Catalysts of Success: Embracing Quick Decision-making and Curiosity in Business with Anne Brown

go for it because that's the thing about decisions if you make them then you can make another one and change it it's just about making the decision and doing it I would have a very hard time working in an organization for someone else I would at this point in my life that having done such a long time you have the ability to frame your own destiny really and the decisions that you make are your decisions so you live and die by the decisions that you make it's on you you don't have to worry about what other people think about the politics of an organization it's just you and you rely on you and you build a team and I think it's a wonderful way of life thank you [Music] welcome to Super entrepreneurs podcast I'm your host Shahid durani today we have with us Ann Brown the CEO principal of IPC she's an entrepreneur and founding partner in gazelle global Research Services LLC market research Global sample and operations firm Welcome to our show end thank you so much for inviting me Shaheed it's an honor thank you it's my pleasure I know we had some technical issues in the past but finally got connected yes yes fingers crossed that it all works out today it should it should okay it will remain positive right yes so can you elaborate on what you do for businesses yes so gazelle is as you mentioned before it's a global sample and operations business we're located in the United States but we operate globally so we do data collection provide sample we program and host surveys we do data processing we code in about 20 languages and we do translations into about a hundred languages so we serve the market research community so market research firms large market research firms or small entrepreneurs use us to supplement their back office services and this could be around launching a new product growth for their business different different sections of their business yes our the work that we do ranges from as you said product research new product launches where we do work in the healthcare field so we interview doctors patients and caregivers nurses veterinarians we work in business to business situations where we're doing research for telecommunications companies we interview team managers human resource managers for large corporations we interview insurance agents all kinds of people people are quite busy in their own world how do you get them to actually spend time with you to answer these questions virtually or through a system you must have you do incentivize it or how does it work yes so people so when we do work qualitatively meaning that it's a longer interview one-on-one with an individual not online so in person there is a significant incentive to pay them for their time when we do work online then there are promotional incentives that are provided by the sample companies they get points or however the company provides incentives to them for being online catalysts so most businesses that you work with do the preferred the online version or is it based on the type of research that is required based on it's based on the kind of research that's required for instance if you're going to work qualitatively you're usually working with a small sample size but if you want to get a more uh broad look at the audience that you're trying to reach meaning that you want a significant sample of people so that you can evaluate the questions that you're asking then you want a larger sample size and in order to do that you most often go online and is the online more based on artificial intelligence or you haven't got into that yet no it's not based on artificial intelligence it's still an interview with a human online okay so it's not like an online form per se is dynamic yeah I'd answer one question it knows what else to ask it's more human to human and and still our industry is still human based we're not yet into that into that sphere but who knows where we're going in the future that's of course yeah there are possibilities but huge possibilities yeah chat GPT is the talk of the buzz in the industry right now so we'll see in your industry as well yes okay so does that excite you artificial intelligence to start dabbling in it I think it's an extremely interesting topic ah how plays out in our industry I really don't know we've been I've been a company is 30 years old this year so it's a very exciting time for us I think that Chachi PT or programs will have their place but I hope for our industry that we're still always talking to human beings and that we're always evaluating opinions of people that because I think that's really those that's the motivator for Brands they want to hear from but it will be people secret products but the person that will be interviewed will be a human right but the questioning will be artificial intelligent yeah I guess so but again when artificial intelligence is able to create as opposed to just use information that it can gather that will be an interesting time in the world yeah so what are some of the key challenges that you face over the years in gazelle's Journey oh my goodness there have been so many yeah when it comes to the logistics of getting this information yeah everything that's going on in the world affects how we're able to do our job SARS when there was the SARS up again in 2000 when we had the pandemic yeah yeah you guys went through it all many companies in our industry went out of business all of the universal interviewing all of the in-person interviewing was halted companies were some people that I know closed their businesses other people used on became very Adept at using online programs to conduct their qualitative research online research on the other hand did well because people were home and bored and they they were happy to do surveys World situations floods all kinds of things affect our ability to get to do work globally Russia Russia now we used to Russia was a good was a country where we did lots of research it has it has a huge population and they're consumers so we did lots of work in Russia but now with we're unable to pay them because they're the Embargo and all of the all of the means to pay anyone who does