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Dec. 2, 2024

989: Embedding SUSTAINABILITY into your business practices w/ Susan Spencer

Discover how you can embed sustainability into your business practices with insights from Susan Spencer, co-founder of a boutique sustainability consulting firm. Susan's incredible journey from the fashion industry to founding her own learning agency has equipped her with unique perspectives on sustainability, brand management, and corporate training. This episode will reveal how her experiences at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and with major clients like Facebook, shaped her passion for driving sustainable change through education.

Unravel the complexities of the EU Green Deal and its far-reaching impact on multinational companies, even those beyond European borders. Susan emphasizes the importance of adhering to sustainability assessments like EcoVadis and implementing robust policies on labor and human rights. Learn how practical training methods, especially e-learning, can transform these policies from mere statements into actionable, engaging programs that drive real change across your organization.

Gain entrepreneurial wisdom from Susan as she discusses her company's adaptive strategies for business success. Their global perspective, informed by European regulations and sustainability trends, has been crucial in expanding their reach. Embrace the importance of continuous learning and collaboration, and find out how Susan's "20 seconds of brilliance" and Patricia's methodical approach create a dynamic balance that propels their business forward. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your sustainability initiatives and entrepreneurial strategy with insights from an industry expert.

ABOUT SUSAN

Susan Spencer is a learning designer and consultant, who's focused on guiding organizations toward implementing improved sustainable management practices across the pillars of people, places, and profit. She's also a former college instructor, fashion industry executive, and published author.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Chapters

00:00 - The Pillars of Sustainability

09:17 - Sustainability Strategies and Training Implementation

23:33 - Entrepreneurial Strategies for Global Impact

33:59 - Guest Contributions and Website Interaction

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:01.082
Hey, what is up?

00:00:01.082 --> 00:00:04.331
Welcome to this episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:00:04.331 --> 00:00:07.847
As always, I'm your host, brian LoFermento, and I'll tell you what.

00:00:07.847 --> 00:00:20.762
When I think about words that we throw around a lot in the world of business and entrepreneurship and just society at large, sustainability is one of those words, because there's a lot of ways that we talk about sustainability.

00:00:20.762 --> 00:00:41.965
We talk about it in terms of the environment, we talk about it in terms of our habits, what's sustainable, and it's important for all of us in our businesses and our operations and our teams and our growth to make sure that we're always doing things that are sustainable, that they are here for a long time, and today's guest is incredible at what she does when it comes to all things sustainability.

00:00:41.965 --> 00:00:42.706
She's one of us.

00:00:42.706 --> 00:00:45.872
She's a fellow entrepreneur making positive changes in the world.

00:00:45.872 --> 00:00:47.405
So let me tell you all about her.

00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:48.786
Her name is Susan Spencer.

00:00:48.786 --> 00:00:52.908
Susan is the co-founder of a boutique sustainability consulting firm.

00:00:52.908 --> 00:00:56.787
The scope of all the potential and current client sustainability needs.

00:00:56.787 --> 00:01:08.329
Often, they approach with specific needs, such as help with a certain ESG or climate related questionnaire, assistance with developing a sustainability plan or even a sustainable procurement program.

00:01:08.329 --> 00:01:13.447
Yes, because this stuff touches all different aspects of our businesses and of our lives.

00:01:13.447 --> 00:01:27.748
Susan is a learning designer and consultant who's focused on guiding organizations towards implementing improved sustainable management practices across the pillars of people, places and profit Three things that touch all of our businesses.

00:01:27.748 --> 00:01:33.912
She's also a former college instructor, so you'll see how much learning shows up in the work that she does.

00:01:33.912 --> 00:01:37.429
She's a former fashion and industry executive and a published author.

00:01:37.429 --> 00:01:38.731
We're going to learn a lot.

00:01:38.731 --> 00:01:43.111
Susan has such a great perspective on all these things, so I'm not going to say anything else.

00:01:43.111 --> 00:01:46.224
Let's dive straight into my interview with Susan Spencer.

00:01:46.224 --> 00:01:52.700
All right, susan, I'm so excited that you're here with us today.

00:01:52.700 --> 00:01:53.563
First things first.

00:01:53.563 --> 00:01:54.644
Welcome to the show.

00:01:55.346 --> 00:01:56.810
Thank you so much, Brian.

00:01:56.810 --> 00:01:57.873
I'm happy to be here.

00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:00.650
Heck, yes, and you heard I tease listeners.

00:02:00.650 --> 00:02:04.084
Just a little bit about your background, but take us beyond the bio.

00:02:04.084 --> 00:02:05.269
Who's Susan?

00:02:05.269 --> 00:02:07.867
How 'd you start doing all these amazing things that you're up to?

