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Stack Multiple Passive Income Streams From One Simple Skill | ft. Kathleen Kobel
00:35:42
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- [00:00]
A
The beauty is that you can still be earning money while you're sleeping or while you're feeding your kids or while you're at your kid's soccer game. Right. So I talk a lot about my favorite business model, which is the content creation and in not having to trade those dollars for hours, that is really, really important to me, especially as a mom, because most of my free time is set aside for my kids. So the more I can be earning money in my free time while I'm with my kids, I feel like the more successful I am.
- [00:27]
B
Hey there. I'm Cody McGuffey. I'm a husband dad of three, and I'm the founder of Ever Be. Ever Be, Ever Be, where we serve over a million creators across the globe, helping them grow thriving online businesses. I believe every single human is a creator, and I believe every single creator should own a business, a business that gives them the freedom to build the life that they dream of. Built online is where creators, entrepreneurs and leaders get real insights, real stories and the edge to build something that's actually lasts. This is where next generation builders get built. Kathleen. Hey, how are you?
- [01:03]
A
Good, good. Cody, how are you? Thank you for having me.
- [01:07]
B
I'm. I'm great. Yeah. Thank you for coming on. Super excited to talk. We already were chatting a little bit before we hit record, but I want to dive deeper into your story and I want to dive deeper into kind of like the stuff, your life a little bit too, if you wouldn't mind, just because you live an interesting life that I think a lot of listeners today would be inspired by. And. Yeah, so maybe we start there. So who's Kathleen?
- [01:33]
A
Sure, sure. So let's see. Kathleen, she. She certainly loves to make money on the Internet, be financially independent, not have a boss, but, you know, probably works too many hours. But, you know, also, you know, for me, my background is very much in Amazon. Being a seller and now an influencer has really helped me only be able to build my own business that works for me. But really just around my lifestyle, I've been, I've been in different positions. I've had different businesses that I've owned that I've run or that I've worked for. And, you know, I think it's really important. I know something really important for me is that I need to enjoy what I'm doing in order to make money, but I also need to be able to not only be financially free, of course that's very important, but, you know, time, flexibility and freedom is super important to me. And so you Know my goal and kind of every day when I wake up and start working is, you know, how can I continue to grow my business, help as many people as possible, but also make it around my lifestyle so that I'm not working 14 hours a day getting burnt out because I don't think anyone can really help others when they're in that kind of a state.
- [02:49]
B
I love that. I love that. And it's so. It's so contrary to probably what we, I don't know, speak for myself, but what we grew up thinking, we. We used to think that, like you, if to be successful, you had to make these sacrifices, such as a family, like time with your family, happiness, sometimes, like, you know that you're gonna have to do these things. And, and the reality is, at least in 2025, is that's not necessarily. Doesn't have to be true. You can actually build a business that you enjoy doing, fills you up, helps a lot of people, makes a lot of money, and also have the time that didn't always. That wasn't always the case. But like with the Internet, it is the case, actually, which is the beautiful thing about it.
- [03:31]
A
Absolutely. It's completely the case. And, you know, there's never been a better time than now. I feel like, you know, you can kind of always say that as time progresses, but really the best time is now. We have access to so many things, so many resources, so many people, people all over the world, resources, AI, all these things. Right. And so if you find the motivation to get in a position where you are helping people and you are making good money, why not?
- [04:02]
B
Yeah, I agree with that. Let's. I want to talk a little bit. I want to just ship right into, like, how typically you teach people how to make money. And then we can kind of jump back to maybe your story a little bit. But first, like, what is, like your main source at least? Yeah, like, it's Amazon, it's influencer. But what does that mean for the people that don't understand what that means?
