007 From Doubt to Dominance: Inside Kelly Fidel's Bold Billion-Dollar Career and Her Crusade to Empower Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs

Are you an entrepreneur facing your own fears and doubts? Do you wish to break free and carve out a path of success and fulfillment? Tune into this episode of the "Paid to Create" podcast where we dive into the extraordinary journey of Kelly Fidel, a self-made billionaire who turned her dreams into reality and is now on a mission to empower a new wave of women entrepreneurs.

Raised in a low-income family, Kelly transformed her life's trajectory through sheer grit and determination. Learn how she started with selling avocados door-to-door and handcrafted jewelry to scaling corporate heights, steering billion-dollar divisions, and creating her own highly successful businesses.

This episode is an intimate exploration of Kelly's audacious journey from humble beginnings to corporate power player. She candidly shares her unique strategies, the same ones she employed to earn the respect of boardroom heavyweights and forge a trailblazing career. Kelly will challenge your thinking, inspire you to push beyond perceived boundaries, and arm you with insights to harness your own power.

Hear Kelly discuss how she leveraged her corporate experience to transition into the online realm, combining traditional strategies with savvy digital marketing and leveraged selling to drive rapid results. Kelly speaks about her fear and doubt, not as barriers but as catalysts for growth and motivation. And in a feat of female solidarity and ambition, she introduces her course, "No Glass Ceiling," designed to embolden others to speak up and seize their destiny.

Don't miss Kelly's insights on how a comprehensive platform like Kartra revolutionized her business, eliminating tedious tasks, and streamlining her operations. Will this be the tool that propels your business into its next growth phase?

If you've been hunting for a sign to leap into entrepreneurship or to escalate your existing journey, this episode is it. Tune in and discover the transformational potential of embracing fear, doubt, and persistence. This is the nudge you need to step into your own power and create your unique success story. Because if Kelly can do it, so can you.

Join us in this transformative conversation, and let Kelly's story be the beacon guiding you towards your entrepreneurial destiny. Empowerment, success, and a fearless future await you. Tune in now.

Transcript

Kelly Fidel: Whether [00:07:00] you're an employee or you're an entrepreneur or you're just anybody just in life, fear and doubt, I think, are the greatest bottlenecks in business and in life. [00:07:30] I had earned this well-earned crown of the deal maker at the time, and I believe that these men were just like, "Well, we better have her on our side than compete against her."
Sarah Jenkins: Welcome to the Paid to Create podcast, where we dig into the secret strategies of successful creators making a lucrative living. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
AJ Roberts: I just have to tell you about Kartra, the marketing platform that has seriously transformed my business. You know how running a business can be insanely time-consuming, right? Well, Kartra has been a game changer for me. It's honestly like having an entire marketing team in my pocket. And what I love most is that it automates all the tedious daily tasks for me. From marketing to sales, to even customer experience, I can't believe how much time and energy I've saved since I started using it. And get this: With Kartra, I can create websites, funnels, courses, membership sites, email campaigns, calendars, surveys, you name it. It's made managing my business so much simpler and more affordable. Honestly, I can't recommend Kartra enough. If you're curious, head to paidtocreatepodcast.com/Kartra to start your trial. Trust me, you won't regret it.
Welcome everyone to the Paid to Create podcast. I'm AJ Roberts. Alongside me, as always, is my beautiful co-host, Sarah Jenkins. And today's guest is the wonderful Kelly Fidel. Kelly, welcome to the show.
Kelly Fidel: Thank you so much. Super happy to be here.
AJ Roberts: I'm glad. You had to make it down through the treacherous rain out there.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah, it was great though. We're here.
AJ Roberts: Cool. So Kelly, we always like to start off with you sharing your journey. Everyone discovered being a creator, being an entrepreneur differently. When was the first time you were like, "Oh, I maybe I'm an entrepreneur."
Kelly Fidel: Yeah, I love that. So first of all, thank you for having me on the show. It's wild because I think back. I was raised by a single mom. We had very little money and I wanted a pair of tennis shoes, kind of like Jack Purcells would be today, and my mom had this great idea. She's like, "Go to your aunt's house, pick avocados, go door to door, and sell them. Sell these avocados and go buy your shoes." So I did that and went door to door, 25 cents each or five for $1, and I wound up in a cul-de-sac, think centers of influence, and found all of my ideal clients. And yes, I got my shoes. A girl has got to have her shoes.
Those 25 cent avocados and that entrepreneurship has turned into, today, with me closing over $1 billion in sales, personally. So you look back on the journey and you're like, "Wow." When you start there and all of the steps, the success and the failure that you take in between, you kind of arrive. And even with that success, you're like, "Man, I'm still meant for more. There's so much more that I can still do."
AJ Roberts: Yeah, overnight success.
Kelly Fidel: Yes. Yeah, an overnight success after 30 years.
AJ Roberts: Yeah. So obviously, as a kid, you did it because you learned how to get a pair of shoes. Did you continue starting businesses as a kid and then that just flourished? Or did you do go into the traditional workplace and realize, "This isn't for me.?
Kelly Fidel: I became a great negotiator, actually, I will tell you one more and we'll move to the workplace. But I used to clean really dirty, poopy horse stalls in exchange for riding time, so I loved that. Love horses, still do.
AJ Roberts: Actually, you give me an idea for Holly. Sell avocados and go shovel poop.
Kelly Fidel: That's right.
AJ Roberts: She keeps saying, "When are we getting a horse?" I'm like, "We're not getting a horse."
Kelly Fidel: Go work with a horse.
AJ Roberts: Yeah.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. I did the college thing, but candidly, I ejected and I jumped into corporate, and really didn't have any idea what I was going to do or that skill set. And then over time, climbed that corporate ladder, working in Fortune 50 in a variety of positions, running billion-dollar sales divisions and doing turnarounds for big companies like Citi Corp and landing in the C-suite. And then one of my favorites, I think, that really allowed me to round out what I really wanted to do as an entrepreneur is being a chief learning officer. So running global learning and development. Of course, it doesn't start there, right? But creating the content and, "How do you create this content?" and, "What does that look like?" and, "How much is too much?" or, "Is it enough?" and, "Where's the value in that?"
I think bringing all those skill sets, especially for women, we start something new and we forget all of the expertise and the skill that we have ,and we fail to bring it forward. So women get amnesia, I always say. It's time to really sit back and go, "All right, look. If you're over 16, you probably have done something," or 18. And being a creator, I believe, can truly cause a ripple effect around the world and impact people's lives, help them be better people, and make more money, change economies, and flat out have a good time.
AJ Roberts: Yeah. I mean, let's unpack that a little bit.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. There's a lot.
AJ Roberts: Well, first of all, going into corporate is one thing. Climbing the corporate ladder is another thing. Sitting in the C-suite, closing huge deals, and putting other people in their place is a huge deal.
Kelly Fidel: Yep.
AJ Roberts: It's even bigger when you consider being a female. The last 10 years, things have dramatically changed. Not as much as they need to, but they've dramatically changed. The whole idea of equality and appropriate language and behavior. This is all new, but you did all of this in a time where it wasn't and the locker room speak was normal. So you've had to go through all of that. Share that journey in the corporate. How did you navigate that? You're a powerful leader now, a CEO. You empower other people, especially women. But obviously, going through that, there wasn't a podcast, there wasn't YouTube and videos to look, and there wasn't other female entrepreneurs to connect with. So how did that journey look, and what gave you the confidence to push to higher places?
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. Great question. So I think originally, and maybe this was the way I grew up, but I always thought if I had a phone and I could talk, my money maker, I could always make money. Because to me, success meant money at the time. And so working in corporate and just being myself, I was truly fearless because I felt like I didn't have anything to lose. And over time, I did not construct this, but I had a reputation of a lot of the men, in fact, having a seat at the table. And a man would say, "Hey, honey. Would you go get my coffee?"
