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The Transparent Podcast
The Transparent Podcast
Coach Joe Noonan - Planning, Goals, and the Inside EDGE
Want a candid roadmap for choosing your entrepreneurial path and actually making it work? We sit down with Coach Joe Noonan to explore the real tradeoffs between starting from scratch, buying a business, or stepping into a franchise—and how to pick the lane that fits your goals, budget, and appetite for structure. Joe brings decades of operating experience, a practical coaching toolkit, and hard-won insight into what separates owners who scale from those who stall.
You can reach Coach Joe at 678-596-6479 or by email at Joe.Noonan@Inside-Edge-Inc.com
Hi, my name is Nick Ford, and I am the host of the Transparent Podcast, where we believe in bringing transparency to the world of small business. And this week I'm joined by a guest, Coach Joe. I'll let you introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you, Nick. I uh I'm very honored to be on your podcast this morning. Uh my name is Joe Noonan. I'm a certified professional business coach, uh, executive coach, whatever you want to call me. And uh I have been doing it for the past eight years. It's also my third business. I had a printing company, a marketing agency, which I sold in 2017. And now, um, or at least later in 17, I got certified as a business coach and wake up every morning and they get to change lives.
SPEAKER_00:That's amazing. Yeah, I I uh think it's really amazing that you've had multiple businesses and now you're doing inside edge consulting and working with entrepreneurs. And that was, you know, the the idea behind the podcast was to bring transparency to the world of small business. And what I thought about was just bringing entrepreneurs onto the podcast where they could share their story, you know, how they got started into entrepreneurship and the background of their businesses, and hopefully that would inspire, you know, I call them entrepreneurs, inspire the entrepreneurs sitting on the fence to maybe jump in and and get going on their on their business. And you know, as as someone who works with small business owners all the time, um I, you know, for me, I love watching Shark Tank. And uh these Sharks will, you know, talk to these entrepreneurs, and if they start to smell that the the entrepreneur is going on on the tank and is not fully in the business and they're not committed 100%, or maybe they still have a job or what have you, they tell them no, you need to be all in. You can't do this as a side business, it needs to be your full-time thing. So, what do you what are your thoughts about that? Do you feel like you can be successful having a side business and keeping it that way, or do you feel like entrepreneurs need to go all in?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, really good question because a lot of um professionals say, you know, I'm not happy in my corporate job, and uh I I really love what I do on the side. And sometimes it's what they're doing in their corporate position that they feel they can go and and really do something different and have an impact and maybe provide better service at a, you know, um in an extraordinary uh better price point for for their audience or for their clients, right? So I believe that um there's a time and a place, and timing has to be right because we're balancing our lives. We've got work, we've got life, we've got family, children's children. And I think that's important for everybody to really make that decision, but you gotta say, I'm ready to go now with a high level of confidence. And you know, whether that's 100% or 80%, you know, do you have the financial backing? Do you have the resources that can help you get to that next level to really start a business? And I've done it three times, and so I guess that's why I have gray hair. I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_00:That's funny. Yeah, I think for me, it it depends on the business somewhat. And then it also depends on like if you're going on Shark Tank and you're asking those guys to give you capital, they're gonna expect you to be all in. If you're taking on capital from someone, I think that changes it a lot. Um, but and then there's just some businesses I think can be better suited for like a for a side hustle type of thing. But uh yeah, I think you just need to be clear about what you want the business to be before you you go into it. Like I I was able to start transparent staffing as a side business while I was doing employee benefits consulting. I just the opportunity just worked out for me that way. But I knew when I started it I wanted to do it full-time. I didn't want it to stay a side business. So I worked toward that. Um, and then was able to quit my corporate job and and work for myself, and it's been great. But you know, you as someone who's owned multiple businesses, and it sounds like your previous businesses weren't in the coaching realm. What kind of led you into this business coaching?
