's kind of daunting on the front end to bring other people into a business that that hasn't had those. They it's like the structures there, but it's not written down. So it's been challenging to pull somebody in there to help start to document those processes and but it's it's really been imperative to the goals that we have as a company and the goals that we have for our family, to have people in place that can help us get to those goals realistically. Because before it was like us being like, well, we really want to do this and this and this, but having no clue how to get there. And always feeling kind of defeated that year after year, we hadn't made any progress toward those goals. And that is fine, actually, that that's because that's how we're wired. But what I was missing was that there's somebody instead of me trying to figure out how to do that there are other people that have that as their business and also have that as their skill set and their personalities to build those things and help us see how We can reach those goals.

Michele  35:01

I think one of the most important things when we do the strengthsfinder. And I have, I think I actually have mentioned it when I did the 34 Strong podcast with Darren Virasammy. And I'll link to that in the show notes. But one of my big ah ha moments when I did Strengthsfinder, the first time I did it, I only did my top five strengths. And so as I've shared multiple times, I know mine are Maximizer, achiever strategy, relator, and self assurance. I met Darren at a Profit First conference that I went to, and he gave a speech and he and I were chatting. And he said to me, he's like, Michele, you need to open up the entire 34. And I'm like what do you mean? He said, Michele, go back. He said, you're the owner of the firm, right? Yes. Can we you to go back and open the 34. He said, your last five are your blind spots. And I was like, Huh, he said, in other words, we all have all 34 strengths, but we have them in different measures. And so your top five and 10 are the ones that we fall back on. Because that's kind of what we know. That's the skills that we've honed, that's the, you know, as you would say, our DNA, it's that, but the bottom five, are the ones that we have to be aware of, because they'll get us in trouble. They'll catch us even if you're corporate, those bottom five, one of my bottom five, won't be a shocker to my family is empathy. And I shared it on that podcast. Well, it doesn't mean I cannot be empathetic. But what it means is my top strength is not to be empathetic. Which if you think about it from my job as a coach is a good thing. Because if I took on the true meaning of empathy as a strength, if I took on everybody else's stuff, as if it were me, I would be crushed after one day of coaching, like it's too much, right. So what I've done is I have made sure that I've built in ways to make sure that I'm being empathetic, because I'm aware that sometimes I can be more results driven because of my Maximizer and Achiever and not as driven to step back and be empathetic, thankfully, time and maturity helps with that. But just having that awareness. Another of my bottom strengths is the one that says like, I can't remember what the term but it pretty much means I'm not as flexible. And I don't do just random spontaneity. I plan to be spontaneous. Well, you can see how that fits in with Maximizer and Achiever, we got to plan we got to organize, we got to get it done. I have to tell my brain kind of like you said, on the motorcycle, it's okay to be free right now. Yeah, right. But if I can do that, and if I know just don't sit over x, don't over expect something, just be relaxed, I can absolutely be relaxed. But if I natural strengths, my strengths is to solve it, get it done, check it off and move on. And so if you haven't done the full 34, go back in and then lock it if you've already paid for the first five or whatever, you can log back in under that one and just say open up the rest. And it'll show it to you, then that also tells you who to hire for.

Morgan Motsinger  38:26

Yes,

Michele  38:28

So if those bottom five strenghts as the owner is what shows that if tenacity is the one that shows up for you, then you say, Okay, what role in my firm needs that tenacious person, and then you're trying to find somebody with that is their strength, that is something that they do. So I have found that to be super helpful for me and for some other companies that I've worked with, especially those that have larger teams, is really figuring out because otherwise we feel guilty, but you can't have every strength, we can't. So that's where we start to see how we can lean on the strengths that other people can bring to, to the table for us.

Morgan Motsinger  39:06

I love that idea too, about, you know, hire hiring for those. It's not so much about hiring for the position as it is hiring for the skill set. I can see how even just knowing what the bottom five are is gonna direct interview questions and job descriptions. And, you know, maybe it's for in a design company, maybe it's not even that you need to hire a designer that maybe doesn't even need to be your first hire, maybe it needs to be an office manager because of you know where you're at or how to outsource those things. And I think you made a really important point that there's no room for shame or guilt in those the weakest strengths that we have that I think all of us have an idea of what we should be like, and that when our strengths don't align with those things, then We can feel really badly about that. But what I'm discovering is that that is a really, we're like that for a reason. And that we can structure our businesses and our lives around those strengths and how important it is to lean into those instead of trying to, like, make the weaknesses stronger, if that makes sense. And, and, you know, not to totally neglected, like, like you said, When, with with maturity, and time that you know how to flex those muscles and be more aware of those things. But that we can say, what, what we want to be like, and what's important to us and see how our strengths fit into that.

