Welcome back to the show, my fellow extraordinary Americans. Today, we have a special guest, Anne Marie Cross, a powerhouse in the podcasting world. She’s the CEO and founder of the ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast network and Industry Thought Leader Academy. Anne 

Marie is also the author of the influential book, ‘Industry Thought Leader: From Invisible to Influential and Profitable ‘. Her podcast, aptly named the ‘Podcasting Queen, ‘has garnered her numerous awards and recognition as a pioneer in the podcasting space.

She’s an award-winning podcast host and is recognized as a pioneer in the podcasting space. She started her first Co-hosted podcast in 2008. Over the years, her podcasts have been syndicated on national and international radio and are listed among the top podcasts for entrepreneurs and small businesses worldwide.

Cited as one of the top 20 business coaches in Melbourne, Australia, Anne Mary’s most significant business setback was a transformative experience. This setback, which she now sees as a blessing in disguise, propelled her towards where she is today. 

The valuable lessons she gained from that experience now serve as the cornerstone of her teachings. She continues to support multi-passionate consultants and coaches who struggle to take their diverse knowledge and expertise and create a concise and compelling message that cuts through the noise and positions them as the choice versus just a choice with their ideal customer. Along with the robust podcast strategy, she helps them begin nurturing listeners into leads from their first episode. Anne Marie is extraordinary, and I’m privileged to have her on this show. Ann, are you there?

Thank you, Anne Marie, for that wonderful introduction. It’s truly an honor to have you here today, sharing your insights and experiences with our audience.

It’s great to have you here, Anne Marie. Could you share more about yourself, your background, and how you started? We’re all ears.

Look, it’s a long, long, oh, different aspect. But what I’ll do is try to be concise. Looking back at how I grew up, I can see that my parents nurtured me and brought me up even though they were not entrepreneurs. They developed in me the skills and abilities I continue to use within my various businesses and over the years I’ve had. 

My parents never believed in giving me pocket money when I was young. They made me realize that there should be a fair exchange—in, you know, money versus what I did for my money. 

So, I grew up with multiple income streams, even as a young teenager, and it built in me this desire to look for ways in which I could contribute, not expertise in that and since cause. When I was a kid or a teenager, I certainly didn’t have the expertise, but I had the skills, ability, and multiple income streams because I lived on a farm. And I needed to fund my horses. So, horses are very expensive to do that.

So, I collected manure, and that was quite a successful business. I babysat, and I cleaned houses. I fed animals, lots of different things—the very first business venture. And I say that with inverted commas, you know, air commas were selling. Tadpoles, you know, on the side of the road, but in that, it developed in me the ability to want to see how I can fix things. How can I contribute to things? How can I help others and provide this fair and equitable exchange? Of those, you know, skills or support so that I could then fund my fund, my different hobbies, and things like that. 

Then, fast-forward. I was in the career industry for quite some time, as is a career. I was an office manager with a solid background in admin, bookkeeping, accounting, and so forth, which held me in good stead when I started a family with several young kids. Then, at a time, I thought I would love to start doing something. I loved motherhood, but I always felt there was more.

 So. My husband bought me a computer and asked if I could do anything about it. And that was back in the day. Just let me say I am in my 50s now. So that was back in the day when computers were out for a while, but they’re certainly not technology, which was certainly not as it is today, and we were only just starting to get the internship. Right. And I thought, well, yeah, OK, I can learn. And I can. I used a computer at work, and from there, it continued to evolve, always learning and developing. And, you know, with the advent of the Internet and the people I met, I’m based in Australia. But I met a lot of people and colleagues. Over in the US, the things they were doing were just incredible. The amount of information that we had available to us. 

I studied careers and HR human resources when I started home study again because I had children. Then, I became interested in, well, not what makes people tick.

So, I started to do more about HR, people in the work environment, and why people were unhappy. I developed a career consultancy that continued working with entrepreneurs on personal branding, finding careers they loved, and positioning themselves in the market. It just continued to evolve and grow. I mean, I’m one of those people, and I’m sure you talked to many of them on your podcast; we don’t sit still. 

There’s always, you know, something new to learn, a new piece of technology. How can I leverage the fact that we love challenges and sit around doing the same old? It just does not motivate and inspire. 

