Claudette Stiven - TechChix- ceiling breaker - serial entrepreneur - traveler - Social media

introduction: 0:11

You're listening to fascinating women with mercury. And now, Mark Laurie

Mark Laurie: 0:17

through the podcast. And today I've got Claudette and we go back away.

Claudette Stiven: 0:21

So we do I don't even know how far at least 10 years I would think.

Mark Laurie: 0:25

that goes back quite a ways and Claudette's got some amazing things to kind of get into but as you know, today's studying about what she does, but more of who she is. Quite told her that quite clearly.

Claudette Stiven: 0:37

Yeah, that's okay.

Mark Laurie: 0:40

So Claudett, you're like an entrepreneur person. I think I spoke Prosser right. And in this world, where it's still women are, are trying to find their own corporate way. You've branched out boldly doing your own stuff. So What gave you that? Going back to your childhood? Maybe, where you go back? Oh, this is where I got the Moxie to, to just do my own thing.

Claudette Stiven: 1:02

Yeah, I guess. So I think as a kid, my parents are five kids in my family. My parents always said you can do anything you want. So that, you know, from babysitting to newspaper routes to one of my very first jobs was in Heritage Park here in town, like 15, because we live around the corner. But then I think the experience of and having the confidence of a good supportive family of a really great supportive husband for 35 years that helps to write and you can do anything you can me, you got to have the hutzpah to do it. And entrepreneur, I when I started working for myself, I did some work with my brother, we've had a fundraising company, we've done all kinds of things. There wasn't even the word entrepreneur. It really I

Mark Laurie: 1:44

just talked about with it when we

Claudette Stiven: 1:45

Oh, like these 35 years, I think, yeah. Okay. Yeah, in my early 20s, I always worked, potentially, for somebody because one of us always had to have that corporate job, right, right, and pay the mortgage or have a mortgage because that you couldn't get mortgages, entrepreneurs back then. So I kind of always kept that. But yeah, we had a fundraising company. We've had a printer, cartridge, return company, all kinds of things, and then kind of got into I took computer science and in school a long time ago, and then kind of evolved that when social media and all that stuff came into front. But yeah, you have to I was just talking to somebody recently that has become an entrepreneur. And it's a lot more difficult than people

Mark Laurie: 2:29

Tell me about photography. Oh, yeah. Bring up think. a camera. Take some photographs. It's like, I'll be a social influencer. Yeah. Oh, hard can that be? Nothing. Yeah. So family of five. Yeah. Where are you in the slots? Second to the last? The last? what's the, what's the psychological belief happens? The second for the last girl?

Claudette Stiven: 2:47

Yeah, well, there was three. And then there was a spread and my parents had, oops, was me. And then they were like, well, we better have another one to go with that one. Um, middle girls.

Mark Laurie: 2:57

So really, you've hit your kind of two things. Because like usually when they say, Oh, you're the first thing that usually takes an account, there's maybe one or two years between the kids. But when there's a gap, you become both a middle child and a first child.

Claudette Stiven: 3:11

Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. Cuz, and my older brothers and sisters, we lived in Ottawa, and we moved here. And they stayed and my sister and I came. So then there was just the two of us. Yeah, interesting, because a bit of a split there. But all still really, really close. And all alive, which is nice and little older. Yeah. So I think that learning in a bigger family learned to work as a team to it really makes a difference.

Mark Laurie: 3:35

Yeah, there's because unlike a work environment, I'm done. Oh, leave? No, you're both doing dishes together. Because you're 15

Claudette Stiven: 3:43

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, somebody's making the lunches.

Mark Laurie: 3:46

So it's kind of cooking. Yeah, so So your parents go you can do anything. That's what my parents did as well with me. How early did you start doing whatever you believed you could do?

Claudette Stiven: 3:56

Oh, yeah. You know, probably high school. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, high school did a few things and you know, like I said, worked at Heritage Park but then took on when you could extra in the winter and different you know, at Yeah, I wanted that. I wanted that money. I wanted that. That influence and that learning the knowledge to to always learn something new.

Mark Laurie: 4:17

Did you feel like you're breaking glass ceilings back then? Or just something you did?

Unknown: 4:21

No, I just something you did. But now that I look back at it. Oh, yeah. And I mean, just different things corporately. And you know, working with Calgary is very boys club just like it Hey, Calgary is very oil and gas - cowboy. It's very old school and still like trying to get ahold of this guy for weeks. And my husband called him about some never returned my call, but he returned his call. Oh, yeah, I've just like, oh,

Mark Laurie: 4:47

you know, that's a male , Fran my assistant has the same thing right? She'll call these people and she's essentially my mouthpiece. I mean, she's friends a strong She's nothing when people are friends or better. And she'll say, maybe your Magic Touch hadn't really thought because I don't think you just have male, female and stuff. But this time, I think that's probably what it is, is it's like, oh, so two things. One is, well, the assistants is calling me and the woman is calling me. And second is the Boss, the guy. Yeah, that really offends me. Yeah. Like,

Claudette Stiven: 5:13

you're really in this. You're like, really? In this day and age that we're still having that? I know. I know. You do.

