Friends from Wild Places

From Lemonade Stands to Global Networks: An Entrepreneur's Journey

• Shireen Botha/Tanya Scotece ft Clayton Hicks • Season 5 • Episode 16

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Clay Hicks shares his entrepreneurial journey from losing everything to creating the global H7 Network, a relationship-focused business networking platform operating in 22 countries worldwide. Through personal stories and strategic insights, Clay reveals how prioritizing relationships over immediate outcomes creates more predictable business success while addressing the unique challenges entrepreneurs face.

• Founded H7 Network 17 years ago after experiencing significant professional and personal losses
• Developed his relationship-focused philosophy: "When you focus on relationships and not the outcome, the outcome becomes more predictable"
• Started entrepreneurial ventures at age 12 with his own landscaping business
• Currently owns six different businesses with H7 Network being his primary focus
• Expanded H7 Network from members in five states to 22 countries since the pandemic
• Created the H7Network blog featuring "Networking 101" content about relationship building processes
• Shares strategies for developing trusted relationships that create predictable business opportunities
• Views H7 Network as "a vehicle for my purpose in life" rather than just a business

Clay Hicks


Tune in next week for part two as we continue our conversation with Clay about the H7 Network and the power of relationship-based networking.

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Voiceover:

Tales from the wild, stories from the heart. A journey into the mind and soul of fired up business professionals, where they share their vision for the future and hear from a different non-profit organization every month as they create awareness of their goals and their needs. Dive into a world of untamed passion as we join our host, Shireen Botha, for this month's episode of Friends from Wild Places.

Shireen Botha:

So awesome. Welcome back listeners. You are listening to Shireen from Friends from Wild Places. I am your virtual boutique bookkeeper and QuickBooks advisor. If you are thinking about getting a personal or virtual assistant to handle your business books and you think that might be a smart move, well, think again. It's a classic case of jack of all trades but a master of none. While they may juggle many tasks, they lack the specialized knowledge needed to do that. Accurate bookkeeping. Outsource your bookkeeping to a skilled professional with experience in your industry is the way to go. Gain peace of mind, knowing your finances are handled accurately and in compliance with local tax laws. Invest today. Don't settle for less. If you want to know more, go check me out at www. shireensbookkeeping. com and allow me to keep your books clean so you don't have to Welcome back again. You are listening to Friends from Wild Places. I am Shireen. My co-host is Tanya. Tanya, would you like to share with the listeners a little bit about our subscription and our extra content?

Tanya Scotece:

Sure. So good morning, good afternoon or good evening listeners. My name is Tanya Scotece, co-host of Friends from Wild Places, and we have a subscription for as little as $5 a month. You can get kind of behind the scenes, up to date information, unedited raw material, right from the heart, and if you have a topic that you would like Shireen and I to dive a little bit deeper into, please reach out to us. We can be reached at all different forms of platforms. Shireen will go over that in a little while and we put out a featured guest each month and I will turn it over to you this morning, Shireen, to introduce our special guest, Clay Hicks.

Shireen Botha:

That's awesome. Welcome, clay Hicks. Yes, this is Clay Hicks. This is our guest for our series for the next few podcasts. We're very excited. He is an innovator and entrepreneur with a magnetic passion for developing professional, trusted relationships. Ever word-of-mouth marketing platform in the formal business networking organization world, as the master field behind the transformative H7 network founded in 2008, clay stands as a cornerstone for empowering the underrepresented, the dreamers, the doers, the relentless entrepreneurs, the sales mavens striving to rewrite their destinies while working alongside other professionals that support their word of mouth marketing efforts. Imagine a world where your business relationships transcend borders, where support and community are not just words but actions. Yes, please. This is a world Clay envisioned and brought to life through the H7 network. It's more than a platform. It is a movement, a global phenomenon, where business ties are forged in the most profound ways, fostering not just growth but strong connections. Welcome, clay, it's so good to have you on the show.

Clayton Hicks:

Thank you guys for having me Really appreciate it. Thank you.

Shireen Botha:

Awesome, awesome. Yes, we have had a few different networking businesses Tanya and I can share with you. They've been lovely people. We've tried to get BNI the mastermind behind BNI on, but unfortunately we haven't had the opportunity to do that. But we've had other master networkers, like AmSpirit. He's been on.