Sarah Jenkins: No.
Kelly Fidel: And I said, "I'll tell you what. When you go get your coffee, bring me one back," and it would just pop out of my mouth, right? Or being in the boardroom and negotiating with the most powerful men in the world for the win, and I won most of the time, earned that respect. I think whether you are an employee or you're an entrepreneur or you're just anybody just in life, fear and doubt, I think, are the greatest bottlenecks in business and in life. I had earned this well-earned crown of the deal maker at the time, and I believed that these men were just like, "Well, we better have her on our side than compete against her." And I think I always just went back to, "Well, I'll just throw avocados in a wagon." The metaphor meant something always different.
Working in the financial markets was great. It was a great learning experience and I loved it. And it wasn't always easy, and you [00:08:00] do learn how to compromise and what works and what doesn't. But at the end of the day, I had to put my head on my pillow at night and say, "Did I do the best job I could possibly do? Am I proud of what I did today, and did I make an impact?" not necessarily following the corporate speak. And I can say 99% of the time. I mean, I still love corporate. I still keep in touch with some of my bosses who are in their 80s, and I dig that.
But I wanted [00:08:30] to have babies, and I punched out of corporate and, here's another big one to unpack, I went on to create 10 seven and eight-figure businesses. So I was able to bring those traditional corporate business strategies, the things that would serve myself and people that I work with most, and then strip away and simplify everything that people don't need and add powerful online smart marketing and leverage selling. Create fast results. [00:09:00] It's really simple. But when you don't know, you just don't know.
Sarah Jenkins: Is that the sort of thing that you teach in your courses?
Kelly Fidel: Yes. So my favorite thing ... In fact, it's fascinating because one of my first courses actually stemmed from corporate. I would be in corporate and I would hear these women, but also men, and they didn't have a voice. They were afraid to speak up. And I thought, "I'm going to create a business. [00:09:30] No Glass Ceiling." But there wasn't any Tony Robbins. There wasn't any of that, especially from a woman, but I did it anyway and really started to say, "All right, where are people struggling?" And then, yes, that's how No Glass Ceiling was born and how Powerhouse CEO was born, so yes. In courses, of course, people hear mindset and no one wakes up in the morning and says, "Oh, I can't wait. Give me some mindset." But 60,000 [00:10:00] thoughts go through your head every single day. If you do not harness those barking dogs, you're doomed. And so, yes, all about strategy, sales, systems, scaling, and my favorite: harness the brain, man.
AJ Roberts: So when you look at entrepreneurs, a lot of the times, and corporate especially, there's almost a negative thought process for corporate, right?
Kelly Fidel: Right.
AJ Roberts: And what I mean by that is people will say, "I ejected," [00:10:30] or, "I escaped the rat race." So it's interesting when you say you took stuff from corporate and applied it over here to solopreneurs, startupreneurs, mompreneurs, people like that, and they had huge success. Because a lot of people are like, "Well, wait a minute. What is it?" There's obviously negatives, but what, from corporate, do you consider essential, and what have you taken over into your programs that has helped your clients so [00:11:00] much?
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. That's a good one because over time, it becomes cream and coffee. It all kind of blends together. But I would say some of the big rocks that really relate to creators and entrepreneurs today is to really identify, "How is this going to help the end user?" which transmits into, "What is the value and the transformation that this is going to provide?" If [00:11:30] it's a big course or a program or a Mastermind, or something like that, that promise is going to be different then a digital course perhaps. But still, what are we going to do to take them from A to B or A to Z? So I think really identifying the value in how this is going to impact. Because this happens to all of us, right?
We have this knowledge, this skill, this expertise. And to us, it becomes "no big deal" thing, [00:12:00] and it becomes hard to unpack that and really distill it down into, "What is the most essential?" And then people get confused, right? And then they start to doubt themselves, and then there's the spear, and then there's this bottleneck, and it becomes this death spiral of creators and of entrepreneurs ... who I've seen some really talented people ... and they just spin out into devil's doomsday kind of deal for no reason. And so I think [00:12:30] just really identifying and keeping things extremely simple and extremely tight. What's the value in this and how is it going to impact that end user or that end client? So I think that's one of the things that came forward.
The other thing that I really have brought forward, which really is in the world of creators, is to not over-bloat a program, not to pack stuff in there thinking that it's [00:13:00] value. And I'll always remember I had these great ideas sitting at the table, and they'd be like, "We don't have the budget for that." It's like, "I know you do. Just pull it from another line item." But really, when you think about it, is that necessary? Most of us have the attention span of a flea in today's world, so let's get to the good stuff first and let's create change, and let's help people make money, change their lives, put great content out there, and [00:13:30] make the impact. Because at the end of the day, we're not taking the money with us.
Sarah Jenkins: No, we're not. So when you talk about when you have amnesia, talking about your experiences and your value, as some women have, they just forget what they've done. They forget the experiences they do have that they can fall back on. So when you're going through that, if you're trying to decide how to do a product and you're not sure what to do, how would you help someone get over that roadblock in their own head? Where would they start?
Kelly Fidel: So the first thing that I always ask is, "What is the thing [00:14:00] that you love to do?" Because there's a lot of things you can do, and a lot of people will default to what they can do instead of what they absolutely love to do out of fear. And so they'll say, "Well, I'll just do this because I know I can, and I don't have to go all in, 100%, put my heart on the line. Because if it fails, so what?" What is it that you absolutely love to do? And then, "How do we monetize that in the most fast, [00:14:30] efficient, and profitable way for you?" Because I mean, we're not a nonprofit, right? And then, of course, obviously the impact has to be in there. I'm sure men do this as well, but I just see it quite often in women, where they're like, "I'm starting this new thing. I have to get new knowledge. I have to get a million certifications. I have to get new testimonials." It's like, "God, you'll to-do yourself out of business."
AJ Roberts: [00:15:00] It's interesting with that because it's very easy to start to create something. You create a one-page of, "This is what they need and this is what they have to do, and this is what they want." And then you start going, "Okay, well what about this," and, "What about that?" And you start to think, "Okay, I got to solve all of these other problems," forgetting. And this is where I've seen a difference in people who are successful with running their own businesses or selling courses, or whatever, [00:15:30] and people who are not. It's the sales skill, right?
Kelly Fidel: Right.
AJ Roberts: Because if you don't know how to sell, oftentimes, you will bloat the courses because you think more is better. You don't understand that what they're buying is the outcome. And the more specific that is, the more they'll pay for it. You look at doctors, right?
Kelly Fidel: Yeah.
AJ Roberts: You don't go to your general physician to if you have a hand problem and need a surgery. You're going to find a specialist. You're going to pay a lot more, but you know that that's all they work on. That's all they do is fix this one problem, like carpal tunnel or something like that.
Kelly Fidel: Right.
AJ Roberts: [00:16:00] So what's interesting is I think that when people hear, "Oh, successful in corporate, built all these businesses," it's easy for them to go, "Oh, well you just have something. There's something magical there," right? But really, when I look at it's your negotiation skills. You mentioned being the deal maker. Understanding what people want and how they buy it, and sitting in those negotiations and going, "Okay, if I get this, we eat. If I don't get this ... Oh, man. Where's [00:16:30] the next commission coming from?" And then moving into entrepreneurship, it's the same mentality. But now, you're selling yourself, which people have a problem with, a lot of people have. That goes back to the mindset. But what do you think, from a sales perspective or negotiation or whatever ... Because the bloat comes from overthinking and being like, "More is better. If I add more stuff, people will just be like, 'Oh, this is so amazing.'" So sitting across the table, having built [00:17:00] 10 businesses, sold so many things you have, what is the real secret to sales? Because I know you have some strict tricks.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. Look, I'm a sales dog at heart. I love sales, selling, and deal making, and I know everyone doesn't feel that way. So what happens is these other weird words come up like salesy or sleazy which, candidly, drives me crazy. Look, if you just sell an integrity, you never have to worry another day in your life. And [00:17:30] just stop using all this other icky speak because it's like the dog that meows. It's not cute. Just sell an integrity. Sales is oxygen for business, period. So if somebody doesn't know how to sell ... and I'm talking basic skills up to advanced selling and everything in between ... it doesn't matter how great they could be at something, it's [00:18:00] not going to get out into the market.
