Sari 0:04
I'm Sari Kimbel, and I've done just about everything in the food industry. I have helped hundreds of packaged food business entrepreneurs, and now I want to help you make your delicious dream a reality, whether you want to be successful at farmers markets, online, or wholesale onto store shelves, Food Business Success is your secret ingredient. I will show you how to avoid an expensive hobby and instead run a profitable food business. Now, let's jump. All right, welcome back to the podcast. And today is a really special day, one I've thought about doing a long time, and so I am really excited to welcome on my business coach to the podcast, and Dave Moreno has been an amazing coach for me and has really helped me grow my business, and we're going to get into it more, and we're going to talk more with Dave about his perspective on coaching and what he does. And so, welcome Dave.

Dave 1:12
Hey, Sari. Thank you very much. I'm happy to be here. It's so fun.

Sari 1:14
We're flipping, turning the tables. I've been on your podcast, and you've certainly been a big influence in a lot of the podcasts I've recorded, so people get to meet the person.

Dave 1:31
Well, don't be shocked, there's no rocket science here. But I'm happy to talk about coaching and all the stuff we do, but and the success you found, which is so fun to watch, so fun. I mean, I'm sure your listeners see it, but just to watch your growth and what you've done has been such a joy for me. I love it.

Sari 1:50
Well, we're going to get into all the ways that coaching has helped me and ultimately helped others, right? All the people that I serve, and so people might be like, why is she talking about her business, but I'm going to be rolling out a business coaching program, and so I thought, what a great time to bring on Dave, and yeah, learn about how he's helped me, and how I want to then help serve my clients inside Food Business Success. It's interesting. I actually had a gal who now has joined Food Business Success, but nine months ago she started following me. We had a call, she reached out, and then when we had a follow-up call before she joined nine months later, she said, you know, I've been following you, you know, over these nine months, and you've just really leveled up. And she actually asked me, she was the one that said, who is your coach? So that's actually a great, great segue. So, tell the listeners a little bit about you. What do you do as a business coach.

Dave 3:03
Sure. So I am Dave Moreno. I am the Badass Business Coach. I help entrepreneurs level up, grow their business, get out of their own way, so that we can create six figure growth in their business, no matter where they are. And so you know, my whole positioning, my whole stance is all built around clients know what they want, they know what they know the success they want. Entrepreneurs want success, whatever that means. The biggest issue is they're not organized in the right way to get it. An organization can mean a million different things. For me, it means structure, focus, and accountability. So that's what I work with my clients to bring, is the right structure in their business, make sure they're focusing and doing the right things and not wasting time doing the wrong things and make sure they're accountable to someone. I think everybody needs to be accountable to something, to someone, in order to properly succeed. So I bring that, build that package out. Been doing this for a few years now. I absolutely love everything I do. Serial entrepreneur, from, you know, for the last 20 years, building businesses, doing things, and then, like you, I found the power of coaching through my own coach and through exposure to that, and it turned me on to this, and it just, I lit up, I got so passionate about it that I wanted to be a coach, and I wanted to help other people, and that's where I got to, and you know, then I meet clients like you who are having great businesses, successful businesses, and then they get the bug and realize, wow, coaching has completely shifted and helped me. I want to do the same for other people, which is such a joy for me to watch people do.

Sari 4:28
Yeah, yeah. So I found you. So if we just rewind, like first, when I first find you.

Dave 4:37
How did you find me? I'm curious. I saw that in, like, the in the show notes, and I was like, oh, I love these stories, because I never know these stories, or I don't remember them.

Sari 4:45
Right. So if we like rewind, when I first launched Food Business Success, I guess that'd be 2019 and that's actually when I found the Life Coach School, and that really like it was perfect timing for me to start learning some of these mindset pieces, that it wasn't just about having a great program, but I needed to manage my own thoughts and do hard things and start developing some better habits to really, if I was going to make this work, and so followed Brooke Steel and the Life Coach School, and then the workbook came out with your face on the cover. I don't remember what month that was.

Dave 5:36
My cover model of February, I think, or March.