SPEAKER_02:I uh I've been a hockey coach for the last 23 years. And uh I worked with the Atlanta Thrashers when they were here in their programs. Um, and then I started over at the Cooler in Alpharetta, Georgia. And I just, you know, I could see lives changing. And whether it was, you know, 16-year-olds, 10 year olds, it didn't really matter. But when you get a chance to impact somebody's life, I thought to myself, I'd love to do this on a professional level. So that's why I got certified as a business coach, because um it's not easy. It really isn't. You know, some people, you know, they hang their shingle and they go, Well, I'm a coach. For me, you had to have um certain criteria. You had to be in the top 3% in sales in your business or in your industry. You had to have at least 10 years of experience, and um, there's just a lot of other criteria that it's just not where you can just start a company. So I had to make sure that I had all of those lined up, which quite frankly was pretty easy because I had had about 25 years of business experience behind me. And so becoming a coach um it's really, really rewarding. Um, I got an email from one of my clients this morning who talked about how he um really appreciated the fact he was getting ready to do a television interview as the CEO of a company. He joined a new has a new partnership with a client overseas, and he said, I'm not sure what to say on this particular TV show. Can you help me? So I gave him some talking points and he sent me an email this morning and he said, You really helped me look good. And that's where I find coaching to be very rewarding.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that has to be just so fulfilling when you get that kind of email. Very cool. Yeah, so working with with entrepreneurs, you know, I'm sure you've seen a lot of different types of businesses and you've been in multiple businesses. And, you know, I've thought about getting into like the franchise world. I've I've I looked into for a while having a side business as uh, you know, having a coffee shop was one, a franchise. I really wanted to bring this Hawaiian coffee uh company into Atlanta. They don't have any Hawaiian coffee shops like it around here, but you know, there's a lot of work that goes into the that exact restaurant type industry, and I it seemed like too much of a distraction. And I think one of the mistakes people make when they do buy a franchise or buy a business is thinking it can run itself and they don't have to be involved in it. That's where I saw them fail when I was I used to work in payroll and I worked with some franchise uh companies and they were like the worst, the worst franchisees are the ones that think that this is gonna run itself, especially a restaurant. You gotta be involved. But what do you think about starting a business from the ground up, like I did with transparent staffing, versus buying a business, an existing business, or buying into a franchise model? Like where do you see the pros and cons in those two different you know avenues, I guess?
SPEAKER_02:Right. Well, I think going back to the first part of your question, Nick, I think the um starting a business on your own, that can be fun, it could be challenging, but you also are in 100% control. Yeah, you get to do what you want, how you want to do it, you can dec you can dictate what the branding looks like. Um when you have a franchise, the the great thing about a franchise is that they already have systems and branding in place. So my first company um was a printing business, and that is just like what you did at Transparent Staff is I started a company and then I just started to use that brand and go out on my own, and people are like, I've never heard of you. So a few years later, um I have a friend of mine that I used to work with who's in Austin, Texas, and he shared that he joined the the uh franchise called Proforma. Performa does printing, they do promotional products and e-commerce solutions. And so since I already had an existing business, I went into Performa because I didn't have to pay anything. I already had a a good chunk of business. I think he had to have uh$500,000 in revenue already, and I just plugged into their systems, into their branding, and it worked out really, really well. Plus, they had a line of credit, so I didn't have to go and every time I had a big project, like my my cost was twenty thousand dollars. I didn't have to go into my savings, pull the twenty thousand dollars out. I would just get a signed purchase order from the client, and then the franchise with their financial ability that was a lot stronger than mine at the time, was really very, very helpful. And then they took a piece of the revenue and I got a piece of the revenue. But I think franchises are a great way to go. And I see a lot of younger people jumping into franchises, which um is really awesome because it's something that they can pass on as a legacy company or something that would um last for many, many years.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah, I think about it with the franchise model where you know you're getting to kind of purchasing the kind of the playbook. Like they've got, like you said, the systems, the processes in place. Usually there's uh a centralized kind of marketing team that can help you, especially with like if you're doing like a grand opening type of thing, they can help promote it. And so you're getting a lot of support. Um, but then there's also the cons of you know, you gotta kind of follow their model if there's not as much flexibility with branding and things like that. You kind of gotta fall into their, you know, way of doing things. Um, but I think I think it's it's a good way to get started in entrepreneurship. And um the other point I'd make too, I think I think you do miss out a little bit when you buy a business or maybe even buy a franchise. You I think you missed out on some learning because when you got to start it all on your own uh and set everything up on your own, you learn a lot, I think. Um that helped me a lot. I think I would have missed some of that if I had bought a business.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. Yeah, that totally makes sense.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Well, so with when you're working now with with entrepreneurs, and I know you've worked with some some uh very successful companies. What do you see as uh for I guess for yourself or for your for your clients, what do you see as the biggest scaling challenges in today's kind of market?
