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Our guest, Ashlee Sang, has a passion for social impact and has chosen to focus her craft on working with sustainable brands who care about the greater good. In this week’s episode we invite you on a journey to think about your values and how you communicate your personal or professional values, vision, and mission for greater impact. This show gets you thinking about what you care about and how you can align that care with your purpose.

About Our Guest: Ashlee Sang

Ashlee Sang is based in Central Illinois, with a background in anthropology and a penchant for travel. She uses the power of words to help purpose-driven founders discover and share their message so they can have as much impact as possible.Before doing brand messaging strategy and consulting, she worked with a variety of nonprofit organizations, including a human rights education NGO in Senegal and a local branch of Habitat for Humanity.

Ashlee is passionate about small, personal changes anyone can make to improve the environment and other people’s lives. She’s a fan of one-liners, happy surprises, and taking walks in the sunshine. Learn more at www.ashleesang.com

Brand Strategy Template: https://mailchi.mp/89f4b97188d3/brand

Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction

02:00 From Anthropology to Brand Messaging

0700 The Power Of Small

12:15 Reciprocal Relationship of Audience and Brand or Podcast or…

16:30 The Importance of Values

21:25 Turning the Tables: What is most surprising about podcasting?

23:10 Inspired by True Crime Podcast: My Favorite Murder

28:30 Entrepreneurship

32:15 Amplifying Your Message

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Transcript

Corinna Bellizzi

Hello, fellow do-gooders and friends. I'm your host Corinna Bellizzi, an activist and cause marketer. Who's passionate about social impact and sustainability. Today. We're going to talk about the power of words. As we meet a super fan of the one-liner and Ray of sunshine herself. Ashley's saying before we dive into this topic and meet our Ashley, I'd like to invite you to visit our website.

Care more. Be better.com. You can sign up for our newsletter to be the first to gain access to new episodes and easily browse past shows on topics that matter most to you. You'll find full transcripts suggestions for actions you can take to make a difference and even make a contribution to support this listener supported.

I met Ashley saying when she reached out, because she simply had to introduce me to Dr. Lydia Camuto Bo CRA, who I feature in episode 13. She knew this podcast would be the perfect place to tell the story of what Lydia was doing to support the higher education of citizens of Atlanta. Ashley is a force in her own, right.

She helps social entrepreneurs and do gooders like Lydia use the power of words to improve their impact and ensure their success. Ashley is based in central Illinois with a background in anthropology and a penchant for travel before launching her brand strategy consultancy. She worked with a variety of nonprofit organizations, including one focused on human rights and Senegal and a local branch of habitat for humanity in the Midwest area.

Ashley, welcome to the show.

Ashlee Sang

Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Corinna Bellizzi

Well, I think it's really interesting that each of us have a background in anthropology. So I'd love to start by just hearing what led you from academic pursuits in anthropology to your life as a brand.

Ashlee Sang

Yeah. So I entered college completely undecided.

I thought maybe I would be a psych major. I loved it in high school. The one class I took and it was very, very clinical at my university and I am not a clinical person. So I sort of took an anthropology class. And instantly fell in love with it. And I loved every single one of my anthropology classes.

I found myself much more engaged in those classes and I knew right off the bat that I didn't want to become an anthropologist. Right. Like I didn't, I didn't want to necessarily be in the field for my entire career and work at a university and do that sort of thing. But I knew that learning about.

How cultures are made, how people interact with their environments, all of these elements that I was learning in anthropology, I knew it would bode well in my career. I just wasn't sure what it would look like. So even in undergrad, the types of internships and jobs that I was attracted to were in that do gritter space.

I worked with a really cool organization in St. Louis called the international Institute of St. Louis. And it was, I was in direct contact with refugees and new citizens who were rebuilding their lives. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is so cool. This is in my backyard. Right. Sort of right around the corner from school.

But I'm exposed to all these different types of people. And I ended up working at my university's law school, alumni and development department, and that was sort of my first taste at fundraising and donor relations and events and all of these things. Sort of carried me through to my, my first job, which was at an NGO in Senegal.

