Ep. 93: How To Recession-Proof Your Business with Stacy Tuschl
In case you need a reminder, power is never given to you, you just have to take it.
Stacy Tuschl shares with us her experience owning a small business during Coronavirus and how she is recession-proofing her business.
I wish I could say that I predicted this pandemic and was saving sitting down and talking with Stacy Tuschl for the podcast, but I didn't. It did, however, give me the guts to reach out to Stacy, finally, and say, "Girl, I need you! My tribe needs your expertise." You don't want to miss this one.
Stacy is a best selling author and speaker, the owner of a multiple 7 figure business, and the creator of the Foot Traffic Formula. In this podcast, we share our fears, our lessons learned during coronavirus, and tips for beauty bosses to recession-proof your small business.
Here are the episode highlights:
‣‣ [02:46] Let's just be real and talk about our feelings for a second. You're not alone in feeling anxious about the state of your business right now.
‣‣ [10:16] Stacy shares with us how she's retained 95% of her clients during Coronavirus and lockdown.
‣‣ [12:31] Here we talk about how we handle fear, especially right now.
‣‣ [15:41] Stacy gives advice for how businesses can prepare themselves to be the go-to once places start opening back up.
‣‣ [21:51] Listen to this for tips on what you can do to bring in a profit from home as a permanent makeup professional.
‣‣ [25:33] Stacy shares some financial tips for beauty professionals struggling during Coronavirus.
‣‣ [28:25] We talk about misconceptions people have about small business owners and bosses.
‣‣ [32:37] What we've learned through lockdown and Coronavirus and our hopes for the future.
I NEED TO RECESSION-PROOF MY BUSINESS ASAP! (Listen Here)
I'm so thankful that I got to sit and talk with Stacy for this podcast! You can keep up with her and all things Foot Traffic by following her on Instagram right here or checking out her podcast here!
You can follow me, Sheila Bella, on Instagram @realsheilabella!
Here are the links that were mentioned in the podcast!
Grow Your Gram
Online Course Workshop
The Automatic Customer by John Warrillow
FOR MY LISTENER BOSS BABES
You can enjoy this podcast by downloading it on iTunes here.
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FOR MY READER BOSS BABES
You can enjoy a transcript of the podcast here.
Sheila Bella:
... you get how to recession proof your beauty business. Guys, I love you so much that I went out of my comfort zone and I reached out to the one and only Stacy Tuschl. And I was like, "Stacy, Stacy, my tribe needs your expertise right now. Can you please come on the show?" And she was so gracious. She said yes and boy, is this a good one? And it is so, so needed right now. She couldn't have come at a better time.
See, I knew, I wish I could tell you, I knew there was going to be a pandemic and I was saving Stacy Tuschl for the recession, but I didn't. This pandemic did give me the guts to reach out to her and say, "Girl, I need you." Can't miss this one. Here we go.
You're listening to the Pretty Rich podcast, where you are totally the heroine of your own story. I'm your host, Sheila Bella, and I built a seven figure PMU biz without a degree, without a fancy website or a sugar daddy.
And if you and I hang out here long enough, you're going to start to believe that you can do it too, because you really can. I know you think I don't know you, but I do. I really, really do because I am you. And I believe we're all on the same journey together. My perfect job didn't exist, so I created it. The job I wanted wasn't hiring me, so I skipped the line and hired myself as CEO. Just like you can. So consider me your secret beauty biz BFF.
In case, you need to be reminded that power is never given to you, you just have to take it. Are you ready beauty boss. Let's jump in.
Hello richies, it Sheila Bella. I'm excited to be chatting with you again, hanging out here on Pretty Rich podcast. I have a really good one today and I know it's going to be super helpful. I have the one and only Stacey Tuschl of the Foot Traffic podcast and creator of the Foot Traffic formula. What makes her different is she has experience in both being a brick and mortar CEO, as well as an online entrepreneur. So she knows both sides of the spectrum.