I always go back to mindset. You cannot outmarket a bad mindset, and you cannot just outmarket the lack of sales and selling. It's honorable. I always go back to the cowboys and Indians, and they exchanged their blankets and corn and things like that. I mean, that's what we are doing in the modern world. I am going to help [00:18:30] you do this epic, awesome thing. And in exchange ... There has to be an exchange, right?
AJ Roberts: Yeah.
Kelly Fidel: It's not, "Take my 10 cows in a blanket, and I don't need anything in return." Very weird analogy.
Sarah Jenkins: I was like, "I follow."
Kelly Fidel: Yeah, so there has to be that value exchange. But people are either afraid of selling because they have had experiences in their past ... whether they have been sold to and didn't like the experience, [00:19:00] or they don't have the skill set ... and they bring this forward into today with their own negativity, their own perceived notion of, "If I do this, that will happen," and that's a fatal mistake.
Sarah Jenkins: I had a specific question on that.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah.
Sarah Jenkins: So if they don't know selling-
Kelly Fidel: Yes.
Sarah Jenkins: How would you think they would become knowledgeable about sales? I think I know where you're going to go, but I'm going to ask you anyway.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. Well, they don't have to start from ground zero and go sell avocados for sure.
Sarah Jenkins: [00:19:30] Mostly, for sure.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. Well, first of all, there are some amazing podcasts. This is one of them, where if you really want to discover how to get paid to create ... because we are creating every single day, whether we know it or not ... then definitely start here. But there are great podcasts. There are great courses and programs, free resources. But at the end of the day, step up, [00:20:00] engage, put yourself aside. It's not about you. Really serve that end client and cut the drama. You want to sit in a rocker when you're 83 years old going, "If I would've, should've could've"?
Sarah Jenkins: No. I don't want that.
Kelly Fidel: Look, I'm super passionate, so I'm going to go hard, right? Or learn the skill. If you don't know how to drive, does that mean you never get in a car?
Sarah Jenkins: Absolutely not.
AJ Roberts: [00:20:30] I think that's critical because, to me, selling is one of the first skills. When people say, "How do I scale to seven figures?" Have a good product and learn how to sell. You don't need to worry about anything else. "Well, what about SOPs and systems?" Until you hit seven figures, you don't really have a real business. And I don't say that to be negative to those who are making six figures or whatever. But the reality is that most problems don't arise until you hit certain benchmarks.
Kelly Fidel: Absolutely.
AJ Roberts: And there's a good chance that not [00:21:00] having an SOP is not what's stopping you getting to seven figures. You're not getting in front of enough people, and you don't have a strong enough sales message. The rest usually comes after. The amount of eight-figure, nine-figure businesses I talk to that don't have basic things and analytics and data. And we didn't for a long time. And so I think it comes back to the fact that, first of all, they got to learn the skill. The second thing that's really valuable ... you mentioned it, but I want to highlight it ... is I don't think they understand the value [00:21:30] that is actually being shared with the other person, and that might come from two things. Number one: What they're trying to sell is conceptual. They've never actually done it, so they don't know the value.
Kelly Fidel: True.
AJ Roberts: They say, "Oh, it'll help you make $1,000 a day," or something like that, but they're not making $1,000 a day. So it's a learned thing, not an actual experience thing. And then the other side of it is they just don't understand the impact because they haven't talked to their clients enough about the results to really understand what that ripple [00:22:00] effect looked like. Because it's easy, and money's an easy one. If you sell something that makes people money, they can turn around and say, "Oh my gosh. I made 30,000 in the first 15 days of working with Kelly." But if it was fitness, "Oh, I lost five pounds." Okay. That five pounds, that sounds okay. But what if that person had been struggling to lose weight for years?
Sarah Jenkins: I was going to say I would do a dance, and you better do it for me, too, if I just lost five pounds on AJ.
Kelly Fidel: Absolutely.
Sarah Jenkins: Come on, man.
Kelly Fidel: It's extending [00:22:30] your lifespan.
AJ Roberts: Yeah, the money, the five pounds, whatever it is, all it is is that is the byproduct of the real impact. And I think that in selling, one of the things they always teach you is you got to go down. If someone gives you a surface-level answer, we've got to explore that. But when it comes to your results that you're giving them, most creators don't explore the depth of their results.
Kelly Fidel: Right. I think they don't explore the depth of their results, and I don't believe [00:23:00] that they have a selling system. I love high-end sales, reeling back the clock for a hot second in corporate. My boss would go say, "Go close that $30 million deal," and I'd go, "Okay." Didn't know any different. Walk in, "Hi," do the deal, sign the document, "You got the contract?" "Yes." Sign, boom, out. Because you don't know any better, right? It's like you just get your marching orders and you go. Well, today, some people may be closing those. I like to say [00:23:30] if you want to get to six figures, pick a horse and ride it, and add an extra $100,000. Just definitely get out there and make some money. Then you can go to $3K day, which is $1 million. But maybe everybody doesn't want to make $1 million, or you can get to 3 million without having 20 employees, depending on your market, all of those things.
Look, I could sell ice cubes to Eskimos, as they say, but I prefer leverage selling, which is [00:24:00] something that I have utilized and developed over the last 12, 14 years about selling high-end clients without phone consults. I'm not anti-phone consults. There's a time and place. But look, you absolutely can sell $20,000, $30,000, $50,000, $100,000 programs and packages without phone consults. We do it all the time, every week. So having a leveraged selling system starts with loving your offer. If you are not [00:24:30] in love, sold out, your name's on it, and you would eat your own cooking, you're done. And then being able to use and leverage technology. Of course, we are diehard Kartra fans.
Sarah Jenkins: Yay!
Kelly Fidel: Everything rides on Kartra. Yeah, I mean, everything. And everything is integrated. We don't touch anything, and they move through that process, their contracts are signed automatically. Just from A, literally, to Z thanks to Kartra. So thank you for that.
Sarah Jenkins: So [00:25:00] you're saying you wouldn't do a phone consult all the time? What do you do instead? You didn't say what you did instead of the phone consult.
Kelly Fidel: What do we do in lieu?
Sarah Jenkins: Yes.
Kelly Fidel: Okay. I'll give you the very high-level, cliff notes version. And then offline, I'll tell you the secret.
Sarah Jenkins: Totally. I come into these interviews hoping to learn, so I take my notes. And when you say something, I'm like, "Wait a minute."
Kelly Fidel: Oh, I always learn from you.
Sarah Jenkins: Lies.
Kelly Fidel: So, we'll have to do a ...
Sarah Jenkins: Secret podcast without AJ
Kelly Fidel: Yes. In fact, how about [00:25:30] just being a guest on The Powerhouse CEO?
Sarah Jenkins: Thank you! Yes, I would love that.
Kelly Fidel: That'd be cool. No boys allowed. All right.
AJ Roberts: Stop deal making.
Sarah Jenkins: All right, all right, all right.
Kelly Fidel: See, it just happens. It just happens.
Sarah Jenkins: So instead of a phone consult-
Kelly Fidel: Yeah, instead of a phone consult.
