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[0:03] And we are live on the pirate broadcast and it's it's nearly 20 20 and we got some amazing things coming up on this episode we have.
We're gonna be talking about a little bit about automation. We will be talking about accountability.
We're going to be talking about life in general.
And so I want to bring you is it Tanya Tanya Tanya.
Some people pronounce it Tanya some people that's Tanya Alvarez and she's an amazing individual that started a company called owners up,
and I want to bring her to the table and have her share a few things that she's doing in her life and her in her world of business and help you understand some of the possibilities that you can bring into your business.
So Tanya how are you today doing amazing.

[0:56] So I'm going to talk about your business because owners up intrigued me because I think we connected or we've been connected for a little while,
and I was on an interview with a couple of other people that are in business and doing some things so you got some things that are coming up that you're going to be launching in terms of content.
However I want to talk about the accountability that you bring to the table for business owners that is kind of really at the next level.
I mean it's what I see and when I look at your Web site there's some things that intrigued me.
So tell me how you got to this journey and how you got to where you are right now. Because it's fascinating to me.

[1:37] Absolutely. I've been a competitive athlete since I was 14 years old.
Oh it's worth cross country and track. So it's a very individual sport but yeah it's a team sport.
And so your teammates are sometimes your competitors because you're racing against them to get that first place.
Then you have you then you're always like practice you're sharing what's working what's not working and you're always encouraging you and pushing you out of your comfort zone.
Yeah. We have a coach that course corrects you and you have staff so you have to hit if you want to get the time.
Yeah. And so that has always been there and I always just took it for granted I was like Oh this is just what life is.
But then I became a first time entrepreneur at the age of 25 and I grew my company from college debt to over one million within the first year.
And then everyone's like wow over one million first year. That's great. But I was struggling.
I didn't know where to go to. No well I didn't know how to prioritize everything along with it.

[2:37] Sorry. So. So I mean what were you what was your struggle specifically I mean what were your struggles.

[2:43] In terms of their enticing goals making sure I'm doing the right one.
There's so many things like one time there's a client who owed me over like a hundred K and I was like What do you do.
So he asked my friends and my friends are like sue them.
No that's not the best answer. And I went that route.
So there was all these people that I didn't know which reached out to the mentors wasn't reaching like the mentors I had who were amazing but I was meeting up with them maybe every month every quarter I need something consistent.
So I brought what I did as an athlete to the business world and I'm like why don't they have this. Yeah.
And that's how it came out. So we built out a whole software where you have to report your goals you're held accountable to those goals.
You actually write down what you accomplished your lessons. The coach reviews them helps you course correct in like whatever time you submit it and all your team members in your group are actually encouraging you to say hey I use this technology. This is how I went about it.
And then they solve it. You don't have to wait that month.
I just feel isolated as an entrepreneur you're not trained what to do.

[3:49] Sure. Absolutely. Well it sounds a lot like,
you know because I've been in masterminds for years and it's very similar you know we've got a peer group of individuals that are very similar in you know summer ahead summer behind and you,
you encourage them in each other to be able to get where you are.
And it sounds like owners up is really more of a formalized.
You say you use software so that's that's fascinating to me so the software is like for posting specific times.
And so you have this pressure of this not I won't say pressure because it it shouldn't be necessarily pressure but it's it's like this opportunity to be accountable to yourself into the group as well.
Is that is that more or less.

[4:37] Yes. And then we also take the data and then we we have all these charts and should we show you where you're improving where you're not improving how you can be working smarter where I am in masterminds I think it's great mastermind.
I usually meet once a month and then you're going off a spreadsheet like did you do this call did you not do this call.
There's still much more data right behind that that everyone can harness and you can help other entrepreneurs so we can tell you,
right around the beginning stage most people like let's say they're in the early six figures they might get a couple of clients and then they're in retention mode and then wondering why they're not doing well it's because they haven't put time into sales and marketing right.
There are just so many blind spots as entrepreneurs and we don't discover.
So sometimes the masterminds you're showing your best like oh this is what's going on with me you're not really going.

[5:27] This is great win for the way. This is my way. Yeah. Yeah.
So and you go on the data. So is.
And it's all online and people are geographically diverse and being where we have someone from Australia.

