EPS 52 with Jaclyn Mellone

Erin Austin: Hello ladies. Welcome to the Hourly to Exit podcast. I am very excited for this week's guest, Jacqueline Malone, who has won my first guest and is now my repeat guest. I'm so excited to have you. Thank you, Jacqueline, for joining us.

Jaclyn Mellone: Oh, yes. Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm honored to be back.

Erin Austin: Oh, it is wonderful to have you here.

So before we get started, would you introduce yourself to the

Jaclyn Mellone: audience? Sure. So, hello, I'm Jacqueline Malone, host of the GoTo Gal podcast, and I also have an agency called GoTo Gal Media, where we basically are in the business of creating win-win partnerships. So We work with podcasters and event hosts as well as sponsors in making those connections.

So whether we're on the sponsor side or the creator side, our goal is to create the win-win partnership of whatever that brand deal or collaboration would look like. So after being in the podcasting industry for so long, I've been podcasting for seven and a half years now. this was, something I was inspired to do a little over a year ago now, and it's been exciting to be, I guess, At it for a while, but from a different perspective.

And I've always been about relationships and people and collaboration and in this whole agency lens. Yes, it's been a new hat to wear this past year, but it's been a lot of fun.

Erin Austin: Well, wonderful. Well, in addition to being about relationships, of course it's also about intellectual property and our assets and Yeah.

Monetizing them. So we will get into all that goodness. And there are so many things we could talk about as a business coach. there are many areas of our business, this is an audience of, women who have expertise-based businesses. And, but one of the things that I wanted to address today was the issue of mindset, which I know you.

Have lots of resources regarding, during our last, conversation, we talked about resistance, and that's definitely something, all of us struggle with. It was, one of the things I struggled with as you know, and that we discussed, and to figure out like when the resistance is real versus when it is a mindset.

sometimes a resistance is, external. Like maybe there are financial obstacles, time, obstacles, A D H D, obstacles. There are all sorts of things that may be very real external, obstacles that are causing it, but sometimes they are. Internal and they are mindset issues. So tell us like what are the classic signs that the resistance that we're dealing with is really in our

Jaclyn Mellone: heads?

So that's such a great question too, because sometimes, it's an actual thing, right? But even if it is an actual thing, an external cause that is getting in our way, how we approach that, what our mindset is around that has a big impact on how we approach that, right? Like every one of us has. Things going on in our lives and Right, and we're juggling all these different things and maybe it's a busy time in life or in business or maybe we have our own struggles with, health or mental health or family things.

There's so like on a day-to-day, week to week, month to month basis, there's so many different things that be going on that if we wanted to. And, often it's helpful to even to list out like here's all of the very real things that are in our way. There's very real obstacles or, constraints or whatever those things are, but how we look at them.

And that mindset approach can have a very big impact on whether that's a helpful mindset or whether that is a not helpful mindset. So, I think the first, which is like the most basic step, but the first thing to do when we are feeling like we're approaching a situation and we're like, okay. I feel like I'm hitting a roadblock here, or this feels like it's not gonna happen, or whatever that first clue is to see like, okay, well is this mindset or is this really an external thing?

Right? And both can be solved, right? If it's the mindsets we can work on the mindset. If it's the external thing, we can look at how we solve that too. It's just different approaches. The first thing to do is just get it out of our head and get it onto paper, because when it's in our head, it is going to feel so much bigger and heavier.

From the science perspective, we literally cannot use the logical side of our brain to analyze that information. So until it is out on paper and we're able to look at it as something that is separate from us, we're not able use that logical brain, that critical thinking approach to it. So the first step is really to get it out on paper so we can have that perspective and really see, okay.

What is this? and then start to look at, okay, is this really like, just question ourselves, right? Like, is this really true? Is there a situation you wanna use this as an example? Something maybe you hear come up sometimes?

Erin Austin: well, I do feel like I get a lot of resistance from people regarding, their service providers and I.

Obviously I talk about intellectual property a lot, and I try to make it, accessible to people, but I definitely get, you know, a lot of resistance about, this isn't for me. There is a stage in business where Mm, intellectual property happens, but not me as a solopreneur. And so, no matter what, I'm like, it's everywhere.

It's all, Everywhere. Yep. He's everywhere. And we're making it every day, but I still will get the, well, no, I'm almost a risk provider, so that would, be one place

Jaclyn Mellone: that makes me, that happens. Right. and that's, I'm glad I asked you too, because that's a really great example, and that may not even be something that's weighing in someone's head, right.