And my anthropology absolutely served me knowing how to interview people, knowing how to keep myself outside of the equation when evaluating a situation or, or someone else's story and just sort of storytelling in general, that was really, really useful. And I still use it. Principals to this day.

Corinna Bellizzi

I think people from the outside of the study of anthropology have a very different idea of what it is and what it actually is. And so I was often asked as I began my academic pursuits, like, well, what are you actually going to do with that? So you're going to do field study and go like off of some tribes and write papers or dissertations.

And I said, well, That's one area of how this sort of thing can be applied, but in reality, it really is a study of how people work together. And what I loved about it was that you actually learned the, the typical reason behind, like how do you come from a place of respect and honor another culture. To make more impact.

And so I absolutely found that that has always come into play in almost every setting I've ever been in. And just kind of taking note of some small just habits that are endemic to a particular culture. When you approach that culture with respect, it changes how you're received. It makes people understand that you're actually.

Out of respect for them as well. So I think that's really critical to success when you're dealing across cultural boundaries and many of us have to learn by stumbling. Whereas those of us who have had the academic training, we kind of get it in a different way. So I appreciate. And,

Ashlee Sang

and culture doesn't have to be along national lines either.

Right? It can be sort of like your upbringing obviously has a different culture than someone who maybe even lives right next door. Or if you have some sort of new hire, they come from a different work culture. Right. So I like culture doesn't have to mean it's the most exciting when it is sort of like international travel sort of thing, but it doesn't have to mean that we all bring our own cultures in everything we do.

So it it's really useful to be able to have, understand our perspective and take the time and space to understand other people's perspectives as

Corinna Bellizzi

well. Right. Ultimately, that means that you're respecting their perspective. You're coming from that place first, which I think is really important instead of coming from judgment, you come from a place of trying, seeking to understand first.

Right? So this is something I often talk about on this show. And something you mentioned in your bio when I was reading it over and chose not to put in my intro, but you talk about the power of. And it's something I cover in depth when I interviewed Masami Saito of buy one, give one on this particular podcast.

I believe that was episode 11. And again, with Stephanie when we talked about sustainable minimalism in episode number 16. So I'd like for you to tell our audience why you're also passionate about the power of small.

Ashlee Sang

Yeah. So I think we all. We all affect change, right? I it's this idea of, if I can even put a smile on one person's face or if I can spend $1 with this business versus some other business that I don't align with in terms of values, that's a change, right?

And if we all, of course sort of on your own, you can only make so much change. But if we all are aiming to make small changes, then. It's, it's just a question of critical mass. If we are all siphoning our consumer dollars to companies that actually care about their impact on people and the planet that.

We will absolutely make changes. That's how any change in history has ever been made. It's sort of this small group of individuals who care enough to rally everyone else behind them. And so I just really believe, I, I definitely know that macro change needs to happen too. Right. Systemic issues and global warming and climate change can not necessarily be changed by.

One individual or even groups of individuals. Right. But it's often the individuals that sort of infiltrate the system or somehow affect change. So. The top down and the bottom up sort of meet in the middle. And that's where the real change

happens.

Corinna Bellizzi

Well, as one anthropologist to another, I think you just paraphrased Margaret Mead.

So what was the quote? Something to the effect of never underestimate the power of a small group of inspired individuals, something to that effect. Right. Very similar

Ashlee Sang

to that.

Corinna Bellizzi

Yeah. So, I mean, it's really kind of at the root of this idea that a small group of inspired people can change the world. They can change how we see things.

They just have to really care about it, have a fire in their belly and get out there. So this kind of connects me directly to the work that you do. To help those inspired individuals get out there and really make impact with what they're doing. In fact, that's one of the ways that you serve even Lydia Cummins over CRA, right?

Like getting her message refined so that she could have more impact. So I'd like for you to talk about that, like what your approach is and how you get there.

Ashlee Sang

Yeah. So I say, I work with purpose driven founders and purpose can mean a lot of different things. I love it when it's, you know, really sort of a textbook social impact.