And so, for me, it has been a lot of learning. I will then share what I’ve learned, particularly all my mistakes. I’ve made so many because I’m often trying out new things, as I’m sure many of your guests are. But then figuring out how to do things in a certain way and then teaching and showing others is what I love to do too so that they don’t make the same mistake or if they find themselves in a certain way. The scenario is that they have the skills, abilities, and mindset to shift through that.

So, and now, of course, that’s transitioned into personal branding and marketing more in this set of skills used with entrepreneurs and business owners, particularly coaches and consultants, who run service-based businesses selling their expertise and knowledge rather than many physical products. 

That’s a whole different skill set and mindset that we need to be mindful of. We need to charge what we’re worth and the value we offer people, which is often intangible because it’s knowledge. I will then help them create that message, identifying their unique and uncopiable, and what I say, unforgettable aspects of themselves. 

We will also help those who want to continue with the podcast launch. But it’s been absolutely fun. I’ll never stop learning. There are always new things. Implementing and integrating is just part of the fun of being an entrepreneur and running your own business because you know you’re limited by your expectations and limitations.

No, I mean totally like the way from the beginning, like where you were on the farm and then to where you’re now, it’s fascinating because many people like you could put them in the same position, they would think differently. Then, they would have different results in their life. 

So my question would be, what was a strategic vision from when you were on the farm? And you started doing all these different streams of income, and like, how did it evolve throughout your life and career to, like, where to where you’re now or was it, was it what constant vision or was it like an evolution?

That’s such a great question. I’m glad you asked that because when I think back to when I was on the farm, and I didn’t have a vision of entrepreneurship, what really at that time, what was driving me forward, was there were things I needed to fund. You know, my parents kind of said, well, go, and you’ve got a lot of opportunities there to find them. But I always had in the back of my mind that as I was continuing my schooling to become a teacher, I was adopted. And I had found out from a very young age that my biological parents. Teachers. The lovely, loving family I was adopted into also had teachers ranging from kindergarten to professors in a theological college. 

And so, I was surrounded, you know, with teachers. I have always had the passion and desire to teach. And so, when I was. At 15, I was still attending high school, but we called it high school in New York. Thailand, where I was born, I had an accident. I fell off one of my horses during a riding session, and I was concussed, so I ended up losing my memory. Back then, the study of neuroscience was very new. 

And so, I found myself falling asleep. You know, in school, I had multiple headaches all of the time, and long story short, I entered. I considered going back and repeating the year, but my parents said to me, look, if you continue night school, why don’t you go and get a job and then go back to night school, and then we can catch up? That never ended up eventuating because I found myself in a role working in an office. I excelled in that area and continued to do night school, which led me to get into HR and accounting. But I share that because I’d always from a very young age, you know, teenage years. 

Even when I started, my family had always thought, if I’d never had that accident, what would my life look like? Would it be different? Then, I realized that as I continued my studies in the career area, I had counseling, career coaching, and many certifications I use with my clients. I had to use those on myself to find self-discovery and self-awareness. What were my motivational skills? Do you know what my strengths are? 

All of those things I needed to learn about myself: as I did my certifications to use those different assessments and tools with my clients, I realized that even though I had an accident, that career path and that different path had led me down the right path because I learned that I was an extrovert. Pervert. Had I become a teacher, I would be full-on with children, no matter what age, whether they’re youngsters or teenagers, and you’re all the time. I would have burnt out because I needed time on my own. I know that I need time, too. Rest and recuperate. Yes, I enjoy meeting and interacting with people, but I need significant periods of my outer nature. I was just resting, not talking. Otherwise, I would burn out. 

So, I realized that. I also realized I could leverage my passion for teaching and nurturing others in their development and whatever areas they needed to learn. And I was doing that as part of my work.

And so when you asked me, did you have that vision? I had a vision of teaching, empowering, and nurturing. But it just ended up being a lot different from what I thought it would be, and I’m so glad it is because had I continued to become a teacher the way I thought I would, I probably would have been very unhappy in that role.

It’s interesting how different events that seem like incidents at the time happen in our lives. But when you look back in hindsight, they change the entire course of your life or destiny. 

And it’s funny how many times that happens. We’re going in a certain direction, but something happens. Our life takes a pivot, and then it just happens like that. And so, we never can.

I have so many pivots that that particular accident led me, as I mentioned, to go on to do night school, which I also did. I ended up going to one of our local hospitals because they had a concussion clinic. Through that concussion clinic, they devised a system of, if you will, helping people who had undergone concussions, looking at the way the brain was working with concussions and how we could enhance their memory again. 