They may just listen to a show like this, and. Automatically have this belief system kick in that, oh, I'm not there yet. Mm-hmm. I'm not ready for that yet. Mm-hmm. Right. Oh, it's a different stage of business. It's a different kind of business. It's a, different amount of revenue or team size. Yes. Or whatever that belief system is.

Right. So when you're approaching something like this, this is a really good check. Whether it's like a feeling, like a heavy mindset thing, or even just something like this where it's like, oh no, I'm not there yet. Why? And so putting that down on paper and saying is that true? Is that always true?

Right? Mm-hmm. And with something like ip, I don't think it's talked about enough, which is one of the reasons why I love that you are spreading the word on this and, really leading the cause for this type of ip, right? But opening up this opportunity because just like there was a point in time where, Having a website or having a podcast was something that was maybe only for a certain group of people, right?

It then, Becomes opened up and it's like, you know what? You don't need to have a business of a certain every, it's like you need to have a website, right? Or you don't need to have a certain something, to have a podcast. It's, you could literally start a podcast right now from your phone with an app like Anchor.

So Over time, things that maybe we've put up on a pedestal or we thought were only for certain types of businesses or certain stages of business, we might be closing off opportunities. And I think this is a really great example to say like, okay, is that true? Is that always true? And really question ourselves cuz it's like, is it, Fact or is it a belief?

Mm-hmm. And what you've really just showcased with that question is that a lot of times these are strongly held beliefs. And this, just to give another example too, just so we can apply this across multiple, a lot of times I'll see people. In the podcasting world, I have a course on starting a podcast, and a lot of people say, oh, can't start a podcast until I have this many followers, or until I'm making this much money.

Right? And it's like these preconceived notions of I need to have this, and then I can have that. and the podcasting world, I mean, I started my podcast. Like before I was even making money in my business. Mm-hmm. Now, if somebody was like, I need to pay my bills next month, what's the fastest way to make money?

I would not say, go start a podcast. But you do not need to be making money in your business to have a podcast. Right. So starting to look at just as, I mean all of us, here's a way to break beliefs down, right? As we look for evidence. And while this isn't a perfect, example, you may have a better example, but we've all seen.

Entrepreneurs on Shark Tank Right. Who have patents or other types of IP that is, and, and they have no business, maybe they haven't even made a sale yet, or they haven't even created the final prototype yet. Right, So there's not a certain stage of business where that's required. Now, obviously you have to have the ip, so sometimes the, usually with service-based businesses, the IP comes after the business.

From in the specific example, is there a stage of business that they have to be at? I guess what is the fact answer here, right? Like how do we distinguish fact from belief in this case? Yeah,

Erin Austin: I mean, so I mean, what we're talking about is, the mindset versus the knowledge gap, right? and so, and the case of intellectual property specifically, there is definitely.

Well first the knowledge gap by thinking that IP is, only software, or a book, or a course as opposed to just, the frameworks that you use. the way that you help your clients that is special and original to you is intellectual property. Every time we use our intellect, you now we're creating intellectual property and to kind of get that through, that knowledge gap.

Okay. The intellectual property's there. the question is, are you harnessing it or are you just, giving it away, without harnessing it? So,

Jaclyn Mellone: yeah. Yeah, no, that's a great example. And I love how you highlighted that too, that Yes, is this mindset or a knowledge gap Exactly.

Mm-hmm. and being able to, clarify that and then know, okay, I need to, my, belief system around this is, getting in my way verse. I have, being open to learning and open to opportunities. And I think as, business owners, as experts, sometimes we don't even realize, we can't tell the difference between what's a belief and what's a fact.

And that may. We may be an expert at the things we're an expert on, but having those beliefs that are getting in the way of seeing opportunities, especially with something like with ip, that's such a great example, but also in the example with the podcast, right, of thinking, oh, I need to have X, Y, or Z first, and it closes us off to opportunities because we think we have to.

Do this before we do that. Mm-hmm. And if we just take that leap, I mean, I used to think, oh, before I do PR I need to have a certain level of business. Or before I do tv I need to lose weight. I mean, we can get really creative in our heads of, all the different prerequisites we need to have and, really giving ourselves.