- [04:24]
A
Yes, yes. So my primary business is being an Amazon influencer. And so, you know, my background is an Amazon seller. I was an Amazon seller and still am for the past 15 years. I've consulted with thousands of brands. I've launched many thousands of products on Amazon. And so, you know, when I discovered the Amazon Influencer program, I knew I had to try it. I tried it out and it was just so fun, fun for me and gave me a nice outlet to not only be creative, but to make money, make passive income which is something that I wasn't doing previously as an Amazon seller or even an agency owner when I was helping all these other brands. So the Amazon Influencer program, and you know what the difference is, is you actually get to create content that you then upload to Amazon that lives on Amazon, that when people watch your videos or click through your photos and buy the items, you earn a commission. So it's like your Amazon affiliate or, you know, kind of associates program. But the cool thing is that Amazon does a lot of the marketing for you cause you get to post your content on their platform. And so I've to. That is been my main business for quite a few years now since it's been launched really. And I've been really successful with it because of my Amazon seller background. You know, I didn't just start becoming an Amazon influencer and then figure out all the best products to create videos for and, you know, made all this money. I had a lot of background on the Amazon platform. So I think that helped me really, really, really a lot in order to be able to scale more quickly maybe than some others with less knowledge. And so as a result, now I also teach people how to make money with the Amazon Influencer program. And it's one of my favorite things to do because I get to connect with people that are doing what I'm doing, but also I get to help them make money and I get to hear their success about how they got to retire from their job or how they got to, you know, how they pay their mortgage with their Amazon Influencer earnings. So for me, that's one of my favorite things about what I do.
- [06:28]
B
Very, very cool. And yeah, you, I'm looking at your background right now as we speak. You've owned this, have you been doing this consulting or at least you've been selling pretty much for about 10 years right now on Amazon. And probably you've been basically consulting and then also like doing the Amazon Influencer program for the past, I don't know, seven years. Is that, does that sound about right?
- [06:49]
A
Yeah. So I started selling on Amazon about 15 years ago. I started an agency helping other brands about 10 years ago after I left my, after I left my 9 to 5 job. And then about four years ago, I started with the Amazon Influencer program and really pivoted. Like I said, I do help brands. I, I do consult for sellers still. But the influencer stuff is really my, my bread and butter and it's what kind of lights me up, makes me money and allows me to help other People too.
- [07:19]
B
I love that. And I like to kind of sometimes go into the, the opportunity first because it sets the context a little bit. Like for the Amazon Influencer program, you probably, you've been in this space for a long time. You've also made money in this space and you also probably see other influencers doing better or, or less than you. Right. So you're seeing like the whole spectrum, what is crushing it as an Amazon influencer and what is like medium and then what is like obviously zero would be, you know, not successful. Like what's the opportunity there?
- [07:48]
A
Yeah, you know, I think like with any opportunity you get what you put into it, but also being strategic is going to help you. So I know one of my, one of my least favorite things I hear is when people get started with the Amazon Influencer program, they get advice saying, well, just create videos about anything and everything and throw them up on Amazon and see what happens. And that is the complete opposite approach of what I did when I first started was I did my product research. I found products that paid the highest commission rate on Amazon. I found products that were more expensive because I do think there's a higher purchase consideration rate. Right. So if you're, if you're buying a 10 or 20 item on Amazon, maybe you're not necessarily going to watch a video, but if you're going to buy a hundred $300 couch, let's say on Amazon, you're definitely going to want to watch a video and kind of see does it look, how does it look? And you know, having that kind of third party influence from the Amazon influencers is really important as an Amazon customer because you're seeing the brand and their marketing materials on the product listing page, but now you're seeing somebody else, just a regular person talk about this product. So I think that really is one of the best things you can do. Right. Is find those higher price items, higher commission rates. I mean, I have lots of strategies for how can you earn more. But you know, any, anything from a couple hundred dollars a month to 10k plus every month. I know people that are making money in that range, whether it's on Amazon or, you know, then we expand our content and post it other places as well, which just helps to monetize even more.
- [09:28]
B
Love that. Thank you for that. It's a great breakdown and okay. And typically if someone get started with this and they've never done this before, I know that you have a free masterclass on this too, which is, which is awesome. So we'll direct people to that kind of during this too. But what is the next step? Like, what is the first steps? Like you enroll or apply for the program and then you're like, okay, I'm gonna make these, these, these videos about the specific products. $300 check. Got it. Commission, great. Commission percentage, great. And then you have to purchase the product probably too. Right. So you could actually make a video about the product. Is that kind of how it works?