Mark Laurie: 5:19

Yeah. I look at some of these conversations people are having and I'm kind of going. That's like a 1980s conversation. Movies have moved on. Why haven't you? Exactly? Yeah, It puzzles me. One thing I have found is a woman that comes from see me there's a kind of a different cloth, like, there, for the most part. Pretty self determined women like maybe having the odd struggle, because we do a lot of empathy and kindness. But I don't I talk to the photographers, I don't see the same range of women. I get more like you, for example. Yeah. Just so everybody knows she's not coming in and done naked photographs. I

Unknown: 5:53

No I haven't yet. been standing in their power. Right? You're trying

Mark Laurie: 5:57

to really try to find the power. They're going for someplace. Yeah. So what was the first success that you had? That was a lesson that you go? I'm hanging out for life?

Claudette Stiven: 6:07

Oh, gee. Yeah, I think oh, gee, that you? That's, that's a tough one. Oh, on for life. I think that you can do it. You don't need anybody to do it. You can do it, that if you you know, you have the knowledge, the learning, you keep and you you're confident in what you do. It's kind of thing that confident that you have to be confident in what you do.

Mark Laurie: 6:35

So is there a job thing that you took and go oh, I learned that anyone can do this. Yeah, like that. The lesson you pulled from something? Yeah,

Claudette Stiven: 6:44

yeah, we were this is social media. This is the funniest thing. I was working for a gal we were traveling across Canada, we sponsored Facebook, right for the breakfast. And I was like, No, this is it's got to be 15 to 18. year when Facebook was only for kids. Right? Okay. We had LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and and the World Wide Web. Okay, the dub dub dub, you had websites that cost 10s of 1000s of dollars. Nobody had except the big companies. But we were I was saying, like, we're sponsoring Facebook, and it was always sold out. And I remember the first time we went the guy, and he just left Facebook, actually, he's with WestJet. But he was demonstrating how mid it made could have a business page was the most. So I'm like, we can take business into social media and was even called social media. Right? I was like, I can do that. Because I knew that I didn't have to take samples. I didn't know, it was just all this before everybody was working from their phones, we didn't work from our phones back then. But to see that and go, you know, to have the, the husband and not to go that is what the future is about. So that was a kind of a flip in what I did, and to have the confidence that you can do anything, which I had, I started working with the guy doing websites, and we just started building social media. Wow, yeah.

Mark Laurie: 8:01

How'd you parents? I mean, it's one thing for parents to say, you can do anything? Yeah, how the reinforce that concepts that became part of you became part of your DNA.

Claudette Stiven: 8:09

Oh, I think that, you know, I mean, it's not like my dad was a hard worker of government where because only we had a lot of money. But I think one thing, you could do anything, but you if you did something like took a sport or took piano lessons, or you want to do something, you had to do it, you had to finish it, you couldn't quit. So I think that's a piece too even though it had been a challenge or whatever. Everything was a lot, you know, meant a lot. You had to work hard for it. And you had to get through it, but you know that yeah, so they did that, you know,

Mark Laurie: 8:37

I the same thing. And mom and dad were quite clear. Okay, so these are five things you can do. Can't do them all, nope. Pick one. And you have to live with it till it's done. Yeah. Okay, whatever that is. So I'm guessing for you use one of the things that came out as you made your choices more carefully. Yeah, if you're gonna back a horse Yeah, you can ride the horse for a while it's not a jump off get on the next one kind of things that

Claudette Stiven: 9:00

Yeah, yeah, I think I think the other thing is the dedication but the what's the word when you stick with something and stick with you know, when you've commit to a product commitment, commit to a project that client or whatever, I really have to find myself going okay, this is not my business. This is their business. I can't wholeheartedly do everything for them. But when I find our generation people love to hire us because we're like in there like we're gonna get it done right. Yeah. And I don't think I'm not sure if the age a little bit younger has that fortitude to say if I'm in it, I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it like it's my own

Mark Laurie: 9:35

right yeah, yeah. Yeah. Holder. Does that kind of one foot in one foot out? Yeah, the trouble do it.

Claudette Stiven: 9:40

Or I'm gonna work here for six minutes and go work somewhere else for the next 10 minutes right you know what six minutes for them? It's like six months or whatever. Yeah, yeah.

Mark Laurie: 9:48

It's not quite as hardcore as it was back in the day. Yeah, yeah. For Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It makes it makes it though. Do you have any any debit phrase that you're hanging your hat on,

Claudette Stiven: 9:57

you know recently because Not only this social media website digital, so we have a little company called Tech chicks. And, you know, I was doing tech, and I love to call girls or women Chase, which is, you know, whatever. So we came up with tech chicks. And it's really stuck for about 10 years. And they've graphic artists and a content writer and myself and somebody else to help with that. But then during COVID, I had more women asking me how they could morph maybe their bricks and mortar business into online. So I was getting a lot of that. So I certified in coaching. So I did that for two years, and certified and took a course and have, it's not just like, I'm going to coach I was like, I have to have a system. So did that. And so recently, it's been being confident and intentional online, and really helping women in particular to be confident and intentional in law online and in their business. So that confidence and intentionalism that's come through, that's good. Yeah.

Mark Laurie: 10:53

So going back a bit further, like, I love quotes. I'm a big fan of the quotes ago. Yes, you can reach the moon and do it. Yeah, that those are the things for them. Do you have any like that? There's some guiding quotes that you kind of keep on going back to how geez, operational? Yeah. signage?

Claudette Stiven: 11:11

Yeah, really? Um, I mean, I do like, Just do it. Like, you have to just do it. I find that like, we talked about your website earlier. How long and it's got to be this is good. Yes, it's got to be that but it doesn't have to be perfect. You just have to do it. And recently, what a big one I've been standing by is you just got to rip the band aid. Yeah. And I yeah, I said that quite a bit lately over the last couple of couple of months. Because, you know, everything. I'm like, No, but we got to put it out there. Whether it's a website, social media, your ebook or whatever, and get an especially website, they're like babies, you got to you got to birth them, then they got to walk and they got to fall, you're gonna have some links that are broken everything. So you know, rip the band aid, just do it. Get it out there.

