Shine Podcast with Shanna Star

Design Your Legacy With Strategy, Not More Hours with Chanda Coston

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We sit with strategist Chanda Coston to unpack how clarity, systems, and a faith-led mindset can turn overwhelm into freedom and create a legacy-focused business you actually enjoy. From sprints and SOPs to theme days and KPIs, we map a plan you can implement.

• who Chanda serves and why clarity matters
• the blueprint method, sprints, and hands-on execution
• structure as the path to freedom and capacity
• building a personal brand clients trust
• theme days, top three, and focus cycles
• KPIs, audits, and measuring what matters
• systems, SOPs, and simple tool stacks
• automate, delegate, eliminate for time back
• honoring seasons, boundaries, and off days
• non-negotiable goals that can still evolve
• coaching fit, therapy vs strategy, saying no

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Chanda 

https://www.chanda-co.com/


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Keep Shining- Shanna Star

Shanna Star:

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Shine Podcast. I'm your host, Shauna Stark. Today's episode I have a lovely guest with me, Chonda Costin, and we get to talk about all things having clarity and strategy and what that looks like to really allow freedom and be that free spirit that you want to be in your business. We go into a lot of depth of what that looks like and how to implement those things in pure business. I think you're gonna have a lot of takeaways from this conversation. So let's get to it. Shonda Coston helps high capacity women, specifically women over 40, build businesses with clarity, structure, and legacy in mind. Through her signature blueprint to build methods, she turns confusion into clarity and an executable plan. And her faith-led strategy-fueled approach blends real talk with real tools. And I have been so excited to chat with you. Looking forward to her conversation and just all that you bring and do. So welcome, Shonda to the Sean Shine podcast.

Chanda:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for having me. I am so excited to be here and to have the conversation.

Shanna Star:

Yes, we too, we too. So what I kind of wanted to start with is there's so many things that I was interested in when learning about you and stalking you and finding about all that you do. And one specifically was that build to blueprint program that you offer and help offer that you help shift from guessing to building, from burnout to blueprint. And I really loved that. And of course, I don't want to give all your secrets away because I want them to go follow you, find you, and get the program for themselves. But will you maybe give us just a few nuggets or insight to it? And then of how how, of course, we can dive into that program that you have.

Chanda:

Absolutely. So um that program is near, dear to my heart as an entrepreneur. Um, going from military to corporate, um, and now into the entrepreneurial space, uh it was quite the shift, right? Because I didn't need all of the components that I currently need to run a successful business. And I have been successful. Military career is successful, my time in corporate was successful. And I dipped my toe over here and I said, wait a minute. So um the idea was like creating a program that provided what I needed as I stepped into this space for entrepreneurs that I could relate to, that I could identify with. Um, a lot of times as women, we wear so many hats um and we're always nurturing everyone else that we really don't take the time, one, to say, what is it that's left for me? What is there for me? And then how do I do that? Right. And so the number one complaint I get from my clients is, oh my God, I'm so overwhelmed. I don't know where to start. Um, and generally it was like, okay, I'll work with you, I'll give you a plan of action, I'll sing you on your way. But then it was like, wait, wait, wait, I need some more help. I don't know where to find these tools, I don't know how to do these things, right? And you find that a lot with coaches in this space, unfortunately. They're like, okay, let me give you the information without telling you how to do it, where to find it, and what that looks like. And so that particular this particular program does just that. They come into my ecosystem, I coach them and handhold them, and we execute, not only just tell them what they need to do, but then help them walk those things out. So, two things that I love that I've built into this program are sprints. Um, if you're not familiar with the terminology, a sprint is when you take a period of time to actually execute actions, which they should be doing throughout the program anyway, but I've given them space to do that. And so it is um a course with dealing with mindset, dealing with education, with strategies for time management, productivity, execution, focus, right? But on the other side, it's also dealing with business. Where are you in your business? Let's audit it, let's talk about your client, let's talk about your messaging, let's talk about your operational pieces, right? Do you have workflows, org charts, SOPs, and processes, right? Because you can't scale if you're the sole single point of failure. Uh, your business will never get take off and get off the ground. And then we talk about this new thing that is taking the world by storm, which is personal brand, right? I didn't need this in corporate. They were like, oh, you got your resume, you got your degrees, you have all this experience. Let's call three people, you're good. Well, now everybody wants to Google you. And so they do. And they do. So we put all those components in there and um at different levels because a person that is starting and launching is not looking at the same person who's refining and preparing to scale, and they're not doing the person that's refining and preparing to scale is not doing the same thing for a person who's ready to scale, right? And so there's different tracks for those different clients who's different with dealing with different things in their mind and different issues. And we just walked them through those pieces over 12 weeks. Um, so I hope that gave you like a good idea, right?

Shanna Star:

I love that. Yeah, I was writing down a few things. The first thing was going back to that personal brand. And I mean, I'm sure this existed even before we had all the micro and large influencers around, but I think even more so, we've gotten to the point where whatever product service that we want to purchase, we like to, it's an emotional um purchase. And so we want to get to know who's behind the brand. And so many business uh entrepreneurs, I'm sure you experience this too are like, nope, I don't want to show my face, or nope, I'm not gonna be a part of it, which it does work for some businesses. I'm not saying everyone has to be the front of their business. Uh, but especially starting out, it can be so just important really to have that face and they get to know you and they have that trust. So I totally agree with the personal brand. I feel like I can show all my the most beautiful photos that I take in photography and and the experiences I have behind the scenes. But as soon as I show my face, even if it's a cell phone photo, those are the most like, those are the most comments, those are the most messages because people want to interact with you. So I love that you already brought that up, even though we don't always want to do that part.