- [10:04]
A
You do have to have the product in hand, but you don't necessarily have to purchase it from Amazon. There's lots of programs now in Amazon and outside of Amazon where as an influencer you can get a free sample, you can partner with brands. So there are ways to get free products. But also one thing that's really important is that in order to create a video and upload it to Amazon, you don't have to purchase the item from Amazon. It just has to be available for sale on Amazon just so you can tag that product in your video.
- [10:32]
B
I see. So how do you end up, how do you usually end up getting them, the products?
- [10:36]
A
A little bit of both. I do my strategic Amazon purchasing. So if I need something for my home or my family, I go through my research process and I find something that fits what I need, but also that I know is going to make me money with an influencer video. I've also partnered with brands both on Amazon and off Amazon to get lots of free stuff. And even, you know, the next step is getting paid for that content. So I have brands I work with with that will pay me to create an Amazon shoppable video for their product, whether they're doing a new product launch or, you know, they need to kind of light a fire under a certain product. I'm able to also get paid up front for content too.
- [11:17]
B
Super cool. And I could totally see that. I have a lot of friends that have Amazon brands. One of them actually just sold their brand last week successfully. It's the second brand they've sold on Amazon, which is cool.
- [11:26]
A
Awesome. Yeah.
- [11:27]
B
Actually I'm curious to like ask him how he has leveraged. Right. Influencers. Because I imagine it's a huge lever, like lever for a product launch, probably or just probably rankability, I imagine. What do typically like influencers charge for this? Because I know that we have like brands work with tick tock influencers and then like YouTube influencers and things like this is it per video. Plus it's just. Is it all negotiable? How does that look like, typically?
- [11:58]
A
Yeah, I mean really, it's all negotiable depending on, you know, your brand and depending on the influencer. I mean, I have influencers that charge just $50 for a video because they're just getting started and they're just kind of in there and they're also just starting that relationship with the brand. Right. Whereas, you know, I also have influencers that are getting paid $1,000 per video because they have large followings off Amazon. They have proven conversion rates on Amazon. So really it depends on the influencer you're working with and also the content expectations. Right. Because if you want to, let's say, purchase licensing options for video, I always encourage influencers to charge more. But that in turn can make the brand a lot more money too. So I know that's a big, that's a big range there, but just know that whether you're a smaller brand or a larger brand, you know, even if you're a small brand with a smaller budget, you very much can still work with Amazon influencers that could, you know, skyrocket your sales on Amazon.
- [12:58]
B
Is there like a, a, a chance for virality on Amazon? Meaning like sometimes if you post a tick tock video, for example, like sometimes you'll just get like it just hits right? Like it just, you just kind of get lucky. Your scales will kind of just explode. Everybody's views explode. It's kind of just like, oh, cool. That, that's like didn't, couldn't even expect that. There's probably not really much of that on Amazon, I imagine or.
- [13:25]
A
Tell me that's such a great question. No, I mean you're pretty much right. Way the content shows up on Amazon primarily is on the product listing pages. So this isn't really a huge opportunity with that. Amazon used to have a program called Inspire and it was on your Amazon shopping app and it was, it looked very similar to like TikTok as you're scrolling through and what they. Yeah, yeah, that would probably be the best way to kind of go viral on Amazon. But Amazon discontinued Inspire because it didn't work very well for them. So that would probably be your best kind of way to do that.
- [14:04]
B
But I think it's probably easier to be honest, like for a brand it's easier to have the stability, like you know that like, because sometimes that's where it makes it challenging to work with influencers or influencers to work with brands because you can't promise virality as an influencer and you can't guarantee that you're going to get from a brand. Like you can't invest in, in potential virality, but you kind of have to meet in the middle somewhere. So it makes it kind of challenging to like sometimes negotiate for both parties. Whereas probably a little bit more stable. Like, you know what everybody's going to kind of expectations are what you're going to get when you kind of, when you work together. Which is nice.