Mark Laurie: 11:50

The original, there's the original commercial for that for Nike, which was just to a thing, right? takes place in a small room, this great big athletic guy and a bunch of still kind of black and white. Yeah, back then they did that. Yeah. Okay. And he's bouncing back and forth. And then these formulas started popping up, right. And the one that stuck in it, just do it before they just do came up. It was an object at rest state tends to stay in rest and object in motion tends to stay in motion. Just do it. Oh, and that is stuck, like has been has been a driving force for me. Um, sit back and watch it come to me. But you're not moving. So it's not Yeah,

Claudette Stiven: 12:25

the momentum. Right. You gotta keep it moving forward. Right. Yeah.

Mark Laurie: 12:29

So what has been a disaster that you learned from that? That you experienced? And go and one of them again, but what I learned a lot?

Claudette Stiven: 12:35

Yeah, you know? Oh, recently. Yeah, that's one Hi.

Mark Laurie: 12:44

gauge the bit about Trump voters? Because we were both talking earlier about how it's not easy, right. There is so many. So the other phrase comes out. Yeah. So you either win or you learn? Oh, I

Claudette Stiven: 12:55

like that. That's a new one. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I guess, I guess thinking people understand what you're doing. And they don't. And then and you, like literally either, you know, give them a whole thing in writing an email and a timeline, a document with how this project was. And then then two months later, coming back, I still don't understand meeting with the person in person hoping they understand. And then the next thing they kind of saw, and then oh, and I'm not like that. I'm gonna sue you in small claims court. I'm like, okay, but we did all the work. And it's all out there online. And I can copy it all. So I'm like, where? So I think maybe sometimes the understanding of you think people understand what you do, exactly. We're talking about you just even this, you know, portraying somebody that that is smaller or bigger, littler, you know, all the different ways to make them portray that good parts that come out of them. So I think to have people understand what we do, because a lot of what I do is intangible. It's like a timeline, right? It's like, Yeah, wow, yeah, he's in the cloud. Right. So I think moving forward, really having that strong contract. But really, this is what we do. This is what you do. And together, we can make it work. Yeah.

Mark Laurie: 14:08

Do you find people don't read stuff anymore? Yes. Yeah. I used to send stuff out. We capitalize it, and they'd read the first one and stuff wouldn't get done. So we'd send out three emails, each one independent. Why so many emails? What they read one and not the rest of us? Yeah.

Unknown: 14:23

Yeah. Send it January. Yeah. It sits, this is why this is what we all do, right? We all know what that somebody 10 years ago, it'd be like, What are you doing right?

Exit speaker: 14:33

No, yeah, I

Mark Laurie: 14:35

got a photograph of a selfie from the 60s And they're holding up this phone. I think it's this from the water wire stuff.

Claudette Stiven: 14:43

Or they show Wall Street from Wall Street. And he picks up a brick it looks like he's on his cell phone and it literally looks like a brick.

Mark Laurie: 14:49

You're I saw there's a turned out he's a drug dealer, nephew of a drug dealer, which is why I got audited because I was taking turns out anyway, let's different story. He had one of the first cell phones so it arrived. If you can imagine if a battery was this big, like a field phone, right? You walk up and you had ring until he was looking at him and he hit it bounces had to go talk to me. Oh my god, you're such.

Claudette Stiven: 15:10

So funny the way stuff was changed anyway.

Mark Laurie: 15:13

Do you find as you that you sell you're going back and you said that, that the time you didn't think you're going through your breaking glass glass ceilings, I guess. I found that a lot of women that they are the ones who accompany stuff. Don't go at a summer break. So like after the fact Yeah, I went through this kind of feeling.

Claudette Stiven: 15:33

Yeah, I think is especially in tech too. Like, I mean, when I went to Mount Royal and computer science, there was like, maybe five or six girls out of like, 100 Let's just say, and that's the other thing I you know, I went to something they were doing, they were doing women attack and again, I was like, there were still not that many women and a lot of Shelton's and and the guys from Nerd city, right? And I'm just like, Okay, why are all the nerds here? And it not even any nerd? Girls are females. But yeah, I think that. Yeah, getting through going into a career that a lot of people don't go into that are female. female male. Well, that's how we used to describe it. Yeah, so doing it and going, hey, yeah, it's a place for because somebody's got to lead the way. Yeah, yeah. Yeah,

Mark Laurie: 16:24

I broke the ground. Definitely back then. So I was thinking, How do I meet girls in high school? Right. Okay. And I'm thinking well, because I wasn't a big fan of woodworking like those, those kinds of stuff, right. And so too, oh, there's like home EQ and typing. Not good in the kitchen. I think it'd be a tightness, right? And so as the only guy in the tank. So first, I was like, I was helpless. So what the girls come to come to help me. Then I discovered if I learned how to type really well, I could pick which girl I want to help. Hey, here. Is my core base back there. Yeah. So but yeah, it's it's the same to understand the feeling of being in a room and you kind of go in, but even today, like there was an event I was going to it was an inspirational encounter. It was intense. What kind of thing working with intuition. And chatting goes off. They've been a whole bunch of girls. They're kind of go. How's it relevant anyway? Like, you know, I talked to organize stuff, who knows me and she's the stuff that I'm gonna teach you. It's like price gender is not who you are. You'll learn it. Yeah. And so it just doesn't matter. So I'm, I'm in there. So she's saying one guy is her husband's coming in? So yeah, there's, there's a guy coming in. But the only person I could care less if I was gonna be like, I'm gonna whatever call him and I joined the UW. Executive Women's International. Oh, yeah. Good member. Yeah. I'm their token male now. Oh, good. But that's where your market is. I'm a hero there. She just stepped up quite well. So yeah, that works.

