[00:01] Katie: Welcome to the focus b show, where katie stoddart, high performance coach, interviews experts around the world in performance and mindfulness. Now, here's your host. Katie.

[00:32] Katie: Welcome to a brand new episode of the focus b show, and today I'm very honored to be here with Davonu banks. Davonu is a marketing and advertising expert. He has over 20 years of experience in this field. He's the founder of envision brand marketing and has provided award winning marketing solutions to small, medium, and fortune 500 companies. Thank you so much for joining the show today, Devonyu.

[00:58] Davaughnu: Thank you, Katie. I'm honored to be on your show and look forward to the show as well.

[01:06] Katie: Fantastic. Last week we spoke a bit off air about your journey, and you have a fascinating journey. I'm wondering, could you share a bit with the audience how envision brand marketing was born?

[01:18] Davaughnu: Yes, absolutely. After being in the corporate industry for over 15 years and being in marketing and advertising, like you said, for over 20 years, I went through this journey of experiencing marketing in different facets, working at different agencies, working in different capacities within each agency and moving up the ladder at the same time. And so working on different clients across the board, from it to automotive to food and beverage hospitality, it was endless. And a lot of it was purposely driven because I wanted to have a lot of experience within my portfolio so that I could make choices as I moved up the ladder to engage in different opportunities that came before me. So different opportunities came, I took advantage of them, and as I did, I started consulting as well on the side, which just came out of people asking me questions and having marketing questions. And I said, be happy to help, and started consulting and really enjoyed that one on one opportunity. And then as I was moving to look for a director of marketing or CMO type of opportunity, everything was kind of jack of all trades. And so I really wanted to focus on brand strategy and marketing strategy, because within my portfolio of work, that's really what I enjoyed doing and just really sparked my interest. It got my juices flowing. And so I really wanted to focus on that. And once I did, I wanted to do that for small and medium sized businesses. And that's where envision came to fruition. And I said, there's this opportunity to help small and medium sized businesses that don't get the same type of attention that large, fortune 500 and large agencies can provide to fortune 500 companies. So I created this model called Dream Purpose Action that not only allowed me to help solve a lot of small and medium sized business issues as far as marketing strategy and brand strategy, but also guided them through and taught them how to understand the whole spectrum of marketing as it pertains to their business and building them up in a way that helps them reach their mission, their vision and their goals.

[04:01] Katie: Amazing. And I love how organic it all sounds. It feels like you just started doing consulting on the side. You had a few people coming to you and you were just helping them out and it sort of organically built itself. I'm wondering, in this sort of transition period, when you went from more the corporate world, where you're gathering lots of opportunities and experience, and then when you went towards having your own business, were there any fears that sort of crept up along the way?

[04:28] Davaughnu: Oh, absolutely.

[04:30] Katie: Do you want to share with the audience? Because I think the people listening either have their own business and can identify with it, or maybe they're about to take the leap. So it's always fascinating to hear what sort of fears people have along the way.

[04:43] Davaughnu: Yeah, no, absolutely. It's one of those things where the comfort of being within an organization, you can't replace that in entrepreneurial world, because entrepreneurial world is all about taking risks, experiencing challenges and getting through those challenges. But I have a personality that loves change, that loves challenges. I'm a competitive person. So that really sparked my interest as I started to do consulting on the side. And so some of the fears that I had were, am I going to make it? They talk about businesses, if your business doesn't survive over the first two years, then you're probably not going to make it. Right? That was kind of my landmark in terms of can I get clients, can I get brand partners to be sustainable over a two year period? And if I can get to that point, then I've reached my goal first milestone and I can move forward. Right. So I would say when you have those fears, create milestones and just attack each milestone one at a time. And that's what helped me get through those fears. Each time I had hesitations. Partnering with people and having trust that this partner is going to follow through on what they promised and then continuing to learn as you go is the key, is knowing that you don't have to have it all together in order to jump into that entrepreneurship. That's what I'm glad I didn't feel like I had to do, is have all the answers, right?

[06:36] Katie: Yes. I don't think anyone has all the answers. You shared three essential tips here the fact of setting milestones, having great partnerships and continuously learning. I want to come back to that setting milestones because a lot of entrepreneurs are ambitious, like yourself, or maybe competitive and driven. They also like maybe exciting new projects and change and variety. But what I know has happened with me, some of my clients, a lot of people I know, is we set two ambitious milestones. So I'm wondering what you do when you don't reach your milestones. Let's say you fix yourself an income or number of clients or whatever it is within the next six months or year, and you don't reach it. Has this happened to you or something similar? And how have you dealt with this?