And I decided to do a COVID-19 series for as long as we're going through this, I just don't feel it's right to put out anything else. Personally, I don't feel like it's fitting to put out anything else that doesn't address the current situation. So today we're going to be talking about how to recession proof your salon or beauty business. And I know a lot of you guys are feeling it all.
You're feeling the full range of emotions, and I want you to know that you're not alone. Okay, so I ugly cry. I have my moments. For the most far, I'm feeling super positive about this whole thing and I don't know why, I just have a pretty positive outlook that this will end, it's just a matter of when. And I'm also learning a lot about slowing down and realizing that I have way more than enough.
So as tragic as this whole situation is as this whole season is I also see a lot of beauty, which is so weird to say, but it doesn't mean that I don't have my moments. I ugly cried two days ago and I still have this idea that I need to look perfect all the time, or I need to be "strong" all the time. But if there's anything I've learned, I've learned that vulnerability is a strength, right?
So I do cry, I do have bad days. I have anxiety just like you, but it's totally okay for me to not go live during these breakdowns, okay. Or if you ever have those moments, that's totally okay. And I am actually working on releasing the guilt from that because sometimes I do have guilt. I wonder, am I being authentic enough, because authenticity and vulnerability is so important to me, right?
But I'm just like you, I'm a crazy crying cat lady sometimes. And yes, it's okay to be anxious. It's understandable not to feel like being productive right now. It's okay to break down once in a while because you don't know what to do with your family, your finances, your business, but what I still firmly believe is not okay, is being mean to yourself. So I want to encourage you to as much as possible speak words of grace, especially to yourself, especially now. I do something called mirror work.
I do it for like 20 seconds as part of my morning routine. It is so awkward at first, but it is so powerful. So try it, try speaking words of love to yourself in the mirror for 20 seconds and see how that changes your mood, because you can't rely on anyone else to fix you. Right? And when I'm gracious with my own fragile spirit, all of a sudden, I feel like being productive.
And I think it's sad because the word productive gets a bad rap, especially now. I saw somebody post this morning that says like, "This is not a productivity contest." And I agree it's not, it never was, even pre COVID-19, but I do think the word productive is a super positive word. I love it because I personally get out of my funk by doing. Action always makes me feel better because I don't know anyone who has ever been successful without working hard.
Maybe to some Trust Fund kids, but that's the bottom line. I don't know anyone who's ever been successful without working hard, you have to work hard. I mean, call me insensitive, but I'm not, I'm not insensitive, I cry too. But the only way I know how to get out of a depressed state is by shifting my focus on helping others, shifting my focus on helping others on serving others through building myself up.
Because how can you pour out of an empty cup? So I want you to know, cry it out. It's okay. You're supposed to cry it out. You're not alone. Give yourself a pep talk though and get back in the field, because your people need you. This season, I believe is calling you to adapt, to pivot, not to pause, but to adjust to readjust. Don't stop serving, you're still a beauty expert. And I want you to know that there's a lot of opportunity to make money from home right now.
So if you're feeling financially unprepared, it's time to figure out a new stream of income. You can make money even during this recession. And I want you to know that from somebody who's been, who was a permanent makeup artist, turned online entrepreneur, my online business is thriving right now. And I want to help you do that too, because it's important to have different streams of income. How many times have you said that, to other people, to yourself, and now the importance of that is getting a lot of attention.
So perhaps you've never given serious thought about working from home as an online entrepreneur. And I've been there. I am a non tech savvy PMU artist turned online entrepreneur, and I am confident. I can teach you how to make the same pivot, still your expertise, but a pivot. Doing it online. So I want you to lean into that discomfort.
Don't fight it, and I want to help you discover your hidden talents. If you've ever thought about building an online course, this is the opportunity of a lifetime because right now I am offering my online course workshop for 50% off, only for a limited time.
What it is, is four live calls, 14 days and step-by-step guidance on how to build an online course. I will help you with developing the idea, putting together the curriculum and the contents, finding the name and filming it. If you want to do a video or webinars, or it could just be an audio course, heck it could be an ebook, whatever the format, I got you.