Sarah Jenkins: You've got Kartra, but how do you utilize that skill?
Kelly Fidel: Yeah, so there's a couple of ways. I mean, certainly they can move through a funnel process. I'll tell you how we do it, but there's a lot of variations to this. We shoot four videos a month [00:26:00] and rip the audio that becomes podcast, separate from interviews, and we syndicate some of that content. Now, we used to go crazy and syndicate it to 300 channels. We just don't do that anymore. It's not necessary. And those feed into, I would say, a VSL. So an 18-minute video, sometimes with B-roll if we want to get fancy-schmancy. And if not, I'll just go direct to camera.
Sarah Jenkins: I'm very fancy.
Kelly Fidel: Very fancy. And at the end, there's a call-to-action that if [00:26:30] this makes sense to them and that they want to learn more, "Please apply below for our private advanced training, where we will share with you exactly this, that, investment, et cetera." They apply. Now some people like to ... and we do teach this ... automatically approve applications. We are really advanced, so we use the predictive buying behavior, or BAM.
Sarah Jenkins: Very cool.
Kelly Fidel: [00:27:00] And based on the tags and how they've answered, it will automatically send them to a high-end program or an automatic downsell.
Sarah Jenkins: That's smart.
Kelly Fidel: Because look, if they've only made $50,000 a year, or even if they're just starting out, a high-end mastermind is not necessarily going to be the best path. They'll get buried.
Sarah Jenkins: No, they're not ready for it.
Kelly Fidel: They're not. Body, mind and soul, they'll just collapse, and we don't want to do that to people. So we're able to serve them and speak to them exactly where they're [00:27:30] at. And then through emails, "Doors are open. Here is the sales page." We're super transparent. "Here is the investment. Here's how it works." We always drive to the first retreat, so we do that, and people enroll. If they have questions, I do one group Q&A. One. They can ask their questions. If it's like a $100,000 program that we have, [00:28:00] if someone requests it ... which is actually less than 10% of our people, our applicants and the people that are highly-interested ... we do a 15-minute decision call. And that's what it's called, a 15-minute decision call, and it's very specific. It's not coaching. I'm not here to look at any of your programs. We're either in or we're out. It's a decision call, not a foofoo breakthrough session. Nothing is wrong with those, but it's specific.
Sarah Jenkins: Can you say that you do [00:28:30] that because you believe in the value of your product absolutely?
Kelly Fidel: Yeah, absolutely, and because we create enough valuable content. I love giving away the best stuff because people might execute and get results. I've had people ... God, they send support tickets. They've been in our world for five, 10 years, and they'll share their results. I think that's great. But everybody has a season that they're in. And at the right time, if it makes sense for them, they'll work [00:29:00] with us. And if not, doesn't matter. It's still a part of No Glass Ceiling's mission to cause a ripple effect around the world. So again, the decision call is basically a strategy session, but it's 15 minutes and it's highly constructed.
AJ Roberts: I think that's really important. And just for those that don't know, VSL is video sales letter. It's essentially a presentation on video. So when Kelly mentions leverage selling, what she's really talking about is all of the things that you usually would do one-to-one, how do you then create [00:29:30] that so it can be one-to-many, right?
Kelly Fidel: Absolutely.
AJ Roberts: So a VSL, or a webinar, is a short presentation that essentially pre-sells the person on knowing everything they need to know to move to the next step in the conversation, and I think that that piece is so critical. It is interesting. When I went in for a vasectomy, it felt like ...
Sarah Jenkins: We're not going to even mention ...
AJ Roberts: Hold with me on the story.
Sarah Jenkins: All right, no worries.
Kelly Fidel: I don't know about this story.
AJ Roberts: It'll make sense. [00:30:00] But I went in, just like you normally would, to a doctor's office. You sit and you wait, and then I was taken back into the doctor's ...
Sarah Jenkins: HR! HR!
AJ Roberts: Into the room or whatever, and the nurse came in. The nurses asked me some questions and they said, "Okay, cool. Well, watch this video, and then I'll be back in 40 minutes and you can ask questions." And it was literally the doctor presenting the whole spiel on-
Sarah Jenkins: That's awesome.
AJ Roberts: The different options and how it would go. I had realized this doctor's very [00:30:30] successful, has multiple offices and essentially just shows up and does the surgeries. Outside of that, he doesn't really meet with the patients, but he's created the same presentation that every single person has to hear. And it was a little strange because you're at the doctor's office. But for me, it was fascinating because I love this kind of stuff. I'm like, "He's literally giving me a webinar right now."
Kelly Fidel: This is leveraged.
AJ Roberts: "And I'm here, so I can't escape this. I can't click exit and just not watch it."
Sarah Jenkins: I wonder how many walk out the room and change your mind, [00:31:00] so he's like, "This will make you stick."
AJ Roberts: Maybe.
Sarah Jenkins: He's discovered it.
Kelly Fidel: 100% conversion.
Sarah Jenkins: Yep.
AJ Roberts: But the key is the environment, right? I'm in a container and I've watched the presentation and at the end, I was presented with my options. And it was the normal option-
Sarah Jenkins: You could go in or leave?
AJ Roberts: And there was a VIP option and it's like ...
Sarah Jenkins: Please tell me you picked the VIP option.
AJ Roberts: I'm having surgery here. Cheap is not the way to go, right? And I imagine for plastic surgeons and people like that who are often repeating themselves for a standard [00:31:30] procedure, if it's custom, it's different because you kind of have to have that interaction because you're creating a customized plan. But when you are selling, and most people are selling the same thing over and over again ...
Kelly Fidel: Right.
Sarah Jenkins: He's selling the same thing over and over again. He's a doctor.
AJ Roberts: There's really not a need to constantly show up and repeat yourself.
Sarah Jenkins: No.
Kelly Fidel: It's a pitfall.
AJ Roberts: Yes.
Kelly Fidel: It's a pitfall where people feel like ... Well, first of all, another great, fatal mistake is that people feel like they have to do too many things live [00:32:00] or hire too soon or hire too many people feeling like they have to be a corporate. And the inability to duplicate yourself, right? The power of technology and being able to leverage yourself, your time, your knowledge, whether that's in marketing, enrolling many people. Whatever that is, it's so key.
AJ Roberts: And the cool thing with video is if you're not confident on camera ... And this is where [00:32:30] a lot of creators are very good at creating courses, are very good at creating content and educating.
Kelly Fidel: Right.
AJ Roberts: Sales-wise, they're not so good. So when it comes to standing in front of people and pitching, they get nervous. But with video, it's just you and the camera. And if you're really uncomfortable with you and the camera, you can just use slides. So actually, you can create a more powerful presentation where you can really showcase yourself and come through because you do believe in what you're selling. And now, you've just created this [00:33:00] one-time video. And even to the point of what you are saying about duplicating yourself, we are just playing around with some AI right now that essentially you train and it's your voice. So now, all you actually have to do is be able to write the script, which you could outsource and then get that back, edit it, and boom. Now you have your video and all you did was read the script to approve it.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah.
AJ Roberts: So we're getting to the point where not being leveraged is really not an option, or it shouldn't be an option. And for the entrepreneur who [00:33:30] doesn't want to build a big company, wants to stay lean and is more lifestyle-orientated, there's no reason to hire people when you can just do that. Is that kind of your entire business concept around leverage, like your courses, everything you do? It's like one-time setup?
Kelly Fidel: Yeah, absolutely. Look, it's all about making money, creating impact with total freedom. And those are our non-negotiables, right? So who we are and how [00:34:00] we operate is non-negotiable if we just never waiver, and that filters into everything that we do. So I believe that whether you're at six figures, seven, eight, or nine, one of the greatest problems is that I've seen people give up their companies to investors or a president. I've seen entrepreneurs fold because they are unable to understand leverage. And it's not always just technology, right? And so, yes, [00:34:30] leverage selling is first and foremost. How do we gather these clients? How do we leverage centers of influence? It could be a credit union and they have a list of 100,000 people, and someone's interested in going out and doing that. But we focus, really, on online marketing. So that's really key is to be able to, yes, leverage.