Sari 5:41
Must have been 2018 I'm going to start in 2018 cuz I'm, yeah, 2020 is a blur. So I started following you, or I was like, who is this guy? I don't know, just something about, your story spoke to me, and then you started your podcast. It was a little edgy, it was like not my style necessarily, but you know, you had that like loud intro breaking the wall music, and I was like, but like, you really spoke to me, you only had, you were. it's funny, you weren't consistent, then you just like you had a couple, and then there was a big gap, and I was like, "what's happening? Who's this guy? But yeah, you really spoke to me, and then just kept listening and kind of following you, and then COVID happened, and I chose that in that moment to use that time as well as I could to not over drink to not over buffer, yeah, it was scary time for sure, but I was like I feel like there's a lot of opportunity here and I want to make the most of it, so I started making some different choices, and then you launched your mastermind, and it was just like I went to the get a webinar, and I just was like, yep, I'm in, I need some community, especially right, like we're all in lockdown, and I was very alone in my business, so started in your mastermind, you had a six week program, and then, and then we started working together.

Dave 7:30
Jumped into a one on one, yeah.

Sari 7:32
And it was the hardest, it was scary. I'll tell you, I know you do that on purpose, but it was a lot of money. It was a big investment up front. I paid it all up front, and I remember, yeah, having conversations with my brother and my sister, and like, I don't know, this is so much money, but I just felt like if I made that investment, because your promise is, you know, to grow our businesses by six figures, and I was like, what if that were true? I just decided to, like.

Dave 7:59
And let me ask you, is it true?

Sari 8:14
Yeah, I mean, I think what happened is I leveled up, I was like, yeah, I'm investing this amount of money. I better show up, right? I'm going to do these hard things.

Dave 8:25
And well, this is the thing. This is what people need to understand about coaching. I've done this by design, and it doesn't matter what the actual number is. That doesn't matter to anybody. It should never feel comfortable for your client to hire you, because the first step of finding the right client, the person who can really value coaching and get the most from coaching is that it is a tough decision. It does feel uncomfortable to hire a coach. I know people who hire coaches at $1,000 it feels uncomfortable. I know people who pay $50,000 for a coach and it feels uncomfortable. The number doesn't actually matter, but you should go through some doubt, some questioning, some discomfort when you're hiring your coach, that's how you know you're doing the right thing. So, like you said, it felt really uncomfortable for you, and you had to go through and think about it, but you went all in on it. And this is the thing: any client who can actually go through that discomfort, make the decision, even after all the doubt, all the confusion, all the thoughts about the money they're about to spend on this coaching thing that they may not know enough about or a lot about, if you can get through all that noise and actually make the decision, you are already 10 steps ahead in growing as a person, growing as a business owner, growing as an entrepreneur, growing as a husband, a wife, a mother, a father, doesn't matter what you do, just entering into the coaching relationship changes it. I have clients now who join with me, and they pay me, they pay it all up front, that's how the design is, because I want the most amount of discomfort available when hire me, because you have to get through that choice, and they don't actually start with me now for about six to eight weeks, because we have a wait list. Because of this, so they can secure their spot, but they're not starting, and it's so funny to watch, even when I'm not their coach yet. We don't have sessions, we don't have anything, just paying me money. The thoughts that start happening, the opportunity that starts coming to them, the things that they start putting effort into differently starts to unlock things before I even start doing work with them. So, you know, I know what you've done, because you and I, you know, I've worked together. We're now in our second year together, but watching exactly what happens with every client, exactly what that process is of the difficult decision. No client of mine can ever stand up and say, I, you know, oh, so easy to hire him. It was so such a good deal, it was so affordable, it was so.. no, it's always got to be that struggle, and I will keep increasing the price to make sure the struggle is always going to be there, because I never want it to be easy, and if any client ever told me, "Oh, it's a.. you know, clients tell me it's a no-brainer, I want to hire you, but it has to feel uncomfortable to pay me, there has to be some doubt, some confusion there, otherwise they're not going to unlock that thing they need to unlock, which is exactly what happened. You know what you're describing, your story, but that's that's coaching, I think. No matter what level you're at, you know, if you're going into even your program, you know, Food Business Success as a program, it should feel uncomfortable. You should know it's the right thing, it should feel good, but you should start to sit there for a minute and go, okay, if I spend this money, will I do the work? Will this actually do it? Make that decision, because whatever you decide, if you spend the money, it's going to work. If you don't spend the money, I promise you, it won't work. That's the only thing you need to understand about coaching.

Sari 11:34
And ultimately, I just had to decide that I'm going to believe that this, like, I'm going to believe in myself. I'm going to be willing to show up. I mean, it really came down to a decision and a belief, and so I do think that's the power of money to transform you, to help you step up and step into your business more. So, yeah, I'm all in.

Dave 11:58
Well, I like to tell my clients, I agree that money can't buy you happiness, but I also know that money can buy coaching, and so if money can buy coaching, that's close to happiness.