So if you're interested in learning how to build an online course, you have to go to sheilabella.com/onlinecourseworkshop. And for a limited time, it's half off, by using the code INTHISTOGETHER. Okay, you guys here is Stacy Tuschl with how to recession proof your beauty business.
Awesome. Right. So I'd like to start first of [inaudible 00:09:22] take 57. I'd like to start with some rapid fire type of questions. So just to get to know you a little bit better for my audience who isn't obsessed like I am. So what is your proudest accomplishment?
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah. So one of the big things that I really was proud of, if you would have asked me a month or two ago, I would have said being selected as the Wisconsin small business person of the year. That really was a huge accomplishment. What's happened this morning though, somebody actually, we brought up, what have you done? What are you proud of?
And I said, I've only lost 5% of my clients right now, 95% are still retained, because they're on automatic withdrawal. We're over delivering in certain ways. And yeah, to me, that is now my proudest accomplishment. [Crosstalk 00:10:11]
Sheila Bella:
Mind blown.
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah. And do that.
Sheila Bella:
So how did you do that?
Stacy Tuschl:
So first of all, I think number one is we are, I love the book, Automatic Customer by John Warrillow. It talks about how everybody needs recurring customers no matter if you sell products, programs, or services, you have to be there.
Looking at what has just happened. My number one, strength has been, my customers are automatic. They're reoccurring the 15th of every single month. That is the only way you can come to my studio is by automatically signing up for this. So that was number one. In any industry, you can have automatic customers.
Then I think number two was, we pivoted on the services we were offering. So we aren't able to offer in person dance and music and all of that. So we said, what could we give them? How could we over deliver right now? So obviously the big ones are, yes, we went virtual, but not only do we do virtual classes, we're doing a lot of things where we're teaching privates, one-on-one through zoom.
We are doing like story times with the teachers and I'm doing an Easter bunny drive through on Saturday day, where you can drive in my parking lot and the Easter bunny is going to be there waiting. Just things to make people think, "Wow, they're really doing a lot of stuff. I want to stay a member to get access to all of these fun things they're doing."
So we've invented programs and things that we've been doing right now that we've never done before.
Sheila Bella:
That's incredible. Only 5%.
Stacy Tuschl:
Thank you.
Sheila Bella:
Wow. For a time like this, that speaks so much to the value and the connection that people feel to your performing arts school.
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah. That's really ...
Sheila Bella:
That's awesome.
Stacy Tuschl:
That number, I'm sure is going to continue to drop down, but it doesn't even matter. We are so focused on retaining the people we have and even two weeks from now, if we lose some people, still our goal is, but who do we have and how can we love them more? Because we can get through this losing 10%, 20%, we could probably get through it losing 50% with the way that we've drastically cut some of our expenses.
So we're just taking it one day at a time and just doing the best we can every day.
Sheila Bella:
Bravo Stacy. That's a real Testament. I agree with you, that would be mine too if I were you. One fear you have about the future. People look at boss babes like you, and they're like, "She's fearless, she doesn't like ..."
Stacy Tuschl:
I think for me right now, in this moment, what am I fearing it's when is this really going to come back and how long can I sustain what I'm doing? Right now people believe this is short term and [inaudible 00:12:54] have really big hope that next month or summer or whatever that looks like.
But we really don't know what this looks like. And we don't know if there's going to be a second round of it and it comes back and all of a sudden, we all have to do this again. Right? So I think the biggest fear is we don't know the end date. And that for me is hard because I'm so type A.
Sheila Bella:
Type A.
Stacy Tuschl:
I like deadlines, I like my calendar looking pretty and this is messing up my calendar.
Sheila Bella:
Right, right. And the lesson here, because I have the same exact fears is, did we ever really know what was going to happen? Do we ever really know? We don't. I hear you, I hear you. And the thing is I believe that this is going to go away or more normalize around the end of the summer, that's my personal theory. And I think whether or not that's true, I think acting that way can't hurt.