Claudette Stiven: 17:53

It's perfect. That's a great idea. Yeah. Sometimes you gotta look out of the box, right? Yeah.

Mark Laurie: 17:56

It kinda kind of kicks into the skill set that you've got, how has it been changing over the years?

Claudette Stiven: 18:03

Social media is like Unbeliev. It really I, you know, and I think you got to pick your battles with social media, like, so many clients would come to me and they're like, you know, I'm on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. And my kid said, No, I have to be on Tik Tok. I'm like, is your kid gonna do it? You gotta go work, what works for you. But I think same with with I have to kind of pick my battles. Because literally, you know, you can be learning 24/7 It just it is so fast. And I mean, when they show the gauge of how quickly we moved with the internet, then how quickly we moved with the with COVID. Because we were all demanding so much more in those two years of the online piece. I mean, we moved with Zoom and those pieces probably in those tears, we moved faster than we would have been 10. Yeah. So yeah, it's literally I kind of have to decide, I've had kind of decided LinkedIn is huge. And it's where my you know, you kind of have to pick your battles, really. But then I go see a client and we kind of put the menu out and we look at what works for them too. But yeah, just just kind of picking the people that I want to follow online that I believe are who I want to do.

Mark Laurie: 19:11

So how do you do it? How do you pick this again, going back to personal things opposed your business structure? Okay, so you want to grow, you want to become a bit of influencer or be how do you pick who you're going to follow?

Claudette Stiven: 19:21

You got to do your research. Listen to them. Look who's following them. Like, what kind of do some poking research on LinkedIn or Instagram or those pieces? And what resonates with you? Yeah, especially nowadays, with with influencers in different pieces? And I mean, again, it isn't the numbers. It's yeah, people like, Oh, somebody's doing a Cola Company license, I said, doesn't matter about that. You're getting your message out and you're getting that value. Again, we need. We need 10s hundreds of clients, we know 1000s of clients, right? So again, you want to find the ones that work with you because if you resonate with them, they're going to be good clients, right? It's the ones that you're like, I took that client out Like, Oh, I did it and you're like, I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have done it. And you're like, I shouldn't have done it.

Mark Laurie: 20:05

So what is what is your resignations? Like when you're when you sit back you write a piece of paper. Okay, here's my, my five core truths that have to be good to what would they be?

Claudette Stiven: 20:14

Oh, I think like the commitment getting through things like saying you're going to do it and getting it through. I've had somebody was telling me to say girl, like loyal. Oh my god. I'm like, okay, loyalty. I did not do like we can always count on you like, oh, okay, that's a good that's more

Mark Laurie: 20:31

that's more dependable than loyal. Yeah, difference there. Yeah. Like, like, loyal is I'll be there no matter what happens to you. Yeah. And what you do? Yeah. Dependable is when you need something done. I will do it. Yeah, that.

Claudette Stiven: 20:44

Yeah. I Yeah. dependable. Yes. But the loyalty for the client, like I will stamp like, my clients and my friends. My family. It's like, we go to battle. Yeah, right. Yeah. Um, I think the learning very much in this field, you're always learning. Yeah, you know, and so many clients. I'm like, You're the roofer. You're the landscaper, you're whatever you do. The dentist was my favorite. I had a dentist one time and he walked in any of the screens up. And he had Google Maps in Google words. And he was going to show me how he did it. And I said, that's great. Dr. Such and such. I know, you could probably learn this. And I said, I could probably take a screwdriver. No, the other thing, tweezers, not tweezers, but whatever, Pliers, pliers, and pull my own tooth out. But I choose not to. I choose you to do that. And you need to choose me to do that. So think standing again, in your confidence that this is what I do. So confidence, integrity. Yeah, the loyalty. Creativity. Yeah. And and, yeah, yeah, the creativity and then the energy. Like I like I like to be with people of energy. And, you know, like,

Mark Laurie: 21:52

yeah, that makes I gravitate to people. similar kinds of things for them. If you're, if you're not loyal, if I can't depend on you. Yeah, we're gonna part ways really quickly, nicely, politely. But yeah, you know, if I can defend you, we don't have a lot of stuff going for it. I get big ideas. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. That's the difference. Like, because you deal with big ideas, don't you? That's one of your hallmarks. Is that is that you're, you're not shy about a big idea.

Claudette Stiven: 22:15

No, and I'm not shy about looking at what I could do for you. I have a really good way of like, I could sit there and go Mark, when you if I can make the mark. Like I could go okay, like these or I can be a photographer like, like,

Mark Laurie: 22:28

that's unique. Because most people that mean, that's a really deep, that's more than just empathy. Yeah. Like empathy is, Oh, I feel your pain, which I'm doing this, like, I can slip into your skull. Yeah. Like I had. Where did that start emergencies? I

Claudette Stiven: 22:41

don't you know, I think I've, I can't tell you how many jobs like I can't I don't know, I don't stay if I can't, like I've, like, I have no idea. Like right now. I've got a few but like how many people I've worked for I don't so that the ability to work for a lot of people. And like to work or work with people to be around people? Yeah, but I don't know. Like, I was working with a couple of girls that are selling him. And we sat down and I went, Oh, I just sat down and just being present with people, I think being present with people and listening to them. And then you can go, Okay, I understand. And I can do that. Like, if I was you, I would do this, this and this. They're just like, Oh my God, how did you like, because I listened and I put myself in your shoes.

