Transcript

Molly: All right. Welcome to Camp Content, and we’re coming in. Hi. Once again, it’s me and Matt, live from Heartcast media. And we have a special guest today. Please welcome Maryann Lombardi. I’m really excited that she’s on the show because Maryanne is probably one of the most interesting people I have ever met in business. Her background and experience makes her a rare gem in business and artistry. I met her when she was working at the 202 Create program, which was a program ran by the mayor’s office where she fostered an incredible amount of artists on their journey to independence. What makes Maryanne really unique is that she spent a lot of time on both on the microphone and behind the microphone and putting microphones in other people’s hands. So she had a creative background as a jazz singer in New York, directing films and doing other things, and then came to D.C. and worked with the mayor’s office to really create systems in which those creative things could exist. But what made her different is that she really got it. She was the first person in the government that I ever met that actually understood what it meant to be an artist, what it meant to be a creative, but then also knew how to really navigate those systems which are largely foreign to anybody who is a creative. She’s done amazing work with the 35/35 Annual Mayor’s Arts Awards and the 202 extra, but it doesn’t stop there. You know what she has done over the last 20 years in working with artists and creatives and businesses and the local governments is really outstanding. What makes her even more special and I know I keep saying that is Maryanne is not afraid to make change. So, you know, to identify as an artist and to leave that work with the government and to leave that it takes a lot of passion and courage to really get up and do those things, which is why it makes her the perfect person to be a business lounge coach who primarily is focusing on transitioning teachers right now because who knows better than how to navigate out of the system and into a system that can support you more sustainably than Maryanne Lombardy. So I know I’m gassing her up and that’s because I know her personally. But I really am always impressed with the work that she’s done, the work she’s doing, and how she’s helping people and just how she can frame things in such a such a creative, yet functional way. And I think if you want to run a business, you have to be boards creative and you have to be ambitious, but you also have to be realistic and that can be a hard road to navigate. So having said all that, please welcome Maryanne Lombardi to the show today. How are you and Maryanne?

 

Maryanne: Well, I’m doing great. Yeah. You know, I sound pretty awesome, you know. Thank you so much for that. Hi. So can you come with me all the time when I need to sort of, like, hype myself up? Can I just ring you up and be like, Yo, Molly.

 

Molly: I got to come pump my tires. I got you, man.

 

Maryanne: I got tires. Let’s get go.

 

Molly: But I mean, all those things. I really was like when I first met you, I was like, Wow, Like, you’re super cool, but you’re like, your very business and your government and you understand how that works. And I just don’t think many people know how to go from creative to. Such an incredibly limiting environment. I mean, let’s let’s you know, being an entrepreneur is easier, I think, than working in the government because at least you could do what you want. Right. It might not work and you might face a ton of backlash for it, but at least you can do it right. And the government, you’re very limited in what you can do. And so I think that level headedness and creativity is just such a unique combination in most people. So.

 

Maryanne: Yeah, I appreciate that. You know, I feel like all of it is really about seeking adventure and challenge for me. Like I’ve always been attracted to where the adventure lies and where the challenge lies. And so whether it’s entrepreneurship or working within the strict government sort of environments, it’s the it’s figuring out like, what is the box, right? Let governments have a box, they have boundaries, but how do you work within those boundaries and then also press against them in order to make real change. And I think entrepreneurship in the same way has its own box, right? It has its own boundaries. And so you have to figure out what those are for you personally as well as the environment, the system of entrepreneurship, and then how do you work best within them, and then how do you push those boundaries to do your best work?

 

Molly: Oh, I love that so much. And that’s really what it is because that’s what you’re doing. You’re pushing boundaries like can, you know, in any job, if you want to succeed, you got, you got to push a little bit, you know, in the government, you got to push a lot. And as an entrepreneur, you really got to push because there’s nobody else showing, making you show up to work. You just got to do it right. And so there is that that that incredible push that needs to be there. I love the spirit of adventure and challenge. I definitely can relate to that a little bit myself. So, you know, interestingly enough, you definitely use a lot of video in your content marketing. You are a video maven, you are all over the place and you are doing video in different ways. You’re doing it on your phone, walking down the street, and you’re doing it on LinkedIn live and you’re also doing it in our studio and then producing, you know, you know, with subtitles and all that. So you’re really coming at this thing like 360 degrees at every single angle. So I’m curious to see what kind of result, like, you know, what inspired you to do video in the first place. I mean, you may start there.

