What if your key to success was to just give yourself permission to do so? Could it really be that simple? Our guest today is Patty Aubery, who helped build one of the greatest book series of all time, Chicken Soup for the Soul.
TODAY’S WIN-WIN:
Businesses don’t grow until their leaders do.
LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:
- This episode is sponsored by Zoho, https://www.zoho.com/franchise/
- You can visit our guest’s website: https://www.pattyaubery.com/
- Connect with our guest on social:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pattyaubery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PattyAuberyOfficial/
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Patty Aubery is a renowned coach, consultant, best-selling author, and professional speaker who has spent decades helping people show up, speak up, and be seen. A former leader behind Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and past President of The Canfield Training Group, Patty helped build one of the most influential personal development brands in the world.
Today, she helps speakers, authors, coaches, and entrepreneurs build impactful brands, grow their businesses, and confidently share their message through speaking, authorship, and thought leadership.
This episode is powered by Big Sky Franchise Team.
Big Sky Franchise Team is consistently recognized as one of the best franchise consulting firms in the world, helping entrepreneurs franchise their businesses through a proven 3-Step franchise process rooted in ethical principles, hands-on guidance, and customized deliverables.
If you are ready to talk about franchising your business you can schedule your free, no-obligation, franchise consultation online at: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/.
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TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] Tom DuFore: The most successful franchises share one thing in common. They’re never satisfied with where the business is today. They’re always thinking about the road ahead. That ambition is the fuel that drives growth, and Zoho’s business software is the engine that gets you there. With the right technology, your franchise won’t just run better; it’ll move faster. Candidates will progress through the development pipeline more quickly. New locations will open on schedule. Decisions will get made based on better data and better insights.
Zoho gives every size and style of franchise the power to move faster without breaking what works. Whether you’re a single location operator building a portfolio, a multi-unit operator scaling across brands, or a regional franchise or growing into a national network, Zoho grows with you every step of the way. Built over 30 years, Zoho’s software ecosystem can be configured to match how your franchise actually works. CRM, operations, marketing, HR analytics, and more, all designed to work together from the start. The more of your business that runs on Zoho, the more connected it gets. Head to zoho.com/franchise to learn more about what Zoho has to offer. That’s zoho.com/franchise. Now back to the show.
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[00:01:14] Tom: Welcome to the Multiply Your Success podcast, where, each week, we help growth-minded entrepreneurs and franchise leaders take the next step in their expansion journey. I’m your host, Tom DuFore, CEO of Big Sky Franchise Team. As we open today, I’m wondering: what if your key to success was just giving yourself permission to do so? Could it really be that simple? Well, our guest today is Patty Aubrey, who helped build one of the greatest nonfiction book series of all time, the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Now, Patty is a renowned coach, consultant, best-selling author, and professional speaker who has spent decades helping people show up, speak up, and be seen. As a former leader behind Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and past president of The Canfield Training Group, Patty helped build some of the most influential personal development brands in the world. Today, she works with speakers, authors, and entrepreneurs to build impactful brands, grow their businesses, and confidently share their message through speaking, authorship, and thought leadership. Through her coaching, consulting, online programs, and retreats, she helps individuals step into greater visibility and influence.
Patty’s mission is simple and powerful: helping people stop playing small and start fully owning their voice, message, and purpose. You’re going to love this interview, so let’s go ahead and jump right into it.
[00:02:38] Patty Aubrey: My name is Patty Aubrey, and my title is founder of Patty Aubrey Consulting at this point, sort of semi-retired. Grandmother is my third title.
[00:02:47] Tom: Wonderful. Well, I’m so glad to have you on the show. Thank you for being here. I’d love for you to talk a little bit about what you’ve become known as: this billion-dollar brand builder. I’d love for you just to talk a little bit about that to get the conversation started.
[00:03:03] Patty: I’ve been in the personal development space for four decades. Started a book series called Chicken Soup for the Soul. Jack Canfield came up with the idea in 1989. We published our first book in 1993 and went on to publish over 300 different titles and all kinds of different venues and genres. We sold it in 2008 to an investment firm and then looked at each other and went, “Now what do we do? How do we reinvent ourselves?” We did that.
It was an iconic book series. Nobody had ever built a brand like that in the nonfiction space. In fact, we got turned down by every single publisher in New York that said, “Nobody’s going to buy this; people don’t like anthologies.” I recently came across a letter from Warner Books, which I don’t even know if they exist anymore, saying, “We’re really sorry, but our editors don’t think this will fly. If the authors want to sit down and talk about how to make it better, we consider having the conversation.”
It started not getting a yes by anybody. What we did was we went with a small company out of Florida, and we had access to an entire printing press. They did books for John Bradshaw, a couple of different people, and they had a magazine. They’re mostly in the recovery space. After years of being turned down, when we found these people and we went with them, what we got was we got access to everything. We were able to build out our brand on our own terms because we had everything in-house from editorial to the art departments to printing and shipping and distribution. I mean, it was like a one-stop shop.
The first lesson we learned is like everybody’s horrible day actually has a silver lining somewhere. It turned out to be a great thing. It was almost like we owned our own publishing company, although we didn’t, thank God, because we did not know what we were doing from the publishing standpoint. We just knew how to write a great book. Because of that, we went on to build this brand out. We started to look at everything from Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul to Chicken Soup for the Golfer’s Soul to Pet Lover’s Soul to Christian Soul to Working Women, you name it, Soul. I mean, we had everything under the sun.
