How to Turn Your Homegrown Business into a Multi-Million Dollar Brand - Julie Cole (Mabel's Labels)

Today, we have a true game-changer joining us, someone whose entrepreneurial journey will leave you inspired and equipped with invaluable knowledge. Her name is Julie Cole - and she’s the extraordinary co-founder of Mabel's Labels.

Julie started her groundbreaking business from the depths of her basement, alongside a group of like-minded friends. Fast forward, and today Mabel's Labels has blossomed into a multi-million dollar success story, capturing the hearts of customers worldwide. Julie's journey is a testament to the power of determination, innovation, and exceptional branding strategies.

During our conversation Julie shares her blueprint of how to turn your basement dreams into a flourishing empire.You’re learn the art of scaling your business, establishing a strong brand identity, and leveraging the power of teamwork.

This is truly one of my favourite conversations, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


Here are the highlights from this episode:

03:09 - Julie's transition to co-founding Mabel's Labels
06:54 - The five elements for building a successful brand
07:45 - How to uphold your core values when building your brand
09:30 - The business benefits of brand storytelling
13:37 - Why being part of a community is essential
15:14 - The benefits of applying for awards
17:11 - How to deal with imitation companies
22:55 - The importance of delegation and hiring people
31:13 - Julie’s badass superpower

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating along with a brief review. And don't forget to order your BADASS T-shirt here.

About Me
Hey there, I'm Joelly - the Branding Badass. My BADASS superpower is helping you build a brand that matters. From branded merch to keynote speaking, when you work with me, you get results!

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linkedIn - Joelly Goodson
website - BAMKO.NET

Transcript

[00:00:00] Joelly: Hi, I'm Joelly, your branding badass, and welcome to another edition of Branding Matters, a podcast I created and host to help you build brand equity for your business. Today we have a true game changer joining us, someone whose entrepreneurial journey will leave you inspired and equipped with invaluable knowledge.

[00:00:24] Joelly: Her name is Julie Cole, and she's the extraordinary co-founder of Mabel's Labels. Julie started her groundbreaking business from the depths of her basement, alongside a group of like minded friends. Fast forward, and today Mabel's Labels has blossomed into a multi million dollar success story, capturing the hearts of customers worldwide.

[00:00:44] Joelly: Julie's story is a testament to the power of determination, innovation, and exceptional branding strategies. During our fun conversation, Julie shares her blueprint of how to turn your basement dreams into a flourishing empire. You're going to learn the art of scaling your business, establishing a strong brand identity, and leveraging the power of teamwork, just to name a few.

[00:01:06] Joelly: Julie's story is truly inspirational, and I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Julie, welcome to Branding Matters! 

[00:01:13] Julie: Oh, thanks so much for having me. 

[00:01:15] Joelly: It's so great having you here. You know, I have to share a story with you. How I first discovered you is I was at a conference, probably at least four, maybe five years ago in Calgary and you were speaking.

[00:01:30] Joelly: Do you remember? You can't, I don't know how many times you've been to Calgary, but you were at a conference speaking.

[00:01:32] Julie: I do remember. I absolutely remember. 

[00:01:37] Joelly: Honestly, I never heard of you. I didn't know anything about Mabel's, but you blew me away and you are by far the best speaker. I love, it's true. I loved your energy.

[00:01:47] Joelly: I loved your storytelling. You're such a great speaker. And I, and I admired you. So now here we are fast forward years later and you know, I've been reading about you and following you and then I thought I'll be so great to have you on. And recently I started doing public speaking. I've been getting requests to do conferences and everything.

[00:02:04] Joelly: So I, you know, when I have people that I look up to, I just, I'm so excited. So thank you for coming here.

[00:02:09] Julie:  Oh, that's so awesome. And that's exciting for you getting into that space. Yeah, and never planned it. 

[00:02:15] Joelly: People ask me all the time, tell me about your podcast and what, how is it helping you grow your business or monetize?

[00:02:22] Joelly: I'm like, so many opportunities and doors have opened. And one of the new ones that I never in a million years planned on is people have been inviting me to come and speak at their conferences and at their events. And I love it. And so I'm on those skills now. So… 

[00:02:36] Julie: And I do think, you know, since COVID happened, I think people have an appetite to get back out there, right?

[00:02:42] Julie: Everything's going full tilt because we're just like, You know, we were, we were starved, you know, from seeing people and having that in live, you know, there's nothing quite like that, right?

[00:02:53] Joelly: Yeah. Yeah, no, absolutely. So that's how, that's how I know you. And so thank you for coming here. So I want to get right into it, because we have a lot to cover, you know, you describe yourself as a recovered lawyer, what kind of lawyer were you and then why and when did you decide to leave that field?

