Laura Lee Botsacos  0:02  

Hi everyone, I’m Laura Lee Botsacos founder and CO creator of Apollo and Artemis Beauty by Equality. And you are listening to the business serum podcast where I’ll bring you stories of people who have impacted the world through their unique business experiences and how they have utilized their past and excavated their own life story to master the art of the ever changing sales strategy, beginning with themselves, because if you can close yourself on you, you can close yourself on anyone. Pamela, thank you so much for being with us today. You have such an extensive resume. Well, why don’t you first give us a quick little overview of exactly what it is that you do and a little bit of your background.

Pamela Wirth  0:43  

Sure. Thank you so much, Laura Lee, I really appreciate you having me. I’m Pamela Wirth Barnhill, I’ve got a consulting company Strategic Growth advisory as well as a supplement company, hello health. My background is in manufacturing, management, consulting and hospitality in real estate. It’s been a very interesting journey, but a lot of fun things along the way. 

Laura Lee Botsacos  1:03  

That’s one of the things I’m very fascinated with. And that’s part of the reason why I create the business serum is because I think people think that there’s always just one, they don’t realize that there’s all these different pieces on your journey right in the trajectory. So I love that you have this mosaic if you will have a background? So where did you begin your career? Was it in the health industry?

Pamela Wirth  1:25  

No, believe it or not straight out of college I majored in economics and mathematics. And I went to work for Motorola, I was always told, and I think this has changed over the generations, I had always been told go to the biggest company you can, you can always go smaller later. But you can’t go the other way. I’m not really sure that that’s true anymore. But anyway, the biggest company I could get myself into  was Motorola, and particularly in the semiconductor area. So that was kind of my first foray into manufacturing and what it looks like in a claim suit and how to get you know, all these all these cool widgets, if you will, between one place. It was yeah, it was neat. It was a great experience.

Laura Lee Botsacos  2:04  

That’s fascinating. I guess that’s where you began kind of like that analytical brain because that must be very, that’s, that sounds very specific. But let’s go back to what you said. Do you think it’s like that today, where you go to the largest company and see where that kind of leads us?

Pamela Wirth  2:18  

You know, it’s interesting, I don’t, I don’t know. And I haven’t. And I haven’t really seen a lot of people desire to go back into these large companies anymore. I don’t know, I don’t know that that’s really true. And I’m not even sure that there’s a huge demand. I think people are really starting to value their time. They’re starting to really value who they work with. There’s so many options now that you can be a contractor. You know, when I was first getting started too, I didn’t really know that I could have easily gone out and gotten health insurance very easily. I mean, it’s just that things have changed so much that you can be much more flexible.

Laura Lee Botsacos  2:57  

So true. I know something of the same thing when you’re speaking, like the health insurance, that’s a huge thing for lots of lots of people, especially now. Yeah. So I love that. So now, okay, so that now tell me how you then transitioned into what you’re kind of doing that? Because I know right now you support companies, and how do you support them? And how do you understand what they even need?

Pamela Wirth  3:17  

Yeah, so when I left Motorola, I went to go get my MBA back East. And the job I got out of my MBA program was doing management consulting on the East Coast. And so that was a really interesting and cool view to be able to work with different companies at this time. And that was kind of a new in need idea. And then. And then from there, I took a long journey back into hospitality in real estate. And then decided that I really do enjoy working with a variety of people in a variety of companies. What I have found is that it’s really similar. It’s really easy to get pigeonholed, and think that one industry or one thing, the only thing but there’s so much that you learn across different companies and different cultures and different ways of doing things and different ways of thinking that is just super to kind of take those things and really creates a really neat team dynamics and ways of doing things.

Laura Lee Botsacos  4:16  

It’s amazing, because there is a through line, regardless of what the industry is, which I think is interesting because kind of culture is culture. Right? So creating a healthy, yeah, creating that healthy culture is what’s incredibly viable, regardless of what industry you’re in.