- [14:41]
A
Yeah, yeah, exactly. And you know, one thing too is, especially as an E commerce brand, when you're negotiating with sellers, you can also talk to them about like, yes, of course it's going to help you with your Amazon sales if there's content on Amazon, but look to their other channels because that potentially could be the way to promote virality. Right. Is if you have an amazing product and you have a great influencer with a huge TikTok following. Right now, perhaps your Amazon product is going viral on TikTok or, you know, maybe they post on Instagram. I think Instagram's more friendly with Amazon than TikTok is. But there's still that opportunity if you find the right influencer to be pushing your product and they have the right audience. It's definitely still possible. Just it would have to happen off Amazon.
- [15:29]
B
I love that. Yeah, that makes sense. I want to kind of switch over to your book. You just, I'm not sure when did you, when did you actually publish the book, but I'm excited to read it. It's called the Unconventional Business Model. Is it primarily about this business model or maybe you can kind of give us some insights and what is it about and kind of what is your take?
- [15:48]
A
Yeah, so I do talk a bit about this business model, but I also talk about other business models that I have done in the past. You know, whether it's E commerce or agency or content creation. Right. I talk about kind of all of the business models and the purpose of the book is to inform readers about these different types of business models, but also what are the things that they should be looking out for and the strategies and even red flags as well in order to create a business to not only be financially free as far as, you know, money goes, but as far as time goes as well. And I talk about this in my book. You know, when I decided to leave my nine to five, it was shortly after I had my first daughter or my, my first child. And so my daughter and it just, it became, my time became so much more valuable because if I wasn't working, I wanted to be with her or if I felt like, you know, kind of my time was being wasted at Work. It just made me more anxious to get home to her. And so, you know, the, really, the, the main idea of the book, the unconventional business model, is that there are so many business models that anyone can try. But it's so important when you are deciding which one to go with, to not only be informed, but to be able to create a business around the lifestyle that you have or that you want instead of burning yourself out. And, you know, sure, you're making great money, but, you know, maybe you don't get to see your kids at the end of the day or, you know, things like that.
- [17:23]
B
I love that. What are they? The business models that. And you just mentioned a couple of them, but which ones are some of your favorite? For example, a mom like you, right? You have. Sounds like you have two kids or three kids.
- [17:35]
A
I have three kids, yes. Yes. You know, my goal, especially as, you know, when I, when I became an agency owner, it was fantastic. I was working with great clients, I was making great money, but I was working a lot of hours, Right. I was on a lot of client meetings every day. And so if I had a sick child, it made it really difficult for me to kind of clear my schedule. Right. But now, and this is one of my favorite business models that I talk about, and that is my primary business model is content creation because it is much more passive. I call it semi passive income, because as most people know, there is no such thing as truly passive income in the business world, especially in the online business world. You still have to put in the time to spend, set it up, right? You still have to put in the time to create the product, even if it is passive later on or it's a digital product or, you know, a book or whatever it may be. You still have to put in the time to do it. But the beauty is that you can still be earning money while you're sleeping or while you're feeding your kids or while you're at your kid's soccer game, right? So I talk a lot about my favorite business model, which is the content creation. And in not having to trade those dollars for hours, that is really, really important to me, especially as a mom, because most of my free time is set aside for my kids. So the more I can be earning money in my free time while I'm with my kids, I feel like the more successful I am.
- [19:12]
B
Yeah, I get that. Can you. So when you say content creation as the business model, are you specifically referring to the Amazon content creation or is it.
- [19:22]
A
Yeah, that's one of it.
- [19:23]
B
As okay, tell me more.
- [19:25]
A
Yeah, yeah. So, you know, so for example, some of the content that I create now that I earn on our Amazon videos, right? And then I also, you know, upload those to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, right? So I create one video and I put it out there in all these different places for the potential to earn with one piece of content in multiple places. And then of course, over time, I also have a course where I teach people how to be successful Amazon influencers. So while it is, you know, that is only semi passive, right? Because I'm constantly updating it and connecting with the community and the members in there and everything, it is still semi passive in the way that all of my content lives on the Internet and anybody can come and join my program whenever they want to. So that's another way. The book, of course the book took a lot of time to write, so a lot of time and effort. But now I just get to talk about it and promote it and now anyone can go buy my book and that'll earn me some money too.