work in Russia have been eliminated we don't work there anymore from my understanding and this just a guess is the biggest industry that you work with Healthcare it's a very big one yes I wouldn't say it's the biggest but it is a very big one a lot of firms are completely dedicated to doing work in healthcare and vertical and when it comes to for example an entrepreneur in a small business how would that look for them when they work with you say for example if they're looking to add on a new idea a new product line if you could share these steps that are involved so this with someone like yeah this is this is run in our wheelhouse this is what we do for we help people do everything except the design and the analysis part of research so for a small entrepreneur or a small company they don't really have the Manpower internally to do the operations piece of the business they usually do what is called Outsourcing that part for a company that's smaller or not a single tin an entrepreneur where we step in and take care of all of the back end part of the job all of the logistics of the job so they design a study in conjunction with their end user or their client they come to us with a questionnaire and we deliver to them before tables which then they analyze and do a presentation with the end with the client and it's interesting it could happen it can happen across the world so there can be a peace in the U.S and then there can be pieces that that are done globally so if it's an international brand let's say and they have a question about their packaging or their I don't know how they're messaging they can do a study a global study and they can do have responses from people all over the world and then it can all be put together by people like us and presented to the client by the research company I came across platforms that do this type of research where they sign on members just to give their feedback on products so they get mailed out detergents and stuff like that they can use in their own and you just have to fill out a form and then they get paid through PayPal whatever their system is are you in that realm as well or is more on a higher level they're called ihuts in the home use tests and we do those for clients as well okay yeah so if a client comes to us and they want to do an ihut or an in-home use test we can do that for them as well is it automated though through a site or they have to work with you guys it will be partially automated meaning that so a script will be written with the questions as you're saying and that those questions will be available to the respondent online so they will either pick the product up at a central location or it will be delivered to them then they will go online and they will answer the questions about the use and then perhaps return the product or perhaps keep it depending on how the study is planned so I'm curious how did you get into this industry by chance just almost every a lot of people get into the industry by chance but it's a wonderful industry and there are programs now in colleges the University of Georgia has one and Michigan has one that provide degrees with related to market research but I got into it by chance and you fell in love with it I did I did I especially like the global aspect of what we do you get to learn different cultures different types of people information like that is pretty it's amazing yeah mind expanding yeah it's mind expanding it's wonderful I attend a conference called SMR once a year and a lot of the people that we work with also attend so I get to meet them in person it's a wonderful industry so when you started did you start as an employee or you just went right in and you launched this business yes I was an employee at a couple of different firms and and then someone who was starting up a business asked me if I wanted to join and I said yes that decision happened to say yes were you always inspired by entrepreneurship I was inspired a little bit by entrepreneurship but I also had a young child and I thought that it would be a great way to combine motherhood and working full-time if it would belong if it was mine yeah but I started as a smaller shareholder though in the beginning and then over the course of time I became a larger shareholder and for most of the time at gazelle I had a full a 50 partner but I bought her out a couple of years ago no it's nice congratulations that's great a lot of people in the nine to five world it's a scary move they know a lot of benefits but it's the stuff to hear from other people is that a lot of people feel they don't take that step because of that self-belief what would you say to someone in a job for example that may want to get into entrepreneurship what could you share with them to make their decision easier go for it go for it because that's the thing about decisions if you make them then you can make another one and change it it's just about making the decision and doing it I would I would have a very hard time working in an organization for someone else I would at this point in my life and that having done this for such a long time you you have the ability to to frame your own destiny really and the decisions that you make are your decisions so you live and die by the decisions that you make it's on you yes you don't have you don't have to worry about what other people think about the politics of an organization you're just it's just you and you rely on you and you build a team and I think it's a wonderful way of life yeah and that's a really good point about decisions and the most successful people in the world make quick decisions if they change them at all they change them very slowly but they're quick at making decisions because they know exactly where they're going when a lot of people have trouble making decisions because the faith part the belief in their capabilities is lacking so by you saying that just go for it I know someone in the audience heard that they might be sitting on an idea and you just woke them up so it's wonderful I hope so yeah that's the thing that's the thing about decisions you just have to make them make a decision do some just make a decision it doesn't have to be correct it's just correct for that