TERRY WILLIAMS: You're listening to Bird Means Business Episode 10.

Whoa, your voice sounded pretty good right there.

BIRD WILLIAMS: Hi there, so today we have a very special guest in the studio. He's my husband and best friend, Terry Williams.

TERRY: Hey! What's up bird?

BIRD: Y'all know the whole 'Bird' idea came from him. Well, kind of from my parents, 

TERRY: Ashley's dad called her mom Bird because she didn't really eat a whole lot, and that nickname just kind of took off and he would never call her by her name, Helen. It would always be, "Hey Bird". And so, as Ashley and I began to more seriously date, I kind of picked that up too, just start calling her Bird. and we thought it was cute as a fun pet name. And when she was getting ready to get going, I was like man you should carry Bird into this thing.

BIRD: Yeah, so all of that came from this guy. He actually comes up with the names of all of the things I've had a few people reach out to me like, hey I have this great idea and I have all these business things I'm thinking of. And I'm like you know what? That is not my department, actually, because Terry is the brains behind that.

TERRY: Language is powerful. It's one of the best ways we express creativity. And it's also one of the best ways that we connect with other humans. So if you're looking to build a brand that means something to other people. One of the most valuable ways you can do that is through language. And so naming things is something I'm super excited about because that's the first piece of language that anybody's going to consume from your brand. It's like whoa that's a cool title that makes me feel like this or that conjures this memory or it makes me excited to experience something new. So anyway. 

BIRD: I love it. That's awesome sauce. So what are we talking about today?

TERRY: We're talking about the concept of Team Strong, and that's rooted in something that's been true in our marriage. And then we've also, as we are...Shout out to all you married entrepreneurs out there who are like, living and raising kids and doing hard things with that same person that you are in business with. It's an incredible journey. But one of the things in our marriage that we've kind of started to say as kind of like a, just a popular phrase is team strong. So one of us will say, "Team strong", and the other will say, 

TERRY: And so it kind of became a fun thing for us to say. So whenever we're up against a challenge. Say, oh wow, that medical bill was a huge surprise, how are we going to deal with that. I might say something like "Team strong",

BIRD: and I'll say, "all day long". So it's like, you know, easy to, in a moment like that be frustrated and be talking about our schedule, and the money and that sort of thing. And we'll be going back and forth in text. And then one of us will just kind of remind ourselves, or each other of the whole "team strong". Like we're in this together and we're gonna win.

TERRY: Right, like a circumstance could be tough but we're tougher because we're a team. We'll play as a team and we'll get our win. And for everybody who's either focused on launching or growing a business, I just want to say that this is an incredibly strong phenomenon, and something you can lean on that'll just kind of support and sustain you throughout your journey. It's kind of just the notion that you can't control everything that you're going to be up against. But you can absolutely control how you respond to it and you carry a responsibility for that. In fact, I like to look at responsibility, in a way that one of my favorite authors, Brian Tracy said is, "It's response-ability, your ability to respond." And that is so huge for entrepreneurship as it is for any pursuit in life.

BIRD: I love that, Babe.

TERRY: I love you, Babe.  Yeah, I'm in here. I'm gonna flirt with you.

BIRD: Anyway. Okay, so before we jump into it, Terry actually has a listener shout-out he wanted to share.

TERRY: Yeah, so Bird I know that you do listener shout-outs for people who are starting and growing their businesses. I want to shout out one of my buddies, who is now one of your podcast listeners. And that's Greg Brungardt. Greg's amazing! So his sister is on the US bobsled team doing incredible things at amazing events like the World Championships or the Olympic trials. And so he, just in support of his sister, started to kind of handle some various marketing things to get her sponsorships and things of that nature. Well, that started to go really well. A few of her teammates started to ask. And then Greg said, well what if I form a firm that does this, that does sports marketing. So now he's off and running with it doing great things. We get into a conversation about Bird's new podcast, and he shows up the next day like, man I listened to every single episode that's out and this stuff is great.

BIRD: Isn't that the sweetest?

TERRY: So, Greg, shout out to you if you're listening to this. I just want to let you know I appreciate you. Love you man, and thank you so much for your support of my queen. 

BIRD: Yeah, so there's nothing like having your tribe, like your people who are really close to you. They're like our people, you know, support you. So it was so surprising and just sweet to hear that he'd listened to all the episodes. So, love you, Greg. 

