Letting Your Values Guide Your Choices with Jill Harms

This transcript was created using AI. Please forgive any discrepencies.

[Intro] Welcome to Easy Style with Sami. I’m your host Sami Bedell-Mulhern. Each episode, I invite a friend, family member or colleague or just someone I’ve met on this journey called life to come and share their personal style and approach to business, parenting, life and everything in between. You’ll hear motivational and inspirational stories that will help you refine and build your own personal style. Remember, style is easy when it comes from within.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Hey, everybody, welcome to another episode of easy style with Sami Today, my guest is Jill harms. Jill, thanks for being here.

[Jill Harms] Thank you for having me. I look forward to this.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Yeah, well, we’ve known each other off and on throughout the years, I think recently reconnected again on a few projects from, you know, the Will you live in the same town that I’m born and raised in? So I’m really excited to have you here and kind of share your insights on value based workplaces and kind of supporting our community. So I appreciate you taking the time. Why don’t you kind of introduce yourself to everybody and let them know a little bit about you?

[Jill Harms] Yeah, so I’m Jill Harms, I own and operate blink Marketing here at the Iowa great lakes, actually right on busy highway 71. Here in Milford. My background is the spans quite a range, I spent 17 years in corporate marketing, working for a number of different companies, really good companies, from sailors candy company, to Taiwan’s food service to pure fishing, where I spent my last 10 years in corporate marketing and all were just amazing opportunities full of education and experiences that I know I couldn’t get anywhere else. So very much grateful that I have those opportunities. And I know that has been part of what has brought me to where I am today. Then went on to open blink marketing 14 years ago. And here we are, and Milford, Iowa and still making it and we I was not sure that I could do this. But my life was changing, my priorities were changing. My kids were getting busier. And my position at pure fishing was taken me out of town, more than what I wanted to be I was traveling pretty much every week. And my kids, I think needed me more of a presence of me at home. So I chose to walk away from that great position I had and open blink marketing, because at that point, there really wasn’t an agency per se in our town in our area, not the agencies that I knew of in terms of, you know, a full service marketing agency. And so I decided, hey, I’m gonna try this thing, I don’t work, I told my husband be prepared, because I’m not gonna have an income for a while. So, you know, we have to be ready for this. And he kind of knew this was coming because, Gosh, 10 years prior to that I had said, I’d like to do this someday. Didn’t know if I would ever take the jump to actually do it. But because of circumstances, it was time, and I said, Hey, I’m not getting younger. Let’s just try it. And if it doesn’t work, I can always go get a job somewhere else. So I did and yeah, so here we are 14 years later. And it’s been a great experience. Yes, it’s allowed me to manage my, you know, work life balance with having kids getting older and my husband who, you know, farms, and you know, he’s a half hour away. So it just made our life better, I think and easier. And I was able to pick my kids up from school at the end of the day and hear all the stories that I know, I was missing out on before that. So yes, so it’s been great.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] I did not realize that we have a very similar story and how we started our business, and very similar bosses. So working for my dad in Oregon, you were working for my dad at pure fishing. Similarly, I left you know, working for him because Well, number one, you know, working with families hard and we wanted to be you know, father daughter, didn’t stop talking about work at every single dinner table, but also just seemed like the schedule and you know, being home for the kids. And that’s when I started my business. So we have a very similar story. path to that. I love that. Yes, we do. And in fact,

[Jill Harms] your dad, I told him, I think, Gosh, three or four years into working for him. We were on a trip and he of course as he would normally like what do you want to do, Jill? What do You want to do with real life? At the time, I didn’t even I mean, I didn’t flinch. I just started going into oh, I want to run an agency, I want to have my own agency. I know I can do that. I’m really. And as I’m talking about it, I realized, wait a minute, I totally Lehman’s company, which didn’t dawn on me at the time, but anyway, I did. And yeah, so didn’t know if it would happen. And, you know, here I am.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Well, and I love that I’m so you know, like, you know, when you take different pieces of each place, you’ve been, right, there’s good and bad in everything, even running your own business. So, you know, as you kind of thought about, okay, well, now I’m gonna do this. This is who I get to be who I want to be, I get to show up how I want to show up. Like, was that completely terrifying to show up and be like, it’s now it’s just Gil harms as the face of this, you can’t hide behind anything else? And how important was it for you to really kind of bring in specific elements about who you are into kind of who you work with? And how you showed up for the community?