[00:03:09] Julie: Okay, so I was, I was actually working for a legal service. I thought I would always do family law, like legal aid. I was very much actually the kind of work I was doing was helping women who were in abusive relationships and yeah, so Mabel's Labels happen and why, right? And that's your question. Why did it happen?

[00:03:29] Julie: Why did I leave law? And there were two questions. Thank you. Real wise for why Mabel's Labels happened. One was that we noticed a product missing from the market. I started with this with three other women who were friends and relatives, actually. One's my sister and two were friends from the university who ended up meeting and marrying my brother and a young uncle of mine.

[00:03:48] Julie: So that's fun. So yeah, the first why was we were young moms. We were losing stuff. We were using permanent marker or masking tape and it wasn't working. We're like, there's gotta be something out there and there wasn't. So we had this idea. Now the second why was that at the time my then three year old had just been diagnosed with autism and I didn't think the traditional workforce was going to suit me any longer.

[00:04:11] Julie: I really needed the flexibility to be able to advocate for him, set up a program, therapy, all that jazz. So that's when I went to my co-founders and said, Hey, look, I need to do a pivot here. We had this great idea, what do you think? And that was how it all started. 

[00:04:28] Joelly: So, tell me about, just quickly, when your son was diagnosed, what was that like for you?

[00:04:33] Joelly: I mean, no one ever, we all want healthy children and we never expect anything to happen. So, can you share a little bit about that experience? 

[00:04:39] Julie: Yeah, you know what? That was, um, look, I think whenever you get news like that, as a parent, you sometimes send some things up anyway, which is why you're getting, you know, your child assessed and checked out and that sort of thing.

[00:04:53] Julie: But it's funny, I kind of went, my sister described it as like, I had like one day of denial. I had, you know, a couple of days of mourning because there's no crystal ball. I thought, you know, I love my kids, but I do want to be an empty nester. I want them to be gone. And for parents of kids with disabilities, you also think what's going to happen when I go.

[00:05:14] Julie: And, you know, so I had that, that two or three days of grieving and wondering and concern. And then I was like, right action, what are we doing? And then I set up this therapy program. I turned my basement into a therapy centre and we did 40 hours a week of ABA and we went hard. And I will tell you this.

[00:05:34] Julie: That three year old is now 23, and he just graduated from the University of Guelph. He's a lifeguard. He's got his driver's licence. He's got a bunch of friends. He just backpacked around Australia. He's working up north this summer. He's applied for grad school. And I often say that on my deathbed, I'll say he's my life's greatest achievement, and the other five are okay too.

[00:05:56] Joelly: Oh my god, that's amazing. Well, congrats. And first of all, you look way too young to have a 25 year old son. 

[00:06:02] Julie: Well, it's gotten easier, so anybody who's out there listening, when they say bigger kids, bigger problems, I disagree. I've loved the teen years. My youngest is now 14. So they're 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, or something like that changes daily with so many, but it's a load of fun and they're super smart and the conversations are amazing.

[00:06:21] Julie: And their friends are around all the time. It's a blast. 

[00:06:23] Joelly: Yeah, I agree. I have two teenagers, 19 and 16, and they're at a stage now they're both driving and very independent. And so I agree with you. I'm really enjoying it. Okay, so let's talk a little bit more about your business. So I read somewhere that you said when it comes to building a successful brand, you mentioned some key elements and I have five here.

[00:06:42] Joelly: I have know who you get into bed with, share your story, build community, win awards, and be innovative, which I thought were all really powerful. So can you elaborate on each one and why they're relevant?

[00:06:54] Julie: Okay. What was the first one? 

[00:06:55] Joelly: First one is to know who you get into bed with. 

[00:06:56] Julie: Right. Okay. So when you're building your business and building your brand, look, I started a business with three other people.

[00:07:04] Julie: So, when you're going to invest that kind of time and that kind of energy with other people, you need to know that things are going to go okay with them. You need to know them very well. And even when you're all still friends, you have to do your shareholder's agreement so that, you know, if things do fall apart, you've got everything in place.

[00:07:24] Julie: But I feel that way about everyone we connect with. For me, everything is a brand impression. It's kind of like brands don't just do nothing. They're never neutral. They're either, you're either contributing to your brand or contaminating it. You're always doing something. So for me, yeah. So for me, I really feel like everybody I collab with.

[00:07:45] Julie: They have to align with our brand. I have to say no to some businesses because I don't like their ethics, or they don't align with our core values. And I remember doing that. It was very difficult. We had a big brand that wanted to do a co-brand and wanted to do a Mabel's Labels sticker discount code on their packaging, which would have been incredible for us.