[07:18] Davaughnu: Absolutely, I experienced in my corporate career as well, it's like I had a milestone. I was going to reach this certain job or this certain salary level or whatever the case may be. And when you don't, my thought process is it didn't happen in that time period, but it can still happen. And so I'm going to keep pushing forward. I could wallow in the fact that I didn't reach my milestone, or I could say, you know what, I'm going to keep pushing forward because I know I'm going to reach it. Maybe I set it for six months, maybe I set it for a year, but I know that I'm going to reach it. And in my first year as an entrepreneur, I set a certain number of clients and a certain level of income, and I reached that milestone. But year two, I didn't reach that milestone at the same speed. Right. So I'm like, okay, that's okay. I did it the first time. I know that it's attainable. So I'm going to continue to move forward and push forward, and lo and behold, it continues to grow.

[08:27] Katie: I love that perseverance commitment to sort of ongoing motivation. I'm wondering what gave you that sort of certainty, that sort of fuel that if you haven't achieved it yet, you know that you will at some point, because you need to have this sort of certainty that it's still going to happen even if you haven't made it yet. And I know a lot of people struggle with confidence or self doubt, and they think, well, if I haven't made it yet, maybe I never will. So you don't seem to have this approach, but is there any thought pattern or anything that you cling on to, to give you this sort of faith in yourself and in the process that it will actually work out?

[09:03] Davaughnu: Absolutely. I take it back to my childhood. Obviously. My parents obviously instilled that in me as a child to you can do anything that you put your mind to. Right. A lot of people hear that. The question is, do you believe what people are telling you? Right. And can you put that into practice? And so I played a lot of sports that helped. I always set goals when I was in school to get certain grades. My parents did as well. And so I remember getting wanting this BMX bike in the 8th grade. And my parents said, well, if you accomplish these grades, then we'll get you this BMX bike, and that set it off. You know what I mean, in terms of just like, wow, I can do this. You know what I mean? And so I worked hard. And by the end of the semester, I had reached that goal that they had put in front of me and was able to get that BMX bike. And so I applied that to my sports. I applied it to my grades. I applied it to life. And I'm also very god is very important to me as well. And so all things are possible through Christ that strengthens me. So I live by that verse. I also have a life verse, colossians 323. I'm not working for man, I'm working for him. And so that inspires me to push forward in everything that I do as well.

[10:53] Katie: Wonderful. So connecting with the sort of higher purpose in your case, faith related, but also for people who aren't necessarily religious, there are ways to connect with the higher purpose.

[11:03] Davaughnu: Absolutely.

[11:04] Katie: The vision, the mission, maybe we can go now to your sort of slogan or principle, dream, Purpose, action. Because I feel this is very related with what we're saying right now. Do you want to share a few words around how you came up with this concept, what it means for you and yes, tell us a bit more about it.

[11:22] Davaughnu: Yeah, it was interesting. I was thinking about my company name, I was thinking about and once I came up with Envision and I don't know if you see in the logo behind me, you can see the target that is created through the line and the two lines in the target there in Envision. And so having your eye on the prize and focusing and continuing to move forward is part of the brand, right? And so Dream came to me as the brand strategy, what is the brand? Right? And then purpose, why do you do what you do and who are you going after? And then action. Let's do this. How are we going to do it and where are we going to take action? Right? And so those things just really inspired me, those words really inspired me and when I put them together, I was just like this is not only my company mission and vision, but it's also my life mission. And that's where it came from, is just thinking about having a dream, having a purpose and putting it into action amazing.

[12:41] Katie: It's such an inspiring three words. I love it. I'm wondering, do you feel that purpose is the one where most people struggle with or dream? Is there one in particular that you feel most people with their own business actually struggle to put in place?

[12:59] Davaughnu: I believe the dream is something that everybody easily comes up with, like you fantasize or think about your dream. But the phase within Envision for Dream is more than just coming up with the idea and I think that's where people struggle, people come up with the idea and then they want to move right to action and it's really hard. And so, yeah, between Dream and Purpose, I think is the real struggle. Action is easy for everyone. I found even in the corporate world, creating those tactics and coming up with those ideas. Those two always came first. It was really bringing the why behind it. People don't ever ask, okay, why am I doing it? Do I have any reason or why I really want to do this? Who am I impacting? And is it going to create some type of change? Or am I just doing this because I have a great idea and really don't know how to bring it to fruition? And so I really focus in that first phase on creating that foundation, understanding who you are and what you're doing as a brand to impact the world and the community that you're right. And then we get a little bit deeper in the purpose phase.

