Scaling Up Success Podcast

Finding Your Niche: Transformative Business Strategies with Frank Sinclair

• Ryan Van Ornum • Episode 1

Share episode

Discover the transformative power of finding your niche in business with Frank Sinclair from Dream Again Business Consulting. Learn how Frank's personal journey of self-discovery and his passion for public speaking have shaped his approach to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs flourish. From his time in the Air Force to founding a thriving consulting business, Frank shares pivotal realizations about life's purpose and the importance of adapting to our ever-changing environments. His insights promise to inspire both budding entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals looking to refocus their strategies and realize their dreams.

Explore the dynamic role of technology in boosting business productivity and the critical importance of cultivating a strong company culture. Frank, along with our insights, offers a fresh perspective on leadership, emphasizing the need to truly inspire and invest in your team for sustained success. We challenge the traditional notion of work-life balance and propose a more holistic work-life integration approach. This episode is packed with valuable perspectives on achieving personal and professional growth, all while staying true to your vision and overcoming any challenges that come your way. Tune in for a truly uplifting conversation that leaves you with the motivation to pursue your dreams relentlessly.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/cynergists

https://www.youtube.com/@CynergistsVA

https://www.facebook.com/cynergistsva

https://www.instagram.com/cynergists/

https://www.tiktok.com/@cynergists?lang=en

Speaker 1:

What is up everyone? I'm Ryan Van Ornum and this is Scaling Up Success podcast. Today I have one of my very good friends, frank Sinclair of Dream Again Business Consulting, and super excited to have him on today. Frank, thanks for jumping on and being a part of our podcast today. Thanks, man.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, ryan, thanks for inviting me. My friend Appreciate you.

Speaker 1:

I appreciate you, so let's just jump into it. Huh, tell me a little bit about Dream Again, man. I know a little bit about it, but let the audience know.

Speaker 2:

Well, dream Again. As the name implies, consulting, which means coaching, speaking, facilitating training, we really hone in on business culture, interpersonal communications and foundational principles of business is what we consult on.

Speaker 1:

Man, that is some high-level stuff that you got working there, and the cool thing that I see from you guys is you're able to help pretty much anybody that's just getting off the ground to multi-million dollar companies. I love that. You're kind of like a chameleon that you know you can. You can help anyone and and you know, change that shape to to fit their needs well, you know what I?

Speaker 2:

I? Yeah, I appreciate you saying that and I know it was meant in the very best possible way it was not trying to be negative at all no, no, yeah, that's not who you are, so I didn't take it that way.

Speaker 2:

But I think when people are told that they can help anyone, typically that means they can help no one. So you have to have a target audience in order to really be effective in business. So my target is more entrepreneurs or business with 100 employees or less. We don't like scaling. You know there's a lot of business with 100 employees or less that are multimillion dollar businesses. Oh absolutely yeah, but we definitely do not want to enter into the fray when it comes to very, very large enterprises?

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. The stat that I got from the Department of Labor I believe it's 28 million small business owners across America labor I believe it's 28 million small business owners across America and small businesses is up to, I believe, 20 employees.

Speaker 2:

Is that correct? Well, I don't know. It depends on what data you look at, ryan. Some even consider 50 employees or more still small business, oh, okay.

Speaker 1:

Okay, but it even still. You know, I know that there was uh, I believe it's 6 million or so have less than five employees. Absolutely that, that's a large chunk of American business. That is and uh, being, and you're right Having that niche, yeah, being, and you're right having that niche. I've seen it so much, and you you said it so eloquently yourself is if you're, if you're trying to help everyone, you're helping no one Right? So now you've been building Dream again for five years now six years, now, right, this is our seventh year.

Speaker 2:

Wow man, it's incredible.

Speaker 1:

Let me, let me just ask you this question real quick. And uh, what would? What do you think the pivotal moment was when you were starting off. Uh, dream again that you knew you were going to succeed with it.