[00:08:04] Julie: But they had an ingredient in their product that I wasn't comfortable with. And it didn't align with our core values. So we said, no, and I thought my marketing director was going to kill me, Julie, you know, but I was like, look, we can't do it. We can't do it. And what happens when you say no to the brands or the collaborations that don't align with your core values?

[00:08:29] Julie: So if you live by your core values, they will make the tough decisions for you, and they will tell you who you can get in bed with. Whether that's a partnership, a collaboration, anything you're doing with your business, who you're hiring, you know, do they align with your core values? You've got to get the right people on the bus.

[00:08:46] Julie: So that's what I mean by knowing who you get to bed with. 

[00:08:49] Joelly: I love that. And you know, I followed that principle with my podcast because I get people to reach out to me all the time. I mean, there's companies out there now that all they do is try to find platforms for their guests to be hosts or guests on, right?

[00:09:03] Joelly: So I get to probably two a day, people want to be guests. And I've had to learn. Same thing is like, does it align with my mission of what I'm trying to do with my podcast? Does it align with my brand? At first it was hard for me to say no because I was like, I didn't want to hurt people's feelings, which you could probably relate to, but then you're right.

[00:09:20] Joelly: Does this align with all those things I'm trying to accomplish? Does it align with me and what I'm trying to do and with this podcast? And so I do that for sure.

[00:09:27] Julie: That's awesome. Good for you. 

[00:09:30] Joelly: Yeah, I think that's really important. So thank you. That's great advice. Okay. So the next one is to share your story.

[00:09:36] Julie: Right. So this to me is so important, particularly, look, brands are not just brand spokespeople. Personal brands are not just for Steve Jobs or Oprah Winfrey or Martha Stewart. Everybody has a personal brand and your personal brand is what makes your professional brand come to life. So being Mabel's Labels is a part of who I am and it's what I do and it's, it's my lifestyle.

[00:10:02] Julie: And people want to know the backstory. They want to know about the four moms in the basement who are making labels. I've been blogging for 15 years. I don't blog about labels. I blog about, you know, being an autism mom, being an entrepreneurial mom, about being a speaker, about being an author, about managing the mother load.

[00:10:21] Julie: These are the things your customers want. to know who you are and they want you to be relatable. So our customers, particularly moms, who have a lot of buying power, don't want to buy from nameless, faceless brands. They want to buy from people who are just like them. So I make myself relatable.

[00:10:38] Julie: I put myself out there. I share my story. And not only is it fun, it's good for business. 

[00:10:46] Joelly: Hey, it's Julie here. Just thought I'd check in to see if you're enjoying the show so far. Have you learned anything new? Are you excited to build your brand and skyrocket your profits? You know, they don't call me the branding badass for nothing.

[00:10:59] Joelly: For more than 20 years, I've been helping businesses like yours unlock their brand's untapped potential. And on January 1st, 2021, I launched Branding Matters as a way for you to have free access to some of the world's most brilliant leaders who provide valuable branding tips to help you build your brand.

[00:11:15] Joelly: But let's be honest, information is not the answer, implementation is. So if you want help implementing everything you're learning here, check out the link in my bio. I'm offering a free 15 minute consult, but spots are limited, so don't wait. Act now, and let's see if what I have to offer will help you unlock your brand's untapped potential.

[00:11:34] Joelly: Reach out to me today, and let's make your brand matter. 

[00:11:39] Joelly:  Storytelling is huge. I had some guests on early, early on in my podcast and we talked all about founder stories and how, you know, when you, and you think about some famous brands like Colonel Sanders or McDonald's and, you know, you look at McDonald's now and sure, they're this humongous Brand and business, but it started with one person and the started 

[00:11:57] Julie: It started with a clown.

[00:11:58] Joelly: Yeah. Or even Colonel Sanders' story, right? Like you, his story is incredible. And we talked about that. I love that you said that because branding is all about making connections with the people you want to serve and relating right to each other. 

[00:12:11] Julie: Absolutely. And using your personal brand to elevate your business is so impactful.

[00:12:16] Julie: Yeah, I love that. 

[00:12:19] Joelly: That's great. Okay. So who's Mabel? 

[00:12:23] Julie: Oh, good old Mabel. So, Mabel is our brand. She's a feisty girl. She's innovative. She's fun. She's She's, you know, she's everything. She's the embodiment and she's our brand personified. So that's basically, it was a branding tool. 

[00:12:41] Joelly: So she's not an actual person that you named it after?

