Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Robin Hesselgesser, Speaker, Coach, Author & Founder of Steel Whispers

Episode Date: June 16, 2024

As an artist, author, and consultant, her purpose is to inspire and empower. Robin’s passion is to reach beyond what is expected because of someone else’s definition of who she should be or what she can do and help others do the same.Learn More: https://www.steelwhispers.comInfluential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-robin-hesselgesser-speaker-coach-author-founder-of-steel-whispers

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of influential entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have with us Robin Hessel Gessor, who's a speaker, coach, author, and founder of Steel Whispers. Robin, welcome to the program. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate you having me join you today. You're welcome. So give us a little bit of your background and story. And how did you get into your industry?

Well, we all have a story, don't we? Yep. I tell you, I tell you, I was born and raised in an entrepreneurial environment. third-generation automobile dealers in a GM in a western, smaller town in Nebraska, Grand Island. And so I, you know, I came up kind of immersed in that unique environment where, you know, everybody worked really hard. But business was done a little bit differently. Everything then was a handshake and a look in the eye. and, you know, a promise to fulfill something, whether it was just an oil change or a car wash or a new car or, you know, it obviously, it depended with each client.

But, you know, I loved the whole relationship building that I grew up in. Well, I thought all businesses were, you know, kind of run that way. And once I got out into the cold reality of what our world looks like, I was, disappointed to say the least. And in any event, after college, I landed in the corporate world. And at some point, you know, I just thought that I was busy making someone else's dreams come true. And getting, you know, I worked my way up the ladder and I was the only female in the boardroom. And I loved what I did. But, you know, when you're raised in that entrepreneurial environment. I think it gets in your blood and you see

the good that can come out of it. And so I really wanted that for my life. And so kind of later in life, I jumped into the deep into the pool and started doing my own thing, my own way. And I'll tell you, the coaching aspects came by in an unusual way. My mother passed away. And one of the things that was important to me was that, because she passed away suddenly and rather young, I mean, by today's term, she was young. She was only 65. And she actually passed away from an accidental overdose of Tylenol. So who knew, right? But it was important to

me that that I send her off having been known because there were people sitting in the funeral home that hadn't, you know, that kind of had lost touch. I mean, that happens, right? And so I wrote the eulogy and I stood up and I told my mom's story. And after the service, the funeral home came to me and offered me a job. as the person who would, pardon me, who would give life presentations basically. And I said, oh, I'm so flattered, but I can't, I don't, I don't think that will work for me. So long story short, I became a speaker, a motivational speaker through that experience. And then that led me to more one-on-one and business coaching.

So that's kind of how I got into that particular field. And my passion has always been especially to help women who are entrepreneurs or who are trying to fulfill their purpose and their passion because, you know, let's face it, especially in some features. fields. Industries are still very male dominated and women are still the primary caretaker in a home, in a family. And so sometimes they might need a little bit of extra support and encouragement and inspiration. So I try to provide that. Neat. Awesome. So then how did that morph into helping small businesses because, you know, when you've got that background of helping and, you know, even helping tell the story, what does you work with small businesses? And then do you tend to work with women-owned small business? Yeah, I do. So how that started is being an entrepreneurial,

being an entrepreneur myself, you know, I really struggled with having the support and information that I wanted and needed. And I had a hard time with it. I didn't have my circle of influence, shall we say, worked still for the corporate world. And so a lot of people didn't understand the challenges and the dynamics that I was going through. And I was really lonely. So I I started this meetup group where I invited other entrepreneurs to come and share their story. You know, let's help one another. And we talked every week I had a different subject. One week it was sales, one week it was marketing, one week it was employee retention,

one week it was, you know, books, you know, how to how to set yourself up for retirement. and that type of thing. And that slowly morphed into being a consultant for small businesses, because what I was doing worked for me and my company, and people saw that, and so wanted to know what I was doing. And so one thing kind of led to another. My passion for small businesses is really sales and retention of employees, because especially now where a lot of us are still working from home, a lot of

employees just feel isolated and left out and not as engaged. And maybe their voice isn't as loud as it once was when they, you know, went to work every day and was able to not only have that socialization, but be in constant communications face to face with a supervisor or a manager or other people that help, you know, kind of build and create and do all of those things. Yeah, 100%. Yeah, that's really, it's interesting how when you watch Shark Tank and you see, you know, hey, I noticed this problem.