That's super exciting, but it can also be coaches and one-on-one service providers who are just seeking to serve. Before they're seeking to make profit. And I definitely believe that the two can go hand in hand. So I really look at my, my favorite thing to do is brand messaging strategy because that's the foundation of every single business or even a sort of like influencer or personality.

Just a personal brand. That brand messaging strategy is the base. It's really in my process, I define. What does your brand even stand for? Like someone was going to sum it up? Like how, what would they even say you do? Or what would they say it is that you make in this world? And then we also dive into.

The mission of, of the business, sort of that north star of where's this business going with all the change, you know, products and services will change. Audiences might even change, but where is this business going? Why does it even exist again, besides making profit? I'm

Corinna Bellizzi

not laughing at you. It's just. One of my dear friends, Liza Miller.

She has a podcast that is very focused on motorcycle community, right. And it's become very popular. She has something like 5,000 downloads per episode. I'm lucky to have 500 after an episode has been out for a few months. So, you know, we're in completely different realms so far just starting out on my end, but she said something to me that was really interesting with regard to podcasting.

She said, you won't even really know what you have until you're at the hundredth episode. Because the audience changes what you do essentially. And so it's like there's almost, you can get out there with all the intent in the world, but the moment that you launch a product or a service. The customer or the end user or the audience invariably has an effect on what that is.

And so their influence actually comes into your mission, whether or not you intend for it to happen that way. It's just, it is a two way street. Everything is kind of a communication between these two ends, so to speak. So I'm curious if you have also found that with the founders you're working with, like they've come to market with one idea.

And now they're having to kind of rebuild and, and trench where they're heading from here, given the perspective of, you know, having been out in the world for a while.

Ashlee Sang

Oh, definitely. So yeah, audience is a big factor in sort of the strategy. So I actually really love the reciprocal relationship that audience has on a business because the business exists to serve the audience, but the business doesn't exist at all.

If no one's buying right? Like you need the people to get on board. And so in order to grow that audience and sort of. Grow the audience of people who are similar to the people you're already targeting, but also expand it beyond sort of get chance tangential people. You need to adapt to their feedback.

So even something like a podcast, any sort of content creation comes straight from your heart and mind, right? Like it's, it's your thing, but you're creating it for someone and you might get an idea from an idea. Member I'm like, oh, I really know this amazing person you should interview them. And that could change the entire trajectory of your intake of your podcast, for example, or if you have a product and let's say you create I don't know, postpartum skincare, and you think that moms need one thing.

And then slowly but surely, you know, people are buying your things, but you keep getting feedback that, oh, I'm not actually suffering from dry skin postpartum. I am having extreme oily skin or whatever else. Right. You create a whole new product for that set of mamas. And that's how you evolve. And if you say stay so, so steadfast to that original mission and that original audience It might be to your detriment because you do need to be agile.

But that's where your values come in. And I think that's sort of the most common or the most consistent thread throughout your business trajectory is those values that you want to stand for at here to represent, attract people who care about the same things. It's really those values that are. The least changing, but again those values could adapt with maybe new hires that you bring on.

Maybe they bring a new perspective and change your company culture and all of a sudden I mean, we see tons of companies who are embracing diversity and inclusion, right? Some of it is just too. Virtue signal, but some

Corinna Bellizzi

of it's application strategy,

Ashlee Sang

some of it is because they genuinely heard their staff and they want to make these changes, or they genuinely heard their consumers and they know that they won't be in business for long if they don't make strides in that direction.

Right. So that value, maybe it wasn't even on their radar before. It could, all of a sudden become a core element to their brand potentially. Right. So that's, I love that. You go through this process, you build this strategy, but it is dynamic. It evolves with the people you're working with both internally and customers, and it evolves as you, as a founder, learn, learn more about how to do business better, and you learn more about different ways to have impact in different sectors.

It's, that's one of my favorite things about business is just how ever evolving it is. I find it really exciting.

Corinna Bellizzi

Well, one of the things that I learned in graduate school, I just completed my MBA. Was that a lot of the frameworks that we use in market. Guess what you can use them to organize your own core beliefs too.

