← The Code To Winning
The Code To Winning
WHY UTAH’S BUSINESS CULTURE STANDS OUT FROM THE REST || CATHERINE BENNETT || EPISODE 083
00:54:21
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- [00:00]
A
It started 40 years ago. 40 years ago. I think most people don't realize it's been around as a magazine because that's how you got information. And so I think it's evolved. Now there's events. We have, I think we counted 40, at least 40 events that we had last year between recognition events, community events. So I feel like it's become more of a platform for business in Utah. But statewide, there are other people who kind of take maybe just one market or one that are a little more niche and where the business platform to celebrate and elevate all Utah business.
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B
What do you believe is the most underrated skills that leaders need in this economy?
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A
I think it's the ability to be find that balance between being decisive but also open to feedback they like. Especially right now, there's a lot of pivoting that's happened. I mean, last five, six, seven years, 10 years, there's constant pivoting that's happening. But right now, I mean, depending on the administration, you know, who's in the White House, what policies are changing, what's happening with the stock market, we're constantly having to pivot and make different moves.
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B
From your perspective, what industries in Utah are quietly becoming the next big thing in this economy?
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A
I guess it depends what circles you run in on what's quiet and what's not. I think overall, most people probably right now wouldn't at the dinner table be able to say, you know, what I know is that, Nancy, manufacturing is really growing here. But it is, it's growing. Thanks to, you know, organizations like 47G and our news outlets too, we're seeing that there's incredible investment in aerospace and defense. I think that's we're becoming seen on a national and even in an international level for the investments that we're making in aerospace and defense.
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B
If somebody out there, let's say they started a business or they're starting a business, how can they try and leverage a connection or what can Utah business do to be able to try and like kind of of assist them or how can they, you know, intertwine and work together?
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A
Right now we have this big annual event where we try to connect as many people as possible in that one day, but it's just one day. So we have an event, community event every month called Founder Friday.
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B
The code two winning insights you need today to seize the world tomorrow. Today we have an amazing guest that has joined us. I've been trying to get a hold for her of her for the last six months. And finally she's healthy and she's here in studio with us. She is the executive editor of Utah Business. And so we're going to be running through a few stuff, what Utah Business does, her role, what she plays. Again, if you have, if you're interested in learning a bit more about small businesses entrepreneurship, specifically in the state of Utah, this is the episode for you. So without further ado, our amazing guest, our healthy guest, Catherine Bennett.
- [02:51]
A
Barely helping. Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
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B
I really appreciate that. Thank you very much. And I mean, before we even start with anything like what is like Utah business?
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A
Oh, great question. So I think it's, it's, I feel like over time things evolve. Of course, it started 40 years ago. 40 years ago. I think most people don't realize it's been around as a magazine because that's how you got information. And so I think it's evolved. Now there's events we have, I think we counted 40, at least 40 events that we had last year between recognition events, community events. So I feel like it's become more of a platform for business in Utah. But statewide, there are other people who kind of take maybe just one market or one that are a little more niche and we're the business platform to celebrate and elevate all Utah business.
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B
Well, that's amazing. And is it primarily just like small businesses, entrepreneurship, big businesses? Like, is there a specific target audience you guys usually like attract or go after?
- [03:54]
A
Our audience is definitely, I mean it's everything from executives to that emerging leader, someone who's growing. I think if you're a growth minded business person or business leader, you want to know what's going on, you want to stay informed, you want to learn from those who've done it already. And so we see quite a range, but definitely a lot of entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, small business owners that are trying to figure out like that next step. But at the same time, we have a lot of like director level and above people that we see engaged in everything that we're doing. Oh, I forgot I should say we also own UtahBusiness.com so all of the content that we create is published there. We're building our social channels a little bit to be a little bit more robust right now. So there's a lot of fun happening. And we do still print a monthly magazine that goes out. Like when I come go home after this, I'm going to need to go edit the book so it can go to print. So that's still very much A part of what we do.
- [04:53]
B
No, that's awesome. You know, with that being said is like, would you say the new tar, like your social media page is kind of following something very similar or like a blueprint of like, what entrepreneur is on, like Instagram and stuff like that? It was something completely different where it's
- [05:08]
A
one of our growth opportunities right now when I. Because I'm. I have a marketing background and, And a journalism degree. And so they're all coming together right now, but being able to see, okay, we have these amazing stories. How do we get the most eyes on them as, like, humanly possible? And with some changes that have happened over the years, this is like our time to really, I think, explode in that area. So, yeah, be following you guys can. Can see how well we're doing. We're just kind of getting started. And how do we lever better? How do we. We are talking to all these incredible people regularly, and we're not leveraging it to the extent that we should be. And so that's like the. One of the most exciting things about coming into this role, the opportunity there.
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B
So no, absolutely love it. I mean, you've worn many hats. You just mentioned right now. Marketer. And, you know, you have a journalism background as well. Entrepreneur, editor, strategist as well. Which role stretched you the most personally and professionally?