Michele  40:41

Yeah, I know, one of the conversations that Darren and I had one of my top five strengths is self assured. And it is the lowest, it is number 34 among all people. So what that does, right, is I remember, when I know that I know something, I know it like I am sure I know it. I've looked it up, I've read it. I know it, I don't second guess myself, I don't question myself. And so when I watched other people always questioning themselves, or they could never make a decision. Or, you know, they couldn't understand how I could just say something and know it or believe it. At first I thought there's something wrong with you. And then I thought there was something wrong with me. Because I didn't recognize what that was. And so after Strengthsfinder, I remember thinking, Oh, okay, that's why I feel self assured because it's just a strength. And I don't do all that self talk that I do a fair share. It's just not about that, right? It's about other things, mine's more about being more empathetic or be kinder or whatever. But it's not about not being sure. And so what it did was it helped me then understand that other people had other strengths, and that I needed to acknowledge their strengths. And my own right one strengths not more important than another, they're just different. But it also helped me relax, and that I'm not being cocky. And I'm not being difficult. I am just leaning on my own strength. Now I've got to learn how to communicate that strength, that's the difference, right? How to communicate the strengths. But I've had so many clients that have taken Strengthsfinder, Morgan, and then they have come back and been like, I thought something was wrong with me. And now I'm seeing that it's the way that I've been created. And I'm blessed that I exist. Now I'm gonna leave, like you said, we're gonna lean into that, instead of shying away from it. But we also now know how to mold it. Like, I am not the same communicator in my 50s that I was in my 20s. Because I have learned over time, I still have work to do not certainly not perfected. But I have learned how to say things in a way that other people can receive it, maybe not as direct as my achiever, Maximize,r self assurance self would say it, somebody else that's maybe has different strengths. And those are all their weaknesses, they would take that as me being aggressive. So I've learned how to read the room, to know how to get on the same team with others and to be able to share that you are in the process of learning how to take that strength and maximize it and not feel guilty that you don't have one of the other strengths. Instead, collaborate with that person and bring them in. I'm working with some people right now who say I never want to own a company. But I sure love working for yours. Right? There are people that want to do that. And there are people that want to own it. There are people that want to work with it is finding that that's what pushes you further up. And you've found some of those people for your different teams.

Morgan Motsinger  43:52

Yes, yeah.

Michele  43:53

So let me ask you, as we are preparing to wrap up, let me ask you this. How are you? So we've talked about I'm going to an air quotes here. Talk about the profitability, building businesses with your passion. We've talked about the profitability, of understanding your strengths and putting those to good use instead of feeling like you're less than or not doing what you should do. We've talked about just the profitability of new experiences of trying new things. What are you doing to put your businesses in a position of being financially profitable?

Morgan Motsinger  44:28

Yeah. So the biggest help to us has been hiring people that are financially minded. So this wonderful woman named Michele, who owns her own coaching business has given me so much insight into how to interpret the numbers and I know that I've shared this with you quite a bit is that numbers are a foreign language to me, they always have been and so I have kind of let myself off the hook in a not so positive way from Paying attention to those things because I'm like, Oh, that's not like I don't get it, and have decided that I can learn those things. And that it's good for me to learn those things. And that it's important and empowering to be able to look at my numbers and see what that means for the health of our company. And it's exciting now to have goals and to have some understanding how to work towards them, and which levers to pull to change our business. And this skill set definitely translates across any industry. Because a profit and loss statement you're gonna find in any company, regardless of what the industry is. And so having that that muscle be strengthened through our time together is invaluable across all of our businesses. And for us personally, as well.

Michele  45:53

That's awesome. So Morgan if people wanted to follow your new beach boxes, or say they're going to the Oregon coast, and they're going after May, and they're going during the summer, and you're gonna be hanging out, tell them where they can find you on the website, and then tell them where they can find a Lot 35 Homes.

Morgan Motsinger  46:10

Yeah, so Beach Box, you can find us at OregonBeachBox.com or on Instagram @OregonBeachBox. And then for a Lot 35 Homes kind of the same. We're more robust on Facebook with Lot 35 Homes on Instagram, but both both places, it's just a Lot 35 Homes and then our website Lot35Homes.com, just gonna keep saying Lot 35.

Michele  46:33

Well, I'm gonna have all of that in the show notes so everybody can find you. And I just really appreciate you coming in and sharing giving us a glimpse into what it's like to be in the brain and the heart of the serial entrepreneur. And I you you really made me think when you said what will the Michele of tomorrow think the Michele of today for doing? And I think that that's a big eye opener, so I that. I mean, you gave me a lot of takeaways, even though we've worked together for a year and spoken you know, constantly throughout that, that that's something that I think is going to be a huge takeaway from me today. So thank you for stating it in such a clear manner and give me something to think about. You're welcome.

Morgan Motsinger  47:18

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It was a real pleasure to talk with you.

Michele  47:21

You're welcome.

Morgan Motsinger  47:21

You have a great day. Thanks, Michele.

Michele  47:28

Profit is a Choice is proud to be part of the Designnetwork.org where you can discover more design media reaching creative listeners. Thanks for listening, and stay creative and business minded.

Michele  49:52

Thanks, Morgan for joining me on the podcast today. I am still thinking about a couple of things you said especially About what would the future me be thankful that the me of today had done? And what experience is fear keeping me from enjoying? I just really appreciate you posing these questions for us to reflect upon. As mentioned some of the discoveries of Morgan as a person in business owner, am I gonna say that again, start back over here. Danny, as mentioned, some of the discoveries about Morgan, as a person and business owner happened in our coaching relationship. I don't simply coach financials, but we look at you as an individual, a family member and a business owner. Because when we were to be fully whole, and fully integrated in our life, it's all of us as one that shows up every day. If you want to do this deep work with someone who understands the needs of the business and have you as a person, sign up for a discovery call on my website, ScarletThreadConsulting.com. I would love to help you be profitable in all aspects of your life, not just the finances. And as we all know, if you listen often, that profit doesn't happen by accident.