Why High Performers Focus on Momentum, Not Motivation with Sandy Dupleich

In this episode of Success Leaves Clues Podcast, our guest is Sandy Dupleich, executive coach, leadership consultant, facilitator, and professional development expert who helps individuals and organizations create meaningful growth through intentional action, self-leadership, and continuous improvement. Drawing from her extensive experience coaching leaders and professionals, Sandy shares valuable insights on building momentum, maintaining consistency, overcoming distractions, and creating sustainable habits that lead to long-term success. We explore the challenges of staying motivated in remote and independent work environments, the importance of focus and accountability, and practical strategies for turning small daily actions into significant personal and professional achievements. Whether you're an entrepreneur, leader, coach, or professional seeking greater productivity and fulfillment, this conversation offers actionable lessons on creating progress through discipline, purpose, and consistency.

You can find her on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-dupleich/
https://sdupleich.esourcecoach.com/
https://sdupleich.youcanbook.me/

Transcript

Sandy Dupleich 0:00

It's similar to what I uh talk about with my clients. Of course, I'm working to generate more income, you know, where I can, but it is about creating that lifestyle that is going to bring me that happiness and joy, the ability to be able to spend time with my husband, to go on vacations, to spend time with my kids. I have three wonderful kids. I now have a grandson, another granddaughter on the way.

Davis Nguyen 0:24

Welcome to Success Leaves Clues, the podcast where we interview business owners on how they built their businesses and the hard lessons they learned along the way. My name is David Swain, and I'm a business coach and a founder of Purple Circle, where we help business owners achieve their first six-figure, seven-figure, and eight-figure year, all without sacrificing their quality of life. Before becoming a business coach and before founding Purple Circle, I started and scale with several seven and eight-figure coaching businesses and have been a consultant at several businesses doing over $100 million each, including some that are publicly listed and doing over a billion dollars each. In every episode of the podcast, you're going to learn lessons that took RS years to learn, and you'll be able to learn that in minutes. No matter if you're a new business owner or an established business owner, every episode is going to give you the clues in order to elevate your business.

Pedro Stein 1:10

I'm Pedro, and today I'm joined by Sandy DuPlate, who specializes in helping business owners and entrepreneurs break through the paralysis that comes from having drive and ambition, but lacking clarity on how to move forward effectively. Sandee's direct, supportive, and results-oriented coaching style helps clients who feel stuck or overwhelmed cut through confusion and take decisive action toward their goals. Sande's approach focuses on helping clients gain clarity on their vision, develop actionable strategies, and overcome the limiting beliefs and mindset blocks that keep them spinning their wheels. Hard work proves that sustainable growth happens when you combine the right mindset with strategic support and systems, enabling entrepreneurs to build businesses that reflect their true potential and values. Welcome to the show, Sandy.

Sandy Dupleich 2:12

Thank you, Petro. Really appreciate it.

Pedro Stein 2:14

Okay, yeah, I appreciate you. And it's great to have you, you know? And uh, I'm a comic book nerd myself. Let's put it like that. I love the first edition. Okay. So let's get back to the origin story and rewind a bit because every coach has that moment where they look at their life and say, Yeah, I guess this is what I'm doing now, right? So when was that for you, Sandy?

Sandy Dupleich 2:38

Yeah, um, well, you know, I I grew up, I guess, in a family business. Um, it was my own family's business uh in the language services industry. So I was there for about 35 years. And I think it was kind of during that pandemic uh time period when like a lot of people took uh stock of their lives and really started thinking about, you know, is this what I really want to do? Is this what I love doing? Is this the environment I want to be in, the industry, all of that? And I think for me, I was just ready for a change. It was just uh it was something I'd been in the same industry, same company for my almost the entirety of my career. And I realized that there's got to be something else out there. So I took a chance on myself and have I've always done a lot of networking, landed at Microsoft. I was there as a senior business operations manager. I was working in the monetization and business planning team, which rolls up to cloud marketing. So, really great opportunity to work in a large tech corporation and do something that I've never done previously. I had a wonderful time while I was there. Unfortunately, as you know, most tech jobs right now are really under scrutiny and there's been so many layoffs. So towards the end of 2023 was unfortunately when the time was up for me and my job was eliminated. So I found myself now kind of for the second time in my mid-50s, mind you, having to re-evaluate, reimagine, and revisit what my career was going to look like. Um, and so that was that was kind of where, you know, where everything started for me.