Training our brains to really look at not just the problems that we're trying to solve in our head, but also the opportunities that are presented to us through that lens of. What's the, is this, do I not think I could do this yet because it's a mindset thing or what's, do I have a knowledge gap here?

and really looking at things more, critically from that perspective.

Erin Austin: Yeah. And I love the idea of getting things out on paper. I mean, I will say, just as a lawyer sometimes working with complex ideas, That when you keep them in your head, It's so much bigger than when you start like laying it out.

I will say, one of my early mentors, one of the most brilliant people I've ever worked with, he always explained things with little charts. Like he would just. Take a piece of paper, turn it over, and start making like diagrams and suddenly, like how to, do german insurance financing became clear, and so being able to like kind of get it out and seeing it really does help you kind of figure out, okay, where are the blanks?

Where are are the real issues? Where the things that really aren't and, what is missing and what do I need to do with it? So, yeah, I love that.

Jaclyn Mellone: Yes. Now, one thing that's come up a couple times that I, think would be good for us to, I wanna elaborate a little bit more on, is this idea of, oh, I'm not there yet.

Mm-hmm. Like, oh, that's only for these types of businesses or this type of, revenue or This almost like we're putting. The idea of something, whether it's IP or podcast or PR or whatever that thing is, and I guess that's a good side note. This is a good indicator to look for is like, what are you telling yourself?

You can't have yet. Right. What are you saying? Oh, I can't do that yet, or I can't have that yet. I'm not ready yet. And this is a good exercise probably to explore a little bit more of like, okay, what are you saying not yet to, and is that because it's a strategic.

Thoughtful, well-informed decision, or is it, is this mindset, is this a belief system that's getting in your way? And a lot of times the pattern here is that they're putting something on a pedestal. Mm-hmm. And if you imagine. Whatever that thing is literally on a pedestal, right? It is, above you.

It is separate from you. It is out of reach for you and whatever this is, if it's a, person, if it's a business model, whatever the opportunity is, if you are putting it on a pedestal, You're literally putting it out of reach. Mm-hmm. so this is where leveling that playing field and whether that's bringing it off of the pedestal or you hopping on that pedestal too.

I'm like, I belong on there too. But that your. On that same level, that opportunity is available for you whether you go for it or not. We all have that autonomy to make those decisions of what's best for us and our business and all of that, but to not look at opportunities as out of reach or above us or as.

Some hypothetical next level, but to be able to look at it for what it is and something that is available to us really changes everything. And this is something that a lot of times we'll look at people in this regard of like, oh, I couldn't have that person on my podcast because of this. Or we, put people on a pedestal, or that type of client on a pedestal or even something like a podcast like, oh, I'm not.

I don't have the, voice or whatever it is that you might think and, putting that idea of, oh, to have that, it's on this, usually we're not using that language. Mm-hmm. But that's really what it is when we're saying something that we're not ready for something or that it's out of reach or that it's not for us.

Erin Austin: Is there also something regarding expectations based on what we see? Like what we are consuming are, the big names and the big successes and the big launches and the big, newsletter, subscribers. And we think, well, but they had to start somewhere,

Jaclyn Mellone: right?

Yeah, they did. So is your question that we think we need to have that, to have that level of success or, well, maybe we,

Erin Austin: think yeah, that's what we see cuz what we consume are people who are. Big brand names. Let's just say that, having a little podcast or having a little email, a newsletter, list, or that's not worthwhile.

Jaclyn Mellone: Yeah, it's not talked about as much, right? Mm-hmm. The, the people that are having huge success mm-hmm. With small lists, it's not as compelling of a headline, right? Mm-hmm. And a lot of times those people don't need the headlines, and that's been something, on a very small scale, but with.

my agency over the last year, our growth hasn't been from my email list or from social media, it's all been word of mouth and mm-hmm. That for a while we didn't even have a website and even how we barely have a website. Right. So it's, and that's where there's a lot of companies like this that are having the quiet success and, we don't see, and they don't need us to see it.

Right. To know that it's there. But if we don't know that it's there, we don't know that it's possible for us. One of the best pieces of advice for mindset that I love to give people is we'll use the, I dunno, I've done like exercises with this and stuff, but in this format it's probably not best to do an exercise, but I'll use some examples that I'll probably can relate to.

And when you first get a car, right, maybe you haven't really noticed that car before. Mm-hmm. And like at one point my husband got an Outback, not an Outback, Subaru Forester, and I never even heard of a Subaru Forester before and as soon as he got it, it's like literally everywhere we went, I'm like, there are these Subaru foresters everywhere, right?