[00:12:43] Julie: She's not an actual person. I should have named a child Mabel so I would have a better answer. I actually, I actually have a lie. So what I would like to tell people the story is that when I was a child, I had a cat named Mabel and Mabel would disappear into the neighbourhood for days, but would always come back just like your items.

[00:13:01] Julie: Well, they may end up lost and found, but they'll make their way back to you if they've got Mabel's Labels on it. But I never had that cat. I just thought that would be a good story. I try not to let the truth get in the way of a good story.

[00:13:12] Joelly:  Exactly. Well, you never should. Oh, that's funny. So Mabel is not an actual person.

[00:13:18] Julie: No, it's not an actual person. 

[00:13:20] Joelly: Well, she probably is now. 

[00:13:23] Julie: She feels like a daughter. She feels like a baby of ours, you know, so she does feel we, we talk, we speak to her pronouns. 

[00:13:32] Joelly: Yeah, no kidding. I love that. That's great. Okay. So number three was build community.

[00:13:37] Julie: Yeah. So when we are branding Mabel's Labels, you know, our tagline is “labels for the stuff kids lose.” But in the back of our mind, we're always thinking, is this making mom's life easier? So we created a community. That's why we've got over 200,000 Facebook fans, a hundred thousand Insta followers.

[00:13:56] Julie: That's why I've been blogging. It's all about community. And again, knowing your market, our market of moms want community and they want to buy from brands. Who have a strong community that they feel a part of. So we feel very much, we feel very strongly in creating that community. We have, we've got a really vibrant blogging community.

[00:14:16] Julie: Social media has been huge for us. We started at Mabel's Labels. There was no social media, but we know mom's talk. Word of mom is paramount. They were talking about Mabel's Labels at the daycare drop offs in the soccer field. And once social media hit, we were very early adopters to build that community because moms’ are in that space.

[00:14:34] Julie: And it provided a vehicle for word of mouth. So suddenly mom, bloggers we're talking about us and moms on their Facebook pages were talking about us. So being out there and being a part of that community was so essential for our business. 

[00:14:48] Joelly: Community is huge. Again, building communities, building a brand.

[00:14:49] Joelly:. And they're not mutually exclusive and the best brands, they create FOMO where you want to be a part of that community and you feel less out if you're not.

[00:14:58] Julie: Oh yeah. You can do lots of things. Brands can be lots of things like for us. It's also being very engaged with our audience, but also like setting up loyalty programs or having customer appreciation stuff.

[00:15:09] Julie: There are a lot of things our customer service team do as well to make people feel really special. 

[00:15:14] Joelly: Right. Okay. So the next one is number four is win awards. 

[00:15:20] Julie: Yeah. So I think there's a couple of things and you know what, when I say win awards, I actually mean even just apply for awards. Couple of things. I feel like the application process.

[00:15:31] Julie: For when you apply for an award is a very good exercise. It makes you pull out your business plan. Am I on track? What are my sales looking like? What are my projections? Am I feeling gaps? Am I running this with ego? Or am I actually, you know, what? So it's a good temperature check on your business and how it's going.

[00:15:52] Julie: So just the application process. And then if you do win or you become a finalist, you know, sometimes there's events you go to and then you're in the room with smart people, people you want in your circle. I always say, if I'm the smartest person in the room, I got to find myself a new room, right? You want to always be challenged.

[00:16:10] Julie: You've got to, you know, get comfortable being uncomfortable and put yourself out there. And then if you win, you're on the Rolodex, you know how many calls I get from the media wanting to talk to a woman entrepreneur about this or that, or a mom entrepreneur. Because that's when they Google search women entrepreneurs, my mug comes up and then that's free PR.

[00:16:28] Julie: I'm a big fan of PR because it's also a testimony, you know? So, um, I think there are a lot of good reasons to consider awards. 

[00:16:37] Joelly: Yeah. I agree with you. I think that's great. I try to do that too. You know, I always say when you're talking about building a business, people don't know you exist. How are they going to know to do business with you?

[00:16:46] Joelly: So you want to get out there every way you can, whether it's on social, in person, you know, if you make on a list, like I'm always sharing about any list you make it on or any awards that you win because you're right. And you're getting other people to promote your business and your brand, right?

[00:17:00] Julie: Exactly.

[00:17:01] Julie: It's a brand impression, right? We're all about those. 

[00:17:06] Joelly: Yeah. No, I love that. Okay. And the last one I have number five is to be innovative, right?

[00:17:11] Julie: So Mabel's Labels started and it didn't take long before we had imitation companies, of course. And I will tell any entrepreneur, just be prepared. There will be copycats.

