Welcome to the Radiant Soul Sisters Podcast!
Episode #20
Today my guest is Lori Highby, Founder of Keystone Click
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If you want to read the transcript, check it out below:
Susan
Oh my goodness. Today listeners you’re gonna be in for a treat. I have my friend Lori Highby with us. She is a podcast host, a speaker and educator, and the founder of Keystone Click, which is a strategic digital marketing company. Lori has used her vast industry knowledge and gained from experience as well as education to build this amazing marketing company. She has the ability to see the potential of greatness within the already established good of a business. And I can tell you listeners, that is the honest truth. The things that Lori and her team were able to do for Huntsboro Hemp company just never cease to amaze me. So Lori, I’m very grateful for that.
Lori
Awesome. I’m excited to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me, Susan!
Susan
I am so excited to have you here. Lori. Before we really jump in, I always like to ask my guest to share something from their childhood or a memory from growing up. Just to give us a little glimpse into your past.
Lori
No, sure, absolutely. You know, there’s so many fun little memories, but one that really stands out to me. And I don’t know if this is because my dad is no longer with us anymore. But when I was goodness, I don’t know how old I was, I was probably… I had been a freshman in high school at the time, but I was playing softball. So at the time, my dad was actually working in Wisconsin, and we were living in Illinois. So he would only come home on the weekends. But because my softball games were high school freshmen softball, were during the week, he would surprise me sometimes and actually drive home and come just watch my game. And that just like means so much to me. You know, even when I was a kid, I think it meant a little bit but reflecting back, it’s like, wow, that’s so awesome that my dad, you know, he would drive two hours just to watch me play an hour game. And then he’d have to drive two hours back so that he could go to work the next day. And that’s huge.
Susan
Ah, that I got goosebumps that just went all through my body, as you said that because I can only imagine when your dad showed up that you felt like the most special person in the world.
Lori
Yeah, it meant a ton that he did that and a ton to me that he was just there to support me. He was always a big cheerleader of any activity that I was doing. And yeah, to have him there just was awesome.
Susan
I love, love that memory. And it goes along with a lot of the memories that every other guests are sharing. What I find fascinating is that or not really, no one ever has talked about a gift or a material thing. Whenever I’ve asked about memories, it has always been about an adventure or about someone important showing up in your life. Or what one guest even talked about a clown circus kissing her on the cheek. And she felt like the only little girl in that whole coliseum right. So it goes back to how important memories are and how important people are in our lives.
Lori
Absolutely. And I mean, I love that you said that too. And that, that’s a trend that you’re seeing, because I’ve always been a fan of experiences over like tangible items. So absolutely. I don’t have kids, but I have nieces and nephews and my goal has always been to have an experience with them as opposed to just buying a gift for their birthday or the holidays.
Susan
Absolutely, absolutely. Because those are the things that they will remember forever and ever. Lori, I know that your dad was a huge part in your life and he loved hockey and he loved sports and you guys did a lot of fun things. I also believe that he was really a big part in supporting you or even from when you were younger, into becoming an entrepreneur or to becoming the person that you are today, right? So as you have built this business, Keystone Click, you have a great team that works with you. What is one of the biggest lessons that you have learned about being an entrepreneur in business for yourself?
Lori
Oh, there’s so many lessons. But I think one of the biggest things and it took me a little bit of time to actually kind of have this lightbulb aha moment is that I don’t need to do it by myself. And, you know, we’ve heard this phrase, “it’s lonely at the top,” which you don’t quite understand that until you actually experience it on your own. When you go from, you know, an employee, where you have other people that you’re kind of talking through things, but then when you become the leader, and everyone’s looking up to you, and you have no one else to kind of talk through things, at least, that’s what you start thinking until you realize that there’s communities and there’s others out there that are experiencing similar pains. But it is good to create those relationships to help you, you know, mentally get through the roadblocks, but also, you know, everyone’s got their area of expertise. And you don’t have to do it all alone. For some reason, I thought I had to handle all my legal stuff, all my financial stuff, you know, the HR stuff, when no, let me hire the experts that have those skill sets. And that gives room for me to be the expert for those that are hiring us for our skill set.