- [06:04]
A
This is. I think this might. Well, we'll see if this sticks with me until, like, my dying day. But becoming a parent while becoming an entrepreneur was so taxing, just mentally, physically, honestly, it was the. The fear of going into, like, oh my gosh, I have someone wants to call me and like, potentially be a client, and I've got to put on a face. And I. And we desperately needed that money at the time my husband went back to school, and so it was like, this is. This is. This needs to work. Like, this is keeping our family afloat. But also, I had bigger dreams than that. It wasn't just, let's keep our family afloat. It was like, if I'm doing this, I'm gonna make sure we have a down payment on our house after this, that we don't go into any debt with the grad graduate school. Like, both of us had done graduate school that were set up for a long time. And so it was the nights of like, trying to create right pages of web copy until 4:00am and going, I have to get this client project done as we're starting, right? And I don't. Can't quite delegate to anyone yet. Going to bed at 4am Getting that project done and then have a newborn that wakes up at 5, you know, and having to just go, well, too bad. You gotta function throughout the day and figure it out. So there were like, physically stretched me, but also I really have gone through a confidence transformation, like over my lifetime. I don't think I was very confident. Child had a lot of insecurities. And so my entrepreneurial journey was like putting me in a pressure cooker to be like, to force myself to believe in what I was capable of doing for real.
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B
Like, you know, videos. You just seem very confident.
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A
Oh yeah.
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B
Spoken like. It's just.
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A
And I think that I've. I've always exuded conf. Like even like in high school, I've always been a social person. So because of that, I've. I think I've. I've seemed confident while still having like, really deep insecurities about myself. So. Okay, yeah, it's been. It has been like, it's taken effort for sure.
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B
And then what has launching your. Your agency kind of like taught you that many corporate roles cannot, like, teach you as well?
- [08:18]
A
That's such a good question. I think you learn to prioritize in a way that I don't think you can with when you have a defined role where you see how all these pieces are fitting together without someone telling you, hey, this is how, you know, telling you that you're seeing it for yourself. And so if something wasn't working, I wasn't. Especially in like the early years of my business, I had to be the one that figured it all out. I think everyone that who has started a business can relate to this. There's a point in time where you do wear every single hat, your operations, which I'm terrible at. And I learned so quickly, like what I do, where I do need that support, where I do need that help. I. One of my favorite, like Leadership 101 lessons is just own the things that you're not good at and be okay to give them to be other people. Like you're. You're blessing them. You're blessing yourself and doing it. Like it's not up to you to figure it all out. Like, this is. This is like so such an obvious duh statement. But to me, I. I was definitely in this. Like, I'm here to prove something. Like, I've got to prove that I can do all of this. And then I was like, no, I don't. You know, I really don't. And so it was like, it was a crash course in. In leadership that I probably could have figured out over time, but not at that. Not as a 26 year old, you know, not at that point in my life. So I think that's what it gave me. It gave me like this fast track to learning what maybe an executive has to go through and figure out. I. I've loved. Some of my friends say it's like I made my own mba. You know, I didn't have to go. To me, I was like, oh, okay, I get this. And then as people have talked about it more academically, I'm like, oh, that's what that means. Yeah, I did that. You're using like a fancy name for that. But here's what it looked like to me. So.
- [10:14]
B
No, I love that. I love that. And obviously you've been in Utah business for about two years, right?
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A
Six months.
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B
Six months. Okay.
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A
Yeah.
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B
And your role as executive editor, how long has that been? Six months.
- [10:24]
A
Six months. Yep. I, I got the job. I know. It's kind of a crazy story.
- [10:28]
B
Is that a little overwhelming?
- [10:29]
A
It's a crazy story how this happened.
- [10:31]
B
I'm curious to learn about it. Yeah. How did that happen? Because I went straight into the role. Right. As executive editor.
- [10:36]
A
Yeah. So I was, I had my business called backpack marketing. I started it when I kind of started my family so I could have that flexibility. And then one of my clients or potential clients reached out and needed more than a fractional kind of. I think we were talking about like a fractional CMO role, like a part time leadership role. And then he said, actually we just need, we would need someone full time. And so he asked me to go to lunch with him. And in that discussion I just had this kind of sense of this is the next thing for you to learn. Not just, not that like you're going to make, you're going to get, you know, this is your opportunity to get rich. This is your opportunity to be wildly successful. It was like, this is your opportunity to learn the next thing that you need to learn. And so I took this role and it was really cool because it, it opened up. And while it ultimately didn't work, you know, the organization didn't last more than a couple years. It opened my world, the Utah's economy up to me. It, it gave me a completely different perspective on what Utah is and what's happening behind the scenes. I was working directly with manufacturers. That's all we worked with was Utah. Manufacturers got to know that industry fairly well. But manufacturing is in so many other industries as well. So it's in aerospace and defense it's in health sciences, it's in mining, it's in, you know, consumer goods. And so manufacturing kind of touches all these other industries. And so I actually learned like the GDP that, you know, you can attribute to these industries and what some of the challenges these industries are facing. And so it was really cool how that job teed me up pretty well for this job because when I, when I did get this job, people were like, oh, yeah, that makes sense, you know, which was such a relief. But I had also, in that job, working with manufacturers, started a podcast because I thought, no one's being a mouthpiece for this industry and what they're doing is so cool. The stuff that we're making here is wild. It's, and it's so unique and it's so niche sometimes. But also we make diapers here. Like, we just, you just don't know because they're these big warehouses. And I thought, man, I could be, as part of my marketing strategy, I can go in and, and sit down and talk with these people. And it worked. And people were becoming more and more interested. And I think because they saw me in that space, like, oh, she can carry on a conversation with a person. She's somewhat well spoken. And I, at the time, because I was a little louder, the previous executive editor, I'm, I'm guessing this is what happened, saw me on LinkedIn and was like, oh, she has something to say about manufacturing. Well, I want to make sure I'm representing manufacturing, so I'm going to put her on my advisory board. So I was on Utah businesses advisory board last year.
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B
Okay.
- [13:33]
A
So I was, I was kind of on the radar. I was, at least, you know, I existed in that circle and actually went to this, you know, their big event last year I went to some events, I kind of got, I knew what was good was learning what they were all about or Utah business was all about. And then, yeah, as this job kind of dissolved, the one I had previously, the previous editor was about to take on a new position and kind of like literally handed the baton to me. It was, wow, it was really cool.
- [14:03]
B
Now when you speak about all these manufacturing and the economy, I think I've just told you, I interviewed Congressman Owens and we were also touching on the base the fact that Utah has been like number one for the last two years again voted in terms of like economy, standard of living and so forth. But not just that. My parents come twice a year, every year, general conference. My dad's like, stake president, stakes presidency in South Africa as well, but like not just that. It's the fact whenever we did tourists, because at the time when they would come visit my, my then late wife, when we'd do like something like a desert industry and go to like the manufacturers and start seeing how actually things work in terms of like the bishop storehouse and all these different stuff and then you know, you just get mind blown because yes, you live here but you don't really do the tours unless like your parents are coming through and you want to do like, you know, it's so true. So when you go down by desert industries and you just start seeing how like things happen behind the scene, your mind, you know, opens up. Not just that I think I told you I've done door to door for, for five years, but not just that. You get also people that return back from their service mission for the church and they come back and you automatically jump into like, I don't know, sales or something. But there's this self reliance kind of culture that is just like resonating within the state of Utah. Whether you are a member of the church, whether you're not, just everything just seems to go around there. And obviously from behind the scenes, what else could you say you've seen that it's kind of told you why Utah is so like unique compared to other states.
- [15:35]
A
I do think it, the root is the values that a lot of people have here that. But I think there's a lot of people, good people that move in, you know, move to Utah that maybe aren't part of that the general like religious population that we're talking about. But I do think people are attracted that do end up moving here, are attracted to those values too. So maybe we attract some similar people who might not have similar religious beliefs but have similar cultural beliefs and wants. And so 100 it's still like faith and family and, and there's a collaborative nature to us. We really are. I see a lot of eagerness to help. There's one, there's still stiff competition. I mean still people, there's a lot to prove. But if you need those resources, if you need that help, I think from a government level all the way down to your neighbor saying hey, oh I've done that before. I'd be happy to show you how I, I was successful. There's so many opportunities here, different groups that have events that make people who have been successful accessible to other business owners. We have things like the women's business resource center and we have all of these chambers and I mean there is Just no shortage of places to turn if you want to grow a business and know how to do it well. And so I think, yeah, that collaborative nature, I always, I mean it always comes up in it's collaboration and innovation come up in almost every conversation about what makes Utah really unique. I think we have an incredible workforce, but also I think they're rooted in the values of like Utah's values, the people's values are incredibly resourceful but also hard working. There's kind of this want to just grow into the best version of yourself. And so when that's at the core, like some pretty amazing things happen when you want to leave your stamp on the world and your mark on the world. You're going to try to, you're going to try to problem solve, you're going to try to leave a legacy behind, you're going to try to bless other people. And so I don't think that's, you know, religion specific at all. I do think it plays into, into why Utah is and that this is maybe coming less from like a, this is more subjective Catherine talking right now. That's what I'm observing. But I'm also coming from being part of that religious background too. Not to say we've had some incredible leaders move into Utah and make it even better. So it's not, this isn't just like the LDS church has made visits. Like I'm like dancing around saying that that's not what that, you know, I think that, that how could that not influence. Right? How could it not? At the same time, I think that attracts certain, you know, certain people will be attracted to that and then, but people love living here. You know, I hear that all the time too. Like people have lived here and they're like, I love, either love it or maybe you just didn't find, you know, you didn't click and didn't feel like you belonged. But I think it all comes down to too because we have, this is the, these are the people that we have to work with to create our workforce. We just have a really incredible workforce. So people are excited to move their businesses to Utah to leverage that workforce. Smart, trustworthy, reliable, generally right, like generally speaking and innovative, problem solving, entrepreneurial because they want to problem solve.
- [19:16]
B
That's so powerful. And I couldn't agree more. And I think like I said, I've interviewed on both sides of the spectrum, those that obviously born, raised and have had a long lineage stemming back from like back in the 1800s and those that have moved in that have also embraced Like a culture of collaboration, culture of like, uplifting and culture of just like, you know, working together. But there's one common denominator is the willingness to be able to work together, which. Which I find to be very, very interesting. Because even those that like, oh, I've never seen this thing before. I mean, my experience, my. When I first came here just to visit, I just came for a conference. And it was a companion that I had on my mission who lived obviously in Highland. The Highland in Lehigh, because I found out there's a Highland, like when I moved to Salt Lake. Bye Bye Salt, Lakeside. But then you just start seeing a culture of just innovative people that just like, want to be able to just do better. Like. And also people are so willing to share knowledge. And that's a big. I mean, a gentleman I interviewed before. Then I'll share his name. I think he wouldn't mind, but it's James Dixon. I don't know if you know him. Another who also a very. Is also one of the public speakers. But I told him about the event and he wants me to give him a call this evening that he can give me a list of a potential 10 sponsors, you know, like, stuff like that. It's like I never even asked for that. But the fact that there was just a thing of, hey, listen, this can actually help you do better in a situation.
- [20:41]
A
I think one of Utah's great benefits is that it's not too big yet. Like, it still feels accessible. So to find that contact or find that person. And like, there are not too many degrees of separation to any person, anyone in the state. So if you can find that right in you, you know, you can contact that person. I think that's something we can continue, like, should continue to leverage right now. And of course, you know, the ones that are kind of getting pulled on the most can't do it all. But it's even. Just cool how readily available they are even if you just attend an event and shake their hand. It was so cool. We. We had an event where we had Crystal Magalet, the CEO of Maverick and Flying J. Do you know. Do you know Crystal Magal?
- [21:29]
B
The name sounds familiar.
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A
Yeah. Yeah. So she. Her family owned Flying J, FJ Management, and she also owns Crystal In. She. So she founded. Yeah, she founded Crystal In. But she is the CEO of Maverick. I mean, everyone knows Maverick. Yeah, so FG Management bought Maverick. I think it was 10 years ago maybe. So she has been an instrumental person in like, the massive growth of Maverick. Anyway, she. We had her sitting At Kiln with us and interviewed her and had obviously had an incredible turnout. And someone went up and shook her hand and. And met her and came up to me a month later and said, because I met her, she gave $50,000 to the higher ed institution this woman worked at. Yeah. And so you just think, man, how cool is that? That's great. And we've had similar things where because of the connecting that happens, maybe, you know, a small business was more visible through Utah business or through an event that we hosted, and an investor saw them and said, oh, you're. You're kind of legitimate. And I like it. Instills belief in this business and that we've seen, even small, like a $10,000 check, like, here's just something to, like, get you going. And it's. The possibilities when we just keep showing up for each other are pretty endless.
- [22:50]
B
No, I love that. And to be honest, yes, I think it still does stem to that law of consecration which was instilled within the state when it was really established, like back then when the saints were coming together religiously. And I think it. It does still play a big role, you know, so that's. That's just my belief as well.
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A
Yeah. It's interesting when, you know, if you take. I mean, money will always be a factor. We're always. We're driven by money. But if there are more reasons beyond the money, things will unfold a little differently than if it was all driven by money.
- [23:25]
B
And that's a good reminder for us to always know that there's a higher purpose out there other than just money, you know, so.
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A
Sure. Yeah. And I mean, you look at some, you know, the most successful people, and they. They get to this place and they have all the things and they're like, I can't take any of this. You know, what is this for? Like, I even actually was watching something last night about, like, the fire and the Palisades in California.
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B
Right.
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A
And just like, in an instant, all of your, you know, people who do well for themselves have. All their stuff is gone. And so when you put in that perspective, it's like, what are we doing this for?
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B
Yeah.
- [23:57]
A
If we're not blessing other people up, we have everything that we need. This is. And this is just my life philosophy, of course. Like, it's nice to. For, you know, some people, like, love to have nice things and Good. You have that, right? Do it, go for it. And. And. But I think if we can't find out how to bless more people, then is it really fulfilling as fulfilling as we think it is. And if. Or if it's not problem solving on a greater level for more people, if the product itself. You know what I mean?
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B
I couldn't agree more. I couldn't agree more. You know, right now, as your role as the executive editor of Utah Business, how do you balance journalistic integrity with storytelling needs of booming business community?
- [24:47]
A
This is a fun question for me because I mean, we're. We're a different kind of journalism. You know, I don't know if you. Most people have probably noticed that. Read Utah Business. We don't tell overly negative stories. We're not here to call you out or to say, hey, look, this business went bankrupt, or hey, like this, these guys are moving out of Utah. Like, what's going on with that? That's not our. That's not our. Our job. We've decided, I think as a, especially as a. Like a mat. More of a magazine type publication, you can decide like what your role is with that publication. And so of course we want to quote people correctly and paint people in a truthful way, but sometimes we just, you know, we're not here to, to call anyone out. However, we are here to say this seems to be a big trending topic right now. Let's look into it. Let's figure out who can comment on it. But also, are there people who are looking for solutions? That's what we want to focus on. I think there might be the opposite side of that as well. We're embellishing it too much. I've had some conversations from people, actually, one that was really interesting. Someone moved into the saint, said, I feel like the business landscape here just gets embellished a little too much. Like everything's all good and hunky dory. And I think, yeah, I can see that. I think that we just try to look at the things that, that people care to know. I mean, from that. That are positive, that are. Will instill some critical thinking. I think that's the balance that I'm trying to strike right now is how do we tell the good stories so that we can keep fueling this momentum toward continued success while also having people pause and question if there are things that we could maybe do better without slandering anyone. That makes sense.
- [26:46]
B
100. 100. And I think even in our discussion, obviously before we started, we're just talking just a lot about sometimes some industries, it may not be like, can be slightly. A little flawed, but it's also like a small percentage of that industry as well. It's never really like it's hard to really completely just throw shade on an entire, you know, industry with what may be. But it's usually like the bigger voices that can often sometimes tame the. The cultural norms or our understanding of a certain industry. So I think it's good to.
- [27:17]
A
And I think like any business, we have like a mission and purpose and we always say we're here to celebrate and elevate what's already happening and make sure as many, you know, put those things in the spotlight so that hopefully people will see that and feel inspired to, you know, continue in that. And we can feel like I. My hope is that it would fuel this kind of momentum in the positive direction. Yes. If we wrote some spicy articles we'd get more eyes. We would, but I don't think that's what our mission is.
- [27:53]
B
Yeah. And I think it's personally for me now that's the point where obviously the first of where the direction of code to winning was going. It's not necessarily trying to re. Identify the thing, but it's at the point where it's now like focusing on more like really like a lot of integrity and, and stories like instead of chasing like necessarily like the. The bigger name. Because I feel like sometimes some of my favorite interviews are those people that never even had a social media, you know what I'm saying? That, that you never knew anything about because they just happened to live life. They served the military, they did this thing, they did Aviat, you know, Vietnam veteran. These stuff are the people that usually have a story that know what it takes to be winning, you know. And so I think yes, and I'll always be grateful for those that actually help build the audience. Cause of the audience that they are. And I'm never going to throw shit in any other thing, but I think sometimes it's. It's okay to also reshape like a direction or a brand because I feel like people have got stories out there and the more I hear people's stories, I'm like, wow.
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A
Well, right. And there's so much struggle. Like that's what we love about a story is we like we. We need to. The struggle and then the victory. Like people are addicted to that. Like it's in everything that we do. It's why content is successful generally is because you get to see something that's not going well and then you wonder how is this loop going to close? I need the gratification of knowing that they won or that they, you know, came out on the other side like, since the beginning of time. And that's what I loved in my. In marketing so much was. Was that the power of story in. In really everything that we do. And it's just that loop. There has to be some pressure, there's some tension. And then, you know, imagine reading a book or watching a movie where nothing negative bad happened. There was no struggle. It would not be worth watching. Right? Yeah.
- [29:48]
B
That's 100. Correct. I think that's also why I like war movies, because we know that they kind of have to overcome an obstacle. They might not always have the happy ending, but we know that there's a challenge and the fact that there's an ATT to overcome that, which just gives you the thrill, you know?
- [30:04]
A
Absolutely. And war movies are such a vision. Like, you get the payoff. It's this. The payoff is fantastic because it's so visual. Where in the business world, I mean, that struggle looks like, you know, the founder of lvt, when we interviewed him or Live View Technologies, he's like, I was. Do you have. Are you familiar with their product?
- [30:25]
B
No. No.
- [30:26]
A
So you'll. You'll see them now. They're in every, like. Well, not every. They're in many parking lots. They're kind of like a big. Oh, my gosh, how do I call it? It's like a surveillance trailer. So it looks like a technology giraffe kind of. It has a light like a camera on the top. Anyway, he. They're doing incredibly well now. They've. They've just absolutely taken off. They got a contract with Walmart, so. Wow. This was a couple years ago. And. But the 10 years leading up to that were painful. Like, he. He just had so many moments where he. He said, I was hanging upside down trying to install one of these things, and it was hot. And I was like, what am I doing with my life? This is. This is so miserable. But just kept plugging away. So it might be. Not be as visual as some other, you know, you know, the movies that we see, but it's just as real. And I think when you've been there and I. That's why I'm so grateful that I was an entrepreneur before this, because I'm like, ooh, yeah. I feel that I've. I've felt that I can empathize for sure and know what those good stories are.
- [31:30]
B
What do you believe is the most underrated skills that leaders need in this economy?
- [31:37]
A
I think it's the ability to be. Find that balance between being decisive, but also open to feedback they like, especially right now, there's a lot of pivoting that's happened. I mean, last five, six, seven years, 10 years, there's constant pivoting. That's happening. But right now, I mean, depending on the administration, you know, who's in the White House, what policies are changing, what's happening with the stock market, we're constantly having to pivot and make different moves. And so I think being able to be nimble enough to be open to your team and want kind of. Because you don't want to, you don't want to be a dictator as well, like as a leader and. But sometimes you kind of have to be in, in brief moments where you're like, I've collected as much information as I need. We have to make a decision, we have to pivot. And I think, I mean, hand in hand with that is creativity. I know that not every leader or CEO would consider themselves to be create creative or a creative. But you have to at least be a creative problem solver to be able to think about what are the other ways that we can make this work.
- [32:54]
B
From your perspective, what industries in Utah are quietly becoming the next big thing in this economy?
- [33:01]
A
I guess it depends what circles you run in on what's quiet and what's not. I think overall most people probably right now wouldn't at the dinner table be able to say, you know, what I know is that manufacturing is really growing here. But it is, it's growing. Thanks to organizations like 47G and our news outlets too, we're seeing that there's incredible investment in aerospace and defense. I think that's, we're becoming seen on a national and even in an international level for the investments that we're making in aerospace and defense. And we've had, I think 47G and other organizations have done a really good job of, of platforming what has already been happening here. But now it's taking off. There's Project Alta. They're planning to, they just, I think billions of dollars were just invested into. I can't remember if it's Boeing or Northrop Grumman, but to do more projects here, finding more ways to link small contractors with some of these big, the primes like Northrop Gummen and get more of these small defense businesses, more work. There's a lot going on in that space. A lot of exciting and just. And they, they're calling it like, you know, it's deep tech. It's some of the most technical stuff that's out there. And how is AI Playing into it. The advancements in that industry are. Are wild. Like, that's one to for sure get excited about. And then manufacturing. We just. I just last week talked to a company that that's just about to launch, but they're launching with like, multiple contracts that are billions of dollars each. And they are moving. They said they have to open 20 factories in the next 18 months to pull off the demand for this thing. And I'm just thinking. And we've seen like Mars or Nature's Bakery, that manufacturing facility. Come here. We've seen New Sano, which is a health sciences company but manufactures medical products, come here. So we have all these factories that are being built here.
- [35:17]
B
Wow.
- [35:18]
A
So that's something to look out for. That's not going to stop. From what I can see, if somebody
- [35:25]
B
out there, let's say they started a business or they're starting a business, how can they try and leverage a connection or what can Utah business do to be able to try and like, kind of assist them or how can they, you know, intertwine and work together?
- [35:42]
A
Yeah. And I mean, this is something I'd even love ongoing feedback because as we mentioned, I've been here for six months, so this is a. I love. This is a kind of a conversation I want to continue having. But right now we have this big annual event where we try to connect as many people as possible in that. That one day. But it's just one day. So we do have. We have an event, community event every month called Founder Friday where we get a founder. We have some really cool ones coming up. Strider Technologies, which has been a big. A lot of investment has gone into that. It's a defense company, but down to like Betty's. I don't know if you know the company Betty's. It's a product invented here that makes. It's basically like a sleeping bag for your bed. So kids. If your kids cannot make their bed, which mine for sure cannot, you just zip the bed up. It's fantastic. So finding innovative people or try to bring people together around those people to learn from them. We also do these roundtable events. So we find. We actually have a small business roundtable coming up next week. But I think there's more that we can do. It's really just from my standpoint, how do we get more people involved? We want to tell more stories. We want more people to engage online. But do we do like a, like mentor groups do? Because we have the access. Do we give back in that way? It really then comes down to like business strategy wise. You know, we're a business too. So we could stretch ourselves doing all these things to try to help. But how do we meet the needs of our audience and community while also can like spending our time on things that make us function as a business, if that makes sense.
- [37:29]
B
No, I actually, I absolutely love that and I think that's also the advice I want to ask you personally for me as we probably the following question but I think that's what I am focusing my specific event on to try and create more like a Soho house where people just come. We all have different industries, but it's learning from those that are obviously local and also not local but that have influence while still having people in the audience that can still connect among each other. Because at the end of the day like if you find yourself in the right rooms, you end up finding the right connections. I've always been. People often think I was good at sales. I was bang average. The skill set I had was opening my darned mouth and just like trying to network and connect and network. And it was never really out my comfort zone. It was actually if anything in my comfort zone which was a problem or not a problem to say. But like I think sometimes I feel like if we can like I personally like the. The Utah business stuff. I would attend because I said I travel state to state doing this stuff. But I feel like there's more than enough locally, there's more than enough to do.
- [38:37]
A
There's a lot and actually and I think a brand, A brand question for me about Utah business has been do we add. Because you know Silicon Slopes has its chambers. There's all. Are not chapters. Not chambers. They have chapters where you can be part of an entrepreneur chapter. You can be in a manufacturer. Like they're. They're really broadening who these groups are for and you can spin them up yourself and get people involved. And so it's. Are we the person that cre. You know is a community builder or do we tell the stories about how the community is building and be really good at that one thing. So maybe that means we need to get excited. Like the. The one like calendar up on our website that shows you what's coming up. Like what are the networking opportunities that week depending on who you are, what you might be interested in. Right. Like I think there is. So those are kind of the questions. I think there's something we could do. But what makes the most sense. But there are some really cool places for small businesses like iHub. I went to have you ever been then Provo?
- [39:39]
B
I've heard of iHub.
- [39:40]
A
Yeah, I've heard of iHub. There's like the sandbox. The sandbox stuff that's going on. There's now this, the first, I guess, fundraise for like early. Early just starting out businesses. So I think there's a lot of cool stuff. It's just we need to make it easier to find all of it.
- [40:00]
B
I know. And I think that's the thing is because one of the things I've realized, especially with the people I've come across, everyone usually just has all these ideas, but the biggest problem is always like funding or like, oh, yeah, I don't know, get in the right connection. Because you don't even sometimes even need funding. Sometimes you can even partner up with somebody that can end up providing that thing and they get like, you know, there's always ways around, like finding ways where you can achieve that. But sometimes it's the, the knowledge of understanding that there is access to try and get to those places because people are always willing to like, you know, connect and help, but it's also getting in those rooms, you know, so.
- [40:35]
A
Yeah, Yep, absolutely. I guess Utah business is a good. Is a good convener and connector because we know. We. We know so many people are. My job is to find people.
- [40:45]
B
I was about to say that. I feel.
- [40:46]
A
Yeah.
- [40:46]
B
Because that's how I view Utah business. I feel like it should be like the blueprint where everything else stems from that. If that makes sense in terms of like just connecting as well. Especially Utah.
- [40:56]
A
Yeah, Yep. Hey, I'm with you. I like that. Yeah. Make that gospel.
- [41:04]
B
Doctrine and Covenants on Utah. Anyway, so, yes. What advice would you give personally for me? And also two sets of people, those that are very uncomfortable in terms of like networking but can network and those that are like, in my situation where I'm networking, but I'm not necessarily like leveraging connections. Like, what advice would you give considering how you've been doing and putting all
- [41:33]
A
the pieces together and yeah, I think, well, working backward. Because if you are networking, I do think it's nice to have to be ready with what that next step is. So before even go and network, because you said, how do I leverage these connections? Better know that ahead of time, here's what action that maybe I want to take with them down the road. And maybe that's a. If, if you do have something like an event or a podcast or something where you can engage with them in person and, and like revisit that relationship over time, that's really, really helpful. If you don't, it's like, well, like, I'll, I'll see you on LinkedIn and I'll comment on your stuff and I'll, I'll engage. And that's good too. Like, there's nothing wrong with that because you never know. Like, just that continued engagement, which you're already doing. So I, I don't think can be. Yeah, it, it's more powerful, I think, than we realize to just be top of mind. And so I think as networkers, we have to think like marketers and realize like, yes, I'm out here meeting people, but I don't. For me personally, I meet a lot of people. This job has introduced me to a new complex problem that I have. I'm like, I want to be able to remember all the faces that I meet and it's just challenging. And so the ones that I end up remembering are the ones that are able to find ways to connect with me in multiple ways, which is a key. Just like learning in marketing is, you know, when, when you want to market a product to someone, you kind of come at them from a different. There's a strategy where you're getting emails from them and now you're getting ads. And, and so it's been really effective to see people that I've met, you know, send a text, excited to meet me, invite me via email to something else and maybe pop up on LinkedIn a couple weeks later. And I'm like, okay, now I know this person, I know who they are, I know what value they can. So you have to yourself, just continue to show up, be a little bit shameless. I think you have to find that, that, that balance between. I think you can be a little too shameless. I think that's, that's a thing like you can to the point where you're like, you're not Val. You're not providing any value to me. So I'd say provide value to people. Be prepared with next steps. You already kind of have preloaded if it's someone who is a good connection. But if nothing else, if you're connected on LinkedIn or something, keep showing up on LinkedIn. Don't be gone forever. Actually post content and share your knowledge, share your life. I think we overthink. Most people overthink what that world should look like. And today I posted a picture of me wearing a Cruella de Ville costume. So there doesn't have, like, be yourself as a, like I am. All the things that I am, I'm a professional person. I'm a mom, I'm a friend. I'm like a weirdo. That, and, and I want, like, that's why people remember who I am and that's why I'm gonna remember who you are is because you're being yourself and you're being authentic to you, but also flexing your knowledge, you know, so that I can, I know where I can trust you and where I should lean on you and point to you.
- [44:58]
B
So awesome. That's perfect advice. I appreciate that a lot. What trends or conversations are happening right now, whether you eavesdropped or, you know, among Utah executives that people aren't talking about just yet?
- [45:13]
A
I think, I don't know that there's anything that we, we aren't talking about just yet. I think it's just to the degree that they're worrying about it versus this, the general public is maybe worrying about it. And, and maybe it's that they're tying lots of different pieces together, like housing prices and general infrastructure problems. Energy, infrastructure, how does AI play? So they. I feel like it's more seeing how all these things are tying together for, for better or worse. And is there any. And so kind of like getting ahead of always, like just staying 10 steps ahead so that we can problem solve or they can problem solve as these problems become more and more and more of an issue if they do. So as I've sat in those rooms, I mean, they're, they're talking about, how do my kids afford to live here? Like, I want them to stay around me. Like they're, they have their, their professional worlds and their personal, personal worlds are colliding. When they're talking about that, talking about with all of the technology that we're talking about, all the AI, how are we creating infrastructure that's going to like, support the energy required to make some of these things actually happen? Which is why, you know, we've seen the governor's initiatives for energy. We actually have a story this next month about the nuclear energy ecosystem that we're creating here. So there are all behind the scenes people anticipating what's needed next and collaborating to make sure that our infrastructure is set up to continue for continued economic success.
- [46:59]
B
Okay. Okay. And then obviously, Utah is a hotspot and it's a hub for founders, startups, and especially entrepreneurs. And then what's the common trait that you see among those startups where they often not only survive, but they end up scaling as well?
- [47:20]
A
I think a lot of them are just pulled Toward this calling that they've, they. Maybe it's the solution. They've found the, their belief in that solution. General, just grit. I mean, a lot of them could quit at any point, but have this tenacity and belief that if they put enough effort into it and time into it and if they're patient. So I guess I would say that patience, it's like this balance between grit and patience and just this relentlessness. But I've also seen the ones that are really quiet are the ones to watch out for because they know that to get to the next level to, they have to be cramped. They have to be doing their thing, grinding it out every day on the phone, on meetings, fixing things, figuring it out. So they're often not the ones that you hear very much. You know, you don't hear from them too much, which I think is, is cool. And, and actually I've heard, I've loved hearing investors will look on link, like on a social media, and if someone's being too loud on LinkedIn, they'll go like, why aren't you? Go build, go build your business. Like, what are you doing on here? You know, I was like, note taken. Okay. But they are, they're. They're in. They've got people's payrolls, you know, on their backs and this growth and it's not steady yet. And so they have to just be all in focused and just have almost this obsession with making it work and this obsession with what they're trying to build. But I mean, I say that and at the same time, I've met some incredible founders who have been able to find a very real balance, or whatever you want to call it, harmony. They've created, they've, they've found harmony in their life where they're able to put it away, put that their business aside for their personal life. And I think sometimes those businesses might grow a little slower, but maybe more sustainably. And so anyway, I guess to Patience, grit, I think tying into what I said earlier about just leaders generally right now, the ability to pivot, the ability to be, you know, there's, there's resilience, innovation. So basically, to be a renaissance person, to be able to do it all. I'm just kidding. But at the end of the day, like, you need to know yourself, you need to know where you thrive, what you're good at and, and give away the things that you're not good at. And it's amazing to see those that delegate as much as they possibly can with the resources that they have resources is always the problem. Right. Are able to make it work if it's, if it's something, if it's a product, if it's something that the audience actually wants and needs.
- [50:15]
B
And then just as we about to conclude, just the last two questions I wanted to ask but if you were to figure out or like identify the differences between those founders that are making like multi millions and for like their company and stuff and those that are starting off and still significantly in the right trajectory or what would you say is usually like the difference between the two of them?
- [50:40]
A
I think there becomes a time where you become so laser focused on how like listening to your client like again this is just something 101 I think for a lot of entrepreneurs. But, but maybe not. I mean maybe this is more like a mid level entrepreneur that you're like I'm successful because I became obsessed about what the customer needs. Like that's the obsession is I made this tech software and I thought it's what they needed. And they're telling me no, it's missing this and this, this is hard to figure out. And they're like okay great, let me tailor this so that it works for like you know, generally for, for you obviously you can't do not to do that for one specific person but that was, I feel like people who can really take that part seriously and work for that target customer end up, I mean how could you not like they're the ones buying it, they're the ones that are fueling your success. So if you're not listening it's, it's, you're, you're, you're creating a self serving business that's not going to succeed.
- [51:47]
B
So powerful obviously with everything we shared. The last question I usually ask a lot of the, the guests because it's the code to winning. Winning is defined differently for everyone. For yourself. Catherine, how would you define the term winning?
- [52:04]
A
I, for me winning is influencing for good. It's so broad but I think influencing and that's actually when I took this role I asked you know what how do I, how do you measure my success? And first it was like well maybe it's webpage views, maybe it's you know, and it's like actually it's just like general influence. Like we want as many eyes to be impacted by the good that's happening and not just the good I think just to be impact. Well, I guess, yeah, because generally we do, we tell good things that are happening. So I think when we can be influenced by someone else, we it changes us and then we become better. And I think for me, life is all about growth and kind of taking that, like cracking that shell that's on us to become like our, our the best version of ourselves, who we were kind of born to be so that we can do the most good to the people around us. So I think we're all in this, like, metamorphosis kind of together. We're, we're helping each other discover the best versions of ourselves while, while doing it our, you know, on our own terms as well for ourselves. So, yeah, I think that makes me feel like everything has meaning when you can even just do a little part in helping someone else see how powerful they are.
- [53:36]
B
Wow. Powerful. Well, Catherine, if you could let our viewers know where they could like get a hold of you or Utah business or events like social media or like
- [53:45]
A
the page, you can always reach out to me@newstahbusiness.com definitely subscribe to utahbusiness.com we we you can get our print publication. You can be on our our daily and weekly newsletter so you're always up to date on what's going on in Utah business. We are our our inboxes are open to you. So always reach out.
- [54:08]
B
Awesome. The code winning insights you need today to seize the world tomorrow. Katherine Bennett, great honor. Thank you very much, man.
- [54:15]
A
Thank you. Appreciate it.
- [54:16]
B
Awesome.