[00:17:22] Julie: So do things to protect yourself, obviously, you know, you want to maybe register your trademark, do a bit of that, but at the end of the day, there will be copycats and it's a legitimate business model, fast followers, they're going to make money off you, they're going to ride your coattails, but just try to keep your eye on the ball.

[00:17:42] Julie: Because I know I've, I was very frustrated. I let it eat me alive when I would see people just rip us off and it would keep me up at night. And then I learned, you know what? If we stay the most innovative, you know, we're not the fast followers, we're the innovators and that's part of our brand. And if they want to copy, if they want to follow, that's fine.

[00:17:59] Julie: I mean, keep a look in your rear view mirror and make sure you, you know, you don't let them. If you have to send a cease and desist, if you have to call them out on some things, do it. But at the same time, keep your eye on the ball, focus on being the market leader, focus on being authentic, focus on being innovative, and you will remain the market leader as we have.

[00:18:18] Joelly: Well, first of all, congratulations on that. A big part of branding and one of the impetus for me starting this podcast actually is because you're trying to stand out in a saturated market. And chances are whatever industry you're in, you're going to have competitors, right? So what is going to set you apart from them?

[00:18:34] Joelly: Why are people going to choose you first? Why are they going to fall in love with your brand? How do you get them to do that? And I think by, like you said, being innovative, it's so having that competition is actually a good thing because it's, at the end, it's good for your customers because they're going to get better and better.

[00:18:49] Joelly: Do you agree?

[00:18:49] Julie: I agree. And you know, I think about your point about what is going to make you stand out? How do you differentiate? And that's where your storytelling comes in. And your personal branding comes in. And that's what's going to set you apart from your competitors. Because you know what? Nobody can be Julie Cole.

[00:19:07] Julie: Nobody can be Joelly. Nobody can be us. So, you know, one time I had um, I had a bunch of people reaching out to me because I guess a woman started blogging and she kind of started sounding like me using kind of my key phrases or my voice and it sounded like, and a lot of people reached out and they're like, Julie, are you weirded out?

[00:19:25] Julie: This person kind of sounds like you and they use your words and your vernacular or whatever. And I was like, look, you know what? It kind of doesn't bother me because they'll find their voice. They can't, there's only like they can't sustain it. Yeah. And people can sniff out a fake, so eventually they'll find their voice and they'll stop trying to use mine.

[00:19:42] Julie: And that's what happened. I think they stopped blogging or whatever. Right? Yeah. 'cause that's what happens. The moms can sniff out a fake, I always say, and no one can imitate. They can try and imitate Mabel's Labels and make labels, but they'll never be our brand and they'll never be us. Yes. Yeah. 

[00:19:56] Joelly: No, absolutely.

[00:19:57] Joelly: And I think part of that in the podcasting world, you know, many people I've talked to where they say, yeah, I want to be the next Joe Rogan. And that's their goal. And, and I would say to them, like, instead of trying to be the next Joe Rogan, why don't you be the best you and why don't you be different?

[00:20:11] Joelly: Because it's great. I think it's great to have, you know, models and mentors and people that you look up to and learn from, but then take everything that they teach you and go off and make it into something unique that's truly your own. And that is what branding is all about. And I can't stress that enough.

[00:20:28] Joelly: The reason I have this podcast is to share this kind of information for people who are struggling. 

[00:20:33] Julie: What's your point? Like the competition, particularly for us, although it drove me crazy, which is hard when you're, you know, you do all the work and then somebody just, you know, it's, you know, it's frustrating, right?

[00:20:44] Julie: But at the same time, and particularly for our company, there is room on the marketplace. Like we were the first. So some people, most parents were like, Oh yeah, this makes so much sense. We got to label stuff. And that's why we've had so much really success because you know, people would see it out in the wild and be like, what is on your child's to pick up?

[00:21:03] Julie: I need that. Right. Yeah. But because we are bringing new product to market now, labelling is just something everybody does. So actually, with other companies also doing it, it just normalised this whole concept of labelling your kids' belongings. So now nobody would go to school. So it kind of educated the market as well.

[00:21:23] Julie: Yeah. So there are advantages to your point. 

[00:21:26] Joelly: Yeah, absolutely. That's great. I love that. So you obviously had a huge success. You grew really fast. I mean, I think you started in your sister's basements, like you said in 2004, and then you went, what, what year did you move out into the industrial. Was that 2007?

[00:21:42] Julie: It must be about 2007 because we were in Cynthia's basement and it was so, oh man, it was so dingy down there. And so, and we had like an employee or two who were like, ah, we can't keep them here, we're probably breaking labour laws. So rather than getting a commercial space at that point, we told my sister to buy a bigger house basement and she did.