Shireen Botha:

So what we really want to do today is put out a couple of differences, you know, between the platforms that are out there. So I'm excited to give the listeners another option, something else to look at when it comes to networking their business, networking themselves and marketing themselves and getting themselves out there and to build that network that's so important to scale and grow your business. And we've been talking a couple of my business partners and referral partners. We've been talking about the growth mindset, which is actually so important, and I think if a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners could just break out of the old mindset and get into that growth mindset, I feel like a lot of business owners will see quite a a big change in their business and how they run their business. So, right before we get into the deep darks and glorious and the happies of um h7, I do have a interesting topic that I know the listeners know that tanya and I are quite the enthusiasts when it comes to true crime. It's no, it's no. Yeah, we love true crime. Um, tanya has a background in forensics, it's just, you know, we enjoy watching YouTube and some of the criminal channels there, and right now I've been watching Karen Reid.

Shireen Botha:

I don't know how much you are aware of this case. It's quite a recent one, yeah, since it just happened, I think in 2022, which is quite recent. So basically, listeners, quick lowdown if you don't know, karen Reid is on trial for alleged murder of her boyfriend, boston police officer, john O'Keefe, in January 2022. She is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The prosecution alleges she intentionally struck Akif with her SUV after a night of drinking. Reid denies the charges and claims she is being framed by law enforcement.

Shireen Botha:

The first trial ended in a mistrial and a second trial is currently underway. She says that they decided to go from the bar to a party that was happening at one of Akif's colleagues' friends' places and when they arrived there, there wasn't anybody there, no kind of sign of some kind of a party. So apparently they discussed it and he was going to go inside to check if there actually was a party going on and apparently he went into the house and they never came out, according to her, and she was upset and angry and she was like, oh, I'm going home and she just went home. So lots of interesting bright sides, lots of different stories here, but nevertheless, I think the biggest question that I wanted to ask you two interesting both sides, lots of different stories here, but nevertheless I think the biggest question that I wanted to ask you two was do you think Karen is innocent or do you think she's guilty? So, clay, what do you think?

Clayton Hicks:

So, based on what I understand about the story, I believe that she's guilty.

Shireen Botha:

Why do you think that? Because I believe that she's guilty. Hmm, why do you think that?

Clayton Hicks:

because there's from what I've read, there's some discrepancies. It's already been to a mistrial and I think at this time, from what I understand so far, I believe that they don't have the evidence though. So that's where I'm going to end.

Shireen Botha:

No, no, you're definitely on that side and I can understand why. Tanya what about yourself?

Tanya Scotece:

You know I've been following this pretty diligently Not the first one, the second one, that's obviously ongoing and so at the end of the day, you know, did she? Did it intentionally happen? So I based it on the on the autopsy findings his body. You know, there's very odd situations around there the dog rehoming the dog If you see the autopsy photographs that were shown, the fact that she supposedly ran him over with her SUV, left the scene and then all of these folks, as far as that, were there, the snowplow person to see. Did you see the body? Didn't you see the body? There's a six foot one man or so on the front lawn and nobody saw him. I don't know.

Tanya Scotece:

To me there's so much discrepancies on the prosecution side Whether or not it happened, I don't know. I'm really leaning towards. I mean, I know there's a lot of conspiracy theories out there and especially when you see the video with Brian Higgins returning to the police department at 1.30 in the morning, supposedly to move the cars, and he's on video there was no cars moved and he's back and forth in the hallway on the phone. Claims not to be on the phone. So I'm going to lead with it. It's not that I'm saying that she didn't do it, but I just think the prosecution has so many inconsistencies. So if you had to ask me, you know, is she going to get convicted? I'm going to say no, just based on all of the inconsistencies.

Clayton Hicks:

But we'll see yeah, I agree with that, that's. You said it much better than I told you, but uh, that that's where I'm. You more or less said what I was saying or suggesting.

Shireen Botha:

I agree, I think it is. It's so strange. I mean, at first I thought to myself oh my gosh, you know it sounds, she's definitely guilty, there's no ways about it. But then I was really the more into the story I got, the more was like wait, hold on what, what? This is just getting more twisted and more interesting as we go along. Um, so I'm now leaning in the opposite direction than how I started out, but it's going to be so interesting how, you know, this all turns out. So I'm glued to the screen. I'm glued, we'll see Awesome. So yes, let's go on to the quote of the day. We have a very special quote from Clay Hicks. When you focus on relationships and not the outcome, the outcome becomes more predictable. Now, clay, was that you that said that, or did you get someone else and then take that on as your favorite quote?

Clayton Hicks:

no, that's, that's mine, that's mine gosh, that's amazing.

Tanya Scotece:

That's amazing folks.

Clayton Hicks:

Yeah, I wrote a. Many people kind of want to know what it means and it's so versatile. Okay, so it's extremely versatile. I did write a blog about it, I did explain it, whatever, but it's and I always try to put the hyperlinks in every message I send or whatever, so people can learn more about it. I put the hyperlinks in every message I send or whatever, so people can learn more about it.