Sari 12:13
There's so much value in a coach, but I would love to hear from your perspective what you've seen. So we've been working together a little over a year, and we're going to finish out the year 2021 as we, you've really helped me to, well, I'll let you tell it, but we've launched or relaunched sort of new Food Business Success, and then we're launching a new program this fall.

Dave 12:40
Like when you came on board, we look at what you're doing and where you are, right? And the thing is, wherever you are and what you're doing is obviously not getting you to where you want to be. So, there has to be something that has to shift or has to change. No one ever just hires me and says, "I have a great business, I love it, everything's functioning well, just help me grow it. I would say, "Well, you don't, you don't actually need me if you think everything's great. There's something in your business that's not working for you or not working for your customer. Let's figure it out, what it is. So, when you came on board, you know it was, let's go through everything, let's figure it out, and then let's, as I like to do, burn some stuff down, right, burn some shit down, and then take it to, okay, and then rebuild it a little bit, even if it's one little piece, right. Burn it down. Let's rebuild it, because that alone will reignite some spark and will allow us to at least get the market reaction of what we've done. So, you know, doing that in your business, going from just consulting with clients, and then into Food Business Success, which is an incredible program. Like, if you are, I've told people this, who have come to me. If your business is a food business, I'm like, "Don't hire me. There is someone who is the me of the food industry. Trust me, go get them, because they know actually the tactics and strategies in your industry, right? I can tell you taxes and strategy about growing a business. She can tell you taxes and strategy of growing a business in the food industry. So, Food Business Success was this amazing thing that you know we started to carve and manipulate a little bit and make it so that it became this awesome program for people, which it is now, and that's exactly what I mean. In year two, like you said, we're a little over a year now together. It's exactly what we're doing on another level in this whole coaching world, which I think will be so tremendously valuable for people, because it's what's missing from what they need to take that next level in their food business, right? Is I firmly believe this, and I know that you do now too. The only problem in a business is the entrepreneur, because if you can solve the entrepreneur, the entrepreneur can actually solve every other problem.

Sari 14:41
Yes.

Dave 14:41
So my client is never a company like your company didn't hire me, you hired me. You're my client. If I can solve you, you then know how to solve everything in your business, and that's exactly what always me.

Sari 14:54
Always comes down. Yeah, that's the best news. It's the worst news.

Dave 15:02
It's such a, it's such a mind trick to know that it is the best news, and it's the worst news, but at the same time, then you at least know that you have full control over solving any problem.

Sari 15:13
Yeah, and I will tell you that, like you mentioned at the beginning, I mean, it, the accountability has been huge for me, getting feedback, you know, getting an outside perspective, and I'm curious, I mean, you describe yourself as a business coach, and that's how I'm going, you know, that's how I describe myself as well, but you went through the Life Coach School, you are also certified as a life coach, and I am also getting certified. I started in April, so I'm at layering in that as value to my clients, but I'm curious, kind of how you describe that. You know that you are primarily a business coach, but how does life coaching factor into what you do?

Dave 16:00
Yeah, really simple. Business is life. Life is business. If you're an entrepreneur, you know that. Your business is your life and your life is your business. That's actually one of the problems that might exist in your business, because everything is about that. But as an entrepreneur, you know that there is, it's different than having a nine to five job. And so the fundamentals of being a life coach is what allows someone to be a business coach. If someone stood up and said, I'm a business coach, I have a degree from Harvard, I have an MBA, and I want to help you grow your business, I would strongly advise you to really think about what they're going to offer you, because they're going to offer you things that you probably already know, or they're going to offer you theories or things like that. What you want from someone is the ability to say, I don't need someone in my business to help my business work with my team, I need someone to help me personally manage my mind, develop the strength, the courage, the discipline that I require, and then, of course, strategy and tactics help me with that. If you want to work with people, you need to be a life coach, and then you need to have business experience. That's how you become a business coach. If you want to help, if you want to just help businesses and get your hands in there in teams, and that maybe you don't necessarily do that, but I do know firsthand the value of being a life coach. I used to, I remember when I graduated Life Coach School, and other people will tell you this from Life Coach School as well. There's this real shame about saying you're a life coach, like you think like people will like look at you funny or think you're crazy or think you're really woo, or you work with crystals, or like what is a life coach? Like, what do you do? And had to shame around it, because I was a business guy, right, and I'm like, in the business world, people won't get that. And then, as I started to work with people, I was like, no, you know what, life coach is exactly what they need, and it is exactly the fundamental, the foundation of what my business coaching is. So, like I've said before, and like I tell everybody, business is life, life is business. You need a life coach who has business experience, and they are the best person for you, because you really, as an entrepreneur, if you can agree that you are more than not the problem in your business, because you can't figure something out, because you doubt something, because you question something, because you second guess something, or because you just swirl an indecision on things, then you know, okay, I need a coach who understands me, my life, and my business. It's like a trifecta. It's like a superpower, and that's where I know the value of being a life coach now, compared to when I graduated, and have a little shame about it.