Pamela Wirth  4:32  

Yeah, I think it’s super important for our leaders to embrace being collaborative. You know, allowing yourself to be open to people’s feedback, whether it’s folks that are equals or above or below. There’s some really interesting perspectives that you can get from a variety of people being as as transparent as you can in terms of the data and in terms of how we motivate People always shocking to me when people are afraid to show the numbers or whatever I mean, at the end of the day, whether you’re running $5 million company to $500 million company, people that are with you still want to know, what are the goals, one of my operating too, and making sure that they’ve got that visibility into how they’re how they’re getting the job done, that they make them feel, makes them feel good, and they want to keep going. You know,

Laura Lee Botsacos  5:30  

I completely agree, I think that when there is a level of full disclosure, and you really embrace everybody, that really is what helps move the ship forward, so to speak, plus the fact not to, you know, not to be not to trivialize it, but informations out there, you can, there’s no reason to try to hide it, it’s completely punitive. Because it’s out there. When I was in the car business 100 years ago, that was one of the things we base the concept of our of our business off of the concept of full disclosure, you know, and at the time, it was pretty aggressive, you know, showing sharing the cost, our cost as the car dealer to the customer, but I think it immediately kind of set up this symbiotic relationship and created a lot of trust. So I love that. Do you help leaders in business create that? 

Pamela Wirth  6:23  

I do. And so it’s just an in so I’ve got kind of a, I don’t know if I would call it a playbook. But it’s in terms of making sure that they’ve got the right culture, which then allows you to get the right people. And then making sure that the right people are able to get the knowledge that they need to get the job done. And then making sure that they’ve got the technology around them to act as quickly and efficiently as possible. So that it’s just a really positive environment. Moving ahead.

Laura Lee Botsacos  6:52  

That’s really good. And you find, obviously, it’s been very, very well received. So that’s, and I’m sure that you must have to shift because I would think that the individual that works in the company, just say that some technology, right perceives things very different than the perhaps creative individual in hospitality, it just seems to me that even though there’s a through line that, you know, you kind of have to be a little bit of a chameleon thing.

Pamela Wirth  7:16  

Yes. And at the end of the day, we’re all striving to make sure that we hit our revenue numbers and that we are as efficient as possible. So we hit our profitability numbers, and that we all enjoy each other while we’re doing it. It’s pretty simple when you boil it down.

Laura Lee Botsacos  7:30  

It is simple, and yet sounds so difficult. It really does. How have you had to adapt with COVID?

Pamela Wirth  7:37  

Yes, I was on the road a lot. And I also spent a lot of time in real estate and hospitality, both of which were hit really hard. So I, you know, started working more in CPG. And doing some different types of products and clients, different verticals.

Laura Lee Botsacos  7:52  

That’s cool. And do you find that? How are you helping your clients though adapt during this? Because it seems to me, you know, obviously, I work for myself, I work from my home office, it seems to me that that’s a huge shift in the cultural dynamic.

Pamela Wirth  8:06  

Yeah, it was, you know, it’s, it’s been very painful for a lot of people, particularly when business leaders had to lay off salaried people. Mm hmm. flipside, if we can see positives and things that allowed people that are contractors to start to dip their toe into projects, or companies that they may or may not have had an opportunity to get their foot in the door to. And then sometimes what I found was actually a positive for smaller companies with getting clients and customers is that many times doing these large trade shows, or large in person events is kind of cost prohibitive. And when you can, it actually levels the playing field and you can compete when it’s just over the phone or just over zoom. So, you know, it took some, it took some radical thinking and some some hustling, but I think those that were willing to make that shift came out. Okay.

Laura Lee Botsacos  9:00  

Yeah, I agree with you. I agree with you. Let’s shift a little bit. So I’d love to talk a little bit about Hello health, if that’s okay. Yeah. Cool. So why don’t you first just tell our listeners a little bit and give a quick little introduction as to exactly what it is.

Pamela Wirth  9:15  

Yes. So at this point, it’s just products tailored to brain gut and immune health, particularly those with autoimmune autism spectrum, and neurodiversity, which is a fancy way of saying ATD ADHD. What I envision and what we’re building is a community. So when I was going through this with one of my kids, it was incredibly difficult to find resources for those that wanted to get to why he was suddenly motor vocal and mood changed. A number of doctors just wanted to say he was now autistic and I had to take care of the rest of his life. But that’s not realistic. I mean, there’s certainly a reason behind it. What I envision is putting together a community of folks that are dedicated to why I think a lot of it starts with proper testing of vitamin levels, any genetic markers, any the presence of any infectious disease, whether it’s bacterial, viral, fungal, and then you know, starting to treat each one of those things, because it really is a puzzle. And then continuing to test in, you know, so much of it is built on blood tests, which is incredibly expensive, painful, inconvenient, and the technology exists for saliva and for urine. And so I’m looking for folks that we can bring in, I don’t necessarily want to go build this, but I do want to collaborate and partner with those that do. And then subsequently provide, you know, this community, these resources of folks that are all committed to helping people feel better from the inside out.

Laura Lee Botsacos  10:44  

How did you learn all of that? Just to know, because I’m listening to you like, this is brilliant. How did you learn all that?