[Jill Harms] Yeah, so gosh, so much in that question, I, I, when I started blink marketing, I had, in my mind, the ideals of what a true marketing agency is, and should be, of course, working with some phenomenal agencies out of you know, New York, Chicago, Houston, you know, you name it, Minneapolis, just some really, really good agencies. And, and I also saw the best of the best and the worst. And so I knew kind of, you know, where the sweet spot was. And so that’s what helped me kind of form, first of all, what kind of an agency I was going to be and what we were going to stand for. And personally, you know, I felt like I had these 17 years of professional leadership development, which I knew was going to help me elevate my business very quickly, to establish myself in my own community. Even though I was here, I wasn’t present. I was an I was a person in management working for pure fishing at the time. And that’s how people saw me as this leader within that company, but they didn’t know me. So one of my goals was to ingrain myself in my community, I felt like, you know, I didn’t know lots of my kids as friends yet, or their parents. I wanted to be ingrained in their life. And I knew part of that also meant, you know, getting involved in the community. And I think with any new business, I mean, if people don’t know who you are, why would they ever use you? Right? So it’s also a marketing tool, where I needed people to know who I was outside of pure fishing, you know, they knew I was, you know, marketing, management of pure fishing, but they didn’t know anything beyond that. So, yeah, so it was important for me to establish blank, first of all, as you know, a professional agency that does really good, high quality work, but that I also had the background and experience to guide people in the right direction. And I think with, with my business as I started to hire individuals, so I have graphic designers, and I have, you know, web designers, and as my staff grew, I also wanted to make sure I didn’t lose the human element. Yeah, I do think as you work for bigger companies, you do become a number as hard as I’m sure the companies I work for tried not to do that, you still become a number. And there were decisions made that I don’t think always brought in the human factor. So with everything we do here, it has to feel good, and it has to be doing good. If it isn’t, we’re not going to do it. And also as it relates to relationships with clients. I told my staff, you know, I won’t take a client just for the sake of the dollar. I want it to be right. And I don’t want anybody to ever make you feel bad about your work. So we’re going to make sure our clients work with us, and we’re a good fit for each other. And, you know, in my past, that was never an option. You know, I had to work with all types of difficult personalities. So I think moving into my own business, it was okay, now I get to choose who I work with. And I get to get up in the morning and decide what we’re going to do that day. And yeah, I think all of those things were According to me and start in this business, so

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] when I think working for those larger companies that kind of allows you also to, like, I think dream a little bit bigger. Like, I think that’s where in smaller towns a lot of people struggle with, well, there’s only so many people here or there’s only, like those limitations become super obvious. So what is it like for you like, does it is it exciting for you to take this, like, you know, go from working at a company that’s International, and you’re getting, you’re taking all of these skills, you have all this training, but yet, you’re still in this smaller community to be able to bring kind of that experience to small local businesses, and really help them thrive in ways that they probably couldn’t even imagine. They could do. Like, what what is that like for you? And do you get a lot of pushback from people? Like, no, we can’t do that. Like is that? How do you kind of work through all of that?

