It’s All About Relationships - Greg Cuoco - Leadership in Action- Episode #60

Reflecting On A Year Of Presidency - Lisa Vitale - Leadership in Action- Episode #61

Joining us this week on Leadership In Action is a marketing maven with over 20 years of strategy experience. She has been an EO member for 10 years, and is the outgoing president of EO Boston. Welcome to the show, President of SimplyDirect, Lisa Vitale! Lisa sits down with host Mark Stiles to share her experiences as chapter president and the ways EO has helped her. Lisa dives into the importance of setting business boundaries, the nuances of running a business with your spouse, and the misconceptions of business ownership. 

Takeaways:

• As an entrepreneur, it’s important to talk to others about the problems you are facing. However, if you’re only talking to your spouse, it can become very insular. Groups like EO provide entrepreneurs with a chance to learn from the experience of others. 
• When your spouse is also a business partner, it’s crucial to establish business boundaries. You need to allow creativity and collaboration while at the same time preventing yourselves from stepping on each other's toes. 
• As the president of EO, you gain some additional experiences and skills. For Lisa, it meant growing as a leader, learning how to run a non profit organization, and discovering how to coach other presidents and leaders. 
• EO provides a network of information, and creates a space where it is ok to ask tough questions. Forums, meetings, and presentations offer excellent opportunities to talk about the concerns you are facing in your business. 
• From the outside, running a business looks easy, as if all the pieces will automatically fall into place. In reality, as a business owner, you are responsible for figuring out all of the operations aspects of the business. 
• Networks like EO offer a valuable resource for referrals. If for example you need accounting services, you can ask for referrals from other EO members in your industry. This provides you with quality help that understands the nuances of your industry.

Links: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimplyDIRECT_Co 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-vitale-a820b53/ 
• Website: https://simplydirect.com/ 
• Email: [email protected]

Quote of the Show

• “I needed to talk to other entrepreneurs because being an entrepreneur can be pretty lonely.” - Lisa Vitale

Shout Outs:

• Jeff Plakans: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffplakans/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
• Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
• Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
• Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action

It’s All About Relationships - Greg Cuoco - Leadership in Action- Episode #60

Sharing his journey on this week’s episode of Leadership In Action is a local entrepreneur who takes pride in a job well done. With a knack for entrepreneurship, he started his first landscaping company in his early teens. Welcome to the show, Chief Executive Officer at The Difference Landscapes, Greg Cuoco! Host Mark Stiles interviews Greg to learn about how he got started as an entrepreneur, the importance of transparency with employees, and what the future of the landscaping industry holds. 

Takeaways:

• For Greg, starting a business meant the freedom to control the direction and growth in a way that he wanted to. When Greg was looking to make a switch, his background in landscaping made owning a landscaping company a promising venture. 
• Buying a company has advantages, but finding the right company is a full time job. To successfully find one to buy, you need to build strong relationships with business owners, so when it comes time to sell, you’re the first person on their mind. 
• Landscaping offers many benefits for potential business owners. With a contract based clientele, you build up a steady stream of recurring revenue. Landscaping is also recession resistant, as most residential clients will continue paying for services. 
• When starting or buying a business, it’s important to play to your strengths. If you’re great at sales, you want a team that can excel operationally. Establish a role that lets you utilize your skills, and enable your team to fill in your weak areas. 
• To build a strong roster of employees, you need to focus on building relationships and being transparent. Don’t sell dreams. It won’t take an employee long to realize it was a false bill of goods, and to start looking elsewhere for employment. 
• When looking for an industry to purchase a business in, trades based industries are rife with opportunities. There are many owners who are looking to retire, but few of their kids want to take over. Because of this dynamic, there are many trades businesses available. 
• AI is revolutionizing businesses, and landscaping is no exception. For landscaping, AI could calculate a quote, and send a potential customer a personalized outreach at the click of a button. 