So, for six months, I would go there quite regularly, three times a week, but also as part of the. Alongside this, I did some studies, and through studies where I went, I met and befriended someone who’s become a dear friend of mine. She moved to Australia, and I followed her for several years afterward. 

I subsequently met my husband, who was her uncle, so had that accident not happened, I would never have come to Australia, would never have been well, and I say never. I mean, there might have been another path that led me there, but that accident, as you said, was a significant pivot, not only in my career but also in my family life now, because I ended up meeting the man who is now—my husband of 30-something years. So yeah, it might never have occurred.

Sometimes, certain bad things happen in our lives. And then, when we look back, it turns out what it is. One of the greatest things ever. But it’s only in hindsight that we look at that and see the so-called terrible thing that happened. And I’m telling this for the audience’s sake as well. 

Some things happen, but we cannot explain why or whether it’s terrible. But then, when you look back years and years later, you look back at it in hindsight, you realize all these lessons you learned and how your life improved. But at that time, it’ll feel terrible, you know?

But speaking of bad things, I know in the bio I talked about, we talked about a significant business setback that you had. And that altered the course of your life, like the way you did business and everything. Can you tell me in the audience a little bit more about that and what you did to overcome it?

Yeah, absolutely. So, throughout my business career, I mentioned that I’d try several different things as we all do; we’re risk takers. Some things didn’t turn out as we had hoped, but we kept getting up and tried different ways. We tweak things. But what often happens, and this is what I learned. As well. Well, you know, through my studies and mindset studies and things that I did, what happened back in 2015/16, I developed a partnership that had been developed over 18 months, and we built some incredible products. 

We were working with some incredible clients and had built an A7-figure line of business and opportunities, but unfortunately, that came to a screaming halt, and we lost everything. I won’t go into why I contributed to those things.

So, you know it’s another opportunity. As I mentioned, I did some soul-searching, which I did because of that. Experience what will often happen; this is what I learned in my studies when a significant emotional event happens. It is so significantly emotional, and you’ve had other similar experiences, and they may not necessarily have to be so intense, but what ends up happening is.

All of those situations are bound together or bound together. I can use that term; it just hits you for a six. I don’t know if you’ve got that saying in the US, and that did for me, too, and I realized that looking back. I was burnt out. But I could not. As a creator, I love creating things. I mean, often one of my challenges is turning off my brain, which I’m sure so many other entrepreneurs have the issue too, where always thinking about new things, and sometimes it can be a little bit like, ah, can I just sit? But anyway, I could not create it. Right. 

And I thought, you know what, if this situation, if I don’t work through this, if I don’t heal through this, because I felt very betrayed at the time, and there was a lot of, you know, negative emotions around that, that. And I thought if I didn’t heal with this and deal with it, it could change the very core of who I was. Some of my core. Values such as trust, trust for me, are so important. 

Integrity is important to me, and many people in my circle told me you were too trusting. It would be best if you hadn’t trusted me. It would be best if you had done this. It would be best if you had done that. But I like to treat people how I would want them, you know, to respond and how I would want to show up. And I did not want to go through life being jaded and skeptical about people. There’s a difference between being so skeptical and jaded versus being discerning and being, you know, being. We have risk but planned risk, if you know, and there are certain things that we can do to mitigate that. 

I knew that if I didn’t deal with that, I would be a very tired, unhappy person who would probably be triggered anytime anything similar happened because of one of the other things I learned through the studies and wonderful mentors that I’ve had over my lifetime. Is that there is? A thing that is called goal trauma. So that’s goal trauma and financial trauma. 

And if I didn’t heal from both that financial trauma and the goal trauma of setting goals, but being so hesitant even to try to go forward because I’m thinking, what if it fails? What if I fail again? What if I trust others, and they let me down again? I knew that if I didn’t deal with that. I would just have this cycle continuous cycle, so I spent a lot of time dealing with that healing through that. I think I might have mentioned to you when we spoke privately. 

I’m a Christian, so I spent a lot of time in prayer and a lot of time in the Bible, and that helped me personally, and I was able to deal with that. But there were some other things, not just the mindset, that I dealt with. There were some practical things that I dealt with, and I realized that I needed to Set a vision and a mission because how I had done business before was oh. I’d want to do that project. I will dive full in, and then I get bored as soon as we get. Oh. I’m going to do this. And I was all over the place, so I took.