00:02:09.173 --> 00:02:45.841
Yeah, well, as he said earlier, I worked in the fashion industry in the last century and I was working in New York, started as a buyer, moved into wholesale, was a brand representative, account executive, worked in marketing, and then I kind of found my sweet spot when I was asked to move into training people and going out to the stores and making sure that our employees knew what they were doing, knew what they were doing.

00:02:45.841 --> 00:02:50.009
It was a brand management position but it was really largely training and then communicating the information I would learn in the stores.

00:02:50.009 --> 00:02:54.586
Back to at the time it was an Italian company, our Italian merchandising team.

00:02:54.586 --> 00:03:05.734
So I made a lot of impact with not only the store employees and our sales but also with the way our product line was being formed and shaped.

00:03:05.734 --> 00:03:28.081
And from there I moved back to Southern California, where I'm from and we had a family and I started teaching part-time at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and I thought this is just part-time, I'm just doing this just for a bit and I just love teaching.

00:03:28.081 --> 00:03:36.507
So it kind of dovetailed back to the training that I had done in the industry and just helping people, talking to people.

00:03:36.507 --> 00:03:41.463
It was so much fun like telling the war stories of the fashion industry to these students.

00:03:41.463 --> 00:03:44.689
They loved it and you know.

00:03:45.050 --> 00:03:51.549
From there, I thought you know what I would like to actually take my learning to a larger venue.

00:03:51.748 --> 00:04:16.810
So, aside from just you know, the college that I was teaching at, I decided to get a master's in learning design, or instructional design as they call it, and that master's led me to doing corporate learning design and my first client I was subcontracting was with Facebook, and it was during the pandemic, and I remember thinking I am the biggest fraud.

00:04:16.810 --> 00:04:18.656
How is this even happening?

00:04:18.656 --> 00:04:21.423
Facebook is talking to me and I have no idea what I'm doing.

00:04:21.423 --> 00:05:08.855
But I pulled through and did a number of other projects with that particular learning agency and after that I started my own and one of my clients is a carbon accounting platform called Good Lab and I started creating basically all of their sustainability related um, um, environmentally specifically related uh programs, um, both you know webinars, as well as their e-learning, and that's when I realized I can put my knowledge toward good, toward being a force of good in the world and sharing what is going on in the world with a much larger group of people.

00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:26.392
Yeah, susan, I really appreciate that overview because I feel like just in that one answer, you shared with us the intersection of so many different past experiences that you've had and also so many passions, and it was hard for me in the intro, but I feel like I touched on so many passions and it was hard for me in the intro, but I feel like I touched on so many of them.

00:05:26.392 --> 00:05:26.934
It was hard to show that.

00:05:26.934 --> 00:05:30.160
Sustainability these topics touch so many different aspects.

00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:34.091
Just in that answer, you talked about teaching and obviously education is a part of that.

00:05:34.091 --> 00:05:35.543
You talked about business.

00:05:35.543 --> 00:05:38.192
You talked about sustainability with regards to the environment.

00:05:38.192 --> 00:05:42.213
Obviously, your clients are a prime example of exactly that.

00:05:42.213 --> 00:05:57.744
So talk to us about where along the way you were just like no entrepreneurship is the vehicle where I can start doing this, because you've had so many cool career arcs and stories, but where along the way did you decide I'm going to do this and I'm going to serve even more people?

00:05:58.406 --> 00:06:01.055
Yeah, Well, I have to give a big call out.

00:06:01.055 --> 00:06:02.379
I have my own learning agency.

00:06:02.379 --> 00:06:03.125
I still do.

00:06:03.125 --> 00:06:13.901
It's called Sandbox Learning Experience Design and primarily I work in, you know, with companies and not for profits in the environmental scope.

00:06:14.963 --> 00:06:31.351
But I have to give a big call out to my friend and colleague, patricia Littlefield, who is a former VP of sustainability at a Los Angeles area apparel company and during the pandemic things were, you know, as you can imagine, crazy in that business.

00:06:31.351 --> 00:06:49.004
Anyone who is living in this area remembers all the you know transportation freight ships that were lined up for miles from the port of Los Angeles almost to San Diego, were lined up for miles from the Port of Los Angeles, almost to San Diego.

00:06:49.004 --> 00:06:56.324
So you know it was a huge disruption and she was looking to kind of move away from the corporate world and the fashion industry in general.

00:06:56.324 --> 00:07:16.389
So she said to me hey, with your training background, which is really, really needed in this industry, and my knowledge of you know policies and human rights and you know environmental topics, why don't we band together and start a company, a sustainability company for consulting, mostly for fashion?

00:07:17.252 --> 00:07:18.375
And I said sounds great.

00:07:18.375 --> 00:07:31.788
So I started a second business with her and the firm is called EthoWork and we have now probably worked with about 15 clients in two and a half short years.

00:07:31.788 --> 00:07:41.689
And we started with the fashion industry but quickly learned that there was a lot of opportunity and that our services were needed Absolutely everywhere.

