Joey Pinz Discipline Conversations

#840 Maritza Davila: 🚀 Clarity, Leadership & Growth: Building Impact That Lasts

• Joey Pinz • Episode 840

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 1:27:36

Send us Fan Mail

How do business owners scale beyond themselves? 🤔

In this powerful conversation, Joey Pinz sits down with business growth strategist Maritza Davila to unpack the real reason companies get stuck — and it’s not the market… it’s leadership clarity.

From emotional regulation and accountability to building teams that “think like the owner,” this episode dives into the mindset shifts required to move from $1M to $10M and beyond. 💡

Maritza shares her proprietary G.R.O.W. Methodology and explains why predictable leadership, humility, and structured decision-making are essential for sustainable business growth.

Spiritual grounding, bold risk-taking, and meaningful impact all come together in this episode — showing how clarity fuels revenue, culture, and long-term legacy.

🔑 Top 3 Highlights:

1️⃣ Why the owner is often the growth ceiling

2️⃣ The balance between control and leverage

3️⃣ How clarity and feedback drive high-performance teams

If you're an entrepreneur, founder, or leader looking to scale without losing purpose — this one’s for you.

 

---

 

Join us for enlightening discussions that spark growth and exploration. 

Hosted by Joey Pinz, this Discipline Conversations Podcast offers insights and inspiration.

 

🎧 Listen on Your Favorite Platforms: 

 

🌐 Explore More: 

 

🎵 Music by Tom Izzo: @wahlsinger  https://tomizzomusic.com  

 

Would you like to Sponsor Joey Pinz?  Get the prospectus here: www.joeypinz.com/sponsor

 

💡 Support the Podcast: 

• Subscribe: https://joeypinzconversations.com/subscribe/

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/joeypinz 

• One-Time Payment: https://tinyurl.com/c6dx4hck

 

Subscribe, follow, and rate with 5 stars if you enjoy these conversations. 

Connect with us across various platforms and don't forget to join our newsletter for updates!

 

#Podcast  #Conversations #PersonalGrowth  #ThoughtLeadership  #Mindfulness

#SelfImprovement #LearningJourney  #Motivation #ThoughtProvoking

#KnowledgeSharing #LifeLessons #Interviews #Discipline  #InspireChange  

#ListenAndLearn  #MeaningfulDialogues  #Empowerment  #Curiosity

#JoeyPinzChats #JoeyPinz #JoeyPinzDiscipline #JPC #JoeyPinnzConversations

#PodMatch

 

 

Want to be a guest on Joey Pinz Discipline Conversations? Send Joey Pinz a mess

Support the show

SPEAKER_00

Maritza Davila. Great conversation with Maritza. Small to medium businesses are the backbone of the world economy. Maritza has a very interesting upbringing. Where she got, where she was, how she got there. She helps businesses that are stuck. We spent a lot of time talking about entrepreneurship, how companies can grow, where they get stuck, what are some of the killers? I share some of my own experiences as well. But just really, really great conversation. It went by very quickly. Maritza is uh wise beyond her years. It's uh really interesting to see how uh her mind works in this area. She has a whole process, the growth process, um, lots of methodology, lots of structure. She also likes to sing, and spirituality is a big part of her life as well. Just wonderful insight with Maritza. I really appreciate her time. And I thank you for watching and listening. Hi, I'm Joey Pins, and here's my 45-second introduction. After starting my business in the 90s, I started developing poor habits of eating in my diet because of working way too much. Before you know it, I found myself 340 pounds. The doctor told me if I don't lose the weight, I'm not gonna see my daughter graduate. Took the next seven months, lost 130 pounds. People think there's some secret. Ask me, how'd you lose that weight? Like there's some secret. There is no secret. How'd I lose the weight? Just one word. Discipline. I've had other successes in life, and I attribute them all to discipline. Now I'm not the king of discipline, but I believe that it can help all of us. Friends, colleagues convinced me to start a podcast. The podcast mission, how do we better ourselves and society? I talked to interesting people in health, fitness, sport, wellness, business, technology, science, art and culture. And I eventually asked them how discipline plays a role in their life. Podcast Vision, growth through learning from others. Excited to talk to you, Maritza. Thanks for your your time today. What part I I see that um the singing is a part of your life. Tell me how that how that's incorporated. How often do you do that?

SPEAKER_01

I primarily sing at my church. Um I mean, I sing at my house, of course, but like, you know, every day. But singing has a lot more to do with uh just the way I serve the Lord. And I actually don't like other people hearing me sing. Um, but I felt like led to do that and serve in that way. Uh, and it's actually very peaceful and uh gives me gives me a ton of like stress relief if that if that helps. So I really enjoy it, but I I would prefer if other people didn't hear me, but it doesn't work like that.

SPEAKER_00

In this fast-paced MSP landscape, how do you stay ahead? Introducing MSP Influencer.com, your ultimate hub for MSP news, insights, and community connection powered by Forza Dash. More than 75,000 MSP subscribed to our MSP Influencer Pulse weekly newsletter. Staying informed and ahead of industry trends. Tune in to emerging podcasts for Joey Penn and leading MSP voices, offering essential tips, powerful insights, and success stories. Explore our multi-authored lives crafted specifically for MSP leaders, delivering fresh perspectives and actionable strategies. Celebrate excellence with the industry leading Force Dash MSP Influencer Awards, recognizing innovation, leadership, and impact in the MSP community. Join thousands of MSP professionals who trust MSP Influencer.com to grow their business and expand their networks. MSP Influencer.com, where today's MSP leaders connect, collaborate, and conquer, all powered by the ForzaDotch platform, helping MSP vendors work effectively with MSPs and helping MSPs grow. Well, the great Miles Davis would never face the audience, right? He never thought he was good enough. He would always kind of have his back to the audience. And he certainly was a genius. What's the difference between being spiritual and being religious?

SPEAKER_01

Religious to me means that you're following a lot of rules. Spiritual to me means that you have a relationship with the Lord, right? With to me, it would be Jesus Christ. But you know, everyone is different. And there's people that say they're spiritual, but doesn't necessarily mean that like there's different types of spiritual realms, right? So it just kind of like, you know, you got the angel and you got the little demon, right? Like you see in the cartoons. Um, I think that there's a lot of people that will do things um that I would be careful around in the spiritual world. Like I I personally would never, you know, go read uh tarot cards or uh consult with a psychic or medium. I wouldn't do any of those things because I understand the spiritual world, which is something that most people when we think about it in our human reasoning, it makes absolutely no sense. But when it's I I like I love to think about this quote that says a man with an experience will never um will never um will always triumph over a man with an opinion, right? So you can never tell me, oh, that doesn't exist. Well, I've experienced it, but you haven't. So you can never, I you will never overcome what my experience has been in my life. So um I don't know if that helps to answer the question, but I do think spiritual means you understand the spiritual world and you understand that we're having a relationship spirit to spirit, which is your spirit to the Holy Spirit, um, or a different spirit, right? Um, and religious is like, you know, I go to church, I follow rules, I, you know, I'm abiding by all these kind of like laws, essentially, like spiritual laws, but doesn't necessarily mean that you have a relationship with the Holy Spirit. So that's my that's my definition of it.

SPEAKER_00

And it seems weird so that spirituality plays a major role in your life.

SPEAKER_01

Huge, yeah. It's like the a cornerstone of who I am, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

What's the difference between a leader and a manager?