Right? And so one of the things that you'll hear more and more about and LinkedIn circles and everything else is that you have to, you know, you're preserving and protecting your brand as an individual for your future employment. Like it's becoming more and more important in the professional sphere. So I wonder if you have a framework that you're willing to share with our audience that could also be applied to their personal.

Ashlee Sang

Yeah. So I'm trying to think. I do have a a free download for a brand strategy. Template brand messaging strategies specifically that could potentially be adapted for individuals. But I think just this, this process of thinking about your values and thinking, what do I, as a person want to stand for both in my personal life and in my professional life.

So on your LinkedIn profile, but also in your social circles, in the types of organizations you want to join for your own. Or the personal development really sitting down and asking yourself questions like what types of, of news articles am I most attracted to? Like, if I see that headline, I'm clicking on it.

What types of podcasts do I always follow? I mean, maybe like, if you're a true crime, I don't know, fanatic that's probably not a core value of yours. Right. But like,

Corinna Bellizzi

I don't know, maybe it is. So let's say other like-minded individuals who also want to put an end to crime or something. I don't know.

Ashlee Sang

Maybe, maybe that's it. Right. And so maybe that is one of your core values. But so looking at the types of content you consume, looking at the types of things that sort of get you right. If you see it, it makes you really upset. For example, we went out to lunch for father's day and it was like sit down restaurant, but because of COVID, I hadn't been there and they have switched all their cutlery and I think even their bowls and stuff to disposable and I was so the entire meal, like I couldn't get over the fact that.

Drinking out of plastic cups. And if I had known I would've brought my own water bottle and brought my own fork, but like, I didn't know, because it wasn't a dispute. I didn't order my food to go sort of thing. Right. So that gets me really riled up. So I know that one of my core values is definitely about sort of preserving the environment around us and lessening my, my negative impact in this world.

You can also ask yourself questions like what do you admire. In other people or businesses or figure heads. What sort of things are you attracted to that you would love to emulate or be known for? All of these sort of bigger picture things you can sort of brainstorm and then boil it down from there.

It's the, it's the boiling down the distillation. Process. That's the hardest, to be honest, that's, that's why you bring in someone external to help you sort of dig through all of those elements, but you can certainly do it on your own. And I think it's worthwhile. Then you know, what jobs to apply for what businesses to start, what types of friends that you want to keep in contact with all the things in your

Corinna Bellizzi

life?

Well, Ashley, I think those are all really important points. One of the things that stands out to me. Is that often when I'm working with an entrepreneur and we're working on their brand strategy. The tendency is towards a really long-winded description, which doesn't necessarily motivate or inspire the same way that I might write it.

And part of the reason that I'd be able to distill it down better is I'm less emotionally attached to the what that's behind the how and the why. So it's an interesting process, but usually I think you're right. It's somebody from the outside is better able to distill it in a way that can.

Inspire from a consumer perspective. So, or consumer or business, a business doesn't really have to be in any particular area. Just, you know, brevity is so much more difficult than speaking in long, long distance, long sentence.

Ashlee Sang

Definitely. It definitely is. And it's okay to start long and pair down if you need to.

Yeah. There's, there's no harm in brain dumping and then editing. But it is the more concise, the more memorable, the easier it is to share all the things that, that come with. Nice.

Corinna Bellizzi

Messages. So I have a few rapid fire questions for you meant to just be answered with your first instinct, whatever that is.

Right. So what are you most proud of?

Ashlee Sang

Oh boy. I'm not great at rapid. Okay. Let's see. So I think I'm most proud of. My time abroad actually. I just grew a lot as a person and took some risks and they paid off. So I think I'm most proud at that time.

Corinna Bellizzi

Great. So what are you best at?

Ashlee Sang

I'm best at asking critical questions? Not everyone loves that, but it is important in a lot of settings.

So yeah. Asking those critical points.

Corinna Bellizzi

Can you give me an example, ask me when, ask me a critical question. Let's turn the tables on me.

Ashlee Sang

Let's see. What w what about podcasting is what's the most surprising thing you've had that you've experienced from podcasting?

Corinna Bellizzi

I feel like podcasting is a cure for depression.