00:07:41.689 --> 00:07:48.653
So from there we've worked with everyone, from gosh like big steel to today.

00:07:48.653 --> 00:08:01.156
I just had a meeting with a large industrial construction company to smaller construction companies, to people who make test sets for the government.

00:08:01.156 --> 00:08:04.331
You know, I mean, like it's been crazy.

00:08:04.331 --> 00:08:09.730
We've worked with Canadian companies, mexican companies, american companies.

00:08:09.730 --> 00:08:11.793
I have a client in Ukraine right now.

00:08:11.793 --> 00:08:13.458
So it's it's.

00:08:13.458 --> 00:08:24.994
It's been very illuminating and it has really fulfilled my goal of, you know, training and teaching people about better practices.

00:08:31.485 --> 00:08:40.236
Yeah, which importantly for all businesses a lot of them isolate on that one very important P, which is obviously profit, and I love the fact that I mean it's right there in your bio is that you focus on the pillars of people, places and profit.

00:08:40.236 --> 00:08:42.644
Susan, how do those things fit together?

00:08:42.644 --> 00:08:49.355
Because a lot of people have their eyes on just that one prize, but I want to hear why those are the pillars that you really focus on.

00:08:50.085 --> 00:09:06.767
Well, a year and a half ago I would have said, hmm, I don't know quite how it all melds together, aside from someone a company telling another company usually in fashion, a retail customer saying you must do this or else we won't do business with you, right?

00:09:06.767 --> 00:09:17.173
But now we can thank the European Union for really bringing a lot of traction to this space with the.

00:09:17.173 --> 00:09:42.615
What they call the EU Green Deal encompasses a wide swath of sustainability efforts, from environmental all the way through carbon accounting and measuring an entity's greenhouse gas emissions and how that is impacting US companies and companies everywhere in the world outside of the EU.

00:09:42.615 --> 00:09:44.778
Is that their standards?

00:09:44.778 --> 00:09:48.511
They have to report on their downstream supply chain, right?

00:09:48.511 --> 00:09:55.691
So that is what companies are realizing, even though quote, this isn't how we do business in this country.

00:09:55.912 --> 00:10:09.798
End quote which I've heard, that quote I can't tell you how many times they are realizing that multinational companies will take them off their vendor matrix, their supplier matrix, if they don't.

00:10:09.798 --> 00:10:22.155
You know, play the game, and the game is a lot of assessments so that these companies can then report into the EU Green Deal laws and some.

00:10:22.155 --> 00:10:30.230
You know the alphabet soup which is corporate sustainability reporting directive, csrd, cs, triple D, lots of acronyms.

00:10:30.230 --> 00:10:34.298
But yeah, that's how people are realizing.

00:10:34.298 --> 00:10:38.792
Oh people, planet, profit are interrelated.

00:10:38.792 --> 00:10:42.005
Because I have to do this or else I'm going to lose my customers.

00:10:42.687 --> 00:10:45.255
Yeah, for sure, important stuff, and you're right.

00:10:45.255 --> 00:10:47.690
I love the fact that we can't ignore it.

00:10:47.690 --> 00:10:49.072
It is not a choice.

00:10:49.072 --> 00:11:02.366
In many cases, this is the way that the markets are going and obviously a lot of it is consumer driven and preference driven and, of course, information driven, which, as an educator, I think that is such a core part of what you do and the way that you show up.

00:11:02.366 --> 00:11:11.486
Talk to us about each of those pillars, because people talk to us about how sustainability shows up there, places, how it shows up there and, of course, profit.

00:11:11.486 --> 00:11:22.708
Obviously, we're talking about the business implications of all of this stuff on a business show, but I'd love to hear some of the places that your mind goes when you think about sustainability within each of those pillars.

00:11:23.750 --> 00:11:30.280
Yeah, so um, we um at EthoWork there's an organization called EcoVadis.

00:11:30.280 --> 00:11:54.196
It's a French ESG sustainability assessment and we are training partners for EcoVadis and the way that kind of shows up the people aspect really in EchoVatis is very much through what they call their labor and human relations theme, or labor and human rights theme.

00:11:54.196 --> 00:11:59.947
So for any kind of company, small or large, this shows up in.

00:11:59.947 --> 00:12:03.951
You know, do you have the proper policies in place?

00:12:03.951 --> 00:12:12.981
Does your handbook really encompass everything that will teach an employee, a new employee, about their rights at work?

00:12:12.981 --> 00:12:15.488
So it is really.

00:12:16.089 --> 00:12:24.961
We may not be calling it human rights like in you know, xyz American company of 300 people, but they are human rights you know.

00:12:25.042 --> 00:12:56.615
The right to not be discriminated against, the right to be, you know, paid a fair wage, the right to not be told that they have to work mandatory overtime, these are all basic human rights in the workplace and we use a lot of the human rights from the International Labor Organization, ilo, as well as here in the States, the Fair Labor Association, which a little pitch, I did a learning experience for them recently on human rights.