SPEAKER_01

A leader is someone that you could follow their example without them ever saying a word. Whereas a manager is someone that is managing the way things work doesn't necessarily mean it's someone that you're going to follow their example, right? It's like some someone that's fulfilling obligations, right, and responsibilities. But a leader to me is someone that you can look at their example and how they live their life or how they work, right? Whether it's business or because to me a leader is in every area of your life, but a leader is someone that you could just look at them, see their behavior, and know what it is you're supposed to do. Whereas a manager is really just managing people or processes or tools, right? So we're making sure things are operating well. Uh you could be a leader and a manager, but I don't think you could be you can't, you could just be a manager, but if you're a leader, I think you could do both.

SPEAKER_00

I've had issues in my organization where managers thought they were leaders, and that could be a very difficult conversation, Ritz. Because ego kind of comes in a little bit, and it's not that it's a bad thing. We need managers, right? We need them. They're there's they're very important. But sometimes, you know, to be a leader, you need, like you said, people need to follow, you need to lead people.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think that has a lot to do with the core values of an organization. And so, what's the behavior that's being rewarded? So I think everyone in an organization should think like a leader. Doesn't mean they need to have a title or be compensated, right, as one. But I would hope that everyone that is under a specific organization is being pushed to think like a leader because you want someone to have ownership and want to produce results and performance and all these things, that doesn't necessarily mean like the word father, right? Like father is a title, right? That people use, but not necessarily because you are called a father means that you have the function of a father. So understanding, okay, if I want to be a leader and the core value of the organization is like it's humility, right? It's gonna depend on each the actual owner of the business. But if it's humility, then you would reward humility, someone that you know cleans up the kitchen, even though they're like, you know, a VP of operation, or you know, whatever it is, like, right? It's someone will take out the trash if that's what needs to be done. But if that's not ever rewarded, then we're not ever compensating for humility. And so a lot of times if we're compensating for someone that steps over other people to get higher, then the core value of like pride will be reinforced. Um and so it's a lot of times thinking, and it could be like reinforcement and rewards is like good job. Like it doesn't need to be like a bonus, right? Um, but what what you notice about the people under in your organization and what you affirm them in is a form of reward. And I think it's just looking back at that and saying, like, what and and if I if I am also letting them know you are a you're why are you acting like you're above other people, right? Which to me is pride. If you call that out and say, like, that's not the way that we operate, that's also a way of giving feedback and letting them know like that's not acceptable in this organization. But I'd see that a lot of people have a problem giving feedback in general, whether it's positive or negative, and typically end up keeping all these things to themselves in their head. And then your people can't improve because you don't know exactly what it is that you want out of them.

SPEAKER_00

When you're working with these companies, Marissa, that are stuck and you you you come across a founder, CEO that doesn't have all the properties a good leader can have, what do you do? Or should I?

SPEAKER_01

I choose. Yeah, so I choose who I work with. And I've worked with individuals that are not accountable, right? They blame their team members for everything. The person that I like to work with, if you're accountable, and so you realize that as a owner of a business, I have a ton of influence over the people because I can choose who I work with, right? I choose who I hire and I choose who I train, right? So if there's accountability, then there's room for growth. If there's no accountability and you just think all these people are idiots, you know, which I have heard, then who is to blame if you're the one hiring them?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But a lot of people don't like take, you know, they don't, they that's never a part of the equation. And so if there is accountability, um, the people that I love to work with, and typically are all of my clients, are someone that is very gross driven, right? They love progress, they love momentum. They know they don't know everything. So there is some humility there and understanding I might know how to do the service of my business really well, it doesn't necessarily mean that I know how to lead my team well, right? Like I'm still learning that. And it doesn't necessarily mean that I know everything about business and how to run this business like a well-oiled machine, or what's the best offer, what's the best service, what's the best client? What's there's so many things to business that if there is humility and accountability, then there's you don't need to know everything, but you but I understand that that type of a person will grow much more than someone that thinks that they know it all just because they've had some success in business because they're harder to teach, right? They're they're more receptive and willing to adapt and change. And it's necessary if you want the next level of growth in any area of your life, but really in business, it's required.

SPEAKER_00

So what I'm hearing, and correct me, I think you're saying that even if a leader's not that good of a leader, as long as they have accountability, it's gonna work out.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. As long as there's some humility and accountability that they know like I have to change, like I can't expect my team to change if I'm not willing to change, then then then you know, I have high hopes for them because because we are always evolving and adapting as as people and much more as a leader. So if I see, okay, well, if I'm being told, I should probably have those uncomfortable conversations with my with my team, with my staff, with my employees, and let them know what bothers me. And you just you're like, this is my fault because I haven't told them what's wrong, and you're willing to try it, right? There's at least some progress there. It doesn't mean that you have the conversation the best way. Maybe you brought up way too many things, way too much negative feedback, no positive feed, right? Like maybe it doesn't maybe you didn't do it the right way, but you were willing to try. It's the same with your business, right? You you were willing to try to no longer be an employee and now become a business owner. You figured that out, you figured out how to make that work, you figured it out well enough that now you have employees. So something's working, but you had to change as a person and you had to adapt. And so as long as there's they're willing to, you know, change and adapt their their leadership style. Um, yeah, there's I think there's a lot of hope and potential in any in any leader.

SPEAKER_00

Are leaders born? Are they made both?

SPEAKER_01

I think it's both, personally. I've seen people that have always had leadership since like little kids. I'll look at little kids. Sometimes you'll see little kids that like there's one one that's like everybody's like coming around that person, and it's just like wow, they're just a born leader. And because if you're a true leader, like people, people like people want to be with you, right? Like you you you call in a crowd. And other people are are made, right? It's like repetition, like anything. It's understanding even like emotional stability, like to give you an example. If I'm a man, which I see this a lot, uh, a man, and I deal with anger, that's the one emotion that I have to learn how to control as a leader, then I need to understand that when I'm getting angry, what is it that like I need to become aware of that emotion, maybe pause a little bit to figure out what exactly how I want to react now that this emotion is coming up. And what is the tone and what are how what am I how am I gonna say things to my team? So you can learn to improve that and become self-aware. Make a pause if you don't know what to do, and then three, watch my tone and watch what I say, right? Because there's needs there needs, I feel a leader really needs to have steadiness. There needs to, they need to be the anchor of the boat, right? So when there's economic crisis, when team members are are quitting, when things turmoil is occurring, everyone is going to look to the leader and to the owner to know how do I navigate, how do I navigate these seas, right? They're rocky. And so emotional regulation and stability is just one way that the owner of the business or the leader of the business can help regulate their staff to know, like, we're gonna figure this out. Right. And in men, I typically see anger. In women, interesting, they'll get really uh sad sometimes, like they'll they'll deal with depression, or they'll also get very angry. Um, it's like depends on the person, right? And we don't we don't want people that we we like predictable behavior in people in general, and as a leader, we tend to look for predictability because it it causes stability. We know where we stand with the leader, we know where we're going, and we know what to expect from them. So I think that's something that a leader is very good at doing.

SPEAKER_00

Now, uh when you say a leader gets angry, they get angry because stuff doesn't go their way, they they don't they don't get business, employees don't. I mean, I mean that's part of business. And so instead of just kind of dealing with it and trying to create solutions, they kind of resort to anger. You see this often.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, for many, I mean, we're humans, right? We have emotions.

