Matt on the Money: Starting Over Smart

This is such an important thing to be thinking about, especially as the job market continues to change so, so quickly. And Bridget, you hit on this a little earlier about feeling like it's too late to start over, right? What would you tell somebody who is 50 and feels stuck? I would tell them it's never too late to start over. And 50 is the new 40 or 30, depending on how you look at it and feel, right? I think so much of aging is in our minds and what we decide. But no, it's never too late to start over, and I think people love a good comeback story, right? Americans love a good comeback story, and they're rooting for you, and they want to see you be successful. And I think that if you've got a dream and something that you've always wanted to do, you should go do it. And if you don't have a dream and you find yourself having to come up with a dream, then you should go do it. I know that a lot of what you focus on now with the Executive Collective is networking and the power of your tribe, your circle, the people around you. How did that help you in your time of kind of upheaval? You know, when I speak, which I do a lot, one of the things that I talk about is that reputation and relationships are the most important thing and the thing that I think that we should. Fiercely protect above and beyond anything else. It's also the most expensive currency. And, you know, particularly, I think here in Tampa Bay, this is a very big, small town and it has a very, very long memory. And I hear people talk about things that were done, you know, 20, 30 years ago that people haven't recovered from. And so my, you know, anyone hears me say anything that matters, it would be protect your relationship and your reputation. Like nothing else matters because it is a very expensive currency to spend. That is such an insightful thing to kind of bring to our viewers. And what I'm kind of reading between the lines is treat people as you want to be treated, even if a business partnership, even if a relationship does not work out, always leave with grace and maybe leave the door open to come back. A hundred percent, with the exception of the leave the door open to come back part. All right. Noted, noted. I'd like to kind of zero in on how people can maybe identify transferable skills. I think you'll be really valuable there. How did you do that? And what would you say to somebody else? Yeah. So I looked at what was it about my career that I loved and where was I uniquely positioned to potentially make a difference in that area. And so what I loved about my career is that I spent 35 years with access to CEOs, business owners, and founders, and really deep conversations in a lot of cases that were one-on-one and things that would get shared with me one-on-one that That would not get shared. Because in that seat, you carry so much weight and so much responsibility for the people who are on your team, for the families of the people who are on your team, where you can't talk to your employees. They have their own motivations. You can't talk to your leadership team. They have their own motivations. You can't talk to your board of directors if you have one. They have their own motivations, right? And so you sit in that seat and you carry the weight of the decisions and the responsibility. With really no one to talk to, your spouse sometimes is your business partner, but oftentimes doesn't even understand what it's like to sit in that seat. And so having had that access and the relationship with those people for so long, I thought if I just gave them a safe place with peers, with other people that are carrying the same weight and the same responsibility. To have real conversations and to make better decisions and to make more strategic decisions and to pressure test things. And they knew that they were going to have that room once a month where they would have those people and those people would drop their egos at the door and roll their sleeves up and come in and say, you know, maybe this month it's not me that we're working on. It's somebody else. But maybe next month it is me. And so that's really where the idea came from, was thinking about. How do I continue the part of my job or the part of my career, the part of my identity, if you will, that I really, really love and solve a problem for someone else? And that is what has worked for me and has made a difference for the people who are in that circle and who I get to hear from every day. What a difference that's made not only for them personally, but also in their businesses. Finding and remembering the thing in your career, your previous role that you love. Do you have any insight for people who might not have a college degree or maybe not an advanced degree or industry connections? I think a lot of people are quickly beginning to feel like, hey, my skills are no longer relevant here. Yeah. You know, in my day, as they say, a college degree was like everything. You either went to college or your parents disowned you. And to a certain degree, my daughter is considered a millennial. She just turned 31. And so in a certain degree, it was that same way for her back in 2014, 15. Right. But I really think that the world that we live in now has changed so much and that people are not so focused on whether or not you have that college degree. And there are so many jobs and so many opportunities that remain open that, you know, we talk about the gig economy and the opportunity to kind of you decide how your day looks and what day it is that it has to look a certain way for you to pay your mortgage. Thank I just think that a college degree doesn't carry the weight that it used to carry. And the universities are feeling that and they're talking about that. People are just not as focused on whether or not you've got that piece of paper from somewhere that you paid God knows how many thousands of dollars for that sometimes people are still paying for in their 50s and 60s, right? you. Yeah, absolutely. And I think there's something to be said, too, for, you know. I don't want to say fake it till you make it, but I will say online learning, there are so many tools, workshops, ways that we can learn and read and diversify and broaden our skills online now that it's not make it till you make it, but it is learn on the job and find ways that we can branch out before a change happens. Thank Confidence. I wanted to talk about, you know, I think you kind of alluded to this, but during that season of upheaval, during that change, what's