Now, I will say one of the pitfalls is that scale is such a buzzword, [00:35:00] and I will go out on the limb and say stop. Everybody doesn't need to scale. In its most simple format, how do I grow without increasing expenses and all of the K-drama around that? We just don't need it, right? Now, there are times when businesses do want to scale, and I think that's great. But if people fail to scale properly, it can blow up in a really bad way. [00:35:30] And there is honor in building a six-figure business. There's honor in building a $3 million business with one or two people to help you. There's honor in building a $200 million business.
Sarah Jenkins: Woohoo!
Kelly Fidel: Yeah, absolutely. Look, you guys will do far more than that. But building a billion-dollar brand is far easier today because of the online world. Everything that we start with, all of our courses, programs, anything that we create, any content, it always [00:36:00] starts with my model that I use, which is ITIR. It's very simple. Anybody can use it. It's "intentional thought, intentional result." And I always back into it. What is the number one result that I want people to get from this, and what is the thought that I want to have around that when I deliver it?
And when you really take it simple and say, "All right. I want this, and this is how I'm going to think, feel, and be to deliver [00:36:30] this content. What is the one powerful mechanism, tool, strategy, or sales angle that I can give somebody so that they can go out and change their life?" I mean, we focus on making money. But look, if somebody came to me and said, "I'm going to help you lose 20 pounds," I'm like, "Oh, that's going to add a few years to my life. I'd do that. I'd do it for five."
Sarah Jenkins: "Those girls seem extreme!" Five? Like I said, I'm excited and doing a dance. [00:37:00] So I'll bring you back to what you said. In the boardroom, it's usually you and a bunch of men, which was very typical back then, especially if you're in a C-suite.
Kelly Fidel: Yep.
Sarah Jenkins: It's hard to do, and congratulations.
Kelly Fidel: Thank you.
Sarah Jenkins: Certainly need more of that. I'll ask you a weird question. We'll pretend AJ is not here. How do you avoid being called the deal maker, but also being called the B word?
Kelly Fidel: Yo, am I allowed to say it?
Sarah Jenkins: I don't know. Are we?
Kelly Fidel: Badass?
AJ Roberts: Yeah, you can say what you want.
Sarah Jenkins: Oh, okay. So how do you be the deal maker and be that cool kid in the boardroom that isn't called "bitch" behind [00:37:30] your back every time you turn around, or do you even care?
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. So I think it's a great question because not only in corporate, but even in today and in the marketing world, even, it's male-dominated.
Sarah Jenkins: So far.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. So back in the day, I was called the boardroom bitch.
Sarah Jenkins: See, I kind of like that.
Kelly Fidel: Hey, it wasn't sexy back then, but I'll own it today, right? And I had several of my bosses, at the time, that said, "She [00:38:00] will eat you for lunch. You really better be careful who you're speaking to."
Sarah Jenkins: See, I like that part. That makes me happy. I like when somebody's a little bit fearful because you're going to give it to them straight. I admire that about you a lot.
Kelly Fidel: Thank you. Yeah, I think there is too much soft and fluff and rainbows in the world. I dig it. But look, if we're all about helping people and changing lives, let's get down to it. And in the corporate days, it was like, " [00:38:30] Look, we're going to make deals and make money." You know what? At the end of the day, I think growing up with a single mom. We were broke as a joke, but there was so much love in the house I didn't know we were poor, and I brought that forward to me. So it's like, "Time out. If you're telling me I'm a boardroom bitch with love, I'm down." But if it's anything else, it doesn't matter because I love myself enough to not take that on, so it was water off a duck's back.
Sarah Jenkins: [00:39:00] Oh, that's a really happy way your mom raised you.
Kelly Fidel: But it didn't last long because the respect was there.
AJ Roberts: I mean, you've fearless. I've known you for a long time and it's a word that I think is part of your DNA.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah.
AJ Roberts: Right? When you look back at your childhood and the way your mother was, it comes from your upbringing. But you work with a lot of women and I've seen you operate, I've spoken at your events, and a lot of women don't have that. They don't have the self-confidence. They put everybody before [00:39:30] themselves. And you're a master at getting that switch to turn and giving them that. So can you kind of share some of that? Because I think that a lot of women listening would be like, "Yeah," but then they're like, "I have no idea how to do that."
Kelly Fidel: "How?"
Sarah Jenkins: "How'd you get there?"
AJ Roberts: Even that concept of having that confidence is scary to them.
Kelly Fidel: Right. Yes. I will try and take two hours and put it into 30 seconds.
Sarah Jenkins: We're ready.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah, that's [00:40:00] right. Get ready. There is more than just flipping a switch to becoming a powerhouse CEO from an entrepreneur, or a woman who wants to stand on her own foundation of success. And it's interesting that you said fearless because that's our brand pulse of the business. And for women, there is this weird thing that I see happen periodically. And [00:40:30] this is going to sound odd, but for some women, especially if they're over, I'm going to say, 35 or 40, they kind of have this one foot in the world of the 60s, the old pregnant, barefoot in the kitchen. And let me also put the other foot and raise a family, and also be the business woman.
I think a lot has changed since then, but I do think that there's always this [00:41:00] ether in the back of certain women's minds where, "How do I really stand up? How do I rise up?" And I always say, "You don't have to. Just surround yourself with women ... We're all on different journeys, but we can take the journey together." And there is power in that. And yes, not all women are cool. Not all men are cool. But at the end of the day, when you align yourself [00:41:30] with people that will help you see the breakthrough. In football and in the NFL, there's the left tackle, the blind side. I mean, the whole purpose of that is to protect the quarterback. That person is there, that position is there. Women need someone to help them break through their blind spots. They need someone to protect their blind side until they can [00:42:00] learn how.
So some of it starts with Original Fear. Great book, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Buddhist monk. Fear. Certainly read about that. But also, it can be a learned skill to become more confident, to have people who will believe in you even when you don't. Because if I were to give someone directions, and it's rainy and foggy and they've never been from California to [00:42:30] New York, but if you trust me and I give you the directions, do you think you could get there? Yes. And so it really comes through the coaching, the mentoring, the friendships, the connections, the networking, and really staying tightly aligned with a group of people who are your people that you trust. Yeah, you build that.
But the other thing I would say to wrap this up, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. If someone [00:43:00] is asking me, "Hey, this is great. How?" I am going to give it to you straight because you have literally come into my life and my world, which I'm grateful for, and you're trusting me with your life. That's a tremendous responsibility. And so, yeah, let's get you across the finish line no matter what. Are you down? Hold my hand. I'll have the machete in one hand, your hand in the other. Let's carve our way through this thing and go. And I love the breakthroughs. That's the personal reward. Money [00:43:30] is great. Look, your finger in a cocktail glass, stir, and make money. That's great. But it's the personal breakthroughs and those results that I just get amped.
Sarah Jenkins: Well, I think that's far more fulfilling than money, if anything. When my husband passed away, we learned that money doesn't mean anything. It's about the memories and what you want to do, and the value that you're bringing to others. Otherwise, what's the point?
Kelly Fidel: Exactly.
Sarah Jenkins: Where would you go and tell women that don't have, necessarily, a great inner circle where to go find one? Maybe a Mastermind.
