Its Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee with Jannine Barron, eco-business mentor (ep. 8)

Who is Jannine?

In our latest episode of It’s Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee recorded on International Women’s day, we talk to eco-business mentor Jannine Barron.  Jannine is a business mentor with a special interest in brand activism and climate change who uses strategic marketing and communication skills to help sole traders and small companies simplify complex marketing ideas that allows her clients to create and scale their businesses with ease. She is on a mission to support ecopreneurs create brands and services that can change the world with zero harm products and solutions.

Key Takeaways

1. Find the right mentor or tribe to support your dream and move the business forward without ‘playing small’
2. Make everything simple. Choose a couple of inspirational mentors, choose only a couple of marketing newsletters. Too much information stops you from working on your business because of information overload
3. Know the difference between doing and why you are doing it so you get to your objective.

Valuable Free Resource or Action

Jannine was influenced by the writings of Florence Scovel Shinn Jannine offers a free 1-2-1 – contact her at https://linktr.ee/janninebarron

Transcript

Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Stuart Webb 0:22

Hi again, Stuart Webb at the complete approach with another one of our it’s, it’s not rocket science five questions over coffee. And today I’m joined by Jenny Baron who is a got a business mentor with a real special interest in brand activism and climate change. She uses really simple ideas to help small businesses to simplify their complex marketing ideas, and get them to scale their business with ease. And she’s really on a bit of a mission at the moment to support entrepreneurs to create brands and services to change the world and to do zero harm with their products and solutions. I think it’s a really brilliant, really brilliant thing. So, Jenny, thanks for joining us for five questions over coffee. I hope you’ve got your coffee mind here with me at the moment. And excellent water is just as good, just as good. Probably probably less that’s more healthy than wine drink at the moment. So Janine, welcome to this, this, these four questions. Let’s start with what’s the biggest challenge your ideal client has which your which you’re sort of helping them to solve?

Jannine Barron 1:33

Great, first of all, thank you, Stuart, so much for having me, the biggest problem my ideal clients have is probably connecting with the right people, reaching the right decision makers, and getting specific support that supports a purpose driven business. So there’s a lot of coaches and programmes out there. And when people start a business they’re looking for what kind of support they need. And the most important thing is to find someone who’s walked the path before you so that they’re an expert in your area.

Stuart Webb 2:06

I love that generally. I really do. And, you know, that brings us to the second question. So. So what’s the common mistake that people make? When they try to solve a problem without any help? No, they haven’t walked that path. you’ve walked it, you’ve talked it? How do you ensure you know, they are happy, what is it they’re doing which they which they get themselves into trouble?

Jannine Barron 2:27

I think there’s a lot of programmes and coaches out there that will tell you, they can help you do anything. And the reality is that if you get seduced by, you know, most people, I mean, they’ve been through three or four coaches already. So they’re, they’re just not quite feel it, they’re thinking something’s missing. So what ends up happening is they start a business, but they’re playing small, they don’t take that next step that is sort of impossible stuff that they really want. They don’t charge enough money, they don’t create that dream product, or course that they really want, they’re sort of being held back because they just haven’t find that the right people to hang out with, or the right mentor to support them, or just the right tribe, if you want to use that word. And so the effect of that is then they’re not living their full potential that ends up creating some disappointments and health issues. And then you end up really being in that mindset problem. So that’s that that’s there’s a multiple problems that if they don’t get the right help, but it can be summarised by playing small and just, and just because you’re not feeling like you’re in the right company, we all speak up when we feel like we found our tribe, we all know that feeling. And, and then you can really shine. So it’s, I’d say keep looking, take your time, and find your tribe before you get the support.

Stuart Webb 3:42

You know, I think that’s really valuable as a as a mantra there. You know, you’re right, we all we, we do not know just a lack of confidence. It’s about that sort of, until such time that you understand the message you understand the people you’re trying to talk to their pains, what they understand as, as the thing that you bring to them to solve their problems and help them to help them to do good and to be better. You don’t know necessarily what you’re trying to say to them, and it’s getting that clarity, isn’t it?