So we're gonna go ahead and dive in. Talk a little bit macro first about the concept of Team Strong and how important culture is. And then I'll ask you a few questions. Sound good?

TERRY: Sounds good to me. So let's just jump into this thing. So team strong, the idea of your team being strong is predicated on the function of your people operating in a strong way. And the culture, the relationship between the people has to be strong. You know, like back in the civil rights era, they would say power to the people? Well, I'd say that today, it's like, look, the power is in the people. So you're only as strong as your people. I think that brands who really get this thing right, hit it out of the park, and perform really well, even the ones who are most successful in terms of finances, although that's not my metric, are the ones who communicate their love for people. So I think of that (RED) campaign back in the day that had the red t-shirts. And it would have like an adjective or some really passion-infused word. And then have in parentheses the R E D at the end of that word. And if you bought that stuff from that (RED) line, you were essentially giving your money to a charity because they were funneling that into a donation cycle. Or I think about TOMS. You buy a pair of shoes. We're gonna hook somebody up with a pair of shoes. The glasses I bought. I bought from a certain company because when you buy a pair of frames from them, they're gonna give a kid in Kenya a pair of frames. When you communicate that you care for people, you'll actually move more product than you would if you made it all about your product. 

BIRD: Yeah, like for example there's a lot of gyms out there, a lot of the big box gyms, who really want you to just sign up for a cheaper membership and never come. They don't really expect everyone to come. They don't really actually want you to get fit. They want to just get your membership. As opposed to our strategy which is like, actually we reward you for being there in the room and like we don't want you to not show up. We actually want you to get this work in. We want you to reach your goals and get better.

Now again, I don't want anybody to get me twisted on this because I'm not saying, let's just underhandedly say that we're doing something kind for somebody because we want to sell something. Be authentically and genuinely all about loving people well. I've kind of found that that's my calling, and that's my purpose. That's what I try to give myself too because I feel like the value of my life is directly correlated with what I invest into the lives of others. And as a byproduct, a side effect, a symptom of that, things are going pretty well for us in business, I feel. Because we're just centered around actually loving people well. Like, you're not just trying to go and make money off of people. You're trying to actually pour into them and help them, elevate their businesses. And same with the gym. I'm not trying to beat people up and set them off limping. We're probably one of the most encouraging gyms. And it's all about, we want you to actually show up and commit and be consistent and we're going to train you in a way that is both safe and strong. Right? 

TERRY: And then we do like little fun social gatherings and things like that that you wouldn't know about unless you were plugged in and coming consistently. And then people end up like getting married to other people from the gym and things like that. Like I get it becomes like a lifelong significantly impactful thing.

BIRD: We actually got a shout-out in someone's, what was it, their vows. Their vows! What? Wait? And we're sitting there and then they shouted out The League and it was really cool. Anyway. So yeah, I love that. And I think as you're thinking about your business, it's very easy to think of your marketing. Or just think of the money. Or just think of these different aspects of your business without really honing in on your purpose and your mission and why you're doing what you're doing. And when you spend some time there and lean into it and make it about something that's much bigger than you. I feel like that's when you win. I feel like that's the sweet spot.

TERRY: Absolutely. Let's say your idea does crash and burn. Nobody wants to think about that. But what if it does? If at the end of the day, all you did was stress about your freaking Excel spreadsheet, and fail. That had no impact, right? What if you change somebody's life on the way to a business not working out. Well, then you've achieved purpose in that. The world is a better place because your business was here, and it was something that people could say was undeniably a force for good in the world.

BIRD: Right, that's our definition of success. It's not the numbers like you said. It's life change. Its impact. And it's so much more rewarding when it's geared that way, in my opinion.

TERRY: Absolutely.

BIRD: Cool. Well okay. Let's get into question number one. You ready? 

TERRY: Let's go. 

BIRD: All right. So a lot of what you do with every entity organization you're connected with has a lot to do with the idea of elevating team culture. So how would you say teams grow stronger in the area of culture?

