Meet Susie Matheson and Christy Ford

We were lucky to catch up with The Scout Guide co-founders, Susie Matheson and Christy Ford recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Susie Matheson, Christy Ford with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

Where do you get your work ethic from? (Susie Matheson)

At a young age I learned that discipline and accountability are everything. These are the keys to my work ethic. As a child I was the only one in my family interested in horses. So it was my responsibility to get to the barn, care for my horse, and work with him, which requires a lot of effort. Through this I learned some very valuable lessons. You have to go after what you want but be willing to do the work, even when it’s challenging, to get results. I also discovered the value of discipline and that nothing would simply be handed to me. Working with a powerful animal, there are times you’re going to fall and things aren’t going to go your way. When things went wrong, I didn’t have a pity party or fill my head with negative thoughts. I dusted myself off and got back up again and tried to learn from the experience. I carry that with me today. Whenever I have a moment of discouragement I lean into it and ask, “What is this moment trying to teach me?”

How did you overcome or avoid burnout? (Christy Ford)

It’s so important to feed your soul with new things. It can be as simple as committing to 10 minutes a day of learning something totally different, whether that be learning a language via Duolingo, taking up knitting, cooking a new cuisine, or understanding the principles of gardening. Baby steps result in mastering something completely new by the end of the year. Committing to yourself and consistency is key. I find it also helps to undertake this endeavor with a friend, even if you explore different interests, so you can keep each other accountable. The added bonus is you can then share your newfound knowledge with each other.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

(Susie and Christy)
We started our business as a blog in 2010. Today we are a nationwide franchise with over 90 franchisees. In franchising our business model we’ve created a career opportunity for women that may not have otherwise been available to them. The business world moves fast, and that can be especially hard for women who have stepped away from their career to raise their kids or simply want to make a career shift. It can be daunting, and feel impossible, to step back into your career after taking time off or to choose to change your profession for any number of reasons. We’d like to think we’ve solved that by creating a space for women to be business owners of their own accord, with total support behind them, from the HQ staff and their fellow franchisees, so they never feel alone. Our group of franchisees have a wonderful support system in each other and women supporting women is something we wholeheartedly believe in. That’s the beauty of our franchise system—connection. We’re always connecting people, from our franchisees and the small businesses in each TSG community to all of the cities in The Scout Guide network coast to coast.

Beyond our franchisees, we find the local businesses that are highlighted in our guides and on our social media channels to be an endless source of inspiration. Each guide is full of dynamic entrepreneurs who are working hard in pursuit of their dreams. We have some incredible local businesses signing on year after year and to witness their growth and evolution, not only within the pages of our guides, but within their community, is extremely fulfilling. It’s thrilling to have a ringside seat.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

(Susie Matheson)
Discipline, work ethic, and my entrepreneurial spirit lead me to where I am today. Beyond those qualities, I’m so fortunate to work alongside Christy. Together we share an unshakeable trust in each other that’s based on our determination to work hard. We’ve never second guessed ourselves and have trusted each other along the way. It’s made a huge difference in getting to where we are today.

If I could give one piece of advice to anyone getting started in business it’s this: Get a database/customer relationship management (CRM) system. This may sound simple, but I do have regrets about not capturing the data at the very start of The Scout Guide from all of the people who collected our guides and advertised in our pages. If we had, those people would still be in our database today. We’ve come a long way and now realize the importance of a CRM. Be sure to get that set up from the get-go!

(Christy Ford)
It’s easy to get caught up in what others think, but Susie and I never did. We were confident and not afraid to fail. We leaned into our intuition and let that be our driving force. We also recognized where we had gaps in our knowledge and hired the right employees for those areas. We’re very honored to have our franchisees see our mission through. Every day we do the best we can, not only for ourselves, but for our franchisees. By no means are we doing anything perfectly. If that’s where our standard was, we wouldn’t be doing anything we’re doing. Sometimes you have to trust yourself and take risks to succeed.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

We never dreamed The Scout Guide would go beyond the one guide we started in Charlottesville, Virginia. Honestly, we never really thought we’d be here with more than 90 markets across the country. We absolutely cannot take full credit for our success. It’s attributed to the incredible people we’ve collected along the way; our employees at HQ, franchisees, and all of the local businesses turning to The Scout Guide to tell their stories and amplify their offerings. It’s a huge partnership that’s always evolving and we’re grateful to get to do this with each and every one of them.

We are always seeking new franchisees with strong entrepreneurial spirits who are not only eager to roll up their sleeves and get to work but who are passionate about empowering the small businesses in their towns. We love collaborating with and supporting our franchises to ensure their success in their respective markets so that we are able to achieve our greater goal: helping small businesses thrive coast to coast. In terms of advertisers, we’re always Scouting trusted entrepreneurs entrenched in their communities, who provide unmatched services or products so we can help amplify their message to conscious consumers. We also enjoy creating strategic partnerships with other brands and businesses who share our mission of supporting local businesses and who understand that advertising doesn’t have to feel like advertising with The Scout Guide. The curiosity of growth excites us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thescoutguide.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescoutguide/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheScoutGuide/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-scout-guide/
• Other: Franchise Website: https://franchise.thescoutguide.com/

Image Credits

Jen Fariello, Emily Jean Rosser, Bright Side Creates, Gari-Ann Kia Photography