I worked with this wonderful group of entrepreneurs and mentors for four to five months to examine what? Who am I? What? What? Where is my life going? What do I want for my business, and what impact and influence do I want to make in the world and for others? How can I contribute, you know, with my gifts and talents? 

And so, I spent four months devising that. So that would have been back around 2017, and my vision and mission have stayed the same: to impact the world one message at a time, one podcast at a time, to be that difference. One message, one podcast at a time, being that difference. What has changed are the differences. Strategies. The different techniques for different, you know, projects that I might. Participate in, but it’s always been heading in that One Direction, and I have found that that mission and vision has been so important and, you know, making sure that I consistently work on certain projects and when things do get a little bit monotonous to make sure I’ve got a team. Behind me so that they do them and the people who love just to continue to do the same old, same each day because that’s so important as well, which frees me up to do the things that I know light me up and that are really in my gifts, gifts that and my will. House. 

And so there are. There are many lessons learned, but one in particular. I want to share that from the other things I have just shared. I launched the Women and Leadership podcast because, as I mentioned, I thought, you know, I can’t create anything I can’t write. But what I can do is ask questions. 

So, my goal with the Women in Leadership podcast was to surround myself with incredible women who were leaders who had overcome challenges and failure. And I thought I would just learn from them and immerse myself into being around them. And none of them knew I had started the Women in Leadership podcast early on. With really a selfish if I could use that term, it wasn’t really, but it was to try and help me get over my loss and my grieving through learning from them. And an interesting thing happened—3 episodes in.

I accidentally generated two full-figure clients, and these were two women. One was a doctor, and another was a designer. She was an architect, so she was a building designer, and they both needed support for their branding, positioning, and managing of their, you know, marketing and so forth. I accidentally generated these two four-figure clients because, before women and leadership podcasts, I’d had several podcasts that followed a podcast I launched in 2008 while I was still working in the career industry. We had a podcast called Career Success Radio For two years. 

And we struggled to monetize that. The podcasting space was quite new at that stage, but there were many things that I could now reflect on through how I launched the Women and Leadership Podcast and what was in place and what needed to be in place versus what was not in place. When we looked at, you know, launching and continuing to publish career success rates. 

And then I realized, oh, these are the things that I had in place, and that enabled these two women who had no idea who I was to do a Google search for a brand consultant, stumble across my website, have a look around, listen to the three episodes and then decide, you know what we want to work with Anne Marie. Let’s give her a call and see what the best way to do that is. That led me on a journey to identify the steps that needed to be in place and how I could now teach them, share them with others, and create the business systems and models that others could implement and do for themselves. And that’s what led me on the journey to the right, invisible, influential, trusted authority with the podcast. 

Also, my program podcasting with purpose, which is a 90-day idea to launch, but looking at message and monetization from a trusted authority position, you know, why does someone become the choice versus just other choices of, you know, at that stage, and still today, there’s so many other personal. Brian, strategy. Just what was it that made these two women want to come and work with me? And that’s what I continue to teach in my programs. 

But that was on the back of starting the Women in Leadership podcast because of my failure and my wanting to start something to help me get over my grief and loss. And not only did it. It enabled me to do that. It’s enabled me to create a whole body of teaching, which I can share now with others because I think failure is whatever. Whatever instance or how severe it may be, how we look at it, how we address it, and how we move through that and move on from that will determine, you know, just how far we can progress. And a lot of it has to do with mindset.

Well, this is a tremendous comeback. But one of the things that comes to mind is the trust factor, right? Like many people who want to do business, they are very sketchy about how to find the ideal business. Partner rights are what are like red flags. How do you know when somebody’s like? How can you trust somebody? 

And how do you go about doing that? Do you think there is a process to find a like partner business regarding like character traits, or are there any red flags, or is that just something we have to do? Use our intuition or. How about just faith in God or something like that?

Well, I think there are many different aspects of all of those different areas that you’ve identified, but some of the things. What was very apparent to me, or became apparent to me, were the red flags that I could see and others had questioned me about, and I just wrote them off by saying it’ll be alright. It’ll be fine. Because I’d assumed it was fine, we know that this is so important, and I’m sure we’ve all got accountants and lawyers who we have in our network of a circle of networks or network of circles, I should say. And they are so correct in saying how you establish that relationship. It is so very important. 