Stacy Tuschl:
Agreed. I think we have to stay in a positive mindset of the phrases like, you prepare for the worst, but you hope for the best. And I really am staying in that mindset, and I want my team to feel the same way.
I keep preparing for September as our real, real opening. Not thinking that I can't bring in some income or that there won't ... I believe that in summer there will be other rules in place. Maybe we'll only be able to be partially open or these many people in our building at a time. So some income will start to happen, but I am preparing for not opening again until September, which is scary when I say that out loud, knowing it's only April, but we're doing everything we can to do that.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah, you're right. You're right. Oh my God, it is only April. I feel like I'm living in the phone right now because it's raining in California, but-
Stacy Tuschl:
Well, and I also think it feels like summer because the kids are home. We've got just a different schedule. So it feels like we're much further along than April right now.
Sheila Bella:
I agree with you, and I think that things will probably start to normalize more mentally too, for a lot of households once the kids do start going back to school, then I think there'll be less fear of spending.
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah, absolutely.
Sheila Bella:
... for all of the things we use to spend on.
Stacy Tuschl:
The good thing with us for summer, for all of these brick and mortars, if we are allowed to reopen in some circumstances is we our people who need to get out more than they've ever needed to get out.
They're going to want to be booking services and they're going to want to be doing things, like getting away from the kids and having that time, because it's not just a typical summer of being home with them for 12 weeks. It's now maybe five months of being home with them. So I actually think we're going to see a huge spike and we can open those doors back up.
Sheila Bella:
I agree with you. What are your tips for beauty businesses to position themselves as early as now to be the one that people rush to once we can?
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah. So I think to be present now more than ever. To make sure people know, you haven't gone away, you're still here. You're still delivering value. Really being present so that you are staying top of mind, right? Or maybe some new people are catching you online because of this.
Now, when we go to reopen, I think that as a leader, as the CEO, we need to be selling the vision of what we're doing and what we think we're going to be doing or what we're predicting for these times. So people are like, "Oh no, I heard this place is doing this and I'm ..." They need to see that you're being proactive, because right now, I was talking to my hairstylist friend yesterday and she said, "I have an appointment in however many weeks when we should be open, so I should be good."
And she's like, "They might be starting from scratch and wiping their calendars clear, and you don't know what's going to happen." I'm like, "My salon better be messaging me or telling me what's going on, give me an update." Right? And I think the people that are updating and being proactive and showing here's our plan of action, those are going to be the people where people are raising their hands, like sign me up for that.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. We're paid for our energy. And right now, I think people will listen to anybody who sounds confident or who sounds like they have some idea of what's going to happen. So yeah, I think the way that businesses and entrepreneurs show up during this time is truly like the audition for leadership in the coming months.
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah. I think this is, like you are seeing leadership all over. You're seeing people who are excelling and people who do not know how to lead in these times and it's, I'm being vulnerable with my audience and my community, but even when I'm vulnerable, there's always a glimmer of hope. There's always me being positive in that, even though I am being real, because I really do feel that way.
This is not the most ideal time, but there's still a lot of positives happening and things that we can be grateful for. And I'm trying to take that in and bring that energy to everybody. So I agree with you. People don't want to sit and listen to the news 24/7 and hear all the negative stuff that's going on. Right? They need people like us to step up and lead and get them through this.
Sheila Bella:
Agree. Agree. So as I mentioned before, what I love about you is you know both sides. You're a business coach that has a successful business. What are your thoughts on business coaches whose primary business is business coaching? Is this like one of those things where you have to be in the ring to be a boxing trainer?
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah.
Sheila Bella:
Anyone can have good ideas, but I think the implementation is what matters when you hire a business coach, because it's easy to sell, not easy, but it's easier to sell ideas and say, "Hey, keep going." You know what I mean. So what are your feelings on this?
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah. So, I mean, there's definitely people that I see and I'm thinking, "Who is paying this person?" And I feel bad that people are paying her when she has no experience. Right? There's definitely those people.