Jannine Barron 4:15

Yeah, and when you’re in a sort of a general course. People are very skilled at sort of ticking the boxes on business planning, marketing, you know, known financial planning, investment, memorising all those things, but if they’re not speaking your language, then you there’s always something missing. So yeah, go for industry advice, not like if you’re an accountant, don’t go to a hospitality mentor. Just use an obvious example. But it’s the same in green business. It’s like if you you know, you really want to work as someone who’s done this before, understands ethical supply chains, understand what a carbon copy decarbonisation means, you know, know the industry terms.

Stuart Webb 4:58

Yeah, yeah. No, that’s, that’s great. Advice. Great advice. And that’s that’s a real specialist in that you’re bringing to the market, isn’t it? Jimmy, you’ve done this. You’ve been there. You’ve you’ve, you’ve, you’ve written, you’ve written the rulebook for this sort of thing. We did literally pre internet, you know, we were wasn’t even called an ethical supply chain, then we just went out looking for organic products and people who could make them and people who grew cotton without chemicals. And we did all that without the internet. So yeah, I’ve got a track record of for businesses. I’ve made all the mistakes, as well as all the successes, which is the other thing you definitely want to work with someone who’s made mistakes. Everything’s rosy run a mile away. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I mean, you know, I can remember saying that to one of my clients not so long ago, when they turned around and said, Well, you know, how should I believe you? And I said, Well, I’m telling you how not to get burned like I did, I’m hoping you’re gonna get away with a slight scold, I have got a third degree burn, I could tell you about four hours, you know, you need these people got the the stories, the war stories, the scars, they can turn around and go, don’t do this. That’s the wrong thing to do.

Jannine Barron 6:06

But also the context, because when you’ve been in an industry, you know, I remember one of my clients are saying, once, My dream is to get my product into this very particular store. And I was like, oh, Tracy, I’ll give her a call. So you know, I think when people are starting, they’ve got their dream, their idea of their dream shelf they want to be on or their ideal client, you need to and that’s what I was saying before about the right decision makers, you need to know how to be with the people that make the decisions about your product, and how to access those people. Brilliant,

Stuart Webb 6:41

I love it. I love it you need. So what’s that valuable free resource that you think you can bring to the audience to help them get to where they need to be?

Jannine Barron 6:51

You know, I think, and I think you’ll relate to this to Stuart, when you’ve been in business as long as we have, you don’t go for the sale anymore. You go for the genuine alignment. Because we’ve I’ve only ever had to refund one person. And I think I knew at the beginning of the journey, in all honesty will probably wasn’t the right match. But I was so keen to help everyone that I took that on. And the valuable lesson I learned from that was interview people, as many people as you want, and make a decision about the right person for you and take your time. And as the end. So for me also, like I’ll say no to people now. So look, I don’t think we’re a good match. But I’d recommend you speak to so and so. So my offering is to speak with me for 45 minutes. And I promise that in that 45 minutes, I will give you amazing value. And whether we continue to work with each other or not, I’ll help direct you to the right alignment. So that’s, that’s my big one.

Stuart Webb 7:47

And I’ve had a lot of people get a hold of you for that journey.

Jannine Barron 7:51

Yeah, so they can go to I think there’s a link tree link running across the screen right now. So and they could also email me if they can’t see the the link running and just Janine [email protected] and also the product.

Stuart Webb 8:09

You better spell Janine and Baron because I know they’re. They’re on there.

Jannine Barron 8:14

Yes, Janine is spelt many ways. So mine is J a double n, i n e E be a double r o [email protected]. Email me saying, I saw you with Stuart today. I’m kind of intrigued. It’s a sort of, you can only win from it.

Stuart Webb 8:32

I love it. I love it. Thank you, Danny. I think I interrupted you before I asked you to spell that. Was there something that I cut you off before you finished? That’s fun. Okay, brilliant. Right. Okay. So you’ve talked a lot about sort of the things that the scars the way that you’re inspired to do this, what was the concept or book that really sort of brought you into this space that you know, what gave you the inspiration for all of this?