So, whether you have a formal agreement, contract, or memorandum of understanding, that would have been just so very important, too, looking at the different skill sets and documenting the expectations. We didn’t have any, and so for me I found that I was putting 110% into the relationship where the other person had other aspects as well, and that was fine, but that should have at least been documented then and just how we set up the business as far as taking in the money and who was responsible. 

And who had access to all of those different things? How do we deal with relationships with our clients? We didn’t have those protocols, which are just so important. You’ve got to do some preliminary risk management even though we don’t tend to like to want to do that. You know what happens or how we dress. This, if that’s not in place, things that should be addressed straight away tend not to be addressed cause we’re a bit a little bit embarrassed or, you know, we don’t want to bring that up. 

And so, looking back, that is very important. It’s something else that I’ll mention as well. And this is to do with maybe not necessarily my business. But many people I see do Co-host for podcasts, and they do that because they may not necessarily want to do a podcast on their own. So, having a voice there who can bounce off one another, you can create. 

Yeah, that camaraderie and having someone else to be able to speak when you might have run out of something. Say, and navigating interview questions and so forth, and I realized, looking back on career success radio with my co-host, who we just got on so well and he had the gift of the gab. And I was learning, you know, just at that stage, I had no idea even to ask questions and do things like that.

So, I learned a lot from him as well. But if you have a look at, say, a business model, and now what I teach is that you’ve got to look at who your ideal clients are. Look at it from end to end when someone is just coming to get to know and trust you right through the customer journey, from getting off the podcast onto your list. Through the customer journey you continue to create as part of your list and nurturing, building reputation right through to conversing with someone, and whether that conversation is a sale because they’re a great client and a great fit, you know they’re ready to make. That move or not. Maybe they’re not just quite ready. 

So, when I looked at my co-host, I saw that his business structure was very different. His ideal client was very. Different, so I could see that the audience we were attracting on career success radio wasn’t too diverse, far diverse. We assumed that our listeners loved the content we shared and found it so valuable that they would go off and do as much research as possible. They could talk about us. Because. Life and, you know, people get busy, and that doesn’t necessarily happen. And that was back in 2008 to 2010. Of course, there are far more podcasts, noise, and social media tools. 

It’s so important. You must have your customer journey, your funnel, and all of the nurturing sequences in place. Are you cohesive and consistent in the message you share? 

But again, when you’re talking about partnerships, a Co-hosted podcast may not necessarily be the best if you’re not working in the same business. Therefore, both of you have the same vision and goal, but ultimately, the. Your podcast’s outcome is also aligned because there’s one business and one offering. You are leading people to that, and I find a lot of co-hosted podcasts don’t necessarily think of that. So, hopefully, what I’ve shared there shares some insights into several areas to consider when looking at partnering, co-hosting, etc.

Yeah, I mean it, it does. And I would just like to add that with regards to red flags, like if you notice somebody that’s more narcissistic or has more egotism, there’s an initial stage of just. Really. Career. There’s that arrow-like feel of charisma, right? And then you’re just drawn in. And it’s just there’s this element where you feel like it’s kind of on a superficial level. I don’t know. I realized I should avoid that kind of person because it is too good to be true.

It usually tends to be you.

Yeah, absolutely. One of the things with the partnership that I developed in the business was that one of the areas that we’d identified was a certain set of skills that I had versus a set of skills that she had, and they were very different but complementary. And I think what you’re talking about there is around someone’s. Attitude. It is absolutely important to know what attitude they have. But you know, and why I share that too, is that sometimes people have. A complementary skill set is really important. How do I say this? Sometimes, when we get similar people on the same team, it is good to have people who can approach things differently. 

So, attitude has to be so important, but I think. Having someone with a different approach to you will give you an all-rounded view of how to approach things.

For instance, even though I love, you know, talking on a microphone, you turn a microphone on. Fantastic. But for me to ring people out of the blue and say hi. You know, sharing being vulnerable here. I have to walk around, pace myself, and bring up that person because I’m, as I said, extroverted—introverted but for. My colleague at the time loved that she loved going to networking events for me; I would have loved to just stay in my office, working on different things and having interviews like this and, you know, sharing content and developing content. 