Mark Laurie: 23:22

That's wild. That's a that's a very unique smell. Do you think people so they could cultivate that? Could they get started understanding? Actually, I got that out of years ago. There was nothing there were two other characters

Claudette Stiven: 23:36

in the influence friends, Dale Carnegie

Mark Laurie: 23:39

Carter. Yeah, yeah. So I won that book and something Ah, how for like two years, I thought, well, I should read it right. Yeah. So I'm reading this thing was done in like, 1950s. Yeah, it's still in the money. Like, Well, okay, so that's why people's workable. Yeah, that people haven't changed a whole bunch of others. We're taller. And we got Yeah, less money kind of stuff. But yeah,

Claudette Stiven: 23:57

there's I listened to Darren daily. He's a good one. I was on him. Anyway, Darren daily he wrote for Success Magazine. Yeah. And he just did one on small talk the other day, and it was really good because it was like, be excited when you're talking to people like you're talking to a puppy. I was like, Oh, I like and I get really excited. We hit some really good things and then of course listen compliment and then re echo what they're saying. It was really good on Small Talk was so good through

Mark Laurie: 24:23

was in BNI there's a guy named Richard and he was a speaker Yeah, yeah. The book with the books are like live life like they should like a dog or so. Yeah. And one of the ones he had was that when somebody comes home greet them like you're the dog like a dog this is huge. I take that so because we work at home here right so yeah, Jen leave the house for some reason she runs around because I can always leave my desk come in the door grab whatever she's gotten so how you doing? It's like a Yeah, yeah. Come have a thick Yeah. Yeah. Like you should just be like we've had we've had every senator so when we're greeted the door it's Oh, yeah. exuberance. Yeah,

Claudette Stiven: 24:56

yeah. Or, yeah, or when you're not feeling good or an animal Even a cat. Oh, whenever they know, right, yeah. But yeah, this thing was small talk, but talk to people like they're like, I was like, oh my god, I was like you do that already? I know because you're so I'm like, well, because I like

Mark Laurie: 25:12

when you're telling your clients how to kind of get people engaged. That's something that everyone understands what a puppy does, like, yeah, no, I got that whole. Yeah, that's, that's brilliant. Yeah, like that. That is really

Claudette Stiven: 25:24

Yeah, he has three or four things, but that was one of them. And I'm like, That's a good one. compliment them. Excitement like talk, like compensate them then echo what they said. There was nothing but it was really good.

Mark Laurie: 25:33

My dad was great for that. So my mom, my dad was, he was telling there's a job, get the job done. All discussions around the job, you know? And if you want something, you just go and ask him. I said to him, I'm a social person. You know, so, ask how they're doing. Ask what their days been, like, ask you, how's the partner? Okay, so these five questions so that I can always tell because you've helped me go Hi, Mark. So yeah, hi, Dad. How you doing? Doing good dad and Jaron Danto Janssen very well that jobs. Jobs go, they can see. It's the five things so Mark. Yeah. Now can we talk about was just like, this whole thing first. And then yet, read recently, the guy said, when you do an email out first line should be

Claudette Stiven: 26:21

how's your day? I always kind of go like, it's like, How's Oh, it's warm. It's the sunshine and you got to think about I do those walk and talks. Right? I think you see them and I feel like, you know, sometimes I'm like, I'm the weather woman. I'm like, I'm in Calgary today and it's minus one. And I always say to people, I was in an alley and you have slippery they get and I was in an alley and I said, Okay, I know people from Calgary. You know what alleys are new. These are my friends from London. And Mexico and Australia. I don't know what alleys aren't. Don't know how slippery it is. So depends where I am. who I'm talking to. Yeah,

Mark Laurie: 26:53

you feel good on camera? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'd

Claudette Stiven: 26:55

much rather be on camera and audio than write something. Like I would it's way easier for me but so many people aren't so frightened of the camera. So free,

Mark Laurie: 27:06

you know, that goes way back I when I was researching photography and how to make people Filipina it turns out to be in photograph professionally is people prefer to have that done than a root canal but they would prefer to have be photographed and they've they prefer to speak in front of an audience and be photographed that's where there's so many but all these so that's that's the default for most people. Yeah, and then so my industry now we're gonna get your nude counseling pretty good isn't it?

Claudette Stiven: 27:36

I just said it last week so yeah, but yeah, I've tried to get I tried to get my client via you know what they're all saying about social media and video video video or pictures and to try and get people to do video and I said you know start by just interview in your head like your product like the dentist I had a dentist he was he actually listened to what I said you know all the little tools on the on the thing I'm I started telling me what the tools are. You don't even have to be in it. And he's like see this thing like a hockey stick and and he explained them all it was fantastic. He got more hits on that

Mark Laurie: 28:10

the sheer thing as photographing a friend of mine was in the army for the horses right and so new stock photography stuff I can sell so what is this he goes ah that's a do high five really make a note of that. What the hell's this always has that to do a five doesn't look anything like that. I says what is the do I five so the do a five is we don't know what it is but the army requires us to have it labeled to do a five and when the army knows in the do i Five is something that we don't know what it is but it's important. Okay. This is like the name tensioner letters

Claudette Stiven: 28:47

XYZ two four, right?