[00:22:01] Julie: And then we thought we would be in that bigger basement for five years. We lasted two years and now we're in our current space since about 2007 or eight. And we actually just did a whole new renovation. It's gorgeous. It's 20,000 square feet of Mabel heaven. So that houses our production facility, our finance team, our marketing gang, our IT, our customer service.

[00:22:23] Julie: Everybody lives there at Mabel HQ and it's super fun. 

[00:22:27] Joelly: That's amazing. So where I was going to go with that is so obviously you had huge success really fast. So can you share what have been some of your biggest struggles in growing your business so fast? And then the second part of that is how did you handle those struggles?

[00:22:40] Julie: Yeah, a few things. I almost think like an entrepreneur and being a parent is sort of similar. Like I had my babies. I was like, okay, I know how to do babies. And then you've got 12 years and you got school age and you got teenagers and you're like, oh, and I've got to keep figuring it out. And it was like the business.

[00:22:55] Julie: It's like, okay, I know how to run a business that does a million dollars in sales. And then you're making five million sales and it's a completely different business. You have to hire people. And so I think to my point earlier, you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable because as soon as you think, you know what you're doing, something's going to change and you have to learn new things.

[00:23:14] Julie: So that was something I think another big learning for us was letting go. And this is hard for entrepreneurs because I think entrepreneurs can kind of be control freaks. And when we did our initial hires, which were the label makers, kind of the worker bees, we were fine with that. But when we had to hire managers.

[00:23:34] Julie: And had to let go of some of that leadership. I think we all struggled with that a little bit and we had to be very careful because, you know, leaders who micromanage their managers will not have managers for very long. It's not good for retention and also you have to let their ideas flow. You need to give them, let them be intrapreneurial.

[00:23:55] Julie: That's better for your business too. So I think we struggled a bit with letting go of some of that higher level stuff. But remember if you're working so much in the business. Who's working on the business? So you need to get yourself out of those weeds and stop putting out those brush fires every day and hiring people to do that so that you can concentrate on growing that business and getting your brand out there.

[00:24:19] Joelly: That's great advice. I love that. And I'm a bit of a control freak, so I totally know what you're talking about. 

[00:24:25] Julie: It's a thing. Like you do see it's a personality thing. And you've got a lot of entrepreneurs who actually deal with a little bit of ADD because our minds go and we're big ideas people.

[00:24:35] Julie: Sometimes the follow through isn't the best. So we need to hire for our gaps. Don't hire people who are going to look up to you and be like, you're the best. Hire people who have skills that you don't have. Yeah. Leave that ego at the door. 

[00:24:47] Joelly: Yeah. No, a hundred percent. And you know, I just, because I have a certain vision.

[00:24:52] Joelly: Tell me if you can relate to this. I have a really strong, and I'm referring to my podcast right now, obviously, I have a really strong vision from day one of how I wanted it to go and everything, and I have hired someone to help me with promotion and social media and everything, but the editing, I can't seem to let it go because I have a story in my head, and I'm really particular about.

[00:25:10] Joelly: Every single thing that goes into the process and into the final story that when I launch it, that's my story. And so I've had other people come in and they don't edit it the way I want it to be edited only because it's not in my head. So I find it hard to do that.

[00:25:24] Julie: Julie, I think that's fair. I mean, the fact of the matter is you're a branding expert.

[00:25:29] Julie: So you're going to be fierce about your brand. And if your brand is storytelling, I allow it. Like, I think it's fair if you. I think it's fair if you can't delegate that, but you should delegate all the other stuff. That's the thing you're passionate about. And that the story you want to tell comes out the way you want to tell it. That is exactly what you want. 

[00:25:48] Joelly: And the other things, and I love what you said about bring people in, because I have people that do things that I don't know how to do, like all the video and everything else, and I don't have the time to learn it, and so that is stuff that I pass off. So, great advice. So, have you made any mistakes, and what would you say has been your biggest mistake, and then, sorry, it's a long question, and then what did you learn from that?

[00:26:08] Julie: I think our biggest mistake was actually holding on to employees that weren't a fit for too long. I think we learned after a while to hire slow and fire fast. You need to get the right people on that bus and exit the people off the bus who don't belong there. I learned this when, look, we had somebody working for us for too long and we just kept doing performance improvement plans and talking about her at every meeting.

[00:26:34] Julie: Eventually, we're just like, we talk about her at every meeting. How much time does that take up? How much money and energy does this suck up? And I get it. Firing people sucks. And you're never going to sleep the night before you fire somebody unless you're completely dead inside, but it has to happen. And the fact of the matter is.