And so, I think sometimes the approach can be different, and different skill sets are important too because then you can complement one another or if someone or your business partner can see that there’s a particular area. They can call you out on it. You know, if if. Suppose I can say it that way. So that’s important. I think so because otherwise, you might have people surrounding you who all think the same, and then you don’t necessarily see some of the potential gaps that could be there. But I’d too. I agree with you regarding the attitude and who they are. And you have to be on the same page in that you know core values. I think that. It boils down to how you know their attitude and how they approach certain things, and if it’s not aligned with the vision and the mission, how you’re going to achieve that is not aligned. It will be very different, you know, or difficult to achieve.

No. I mean, yeah. I think morality, like knowing whether the other person has morals, ethics, and values, plays a huge role, and sometimes it might take time. And also, there is a way of understanding it through patterns, right? We observe patterns and behaviors. For instance, if somebody is more like. In my observance, if I know that somebody is very materialistic and has watched this and that, I know automatically this person is superficial, and I cannot. I just. I’m not going to trust this person. But if I see somebody, then there are also the people on the other side who are super. Religious, but like there’s a sense of, like, religious hypocrisy. Like, I don’t trust those people.

But if somebody’s generally spiritual in their practical actions. You see them being generous, and then they’re giving, and they have empathy and these traits. And for me, like them, and I see that in their everyday life, I know I can trust them. When it comes to being like a partner, everything, like I know, skill set is informed, but you also have to consider personality traits. And they’re these parents and. We can get into it if I were to get into it. It’ll take like an hour. Another hour.

But you notice these things, you know, like that. Like if somebody’s egotistical. Oh, a red flag is like it just. It just shows somebody’s super materialistic, super hedonistic red flag because it’s just like a pattern. Like the more, it’s somehow associated with self-centeredness. And like spiritual values, I’m not talking about religious hypocrisy. I’m talking about spiritual values, such as how they tend to be more long-lasting.

The thing is, I had to ask you a question regarding your approach to challenges and facing challenges and setbacks in life because I think this is important for the audience. What is your mindset like when you have a challenge in your life? How do you perceive it, and what is the reasoning behind it?

Yeah. When I typically have challenges, I enjoy them quite a bit, which might sound strange. I’m not talking about being so overwhelmed. That is because we know that an overwhelmed or confused mind does nothing but have something you need to solve problems. 

And I think that is a skill that a lot of entrepreneurs have. And by the way, entrepreneurs have that as well. And I think the difference between entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs is that in. Entrepreneurs have similar skills and gifts but don’t necessarily want to run their businesses. Entrepreneurs are fantastic within a corporate space because they can solve problems. They’re able to look for new ways of doing things. You know, why do we do things the same old, same old when we can save time, money and you know all of that? So, entrepreneurship is when the entrepreneur likes to use a lot of those skills and giftings within their own business and entity. 

And so, when I look at a challenge, even when I was in the workplace and even when I was young, it’s like, well, how do we get over this? What can I do? What do I know already? What’s available to me? Who do, who else do I know that has been through a certain problem? What can I learn from them? And I just love sorting that out. If I think back to some of the major issues even in the workplace, I remember when I left work. 

This is my full-time childhood career; we just implemented a new accounting software. OK, package, and this was before I left, and there was something that was just not working in the software package, and it was something to do with the programming and the company who developed that software package. I couldn’t figure it out, and I have always loved the. Out of the forensic accounting I had in my lifetime when I was working, I discovered two businesses that had been stolen from the company. When I had gone through their bookwork, I realized, hang on a minute; there’s fraudulent activity.

A year and when I followed the thread there, in one case, 10s of thousands of dollars had been fraudulently stolen from the company. So I am, and that’s the challenge, too. When I notice something that is not quite right, I will follow that thread and love to identify what you know, what’s not working, and what’s happening here. 

And so, I spent ages. I can’t remember exactly what I did. Still, I looked at all the different figures for the software package and realized that when a certain transaction had been done, something in the programming didn’t work and allowed the developers to create. A patch or whatever it is they call it, and the software was able to be, you know, to work. And when I left my employment, that company approached me and said would you come and be one of our consultants? They were just so impressed and thankful that I’d help them. But so. Yet throughout my career, I’ve always loved issues and challenges, what’s not, and what doesn’t look right, and I will follow that through.