And were there actually more Subaru foresters on the, I mean, maybe they had a good promotion going on, but likely it was just that. I was paying attention to it, right? And so I started to notice because it came into my awareness, oh, this is a thing. Now I'm paying attention to it. And now I notice it when I was pregnant or when My best friend is pregnant. I start to notice all of the people that are pregnant everywhere we go. Right. I think it's called confirmation bias. Guess. Yes. Yes. And so it's, we're only paying attention to those things that are in our awareness. And so if people in our industry have not typically. Been leveraging IP or starting a podcast or whatnot, we may not even see those opportunities as something that's for us.

Mm-hmm. Or even just see them, we may not even see the opportunity. Right. Right. Because it's not something we're paying attention to. And also, once we put plant that seed, Right. Someone may listen to this conversation and then they might start to see, oh, okay, I'm starting to see these other service-based businesses that are doing things with IP or that have branded frameworks, right?

Or, oh, I'm starting to notice these other people that are starting podcasts. And so once something is on your radar, not only do you start to notice it more, but. It also widens our vision. So we're going around looking at the world through this tunnel vision, if you will, of what we expect to see, what we expect to be like our belief systems, right?

We're constantly that confirmation bias. Mm-hmm. We're constantly confirming our own beliefs through lens. And if we can open up that lens of what we think is possible Right then we start to see things that we literally would not have seen before. I'll share an example of, I, got an email one time about an opportunity to be featured in Forbes.

And this email, the way it was worded if I didn't believe that was meant for me. If I didn't think like, oh, well, of course they would wanna interview me in Forbes, right? Like if I didn't have that belief. This email, On the surface looked like a scam. Okay. Maybe not a scam. I'm being slightly dramatic, but it looked like they were going to want me to pay a lot of money.

Like it looked like, would you wanna be interviewed in Forbes? Like, let me know. Like, it was like, mm, I am I gonna reply back and they're gonna be like, okay. Like, send the, five figure dollar amount here if I didn't believe that that was an opportunity that would be available, I probably wouldn't even have, I just would've assumed it was a mass email.

Mm-hmm. And probably wouldn't even opened it or replied to it. Right. Second, if I thought like, oh, they're probably just trying to get Synchron. Right. I wouldn't have replied, cuz I would've been like, oh, it's just gonna be a waste of time. Right. But because I was at a stage in my business and in my belief system that it was like, well, yeah, that.

Like they should interview me. Like we can be confident, right? Like, ok, yeah. Like that would be a great opportunity and I'm ready for that. And Right. I had done other things, like there's definitely was a point in my business where I would not have felt that way. But at this, point that it happened, I believed it and so I replied and it turned out to be real.

And it was not. They were not looking for money and it was a real opportunity And it turned into something really great, but I would've missed that had I not. Been open to it. Mm-hmm. Right. And I think there's so many examples of just like the, little hunch to, ask someone the question or to see that, maybe somebody follows you and you're like, oh, I wonder if there, and you reach out because of X, Y, and Z.

Or we start to just look at the world differently when we're open to these different possibilities and opportunities and our mindset believes. That they're possible for us. So starting to really expand that lens of what we're seeing as available for us in our industry and our business and at this stage of business and all of those things.

Can have such a huge impact, but we don't even realize what is literally right there in front of us. Yeah.

Erin Austin: You know, as you're speaking, you're reminding me of how when I first met you was you were doing the Best Month ever program. I dunno if you do that anymore, but, I imagine like all of this is part of, helping people kind of get over some of those limiting beliefs so that they can ex expand their minds, expand their options, and, of course, Have that kind of success.

Jaclyn Mellone: Yes. I know I'm giving some, of the secrets away for in Best Month ever. But no, I don't run it live anymore. We do have it available for Evergreen, but that was one of the key components mm-hmm. To this, it was a program called Best Month Ever, where essentially we were able to literally help people.

Have their, I mean, that's a big promise, right? Right. But to have their best month in business ever. And a big part of that was even believing it was possible. Right. Right. Mm-hmm. and starting to just expand your mind to what is possible to happen in a month, in this month. Mm-hmm. And because if you don't believe it's gonna happen, it's, not gonna happen.