[Jill Harms] Yeah. So and I, that invigorates me, I mean, it gets me going I, it is scary, to walk away from that kind of intimate environment to just my own, you know, not having all my support systems in place. But it’s also exciting to know that I can change people, I can change businesses, and I have the opportunity to do that. So yeah, working for an international company. I quickly learned that as I started to work with small businesses here in my area, there was so I was so far away from where their mindset was that I had to regroup myself. And I don’t want to say dumb it down. But I had to figure out how do I communicate with them when they have no idea what I’m talking about? Yeah. And that would be with just about everything that we did. And so I was, in essence, every time I was meeting with a client, I felt like I was teaching them and training them. And, and it was good. I mean, it’s exciting because it opens up new doors for you. And most people see that as Okay, well, she’s an expert in her field, and she’s bringing us, you know, things, education that we didn’t have before that we didn’t know before. The downside of that of going from big business to to dealing with mom and pop shops is, you know, not everybody cares. So not everybody wants to go through the steps it takes to get to a really good product. And everybody is willing to pay for that. So my job became very challenging to how do I explain to these business owners that there’s value in moving through our steps methodically and logically to get to the final result? So your brand, for example, your name is what is the most important marketing element you have. And if you don’t take time to thoroughly figure out what the right branding objective is, we’re not going to get to where you want to be. And it’s, it’s a process, it’s not just wake up in the morning, here’s my name. There’s a process to going through it. And so the challenge for me was, yeah, really figuring out my sales pitch. And I am a marketer, right? I didn’t sit in front of all of these salespeople through those, you know, years of corporate marketing, I did go on sales calls to assist the salespeople, but I wasn’t the one making the pitch. So I had to really sit down and start to think about what’s my tipping moment? What’s my, you know, automatic? Why to the buyer? What’s going to make them say, Yeah, we need to do that. And I think as I became better at my storytelling and sharing with them, what’s working over here with this client, it helped them to believe in what I was preaching to them and standing it, so

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] yeah, I feel you, they’re 100% because I think a lot of times in marketing, it’s like the perception of what I think works versus what we know, works and like pulling people through the right thing. Yeah, can be extreme ly challenging. And yes, you’re speaking my language. This is why whenever we talk marketing, we always have a good time because we feel the same things. Yes, potential clients. Um, but I want to touch on kind of the different phases of life and you you know, you mentioned really wanting to switch and start your own thing because of the, you know, the needs of your kids and, and I feel like as a mom and this, I think dads are feeling this too. Like I know my husband has gone through these transitions because he used to be a state of Um, dad, now he’s working, like we all kind of go back and forth. So I don’t want to label it as just moms. But, um, that balance of like, how do I actually make this choice right now? Like, how, you know, was there any part of it where you were like, you know, I’m giving up a piece of me to come back here and do this or like, you know, as you’re navigating through all of these changes, like, how did you make that decision, so that every, like you felt good about it, your husband felt good about it as a family unit, you all felt good about it? Because I think that’s extremely challenging when we’re making career changes.

