In this episode, we introduce Tammy Johnston, a dynamic individual with a diverse background as a speaker, educator, businesswoman, author, and a self-proclaimed "Positive SHIFT Disturber" dedicated to making the world a better place for all.
Tammy's journey in assisting small businesses began even before she launched her first venture, The Financial Guides, in 2003. With an unapologetic passion for all things related to money, business, and success, Tammy's lifelong curiosity has driven her to explore the inner workings of business, leading her to a mission of helping businesses not just thrive, but survive those challenging initial two years.
Unlike traditional business coaches who typically focus on taking established businesses to the next level, Tammy specializes in guiding entrepreneurs through the messy, daunting early stages where they must learn everything from scratch, often without even knowing what they need to learn.
Tammy's unique approach is akin to that of a dependable family doctor for your business's overall health and growth. She equips you with the essential knowledge and practical guidance required to lay a solid foundation for your venture. These principles are universal, applying to businesses across different industries, be it product or service-oriented. When you establish a strong foundation, your chances of success increase significantly. Conversely, missing crucial components can drastically decrease your odds of success.
Tammy acts as your dependable generalist, supporting you through the critical initial phases. And when the time comes for specialized expertise, she has an extensive network of qualified professionals ready to assist.
If you're serious about realizing your dreams and building both the business and life you've envisioned, Tammy Johnston is the Business Coach you've been searching for. Tune in to discover her invaluable insights and strategies for entrepreneurial success.
In this episode, we introduce Tammy Johnston, a dynamic individual with a diverse background as a speaker, educator, businesswoman, author, and a self-proclaimed "Positive SHIFT Disturber" dedicated to making the world a better place for all.
Tammy's journey in assisting small businesses began even before she launched her first venture, The Financial Guides, in 2003. With an unapologetic passion for all things related to money, business, and success, Tammy's lifelong curiosity has driven her to explore the inner workings of business, leading her to a mission of helping businesses not just thrive, but survive those challenging initial two years.
Unlike traditional business coaches who typically focus on taking established businesses to the next level, Tammy specializes in guiding entrepreneurs through the messy, daunting early stages where they must learn everything from scratch, often without even knowing what they need to learn.
Tammy's unique approach is akin to that of a dependable family doctor for your business's overall health and growth. She equips you with the essential knowledge and practical guidance required to lay a solid foundation for your venture. These principles are universal, applying to businesses across different industries, be it product or service-oriented. When you establish a strong foundation, your chances of success increase significantly. Conversely, missing crucial components can drastically decrease your odds of success.
Tammy acts as your dependable generalist, supporting you through the critical initial phases. And when the time comes for specialized expertise, she has an extensive network of qualified professionals ready to assist.
If you're serious about realizing your dreams and building both the business and life you've envisioned, Tammy Johnston is the Business Coach you've been searching for. Tune in to discover her invaluable insights and strategies for entrepreneurial success.
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Little Give. Go ahead, introduce yourself, tell us where you're from and tell us what you're all about.
Speaker 2:
So I am Tammy Johnston, my business is KSA business and I am the hold your hand and kick your ass business coach. And it was my wonderful clients that named me that, because they say that's exactly what I do. I love and support them, but I hold their feet to the fire and make sure they actually get stuff done.
Speaker 1:
Oh, wow, so tell us how you got started with that.
Speaker 2:
Well, it was actually pretty interesting. So I've been. My background actually is in financial services. I've been in financial services for over 30 years now and they had moved to a few different companies and learning a few different things.
Speaker 2:
And I was in my last job and I absolutely freaking hated it. It was all I could do to drag myself in every morning and not throw my boss through a plate glass window, and I'd already started interviewing for other jobs, and one more week I would have been gone and off to another place with better title, better pay, better, everything, that I would have ended up painting as well. And then I got called into my boss's office and I got fired and it was the best thing that ever happened to me, because in that moment I have felt this great weight being lifted off of my shoulders. And instantly it hit me I never have to work for another creepy and confidential man again. I'm finally going to start my own business, which people have been telling me for years I need to do. So I did and it was wonderful.
Speaker 2:
And then it hit me.