00:12:56.615 --> 00:13:05.897
But it really comes down to how, from the policy level for people all the way through your actions.

00:13:05.897 --> 00:13:15.832
So you can't just say we have this policy, we have that policy, without them actually being put into place and you being able to show your actions toward that.

00:13:15.832 --> 00:13:22.936
Whether they be training, whether they be, you know, like in a factory environment, work instructions for safety for people.

00:13:22.936 --> 00:13:30.695
Yeah, they show up in different ways in different places and departments and sectors, but that's kind of how people works.

00:13:30.695 --> 00:13:33.389
I don't know if that was kind of a lot.

00:13:34.091 --> 00:13:52.188
Yeah, no, it's great because it gives us so many launching points, because what I think I'm viewing you right now, Susan, as having your educator hat on, because you made such a clear distinction there which is having the policies and saying things in a press release is one thing, but implementing it across your people and the word training keeps popping up.

00:13:52.188 --> 00:13:54.215
That obviously is so important.

00:13:54.215 --> 00:13:56.009
We can't just say it, we have to actually do it.

00:13:56.009 --> 00:13:58.240
What are these training programs look like?

00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:11.787
Because, whether we're training with regards to sustainability or management practices, or whether we're training for any sort of knowledge transfer, it needs to be effective.

00:14:11.787 --> 00:14:16.485
So, with that educator hat on, I'd love to hear some of your insights and your brilliance with regards to how to convey the stuff that we want in a way that it actually works.

00:14:18.347 --> 00:14:18.668
Yeah.

00:14:18.828 --> 00:14:24.476
So a lot of it we will do and I'm going to be real with you a lot of it is done via e-learning.

00:14:24.476 --> 00:14:49.250
So you know, that's the instructional designer in me and making sure that we're creating engaging learning experiences and making sure they're not too long and not too click, click, click, and that we're putting good videos in and, you know, using every trick of the trade that we can to make sure that people complete the learning and that they enjoy what they've learned, that they retain some of it.

00:14:49.250 --> 00:14:54.149
And the reason why we scale a lot with e-learning is because it's just that we can scale.

00:14:54.149 --> 00:15:05.312
We can take a company of 3,000 employees and like, for example, a construction company, a really large one, and we can roll it out to all of their different locations and people could even take that e-learning on their phone.

00:15:05.312 --> 00:15:09.065
So it it's a practicality conversation.

00:15:09.788 --> 00:15:34.207
But in the case of other things like, say, sustainable procurement, which is really a very you know it, it doesn't affect as many people in an organization we might train them in person or via zoom in a live kind of you know training session and, and you know, tell them what the process and the steps will be for that particular program that we need to implement within an organization.

00:15:34.207 --> 00:15:45.714
So we do it both, but I would say you know in person as well as you know asynchronous e learning, but I would say the majority is e learning because we can reach the most people that way.

00:15:46.585 --> 00:15:50.212
Yeah, for sure, and it is a universal experience.

00:15:50.212 --> 00:15:56.625
Which I think is so powerful about using the right tools is that everyone can use it, and especially for me, like I'm someone who's a visual learner.

00:15:56.625 --> 00:15:57.548
You can go back.

00:15:57.548 --> 00:16:01.317
I really appreciate those self-guided formats and mediums.

00:16:01.317 --> 00:16:07.028
So, with that in mind, hearing you talk about these things, it sounds so intentional and strategic.

00:16:07.028 --> 00:16:15.616
Everything that you're putting into the world obviously has thought and strategy behind it, which is why, as a business owner, I always isolate on that one word of plan.

00:16:15.616 --> 00:16:21.648
When there's a plan or a strategy involved, I think that that's something that sets a roadmap for us, a future looking roadmap.

00:16:21.648 --> 00:16:25.397
You obviously help your clients develop sustainability plans.

00:16:25.397 --> 00:16:30.056
Susan, for people who have never done that before, what does a sustainability plan look like?

00:16:31.166 --> 00:16:32.769
My gosh, I don't know where to start.

00:16:32.769 --> 00:16:34.735
It's different for every entity.

00:16:34.735 --> 00:16:42.138
To be honest, Some companies we work with have a lot put in place already but they've not formalized it.

00:16:42.138 --> 00:16:55.095
So they may have these policies, they may have really good actions, they may be paying livable wages, they may be, you know, vetting their suppliers in the correct way, they may have good ethics, but maybe it's not put into place.

00:16:55.095 --> 00:17:01.537
So what we'll do is kind of do a discovery of what they do have, what they don't have, what's material to them.

00:17:01.596 --> 00:17:05.194
That's a big word in this space, meaning what aspects of people and planet are most material to them.

00:17:05.194 --> 00:17:11.332
That's a big word in this space, meaning what aspects of people and planet are most material to their business operations.