Kelly Fidel: [00:44:00] Yeah, yeah. I mean, come into our world. Our little circles are all sorts of things. Through podcasts or paid programs, it doesn't really matter. But I would say, in general, don't go where the masses go. Go where your gut tells you to go. Go where you feel right. If you've ever walked into a room and it just feels weird, or you've walked into a church or a hotel, or whatever, and it just doesn't feel right, [00:44:30] listen to that. Women are great at that, right? But when you walk into that spot and you go, "This is it," even if it's scary, keep walking. You've just walked through the door. Don't turn around. And find those people. Find those tribes.
Sarah Jenkins: Nevermind. I was going to say something, but I forgot.
AJ Roberts: So when you were in corporate, did you have mentors? How did you find a mentor? Because that's the big thing, a lot of people say they [00:45:00] hear it. And you mentioned you can read books, some podcasts. But how do you find your tribe? Because that's a very difficult thing for some people, right? Because maybe, they're still an at-home mom. They're trying to start this business. They're scrolling on Instagram and TikTok all the time. They'll buy a course, but there's no support there, and so they don't do anything. Or they try, but they don't have any feedback. Because it is such an important thing, but so many [00:45:30] people struggle to figure that out.
Kelly Fidel: Right. I think that's why it's so important to be true to who you are because when people are trying to find the tribe, language is everything. And it's not just copy. I'm talking about language, who someone is and how they operate. People are looking. They're watching, even when we think they're not. In corporate, I would ask the big bosses. I remember one of my very first questions ... good [00:46:00] Lord, I think I was 21 maybe ... and I said, "What are the conversations that happen in the bathroom?" and they look and they go, "Is that a real question? "I said, "Well, I could ask you what happens on the golf course, but that's easy. I could get on the golf course if I asked. But what happens in the bathroom?"
And conversations used to ... I don't know because I'm not in corporate anymore ... but a lot of those conversations happen behind the scenes, and so you just ask. You have to raise your hand [00:46:30] and be an advocate for yourself. And then, listen to people without judgment, which is not always easy, right? And not always, "What am I going to get out of it?" It's like, "Ah, is there one little thing that this would help me?" And so finding the tribe is ... How would I say it? It's like the blessing and the curse at the same [00:47:00] time. And we go through seasons, who you think your tribe is today and where you're at. As you grow and change, you want to have a different tribe to ascend to. I mean, we are seekers, right? We're humans and we're seekers by nature, and so we're always looking to learn from others and stay connected. I always say high-tech, high touch, human touch. So who are those people? And don't get too attached. Look, your ride-and-die that you think are today, [00:47:30] they might not be the people that you thought tomorrow.
AJ Roberts: I think it's important, and it reminds me of ... I think it's Alaska Bush, or whatever TV show, and they moved from Alaska. I don't know where they ended up moving to, Montana or something. Colorado. Colorado is where they ended up. But they literally were looking for a new place and they just were going to different places, and they were like, "We'll know when we get there."
Kelly Fidel: Right.
AJ Roberts: And there's an energy that when you walk in a certain room, you know if it's your people or not. And sometimes, it's okay to [00:48:00] be in rooms that they're not your people. Sometimes, a lot of examples are like, "Well, I don't want to be around this kind of activity," or, "This isn't what I resonate with." A lot of groups are party animals and they go out, and that's part of the community is staying out till 4:00 AM and then getting up at 8:00. I don't know how people do it.
Kelly Fidel: But that used to be our people.
AJ Roberts: And at one phase, that could be your people.
Sarah Jenkins: Well, now we have kids so that sounds exhausting.
AJ Roberts: It's like, "2:00 AM? That hour exists?"
Sarah Jenkins: We can go out at 9:00.
Kelly Fidel: [00:48:30] That's if the baby wakes up.
AJ Roberts: So I think that's just key is just getting out there and going to the different places.
Kelly Fidel: Right.
AJ Roberts: Shifting gears a little bit back to the struggles as a woman.
Kelly Fidel: Yes.
AJ Roberts: You obviously have been in a lot of-
Sarah Jenkins: I don't even know if he's allowed to ask anything.
Kelly Fidel: I think because he knows me so well.
AJ Roberts: Balancing a family. Because you mentioned one foot over here, one foot over there, right? There's that natural, motherly [00:49:00] instinct, and only mothers will understand. I only understand because I've had these conversations. You're both mothers. I've had these conversations. I don't understand it, but I understand it from a conceptual standpoint. But it's this internal thing like, "I got to take care of my family." It's a very natural, hormonal thing. And then, "I want to build an empire." So how did you balance that? And what is your advice to other women who have young children or have a family who feel [00:49:30] guilty? They have that natural instinct over here, but then they also have that rare personality of, "I need to build something. I'm a builder and I need to create, and I need to get out there." This seems like this double-sided coin that they're constantly flipping back and forward between.
Sarah Jenkins: You can do both.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. I think that's one of the biggest myths probably.
Sarah Jenkins: Lies women tell ourselves.
Kelly Fidel: Right. Right. It's that there's balance. I personally don't believe in balance in [00:50:00] the traditional sense, right? Women can have it all. We deserve to have it all. We deserve to call our own shots on our own terms, make a difference in the world, not have to ask permission, and not have to get permission.
Sarah Jenkins: That's one of the main premises in the book I'm almost done writing is that you can. You can have it all. You can be a great mom and CEO and run a multimillionaire company. It's possible.
Kelly Fidel: Absolutely. And women like us, and all the other women, are doing it every single day.
Sarah Jenkins: But they're not talking about [00:50:30] it, and that's the problem I have when I go to Mastermind and stuff, usually I'm looking for more friends. Like you, I'm like, "Who's the Kellys in the room that are either where I'm at, that can relate to me and talk to me and encourage me and stuff like that, and where are the women that are above, so the place that I want to get to?"
Kelly Fidel: Right.
Sarah Jenkins: I want those relationships as well. Like you said, the people that get you this love in your business aren't necessarily the people that will get you to the next level. Usually, it's a different set of people.
Kelly Fidel: 100%.
Sarah Jenkins: Sometimes, it's some of the same people. Like AJ just won't quit, I don't get it. Now, I must say you've worked with me three times.
AJ Roberts: [00:51:00] I keep leaving and you keep roping me back in.
Sarah Jenkins: I'm like, "Please come back. Please come back, AJ."
Kelly Fidel: "Come back, we love you."
Sarah Jenkins: We love you.
Kelly Fidel: No, I mean, I agree with you 1000%. And sometimes, those rooms, especially the bro marketing rooms, right?
Sarah Jenkins: Fun.
Kelly Fidel: Hey. Fun, useful. But look, who we are and what we do are sometimes different. What we do, it can be technical, it can be tactical. But who we are, innately. Who we are, how [00:51:30] we operate, powerhouse women. I truly believe that if a woman wants to build an empire ... Empire is an interesting word. I use it all the time. Number one, it polarizes women that aren't interested in building super brand, brand new. We love you. We have amazing free content. But to build a fearless seven, eight, nine, 10-figure empire, women are hardwired differently. So [00:52:00] when you really start to think about, "Can I build an empire? Can I build a six-figure empire, seven-figure, eight-figure," whatever it is, who cares about the number? It is also who we become in that process, and that is amazing. I can't wait for your book.
Sarah Jenkins: I mean, it's in manuscript form right now. But I don't even know if it's going to be amazing or not, so I'm not releasing if it's not. But I've got really good stuff, like the have-it-all. The [00:52:30] working title is The Alpha Female Leadership: How to Nurture Your Business and Your Family. I think most of what I go through is trying to find women like you and then having that balance. If there's no balance, you have to do what you have to do. Some days, it's going to be what your kids need, what your husband needs, whatever. Or some days, it's going to be working 12 hours, 14 hours a day because that's what you have to do in that moment.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah.
AJ Roberts: This question is for both of you.