Chanda:

So yeah, and and for the 40 plus club, right? It's always sometimes it's about not even knowing how, right? Um, and so I tell my photographer, uh, friends and associates, like, you guys would do really well if you would do some tutorials, because I would be one of the first people in line, let me tell you, okay. Trying to figure out the angle of the camera, the like the lighting that's required, and you know, what do you say? How do you not stutter? Like, you know, do you find a script? What apps do you use? That is like so key to this particular um demographic, right? The older set. Um, because they still want the things, they just don't know how it fits. And so they sometimes feel inadequate. Um, not that they don't have the experience or the expertise, they just don't know how to marry the two.

Shanna Star:

Right, right. And something else you were saying is this whole program or programs, you've had more than one in all the offers that you have, but this particular one too. I know that usually ideas come from experiences or pain points we've had in our own business. So where did these particular this program come from? Like, is that from a pain experience you had in business, or where did that start to come up from that you offer your absolutely, it came from personal experiences.

Chanda:

Um, I won't name names, but I've dealt with some pretty good coaches and also some pretty not good coaches. Um, and so I spent quite a bit of money, at least six figures in the space, like coaching. Every coach should have a coach, right? Um, but unfortunately, programs are not all built the same. And so when you walk away, you've invested after you've invested your time, your money, money, and your energy, you want to make sure, like, like, dang, I feel like I didn't get my money's worth, or I feel like, you know, once they took my money, they really didn't care about me, or they just kind of gave me some stuff and was like, go off and be great. And it's like, well, wait a minute, I don't quite have it. And um, I'm I'm a Christian first, and I'm big on integrity. And so I think how you do anything is how you do everything. I never want someone to experience me and walk away feeling like that. Right. And so it's like, okay, how can I structure this so that every time they come into my atmosphere, my ecosystem, they say, wow, right? Not only did she overdeliver, but she made sure I got it.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Chanda:

And what does that look like?

Speaker 2:

Right.

Chanda:

And um, most people don't understand what a strategist is.

Shanna Star:

I'm finding I agree, especially because so many people you don't do this that I've seen in all of your website and everything, but so many people use those hot button words, and then it's like, great, but what does that look like? How do I implement that? And so I totally get why people would be like, oh, I'm not sure, you know, at first until they get to know you and your program and what you offer. Um and kind of going into that burnout part of it in the exhausted and burnout. What do you find that we initially believe in burnout is the solution to the problems? And then how did that perception change as you built a business?

Chanda:

So I think there is this assumption, it's like I'm gonna find more time, right? And the harsh reality is we all have the same 24 hours. I don't care who you are, right? We don't get any more time. And so what people mostly are lacking are systems, right? Systems and strategies. And I live my life the same way. Um, I'm finding that in having these conversations, when people say describe yourself, I'm like, well, I'm really structured, disciplined, free spirit. And they're like, what? And I have to tell them all of the structure and discipline that I've learned over the years, it allows me to be that free spirit. Um, even when I decided to pivot into this space, and I decided I didn't want to work long hours, I didn't want to feel undervalued in corporate, right? Because no matter how much you work, it's other, it's just the next big thing. And I didn't feel the release and the energy I get from someone telling me like, um, I appreciate you so much. Like I finally got it. Like they took the leap, they did the thing. I get something from that. Like it does something for me. I feel good about that, right? Watching other people accomplish their goals. And it was like, okay, well, how do I build that so I'm not burnt out? And so my business is automated. And so I tell people, you got to find a thing that you love, you got to find a thing that you need, you got to find the thing that people will pay for. And then you have to make sure it fits the season of your life. That's my 30 compass framework, right? And so I'm saying once you find those things, and women are so multitaskers that they will have a book of things and they want to do them all. And I'm like, no, no, no, no. No, let's narrow it down, okay? And we're gonna score it off of those four things, and whichever ones are the highest, those are the ones we're gonna look at as low-hanging fruit, and we're gonna go for those first, and then we'll look at the next ones to see how we can integrate those or have you evolved and are they still important? Because we change, right? In the dance. But I think it's an important conversation to have as most people um they know it, but it's like having that conversation around time is like, no, we don't get any more time, hun. This is it, this is what we're doing. So we need to make it work. How can we increase our capacity? We increase our capacity by being more structured, having more strategy, right? Implemented in our day, being mindful, and then creating systems that work for us, right? So that we can do the things that we love, we can spend time with the people we love. No one goes into business to create another job or 20 jobs as a fresh CEO. We go into business to create freedom, right? So, what does success look like for you? What kind of freedom do you want? And that's important to know.

Shanna Star:

Yes, I wrote down a couple things. And the first is having clarity in that strategy and structure allows for a free spirit because I think so many, maybe not all, but so many entrepreneurs can align themselves with that. You know, like you said, we most of us go into it because we want that freedom. And we end up being like chained to the desk and being like, we need to do more work and how we get out of burnout is just more work until you get work again. And and what I found is like you said, the more structure I have, the more freedom I can have. One of the things I loved about love from working from home most of the time is I get to enjoy the sunshine. So I might have my structure in the morning, then I'm gonna go out in the sun for an hour, and then I'm gonna come back. And that allows for that freedom, but it's really around that structure, like you talked about. And the other part of that is it has allowed me to see that having those priorities, I get a lot more done in a short amount of time than when I first started the business and thought I need to work 12 hours a day and I need to stay up till 11 every night because there's always the busy work that we can do, but it doesn't mean that you're actually being productive.