SPEAKER_02:Great question. Um this is a statistic I share often. And the statistic is 93%. 93% of professionals get to their desk Monday morning without a plan for that day, let alone a plan for that week. And so when people engage with me as their business coach, um the one thing that I really um do to hold them accountable is they have to send me their schedule every single week on Sunday night by 7 p.m. And if I don't get it by 7.15, Nick, what do you think I do?
SPEAKER_00:I hope you fall in love with them probably.
SPEAKER_02:I do. I send them a text message, and so if I were to send it to you, I'd say, Hey Nick, I'm really excited to see your income producing activities for the week. And um make sure you get it to me by nine o'clock. Because that's what we agreed on, and this is where accountability goes both ways. So um the fun part about this is that I um hold them accountable to send it to me by Sunday night at 7 p.m. I've done my job at 7.15 and reminded them. So that's the uh the accountability piece, but if I don't get it by nine o'clock, you as my client owe me a$25 gift card. It stings a little bit, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So my accountability piece is you know, I I reminded you at 7 15, and um it's been really fun doing this, and people uh my clients, they think it's um it's important because they know they have to have a really good schedule. So they're being proactive versus reactive. And um, this is where uh and I'll I'll just have a little fun with you here. So I've been coaching for eight years now. How many gift cards do you think I've given away to my coaching clients in eight years?
SPEAKER_00:I don't know, I have no idea.
SPEAKER_02:Big fat zero. It's it's literally on my schedule at 7.15 to and I have all my clients in there, and I just go one by one to make sure that I have their schedule. Takes me maybe 15 minutes to send that reminder, and then I kind of wait and see. But in the last eight few years, I've picked up 17 of those uh$25 gift cards. Nice. So I'm maybe a little nice and give them a little grace. Um, but it's a it's a new habit, right? Yeah, but one of the things that where my clients really find success, and I would encourage any small business owner to do this, is to have a game plan. And when you get to your desk Monday morning, not only for the day, the whole week. So you are proactive, you're focusing in the things that you know you should be doing versus these other distractions and protect your time. It's really important to protect your time.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I think that uh what as far as like trying to have a have a plan each week and holding them accountable to that is super important because, like you said, I believe that statistic, 93% of people don't have a plan going into Monday morning, much less for the rest of the week. You know, uh I I I typically do have a pretty good plan. I have I do a good job of time blocking my calendar and setting aside time for you know revenue generating activity for which for me is you know doing what sales prospecting or recruiting because I you know I get paid if I place candidates that I need to find the right candidates for my clients. But you know, as far as scaling, it's challenging for me because you know I I've had employees in the past um and I've been on my own in the past doing it very pretty much solo, and um just scaling my own time is impossible. So, how do I scale and grow the business without just being able to duplicate myself, I guess. Um so that's something that's an ongoing adventure for me in the recruiting world.