Right. and so that was such a big part of entering into something like that. It was like, okay, like we need to actually believe this can happen and open our mind up to all the possibilities that are available. And

Erin Austin: do you ever get resistance regarding like, is that too woowoo? Or how do we make more concrete mindset, overcoming mindset issues?

Jaclyn Mellone: I do get that, and that's why I try to share some of those examples about the car or about that email even, because that's not a, I didn't manifest that email that month. Right. But like, literally, if I would've believed that it wasn't possible, I just wouldn't have replied to it or noticed it, right?

Mm-hmm. Because I did believe it was possible. I responded and I was open to seeing that opportunity, right? and I think yes, I personally do believe in the WOOWOO stuff, but I also think that a lot of times there's a very logical explanation to it too. And if we're, Walking around thinking that nothing is working out for us.

Our confirmation bias is gonna kick in and keep showing us that nothing is working out for us. Mm-hmm. Right, right. And we could all choose how we look at every day and what we're feeling grateful for, and what we're enjoying. I mean, every day you could come up with a list of, just like I said in the beginning, like we all have stuff that we're working with and working around.

Right. And so we have to decide, are we going through the day? Looking for all of the evidence that things are working and happening and that we're building momentum and that it's working for us, and that there's opportunities right here and around and we're gonna find them, and we're so grateful for everything that's happening.

Or are we walking through the day? Being stressed and complaining and we don't have time and there's not enough, and it's easier for this person and they don't have this, and we're looking for all the reasons why it's not working and mm-hmm. Listen, I, there are days where it's a struggle for me to see the positive side of things.

We all had that, but being. Really conscious to it and noticing when I'm not having those supportive beliefs, we don't wanna have like toxic positivity with ourselves, right? But at the same time, there's a lot of scenarios that. We could just choose to look at more positively.

Right? And if you go into scenarios looking at everything as a possibility, how many conversations could lead to. Other opportunities or referrals if you think it's possible, if you think you are worthy of asking for the referral, right? Mm-hmm. Or if you go into it talking about the right stories, it's gonna make them think of their cousin who could really use your service or whatever.

It's right. Of just being open to all of that could happen. Right. and feeling like you're deserving of it,

Erin Austin: of getting paid premium prices, of getting those referrals. I mean, believing in yourself. Yeah.

Jaclyn Mellone: Exactly. And a lot of times we think, oh, I can't get a, I mean, even with my new agency, it was like I can't get a referral before I've, like I did.

Right. You don't have to have, Ben, we don't have to have a website. You don't have to have clients before you can have a referral before any of that. Mm-hmm. So taking a lot of those preconceived notions off the table is what keeps you open

To just like those little things that just one leads to the next And then you get that positive momentum building, instead of that what's it like, oh, when it rains, it pours, type of mentality of like, oh, like everything bad is happening. Like, look at. When something good happens, having that belief that like, oh, Maura is coming Right, and starting to go in that.

And I think, there's a little bit of the woo to it, but a lot of it, I think if we really, some people are maybe more resistant to this than others. Mm-hmm. I'm sure there are some that are just like nodding their head like, oh yes, this is me. And others that are like, oh no, I'm just, you know, and listen, if somebody's really negative, my pep talk here is not gonna work on you.

Right. But sometimes we just need to be reminded that. you can say, oh, I'm not the type to do mantras or whatnot. And there was a while even that I was really resistant to the idea of a mantra. Like, oh, am I gonna like sit there and tell myself I'm a millionaire all day, every day? Like, what's that?

Right? But the reality is we're all saying mantras to ourself all day, every day, whether we realize it or not. Oh, that's good. Yes. Right. So what are your mantras? what is the current is your mantra beyond yourself? Yes. Is your mantra? I don't have enough time. Is your mantra. I am stressed, I'm tired.

cuz if these are your mantras, That's not supportive and so being aware that it's happening anyway, but that we have the choice and I'm so, the time one, I'm so guilty of, it's so I feel the time I have to catch myself in it. All of the time, but realizing that makes us conscious to it and like, okay, how, can I reframe this?

Right? And if you're just, listen, I'm not saying gaslight yourself into being like, I have all the time in the world, right? but you can start to find neutral beliefs around time. That you can start to shift and at least bring yourself to the, if, the swing from negative to positive feels too big, then sometimes just going to neutral is the best scenario.