SPEAKER_00

So I guess the difference between anger and getting pissed off. I guess I know so. I mean, if we don't get a contract, ah man, okay, well, you know, we have 10 out there, we're not gonna get, we're probably only gonna get a couple, uh, but you're saying they actually experience anger. It's very interesting.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, because I mean, I think being annoyed is a piece, uh, it's like a little bit of there's a little like if I got if I got really upset, I would now get maybe upset, and then upset can lead into really angry or pissed off. Now I'm raging. So I just think there's levels to anger, right? I the frustration on a day-to-day basis. If you I mean it it just depends on the person, but how how much do you let that emotion uh affect you and control you?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, very interesting the traits. It's it's not easy. It's not easy to be a founder and an owner. I mean, you know, you have to worry about I I remember when I first started my my business, you know, I remember my friends would say, it must be great not having a boss. And my my quick reply was, I have more bosses than I've ever had. Every one of my clients, my employees to a certain degree, the vendors, the banks, please don't start a business thinking you won't have a boss. That's that's not what's gonna happen. Let's talk about lack of clarity, Marissa. So, you know, how important we always see these companies, these new companies start off and they don't have a mission, they don't have values, they don't have, you know, a vision, a core core values. And then somebody like yourself needs to come in and kind of straighten that out or help them with that. But how important are those for clarity?

SPEAKER_01

Super important because I think they're pivotal to knowing what direction am I taking this company. Most people start a business to make money, right? Like that's what most of us do. But once you've figured out the money part and you're no longer doing this business just for money, then it there's uh something called Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

SPEAKER_00

Have you ever heard of that?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And so I understand we need to get our basic needs met.

SPEAKER_00

Explain what it means, though, please.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so it's it's like a pyramid, if you see it. And we all have needs as human beings. The first level is, you know, we need food, we need shelter. Essentials, we the very essentials, right? And if as long as we have food and we have shelter, then we move on to the next level of needs, which would be feeling safe. Uh, so like where you live, right? If there is violence, and so you could be fed and you could have a house, but if you're in constant threat of your life, then that's another need. Once that's met, then we have relational needs where we want to have a good relationship with people, right? With our spouse, with our parents, with our friends, with our whoever it is, but we have relationship needs. Once that's met, the very top, once all these need, as soon as you meet each one of these needs, you get to what Maslow called self-actualization, which I've heard someone say it's not really self-actualization, it's really like others or service actualization. Because at the end of the day, the way I remember self-actualization when I was taught to it by my by a teacher, he said, This is when you're older and you've already made money, you've already, you know, you have relationships, and now you want to give back. Now you want to do to charity. Now you want to go and volunteer, right? Because you want to serve other people. And so that's the top. And I think in business it's very similar in that we need to meet our needs, right? We need to pay our bills, we need to uh, you know, look for the future of our business, take care of our kids, maybe go on vacation, maybe learn how to communicate with our partner and have a good marriage, right? Uh with our parents, all these things. We need to learn how to do all these things. But once those needs are met, we have a desire within our heart to serve others, whether we realize it or we don't. And we need to understand who are we serving? We don't start with why, as many people say it was Simon Cynic. We start with who. Who are we gonna serve? And how can we best serve them? And aside from that, I think other things are very clear, but it's some people are very led by income goals, right? I want to get to 10 million, I want to get to 100 million, I want to get to a billion, whatever, whatever the number is. But other people are, but at self-actualization, I think you're very impact-driven. How many people do I want to help? Or who do I want to help? In what way do I want to help? And if we can tie what we do every single day to the long-term impact or goals that we have as an organization, then we have a reason to get up every morning. And it's not just to make money because I understand I, you know, I have my business because I feel this is my passion and my part of my purpose. So I don't do it for just a paycheck. I really do it because I feel this is what I need to be doing. And I could do this for the rest of my life, right? So understanding that I think is very pivotal so that the business runs for a long time. Otherwise, you're switching businesses a lot because it doesn't fulfill all your needs as a human.

SPEAKER_00

So how do you how do you teach an owner to delegate who doesn't want to let go? I I find when I talk to small businesses, it's not all the time, but I mean, I know some that they'll they'll order the pizza themselves. They're so, you know, I it's it's it's frustrating. So how are you possibly gonna the what is the 80-20 rule? If somebody else can do it 80% as well as you can, then delegate it. But some some of them just don't want to let go. How do you change that mindset?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I can't force them to do anything.

SPEAKER_00

Good point.

SPEAKER_01

So I'm well aware of that. But I consider it a success when I start hearing my client repeating back to me things that I've told them in previous sessions. That to me is I did a job well done because that means I've affected the way that they think about things. And if I can change the way you think, I can change the way you behave eventually, eventually, not right away. And it's uh teaching them the benefits, right? There's pros and cons to everything. There are benefits to having a smaller business and not growing it. There are benefits to that. You could you could find the benefits, right? But the person that I work with, they're very growth driven. So I have to tell them, I almost have to explain, look, this is the cost of delegation because there's a cost to it, right? There's a cost to train people, right? But there's also a cost to doing the same thing the same way. There's no growth. So if you want growth, if you want leverage, then you can't have full control. You can't. You have conflicting priorities. And so there's something I call a pri the priority pendulum. So if you want a ton of control, you're letting go of a ton of leverage. If you want leverage, you're letting go of control. It's when we have contradictory priorities that it's difficult for us to make a different decision than what we've done before. But if you want growth in the company, then I may need to let go of comfort and control. And understanding that and understanding how they make decisions, and you're making decisions based off control, like they have to get to that point themselves because I can't force them to do anything. And I wouldn't want them, I wouldn't want to because I think a leader is influential, and there's a difference between influencing someone and manipulating or forcing someone to do something. So with influence, I'm telling you, I'm teaching you, I'm trying to change the way you think, but ultimately it is your decision.

SPEAKER_00

You know, the the odds are so against small businesses, I wasn't 90% fail in the first year, I think the number is, like 80% fail within five years. And uh other than outside you know, markets and things like that, generally speaking, it's the leader's fault, right? It's the owner's fault. They're not hiring properly, they're not delegating, whatever it may be, lack of clarity. But yet we just see here, especially in the States, we just drive this entrepreneurial spirit here that I don't see in many other countries that they still want to do it. And what is it in the emyth? What does Gruber say? Like brain hemorrhage or something. You get like a you know, the whatever happens, but but still you just can't fight it. And so you have to give them kudos. Like you said, you can't make them change their mind on anything. You just have to kind of say, here's what successful companies do, try to move towards that.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_00

There's really no other way.

SPEAKER_01

Right. I think that small business owners, their biggest problem is wanting to stay small. And we have to adapt so much as business owners that it's very difficult. Like it's it's very challenging to be a business owner because there's, you know, the scale of 250,000 revenue, you know, zero to 250, then there's 250 to 500, then there's 500 to a million, then there's a million to five million, then there's five to ten, and then ten and plus, and then so every level of growth requires you to change as the owner of the business.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

And it requires you to have other leaders in your business.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

If you don't know, you know, in the first stage of business, I would say up to a million in revenue, you become a very top performer in your business.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But once you start getting to a million plus in revenue, you have to learn how to lead people because nothing great will ever happen because of one person. You need a team. And typically by one million in revenue, you have team members. That doesn't necessarily mean you have leaders in your team. So the amount of leaders that you have in your team that can think like you, that can make decisions like you, that you know they've got it vastly affects how how big the business can be. And the problem is we start a business and we get, you know, we've gone through the levels of 250,000 and then 500, and then a million, and then, and we think we have it figured out, right? Because we're somewhat successful. It's not like we're not successful. We do have some success under our belt. But if we're unwilling to adapt and change and have that humility and accountability that I talked about, then the next level of growth is just not possible for us until we realize that we are part of the problem.