Pedro Stein 4:15

So it sounds like uh the business ownership part of it was kind of in the family already. You mentioned that, right? Uh they were business owners and all that. At this stage, usually what I ask is the shift that happens to you from helping people in coaching to building a real business around this. But for you, it sounds like it's a little backwards. You're more accustomed to be a business owner in a sense and have that type of mentality. But so my question to you is different. It's like, why coaching? You know, what happened that made you go to coaching? I'm I'm curious about that.

Sandy Dupleich 4:48

Yeah. Well, I think that uh during that time period of, you know, kind of between that 2021, 2023 time period, I did a lot of soul searching and just a lot of um, I took that time to take that pause, especially post-Microsoft. I took that pause to really think about what do I want out of life? You know, what's important to me? How do I want to create an impact in the world and and uh uh maybe potentially create a business that's gonna be more than just uh what's gonna benefit myself and my family. And uh part of what I did was I just really reached back into what resonated the most with me in terms of uh the work that I did within my family business. And I realized that a lot of it had to do with um being able to see my employees moving from different stages of their career and being able to coach and help and support them along the way, giving them different opportunities within the company, and also uh being able to see sometimes in them what they did not see for themselves and the potential that they had. And so that was super gratifying to be able to uh to be able to translate what I used to do and I just did as a, I guess, a subset of my job and turned it into a real career where I can create that impact for people who are going through very similar things to what I've been through in the past few years, which is that career uncertainty, this uh crazy, crazy job market, uh, where um there's just you know, just so many things that that we are unsure about these days. You know, you just don't know whether you're in tech or operations or, you know, whichever sector you're in right now, there's just so much that is uh just literally just upside down. So whatever I can do, kind of reaching back into my own turmoil and all the things that I went through, you know, that soul searching that I went through, how can I apply that and help others who are going, uh, you know, kind of walking down that same path.

Pedro Stein 6:51

Okay, interesting. So you were to a certain level exposed to coaching when you were at your own past job, right? It was like you were in Microsoft and all that, you're like seeing these successful stories about coaching, like, hey, this sounds cool, right? That's interesting. Okay. Now, I'm curious about one thing because I know you're with the entrepreneur source, right? Yeah, that's a franchise. We had people on the show, so shout out to Stacey Hayesy, Terrell, Denise Tommaso that were in the show. Um, yeah, and but I'm curious about one thing. It's like usually at this stage, I ask about the tribe, right? Who do you serve and all that? We kind of I kind of already know that. So I'm curious about the decision making behind going with the franchise. What made you do you go to them uh and develop this idea of coaching behind um business ownership?

Sandy Dupleich 7:48

Sure. Well, I think that was part of that soul searching. And obviously, I have a lot of skills. You know, I helped to grow and scale my family business from startup to a very successful language services company. And we had more than 55 employees, and so it was a pretty substantial business. So I knew I had the skills that I could potentially translate into another type of business, maybe spin up a consulting business or something where I could help other small business owners. But I think that part of what I um just what I started realizing very quickly is that um, sure, I have the skills and the abilities to be able to create that type of business. However, without any guardrails, without any structure, I could see that that, you know, it's like, how exactly am I going to translate this into a business that's going to be sustainable and help me and my family over time? And I realized that uh that it's not, I didn't even necessarily have the runway that it was going to take to, you know, build a business from three to five years, which is usually what it takes before something is truly sustainable. So, what I really love about franchising and how it has uh, I guess, manifested in my own life is the ability to be able to be in business for yourself, but you're not by yourself. So you have all of that support, the training, the coaching, the structure that comes with a franchise organization, in addition to all of the um uh just I don't know, gosh, the from marketing to technology to the innovations that they're uh that the entrepreneur source uh is constantly adding to our program and to our systems, is just it's phenomenal. And then that allows me to just focus on coaching and serving my clients, which is why I got into this in the first place. So what I like to uh compare it to with my clients is it's the um it's similar to being able to start your business from second base um rather than starting from scratch. So you've got all of that support and you know, behind you, that foundation that's there, that business structure. And then you can take your skills and abilities and translate that into something that is truly meaningful. And uh one of the things that's kind of like the secret sauce to franchising that applies to all franchises beyond just the entrepreneur source is that that community of fellow franchisees who are there to support you at any time. Like there's, you know, the coaches that I went through training with feel that it we had a very special group. Uh there are about 12 of us that went through training um in, you know, back in 2024, early 2024. And we have formed such a close bond. And literally at any time I can reach out to any of them or any of the coaches within the entrepreneur source and ask them for help, support, ideas, you know, mentoring, whatever that looks like. And that's something that a lot of people don't realize is such a huge benefit of franchising because you are you're all there to support and build and uh expand one brand. So we're all kind of rowing in a similar direction rather than uh, for example, in a corporate environment, it's very competitive. Everybody's looking out for themselves, and you know, it and it can get real ugly and political very quickly, and that's just not the case in the franchise organization.

