Good Neighbor Podcast: Cooper City
Bringing Together Local Businesses & Neighbors of Cooper City
Good Neighbor Podcast: Cooper City
EP #281: Christa Barone with Wicked Wisdom Consulting
Unleash the power of expert guidance with Christa Barone of Wicked Wisdom Consulting as she sheds light on the art of balancing business operations and personal passions. As a fractional COO and operations consultant, Christa offers a treasure trove of insights for overwhelmed entrepreneurs eager to rediscover the joy in their ventures. From tackling the intricacies of marketing and social media to the necessity of a trusted professional network, Christa's advice is a beacon for those navigating the turbulent waters of small business growth.
Embark on Christa 's personal transformation from a director of operations to the founder of her own consulting business. Her journey is a testament to the courage and adaptability required to leave the corporate world and thrive as an entrepreneur. Christa shares candid reflections on the freedom and fulfillment of choosing one's clients and setting one's schedule, along with the deep-rooted community ties that have enriched her journey. Her story is a compelling blueprint for anyone contemplating the leap into entrepreneurship.
But success isn't just about business—Christa 's life on her hobby farm, TropiCountry Acre, underscores the importance of balance. Raising goats and chickens, and embracing mindfulness practices, Christa exemplifies how entrepreneurial success can coexist with a rich personal life. From local events at Botanica Organica to practical hiring advice, Christa provides a holistic view of what it means to thrive both professionally and personally. Tune in for actionable insights and heartfelt wisdom from a true advocate for entrepreneurial empowerment.
Call: (954) 663-0566
Website: https://wickedwisdomconsulting.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christabarone
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wickedwisdomconsulting
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wickedwisdomconsulting
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Jeremy Wolf.
Speaker 2:Hello, hello, friends, family, great community, great universe. We are back with another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, of course, jeremy Wolf. You know, let's be real. Starting a business it's tough. Running a business is also tough and I speak with a lot of local small business owners who struggle with scaling their business. From putting the right systems in place to streamline their business to getting the right employees, to just kind of checking off items on the never-ending to-do list is always a challenge for businesses. So when I saw our next guest post on I think it was Cooper City Buzz she spoke to that with what she does and she lives here in the community, so I figured I would reach out. I think she could be a valuable resource to many entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and local businesses out there. So today I am here with Krista Barone and Krista is with Wicked Wisdom Consulting. Krista, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much and thank you for having me. That was a great introduction.
Speaker 2:I'd like to roll out the red carpet for our guests here.
Speaker 3:I can tell.
Speaker 2:So I'm excited to get into this, because, I mean, everything I just said applies to me as well. As a business owner, I struggle with many of these things on my end as well, so I'm interested to learn more about your business. So why don't we start there? Tell everybody a little bit about Wicked Wisdom Consulting, and then we shall proceed accordingly.
Speaker 3:Sure. So Wicked Wisdom Consulting. I kind of have two sides of it. One side is the fractional COO side and that's where I'm really helping people run their business so that they can get back to focusing on why they started their business. So whether it's to work directly with clients, sell a product, run a store, whatever that might look like. The other side of it is Ops Consulting, which is more of project-based consulting. So those projects that have been building up on someone's to-do list that they don't have the time for but they really need to be the ones to do it. So they need someone to take care of it that's going to have expertise, that's going to do it efficiently and that's going to have the know-how to just get it done without having to ask a million questions, without having to have their hand held, just get it done. So the business owners again can focus on doing what they got into business to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that Because, again, that that tends to be what. What happens with a lot of businesses. They start off with a passion for the thing that they do and then what happens? As they start the business, they start having to take on the responsibilities of everything and they're wearing all these different hats and then often you could lose the passion that you had going in and get bogged down with all the minutia of actually running a business and then a lot of businesses fail because of that. So it's great to have somebody like yourself to step in and take a lot of that workload off your plate. From a consulting standpoint, speak to the business owner out there. Maybe the person that's that's operating by themselves just started. They feel overwhelmed and they're starting to feel that passion wane. They reach out to Krista Barone, wicked Wisdom Consulting. What does that look like for them? Kind of go through that process.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, the first thing that I would want to say is that that's perfectly fine that you're in that spot. Every consult I have, usually there's a lot of things that people don't know, because, like you said and I say it all the time to people I'm networking with and talking to is you don't necessarily get into business to run a business. You get into business to do whatever it is that you're in business to do, and so it's actually really really common to not know what you don't know. And there's nothing wrong with that, there's nothing to be ashamed of about that. It's very common, very normal. And so what I do with my clients is we start on a you know I have a free consult and we just have a conversation. You know we talk about what is it? What does your business look like right now? You know what are your goals moving forward.
Speaker 3:And the other thing that's very common is, a lot of times people don't necessarily know what they even need help with.