 

Maryanne: Yeah, well, I’ve always loved video. I mean, I think that for me as a storytelling tool, I think it is the most direct that I have. And, and I and I’m comfortable on video, like, I like video and I don’t like the having anything in between me and the people that I want to talk to and I want to serve and that I want to get to know. And I think that that face to face opportunity, if I don’t get to sit in front of you face to face, human to human, like in the same room. There’s something about video that feels really present. It feels very authentic. It’s something that you can’t hide behind, you know? And so I really appreciate that opportunity to be as authentic as I can be and to just connect with people in a really real way. And video allows you to do that.

 

Molly: Yeah, I agree. I especially you always have like your dog in the background or you’re walking down the street, you’re not like waiting for the perfect moment and you’re not in a studio. Everything’s not scripted. And I think that’s really valuable because I think a lot of times people think, you know, like, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. It’s one of my favorite quotes. But I think a lot of times you’re like, I don’t want to get on camera because I’m not feeling good or I’m depressed today or my hair doesn’t look good, but it’s like, Yeah, but that’s life, right? And I love this movement now of like, you know, TikTok and Instagram and shorts are people are like moms are in their mom buns and not wearing makeup. And they’re like, yeah, this is this is what I actually look like without filters. And I think we need more of that, especially in business, because if I’m going to work with you, I want to know who you are. I want to know how you feel about stuff. I want to know this. Those little glimpses in your life of like, you know, your dog, but, you know, like you like letting your dog on your bed. That says a lot about who you are. Really? I let all my dogs in my bed. Not everybody does. That makes me like you a little bit more.

 

Maryanne: Yeah, well, and I think especially in this entrepreneurship space, I mean, I got into entrepreneurship and jumped out of government because I wanted to have control over my life again, Right? Like I wanted to have control over my time and my attention and how I spend it, who I spend it with. Right. And who has access to me as well. You know, And part of that is to to live my best life if I’m doing this. What? Why would I hide those things? Right? Like, this is this is who I am, right? This is it’s a wonderful freedom to be the person that you want to be, the person that you know you are right. And and to live that way. And as an entrepreneur, I get that opportunity right. And if people don’t like it. Well, all right. You know, to each their own, you know. But I think that that that is one of the amazing opportunities that entrepreneur entrepreneurship provides you, is that that ability to just be your damn self. Right? And maybe it’s partly figuring out who that damn self is right with it too. But and part of my life right now is I’m a freaking empty nester, right? I got a dog that, like I love more than anything on the planet. Not more than anything, because I like my kid more. Right, Right. But, you know, but still, like, that’s pretty cool. The life I’m living right now.

 

Molly: Yeah, exactly. It’s a beautiful thing. I love it. So in all these videos that you’re doing, what are you what are you seeing? What is this? What’s the data showing you? What kind of results are you getting? Is it, you know, where are you posting videos? Let’s start there. What platforms are you using?

 

Maryanne: Yeah, so LinkedIn is my primary platform even though we’re on everywhere else. But it is always where I start because that is where my community is. That is where the the audience and the clients are really for me right now. So I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn and that tends to be where I start. But we also cross-promote on Facebook and we cross-promote on Instagram and YouTube and Tik Tok, and we just started a Tik Tok. So we’re we’re learning that Tik Tok space and and as we’re going, we track everything right? Like we post things out and then we look at that data every couple of weeks and we go, okay, what is performing best? And the answer is different. The content compared to the platforms we’re on, right? LinkedIn performs certainly differently than, say, YouTube or Tik Tok or, you know, so we make adjustments as we go on when we look at that data. But video video outperforms almost everything. One of the things I like about LinkedIn is that there is a nice balance between written posts and video content. So which I think is great. Yeah. Whereas other platforms are definitely trending so much more into video being the primary. You know, the thing that is really working the best.

