S1:E1 - Amy McKee is In the Studio with Calamity Jane
Our video series highlights the incredible women of Las Vegas!
The series premiere features Amy McKee of Results Over Reasons and Business is Beautiful.
Watch as she describes what drives her, shares advice for women entrepreneurs, and see how passionate she is about helping other people achieve their dreams.
It was highly entertaining to find out her favorite curse word, her major turnoff, and her absolutely most hated word of all time (it's a good one!)
If you're an amazing woman in Las Vegas (or know one), fill out the form for a chance to be In the Studio with Calamity Jane!
Transcript:
Hi my name is Jodi, also known as Calamity Jane.
Welcome to our first edition of In the Studio with Calamity Jane. Our purpose with this series is to highlight amazing women in Las Vegas.
Joining me today is Amy McKee - and Amy has several different things going on that I'm very excited to share with you.
One thing you are doing on right now is called Results Over Reasons. So let's talk a little bit about that.
Amy: Results Over Reasons is my coaching and training business. I do personal breakthroughs with people and help them to make some big changes in a short amount of time. I like to use the example of, if you're cleaning out your house, you take out all of the trash and the trash never comes back. That's kind of like the negative emotions that get built up over time. You want to get rid of all those, and get rid of all that negative self-talk. That's what I help people do.
Maybe you have a whole lot of extra furniture that had a purpose at one time, but it serves no purpose anymore so maybe you put it on Craigslist and sell it - that's very similar to what I do with people. I help them get rid of limiting beliefs and limiting decisions. Maybe there was a purpose for them at one point, but there is no purpose for them anymore.
I don't know about you but around my house there is always a whole list of things to do. And you wonder “how can I possibly get this all done?!”, and the thing is that you can't do it all. You have to prioritize.
It really comes back to what gives you the biggest bang for your buck. Whether it's in your career, or your relationships, or with your health, it's really what is most important, and your priorities are ultimately align with what you want to achieve.
I also do a lot of communications training with people, specifically with organizations, helping them develop skills were they can communicate much more effectively. Miscommunications cause a huge amount of rework within businesses, it causes issues with employees, causes conflict. Everyone can benefit from communicating effectively. So that's my Results Over Reasons business.
Jodi: So we were talking about Results Over Reasons, and that led into something different for you.
Amy: It did! So about 2 and 1/2 years ago there was a situation that happened within one of the companies that I used to work for. There were 20 directors at one location, and six of them ended up going to the hospital for heart-related problems. They ranged in age from 40 to 60. So you sit there and you wonder, that isn't a coincidence. There's something going on there. That really inspired me to create Business is Beautiful. I wanted to create something that would have a bigger impact than coaching one on one. There are so many tools out there that can help people increase their passion and positive well-being in the workplace. and that is what Business is Beautiful is all about.
How did you come to start in this field?
So my background is in process Improvement. I've done process improvement for Fortune 100 companies for the majority of my career. About 9 years ago I got introduced to what I call “process improvement for the mind”. It actually changed my whole entire life.
I like to tell a story - the longest lasting relationship of my life had been about 8 months. Then I learned how I can reprogram my mind, and it improved my communications. And now I've been with my husband for 9 years and we have two fabulous kids. So it transformed my life.
Relationships in my life improved dramatically, I started to become much more successful in my career and my work. It made such a big impact in my life, that I wanted to start sharing it with other people.
About 2 and 1/2 years ago, I had the opportunity to start working on my own instead of working for corporate America, and I just decided that it was time. I had been wanting to do it for a really long time, I wanted my own business, and and here we are - 2 and 1/2 years later, just continuing to make a difference in people's lives, and it's just awesome.
What do you feel makes you successful?
It really comes down to - What is your passion. For me I live and breathe process improvement. But It can make such a bigger difference using the “process improvement of the mind”.
I've helped people who are on the verge, or have had suicidal tendencies, and it goes away. I've helped people who have had crazy food cravings because of bad things that happened in their childhood, and they no longer have those issues. And I've helped people who are highly successful in very stressful jobs coming in saying, “I don't know how I'm going to handle this stress anymore. I think this job is going to kill me.” And then it transforms for them. Literally within the second session of coaching. So it makes a huge difference. I love it!