Speaker 2:
It was terrifying and scary because I had to go into sales full time, which is the last thing in the world that I wanted to do, but I did, and a lot of the people that I started working with were all self employed small business owners, and when I was sitting down with them and going over their finances and stuff like this, one of the things that kept coming up over and over and over again is they really needed help with their business, and that was my background.
Speaker 2:
I've been studying money, business and success since I was seven years old and my jobs. It was my job like to train people on sales and marketing and how to put all the pieces together, and so I'm going. I have a greeting, motivated self interest to see them do better in their businesses, because broke people can't afford investments or insurance, which is the stuff that actually makes me money. So I started helping them with the various parts of their business and their businesses took off, and so then they're referring me to more and more of their friends and fellow business owners and stuff for help on the personal side and the business side, and very quickly I learned that, okay, yes, they need to help one on one, but I get a lot more leverage and have a lot more fun teaching them as a group. So I started my first small business class, and so I've been teaching small business for close to 20 years now and just love it.
Speaker 1:
Wow, that's so cool. So I love how you tell the story about how you got fired. You know so many people have told me on this show and other platforms I've been on that that is like the greatest day of their life. It feels crushing at the moment and then you get that relief and then you go out and kill it and make an amazing business. So now you've moved through all of that and you talk about briefly that you were for seven years old and you started. Tell us a little about that. Who starts at seven?
Speaker 2:
Well, like I said, I'm a major, major dork and where other kids wanted to grow up and be like little girls wanted to be actresses and dancers and singers and stuff like this. Like I would see business stuff on the TV and even like just in your regular shows and that and I would be so fascinated with that. Like I wanted to be Bill Gates before Bill Gates existed. I didn't want to marry somebody like Bill Gates, I wanted to be Bill Gates. So I started learning and watching all that stuff and it was really quite weird because I grew up very, very rural Alberta, canada and the types of businesses that had my interest, those didn't exist. Where I was, I was surrounded by farmers.
Speaker 1:
Well, so what is it? You think it is about your personality that made you drawn to those things you know most kids would be like can we put Mickey Mouse back on mom? And then you're there like oh this is fascinating. What is it about you and your personality?
Speaker 2:
I mean, you know what? I've never actually been asked that question. That's a really really good one. If I have to go back and think about it, it's just I always thought it was glamorous and I love the idea of creating something and being able to sell it and have a change in the world. I always thought that the I always thought business people were like very respected and things like that. So I would have to say that's probably it, I think, said that's a great question. I've never been asked that before.
Speaker 1:
Well, glad I could bring up something you haven't asked before. That's awesome. Well, the reason why I asked that question is because when I was little, I grew up in extreme poverty. I didn't have, sometimes, running water or electricity. We lacked food, we lacked transportation, we lacked a lot. And once I realized that, like hey, everybody else isn't like this, I started asking people like, how did you get those nice shoes? Where did you get that nice house? Wait, how do you? And then they would say like, oh, I have a really good job. I'm like, hmm, I might be seven years old right now, but I got to get me one of those real quick. You know, I need one of these job things because I wanted to level up for some reason. It was just something about me that that appealed to me that I thought, man, I just I got to figure this out because I don't want to stay like this forever.
Speaker 2:
And so I will. I will totally go along with you Like we never had to, like we always had running water. We always had to. Like we were always taken care of but money was very, very tight when I was growing up, like their luxuries. So, yes, I always thought of business. Like I said, I grew up very rural and there was farmers and like if you were really, really lucky, you could work in the grocery store in town. That was about your only options and I'm going.
Speaker 2:
I don't like being dirty or any of this stuff. I was a sitting girl from like I fell in love with it the first time I went there. Like there's all these things that the big beautiful built, like the skyline driving into Edmonton was like one of the most beautiful things ever, because I never got to see any of that. So for me, business was a way to okay, how can I have control? How can I go somewhere other than rural Alberta? And I want to have the nice things. I want to be able to travel. I want to have the shoes. I want to have like the toy, like some of the cool toys and stuff that the other kids have that we just don't have the money for. Yeah.