Clayton Hicks:

But essentially, most people are entrepreneurs anyway, are focused on the business, like they have to grow the business, and so, from a strategic standpoint the quote comes from a strategic standpoint where, if you do focus on the relationships Okay, so, like, what I mean is is like, focus on relationship with your prospect, focus on relationship with your center of influence, you're trying to create a trusted relationship with any trusted relationship. If you focus on the relationship, that I'm just suggesting that because if you, if you look, if you look too far around the corner and you're like, oh well, if me and Tanya do business together, I'm going to make a ton of money, blah, blah, blah, if that's your attitude, then you're missing the strategic component where, hey, me and Tanya can work together and we can both benefit and both do better because we value the relationship that we have. So that's where that comes from, I love it, I love it, I love it.

Shireen Botha:

That's amazing, clay. Thank you very much for sharing that. So that is the quote of the day listeners. So I'm excited to get really into this. But first, clay, please just tell us and the listeners a little bit about your background, who you are.

Clayton Hicks:

Yeah, sure. So I'm an entrepreneur, I'm a man of faith and I'm a family man. Okay, so we'll talk about my family first. So I have five children my wife and I do and none of them are children anymore, they're 19 or older. We have two grandchildren and we adore our family. You know, adore our family. So I love spending time with our family, things like that, doing stuff, my family I was an only child growing up, you know. So, like having a big family was always something I dreamed of, and so to have that is a big deal, you know, it's just a big deal for me. I'm very, very grateful man of faith, I lean into my relationship with him for success in my life and in business, and he's brought me through a lot. Brought me through a lot as an entrepreneur. We all deal with a lot of different stuff, lots of hills and valleys, and when 27, I decided I no longer wanted to do that by myself anymore. So that's where that came from.

Clayton Hicks:

And so that's a little bit by my feet as an entrepreneur. I love being an entrepreneur. I love it.

Shireen Botha:

I love the impact.

Clayton Hicks:

it makes the opportunity for impact. I technically own six businesses right now. That's not going to shrink. So I just love business and I'm not a, you know, I'm not the CEO of all those companies either, you know. So just want to kind of clarify that and so so I have great partners that run business with us, but H7 is my main career. That's what, that's what brought me here. You know I started that the longest, the longest ago. So I've had that for 17 years and I've gone through a lot of hills and valleys with H7, with markets and COVID and all this stuff. You know, and you know, to be able I'm really proud to say that like you know, when the pandemic was happening, you know we had groups, members in five states of America and five years later, you know we have members in 22 countries. You know, like that's a, that's a, that's a big deal. And so I value my relationships inside the community, community, because just of that alone there's a number of relationships that I'm so thankful to have, because it's a little bit by myself.

Tanya Scotece:

Wow, wow. I have a question, clay. So are you born and raised in Ohio? Just a little bit about your background.

Clayton Hicks:

Yes, ma'am, I actually live up the street from where I grew up too. I've lived in this town. I'm 47. I've lived in this town all but eight years of my life and in those eight years I lived 10 minutes away once and 20 minutes away the next time. I actually own my parents' house. My dad stays there, he pays the bills and stuff and we use it as a transition house and all kinds of stuff for our family and stuff. It's a really cool opportunity.

Tanya Scotece:

But I dreamed. Wow, so you manifested it. You manifested just into a reality.

Clayton Hicks:

That's wild 16 years old. This, where my house is, was a farm and they started, they broke ground when I was 16. I'm like oh man, those are nice houses. I didn't grow up with much you know, have one question.

Tanya Scotece:

So it's so funny because Shireen and I have been doing the podcasts monthly since the pandemic. We actually met during the pandemic and I'm always fascinated by entrepreneurs because for me it is like the farthest thing from my radar and I just always admire. So I just got to ask you right off the bat what was your first business that you either you know, maybe as a child, like you know, did you have lemonade stands? You know, like, what did you do? Like what was the first business that you actually can remember having?

Clayton Hicks:

Okay, well, I did have a lemonade stand. I did sell lemonade. Yes, I did. It's rare that I talk about that, though. The big one was when I was 12 and I had my own landscaping business. Like, I cut grass and stuff, and I remember in the local grocery store I had my first piece of marketing, so I had to, I had to draw it, I had to draw it on a piece of paper, right, and then my mom took it to get it copied, copied, paid 10 cents a black and white copy, or whatever. You get it copied, copy, pay 10 cents a black and white copy or whatever. And I took them. And I took them in different businesses and stores and they let me put the tape on it and put it up there. And yeah, I was 12 years old.