I love training people on the communication side. There are so many things that we are not taught in school on how to communicate effectively with other people. It can make a huge difference in your relationships when you start learning these very simple things. A lot of my attendees in my classes have come back and said “oh my gosh, my relationship with my boss has changed overnight! It turns out he is very visual and I was just talking to him. He needed to see the pictures. Now that I understand that, I was drawing him pictures, and now he thinks I'm the best employee ever!” That's what we all want right!
Another lady was telling me how she kept having these run-ins with her colleague. And it was just that he spoke really loud, but she spoke very softly, and they were not communicating. It's just simple things about rapport that people don't know about, and I love sharing them, because it can make such a huge difference.
So that's all about Results Over Reasons - simple tools that make a big impact. It's all stuff that we are not taught.
What piece of advice would you give a new entrepreneur just starting out?
Can I give two? Number one, you have to find your passion. It is what is going to motivate you to get up every single morning, is going to be what motivates you when you get rejected over and over again, because somebody doesn't like what you're doing or has some tips for you on how to change it or whatever. So feeling really passionate about what you are doing is going to be your fuel. So that is key number one.
And number two, and this is something that a lot of entrepreneurs really don't understand when they're just starting out, you have to learn how to promote yourself and sell yourself. You don't have a business if you're not selling. So many people go into their own business thinking “build it and they will come.” And that just doesn't happen. You have to be able to sell yourself and you have to be able to promote yourself. If you need help with that I know someone who can help!
And now, the famous questionnaire that was asked for 26 years by the great
Bernard Pivot and made famous on In The Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word?
Spelunking!
What is your least favorite word?
I don't like the word c***. It's a horrible word.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
It really comes back to when I get the feedback about what a difference I've made in somebody's life. That's when I just get so excited. I'm in the process of rolling out a new program right now, and I'm begging people for emails and basically weeding out the people who don’t want to hear from me from the people who do. And I keep being surprised by some of the emails that come back, and they're like I've been following you on LinkedIn, or I've been following you on Facebook, and you're making a difference and I really want to work with you. I'm considering taking your program. And these are people who have never liked any of my posts! I didn't even know they were paying attention. And then they say something like thanks for inspiring me. And then I'm like thanks! I didn't know you've been stalking me, that's so cool! That sounds really bad - People who stalk me turn me on. <laughing>
What turns you off?
I'm going to be a little controversial here, because apparently, there are some people that don't like the word “mansplaining”. But that was such a huge turnoff to me. A couple weeks ago there was a guy that mansplained to me - this was the first time that ever happened where a guy turns around and starts telling me how to do my business, and how I disappointed him. And I don't even know this guy!
What is your favorite curse word?
My favorite curse word? I don't use it near enough because I know it's very strong in some areas, but I really love the word “bloody”. When somebody goes “oh I just bloody love that” or something, for some reason the British just crack me up. So that's my favorite curse word.
What sound or noise do you love?
The sound of my husband's voice. And I also just love the nice sound of simple rain or just that water sound. That's just nice and peaceful.
What sound or noise do you hate?
Oh! You know what sound or noise I really hate? It is the kind where you’re driving down the street and somebody has their bass on next to you, and it like, it shakes my teeth! I can feel it in the roots of my teeth and it's just, it's horrible! That's when I really wish I had some something on my ears that could block that out, so I couldn't feel it.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I really like the idea of having a tour company. Offering some tours around the world. I've traveled to almost 30 countries, and seen some fabulous sights, and I think creating those types of experiences would be pretty amazing.
What profession would you not like to do?
Work in a Call Center. Having to be there on time. Call after call after call, and the pressure… that just doesn't sound like fun to me.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
I would like him to stay, “you did good”.
Thank you for being with us today, Amy. And thank YOU for watching! Join us for our next edition of In the Studio with Calamity Jane, where we put another amazing woman from Las Vegas in the spotlight. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, so you don't miss an episode, and Like us on Facebook!