 

Matt: Yeah, exactly. And, and your video too is very short, sweet just to go back on everything. It’s and you’re very because we know this because we do you know your videos it’s very you very much right now not because a lot of the videos you do are why we do this Why wait It’s like do it now. Do it now. Do it now. And like I said, they’re short, sweet videos kind of in your face. I love it because just like the one recording session we did is like, If you’re with me, just say fuck yeah. I’m just like at any DMS going, Fuck yeah, I know.

 

Molly: Say Yeah, same. Exactly.

 

Matt: So I guess just, I don’t know, talk about because like you said, it’s why video so much. Or helpful, and especially with entrepreneurship, like why the the right now mindset and aspect is so important.

 

Maryanne: Yeah, well, I would say why not? Right. I mean, time just ticks by, you know, and it just keeps on going. And it’s very easy to say, well, maybe someday or I will or, you know, I could. But, you know, and in my view is that why don’t we just get it done now, Right. Like, there is no better time than now to to do whatever it is that you want to do. And that doesn’t mean that you have to ditch your whole life and move to Costa Rica and buy a dog. Right. Like, but you could do that like both of us.

 

Molly: I didn’t say. I mean, they just showed up. Just for the record, they just appeared on my property. Yeah.

 

Maryanne: Right. But. But there are little steps that we all can be taking to improve our lives, to improve our financial situation, to be able to wake up in the morning and be like, You know what? I really want to be here today. I really want to be doing what I’m doing today. So I always think, why wait for that moment? Why do you have to wait for that moment? Because who wants to be waking up and going like, Oh shit, it’s Monday again. Now I have to go do this thing where, you know, my bosses aren’t giving me the support I need. You know, some kid pushed me down the stairs and, you know, like, I feel crappy, and, you know, why? Why would we be doing that to ourselves day in and day out? So I say, now, now is better than later.

 

Molly: You know, I’m looking at your YouTube channel and I’m looking at those shorts, like, compared to the videos. And it’s pretty you know, if you really look at those numbers, you’re getting really. Yeah. You know, significantly more plays on the short videos and on the longer videos, which is the same thing that we’re seeing on our channels and our clients channels, that shorts are like a real opportunity to get in front of a new audience.

 

Matt: Uh.

 

Maryanne: Yeah, I think shorts are a great opportunity, but we’re trying to make sure, though that we balance things right, because we want the shorts and we want people to be coming in and taking, taking quick looks on things because people consume in a quick way like that. But we also care about that long form because the life form is how people really understand what what we are talking about and teaching. So we do find that the long form really is an opportunity for folks to be learning. And so that works really well for us in our email when we’re sending that to people to, you know, they’re wanting to learn about boundaries, they’re wanting to learn about how do they actually start a business. You know, we have this content, this educational content that is more long form that they can go back to and look at. And I think also, you know, when you’re trying to attract clients and you’re trying to build an email list and you’re trying to build sort of this database video is actually an incredibly good way to do that. We have we have tried like 852 lead magnets. But the thing that works the best for attracting emails is the replay of our live videos, right? Because we do these live videos every week. And for the people who can’t attend live, they say, yes, we would love the replays. They are happy to give us their email and then we can email them out that that video after the fact. So I think having a balance between that short form content that is like quick digestible stuff and the longer form that is much more on the teaching and coaching and learning side is a real key one.

 

Molly: That’s exactly it. Like the short form video is meant to be, You know, I love talking about fishing, like content marketing is fishing, but it really is. And short form video is just a really nice piece of bait at the end of the hook. You know, it’s to bring people in to the to the main attraction, you know, which is a longer form video. But the short form video is just hits people, you know. And and sometimes I’ll be scrolling through and I’ll see a creator’s video and I it doesn’t really hit me, but then another one of theirs does. And I watch it. Or maybe I watch it two times and then they show me more of that content and then I can decide if I want to follow it or not. And I think that’s what it’s really great for. It’s like leaving little bread crumbs for people to to find their way to the to the main act and really learn from you and engage with you. But it’s tough, right? Because, you know, you got to have that hook. You got to get them right away because we all have like, you know, attention spans of water fleas at this point. And so if there’s not something interesting in the first three, 3 seconds, might even be generous, you know?