I went out to find the solution. It wasn't on the market, so I just started it. And that's kind of like what you were noticing there is just kind of taking one step at a time and working through that to serve the small businesses that you come in contact. with. Absolutely. So then how'd you get into the art business? Okay, well, so that is a story that is near and dear to my heart because, you know, I was at a, I was at a crossroads. So right after having been in the commercial world and trying to kind of figure life out, I was also a designer and specialized in remodeling kitchens and bathrooms.

But that industry drove me nuts because although I loved working with my clients, I also had to interface with independent contractors and tradespeople that were not my employee. So, you know, when you're working with independent contractors, you have to rely on them doing the right thing when they said they would do it and how they say they will do it. And I just was at the point, Mike, where I thought, I'm going to go to jail because somebody's going to get hurt and it's not going to be me. And I was just tired of the lack of work ethic and the lack of pride and the lack of follow through. And it just wasn't for me. So I was at a

crossroads. And I had given my parents this large piece of furniture that was once in my living room, which left a huge blank space on my wall. And I, you know, pondered about what I was going to do there. So, you know, like most people do, especially women, I went shopping. And I found the perfect sofa table. And then I wanted something above it. And I wanted a cool piece of art and I couldn't find it, much like we were talking just a few moments ago, I couldn't find what spoke to me. I couldn't find anything that was unique and interesting and cool that was under $4,000. And I didn't want what everybody else had at Hobby Lobby or Home Good. And so it was a Saturday night. I was a little bit bored. I went out and bought a blank canvas and having

a lot of leftover crap in my garage, and I mean crap, I started mixing materials, playing with oil paints. I had this base that I no longer wanted or liked, and thought, what would it look like if I incorporated glass into my painting? So I created this beautiful work of art that I was proud of. You know, I stood back and looked at it, put my hand on my hip and said, yep, I like that. and didn't think much more about it. And a couple of weeks later, I had a group over, and a friend of mine brought a person that I'd never met before, and she fell in love with my painting.

She asked me where I got it. I told her the story. She said, well, how much do you want for it? And I stuttered and stammered and said, I don't know. No. In any event, she left that night with my, painting in her car. And so that got me to thinking. Well, because I was still in the design

business, I had been scheduled for a home show out of city in Lincoln, about an hour away, and thought, hmm, is this just a fluke or do I have something here? So I made four other paintings, all a little bit different, of course, because they're all one of the kind. And, And set it up in my booth just to see what would happen. And in 20 minutes, I was sold out. So that's how my art business began. You know, sometimes it's those things that are the flukes that turn into something really profitable. But the thing I would like to point out, and maybe this is kind of the coach in me, you had to notice that.

You could have just shrugged that off as, oh, look, I helped a friend and I gave it to him for good price and did nothing else. But you capitalized on that and noticed it as an opportunity. I think you're so right. And I think we fail to pay attention and give ourselves credit when credit is really due. You know, sometimes we're given those signs, those signals. And because of fear or maybe a perceived lack of opportunity, we don't follow through. But as a coach, as a consultant, you know, that's what I love to do. I love to help people get past those perceived fears or challenges because I think we're all happiest

when we are driven by our own unique story and our own unique purpose and passion. 100%. And then that kind of revelation over the years led you to begin. writing a book. Tell us a little bit about that. I did. So I love to write. I think sometimes there's a place more appropriate for the written word. I like the written word because it's something that you can refer back to. You know, we always, we can say the right thing to somebody at the right time. But then what happens is the old tape reels that we have in our head that talks ourselves

out of that positive momentum sometimes gets replaced with those old stories that we've been trying to convince ourselves up. And so sometimes that written word where we can refer back to and look at every day, you know, it's like a Hallmark card, right? I mean, it's sometimes nice to look back at that and be reminded maybe of something that we thought we knew but forgot or maybe a new idea that we can kind of subscribe to. So I love to write. My new book is primarily for women. I just turned 60 this past year.