TERRY: So I think that in the same regard that we talk to the notion of people over product, externally. Like communicate to your tribe that you're about people and not just selling them something. Also to your team internally. We've got to change the culture within teams. And you've got to make sure that you're letting people know that you care about them. You actually love them. You actually appreciate them. Like at the gym, our first shift is at five o'clock AM. At the end of that morning shift, I, being a morning person who pops up at 4, runs a few miles before I get there at 5, realize that not everybody is that person. And so at the end of the morning shift, I'll go and thank our service rep who works at the front desk greeting people. Like, they are the face of our brand, and they're up early. And they might not necessarily be a morning person, but they're choosing to operate in that lane. I'll go to great lengths to express that I appreciate them. Every now and then, heck, I'll buy them breakfast. That's not a part of our payroll situation. But every now and then just as a sweet bonus, just going the extra mile for people. I feel like is so important.

BIRD: And I think on that, like another practical thing we do is we don't refer to them as our staff or our employees. And no shade on anyone who does. But we want them to really feel like they're a part of our team. So we call them our team. We want their opinions on the retail we put out and yes how the workouts go. 

TERRY: Yes, we want all the feedback. Even the bad.

BIRD: Yeah, we love feedback. We welcome it. And not in like some, we're gonna just say this but not mean it way. But we actually are constantly asking for that. And so I feel like they have more buy-in. 

TERRY: Yeah. And you got to motivate your team. I mean think about when somebody is on trial for a crime. They're trying to figure out what? The motive. Why did you do it right? What caused you to take action? To motivate is literally to give somebody a motive. If you want your team to take action and be impactful, give them a reason to take action. Delegation, without inspiration, leads to hesitation. Doesn't lead to people quitting and jumping off the bus. But what it does is, I'm going to keep on showing up. I'm gonna keep on clocking in. I'm gonna keep on identifying with this team in my social media accounts. But I'm not going to work for you. I'm going to work physically, but I'm not going to be actually fully present there and engaged. I'm going to scroll through my Instagram here because you have me doing these chores and these items, but you're not feeding me, pouring into me. Whereas, if people come into your office or into contact with your brand to carry out vital functions, and they feel like, man I love working with this guy. He didn't ask me to call him boss, he doesn't nag and annoy me. He inspires me. Well then I can't wait to show up at work and I'm gonna go extra hard.

BIRD: I love that. Shout out to our team at The League, they are the bomb.com. We love love love our team and we could not do what we do without them. So love that. 

I actually have a freebie. It's a free guide on culture building. And I actually interview a Leaguer, which is what we call our client. Because we don't call them clients. We call them Leaguers. It's a lot more fun. And I also interview one of the members of our team and Terry. So it's actually a lot of fun. I talk a lot about how we built such a strong culture at The League. It's a question we get a lot because our community is just really really fun. And the answer is, basically, it has a lot less to do with us and a lot to do with our team and just the amazing vibe and energy in our gym which we're blessed to have. So if you want to get that guide, it is going to be linked in the show notes in this episode description. It's also on my website at birdwilliamsconsulting.com, and in my bio on Instagram, if you follow me on Instagram. So that's where you can get that. 

Okay, now moving on to question number two. Let's talk strategy. So what position would you say is most important on a team? So like if our listeners are needing to hire for one position on their team before they launch or grow successfully. What's that key thing that they absolutely cannot start without?

TERRY: Answering a question with a question. What do you suck at? Am I allowed to say the word suck on your show?

BIRD: We're allowed to say the word suck.

TERRY: Here's the thing. When I'm working with, and I'm gonna always be the guy who brings sports analogies because strengthening auditioning coaching is what I do. When I get a guy in for offseason. There is no ego in the gentleman who's coming into the doors, who's working an NFL offseason. Because they know that before they ever get a shot at stepping on that field to compete against other teams, they're competing against people on their own team for their own job. There is a short depth chart on a roster. And then there's practice squad and then there's, okay, pack up your bags, you'll be gone, right? And so they're fighting for their chance to live their dream, and they will tell you with no ego, exactly what they suck at. When I ask that question, it's what do you suck at, and I need to know. And let's say it more ethically here. What is it that your coach would like to see you improve on such that you get to stay on this team, keep this job, and beat the man whose fighting against you for that position? Whatever work we've got to do to solve that problem, is the work we're going to do. So what role should you hire on your team? What's the most vital piece? I absolutely cannot stand when people get all the guru talk going, they say it's this piece, it's that piece. You need to be really self-aware about what you're not strong in and need to hire for that. It's a team effort. And to have a strong team, you've got to have players at all positions, who are highly skilled and motivated to win. I have never ever seen a touchdown pass thrown, where a quarterback passed the ball with no receiver to catch it. Or a receiver scores a touchdown, without a quarterback to feed him the ball. 