Chanda:

Exactly.

Shanna Star:

And something I saw on your Instagram kind of recently that you posted is something that I implemented for myself and I love speaking about. And it was the I'm an avid task checker and in productivity. So every day it might be five things, it's at least five. Some of those include like my devotional or a workout or specific things I need to do for work that day. And I have to get those things done. Now, if I get those things done and I might have a few more things that didn't need to get done, maybe it's on tomorrow's, I can do those. But it's always just get these things done and then you can allow yourself some of that freedom we talked about. So I I would love for you to talk about how you set your priorities because I know you agree and you've talked about writing those three things down as well and talk about that a bit.

Chanda:

I use lots of time management strategies. Um I use CEO theme days, is what I call them. And so when I look at my week, um I typically Mondays is for coaching for me. So that's when I pour into myself. Tuesdays through Thursdays is for my clients, right? And then Friday through Sundays is for my family, right? And so Fridays, I try to take a day for myself. Self-care is really key, right? And that helps with that burnout. And I always try to explain to the women, most of the mothers, right, is that you have to take time for yourself. You have to. If not, you're not gonna be the best person, not just for yourself, but for your family, and not after your family, then for your clients, right? For your business. And if you don't exist, it all goes away, right? And getting people to understand that. As far as my days go, I'm really big on the top three every single day. And so my clients say I don't have enough time. Let's do a calendar audit. Let's look at how you're spending your time. And I explained that to them. Running in place, it's not the same as making progress. So let's see, just because you have a to-do list, if it has a bunch of things up there that does not move the needle forward in your business, right? Then those are personal things you got to do. That's not necessarily things that's helping your business, right? And we need to separate those two so we're clear because we don't always do that.

Shanna Star:

No, you're right. Absolutely.

Chanda:

Yeah. And so during the day, though, it's structuring the day, like you said, for those time blocks, right? I call the Pareto principal extended form, but I do long focus times of work. So I may sit down for an hour, but within that hour, at 45 to 50 minutes, I'm getting up, I'm stretching my legs, I'm feeding the dogs, I'm letting them out. I might check my social media, I might grab a snack, right? And then when I sit back down, I am better for it because I've given myself a break. And what I like to show people all the time, especially my clients, is I'm like, your brain is like this. Like, this is a hair tie. And if you're constantly working, working, working, working, working, working, working, working, working, your brain does not rest. And when you get up, you'll find that you're slightly annoyed, you're frustrated, you haven't eaten, you haven't drank anything, like you may not have gone to the bathroom, your dogs are angry with you, your kids are angry with you, like everybody's angry, and you're no better for it. But when you get up and you take those breaks, you go from this immediately to this. And it allows you to relax, it allows you to breathe, it allows you to get refreshed. So when you go back at it, you may go back to the same task, right? Depending on how you structure your day, or you might go on to the next thing. But either way, you had time to kind of clear everything out and start again, right? And it just gives you such a refreshing that you would have no idea. Um, and then when you want to take that time in the evening because you've focused in on your day and you've worked on those tasks and those priorities that you set, you can go out back and sit on the porch and you know, lay on the hammock and watch a sunset or go for a walk or watch a movie with the family or cook dinner, whatever your thing is, right? And that's the beauty of you know, tapping into some of these things. It's like, okay, this could absolutely work. So time blocking, pareto principle, theme days, um, priorities are prioritized based on the urgency. Is it gonna cost me money? Is it gonna affect my bottom line? Like, what's the urgency of it? Um, some things are a higher priority than others because they are time stamps, right? Because they will cost me money versus some things are things I just would like to get done, but not as high as a priority. So if I'm having a bad day and I need to make me a priority because I matter, I can say, you know what, that is important, but I can get to it tomorrow and it's not gonna cost me anything.

Shanna Star:

I think that was so relevant what you said about if you have a bad day, because I I don't even speak about that enough. I think it, but there are days where you do have a priority list and you do need to get things done. But we have maybe some health things we're going through or grieving or just a bad day where you just are off. And and it's okay to allow yourself if you've been structured enough in business to have a day be like, you know what? This is the day that I'm not gonna be focused enough, I'm not gonna be productive enough. And so shifting that, I think that would be huge to allow yourself and give that permission.

Chanda:

I think we don't honor ourselves enough. Um I think people try to put us in boxes so much. Well, you have to be this or you have to be that. And I don't think you have to be either. I think you can be both, right? And I think the beauty of us acknowledging um that we're all in a journey individually but collectively, right? Is that we're also in different places, we're also in different seasons. Um, and my target, you know, ideal client over 40, most of us have adult children or families. We have spouses or, you know, long relationships, we have aging parents, right? I have grandchildren. So from a mother perspective, a grandparent perspective, aging parent perspective, and then I still have me, who's very much important. I think it is important to take those moments because, like you said, you know, I lost my brother a few years to gun violence and it shaped me. And it's been years, right? Thank you. But it some days it's still not good. Um, I just came from Asia two weeks ago. Every October, around his death anniversary, I go celebrate his life. Why? Because some years I'm okay, but some years I'm not. But I feel like I honor him and I honor me by just stepping away and giving myself permission to be whatever I am in that moment, right? And it's not nothing forced and it's nothing with it, you know, no one has did anything to me. But I feel like, you know what? I don't want to have to explain how I'm feeling today. Today I just want to I want to be and I want to honor him and I want to remember him, and I I just want to live out loud. And who cares what you think?