SPEAKER_00

I I remember, Russen, that we had acquired a company, you know, we were doing really well, and um we were at about 10 million in annual revenue. And I remember we had a a picnic, it was one of the holidays, and we were almost about 50 employees, and I remember everybody came and I remember employees introducing me to their grandchildren. And I remember thinking to myself, what have I done? This business that I started out of my father's garage that I have no, don't really understand, I don't, is is now influencing grandchildren. I remember uh being like not upset, but just I after that picnic, I went straight to the office. I was like, I I'm gonna have to work harder. I I I'm affecting grandchildren. What am I doing? What's happening here? You know, and it's a lot for the these business owners. We were growing organically and then we grew some through some acquisition. And like you said, the $1 million company is radically different from the $5 million. And the $5 million to the $10 million, you've got to have a whole layer of middle management that you're not used to. Uh you can't be flat anymore like you were from zero to 250. And you just have to, you know, become, and and I give they never give enough credit for Google, which is now Alphabet. The two the two founders there, Sergey and Brynn. They never get enough credit for stepping aside and hiring a CEO. You you didn't see Facebook do that, you didn't see Microsoft eventually do that. You see these founders still running it today. They said, look, this is too big for us. We don't know what to do here. We need to hire a professional. And that's what a lot of companies need to do. The founders need to step aside, get on the board, and hire somebody as CEO. It's a very important skill and it needs to be respected. I don't have a question there. I just kind of ranted, Marissa, but your thoughts.

SPEAKER_01

No, I think you're you're 100% accurate in that Google does need more recognition for that.

SPEAKER_02

They do.

SPEAKER_01

Because it requires humility to do that, because you're saying I don't know how to do everything.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

I need someone that is more knowledgeable and skilled. And kudos to them because if you can, if you can bring someone on, and this is another, this is another reason why knowing the mission and vision is so important in the business. If you want a big business, people that are high performers, that are leaders, that are a players, they want to know they're going to have some impact in the world. They're going to do something big. There's some big mission. There's some bit. If not, I don't want to just go and clock in nine to five somewhere. That's not, I don't need to pay the bills. I'm like, I understand I have enough skill sets to figure that out. If I'm going to go join another company like Google, we are like, well, I mean, how many people, how many millions and multi-like, how many people is Google affecting? Right, exactly. And so that would bring someone on that is highly skilled, can get things done. And so they were able to build something that was big enough that would bring in more leaders. And that's why I think being clear about what you're not really good at and where you want to go is really important because it attracts other high-performing leaders into your business if you know where it is that we're going, even we're not there yet, but we can see the direction.

SPEAKER_00

Marissa, you have this grow methodology. Tell me about it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So there's four phases that I take my clients through. It's called guide, research, optimize, and win. So it spells out grow. It's an acronym. And the first part is what we were talking about, right? With the guide. As a leader, as the owner of a business, we've got to be able to guide our employees and our staff about, you know, where we are the one steering this ship. Everyone on this ship needs to know where we're rowing, where we're going. And what are how do you get paid on this ship? And by paid payment, I don't mean compensation and salary. I mean, how am I going to reward you? How do you grow in this company, right? How do you get promoted from the position you started at to where you actually want to go? And so we need to guide people with the core values. We need to guide people with the vision. We need to guide people as to why we even in the we even exist, what's the purpose of this business? And then research, we need to come up with a plan, basically, of where it is that we're going to go and how we're going to get there, right? Because you could have these big audacious goals. But if you have no idea how you're going to get there, makes it much more difficult. And then we have the plan in place. And now we go into the research phase of it, which is we need to try things if we don't know what's currently working. If you don't have data in your business, and I think about data as quantitative data, like you know, your closing ratio, uh, how many leads you're bringing into the business, uh, what, you know, all the numbers, right? All the finance numbers that you need to know and understand how effective your business is. With businesses that are, you know, starting out and growing, they don't know a lot of those things and they're not tracking anything. But once you start getting to, you know, millions and multimillions in revenue, then you you learn this is very important. And now we have to understand, okay, well, what we're doing so far, we need to try something new. So there's there's got to be a new marketing channel, there's got to be a new avatar depending on the business. There's got to be a new uh way that we bring in leads. And how are we keeping these? How are we keeping these clients? How are we increasing the lifetime value of the client so that we make more money off of every person that comes into the business, right? Because a lot of times I always say it's much easier to upsell a current client than it is to get a new one sometimes in most businesses. So understanding how can we increase how much this client is worth to our business? Uh, and so we do a lot of research in the in the R part of it, right? And understanding, okay, what is effective. And so we need to try out new things, uh, and depending on the business, right? Is it a new marketing channel? Is it a new offer? Is it, you know, what is it that we're doing to try to grow the business? Or is it a new sales process? Maybe our closing ratio is like 10%. We need to be closer to 30 or 35, right? And so understanding what are the new things that we're doing, are we increasing sales, marketing, operations, finance, or what is the one thing? And then from there we optimize. Now we we have figured out what works. Now we're trying to make the business work more efficiently, right? With optimization, because I see a lot of businesses that are doing millions and millions in revenue, but growth sucks cash. So we need to understand how do we keep the cash in the business? How do we make the business more profitable? And a lot of times that has to do with operations and people, which is where I like to stay. That's kind of my lane, right? And understanding, okay, our how are we streamlining the client delivery? Because we don't have one specific way of doing things. We don't. We just, you know, this this particular salesperson or customer success person will do it this way, and then another will do it another way. And so we don't have one way of doing things. And systems stands for save yourself some time, energy, and money. That's what systems are. And so if it's not saving you anything and not making you money, then it's not a system, it's not a way of doing things. So understanding that with operations so that we can keep more of the money in the business that is already there. And then people, do we have the right people? Because you could have all the processes and documentation and know how we do things. But if you have the wrong people there that are not skilled or are not the right culture fit, then we're always looking in people like, are they the culture fit? And also are they performers, right? Like, how are you they a low performer, average, top performer? Do we need, you know, what kind of how much performance and results do we need this person to bring out? So understanding that, and then the W is when when you have all these things in place, and you know, always basically reviewing. Where it's a constant, like I call it pre-performance, performance, and then post-performance. Those are really the phases is like G is pre, uh, R is performance, and then O is post-performance. We're now looking at everything, and now if we're doing all those things, we're winning as a business.

SPEAKER_00

Very cool methodology. I like the way you think, Maritza. Um, for those I I have friends that have a million-dollar business, and that it's a lifestyle, you know, it's pretty much a job. And I don't think there's anything wrong with anything wrong with that. They don't really, they say they want to grow, but they don't. But they don't. They got a job and they could, you know, they could cut off early, and uh, and and I get you know, this is I call it a lifestyle business. So there's really no reason to work with somebody like that, right? If they were to talk to you, I mean, what do you how do you qualify them?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I have a conversation with everyone that, you know, before obviously working together, because I every every client that I work with, I don't want to have a surface level impact in any of my clients.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

I really want to have a deep impact in the businesses that I work with. And so if you're a lifestyle founder, I mean you could be doing one or two million and want to grow to five or six, right? It's not like a huge change as far as lifestyle is, but there's still there's still differences there. And so as long as they want to grow, they don't typically, if you're if you're doing like a couple million and then oh, now you want to be at 20, 50, 100, okay, we're talking about something different, right? And sometimes reality has to set in. And I have to tell them, look, you could have big audacious goals, but every time we're making a decision, we have to consider what's the cost, what's the risk. And if we're not considering all the things you have to give up, and you like having this lifestyle business, then let's not lie to ourselves, right? Don't don't lie to yourself, don't deceive yourself into thinking that you want a huge business, billion-dollar business, hundred million dollar business, but you don't want sacrifice for it because it does require a ton of sacrifice. So we have to see the full picture, and so it's just coming, it's the coming of Jesus moment, right? Understanding.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, have a real conversation. Do you realize what it's going to take? Yeah. Right. Yeah. And yeah, because when I when I reached the the height of my business at that point, yeah, I was I was started as an I'm into computer tech, you know, computer support and software. It's now called the man and service provider, but you know, I was an engineer that became an owner, so I was far away from my craft. I was not supporting anymore. It's like, is this really what I want? Um I've had to completely adjust the way I think and the way I do business, you know, and so many have to kind of come to that come to Jesus moment. What's the fastest growth killer?