Susan
I love that, there’s greatness in community. And I hear you say, and you know, what, you’ve hired the people, that their expertise, we’re in different areas than you. And I think that is always a challenge for people who are starting to build a business is to realize, you know, you really can be a lot stronger if you delegate and you do what you’re good at. I learned very early on in one of my other passion projects, I guess, I would say are businesses that you know what, I didn’t need to be spending the time doing the money. I didn’t need to be spending the time and that when I finally let go of that control, I was able to do a lot more. Yeah, cause people got to hear my voice and got to see me doing what I wanted to do so I do, I love that. I want to go back to one other thing about your dad that you haven’t mentioned, but I know from personal experience, your dad was an incredible networker. He taught you how to network. Talk to us a little bit about that. Share some of your experiences there, or what did you learn from him?
Lori
Well, yeah, I mean, my whole childhood was him just building relationships and knowing people. We would go, we would travel across the country, and people knew who he was. So he just had that great reputation. And he always went out of his way to just help and be a resource and give advice. But it was also just really fun and an enjoyable presence to be around. And I think that’s something that, you know, he attracted people to him, because he was an entertainer. But he was also a giver, you know, and I think those are things that I definitely carry on that I – like I thrive off of being around other people, there’s no doubt about that you know, around good energies. But I also want to give as much as I can and be a resource and help. I have to know some of my limitations with that too, though, I think at some point you all learn, you know, where the boundaries really are and that you can’t help everybody.
Susan
That’s a huge lesson in itself I’d say. I love the fact that you are a giver. And you know, I am an Enneagram two or a nurturer. And learning those boundaries, sometimes are very hard with your loved ones as well as people out in the community that you want to help if you can help one person or a few people find joy in that right.
Lori
Absolutely
Susan
So another thing the listeners don’t know, we’ve had our podcast scheduled several different times and had to reschedule, reschedule and I will say COVID popped in there one week or whatever, but you have been doing some fun traveling. And through getting to know you and know that you have learned how to create work life harmony, sometimes you have to work a little harder, but other times you get to play a little harder, which creates this beautiful symphony in our life, right? What are some of the things that you do to very strategically plan or create that work life harmony?
Lori
Oh, strategically, that’s a big word. When I am traveling for business, if I’m able, I will try to add on just one day to just explore and try that, you know, explore the destination. You know, this past February, I went to Santa Fe for, it was a two day work trip, and then I stayed one extra day and got to go to some amazing places in Santa Fe that I probably would have never been to, and then you know, fly home right away. But I just tried to add on at the very least one day, it doesn’t always happen, you know, some days, it’s just in and out. I’ve been to DC three times, and never ever explored it. It’s only been, you know, flying to the airport, go to the meeting, airport home every single night. So it doesn’t always happen. But I think it is really important to, if you have the opportunity to do that too definitely do that. I do try to find things that I enjoy that apply to business.
So I know that you mentioned I play hockey, and I do a lot of networking there. And I do get a lot of good client opportunities from that. So building the relationships, and things that I enjoy that you kind of carry over into the business as well. So, there’s some crossover, things that happen from business to personal, but I also think you have to have a little bit of balance and set your boundaries and you know, take a trip and not bring your computer with you. And I mean, that’s hard to hear sometimes. This year, that is a tough one. I did do it once this year. But you know, I’ve got an upcoming trip, I’m going hiking in Utah with a couple of friends. And I’ve told my team, I’m not available in the mornings, because those are when the hiking trips happen. But I am making myself available in the afternoon. So I will do some work in the afternoon. So, it is balancing like, so I’m able to do what I want to do that brings me personal joy. But I’m also making time to do the work as well and be available to my team.
Susan
I really needed to hear that. Take a trip and leave your computer. Oh, Lori, I have attachment issues there.
Lori
It was a big issue for me actually. When I went to the Bahamas recently, but the big thing I learned was, and this was the trigger was you’re gonna laugh at this. There was weight limits on how much we could bring on our luggage because we were on a small plane to get to this remote island. Okay, but then there was, you know, so bring my computer or put another bottle of booze in the back. Okay, I’m on vacation.