 

Maryanne: Yeah. Well, I think it’s also we have to we have to hook them really quickly. But then we also have to recognize that it’s a long game, right? Because if you are in this work of entrepreneurship, right, your your your catalog is the key. You’re long it’s a long game to get you there. It’s a short game to attract people quickly. But, you know, you’re going to have to be in it a minute. You’re going to have to commit. You’re going to have to stay. Not not everything is going to happen for you in the first, you know, 90 days. In the first 30 days and the first six months. Right. You may find that you’re creating all this content and then something really hits, right? And the next thing you know, you skyrocket up. So I think that that there is this sense that if you don’t get everything immediate, that you’re doing something wrong. And that’s actually not the case. You just. I have to be committed to doing taking little steps every day to put stuff out there and to learn to be yourself on camera and to get comfortable with it and just accept that sometimes you’re going to show up and say something stupid and sometimes you’re going to be brilliant and some people are going to love it and some people aren’t. And all of that’s okay.

 

Molly: Because even when you think you’re some people and people.

 

Matt: Like too stupid sometimes.

 

Molly: Right. Well, and even if you think.

 

Matt: Maybe the stupid is the brilliant.

 

Molly: Or vice versa, you might think you’re sounding stupid, but people think you’re brilliant. And then when you think you sound brilliant, other people think you sound stupid. So humans would just be yourself anyway, right? Because there’s no winning that that battle anyway. Yeah, I agree with you. I think, um, well, especially engaging with transitioning teachers, you know, which is your main, you know, bread and butter right now, which is great because, I mean, teachers are amazing, wonderful people. They can actually save the planet and who deserve to get paid more and have more rewarding and filling lives and feel valued right outside of getting awesome hugs from kids and stuff. Right. I wanted to be a teacher for a very long time. I’m actually certified to be a preschool teacher for special needs kids, but. It’s a it’s a different it’s just a very different road. And so I would imagine these teachers that are coming out of that and looking for some guidance, I would imagine in watching your videos is very comforting because you’re explaining things and you’re speaking to them directly and you make sense in a world that’s like, click here and do this and you don’t have that. And they’re like, I don’t even know what those things are, but meanwhile you’re just showing up talking to them. And I would imagine that’s having a lot of.

 

Matt: Uh, they’re kind of like hype videos for teachers. It’s like you do have value. Here’s how you can have value as a teacher. Well, a lot of it’s like, here’s how your values as a teacher translates to a lot of other things in life. You’re not just stuck in a classroom. The things that you do in a classroom are things you’re able to do that a lot of other people can’t do in the real world shouldn’t say real world. Yeah, but like outside of.

 

Molly: The classroom.

 

Matt: Education.

 

Maryanne: Yeah, I think teachers forget that. Well, I don’t know if forgets the right word, but I think they don’t quite realize how all of the skills that is one of the many things I love about them as all of the skills that they have that they have developed to do the work that they do. So many of them are directly translatable to entrepreneurship, right? Without much effort. And when you are starting a side business, being able to draw from what you know how to do and then sell it to the people that you already have in your network is key. And for teachers, they have all of that stuff that’s right at their fingertips, you know? And so I think it’s important for them to understand that there is this other opportunity to use those skills and that that they are so valuable outside of the classroom. And especially as somebody who really cares about helping people know that they matter. Right. Like and I feel like that’s like the key to almost everything I do is like under that mission is that whatever you want, whoever you are, however you show up, you fucking matter. Right? And I think teachers get so beat up, you know, they’re constantly told to fit a mold. They’re constantly told they have to do more. They’re constantly told they’re not doing enough, you know? And so I want to say, Well, fuck that, you are enough. You are doing enough. And and and everything that you have can immediately earn you more money and allow you to take back your time freedom, take back your emotional and mental health, own who you are and what you want to do so you don’t always have to be, you know, subject to a system.