[5:42] Yeah. London.

[5:44] Fantastic. Fantastic. So how many people are in a group. Usually you have multiple groups. I mean is that how it works.

[5:50] So each we put entrepreneurs and groups of five based on what their business level is and what their strengths are.
So we kind of gather where you're outsourcing your weakness right.
So if you're really good in sales you have somebody good in marketing. Somebody can set a systems some good finance and then the business coach has already grown businesses over a million.
Their strength is in sales and marketing.

[6:12] OK so so those are the typical leaders of each group then.
Yes. OK. Cool. So I want to give a shout out to Vicki O'Neil she's you know we've had this conversation Vicki and the idea that,
how isolating being an entrepreneur or freelancer or an individual business owner can be and it's this peaks and valleys a lot of times because it's you know you're.
You go out you get some clients your business and then you work work work on the client in the project and whatever happens to be and then you don't do as much marketing.
So then you're going after after the work is done. Then you go back up and it's a it's a roller coaster and sometimes.
Kristen Sherry's here. Sherry Lolly.

[7:00] Our cut. Karen hi. How are you.

[7:04] Thank you so much for being here. And we're talking to Tanya Alvarez,
and we're talking about business and life and accountability and some of the things that we really have to pursue to improve and I'm a lifelong learner.
I've been in technology for literally decades and I've watched this this stream of apps and accountability and and masterminds and,
you know the all of the self-help books that are out there and and so do you follow any methodology specifically or is this just,
your lessons learned and real life experience from your sporting activities.

[7:47] I mean you kind of kind of walks through X Factor model and braking trying to get accountability sexy because everyone assumes that accountability is one of those things like oh no I don't want it.
I'm like a type a person. Actually that's your area.
I don't know about that. I know how you can bring sexy back to the IRS but I get it.
But I think that everybody thinks Saddam Oh no no I'm going to actually get this done.
If everyone was like I was really accountable we wouldn't have any health problems.
Everyone would be skinny and healthy right.

[8:21] Yeah.

[8:22] When you take ultimate responsibility for her and even a Type A people need accountability.
Like Olympians. There's an accountability on there. There's a coach there's a teammate if they don't show up there's a consequence.
And maybe just everyone just assumes oh they're super motivated. Now there also is a system in place.
Right. So as owners up we actually create systems so it makes it easier for business owners to be accountable and we do have consequences right.
Oh wait they end up seeing a song in front of the group.
Oh they really are good singers and songs usually starts in another language if they're really good singers.
Then we up the we up it by saying that they may have to dance and then might have to go on like some social media.

[9:12] That would be very that would be very terrifying for a lot of individuals.

[9:17] Oh sure absolutely. And then the ones that are really outgoing we always find a way and then they always agree to the consequence right.
Because the goal is not to have a consequence.

[9:27] Well I think one consequence that becomes a benefit of something like this in a program like this would be being able to identify your blind spots in what you need to remove,
because I think there's a lot of us myself included.
This is your experience speaking is is we have this opportunity to do so many things that there's things we should not do.

[9:54] And being able to have someone else say Hey Russ you know is that really your genius owner or do you need to delegate that.
And that's that's why that's the only way that you know six figures is right for me is is delegation.
You know it's it's like you've got to you've got to delegate things in order to really accomplish the goals and stay in your senior sweet spot.
Mine mine is not administration it's not spreadsheets it's not any of that stuff.
So I've been able to delegate that and it's really allowed me to grow and expand. So I'm really excited about that.

[10:31] So we take it to another level to go some time.

[10:37] What that means is like you think of that. Oh yeah yeah I'm doing this right.