Now, I used to think you have to have a business to be a business coach, or at least a different business besides your consulting business. But I have seen that some people have really good skill sets and something they did, and they absolutely can train on those skill sets for whatever it is they're doing.
So let's say, you are a master salesman and you work a 9-5, but you are phenomenal. Absolutely, you could go and teach sales, and teach things like that, yes. But if you're just doing all around business coaching, I think it's going to be very difficult because I pull from what I did or have already gone through.
So when somebody says, "Somebody is asking me for a refund, they just said this and that." I'm not thinking like, "Oh, maybe try this." I'm going, "Well, here's what we've tried. And here's what you shouldn't do because the response we got was awful. Don't do that, definitely don't say that to her." Right?
So I just feel like you've got to find somebody who not only has done it. I mean, if I had sold my studios five years ago, giving recession proofing strategies right now, it's irrelevant. Right. I mean, I could maybe come up with some really good ideas, but I can't share with you that I've done it and here are the results we've gotten, and here we've tested and tweaked and I think that's what makes me different because I'm actually doing the strategies I'm telling people to try.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Yeah. I hear you. Oh man, so you and I are very similar. I have a brick and mortar and I have an online consulting business for the niche that I serve. So I was going to ask again, your brick and mortar is doing well, are online businesses right now, is your opinion is they're killing it right now or do you think they're doing well?
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah. I mean, I think some. I think it's the survival of the fittest. I think the ones that were doing well are blowing up even more. The people at the top, they are going to excel. I do think that it's going to be, if you're just getting in this, you better really show your credibility, why you can help and really over-deliver and give that value. But yes, Foot Traffic, our online business is blowing up, we are doing so well.
A lot of my friends are having like record open cart days, then their launches are phenomenal, all of that. Now is hard to say that everybody should be jumping ship and doing an online business. You've got to be careful because you can't just jump in and do something when you don't know what you're doing, but do I think a lot of brick and mortars need to be pivoting to some online offerings, 100%. But stay in your niche with what you're an expert at, what you're good at, where you have credibility.
Sheila Bella:
I hear you. What would you advise somebody who was let's hear it, a permanent makeup professional, tattoos, brows for a living. This is the majority of the people listening to this or does lashes, what ideas would you have for them to profit from home right now?
Stacy Tuschl:
So this is something where I want you to ask yourself, "Who is my person? What does she need? What is she going through?" So the reason my hairstylist friend reached out to me was because she wanted market research. She was asking me all these questions. And I was like, "If my person cancels, I will be leaving." And she's like, "Oh, noted. Right, like I'm marking it down."
And then I was like, so what do you need right now? I'm like, "Well, in a few weeks, my roots are going to start to be horrendous." Right. So she's like, "Okay, so what if your hairstylist did this?" Same thing with you? What services would your people be needing right now? And everybody is in a different stage. Somebody just came to you and they might not see you again for however many months. Right?
Somebody was just thinking about coming to you and needing it now and they don't get you. Right? What types of services can you offer for the people in need right now to all of a sudden go, "Okay, we may not be able to do this and temporarily tattoo this, but in the meantime, until you can get to us, here's what you could be doing."
Sheila Bella:
Hannah tutorial ladies, at home Hannah tutorial is what I got from that, go ahead.
Stacy Tuschl:
Okay. Amazing. I mean, because this is your area. I don't know what you could be doing, but I know how to pull it out of people to say, what else do they need, right?
And I always tell people, don't switch your person right now. Stay with the person you want to serve in three months or six months when we open back up. This isn't the time to start a fresh brand new business and then have to start another one from scratch, your existing one, because that's what it's going to feel like when you abandon your current people.
So I would message your best customers, your favorite clients and just say, "Can I ask you some questions for market research? I want to pick your brain, I'll give you this in exchange." Maybe give them something for when you were back open and just ask and see what they say. They will give you the answers. I promise you, talk to your people. You'll hear what they want, what they need, what they're not considering what they're expecting of you when you open back up. That's another thing we haven't experienced yet.