Sari 18:32
Yeah, it's interesting. I've started to tell people, like, I'm a life coach. I'm like, it's been interesting. I don't have shame, but I'm like, do they understand what it is? Yeah, this feels a little awkward, but I am excited. I mean, I know when this wasn't the original plan when we started working together, and then kind of clicked for me in December, and I was like, I think this is the next piece of my business, is working with food founders, doing what you do for me, but for them, and in that industry, and bringing the how and the experience, right, the MBA of business, but also the life coaching piece, because that has been the, I mean, I could find somebody to help me with the website and the emails, like anybody could. There's a lot of business coaches out there that could do that, but you know, there's been times, I mean, I went through a breakup and I called you, or you know, we got on like an early morning call because I was like, I can't function in my business right now, and you really, you know, we did life coaching because that's what I needed right now. You know, and so sometimes our calls are very focused on the website and the email and the funnel, and the business part, and then sometimes it's a lot about my mindset and my beliefs, and you challenge me, and we kind of go through that and break it down.

Dave 20:14
I tell you honestly, because this isn't my podcast, so my listeners won't hear it, or they might, but who cares, but I don't say this openly on my podcast, very much, because there's this, there's this illusion of it. What people do is they hire the badass business coach, because they go, I need him to help me with strategy, tactics, marketing, help me find new customers, help me build a funnel, help me take my business to the next level, whatever it is, that's what they hire. What they actually get is a life coach who knows how to build a business, right, and so many of my clients, like, I would say I average probably about a 6040 split on life coaching and business coaching, 60% is business coaching, 40% of the time, with most of my clients it is life coaching, and that varies by client, but I remember I have a client who's going through, who's been through a divorce recently, and for the first like six weeks together, we did nothing but talk about that, and she just kept saying, "I'm so sorry, I know I didn't hire you to be my divorce coach, and I'm like, "If we don't solve this problem, you will never focus and grow your business. I need to help you process this, so that we can get to your business. And now we're at a point where she's actually working on the business of growing it, she feels so free from all of that pain, all of the baggage she was carrying. Because if I try to grow a business without helping you in your life, it's like climbing a mountain with a 400 pound backpack. It's so difficult. You can climb the mountain, but, man, it's a lot more work than you need. What the life coaching aspect does is take off 350 of those pounds, and now you're climbing the mountain with a 50 pound backpack of just what you need, and it becomes so much easier to grow your business.

Sari 21:47
A 100% it is. It's made all the difference to have the weekly coaching, and also, you know, we do Voxer, Access, Slack, and that's all the things I'll be offering my clients, but just to have you know, we have a call on Tuesday, and then Thursday something blows up, or it's a celebration too. It's not always bad, but it's like I send you that message, and I'm like, I need coaching, and you send me back, you know, something.

Dave 22:21
Well, think about the value of this. I love it, because you, you utilize a lot, and my clients who utilize it are the ones who get the most from me, of course. And so, how many times have you been in the car driving somewhere, or doing something on, like, a random Thursday, and you're just like, okay, so I just wanted to update you on what's kind of going on, what's got my mind going? I'm heading to this, and I have this meeting, and here's what I'm thinking, and to like, just know, do have this phone in your pocket that you can pick up and reach out to someone who knows your business, knows your industry, knows you as a person, and can give you individualized coaching and feedback in a matter of minutes, even if it's like a like a 32nd reply of remember, you just have to do this, and it's just that quick hit of that voice, that name, that fire that you work with every week to give you that, which is so valuable. And you offering that to your customers is it's a huge part of the value that I offer, and I think people need to understand how important that is to have access to your coach in your pocket at any time. It's great to have a call each week, that's fantastic. But I know your growth has come from those conversations in between our calls, not just from our calls.

