Hey everyone, welcome back to Top5 brought to you by DefinedTalent. We are a results driven service working with clients to connect them with quality talent as well as working to make an impact within the recruitment industry. We talk straight about today's professional world with real world professionals, experts in recruitment, job seekers and business owners alike. Have a question for us? Send it in and you might spur our next
conversation. I'm Tara Thurber, co founder and director of talent partnerships at to DefinedTalent. And joining me today is Wendy Howland Partner at Trusted Advisors. Hey, Wendy, how are you today?
Good. Thank you for having me.
Very excited to have you. Would you kick this off with just providing a little bit of background for our listeners?
Sure. Trusted Advisors is a network of just about 200 affiliates. And our affiliates are really coaches and consultants. They work in a variety of different industries, really helping organizations in the areas of strategy, people and process. They also coach executives, to help them with you know, whatever it is they're looking to accomplish. So that's
who our customers serve. And then what Trusted Advisors also does is we work very closely with our customers who we refer to as affiliates, helping them build successful businesses. So we provide a lot of the tools and the support that they need in order to do that.
Wow. Now, how did you get to where you are today doing this?
Actually, I was part of a another organization that was around probably for close to 40 years. In 2018 we did some restructuring to keep the authenticity integrity of the brand. And that's when Trusted Advisors was formed. So our network has been around for just about 40 years. Trusted Advisors since 2018.
That's fantastic. Now let's kind of dive into Trusted Advisors network.
Sure.
What is the mission of Trusted Advisors Network? And I know you just touched base on who you serve. But what is the overall mission?
The overall mission is we are the first choice among professionals for assistance in creating and building a successful coaching or consulting practice.
Wow.
That is our overall mission.
That's awesome. And then when we take when we think about coaching, and then there's also consulting, can you describe the difference between coaching and consulting?
Yes, I can share how we define the difference.
Perfect.
We define coaching as working with an individual one on one. Oftentimes, when we're working with an individual one -on-one tends to be more in the executive route.
Right.
They are looking for life balance, they are looking for, you know, sitting up here at the top of this organization gets to be very lonely (laghs). Who can I talk to to really help me with my daily
(laughs) struggles, issues, challenges that I face on a day to day basis? Right.
So many of our affiliates will work with executives one-on-one, helping them with those particular issues. Our affiliates will also work with individuals inside an organization one-on-one as an example, Tara is a great employee, we see that she has the potential to go really far. We want to set Tara up for success. We see her moving into management levels or into an executive level. Instead of just saying congratulations Tara, you now have a new job (laughs).
Good luck! (laughs)
Organizations are realizing that there is a fairly new skill set involved at that new level.
Yes!
Let's set Tara up for success. Let's provide her with a coach to help her gain those additional skills and knowledge that she needs to be successful. So that's how we define coaching is when we are working with an individual one-on-one to help that individual accomplish those things that are important to them.
Okay.
It could be business, could be organization, it could be business organizational focused, could be personal focused.
Okay.
At times there's both.
A little bit of everything.
Exactly from consulting. How we define consulting is where we're working with an organization to help them grow, attain, achieve, it really varies. Sometimes an affiliate could go in because they're looking for reduction in turnover. They need to increase sales. They're looking to update a strategic plan. They're looking to fix their processes.
So from that standpoint, that's where we'll go in after we have a clear understanding of what it is they're looking to do and help them with those types of things. I will say, how we differ from a lot of other consultants out there.
Yeah.
A lot of other consultants are going to go in and say, This is what you need to do with your organization, thanks, see ya!
Right.
That's not the process that we follow. Our methodology is really working with the organization and the players inside of the organization, because they know that organization better than any of us could ever pretend to.
Absolutely.
So we're going to help them come up to what's the right solutions for that? And I think that's a key differentiator. Our affiliates can work in just about any different industry without having industry expertise.
Perfect.
Because the people inside the organization have that industry expertise. What our folks do is bring the questions to the table that they haven't thought to ask themselves, because they're too stuck in the muck in the mire of it.
Yeah, yeah.
Does that answer your question?
Yeah, absolutely does and it just kind of it shed so much light on almost that missing link at times, between an organization and an individual or and having executives be stuck in the muck in offering that one-on-one and then bringing more light to the table for the entire team. Or vice versa. Right? Maybe it's bringing more light to the team and then expanding out when you're speaking with some
clients. I guess it's twofold, because it's organizations, and then it's one-on-one individuals are their differentiators between if individuals from an organization call or reach out? What helps them determine is it the entire structure that needs support? Or is it just that individual that needs support?