[Jill Harms] Yes, absolutely. And as much as you think you are prepared for it, I don’t think you’re ever completely prepared for moving from the corporate dynamic into your own silo environment. I’m a very social person. I love my alone time. I mean, my favorite time of day is my walk in the morning at 530. But I am a social person by nature, I need to be around people. When you walk away to start your own business. It’s, it’s you. And just you I mean, eventually, I grew to have, you know, a staff and employees, but I didn’t start there. And I know that, you know, in talking with my husband, yeah, I started out at home before I even opened my doors. But I know, he told me and my friends told me that, you know, we went and told you them, but we can tell you now that you were definitely in an area of depression, you were excited about starting your business, but you were not yourself. Looking back on it. Now, I think it was that factor that I just wasn’t surrounded by people anymore. And, and my identity became who I was at my last job at pure fishing. And that’s what people thought of me. And so I sort of lost my identity along the way. But I also think once I started to realize what was missing in my life, and in my business life, of course, I was trying to get new clients. And you know, I’ve had that interaction. But I think that’s also why I went on to get involved in all the nonprofits, I did, because those were my people. Those were areas where I immediately knew, yeah, I want to go do that. And I want to help them and I want to be surrounded by people that I know and trust. And, and I also did things that I had no experience with, I wasn’t shy about jumping into that. Because I think people that start their own businesses tend to be a little bit more willing to take leaps of faith and just try new things. And as marketers, maybe that’s our how we work with our vibe, you know, I think we figure it out on the along the way. Nobody has all the answers. So you just jump in and you try things and you figure out what sticks on the wall. But eventually, as you do that so many times you start to get good at it because you know what’s working and what’s not working. So yeah, it was a it was a difficult time. For me. It was short lived, thankfully. But I got involved. You know, in our school, I got involved in my church, I got involved at the park with the why I mean, you name it, I probably right Bri many, many things that I did, I did the American Cancer Society fundraisers for a while, so but and it was a time when Yeah, I wanted to be more present with my kids. But it was probably the busiest time in my life that I had, because I was trying to start this business, run this business and be a powerhouse volunteer, which I wouldn’t change any of it. I felt that that made me whole by participating and being a part of those groups. But then from the standpoint of having my own business in the small community, I also knew I had to perform as being part of these committees and boards that I was involved with. So I also put it on myself to do better and be better as I was working with each of them and helping them get to where they wanted to be so yeah, so it’s been good. And yeah, it all has sort of work.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Yeah, well, I really appreciate the honesty because it’s not easy. And I think that’s why a lot of people sit with what they know. Because I know this is you know, this is what I know this is the beast I know and not that in your case you are unhappy in your work environment are unhappy. You know, a lot of times that’s the push that gets people to make that change, but I love that. You know, you just took stock of what was around you and you’re like you know what I need to do something different to be who I want to be and show up for my kids to where I want to be. And he took a leap of faith almost. And so how has that kind of transition? Like how? How has that kind of changed the conversations or like the ways that you talk to your kids about what opportunities they might have? Or how they might navigate the work world and how they might want to take stock of their own values when they’re making decisions about what they do?

[Jill Harms] Yeah. So with our kids, we work ethic was extremely important, like that was non negotiable. So both of our kids worked when they were in high school, basically, as soon as they could work. And I know, it got to a point where my kids were asking, When can I go work, so we must have done something, right. We also think it was because they wanted their own money, we were not a family that just gave an allowance every month, you had to do chores, or you had to do some kind of work in order for them to get that money. So they wanted to have control of being able to make their own money. So that kind of started them on that path. So I would say by the time they got to college, both of our children have pretty good work ethic, in that they know they’re they want to make their way and be successful at whatever it was they were going to do. But along the way, I know my husband and I have talked at length about understanding that whatever you choose to do, you’re going to be spending more time doing that than actually being at home with your family. So whatever you choose, make sure you love it. And make sure it’s something that you can actually make a living at doing. So we have lots of deep conversations around that. And I think they saw, you know, my husband farms and he has always wanted to farm but we met in college and he graduated with a business degree did not graduate with a degree because I think he wanted to have options to if it didn’t work out for him. And my kids knew that I had worked the corporate environment and then walked away to start my own business. They they did understand that, you know, there was this transition of, you know, that income and then not having an income and then building your own income. But I think they saw it as a positive one because they they understood then that Oh, mom’s around now and I coached every single one of my kids is themes, you know, whether it was volleyball, or basketball or soccer, softball, you name it, I did it. And, and I know they’re, they’re grateful for that. So as they decided what they were going to do my both of them are heading into the agriculture field. And I think they grew up with a love for the farm. Like when we spend time at the farm, it’s like, their favorite thing to do, because you’re just outside and you’re doing that, you know, open space and getting dirty. I mean, they love playing in the dirt. So they both chose that path. But I think they’re both very mindful of not getting caught in the trap of I’ve got a day in and day out job that I’m sitting you know, behind a desk and behind a computer really ever having room to breathe. So my daughter is graduating with a double degree or double major in agronomy and seed science. And she is actually has a soil certificate now with the federal government. So she wants to really focus on soil health and helping us grow better, stronger and healthier crops. So she’s moving to a job here shortly and, and that is her passion. Like she loves to be outside. She loves to work with people and she doesn’t want to be in a lab because in her area, she could have gone down the path of being in a lab or something like that. But yeah, wants to be working with farmers. Austin also wants to be working with his hands. So he’s going down the engineering path, but agricultural engineering so not sure what he’ll end up doing if he wants to design equipment or, or what but he’s my kid that wants to have his own business someday. So he’s kind of more falling into my shoes in that area where he so he started a boat cleaning business here in high school and did that for a few summers and is just not letting go of that. And I think he was in, you know, inspired by the fact that he was able to control his destiny so to say in terms of how many boats he was willing to clean how He was willing to work rewarded for that based on how hard he was willing to work. So I would say, Yeah, I don’t know if there’s anything specific that we did with our kids. But I know that we talked and preach to them quite often that whatever you choose to do, make sure you love doing it, don’t just do it, because it’s good money, or, you know, because it’s the cool thing to do. Make sure it’s something that you love, and that you can at least make a living