We recently did this really cool brain types activity. Ashley and I did, well Bird and I did. And I found that my brain type is Explorer, whereas Ashley's brain type is Architect. Well, Explorer wants to say, you know what, that's really cool as. That's compelling. Let me sit on that. I'll get back to you in a couple of days. I want to think on it. And then when I'm out on a run or I'm doing something fun that's engaging that I love that wakes up my senses. I can come up with the most creative and sharp answer to it, right? Well, Ashley, as the Architect is more X's and O's game plan, write it down. She wants to get into the details. I want to talk bigger broader vision. Well, what we found was Explorers depend on Architects. And Architects depend on Explorers. The balance of these two makes them a dream team together. I'm grateful I got with you because I didn't know anything about this early on. But now that I'm learning it, I'm super excited about it. 

Point being, though, you got to look at yourself and know, am I more x's and o's? Am I more big picture, vision casting, dream it up, the passionate, inspiring, figure that can be a face of something? Or am I going to be the person in the engine room that's tweaking this thing, working the tools, mining the minor details, to get the logistical systems going? Whatever you lack, is what you need to train for in the offseason, because every offseason is a training season for a winning season. You need a team if you're gonna win.

BIRD: I love that. I love that so much. Especially what you started with, with just saying, hire for what you're not good at. I think, for us, basically with The League, Terry does all of our training, runs all of that. And I do most of the business things. But he actually runs our social media, which has been the number one biggest type of I guess marketing for us other than like word of mouth. Which is awesome because it is free 99. And Terry just has a knack for it. It's not hard for him. He doesn't have to have a social media content calendar, which we've argued about a few times. I'm like, we need one. He's like, no we don't. 

TERRY: I just enjoy it.

BIRD: But, which is good. It's good. He's obviously just very gifted at it. 

TERRY: I'm kind of be like in a flow state with it where it feels good, inspiration hits me, and I can just, I can pour some ideas out that thankfully connects with the people well.

BIRD: Yeah. So whenever I launched Bird Williams Consulting, you know I was thinking like, man, the social media part is really hard for me. I don't want to have to post certain things. I want to just kind of post what I want and do I want. You can't do that with a business brand. So, you know, he offered to help me and I know he's like so busy in that capacity, that that was one of my first hires. I hired someone to help me with social media images. So I just love how practical that can be. Like, actually think about what are the important aspects of your business that's going to help move your business forward that you're just not as good at. Hire there. I love that. 

All right. So for the third and final question. You shared a bit on the idea of inspiration earlier in the show. And I've really seen you pour into people in a meaningful way from the very first moment I met you. So what compels you to do that? And how should our listeners keep their tanks full of inspiration as they enter into the sometimes terrifying world of entrepreneurship?

TERRY: Well you can only pour out what you're taking in. And we talked about how you got to get your team rolling and ready to win, right? And so if you don't motivate them, you literally give them no motive to act. You have big actions, big impact items, that need to be carried out, such that your team can win. So who are the players on your team? But what are you doing to inspire them, pour into them? And I feel like a big piece of that is you being poured into. We talked about loving people well. Love you well. And I think that a lot of times that can be facilitated really well by just what you're taking in, in terms of audio and visual. And just like how are you engaging your senses on a daily basis? 

One thing that I'm working on right now - podcasts over broadcasts. So, I heard somewhere that we spend more time in our cars in traffic than a college kid does in a classroom. I'm like okay so then this, this car needs to be a university then. I need to be learning while I'm driving. I can literally pick up a degrees' worth of information in a couple of years, right? So, podcasts over broadcasts. That doesn't mean necessarily it's just podcasts. What it means is, for me, if I'm honest, speaking as myself, I love sports talk radio. Well, sometimes I need to get off of that, and I need to be learning something about small business development or just listening to something inspirational. I love to listen to great messages from pastors as well. I love to listen to any kind of practical teaching tool that I can, that makes me better. And then what you got to do when you get poured into, is be ready to pour it out. Take that stuff in even when you feel like you don't need it. Today, I just want to listen to my favorite song. But instead, I'm listening to this incredible audiobook that teaches me about, you know the power of self-discipline or how I can elevate my daily habits, right? Then, when you're having conversations with somebody on your team. You don't even have to get into silly moments of reprimand and things like that. You can more pour into them, encourage them, tool them up, give them practical tools that equip them for the journey ahead. 