Speaker 2:

I don't know if I had a pivotal moment of thinking that right.

Speaker 2:

I'm like, well, you know I don't in negatively, no one starts business with an item fell right, Sure, but for me I think it was realizing my design, what I was put on earth to do, and I knew that I was entering the fray of my specific design on earth. And when I figured that out, you know there's going to be no quitting that, because this is what I was put here to do, Right, and it's not going to be measured by what I do make, don't make, or how I'm received or not received, et cetera, et cetera. This was my purpose on earth and when I figured that out, there was no turning back man.

Speaker 1:

Man that is. That is so cool and I love hearing that Cause, like what you know with the, the ventures that I've done as well, if you don't believe in it a hundred percent, find something else and and find, find it quickly, because it, when you find that right, those right opportunities, it doesn't even it's not even doesn't even feel like a job, it's, it's just, just, like you said, a calling.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it is a calling, Absolutely.

Speaker 1:

So, so let me follow up on that. So, with what you've built, do you feel like it's evolved over the last seven years now, like when you have this concept at the start? Do you feel like that there's been some evolution along the way to where you are now and refinement over what your business has become?

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, my friend. Stagnation does not create movement. So first of all you have to be a subject matter expert in the field that you say that you are designed to be in. So your personal development, all of those things as an ongoing journey and as environments and culture of our culture and international cultures change, you have to be in tune with that so that you can keep up with what's going on. I don't think Dream Again looks anything like it did when we first designed this work.

Speaker 1:

And I know when you first started it was more geared towards just the consulting side. But if anybody has ever gotten to talk to you, you are so eloquent with your words and you are an amazing orator. I love hearing you speak and it gives me goosebumps every time you talk. Honestly, I found it really interesting to see the public speaking side of Dream Again become more paramount in what you do and I'm very impressed with that and you know that's. That's that one piece of evolution that I see, as you know, from the 30,000 foot view of just being one of your biggest supporters.

Speaker 2:

No, thank you. I appreciate you saying that. You know I won my first speech award, ryan, when I was 21 years old at leadership school in the Air Force. So I knew even in high school that I was designed to present, to inspire people with the words and being able to. So I've been a student of that all my life and now I do 25 to 30 keynotes every year.

Speaker 1:

It's incredible and, like I said, I've heard you speak many, many times and I love every single opportunity I get to just soak in your wisdom from those keynotes and even just at different networking events. It's just great to hear you have your perspective on life, on business, on whatever situation that you're speaking about. How do you, as you've grown, how do you deal with the challenges of scaling your business along the way? Because you know, for some small business owners, business owners it's easy to pivot, but they're consistently pivoting, so that they're just spinning around in circles right?

Speaker 2:

yeah, you're absolutely right. For me, scaling means that the creative side we were all see we we get mixed up in in in business and in life. We think that creatives are only people that draw and sing and do all of those type things, but every human was designed to create. So I am always looking for ways to create the next whatever that we're going to have in business, just like the vodcast now that reaches about 50,000 people a week on the vodcast that we do, and et cetera. What are ways that we can reach humanity with a goal of infusing hope and encouragement into the world. That's our vision, that's our mission. So there's so many things that come up in the midst of that, always people-centric and always trying to keep it before people in a very positive way.

Speaker 1:

Man, that's fantastic. So give as we go along, give a quick shout out for your vodcast.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, lisa Sennett is my partner in the vodcast realm. It's called the Be Encouraged Show with Frank and Lisa On every Monday two hours of organic conversation with incredible human beings locally within the Pikes Peak region right now, anyway, where we had over 424 guests last year. Man, yeah, yeah, talking about who they are, what they do and how that creates encouragement and hope in community.

Speaker 1:

Man, that's fantastic, and I've been a supporter of yours since the get so full disclosure. I support I'm one of the sponsors for that as well, and I love being a part of what you guys do. So is there what's one of the biggest things that you're most proud about with Dream Again, or Be Encouraged, your community, give me something that brings you the most pride.