Mm-hmm. So if you're constant, I'm trying to think of what a good neutral would be for this, but if you're constantly like, I don't have enough time. Maybe it's just. I have time for what's most important, and then you really focus on every day doing what's most important. and you start to just get out of the negative and just bring it back to neutral.

Or I can make the most of the time I do have, or something along those lines. Like it doesn't have to be like I have all the time to do everything I ever wanted to do. Right. Because you're gonna have resistance to that. So trying to find that, neutral even can have a big difference cuz it's gonna get you out of the negative spiral of things.

Right. And at least just put you in like a, neutral stance where you're not getting in your own way as much. Because if we're constantly telling ourselves these negative mantras, Our confirmation bias is kicking in to reaffirm it at every chance that we get. Well,

Erin Austin: you on that note, I know you do the go-to gal, but who is your ideal client?

Why do they come to you and what pain are they feeling when they go? I need to go see Jacqueline.

Jaclyn Mellone: So it's interesting with the, agency, so there's two sides of it. I say kind of like a real estate company where you can hire a realtor to sell your house and that same realtor can also help you buy.

Another house, right? So same person representing both a seller and a buyer. And sometimes it's the same client, right? They're the same person as both the seller and the buyer. So that's really how things work for us at Gotto G Media. So we have clients who are sponsors, and in that case, we're helping them look for.

Who has the perfect audience for you, right? Who has this exact audience that you wanna talk to already that's created this engaged community of your exact people? And how can we partner with that leader of the community, whether it's a podcaster or an Instagrammer, or a event host, and how can we create a partnership, a campaign, some type of a collaboration?

Where you're able to get in front of that audience. So on that side of things, it's really just someone who is looking To connect with one of those communities. And in the niches that we work in, usually they have an, they're looking for an audience of moms, an audience in the health and wellness space, or an audience of entrepreneurs.

Mm-hmm. Business owners. But we do have some o some cases where it's, a different niche, but those are usually the niches that we work in. And then on the other side of things, we all hear the word influencer, right? Mm-hmm. And we think about that person taking pictures of their outfit of the day on Instagram or something along those lines.

But the clients that I work with are not. Influencers in that sense. They are business leaders. They're business owners, so they have a business that is making money in some way through something that they are selling. They have a large engaged community and they realize that, or they're starting to realize, so it's not really a pain point.

It's a different type of thing, but it's, They're like, oh, wow. I have this engaged community, this niche audience, and partnering with brands would be a great way to bring in additional revenue. Now maybe they have a summit or an event, and there's cost associated. So the pain, the need is, okay, I need to partner with brands to make this mm-hmm.

Possible. But a lot of times it's just okay. Realizing. Wow. Like there's this opportunity here as podcaster or as a business owner that has a large email list or Instagram following that this is a whole nother form of revenue that I could be bringing in, in addition to my own products or services. And so in that case, we, work with them either on just developing a strategy and they do it themselves, or we'll take them on as a client and we'll go secure those sponsorships for them.

That whichever side we're working on. It's all about just creating that win-win partnership. And I think being in the position where, we're on both sides of the equation. Mm-hmm. Right. And, coming from my background as a podcaster and doing these types of, deals and seeing, okay, let's, putting together multi-platform campaigns where it's not just on the podcast, but email, Instagram, and, leveraging our website and all these different things and how that really.

One as a podcaster helped me get paid a lot more for those deals, right? Mm-hmm. Because it wasn't just the podcast, but also created a much bigger impact and result and ROI for those brands. So on both sides, I always encourage multi-platform because. Yes, engaging with the community and all the different places they are is always gonna have that better result.

And as the, platform, as the podcast or event host, that's really gonna be how you're gonna make more money too, and not just trying to, leverage a single platform. So, So yes, that's the, full scoop of what's going on there.

Erin Austin: Well, I'll selfishly bring this back around to something that I like to preach, which is when you're building a business that you either scale or to hopefully sell someday day, there has to be some exclusivity built into that.

And the obvious type of exclusivity is intellectual property cause that is a legal monopoly. But having a specialized community that is valuable to. A buyer, whether that buyer is, a sponsor or someone who wants to buy your business. But that is another, it's not, IP the way that we think of, copyrights and trademarks and things like that.

But it is an intellectual asset. It is an intangible asset that you have developed using, your expertise and your reach to create this. Loyal community of people who are engaged in this specific matter that will be valuable and monetizable in a number of ways, whether it's through the podcast or through sponsorships or, the like,

Jaclyn Mellone: so, yeah.