Sari 23:34
Yeah, it's taking the concepts, processing them. I mean, we get a lot of work done, and I show up most of the time to the calls, having done my homework and having done, you know, the things that I wanted. It's like I'm taking massive action every week in my business, and making, you know, putting myself out there. I mean, I, when before we started working together. I didn't have a podcast, I had the YouTube channel, and I really resisted the podcast, and was like, I don't know, I, it was about discipline for me, like the YouTube, I could kind of film here and there, and if I got one up a month, great, if I got two, great, but I didn't feel the need to commit each week, right, and so you know, you really challenged me to do, I mean, I mean, your program with Badass 30, and some of the things we do around discipline, I mean, just showing up every week is discipline, so, but it's like I was able to make that decision and make it really cleanly, and like commit and go all in, be like I'm showing up every week podcast, no matter what, and it's something I'm super proud of, for sure, in my business, but yeah, I think I don't know that I would have started it, if I, yeah, didn't have well, coaching.

Dave 25:03
Here's the truth, I think you would be here at some point, exactly where you are now, with the income level you have, and everything you have in your life, you'd be there at some point. Here's the value of a coach. A coach is the only shortcut that exists. It gets you where you're meant to go, it just gets you there a lot faster. I tell people, you know, you talk about, you know, it's not easy to hire a coach. It's expensive to hire a coach at any level. You should look at a coach and think that that's an expensive investment, but what you have to know is it is actually the cheapest way to get to your where you want to go. Like, it is the cheapest by far to get to your destination that you hope to be the thing that you're praying for, the gap that exists. The coach is the cheapest way to get there. And so I know that you would have a podcast, you would have all the success. I know that you would have ended up in coaching at some point. I know that you would have done all this. Would it have taken 16 months? Would it have taken three years? I don't know, but I do know the quickest way to do it is make the investment, get the return right away, and then you have the value. Here's what you get as a client: you have the ability to replicate this every year. You don't, you don't need a coach for the rest of your life. You need the coach to show you how to do something, and then the return on investment on your coach is like in a food business. If the coach helps you build the business, find the right, you know, distributors, or find the right, get it on the right shelves, get that product out, get that. Now your sales have increased, but guess what, all the value that you learn from that coach, you get to get a return every year, over and over and over, and that's why coaching is an investment, and it's one of the only investments that you actually get to decide on the return on, like when you put money in the stock market, you can't say I want a 13% return on this. The stock market lasts a year and says, 'No, no, we'll do whatever we want, right? Hold my beer, watch what we do with your money, and it's up and down, it's all over the place. You have no idea what the return will be. No one can guarantee anything. With a coach, you give money and you say, like, 'Make that decision up front, I'm going to make five times my money back on this. Okay, then let's go make five times your money back, because you're going to get all the tools and resources you need to do that, or whatever you're getting coaching on. What do you want the return to be? I know people who go into coaching to help improve their relationships. When you hire that coach, decide right now this coaching is going to help me have a beautiful relationship in my future, and then go into the coaching with that mindset of the here's what's going to happen. Like, we knew what you wanted, the goals that you had when we originally started, you're currently enjoying having. And you go, that's great. Now I get, so you tell me, if I write down another goal, we can have it, yes, and you write down, I want to coach other people. I want to help them build their business from the perspective that you helped me on the mindset side on the things they're not doing, not just the practical, not just the packaging and the label. I want to help them understand how they can do all of this and how they can be so much more powerful and strong themselves. So, write that goal down. Let's go do it. And then you wrote it down, and here we are doing it right. You're getting certified at Life Coach School. You're building your program. We're in the middle of.. it's amazing the way the program is coming together. I'm so excited for your people to see it, because I think it's going to blow their mind what's possible for them with this type of work, right? In the food business, there's nothing like it. I just.. I'm so excited about it coming out.

Sari 28:22
Yeah, me too. I borrow some of your beliefs sometimes, but that's another value of coaching. But you know, it's like I know the power of coaching for me and my business, and now I want to give that to other people, and I know the program is really solid. I'm really excited, so we'll be.. I will be announcing that very soon, and, and opening it up to a limited number of clients, but it's going to be really fun, and I just.. I have my own moments of like, can I do this, and putting myself out there. I mean, frankly, my business has gotten, not going to say it's a smooth sailing by any means, but we've, you know, you and I, I mean, I put in the work before you and I, but now it's like the massive action every week has compounded, and like you said, we've set up a foundation where I can just keep repeating it, I doubled my business last year, and I, you know, that was me doing it, but with your help for sure, and me taking the action, and now it's like, well, then we're going to double it again, and how are we gonna do that, and getting curious, and being willing to, you know, you challenge me and encourage me to put myself out there in new ways, start the podcast, do a reels challenge, like I was like reels. Now I'm doing that for my clients, like you guys, you got to get into reels right now.

Dave 29:53
Exactly.

Sari 29:54
So I, and frankly, let's just say we're also having fun.