Oh, wow. So

Ashlee Sang

no one would have imagined that would be the response.

Corinna Bellizzi

Right. And it's, you know, what was really interesting is over the course of the last year I had become, I think increasingly separated. From the people and the experiences that I value most from concert cancellations to celebrations that simply didn't happen to a lifetime on zoom to my graduate studies going 100% online and not having the networking sessions anymore.

It was like this slow attrition, like a thousand cuts that just kept making my daily life just a little bit worse than it was the day before. So it really came down to, I think, a moment of realization when I was interviewing somebody who was on the other side of the pond in the UK about his not-for-profits the north Wales.

And we started talking about mental health and how, you know, he was using all these British terms for it. Like there were, the latrine is also your Lu the I forget the terms for kitchen, but like basically like the cafeteria is also your kitchen. You know, everything was a hundred percent just your home as opposed to having somewhere else to go and connect with people, you know, no pubs, no, really anything you're just shut down.

And so I had become an avid listener. Of a true crime podcast. I'd become a murder Reno listening to you know, episode after episode of my favorite murder. And it really inspired in me a connection that I had been lacking. I felt like I was closer to someone almost like I'd been having these conversations directly with these two show hosts.

And I got to thinking, well, heck I could start a podcast. Why not, you know, I could start a podcast about the things that matter to me most and about the things that I'd be willing to put my professional brand behind in additional to my personal brand. And that would be social impact and sustainability.

So why not? And so I basically created it and then quickly realized that the extrovert in me was satisfied by this effort in a way that. I had been missing for possibly even a lot longer than the pandemic, because at a certain point you can bore your best friends of all the things you're inspired to talk about from a social impact and sustainability perspective.

Like they might be right in it with you some of the time, but suddenly I have some new cause I want to champion and you know, maybe it's not their jam. And so for me, I feel like it was this added benefit that I never would have expected. And I didn't even really realize that I was depressed until I started podcasting.

Ashlee Sang

Yeah. Well, first of all, that's beautiful and I'm so glad you did find it second. All of that, that you just talked about, even, even to the true crime podcasts, but also just This lack of connection really shows me that probably one of your core values is connection. And so that's, that's what I love about questions and responses and values and how they just pop up.

Yeah, no, keep going. Oh yeah. No connection really, really jumped out at me as you were, as you were speaking. And I think, I think that's Super relevant in the way that it shows up in your brand and in your personal life, you know, you want to be connected. You wanted to have those networking sessions in grad school.

It wasn't just about the academics. It was about the cohort. So yeah, connection is a really, really powerful value.

Corinna Bellizzi

Yeah, there was another surprise. And I want to share this just with my audience in general. I don't love networking. There's something that's so kind of canned about it. That doesn't feel super genuine.

I'm like, oh, I'm Corina. And I do X, Y, and Z. It feels so rehearsed sometimes. Right. But what I found with my podcast is that because I had a purpose behind it, that wasn't about me. It was about something I cared about. Instead of being about me specifically, then suddenly I'm engaged, happy, want to connect with people, want to talk about what I'm doing.

And ultimately I'm out there seeking out people that I might want to interview on the podcast. So that has now led me down the rabbit hole of clubhouse and anybody who's on the platform knows exactly what I mean by that. But I've met some really incredible powerful people in that space, too, that I've also had the opportunity to interview and some of them have become friends all because I started this podcast.

So, and networking is fun now, which was something I didn't really expect either.

Ashlee Sang

I have found. So you said you're an extrovert? I am definitely an introvert and I, so I never liked networking before. Especially when I was representing. Some other company, right. I just felt like, oh, like what do I even have to offer?

I don't know what I'm supposed to be talking about. But I have found that actually one of the most surprising things about being an entrepreneur for me is that I love networking mostly because I get to hear other people's stories mostly because I get to ask them about their journey. And then I get to connect the dots about, oh my gosh.

Everyone I talked to has the exact same struggles. I have no matter what phase of business we're in, we've all been through it. And we will all go through it again in the next cycle of our business growth. And so it's funny how networking can feel so icky, but it can also feel so, so good when you have again, a purpose behind it.