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] on. Well, I think it’s that creativity that you exude, and just the openness and conversation, kids seeing multiple different ways of making income growing up, I think, you know, Gen Z, and even younger millennials, the opportunities to make money are so much more unique than I think they ever were. But it’s the the ability to or the, what’s the word, I’m looking for the permission to be creative with where we want to go and look for what those options are, as opposed to only seeing one kind of linear path that we need to go down. So like, even like you said, in your most simplest way, maybe we didn’t do anything, I think your example showed them that they can be creative, and they can be open to whatever, and they can push for certain certain things. And that’s emulated by example. Yeah, and

[Jill Harms] I think the reason, you know, people, when I go to classrooms or whatnot to do a talk or talk about, you know, being an entrepreneur, people often ask, you know, did you always want to do this? And my answer is no, I had no idea growing up that I would ever own my own business, or that I even wanted to be an entrepreneur, like I was born and raised in a very traditional household. My dad was a superintendent, my mom stayed at home with five kids, you know, we, it was when we graduated, like it was expected that you would do the same thing. And you would just go get a job somewhere and work for somebody, because that’s the same thing. Never in a million years, would I have thought I would own my own business. And it’s not that my parents didn’t support me, but they were very concerned when I walked away from

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] you growing up in a different time, like, you know,

[Jill Harms] right? Yes. And I have realized, even with my own kids, as much as I want stability for them, I to have to make sure that, you know, let them go and soar and figure it out. You know, if it doesn’t work, that’s the great thing is you just shift courses and do something else. And, you know, obviously, you have to make a living, but then you figure out if I want to build something, how do I make sure I have cash on the side to allow me to still live while I’m busy building? So. And you know, for me, I was fortunate that I was married, right? So we had two incomes in our household, so I at least could allow my husband to, you know, help us along while I was building the business. Not everybody has that situation. So you have to fill in that gap with some that provides that cashflow?

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Well, I think, you know, a lot of inspiration here, we’re gonna wrap this up with the five questions I always ask. But I want to say like, really just touch on, if you’re listening to this, like just the key things of like, how can we show up for our kids and help them live their best lives, but also, just reiterating that you said, you know, you didn’t always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur. And, you know, maybe it’s not that you want to be an entrepreneur, maybe it’s that you want to go for that next promotion that you think you’re not qualified for, or it’s that you, you know, want to get involved with an organization that you think is out of your league, whatever that might be. Like, you’re never too old or too late in your career, to make that shift and go for it. And I think that’s what you’re like the kind of the big message that people can take away from this and go for kind of what you really want, even if you don’t know what it is yet, you know? Absolutely yeah,