Shanna Star:

Right. I love that. I I wrote down too about that family too. I I don't have human kids, I have dogs, but as a daughter, I've talked about this in the past too, where something I saw was really important and just vital to me growing up is my mom did everything for me when I was young. And I feel like, and I'm very thankful for that. I'm thankful for the mom that she always was. Not everyone has that chance. But what I saw in her is when I started getting a little bit older, I would have glimpses into her being a woman and she started taking time for herself. You know, I'd peek in and she'd be reading the Bible, and she didn't know I was always watching her. And then she started working out, and it might have taken a little bit of time away from her kids. It really wasn't much. Of course, she structured that well. Um, but it made me even respect her as a woman in a different way. She always got ready and tried to look beautiful, and it made me go, those are important too. It wasn't just about her kids, it's she's a woman and a mom, and she's not just a mom. And so it made me gain a new respect for her too, which led to me having more respect for myself. And I think not all moms, I think many moms do that really well. But just remembering like just being the mom, I know that you think that your life revolves around your kids, and that's going to be the best. But if they can see that you care about yourself and taking time for yourself, whatever that looks like, it's going to have an effect on the children watching you and let them know I'm important too, and I deserve that rest. So I think oftentimes, like you said, moms especially put themselves on that back burner. But it's important for your kids to see that you're important too.

Chanda:

Yeah, I know. I um I can appreciate you sharing that. Um, because it's one of the messages I always have for my moms. But as a mom of five, five adult children, I'm really blessed that we have really good relationships. And um my oldest is 31 and she advocates like mom, you need to go out, you need to get out, like mom, you know, and I can appreciate that, but um definitely allowing her and them to be a part of my journey and um to be on the front row seat, right, of life, um, and watch them become parents and become moms themselves. Um, I think that's so important. I often um tell people I was an empty nester for about a year, okay? Kids, a few of them came back.

Shanna Star:

As they do, yeah.

Chanda:

But in the year, I realized there should be like more support for women who are empty nesters. Like it was the first time in my life that I didn't have to cater to anyone, I didn't have to take care of anyone. I didn't, and it was hard. It was because I had built my life around everything was structured around them. How you know what they needed, if they needed to eat, and how I could support them and how it show up for them. And even as my children got older and moved out, I allowed my grandchildren to come go to school and come home to my house because it continued that, right? Yeah, and so when I moved away, my mom's husband is terminally ill and I moved closer to support her. And so my children, because they had lives in a different state, in a different area, like four hours away. It was like, okay, it was a disconnect from them and a disconnect from my grandkids. And so it was just me and my dog, me and sire. And so for that first year, it was like, oh wow. Okay, what are you gonna eat? What are you gonna do today? You know, how are you gonna spend your time? Like, what do you what do you want? What do you need? And I was like, oh my gosh, like this is this is this is I don't know.

Shanna Star:

Um card, it's a different part.

Chanda:

It was because it my identity then could not be rooted in just being a mother. I had to face myself and say you're a woman, right? You're your person. Um, and what is living your life in this next season look like, whether they're here or not? What do you want out of life, right? And some of that brought me to this place. It was a good thing. Um, but I think self-awareness is key. And a lot of women don't have that because we're so ingrained as someone's wife, someone's partner, someone's mom, someone's daughter. So but who are you? Who are you? What do you want? Right? And what does that look like, right? How do you want to show up? I totally agree. Um, yeah. So thanks for sharing that. That is that is like a lot of women go through that. And it's great that you could even um witness that and then take away from it, right?

Shanna Star:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I feel very lucky in that for sure. I know that you are very faith-based, so that's where a lot of the clarity probably comes from. And I agree with that. That's how I feel in my business too. I always say my business grows when I work on myself and my heart and my intentions. So when you're speaking to your clients or women listening, how do you implement that clarity into your business? Like what does that look like? Is there anything that you could kind of touch on that?

Chanda:

Um, outside of the systems is really getting to know the people and listening. Um, I think a lot of people don't listen. I think communication is a lost art, right? Um, I over-communicate in every relationship. So um one of the things um, I'll say it with my clients, I'm probably a lot more gentler. Um, but I'm like, what I hear you say is what I hear you say you need is because so I'm asking questions, right? I'm helping you understand what it is that you are saying to me and what it is you're saying you need. So when you say, hey, I got this idea, I want you to say, Well, what is this idea? Let's talk about it. So, okay, you want to start this business. How big do you want the business? And I'll start railing off different avenues that you can take in a business because uh my brain thinks brainstorm in two seconds, right? Um, and so I'm like, okay, most a lot of people will come and say, I want to do real estate. It's like, okay, you want to be a developer, an investor as an investor. You want to hold, you want to flip? You like, what do you want to do? You want to be a landlord? Do you just want to do REITs? Like, do you want to do wholesaling? What are we talking about? And then on what scale? You want to be engaged, you want to automate, you want to have like a partnership, a JV partnership, or you know, do you have resources? How is your credit? Like, I start asking them questions and oh god, I didn't think about all of that. Um, and I'm like, well, those are important because there's so many ways to get into real estate. I say, so let's dive into it, right? And so we we get into things by talking about it and by fleshing it out and helping them to make it clear so they can say, okay, I want to do it this way, I want to do it that way. Um, I have a discovery survey that's about 50 questions. Um, and people will say, I was a bit overwhelmed, but it really helped me think about some things I hadn't thought about before. And I say, good, I can tell from the amount of time you spend on it. I can tell by the way you answered your questions and what you said, where you are in your business, if you're serious about your business, like immediately. Um, and after they do it, then we have a call and we go through it and I clarify anything I'm not clear on. And then I also help them get clear on. So I'm like, do you measure yourself in your business? Uh, do you have KPIs? You know, and what do your metrics look like? And most of them are saying, No, I don't. Say numbers never lie, but you don't measure, you can't succeed in or you won't know your success. So, how do you know if you made it if you're not measuring?