Kelly Fidel: And by the way, your book is going to be amazing and I'm looking forward to my autographed copy. Thank you very much.
Sarah Jenkins: [00:53:00] It will be interesting. I'm not uninteresting. A little chaotic, but that's okay.
Kelly Fidel: That's good.
Sarah Jenkins: But it'll have, hopefully, what I've learned that didn't work and what did in there.
Kelly Fidel: So good.
AJ Roberts: So on that question, for both of you, you mentioned it earlier. Asking people stuff, right?
Kelly Fidel: Right.
AJ Roberts: That is something people have big problems with. And knowing both of you, one of the biggest reasons you have success is because you aren't afraid to ask. You're not afraid to ask for what you need. You're not afraid to ask for help when you need it. You're not afraid [00:53:30] to ask people to step up when they need to step up. So how do you ask people stuff? Because a lot of people, that's their biggest thing is rejection, right? "If I say I need this and then you shut me down." So how do you ask, and ask in a way that is able to support you?
Kelly Fidel: Okay, this is great. So I actually made an ask today, right? I asked [00:54:00] Sarah. I wasn't planning on it. But I asked Sarah, "I would be honored. I would love to have you on The Powerhouse CEO podcast show," right?
Sarah Jenkins: You did.
Kelly Fidel: That's an ask. But in a microsecond, just because this is a learned skill, it came from intentional thought, intentional result. The result is because I love Sarah. I think she's a powerhouse. I would love for her to share all of her mission, her knowledge, and her amazingness to our communities and to all of our people. And so [00:54:30] it doesn't come from a, "What can I get?" and I think that is the difference in an ask. It's like, "Oh my God. How can I help you? How can I share you? I have just found the most amazing thing." It can be a little diamond. It could be a puppy. It could be a diamond.
Sarah Jenkins: Definitely a diamond.
Kelly Fidel: But whatever it is. So I'm sitting here, I have this amazing human being, and how can I share her with the world? And [00:55:00] if it comes from that place, asking is simple, but it has to be, "Why are you asking?" And I always ask from the place of love. If it comes from the right place, it will automatically boomerang back if it's supposed to, right? But just do it without expectation. And even in the boardroom, "What do you guys talk about?" Well, why would I want to know that? [00:55:30] Because I want the competitive edge because I want to close more clients. Because what we sell is epic, and when we close more clients and those thousands of people are trained to help all of their databases, or whatever, it's a good thing. Yeah.
Sarah Jenkins: Well, okay, like what you said, you believe in what you're asking is a benefit to the other person.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah.
Sarah Jenkins: It's just like when you're selling your product, the value of your product. You don't price it cheaply. You don't accept everybody. There's free stuff out there. Go ahead. But [00:56:00] the person that you're saying ... I love that you did a decision call because I think this is the right attitude. You're like, "Hey, we're going to talk about why we understand that this is best for you already, so you're just going to need to come to that conclusion or it won't work out." So you walk them through their own talking themself into why they need that thing. But it's because you believed in it in the first place.
So if you are very confident in what you're saying, whether it's in the boardroom with your numbers ... Or we've been in banking sessions, you and I, with lots of lawyers and banks and it's been "Sarah and all her men." It's me and [00:56:30] nine dudes in a boardroom and I'm like, "All right. Cool," and a lot of the questions I have to answer. But if it's based on our company and stuff and our numbers, if I'm not confident ... They said, "Well, we want to know your chargeback rate," and I was like, "It's 0.036%," and they're like, "No."
Kelly Fidel: Which is unheard of in the industry.
Sarah Jenkins: I know. I was like, "No, no. It is." They're like, "Well, no. You'd have to have a percentage of refunds per your sales." I was like, "No, no. The chargebacks are 0.036%." And they were like, "Oh, okay," and they [00:57:00] had to go. But if you don't understand what you're saying, if you're making up numbers off your head, "It's definitely 4.2%," "It's not that," you can't seem confident. But if you know you're right, you're going to say it and you're going to stand up for yourself. Also, you have to believe in it. So I think that's a lot of the way the mom struggles because they believe in it, but not enough that what they're saying would give value to the person they're saying it to.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah.
Sarah Jenkins: Why wouldn't you say it? You're doing them a disservice by not.
Kelly Fidel: And I think women do that also. I mean, I've been there myself. We feel like we have to do this o grandioso thing, [00:57:30] and it doesn't need to be like that. So, "Oh, instead of putting myself out there like this," if you could just simplify and micro, and what are you epic at and really awesome at, then just follow that. As we grow ... cool men too ... it's human nature. We become more confident, right? We believe in ourselves. I mean, I have such a deep belief in people. [00:58:00] Like air, it's everywhere. Just because you can't see it, it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. There's so much of it and it's endless. My belief in people is like that. They just don't see it in themselves yet. Yet. It doesn't mean they won't, but what's the mechanism to get them there?
AJ Roberts: Yeah. Yeah, I love that. And I think that what you said is real important, too, around the fact that at the end of the day, people often can't see ... I've used this with lifting, like when [00:58:30] people say, "Well, how did you lift so much weight?" It's like, "Well, I surrounded myself with people who lifted more."
Sarah Jenkins: Right.
AJ Roberts: My reality shifted.
Kelly Fidel: We were talking about that.
AJ Roberts: You mentioned around getting around people to support you who are ahead, or whatever. The big thing to that is that when you shift your reality. So when you come into something and you have this idea or whatever, and someone else who has built bigger things goes, "Oh, yeah. Wow. This just really is unique. You have an amazing story, an amazing [00:59:00] personality," you can see something they can't see because your experiences allow you to do that. And so that person can leverage your vision because you know what is possible, right?
Kelly Fidel: Exactly.
AJ Roberts: And that's the thing. Until you are in a place that no one else has been, that's the only place in the world that's hot.
Kelly Fidel: Right.
AJ Roberts: When you are number one richest man in the world, who do you turn to? You [00:59:30] don't. There's nobody ahead of you, so you are on your own to figure it out. Now, of course, they have support teams around them advising. But at the end of the day-
Sarah Jenkins: I think I pay for those.
AJ Roberts: But at the end of the day, the truth is that nobody else has any experience to share with that person, right?
Kelly Fidel: Right.
AJ Roberts: You got a long way to go until you're the richest person in the world. So knowing that, it's like-
Sarah Jenkins: I mean, I do. I have a long way to go.
AJ Roberts: The point I'm making with that is that at the end of the day, no matter where you are, you should have confidence that you can get where you want to go, even if you have no clue how to [01:00:00] do that, because you can tap into networks and individuals who have been there, who can show you that. So for those people that struggle seeing that, when do they start to trust the process? Because even when they commit, and everybody thinks when they give the money, they trust the process, how many people would sign up for a gym and then never go, right? The transaction is not the piece that gets the buy-in, so when is that?
Kelly Fidel: So [01:00:30] this is so cool that you asked this question because there is someone very dear to me who you know. Her name is Jenny. And she came to me, I said, "Hey." She went to some event, and I said, "How was it?" And of course, we've worked together and whatnot, and she said, "I didn't realize how far I'd come until I was in a room where I used to be."
Sarah Jenkins: That's so cool.
Kelly Fidel: And that made me feel [01:01:00] great, and I was super proud of her and she recognized it. So number one is through the doing, through the taking action. So when you've arrived at a place and then you wind up going somewhere and realize that you're in a room where you used to be, I always equate it to riding a bike. So you can watch how to ride a bike, you can read how to ride a bike, you can watch a YouTube video, you can sit on a bicycle. But until you actually put your feet on [01:01:30] those pedals and you go, and you fall down and you get back up, only then are you going to pop a wheelie off of a curb or whatever you're going to do as a kid or an adult.