Pamela Wirth  10:54  

Just lots of lots and lots of research, lots of doctors, lots of lots of asking for help

Laura Lee Botsacos  11:00  

Wow, that’s amazing. I mean, cuz it’s a personal story. So that’s another thing that makes me thank you for sharing that. That’s incredible. Yeah, health is a very challenging one. You know, I love the concept of what you said, helping people feel good from the inside out. That’s really important, I believe. So let’s talk a little bit about So what were some of the challenges you faced when you were, you know, first starting out more as an advisor than a consultant for lack of a better term?

Pamela Wirth  11:27  

You know, I think a lot of people look at someone like me as just a cookie cutter, what do you have to offer? What are we going to do? And I like to think of each business as like people. And each one’s different. Each one has their own ways of growing, they look different, they talk differently, I mean, it’s just a very personal journey. Even in each business, it’s a growing breathing thing. And so you got to continue to give it food and water, and watch it grow. But they all grow different, they all look different. So it’s just, it’s, it’s fun that way for me,

Laura Lee Botsacos  12:02  

That’s interesting. So I would imagine that there would be I know, what do you prefer? Or the minutes are really unfair questions, actually, I was gonna say, What do you prefer, like, you know, doing like the startup sector, or more like a public company, when you’re working with, you know, when you’re choosing who to work with?

Pamela Wirth  12:20  

Yeah, I’ve done both. I’ve done startups all the way up to public companies. And I don’t necessarily have a preference for the size I do for the culture and for the people. So I prefer to work with CEOs and their immediate teams, when they’re mission driven, when it’s more than just about the money. When they really care about the people, when they really have a mission and a purpose that they’re executing to. Of course, the money is important, but we can find that the company and the people and everyone around it thrives when there’s a purpose and a deeper meaning behind it. And that the CEOs were really excited and energized. That intern gets the customers and the team members really, really excited too.

Laura Lee Botsacos  13:03  

Do you believe in the philosophy that it starts from the top down? Or do you think it’s a little bit?

Pamela Wirth  13:07  

I do, I mean, I can’t, I’ve had so many challenges where I’ve had folks that got it at the bottom, and I couldn’t change the CEO, so it just wasn’t ever going to happen.

Laura Lee Botsacos  13:18  

That’s really, really hard. And it’s also hard, when well, to get back to that being in business for so many years. Myself. It’s challenging, because, as you said earlier, because the CEO, I believe is so focused on the numbers, you know, and and I don’t think people realize that there’s many cogs in the wheel that ultimately get you to the, to that goal, so I can’t so how do you deal with? Because, you know, there could be like one toxic person that could be very, very challenging for a culture?

Pamela Wirth  13:48  

Yeah, yeah, you’ve really, really got to be dedicated to coaching that individual and really making it clear that this is, what the challenges are, this is where we need to be going. And some of that you can get around with KPIs, you know, you can build up a dashboard, you can make sure that you’re measuring certain things, and being very clear on these are the things that are important in our company and in our culture. And, you know, it can be a combination of engagement, intent to purchase, their purchasing, again, feedback, obviously, revenue and budget, and the ability to execute a profit. I mean, there’s just a number of things that you could put in there. Just make sure that it keeps everyone on the same page. But it also ensures that everyone’s you know, rowing, rowing the boat the same direction.

Laura Lee Botsacos  14:42  

Well, yeah, and holding people responsible. Yep. Frankly, right. holding people responsible so that if something is lacking, you’re able to ascertain it quickly and hopefully we navigate in today’s day and age, how important do you do, would you say customer services?

Pamela Wirth  14:57  

Ah, very, I will say that, as Americans, sometimes we have really, really high expectations, and very little attention span, which can make it difficult. Hence, so it’s, it’s, it’s challenging, but it’s very important.

Laura Lee Botsacos  15:13  

So tell me a little bit more about that when you say it’s challenging 

Pamela Wirth  15:19  

. So I mean, you know, are you doing it through feedback surveys? Through the customer service? Phone number? Are you using the chat service? Are you using, you know, something like Asana or something that allows you to maintain discussion, whether it’s different people, you always know where someone left off, there’s a number of things that can be put in place that protect balls from being dropped. Some of it, you know, you have to really work at and make sure you’ve got in place. And some of it, you know, depending on the company is a lot easier. As much as you can connect the financial systems, the operational systems, the feedback loops, I mean, all of that is helpful when they all integrate with each other.

Laura Lee Botsacos  15:59  

So that’s part of what you do to create this kind of holistic approach to everything.