00:17:11.332 --> 00:17:13.817
Or most relevant is another way.

00:17:13.817 --> 00:17:14.885
When people say, what does that mean?

00:17:14.885 --> 00:17:16.329
It means relevance, right.

00:17:16.329 --> 00:17:40.682
So we'll do a materiality assessment, usually as part of our discovery, and then from there, if they're reaching out to us for specific assessments, like Climate Disclosure Project or Echovatus or all the things that are right now super hot because it's reporting season this quarter we'll then, you know, help them along the way with those assessments.

00:17:40.682 --> 00:17:45.169
You know, it's really, it's just a journey, truly.

00:17:45.169 --> 00:18:27.349
And then from there, after we've, you know, kind of created and built the framework for all of this, we'll develop a comprehensive sustainability plan for them or whomever, put it onto their website, you know, so that they can actually convey their you know level of commitment to the episode.

00:18:27.390 --> 00:18:33.213
But it also shows up so much in your work is that this isn't about saying the things, this is about doing the things.

00:18:33.213 --> 00:18:38.057
And when I think about doing things, all of us entrepreneurs, all of us business owners, we love.

00:18:38.057 --> 00:18:41.220
Actually, this is probably not just us entrepreneurs, this is just society.

00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:45.542
These days, we're the instant gratification society and everybody wants things now.

00:18:45.542 --> 00:18:56.626
But obviously a lot of the work that you do is about planting seeds for the future and the way that we're going to see these results and see these changes and transformations, not just today, but long into the future.

00:18:56.626 --> 00:18:58.352
What's your time horizon?

00:18:58.352 --> 00:19:07.913
When you're engaging with clients or even when you just internally are thinking about things, are you viewing these changes and transformations a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now?

00:19:07.913 --> 00:19:09.436
What's that time horizon look like?

00:19:11.165 --> 00:19:19.667
That is the trickiest question you've asked today because it depends on what a company is willing to commit to.

00:19:19.667 --> 00:19:24.596
You know, sometimes we get called in just for assessment.

00:19:24.596 --> 00:19:26.640
Help, you know, help, you know.

00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:31.455
You know Amazon is asking me to complete the Echovatus assessment.

00:19:31.455 --> 00:19:36.413
They're demanding this level of score, this level of competency in the assessment.

00:19:36.413 --> 00:19:38.866
I need your help and it needs to be done next month.

00:19:38.866 --> 00:19:46.315
Sometimes we get calls like that actually more often than you know, and obviously that isn't really ideal.

00:19:46.315 --> 00:20:10.037
You know, the ideal piece is that you go through the process I explained earlier, where you really kind of do a deep dive, a discovery, internal discovery, with the stakeholders at a company to figure out what are their risks, what are their opportunities, what's most relevant to their operations and how can they move these things forward in a more sustainable and long term way.

00:20:10.278 --> 00:20:33.712
Not, just one assessment projects for us, because it's almost like there's a shift in their mindset after they've completed something like one of those large assessments that we've guided them through and helped them through, and when they see the success.

00:20:33.712 --> 00:20:36.421
You know, I've had several CEOs say this.

00:20:36.421 --> 00:20:43.885
This entire process was really cumbersome but it's made us a better company, we're a better company for it and we want to continue working with you.

00:20:43.885 --> 00:20:59.037
So we'll come back and we'll help them the next year or within the next few months, you know, maybe working toward their sustainability plan, maybe working toward specific KPIs that they can put into place and engage their employees.

00:20:59.037 --> 00:21:03.740
You know, maybe working on yet another assessment that they need to complete.

00:21:03.900 --> 00:21:10.700
So it takes different shapes, but I will tell you I didn't really talk that much about environmental.

00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:20.990
From an environmental standpoint, you know there's what we call near-term targets for, like, say, greenhouse gas emissions, and longer term net zero targets.

00:21:20.990 --> 00:21:35.568
So, depending on the sophistication of the company, we try to work with them to set some kind of a emissions target, as well as water reduction as well as, obviously tied to emissions, energy reduction as well.

00:21:35.568 --> 00:21:49.673
As you know, if they're working in, say, timber, you know, or commodities, things of that sort, we'll work with them to figure out how to reduce, you know, or procure the correct items.

00:21:50.590 --> 00:22:09.339
Yeah, plastics, you know we're working with an apparel company right now where you wouldn't really think micro plastics come from apparel, but in the consumer use phase there's a huge footprint of micro plastics going into our water streams and our drinking water just from washing clothes.

00:22:09.339 --> 00:22:11.766
So, you know, how do we reduce that?

00:22:11.766 --> 00:22:13.410
How do we, how do we track that?

00:22:13.410 --> 00:22:14.472
How do we test for that?

00:22:14.472 --> 00:22:19.685
So there's, there's a lot of different KPIs with different time horizons that can be approached.

00:22:20.326 --> 00:22:21.088
Yeah for sure.