[14:29] Katie: I love this. I think it's one of the reasons why Simon SENEC start with why was so popular, because so many people don't start with why. So many people don't ask themselves why they're doing it. And that leads to essential problems later on because they get stuck, or maybe they lose their motivation, or maybe they have a midlife crisis. Whether it's in the corporate world or having your own business, some people sometimes feel, oh, if I have my own business and I do what I want, then I have the purpose. But people struggle with purpose in all areas, whether they're freelancers, consultants, have business owners, or in the corporate world. So I think this is such a valid and essential point for people to take away, really know your why and probably revise it. So do you feel that people review it on a six month basis, yearly basis, or how do you feel the process is around this?

[15:22] Davaughnu: Yeah, I think it's important to know your why. I think what can be revised is going back. I always tell people to go back to your mission and your vision. Right. And I think that's where people really miss is some people come up with their mission and vision and their values, which is also vitally important, because as you grow, you want to maintain those values. But I think people create them and then they post them on a website or they post them in their office, and they just become words, right. As opposed to, okay, why are we doing this? And does it go back to fulfilling our mission, our vision? And is it within the values that we created? Because that's where people get off course. They create new services or products for no apparent great. This time. Right now is a great opportunity to do that because COVID has caused people to pivot, right? And so if you're not looking back at your mission, your vision, and your values to say, is this the right way to pivot, then answering that why is irrelevant at that point because you're not even sticking with your foundation. You're diverting from it. And maybe you do have to divert, but then you need to reevaluate your mission and your vision and then answer the why and say, why am I doing this? Why am I changing my mission and my vision? Why am I pivoting in this direction? Is this really going to help my business grow with the change in the environment and the culture and with COVID Absolutely.

[17:13] Katie: I think nowadays it's really the best time for reflection and introspection and to look into these things. And as the world is changing around us, adapting our own business for people who have their own business is essential. I'm really curious as to why is it that you feel the mission and vision come before the why? Because in my world or my point of view, they were all sort of the three things I work on simultaneously. So I would look at what's my missions, why am I doing it, and what's my vision, where I want to go. But it seems to me that you seem to begin with mission and vision and then look into the why. Could you explain a bit why you feel this is the most efficient or interesting way to do it?

[17:56] Davaughnu: Yeah, I've broken down the dream, purpose and action into who, why, and how. Right. So to break it down even simpler for folks, because those words can be lofty. Right. And so the reason I start with the who is because if you don't know who you are, and this goes to a personal level too if you don't know who you are, how are you going to answer the question why you're doing something? Right. It's very important to solidify the who and understanding your foundation and where you come from, where your moral standards. Who do you believe in? Do you believe in a higher power? Do you believe in God? Do you believe in something else? Do you believe in yourself? All of those things are important in establishing a company as well. And so you have to know who you are as a company, who you are as a brand, in order to move forward and answer that question, Why? And so that's why I think it's important to understand that step first and create that foundation before you get to the why.

[19:03] Katie: Wonderful. I wonder, could you share a few tips and tools and tricks for people to help them define their mission and vision and their why? Obviously, we're not going to be able to go super in depth, but if you have just one or two tools, people are listening. They realize they haven't really figured it out, if they could write something down or brief question or something that can help them start digging in that direction.

[19:26] Davaughnu: Yeah, I take people through specific exercises, but in terms of just starting out, most people, again, start with that idea, that dream. Right. Back that dream up and say, is this a dream that I've come up with that represents something that I believe in and that I want to do to change or bring change into a certain area, whether it's a service, a product, answer that question and understand the idea isn't just an idea. It's a part of you. It should be something that inspires you, that gets you up in the morning and says, hey, this is how I want to change the world. This is the reason I want to make money. Right? Like, this is how I'm going to become a millionaire. If that's your motivation. Not that that's a bad motivation. Wanting to make money is not a bad motivation. That's a great motivation. But it shouldn't be the only reason and it shouldn't be the isolated reason around your idea, because nine times out of ten, that idea is not going to come to fruition because all you're focused is on money, right? And you lose focus when it's time to have that purpose in action, because all you're thinking about is money, money. And you're not putting forth that right strategy that helps you, that game plan that helps you get to the goal. That's what I do. I focus on is this getting me up in the morning? Is this inspiring me to create change?