Pamela Wirth  16:04  

Yeah, I mean, let’s take a look at what the goal is. Let’s take a look at what our current pain points are. Let’s take a look at where we’re winning, where we feel really good. And then let’s just make sure we’ve got the right people, the right ways of doing things and the right technology to support them.

Laura Lee Botsacos  16:17  

Now, Do you ever take on clients just like, individually as a personal brand? 

Pamela Wirth  16:23  

Yes, yeah, I have a couple of sea level women that I’m coaching right now. One is a startup, and one is a publicly traded company. And so it’s just it’s fun, helping them along their journey. And sometimes there’s similarities, and sometimes there’s not, you know, right or wrong, I see a lot of self confidence, a lot of second guessing. You know, personally, I put sticky notes on my bathroom mirror, and this is what I want this month and, you know, comes to fruition 

Laura Lee Botsacos  16:51  

i love that. I’m curious. And I don’t know, once again, if this is a fair question, but do you find sometimes that being in the car, let me rephrase that being in the car business, one of the things I talked about, was that there actually was a lot to learn from men. Men, ask men to ask for the sale. Men ask for the day off, men ask for the clothes. And they have a certain amount of confidence that sometimes I feel as a woman, many of us do not. Would you agree with that statement?

Pamela Wirth  17:22  

Yeah, I mean, I think it’s really important to continue to validate yourself into meditate in the morning, you know, if you do any sort of cardio or stretching, or meditation, or yoga, or whatever it is, make sure that you’ve got yourself set for the day, and that you are feeling strong and that you are asking, you know, people are not mind readers, some people like to go for the juggler, and some people don’t. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to maintain your boundaries and keep on your own. 

Laura Lee Botsacos  17:49  

I appreciate that. And I think it’s interesting too, because I do believe in the whole mind-body connection. I think that a strong body, strong mind, I think it’s really important. I don’t think people really kind of realize how viable that that really, really is. So let’s talk a little bit about how important it is to keep innovation for companies. How do you do companies go ahead? 

Pamela Wirth  18:11  

Innovation is super important. So the hard part is, you know, startups are constantly innovating, folks that have been around for a while, you know, you might start to rest on that 8020 rule and realize I’m getting 80% of my revenue from 20% of the products. And so I think a lot of it comes down to making sure that you’ve got a really good group of folks around you that are pushing you whether that is an association, whether it’s a mastermind group, but if you are getting 80%, where your 20% Well, you know, let’s, let’s, let’s get rid of the others. And then let’s think about why those 20 are working? And how can we innovate around that to just continually wanting to learn and push yourself is tough, but if you can surround yourself with people that want to help you on that journey that really helps.

Laura Lee Botsacos  18:59  

Yeah, it is tough. And I think that there’s a very delicate balance between feeling like you need to be part of the grind, and pushing yourself. Would you agree with that statement?

Pamela Wirth  19:07  

It is I mean, you know, we all get tired, I mean, how often you want to continue pushing, pushing, pushing. But if you can start to balance yourself out and outline I you know, two or three days a month, where you start to think a little bit more creatively, or maybe creating an innovative group within the company where they can start to think about new ideas and post those allowing yourself to take that feedback, though. 

Laura Lee Botsacos  19:30  

Hearing feedback is really hard. Yeah, yes, it can be very challenging.

Pamela Wirth  19:35  

And who wants to give it to the CEO?

Laura Lee Botsacos  19:38  

Well, I was just gonna say that 

Pamela Wirth  19:43  

 Or the board of directors and the mastermind group, there’s very few.

Laura Lee Botsacos  19:46  

It’s hard. It’s very hard. But it’s, but it’s imperative. Like, you know, like we just said earlier, because it’s, it’s really, it’s the heartbeat of the culture. So yeah, I love that. So there was so What are you currently working on? Is there something new that you’re currently working on that we need that you’d like to share?

Pamela Wirth  20:04  

 Oh, that’s a great question. No, I mean, you know, I’m continuing to work with different companies, different sea levels, in terms of my own creative juices with Hello health, that takes a lot of my creative energy, which is fun. We’ve got a couple of new products that are launching, they’re one of the more innovative ones of everyone I know. And their mother is taking collagen. And it’s great. And we definitely want a collagen system, but most of them are taking it through like a smoothie or something that you digest where it gets stuck in your digestive tract. And, you know, again, going back to my purpose, and my vision is to get to the Y on things. And so we’re actually launching a product that helps your body produce more collagen, rather than just sticking it in there. So this is a vegan sea moss product, which has 92 micronutrients that help your body produce more collagen. 