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorycuoco/ 
• Website: https://thedifferencelandscapes.com/ 

Quote of the Show

• “Ultimately what it comes down to is relationships.” - Greg Cuoco

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
• Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
• Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
• Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
• YouTube - https://youtu.be/MK-sbxwxlX8

Transcript:

Mark: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership In Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization local podcast. I am really excited today to talk about some forward thinking trades, especially the landscaping trade and where that is going in the future. Today's guest is a local entrepreneur. Who takes pride in a job well done.

He started his first landscaping company in his early teens. He's a leadership legend who knows how to motivate teams and drive effective results. He's the Chief Executive Officer at The Difference Landscapes. Please welcome Greg Cuoco. Welcome to the show. Greg.

Greg: Thank you. Appreciate the introduction.

Mark: Let's go right into it. Why did you start your business?

Greg: Yeah, so I've always had the, uh, entrepreneurial bl bug in me ever since I was a kid. Um, always looking for ways to, um, make money. Um, I started my first landscaping company just in my neighborhood. One of my, um, neighbors actually approached me. Uh, they needed some landscaping, uh, and some snow shoveling done.

So, uh, it just started from there. I did a great job. Word of mouth, got out, ended up doing my whole neighborhood. Uh, then I went to college and, you know, was on the track to go, you know, corporate. I was in corporate for a while, but, I was never a yes man. Um, I never kind of just went with the flow. I've, I've always wanted to have more.

Um, and I always was trying to, uh, strive for the best and make everything, um, The best it possibly could, and definitely ruffled some feathers with some of my input, uh, at some of those, uh, meetings that, that, that were done. And, you know, I just wasn't succeeding in the corporate life and I was, I was always kinda knocking my head against the wall of why it wasn't working out.

Um, and I actually got fired from every single job that I've had, uh, in corporate. And I kinda went back to the drawing board and figured out, you know, I don't think this is right for me. Um, and I didn't want to have, uh, something else in control of my destiny and my growth. And so I ended up looking for, um, a business to start and I said, Hey, you know what worked for the past of me?

And it was, it was landscaping. And so I was, you know, going around. I just, I would just talk to entrepreneurs and. Basically asked him what was the best way to go about this. And I ended up running into a family friend. He owns several bars in Boston. Um, and cuz that was another thing I wanted to do too, is potentially to open up a, a, a bar as well.

So like, talking to him and he was telling me, Hey, why, why would you wanna start something? Why don't you buy something? And a light bulb really went off in my head, you know, because the. Hardest thing is, is the time it takes to build something up. And a lot of people, they're, you know, a 10 night, a 10 year overnight success.

Uh, and, and it takes a lot of time to build that. And so that's the one thing, you know, we all have, is a limited amount of time. So I actually end up looking at buying a company. And so I just networked like crazy cuz a lot of these businesses aren't advertised for sale because they're scared they're gonna lose their customers, they're gonna lose their employees.

So it's all, you know, hard knock, knocking on doors. Um, cold calling, networking, uh, old fashioned grip, um, because they're not, a lot of these companies aren't advertised. So I went down that route, uh, ended up finding, um, uh, someone who's looking to get out of the business. Ended up talking to him and, you know, we had a, a connection, um, for, you know, our, our drive and determination and I ended up buying it from him.

And that's, that's been, uh, the story since.

Mark: So there's, there's your, there's your, um, buy process, overnight success. Tell us about the journey there. How many different. Companies that you talked to, how did you approach them and how did you find your way to this person willing to sell?

Greg: Yeah, it took me probably about two years to find, find the right company. Uh, I mean, I, buying a company is a full-time job in itself. You really gotta get upriver. There are sites such as bis, buy, sell, that you can go on. Uh, a lot of those deals have already been shopped around before and it's kind of the leftovers that are there.

Um, but what I did is I actually would cold call business brokers. Um, I would call, um, investment bankers and just I had my pitch of, Hey, you know, my name is Greg. Um, you know, I'm an entrepreneur. I've started other, uh, various businesses before. I had a, a background in software sales. Um, so I just would hit the phones.