Dave
We are talking before we started recording this, like, right, about you trying to have, always trying to have more fun. Every business owner should try to have more fun, even if you're having a ton of fun, try to have more of it, because I promise you, the more fun you have in the business, the more growth you have, and so I know that you bring that energy to your clients as well, and especially in the coaching side, you're going to bring that, but your business shouldn't be a sentence, it shouldn't be a job, it shouldn't feel like that. The only way you're going to succeed in this is if your business becomes fun. If you start having fun as an entrepreneur again. I remember starting one of my first businesses, and I remember people coming up to me, you know, I've had a long relationship with my wife. We met in high school, so when I started my first business, her and I were together, and I just remember things like her coming up to me and being like, you know, telling me things like, "You're just not fun anymore, you just work all the time, you're always stressed. I remember we were in the middle of my first business, and I remember before my wedding, I started just passing out randomly, like I passed out at home, I passed out at my office, hit my head on like a paper towel holder, because I went to the bathroom, because I'm like, I just don't feel like splash water on my face, and boom, I passed out. I woke up on the floor of the bathroom, but they get cut on my head, and we're like, two weeks before my wedding, and I just like stopped everything, and I was like, I am not having fun, I'm not even like, I'm not having fun anywhere, and that's where I really realized the concept of wait a minute, if I just had more fun, like why did I start this business? I started this business to have fun.

Sari
Right?

Dave
I am not having fun, like any food business owner out there knows they had this great idea, this great recipe, or people told them all the time, you should make this a product, or you're the best, or whatever, and then they started, because, oh, it would be so much fun. Imagine if I made this product, or I baked these cookies, or I sold this sauce, or whatever. It would be so much fun. And then they get into the work, and it's like all the fun drained away. Now they're just stuck making this product, and it's like, whoa, that's the problem. What you need is to get back to fun. You're having a ton of fun in life, in your business, and you're enjoying success, which makes you want more of it. If you were not having fun, and you were not enjoying doubling your business, if you weren't enjoying six figure growth that we presented to you, you would not still be working with me. You would not be looking to double it again. You would not, you'd be doing everything you can to get back into the drain away from your business. You have to have fun. It's such an important aspect of what we do, of what you're going to do, and of what every business owner out there needs to have, because entrepreneurship is fun. Should be fun.

Sari
Right.

Dave
Bottom line.

Sari
And people get into.. I mean, I work in the best industry in the world. I work in food, like people are so passionate about their products, and giving it to the world, and they have, they come in, they're just so, you know, they're so passionate, and they, they just, they want to have fun, they want to have freedom, and then we get into the hard work of entrepreneurship, and it feels like a grind, and now you're having to do things that feel uncomfortable and feel hard, and, man, I know, for me, like having that coaching relationship has helped to, like, you said, take that weight off, help me work through the fears, the judgment.

Dave
All this is true about food business owners, because this is what I've learned from you, and I, this is my interpretation of my hallucination about it. But tell me if it's true. The majority of people in a food business, their product is an extension of themselves, it's their flavor, it's their background, it's their upbringing, or it's their desire, it's their like, it's it's something that they found a missing something for, or their family made this sauce, or they love this granola, or whatever the case, it's an extension of them.

Sari
Yes.

Dave
I have yet to meet a business owners who don't like their own product, they're like, oh, this is the best of whatever. Correct?

Sari
Correct. I would say 99% of them are like, yeah, I've solved a problem, I was had to go gluten free, and we, you know, whatever it is, like keto, blood sugar, weight loss.

Dave
Right, or just flavor, or just like I love this flavor. I looked for a sauce with this little timer, I looked for this product, or whatever the case, I couldn't find it in the flavor I like. This one's much better. I love macadamia nut, so I put them in my granola. Now I have a macadamia granola, and it sells out like crazy. If your product is an extension of you, the most important investment in your business, besides packaging, besides machinery, besides co-packers, besides anything else that you do, your business, the most important investment is in you, because your product is an extension of you. So, if you're stressed and not having fun, guess what, your product is probably stressed and not having fun either, right? Whatever you do, I know in a food business, and any business where it's a product is an extension of yourself or your service is an extension of yourself, you better have a coach, otherwise you are leaving money on the table everywhere you go. Even if you're finding success, you're leaving money on the table somewhere, you're not realizing your potential, because if it's an extension of you, everybody needs somebody. Nobody wins a gold medal by themselves. Everyone has a coach to get to that level. I think every swimmer in a pool could be a gold medal swimmer, but the ones who get the coach get pushed, get the accountability, get the structure, get the focus to drive to that level that they can't push themselves, that they can't figure out themselves, are the ones who end up standing on a podium and winning a gold medal.