SPEAKER_01

The owner.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it really is. They get really, don't they?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, they get in their own way. We get it in our own way. I mean, we're humans. We we want something, and then we we just I just see and you know, growth. I think about growth in every aspect, right? Like you want to lose weight, you want a six-pack, right? That's a way of growth. Yes, it's your physical, right? Like, but you want to eat cookies, you want to eat ice cream, and we want pizza and burgers and fries, and something's gotta give, right? Something's gotta give. So most times it's the owner, it's the owner and how they think and how they go about their business, and they're the cat. You will never the business will never outgrow the mindset of the owner. Never you could have a COO, a CFO, a C M O, the CEO better be thinking as big as it possibly could be.

SPEAKER_00

That's right, that's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

There's a cap.

SPEAKER_00

There is a cap. Are you a fan of um peer groups?

SPEAKER_01

I I do enjoy peer groups. I think they have their, there's definitely a lot of value in that as well.

SPEAKER_00

What if discipline wasn't about punishment, but about unlocking your best self? I spent two and a half years writing discipline for greatness, because discipline changed my life. And I know it can change yours too. This isn't a theory. Inside, you'll find real practical steps you can use immediately to focus better, build stronger habits, reduce stress, accomplish your goals, and bring more balance to your life. Whether you're trying to get healthier, improve your career, or simply feel more control. This book gives you the framework. Start today. Grab your copy of Discipline for Greatness at joeypins.com slash book. Thank you. We were part of a period. It completely changed my business because you it's lonely at the top, right? I can't confide in anybody. So now I'm in, you know, we travel once a quarter to a destination somewhere here in the States, and there's 10 of us that are, you know, in the same boat and we get to talk about things. And, you know, there were some that just say, no, I don't ever want to budget. It's fine the way I am. You know, I'll just, you know, why would you want to, you know, they're just small, you know, they think small minus. Well, that's okay, but the the bigger companies don't do that. And that you just have to you just kind of have to swing with that. That's just that's just the way not everybody's gonna want to grow at a certain point.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_00

But how I was at an event recently and my friend was creating some slides and five business killers and he was asking my opinion. And I said, Well, make number five a mirror and you know, have the owner kind of look at themself. And um I don't mean to pick, by the way. And I want people I don't want to kill the entrepreneurial splitter because it's alive and it's well, but it's you know, you're the last one to get paid, and um it it can it can be it definitely can be lonely. Um Rich, is there something you believed firmly in 10 years ago that you no longer believe?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I thought I had to be good at everything.

SPEAKER_00

Whoa, really?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Uh when I started as an entrepreneur, uh, I was, I mean, I was it was sales, right? That was my role. My role was sales. And I had never been in a sales role prior to becoming an entrepreneur. And learning how to do that took time, effort, practice. Like it was very, it was very difficult. And also understanding the emotional regulation of being a business owner, like you're you're controlling yourself, right? You're just leading yourself. Like before you lead anyone, you have to lead yourself well. And sales is very difficult. Now I understand I don't have to be the, you know, I have I don't have to be the best at everything. Like business is a team sport and understanding who are the members of my team that I want to play this game with, right? And what are what am I really good at? And so that's the one thing that really changes, okay. I don't need to work on, you know, branding and marketing and find like just things that I can understand all those things and have a good base level foundation so that I will I mean can I immediately identify they know what they're talking about or they don't, right? I need to have some kind of foundation, but I don't need to be the one to do it, and I don't need to be the one to figure it all out and read all those books, and like I don't, I don't need to be that person.

SPEAKER_00

Very important lesson. Yeah, it was it was it took some time, but we got and again, sales is one of those things where it's just so many people think it's dirty, you know, so many people think it's you know, the used cars, you know, you're selling something that that people don't want, and uh people without sales, you're not gonna grow. So you you still have to, you know, you need to get money and you need to have a service product that's that is valuable. Um you have to look at it that way, you know. Um that's just that you know, when I never give advice, I'm not good enough, Maritza. But the three things I generally say, the three things I generally say with small businesses that turn me around. One is uh adopting an entrepreneurial system. There's EOS, there's the there's many of those. Get one and follow them no matter what whatever one you want to choose. Two is to join a peer group that helped me tremendously, and third is to hire a coach. Don't think that you're humble enough to not be coached. What do you think about those three?

SPEAKER_01

I love them. I would do all three, I've done all three.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So and make sure your coach has a coach because they need it too. Yeah, but I would I agree with all three of those. Very good points.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Tiger Woods had a coach. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01

You know, that and that's the thing is when you become a leader, like when you're a business owner and you're like, I'm the big boss here, right? Like everybody has to answer to me. Right, you need to have someone that holds you accountable. Right. Because if you don't, you just you just start thinking all your crap is you know doesn't smell, you know. It's like, no, I we've got problems too, all of us, right? And understanding there's gotta be someone there that's like your blind spot mirror. It's telling you, this is gonna hit you, right? If you're not seeing it, you gotta check, you gotta watch out for this. And the best people in the world, like you said with Tiger Woods, they all have coaches. Yes, they all have coaches, and so we we know we need someone there to hold us accountable. Gives us the abil accountability is the ability to count, right? Like able to see like what's going on, where's the transparency here? Because we lie to ourselves and we deceive ourselves into thinking we're better than we are sometimes, right? We see that, and so understanding where our deficiencies lie.

SPEAKER_00

I I remember the peer group that I was in, and you know, I said I was gonna reach a certain goal in one quarter, and I didn't even come close. And I was scared flying to this location. I mean, these guys are gonna lay into me, and I know it's bad, but it's really great because they are holding me accountable. And, you know, if I'm gonna say I'm gonna get these goals and I don't, I'm gonna hear it. So that that's just the way it is. And we would have these BS flags when somebody was talking, we could throw up a B, you know, that's BS. We all know it. Stop, stop, you know, and and so again, having you know, having accountability is is uh is really, really important. Here's the other point too I wanted to make, and I I I wonder what your feedback is is that the problem with having early success and having successes is that it tricks you into thinking you can't fail. It's treacherous. It is treacherous.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, it's the worst thing I think could happen to me.

SPEAKER_00

It really is. Yeah, I got some big accounts, and I'm like, well, I'm only gonna get more of these, you know, and then all of a sudden, you know, a year goes by and you don't and you lose one. It's like what happened, you know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I have to say, I have seen that so many times. Especially, and and it's worse when you're young, okay? Early 20s, right? You're in business mid-20s, yeah. Oh, you think you're superhuman.