[10:42] I've automated everything or I delegate everything but in reality you're still kind of doing some stuff.
So you have it is we have a daily wrap up where each business owner has to write down what they accomplish.
We put the categories and then we show them the data where they're spending time and then the coach goes inside like look here's a data of you input.
And this is how we can actually move you. So think about this if I set out somebody who's pretty healthy,
and I would say how much sugar to use have and they're like Oh I'm you know I barely have sugar but I can write it down and write down everything they eat it almost impossible not to have sugar because there's sugar in almost everything right.
And we're aware of it. And then making it change because first yet be aware of the issue even if someone pointed out you can still be like,
Oh no no I'm I'm I'm doing it I'm like everything's of working you know it doesn't realize you don't realize how bad it's impacting your business you doing all these spreadsheets or maybe it's like oh this spreadsheet only five minutes.
I don't the spreadsheet ends up being like an hour and two hours so we get the really quick quantify that so they can make a change.

[11:48] Well I think it's I think the other part about capturing data.
You know it's it's like the social media or marketing in general or any business owner.
You know if you don't measure it you can't improve it.

[12:01] And if you if you can measure it and improve it then you understand what behavior is backing that that data.

[12:10] And I think especially well let's take sports analogy.
You know there's a lot of the highest performing sports athletes always have a least you know a couple of coaches you know they might have a nutritional coach they might have,
a you know a movement coach there might have you know different people doing different things to help them achieve that level of activity and success and business owners are no different.
I mean you look at the top business owners they're not necessarily working on the on all parts of their business they're focused on the vision of their business and what needs to move forward in their business. So.
The goal of a CEO is much to remove all of that stuff from your from your plate.
And that's kind of what I see. I hear you saying is is get people to understand and perceive that there's something that they can remove from their plate and be more accountable to the things they're doing right.

[13:09] Absolutely. Brought up a great point about perspective.

[13:14] So it's actually I can look at that data and look at the patterns and maybe I'm not seeing something that I should be.
So even if I wrote it down because there's a lot of people who track their time and they're like I have it all done and it's like well then can you see this issue you have right now.
So right now I'm pregnant and I had I'm ready. Thank you.
I was hungry every hour and a half and I was like What am I doing wrong. Is this just pregnancy.
So I started crying down on the food.
I looked through all the blogs you know I couldn't figure it out.
Then somebody else I I sent it to a friend. Then I sent to nutritionist and they're like oh you just need more fiber your diet.
I'm like Let's had a miss that's I would have been for hours and hours you know kind of figuring this out and that's how what happens with entrepreneurs we're just like oh we'll just figure it out we're just going to get the perspective.

[14:04] Yeah. It's a game changer.

[14:07] It is a game changer. It is a game changer. And I just want to remind everybody. Angie thank you for being here.
Vicky she says she loves the consequence part of accountability as long as it's fun and challenging.
So you're right on track there with Vicky Terry being must inspect what we expect.
I like that. I like that one day. I like that one.
And Jennifer thank you for being here. Love it.
Measure various push up daily fit five to 60 during calisthenics having the purpose and passion and really helps. It does really help.
So we're talking with Tanya Alvarez and the accountability.
It's like our business accountability. We see blind spots all the time are we.

[14:56] I guess we don't see our blind spots now are these perpetual groups or is there a duration or how does that work in your business model.

[15:06] So we have them as long as we've had people since they started. Actually a lot of our people since they've started are in our groups. That's fantastic. That's fantastic. You really get to know them. Their vulnerability and theirs.
We've had one member every time he reach his success. He's kind of like oh we need a little bit sabotages IN SINCE WE'VE BEEN WITH HIM FOR A WHILE WE'RE LIKE THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING.
Then he's able to be like oh he got to where then he was able to change.
Yeah cause sometimes we always reach out success and and it's like something's missing we're not happy. Yeah yeah. I kind of like OK we reached that we expected something right. And most of us are always in the gap.

[15:47] The ideal journey not the destination that we what we really thrive in.

[15:54] So So talk a little bit about imposter syndrome because I know a lot of you know especially creative people or you know people that are doing big things they still run into.
I mean we all at some level have some degree of imposter syndrome and I think it's really important for us to talk about this and share this because.
You know we will never see what others see about us. Right.
So how how does perception help us develop from an outside.
You know from accountability. Is that part of the equation or. Or do we.
Or do you expect it to bring that to the table when you're coaching people imposter syndrome.