Speaker 1:
So I resonated with you so much whenever you said that you know that. You know that just for something about you you were just drawn to that, so I figured it was some connection like that it's. So it's so fascinating to me to hear the stories of entrepreneurs who end up, you know they come from circumstances like those and then they just like, are drawn for some reason. I just think it's so fascinating. So thank you for sharing the stories of you growing up. So now we're going to fast forward back to where you are now. So you have started this business. You're enjoying it. Tell us what your favorite part is and also tell us how how you initially saw this business and then how it turned out now and what the difference is.
Speaker 2:
Well, when I first started my business, I thought it was going to be all, like I said, the personal financial planning. And I still do that because I absolutely loved my clients. Like I set up my business very, very differently from the beginning. So one of the first things that when, when, when you're going into insurance sales or investment sales and stuff they say, hit on your friends and family, get them there, they're easy targets I'm going, oh, that just feels creepy and disgusting and gross and that's the last thing in the world that I want to do. So I had to come up with other ways of marketing, especially, I'm a major introvert. So people go how could you be an introvert Like you speak, you do podcasts, you teach, you get up on the stage. No, introvert is how I refill my, my tanks. If I have have too many, too much time with people, I get really, really tired. But I had to find different ways of doing it and, like I said, I kind of stumbled into the business stuff. I always liked doing it but I never really thought about myself teaching it. And then, in 2019, I actually split my business in two. So I still have my personal financial planning company and then I have KSA where I focus on teaching. My focus is on what I call the baby businesses. Like I love to get them idea stage up to two years. Like I've worked with everybody from idea stage up to.
Speaker 2:
I've been successful in business for 35 plus years. But that first two years is where most people fail. And they're failing not because there's typically a problem with their product or service or that they're not working hard enough. They're failing because they're missing one or more typically, of the basic foundational pieces that they need to first survive and then thrive. And when a small business fails, we all lose, not just the business owner, not just their immediate family, but their customers, their community. We all lose when a small business fails and most of them are failing because, like you said, not because there's a problem with what they want to do, is because they don't know how to build a business around their product or service so that they can survive and they're left floundering and breaks my heart. So I am on a mission to fix that.
Speaker 2:
And I go back to myself when I, like I said that moment I was fired and I decided, ok, I'm finally going to start the business. Everybody tells me I need to. I started in that moment in a much, much better position than most because I had a lot more business knowledge and stuff, but I was still kicked in the teeth by life because there was so much stuff that I didn't know. And I go if I could go back and talk to me one year before I got fired and say OK, tammy, you want to start a business? This is some of the stuff that you need to be doing to get yourself lined up so that when that moment happens that you're either fired or you finally decide to pull the trigger, you're ready to go. So that's what it feels like when I'm on a mission.
Speaker 2:
It was very, very stressful my first two years, because when you're an employee, everybody thinks it's secure. It's secure until you get paint slipped or downsized or right sized or whatever they want to call it. But at least you have a steady paycheck coming in every two weeks or twice a month so that you can deal with that. When you go self-employed, start your own business, you eat what you kill and you're not a good hunter. To begin with, it's like you don't know all the stuff that you don't know. So I went from making about $55,000 a year which, back in, like 2002, wasn't bad money To my first two years in business.
Speaker 2:
I made about $24,000, which averages out to $1,000 a month, but it's not $1,000 a month.
Speaker 2:
It's like, okay, you finally closed a big sale, you're going to get three grand and the next month you might get 50 bucks in when you're starting out and it was so stressful and I'm going, like I said, if I could go back and talk to me one year before I started and go, let's start putting things in place. So, like my favorite people together, what I call the praying for the pink slip crowd, because I'm going, that's when you want to start putting the stuff together so that, like I said, make it as easy for you as possible, because you have no, it is the most wonderful, beautiful, exciting time in your life, but you are going to be terrified. You are not going to be sleeping because you're going to be like curled up in the fetal position, but there's ways that you can make it an awful lot easier and drastically improve your chances of success, because if you don't survive the first two years, you're not going to make it off to be a multimillionaire and all this other stuff.
