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Sheila Burkett is the Co-Founder and CEO of Spry Digital. Her company helps small to mid-size businesses design and build things for the web. She also loves to networking, teaching, mentoring, and public speaking.
She talks to Cynthia about getting started in technology back in 1985, and how that led to her becoming a General Partner at Edward Jones at the age of 33. Ultimately, she decided to leave the corporate world and jump into another fast paced industry, auto racing. She helped her husband with Tuxedo Park Racing before ultimately deciding to start Spry Digital with some like minded colleagues. She shares her wisdom on running a good business, her views on networking effectively, and the importance of prioritizing your own health and wellbeing.
1 – Intro 00:24
2 – What Sheila does 01:02
3 – Ownership Group 03:32
4 – Sheila’s career history 04:14
5 – Introduction to Technology 04:52
6 – Was an IT Career accidental? 06:14
7 – Challenges as a female in male dominated tech industry 08:37
8 – Was their feedback to you valuable 11:20
9 – Examples of times you would have changed what you did 12:55
10 – Feeling the need to be “on” 24/7 15:36
11 – How do we talk about the changing roles of men and women 17:14
12 – Psychology around hiring people to do your home tasks 21:08
13 – Letting go of guilt 23:14
14 – Understanding why we do what we do 24:24
15 – Kids or teammates not having same priorities as parents or leaders 26:47
16 – Overlap between personal and professional improvements 29:51
16 – Roles between Edward Jones and Spry Digital 30:55
17 – Sheila’s Consulting Practice 31:56
18 – Starting Spry Digital 32:15
19 – Turning 40 stories 33:16
20 – Details on starting Spry Digital 34:06
21 – How was transition from IT to Sales 36:18
22 – Surround yourself with the best people 38:51
23 – Networking advice 40:47
24 – Importance of genuine curiosity 45:05
25 – System of networking 45:38
26 – Networking events great places to catch up 48:14
27 – Story of male dominated networking group 49:41
28 – Best questions in networking spaces 52:50
29 – Other tips to make the most of networking 53:57
30 – Letting go of self-consciousness at events 56:48
31 – Hormonal changes 57:35
32 – Awards Spry Digital has won 59:13
33 – What is a small to mid size business 1:00:35
34 – More discussion on Spry clients 1:02:27
35 – What are key leadership philosophies of the company 1:03:33
36 – Checking core values regularly 1:05:02
37 – Contact Info 1:07:15
Content Notice
This podcast and all She Lift Project content represents the opinions of Cynthia Kirkpatrick and her guests. The content here is for informational purposes only, and should not be taken as professional advice – financial, legal, medical, or otherwise.
Views and opinions expressed in the podcast and across all She Lift Project media channels are our own and do not represent that of our places of work. While we make every effort to ensure that the information we are sharing is accurate, we welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors.
“Young Shannon became an overachiever because she was a people pleaser. She needed to please others. And so that really developed in my adulthood as well. “
“They say, I’m still working 60, 80 hours a week. I got into this so I could pick my kids up from school and so I could attend their soccer games that are after school and I haven’t been able to attend one. I got into this so that we could go on great family vacations. And I haven’t been on a vacation now in five years. More people are coming to us for those reasons…it’s the lifestyle sacrifices that are causing people more pain than taking home a paycheck that isn’t what they thought it would be.”
It’s not about me selling and, you know, me making money. It’s about you being satisfied and happy with what you want and what you need. And I’ve always had that kind of philosophy, and my dad had that, too. And people recognize you’re not in it for yourself, you’re in it for them. And you’re sincere, and it really goes a long way.
Leadership is not about the leader. And I equate this back to basketball. When you have coach or coaches, they can’t go out on the court and shoot the ball and dribble the ball and pass the ball. But coaches have to be really good at getting work done through others. And so from a leadership perspective, that’s how I see it. As a leader, I have to be really good at getting work done through others.
“Gallup just got done with their survey for 2022. They found 25% better profitability in companies that have great employee cultures. Because when you have happy employees, happy employees make your customers happy. Happy employees want to invite other people to come work at their company. Happy employees want to share their ideas to make the company better. All of a sudden, you’ve created this culture where people want to contribute, and that’s the reason we do what we do.”
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We publish on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.