SPEAKER_02:So well, don't feel like you're alone, Nick, because it's really true. A lot of people feel that way, and they're they're not quite sure how to get there. Um, I'm working with uh a business partner right now, there's three of them, and he's 40, one's 50, and one's 65. So they're the 50-year-old and the 65-year-old are closer to retirement and they're operating as three different silos. And so he hired me to help really bring them together as a company so they can start to focus on goals for the company, and quite frankly, exit planning for um the the two gentlemen that are, if you will, the older gentlemen in the business, because they've got to have a plan not only for that day, that week, they've got to have a long-term plan. And I focus a lot on goals and um helping my clients really achieve success. And that's where being proactive is important. Goal setting, we talk about goal setting at least twice a year because without a goal, it's there's nothing there. There's nothing that you can measure.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I I agree. I'm big on goal setting for sure. And you know, speaking of having goals, um, I love studying successful people. And you know, I've I listen to a lot of uh motivational type speakers and things like that, like you know, Tony Robbins or there's a guy that my granddad used in his company, um, called Ernest Nightingale and uh Art Williams and some of those motivational speakers to business people. And so, you know, when you look at the you know, I don't know what the statistics is, but so many small businesses fail in the first five years. I think it's you know more than half of them. Um but what do you think separates the people who succeed in business from the people who ultimately fail? And for me, uh the goals is a big part of it, but what are your thoughts on it?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, um, you are 100% correct, Nick. Having really good, clear, focused, achievable goals is important because now you've got something to measure, right? So, for example, I have a weekly goal, and that weekly goal is I call it 50, 10, and 3. The 50 is I make 50 outbound calls every week. Of those 50, I know I'm gonna make lead voicemails, I want to have 10 conversations, and of those 10 conversations, I want to get those prospects to a point where we can help them uh introduce them to a discovery call and let them know what coaching is all about. So I offer no fee, 60-minute session, and most people walk away with three to five actionable strategies from that, and that really helps them. And I always tell them, I said, I'm not gonna sell you coaching. But after our 60-minute events together, I want you to reflect and say, gosh, this is what I learned working with coach Joe Noonan. I can in an hour, I can only imagine if I've spent more time with him. And that's where I think the goals um and really understanding in visualization is something that I work on with a lot of my clients is to say, visualize where you're gonna be a year from today, five years, ten years. What does that look like? Well, I don't know is the answer. I said, I know, right? So this is where we really focus on having long-term goals. Long-term goals are just as important as short-term goals, but it's about activity that influences results. That's where I go back to that 50, 10, and three. Because if I don't make those 50 calls, I have zero activity. But because I do make those calls, I get to have engagement and conversations with business owners about coaching and and maybe some of their pain points.
unknown:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, absolutely. No, that's that's great. Yeah, I think you know, having goals is just so important. And, you know, um, they're one of the motivational speakers that I really like. I have uh I have one of his um like podcasts posted on the transparent podcast on Spotify, but Ernest Nightingale and his his thing is the strangest secret. If you haven't listened to it, it's really fascinating. But um the main point he makes is that you'll he believes that you'll become what you think about. And so if you're consistently thinking about goals, then and you think about it every day, then you're going to eventually get to that goal because you're constantly thinking about it and you're going to become what you think about. And so, you know, just I think having goals is the biggest thing that separates successful people from unsuccessful people. Because, like, going back to the beginning of the conversation, having a plan in place and having a plan to work toward goals that's going to lead to success. There's no way that it wouldn't lead you to more success than if you didn't have a plan and didn't know where you're going.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly. And and think about this. And most professionals that I work with are married, and I say, Did you ever envision yourself being married? And most people go, Well, sort of. Did you ever envision yourself having children? And sometimes it just happens, right? But this is where visualization can be really powerful. And then people start to smile and they recognize then they go, That really makes sense.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Talk a little more about the visualization.