Speaker 3:
Hi, my name is Justin Clark and I'm the president of the board of directors for Driving Single Parents, a 501C3 nonprofit serving the citizens of San Antonio and Bear County, Texas. I'm here today to tell you a little bit about the great work that our organization is doing for the citizens of San Antonio. What you're about to see is just a few photos and videos of the way that we're changing lives for single parents in and around San Antonio, Texas. Our first giveaway took place in April of 2017, just one short month after the formation of our organization. John, a Bear County resident, was the victim of a horrible drunk driver incident. He and his daughter survived the crash and we were so proud to give our first car to this deserving family. Fast forward to 2020, a very difficult year for nonprofits, we were able to secure four vehicles for single parents in need. Our organization, including our board of directors, list of partners and portfolio of people we've been able to help in San Antonio, continues to grow, and it's all thanks to donors and local community organizations that have helped us along the way. This giveaway took place in 2021 and shows that we continue to help single parents even after the struggles brought about by COVID-19. Because of limited funds and the overwhelming need.
Speaker 3:
We at Driving Single Parents are incredibly selective with the people we help. Some are victims of domestic violence. Others had a spouse pass away tragically or otherwise fell on hard times. These single parents show adversity in the face of challenge and aren't looking for a handout. We offer a hand up and help get them back in the driver seat. Many of the single parents we help go on to graduate college, get promotions, get married, mentor others and some have even been so touched by the gift we gave them that they have decided to join our board of directors to pay it forward and ensure the continued growth of our organization. If you would like to help our organization continue to grow and continue to help single parents in need in San Antonio, Texas, and Bear County, Texas, we would really appreciate your support. Please visit us online at wwwdrivingsingleparentsorg. Thank you. Now it's time for.
Speaker 2:
Little Give.
Speaker 1:
Kindness Clips. Hello everyone, I wanted to chat with you about our Kindness Clip segment, so I need a little help from my audience. So what I'm looking for are short little videos of you talking about a time that someone was kind to you, or maybe there's a time that you were kind to someone else. Share those stories with us. You can email that to me at Cindy at littlegivecom. You can also hashtag Little Give online or you can just find me on any social media platform and tag me under Cindy Wooderman. My name is spelled C-I-N-D-Y-W-I-T-T-E-M-A-N. Thank you all so much for participating and spreading that kindness and I can't wait to feature your clip on a future episode.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for talking about those small businesses, because I'm a huge supporter of small businesses and you're right A lot of times it's not what's wrong with the product. It's wrong with not having the skills to really grow the business and not knowing what to do and not knowing where to find those resources and not having the tools to be able to grow and build this beautiful business you've built and then, like you said, not just as that business owner suffer, but the community suffers because generally these are great services and products that are no longer available, so in the way that they were before. So I'm glad that you said that. So why don't you give some of those business owners that are out there right now who are in that first startup phase or maybe that first two years where they're really struggling to get to the next level, a tip?
Speaker 2:
Just one.
Speaker 2:
Oh give more than one. I have many, many, many. I would say that, yes, you absolutely can do it. Business skills are absolutely 100% learnable and there's so many amazing resources. When I first started, there were some resources. Now there's so many, and not that there's anything wrong with the resources, but if you don't know what you don't know, you can be going for stuff that is not appropriate for you in this moment. So I would say the first thing that you need to do is you need to be finding, like really good business and practical, affordable business education that focuses on where you are. Like.
Speaker 2:
Every single business has the same eight pieces that they need, and if you're missing any one of them, you're going to have a problem. You need to have your mindset and your goals all put together properly. You need to understand your habits. You need to be having successful marketing and sales. You need to have your advisory team, and this is a big one, because, no matter how brilliant and hardworking you are, you do not know everything and you never will.
Speaker 2:
Biggest problem most businesses have is that they are getting their business advice from their broke-ass friends and family who have never played in the arena, and wondering why they're not learning anything? You have to have your financials looked after, and this is the number one place where business owners avoid like the plague and it is the first thing that they abdicate. I don't say delegate. They abdicate it because they think it's complicated, they think it's scary and unless there's thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars coming in, they never even want to look at it and they're missing all the beautiful stories that their financials can be telling them. To help better serve their customers and grow their business and look after things, they need to be putting together their systems. This is a never-ending thing. No systems, no business. If you are the one who's doing absolutely everything and everything is coming out of your head, you do not have a business. You have a job that owns you.