And that’s what motivates me. I just love that. And so, when you think of different challenges, like when you hear, you know when someone says, do you know you can’t do? If I think it’s not hurting other people, why can’t I do that? It’s not just being told. You have to do that for the sake of doing that. It’s well; we’ve always done it this way. I don’t know if you’ve heard this analogy where someone is watching their mother bake a roast, and she cuts off the two ends of the roast and puts it in the baking. 10, and the child says, why don’t you do that? She says… Well, I don’t know. My mother did it. And my, you know, her mother before that did it, I must ask. 

So, when she went to her, you know, the grandmother, and said, why do you cut off both ends of the Rose? She said, well. I learned that from my mother, and the reason she did that was because her baking tin was too small, and she needed to cut the ends off. And I don’t know, have you heard that analogy? And so that had kind of mean? Yeah. And I’m sure we all have.

No, I told you I heard that. Yeah.

But that’s kind of why we do it this way. We can change things. We can make it better and improve, improve it. And I don’t know whether that is something that’s learned or built inside you, like back in the day. I mentioned that I needed to fund my horse as a child. And I thought, well, what are the ways? What’s available for me now? 

Oh, my horse poos, that’s manure. People need manure for their garden. What if I bag that up and sell it, and you know, on the side of the road? And so yeah, it was just, it’s just, I don’t know, maybe it was just inbuilt, maybe it was just something that I was created to be able to do. But yes, when you look at challenges there’s, there’s always a way, there is always a way to solve a problem, and if you don’t know the answer, go and find someone searching its search for the answer.

Find something that can improve, you know, the situation because I bet you that if you’re struggling with something If you’ve ever been able to overcome it, other people are struggling with a similar issue. They would be very grateful to learn how you did that as well.

And I love your mindset on challenges because that’s exactly what we need to improve, self-improve, and succeed in whatever we want. We’ll always have challenges in life, but if you’re excited about it versus fearful of it and have the mindset around it, it changes everything you know because now you see you see life. It’s like a fight or flight thing before you’re fearful. 

You’re like most people who fear it; it’s like a flight response, but you have an excitement and a fight response. Like, it changes everything like you. It’s all about perception. But you know how to go about it. Life plays a big role, not only in your personal life but also in your personal life. In business, you. Know because, in business, you’re going to have a lot of challenges.

Absolutely, and being mindful of what you’ve just said it’s so important, especially for where we are today. Imagine that you, in a business, have a set of people. People who are your advisors are telling you something you know intuitively in your heart; you think there must be a way. Please don’t limit yourself to the people around you who think this is the only way we can do it. Go outside and ask other people. Oh, here’s what I tend to do, and this might. I found it quite bizarre. 

Anytime I hear anything anyone says, I will take it with a grain of salt. It’s like on Amazon. You know, when you’re researching and trying to find out what people have said about this particular product or whatever it is. I don’t look at all of the five stars. I look at the one and the two stars and discern my way through what is the worst that someone has said, and I will. Often, my decision-making is based on what? What other people are saying? I don’t face value, you know, on the news as entrepreneurs, and we don’t, do we?

So, we go out and gather information, and then from there, we make the best decision. I do that with my life as well, and often, there is what I call the BS meter that goes off. I don’t know. Sometimes we’re bored with that in, in, you know, being a Christian, we call that the whole always, you know, it has a gift that’s called discernment, which is really, if I can use the term, the BS, the ********. But I don’t hope. Sorry. Excuse me.

But it is, and we may not know what’s going on, but we know in our spirit that that is. Yes. I just don’t believe you. And so, I’ll search out the evidence not to believe, to prove our belief is true, but to realize that, hang on for a minute. No, there’s just something that’s not right about that. And I think we need to be so careful about the decisions that we make. And The Who we allow to speak over us, you know, and what we believe and do. So yeah.

So, I could ask you many different questions about this mindset, but the hour is coming to a close, and I wanted to ask you about it. I know you; you’re the CEO and founder of the Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast network. 

So, can you tell me the audience a little bit more about that and the premise of how you started?

Yes. Well, when I had career success radio, as I mentioned, we did that for two years. I then started continued podcasting. So even though that podcast ended, I’d had several different podcasts, which are still running today. And then I realized that I could put my web. You know, my podcast on my own. Website, But I envisioned creating more of a network where I could put all of my code. Tasks, and then others could come and listen to that and have conversations around that. That’s why I decided to start the ambitious entrepreneur podcast network. 