time and then you work with that and if it's if it was incorrect then you change it that's another decision so you just have to and I can't I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I always make the right decisions or I always pivot at the right time I don't yeah but you go for it yes yes the key that's the key right there and we met a few times already you have this very strong energy about you when it comes to business are you very optimistic very passionate about what you do that's the that's what I get from you is that something that you had to create or is that something that you always had or was it because your business was just taking off so quickly you went with the ride and you just said oh this is beautiful let's go with it it wasn't it doesn't always go well that's the thing every year is not they're not always one success after another they're not yeah it's businesses it has its ups and downs I think the most important thing we work so we spend so many hours working for a living this is what we do with our time we spend so many hours at it so I think the most important thing is that you enjoy what you do so otherwise you're just your days are miserable so it's so important yeah it means everything to enjoy what you do and I think that we can all find enjoyment in parts of what we do and I truly believe that's a really good reason to become an entrepreneur because yeah you have to enjoy what you do and then when you have difficult times you have the wherewithal to get through them yes that's when we work with entrepreneurs business owners or anyone that's trying to go ahead we always instill in them that belief or that falling in love with what you do because when you fall in love with each moment and what you do in that moment the work doesn't remain work anymore it just becomes a part of you you enjoy going for a walk so much that you'll do it anytime in the day the same way if you're creating content meeting customers if you're in love with it it won't feel like work anymore you're just yeah let's go and that makes a huge impact on the numbers yes it means everything if you enjoy what you're doing it it means everything it enables you to to make the hard decisions because you enjoy what you're doing awesome so can you share with us what your innermost superpower that got you to this point in life oh gosh that's a really difficult question about superpower wow I I believe that I'm a sort of a Wanderlust at heart and I think that my Joy um finding new places to visit new people to meet was an integral part in the success of what we do for a living that interest in the world in the global aspect of the business that we have I think I think that really solidified my curiosity and enabled me to really go for it it's so interesting to be to meet people from other places to hear about their way of life yes I have to say I did enjoy it years and years ago more than today because years and years ago we actually had to go to the places that we were interviewing so it's more fun yes it's much more fun to meet people in other countries to work with them to see how they work to visit their workplace to see how they conduct business to understand their culture that really was a driver for me early on in in my in my career but it's also curiosity I think it's curiosity you you just want to learn more want to see more want to do more that kind that I think that's basically curiosity is the superpowers awesome one last thing can you share any kind of recommendation or suggestion to a fellow entrepreneur or business owner they could do to help them grow their business as you have some kind of a strategy or something that comes to mind that you can share that can provide value to a fellow entrepreneur I have a few tips that I would I would like to share sure one of them is hire a good accountant first and foremost get have a good accountant whether if you just have a bookkeeper or you do your own books hire an accounting firm to help them to guide you to offer that kind of support because it's absolutely necessary the other thing I would say is join an association in your industry become a mentor or ask to be mentored by someone who's who's in your your industry I think that's hugely important and I also suggest being a part of a ugly an association or group where you can share thoughts share questions share thoughts we have one in our industry that I'm very involved in called wire women in research and we have a slack Channel and we can just go on the slack Channel and just talk to one another about questions or issues and people are very generous with their time I think that's the other thing too to recognize that if you become a part of an association or a group in in any industry the people who are part of that are very willing to help to offer suggestions to mentorships I think those are the most important things okay good you need that support very good appreciate that and thank you so much for honoring us on the show with your information because I'm hoping he's going to help people that are in business because obviously you're created quite a success for yourself you've been in business for so long is definitely important the work that you're doing now going on podcast sharing that message was for your own business as well but you also helping other people that are in business in any kind of business so that goes a long way so I appreciate your time and thank you so much thank you for having me it's really been a pleasure thank you so much for the conversation I appreciate it and thank you for allowing me to talk to the people who listen to your podcast it's truly an honor thank you so much I appreciate it my pleasure and my pleasure audience thank you once again for joining us Anne's information will be in the show notes you can definitely take a look at our content online what they're doing and if you have an area where you need help you should definitely check in with her she can provide value if it's needed appreciate you guys helping us grow we continue to grow and obviously you couldn't do it without you so appreciate it very much I know I say that every episode but I really mean it that's why I say it so thank you yes [Music]