[21:23] Katie: I love this. I think what you say about money is so true. It's neither the ultimate motivation that's great for people nor this horrible thing that we should totally ignore. It's just that if that's the only source of motivation, it probably won't work out. And the thing is, and I think that's the worst thing if it does work out, a lot of the time people are actually depressed. So a lot of the time, if the only reason they have a business or this plan or this vision, whether again it's in the corporate world or people having their own business, money is the only source of motivation. When they do become millionaires or whatever number they're aiming for, they actually become depressed. Someone said this on a podcast interview I had with him, phil Palucia for people want to check out this interview I did with him a few months ago. But also, Tony Robbins coaches billionaires who are unfulfilled. They're billionaires. But what happened? They only aimed for the money. If they were aiming for balanced and healthy relationships and feeling fulfilled every day, and they had purpose and contribution, and they were looking at money, too. Again, it's not to just push it aside, but if they were looking at the whole picture, then maybe they wouldn't need Tony Robbins. I don't know.

[22:33] Davaughnu: Absolutely, Katie. I absolutely agree with you 100%. You can start with purpose. You could start with action and be very successful. You could start with money and be very successful. I'm not saying my model is the end all, be all, and there isn't another way to get to the goal. But I think at some point you're going to come back to your dream. You're going to come back to your why and try and figure out is this really what I wanted to do. I'm fulfilled from a material standpoint, but am I fulfilled wholly, like you were saying, the big picture, looking at all aspects of your company or your brand or your personal being? Am I fulfilling the gifts that I've been given to help change and impact the world or the community that I'm in? And I think that's when people are truly fulfilled in their vocation and in.

[23:38] Katie: Life, what I'm realizing here through this conversation is it also comes down to how we define successful. And in today's society, success is often linked to income, money, status. And if already societally we had a more balanced view of success, it would maybe not encourage people to chase so much just the money and status. If maybe we revised this vision of success, which I think we are, I think well, being is more and more incorporated and the importance of relationship, I think people are realizing, okay, money and financial gain is important, but loads of people aren't happy just through this. I think it is more and more common. So I feel redefining success is important. How would you define success? What is for you someone who is really truly leading a successful life not just by society but in your eyes?

[24:34] Davaughnu: Yeah. No, I agree with you, Katie. I think you hit the nail on the head as far as what success. Everybody has their own interpretation of success. But we can see that in society that if your ultimate goal is just material or external at the end of the road, you don't feel fulfilled and something is always missing and you're constantly searching for it and trying to strive for that missing piece. When you do that again, you have to go back to the dream, you have to go back to the purpose and you end up spiraling out of control and trying to figure it out why am I not fulfilled? I'm making millions or billions of dollars and I'm not fulfilled. Or I have all the toys and trinkets boats and cars and houses and I'm still not fulfilled. We see it with celebrities, athletes, billionaires who are in the financial realm. We've seen it and it's not fulfilling. And so my definition of success is again going back to what do you believe in, what is your foundation and understanding who you are really helps you bring clarity to and what gifts do you have that no one else has? Everybody's unique and everybody has something to contribute to the world that can help change and impact lives. And so if you can begin to clarify that on some level and again create those milestones and say, I'm going to use this gift to help people do this, I'm going to use this idea or product or service to help people do this. And I think more and more people are finding, especially during this COVID time, what's more important in life. I think we found out that our families are way more important because we've spent more time with them. I think we found out that time is much more precious to us, that's the biggest commodity in our world today is time. How many people want to give up time? It's easy to donate money. It's easy to show up and then leave for something. But to really donate your time and give your all to something that you believe in is where I think success starts to come to fruition and begins to look at that bigger picture that we were talking at the beginning and saying life is more than just obtaining things. It's about helping others and changing the way we move through this journey of life. Right. And I don't want to get too high and pie about it, but in general, I think if you're fulfilling others, I think you begin to be fulfilled.

[28:00] Katie: I love this. I think it's just a perfect note to finish on. I could add a few more questions, but I think that's just such a lovely note. I'm just going to leave it at this. It's flown by. It's been so much fun. Devon you thank you so much for joining the show and for sharing all of these insights. It's really inspired me and I know these topics, so I can only imagine that someone that doesn't know this stuff will be blown away. So thank you so much for all of your time, as you were saying, extremely precious and for your insight. Thank you.

[28:29] Davaughnu: Thank you, katie, it's a pleasure being on the show and much success to you.

[28:35] Katie: Thank you.

[28:36] Katie: Thank you for listening to the Focus B show. We would love to hear your feedback. Let us know in a review how this episode inspired you. Keep buzzing.