Speaker 3:
Wow.
Speaker 2:
You need to know how to define, like your client, your client is not everyone and if you're trying to attract everyone, you will attract no one and you will go crazy and get cranky in the process. And you have to understand and have both of these cash flow and profit, understand what they are, the difference in how to be bringing more of them in If you win, not if when you have all of those pieces working, you can have a successful, profitable, sustainable business. You are missing any of those pieces. The chances of you failing are almost 100% and the more of them you're missing, the faster you're going to hit the wall.
Speaker 1:
Well, now I know why you're called the kick-ass coach. Some people have to explain their business to me and all you have to do is just tell me the title and like two minutes and I'm like, okay, I get it. What great practical advice that anybody can use. Sometimes, you know, you can get lost in, like those Google searches, or like you know, how to grow my business, or how to market my business, or how do I, you know, create a post or how do I, you know you can get lost in information overload. But if you could just take a step back and listen to those practical tips you've just said, that seems like it would just take a lot of the guesswork out of it. Have you experienced a lot of that in your time helping?
Speaker 2:
individual, oh tons. Like you said, once you've got the foundation, then you can always build on it, like I've had so many people come to me and they've gone with these business coaching. Everybody wants to hang out a shingle and say they're a business coach and some of them are awesome. A lot of them are average. Some of them owe dear but and a lot of the time even they've got great stuff, but their biggest thing are there customers buying stuff that's appropriate to them?
Speaker 2:
Because I've had picked up people that okay, oh, you need to do all your marketing via social media and stuff, so we're gonna teach you how to do Facebook ads, we're gonna teach you how to do it all great, and they'll do it and they'll have success once and then everything falls apart and they can't repeat it and then, even if their success comes, they don't know how to run all of this stuff. And I'm going well, if you had the foundational pieces first and worked on building your business and now you want to up level it, then taking that Facebook ads course or Instagram or whatever it is would be appropriate for you. But if that's what you're starting, it's like you're trying I say you're trying to decorate your house and make it like home and garden worthy, and you have two walls, half a roof, no floor, the foundation is made out of sand, and then you're wondering why it's not working.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, well said, it happens. Oftentimes I've had individuals have this beautiful graphic up about their business and then you ask them okay, well, what's your website? Oh, I don't have one. Well, where are they gonna go to find this product or buy it? It'd be a beautiful ad you're making and you're spending all this money to advertise it, but there's no foundation, you know, there's no backup.
Speaker 2:
So when you yeah, so you drive people with the ad and they come go well, this doesn't work and there's nothing there and you've wasted all of that time and effort or I always say even with. So I can't remember what the name of the company was, but it was back about 15 years ago and they were one of the first companies that were doing like vegan, like meat alternatives and stuff like this, and their product was absolutely fabulous and stuff and they're going. People just need to know about us and this is what we do. So what they did was they invested in a Super Bowl ad $3 million just to buy that 30 second spot and they got it and they put together this amazing ad and it was really, really good.
Speaker 2:
They were out of business in three months. Why? Because their product was great. They drove all the traffic to their website. People were putting in orders. They crashed their site. They didn't have the systems in the back to actually deliver on the orders, so the stores and the people that were ordering couldn't get what they wanted, so they put in. There wasn't anything wrong with the marketing, but they didn't have any of the other pieces. People just go marketing, marketing, marketing and the business was gone in three months because they could not handle the success of their marketing, because they didn't have any of the other pieces put together.
Speaker 1:
So what information or what tip could you give somebody who's thinking that that is the best way to go?
Speaker 2:
Well, I've worked with quite a few people like that and I'm going. Well, yes, I'm going. Should your marketing be successful the way that you want it to be, do you have the foundation, do you have the pieces in behind in order to deliver on that? So I had a wonderful client of mine years ago and she invented this wonderful little product that she wanted to get into the hands of Walmart and stuff. And she already had it a few stores and it was not Walmart but little stores around. She's going I want to get into this buyer's show where, like they've got Walmart and Kmart and Walgreens, like everybody is there and they come to your booth and they book an appointment and because, if I can get into Walmart, like that's it. And I said, well, getting the money to get into the show and stuff, that's not a problem. I said you need to have at least a million dollars behind you because, should you get the coveted Walmart contract, do you know that it's going to be like 18 months before you get paid? You have to front everything beforehand. You have a 15 minute window for your truck to be backing up to their warehouse and if you miss that window, they cancel the order and all of this stuff.