I would go to networking events. I would go to business broker events and just try to establish myself and create those, um, relationships. Cause ultimately what it comes down to is relationships. Getting to know people so that when an opportunity comes across their desks, that you're the first one in mind when something comes across their desk.

So, um, that's what I did as I just reached out. I called everyone that I could. And then eventually, you know, I got approached with, Hey, I think I have the perfect, perfect deal for you. You should really check this out and lo

It’s All About Relationships - Greg Cuoco - Leadership in Action- Episode #60

Sharing his journey on this week’s episode of Leadership In Action is a local entrepreneur who takes pride in a job well done. With a knack for entrepreneurship, he started his first landscaping company in his early teens. Welcome to the show, Chief Executive Officer at The Difference Landscapes, Greg Cuoco! Host Mark Stiles interviews Greg to learn about how he got started as an entrepreneur, the importance of transparency with employees, and what the future of the landscaping industry holds. 

Takeaways:

• For Greg, starting a business meant the freedom to control the direction and growth in a way that he wanted to. When Greg was looking to make a switch, his background in landscaping made owning a landscaping company a promising venture. 
• Buying a company has advantages, but finding the right company is a full time job. To successfully find one to buy, you need to build strong relationships with business owners, so when it comes time to sell, you’re the first person on their mind. 
• Landscaping offers many benefits for potential business owners. With a contract based clientele, you build up a steady stream of recurring revenue. Landscaping is also recession resistant, as most residential clients will continue paying for services. 
• When starting or buying a business, it’s important to play to your strengths. If you’re great at sales, you want a team that can excel operationally. Establish a role that lets you utilize your skills, and enable your team to fill in your weak areas. 
• To build a strong roster of employees, you need to focus on building relationships and being transparent. Don’t sell dreams. It won’t take an employee long to realize it was a false bill of goods, and to start looking elsewhere for employment. 
• When looking for an industry to purchase a business in, trades based industries are rife with opportunities. There are many owners who are looking to retire, but few of their kids want to take over. Because of this dynamic, there are many trades businesses available. 
• AI is revolutionizing businesses, and landscaping is no exception. For landscaping, AI could calculate a quote, and send a potential customer a personalized outreach at the click of a button. 

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorycuoco/ 
• Website: https://thedifferencelandscapes.com/ 

Quote of the Show

• “Ultimately what it comes down to is relationships.” - Greg Cuoco

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
• Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
• Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
• Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
• YouTube - https://youtu.be/MK-sbxwxlX8

Transcript:

Mark: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership In Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization local podcast. I am really excited today to talk about some forward thinking trades, especially the landscaping trade and where that is going in the future. Today's guest is a local entrepreneur. Who takes pride in a job well done.

He started his first landscaping company in his early teens. He's a leadership legend who knows how to motivate teams and drive effective results. He's the Chief Executive Officer at The Difference Landscapes. Please welcome Greg Cuoco. Welcome to the show. Greg.

Greg: Thank you. Appreciate the introduction.

Mark: Let's go right into it. Why did you start your business?

Greg: Yeah, so I've always had the, uh, entrepreneurial bl bug in me ever since I was a kid. Um, always looking for ways to, um, make money. Um, I started my first landscaping company just in my neighborhood. One of my, um, neighbors actually approached me. Uh, they needed some landscaping, uh, and some snow shoveling done.

So, uh, it just started from there. I did a great job. Word of mouth, got out, ended up doing my whole neighborhood. Uh, then I went to college and, you know, was on the track to go, you know, corporate. I was in corporate for a while, but, I was never a yes man. Um, I never kind of just went with the flow. I've, I've always wanted to have more.

Um, and I always was trying to, uh, strive for the best and make everything, um, The best it possibly could, and definitely ruffled some feathers with some of my input, uh, at some of those, uh, meetings that, that, that were done. And, you know, I just wasn't succeeding in the corporate life and I was, I was always kinda knocking my head against the wall of why it wasn't working out.