00:22:21.088 --> 00:22:26.569
Hey, kudos to you for answering a very broad question in a non-lawyer-like fashion.

00:22:26.569 --> 00:22:44.090
We're also used to those lawyer answers of it depends, but I love the substance that you backed it with and I really want to call out it's a word that you just said in that answer and I'll say, as someone who's researched so much of the awesome work that you're putting into the world, it's a word that shows up a lot in the way that you and Patricia speak about your business and your marketing.

00:22:44.090 --> 00:23:00.315
Language is better and I think we overlook that word so much in society, but it's such a powerful word and I think about I live here in Florida these days and I think about in Tampa, our mayor has an initiative for zero bicyclist deaths.

00:23:00.315 --> 00:23:10.332
That's been a problem in this city and as someone who's biking, I obviously pay attention to that, and so a lot of people will look at the year-end metrics and say, oh, we didn't have zero bike deaths.

00:23:10.332 --> 00:23:17.771
However, if we get better, it's that continual journey, that's another word that you you say of always getting better, being better.

00:23:17.771 --> 00:23:32.663
I think that's such a powerful approach and, susan, I'm I feel like part of our thread and theme here today is practicing what you preach and what I really love about what you and Patricia do is that you don't just say these things for your clients, you don't just help your clients with it.

00:23:33.404 --> 00:23:37.373
You all live this way in your own business and right on your website.

00:23:37.373 --> 00:23:40.126
Your about page is not your average about page.

00:23:40.126 --> 00:23:46.660
There's, of course, about information about each of you, but it also has your vision, your mission, your values, your code of ethics.

00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:53.385
I love how detailed it is for your code of ethics with your clients, with your services, the way that you charge your fee structure.

00:23:53.385 --> 00:24:03.760
Please give us some insights into the executive thinking and strategy and intentionality behind how you and Patricia operate, because you are a shining example.

00:24:04.563 --> 00:24:06.365
Oh, that's so nice of you to say.

00:24:06.365 --> 00:24:10.773
I'm so flattered by the executive thought process.

00:24:10.773 --> 00:24:18.421
I feel like every day we fly by the seat of our pants, as I'm sure a lot of entrepreneurs feel Like.

00:24:18.421 --> 00:24:23.905
It's like we just have to have a very growth mindset, we have to be constantly adapting to.

00:24:23.905 --> 00:24:26.472
This came up, oh, that came up.

00:24:26.472 --> 00:24:28.587
Oh, now we're being approached for this service.

00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:30.338
Oh it's not even one of our products.

00:24:30.338 --> 00:24:39.280
Or you know how can we, how can we adapt and, and you know, not just practice, we have to practice what we preach right.

00:24:39.280 --> 00:24:44.311
So you know this, this idea of continual, or you know, continuous improvement.

00:24:44.311 --> 00:24:46.282
How do we, how do we, keep growing?

00:24:46.282 --> 00:24:47.666
But it's.

00:24:48.490 --> 00:24:52.121
I wish I could say we sat down every single week and had strategy meetings.

00:24:52.121 --> 00:24:53.402
I really wish I could tell you that.

00:24:53.402 --> 00:24:58.769
I wish I could tell you we had beautiful spreadsheets and gorgeous KPIs.

00:24:58.769 --> 00:25:01.452
I wish I could we make them for our clients.

00:25:01.452 --> 00:25:10.881
But the fact of the matter is is we're often so busy with our own operations we don't have that space to sit down and just reflect.

00:25:10.881 --> 00:25:22.892
So I practice what I call 20 seconds of brilliance, which unfortunately usually happens first thing in the morning I should say unfortunately for my husband because I wake up, thinking.

00:25:22.892 --> 00:25:31.882
I wake up like that's definitely my creative time and I just write down or even talk into my phone my ideas so I don't lose them.

00:25:31.882 --> 00:25:44.103
And then my poor business partner, patty, who is an industrial engineer by trade, who's very methodical and very process-oriented and systems-oriented, I come up with these.

00:25:44.103 --> 00:25:45.747
You know, 20 seconds of brilliance.

00:25:45.747 --> 00:25:47.049
We should do this, we should do that.

00:25:47.049 --> 00:25:47.751
We should do this.

00:25:47.892 --> 00:25:48.373
What do you think?

00:25:48.640 --> 00:26:00.965
You know, and that's kind of what spearheads the way forward, oftentimes along with what the customers are asking for, forward oftentimes along with what the customers are asking for.

00:26:00.965 --> 00:26:07.645
So, yeah, it is kind of more of design thinking process, I guess you could say, than it is you know, a very formalized and executive level process.

00:26:07.645 --> 00:26:10.333
One day maybe, but not now.

00:26:11.335 --> 00:26:12.818
I love those real life insights.

00:26:12.818 --> 00:26:17.587
I totally relate to that Because here we are talking about informal versus formal executive time.