And the same thing is in life, right? So you start to get these results, you start to have these experiences. And constantly, just like the space shuttle coming in, "Go, no go. Go, no go. Go, no go," thousands of times a day in our brain, and it is through those experiences. And so I think if people could just look at life [01:02:00] like an Easter egg hunt, or just enjoy their business and enjoy the journey and just take the ride. And so what? Closing a billion dollars sounds really sexy, but let me tell you. Very few people asked me, "But what about the $4 billion nos? What about the $4 billion in nos?" Well, that's what got me here. Look, when you're walking through hell, just keep on moving. It's not like you're going to stand, walking over those fire coals and say, "Hmm, this doesn't [01:02:30] feel good." No. Keep on moving.
And it's through those experiences that I think people start to have an awareness of what they're capable of and where they have been, and that they truly have the potential to shatter their own glass ceiling, which really doesn't exist, and to be able to break through those barriers and create a life they love.
Sarah Jenkins: I had to be coached through a lot of that stuff, and that's what you do.
Kelly Fidel: Yes.
Sarah Jenkins: Did you have anyone coaching you back then?
Kelly Fidel: You mean through my whole life?
Sarah Jenkins: Yeah, someone that gave you the confidence [01:03:00] to be like, "I see something in you. You be confident and go forth."
Kelly Fidel: Yes, absolutely. I mean, look, I'm just a human being, right? I'm just a girl.
Sarah Jenkins: That's not true at all. I've known you a long time, Kelly. You're pretty amazing.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. Look, we all put our pants on one leg at a time. That's what I always say, but the answer to that is yes. In the early years, yes, my mom was my greatest cheerleader.
Sarah Jenkins: That's awesome.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah, and I'm very blessed with that. Through corporate, I had [01:03:30] execs and bosses who were very supportive, who would coach and guide me, even when I was no longer in that world and maybe 15 years would pass. We would still keep in touch and I would ask different questions. Yes, of course. Mentors, paid mentors, but even just around people. Both of you, you are my people, right? I love you guys, I love being here, and I know you'll give it to me straight. And if I had a question, [01:04:00] or if I was unsure of something, I would have absolutely no hesitation to say, "Hey. Sarah, what do you think about this? Let me float this past you," or, "Here's how I'm feeling," or, "What about this?"
Sarah Jenkins: I think your hair does look great.
Kelly Fidel: Thank you.
Sarah Jenkins: You're welcome. That's what you asked me earlier. You were like, "Is it?" and I was like, "No, it's awesome."
Kelly Fidel: Is it too curly?
Sarah Jenkins: And I would tell you because I would be doing you a disservice if I don't tell you.
Kelly Fidel: That's right. That's right.
AJ Roberts: That's why you got to ask a woman that question.
Kelly Fidel: That's right.
AJ Roberts: A man's answer is always, "It looks wonderful."
Kelly Fidel: But it happens at every level. It happens at every level, [01:04:30] right? I mean, we're people. And so, yes, I've had the great blessing. But look, I've had people that I thought would be a great mentor or a great person, and it turns out they're not. And there's no hard feelings on that. You can crash and burn, or you can crash and learn. There are great advantages to crashing and learning because it's what's going to get you to the top, whatever [01:05:00] your top is.
AJ Roberts: Beautifully said. Any other questions?
Sarah Jenkins: I don't love crashing and learning, but you're right. It does push you forward because now you've been through it. And then you're not afraid of it anymore either, so you do make mistakes and you can get past that. I do have a question. So then if you've got someone at home that's got a bad mindset, that's not really confident, knows she has something to offer, but not sure what it is ... We've gone through some of that and how do you find it. Where would they go? The first coaching program that we ever [01:05:30] bought was $300 bucks a month. We couldn't afford it, but we did it anyway. So sometimes, it's the right thing to do in your life as you make the purchase towards your own growth to get to the next step. But if you can't or you're not there yet ... because like you said, there's a lot of free stuff out there that would help until you're ready for the next level of learning.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. It's a great question. So it goes back to who is the tribe, and it doesn't have to be just one. It's like, "Oh, I want to learn from Sarah. I want to know how to create. I want to know [01:06:00] how she's built this amazing, fearless empire. And I also want to learn from this person and that person." I mean, no one's going to eat the same cracker every single day of their life. So we have to have that variety, and there's different experiences that you can have. But you mentioned if someone has ... Did you say a situation in a house where it's negative, and then where do they go to get ...
Sarah Jenkins: Yeah, if they can't join a Mastermind at this time because it's expensive or they've got [01:06:30] babies at home, or it's expensive to travel.
Kelly Fidel: Sure.
Sarah Jenkins: Where would they go for some of your other stuff? You've got your ...
Kelly Fidel: Oh, for ours.
Sarah Jenkins: Yeah.
Kelly Fidel: Or anybody.
Sarah Jenkins: So I'm going to send them to you. You're on today's show and we're featuring you and the amazing things that you do do, and especially because you do mentor and coach women. That is your whole thing and I love that. And so that's what we're talking about if somebody's going to go and say, "Where should I start if I'm not quite ready to go to the Mastermind or a private coaching level?"
Kelly Fidel: I mean, I think the beauty of [01:07:00] the world today is that anybody can be a creator. Anybody.
Sarah Jenkins: Absolutely.
Kelly Fidel: And for free. I mean, literally, you can get Zoom for free and you can get a YouTube channel for free, so anyone can create. Find the free content that will give you those small wins. And at the right time, sure, yeah, invest in something when it makes sense. [01:07:30] But also, we go to battle with ourselves every single day. The internal debate to play big and small. We've talked about that. And sometimes, you have to take that leap of faith in yourself, even when you don't know how you're going to get there, even if it gives you that, "I don't know," kind of feeling. Go forward as long as it's not going to obviously create financial problems and strain and things [01:08:00] like that. So yeah, I think there are times where you just have to play full out, or accept that you're playing small and move forward.
AJ Roberts: So where can people go to learn more about you and the programs you have?
Kelly Fidel: So besides Google, I would say go to powerhouseceo.com. Powerhouseceo.com, kellyfidel.com. They all go to the same place. We have amazing and deep content and resources [01:08:30] that are available for free, and we are always constantly putting out new content. We have programs that are available, regardless of where someone is in their journey.
Sarah Jenkins: Well, that's why I'm glad you asked and we're trying to get there. Someone that is at home, is looking for a place to go, they should go to one of your spots where you have your free blogs, where you have the stuff so they can start. Because someone that wants to go learn about it is going to get over that next hump really quickly.
Kelly Fidel: Yes.
Sarah Jenkins: Someone [01:09:00] that's looking for a mentor or somewhere to go where they can hear positive feedback about how they can do it and everybody can create something. It would be a start. I would be doing a disservice if I didn't push them to your list.
Kelly Fidel: Thank you. No, I appreciate that. Yeah, we have great content. I mean, our blog is spectacular. Our podcast is there. I do my own personal podcasting and share my knowledge.
Sarah Jenkins: That's right. You do.
Kelly Fidel: I loved idea tithe. Give that knowledge. But also, there's some great interviews. [01:09:30] Just executives from MGM and Zappos and Powerhouse Women, Sarah, and all of these other women. So yeah, I mean, there's really something for everyone. I'm not going to say we guarantee results. But man, if you only listen to the intro, you're probably not going to get any results. But if you go a little bit further, then you're probably going to definitely be able to leverage that content for your benefit.
AJ Roberts: Yeah, for sure. [01:10:00] Cool women and cool men, go check it out.
Kelly Fidel: That's right.
AJ Roberts: Thanks so much for being here today. It's been a pleasure and I can't wait to do it again.
Kelly Fidel: Yeah. Thank you for having me. Appreciate it.
Sarah Jenkins: Thanks, Kelly.
Kelly Fidel: All right.
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