Um, and I actually got fired from every single job that I've had, uh, in corporate. And I kinda went back to the drawing board and figured out, you know, I don't think this is right for me. Um, and I didn't want to have, uh, something else in control of my destiny and my growth. And so I ended up looking for, um, a business to start and I said, Hey, you know what worked for the past of me?

And it was, it was landscaping. And so I was, you know, going around. I just, I would just talk to entrepreneurs and. Basically asked him what was the best way to go about this. And I ended up running into a family friend. He owns several bars in Boston. Um, and cuz that was another thing I wanted to do too, is potentially to open up a, a, a bar as well.

So like, talking to him and he was telling me, Hey, why, why would you wanna start something? Why don't you buy something? And a light bulb really went off in my head, you know, because the. Hardest thing is, is the time it takes to build something up. And a lot of people, they're, you know, a 10 night, a 10 year overnight success.

Uh, and, and it takes a lot of time to build that. And so that's the one thing, you know, we all have, is a limited amount of time. So I actually end up looking at buying a company. And so I just networked like crazy cuz a lot of these businesses aren't advertised for sale because they're scared they're gonna lose their customers, they're gonna lose their employees.

So it's all, you know, hard knock, knocking on doors. Um, cold calling, networking, uh, old fashioned grip, um, because they're not, a lot of these companies aren't advertised. So I went down that route, uh, ended up finding, um, uh, someone who's looking to get out of the business. Ended up talking to him and, you know, we had a, a connection, um, for, you know, our, our drive and determination and I ended up buying it from him.

And that's, that's been, uh, the story since.

Mark: So there's, there's your, there's your, um, buy process, overnight success. Tell us about the journey there. How many different. Companies that you talked to, how did you approach them and how did you find your way to this person willing to sell?

Greg: Yeah, it took me probably about two years to find, find the right company. Uh, I mean, I, buying a company is a full-time job in itself. You really gotta get upriver. There are sites such as bis, buy, sell, that you can go on. Uh, a lot of those deals have already been shopped around before and it's kind of the leftovers that are there.

Um, but what I did is I actually would cold call business brokers. Um, I would call, um, investment bankers and just I had my pitch of, Hey, you know, my name is Greg. Um, you know, I'm an entrepreneur. I've started other, uh, various businesses before. I had a, a background in software sales. Um, so I just would hit the phones.

I would go to networking events. I would go to business broker events and just try to establish myself and create those, um, relationships. Cause ultimately what it comes down to is relationships. Getting to know people so that when an opportunity comes across their desks, that you're the first one in mind when something comes across their desk.

So, um, that's what I did as I just reached out. I called everyone that I could. And then eventually, you know, I got approached with, Hey, I think I have the perfect, perfect deal for you. You should really check this out and look into it. And that's when I, um, ended up, you know, driving up to, uh, Portsmouth in the Portsmouth area.

Um, ended up meeting with, uh, the seller and it took about. Probably six to eight months to actually close a deal. Um, and it was, uh, uh, intense negotiations back and forth, but uh, we actually ended up, we ended up closing it and

The Value Of Vulnerability - Melissa Clayton - Leadership in Action- Episode #59

Today’s guest on Leadership In Action is an experienced founder with a demonstrated history of working in the luxury goods and jewelry industry. She’s been on Shark Tank, was recently recognized as a Entreprenista 100 award winner, and had her business listed on the INC 5000 list for 2022. Joining us today is CEO and Founder of Tiny Tags, Melissa Clayton! Host Mark Stiles sits down with Melissa to dive deep into the background of who she is, and what motivated her to start Tiny Tags. In this episode we’ll cover why you don’t need to work 100 hours a week, the importance of being vulnerable, and what it takes to get on Shark Tank.