[00:26:52] Julie: Your business needs you to do this. It's not good for your business, it's not good for morale, and sure, the friends at work don't want to see them fired, but they do want to see them gone. If they're dragging down the team, if they're not carrying their weight, if they're not aligned with their core values, it's time for them to exit.

[00:27:09] Julie: And probably in the long run, they'll be happy you did it too.

[00:27:12] Joelly: Have you ever regretted firing someone or no? 

[00:27:14] Julie: Yeah, I've regretted taking too long to fire someone and that actually that was a tough lesson to learn. I mean, I feel like we still learn it. It's still, but we're way better at it, way better at it.

[00:27:24] Julie: And also as we've gotten bigger, we've got, you know, proper HR processes in place and we have an HR manager who, you know, so we have things that you're more comfortable with in those earlier days. You know, we aren't HR experts, but this again, from an entrepreneur's perspective, contractors are an entrepreneur's best friend.

[00:27:40] Julie: You know, you don't have to hire a full time HR person. You get somebody to come in and write your policy and maybe do a couple of hires for you or get some tech person to come in and do your, your video, or you get an accountant, like don't spend a week doing your books. When you're going to hire somebody, it'll take them 20 minutes to do your, your taxes, right?

[00:27:58] Julie: Like you worry about the branding and let somebody else worry about the taxes. 

[00:28:03] Joelly: Wow. Yeah, that's really good advice. It's never easy to fire someone, so I think you're right. And I love what you said about unless you're dead inside. Uh, what was that movie, Up in the Air? Did you see that movie with George Clooney?

[00:28:12] Joelly: Remember when that was his job, was to go around firing people?

[00:28:15] Julie: No way! I have not seen it. That sounds... Yeah, it's a great movie. Awesome. 

[00:28:20] Joelly: Yeah. up in the air. It's quite a few years old, but it's all about that and how hard that is to do. Okay, so I'm going to go back to what we talked about. Originally, we touched briefly on speaking, public speaking and keynote speaking, because what I've learned is that again, we talked about how people are going to know you exist if you're not out there and a great way to get out there in front of people is by doing speaking engagements, right?

[00:28:40] Joelly: And they sort of snowball because you do one and then. Someone finds you there and then invites you. So tell me about your speaking career. How did you start? Why did you start and how has that helped leverage your brand?

[00:28:50] Julie: Honestly, just like you said, you know, somebody had me on a panel or I was talking about entrepreneurship and they're like, you're funny, you're, can you come and teach us what you've learned?

[00:29:02] Joelly: You are funny, by the way, I thought that too, when I first saw you, I'm like, she's great.

[00:29:04] Julie: If you don't laugh and cry, right? I gotta have a sense of humour. I don't take myself that seriously, honestly, humour has gotten me through a lot of hard moments. Honestly, you know, life gives me lemons, I make gin and tonic.

[00:29:16] Julie: Yeah. So, you know, this is, uh, yeah. So the speaking just kind of came about. I know people go and take these big speaking courses or whatever. But for me, it's been very natural. It's a part of my personality. I was that kid who was always, you know, winning the public speaking. I was valedictorian in high school.

[00:29:31] Julie: Like I was just always out there. Right? So for me, it's very natural. I just make sure that when I do my talks that I give important takeaways. I try to keep it light. I don't read slides. I've really crafted it into something that entertains audiences and. Yeah. You know, I have now a speaker sheet where I have testimonials on there, and I just got booked for International Women's Day.

[00:29:53] Julie: So things are starting to, um, obviously through COVID, things got really quiet. And it was through COVID, actually, because I couldn't fly anywhere. I couldn't go to any conferences. I couldn't do anything. That's when a lot of people, particularly women, started side hustles. And that's when I thought. Look, what I'm going to do now is write the book because there's been this book that's been on my to do list forever.

[00:30:15] Julie: And with COVID came the book. So I wrote the book. Yeah. I'm a bestseller. It's called Like a Mother: Birthing Businesses, Babies and a Life Beyond Labels. And, um, 

[00:30:28] Joelly: Bestseller? Sorry, did you say bestseller? Wow. Congrats. 

[00:30:31] Julie: That's really, it's done really well. It's just full of my business hacks, my life hacks, parenting hacks, all that jazz.

[00:30:37] Julie: And uh, you know, and, and actually this weekend I am speaking in Dallas, there's another conference going on and I couldn't speak at it cause I can't be in two places at once. Still waiting on that cloning machine in my basement, once I get it, I'll lend it to you. But they bought all the books to give to the attendees, so I'm still there in spirit.

[00:30:53] Julie: So I thought that was amazing. It was a great way to show support. 

[00:30:57] Joelly: That's fantastic. Do you need some water?