Tanya Scotece:

There's no question in my mind that it's definitely like a genetic. So you know we're going to get into your story and everything. But I'm just always fascinated how you know it's. It's a different mindset and and you know like a little bit about my background like I definitely like hard worker, accountable, love to be a leader in my field, but the entrepreneurial side is just as no interest at all, like zero, and so I'm always just fascinated. You said, like you own multiple businesses. I mean that's just wow's just wow, amazing. So all right, I'll turn it back to Shireen it is funny.

Shireen Botha:

I mean, I'm a I'm a business owner now, but I'm. I wasn't like you, clay, I wasn't selling lemonade, trying to come up as a little young entrepreneur slash business owner when I was seven and this is late in life where it came about and I decided to to do my own thing and start a business. Uh, if you had spoken to me 10 years ago, um, and you said to me why don't you start a business? Should we not be like no man? Are you mad? That's too much effort, don't even want to think about it. But now I'm saying to myself why didn't I do this earlier? What was I waiting for, you know? So that's very exciting.

Clayton Hicks:

I think a lot of people are just waiting on belief in themselves that's so true.

Shireen Botha:

Um clay, before we move on, just because you mentioned that you had a blog. I know we're going to put a lot of your information in the show notes so that the listeners can seriously reach out to you, and all of that. But what, where? What is your blog?

Clayton Hicks:

it's uh, it's h7networkblog, okay, and so the blog is broken into two sections or two main categories. One One, our events, so think PR. Like I said, it's events that we're putting on, or we just finished up our anthology, series became bestsellers, all that good stuff. And then the other part is what we call Networking 101. And inside of Networking 101, I have so much content that is around the relationship building process. That's the core of everything that I discuss.

Clayton Hicks:

The relationship building process includes the actual development of the relationship, the sustainment of it and all that comes with that. And so the communication, the agendas, the templates, the things that make a relationship at least a networking relationship or referral partner or what we call champion relationship that you can create more and more opportunities for yourselves more predictably.

Shireen Botha:

Nice, nice. I love that Education. You've got to better yourself as an entrepreneur, as a business owner. You always got to continue growing. You don't know everything. There's always something that you can improve on. Um, and the other thing that I wanted to ask you is you know, being a business owner and an entrepreneur, your first thing is people either create or invent a product, or they go into the service industries. They sell their services, they contract. Whatever the case may be, you decided to start a networking business, which is very much a people kind of relationship. It's very specific between entrepreneur to entrepreneur, business owner to business owner. Um, what? How did you come to that business idea?

Clayton Hicks:

well. So I had had a back in 07, I had had a lot of success. Actually, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go a little bit deeper, okay, so back in 07 I was a single parent raising my two little girls. I had full custody, the whole shebang, and so at that time I had just recently lost everything, including the marriage. So in my early 20s I was wildly successfully fast and then lost it all.

Clayton Hicks:

Okay, as an entrepreneur and my wife hates it when I say this, but you ain't really lived you lost everything at least a couple times, at least once. You know, you got to really go through that to appreciate life, you know. And so at that time it was kind of a dark time, it was scary, it was all these things, and I was alone. My mom died like it was just bad dark time. It was scary, it was all these things, and I was alone. My mom died Like it was just bad. I didn't have any siblings.

Clayton Hicks:

So who am I going to talk to about business? By the way, entrepreneurs like true entrepreneurs man, it's really difficult to talk to regular job. You know people in your family. They all do certain things and it's hard to describe. And it's hard to describe and it's hard to relate. So those things are tough and so I needed to find a. I needed to find people to work with I mean, that's really what it came down to.

Clayton Hicks:

And I found a networking group. It did very well. After seven months it shut down, kept the money, the whole shebang. They want to make more money and while some of the people I've met along the way more money, well, some of the people I've met along the way you know, for the next six or seven months I was like on this journey trying to figure out what to do next. And so I went to this networking group and again there was some kind of hitch to it, like it was tied to an MLM or it was tied to something else, and the person putting it on really didn't take the business serious around the networking. And so I got really frustrated and I went to that meeting and I get frustrated.

Clayton Hicks:

I talked to my guy, my close friend, or used to be very close friend, larry. I said do you think I could start up a networking group? I kind of think I can, I think I want to, and he's like, yeah, you should. And so I collected him and developed relationships with four other people and the idea was hatched and it was born and I've been doing it ever since. But why I still do it has a lot to do with my unique journey of one-to-ones and how I built all these relationships. So age seven is now a vehicle for my purpose in life, so everything's just kind of evolved from that

Tanya Scotece:

tune in next week for part two from friends from wild places

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You've been listening to friends from wild Places with Shireen Botha.

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Be sure to subscribe to the podcast from the links to catch every episode and unleash your passion.

People on this episode

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Shireen Botha

Host
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Tanya Scotece

Co-host
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Clayton Hicks

Guest

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