Takeaways:

• To be an entrepreneur, you do not need to work 100 hours a week. While starting a business is hard work, it is important to make sure you are not overworking, and that you still have time for friends, family, and hobbies. 
• Tiny Tags was founded to provide mothers with personalized jewelry. Their lineup features pieces with your children's names, birthdate, and birth time on them. These allow you to keep the things that matter most to you close. 
• If you want to connect with your customers, you need to be vulnerable, regardless of your business. For a brand like Tiny Tags whose business is celebrating motherhood, an inauthentic approach would turn customers away. 
• While Melissa grew up in an entrepreneurial household, her main driver for Tiny Tags were the connections she made with other moms. 
• As an entrepreneur, it’s ok to be protective of your brand. While outside influences or potential investors may want you to pivot or expand services, it’s ok to stay true to where your business currently lies. 
• While keeping prices low to appeal to customers may be your initial strategy, you need to be conscious of the business’ needs as well. Your product may be incredibly affordable, but without enough profit to cover costs, you won't have a successful business.  
• When running a business, you need to factor in how certain business decisions will affect your time. While growing to the next level means more business and better profits, it also means more work and less time at home. 

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-clayton-817b568/ 
• Website: https://tinytags.com/ 
• Website: https://www.thematte.com/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinytags/ 
• Email: [email protected] 

Quote of the Show

• “I'm not trying to be authentic. I'm just being me.” - Melissa 

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
• Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
• Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
• Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
• YouTube - https://youtu.be/WdodKPcCSeA

Transcript:

Mark Stiles: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership In Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization podcast today's. We are very excited to have with us. She is an entrepreneur, inventor, and leader in the luxury goods and jewelry industry. She comes from an accounting background.

She's included on a list of Inc. 5,000 fastest growing companies this year. That's nationwide folks. She was a semi-finalist in the ERs and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018. She is the founder of the, Matt has a patent and because of that was featured on NBC's Today Show and wait for it. Shark Tank in April of 2020.

She's the founder and c e o of Tiny Tags. You've probably heard of it. Meryl Streep wears it. Please welcome Melissa Clayton. Welcome to the show, Melissa. 

Melissa Clayton: Thanks for having me. Happy to be here. 

Mark Stiles: You ready to get right into it? Let's do it. All right. Like every episode, we start with the same question. What is a common misconception about leadership and or being an entrepreneur?

Melissa 

Melissa Clayton: for me, my experience is that the misconception is that you have to work a hundred hours a week being an entrepreneur. And I think for leadership that you can't be vulnerable. I think that has changed a lot. When I think of my days in corporate America, there was definitely like a wall between leadership, it felt, and the team, and I feel like that is no longer the case.

And that's definitely more my. 

style 

Mark Stiles: So on the Instagram where the in influencers are grind, grind, grind, you gotta work a hundred hours a week. You gotta go, go, go. That's not necessarily true all the time. 

Melissa Clayton: For me, and I think that speaks a lot to my value system. I think if you were to do a deep dive into my childhood and my father being an entrepreneur and working insane amount of hours, and I knew that was not the journey that I wanted.

So for me, and like everything, there's a give and take and there's a trade off. And for me that was, I wasn't gonna work a hundred hours of work, work a hundred hours a week because my value, I think, My time is more precious to me than anything else. 

Mark Stiles: I love that. I love that. Tell me, tell me more about vulnerability.

I'm very curious, your thoughts on vulnerability. 

Melissa Clayton: I think, you know, I've heard it's called the New Superpower. Umm a big fan of Brene Brown and. For me being vulnerable, you know, and it's also speaks to the business that I am in. Our whole entire business of Tiny Tags is centered around celebrating children.

Uh, every woman's unique journey of motherhood. And if you are not vulnerable there, you're just not gonna connect with your audience. And so much for tiny tags for me. And I think what has led to our. is my own personal journey. Very much what Tiny Tags is is a lot of my own personal story. And I think what me sharing that has allowed me to connect with our community and they're, you know, the word authentic is thrown around so much.

Um, and I'm authentic without trying to be, I'm not trying to be authentic. I'm just being me. And I think that's, Yeah. So I think that has, um, allowed me to connect with our audience and our community on a much deeper level. 