Speaker 2:
They said your success could destroy you. Like I said getting into the, because she was wanting me to help her. Like, how do I find the $10,000 you get in the show? I said you don't need 10,000. You need a million, 10, because Walmart's going to take a look at you and they're going to ask that and if they know that you can't do it, forget it. So she backed off and has been doing things much smaller and more carefully so she can actually sustain it, because I'm all for aim for the stars. But do you have any like? If your plan is to flap your wings and hope you're going to get there, what do you expect? Just not succeed. Let's build the rocket or let's okay, let's work on hang gliding first.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, exactly, it kind of reminds me of like standing at the bottom of the stairs and wanting to get to the top but not taking that first step. You have to take one step at a time to get to the top. You can't just do what you just said, which is flap your wings and hope you somehow fly there, because it won't work out that way. You have to take the steps to make sure that everything is in line before you get to the top.
Speaker 2:
Well, I always say I've actually been to the Grand Canyon in person and it was absolutely beautiful and I remind them I'm going. You cannot jump over the Grand Canyon. There's no way, even at it's like there's no way. But you can start at the top of the one rim and wobble your fat butt all the way down to the river, which is like two miles down in some places and all, and wobble it up on the other side. You can do that, but you have to be able, willing and able to go through one step, one step, one step, and you need to be prepared to do that. You need to have your water and your proper shoes and all of this stuff.
Speaker 1:
You just can't go down and flip flops and if you're going to succeed, Hi, my name is Andrew Fraley and I believe that sometimes we all need a little bit of help. If you're in the San Antonio community and you need some legal help, call me at 210 725-4658. Now it's time for Little Give Clip Quest. Welcome to this week's clip quest. What I want you to do is go back to episode 20. I want you to tell me why Danielle is an unlikely Olympian. Email me the answer to Cindy at littlegivecom, and if you get it correct, I will feature you on a future episode. My name's Cindy, my name's Kimberly, my name is Caitlin and this is our beautiful mom.
Speaker 1:
We're from San Antonio, texas, and we wrote a book together and the title is is Manifesting Bullshit? My name is Cindy Whitman. I am the founder and CEO of Driving Single Parents. I'm also a bestselling author and the host of Little Give TV show. I have six kiddos and three gorgeous grandkids. My section in this book is all about creating a life beyond limits. I hope you enjoy it. Hi, my name is Caitlin Chavez. I am 25 years old and the mother of a beautiful baby girl. The title of my chapter is going to be how Manifesting Changed my Life. I hope you enjoy.
Speaker 3:
My name is Kimberly Whitman and I'm the mom of two beautiful children and the name of my chapter is Find Over Matter.
Speaker 2:
I hope you enjoy.
Speaker 1:
So can you give us an example of one of your favorite clients that you were able to help with your business?
Speaker 2:
Oh dear, that's a hard one because I've worked with so many amazing people over the years. My favorite ones are actually the small ones, the ones that didn't like their job or didn't want to go back to a job or wanted to be able to stay home and look after their family and do stuff like this and have been able to replace their income and grow their income and set up a life that works for them. Those are the ones that I love the most. I've had so many. I've had some really, really successful people. I've worked with artists and retail and breweries and restaurants and messiahs, therapists and chiropractors and trades people and everything in between, and everybody brings different things to the table. Yes, I love seeing them totally blow up, but the ones that I love the most are the ones, like I said, are able to set up a sustainable life and business that serves them and their family and their customers and their community.
Speaker 1:
Awesome. That sounds like it's so fulfilling. I'm going to move on now to the two questions I ask all of my guests. One is can you give the audience an example of a little thing that they can do in their community? That might just be a little thing on their end but might make a big impact on the other side?