That is done through when our affiliates are working with an organization, we're going to take a step back, what we do is we help our affiliates be able to do this with our clients. So it's a step, step, step. When our affiliates are working with
Right. their clients prior to do any work with them, they're going to go in and do an in depth discovery to really understand what is the organization really looking to do? Is this issue - what's the root cause, rather than just addressing a symptom, because you know, you can address a symptom, but it's not going to make the root cause go away. So we at Trusted Advisors, work with our affiliates and teach our affiliates how to do that great discovery to understand and find out what's
that root cause? Once we know the root cause, then we'll determine what's the best solution to help this organization with whatever issue they're dealing with. That's fantastic. I like the idea of the in depth, kind of peeling back the layers to really see what is the root to it. Very awesome. Now, this might this is kind of stepping outside of the box a little bit here. But for Trusted Advisors Network when you're working with individuals or with organizations, what does that
essentially look like? And I know that's kind of two different paths that one can take, but just for our listeners out there, to get an idea of what that path might look like.
I'm not sure I understand the question completely. Our affiliates are all independent business owners. So our affiliates are servicing those end users, either the coaching clients or the organizations.
Got it!
So, how they're getting in front of them varies.
Right.
Most times, it's through networking events, speaking engagements.
Right, right.
Through their personal connections, chambers of commerce. But they make and they get an introduction into that decision maker.
Right.
And it's through those conversations that the interest is garnered and you know, discovery into facilitation of it.
I love it. And kind of another question to that facilitation. I'm just interested as an organization, if I was interested in bringing talent advisors into an organization, what are the are they in person meetings? Are they what does that look like?
Depends (laughs).
Yeah, all right. (laughs)
But it really does. It's very unique. If somebody was interested in They found us, of course, if you reached out to Trusted Advisors directly and said, Hey, I think I might have an issue. Do you have somebody that could help me? We, of course, would put you in touch with one of our affiliates.
Okay.
How our affiliates work with their clients really depends. Sometimes it's face to face meetings. Sometimes it's done virtually, sometimes it's a
Yep. combination of both. And that's why I said, it really depends. There's not necessarily one right answer. Generally, we like to meet with organizations weekly, because we spaced repetition, that's how you get them to internalize it. So often you think about going to a local chamber event, you go to hear somebody speak, if you really think about it, when you come home, you have the best intentions, but you get started
on your daily work. My question is, when did you get to implement all those good things you heard about? Yeah.
Most oftentimes, we don't. Because when we hear something, once we get back into the day, in the day, we kind of forget about it. So that's why ours is our methodology and our concepts are built in such a way that we build in spaced repetition. Because when you hear something over and over again, you're gonna retain it.
Yeah.
Think about advertising.
Yeah. Yes! (laughs)
They're great at getting that. You know, never had a Big Mac and all my life, but I can tell you what's on one!
Yeah! (laughs)
So that's an example of really helping the individuals internalize that. So it generally is we break it into weekly sessions. Like I said, sometimes it's in person, sometimes it's virtually, sometimes it's a combination of both. Are there times where we have to do something outside of the box in order to meet the client's needs? Sure.
Right.
But affiliates are really good. And they're able to schedule the sessions for what makes the most sense for the client.
Absolutely amazing. I love now, where are the affiliates based? Are you nationwide? Or what's your location?
There's pretty much affiliates nationwide.
Okay. Wonderful. That's great to know, for all of our listeners, too. So I want to take a break here and just ask an out of the box question. We've been doing this this year with our with our guests. If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
You know, it's funny that you mention that because I think about that all the time. And having kids I often kind of share this advice with them.
Yeah.
Key piece of advice, and it's kind of I'm gonna step up. Never give up on your dreams. And no matter what chronological age you hit, continue dreaming. Obstacles are merely stumbling blocks. There's other ways around it, just because you hit a wall doesn't mean you stop, you know, climb over it, walk around it, pick a different direction. And have fun. Live your purpose, live your passion. I've been doing this 30 plus years now, and I'll tell you what, I don't work.
This is, it's what I do. It's a part of who I am. And I truly love it. So, live your purpose, live your passion. And I know I'm going a little bit overboard, but you're never gonna have to work a day in your life, you know, is every day peachy keen? No, but you know, you'll have that joy. That's the advice I would give to my younger self.
That just gave me goosebumps. And it's so true, especially when speaking to just younger people in general, young professionals that are just getting out there. Individuals that don't think that way. At any age, right? It's just a matter of breaking through. And I absolutely love, love, love, love that advice. Wendy, share your Top5 Reasons to Join Trusted Advisors Network, please.
The reason affiliates really become affiliates and part of our network.
Yeah.
There's several pieces to it. Number one, their time tired of working for corporate America where they're, I want to say, kind of leaving their future in someone else's hands.
Yeah.
And they want to take all the expertise that they have, because most of our affiliates are seasoned.They've been in business, you know, in the business world for 20/30 years.
Right.
They're at a path where they're looking for a change, looking for change for a lot of different reasons. Could be I'm tired of being downsized, right sized asked. I'm ready to retire from corporate.
Yep.
But not ready to be sent for pasture (laughs).
Right.