- [20:26]
B
I love that you, you quoted. Stop guessing and start growing. Use Amazon's Creator Connections to get paid up front, then stack affiliate earnings. What does that really mean for the person who's just like, I don't really get it yet. Stop guessing and start growing. Use Amazon's creator connections to get paid up front and stock affiliate commissions. Is it like as simple as signing up and again, picking, picking the right products and just creating the content? What do you mean by that?
- [20:56]
A
Yeah, I mean pretty much so Creator Connections is one of the programs within Amazon that will help any Amazon creator scale their income, right? I kind of talked about like how to get started earlier, but Creator Connections is such a great opportunity because it lives within Amazon, but it allows sellers to create these campaigns where they can then find influencers to, to earn increased commission based on sales. So it becomes a win win with the sellers don't have to pay unless there's a sale made. The creators get paid additional commission, which is usually 10 to 30%, whereas Amazon only pays out 1 to 4%. So big, big difference there. But it's also become one of the biggest, the best, most profitable ways that I know for me and many of my influencers in my program to be able to earn because again, it's, you're creating one piece of content, but now we're getting paid through creator connections and then through Amazon and then maybe you're making a sale on YouTube. And so that's one of my favorite programs that I push and Promote. As far as strategy goes to really scale your Amazon influencer earnings, do you.
- [22:06]
B
Typically stay within, like, the lane of physical products, or do you find yourself sometimes promoting and talking about other things? Maybe that helps your, your existing. Like, maybe it's your. Maybe your students, right? Or do you kind of stay in that lane of physical products?
- [22:21]
A
No. So for my, for my Amazon creator, I'm all about the physical products because that's what Amazon sells. But I also, you know, as far as the education portion of my business where I teach people how to be successful Amazon influencers, I'm also partnered with certain softwares, certain other websites that have. And so I'm also an affiliate for software or programs that I use. The benefit, you know, that have helped me grow my business or grow my earnings. And so, you know, that's one. One more way that I'm creating content that will then again pay me over and over while also giving my, my members and my community some of the best resources that I'm already using too.
- [23:05]
B
I mean, I love this, and I just want someone to take this away from, like, the way I hear. And what I see is like, like, Kathleen, you've. You've, like be. You came, became an expert at a specific skill. You became so good at it, and then you kind of like, layered in a bunch of different layers on top of it, and then they all kind of like compound together. Like, the more that you press on it, like, the flywheel kind of turns faster and faster. And I know you know this, but it's. It's cool to say it out loud. So that way everybody else can kind of, like, see it of. It really only takes one skill that can, like, roll into so many other, like, income streams inside of the business, which is really, really powerful.
- [23:41]
A
It is. It really is. And that's just, it's something that I talk about a lot in my book. And, like, I'm just always looking for these opportunities where I can work smarter and not harder. I know that's like a cliche kind of term, but honestly, it's something that I. Every day, you know, I'm like, am I working harder? Am I working smarter? When I'm questioning, like, a task that I'm doing or, you know, moving forward with a project that I'm like, will this work or will this not? I don't know. But at the end of the day, like, am I smarter or am I working harder? And I always want to be working smarter.
- [24:15]
B
I think it's a perfect time to just transition over to the Rapid fire questions. Are you ready?
- [24:19]
A
I'm ready.
- [24:20]
B
What's your favorite business book?
- [24:23]
A
My favorite business book, it's kind of a business mindset book, but it's called Chill and Prosper by Denise Duffield Thomas. And she talks about everything from business to marketing to mindset, which I think think all three of those pillars are critical to have a successful business.
- [24:43]
B
Super, super cool. What's the one thing that you wish that you knew before starting your businesses?
- [24:50]
A
I wish I knew. Gosh, I started my business a long time ago when I was not too. I didn't know much about investing, so I wish I knew a lot more about the best ways to invest money. Because if you make money, you know, making money is step one, but then step two is compounding. Right. Investing, making that money work for you. I wish I would have known more about that when I first started my business.
- [25:18]
B
What have you learned since then? Yeah. So what have you learned? Like, what works for you? Like, what do you typically do with your earnings for to. From an investment standpoint?