[16:37] We just given challenges. So we try to get them out of their mind and into action. We're always about action.
So for example we had somebody who didn't want to do videos because they were just terrified of videos you know like oh what happens if I don't come off as expert blah blah blah.
And what we do is like all right. Would it give you a challenge. 50 days. You have to do videos and if you don't there's like a fun consequence everyone goes on.
And then during that time the whole team is encouraging them commenting them showing everything. And I think that is the fastest way to get over imposter syndrome just being action instead of just thinking because that's what's preventing us from moving forward.

[17:17] This all this analyzing thinking if I'm good enough good enough is you know is always a challenge.
You talked about video and I'm a huge fan of video and I think I think video.

[17:31] With the right strategy can move a business forward. And I love the video you have on your Web site.

[17:36] And so let me bring that up. I want to bring up. You can get a get a hold of Tanya on Linked In As always you know we're here.
You know if you're listening to the podcast or you're watching her on YouTube or Facebook or anywhere else you can always get a hold of her on LinkedIn and also reach out to her at owners up dot com.
And I'll put that in the little show note.
So if you're watching the video you can see that. So I love the little ticker there that advertises you. So artsy so video strategy how how do you.

[18:13] How do you introduce that to the business owners as they go through this process.

[18:20] So we are not like of course we basically there's all different types of entrepreneurs and whatever they want to achieve in their business we come up with a plan and we help them prioritize your goal because there's two issue most entrepreneurs deal with.
They set goals that they're comfortable with. They're not out of their comfort zone sitting being a little bit of courage.
Or they know exactly what the goal is. But they don't know the steps. So what they end up doing is procrastinating or just giving up on the goal right.
So what we do is we help them prioritize a goal which is the hardest part about being entrepreneurs because you have so many things you're like Okay.
What can I do this month to actually move the needle. Right. Right.
And we get them we help them with the steps and then we hold them accountable to those steps because there's sometimes people procrastinate and maybe that one thing maybe they didn't want to get video content and then we help them out with that encouragement.
So back to the question the sense of like what is video.
If somebody had if they wanted to more video we would help them with the plan on how to go about it and maybe they were scared to do it maybe they didn't know how to they would have.
How they would look we always have somebody a member who's an expert on that that can help them out.
So all of our members is Nina. She's really good with video and then she'll help you say OK this is a setting. This is how it is.
And then from there we put a nice little fun challenge for them and then at the end they're excited that they achieved it and they're like hey I can't believe I was resisting this for this long.

[19:45] Yeah well it's not as difficult as some people make it out to be.
And you know compared to five years ago it's even easier to just jump on live.
I mean this this broadcast it was you know we had a few bumps for whatever reason you know some software getting updated and some links her overall the experience of getting on this live broadcast wasn't too difficult.
That's my experience. I don't know I hope your experience was equally in line with that. I mean it wasn't.

[20:18] I mean it's you know you open up a browser and you started it you didn't have to.
You do have to load any software you didn't have to do anything major again.

[20:27] And so it's money just streaming to other platforms you just linked in.

[20:31] No it's streaming to Facebook pages and YouTube as well.

[20:38] OK. And then after the show later on I sent it off to this file will get uploaded to a podcast and then it will.
The transcription will be uploaded to my blog so the audio video words and images are all there.

[20:57] So it's it's part of the equation.

[21:00] So it's really it's pretty it's pretty interesting how I developed this platform and the opportunity and ability to and I couldn't do it without a team.

[21:12] You know I was doing it without a team because as I was building it you know trying to figure everything out and some early adopters that I have on I'm going to have back because I didn't have them.

[21:22] You know enjoy the full broadcast opportunity.

[21:27] Harvard that's the thing about business. If you push your boundaries and you push your.
You know your level of expertise and you find this groove that you really find joy in. And then you could delegate other things that's that's the epiphany that I'm really working toward is what can I remove from my plate.

[21:45] Because if you can build a system and you can build a process and you can document that process you can delegate it if you document delegates what you're saying is like.

[21:58] Yes. And we read it and we. And it's about putting action so the difference between you and probably most people is you went into action you're like All right.
If I mess up on this video I'm OK with it.
You know if the systems are like I'm OK with it but most people wouldn't be okay within the beginning and what's preventing them from success.
Often they end in action. And I want more and more people to just get their hands dirty and be like OK whatever. It's just a mistake. Like it was a mistake.