So I definitely resonate with that, but sort of for different reasons. Yeah.

Corinna Bellizzi

So I asked you what you were best at. What do you wish you were better?

Ashlee Sang

Oh boy. So I don't think I've ever been a good people manager. I've always been a leader by example, but I have never been awesome. All right. Group of people, here's the direction we need to go.

And sort of instantly having that charisma that just like, has people follow you blindly sort of thing. Or even not blindly. I just, I, I'm not an awesome people manager. I'm great at project management, but I'm not awesome at people management. So that would be a skill that would be wonderful to have

Corinna Bellizzi

well, Trial and error and a lot of practice.

So, you know, you get the opportunity to lead people. It's not like something you just are magically good at. There are a few people that have that skillset somehow innately, but they're the exception rather than the rule in my experience. Yeah. So I'm curious to know if you have any questions for me at this juncture, given your inquisitive mind.

So I'll offer you the floor for that. And then I have a couple of other.

Ashlee Sang

Sure. So you're an entrepreneur in your own right too. And I would love to know your favorite part of entrepreneurship.

Corinna Bellizzi

I think that when you are in a phase where you're just getting started, it can be really exciting because there is you know, every win feels like a gigantic triumph in the beginning.

Like, oh, we just did this and celebrating can feel really, really great. I think it's. To celebrate small accomplishments as well as the big ones. And I think we forget how to do that as businesses scale. So it's one of the things I I've found to be very valuable in an entrepreneurial space is to just remember to stop, breathe and thank people around you and celebrate your successes, however, small along the way.

It's also just a really creative phase and in business building. Because you know, you can be running a ton of different, like minor little experiments with how you do things and you're able to change and grow rapidly as opposed to being, let's say a juggernaut of a business that's much slower and harder to change direction when you become much larger.

So I like the entrepreneurial spirit the wearing of many things. Because I don't get bored. And the ability to adapt and grow with those around you. I also really, really like bringing people into a business and basically showing them a path forward and saying, look, here's where we want to end up.

But you're, you've got your creativity and experience too. I like your ideas to go ahead and figure out how we're going to get there. And then. Talking through how you're going to do that together. I think that's a really fun, it's inspiring for the people that are involved. And you know, my professional goal in life is always to help people achieve more than they thought was possible.

So it's something that inspires me, especially when I'm working with people who may not have as much career experience or who are, let's say shifting. Their work-life from one career to another, because they tend to be very open to change or to doing things differently and to thinking differently.

So I find both those things really inspiring.

Ashlee Sang

Ah, exciting.

Corinna Bellizzi

Yeah. So I wondered if there was a question I haven't asked you that you wish I had.

Ashlee Sang

Let's see. So. Yeah. Maybe, maybe something very similar along the lines of my entrepreneurial journey or what I love about it or something about that, because again, it is so universal, but it's also so nuanced.

So maybe, maybe something along those lines.

Corinna Bellizzi

Okay. So what is your favorite thing about being an entrepreneur and what is your least favorite?

Ashlee Sang

So the leaf is easy. I don't like pricing. I don't like the packaging and pricing and yeah. I know many, many entrepreneurs, especially service providers who are like the face of their business struggle with sort of sales mindset.

And it definitely gets better with time, but. Still definitely my least favorite part of running a business. That said I would hate for someone else to be like imposing my pricing. I just also don't like that. I have to choose it. So just all of that related to pricing is my least favorite part. But my favorite part I think is the connection, the connection to.

Founders who are doing amazing things. I could never, ever dream up. The connection I have through my small part of their business like in, in me, helping them grow their business, my impact is then amplified through their impact. I love the idea that I'm connected to something bigger than myself, but it doesn't have to be my project.

It doesn't have to be my business. It doesn't have to be my grand idea. I can just play a small role. And then also the connection to other entrepreneurs. Like I said, I just love hearing their stories. I love hearing their journeys. I love connecting them as much as I'm able to podcast hosts and clients and collaborators.

I just, I really, really enjoy that. Again, even though I'm introverted, I it's, those that sort of anthropological pull to find connections wherever possible that I really love about entrepreneurs.

