We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Isabelle Guarino a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Isabelle, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
My optimism comes from my upbringing. My entire family is extremely positive and always looking for the upside and it started when I was super young. I remember when I didn’t make the volleyball team in Jr High and instead of sitting around crying and pouting about it, I jump in the car and told my mom the news and said, ‘who cares, it gives me more time to practice for basketball season!’ It’s been a theme in my family and in my life for as long as I can remember. Bad things just don’t happen, instead it’s a set up for something else bigger and better. This mindset can be described as toxic positivity, but for me it’s aided me in life and business tenfold. In business, we really don’t let the bad things get us down, we always use it as ammo to come back bigger and better, or to pivot and that skill is something that others have to practice or search for. For us, it’s built into our culture and community.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am the COO of Residential Assisted Living Academy, we are a real estate training company that teaches and trains investors and entrepreneurs to own and operate assisted living homes. We’ve been in business for 10 years and over the course of that time I have served as the executive assistant, operations director, social media coordinator, marketing manager and phone sales department. Now I represent our company publicly as the main stage speaker, sharing the word of Doing Good and Doing Well. It’s a family business and I am honored to carry on the legacy that my father left for me changing people’s lives through using real estate in a new way that impacts communities and people.
This past year, I started a podcast called the YoungBoss podcast that speaks to those Gen Z’ers and Millennials who have a passion to start their own business or rise in the ranks as an entrepreneur. I have guests from all different walks of life, who are business owners sharing their expertise, wins and fails over the years owning their own thing and making mistakes along the way. There is so much to learn in business and being a young boss can be difficult and lonely, this show creates community for those in this sector to feel a little less alone on their journey.
What I love about both of these businesses is that I can take all my past experience from RALAcademy and leverage it to share with other budding entrepreneurs on the YB podcast. It’s the perfect match!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Personally I think my efficiency, creativity and commitment to quality have aided me on my journey greatly. Efficiency has always been a core value of mine and something I am really proud to bring to the table as a boss and entrepreneur. I am fast and focused and committed to getting back to my clients, co-workers and affiliates on time and promptly. In today’s society, people don’t like waiting… if you don’t reach back out quickly with the answers that they want to hear, you will lose them! I recognized this awhile back and made certain that would not be true of my company. Because of this efficiency we have set the standard on response times, commitment to our clients and going above and beyond with communication. This curates trust and in turn leads to more sales and more authentic interactions with our clients.
The second skill that has been impactful on my entrepreneurial journey is creativity. And I don’t mean painting or singing or coming up with artistic expressions, but instead I mean being a problem solver and having growth mindset. Those are super important skills in business with the ever changing climate we are in. You cannot expect things to stay the same for long, so being creative and consistently growing with the nuances of our world is vital. As a C-Level executive or business owner, you need to be thinking ahead, you need to be able to predict the future, surrounding yourself with what if’s and what is to come’s. All of those mindsets will help you create an environment of creativity that brings about vision for your business.
Lastly, I think of quality when I am asked what are the most important qualities or skills one needs on their business journey. If you are going to put out a crappy product or service just to make a quick buck, you may as well not. Quality is key when you’re thinking about building a brand or service that will last for years and years to come. Constantly pulling back and reinventing and upgrading will make for a business that people return to, it will give you stickiness and retention and that is key no matter the industry.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I feel overwhelmed, first I look at my schedule. Have I pushed my boundaries and said YES to things that I really wanted to say NO to?
Have I kept my business vision in alignment with my personal vision?
Have I skipped self care routines to sacrifices for business growth?
If any of these are YES, then I need to re-evaluate my life and my strategy to accomplish everything I need to accomplish to feel good about the day/week, etc. First I bring my executive assistant into the conversation and make sure she and I are in alignment about what I want and need over the coming days and weeks, I express my frustration and re-establish my boundaries so I can have support on staying in alignment. I then speak to my partner, expressing what has been pushing me over the edge and stating what I need for in regards to support from them. Then I sit down and re-align my personal vision with my business vision, remove any unnecessary things from my schedule and make a concerted effort to only use YES when I mean YES! I think have a moment with myself where I allow self care to take precedent, I spend time in nature and I remind myself that pushing too hard will not bring about the results I want, I will lose in every facet when I don’t play within the lines, Boundaries are there to protect, not to hurt.
Once I have taken these steps, I can usually bring myself back to a feeling of controlled chaos and carry on moving forward in a more productive and less overwhelmed manor, but often I have to go back to square one!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theyoungbosspodcast.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theyoungbosspodcast/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theyoungbosspodcast
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@theyoungbosspodcast
Image Credits
FemForce Phoenix