And so, that has grown into alliance partners for whom I’ve hosted and produced podcasts. I’ve had clients who’ve also had their podcasts published on that network. But it was a very specific niche podcast network in the business area, now being the mine, and when I established that back in 2011, there weren’t many podcasts. Surround, and I decided to create that because I had gone through 12 months of being with another podcast network. And I was getting some. I mentored people who came from mainstream radio and learned as much as I could from them, and they had a podcast network. With all sorts of different topics, from astronomy to business to lifestyle to health and wealth and all of that in between. 

And then I realized when they were accidentally published. It’s an episode that wasn’t mine. I think it was UFOs on my business podcast, and I quickly told them, hey, I think you’ve published this on the wrong, you know, on the wrong podcast. I don’t talk about UFOs. Back in 2011, I realized not only that my listeners would think, what on Earth is she doing publishing, you know, about UFOs, but that there was such a mixture of different topics that my ideal. Hi. And it was not going to be just there on that particular network. And I thought really what they need to do is do a dedicated Business Network podcast network dedicated for this dedicated for that. That’s why I started the podcast when I did my own and am now publishing and producing my own. At work and so on. When another podcast network hosted me, someone accidentally published a UFO podcast episode that was not mine. 

Still, I’ve continued with that podcast network, and it is a place where, you know, business and leadership are all of the episodes that we’ve had. And they’re, as you can imagine, thousands of. Episode on that podcast network that has been built over the years. Is.

That is awesome, and I thought I found that thing funny about the UFO. One of business. So funny. But no, it’s awesome, and I wanted to ask you about this book you wrote, right? You’re the author of Industry Thought Leader from Invisible to Influential with the podcast. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? And just like the general summary of.

Yes. So, within that book are the steps I realized that enabled me to generate those 24-figure clients from a podcast—those three episodes. So, I’ve implemented all of the things that I’ve learned through the years. But particularly. It’s not focusing on technology because one of the things that I say is, look, we often have two questions that I’m often asked: Where do I start?

Where do I start with launching my podcast? The second question is often, what technology? What microphone should I get, and what I often will say to people? Is this? Or ask them why they want to start a podcast, and often, if it is, well, my current message isn’t working, and I’ve heard that a podcast will help me amplify my message. That often is a red bowl for me. You know, a red warning sign, and that this is what I will often say to people. If you’re starting a podcast because your current message isn’t working, yes, your podcast will amplify your message, but it will amplify a message that’s not working to more people.

So, let’s focus on your message. This book focuses on helping people identify what’s unique, uncopiable, and unforgettable about them when they position themselves as industry thought leaders. 

And when discussing thought leadership, I’m not saying you’re better than everybody else in your industry. You are better placed to help and support your ideal client because the journey you’ve gone through, the challenges you’ve overcome, your qualifications, and the things you have learned in the trenches are exactly what your ideal client needs. It is putting together that message and the strategy that will help them nurture listeners and leads from their very first episode, and that’s what the book focuses on. All the things I had in place were key reasons I wrote that book. I thought I wanted to develop a. Program and to help me develop a program, I need to get everything out of my head into a systematic structure that I can teach that others can then take hold of and implement for themselves so that when they launch a podcast, not only is it influencing and impacting the world and their ideal. Client, but it’s also generating income for their business, and that’s really what that book focuses on.

I recommend that anybody listening to this and who wants to start a podcast take a look at that book because it is very informative. How can our audience connect with you and learn more about you, your work, and everything you do?

Yeah, fantastic. Thanks for asking. So, if people are interested in podcasting and launching their podcasts, or maybe they have one, it’s not generating the result. Folks then podcasting with purpose.com is the best place for them to start. If you want, just hang out and find out a little bit more about me. My website isannmariecross.com. And if people are looking at building that unique and uncopiable message and positioning themselves. As an influential, trusted authority, the choice versus just a choice when their client is ready to move forward, our training Academy is an industry thought leader academy.com. We’ve got many different programs from that website that people can check out.

That is awesome, and I’m so grateful that you took the time to come and do this podcast and share your wisdom and knowledge, especially about setbacks and welcoming challenges and all of that, because we can always do that in our own lives. You know, like all of us. Everybody in the audience, including myself, has so many challenges in their lives. And it’s all about how we perceive and overcome the challenge, and I’m grateful. And I do hope that you take the time to come back to the show at a later. Time.

Yeah. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

And I want to conclude this episode by letting my fellow extraordinary Americans know that, hey, look, there’s an extraordinary within every one of us. We must awaken it and unleash it until next time. Bye for now.