Pedro Stein 11:10

Okay. Uh I appreciate the insights. Now I'm curious about one thing, especially because I want to do like a quick exercise with you, if you don't mind. Okay. It's like I want to pretend I'm your ICP or ideal client profile. Okay. So that's where my curiosity comes from. So, first of all, marketing-wise, how would I be able to find you in the first place?

Sandy Dupleich 11:33

Sure. Yeah, well, uh gosh, I'm I I I feel like I'm just everywhere these days. You know, LinkedIn is, of course, uh one of our biggest uh uh draws. I have a very good you know presence there. I have uh literally you know thousands of connections on LinkedIn. Um so it's very easy to find me there. I also belong to BI, which is uh um a business networks international, and so I'm um very involved both in my local chapter and I also participate across many different um regional and national uh chapter meetings. Um I belong to several networking groups uh that are virtual here in the Pacific Northwest, uh because I live in Washington State, and I'm also on the board for the women business owners organization. And so I'm very proud to be able to support and network and work with many other women business owners as well. So um I think that's uh part of the secret to my success is being able to really think about my outreach and the customers that I am trying to connect with in a very holistic way. And I'm always willing to try, you know, try new things. Uh, for example, I'm always I'm also a mentor with the Startup 425 Founders Program. And that's a it's an organization that has been put together by um there's six cities within um my region that are helping founders to start up new businesses. So it's uh nothing to do with what I do on a daily basis, but I think just cements that ability to be able to practice and uh and focus on helping others and giving back to my local community that I really appreciate it.

Pedro Stein 13:11

It shows, right? When I ask stuff, you're very clear, very direct, very well trained. And because you have a lot of these conversations explaining what you do, right? And it shows by the network and all of that. No, nice. Okay, I'm still the ICP here, okay? I'm looking to be a business owner, sounds like it. So let's say I looked at your LinkedIn, you know, um, and I'm like, hey, this seems cool. Uh I resonated with what you post out there, the content and all that. We can speed up the sales process. Let's say there is alignment, okay? Let's put it like that. Uh, so walk me through how does it look like to work with you, okay? And the potential outcomes I can expect out of it.

Sandy Dupleich 13:55

Yeah, absolutely. So when I work with my clients, one of the first things that I do is I like to learn a little bit about their background. Um, I of course share a little bit about my background and my work history just so that they know who they're talking to. But my biggest focus is on them, where they're at in their career right now, what changes are happening, what changes are they looking to implement if they're thinking about leaving a position. And we just get really clear on what their kind of uh short-term and long-term goals are. Based on that, um, I describe the program, you know, how we work with our clients over a series of meetings to identify what are their goals, needs, and expectations for the future. Um, I also share that one of the things that I'll be focusing on is helping you to think about, you know, what kind of income would you like? What kind of lifestyle are you looking for? And I probably hit that lifestyle much more than say, like a career coach would do, because lifestyle is so important. You know, you can be making $750,000 a year and be absolutely miserable. And is that worth it? Probably not. So, you know, we talk about that. And um, one of the first things that I do too, because of course, you know, we do specialize in franchising at the entrepreneur source, but um, one of the biggest things that we focus on is is business ownership even the right path for our clients? And that's what we work on in the first few sessions is to determine what are their goals versus, you know, their skills, their experience. Also, you know, of course, uh, you know, in their budget, does it even make sense? Is this a good time for them? Sometimes the way that I approach coaching is that, hey, let's help you to get a job. I have uh, you know, other resources, I have other career coaches that focus on resume development, LinkedIn optimization, personal branding pages, things will help you to get a full-time W 2 career. Let's do that first. Let's use this time together in parallel as research. And then maybe this is your goal one or two years down the road. So, you know, what you can expect as a as a client when you're working with me is that I will be the last person who's going to be salesy, pushy, trying to, you know, uh guide you in a in a um down a path that's not right for you. Um, that's just not how we work. You know, the the coaching program at the Entrepreneur Source is very much about helping our clients find that point of clarity, whatever that might be for them. And one thing that um I know you're already familiar with, if you've uh spoken with other uh TES coaches, is that our services are complementary, which sounds a little crazy, but um, but because of that, it allows us to work in you know with our clients in this very safe space. So there's no pressure, there's no obligation, we can just work together in a really relaxed manner where we can explore what's going to be best for you, what is going to be that point of clarity. And your point of clarity might be, hey Sandy, this has been great, but I don't think I'm cut out to be a business owner. And that's perfectly fine. And, you know, in that case, you know, it hasn't cost you a thing, but a bit of your time. And we all move on, you know. But I always keep in touch with my clients, and you just never know. Sometimes what'll happen is it will, you know, our conversations will spark some curiosity and spark some interest. And I'll have clients that'll come back a year later and say, Hey, you know what? I'm ready now. Let's go. You know, let's let's explore what's out there. So that's good how that process works.