SPEAKER_00

That's right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And we, you know, the being naive as a young person helps you in business because if you knew how difficult it was, right? You probably wouldn't begin, right? You wouldn't start it.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

But I think it is beneficial to someone for things not to go well and for you to continue. And I have to say, I am more that person. And at first, I'm like, oh my God, things just didn't work for what I felt like forever. And I was I was so frustrated. And I've I've always been a winner. Like in my mind, you know, I'm like, I always like this. I'm, you know, I set my mind to something and I'm gonna achieve it. It may take longer than I thought it was gonna take, it may be more difficult, it may be more challenging, but I'm gonna get there at some point. And so not winning was like it was the most frustrating thing to me because I'm like, this is not who I am, right? But then I, you know, with time and age, right? Mature, you start to reflect and see. I've seen other people right in business that you know, through the years, and man, they made so much money and have done so many things, and then spoiled it. All lost, it just became a waste, yeah, and also horrible for their ego, for their marriage, for their family, because business affects your personal life. And if you think that money's always gonna be there and you don't learn how to steward it, that's a bigger problem, right? If you start learning how to make real good money, but you never learn that if I made $10, you know, I have to, I have to not spend 12. You start to the it becomes a much more difficult game to play when there's a lot more zeros added on to that account. And I've seen that many, many times. And it's just a sinking ship. Eventually it will sink. So I think that I've you know, the people that it's not as easy in the beginning, we uh, you know, I count myself as one of those. Uh it's very difficult for your ego and like self-esteem at first, but in the long run, it's the best thing because you learn perseverance, you learn endurance, you learn how to steward things, right? You you learn how to make ten dollars, you know, 15 and stuff, you know, right? Like you start to think like I need to multiply these things, I need to be, I need to be a multiply, I need to be someone that multiplies my time, multiplies my energy, multiplies my money in some ways that if you're just like, if it's just like raking in at all points and you just don't care and you don't learn stewardship, then hard things come at the end of that. I've seen it many times.

SPEAKER_00

I heard you say something really fascinating, Marissa. And I've been thinking about it, I never heard you say it. Somebody asked you if uh well, I think they asked you what what wish you could have or something. And you said, I wish I could have dinner with my 30-year-old kids who aren't born yet.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I would. I really would. Yeah, I said that because they they they you know, they they asked me the question if you could have dinner with anyone in the world. And I started thinking, that's right. I said, anyone in the world? And you know, I thought about my grandmother, which I never really met, so that's why I was curious, like about my past. But then I'm like, well, even more than my grandmother, because that's already, you know, history, right? She's passed away, never had a relationship with her, is my kids, and I'm I don't have kids, but I'm gonna have kids. So I'm like, because you know, I'm in my 30s, so I tend to think, you know, I've become, you know, when you're in your 20s, you think I'm still figuring things out. I'm still figuring out what I really believe, right? About life, about so many things. I'm still figuring it out and I'm testing things in my 20s to understand where I want to go and how I want to live my life and all these things. But now in my 30s, there's some things that I'm still, you know, open to learning about that I don't know. But like the core of who I am is cemented pretty much at this point. There's things, you know, but like the the core level, right? Like who I am as a human being and how I want to act and who I want, like my husband and the types of friends that I want around me and the kinds of conversations I want to have. I'm pretty certain in that. So I wanted to talk to my kids at this stage because I'm like, I want to know what did, you know, what did I teach them that like stood with them? Because at 30s, they, you know, I'm gonna either reap the rewards of my parenting or I'm gonna suffer through the consequences. And, you know, they're all their own human beings, so they get to choose whatever it is that they want, but I know that I do have an influence and an effect to them. So I know what my mom has taught me. I would want to know what did I teach them as a mom? And I think it's because I'm always thinking about my future, and I do think about my past and how it affects me, but more my future than anything else. And yeah, that was I I long for the day that I get to see how they turn out, I guess.

SPEAKER_00

My daughters are in their 20s, and I marvel. I marvel over them, Marissa. I marvel over such intelligent, beautiful, can you know, contributing to society, uh, people they've become. It's it's absolutely wonderful. Is there a question that you wish more people would ask you?

SPEAKER_01

Not necessarily. I just I enjoy conversations like this. I think that they are deeper conversations. I enjoy deep conversations where I'm getting more out of it than just like what's the weather, right? Like things that are very superficial. And so no, I mean any question really. I I'm not a total open book because I do, you know, like I do like my privacy, but I'm about as transparent as they come.

SPEAKER_00

And there's no particular piece of knowledge that you have that you you wish you could impart on more people and they would ask you about it.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, in regards to business, I wish that people knew the benefit of business is that you get to create something all on your own. And a business is a way of serving other people. So I just wish people were more bold with it. Took more risk when it came to business. I understand business also has to serve your life, right, as the owner. But the types of businesses that I like to help and create, it's a much bigger thing. And so if we can impact and be bold about the decisions and the risks that we're taking, calculated risk, of course, then I think that we would see a bigger fruit, more harvest, more money, more benefits out of the business, like what you were saying with your employees that were talking to you about your grandchildren.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Right? You took a big risk and it paid off. And you never thought, or maybe you didn't at the beginning, thought, oh, I'm gonna be affecting, you know, hundreds of people at least at that point. You didn't think like that, but but you were bold enough to take that risk at first. And I I think if we continue to do that and I'll get comfortable, because that's what I see as well. Get comfortable with the lifestyle. A lifestyle, I have like I had a lifestyle life for a like several years, and I didn't have to work, but I mean, I still don't have to work, but I didn't have to work and I was miserable. I was so miserable with my life. I would do all the vacations, plenty of time with my husband, and I was depressed as depressed could be. There's gotta be some meaning, some fulfillment behind the business. And I talk to plenty of smart, educated, skilled employees, leaders in other people's businesses, and I've heard some of them say, I just I wish I had the courage to become a business owner. And they'll talk to me about businesses that they wish they had, but they're lifestyle businesses, they're businesses that they think could give them joy, that they think could give them happiness. That's not what business is about. It's not about giving you happiness, it's about meaning, it's about fulfillment. Well, who am I serving in this world and how much do I want to impact them? And how do I want to impact them? And so it's like that transition of when your business is also like purpose-driven, but also impact driven. Then I think we need to be more bold with what you know who we go out to talk to. Like even having a podcast is a bold decision. Because most people, I've heard many people that are not business owners or have a small business, and many times they've told me, Oh, I want a podcast. They never try it, they never do it, and they never continue on enough to make it successful. So I just wish that the people that do have those types of businesses understand that you know, to be like Tesla or Elon Musk, you gotta, you gotta go big, right? Otherwise, the impact is not enough. And we're just consumed by businesses that you know, the owner just wants to take a like four vacations a year and maybe fly, you know, private. And like it's just it's not fulfilling. It and we're we're really chasing um emotions, I think, most times with our purchases in business and in life, but meaning and fulfillment is a purpose, is not something that you fulfill one day. Like every day you get up and you want to keep doing it. And I'm blessed enough to have that with my business, but I don't see many business owners around me that have the same thing, and I wish they did.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, the highs and lows. Uh so I started my my business, Marissa, back in the 90s, and I was working way too hard. And just you're you're no stranger to this 14, 16-hour days and uh putting my health in the back seat, and you know, I stopped working out and eating, I started eating poorly. Next thing I know, I'm in front of the doctor. She tells me I'm at 340 pounds. So I had gained all this terrible amount of weight. I knew I was getting heavy, didn't know I was that big. But uh the next thing she told me, you know, changed my life. She says, look, if you don't change this, if you don't lose this weight, you're not gonna see your daughter graduate. So my daughter was just born. So I'm driving home, punching the steering wheel. You know, I can do anything I want with myself. It's no longer about me, Maritza, right? I've got a family now. It's much better. The decisions I make are now impacting a family. Uh a beautiful, beautiful uh girl that I somehow helped bring into this world. And so in the next six, seven months, lost about 130 pounds, kept it off. You can't look at these things as finishing lines, right? These are lifelong changes you have to make. And when I tell people this right away, what's your secret? What'd you do? And I say, look, there's no secret. Discipline, right? Focus, routine, motivation. That's how I lost weight. That's how I keep it off. I lack in a lot of areas. I'm not Mr. Discipline, that's for sure. But that's how I lost it and that's how I kept it off. How does discipline play a role in your life, Maritza Davila?