[00:30:58] Julie: I don't know. Here, let me sip my tea. Honest to God, on nothing, on air, that's what I do. 

[00:31:07] Joelly: That's okay. We're all talking about keeping it real.

[00:31:08] Julie: Yeah, that's it, right?

[00:31:10] Joelly: One more question before we go, and this is one that I ask all my guests.

[00:31:13] Joelly: So, Julie, what is your badass superpower? 

[00:31:19] Julie: Oh, honestly, I think my badass superpower is my perspective. I'm positive, but not toxically positive. I'm real, but I don't get my knickers in the knot about much. Otherwise, I couldn't do six kids. I could, you know, the basket of laundry isn't calling my name.

[00:31:35] Julie: I don't care what people think you could come to my house and say it's messy. And I'd be like, yeah, it is. Got a problem with it because I don't, you know, so I think that perspective and not taking myself too seriously. My grandma lines, I have this awesome old granny. She died about five years ago at 101 and she was chocked full of great advice.

[00:31:53] Julie: She was one of 21 kids, Cyrus Catholics. And you know, she would always keep us, she would say something that would always make me feel like I'm so powerful, but also to stay humble. And she would say, Julie, you're as good as the rest of them and better than none. And I think just remembering that means, you know, I can do anything, but I'm no better than anyone else along the way.

[00:32:16] Julie: So that's, uh, that's my little granny tip bit that I'm going to pass along to your listeners.

[00:32:23] Joelly: I love that. And you know, you and I are so similar because I was recently interviewed on a podcast and they asked me what one person's advice has stuck with me. And I shared about my late father. He died in 1999, but he said, he always said, you're not better than anybody, but nobody is better than you.

[00:32:39] Joelly: We all bleed the same colour blood. We're all humans doing the best. And so that keeps me humble, but it also gives me confidence. You know, as far as like, whether you're a CEO of a boardroom, whether you're a billionaire or you're, someone working the counter at wherever, McDonald's, we're all human beings and it keeps, I think it keeps perspective like you just said.

[00:32:58] Joelly: So yeah, I love that. 

[00:33:00] Julie: It's the only thing I can control, right? Like everything else is out of my control, but what I can do is control how I'm going to respond, how I'm going to react and how I'm going to shape that, my perspective around everything.

[00:33:12] Joelly: Yeah, love that. What a great way to end it. What a great conversation.

[00:33:15] Joelly: I can't believe the time, it's just flown right by.

[00:33:16] Julie: We could talk all day. 

[00:33:18] Joelly: Oh, no kidding. I think we're both that way. So just again, if people want to connect with you, what's the best way for them to do that?

[00:33:24] Julie: For sure. So you can find all of my information at mabelslabels.com/juliecole. You can see my media, my press page, my socials.

[00:33:33] Julie: I'm on Instagram, um, @juliecoleinc and @mabelslabels, of course, and all the other social places, uh, LinkedIn, Facebook, everywhere. You know, we just, we're out there. I'm easy to find. 

[00:33:44] Joelly: Okay, great. And can you say the name of your book again and where people can get it?

[00:33:47] Julie: Yes, it's called Like a Mother: Birthing Businesses, Babies and a Life Beyond Labels, and you can get it from any of your favourite booksellers online or just go to Amazon.

[00:33:57] Joelly: And don't forget to rate it and leave a review 

[00:33:59] Julie: Yes, please. Oh, yes. Thank you. 

[00:34:01] Joelly: I always tell that to people too with my podcast because believe it or not, I read all the reviews and it's nice to hear and it's also helpful to grow the product or the business. Well, Julie, thank you again. Do you have any closing words before we say goodbye?

[00:34:14] Julie: No, just thank you, Joelly, so much for having me and I'm so glad that you mentioned our meeting in Calgary. That was really special and I'm glad I made an impact on you there and made you invite me onto your amazing podcast. 

[00:34:24] Joelly: Oh, well, thank you. It's been great. So hopefully we'll stay in touch and I look forward to maybe one day meeting in person, maybe next time you're in Calgary.

[00:34:31] Joelly: Would love that. All right. Bye.

[00:34:38] Joelly: And there you have it. Thank you so much for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed the conversation and hopefully you learned a few things to help you with your branding. Branding Matters is a work in progress, so please remember to rate it and leave a review on whatever platform you listen to podcasts. And if you'd like help building your brand, whether it's through badass merch or you just need some tips to get you started, feel free to send me a private message and I would love to help you out.

[00:35:02] Joelly: You can message me on my website at brandingmatters.ca. I promise you I reply to all my messages. So thanks again, and until next time, here's to all you badasses out there.