Pedro Stein 17:31

I like that. Interesting. Okay. Now I want to shift gears for a second. Okay. Um, let's talk about the future. So I'm curious about where you're taking all this, you know, looking ahead. Where do you see the business going? Are you thinking about scaling, hiring, or is there a next step you're excited about, Sandy?

Sandy Dupleich 17:47

Right, right. Well, um, the way that my franchise agreement works, I can't hire other coaches to work under me. So it doesn't really work that way. But in terms of scaling and growth, that's all up to me. That's all up to how much, you know, I certainly work full-time, but one of the things that I have been very clear about in terms of my own career goals is that I want to set very clear boundaries on my life and what I'm willing to do and what I'm not willing to do. What I'm not willing to do is work on weekends. I'm not willing to work in the evenings. I protect my family time, I protect my personal time. I actually take a lunch break every day. And um, and I can't say that uh, you know, in my previous, in either of my previous careers that I um that I ever was so careful about protecting, you know, kind of setting those boundaries. I mean, I would be on vacation and still doing work and and uh and things like that. And it's just not it's not like that anymore. So the future for me is it's similar to what I uh talk about with my clients. Of course, I'm working to generate more income, you know, where I can, but it is about creating that lifestyle that is going to bring me that happiness and joy, the ability to be able to spend time with my husband, to go on vacations, to spend time with my kids. I have three wonderful kids. I now have a grandson, another granddaughter on the way. And, you know, and that was, I think, one of the, you know, when we talk about finding that point of clarity for me, it was very much I um, I still have this very, very clear, clear memory of spending an entire day with my grandson, you know, helping my daughter out, obviously. But um, it was post-Microsoft, post my layoff, and I was still very much in shock, grief, all of it, you know, just trying to process my own emotions. And here I am walking with my then two and a half-year-old uh grandson, and we're just, you know, kind of walking along, and he's pointing out the trees and laying down little peanuts for the squirrels along our path. And I'm realizing I'm looking at him and just going, oh my gosh, you know, all of this, uh like all the work that I was doing previously at Microsoft, I was like, none of it matters at all. The 12, 14-hour days that I was putting in, I was just like, what the heck was I doing? You know, and I'm looking at this little child experiencing things for the first time, you know, looking at the the leaves on the trees that were changing color and the beautiful bright sunlight that was filtering through those, you know, those trees, looking at the little squirrels that were coming to accept his little gifts, you know, I'm looking at that. I'm like, that's what life is all about, not this other stuff. So, what can I do? What kind of career can I create that will help that would enable me to have those special moments with my family? That is the most important, and then also still make a difference for others, you know, for my clients. Because at the end of the day, whether or not they decide to move forward with the franchise, to and you know, to be awarded a franchise, that's all fine. That's great. I'm happy if I'm able to help them to do that. And I have done so for many clients, but the most important thing for me is to help uh them to enable a lifestyle that is just optimal, you know, that is going to help them to live the life of their dreams.

Pedro Stein 21:09

I love how this Quirl was not skipping lunch, but we are the smart one, right?

Sandy Dupleich 21:15

He was very smart, and it was the cutest thing. My grandson, his name is August. He had his little tiny little pockets, you know, in his little jeans absolutely stuffed to the brim with uh with peanuts. And then we would walk along and he would leave them on, you know, fences. And, you know, we we were going to the library that day. But it was just uh it was just so precious to be able to see that. And it's and it just um, I mean, literally had it, it was just uh it was almost like, you know, when that sun was coming down, the bright sunlight, you know, and I'm breathing in that beautiful air. I was like, oh, oh, okay. It was almost like a huge message of like you've been focusing on the wrong things. I mean, to a certain extent, obviously, you know, you've got to, you've got to feed your family, you gotta pay the bills. But it's like how you go about it can be very Different. And I think sometimes we get too stuck in a certain path and thinking that's the only path. Um, sometimes when it's all taken away, that's when we can stop and think about okay, hold on, what do I want? What's important to me?

Pedro Stein 22:14

Gotta hit the brakes once in a while. Okay. Now, you know, whenever we're aiming towards something new, right? Always something we're refining in the present. I know you cannot have coaches under you, as you already established, but yeah, there is a future for you, obviously. So, what are you currently trying to improve or tighten up in your business right now?