Speaker 3:They know the feelings, they know that they're super stressed out, they know that they are absolutely exhausted.
Speaker 3:Like you said, they're starting to lose their passion for their business because they don't even know what the next step is, because there's so much to do and I know right now a big point of pain for a lot of people is dealing with marketing and social media and you know I actually just had a post the other day about everybody I talked to loathes that process and yet it's such a big part of having a presence and finding new clients and all of those things.
Speaker 3:So what I do with my clients, like I said, we start on a free consult, we have a conversation and the thing is I'm not about to just push my services on everybody, it's about having a conversation. What do you need? If I'm a good fit for that, fantastic. If not, I network with a lot of people and so if I know someone that would be a better fit for the specific thing that you're looking for, I'll refer you to that person because I've spoken to them, I've seen their work, I know how good they are. It's not just trying to look through online and find someone and if I am a fit, then fantastic, and we can move forward.
Speaker 2:Yeah, two things there. Well, one was the marketing component. That's what I do outside the podcast. There's so many options out there now for businesses that everything is so overwhelming. I mean just social media. You have all these different platforms and each one behaves differently and has different nuances and it can be overwhelming. And then just to, as a business owner, just to put yourself out there in these medium where you're actually video recordings or something, it's uncomfortable for a lot of businesses. So, yeah, I find that they struggle with that a lot and then and need some guidance on the marketing front.
Speaker 2:But also on the other side I mentioned it earlier automation. Right, it's one of the things I've incorporated over the last year or so in my business is the automation aspect. So many business owners get stuck doing manual things. Again, I've been there and I'm guilty of it still but you get so comfortable in the systems that you have without realizing how many countless hours you're losing without having the proper automation in place. Like having a good CRM system and actually having it built out with workflows and follow-ups and staying in front of your clients and just tackling that head on from scratch could be over. It's ridiculously overwhelming. It has to be done piecemeal. So that's why it's so important to have good people like yourself to refer to to help get those systems in place, cause it can be difficult, you know.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, absolutely, and that's a big part of what I do. That's actually kind of like one of my specialties and really it truly is, that is for sure. One thing, that that you really don't know the capabilities and it's not even something that's going to take a ton of time and a ton of money and all of these things. It's simple things that we can set up. But the other thing that is really important to me, that I focus on with everybody that I work with, is what is going to be right for them in their business.
Speaker 3:Because what happens a lot is we talk to our friends and we talk to colleagues and mentors and they say, oh, you got to use this program or you got to set this up this way, or you got to set this up this way, or you got to use this CRM because I love it, it's amazing, but it's not necessarily what's best for the business owner or their company. And so people you know buy into these programs and setups and workflows and all these things and then realize I'm not even using them. I'm not using them in their full capacity, it's not even the way that I like to work, which means I'm just not even using any of it, which means I'm throwing money down the drain. So I really like to focus also on making sure that everything that I build with somebody is a fit for them and how they operate, because otherwise it's a waste of time and money.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100%. How did you get into this business? I'm assuming I never like to assume, but I still assume you have a background in operations management. You come from that space and you've worked with other companies and you saw this need for small businesses to have the type of service you're offering. If I could speak today, it would be good Talk a little bit about your journey, your background, how you got led up to this point.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it's actually a funny story because I have basically been doing operations for my entire life as a kid.
Speaker 3:It's just something that my mind was geared for and it sounds so silly but it really truly like I use the example all the time like I was a kid who would make like Excel spreadsheets for Christmas list and I think, like few numbers, like someone actually once got flagged because their company thought they were like you know, sending private information and they're like no, that's just my, you know my granddaughter's Christmas list.
Speaker 3:But then as I got older and I started to get into different roles and positions, I realized that they all were operation oriented.
Speaker 3:But it wasn't until I was director of operations for an online business that I realized oh, this is, this, is what I'm really really good at, this is what it's called, it has a name, and that's where I got to really just dive in head first and learn basically a little bit of everything, which I've started to kind of refer to myself as like a Swiss army knife for your business, because it really is like my services range is very, very wide because I've been doing operations for so long. I didn't necessarily know that it had a name, but that's what I've been doing forever and I have had some formal training, but a lot of what I do is self-taught, which is actually fantastic and has served me really well, because I'm able to see outside the framework of what maybe would be, you know, what someone typically learns in like a college situation. I'm able to see way beyond that because I'm not necessarily just indoctrinated to one way of thinking.
Speaker 2:How was Wicked Wisdom born?
Speaker 3:So, Wicked.
Speaker 3:Wisdom. Yeah, so I, while I was director of operations, there were a lot of people who saw the work that I was doing and were reaching out saying I need your help, I need a Krista. Do you have someone? Can you? Can you clone yourself and come work for me? I was like, well, I don't have cloning capabilities, but what I can do is I can help you on my off time on the weekend, because I saw so many people needing help for all the reasons that we've already talked about, and it got to a point where I was like you know what?