SPEAKER_02:How can people kind of implement that visualization is um it's part of goal setting. And I guess the best way to really look at it is to break it down into timeframe. We've all heard of the term smart goals, being really specific, measurable, attainable. And I have two for R. It's reviewable and um oh my gosh, I forgot the the other part of it, but the your goals have to be reviewable. You have to look at them. And then the last one is T, which is time sensitive. Okay, you have to have a deadline. And so this is one of the things where we talk about deadlines, where it's one year, five years, ten years down the road, and visualization can help you really find clarity. And it's not about being perfect, it's about making progress. Again, one of my favorite sayings is you know, uh progress over perfection. And this is where a lot of people stop in their businesses, getting to that next level, they go, it has to be perfect, I have to wait for the it's gotta be the right time. Well, the right time sometimes is never gonna roll around. Yeah, and I hear that often when people don't want to invest in professional coaching because they say, Well, I need to wait a couple of months because I need to get a couple more clients. I'm like, this is where I can help you. What's your goal? Yeah, how are you gonna get there? I ask a lot of tough questions to help them really move that needle forward, and sometimes visualization is part of that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think that's great. Yeah. Being able to kind of visualize where you're going, I think is is very important and critical to success. Um and yeah, I think that's great that you work with your clients on that. Um, yeah, I mean, so now as a as a business owner, and you've been a business owner for a long time, so I'm sure it's changed depending on what kind of business you're in. But one of the things I struggle with is how where to spend my time. What where is my time most valuably spent as an owner of a business? So how do you how do you figure that out? It sounds like you've got a pretty good structure of how you spend your week, but how do you decide where your time is best spent?
SPEAKER_02:So I have a process that I go through with all of my coaching clients, and it's usually very early on in our engagement, and it's breaking down your activities, right? So again, going back to that 50, 10, and 3, do I make all 50 calls in one day? No, I don't. So I actually time block it. I have three different segments uh blocked off in my calendar, and sometimes I make more than 50. And that's okay because I said it earlier, but activity influences results. Okay. So if I only made 22 calls, I only have 22 opportunities. But since I make 50 every single week, I'm trying to spread out my brand, let people know the value of coaching. And not everybody's gonna be open to it, and that's okay. But those that are really start to see the value of how professional coaching can and change their life, not only in their personal life, but in their professional life as well. So getting to that next level is challenging, but you have to figure out what your activity is today. Where are you spending your time? And break it down into different blocks. You know, this is um where I really generate most of my revenue. You know, call that your A level, where it's um face-to-face meetings with prospects and clients. You know that you're going to gain revenue from those opportunities. Networking might be an A level. Okay. We also have paperwork, payroll, we got to pay our vendors. That's probably a C level. So put those into different buckets and then really examine. And I I call re-engineering. If you put it into your schedule, you know it has to get done. And most of the time, nine to five is where we need to spend a lot of our time on that A-level activity versus that C level activity. Because quite frankly, the C level activity is not going to generate revenue, but it's still part of our business, things that we have to get done. So that's my encouragement to the audience is to really look at where you're spending your time currently and then put it into your schedule. Really block off the time for those things that are creating revenue for you.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Yeah, I think doing an assessment of your your of your time and what is what is revenue generating activity versus non-revenue generating activity and and where can you realign those so that they're going to be the most productive use of your your day or your week. So yeah, and I I think that's something that that uh any business owner or really anyone in the corporate world could do, you know, especially if you're in sales, because it's all about revenue generating activity if you're in sales. Um that gets beat into us. My I I don't know if I share this with you, but my degree was actually in professional sales, so that was kind of unique. There's not a lot of sales programs, which I think there needs to be more of them at different colleges in the business departments.
SPEAKER_01:But I would agree.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, because so many people come out of the business department with like a management degree or a marketing degree or something like that, and so many of them are gonna go into sales type roles, and uh there's not a really a sales degree at most schools. I think the only one I know of right now is well, I where I went to Harding, they don't have it anymore, which I was disappointed when I found that out. But I think Kennesaw State has a sales degree. Um, but I haven't heard of them in many other places, so yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I'll I'll share a very brief story with you is that my college roommate is a veterinary doctor, and he loved being a vet. But when it came to the business side of his business, he actually went out very early on, and he um lives are just outside of Louisville, Kentucky. And he went, delivered a calf, came back and goes, that family was so nice. And his wife very fortunately was running the books and the invoicing and everything else and said, Great, did you pick up the$800 to deliver the calf? He goes, No, they were just a really nice family, and I felt I really enjoyed meeting them and delivering their calf. And she's like, No, you have to make sure that you focus. And and this is how we generate revenue is you know, you were gone four hours to do this.$800 is$800. So he literally had to go back and say, sorry, you owe me$800 for delivering your calf. But it was a life lesson for him because it was a being a veterin is his passion.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, and it's it's hard sometimes to separate the passion from the business, you know. But uh it's great that he was in a business where he was that passionate about it, though, but still have to still have to make money. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02:Because you know, you're the expert, right? He's the expert, he's the veterin. You know, they're farmers and they don't know how to deliver calves. So you know, call in the expert. You're the expert in the staffing industry, right? That's why people work with you. They they know like and trust you, and they feel like, you know, gosh, you know, Nick has delivered before. I love his approach, I love everything that you've done for me, and that's why they keep coming back because of the value that you add to that relationship of being that expert.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. Yeah. Well, so uh if you're you know looking at the the people, the audience listening in, and um, there's people out there that are thinking about getting into a small business or thinking about starting maybe a side business, what kind of encouragement would you give the the entrepreneurs that are in the audience versus the entrepreneurs?