Shanna Star:

Absolutely. I think that's especially hard when you're first starting because you know, you you're trying not to spend as much money as you possibly can. You know, you want to save it. You're getting a little bit, maybe you're investing or not even paying yourself paying yourself. And so it's the unsexy parts at first that people think um, you know, getting a client management system has been huge in my business. Uh, but I didn't have it for quite a few years because I was like, I can't invest in that. But as soon as I did, like those numbers are easier to keep track of. And then you know, like you're down 30%, you're up this, you know how many invoices you sent, you know, all the things. And especially with AI, now a lot of these programs will send you like, this is what's been happening this month. So I agree with those numbers. And sometimes they're hard to look at, but you know, like, oh, the best way is almost making it a game. Well, how can I up how many people I'm reaching out to? How can I send more invoices? How can I, you know, and just seeing it not as negative when you see that things are down or up or whatever, but just using it as a way to move forward and see that progress? Absolutely.

Chanda:

It's all tools.

Shanna Star:

Yes, absolutely. And I know on days our capacity on in projects and progress on all businesses look vastly different. So, what are some signs maybe that you see of people coming to you in business early on where you're like, oh, they they definitely need to change some strategies and they're gonna get burnt out and they need some clarity. What are some things that maybe you notice in people that you could share? Like, hey, if you see these in yourself, time to just shift some things. What are some of those?

Chanda:

Um, definitely mean uh when I'm doing the calendar audits for those who're like, I don't have enough time, I don't know where my I can't. And it's like you come to me as your coach, and if you tell me you don't have time, then I can't make you have more time, right? And so it's changing their language, it's changing their mindset. Um, I one of the things I get my clients, I call it a client resource guide. And after our first conversation over the discovery survey, I'm looking for mindset um blocks, right? And I'll ask them, like, do you have any issues with this? And what do you think are your limiting beliefs? And sometimes they'll list them out, but sometimes they come out in conversation. I um talked with a client one time and uh it it was something about her to tell me about herself, and she told me all these accolades, right? But then she didn't call herself a CEO. It's like you wear all these hats and all these titles, but you don't see yourself as a business owner, but you want me to be a business coach to you. And I think I'm gonna be pulling teeth, right? I said, so let's talk about that. Is this really something that you want to do? Something you feel like you need to do, let's clarify. Most things come out when you're coaching, right? Through conversation. It'll come out in conversation. And so I will know immediately where you are, what issues you're gonna have, whether it's operational. If you're telling me you don't know where your money is going in your business, then I know, okay, you need to do a better, you know, job with your budgeting, with your systems. If you don't want to keep up with it, right? Because already can't afford a system, then let's let's talk about Excel. Let's go old school. Just basically. Yep. You need to have something. If you tell me that you have a high turnover in your company, you have issues with your employees or your team. I'm gonna ask you about your operations. What kind of workflows, processes do you have in place? Rose responsibilities, when you talk about your org chart and your structure, when people come into your company, do you have to train everybody? Is there something that you've already have everything jotted down and you can go ahead and pass it off to them, make sure they don't have any questions? You can have someone sit with them for the first few times and then you're evaluating them on a regular basis. Like, what is your processes for that? Right? If you tell me that um people are not doing what they're supposed to do, are you guys having meetings? Are you communicating? Like, what is that that pass on, right? Are you are you doing you know meetings every morning? Are you doing emails? Like, how are you guys communicating with each other? Because as a CEO, your job is to make sure that everyone understands your vision, your mission, everybody understands the objective of your organization, right? And that at the end of the day, your clients are happy and that the work is done. And once you start bringing people in for all these things, right? Initially you do it. But once you start bringing people in for all these things, they can't read your mind. Absolutely. Right? Yeah. And so really just communicating and have those conversations with them, you'll you'll quickly know, like, you know what? I think this is your your issue. You've got to get clear. Once you get clear, the confusion goes away and everything falls into place.

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Chanda:

Now, my whole entire system is automated, believe it or not. I only thing I do is I gin up my reports and um I'll put them down and I'll go back and review them, right? Because your eyes will read what you wanted to say. But other than that, everything is automated from the moment someone comes into my system in a funnel. Okay, the funnel takes them, brings them in, and it they all go into my emails, they'll get text messages. If they're already a client, they'll get emails, they'll get text messages, and I also get emails and text messages to show up. If my client sends something to me, I'll get an email and respond, of course. Um, but everything for me is automated. The most I do is um I'll manually account for attendance. So my I have a three-day tiny challenge where someone who is not sure if they want to work with me can jump online with me for three days and get clear on their business and get a 90-day plan and it has a money-back guarantee. And so they go on, they pay for it, they get a nudge to fill out the survey before the we start the challenge, they get a nudge to book their three calls Tuesday through Thursday, right? At the same time, they get nudges for that. I don't touch it, it's all automated. And the only thing I get is hey, they booked it. And then once the call has been held, I'll go to something to say, did they show up? And I'll click off yes and I'll make my notes. And it's the same the second and third day. At the third day, if they don't want to take any of my offers and they feel like they're not satisfied with my challenge, they can get their $21 back. They showed up, only if they showed up and did the work, right? Um, because I want you to be satisfied. If I didn't do a good job, right, at $21, like please. Um, but as you can see, I don't have to do anything. So it is a lot of work up front. I have an amazing developer for my system who we meet every single day um to make sure that everything is working. If I get something that says this link is not working or this is a failure, or something's disconnected, I was like, hey, I need this like fixed. And he goes in there and he fixes it and say, Hey, I secured that. Um, but yeah, in this day and age, my goal is not to work any more than 20 hours a week, right? Because this is the season of life I'm in. And so I have a marketing agency, they just send me my creatives. I say yes or no, they do all the testing, they send me my reports. Yeah, um, I love that. This is not for everybody, no, but it's available, right? But the benefits are my granddaughter gets in. If I want to go ride a bike with her, if I'm gonna take the weekend and go see my grandsons, um, I have a newborn granddaughter who's less than two months. If I just want to go and hold her and you know, spend time with her, I'm clear on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays as an entrepreneur, my days are dedicated to building my business. But on the weekends, unless I make other allowances, that time is free to do whatever I like. Now, sometimes I do work because it's the nature, right? Yeah, but it's not guaranteed because my clients they know if you go in there to book a call, those links are only active Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Shanna Star:

Right.

Chanda:

Yeah.

Shanna Star:

So it it reminds me people listening who may be like, okay, well, that's great, but I just it it's a lot of work up front, like you said. And it is, it is a lot of work up front. But even with like, here's a very basic example podcasting. When I first started five years ago, I didn't have a scheduled scheduler link because in my brain, I'm like, it's fine, I'm just gonna tell them when I'm I'm available. And oh my gosh, the back and forth, and then it just never worked. And so putting that work up front actually is gonna help you. Well, it's gonna help your professionalism, absolutely, but it's gonna help you work smarter, just like any other system in place. And so just even having a scheduler allows me to search through somebody who's come in. If their PR team contact me, it's like, here it is, and I don't have to think about it. They do it, they set it up, and then it's like, okay, great. Now I only have to worry about it when it comes to that day. And just seeing it as it's gonna actually help so much stress, and those emails be down in your inbox. And it it's just as important to have all those strategies, and I can't, you know, press that enough.

Chanda:

I think if they think of it from this standpoint, and this is what I try to impress upon my clients, is when you're tapped for time, I always say automate, delegate, right, or eliminate. I always say that. But outside of that, understanding that it gives you the ability to innovate as a CEO for your business. So you do have to be very clear, not just on your business as an expert, but your business model going into it, because I can't have a developer and he doesn't know how to design anything for me, right? I had to know up front, like this is what I want my business to look like. This is what success looks like for me. And he's very knowledgeable, right? So he would recommend certain things and say, this is what we can use these tools for, but I don't have a large um technical suite, right? For my automations, I wanted to keep everything real succinct and tight. So I have um, what do I have? Canva, GHL, Microsoft Office Suite, make um outside of social media, right? Mine is very succinct because I don't want to have to be worried about all these different subscriptions on my website, so square. But I don't want to have to worry about all these different things. And GHL is is very comprehensive, right? So I have a course, I have my VIP program, I have my community, I have my CRM, I have my funnels, I have my triggers, my links, my automations, my workflows, I have my AI agent, like I have my phone, my business phone number, everything is connected to GHL, and then I have Microsoft Office Suite for my cloud, right? So all of my documents, everything for my clients, I can go anywhere and work. Like I was in uh Dubai in Asia last week, and um yeah, if I wanted to work, I could have. But that wasn't right, because everything's in the cloud, so I don't have to worry about like, yeah, I got my cell phone, I got my laptop, I can work from anywhere. And I wanted that flexibility, I wanted that freedom. Of course, yeah.

Shanna Star:

I know a lot of high performers sometimes define themselves by what yes they say yes to. So, what did you maybe deliberately start saying no to in order to protect your time and energy? I know you've talked a little bit about that because you work those days and you're available those days. Um, but what are some maybe other things that you either said absolutely not to or yes to that helped you define your business a little bit more?

Chanda:

Um absolutely. If I had to say a no, absolutely no. I'm not opposed to telling someone that they're not my client. And I think um more people should be okay with that. If you're trying to help everybody, you can't help anybody. I think that's very true. Um I have this the same thing with the whole structure and the free spirit. I'm also, I think I'm very well balanced on both brains, right? So I think as a pro project manager, program manager, you know, strategist, I'm very logical, very rational, right? Military government background, I'm very okay, let's let's go, let's go, let's go. What are we doing? Um, very direct. Um, and even though I give space to emotions, right? I give space to freedom, I give space to like if you need a day to talk about it, let's talk about it. Let's let's get it out there. What are we saying? The other side of me is we're crying today, but tomorrow we need to fix it. Okay. And I've had people who would come and I'd have to say, I don't think you need a coach, I think you need a therapist. And I'm here to help you make progress in your life, in your business. I just can't, I don't have the capacity like to sit and listen to you tell me every single meeting about all the things that are bad in your life, right? And how you're not willing to fix it, able to fix it, right? And I don't know, like that's not serving either one of us.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Chanda:

And so I'm not saying never, I'm just saying not today. I think we should probably, you know, go our separate ways. You can find your therapist or a coach who's willing to sit with you in this.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Chanda:

And then if you decide to move past that, you decide, you know what, today's the day, I'm gonna make progress, give me a call. I would love to talk about that with you.