Speaker 3:There's a lot of people that need my services, that need a Krista. I want to be able to help those people without having to just do it after work or on my downtime. I want to make that my career, and so I went on on my own about three years ago it actually be three years in December and I've just been, you know, helping a bunch of different, very wide ranging businesses, which has been so much fun because it's I get to learn all the different nuances of all the businesses. Even though operations is pretty consistent across all businesses, you get to learn those little nuances in the different industries, which has been really fun.
Speaker 2:Very cool. So I know you can't clone yourself yet, but I'll get with Elon and I'll get back to you on that. I think we can work something out on that front. So what would you say? I always like to ask this for business owners that have started their own business three years ago, kind of transitioning from the more corporate world working for somebody to starting your own business what, what was one of the biggest challenges that you faced in doing that? And, on the other end of that spectrum, what was the biggest reward that you've experienced thus far over the last three years?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think the biggest challenge for sure was, no matter what, you have to put yourself out there as a business owner, and we all want to believe that we can just kind of like put out a really good product and business is just going to come to us and maybe for some people it does work that way.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, it happens, Right, Right.
Speaker 3:But you know, you really do have to put yourself out there and you have to be creative and and really have that mindset of trying at least one new thing every day and seeing what sticks, because you know so much right now is there's there's a million ways to do everything and you can't just rely on one way.
Speaker 3:So it's so much about ebbing and flowing with the industry and where society is and what's working and what's not, and being able to flow with that. And then I think the biggest reward has been hmm, that's a toughie because there's a lot of rewards, but I think the biggest reward for me is the flexibility that comes with running my own business and that goes in many different avenues the flexibility of being able to really work with people who resonate with me and I resonate with them. That you know we both have that mutual respect. The flexibility of being able to work on my own hours, work from home, Um, just the all around flexibility of it really is a gift that not everyone is blessed to be able to have, and I definitely don't take that for granted.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I mentioned this earlier. You live in the community here and you have some some deep roots here in Cooper City. You actually went to Cooper City High right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, for half of the year, and then I did the College Academy program over at Broward College for the second half of high school.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm assuming you grew up down here in South Florida, though.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I grew up actually over in Hollywood but we moved out here to the Cooper City area so I went to Pioneer Middle School. But we moved out here to the Cooper City area so I went to Pioneer Middle School, half of the half of high school at Cooper City High and then, yeah, broward College.
Speaker 2:So I've been in the area my entire, my entire life, one of the things that I've come to learn about this community. I came here, I guess, about four years ago. I was in West Davie before that, so I was close. But I wasn't part of the community and once I started doing what I do, I put out a local publication called Cooper City Living. I plugged myself, so you've seen that. So I've really come to appreciate the roots of our community in Cooper City. It's such a tight-knit community. I love raising my kids here. Family is obviously so important. It's usually the driving force behind most people. Tell us a little bit about your family, krista.
Speaker 3:Sure, so my family, we actually we are lucky enough to have a nice little property so I actually live, basically we have my whole nuclear family here and we actually have a little bit of a hobby farm.
Speaker 3:So I've got goats and chickens and I actually have a whole Instagram page, which I'll shout it out if that's okay, but it's called Tropic Country Acre on Instagram and Facebook and we've got goats, chickens, dogs, cats. There's always something going on here. But that's also a big part of why it's so important to me to be a business owner is to have that flexibility, to be able to take care of the farm, you know, have time with the family. That's something that's super, super important to me and my family. So that's that's a big priority for us and probably why my basically my entire family is built of small businesses.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to find this right now. Hold on, what is it?
Speaker 3:Tropa country, so T R O P I country, acre A C R E.
Speaker 2:Tropa country acres. Is this that looks like you?
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 2:Hold on Present share screen. Remember I said it's got all messed up so it's taking me a little bit of time. Oh yeah, no worries there it is that's you, yep.
Speaker 3:Yep, that's me and all my pals.
Speaker 2:Check it out Tropicana. Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 3:I do some pretty funny stuff on there too. There's some good ones. Yeah, okay, I was going to just say don't click on the goat one before that On your podcast.
Speaker 2:That's okay, it's fair game, very cool, very cool. All right, stop screen share. So On your downtime, what do you like to do for fun when you're not working?
Speaker 3:So I'm big about relaxation.
Speaker 3:Doing operations can be very stressful, very, you know, on the go all the time there's always fires to be put out. So I like to relax in my downtime. I like to do a lot of reading, I like to watch a lot of podcasts, I like to watch a lot of movies and just things that are going to bring my nervous system to a relaxation. So I'm very big on spirituality and mindfulness and all those things. So I kind of have to balance. You know, work keeps me very high speed, so my downtime relaxing, hanging out with the animals, things like that.