And, you know, I know this is no great revelation, right? Did you know that women are perceived differently than men as we age? Yep. I mean, were you aware of this back? I can only imagine. Yeah, right. So there is this huge emotional feeling among women that as we age, we feel that we are less than, that we are not as vital.

We're not as important. We're not as sexy. We're not as pretty. We're not as intelligent. We're just meant to kind of do our own thing, maybe be a grandparent and live the rest of our lives in a, you know, doing what we've always done. And that doesn't have to be the case. You know, life and the pursuit of something new, the pursuit of a passion or a purpose. or a new career even, does not have to be in the rearview mirror and something that we've only

aspired to in our 20s and 30s and 40s. So I think my, like I said, my book is, it's got some humor in it because, you know, aging is, oh, and I hate the word anti-aging. You know, we see it all the time for women, whether it's through cosmetics or skin care, the opposite of aging is not what I want to do. I want to continue to be here and to be a vital member of my family and society and to be able to contribute. And so, you know, this whole anti-aging thing.

I mean, I want to, you know, don't get me wrong. I'm as vain as the next person. I color the gray right out of my hair. But I, but I, I, um, I. I don't think we should stand for treating ourselves differently or one another differently just because we've reached a biological milestone as far as our age is concerned. Yeah. So then what are a couple of the key teaching points that you're going to be focusing on in the book? You know, how to, you know, how to, you know, be the change that we want to see, how to treat ourselves differently and how to ask others to do the same.

So, for example, I am a single woman who just built and live in a home. I live in it all by myself. And amazing. So I just had a neighbor last week. I was out doing some yard. I just had a neighbor asked me if I lived in my house all by myself. And I said, I do. And she said, you do?

And I said, I do. And she said, oh, I'm so sorry. Is your husband deceased? And I said, uh-uh. And I thought, you know, after having gotten. over the fact that she's really nosy. I started to think about the whole conversation and what must she be thinking and the perception that she has.

And sometimes we get caught up in pigeonholing people based on our own perceived level of comfort, right? Like maybe she wouldn't be comfortable building and buying and being in a home. all by herself, but I am. And so the fact that maybe she can't relate to that is maybe not a negative necessarily, but why can't she relate to it? You know, why am I standing out to her? So the message in the book is really, you know,

taking those limitations off, whatever they might be, emotional, physical, financial. I talk about financial limitations as well. You know, there's, you know, you do a lot of coaching and consulting for advisors. Women get left out of that conversation more oftentimes than not. And statistically, if, if a husband does pass away, for example, and the woman knows what her investments look like, knows what her financial portfolio looks like. 60% of them are going to fire their current financial advisor because they don't feel like

they're being heard and listened to. Their needs are different. The way they communicate is different. It just is. So women have gotten left out of that conversation. And sometimes, you know, we feel like, you know, we have to. to rely on someone or something else when we can do a lot of that ourselves as long as we get the right advice and information from the right people. And I want to be able to give that as well.

So limitations. That's self-imposed. That's external. How to recognize them. How to move past them. How to remove them. That's spectacular. What's the title of the book going to be? So I'm still playing with the title, but I think it's going to be bangs or Botoc. Okay. That's attention grabbing. That's awesome. Awesome. Well, Robin, it's been really great chatting with you and I think it's neat to hear your story and kind of your path through life and how you've kind of reached back down to help people along the way, you know, come alongside the path that you've put through of learning and helping them.

them along. I think that is so wonderful. If someone is listening to this and wanting to reach out and connect with you, what's the best way that they can do that? The best way is through my website. It's www.spilwispers.com. Excellent. Well, I really appreciate you coming on today. It's been a real pleasure talking with you. Well, to you as well. Thank you so much. And I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. And thanks to all of your listeners. You've been listening to Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders. To learn more about the resources mentioned on today's show or listen to past episodes,

visit www. www.Influentialentrepreneursradio.com.