Jannine Barron 8:59

You know, it’s interesting, I think, way back, I think I’ve just like, everybody has always been my hero. And she made me believe that it was possible to do ethical business in the first place. So she was my heroes to read everything she wrote. But when I two years ago, when I sold my last company, which was an organic baby company, I naturally fell into business mentoring. And the one resource I have to say, I feel like every single books been written because of these two books. And one is way back in I think was the 1920s in the USA thinking Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Extraordinary book that I think if you haven’t read that you absolutely have to. But before he wrote that, and it’s great because you’re talking to me on International Women’s Day, so I love what I’m about to say next. And who knows if Napoleon Hill got his inspiration from her, we’ll never know. But there’s a lovely woman called Florence Shinn, lesser known but she also wrote about all the same concepts of Napoleon Hill included intuition, and I think this is currently right women and men’s mentoring is a great part of how women operate. We do use our intuition as well as our strategy. So I’d highly recommend the complete works of Florence scovel Shinn. And again, if you didn’t quite hear that, right, um, just reach out to me and I’ll send you the link.

Stuart Webb 10:18

Do you know something? It’s amazing that you mentioned her. I actually didn’t come across her until after I read the Polian. And it was one of those moments when you see that and you look at it and go, wow. He really he really picked up some ideas, didn’t he? But I suspect like so many of these things. She was a woman therefore disregarded, he wasn’t and therefore suddenly became the big management thinker, which so often seem to happen in these things, isn’t it?

Jannine Barron 10:49

Absolutely. And I think the one of the people who will appreciate her work are the people who love the concepts of Napoleon Hill, but sometimes get a little bit overwhelmed by the seminar style mechanistic way of thinking. So they know they resonate. They know this message is important, but they’re looking for a different energy in the way the words are written. They’ll definitely appreciate Florence’s work instead. So you spell that her surname is Scoble, s, c, o v e l sinn SHI double n.

Stuart Webb 11:19

I’ve made a note so that when I put the notes out on this, we put her name in the in the in the notes so that people can sort of pick that sort of thing up. I think that’s important. Okay, so thank you, for all of that. Janine, I’m just gonna throw this open. Now. Is there a question you think I should have asked that I didn’t. And, you know, this is an opportunity for you to sort of, you know, let us know about things that you’re thinking about the moment that you really think we should we should know about?

Jannine Barron 11:46

Okay, great. So I’m big on simplicity. If you kindly introduced me at the beginning, you said that I simplify complex marketing strategies. I like to make everything simple, because I think the one thing in business people have in common is they get overwhelmed working long, hard hours. And I’m like big on the long hard work, there’s got to be another way. So I’m interested in a new paradigm of doing business. And we’re currently experimenting with that in this fabulous women’s mentoring group home running. So if you would ask me another question, I would say, how many courses or books should I be reading, and I would say, immediately go and unsubscribe from pretty much everything you’re doing. But choose one or two really great, inspirational mentor guides. So that’s, you know, overall strategist, one or two maximum marketing newsletters, and I have to say, your one is brilliant, I’ve only got to know you recently, but incredible. So definitely makes sure that one of them, but no more than two, because if you’re getting information from too many sources, you’ll just end up overwhelmed and spending too much of your time absorbing information that you can’t implement. And then if you were a green business, I would def, I would increase a little bit for the climate change material, because it is really new, radical territory. And there’s some fantastic, really simple stuff out there. So I’d say no more than three, climate change type references come coming in. So simplify your information and simplify who you follow and work on your business instead of thinking and learning about how you should because then you won’t have any time to actually do it. The other thing I ask is, if I may is, what is the difference between marketing and a marketing strategy? Because they’re two very different things. And I think you’re probably one of the few people that understands it. And that’s one of the things I work on is I love to identify gaps for people. So often people are doing things pretty well, they’ve got a business, it’s going okay, they’re just wondering why it’s not scaling. And that’s where you come in as a strategist and you say, this the gap, and then we work on that gap. And yeah, so know the difference between the doing and as they get worn occasionally and have a look, get rid of some junk and focus on what’s important. So