00:26:17.587 --> 00:26:21.115
My best executive time is in the shower and on a long bike ride.

00:26:21.115 --> 00:26:26.702
Those two places is where I do the best thinking, and so I feel like too often in business we pressure people.

00:26:26.702 --> 00:26:29.250
Oh, you know, sit down for two hours a week and do this.

00:26:29.250 --> 00:26:31.663
If I force it, it's just not going to come.

00:26:31.723 --> 00:26:43.420
So, susan, it's really awesome to hear those real life insights from you and, yes, your husband probably has heard millions of ideas, but it is cool that you have a business partner that can help you bring those things into reality.

00:26:43.420 --> 00:26:51.740
So I love the 20 seconds of brilliance and this is something that I've started asking in these episodes and it's super broad because everyone has their different way of working.

00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:55.544
So, susan, I want to ask you this what's been working really well for you?

00:26:55.544 --> 00:26:58.309
Business-wise thinking with your business owner hat on?

00:26:58.309 --> 00:27:04.150
What's something that you look at and you go, wow, we may not have envisioned this, but this is something we've honed in on.

00:27:04.150 --> 00:27:07.911
That's helping us to serve more people, helping us to have a bigger impact in the world.

00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:17.034
Yeah, yeah, I would say expanding our thought process in our borders past the US has really really helped us.

00:27:17.034 --> 00:27:22.228
So, understanding, and this is another thing that I do a lot of.

00:27:22.228 --> 00:27:52.153
I'm just by nature and it's cliche, but a lifelong learner and so I go to a lot of webinars, and usually they're hosted outside of the US and usually they're talking about the new European regulations and all of the trickle down effect that will happen, that we are just now at the tip of the iceberg here in the US, largely because most people don't think they need to do that here.

00:27:52.153 --> 00:28:00.806
But again, if you look at the global picture, that global picture is indicating exactly the opposite, that we will.

00:28:00.806 --> 00:28:24.359
So for anyone who has operations in Europe, anyone who's looking to create retail structures or distribute information or products, rather services, into Europe, this really should be on the top of your you know, just daily kind of agenda, just making sure that you're following the news, making sure that you're following.

00:28:24.601 --> 00:28:29.275
You know there's there's a guy on LinkedIn, tim Mohin M-O-H-I-N.

00:28:29.275 --> 00:28:31.902
He writes a great sustainability blog.

00:28:31.902 --> 00:28:42.551
I think he works for a Boston consulting group and you know their sustainability consulting arm and I read his report every week and I click on every link and it doesn't take me.

00:28:42.551 --> 00:28:45.067
It sounds tedious but it doesn't take me that long.

00:28:45.067 --> 00:28:54.912
It's really great reading and it's because of Tim that I feel like I'm up to speed on everything that's going on globally in the sustainability space.

00:28:54.912 --> 00:29:13.521
So I think I'm way off track from the original question, but that's kind of one of the things that's really helped us realize what our opportunities are and forecast in almost a very creative and non-financial forecasting way what services we might need to offer.

00:29:13.541 --> 00:29:15.567
Yeah, I love that insight.

00:29:15.567 --> 00:29:24.968
Susan, you were right on topic with that one, because, again, I feel like it's advice that we don't talk about often enough within the world of entrepreneurship and as someone from the outside looking in at your business.

00:29:24.968 --> 00:29:29.028
It is something that I very much admire is that it's clear to me from the outside.

00:29:29.028 --> 00:29:30.692
You have your finger on the pulse.

00:29:30.692 --> 00:29:38.294
I mean, I even saw, for example, at the end of last year you all had the ABCs of upcoming California sustainability regulations.

00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:42.151
Gosh, legally speaking, there's so many things that are always changing.

00:29:42.151 --> 00:29:55.167
You even given us some oversights in the EU today about how different the EU laws are versus American laws, and so it's really cool to hear how you've been able to do that, and it's intentional.

00:29:55.167 --> 00:29:59.645
Again, so much of it comes back to always be learning, so I really appreciate those insights.

00:29:59.645 --> 00:30:05.912
And then this final question you've been such a wealth of knowledge that good luck to you in finding a great piece of advice for this one.

00:30:05.912 --> 00:30:07.063
But that is, what?

00:30:07.063 --> 00:30:19.694
Is that one takeaway, the one piece of advice that you hope every listener from today's episode gets, knowing that our listeners are at all different stages of their entrepreneurial journey, from big businesses to just starting out as entrepreneurs.

00:30:19.694 --> 00:30:21.988
What's that one thing you want to leave them with?

00:30:23.422 --> 00:30:24.645
You have to be fearless.

00:30:24.645 --> 00:30:25.910
You really do.

00:30:25.910 --> 00:30:28.468
You just have to live without fear.

00:30:28.468 --> 00:30:30.041
You can't.