Speaker 2:Relaxation yeah, I'm an incredibly talented relaxer myself, are you? Yeah, I'm an incredibly talented relaxer myself, are you? Oh yeah, I want to become a professional relaxation consultant. For those that can't calm their mind, I can help you.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Chill out and unwind.
Speaker 3:People totally need that.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. You mentioned mindfulness and you're big on spirituality. Have you ever gone to any of the? They have them over. It's right back in your neighborhood at Botanica Organica. They have a full moon gathering. They have a yoga class Sunday morning. They have all sorts of cool things centered around mindfulness. Have you ever been to any of those?
Speaker 3:Botanica Organica and they are amazing, by the way, and I actually I haven't been to one of their classes, but I did go. They have I don't know if they're still doing it, but they were doing monthly. I think it was monthly or maybe it was every weekend, even Like little farmer's markets type of thing. And it's so wonderful. You get to meet wonderful vendors in the area and the people who run that. They're just, they're amazing, they're so sweet, so knowledgeable, just really can't recommend them enough.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna send you. I'm looking for it. I can't walk and chew gum at the same time. I'll do it later. I'm gonna send you. There's a full moon gathering coming up there. They do, uh, breath work, meditation and ice bath once a month, during the full moon obviously, and so they have it. I think I want to say it's next week. I'll send you the details if you want to come. It's always a great experience.
Speaker 2:It's nice to unplug from the, the daily grind, and every time I say this all the time. I haven't been in a few months, but I say this all the time Every time I go. When I get there, I sit down and I'm like, ah, I don't want to do the ice through the breath. I get in the ice and I just feel I got the endorphins going. I feel amazing. I say it every time. I got to do it more, but then I plug back into the daily grind in life and I get distanced away from that. So I'm constantly trying to move closer to my spiritual side always yeah, I mean, that's human nature, right?
Speaker 3:That's why you know, like the coaching industry is as big as it is is because we need that. You know we need people to keep us accountable. We know we need that polling to actually get there because we know it's awesome but we don't necessarily actually stick to it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely what would be. Before we wrap up here, what would be? I guess the one thing you'd like to leave our listeners with. It can be about your business, or it could just be a general piece of wisdom. No pun intended, but the name Wicked Wisdom. Just drop some wicked wisdom on us, krista. What do you got?
Speaker 3:I will.
Speaker 3:So what I would leave everyone with is if you have been and unfortunately it's something I hear all the time if you have been trying to hire people to help you with your business, or you have in the past and they have, you know, haven't really performed at the level that you'd like them to have done, it might be because you're looking for the wrong type of position in the wrong type of title for that person.
Speaker 3:So I would highly encourage if you've been in that situation, let's have a conversation, because I may be able to help you out and again, even if it's just giving you a better direction of what you may be looking for and knowing what to call that. But I see a lot of people that you know they're looking for something specific but don't really know what to call it, and then it just ends up being a not great situation for both parties, because the expectations are way up here but you're hiring for kind of down here and there's that gap that just can't be filled. So if you've had, you know, maybe not so great experiences in the past, let's have a conversation.
Speaker 3:Let me hook you up with either myself or someone that I know that would be able to absolutely you know, rock your world so that way we can have your business be successful, because small businesses are the backbone of our country. We lost a lot of them during the whole thing with COVID that happened. The backbone of our country. We lost a lot of them during the whole thing with COVID that happened. So we really we need to, you know, stick together, band together so that we all can be strong be successful and really help build our community, love it.
Speaker 2:So I feel like I may have done you a slight disservice here. I showed everybody how to find your farm animals, but not how to actually find you and the actual services that you provide. So tell everybody where they could learn more. Maybe share, I guess, your Instagram, your website, your contact information. Let all those business owners out there know how they could find you, krista.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so you can go to wicked wisdom consultingcom. I'm also on Facebook, linkedin and Instagram with the same everything is wicked wisdom consulting. So instagramcom slash wicked wisdomdom Consulting. Facebookcom, linkedin you can find me there. All my services are on my website testimonials, reviews, a whole list of all sorts of things. So go on my website, check it all out. There's a link to book both a actually both a consult and a networking chat. So if you're in the area and you want to network, that's cool too. Let's jump on a call and chat and see how we might be able to help each other grow.
Speaker 2:Awesome, and we will, of course, drop a link in the description below to all of your contact information. So for anyone you hear that, guys, you're out there starting a business, running a business struggling to scale, struggling to get those systems in place, struggling to get everything done, reach out to Krista. She sounds like an amazing resource and I'm very happy to have had her on the show to talk about what she does and how she helps our great community. So, krista, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Thank you again for having me.
Speaker 2:Of course, and thanks as always to our listeners for tuning in, and we will catch everyone next time on the next episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Speaker 1:Everyone take care. Have a wonderful day. Citycom or call 954-231-3170.