Corinna Bellizzi

That's fantastic. No, I mean, you have me thinking about some of the books I read in undergrad, just through that alone.

So I have a couple of questions just on the fly. So as you're working through wordsmithing, helping companies to identify their values and really build their overall plan, you know, is this something you do on over a long-term stretch or is it generally more project-based and shorter term? Meaning like less than a year.

Ashlee Sang

So. Especially in the beginning, when, when I first launched my business, I was mostly doing really long-term relationships. Like couple of years long. I was just sort of on retainer or as they needed, or I was essentially. A large part of their team. And I did really enjoy that again, because of the relationship building, you get to know their brand voice, you get to know their vision, you get to know the person themselves.

So I, I really enjoyed that, especially in the beginning. And now I like working in quicker. So I have one hour consulting calls where people can come as many times as they want or one single time. And I really enjoy that because we just sort of get in the trenches. We brainstorm, we action plan.

We, we talk for an hour and. Anything and everything that they have on their mind. And then they're able to go take action. They're able to go have that impact that they want to have. I really liked that. I've also recently started a VIP day for brand messaging strategy because this process used to take months and I've found that it could be condensed with the same quality and with the same effectiveness, but so much more It, it packs so much more action and initiative when we boil it down to one day and it's so much easier to fit in, in their schedule, my schedule.

And it makes that impact that much sooner. So yeah, recently I've really been enjoying those short spurts. But I do still hang onto the relationships in that I check in with people or as something crops up, they reach out and say, Hey, you know, we haven't worked together in a few months, but I have this new thing.

Can you help me with it? So a little bit of both. And I do quite like the variety of that.

Corinna Bellizzi

I, I understand that too. It helps you kind of keep engaged, but still kind of keeping your chops sharp, so to speak. Very cool. If there was one message you would want our audience to leave this engagement with today, what would.

Ashlee Sang

I think that we can all make an impact, whether it's through our personal choices as consumers, whether it's through our personal interactions with just the people we come across or whether it's through these businesses that we're building. If, if we're entrepreneurs we absolutely. Can have an impact and we do have an impact.

Every single action we take has a consequence and it's up to us, whether that's going to be positive or negative. So I just encourage everyone to be sort of as conscious as possible. It's definitely harder. Right? You have to, you have to be turned on and, and aware of your, of your actions in order to make that conscious choice.

But it's so much more worth it in the long, in the, in the long run, because it has.

Corinna Bellizzi

Now in our email correspondence, you mentioned a resource that you could provide. Can you tell us a little bit about that? And I'll be sure to include a link to that resource and Shona. Sure

Ashlee Sang

thanks. So I think I mentioned it briefly earlier, but it is a brand messaging strategy template.

And it's totally free. Anyone who has a business is thinking of launching a business, or even if you have a project like at a normal nine to five job, this could be useful. And it just walks through the really basic components of. All right. If you're going to be talking about this thing that you're creating here are the elements that you need to have in place.

And it's a sort of bite sized chunk of what the longer VIP day is like.

Corinna Bellizzi

Well, that's perfect. Ashley. I want to thank you for spending this time with me today.

Ashlee Sang

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I love chatting about anything impact or anthropology or good vibes. So thanks so much. Thank you,

Corinna Bellizzi

you and I feel like we could have stayed on all day.

So now for those of you that have fallen for Ashley, as much as I have you can find out more about her on her website. AshleeSang.com. And you can reach out to her and connect with her even directly on LinkedIn as always. I'll provide links to each of these, as well as the resource that we mentioned in show notes.

Now I'd like to invite you to act. It doesn't have to be huge. It could be as simple as sharing this podcast with those in your community that you think might benefit from it. To find suggestions, you can always visit our action page on caremorebebetter.com. There you'll find causes and companies that we encourage you to support.

And I invite you to all join the conversation we're having and be a part of this community. You can follow us on social spaces @caremorebbetter or just send us an email to help you. Hello@caremorebebetter.com . I want to hear from you. Thank you listeners. Now in all ways for being a part of this pod and this community, because together we really can do so much more.

We can care more and be better.