Shanna Star:

I think that is an incredibly like great example because especially starting for those who are just starting it, we want to say yes to everybody because we think everyone's our client and we want the business coming in and we want to grow. And so I understand that mindset. We've all been there. And but it's important to know like, I am not for you right now, or this is what you need, and to be able to even see that is really great self-awareness because most people are like, Okay, I guess I'm just now a mentor for this person emotionally, and and that's especially in your case, not what you do. Um, of course, I'm sure some clients here and there, you're like, Okay, yep, just talk about it today, and then we'll move past. But you talk a lot about um honoring yourself in business, and I think what you just said really shows one of the ways that you do that.

Chanda:

So I really think that's absolutely I told you, I um people be like, You're so weird. I'm like, what why am I weird? You try to put me in a box, first of all, but why does that make me weird? Like, I I think you have to um when you get to a certain age, I think you realize, like, okay, I'm gonna be honest here because what else is there? Like, let's let's not sugarcoat it, let's not beat around the bush, let's lay it out on the table. Um, and some people don't want that. A lot of people say they want truth, but they don't want truth.

Shanna Star:

Yeah, it's hard. It's hard to see that mirrored back for sure if you're not ready for it. Yeah, so um that's and then you also speak about making your goals non-negotiable. It's something that's you know on your website and on all the things that you speak of. So first hearing that, what is a first step to building a business that works in that in that way, and talk a little bit about how to do non-negotiables for those goals and maybe what that looks like. And maybe it's very close to honoring yourself like you chatted to, but it's definitely a combination of the two, right?

Chanda:

And the thing about goals being non-negotiable is goals change, right? And so I'm not saying that you're completely inflexible, that life is not gonna happen, that your mindset is not gonna change. And and for me, I'll give you an example. Um, when I left the government and I went went to work as a government contractor, I was like, I'm gonna start my own business and I'm gonna be a mogul. Like, I'm gonna go and build this great government contracting consulting firm because why not? Within weeks, I lost my brother to gun violence, and he was taken by um guns, obviously I say gun violence, and it shook me to my core, and my immediate focus began to say, I don't want another family to go through what we went through. So if you lose a loved one to old age, to terminal illness, it's just a little different than losing someone violently, right? And our family never got closure, and so I knew immediately like I needed to do what I could do in order to serve as families to try to keep this thing from happening again. And so we started, he passed away on October 11th, 2018. We started family, we started serving the community Thanksgiving dinners November 2018. Like we didn't get a chance to bury him until October 25th, and by November 21st or somewhere around there, we were distributing Thanksgiving dinners, okay, to families. And the first year, of course, because we literally only had a few weeks, was you know, on a small scale, but to date we've serviced thousands of families in his name and in his honor. And um it um it pivoted me in such a way because I realized when I like to serve, I like to teach, um, and honoring him in that way allowed me to heal, right? And so that goal became obsolete, right? And I said, okay, um, I had a mentoring program, we got lots of grants and and stuff, but I was mentoring uh young adults, and I said, Well, how can I use this on a bigger scale? Because government contracting, I I don't, I'm good at it. I don't necessarily feel like this is where I'm supposed to be anymore. And so I pivoted, right? I had people who were saying, Can't you mentor me? Can you can you be my coach? And I'm like, I'm not really set up for that. And so I would just, hey, just I'll just call you and check in on you and give you information. I'll pass up, I'll see how you're doing, you know, I'll give you some resources. Um, but then I began to say, you know, how can I how can I do this? And so I pivoted into this space, and it's like, okay, now these are now my goals, and how do I make this non-negotiable? As an introvert, I do not want to get online and go live, okay? It's like I don't want to do that. And so when I was talking to other coaches, they were like, you need to get on podcasts, and I was like, I don't want to do that either. And as I'm avoiding, yeah, that's you. So even as an introvert, because I've made this a goal, like I've I want to help women who are older create sustainable, profitable, purposeful businesses. How do they find me? How do they know who I am? How do I build my brand? And so this is now non-negotiable. I am showing up showing up in these spaces as my authentic self, um, opening my heart and my mind so that people can say, you know what, I like her. I like her energy. I think we can relate, you know. I think she's for me and I'm for her. I need to get to know her better, right? And so here I am. This goal has become now non-negotiable.

Shanna Star:

I think first of all, thank you for speaking about that. Because some of that I I know it's been a couple years, but it's still pretty fresh and it still affects you, and it I'm sure it will forever. And so thank you for sharing that, first of all. And also for kind of talking about that pivot because so often we feel if we're gonna be doing something in business, we're gonna start something, that's it forever. And if it fails, if we can't, that's it. It failed. And that's really not how life works, you know. This I've been a photographer for 15 years, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna do it forever. And that's why five years ago I started the podcast because I was like, I want to speak to women not just one-on-one, but how can I help more than that one-on-one? And so allowing yourself the pivot, whether it's through good events that happen or heartaches and grievances, but you can add or shift or pivot goals as you go. So I think that's so important that you said that as well.

Chanda:

Yeah, and and so that that term is coined not for the people that are going through something real, right? It's for the procrastinators, those that can't focus, those uh people can, I want to make a million dollars. I'm like, well, what does that look like? What are you gonna sell? What are you gonna offer? How much you're gonna make in a day, how much you're gonna make how soon are you gonna make the million dollars? Are you making it in a month? Are you making it in a year? Are you making it in 10 years? Like, what are we talking? Because if you do it in a year, you gotta go up versus if you're doing it in 10 years, you go this way, right? And so the process becomes different, the conversation becomes different, the discipline and tenacity and perseverance becomes different. Definitely the structure becomes different. So, what are your goals, right? And are you are they really non-negotiable or are you just talking? Because a lot of people just be talking.