Still things I want to do. And a lot of times, they're also coming to us because they're looking for more, I'm going to say life balance life blend. They're tired of flying all over the country, they want to be available to family. So I would say for those reasons, one of the first things is with Trusted Advisors, you're in your own business. So you're in business for yourself, right? You're not by yourself. So I think that's
one. The second thing is the fact that our affiliates success is our success.
Right.
And it's not, it's truly about building your relationship with each and every affiliate. We are their personal coach, we are really there to help them with marketing, sales, pricing, facilitation. And we actually, I kinda laugh when we have our initial and ongoing training at our ongoing trainings, we think about going back to a conference, and you get a lot of the handshakes. I mean, ours feels more like a family reunion (laughs).
Right (laughs).
So I would say it's, it's that coaching relationship that we have with every affiliate to really help them focus on what does success mean to them?
Right.
Because it's an independent definition to success, and then helping them work towards that. The initial and ongoing training, not only do you get them started, but for their ongoing personal and professional development, helps them very much in the way of if you are a coach or a consultant, helps them walk the walk and talk the talk.
Right. Absolutely.
Credibility's there because they believe in their own personal and professional development.
Yep.
So I would say, coaching, ongoing support, initial and ongoing training, the power of the network.
Yeah.
Being able to talk with members of the network
Wow. to say, Hey, do you have anything on this? I'm looking for speech that has to do with that, can we brainstorm, strategize this? So having those like minded individuals, that peer network. And the last piece of it, is having the proven materials to use with their clients, instead of having to invent something or reinvent something each and every time they have a client, we've got a set of tools that our affiliates use, when they service their
clients. They're able to take those tools and tailor it to each client's needs, but they
Those are really the top five reasons why, you don't have to create client every time they work with. I mean create materials every time they work with a client. know, affiliates become part of the Trusted Advisors Network.
And it's fantastic. I mean, you know, I've spoken to so many leaders and so many leaders that feel alone, you know, co founders and founders that I've spoken to over the course of the past two years, that's been one of the biggest topics is loneliness. Because you're there you don't really know, or have that immediate support. So that's
huge, Wendy. And I think another thing too, that I am absolutely blown away by is the fact that an individual wanting to start something has almost an immediate space or place within to have the peer, to have the network, to have the training, to have all of that. And it's all of which sets this one individual up for success. And it's just such an amazing thing that I've been hearing and of course spoken to one of your affiliates and learning from her as well, where she got to and
it's exciting. I know a lot of candidates that I speak to are on that - they're they're teetering between, do I keep applying? Do I keep applying to all these corporate level roles? But that's kind of dimming their light. It's not helping their light shine as bright as they really, really passionately want it to. So the fact that there is a place for these individuals that want to pivot out of the corporate world or want to pivot into something that lights them
up a little bit stronger. And there's a place for them to go to with all that support is is just phenomenal.
Thank you. And it is really important to us because we do respect the fact that and understand this is something that could be a dream for them, kind of going back to my it's their dream.
Right.
But there's fear associated with that dream.
Of course, of course.
You know, how do I do this? Where would I, where would I go? What would it look like? We really helped them create that plan. So it's not as scary.
Yeah. This is all amazing. I feel like I could keep digging and digging and talking and talking. How does somebody sign up? Or if somebody reaches out, how does that process begin with Trusted Advisors Network?
Yes, there is actually a process involved, you would reach out to us TrustedAdvisorsNetworkllc.com, you can email, you can call on. Our website is our phone number.
Okay.
We'll start with an initial conversation, just to see, does this seem like it would be a good fit? If it does seem like it would be a good fit, the next step is attending what we refer to as a mutual evaluation. A mutual evaluation is the opportunity for the individual to learn much more about Trusted Advisors. During that mutual evaluation, you will meet my partner, Tammy, as well as my partner, Gerard, we're the three that work closely with our
affiliates. So you'll get the opportunity to work with all of us. After those calls, you'll have an opportunity to review the materials for a little bit of time, and then we're going to continue those conversations. Based upon what you've learned, does this make sense? Where do we go from here? And then if it is a mutually agreed upon, it fits for both us and it fits for them, then they could become an affiliate at that point in time.
That's fantastic. Absolutely in order for somebody, it's I like the mutual conversations, because it is so important to make sure that it all does come together.
And there is an initial investment and for that initial investment, they get everything that they need to start that, build that successful business.
Amazing. Wendy, this has been such a pleasure learning so much more about Trusted Advisors Network. I can't thank you enough for holding some time and space for us today.
Oh, thank you. And I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to share a little bit more about Trusted Advisors.
Wonderful. And then when we launch this podcast out, I will make sure to get a link to the website in all of our social so that if anybody's interested, they can reach out directly or if somebody comes through us I will make sure to get them over to you all. I'm really looking forward to continuing this offline with you and seeing where it can take us together.
Thank you. I'm excited too.
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