Speaker 2:

Well, I don't know if the most pride. I'm equally proud of all the work that we do. I really am. Yeah, I'm proud that hopefully we're inspiring people forward, that I get an opportunity to make some kind of impact in someone else's life just like they do in mine. But this recent year we started the Free Hug campaign that I am so stoked about man around the region and just give free hugs to people because we live in such a turbulent, negative time in the world where people are depressed and all kinds of things that are going on. So we are creating space where the medicinal value of hug comes to the fore.

Speaker 1:

Man, I love that. Hey, this kind of I don't want to go on too much of a tangent, but do you feel like, because information is at people's fingertips, with social media, with their phone, with whatever it is, do you really feel like the world is worse now than it was, say, like during the civil rights movements, during, you know, like the 1800s with slavery? Or is it just more accessible that they can take in the negativity?

Speaker 2:

I think it's just more accessible. I think you know, as long as we've had humanity, it's been jacked up.

Speaker 1:

Agreed, agreed.

Speaker 2:

I don't have to look any further than the mirror to realize that humanity is jacked up right. So yeah, it's just different. It is.

Speaker 2:

And that's why, when we try to frame periods in time in history as worse or better, it simply isn't fair because it's too different. It's too different, yeah. So there's so many great things that social media brings to the fore. And because it's in humans' hands, there's so many great things that social media brings to the fore and because it's in humans' hands, there's so many negative things that it brings. I've experienced had my account ripped off, been sued because of people, got money stolen from them and when it wasn't even me, et cetera, et cetera. That's humanity, dude, yeah, yeah, we're never going to stop the negativity of humanity.

Speaker 1:

It's who we are. No, and I totally understand that. I just I just find it that everybody's perspective is different and I just like hearing, like, how people take a look at what humanity is right now yeah, yeah, I'm just choosing to look at the positive side of humanity.

Speaker 2:

I get to me it's exciting, I get to speak to people like Ryan Van Ornam on the daily and stuff and just have great conversations and knowing that your heart is lent towards trying to help other humans and do the very best you can in the space you are. So that's what I see in humanity and that's what I'm going to continue to see, no matter how bad it gets. I love it, man.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and that's what I'm going to continue to see, no matter how bad it gets. I love it, man. Yeah, I love it. Keep doing your thing on that piece. So switching back a little bit to dream again, what strategies or habits have been critical for you to be successful in the everyday grind Consistency- Consistency, Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

I think it's not a buzzword, it's just a fact. If you become consistent, which really establishes the habits that you have day to day. I'm very, very consistent and very disciplined in my execution of Dream Again and what I have to do on the daily to make sure that it stays relevant to people. So you know, getting up at five o'clock every morning, eight encouraging posts that I put out to people every day, and not only to help them. It helps me because it gives my mindset framed in a way that I can go out and be positive with other humans as well.

Speaker 1:

You know I call it my daily rituals. You know whether it's like I have to do stretching, or you know like I take my medication or whatever I have to do get in the shower. Do you know some sort of mindset, you know situation where I'm giving myself affirmations or if I'm posting something of a positivity that before I get out of bed or before I start my day. You know, like that I have those pieces already there, that it's created that consistent structure, and I really agree with that being consistent, I think, for the one thing that I would say for me is like resiliency, yes, gosh, so many people just give up just before it's going to be, uh, turning the corner for them. And you know there's.

Speaker 2:

If I get knocked down nine times, I'm going to get up 10, you know, absolutely, absolutely, man, people just don't realize and they push back against the very thing that creates their movement and whom they become in a very good way. I fail forward, I'm going to fail. I know that right. I don't look that I'm going to fail forward. I'm going to take those failures or those things that you wouldn't consider success and build upon them and things. So I don't fear failure because if you do, then you take no risks and people in business that don't take risks don't scale.