[22:26] You're going to learn or grow. That's me.
So I think it's fantastic and I just really appreciate what you're doing because I really believe in that teamwork and relationships because like you mentioned these some of these people are I've been involved in your program since the beginning.
You've been in business for over five years I believe as I recall.
And I love the video that you have on your on your Web site.
So go to her Web site owners up and there's,
a gallon there that talks about you know I I I did a stretch goal and I achieved that so now I'm like moving past my stretch goal and it's that speaks volumes to what you can do and accomplish when you build people around you.
And that's why I'm doing the pirate broadcast because if I start highlighting what others are doing that inspires people to do more.
You know it inspires them to believe that they could do something else.
And so Jerri care and love the conversation. Thank you so much Terry.

[23:31] We're talking about Imposter Syndrome yesterday and I have Terry Bean tomorrow on the show so we're probably talking about that again.
There's so many things. Order thank you so much. Love it.

[23:48] Laurie you know all of these individuals come here to you know learn more and discover more and be inspired by the guests like yourself.
And I just really appreciate the fact that you're here and doing this great work so.
So what do you see in the next year or a year and a half besides being the mother and one of the big projects you have going on.
And congratulations on that. And but for the business owners up in the the community that you're building around this what what do you see just more,
you're just growing and expanding and how do you how do you go through that process or how do you decide for yourself what what works for you.

[24:36] So right now I'm on a mission to make sure that everybody has a success team.
And what I mean by that is even if you're not in business like how do you make sure you have goals.
So for me even being pregnant I went through IVF and I had a group of people kind of like supporting me encouraging me during that time in any goal I do because I was like Oh wow you've achieved so much it was easy for you.
It's like No I've always had a group of people and not group of people who are yes I mean and just like in me just encouraging me people were challenging me and saying you are calling me out on it.
And that's what I need. So I think that's one thing where I'm like,
well we can actually shift the percentage of entrepreneurs succeeding if we actually everyone had a team of people Piers that they can hold account that they can hold them accountable to call them out on stuff. Right.
And the second thing is I won't be a place where we actually have all this data on entrepreneurs to help them out because we always assume entrepreneurs like oh we're reading his blog and we assume this person has an amazing life and everything. No no.
I remember when my company achieved over 1 million within the first year I was like oh I guess I'm not enough because I didn't know that like less than 10 percent of companies achieve over a million.
All it was really is a startup so we're doing like you know 20 million 40 million whatever now.
So I just want to have real data to help entrepreneurs be like Yeah. This is a face you're at. This is normal and you're just to take action and move forward.

[26:04] Yeah and I think a lot of it you know there's a lot of you know feedback in media and everything.
And also I think there's a lie that everyone should be an entrepreneur.
You know I love being an entrepreneur and I've been in corporate business and I've been out of court for business you know multiple times and I enjoy both sides of the equation because I love diversity.
And you know the variety of things that I get to accomplish and.
Not everyone is cut out and designed to be an entrepreneur because there's a lot of things that they're personality wise and that could be wrong and I'd love to hear your opinion on this because,
some of the stresses that an entrepreneur has as they're growing a business and all of a sudden you have,
people that depend on you and you know you have to perform at a certain level in order to accomplish these goals and you know it's like sometimes there's you know you have to decide OK,
what what is my priority today and there's times no roadmap there's you know when you're kind of blazing your own trail and you're deciding what needs to be done next.
You know it's really encouraging to hear that others are helping out you know like yourself and owners up.

[27:24] However a lot of people may not know that and understand that that's available to them and the stresses that we that we all have take place in our lives can be more than enough for some people.

[27:38] So I mean would you agree with that or is is is that some of your experience or what are your thoughts. I think that.