Sari
Right.

Dave
But if you think about anyone who've ever gone to pool can do.

Sari
Right. I mean, a coach is going to push them to a whole new level and make them do things like challenge them to do things that they didn't know were possible. Yeah, there's actually a really good example of what you were just talking about, with having fun, and, and that extension of you. So, I have a client, and they started at New Farmers Market, and well, he was telling me that a couple months ago I offered the generosity challenge, right, where I encouraged, I challenged people to, to be generous, go to a farmer's market and take like 100 bucks and just spend it with like no expectation, just have fun, right?

Dave
Yeah.

Sari
And he, they really, well, him and his wife really took that to heart, and they, he's like, anytime I'm having a bad day at the farmers market, I'm feeling grumpy, or whatever. I just, I'll take, you know, 20 bucks, and I'll go, go just buy some stuff, and like talk it up, and start chatting with people. He's like, that has made all the difference in our, in my experience, you know. He's going to be there either way, on a Saturday, or whatever. And so, why not create a better experience, and then they went to a new market, and he's like, you know, we did, we went around, and we introduced ourselves to all the vendors, and like, bottom coffee, and like, just really tried to create this new relationship, and he's like, you know, that was all you, like, that was you encouraging us to do that, and like, I just think that's the power of having somebody give you, you know, they can see a bigger perspective on your business and aren't just in the grind of it.

Dave
Absolutely, I mean it's it, what every person needs. I think every person on this planet could benefit from a coach, I think entrepreneurs especially require that coaching, because they're taking on, they're playing it, they're playing a little bit of a different sport. When you're an entrepreneur, it's not just life and work now, it's entrepreneurship, which is, if you know, if you're in the game, you know, if you know, you know business is life, life is business, that's the way it's going to be. Don't fight it, just find a way to do it with the most fun you can, and having that coach to push you, but also balance you, like I push you, of course, but then there are times when I pull you back, and I'm like, can we just have some fun, like, why do you work so hard for a minute, right? I'm like, I get it, a few weeks ago we had to work hard, but I'm like, why you still put yourself through that shit, just relax, and let's, why don't we have some fun? Why don't you do this instead, or do that? And so it's all about the balance, too. Coaches aren't there to just push you, they're to push you where you need to be pushed. Sometimes that's for growth, sometimes that's for achieving some in your business. Sometimes that push is going to be for something else, but that's up to the coach to know and figure out, which is why you pay them.

Sari
Yeah, I really appreciate your new discussions around achievement versus fulfillment, because I'm an overachiever, I'm a recovering perfectionist type A personality, and I know a lot of my clients are too, and so that has been really huge for me in the last few months, and really helped me to like relax and focus on fulfillment, and actually really enjoying my business, enjoying actually taking time off. Right, I mean, the business is solid, it's stable, it's working, so let's have a little fun too. So I really appreciate that.

Dave
It's needed, and then you bring that fun energy back to your business, and then your business builds, and then you get to have more fun, and then you bring that new fun back. It's a cycle that you have to go through. Achievement and fulfillment are such an important topic to be talking about. I know it's something that you know you're bringing into your coaching program too, but just for people to know, it's not just about building your food business. You also have to enjoy the fruits of your labor, like you have to be able to enjoy life, enjoy your business, and have both. Otherwise, you won't want the business a year from now if you don't do it, I promise.

Sari
Right. Yeah, I want people to keep their business and to love it, and to create big things.

Dave
We need more delicious food.

Sari
We do.

Dave
Get more of it on shelves, please.

Sari
I know. I mean, you should see my kitchen, and then you can see behind me. I mean, I have these products everywhere, and I'm always trying things, and people send me stuff. It's so fun. I have the best job.

Dave
It blows my mind, because I remember when we started, you had like a couple of things on a shelf, and then, like, you bought a bigger shelf, and then you got shelves put on the wall, and I'm like. This just keeps growing, and I swear there's more products behind you, and I love seeing all the products that you've touched and help grow and come to market sitting there on a shelf, like that's just such.. if you want to know if she knows what she's talking about, if you want to know if she is like the queen of helping and coaching in the food business, just look at that, because I mean, that's that's the evidence right there of all the deliciousness that you help people actually get into the world, and not only get in the world, but grow, right?

Sari
And it's all it's all them, but it's just so cool to be a part of.