Speaker 1:

Oh, absolutely so. One of the things that I've seen in all businesses over the last I don't know like 10 to 15 years is the role that technology is playing, and you know with what you do, with Dream Again. I mean, you're not a 20-year-old but you still utilize a lot of technology, man, and I'm very impressed with that. So what role has technology utilized? Have you utilized technology in your business?

Speaker 2:

I do. You know we have some people in the background that are incredible with AI and those other new technologies. Our show takes advantage of AI and all of those things. The way that we promote our show, the way that we do Dream Again and those types of things, I'm totally interested. Tell me about it. I know the dangers. I know you know I don't fixate on the dangers. I fixate on where it can leverage. I can leverage it to create the best space that I possibly can in my reaching of humanity.

Speaker 1:

Man, that is super cool because it you know, because automating processes increases your productivity and that's what I've seen. You're not doing the mundane tasks that can be automated. That's super cool. Good job, man, right on. So I can answer this, probably, but I want to hear from you. But how does a company create a strong culture?

Speaker 2:

Well, it has to come from leadership, first of all. Whomever is leading? Because you know, john Maxwell's saying resonates with me so strongly If you think you're a leader and no one's following you, you're simply taking a walk right, yeah leadership means someone's following you.

Speaker 2:

You can't lead if no one's following right. So we need inspirational leadership, not people that are just informing people and telling them what to do, but they're inspiring them forward and helping them engage in something that's going to create the best opportunities for them. You know you need to train people up that they can go somewhere else, but you need to have a culture that they won't want to.

Speaker 1:

Oh, absolutely. And that comes back to value. You know what I'm saying Because, like, the more that people value, whether it's the culture, whether it's the opportunities that are given, you know that could be in salary, that could be in many different forms, but yeah, so, just creating that culture in a different way, you know it's really something that is to the business owners. You know it's the perfect piece to grow into. Like, being a better leader starts with culture.

Speaker 2:

It does Create a personal vision statement for yourself. You should have all your people create their own personal vision statement where they want to go in life and they need to think big about that as well. And we need to check in regularly I suggest every 60 to 90 days and say how's it going with the vision statement? Let's take a few moments and say what can I do to help you as you are walking towards the great vision of your own life, right?

Speaker 1:

That's profound.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's powerful brother. It really really is, and that makes people know that you're invested in them, not just in what they can do for you, but whom they are, as humans, and that you're interested in their forward movement as well man, that's awesome, uh.

Speaker 1:

So, as we, you know, as this podcast gets out to, uh, to other business owners across the country, the region, the country, what advice can you give on hiring that right person that fits your culture?

Speaker 2:

Hire someone for their attitude, not for their aptitude. That's pretty easy. You can teach people stuff right. If they have the right attitude, you can really teach people's stuff. But we too often hire people for what they know, not for who they are. So we need to find out who they are. What's their attitude that they're bringing toward? My son's been in business 18 years, this year twice on Inc 5000's list of fastest growing privately owned businesses in America, and he does an incredible job of hiring people for their attitude and teaching them their skills.

Speaker 1:

Man. That's phenomenal being on those type of lists, and it obviously shows that you had an impact on him, you know, in the way that you were living your life and that kind of goes into my next question a little bit how, as you've grown these businesses across your, your career, uh, how do you, how do you balance a work life balance with that kind of stuff? You have grandkids now. You know how do you, how do you manage that time with your beautiful wife? How do you manage that time with your family, but still being able to grow your business on a day by day, month by month, year by year basis?

Speaker 2:

Well to me. I don't use work life balance. I think that's a fable. I think it's work life integration right If you're in business, my friend. Business is going to. Business is going to dictate a lot of your life life, but it's having those conversations.