Mark Laurie: 28:48

That's it. Yeah.

Claudette Stiven: 28:50

Spruce Goose called originally it was member was named something he had numbers and Howard used it. And if you called it the Spruce Goose, you had to go home without pay that day. He overheard you saying the Spruce Goose.

Mark Laurie: 29:05

You're done. That's interested in North Americans like numbers letters, right? Yeah. So I have a car in Japan called cute bunny. And over here, it's x y 12. Yeah, like I'm driving x y 12. Not by Dr. cute bunny. cute bunny. It's who are your heroes?

Claudette Stiven: 29:30

Oh, yeah, that's, um, Gee. I have to well I like the the. I do like the female astronauts like Roberta Bhandar. Those like me. She really I you know, recently I've done a lot of research and watch a lot of stuff on on. Oh my god. I've lost her name. Gloria Steinem. Okay, yeah. And what they did for the women's movement, so much of what women did in the 70s and 80s for what the women are now Um, yeah. Yeah, I love. The queen was great too. I mean, she was amazing. She

Mark Laurie: 30:06

said for her. She, she took I just really think about her. She said in the very beginning, I will like a country. And so there she has any command. She's gonna die in two days. The pain she wouldn't be in her job was to receive the new prime minister,

Claudette Stiven: 30:22

who lasted 44 days. Yeah, but no,

Mark Laurie: 30:25

nonetheless.

Claudette Stiven: 30:26

Yeah. Like she was like how what was wrong and all sudden she was dead? She Yeah, she

Mark Laurie: 30:32

that is an old breed approach. Yeah. Saying, Oh, yeah,

Claudette Stiven: 30:35

that is a commitment. And my what I do and dependable, reliable. And this is what I do. I don't know if it'll ever be the same there. Yeah, it would be, wouldn't it? Yeah.

Mark Laurie: 30:45

A lot of our leaders are are tough. I mean, you look back on even the ones that don't did, I wouldn't mind my political beliefs that align with him. You still had to admire that they were there and they were there for the country or that what their beliefs and their beliefs that country was was pretty solid. Like, go we'll be fine details. But pretty much they were there. Make Canada Yeah. An amazing country and one stage member.

Claudette Stiven: 31:06

Yeah, we want to have to leave right now a country, it'd be tough. Like me, we give them a hard time. But it's like, until you're in those shoes and leaving and being a politician. And it would be really difficult. Difficult. Yeah. Yeah. Back

Mark Laurie: 31:19

then. They could do great. Or I love orientation, like a person who can turn to phrase. Yeah, yes. Impressed with

Claudette Stiven: 31:26

Yeah, and I have to say my mom.

Mark Laurie: 31:28

Yeah. You know, it comes back to mom. So often I interview that there's something either a mom or a dad, but but mom's figured quite quickly, but because of the business aspects women women are, yeah, I must I have a very warped view of the world. Because most of them who come to me are like yourself, you know, like some of them. They've got their they have a compass, they want to have it, they're done very low. Other ones looking for a 2% edge. So in my world, pretty much everyone I know, is running her business, there's a CEO or owns a business or something. Yeah, you know, it's got a side gig. That's amazing. Yes.

Claudette Stiven: 32:05

Yeah, it's hard. I mean, if you run into people, I just worked with this girl the other day, and I didn't realize that she was domestic, like a situation of domestic abuse left in six, seven years that she's recruited herself, right. And so it was like, wow, like, that is not something I've ever had to but try to support those.

Mark Laurie: 32:23

You see a lot of women at at the beginning stage because they come to us, and a lot of them and then until afterwards, they explained why I was broken. When I saw you. What you did was was amazing. So we see them at there for them. We are their Launchpad. And so we see them take off based on their experience with what we do. I mean, it's yeah, it's amazing feeling. Yeah. Okay, so you didn't know this at the time. But here's usually I get a feeling this RX 5000 people, women. Yeah, you get a sense that okay, well, yes. To others in this situation. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Claudette Stiven: 32:59

It'll kind of kick it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting.

Mark Laurie: 33:03

That's a big dream. Some big thing you want to accomplish the tongue rising,

Claudette Stiven: 33:07

you know, been pretty good at doing a lot of great things. We've traveled ever done everything, I think. Yeah, I really, like I like to be very successful in my coaching. That's what I'm really Yeah. Help that many. I love that. 5000 That's okay. Maybe I'll add that to my, to my list of help. 5000 women? That's a good one. That's

Mark Laurie: 33:31

important. Yeah. Oh, let's start off with my photography accreditations. We have to submit 10 photographs and different people different subject matters for lighting the whole bit. And I've got 40 and everybody else was kind of got one or two or three nights. Okay, when some comes up. So yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna be kicking your butt. Mark. I'm this young kid. Great. How many have I got eight? And we do have Mark. I got 40. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. You gotta have those goals. How big the other big, audacious, hairy goal. Yeah.

Claudette Stiven: 33:54

So the the next I turned 60 next year. So I was like, We got to go to Ireland. So my, my, my father was passed away a few years ago, but he was Irish. And I haven't been Ireland and the first ones that get to take a bit of me have a little bit of a leftover so we're gonna go so I said to rob for my birthday. I said, Let's go to Ireland for my birthday. So that's on the big board for next year.