[Jill Harms] I was, like I say almost something 20 years into this before I walked away and opened my own business. And for me, that was the right path based on how I was raised, you know, I needed that stability of not stability of income necessarily, but stability of knowing pension. Yes, yes, justification, knowing that I can do this, knowing that I had enough experience and education behind me so that I could show up and tell my clients Yes, I can help you. And, you know, I don’t want to show up as a fraud. I mean, I want people to think that, you know, I’ve got something to offer and that’s the hardest part as an entrepreneur is convincing people right that you do have something to offer so that part of it was important for me for my Kids, if they want to go down that path, it’s going to be different for them. And I think it is almost with everybody, your story is always a little bit different. But most importantly, I think you just have to be passionate and persistent. And every day you get up and it’s hard, you just have to push through that and keep going. And it may be hard, expect that it’s gonna get harder at some point there. It’s, it’s a constant evolution, because as businesses grow, there’s always going to be a new challenge ahead of you. And, you know, when you have good days, and things are going really, really well, you have to celebrate that. And make sure you do that with your whole staff so that you don’t let those days go by because you know, there’s other hard days ahead. That is probably something my kids don’t, aren’t aware of right now that if they choose to go down the path of starting their own business that you know it, I don’t know that they’ve ever had a tough day, to the degree, I’ve had a tough day. I think they’re just growing up in a generation where things just haven’t been that tough. So I think you have to be able to look inside yourself and know that no matter how hard it gets, I have to keep going. And and I do think that’s a type of person, like you have to know inside yourself, can I do this and I’m a willing to put through the sacrifice it’s going to take to do it. And that means getting yourself up every single day getting dressed no matter what, even if you don’t have anything on that schedule that day, you make it up and you keep going and every single day will add up to success along the way. It’s it’s just persistence. So good. That was I mean, that’s just the perfect soundbite for the whole for the whole episode. I love that pep talk. Okay,

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] so five questions that we ask every guest um, you already mentioned that you’re always learning you’re always testing. But where do you go? Or what’s a resource that you have when you’re looking for either personal or business development or growth?

[Jill Harms] Yeah, so I, of course, follow some blogs. And I have a couple of different consulting groups that I’ve met along my way. And I’m on their email newsletter list. So I’m constantly reading those. When they come into my inbox, I do follow some marketing experts like James O’Connor, who I think is amazing. And Seth Godin, who’s amazing, you know, those people inspire me, like, because they think about things differently than I do. I think it helps me to kind of change my brain and things think about things differently. So I do read newsletters to keep myself going. Of course, I’ve got my industry publications that I flip through now and again, but yeah, but I think that’s where most of my inspiration comes from. I love that.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] Would you consider yourself to be introverted or extroverted?

[Jill Harms] Yeah, I was thinking about that question. It’s a good question. Because, as I mentioned before, I, I have to be around people. So I think most people would say that I’m extroverted. But I do have times where I really need my alone time. So there’s times where I don’t want to be the person answering the question all day long. I don’t want to be the person talking all day long. I need my alone time. So I kind of a balance of the two. But I know I’m more than likely, I can’t go too long without being my social, whatever social film of the day.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] What is one thing on your list a goal, either personal or professional for this year?

[Jill Harms] Oh, one thing on my list. So I every year I have a goal for us as an agency to bring on a couple new retainer clients every year. And so that’s just kind of standard for us. And those are difficult to get. So they’re far and few. But I’m usually working on you know, kind of low hanging fruit, figuring out who really needs our help. So that would be from a professional standpoint, where I’m headed in addition to now that I have had the business for 14 years, I’m realizing it’s all about me. And I’m the one doing all the business development. So I’m really focused on bringing somebody into our business that can take some of that weight off of me. I I’ve spent too much time now with all of it on my shoulders. And I just, it’s hard for me to get away. So I don’t want to business and not be able to ever take a vacation. So yeah, so that’s another professional and personal goal, quite honestly. But I want somebody dynamic. I want somebody that’s an A type personality that is motivated and passionate is what I am. And obviously, you know, those are hard to find in a small town like this. So I’m just being patient until I find the right person. And yeah, that’s so personally, my oldest is graduating from college, our youngest is just finishing his freshman year. So we’re empty nesters. And, you know, we are figuring this out. It’s kind of new for us to be empty nesters. And we just have new phone time. So personally, I think, yeah, we’re going to try to travel maybe a little bit more than we have. And when I say more, more than once a year. So, yeah, so on a personal standpoint, that’s that would be my goal for the year.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] So good. What is a piece of advice you’ve gotten from someone that has stuck with you?