Sheila Bella:
That's awesome.
Stacy Tuschl:
So we're experiencing what our customers think of, how we closed down, and what this looks like. There's going to be a whole other set of opinions when we open back up and what that looks like. So get ready and prepare for things like that too.
Sheila Bella:
I love that. And right now we have the time I would love to pick my customer's brain for 15 minutes about what they need, what their expectations are and how we can serve them. So I love that you gave us permission to pick up the phone and call them direct, like what a concept, calling.
Stacy Tuschl:
Well, and I feel like not only ... People want to talk to people, we're all isolated, then it's like, "Wow, that is so amazing they thought to message me." Right? And I would say, I'm reaching out to you specifically. We love you. We love people like you, we're so excited we get to work with you and serve you. And I want to ask somebody who is my dream client. If you say that to somebody that you're their dream client, they're like that's amazing, how amazing for somebody to reach out and to do that personally.
Sheila Bella:
Absolutely. Absolutely. That's still trust-building. What can beauty professionals do? What would you advise them financially right now? What are your tips on that?
Stacy Tuschl:
Oh man. So I keep telling my clients, I probably look, if you could see how I'm doing this behind the scenes, it looks like I'm broke as can be. It looks like I'm back in the college days because I'm not spending a dollar right now on anything. [crosstalk 00:25:58] I don't [inaudible 00:26:00] two dollars. It's like, no, we're not spending anything. I almost thought, "Do I really need to get my kids Easter baskets?" And then I was like, "No, I should get them something small."
But that's how cheap I am being right now. And I have money in the bank you guys. I am doing well, but I am preparing for what if this lasts six months. Right? So cut out every unnecessary expense. I'm not telling you to not buy things that couldn't make you money, I am still investing in things that are making me money, that is a difference there.
So I'm just saying if it's an expense, get rid of it, if it's a revenue generator, lean in hard, right? Lean in. And I keep telling people, this isn't time to be dropping your coach. You need a coach now than you ever needed a coach in any experience you've ever been in. This is the time to hire a coach, not drop them to save money. So that's one.
Then I would say, go through your credit card bill and look at all of the reoccurring expenses you have and call every single one of those people, that you are software, depending on anything you could be doing. People were dropping our utility bill, our phone and internet, they were even going, we can lower your data, you're not using your internet, let's just do this and charge that.
Little things like that, you might not realize. So go through and call. If you lease a car, some car companies are saying, you can defer your payments for two months and not the waiting fees. Little things like that can add up big time.
We dropped over $10,000 on our credit card bill this month after cutting out as much as we possibly could. So that's big. Obviously, the stimulus funding, apply, get on top of that. If you are, you have to be quick. So you need to be stalking your email to make sure when that email comes through saying, we're ready for you to take the next step and do this, or give us this, right now is in order of how you're applying.
So the faster you can be the better. I have an assistant that checks my emails and she knows the second you see an email from US Bank, which is the bank I use, you text message me and you keep texting or calling me until I respond that I've received it, because that's how fast this needs to be handled if you're trying to get stimulus money.
Sheila Bella:
Agree, agree. Wow, such good advice. Now, how are you handling this whole thing as a boss? So what do you think is the misconception about being a boss or being a business owner at a time like this? Recognition is, I think small business owners are getting some recognition right now. What do you think the misconception is?
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah. I think there's so many misconceptions. I think people, especially people that just have regular nine to fives. Our clients who just, they're not in this world, they look at us and they think we're bazillionaires. All this money and we should just keep giving them everything for free while paying our people, paying our team, staying open, paying the mortgage, all of that and that this should not be an issue, and that if it is it's our fault, because we haven't properly prepared.
I mean, we've had people that have said, because we've said things like, if and when the stimulus funding come through, we may be giving a credit or something like that and we've had people say, this is like the 1%, but it still happens. But people will say things like, "Well, that's not our problem if you get the stimulus money, you figure this out, right?" Now, the 99% have been amazing, and we have to lean in to that 99% and block out the 1%.