 

Molly: You’re going to single handedly take down the education system because all the teachers are going to quit and go work with you. And just kidding. We’re not advocating that. I love it.

 

Maryanne: I Oh, we are definitely.

 

Molly: I love it. Well, and, you know, it’s always surprising how unorganized people are in business. So I think teachers could actually help clean things up a little bit, you know? Goodness. Okay. So we talked about what platforms you’re using. I’m very curious about Tik Tok. You said you just started using Tik Tok. So let’s talk about that. Like, are you seeing some results from that? Because I have a client who just started using Tik Tok a month ago and has a video with like 150,000 views and she’s got like 20 videos up total.

 

Maryanne: So I’m yeah, no, we are not having that kind of traction yet, but we would love to and connect me with her and maybe we can see how we could have that kind of same impact over there. I mean, I think that we’re, we’re slowly but surely learning what what is working there. And it’s not always the same thing that’s working elsewhere. Right. And so we’re trying to figure out how to be efficient because one of the things that we don’t want to do is that we don’t want to have to be creating brand new content on every channel because it’s not it. It’s just way too difficult to do. So we’re looking at what is the content we’re already creating, how do we repurpose it the best that we can on the channels that that we are focused on primarily? And then when we have to create something new, then we can create something that that suits another platform a little bit better. But we also want to make sure that that I’m not spending 100% of my time creating content all the time, because then that doesn’t leave us time to actually serve the community that that that I want to be serving. So so Tik Tok is a bit of a learning curve as we’re going in, learning what works. I mean, most often the things that work all the time, no matter where we are, is these what to say wins. I have a series of videos where I, I script write, like I give people scripts to common challenges or problems and so or bad behavior or like how to respond to it with, you know, in some sort of appropriate way. And then I also give the snarky way to respond. So those always do well on all platforms, but we’re trying to figure out the Tik Tok thing right now, and we haven’t quite figured it out yet.

 

Molly: Well, I’ll send you to her channel and make an introduction. She does some coaching. You would you would like her Gina malika on long She’s a she’s a bad ass She doesn’t take any ship from anybody and she does amazing stuff and she’s all about kind of reclaiming your life and deciding what you want to do. It’s very similar. There’s a lot of synergy there, so I’ll definitely introduce you guys. But yeah, Tik Tok is interesting and you know, we talk about Tick Tock a lot because we’re on the fence, right? Because I think you can get from. This results no doubt like there’s a ton of attention arbitrage to be had on TikTok, but I know that TikTok is getting banned and more and more governments and like half the states now, like 26 states, have abandoned the government offices. And I think that that’s going to grow. Right. So it’s also a question of like what platform? So you touched on it. You don’t want to have great special content for each platform because when one of them drops, which inevitably they will. Right. Like we all learned how to code on MySpace and here we are, right? You know, Friendster or Napster, all that’s I miss.

 

Matt: My top.

 

Molly: Friends. I know my top eight. Your mom, he’s ever shirtless.

 

Matt: Cause more drama. Nothing. Cause more.

 

Molly: Yeah. Oh, my God. I used to, for sure said your mom’s in my top eight. Like, ridiculous, right? So. But, you know, these platforms do change the idea of, you know, leveraging one piece of content on multiple platforms versus creating content for each platform I think makes a lot of sense. So it’ll be interesting to see. Now, what have you seen, you know, from other than the, you know, what to say if this happens, what else are you seeing? Are you getting more engagement on different platforms? Are you getting more discovery calls booked? You know, where are you seeing the most, uh, the most traction?