SPEAKER_01

Well, we have discipline because we are pursuing a goal or pursuing a standard, I would say, which could also be a goal. Like I want to be more, I want to have more self-control. That's a standard, right? That I want to live by. And discipline to me is choosing what matters most over what matters right now. And discipline plays a role in every every part, every decision you make, I think, right? Like what you eat where you go to lunch. Um, if you make time for your spouse, if that relationship is important, right? You chose to marry them, so it mattered at that point. And what how how hard and what decisions I want to prioritize in my business and who I want to hire. Do I need to learn how to teach and how to be a good leader? Like it's it's it discipline is involved in every part of every decision that we make because we're always choosing what matters most to us if we're being disciplined over what matters right now. It has a lot to do with are we choosing urgency, right? Or are we choosing significance in our life? And significance is how long is this going to matter? If I have a conversation with my spouse as an example, and I make it a discipline that we need to, a lot of people say like weekly date nights. I don't do like weekly date nights, I just make sure like I have at least an hour-long conversation with my husband, like once a week, right? Like I need that like for myself. So if I'm making that a discipline, the the relationship is gonna grow. It's gonna, it's we're gonna benefit in business. What are the conversations I'm having with my leadership? Am I giving feedback enough? Am I being clear enough with the direction that I'm giving to my employees? Because if if I can't clearly communicate what it is that they need to do to contribute to the goals of the company, then I'm not doing my job. If I'm not telling them where we're going and giving clarity on direction and feedback. And also, you know, being a good leader where people hopefully want to come to work every day and are not dreading going to work and complaining about work, you affect so many people's lives when you're a business owner. And I think discipline plays into all of that because it's so much easier when an employee pisses you off, right, to yell at them. It's so much easier. But you have to stop and think well, what matters most?

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_01

What kind of a leader? Do I want to be? What kind of culture do I want to reinforce in this company? Over what matters right now, which is I'm up, I'm I'm upset, I'm pissed off, they lost the company a lot of money, whatever, you know, whatever the right situation is. But who am I choosing to be? What matters most over what matters, or like what I want right now, or what I want to do right now. And I think discipline plays into all of that. Business, with your relationships, with what you eat, everything. And your doctor gave you a really great risk, right? Analysis.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

We're always evaluating, like with decisions, the pros and cons of the decision. And at that point, you decided what matters most is I want to be in my daughter's life. Right? I want to walk her down the aisle. I want to see her graduate. I want like I want to be here because why? She matters most. More than all of the effort and sacrifice that it took you day in and day out, week in and week out, that mattered more to you. So the doctor gave you a great way to analyze the result or the outcome that you wanted, and it no longer mattered the sacrifice that you had to take to get there.

SPEAKER_00

So I I I'm hearing that discipline to you is really prioritizing.

SPEAKER_01

And significance, yeah. It's always unlike I think prioritizing is tied. So I I like when I'm thinking about what I'm doing every day, I think about like what's urgent, what's important, and what's significant. And important and significant in my mind can be tied sometimes, depending on what the decision is. So, like in a business, if I'm having a sales call, well, that could be urgent and that could be important. But if I'm teaching someone how to do sales, not only am I fulfilling an urgent and an important task, but I'm also doing something significant. Because if I can teach someone to sell, then I don't have to do it. So it's gonna give me much more time over the you know lifespan of this employee. When I think about discipline, I think it's really tied to the decisions that are priority or important and the significant decisions, which is how long is this gonna impact me for? And typically the things that are most significant take longer. It's it's not, you know, when I'm thinking about strategy for my business or someone else's business, strategy is not something you come up with in like three minutes. It's not a 30-minute task. You have to take it, you're making decisions, you're prioritizing what's most important to the business and where we're going, right? And so it's decision making at this high level and understanding okay, I need to have all the context and I need to analyze the pros and cons, the risk involved with this, and what decision I think can come from that. So discipline, I think, is the same. It's when you're making decisions, understanding is this an important decision or an urgent one, or is this a significant decision? Something I can do right now that will give me more time tomorrow or next week or in a year, or is it gonna make me more money in the future, right? So I guess that's how I see it.

SPEAKER_00

You know, Rich, as I talk to you, I I want to ask the science versus art question because you help business owners. You're very scientific. You have a way, you have an approach, you have SOPs, you have your grow method, but you also sing and you're spiritual, right? Which is a large part of your life. And that's certainly not science. It's more gut, it's more, it's more I I don't know if we want to overall and say art, but it's certainly not science. So when you're making a decision, how much of it is art versus science? Do you ask the gut ever in the beginning or the end if you do?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, in the end. I mean, I think I ask the gut the whole time, if I'm honest. I prefer my gut if I'm going off of naturally who I am. It's gotta feel good most times. But I've learned the science. Well, I am very methodical.

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

My brain works very methodically and process, and if there's structure, I can I can excel in it and building the structure. So that's why it's important to me. But with decision making in business, I like I said in the beginning, if I'm gonna make a decision, I have to get all the context, I have to get all of the information, right? So we're gathering all that data. And just because my gut says yes, I need to find conflicting information because I'm just one person. And I don't know, you know, how the market's gonna affect it, how other people will think about it. I need to think about everyone else's view. That's why I think, you know, having a Fortune 500 company or being in government, like there's decisions that are impacting a lot more people, a lot more stakeholders, and understanding how's this person gonna take it and what are their different views, right? So the art of it in my mind is like the whole time I know what my gut feels, but I have to see numbers. I have to see like just data and feedback. So data and feedback are very important to me because I want to make sure I'm making the right decision. But at the end of the day, I'm not ever gonna have a hundred percent of any decision because I don't know what's gonna happen, right? Like tomorrow, another COVID could occur. Like, I don't, you know, I don't know. I'm not, you know, I'm not God. I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. I don't know if I'm gonna be alive tomorrow, right? So I've got to do with what I have. And at the end of the day, if I if we I would rather make that decision and be the art of what I feel comfortable saying, well, I was wrong. My gut was wrong, but I would rather make that decision backed with data and feedback. But my my gut has to say yes, because if it doesn't, it's it's it's very hard for me because there's some things we can't quantify, right? There's some things that we just know, yeah. Like I was talking to my husband yesterday about someone, and I said, I know this person is a genuine person, and my husband's a great judge of character, and he's like, Yeah, I know she is, and I said, But how do we know that? And we like and um because I I will sometimes I start to learn his process of understanding how do I observe this person and you know all these things, and he's great at that. And he told, and so basically I summed it up too, it's intuition, yeah, it's intuition. Some things I cannot make methodically, like a process of some things we have so much context from our lives of what we've seen in other people and other relationships that we just we don't we we we just know some things you just know without having even knowing how to explain it or decipher it. Um, but other things you can learn, and like what I said with my husband with observing people, right? I'll be like, what do you think about this person? He's great at that. And sometimes they'll tell me I'm still collecting like information. And I'm like, oh, and so then I learned from him telling me that one day, I said, Oh, he's like, you can't you can't know who a person is off one interaction, right? You've got to see them in different situations with different people, um, you know, in different times in their life to really understand, okay, like, do I really know this person? Because just because they act like you a certain way at one point doesn't mean that's who they are in the through line of their life, right? And so there's a science to that, right? Part of it. There's science and art.

SPEAKER_00

Sure. Because you're you're yeah, because you're see you're collecting data, right? You see what they say, you see what they do, etc.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. And and if it changes, right? Because some people, I mean, I know people that be in front of some people, they're a certain way, and then you get to know them a little more up and close and personal, and you realize this is not the same person. I I I like people that are who they are, no matter who's around, right? Because I don't have to double guess. I like we like predictability. We like predictability in people.