Speaker 2:

I'm fortunate all three of my children are entrepreneurs as well, and very successful ones, so they understand, as a dad, their dad, what he's doing and uh, and what it takes to be able to do this. My wife does as well. She's an incredible supporter of that. People have to understand what you're going to do and you need to let them know consistent communication and what it takes to get to where you want to go, and see if they're on board and take their input seriously, particularly your wife. Take her input seriously, particularly your wife. Take her input seriously. And if you need to change a few things along the way to make sure that your personal life is in line with where you want to go in life, do it, because when that gets out of gets out of alignment, man, it'll blow up your entire business.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I agree, and I love having that support system behind you, man. I love what you just said there. That's fantastic stuff right there. So let's shift gears a little bit, though, as I think you spoke about it a little bit that society's changed over the last, you know, couple decades here. What new challenges do you feel like business owners are facing now that they didn't have to face, you know, in the past?

Speaker 2:

well, I think number one is the attention span of humanity today is much smaller, right, and we can throw in social media in the way that we can communicate so quickly and so easily, and stop blaming it. I mean, keep a positive outlook on all these changes that are happening and stop going oh, the millennials, or this, that and the other. Find some way to make negative. You don't have so much mind space every day. Are you going to use it Complaining and whining about what it is? It's not going to change for you. So get on board, leverage what you can, let the rest of it go and do the very best you can there.

Speaker 2:

You know, there's not a whole lot of difference, ryan, in humanity in the thousands of years that we've existed. There really isn't, and there's not a lot of difference in what humans want. We want to be cared for, we want to feel like we matter, we want to feel like we're contributing to something. We want to know that we have a purpose in all of these things, and when we can feel that way and leaders, it's your responsibility to help people feel that way. Is it going to work every time? Of course not. Some people. You need to walk out the door and have no guilt, no shame, because it isn't a fit, but when and where you can, you need to uplift humanity to the very. That's why you exist. And if you don't exist to make a difference in other humans' lives, please get out of business, because you're in our way.

Speaker 1:

Man, I just I just had to rub the forearm because, man, I got goosebumps just from hearing that right now. Man, you just pumped me up with that stuff. I love it, man. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Appreciate that. You're very welcome. So, if you have any advice for somebody that is starting that entrepreneurial journey today we're in the first part of 2025. As we film this what advice would you give to someone that is just starting out? Man, what advice?

Speaker 2:

would you give to someone that is just starting out? Man, find you a Ryan Van Ornam or Frank Sinclair. You know, I mean I'm not saying this to promote my business. I'm just saying we can have coffee if you want to talk to me. If you want to talk to Ryan, talk to people that are doing this stuff. Right, don't listen to all the things and all the books you read and all the podcasts you're listening to, et cetera, et cetera, because you are an individual. There's no one else on earth like you. Principles may remain the same, but execution can be incredibly different. So find people that have done it and be teachable, please be. If you're arrogant and no one can teach you anything, and et cetera, et cetera, well, I'll see you back working for someone else's vision.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, man. That is great stuff right there. Hey, as we wrap this up, man, thank you so much for taking time to jump on this podcast and you were absolutely stellar in what you do this podcast. And you were absolutely stellar in what you do and, as far as business coaches, you're one of the best that I know of in the industry. How can people get a hold of you? How can people reach you, whether it's on socials, whether it's email or phone. Give everybody what you got, man.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, Dream Again. Llccom is my website. You can also go to beencouragednet is our website. If you want to come on our vodcast it's free and be able to promote your business and get an opportunity to get it in front of our audience. Those are our two websites. My phone number is 719-373-7115. Send me a text, because rarely do I answer a phone, but if you text me I promise I'll get right back with you. Let's build together as a community of business people. The world is counting on you and me to make the difference in this community and your community through your business.

Speaker 1:

That was fire, bro. I appreciate you being on this thing. Thank you for being a part of our podcast Scaling Up Success. Frank Sinclair Dream Again. Business Could not ask for more. You are a wonderful guest and I love being able to just spend some time with you, man. Thank you so much. Love you, bro, love you too, man.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

Love you, bro, love you too, man, enjoy your day and take care, not for yet.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Ryan Van Ornum

Host