Mark Stiles: I love it. I'm not trying to be authentic. I am authentic. I'm being authentic. By being authentic.

I'm just being me, . I love it. I love it because it's, it's what people connect with. Tell us about Tiny Tags, because I'm not truly familiar with the concept and the mission and values and all of. 

Melissa Clayton: Sure. I'll give you the quick version cuz I've been around for a while. Um, as, as you said, I used to be a cpa. I was, um, I loved business.

I love accounting. I did not like crunching numbers all day. And I never thought I'd be a stay at-home mom. Never thought I'd quit my job. I grew up with my father. It was like, you don't depend on anyone, you take care of yourself. Um, and then I had our fir first son and I decided to quit my. and kind of always never being someone that sits still.

I wanted, I had my son and I really just was like this new mom beaming with pride and joy and wanting something to celebrate him and let everyone know that I was this new mom. So I had seen some moms wearing necklaces with their kids' names on it, and I was like, I can make those. So this is over 16 years ago.

Um, Google was not what it was, and I basically came up with this. I found a handset, started making them my own, and very organically for like five years I was ma I started making jewelry and there's a backstory I'll tell you later, but, um, so I started doing that. Then we were living on the west coast at the time, we moved back east.

Um, and lucky for me, Rhode Island and um, Southern Massachusetts has huge history of jewelry making and we started to outsource all our jewelry manufacturing and around probably seven years

The Value Of Vulnerability - Melissa Clayton - Leadership in Action- Episode #59

Today’s guest on Leadership In Action is an experienced founder with a demonstrated history of working in the luxury goods and jewelry industry. She’s been on Shark Tank, was recently recognized as a Entreprenista 100 award winner, and had her business listed on the INC 5000 list for 2022. Joining us today is CEO and Founder of Tiny Tags, Melissa Clayton! Host Mark Stiles sits down with Melissa to dive deep into the background of who she is, and what motivated her to start Tiny Tags. In this episode we’ll cover why you don’t need to work 100 hours a week, the importance of being vulnerable, and what it takes to get on Shark Tank.

Takeaways:

• To be an entrepreneur, you do not need to work 100 hours a week. While starting a business is hard work, it is important to make sure you are not overworking, and that you still have time for friends, family, and hobbies. 
• Tiny Tags was founded to provide mothers with personalized jewelry. Their lineup features pieces with your children's names, birthdate, and birth time on them. These allow you to keep the things that matter most to you close. 
• If you want to connect with your customers, you need to be vulnerable, regardless of your business. For a brand like Tiny Tags whose business is celebrating motherhood, an inauthentic approach would turn customers away. 
• While Melissa grew up in an entrepreneurial household, her main driver for Tiny Tags were the connections she made with other moms. 
• As an entrepreneur, it’s ok to be protective of your brand. While outside influences or potential investors may want you to pivot or expand services, it’s ok to stay true to where your business currently lies. 
• While keeping prices low to appeal to customers may be your initial strategy, you need to be conscious of the business’ needs as well. Your product may be incredibly affordable, but without enough profit to cover costs, you won't have a successful business.  
• When running a business, you need to factor in how certain business decisions will affect your time. While growing to the next level means more business and better profits, it also means more work and less time at home. 

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-clayton-817b568/ 
• Website: https://tinytags.com/ 
• Website: https://www.thematte.com/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinytags/ 
• Email: [email protected] 

Quote of the Show

• “I'm not trying to be authentic. I'm just being me.” - Melissa 

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
• Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
• Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
• Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
• YouTube - https://youtu.be/WdodKPcCSeA

Transcript:

Mark Stiles: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership In Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization podcast today's. We are very excited to have with us. She is an entrepreneur, inventor, and leader in the luxury goods and jewelry industry. She comes from an accounting background.

She's included on a list of Inc. 5,000 fastest growing companies this year. That's nationwide folks. She was a semi-finalist in the ERs and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018. She is the founder of the, Matt has a patent and because of that was featured on NBC's Today Show and wait for it. Shark Tank in April of 2020.