SPEAKER_00

Don't like the surprises, yeah.

unknown

No.

SPEAKER_00

When I'm prospecting somebody and they're showing kind of when they're showing a little bit of like narcissistic, uh I get so excited. I get so excited because I know exactly, oh, I'm gonna sell this person. I just gotta make them look good, and this sale is done, right? So when they show their cards a little bit, I love it, right? And there's certain ways that it just comes out, even if you're not fishing for it, right? And and there's other ways where they're kind of a little closer to the chest and they're not showing it. But yeah, if they start using me and I a lot, I say, okay, okay, this is the decision maker. I know it, you know. So it's uh it do I want to be friends with them? Not really, but sure, business colleagues, that'll be great. I know exactly how to, you know, it's gonna be predictable to you. That's very predictable, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But it's it's the it's be it's human behavior.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, right.

SPEAKER_01

It's it's understanding, you know, at this in sales, it's understanding, well, if I'm you know, if I have a dominant personality, then I'm gonna come off dominant, right? It's just understanding I got a mirror, right? So there's nothing wrong with that. It's just what kind of a relationship or what am I allowing within, you know, within my if this is just transactional, sure, right? Now, if now am I gonna allow this person into my life, I mean that's up to everyone to decide. But I I I think, yeah, the understanding the motivations behind why people do the things that they do, their needs is really beneficial in sales.

SPEAKER_00

It's it's it's what we have to listen. We have to find out what the needs are, Maritza, right? We have to find out what the needs are, and then we need to be able to provide something to help. I mean, that's right, that's just part of it. Um, has there been something in the last month or so that you changed your mind on?

SPEAKER_01

Hmm. Change my mind on, yeah, with relationships. So I'm reading this book called Rich Relationships by Selena Sue. And I learned that we can think about clients all day, but as we talked about before, if our business is really gonna grow, we need to learn how to attract the right people to the business. And how do I attract the right talent into my business? So there needs to be something about me that makes that person say, I want to work with Maritza, right? And that's gonna be more beneficial and impactful into my life, but also understanding like um how how close do I want, like the people that I bring on could almost be people that are doing really well as a solopreneur, solo consultant business. And it's like, I don't want, I don't want a me business, I want a consulting firm, right? Full of great consultants, where there's one person that's great at marketing and branding and the great finance person and more ops and people, people, right? Um, just they have their lane and understanding you're gonna get more perspective. And so in the book, I changed my mind of before I've always been very close to my family, very close to my husband, and those were like, you know, some of my top, like top five, right? There's those five people that and I used to think that I had to get around people that were more successful than me because maybe they would change the way that I thought about things, and they do, they do in certain ways. But she mentioned rich relationships are not people that are successful, like that they have money or they have status or something that they could, you know, you can benefit from essentially. It's not about that, it's about people that enrich the quality of your life or your business and that care and support you, right? And so I've met a lot of people that were very successful in their business and in their personal life. Seems like they have a great marriage and are, you know, great parents. I don't know, right? I don't live with them. And I've started to think, well, is that really who I want to surround myself with? Or I'd rather be around people that I also know are genuine and care more about, like they care about me. They want to support me, and it's mutual, right? I do the same for them. And so I've changed my mind a little bit about that because in years prior, I had met a lot of people that were, I guess disappointed me uh at the end of the day, because I care a lot about character and who people are, and that has a lot to do with leadership, but I met a lot of people that were very financially successful, but that was about it. And so it was very disappointing to me to see that. And I now I see, okay, well, I've I've chosen to increase my circle of not just like family and my spouse and maybe like a couple friends, but increase my circle into other people. But I want to make sure that it's deep relationships, but also mutually beneficial relationships where I want the best for them and they want the best for me. So that's something that I've been thinking about the past month.

SPEAKER_00

Valuable lesson. What motivates you?

SPEAKER_01

Aside from you know, what most people probably think, which is like helping your family and the people that you love, just doing a really good job and being useful. Uh, I think a lot about the end of my life. And that probably has a lot to do with my what we talked about in the beginning. And knowing that one day uh when I'm dead, I'm gonna give an account about what I did here on earth. And so what motivates me is for that day, I want to make sure that I put to use the skills, gifts, and abilities that I have been given and that I am productive. Like there's results that come from it uh because it wasn't given to me, you know, to waste it. So that's very motivating to me when I think about all the reasons why I do what I do. Uh I just know there's gonna be a day where I have to give an account. So I gotta think about how I do that, you know, here on earth.

SPEAKER_00

So given that motivation, Ritz, I hear you said family, legacy, um, you know, uh what you said before, I what I hear is impact. So give given those, given that motivation, how do you measure success?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so in my business, uh what I mentioned prior, I'm I measure success by being able to change someone's thinking, my clients because if because, like I mentioned before, if I can change their thinking, I can change their behavior. And at the end of the day, growth requires change. So if I can help the owner think differently, then I have been of service, essentially. Like I've I've I've done what I know I can do, and I measure success that way. I also measure success by I heard this once and I don't know where, but I loved it, which was most people admire people they don't really know that well. I want to be admired by the people that know me very well because that means a lot more because they know everything that's wrong with me, too, right? You get featured, it could be on podcasts, you could speak, you have the big businesses, and the people I don't really know you could be like, wow, but like that doesn't matter to me, truly. It's the people that have seen me in the worst of the worst, can see, you know, all the wrong things that they have to deal with me, right? Like my spouse, and if they can admire me, then I'm you know, I consider that very successful.

SPEAKER_00

Wanna show your love for discipline, inspiration, and the Joey Pins podcast? Now's your chance. Introducing the brand new Joey Pins merch store, where style meets discipline. Choose from premium apparel, cozy hoodies, stylish hats, durable bags, and your new favorite coffee mug, all featuring the iconic Joey Pins. Perfect for podcast fans, discipline enthusiasts, or as unique gifts for friends and family. Every purchase supports the Joey Pins Discipline Conversations Podcast, helping us continue to inspire greatness and promote positive change. Visit JoeyPins.com slash store today and wear your discipline proudly. Joey Pins merch. Wear it, share it, and live it. That's wonderful. It's a great, great pleasure talking with you today. I was so excited when we set this up. I, you know, small businesses are the backbone to the world economy. Um, you know, and we need great leaders and we need people that can help them. Um I really appreciate your time today. People watching and listening, how can they get in touch with you?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, well, they can, I'm on a lot of social media. So Instagram is usually the one that I'm the most in, you know, the big millennial that I am. So it's uh it's just my name, so underscore Maritzadevilla. But if they want to, you know, contact me more, you know, professionally about my business, then I've got a lot of websites, but you could just they could just go to maritzadevilla.com, my name, or businessclarity.co. It directs you to the same one.

SPEAKER_00

I see. I have op360.co. Is that still okay?

SPEAKER_01

Same one. Yeah. It directs you, it's like all gonna go to the same thing, anyways. Yeah, and all four is the same one.

SPEAKER_00

Great pleasure. Next time I'm in the greater uh southwest uh area of Florida. Perhaps we'll get together with our partners and uh have a cup of tea.

SPEAKER_01

That'd be great. I'd love it.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you for having me, Joey.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you for listening andor viewing Joey Pins Discipline Conversations. Please share this episode with one or two of your friends who you think may benefit from the episode. Our website, www.joeepins.com. There you find lots of resources, and you could join our mailing list. Please follow us on all our social media Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Podcast information, the video version of our podcast is on YouTube. Please subscribe. Audio is on all major podcasting platforms. Please follow them. And if you like it, please consider giving five star rating. Would really appreciate that. Thank you again for listening or watching Joey Pin's Disciplined Conversations.