Mark Laurie: 34:13

Yeah, I had a client. She's in the medical industry quite deeply and she wanted to she want to kiss the Blarney Stone and you get lowered into the patent. Okay, I guess so. So good. Imagine she's she's very conscientious of germs and bad things that she gets the Lord doubt. She's got sob she cleans a spot. Kisses it gets hauled back up again. Okay, there's just so you know. Have you read or expose anything has changed your mind about something?

Claudette Stiven: 34:40

Oh, yeah. What have I read? The monk who stole my Ferrari was a good one. I enjoyed that. Would that change your mind? Well, just that like, I mean, going, you know what you think people have unwanted the grass is always greener on the side. Right. And I mean, it was he was a guy who drove a Ferrari and he then become a monk right. And the other one I listen to is the guy that was a monk also he does headspace really, really cool guy. We meditate to him every day. But that that seeing wherever the people are and that you don't need everything to have everything right,

Mark Laurie: 35:13

so but so before that what you're telling me is that you, you believe what you saw was what they had and then you've changed something to read some go. Oh, I believe this was white. I know. I understand that's black. Yeah. Yeah. Are you inflexible and you can't change?

Claudette Stiven: 35:29

Oh, no. Yeah. That one. I moved your cheese. That's a good yes. Yeah. Okay. When you're talking about change that one, for sure that yes, yes. Because, yeah, I and you know what, we've recently started going to Mexico the last five years. I moved Airbnb at our house last year. And um, I mean, it's my house, my angels, possessions, those are all my you know, to let the rip the band aid and let it go and let somebody stay in there. And I'm 4000 miles away, and people are in my bed and my stop. I had to really let go. There you go.

Mark Laurie: 36:05

That's a huge they have that on. Like, I can't imagine the inner conflict to do that. And

Claudette Stiven: 36:11

well, it's part of I've known Mexico on the beach, and they're cold and sitting in my house in Calgary and paying the bills. Okay, that works. But it did it does. I you because you have to make it on personal leave everything. But yeah, he really had to, I really had to let it go and go, this vehicle allows me to do this. And my house is now being habitat and be taken care

Mark Laurie: 36:30

of right away. So yeah, so yeah.

Claudette Stiven: 36:33

Yeah. Yeah. What it was like, first few months, I was like,

Mark Laurie: 36:37

Who are those people? How do you define success?

Claudette Stiven: 36:43

Oh, I think it has to be. You can see it in people like you can for your person. Yeah. I think to be calm, to be. I think to not have that, that anxiety that the next step, the next thing, the next thing that this is where I'm in, I've got the experience I've got, you know, I've done I've done the deal, like, you know, so now, I put my time and now I want to use my experience. And that's a success for me. I want to share that and I want to help other people be successful with that. So I think the you don't need everything you need your health. Yeah, big. In my mind, you need some sort of port or everything with your family and that they're happy. And that really that my family and everybody's healthy. Especially after COVID Like we're all like, really changed

Mark Laurie: 37:35

changed. A lot of perspectives besides the technology. Yeah, came. It's gonna be it's gonna be interesting to see how your smell historians evaluate the changes that occurred because it was such a massive force.

Claudette Stiven: 37:49

Yeah, we were lucky. We traveled all time. Yeah, we got out in time, then the did shutdown, then we got back in time, or there were some interesting stuff. I gotta tell you, we had a lot it was interesting couple of times, like whoa, what are we doing but do we shall we didn't get affected like a lot of people that were like, we've been locked in and stayed home for two years. And like, we were lucky. So and when you when you go to a semi third, Mexico's not all that great. A lot. You know, what they live for today? Yeah. And I think you know, the, you're not sure what they're living in or where they're living in, but they come out and the kids are white socks perfectly clean. And they're like, we're gonna It's Sunday. And we're family time.

Mark Laurie: 38:28

And today. Yeah, this is the thing for it.

Claudette Stiven: 38:32

So not too much in the future and not too much in the past here.

Mark Laurie: 38:36

Being present. It's a different it's a it's a huge thing. I experienced that in my studio, I'm doing a photo session. There's no communications and filtering. And for four hours I exist strictly for that person for this person and making and so my I've got no distractions there's nothing that whereas if I do a family thing through adding just that my brain that thought has no real estate would would be on the other problem but because I'm for reference and it there's so much it's all inclusive.

Claudette Stiven: 39:05

And what you do is you know, it's really got that by two people are there for that right? Yeah, yeah.

Mark Laurie: 39:12

So as you move through life what defines a challenge for you when you sit back it's okay, I got the skill set. That's interesting. We can overcome that what what stopped and goes oh, that that's a challenge.

Claudette Stiven: 39:24

Yeah, I focus Yeah, just sticking like and I now more focusing on my business and my considered my tech my coaching my but not other people's, like, I will work you know, all of a sudden, it's like, oh my God, I've worked for this guy for the last five hours and I'm like, and he doesn't you know, yeah, and really just really my watching those hours in those times for the client and then putting towards what I need to do from for me to grow to make that step forward and how

Mark Laurie: 39:52

abouts I came across a free because I'm a I learned early in my career, there was nobody who had to come up To teach like Pete was always in person. And so if anybody came out to teach you just learn because it was just a matter what it was, like came this attitude of phenolic tourists coming up I just swallowed it and that was really good until the unit arrived and all sudden there's webinars everywhere like you can turn it so all of a sudden, I'm I'm ingesting all the stuff I'm trying to separate the sticks I feel like my mind is pretty curious. And I'm trying to separate stuff out so I came across this thing is of no value if you learn it and don't do it yet no value if you that, that whole Yeah, the whole kind of process. Yeah, very much.