- [25:25]
A
Well, so just within the last few years, I have a solo case set up for my llc. You're like, I didn't know that I could do that 15 years ago when I started my business. I didn't know that I could basically have my own retirement account through my own business. Right. You go work for a company and they do 401k matches. I can do that for myself. So after talking to a good accountant and a financial advisor, I figured out that I could do that. And, you know, it's not. It's not taking money away from the tax man. It's being smart with the money that I'm investing. And all these other people are doing it, you know, So I think that's the biggest thing that's really helped me.
- [26:05]
B
What's the worst advice that you've ever received about business? The worst advice?
- [26:11]
A
Oh, the worst advice probably just like, go with the flow. I think that's probably the worst advice I've ever received, which, again, is kind of generic. But I think when everyone just goes with the flow, it. You don't. You don't get the opportunity to try to become a unicorn, you know, and try to be the person that does something different or makes a difference or even stands up for something that, you know, maybe you think is better than whatever is going with the flow. I think you can go with the flow as long as you are 100% agreeing with where that flow is going. Because if you have that 1% doubt, you may want to reevaluate.
- [26:54]
B
How many hours do you think that you work in your business per week?
- [26:58]
A
Per week? I would say probably about 30. I have three kids. I'd love to be able to work 40 or 50 and it really kind of depends on the, the time of year. But I would say average, probably about 30 hours a week on all my businesses combined.
- [27:15]
B
Wow. And that's, that's really awesome. Probably for, I mean depending on obviously who you are and if that's good for you. Obviously it's amazing and it's. To me it seems awesome right. When you have, when you're a mom of three. We have three kids too. And 30 hours a week is like to me it seems like you're probably getting filled up at work. You probably like feel like the strong purpose of like what you're doing, but you're also sounds like you're just an amazing mom. What is your family, what does your family look like as far as the setup? Is your husband working? Like what is that family home set up, if you don't mind?
- [27:48]
A
Yeah, yeah, we probably relate to that. Yeah. We are both self employed at the moment. My husband has been, he's been in jobs, he's worked for me, we've done stuff together but we're both self employed mom, which is really awesome because we have three kids in, in grade school. I have an 11 year old daughter, a 9 year old son and a 5 year old son. So we are very busy and that's why I really only get to work about 30 hours a week. So you know, maybe as they grow older I'll have a little bit more time. But my work time is very focused while they're at school and I'm there for them. In the morning I go pick them up from school and so it's a. But that's, that's the lifestyle and that's the business model, you know, that works for me and my family.
- [28:32]
B
I love that. Last question. Who do you think should be a business owner?
- [28:39]
A
Who do I think should be a business owner? I think everyone, I think everyone should be a business owner because it, I don't know that everyone's cut out to be a business owner, but I think everyone should at least have the opportunity whether they want to or not. Because being a business owner is so much more work than being an employee. So I think it'll let people know do I want to be a business owner or do I want to be an employee for the rest of my life? I don't think it's for everyone. But I think, I think the world would probably be a better place if everyone tried to start their own business and figured out for themselves and you know, had to, that there is something to be said for that, like self motivation. Right. And so being able to motivate yourself to get up every day and go to work when you have no boss is really hard sometimes. But I think everyone should at least give it a go because it could completely change your life if it's something you like and that works out for you.
- [29:39]
B
I love that. When you said the world could be a better place if everyone was a business owner, that was interesting because I sometimes I found myself catching that saying that also in my head. But then I like, I, I argue with myself about that. I'm like, wait, but then you, you have no employees, you know, like so, and, but then I, then I counteracted again and I said, well, just because you're a business owner doesn't mean you're a full time business owner. And so like I kind of argue with myself inside of my head. I'm curious what you meant by that.