Short, sweet, very simple emails back to them. We're not engaging, we're not going to sit here and argue with people. And I keep telling myself, they're not purposely trying to be mean to us, they're scared. They may have lost their jobs, they're nervous, they're freaking out, so their reaction is not because of what we're doing. It's because of maybe their lack of preparation. Maybe they don't have a savings, right, maybe they aren't doing any of that.
So I think it's that we have it all together or we should. We should have done better and that I think can be really detrimental if you stay believing those people that are saying these things to you. You're doing the best you can. I literally said that to my people so many times. I'm like, "Thank you for understanding, we are doing the best we can."
In a situation that we've never gone through, no one has gone through. I can't even hire a coach right now to say, "Hey, could you teach me that last time this happened and everybody had to stay home." This has never happened, I mean, in our lifetime. Right?
So we can't even get an advisor in this situation. So we're all just figuring it out. And I think the other thing too, is people look at our competitors and our competitors make them stick and then they think, "Well, why aren't you doing what they're doing?" "I'm thinking, well is a horrible idea? I wish I could talk to that business owner and tell her you're killing your business. But I can't also just follow what she's doing, because now she set the precedent."
So we've had other businesses do things that I look at, and I think, "They're not going to make it. They can't keep surviving on this."
Sheila Bella:
Hashtag relatable. So I think business owners do get a lot of heat for "not being as generous" you know what I mean?
Stacy Tuschl:
I've been called greedy this past week, I will tell you that.
Sheila Bella:
But here's the thing, what's happening right now is owners of businesses are busting their butts to keep people employed. And that's not just now, that's happening all the time. That's the goal. Right? So, yeah I take it really personally.
Stacy Tuschl:
I do to. I get very worked up about it and then I do have to just let it go. I know it's crazy what people have the audacity to say to us.
Sheila Bella:
Yeah. Unless they've been in the ring, I guess you don't know. And I love that you highlighted that. Yeah, it is out of fear and to do your woosahs and burn some sage and look at your crystals and you'll be fine.
So, Oh my gosh, you just give so much value in such little time. Thank you so much. And so just to close things off, a couple of things is, what will you keep from this season? So there's been so much that I don't want from this season, right, but then the silver lining is, I get to spend time with my family, and I feel like I've learned so much in isolation and quarantine in the last like three to four weeks more than I expected to. So I already have a list of my things that I want to keep. But I want to ask you, what are you hoping will stick?
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah. And I mean, just going off those lines, I really believe this happened for a reason. We were over-scheduled, these kids are doing six nights a week of activities, we're working like crazy, we're on our phones all the time. We were all doing too much. We were all probably spending too much. We weren't being grateful for the things that we have.
Right. I mean, the things that I'm now grateful for, that I've never even thought to be grateful before. Right. It's a new normal. So I think, I hope people can see the lessons in this, because if you don't learn anything through this time, then what was it for? It's just such a waste of time to not take those lessons in.
So I would say the takeaways that I will bring up forward with me is run lean. I think when things are great, it's really easy to be like, "Yeah, we should do that. We need that. Let's get that." And I think I've set a new standard for myself on what I want lean to look like and to really keep those A players and constantly be ... This sounds so harsh, but I would say, trim the fat of the people that just aren't willing to come with you.
Because I keep saying, I can't drag you with me right now. You either are getting on the bus and you're going with us or you can leave because we can't be dragging anybody. You better show up and do the work.
So I think just like running lean. I'm a big Dave Ramsey girl, Suze Orman. I've never been big into having credit card debt and all of that. But now more than ever, I realized even mortgage debt or expenses, the reoccurring expenses that are coming in, keeping those low. Right?