Sandy Dupleich 22:36

Sure. Um, yeah, I think it's continuing to refine uh my approach to coaching, how I connect with my clients, uh, continual learning. I think that's so important because at a, you know, at a very basic level, I have rebranded myself now two times, you know, in the past few years, you know, from being a small business owner and a family business and a very insulated industry, a very niche industry, into, you know, an operations uh, you know, um manager and a senior, you know, in a big uh tech company. And now all of a sudden I'm a coach. It's like, you know, first of all, just wrapping your head around that is uh it seems silly, but it's actually a big challenge to uh not only uh be able to internalize that, but also to be able to project that and and and own that new that new uh title, that new role. So part of um part of what I have been focusing on is how can I, you know, I I feel like I've learned a lot in the past couple of years, but I know I've just barely scratched the surface about how I can be more effective and helpful for my clients. So I'm really eager to learn more, learn new techniques, uh, learn different ways to um to help them, um, you know, find the potential different off-ramps too, because again, it's not always the right step to move into business ownership. So to look for other resources and places where I can guide my clients. Um, you know, one of the uh really good programs that are out there that's completely free is a program called Never Search Alone and it's built on a book. And they have also created now this uh nonprofit um organization that's that uh is supported by that book. So you can sign up for a no-cost job search council that can help you to find uh find a new job. And you're working with other job seekers at your same career stage. So and you know, I wouldn't have even known about that had I not done that research and done made an effort to be able to think of creative alternatives for clients who are just not not quite in the right place to be able to invest in a new business.

Pedro Stein 24:40

Okay. Yeah, I love that, you know. Now, if someone listening wants to connect with you or follow your work, Sandy, where can people find you and connect with you? And we're gonna have the links here in the description, but the best way to do so.

Sandy Dupleich 24:53

Yeah, um, absolutely. It's probably gonna be LinkedIn. Um, there's links to my website there. I have a micro site that has a wealth of information. We have a blog. Um, I've uh been interviewed on other podcasts. There are links there. There's also uh links to any events that I might be participating in. For example, I'm going to be exhibiting at the Portland franchise show coming up uh June 13th and 14th. Uh, so it's down in Portland, Oregon. And I'm really excited to be able to connect with potential clients there in person. So um, yeah, and uh on my website, there's a link to schedule time with me, and my calendar link is right there. Email, all my contact information is is available.

Pedro Stein 25:35

Okay. You know, there were a few things you shared um today through this entire conversation that really stay with me. I'll put it like that. Um, first one, we were talking about origin story, right? And um you asked yourself, what do I want out of life, right? So whenever I think about that and uh the identity shift you help your clients go through, it sounds like to me you're serving past Sandy, right? It's like to an extent, it's just like you went there, you've done that, you've been there, right? So you can help them uh overcome those. Sometimes it's just like imposter syndrome, am I ready, and all that, you know, that's inside here, our head. So that's one thing. Also, when we were talking about the franchising model, uh, then you mentioned I stole the quote, it's for yourself, but not by yourself. Um, the reason I I really resonate with that is because I'm a business graduate here in Brazil, and my business theory was based in basically franchises. So I interviewed hundreds of franchisees and all of that. So that really hits home for me. I really like the model too. So uh I really like it. Uh just pointing out there. And last but not least, I would say, is the key word you mentioned the entire podcast, which is lifestyle, right? Uh, and the importance uh of lifestyle, and not just for being a good thing to to have, it's like also in the other side of the coin, which is sometimes you're talking to someone who is pretty content with a certain level of revenue or however that looks like, and if that doesn't fit your services, they're not gonna just put in the work simply as that, right? And that could be a problem down the road. If they're like, oh yeah, but I I don't really feel like I need to be in a different place. So it's important to have that lifestyle conversation right at the beginning, right? So it can level the playing field. So this is just my long-winded way of saying, Sandy, that I appreciate what you do. I appreciate you being here and sharing so openly today. Okay. Great having you on today.

Sandy Dupleich 27:46

Yeah, thank you so much. It's been a pleasure and it's an honor to be uh, I guess, uh selected, you know, for the podcast as well. I really appreciate that because I know there's a lot of coaches, a lot of different people out there. So I'm happy to support um to support this program.

Davis Nguyen 28:02

That's it for this episode. This episode, as well as this podcast, was brought to you by Purple Circle, where we help business owners elevate their business to six, seven, and eight figure years all without burning out. If you're looking to grow your business as well as get the time freedom that you are looking for, visit us at join purplecircle.com and see what we can do to help you and your business.