Claudette Stiven: 40:32

So yeah, I've cut back on a lot of stuff to go on. I did like I took this coaching calls for two years. And I'm like now I need to apply it I paid for it. I'm just gonna good system and now be the teacher right?

Mark Laurie: 40:47

What was the turning point for life? When did you was Do you have a point where you agree I was on the same path are you kind of come in and go oh, I'm because you had a lot of jobs initially until you kind of honed into it. So what point did you become the internet mob? Almost like what point did did you sit back and I was

Claudette Stiven: 41:03

working for a guy who had an agency, not a huge agency, and we were doing quite well. And and some of the staff kept screwing up in school. And then for them, they got paid. I was like full commission and like a screw up and a loss client is you don't get paid like so. So after that happened a few times, I was like, Okay, I'm now I'm gonna go on my own. Because I can't afford because even though you're working for them, if you went to another agency, still you steal your name and your.com. Right. So I think that that was one. I can always work for somebody, I have no problem, letting them take the overhead and do all those pieces. But in that particular piece, I knew that I could have that. That tech piece of tech chicks kind of like and it just started for more

Mark Laurie: 41:50

me than my stuff we fall into. Yeah, we kind of get into it a widget. Originally, I was always thought that's that it was that just got lucky or something came along and kind of got into it. But lately as I've developed more to people's paths, I start discovering that you make choices early in the game. And that reason I just found that with with my photography proceeds and social media like my photography, when we start I love chaos. Because chaos, everything is possible. Yeah. Then we decide this we black and white session on color. Also a whole bunch of stuff disappears. This is not part of the equation, okay? Then we decide it's going to be inside, not outside. Okay, which option so all sudden, it close to the point we're going to start doing stuff, there really is no choices. Because we've eliminated them as we start to pick our choices. Do you find that?

Claudette Stiven: 42:39

Yeah, yeah, same same, like working with a couple of different projects coming up. And one of them is a very cool project for for sweepstakes and fundraising. And just that path of we knew this guy and that guy and my husband knew him and then we just kept moving forward it's just like, oh, yeah, same very similar to what you just said this game here. And there was just like,

Mark Laurie: 42:59

and stuff falls away suddenly this isn't a choice that isn't a choice. Yeah. And you've become so as I move out of chaos into construct Yeah. i I'm curious how to create because it because now contains my creativity tries to get out so it becomes a very creative moment for me. Yeah. But I love the chaos. Yeah, yeah. Chaos. Anything is possible. Yeah, that is a girl that just feels good. And it's just tasty and and then and then all of a sudden you start making choices. And then suddenly what you can do credibly starts to disappear. Yeah. And becomes clear if the clarity and the clarity at that point. Okay, so this is where we're going to define our creativity at this point.

Claudette Stiven: 43:38

Because chaos sometimes two or the unfocused, you're like this and then but that doesn't happen because you put it all over there.

Mark Laurie: 43:46

That's the people I find that really struggled are the ones that never get out of chaos. Don't make any choices. They love sitting there because it means there's a cool thing at the end. Yeah, but we just

Claudette Stiven: 43:59

I'm just doing a little bit of a training on the word of the year. Oh, yeah, yeah. And last year to part of the coaching program, and last year, you do at the end, you do it now and the year with I did focus and I did focus on what I'm doing not like I have clients but I've got it they only get what they're paying for and focus on what I'm doing. And so it was introduced so I even made my login focus on my computer and

Mark Laurie: 44:23

just go back and use called this a training unfocus

Claudette Stiven: 44:28

Yeah, what's a word of the year so word of the year? Yeah. So then I picked focus so you use focus for everything so not to focus on my health. I'm going to focus on my business I'm going to focus on taking that you can use the word focus for your full year. Okay, so now this year I'm going to elevate so I want to elevate what I've done to the next level. So some pricing some premiere clients I want to do Yeah, so however you want to do it so you can kind of kind of walk you through different ideas of what we're you might want and then you use that word for your year.

Mark Laurie: 44:59

Yeah, It's been a really grateful way to spray necks I've, I've come across that often I've worked for the year I've worked for a month where the week and so they put up on the board. And then it's like, so to me, it's like so now what, like you're in front of me all the time. But I see you're going a bit deeper, it becomes

Claudette Stiven: 45:19

part of your value statement part of your mission statement for the year. So I'm a focus. But now I'm going to be elevating my clients to be confident and intentional. So I can use that. I can use it to elevate to the next level of my income I can use it to the next elevate in my physical and my what so you use so elevates my word this year. Oh, sweet. Yeah. So a little bit. It's it's a word for a year, not a week, not a month. You have to do it for the year. And when you when you put that you can really make it work and a lot of things

Mark Laurie: 45:47

they read into it. Yeah. Sweet. Yeah. We're gonna close off with that amazing piece of insight. Oh, good. Good. This is great to all my listeners. Thank you so much for joining us today. We have been with klutz, Devin, Steven, Steven, and you'll be able to end the bio. You'll see some links connections with her. So if you want to connect with her, or more about her, see what tech chicks is all about. I'll be there. Thank you for joining me today.

Claudette Stiven: 46:12

Thanks, Mark and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you.

Exit speaker: 46:17

This has been fascinating women with Mark Laurie. Join us on our website and subscribe at fascinating women does he a fascinating woman has been sponsored by inner spirit photography of Calgary, Alberta and is produced in Calgary by Lee of us and my office media