[27:46] If you're willing if this is really your passion that you want to be an entrepreneur there is a path to it and you just need to find a group that you're compatible to that encourages you out of your comfort zone but you have to be open to coaching,
you know open during coachable open to just being able to change and it's not like say a certain way like you have to be able to zig zag and everything and if you're comfortable with that.
Yes go for it be an entrepreneur.
There is this article that was like on it was I want to be an entrepreneur.
Get used to being punched in the face every single day.
I don't want another one that's like Find your passion and it's like imagine eating the same.
He uses a bad word whatever crap eating the same crap sandwich every single day.
It's kind of like if you like chocolate ice cream Maginnis and chocolate ice cream every day. That's how passionate you have to be about it.

[28:38] Good luck to vision like images to kind of tell you Okay yeah this is entrepreneurial. I really love it.

[28:45] Yeah yeah yeah. You have to be. I think I think we often when we're in it.

[28:52] There are times we have to remind ourself why we got in it. You know cause you know,
a lot of people do it for a reason and I'm not sure what your reason was but my reason is because I ultimately want flexibility in my my day.
I want to be able to go do something in the middle of the day without having to think about it or report to anyone and you know I stopped responsibilities and I still have guidelines and you know I still have deadlines and all that kind of stuff.
However if I want to go take off and go to lunch with a friend you know it's it's no big deal.
And and you know I run my own schedule and I can go to Houston to see my son or whatever I decide I want to do and I could still run my business.
And to me that was ultimate flexibility in in designing my life.
You know that's the that's the journey that I'm taking is not the destination is the journey I choose and how I want to feel every day and the gratitude that I feel every day for people like yourself doing great things and being able to share this information and,
help other people and answer questions and you know share some of the lessons that I've learned over the last 30 years.
You know those those are things that bring me joy so finding joy and gratitude in the days is really important to me and that's kind of what,
drives me and other people are driven by different things and I'm not sure what drives you but I'm sure you have a Y in the background of knowing that this is this is why you're here.

[30:22] So it is you speak to that he has and my Y is growing up and I came from a single family my mom raised four kids and I was really fortunate enough to go to a top school Wellesley College in.

[30:36] The odds of me getting in there was a small percentage.
So I've been defying the odds by been defying odds because of the support I've always had.
I get so many more people who can defy the odds. If there was a group of people so I'm on a mission to have more more people have a team so they can defy the odds. I've given me getting pregnant was like.
I knew the stack as I remembered it so well it was like less than 10 percent.
So it's just all of these things and it couldn't happen because everyone always thinks about it.
It's all about Lake on action and it is. But you also have to be in mental space and not be stressed.
So that group allows you to talk it out find ways quicker ways to get something done and spending hours and hours on the Internet going down a rabbit hole.
That is my mission. That's what I wake up and I'm like OK how can this person actually.
Because if if I was back then if I was 14 you know and I just decide this is my circumstance it this is my life and nobody really encouraged me. I wouldn't be here. Yeah.
I wouldn't start my first company at 25. Who does I like it's just now more and more people.
But back then I'm older and as frequent and especially being a female and Hispanic so I just wonder if to just have a team of people just find your group.

[31:58] Yeah absolutely absolutely I love that and I know we can talk all day about on this and I just appreciate the fact that you're here Tanya and thank you so much for joining us on the pirate broadcast.
I know I just want to give a shout out to all the people that join Gerri Kieran Cheri Kanata,
Al OK our Scott Laurie Terry Bean see in the morning Vicky O'Neill Angie thank you so much for being here.
Love you all and I really appreciate and have all the gratitude in the world for this community and what you're doing.
Tanya thank you so much. I know that our paths will cross again. And let's stay in touch and make sure that we're helping others around us lift up others whenever we can and help out.
Please get a hold of Tanya. Connect with her on LinkedIn and tell her Russ sent you an ad visit owners up.
Watch the video. It's very cool video. It's awesome.
I encourage you to do that. And congratulations on being a mother and I applaud you for all the work and effort that you do in the community.
Any last parting words that you want to share with us today.

[33:17] Well thank you for having me. Anybody can reach out to me sound Russ and I'll have you guys go through a framework of goal prioritization.
I'll send you to Pete. Yes. And then if you want I'll go through the video.
I'll go. If you send it to me I'll send you a video and help you prioritize those goals for 2020.

[33:34] Fantastic. Well thank you so much for being here. Kindness is cool.
Smiles are free and you enjoy the day. You too. Thanks.