Laura Lee Botsacos  20:53  

 I love that. 

Pamela Wirth  20:54  

Thank you. I’m really excited about that. That’s fascinating. Yeah, thank you.

Laura Lee Botsacos  20:59  

You’re welcome. When is it coming out? Would you say?

Pamela Wirth  21:01  

Two to three weeks, so around the end of October

Laura Lee Botsacos  21:05  

So how are we allowed to talk about it?

Pamela Wirth  21:09  

yeah, it’ll be on Amazon. And then we’re also going to roll it out in Kroger’s marketplace. Yahoo has a new marketplace that we just joined. walmart.com Yeah, it’ll be amazing.

Laura Lee Botsacos  21:23  

What is it called?

Pamela Wirth  21:24  

Samos plus Because it also has bladder rack 

Laura Lee Botsacos  21:29  

 Yeah, that’s, well, that’s amazing. I mean, coming from the, you know, my background is in skincare. So I’m all for it. That’s amazing. I love that. That’s so exciting. How long were you working on that

Pamela Wirth  21:42  

 a while, but I’m getting better. I’m getting better. I mean, it took me years to get here. And so I’m getting faster.

Laura Lee Botsacos  21:50  

Yeah, but sometimes things are a process. I mean, I know for myself, it’s difficult to be patient, but don’t you, but sometimes we kind of have to. 

Pamela Wirth  22:00  

yeah, it’s interesting. I mean, sometimes the universe just kind of pulls you back and pushes you forward when it’s ready. So I don’t know.

Laura Lee Botsacos  22:06  

Well, it seems to me like these products are gonna do great. Yeah,

Pamela Wirth  22:10  

Thank you. I’m super excited. I mean, who doesn’t want healthier joints, healthy aging, and inflammation? It’s great for the immune system.

Laura Lee Botsacos  22:18  

It’s great for the immune system. There’s so many things out there, especially now with what’s happening, you know, obviously, with many people suffering with their immune system, people, I don’t think people really understand that there’s so many natural ways to really Garner good health, you don’t need all that other. I actually say things like that. But, you know,

Pamela Wirth  22:38  

Well, when we first went through this with our son about almost 10 years ago, now, one of the first things she said was that she was born in Asia and educated in that. In California, UCLA, had a really cool background. And the first thing she says is, well, we need to clean up his gut. And I’m like, I mean, that was new news back then. And her idea of cleaning up the gut, which has now been validated. Among 1000s of families, which is pretty super is not only putting the good stuff in, which is your starch, resistant prebiotics, probiotics that are good for the gut brain access, but also taking the bad stuff out. So using Node takes out bacteria, olive leaf extract, takeout viruses, cinnamon takes out fungi, making sure that they work in tandem. So you’re putting good in taking that out, it is super important for the immune system. And then you know now finally, new news, even though it’s been around for a long time is 90% of your neurotransmitters, which are things like your serotonin for your happiness and dopamine, for sleep, and for calm and whatever, all managed in your gut and your small intestines, you can keep your gut healthy, all of a sudden you start to feel better not feel so wishy washy. And it’s fascinating.

Laura Lee Botsacos  23:48  

I’ve always been intrigued by that. There was actually a documentary out called I think it’s called the little brain. Have you ever watched it? All you have to It’s fat, basically, about this? How, you know, there is a secondary brain? It’s in our gut. Yeah, I love it. Because so hence the same when people say listen to your gut, it’s really more than what you know.

Pamela Wirth  24:11  

There is something to that for sure.

Laura Lee Botsacos  24:13  

Yeah, I love that I love. I think it’s fascinating. Well, I can’t. I’m definitely going to keep my eye out for that. Who doesn’t want more collagen? And so where can people find out more information about you and your projects? 

Pamela Wirth  24:27  

My consulting company, Strategic Growth advisory, is strategic growth. llc.com Yeah, supplements are Hello health. And that website is www.hello.health. There’s no .com and  just health.

Laura Lee Botsacos  24:42  

Oh, I love it. Wonderful. Well, it’s been wonderful. speaking with you today. Thank you so much. You’re, you’re pretty astonishing. And I can’t wait to try your product.

Pamela Wirth  24:50  

Oh, Laura Lee, you’re amazing.

Laura Lee Botsacos  24:52  

I appreciate that. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. And thank you so much for listening. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe. and leave a review. If you want to learn more about the business serum or me follow me at Laura Lee Botsacos you can also find me on the worldwide web at www.lauraleebotsacos.com Thank you so much and continue closing yourself on you