Stuart Webb 14:04

you know, that is that is a really key piece. And interesting you picked up on that because you know, I’m I’m very big on you probably picked up on a bit of this. I’m very big on trying to talk to people about what is it you’re trying to get to what’s the outcome you’re looking for? Because Because so often people are doing so many good things, and you look at it and go, but why are you doing that? Because that doesn’t add one thing to this that you’re trying to achieve over here. And they look at you and go, but that’s a really good thing to do and go Yeah, it’s a good thing to do, but not for you. You’re trying to do this. That doesn’t help you do this. People people lose sight of that because so often we’re in the weeds, we’re trying to do stuff we go, that’s a really interesting thing to do, but it’s not going to help you achieve this objective. So do what you said get up into the canopy be up in the tree canopy locked down and go Do you know something? We seem to be going off in that direction and actually we should be off over here. What’s What’s all this Right, that’s a really key thing to do. And I love what you were just saying there. But I just add to it. And I hope you don’t mind me adding a bit to this. Every so often guys, take half a day out once a month, and just turn off the phone, turn off the laptop, sit down and go, are we going in the right direction, because that thinking time can add dailies to your month. And people will often say I can’t afford to take half a day off to do that. Believe me, you’ll save yourself so much more than half a day in the long term. Because you suddenly realise I should be unsubscribing from that newsletter, I’m reading it, but getting nothing from it. I am not doing enough reading about this. And I should be doing reading about that. That’s gonna really gain days for you every month. Yeah.

Jannine Barron 15:48

Yeah, I know, we got to finish up. But I just you know, I’d love that just to mirror that people might they don’t have half a day because they’ve got to go and fix the Instagram account. Maybe you don’t need an Instagram account. Maybe the half a day, we’ll show you that.

Stuart Webb 16:02

We could probably talk for many more hours about this. And by that stage, we fix the whole of the internet. But you’re absolutely right. Too often people are sort of doing things because somebody said you’ve got to do this, but you haven’t worked out why you’re trying to do it. And therefore, how does that add to your overall strategy? And you know, just one other thing, you know, people get really confused. You know, it was I was a much younger, much younger horcoff younger person, when somebody sort of said something to me about strategy. And I was too. I didn’t realise that I shouldn’t ask stupid questions at the time I’ve, since I’ve since learned asking the stupid questions is never ever a bad thing. And I went, what does that mean? What is a strategy? And they just looked at me and went, well, it’s the way you’re going to do stuff. I went, Oh, I can understand that. Strategy is a really complex word. But when you say it’s just the way you do stuff, you go, Oh, I get it. Oh, so we shouldn’t do that. We should be doing that. Yeah, that’s a strategy. Oh, and it was one of those lightbulb moments you sit there and think we just don’t simplify. We got to simplify all the time.

Jannine Barron 17:11

If you don’t have a strategy, I would literally stop all your marketing this week and sit with a strategist

for

Stuart Webb 17:19

you trying to do and why. Yeah, yeah.

Jannine Barron 17:22

And that’s, that’s what I love to do. And that’s what inspires me about life and business still. So thank you, Stuart.

Stuart Webb 17:29

Name. I think that’s been a really brilliant conversation. I’d loved it. I’m so glad that you’ve, you’ve come and done this guide. I hope you’ve got something value out of this. I’m just going to tell you that if you want to hear more of what we’re doing in these videos, and you want to see more of the people like Janine just go on to subscribe at tcaa dot FYI forward slash subscribe then you’ll get notification of all these these videos and you can join us a comment and please please please link up with Junaid go back to that that link tree. link here. Link traders link tr.ie. Janine Baron get in touch with Janine find out what she’s got to say. And spend some more time with Janine, she’s got a lot of things that I think are really worthwhile sort of helping people who are trying to simplify their thinking about eco management and about what they’re trying to do within their eco eco businesses. So Janine, thank you very much for spending some time with us. I appreciate what what you’ve what you’ve been saying. Let’s look forward to doing a lot more that sort of thing in the future.