She's the founder and c e o of Tiny Tags. You've probably heard of it. Meryl Streep wears it. Please welcome Melissa Clayton. Welcome to the show, Melissa. 

Melissa Clayton: Thanks for having me. Happy to be here. 

Mark Stiles: You ready to get right into it? Let's do it. All right. Like every episode, we start with the same question. What is a common misconception about leadership and or being an entrepreneur?

Melissa 

Melissa Clayton: for me, my experience is that the misconception is that you have to work a hundred hours a week being an entrepreneur. And I think for leadership that you can't be vulnerable. I think that has changed a lot. When I think of my days in corporate America, there was definitely like a wall between leadership, it felt, and the team, and I feel like that is no longer the case.

And that's definitely more my. 

style 

Mark Stiles: So on the Instagram where the in influencers are grind, grind, grind, you gotta work a hundred hours a week. You gotta go, go, go. That's not necessarily true all the time. 

Melissa Clayton: For me, and I think that speaks a lot to my value system. I think if you were to do a deep dive into my childhood and my father being an entrepreneur and working insane amount of hours, and I knew that was not the journey that I wanted.

So for me, and like everything, there's a give and take and there's a trade off. And for me that was, I wasn't gonna work a hundred hours of work, work a hundred hours a week because my value, I think, My time is more precious to me than anything else. 

Mark Stiles: I love that. I love that. Tell me, tell me more about vulnerability.

I'm very curious, your thoughts on vulnerability. 

Melissa Clayton: I think, you know, I've heard it's called the New Superpower. Umm a big fan of Brene Brown and. For me being vulnerable, you know, and it's also speaks to the business that I am in. Our whole entire business of Tiny Tags is centered around celebrating children.

Uh, every woman's unique journey of motherhood. And if you are not vulnerable there, you're just not gonna connect with your audience. And so much for tiny tags for me. And I think what has led to our. is my own personal journey. Very much what Tiny Tags is is a lot of my own personal story. And I think what me sharing that has allowed me to connect with our community and they're, you know, the word authentic is thrown around so much.

Um, and I'm authentic without trying to be, I'm not trying to be authentic. I'm just being me. And I think that's, Yeah. So I think that has, um, allowed me to connect with our audience and our community on a much deeper level. 

Mark Stiles: I love it. I'm not trying to be authentic. I am authentic. I'm being authentic. By being authentic.

I'm just being me, . I love it. I love it because it's, it's what people connect with. Tell us about Tiny Tags, because I'm not truly familiar with the concept and the mission and values and all of. 

Melissa Clayton: Sure. I'll give you the quick version cuz I've been around for a while. Um, as, as you said, I used to be a cpa. I was, um, I loved business.

I love accounting. I did not like crunching numbers all day. And I never thought I'd be a stay at-home mom. Never thought I'd quit my job. I grew up with my father. It was like, you don't depend on anyone, you take care of yourself. Um, and then I had our fir first son and I decided to quit my. and kind of always never being someone that sits still.

I wanted, I had my son and I really just was like this new mom beaming with pride and joy and wanting something to celebrate him and let everyone know that I was this new mom. So I had seen some moms wearing necklaces with their kids' names on it, and I was like, I can make those. So this is over 16 years ago.

Um, Google was not what it was, and I basically came up with this. I found a handset, started making them my own, and very organically for like five years I was ma I started making jewelry and there's a backstory I'll tell you later, but, um, so I started doing that. Then we were living on the west coast at the time, we moved back east.

Um, and lucky for me, Rhode Island and um, Southern Massachusetts has huge history of jewelry making and we started to outsource all our jewelry manufacturing and around probably seven years ago, after a series of listening to different books and what have you, and reading different books, really decided to focus on just.

So tiny tags we make now, um, absolutely gorgeous, fine, personalized jewelry just for moms, really focusing on moms wearing their kids' names. We can do back en raving with their birthdays, their birth times, um, and really talking about the gift of a child, um, you kno