Dave
That's how I know you'll be a good coach, because I'm the same way, I'm like it's all them, like you did all the work, and that's how I know you'll be a good coach, because you're the same way, you're like, look, you get it. I don't have some secret formula. I don't have rocket science that people don't know the majority of what you and I do. You probably already know. I'm just helping you understand it, push it, and get it done right, which is so valuable. So, it's not like you know people, you show people a whole new way to create a food business. Bottom line is, you show them the right way to do it. You show them what they're doing right, what they can shift, what they can change, but more importantly, you show them how to change themselves. That's what frees them up to build the best business possible. I'm so excited for people in the food industry to get a taste of this, right? Pun intended, of course, but I want them to get good taste of coaching.

Sari
They're hungry for it.

Dave
They're hungry for it. Oh my god, you could. We're going to have a whole session around branding and marketing on this. I could tell.

Sari
All of our puns.

Dave
Yeah.

Sari
Well, I would love for you to.. if people resonated with what you're saying, and they're like, 'I want to check this guy out, go ahead and share your podcast. People might be interested.

Dave
Let me tell you first, if you like me, just hire her, because she is me in the food business, like 100% I can tell you that I've worked with her for almost two years now, and I know the program she's building, so I know the way she's going to deliver it. But if you want to see where she got what she got to get to where she is, of course, you can check out Entrepreneurs Only, which is my podcast, and follow me on social media at Dave Moreno Coaching. Super simple.

Sari
Yeah, you're in Canada. I always tease you.

Dave
I am in Canada. I know you're like, you can't get a medium burger there, like I don't even know this stuff that you tell me all the time, but I learned so much. I can almost see the states from my house, so I'm not far.

Sari
All right.

Dave
It doesn't mean I can go there right now, but this means I can see.

Sari
Yes, you are. You are limited in your travel, right?

Dave
And you have clients who you help bring food businesses in Canada. You have Canadians.

Sari
Yeah, I have talked to some folks in Canada, I've worked with even people in the UK, some examples. Yeah, so yeah, this is not just a US thing, especially when it comes to coaching, right? I need to know all of the packaging rules, but I know how to figure it out and how to find the answer.

Dave
Nothing about coaching, it is international, doesn't matter where you are. I have clients all over the world. I don't need to know their specific market and how they're, how they work, or what the rules are in their business, or their, in their state about taxes or business set up, and that we'll figure it out. I know we'll figure it out. I know humans, I know people, and people are universal, and that's the same way you're going to bring into your food business, which is so, so good, because this is what I don't care where you are and what food product you have, this this work is universal, it always is.

Sari
Well, thank you, Dave. Thanks for your time today, and thanks for kicking my ass when it needed kicking, and then also letting me cry, giving me a.

Dave
Both have happened, and it's okay.

Sari
Right? Virtual hugs and also, yeah, the mindset piece. So I just appreciate you, and no matter where we go after this, it's like you'll always be that.

Dave
You're always going to be reaping the rewards.

Sari
Yeah, yeah. So thank you so much. Have a great day.

Dave
Thank you.

Sari
That was so fun for me to get to interview my coach, Dave, and he always leaves me with some amazing nuggets, mind blown. So I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. You guys know I love to talk about mindset and not just the nitty gritty of how to do it, because mindset is everything to being successful, and so I do. I put a lot of focus over there. We can figure anything out in your business when it comes to the rules and how to do things, and we can put that puzzle together any way we want. It's really about how you overcome your fears and get past all of the mental drama that comes up when you are an entrepreneur. I will be releasing all the information about the business coaching, if that's something you're interested in, but until that comes out, just shoot me an email if you're like. I want to know more. Send me an email at Sari at Food Biz success.com and I'll make sure that you are one of the first people to know, and we can get on a call and see if this is a great fit for you. I'm only taking a limited number of people to start, and I would love it if that was you, so shoot me an email, and until next time, have an amazing week.

Sari
Are you ready to start that delicious idea that you make in your home kitchen, or grow your existing packaged food business and take it to the next level? The most successful food business entrepreneurs have support, guidance, focus, and accountability to help them make it happen quickly without wasting time or money. Plus, I think starting your packaged food business should actually be fun. Food Business Success is your secret ingredient to creating your food business dream. Please don't go this alone. Check out the private free Food Business Success Facebook group to connect with other foodpreneurs, get your questions answered quickly, share your wins, and receive special training and tools I only share inside the private community. Just search for Food Business Success on Facebook, or get the link in the show notes. Curious about how Food Business Success can help you? Head over to FoodBizSuccess.com and fill out the application to see if you're a great fit for the program. Together, let's make your food business dream a reality.