SPEAKER_02:No, I like that. Um, I would say have conversations with people that have done it. I I actually had a great conversation with my father when I was 28 years old. That's when I started my first business. And I said I'd really like to start a printing company. And my dad was always in corporate America, sales, sales management. My dad looked at me and he goes, Go for it. And I was shocked. But it really encouraged me. And this is where um finding a mentor, finding a coach, finding somebody that can hold you accountable. We have whether it's weekly, bi-weekly meetings, to help you move that needle forward, to get closer to that reality of being an entrepreneur, to starting a business. There's also great resources out there too. Score.org. I don't know if you know what score is, but it's a great resource. It's a government agency, they're all over the country. It stands for Service Core Retired Executive. Service Core Retired Executives. If you've never done a business plan, you can go to the Score website, you can download a template for a business plan. That's a great way to get started.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And then you look at it and you say, does this make sense for me?
SPEAKER_00:Right. Absolutely. Yeah. What I would say is just take the first step. You know, if you're if you have an idea that you want to pursue as a as a business, test the market. You know, see, you know, if you can find someone that could use that service and and give maybe give it away for free just to see getting that first test client to be able to tell you, yes, it's what's valuable to me. Or maybe you find out no, it's not valuable and it's not a good business, and then maybe move on to something else. But I think just uh taking that first step is just as easy as sitting on the idea. So why not? Why not take the first step and and get the juices flowing and the entrepreneurial juices going, you know? So exactly. But uh well, tell us a little bit more about uh Inside Edge and coaching and where we can find you and find more information.
SPEAKER_02:Awesome. Thank you. Um so the best way to reach me is you can um send me an email, um, find me on LinkedIn, and I'll share that information. Uh on LinkedIn, I am Coach Joe Newton, N O O N A N. And that's just part of my branding. Uh, the name of the company is Inside Edge Consulting and Coaching. And coaching is really the brand. And butter of what we do. I'm based in Alpharetta, Georgia. And um, you know, welcome phone calls. So my phone number is Area Code 678-596-6479. And I'll just tell you, Mondays and Tuesdays are my coaching days. A lot of times I don't get back to you until the end of the day, but I'm very focused and very disciplined in helping entrepreneurs really achieve success. And um I I say that because my average client average grows their business within 12 months 27.7 percent. And ask yourself that question. If I could grow my business that much, would it be worth investing? And that's why professional coaching is 100% tax deductible in all 50 states. Don't look at it as an expense, look at it as an investment. In fact, I have a coach as well. Sounds crazy, but my coach is Jerry. He lives out in Seattle, and we meet every other Friday.
SPEAKER_00:That's great. So you and the coach coaching. Absolutely. That's great. Well, uh, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast. And I'll leave uh links to uh your website and your contact information in the show notes so people can find you. And uh yeah, thank you so much for being on the podcast.
SPEAKER_02:Nick, it's been a pleasure, and uh I appreciate you. And uh the good news is I get to see you every Thursday at our BNI meeting.
SPEAKER_00:So I will see you later this week. I'll see you bright and early, I guess, tomorrow. So yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you, my friend.
SPEAKER_00:All right, thank you.