Shanna Star:

Oh, all the time. Yep, gonna be a millionaire, gonna be this. I'm like, that's great. What are you doing now? And you're like, well, it's gonna fall on my lap. And it's like, okay, wishful thinking, good for you. But you know, it's always you got to take the first step where you can't see the next 10. And then the next one's gonna be a little bit bigger step, and you can't even see that second step. And so I love how you said that because yes, you can have tenacious goals, but you have to be starting towards them. And and even like I have my journal in the front, I have my goals for the year, my goals for the month. Am I doing them? And even like, how many devotionals am I doing? How many workouts am I doing? It's not all business, there's personal, and it's um they intertwine some because I want to always be progressing. And I don't hit them every month, I don't hit them every year, and that's okay too, but as long as you're making that progress and moving towards it.

Chanda:

Yeah, I use that um planner as well because I'm a little over it, I'm like really over.

Shanna Star:

Get it, yes.

Chanda:

But um, I was telling my clients, I recommend the 12-week year by time, uh, I think his name is Daniel Moran. His last name is Moran, D Moran. Okay. But I want I recommend the 12-week year because it resonates um very much with me. Um, and he speaks my language. Um, I have it in hard copy, but I also listen to it every year by Audible. And the reason I do is to refresh, you know, my mind that people say you want something in a year, and because it's so far out, 365 days, you get lost. But if you are structuring your goals every quarter, right? Your top three goals every quarter across, and I do it across my life. So I'm talking about myself, my health, my family, my investments, my businesses, you know, charity, I call it charity, um, my foundation, like every across my entire life. I'm looking at the top three goals, right? What am I gonna do in my home? Am I doing any renovations? What am I doing with my family? Are we connecting? Right, I have adult children, so they all have lives, and now we all gotta get on a schedule to get us all in one place at one time, but it's important to me. And so I make it a goal. Um, but I recommend that to people because I think it really helps you stay focused on what matters most and what you say matters most. And at the end of every year, September, October, I get a new planner and I look at the old, I look at where I am, what I've accomplished, and I say, Am I being honest with myself? Am I actually gonna do these things? If not, I don't want to save space for something I'm not gonna do because I'm not honestly not gonna do it, right? And then things that are doing, I'm doing great, or I feel like I could be doing better. I move those into the next year, and maybe I increase those numbers or you know, I change something because I'm scrapping something out. Like this year, I wanted to dwell more into real estate investing and I completed a part of it, I sold a home, but then my life was so busy with this, I was like, I don't have the capacity to honestly say, I'm gonna jump into this with both of my feet and give it my all, right? And instead of looking at myself, said 10 bucks over and saying, you know, I really didn't do much in the investment space, say, you know what? I'm not really putting my all into this right now. Let me table this until next year. Yeah. And so next year I'll revisit that and say, what can I accomplish in real estate investing next year? And what does that look like? Right.

Shanna Star:

Uh I can't remember the exact quote. I might butcher it. Hopefully not. But it's, you know, that we overestimate what we can do in a day and underestimate what we can do in a year. And so it's those baby steps that add up. And that's one of the reasons that I'm sure you feel the same to write down those goals is because you see, like, look what I did this year. And it helps you go, okay, I did these things. Now I can progress for next year. Exactly. I just did my first like speaking engagement where I got to speak really from the heart and some vulnerable things. And I've been wanting to do that for a while. I didn't have the capacity, and I just I wasn't ready emotionally, but it was kind of on my long list to do. And I'm like, okay, now I did it. Now I need to progress that. And that's sometimes how it works as well. But it is yeah, yeah. I know you've spoken so much from the heart today. So thank you for that. Is there anything else that you feel that we haven't touched on, maybe that is from your heart or personal or business that you just feel is relevant for the conversation?

Chanda:

Um, no, just a reminder like we're all in a journey, right? And we are all, like I said, in different seasons. And um, it's not fair to yourself to honor your to measure yourself based on where you see everyone else. Um, measure yourself against yourself because you'll find that um you've made strides and leaps and bounds, and you know, every day is another opportunity to try again, progress over perfection every time. So it doesn't have to be perfect, just keep going, keep making strides. Little baby steps still count. Yeah, um, and and that's it. You just have to remember, right?

Shanna Star:

I love that.

Chanda:

Enough negativity in the world.

Shanna Star:

So there is, I uh am not a perfectionist, I'm a good enoughist, which is funny because a lot of entrepreneurs are not that. And so even talking with people, it's like you don't, it's okay, it's not gonna be perfect. Just put it out in the world, just start, just do the thing. It's not gonna be perfect, you're gonna stumble. But like you said, to just yeah, keep going.

Chanda:

Keep going, keep going.

Shanna Star:

So now that you've spoken so many beautiful words and wisdom and from the heart, how can we find you, follow you, and hopefully get into this program that you talked about too?

Chanda:

So my name is Chonda Costin, and you can find me website is Chonda-C O.com. Um, ch a n d a dash co-c-o-n dot com. And then my social media platform, Instagram, is Chonda two underscores C O. And I would love to meet new people and uh would love to work with uh people who's ready to work.

Shanna Star:

I love that. Thank you. And those will all be in the notes too. In case they can't get to it, right type it in, they'll be able to click right from the notes. So thank you for all that you've shared today. I really appreciate it.

Chanda:

Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure. It's been a great conversation.

Shanna Star:

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