Yes. Oh, that's such a good, I remember the first time you brought that up and I was completely fascinated. I've never heard of that before, so I love that this gives you a reason to bring that up. And there's a lot of IP conversations that come to play in the sponsorship space too, because mm-hmm. We're seeing a lot more with brands wanting to, be able to use the, creator creates.

Yes. So if you create a reel and you're gonna put that reel on your own Instagram account, right. A lot of times now the brand is like, well, we wanna be able to use that. And I mean, maybe they wanna run ads to it or have it on their own site. And that's a whole different type of, ip, the whole different type of, legal side involved of licensing and what whatnot and whether they own it or whether they're, having access for a certain amount of time.

and then also how much we're charging for that changes dramatically. Right. Depending on who owns. That work. And so if, a brand is looking for the creator to give up, that copyright, that ownership, then that changes things dramatically. Oh, absolutely.

Erin Austin: Yeah. So important to understand the underlying rights and the materials that you are using as part of, either.

Your courses are part of your, materials if you're working one-on-one, because when you kind of grow to a one-to-many model, whether it's, online or, other ways to make sure that you own those underlying rights, cuz you're building your platform on top of somebody else's foundation, You're gonna have trouble when you wanna go to exploit those things, so.

Oh, I love that. All right, so, the last time you were here, I know we talked about, we're here talking about building a business that maybe we could sell someday. And you have talked about, this side, the agency side of your business. Is that part of your overall plan to create a business that is more scalable and independent from your,

Jaclyn Mellone: time?

It is. Which it's funny because in the meantime it's a lot more of my time. Nobody said it was easy. I'm gonna keep it, I'm gonna keep it real here. Oh, so the bigger picture being in terms of, why I made the switch and I'll, reference a. quiz, an assessment that I took that was really helpful for me in, guiding me on that.

And that's called Wealth Dynamics. So it's, an assessment through wealth dynamics. genius u I think is the website. It's a, paid assessment. It's about a hundred dollars. but if you Google it, there's usually coupon codes available for like $25 off or something. Side note. But when I took this, it tells you it's not just a personality type.

It's like, okay, based on these things about you, How can you create the most wealth? It's not even about necessarily a business because different personality types, like maybe it's not, maybe you don't even have a business, right? And so when I took this, actually, my result is not a typically an entrepreneur.

And so I had a lot of, resistance around accepting what my result was. Oh, but when I really opened up to it. So my result in the assessment is called the supporter profile, which is a little bit misleading in, the name, but essentially, Supporters don't typically make the best entrepreneurs. They make the best leaders.

So supporters make the best CEOs. Bob Iger with Disney is a supporter. Mm-hmm. So, but they're not typically the entrepreneur. So I had like a total identity crisis, but I'm like, what do I do with my life? Am I just like, go to do I start applying for c e o positions now? Like what's, oh, but what it made me realize was, Content creation has always been something that I'm good at, but that's a huge struggle for me and this weight of, needing to constantly create content and having a business model that kind of revolved around how much content I was creating and sharing was, really heavy and stressful and not fun.

And what this. Highlighted was, for me it's all relationship energy, which is was no surprise, but seeing it mapped out like that was like, oh, okay. So when I am in flow is when I'm with people. And so whether that's leading a team or working with coaching clients or creating partnerships mm-hmm. Going out and connecting people, right.

That is flow for me and that's easy. And so what I can do, When I'm focused on those activities, I can shrink time because it's so natural and easy for me, I can do so much more than the average person when my energy is focused on those things. Right where for me to take, for me to write a blog post or create a YouTube video or thing right, would take me so much longer than someone who that was their flow, right?

And so that's really what wealth dynamics is all about, is like, okay, how do you, where are you in flow and how can you double down on that or quadruple down on that, right? Because that's how you're gonna create the most wealth is if it's revolving around an area where you're in flow. So I had the idea for the agency basically because I'm like, okay, well if I'm in flow when I am, Leading a team, and when I'm working with people and connecting people, then this allows me to do all of those things.

Oh, wonderful. Yes. but, building the team, having the right people, putting our systems and processes in place, getting all that, it's a lot, right? And so having the growing pain, especially because we've brought on so many clients so fast, like the growing pains of it, I'm not, I'm definitely still very involved in the business and, working way more than I have been working these past several years.