- [30:04]
A
Yeah, well, so like going from being an employee to a business owner, I felt like I remember meeting with my boss after. It was probably about a year, a year and a half after I left working for him. I met up with him for. He's also my uncle. So I met up with him for lunch and I was just like, you know, he's like, what are you working on? You know, what, what have you learned? You know, being out on your own? And I was like, ed, I look at everything so much differently than, than I did when I worked for you because now I'm the owner of the business. So now everything is just, just in a completely different perspective. Like, I understand why you blew off that project because that didn't matter at the time. It was really important to me, but it actually didn't matter to the business owner. Right. And as an employee, I'm like, I don't understand, I don't get. Now as a business owner, I get it. So I think just, again, not that being a business owner is cut out for everybody, but I think if any, if everyone was able to like step in those shoes, I feel like, like you could be a better employee if you really understood kind of what your boss was thinking or what the owner of that business was thinking too.
- [31:15]
B
I completely agree. Yeah, I mean, you could say it honestly, I would agree with you that everyone should be a business owner to some degree. Like 20, 25 and I think the world would be a better place. That's why I appreciated you saying that, because you'd be a better husband or wife when you're a business owner because you just look at things just a little bit differently. You take ownership typically of your life. You don't blame your bosses for things. You don't blame your. Because, yes, I don't blame my customers for things. So it's like you, you take more accountability then you. It's really special when your kids see you be super accountable too. It's where you don't take the victim route. You don't say, oh, I got past that for promotion. You don't think that way. And you're a business owner. You, you, you put it on your shoulders. And yes, you deal with some stress. More stress, of course, a lot more. Which builds you up. Stress builds you. Stress builds you up as a human. And so that's a really special thing too. But I would agree with you. That's a cool thing.
- [32:16]
A
Definitely. I think the accountability thing was one of the biggest lessons that I learned as a business owner and working on my mindset and going through the years of managing people and working with clients. It's like at the end of the day, it's my fault. Whether, like, whether I did something or not. At the end of the day, as long as I take responsibility, I just feel better. Even if it's something that's totally crappy, like, I take responsibility because then I'm in control of that and I empower myself to figure out the solution. Right. There's no blame game. It's. Even if something wasn't my fault, I still take fault for it. And then I just figure out how to fix it.
- [32:59]
B
Love that. I think it's too is when you're an employee, you put yourself at this, like, very vulnerable position. And a lot of times we don't know that as employees. I mean, I was an employee too, for a number of years, climbed the corporate ladder a little bit. And you are the most vulnerable when you work for like a big corporation or just really anybody. And that's why you should always be thinking about, or at least having something on the side, something you're kind of interested in that can you could step into. And if you don't do this, I'll say it. It's kind of selfish, honestly. You're not thinking about your kids, you're not thinking about your family, you're not thinking about your. Your. Your. Your parents. And I know a lot of people might disagree with that. But that's just. That's the reality. Because when you get cut from. On a layoff of COVID happens, you're done. And, like, you are like. And what does that mean? It means that your family is also in a vulnerable position, too. And when you're a business owner, at least you have the shot. At least you have the chance to fight back. Which I like.
- [34:08]
A
Exactly. I could not agree more. And as a business owner, you have those levers that you can pull in order to, you know, maybe you need to do a launch or maybe you need to, you know, create a new course or something like that. One of. One of my favorite things that I learned from. From my previous boss was, you know, if. If he, you know, let's say tax season was coming up, and he's like, I need to make X number of dollars in the next 30 days. Here's our plan, right? He always had levers. This is something he taught me that I now do in my business. But having those levers to pull to be like, okay, how much money do I need? All right, great. Let's come up with a plan, and let's execute. In order to make the money, we need to accomplish, you know, goal xyz and. And as an employee, you don't get to do that, so.
- [34:57]
B
No, you don't.
- [34:58]
A
Big difference.
- [35:00]
B
Kathleen, this has been super fun. Where can people find you, learn more about you, Go join your masterclass, buy your book, all that good stuff.
- [35:07]
A
Yes. Yes. If anybody wants to learn more, come visit my website. It's kathleenkoebel.com Kobel is K-O-B-E-L.com and then the master class is just kathleencoble.com masterclass. It's completely free. It's going to give you a lot more information about what the Amazon influencer program is and the steps to take to get approved and start earning. So if that's something you're interested in, check that out, see if it's a fit for you.
- [35:32]
B
Awesome. Kathleen, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate you.
- [35:35]
A
Thank you. Thanks for having me, Cody.
- [35:37]
B
See you.