Because we were able to very quickly cut all of our spending for new spending, but I'm like, "Man, we have so many reoccurring expenses." So even though I'm telling you, go get reoccurring people, we don't want that though in our expenses and our profit and loss because that's what's sucking us dry right now. Is like, "Man, we have a lot of software, a lot of different things we're buying every single month."
I think two, is just like slowing down. I immediately could feel I was working too hard or too much. And I don't want to have to do that. I really want to make sure that ... I would have loved to have been in the season where I'm like, "You know what? I don't even need to be working nine to noon. I'll watch the kids. I'll homeschool them."
I'm not really in a place to do that right now. I really have been keeping my nine to three breaking and [crosstalk 00:35:54] so often. It would have been nice to be able to slow down a little bit and have that luxury of being okay with it. And I don't feel that I'm really there. I mean, my studios are different.
I'm not in the building or in that business, but my online business, it's five years old. I still kind of consider it, I always say like, now it's a toddler, right? I'm out of the baby stage, it's a toddler. It's still needs me a lot. And I know now I need to really get more foundational pieces in place to be able to not be in it all the time.
There's so much, I feel like I could keep throwing.
Sheila Bella:
I know.
Stacy Tuschl:
Sure. And I want people to really understand that if you got to take these lessons and write them down and then really fix them. When we go back to like normal, and I think we're going to gradually get back there, I don't think we're going all the way back to normal on day one. I think we have to remember the things we didn't like about what we just saw and figure out how to fix that moving forward. Right?
There's going to be all of these like deals and specials and promotions and people wanting you to buy buy buy, but unless it's a revenue generator, I still don't want you to be making those purchases. I'm excited for when we know the recession. I mean, I kind of feel like we're in it right.
Sheila Bella:
We're in the recession.
Stacy Tuschl:
Yeah, it's here. Eventually the markets, the real estate crashes, all of that. I'm looking forward to taking advantage of buying another rental property and things like that in this time. I'm not looking at getting a deal in a hot tub or something consumers are going to be thinking about. You are different than the average consumer.
You are the CEO, you are the business owner, it's time to really start to evaluate the wants, the needs and then reward yourself appropriately, not spending all of it because you had a great month.
Sheila Bella:
So, so good. I fricking love you. How can my audience stalk you, and how can we work with you?
Stacy Tuschl:
Yes. So the best place to check out is my podcast Foot Traffic. Right now, I am giving out so much content. I mean, I scrapped all of my episodes. I'm showing up daily live on pretty much all the platforms. I'm like dual streaming. I should say multi streaming, I think we're on like four or five platforms at a time. And that's a great place too, and my handles are at StaceyTuschl, basically everywhere. But Instagram that's where we connected is one of my favorite places.
Sheila Bella:
Awesome. And I'm going to link all of that in the show notes you guys. Thank you so much, Stacy.
Stacy Tuschl:
Thank you, this was so good.
Sheila Bella:
This was so much fun. Okay.
That's it for today's episode of Pretty Rich podcast. If there was anything in this episode that has impacted you in any small or big way, I want to know. You can reach me at realsheilabella on Instagram. And by the way, if we are not text buddies yet that needs to change. You can text my name Sheila S-H-E-I-L-A-2-3-1-9-9-6 and we'll be connected. I really love hanging with you guys on here.
And one last thing before we wrap it up, I got to include my kids, right? Hashtag mom first. So here are Beau and Gray to close things out.
Beau:
Hi, my name is Beau, I am five years old.
Sheila Bella:
Can you tell everybody what our family motto is?
Beau:
I can do hard things.
Sheila Bella:
I can do hard things. Now fill in the blanks. Hard is ...
Beau:
Fun.
Sheila Bella:
Easy is ...
Beau:
Boring.
Sheila Bella:
Good job, buddy. I love you so much.
Beau:
I love you the best mom, infinity.
Sheila Bella:
Gray, say share with your friends.
Gray:
Share with your friends.
Sheila Bella:
Please review my mommy on iTunes.
Gray:
Please review my mommy iTunes.
Sheila Bella:
Thanks for listening.
Gray:
Thanks for listening.