And while we're talking about inspiring people, I just want to take a moment to inspire you the listener, whoever you are. You tuned into this because you're interested in launching or growing a small business. Or maybe just because you heard great things about Bird, and that she is inspiring because she is that. Well if I could just inspire you. I know that you carry doubt. I know that you carry fear because you're human. I know that people look at our story and sometimes put us in the wrong bucket, and they assume that we don't have challenges that every human breathing has. And I just want to say that I can level with you there. I've felt that. And in vulnerability I'll say that there are still doubts, there's still fears, there's still things inside of me that just come screaming against everything that I feel I'm purposed to do. And maybe you hear that and your heart starts to race a little bit. But I just want to remind you that your heart beats for a reason, there's a purpose, there's a destiny there. And maybe that idea, that you haven't jumped off that cliff to act on. Don't literally go jumping off a cliff now. But maybe that thing that you carry, is that thing that elevates somebody else's life and allows you to love people well and pour into them. Well, I'm gonna love you well right now, by letting you know that that thing might be worth doing. Even if there's a risk. Even if there's an exit of the comfort zone. Because no growth has ever happened in a comfort zone, anyway. Maybe it's time friend to do that thing, cause maybe you're purposed to do it. And the biggest question that I already know is roaring in your head is what if I fail? But what if you take flight?

BIRD: Wow, that is hard to follow up. That was amazing, Babe. I love it. I appreciate you for taking time to be on the podcast and for being my very first guest. It was really fun.

TERRY:  It's an honor.

BIRD: We'll have to do more of this down the road. I know we've talked a little bit about doing an episode on what it's like to be married, and in business together. We get that question a whole lot and we know a lot of was a couplepreneurs. How does it go?

TERRY: Marriedpreneurs.

BIRD: Marriedpreneurs. So that'll be in the future for sure. And this guy is obviously a great speaker, super inspirational. So I'll definitely have him back. Is there anything else you want to add?

TERRY: I'm excited to be back anytime. I just want to reiterate one more time. If you've been thinking, what if I fail. My challenge to you is this. What if you fly? It's time.

BIRD: Yeah, you know, I will just say someone asked me the other day you know how, how do you have the confidence to do stuff? You know, you just keep starting businesses, you just keep doing. You went and worked in New York when you didn't even have experience in that sort of thing, And I guess, like in church camp as a kid, there was a song called Three Big. It was like dream big. Anyway, I'm not gonna sing it. But the point is that it was talking about dreaming big and I really like latched on to that. Like, I'm gonna just dream big. And I think I go into things, thinking, what if, like, the best parts of me are just right behind this decision? What if everything is amazing? Like, why not, why not choose to think that it's going to be awesome? 

TERRY: That woke something up in somebody. 

BIRD: Yeah, like why do you have to go into it wondering if it's gonna be bad. What if it's gonna be good, you know? And by the grace of God, I've had so many opportunities in my life that were life-changing because I just said yes, because I just kept showing up, putting one foot in front of the other. 

I just finished a devotional and she, in the end, was talking about just taking the next step. Just taking the next step. I have a friend who wants to write a book, and she's just like, she has so much in her. I could just see this being an incredible book that's going to help so many people. I'm like, just start writing it in a Word document on your computer. You know you don't have to go talk to publishers yet. Just start somewhere, take the next step. So, I encourage you to do that as well. 

TERRY: Love it. 

BIRD: Okay, so I guess to close, this was awesome. Thank you, Babe. And if you want to make sure you don't miss any of our episodes, just subscribe. You can subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast. And I hope you enjoyed this episode.

TERRY: And you better subscribe quick because people have been asking me when I'm doing my podcast. And I'll tell you right now, my podcast is coming, but it will not come before there have been 500 listeners, on the Bird Means Business podcast,

BIRD: Oh okay, I like that! This is support right there.

TERRY: I might up the number too. So get all your little friends to subscribe.

BIRD: Look at that. So glad I have you on my team, Bro. 

TERRY: Team strong.

BIRD: Team strong, all day long. What?

Okay, well I think that's it.

TERRY: Peace.
BIRD: Peace.