 

Maryanne: Yeah. Most of our most traction comes from LinkedIn by far. And really the what to say when when’s do the best on Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook. But our educational content does the best on LinkedIn and also just the personal stuff, right? Like when you actually tell your own story, when you when you relate what you’re doing to who you are and your own story, all of that kind of stuff always gets the most the most play, whether in written or video. At least that’s what we’re finding. And and I think regarding what you’re saying about a Tik Tok, I think it’s important to realize that that what matters most is you picking and committing to whatever platform you use. Right. That that matters more than anything else, you know, because a lot of times people get distracted by the trends and so then they start following trends and they get completely, you know, turned around in that process, right? So what matters is picking something, sticking with it, and then committing to it day in and day out and being consistent about it. It isn’t actually that complicated. And a lot of times all the stuff gets way too complicated. It’s just like starting a business is not complicated. Doing the stuff is not complicated. Just show up, put a camera in your face and show up and post it. Do it right. Like just start there. That’s all you have to do.

 

Molly: Agree, because it’ll be back. Do it again, but it’ll get better.

 

Maryanne: You’re going to get Yeah.

 

Molly: It’ll just get better every single time. And then you just you’ll look at your old videos and be like, Oh God, burn that, but whatever, You’ll be better now. So it doesn’t matter, right? Like, I was looking at some of the great content we produced in 2016 when we first started doing the factory floor sessions and stuff with the, you know, at the old one Love massive building and God, they were terrible. But you know, the last ones we did really good, right? And that’s just the learning curve. You can’t get better at it until you do it. And I think there’s ways to be smart, too. Like we have services where you come in for an hour and then we make 20 videos from that one hour session, right? Like there’s ways to work around if you’re like, I’m not like me. I don’t I don’t want to be on camera every single day. So I do better to like, put me in a studio for an hour. I’ll give you tons of gems and then I have a month’s worth of content. But I don’t I don’t want to be on camera every day. And you don’t have to be, but you need to have video going out consistently. But that doesn’t mean that you need to do it every day. So I think being really smart about how you create content is a big part of the long game. Otherwise you will burn out, right? It’s like it’s like people that have podcast and they’re like episode 356 and I every time I’m like, Bro. Why? Why? Well, you know what I mean. 356 episodes. Like, I don’t know, man. And then that’s like, always the first part of the sentence. It’s like episode 356. But it’s like, that doesn’t really I love it. It doesn’t really give the value that I think people think that it does. Like, Sure, you’re consistent, but you’re more proud of your consistency than the value that you’re bringing. So I think there’s like a there’s a there’s a line there, right, of like showing up, but not just not just for showing up sick. Right? Like I actually produce some like some value, provide some value, teach people something. And then I think it’s better to sit back and look at the data and not just do things in perpetuity, because that’s what you do, especially if they’re not working and I think as entrepreneurs. It’s really especially if you’ve had any sort of trauma or abusive situations or dysfunctional situations in your life, It’s really easy to keep doing things that are comfortable even when they’re not working right, and that can spill over in your entrepreneurial life sometimes where it’s like it’s not the best thing to do and it’s not even working and you’re killing yourself to do it right. You just keep doing it anyway, right? So.

 

Maryanne: Right. Or you’re looking at everybody, what everybody else is doing. And so you’re defining what you should be doing based on what everybody else is doing. And so it is this this process of figuring out like, who am I and what do I have to say and who do I serve? Right. Like figuring that out for yourself. And yes, there’s interesting tactics that you can learn. And yes, there are some trends that have some value, but at the same point in time, it’s really what do you have to say and who do you have to say it to? And then the commitment thing, it isn’t about having to do like 15 pieces of content every day. I think people sort of get that wrong, right? Like they think that commitment means more that they have to do the most. No, no, no. It just if you’re just posting once a week, rock on, but post once a week. Like don’t just post once a week and then like be gone for three. Right. Like it’s about that consistency and being committed to that process, whatever it is.

 

Molly: You know, it’s interesting. I was listening to a like fitness person and they were saying and I was listening to podcasts and she was saying that with her clients, she has people go to the gym even if it’s for 5 minutes. Like even if all you can do is walk on the treadmill for 5 minutes so you don’t even break a sweat, right? And that’s all you can do. That’s fine. Do it. But go to the gym every day because it’s actually the act of going to the gym and not showing up and running a mile or five miles every single time. But the consistency of it, the commitment to yourself. And I think that’s exactly it. Right. So it’s not about doing the most. It’s just about doing it.