going on in your soul? Oh, that's that's a deep question, Matt. A lot is going on in my soul. And, you know, again, age and experience figures into that. you. A lot of questioning myself and the decisions that I had made, questioning what I. Chose to put up with what I apparently chose not to see. And, you know, hindsight is silly and old as that adage is. Hindsight is 20, 20 and looking backwards for a short period of time so that you can identify what are the patterns? What is my part? What are the things that were? I hate to say my fault, but for lack of a better way to put it, my fault, right? Where have I made choices and decisions that I should make differently moving forward? Yeah, I think it's going to be really hard. Sometimes we... Go ahead, I'm sorry. Cannot hear you. Okay, I think my mic might be back. Yeah. No, I was just saying that I think it is valuable, though, to take accountability and take stock of where did I make a decision that could have led me here. Absolutely. And is my people meter broke, right? That was certainly one of the things that I had to ask myself is, you know, I made the decision to put myself in this position. And why did I do that? And what are the implications of that? And how do I make sure I don't do that again? Okay, where should somebody start? Let's say, Bridget, if they haven't looked for a job in many, many years? I have not looked for a job in. 35 years. I still haven't looked for a job, right? I was, I was looking for a dream. I was looking for, I say at this point, I'm unemployable. Once you've kind of worked for yourself, it's very, very difficult to go backwards. But I did just have a daughter go through a search and we learned We learned a lot, and what we learned is that... Not going to be surprising after everything that you and I have been talking about, what we learned was your personal network is really what's going to make a difference in your reputation. The way that companies are hiring these days, which I really hope stops soon, is letting AI peruse the resumes before it ever makes it to human eyeballs. And so my daughter, who's had a very successful, ironically, career in recruiting, Was suddenly looking for a job and what she found as a. Potential employee really opened her eyes as a recruiter to why human eyeballs and human relationships are so important. And so she was reemployed within six days, but it was because of her network and my network and the people in this community who rallied behind her because she got rejection almost immediately when she just applied through an online portal. So we really I really have to do something about. having AI bots do that part of what should be a very human part of the equation. And it's only strengthened her story as a recruiter to say how important that is, right? Yeah, young people, new grads, they are struggling with this. People in mid-career, people in their peak earning years, people looking to make a mid-career change. We are all seeing... What that hiring and job market looks like right now. And it does feel bleak a lot of the time. We're going to take a quick break and we will be back with Bridget Bella, the CEO and founder of the Executive Collector for just a few more minutes before we flip over to 11. Stay with us. With Bridget Bellow, the founder and CEO of the Executive Collective, talking about starting over smart, how to reinvent yourself in a time of upheaval, whether it's a layoff or you've decided you need to make a change for yourself. And Bridget, you have been speaking to crowds, you've been talking to a lot of people, and you're leading a team here. And I'd love to know kind of Through this whole process, through the 11 months that you've been leading this organization, this new collective, what would you say has been kind of the biggest learning experience for you? I think that when we're an employee and we set an alarm every day and we have to get up because we have somebody we have to prove ourselves to, that it kind of becomes robotic, right? Like we don't even necessarily think about it. When you don't have anybody to answer to and you don't have to set that alarm and you don't have to get out of bed, it's a completely different experience. You find out what you're made of. And my husband, I've heard him tell other people like Literally since the day after this happened, she's continued to set an alarm and get out of bed and decide what she's going to do with her day. And so now the people I answer to are my clients, my customers, and I do get out of bed for them. I've learned a lot about myself from the perspective of what matters to me and what drives me. You know, one of the things that you said as we were closing the last segment, I wanted to jump in and, you know. Wait, don't close yet. I think the thing that is most important and the thing that will allow you to be able to introduce yourself without a title is your own personal brand. And I've spent a lot of time. Focused on making sure that my own personal brand never changes and I think that if that's who you are and that's who you always are and that's who you continue to be that will follow you no different than the reputation that we talked about earlier and there's nothing more important than your own personal brand and you know for me mine is that I've always been incredibly focused on helping women. I've always been incredibly focused on if I say I'm going to do something, I do it regardless. And sometimes that means I'm doing it at 2 o'clock in the morning, but by God, I'm doing it, right? And so I just think making sure that you know who you are beyond circumstances, beyond a job, beyond a title, and always being that person. Um, and hopefully that person is a good person. In my case, it is. And I know it is in yours too, Matt. Um, but that personal brand is, it allows you to be and do whatever you want to be and do with 30 seconds left. While we're talking about personal brands, I want to know where we can find you, how we can connect. What are your socials? Tampa Bay Bello is my Instagram and official executive collective. My LinkedIn is, I have almost 20,000, more than 20,000 followers on LinkedIn at this point. Bridget Bello and Facebook. I have not figured out TikTok yet, although I have one viral video and I'm still learning TikTok. But yeah, I'm pretty much easy to find. Bridget Bello, the CEO and founder of the Executive Collector. That is our time. Thank you for being with us. We're back with Not On The Money next Sunday, 10:30, right here. On Fox. Thanks, Bridget.