Susan
40’s right. The priorities! I drove from Nevada to North Carolina with one of my daughters, which was an amazing trip. And I will tell you, I took… are you ready for this? My Computer and my iPad and of course I have my smartphone. And I thought, oh, you know, well, some of the days while I’m driving, you know, I can do some work, get some writing done. But what I discovered very, very quickly, very early on in our trip, we were driving and I was looking at my phone. And I was missing seeing these beautiful parts of the country that I wouldn’t ever get to see had I not been driving, right. So even putting my phone up became very important on that trip. Because I didn’t want to miss seeing all the different states I was driving through singing and having the great conversations with my daughter. Yep, you know but I do need to work on that planning, that’s a great, great tip there. So Lori, in addition to you know, creating this calendar that you like, so that you create a life you love, you do things that bring you joy, you’ve talked about that. You’ve also talked about how you’ve built, you build relationships, even when you are doing the things that bring you joy, and eventually they may or may not become a client or to another client, right? What are some of the other things that you do every day or every week to really make your radiant soul shine to illuminate you from within.
Lori
So this year, I put a lot of emphasis on my personal health. My word of the year was health and I looked at it from a mental standpoint. A physical standpoint and a financial standpoint, and I wanted to make sure I was healthy and all three of those buckets. So I started with the mental space. And I downloaded the app Gratitude, which I highly recommend, fantastic app. It’s free, you know, and there’s paid versions of it. But basically, it pings you with a statement a day that you write of just something that you have gratitude for. So like, what is something in nature that you’re grateful for, what’s something that someone nice did for you recently, and you just write a sentence. And just doing that helped me to be like, oh, you know, I’m happy to be alive and happy that things are happening. I incorporated meditation into my life. And then I actually hired a personal trainer, to help me with the physical side of things, which also played into the mental side of things a little bit too. But really taking the time to focus on me has allowed me to get clarity in my personal life and in my business, and it has allowed me to perform better, just be a better human being overall.
Susan
I love that, you know, in my conversation with Amy Schmidt, she said, one of the things she has learned to ask herself, is how will I treat myself as the guest of honor?
Lori
Oh, and I love that.
Susan
Isn’t that cool? What a great thought, right? She’s like, think about it, when you’re entertaining your friends, or your family, you know, you go all out and you want them to be comfortable, and you want them to have the best and to feel loved, right? But what if you treat yourself as the guest of honor. And that’s what you know, that’s what I hear you say and is that for this year, you pick the word health and you gave it the three buckets, which are balanced in your life. So beautiful, Lori, so beautiful. Well, I have one question left for you. But before we get there, I just would like for you to let the viewers know how they can connect with you.
Lori
I’m very active on LinkedIn. So you can just look for Lori Highby and LinkedIn otherwise you can check out KeystoneClick.com. My email is lo********@ke***********.colm. Yeah, those are probably the best three ways to reach out and connect. I look forward to connecting with you.
Susan
Yeah, that sounds great. And we will have those linked in the show notes. So everybody can find you there as well. So Lori, in thinking about the great things you’ve, shared with us about taking care of yourself, building relationships, and just really creating a life that you love. For that one listener or one woman who needs to hear just one tip, or one suggestion that she can take to start creating a life she’d love to let her radiant soul shine, what would be your tip?
Lori
There’s a statement that I have started living by in the last couple of years. And I think it’s going, this is what’s going to resonate hopefully is, do something your future self will thank you for.
Susan
Oh, do something your future self will thank you. I love that. And that is pretty profound, right?
Lori
Absolutely. I live by it constantly. And that’s what motivates me to, to go to the gym, to eat healthy to, you know, to do the Gratitude app, just knowing that these are the things that are going to help me be better, just even in the business life be like if I do this now I’m gonna be happy that I don’t have to do it later. So thinking about my future.
Susan
Yes, that can apply in every area of life. Every area of life whether you know you’re trying to get healthy, you’re trying to build a business, you’re trying to take care of your aging parents, you know. Even there you know, do something your future self would be proud of. Thank you. Thank you so much. Lori, thank you so much for taking time to be here with us today and share some insights on how you live a beautiful radiant life and how you give to others. And really just get to know people when I think of you two words come to mind people and places, people and places because you love people and you enjoy exploring places. Love it. Thank you. Yes, I hope you have enjoyed another episode of the Radiant Soul Sisters. So many thanks to my guest Lori Highby today. And if you would like to learn more about some more amazing women, join us next time as we shine the light on another radiant soul sister. Till then I’m Susan Crews, your host and all the episodes, resources, and community can be found on my website at SusanCrewsCo.com.