 

Matt: It’s not just because it’s working for them doesn’t mean it works for you. You are not them. Yeah.

 

Maryanne: Right. Yeah, absolutely. Well, and I think that’s a big that’s one of the things that I really love about this process of entrepreneurship is that it does combine this personal development and professional development in the same space because you are confronted with your shit, right? When you’re doing entrepreneurship, you I mean because especially even, you know, like someone, me who comes out of some pretty high highfalutin sort of roles and stuff like that where you’re kind of the bomb at the thing you were doing and then you jump into an entirely new space. It’s a humbling environment where you got to learn some shit. You got to try, you got to figure something out, you got to test and retest it, you know, And and I like that, right? Like I’m attracted to that kind of stuff. But but it is this interesting, you know, merging of professional and personal development, which I think is pretty wicked cool.

 

Molly: You know, I’m sorry. My dogs are chewing on pieces of glass. Don’t mind me. But, you know, I know one of the things that I love the most and I’ve repeated this a few times since I heard you say it, is people talk about failing and you’ve got to fail and try again and all that. And you said it’s not failure. It’s testing and retesting. And I thought, you know, that’s exactly how people should look at it. It’s not failure. It’s testing and retesting. You tried something, you tested it, it didn’t work. You’re going to retest it in a different way until it does work. And I love that. I love the framing of that. And I think that’s one of the one of the smartest things I’ve ever heard. And I hope more people take that to heart, whether it’s creating video or leaving your teaching profession or starting a new business or anything. And there’s no failure. It’s just testing and retesting. I really love that.

 

Matt: And yeah.

 

Maryanne: I appreciate you say that because I think the words we use matter, right? And I think that we spend a ton of time trying to teach people to reframe what the word failure means and say no, if it’s good, it’s good. It’s like no failing sucks, right? Let’s not try to like it is a word that sucks when you fail. It sucks. So as opposed to trying to teach people how to redefine a freakin word that everybody already knows what it means and. VELSHI How about we actually talk about what the process is? It’s not about failing and succeeding. It’s not about winning and losing. It isn’t. I know everybody says it’s a game and everybody’s like, we use a lot of like either sports metaphors or war metaphors, which is another thing I don’t like about the entrepreneurship space is that we use a lot of violent metaphors. Right? But and quite honestly, I think it has a lot to do with the fact that, you know, the language of business is a very male dominated space. But but when we think about the work we’re doing, what we’re actually doing is trying things out. We are trying things out to see what works. And once we know what works, we can settle on them. So we’re testing and then retesting. And would you please stop rallying?

 

Molly: I know minds, but minds is like crying at the door over something too.

 

Maryanne: But I know this dude has developed his man bark recently and so he’s very proud of the man barbecue.

 

Molly: He looks like a big Jojo, actually. Really? I realized that the other day I was looking and I was like, That’s a big Jojo. Well, on that note, yes. Testing, retest, testing. It’s like a scientist. Or they build a robot and it tries to walk and it falls. They don’t say, Oh, it was a failure. They say, Oh, well, let’s pick it back up and change something and tested again. It is not a failure.

 

Maryanne: What did I learn?

 

Molly: Testing and retesting. So yeah, I love that we’re finishing on that. No, because I love that. So thank you for spending some. Some time with us today and sharing with us what you’re doing with video. And, you know, we will make sure all of your links are in the show notes below, your website and your channel so people can check out your content. And if you are a transitioning teacher, then you should totally head up Maryanne because she’s awesome. And like she said, she can teach you ironic. She can show you how you can make all kinds of money with the skills that you already have. And if you want to get to know her first, there’s a ton of video content for you to check her out and see what she’s really like. If this interview hasn’t already told you enough, you’re my kind of people, Miss Maryanne. So thank you so much for coming on the show today.

 

Maryanne: I appreciate.

 

Molly: It. Always, always, always.

 

Maryanne: All right. Thank you, Molly. Thank you, manager.

 

Molly: We’ll see you at the mess hall for some kool aid.