[Jill Harms] Oh, I would say and I, I’m not exactly sure who said this, to me, it might have been Pat McGill, always be yourself. And I think, you know, as you’re starting a business or managing a business and employees, I think we are always striving to be the perfectionist and, you know, strong and you know, kind of leadership type. I think what has benefited me the most is, I’m not good at that I’m not good at being somebody else. I’m only good at being me. And that comes with flaws. And that comes with whoever I am. So you know, take it or leave it. And I think that mindset of, you know, I’m not trying to win somebody over, I’m trying to help them be better at what they need and be better at what they’re doing. So I think just being authentically yourself is the best possible advice that I’ve ever been given. And I think and I think that’s, you know, personally and professionally, but I know professionally, sometimes people are afraid to let their guard down and just be their authentic self.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] But you’re looking for you said this earlier, you’re looking for partners, you’re not looking for clients, correct? Yes, right. Yeah,

[Jill Harms] I spent years doing that. And it’s just we all I mean, have we’re spending so much time at our work and doing our work that I want to work with people that make me feel good at the end of a call or that are no are going to support me at the end of the day, I don’t want to work with people that are calling to, you know, berate you, or put you down in any way shape, or form. Nor do I want that for my employees. And I can tell you I have fired two clients since I’ve owned my own business. And it’s hard to make that call and hard to give up that income but when you know you’re not a good fit, when your personalities clash or don’t have the same value set. That’s when you know it’s time. Yep, yep.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] I agree with that. What is the non negotiable you have in your life? non negotiable besides your morning walks,

[Jill Harms] yes, and I need those. For sure, trust. i Yeah, if you lose my trust, you’re never gonna get it back. And I am to a fault. I’m a very trusting person. So I have learned to guard that moving forward when I opened this business and I just had a positive outlook on life, I think and being raised the way I was raised, and wanting to help others and help communities but I did not realize that inherently. Many many people are selfish and are not looking out for your best interest and it’s always about what can you do for me instead of it being a two way street. So that was a hard lesson for me it was very eye opening. I hadn’t experienced that at any of my corporate jobs and yeah, you just kind of when you’re have a small business you learn that lots of people are not necessarily looking out for you. So trust is non negotiable for me and also to you know which clients I work with.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] That’s that’s an important element. Yep, nope, that’s good. That’s really good. And I think that’s a small town. Harder, harder lesson to learn in a small town too. I’m the same way. Well, Gil, so many good words of inspiration, so much. Thank you for sharing and being open and honest with with us here. If people want to learn more about you and blink in, just connect with you, how can they do that?

[Jill Harms] Blink 20 six.com is our website. And I get all the emails from the websites still, I have since day one. And I continue to be the person on the other end. So I’ve reached out to you if you choose to email me, but our phone number is on there as well. So happy to chat with anybody at any time. And yeah, just getting back. I guess the only thing that I didn’t talk about is you know, giving back to your community. But that is so critically important as a small businesses to help other small businesses in your area. Yeah, together, we make each other stronger. So

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] yes, I wholeheartedly agree. Well, thank you so much for being here today.

[Jill Harms] Yeah, thanks for having me.

[Sami Bedell-Mulhern] I hope that Jill inspired you to really go after what you want, and make decisions in your life that are for what you want and what’s going to be best for this stage in your life. Whatever stage in life you are, things change. Our circumstances change the world changes around us and that doesn’t mean we have to keep doing the same thing we’ve been doing. So I really appreciate Jill coming on and being open and honest and sharing her experiences and how she’s made changes and choices in her life. You can check out the show notes at https://easystylewithsami.com/20 or watch the videos on YouTube at @easystylewithsami make sure you subscribe wherever you consume these episodes so you don’t miss out on a single one. And thank you so much for joining me. I’ll see you in the next one.