So that has been an adjustment for sure. But being able to, What really excites me and what lights me up is that our growth is directly tied to. funding the people who are creating and who are leading communities and caring about these different causes and movements. And the ones who are stepping up to the mic like you are and having podcasts and platforms where they're sharing knowledge and inspiration and leading.

Right. And, are go-to GAL Media. Our, clients on that side are all women. Mm-hmm. And. So what's really exciting is opening up this whole new realm of revenue for that group and knowing that the more. Money we make them. That's how we grow, right? Because we're getting a percentage of that. Mm-hmm. And so that having that aligned in that way and really seeing the impact of the work that we're doing and how it's directly impacting the work that they're able to do as a result is really inspiring.

And that's where I see, okay. We can, being able to grow this team eventually where it doesn't revolve solely on, me and my brain and my own intuitive coaching. Right. But being able to really systemize and take the processes of, okay, how are we doing this for clients? And bring other people on, create, really leaning into the, IP side of things more to be able to scale this service-based business and bring on the right people that can implement it.

And yeah, I can stay in my zone and, we can keep growing and, making an impact in this industry. Yeah,

Erin Austin: I mean, that is a great example of, how it's not about creating passive revenue. I mean, leverage is about putting in effort, that force upfront, but you're creating that lever that helps you magnify the output.

And that is the, long-term benefits of putting in all this work upfront. But that will reap long-term rewards and multiply. Your impact as well. So that's, the beauty of that. So I love that. Yes, absolutely. So thank you so much. So as we wrap up, I have a couple of, final questions for you.

One is, we love to, work on creating an environment that works for everyone and we love to share inspirational organizations that are doing work that support women and help create economy that works for more of us. Is there an organization that

Jaclyn Mellone: you'd like to share? Yes, so the, and I forget what I shared last time, so it might be the same one, but I always like to shout out the Loveland Foundation.

So this was created by Rachel Cargill, and they, do a number of things, but what always really resonated with me because of how instrumental, especially talking about mindset. Therapy can be, yes. Some things are mindset, but some things are therapy and realizing that therapy is, not easily accessible for a lot of people.

And the level and foundation does have a commitment to making therapy available specifically to black women and girls. I know they're reaching out to other communities too, but, and they have a variety of things that they offer, but that piece of it, the making therapy accessible and being able to really help these women and girls who need it to get Their mindset to a certain place and not just cuz it's mindset. They probably have been struggling with a lot of things, but to heal and then give themselves that mental health foundation to be able to grow from there is so key. and I've just always been really inspired by their work. That's

Erin Austin: fantastic.

I love that The link to that will be in the show notes and I hope everyone, checks that out. So do you have, I know you have a quiz that you have regarding mindset that you, is there something you'd like to share there?

Jaclyn Mellone: Yes, so. Well, if you're struggling with mindset, I know we talked a bit about mindset today, specifically, we didn't get into too much about self-sabotage, but that usually goes hand in hand.

Mm-hmm. Because, as we were talking about with confirmation bias, the opposite is usually this, the sabotage and starting to realize that. in the work that I was doing as a coach, I realized that we all have a different inner critic. It's everyone's like, oh, you're inner critic, but it's not the same for everyone.

It shows up differently and it can be hard to spot. So I do have a quiz that helps you really identify and it's. In a fun way as much as, self-sabotage can be fun, but it's which movie villain is sabotaging your success and being able to have some fun with it and, be light about it, but also see like, okay, this is the type of.

Inner critic that I have in how you can start to spot it because they're not all the same and you may not even realize the ways that you're self-sabotaging. I'm really creative about how I self-sabotage. It took me a while to figure it out. Oh, so you can take that quiz for free at Jaclynmellone.com/quiz slash quiz.

And if you are interested on the other side of things, if you either want to be a sponsor or want to get sponsored, if you go to, I would just send me a DM on Instagram. We have site up for go to gal. Go to gal.co. But if you go on Instagram, go.to.gal. And send me a dm, we can have a conversation about the best way to, help you get either find those places you wanna sponsor or get sponsored, or maybe both, cuz a lot of our clients actually wear both hats.

That is fantastic.

Erin Austin: Thank you so much for sharing that. Again, all those links will be in this show notes. Wonderful to have you here, Jacquelyn. Thank you for coming back and sharing your wisdom so generously.

Jaclyn Mellone: thank you so much for having me. Always so great to see you and I love diving into this conversation with you.

Thanks.