00:30:30.041 --> 00:30:58.742
You know, I'm someone who does struggle with some anxiety, who does struggle with some anxiety, and that's one thing that I've just had to let the creative juices and my drive and my commitment to helping people learn more about this space, to helping people become better and improved businesses, to just in general, spreading the word and making sure people are educated in this space.

00:30:58.742 --> 00:31:13.244
I have to let all of that overcome my fear and, believe me, there's a lot of layers of anxiety under there and that's probably the number one piece of advice is don't overanalyze.

00:31:13.244 --> 00:31:20.382
If you see an opportunity, chase it and move forward with it as fearlessly as possible.

00:31:21.222 --> 00:31:30.130
Yes, very great advice, advice that can't just hit us once, but it's something we need constant reminding of, so I'm so grateful for you bringing that to our audience.

00:31:30.130 --> 00:31:32.061
Susan, you have been a wealth of knowledge.

00:31:32.061 --> 00:31:37.304
You are a wealth of knowledge in all the ways that you show up in the world personally and through your business.

00:31:37.304 --> 00:31:45.964
So for listeners who want to go deeper into all the great stuff that you and Patricia are doing with your business, as well as all the other stuff that you're involved in, drop those links on us.

00:31:45.964 --> 00:31:47.709
Where should listeners go from here?

00:31:49.753 --> 00:31:53.343
Oh, wow, okay, Well, I welcome anyone to link in with me.

00:31:53.343 --> 00:31:54.766
I love LinkedIn.

00:31:54.766 --> 00:31:57.071
I you know I spend time on LinkedIn.

00:31:57.071 --> 00:31:58.522
I probably should have mentioned that I do.

00:31:58.522 --> 00:32:00.989
Um, it's a good networking device for us.

00:32:00.989 --> 00:32:04.484
Um, and follow Etho work on our LinkedIn page.

00:32:04.484 --> 00:32:25.071
Um, we've got a great marketing manager who does all kinds of fun videos and we have a lot of downloadable, very relevant content like abbreviations and, you know, regulations and things of that sort that we try to make as salable and bite size as possible for busy professionals.

00:32:25.071 --> 00:32:30.145
And then, you know, visit our website ethoworkcom.

00:32:30.145 --> 00:32:42.255
We're certainly happy to help anyone who's found themselves with an assessment they've never heard of, don't want to do, don't have time to do and doesn't understand.

00:32:42.255 --> 00:32:47.951
So certainly, we're here for small businesses as well as large businesses.

00:32:47.951 --> 00:32:53.173
In fact, the SME, the Small and Medium Size Enterprise, is really our sweet spot.

00:32:53.173 --> 00:32:57.351
So certainly visit us and we look forward to hearing from you.

00:32:58.359 --> 00:33:00.067
Yes, listeners, you already know the drill.

00:33:00.067 --> 00:33:08.559
We're making it as easy as possible for you to find all of those links that Susan just mentioned down below in the show notes, no matter where it is that you're tuning into today's episode.

00:33:08.559 --> 00:33:15.868
You can find her business website at ethoworkcom you can just click right on through from down below in the show notes, as well as Susan's personal LinkedIn.

00:33:15.868 --> 00:33:20.596
So if you want to reach out to her, you've heard how approachable she is and how much she genuinely loves this stuff.

00:33:20.596 --> 00:33:28.490
All of our guests they are unprepared for the questions I'm going to ask because we know and trust fully that this is their zone of genius.

00:33:28.490 --> 00:33:37.592
Susan, you so effortlessly talk about the needs, the global trends, the marketplace looking to the future, the business practices, so many important things.

00:33:37.592 --> 00:33:40.234
So, listeners, definitely check those links out down below.

00:33:40.234 --> 00:33:46.863
Otherwise, on behalf of myself and all the listeners worldwide.

00:33:46.883 --> 00:33:48.125
Thanks so much for coming on the show today.

00:33:48.125 --> 00:33:48.728
Thank you for having me, brian.

00:33:48.728 --> 00:33:50.191
I've really enjoyed it.

00:33:50.211 --> 00:33:55.787
Hey, it's Brian here, and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:33:55.787 --> 00:33:59.734
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:33:59.734 --> 00:34:08.969
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at thewantrepreneurshowcom, and I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:34:08.969 --> 00:34:17.762
There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

00:34:17.802 --> 00:34:19.806
These are not sponsored episodes.

00:34:19.806 --> 00:34:21.409
These are not infomercials.

00:34:21.409 --> 00:34:24.885
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00:34:24.885 --> 00:34:35.844
They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

00:34:35.844 --> 00:34:44.331
So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there.

00:34:44.331 --> 00:34:45.664
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00:34:45.664 --> 00:34:50.289
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00:34:50.289 --> 00:34:51.693
Initiate a live chat.

00:34:51.693 --> 00:35:01.137
It's for real me, and I'm excited because I'll see you always every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast.