← The Entrepreneur DNA
The Entrepreneur DNA
Why Effort Alone Won’t Scale Your Business — The Shift to Intentional Leadership | Sarah Gibbons
00:39:03
Loading summary
Transcript100 lines
- [00:02]
Commercial Announcer
Bring on the fun and bring home a new Honda with a great deal on your favorite Honda vehicles. And finally, take that road trip you've been dreaming of. Now's the time to check out the Honda Civic and HR V from Honda. The 2025 Kelley Blue Books kbb.com Best Value Brand.
- [00:26]
Sarah Gibbons
Based on 2025 Consumer Choice Awards from Kelley Blue Book.
- [00:28]
Kelley Blue Book Announcer
Visit kbb.com for more information.
- [00:31]
State Farm Announcer
From college sendoffs to retirement dreams, life is filled with many important milestones. And making sure you have a plan in place to protect the people you love can give you confidence for whatever comes next. State Farm Life Insurance can help protect your family's financial well being through life's milestones. Your State Farm agent can help you choose flexible coverage you can adjust as your family's needs change. Contact your local State Farm agent today. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
- [01:00]
Dish Network Announcer
Tired of overpaying with DirecTV, Dish offers a reliable low price every month without surprises. Get the TV you love and start watching live sports news and the latest movies, plus your favorite streaming apps all in one place. Switch to DISH today and lock in the lowest price in satellite TV starting at $89.99 a month with our two year price guarantee. Call 888 add dish or visit dish.com today.
- [01:30]
Justin Colby
All right, the entrepreneur DNA. Welcome back to my family, the listeners. You guys make this show go round and if you're not a part of the Entrepreneur DNA community and club, this is where you get access. Access to the right people. Like my guest today. She has been a consultant for so many of the biggest brands that you might know, so many of the companies and agencies you might know. And the reason why my guest today has been so impactful is because she doesn't just help the company in organization, she helps the people, the leadership, the founders, the people that need the most help. Sarah Gibbons is here. How are you?
- [02:09]
Sarah Gibbons
I'm good. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to start my week off this way.
- [02:14]
Justin Colby
Yeah, this is a good one. Now you have a incredible resume in the corporate world and you actually decided to leave the corporate world to go out on your own. Why did you make that decision?
- [02:25]
Sarah Gibbons
I was just talking about this over the weekend. I hadn't thought about it in a while. I would say the number one reason is I always knew at a young age I was someone who wanted to beat to my own schedule and my own drum. So that was number one. Number two, I love to make money. I did not want a limit on the amount of Money I wanted to make, and I was coming from sales, and I think sales, you have a lot of flexibility as far as in how to make money. And three, I love flexibility. You know, I think I was truly in my heart, my mother was a schoolteacher growing up, and in some ways, I think a schoolteacher has more flexibility than most because they get the holidays off in the summer. But once I'd had my first son, pretty, you know, within that first couple months, I was like, okay, I love to work. It's important that I work from a financial standpoint and from my own being fulfilled. But I knew that I, I wanted to do my own thing.
- [03:22]
Justin Colby
So would you agree? You know, interesting. You say these things. The word I've heard a lot and I'm using in my own speeches, there's two words. Independence is a word I really believe. I think many entrepreneurs, and tell me if you agree. We go down this path because we want financial independence. Right. We want to be able to have no ceiling on how much we make, however we get caught into this. Like, I got to work as hard as I possibly can, and then you have no time. Independence. Did you ever feel that?
- [03:55]
Sarah Gibbons
Well, so I've, in all fairness, I've been, you know, I've been running my own business now for almost 17 years. I think early on I felt a little bit of that. But I'm also someone who it was. I'm quite disciplined. And I figured out early on that I was not someone who wanted to work 20 hours plus every day. Now, I did a lot of that in my 20s when I was, you know, working for Amazon starting in 2000. I worked a lot of weekends, a lot of evenings. I didn't want to go back to that. And I really got. I was working with a coach quite early, from the minute I became and, you know, started my entrepreneur path. And that coach really worked with me on the one thing I need to learn the most was my inner world. And the way in which I was relating to things was really where my success was going to come from. And so I think I got it early on that that independence that everybody talks about doesn't come from just effort over and over and over. It actually also comes from what kind of systems do you have in place, how much capacity are you able to hold, and all those typ of things. So I do see that is one of the number one things that I think gets in the way of entrepreneurs very quickly. But I would say I, I figured that, that part out pretty early on.
- [05:26]
Justin Colby
Yeah, the, the Entrepreneurs typically get into hustle mode, and they have a hard time getting out of it. Right. Regardless of the revenue. Right. You could have $5 million a year in revenue, but you're still a hustler. And that's the challenge. What you're talking about is. Yeah, and then how do you break the hustler mentality? And obviously, you and I both know hustler culture is everywhere, and you got to hustle and grind, but how do you break that? Like, you've reached success, you're starting to get some. What's the term I've been using recently is stability. In your business, I'll use 5 million just to keep it easy. Like, you have this $5 million a year run rate, and, like, there's stability. But how do you get yourself out of that hustle feeling?
- [06:04]
Sarah Gibbons
Yeah. Well, I can tell you my own tricks and take it for what it is, but you will never hear me use the word hustle. I don't think I ever used it when. And I have to be transparent. I have three boys, so once I had that third boy, I was so overwhelmed in my personal life that the last thing I wanted to do was come in and hustle. Now, not to be confused with, I value excellence. So I have a very strong work ethic, but I work very intentionally so, you know, And I. I. When I was in a position where I was hiring quite a bit, I. I saw this with parents, you know, if I hired, whether it was a woman or a man, one of the things I noticed was that they learned how to become intentional very quickly because they wanted to have time with their families, whether it was in the morning or in the evening. So I think for me, you know, there's a mindset in there. I don't talk about my work ethic in terms of hustle. I talk about being intentional. I talk about having my foundation really strong. And when I say that, I mean my sleep, healthy food, moving my body, spiritual connection. I mean all the basics. Because the last thing I want. I don't want to hustle. I'm turning 50 this year. That's the last thing I want to be doing is hustling. Now, the other thing I will say, as an entrepreneur, it is true that I believe it's important to constantly be in a new business mindset, which means when you start to, you know, hit those revenue marks, it can be easy to sort of sit back and then not be looking ahead. So that's where processes come in place. Like, how do you plan for. When do you Start planning for the year out. What does that look like? What kind of systems do you put in place? But I think that all rolls up to being really intentional.
- [08:00]
Justin Colby
Hmm. Yeah. I think you. You mentioned something that I. I tend to talk a lot about this transformation that needs to happen, and that's where I think that break. It needs to happen. Like, I just. Funny story. I just recently went and spoke to a hundred lawyers that I was invited to come speak. And it was great. And I am not a lawyer.
- [08:20]
Sarah Gibbons
Right. I find talking to lawyers very difficult, as you know. I'll fully own that. How did it go?
- [08:26]
Justin Colby
Phenomenal. It was actually probably one of my better speeches I've given the last couple years. And here's why. Here's how I started as someone, yourself, you go and speak all. You know, you get invited everywhere. And I went up and the first thing I said is, you need to die now. And I held that for a minute. I didn't say another word. And the idea is what we are talking about, the person who got you here won't get you there, because you need to start having different systems. Intention, structure, leadership qualities. Like all of the things are going to be different to get you there. And we're making up where there is. But that is the concept you're talking about that I think is so important. And I know you don't use the word hustle, but it is that, like, grinder mentality. I mean, do whatever it takes to make my company successful at all costs. And a lot of times it comes to the cost of the family, the wife, the children, even your health. You're talking about eating clean, making sure your body's moving.
- [09:18]
Commercial Announcer
We.
- [09:19]
Justin Colby
I'm going to use myself like I'm intentional with one thing. I need morning time. Where do you find. Where does Sarah Gibbons find her time to be intentional?
- [09:28]
Sarah Gibbons
For Sarah Gibbons, I'm an early bird. I always have been so similar to you, Justin. I get up early, I go to the gym. Carving out quiet time is something that I need more of. I mean, I live in a house with four males, you know, cats and a big dog. So getting quiet time is. Is a little more challenging. But I do find, you know, I'm. I just put my shoes on, go for a walk. I listen to music a lot. I mean, I'm. I'm based in la. I'm an entertainment, you know, lover of movies and music and all things like that. So for me, it can be anything in terms of listening and then also writing. You know, I'm a big proponent of take five minutes and write down what's true for you in the moment or my intention for the morning. You know, I've been. One of the books that changed my life years ago when I first read it was Wayne Dyer's book the Power of Intention.
- [10:28]
Justin Colby
Sure.
- [10:29]
Sarah Gibbons
And if you're not familiar with his work, get familiar with it. And so I'm very intentional throughout the day. I have my, you know, I know my values. I have a clear intention for each day. And I should say it's not just the intention of what I want to do, but how I want to experience it. And so I think that comes from prioritizing. Like you said, my morning time, my quiet time, my moving my body. If I don't work out or if I don't, you know, eat healthy, then it's pretty hard to function. I find I'm.
- [10:58]
Justin Colby
Well, I'm just cranky, I'm irritable, I'm cranky. Right. Like I just, I find myself quick to snap. Right. But it's also about leading yourself. And self leadership is a forgotten tool. And I know you preach this is people continue to again, in business and in life, you forget that you got to put yourself first. I talk like I think people need to be selfish. Frankly, there's limitations. But as a mother of three boys and a wife and a business owner and a consultant, like, you have to put yourself first. You have to be selfish.
- [11:31]
Sarah Gibbons
Yes. And I would I really pride and this is a little bit gender stereotyping, but I work with men and women all day long. And I will say men do this very well and I don't. And as a compliment, I mean that I think that men are able to prioritize their needs without then feeling guilty or dismissing that they're important. Whereas the women clients that I work with, it's much harder. There becomes a sense of guilt, a sense of, you know, I don't wanna be known as someone who's selfish. But to your point, self leadership sits at the heart of everything that we do. How you show up one way is how you show up in every way. So whether you're the seat of a boardroom and you're pitching for funding or you're sitting with your family. If you're, if I always say like, if we're not connected inwardly, then you. The self leadership that's required in either one of those is going to go out the window and you'll be, you know, we all know what happens when we start to get, when we start to get dysregulated. And all of that.
- [12:31]
Justin Colby
Oh, yeah. Well, we start to lean into vices, you know, and you start to, whether it's drinking or drugs or eating poorly. And it doesn't have to be extreme, just things that you start to favor because of your internal mental breakdown. I find almost a sense of guilt. Right. And it's not guilt about being a father or a husband or even a business owner, just internal. Like I can do better. Right?
- [12:55]
Sarah Gibbons
Yes. It's a really interesting point. You say, Justin, I think that is a value of those of us who are really driven and value excellence as we kind of start to beat ourselves up a little bit and it's like, yeah, this isn't, I know this isn't who I really am, that internal. But you're right, that's a. Yeah, I, I can definitely relate to that.
- [13:15]
Justin Colby
Yeah. And it's only because, you know, so I have a great mentor mine, Ben Newman. He talks a lot about being able to hold yourself to standards. And then are your standards helping you win the day, the week, the month, when you're leveling your standards up? And I think internally people need to listen. I'm well aware not everyone's a morning person like you and me.
- [13:35]
Jake Stauch
Yes.
- [13:36]
Justin Colby
But if you don't create something of a level of standard to make yourself better, it is very hard to make, you know, impact on a company, on your people to be a good leader. What's the cost of you just putting your head down and not holding yourself of value of standards?
- [13:53]
Sarah Gibbons
Oh, I mean, for me, right away it's the cost of connection, which is my number one value. So if I don't hold my standards, I'm, I feel because I'm so then disconnected from myself because I haven't nurtured my own inner well being, I find it very difficult to connect with my husband. I end up coming from a place of, you know, just judgment or, you know, all of that. And same with the boys. You know, I'm able to pull it together for work more, but I really notice it on the front lines with the people that I'm closest with.
- [14:31]
Justin Colby
Yeah. And, and that's the me too, by the way. I, I'm. And it's funny because I'll be able to pull it together and have so much grace and patience in the work front.
- [14:39]
Sarah Gibbons
Yes.
- [14:39]
Justin Colby
And by the end of the day, it's like it's all empty. And I come home to my 5 year old daughter who is so full of attitude and spunk right now, wants to tell me no at every moment Right. And so I'm like, man, that just. And that's that. Back to standards and holding yourself. Like, are you doing the things that you need for yourself more than anything else? Do you actually have an event? Don't. What's coming up? Don't you have an event coming up or some sort of formal function?
- [15:07]
Sarah Gibbons
Yes. So I have a workshop coming up. That'll be the second workshop. It's part of a series of four and I do a few workshops out of the air. I'm not someone who does loads and so I put a lot of intentionality around them. They are an hour. It's June 3rd. You can get the details on my website. But the theme for this one is when effort stops working. It's very much you and I are talking about. You can only effort yourself so much and then you've got to start to look at your inner architecture of, gosh, how. How am I showing up inwardly and then from that place. Okay. Then outwardly looking at wherever I am in my journey of being an entrepreneur, what am I being called to create so that I can. So that I'm not just relying on effort and burnout. And this all ladders up to a bigger theme that I'm spending a lot of time on right now called living in the in between. And this really originated from last year. My family and I were very much impacted by the fires in the Pacific Palisade. We're west la, We've raised our boys in the Palisades. So when the fires happened, I very quickly found myself living in the in between. And as I started to process that and notice, you know, clients who are going through relationship changes or career changes, you know, our life really actually happens in the in between. So this is the second of four workshops that, you know, you can do one, you can do the remaining three, but it's really a way for people to get visibility to my work, while at the same time leave work after a one hour experiential virtual live workshop with me and leave the tools that are going to help you, not just rely on your efforts. So wherever you are in your entrepreneur journey, I promise you it will benefit you.
- [17:00]
Justin Colby
Yeah, in the messy middle or the in between. Right. It's those. Those areas where there's no definition, uncertainty. I'm also talking a lot about uncertainty right now. Right. Whether it be the fires in the Palisades, whether it be the financial economy, whether it be politics, whether it be there's so much of it like it is everywhere.
- [17:19]
Sarah Gibbons
Yes.
- [17:19]
Justin Colby
And how do you show up in the times of uncertainty and in how you show up could cost you everything or could make you everything, in my opinion. So in these two days, that identity shift of who are you going to be in that time of uncertainty, the messy middle, you know, the time of in between, what's your point of how people need to show up and who they need to be in those moments?
- [17:45]
Sarah Gibbons
Well, I think you just hit the nail on the head. I think the first question is just to have the consciousness of asking yourself, who am I being called to be as a leader right now, in this moment, as an entrepreneur? I don't think we ask ourselves those questions enough. I think we're so focused on I've got to get revenue coming in, I've got to get my website up, I've got to get appointments on the book so that I'm in conversations and so walking it back a minute and getting really conscious of, wait, who am I being called to be as a leader? I think that's number one. And then I think number two, if you know your values, which all my clients who work with me know, that that's one of the first pieces of work we're going to do, is make sure that you know what your values are, because that becomes a foundation for one, when you start to lead from your values, then you're not leading from expectations. At any time we lead from expectations, we're going to be disappointed. So I always say to people, if you're not sure who you need to be today, then take a look at your values because that'll give you insight into when you show up from them. Then you're likely that much closer to showing up in your most powerful version of yourself. And that'll give you a bit of a North Star in framework. But I would just say, you know, ask yourself the question, who is the universe, God, spirit, whatever it is you believe calling me to be today in this moment? And if that's the only question you ask yourself, I fully believe you will show up as your most powerful leader in whatever moment you're navigating. Whatever, you know, whatever circumstance is, it is simple.
- [19:19]
Justin Colby
And maybe I'm oversimplifying, it is as simple as just do the next right thing.
- [19:27]
Sarah Gibbons
Well, first of all, everybody who knows me knows I love simplicity. It's one of my values. I would say I don't necessarily believe in, like, right, wrong, because sometimes as an entrepreneur, I don't think we always know what the right thing is. So I would actually just alter that slightly. Do the next thing that is in alignment with what feels good to you. You know, I think I've heard Oprah say this a thousand times, that there's many times in her own journey where she couldn't see 30ft in front of her, but she could see 3ft in front of her. And so I often say to my clients, you know, what's the three foot toss that you can make in this moment? And a three foot toss is like the thing that you can do that feels doable. I would rather you do a three foot toss every day than try to hit a home run and then not do anything for the next five days after that.
- [20:23]
Justin Colby
Yeah, you know, I'm, I'm the same way. I think most entrepreneurs, as I've mentored so many as you have, they tend to get caught up on getting it right.
- [20:34]
Sarah Gibbons
Yes.
- [20:35]
Justin Colby
I think you and I having the longevity of being entrepreneurs as long as you have, and you having the great ability to see the executives at Amazon imbd, right. The executives that fall and see them make mistakes versus what is, what is that blend between the three foot toss, as you said of just go do something, take the next action, take the next step versus taking the right step?
- [21:02]
Sarah Gibbons
I think it looks a little bit more like one of the things that I think is important is putting structure around what your goal is. So a lot of times I would say if there is a right step, that right step will come from being quite informed. And all my clients who I work with, you know, and I think this is probably true with most people, is that they've identified clear goals. I think where people then get off track a bit, is that they then don't put structure around those goals. So I have a, a project plan that I have honed over the years and that my clients then when they have a goal, they create a project plan around it. And it's not meant to be, it's not meant to confine them. If anything, it's meant to help them expand. But what it does do, it gives them direction from a few different ways so that they aren't just throwing spaghetti at the wall. And I think as an entrepreneur, one of the things that takes getting used to is all of a sudden you're in charge of your own day and before you know it, it's almost like you can be throwing spaghetti at the wall and you're squirrel, squirrel, squirrel. And you get to the end of the day and you're like, I don't even know what I just completed because I'm trying to do so Many different things at once. But if you have some structure around it, that acts as a North Star. And so I think that's the next step beyond simply taking a three foot toss is get some structure around your goal, which looks like, okay, start with the end in sight. What are the results? I'm really big on experience. What's the experience you want to have as you create your business? What are the monthly milestones? What is your living vision? You know, I'm big into, you know, we hear a lot about manifestation. Well, manifestation is a fancy word for visualization, I believe. I was an athlete growing up, and those of us who learned to visualize saw, you know, you saw the benefit of it. And so I, you know, that's an element of the project plan. So structure is really important to a degree. And then I always say, you don't want to be attached to it, but you want to be tethered to the structure so that when you wake up in the morning, you do have a North Star. You're not just floundering around doing, you know, multitasking and only getting to the things that are urgent.
- [23:20]
Justin Colby
So, yeah, and the next step, I think what you're saying is, is great because it's more about doing it within alignment. So word I'm hearing without maybe you saying is make an alignment to your values, make an alignment to your vision, make an alignment to what you're trying to achieve, and then go do it.
- [23:39]
Sarah Gibbons
Yes.
- [23:40]
Justin Colby
That's the hardest part, I think. I see so many entrepreneurs, regardless of vertical. It's the actually taking the step. They have all this. It's almost like you have to give them approval. It's okay to take the step, it's okay to get it wrong. It's actually okay because you will actually learn something. More often than not, you know, we learn from the mistakes, not from actually succeeding and taking the right step.
- [24:04]
Sarah Gibbons
I mean, I couldn't agree more. And look, easier said than done. I think we all know that. But when I look back, when I first launched my business, the name of my business was. It's funny as I even say it, I'm like, I don't know why I did this, but I do know why I called it conscious Working mama. And I was gonna coach working moms. Well, two things with that. Number one, spelling the word conscious is very difficult for everybody, no doubt. We launched the website and my husband, who's an English major, was literally like, you spelled conscious wrong in every place. So insight into. People aren't even gonna know how to spell Your URL. So, like, that could be a problem. And then I also found early on I didn't have the expertise and the mastery that I would say I have now to really support working moms and working moms, God bless us, me being one of them. We are not reaching to put budget and time and energy behind our own growth. We are not low hanging fruit. You know, we know we will. We know that we could benefit from it, but we're going to do things for our family first before we do that. So I quickly realized after putting a lot of time into different workshops and group coaching and it not going anywhere, that I needed to expand my psychographic and demographic. And that felt, that felt almost of juxtaposition because we are told so early on, like, what's your niche? And you got to know specifically who you're going after. And I found I actually needed to work with a wider. A wider, you know, demographic. Yeah, demographic. So that I could then really see where I had impact and who resonated with my work. And now I've been able to hone it in. But had I just done what every book told me to do in every podcast, God, I probably still have conscious working mom and no one would know how to spell the word conscious.
- [26:00]
Justin Colby
Well, you bring up a really good point that a lot of entrepreneurs need to know right now is it's okay to adapt and pivot and it's okay to have some level of a gut feeling of like, okay, I need to go this direction based around what you're seeing, feeling the results you're getting. People, again, they need to be given some level of like, it's okay to go do that, but just go do that again. I bring up a lot of the uncertainty right now. People, everyone, executives, C suites, you know, founders, we all, including myself, I'm sure even including, we are pivoting, we are adapting, we are innovating right now.
- [26:40]
Sarah Gibbons
I mean, it's. And if, whether, you know, if this was two years ago and AI was just on the map, I think you and I would still be saying that, you know, every brand, you know, I work with a lot of agencies, you know, media, creative agencies who work with, you know, the biggest brands in the world, Levi's, Gatorade, Hyundai, you name it, Nike, and every agency I work with and support and coach, they're all staying at the top of their game with innovation. There's no sitting on your laurels. So regardless of the circumstances around that is how you keep reinventing and how you keep things interesting. So Yeah, I couldn't, I mean, I couldn't agree with that more. And it reminds me of when I was working corporate side. You know, we always had this phrase, you know, hire slowly, fire fast. And I think there's a version of that that very much stands true in the entrepreneur world. You know, you're still feeling it or you're not seeing something take off, abort mission. Yeah, pivot, get going. You know, don't just keep trying to do the same thing over and over. And sometimes it's a nuance, you know, it doesn't have to be blowing the whole thing up, but absolutely, you've got to be pivoting.
- [28:02]
Justin Colby
We talked about relationships. I think relationship. The whole reason the Entrepreneur DNA Community Club, right? I'm going more club because you and I have been. We have the stability in our business to cut big checks, to be at the right table, to be in the right room, to be able to ask the right questions so we can get informed, we can get intel, we can get experience without going through it. Right. The Entrepreneur DNA Club, which is coming from this podcast, is all about having access so that we can listen to Sarah so Sarah can give us an objective piece of advice, a story that Sarah did the same thing, found this result. So if you want to find that result, great. If not, then I would go, right, you know, talk to us about your belief around how relationships can really impact, you know, your brighter future.
- [28:49]
Sarah Gibbons
Well, I love this question. I'm listening to a book right now called Start With Yourself by Emma, who has really got me thinking about this question that you just asked, because I think we all know intellectually relationships are really important, I think for a lot of people. And I live in la, where it's like, you know, there's. You could be at a networking event every night. And if I speak for myself personally, I have, I haven't really ever created a client from a networking event or from a fancy dinner or a room that I've been invited to. My clients get created through relationships. One relationship at a time, one conversation at a time. And I'm always playing the long game. So, you know, I have a client this year who, you know, I met four years ago. We had not worked together and this year we signed a six figure contract to support, you know, to support her organization, big organization. And that could have not happened. But because I just believe that relationships are at the heart of everything, regardless of what your product is. I spend a lot of time really authentically nurturing relationships. And what I mean by that is I spend time getting to know what's going on in my client's world, professionally and personally. I'm deeply invested in them. And even when a client and I decide that our coaching agreement has served its purpose and it's come to an end for now, I'm still really invested in their success. And so for me, relationships are key. I've built a business pretty much on referral, a pretty lucrative business. And it's something that I take. It's something I take very seriously and I don't take for granted. And so I think if you are someone who really values relationships, then put your action. You know where your mouth is and. And look at your week and go, gosh. Where. If someone. If, you know, if Justin and Sarah looked at my week, how would they know that I value relationships? What they see. If you're spending a bunch of time trying to get your website all fancy, that is not valuing a relationship.
- [31:15]
Justin Colby
It's funny you say that. I literally changed. I don't want to say change. I turned 45 last week, and I told myself my actual superhuman power is people getting along with people, building relationships, you know, talking to people. And I said, moving forward in business, the only thing I want to make sure I'm doing is staying very much intentional with cultivating either new relationships or cultivating deeper relationships.
- [31:43]
Sarah Gibbons
Yes.
- [31:44]
Justin Colby
My calendar, today, tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday, because I travel Friday and is insane. I literally think I have 12 calls every single day or more because I told my internal team. And then I am also within my own social medias, literally. Like, if you were on Facebook or Instagram, I'd say, hey, girl, let's catch up. What's new? Want to catch up with you. It's that intentional?
- [32:08]
Sarah Gibbons
Yeah, that's exactly what it looks like.
- [32:10]
Justin Colby
And there's. In every single one of these calls, I have zero agenda. I'm not trying to be transactional. I'm not trying to sell them on a thing. I'm not trying to do anything but deepen the relationship or cultivate a new one.
- [32:24]
Sarah Gibbons
Look at that clarity. I mean, that's. I really commend you because that is the kind of clarity it takes, I think, to be a. Be a successful entrepreneur is that kind of clarity. And then the action aligns and your. Your team could look at your calendar and go, oh, we know what's important to Justin. It's obvious. Yeah, yeah, that's great work.
- [32:43]
Justin Colby
Well, and I think this comes from an understanding of where your strengths go. Right. And so kind of going back to even how we started this is understanding what am I going to be doing all day. What are the right action steps? What moves the needle? What fulfills me? If you start to lean into these questions, you know, one of my first coaches years ago, and you've probably heard this like, you got to do seven layers of why. Yes. Why are you doing this? Okay, here's the answer. Why? Answer why. Right. And then you start to get to the root of like, the thing.
- [33:15]
Grainger Announcer
Yeah.
- [33:16]
Justin Colby
And I did that with myself and I was like, ah, it's because I want it. I love people. I love talking to people I love. I mean, that's why I have two podcasts.
- [33:22]
Sarah Gibbons
Yeah.
- [33:23]
Justin Colby
One is very specific to real estate. The other is very specific to all business owners and getting to know Sarah and the things that Sarah and I are going to be able to do. Moving the needle for the entrepreneur DNA and that club and the people, it's just incredible. And you and I have both been known to talk about like, creativity and moving that needle for impact and for value. What are most people that you know in the either C suite arena or even in the founders? What are they lacking in this space of creativity, impact and value?
- [33:58]
Sarah Gibbons
Oh, that's an easy one. I had to reframe it in my head for a second. That's a great question, by the way. And I work with so many, like, world class, class creatives, like they are literally paid to be creative and put campaigns together for the best brands in the world. They are lacking space. You do not have spaciousness in your day to connect with your thoughts, to connect with the outdoors, to connect with, you know, what's going on in the, in, in culture right now. It is very hard to come up with creativity. Whether you're problem solving, whether you're coming up with a campaign or new slogan or copy or getting ready to go into production, whatever it may be. But I would say if you asked any one of my clients, they would say they are intentionally looking how they can carve out spaciousness where there's some quiet because that's where they can start to hear their ideas and connect with them. It's really hard to be creative if we are multitasking and being disconnected. One of the best things, one of my coaches who I worked with very early on, who I still work with, I'll never forget it. He said, you have to slow down to speed up. I thought, well, if it was that, if it were all that easy, we'd all be doing it right. And there's a lot of truth to that. I think regardless of where you are, if you're corporate or if you're an entrepreneur and you're 10 years in, but spaciousness is where. And my clients, you know, they get called into lots of meetings. They're on a plane every other day. So carving out that time and being ruthless with their boundaries, that's a challenge. A real challenge.
- [35:49]
Justin Colby
There is. What's the biggest myth about time blocking? Because a lot of people would say, oh, well, they just need a time block.
- [35:56]
Sarah Gibbons
Well, yeah, and then have everyone else not override your calendar. And for you, the biggest myth about time blocking, it's you can time block, but then you also have to have the self discipline to then work within that structure. You know, if a client says to me, well, I did all the time blocking by still getting anything done, and then I'll say, well, tell me how many meetings you took today? Well, I did six meetings. Okay, well, that right there tells me you I don't use the word boundaries as much. I had this really enlightening conversation last week with a client who's doing a lot of work around boundaries. And she wasn't. And she was really frustrated. She's like, you know, I'm doing a workbook and I'm trying to really like implement boundaries, and she's a high performer and whatnot. And I said, you know, one of the words that I use, because I actually don't use the word boundaries very often, I don't feel like I connect to it that much. It's sort of this like nondescript word and is I learned when I got my master's in spiritual psychology that they taught us this phrase, self honoring choices. And for some reason, when I hear that, it's so much easier for me to connect with it. So I'm a big fan of time blocking. I think two hours is max. I think after that you could do shorter, but I wouldn't do any longer. But then you have to remind yourself, okay, what's the self honoring choice I'm gonna make here? And am I going to turn my phone off? Am I going to close all my browsers? How committed is my self discipline so that I actually move the needle within the structure?
- [37:30]
Justin Colby
Yeah. Are you going to actually achieve the thing? And I like you, I go, what's going to actually move my needle here? Am I time blocking because some guru said go time block, or am I actually being intent? To me, the word I keep going back is intentional.
- [37:44]
Sarah Gibbons
Yes. That's the only thing you get, I think, from this session is intentionality can catapult you as an entrepreneur.
- [37:53]
Justin Colby
Now if people are Hearing this before June 2nd, I think this is when you have your upcoming third.
- [37:59]
Sarah Gibbons
I'm checking. Yeah, third Wednesday.
- [38:02]
Justin Colby
If people are watching this and are Hearing this before June 3, there is a place. Are we able to have them join your.
- [38:09]
Sarah Gibbons
Absolutely. Go to Sarah Gibbons Co and you will be able to sign up, register for this workshop and we will even include a discount code in the show notes. I'll have my team create one for your community.
- [38:25]
Justin Colby
Awesome.
- [38:26]
Sarah Gibbons
Yeah. And sign up. I mean you know I say to my clients every time they show up for a coaching call with me those, even the ones who are in a have a contract and we meet very regularly. It's not lost on me taking time out of the day to do you know, to join a workshop where you, it will absolutely benefit you. That takes a commitment to something higher. It forces you to get out of the urgent moment of all the things that you want to get done that day. So you know, first step, sign up sarahgibbons co. Second step, show up. And then I always say if you're show up as you are and be willing to play full out and you will leave there with value. I guarantee it.
- [39:08]
Justin Colby
Guarantee it. Well, I love that. Well, thank you so much Sarah for coming onto the show. We could go on and on. I know I'm going to ask you to participate in our club. Help lean into some of these entrepreneurs, learn the things that you know that can move their needle because it's always about resources, always about the experience that Sarah had that can share to others. And so thank you so much.
- [39:29]
Sarah Gibbons
You're welcome. And you know one thing I didn't say Justin, but I love that you have this entrepreneur club and I'm excited to contribute in any way I can is that I really believe revolutionary growth happens inside revolutionary relationships. That this, our journey is not in a. Doesn't work in a silo. So the fact that you are you know again bringing like minded people together who have similar values and goals. I know I, I have a lot to contribute but I also can learn from that. So I'm excited. Help you out.
- [39:58]
Justin Colby
Oh thank you. I love that. Revolutionary relationships. That's a great term. That's. And that's what it's really about is to be able to go longer with the relationships than just trying to do it yourself and try to figure out with yourself. That's the point.
- [40:09]
Sarah Gibbons
Yeah. And we gotta have fun doing it.
- [40:12]
Justin Colby
Have fun, make money, you know, enjoy what you're doing. That's the whole thing offer value. So this has been a pleasure. I'm sure you will be back and I'm sure we'll see you in the community that is Sarah Gibbons. I am Justin Colby. This is the Entrepreneur DNA. And if you think someone should hear from Sarah, please share this with at least two of your friends. Talk to you soon.
- [40:32]
Sarah Gibbons
Thank you.
- [40:34]
Commercial Announcer
All new drinks are now at McDonald's with refreshers like the Strawberry Watermelon Refresher and the Mango Pineapple Refresher with popping Boba. To crafted sodas like the Sprite Berry Blast with berry flavors and cold foam. Who knew ice cold drinks could be so fire? Try them all now at McDonald's.
- [40:58]
Justin Colby
Refreshers contain caffeine. Copyright 2026, the Coca Cola Company Sprite is a registered trademark of the Coca Cola Company.
- [41:03]
Kelley Blue Book Announcer
You've never been one to settle, stand down or stand still. You're a lifelong learner, energized by excellence. There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. You've got competition to outrun, momentum to build on, and your own high standards to meet. Stop now. Not a chance. At Capella University, we help you catch what you're chasing because you've always had the drive. Now go earn the degree. Capella University. What can't you do? Visit capella.edu to learn more.
- [41:34]
Grainger Announcer
When you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters. But when it's for a hospital system, they matter even more. Grainger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Grainger offers millions of products in fast, dependable delivery. So you can keep your facility stocked, safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [42:04]
Justin Colby
I sold my car in Carvana last night.
- [42:06]
Sarah Gibbons
Well, that's cool.
- [42:07]
Carvana Customer
No, you don't understand. It went perfectly. Real offer down to the penny. They're picking it up tomorrow. Nothing went wrong.
- [42:13]
Grainger Announcer
So what's the problem?
- [42:14]
Carvana Customer
That is the problem. Nothing in my life goes as smoothly. I'm waiting for the catch.
- [42:18]
Grainger Announcer
Maybe there's no catch.
- [42:19]
Carvana Customer
That's exactly what a catch would want me to think.
- [42:22]
Grainger Announcer
Wow. You need to relax.
- [42:23]
Carvana Customer
I need to knock on wood. Do we have. What is this?
- [42:25]
Dish Network Announcer
Table wood?
- [42:26]
Grainger Announcer
I think it's laminate.
- [42:27]
Carvana Customer
Okay.
- [42:27]
Justin Colby
Yeah, that's good.
- [42:27]
Carvana Customer
That's close enough.
- [42:28]
Grainger Announcer
Car selling without a catch Sell your car today on Carvana.
- [42:33]
Sarah Gibbons
Pick up fees may apply.
- [42:34]
Jake Stauch
I'm Jake Stauch, co founder and CEO of Cervel. We built Serval to automate the IT work that slows companies down. Onboarding password resets, access to applications. My laptop stopped working. While employees wait for help, their real work is put on hold. It desperately wants to automate this work, and that's why they need Serval. You just tell Servil what you want to automate in plain English and it's built. No drag and drop workflows, no expensive consultants. Employees get unblocked and IT teams go from drowning in tickets to building what actually matters. With Cerbal, it becomes the AI engine powering the entire company. This is a new way to run it. We guarantee you'll automate 50% of all tickets and we'll prove it to you in a free four week pilot. Go to cerbal.comtickets that's S E R V A L dot com tickets.