Speaker 2:
Huge one. Support your local businesses. Support your local businesses because if they don't have the customers, they can't succeed and they might have to charge a little bit more because they don't have the great big, huge scale and stuff like that, but they're typically providing much better service, better products, better everything. When we are spending money with our local small businesses, that money stays in the community. It's not going off and buying Jeff Bezos his 15th multi-million dollar house. Support your local small businesses.
Speaker 1:
Great one, that's a great one. Okay. So then, can you give the audience an example of a time in your life where somebody did something little for you, that might have just been a little give on their end, but really made an impact on you and in your life?
Speaker 2:
Okay, that's another one. There's so many things that I could say, but if I'm thinking about it, my clients especially right when I was first starting out and stumbling around people that would give me referrals like tell their friends and family and coworkers and stuff about me and send them to my classes and things like that it was a small thing for them to do, but it was an absolutely huge thing for me and it allowed me to feel that, okay, yes, I'm doing things right and people are getting value out of how I'm helping them and stuff. It helped me help more people and do exciting things like pay my mortgage so I could keep the roof over my daughter's head and put food on the table for her. Those were huge, the referrals that I would get from my clients and still do. But, especially right when I was starting out, that was everything to me.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's a beautiful example. I think that so often times and people don't realize that that little thing right there was free, it didn't cost them a dollar, but it really made a big impact on you and your daughter where you're able to continue doing what you're doing and continue growing this new business. I always encourage people like if you can't afford a service or you can't afford to donate to a nonprofit, share their content. I prefer people to them. It doesn't cost anything and it's really just a kind gesture that really can make a big impact to that business owner or to that nonprofit. So, speaking of nonprofits, can you go ahead and tell us about a nonprofit that you're excited about?
Speaker 2:
So a nonprofit that I absolutely love is from the city I was living in for 30 years because we just moved last year called Made by Mama, and it is a wonderful organization started by the most generous, hardworking person you could ever hope to do, and it has just been growing and growing and expanding because unfortunately there is never a shortage of people that need, and they look after moms and families that are going through difficulties. They've helped families where somebody's terminal, where kids are sick, where you've got a mom that's got twins or multiples and how in the world are they dealing with this and like everything in between, and they just do such amazing work that I can't say enough good things about them.
Speaker 1:
Another great nonprofit I've never heard of before. Thank you so much for sharing that. How did you come to know about this nonprofit?
Speaker 2:
Actually one of the networking groups that I've been active with for almost a decade now. They nominated them for like a foundation award and they started coming because I never, because it's in Calgary, alberta, canada, and I met them there and, like you said, just fell in love. And they do fundraisers but just the work that they do is absolutely phenomenal.
Speaker 1:
Wow. Well, thank you so much for sharing that with us. Well, I've really enjoyed having you on today. I just I love the title of your business. I love everything you're doing and I love all the practical steps that you and tips that you've given us today. It's just been such a delight. Why don't you tell the audience where they can find you if they want to seek out your services or maybe learn more?
Speaker 2:
Well, you can always find me at my website, which is ksabusinessca and CA is for Canada, not California and you can typically find me on Instagram at ksabusiness.
Speaker 1:
Wonderful Well. Thank you so much for being on today. We've really enjoyed it. If anybody would like to seek out our services, you just heard all the details as to where to find her. If you want to know more about that nonprofit, go to their website. If it's something that resonates with you, go donate $1, $5. Those little gifts can really make a big impact, multiplied by the number of audience members that we have watching today. Thank you so much for watching this episode of Little Give.
Speaker 1:
If you would like to learn more about how I highlight ordinary people doing extraordinary things to help others, or maybe you'd like to be a guest, or maybe you know a nonprofit that you would like to see featured on a future episode of Little Give, you can find all the information on our website at littlegivecom. If you'd like to get involved with our kindness clip segment, please do send in those videos. Send them via email to Cindy at littlegivecom, or you can tag us on any social media under Cindy Whitman or hashtag Little Give. If you'd like to know more about our podcast, you can also find us on all major streaming platforms under Little Give podcast. Please do find our Facebook group under Little Give TV show and join it. We'd love to keep you up to date with future episodes. Thank you all so much for watching and I can't wait to highlight the next ordinary person doing extraordinary things to help others. See you next time, musicp閻.