We also looked at how to build that out. We couldn’t do everything ourselves. How do we build that out by aligning ourselves with others? By doing that, and then from there, creating a licensing division, having everything like Chicken Soup for the Soul reading cards to Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul dog food. We were able to build a billion-dollar brand. That’s why people call me the billion-dollar brand builder. That’s a long story short.
[00:05:41] Tom: The Chicken Soup for the Soul series and everything you built, I mean, iconic to me is like an understatement. It’s hard to describe the significance and magnitude of what you created and helped create and were a part of. It’s amazing, and the impact you’ve had on people’s lives. One thing that I found interesting is a transition on a little bit of that, is your mission is to help people stop playing small and start fully owning their own voice, their message, and their purpose. I’d love for you to just talk a little bit about that as the billion-dollar brand builder.
[00:06:18] Patty: Calling me out already. We just got on this podcast.
[00:06:20] Tom: [laughs]
[00:06:21] Patty: Truth is, is that I was really behind the scenes. I was like this Wizard of Oz running the business. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were the two guys out telling the stories from stage. I had a background in business. I was really tech-savvy back in the day. I was able to pull everything together and make it pretty efficient and streamline stuff. I got really comfortable doing that. I co-authored 14 of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Some of them did really, really well. I sold millions of copies. I was a number one New York Times bestselling author by the time I was 32. I was still hiding.
People would call and say, “Hey, can you come and speak to this conference for 20,000 women?” I would say, “Oh, I wish I could, but I’m just so busy running the business that I’m not going to be able to make that.” Basically, they were saying, “Can you speak up and show up and be seen just like these guys are?” If I had had somebody rallying me and coaching me along, they would have been like, “Yes, you’re going to go do that even if it’s uncomfortable.”
I got to hide by using that as my excuse, where I stayed really comfortable because I knew how to run a business. I could do the math, and I could build stuff. The guys taught me how to believe it’s possible, act as if, fake it till you make it. I mean, I knew all the principles. I was comfortable as the wizard behind the curtain. Years down the road, we sold Chicken Soup. Then my mom got really sick, and she was dying, and really on her deathbed, said, “I didn’t raise a daughter to be invisible. You need to show up and stop hiding. You guys built this together. They couldn’t have done it without you. You couldn’t have done it without them. You need to take credit for this. I didn’t raise a daughter to be invisible.”
That was my beginning of giving myself permission to show up. I wrote a book called Permission Granted, because that’s what you do, right? You write about what you’re supposed to learn. Permission Granted: How to Show Up, Speak Up, and Be Seen. I did that with a bunch of other authors and friends of mine and all their stories. Just kind of the Chicken Soup model to do that, and then created workshops and trainings around that. I still do that today, mostly teaching authors and entrepreneurs and speakers how to put together really great presentations or keynotes so they can share their message with the world. I’m just really passionate about that because, as a professional hider, no one’s going to hide on my shift.
[00:08:39] Tom: It’s interesting because your story that you share, I’ve heard many others over my career share. I like being behind the scenes. I like being the person making sure all the gears are working, and everything’s going. They’ve got business partners or others that are the public-facing figure that’s out front. What might you say to that person?
[00:09:02] Patty: I would say, “Are you sure?” The thing is, so was I. I really enjoyed that. At the same time, was I just comfortable enough to stay stuck? Was I looking at my long-term brand at 25 when we started this wild, crazy Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride? Was I thinking about where I will be at 35 and 45 and 55 and 65? What skills should I be learning? I’m sitting in front of two masters that have been speaking around the world for decades that are probably two of the best storytellers on the planet. Should I be learning more from them? If I was, what would that look like in the future?
I would teach people like, “Let’s build out a strategy. Where are we in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years? What would it look like for you? What would have to change? What would have to stay the same? What would you have to build? What would you have to get rid of? What would you have to step into?” I wasn’t really doing that. I think a lot of us, we just get on this wheel, and life is working, and things are great, and making a lot of money. At the end of the day, it’s like stop and slow down for a minute and be, “Am I really–” When I’m staying comfortable enough to stay stuck, is there anybody that is losing out because I’m not stepping up and going back into the uncomfortable zone?
[00:10:14] Tom: That’s a great thought. Who might need your message for them to step up or step out? That’s beautiful.
[00:10:21] Patty: That’s really what it’s all about. If I sat here thinking, oh, it’s all about me, and I just have to look good, well, then just do what you’re doing. I needed to hear this message when I was 35 or 40 or maybe even younger. Who am I to withhold this wisdom and expertise on what not to do and do it in a very inspirational, motivational way because I can.
[00:10:46] Tom: As you’ve worked in building your own brand, what have you found that maybe helped some brands or personalities find success or stand out from others?
[00:10:59] Patty: I think the things that really help stand out from others: one is clarity. Who are you really? Another one is consistency. Are you consistent with your message? Because you can’t be like, “I’ve got one idea today and a different idea tomorrow.” The other is: how authentic are you really? Because in today’s day and age, people want authenticity. It builds trust, and trust builds brands. That’s Stephen Covey 101 of trust.
I do believe that those things are really important. In today’s world, it’s really difficult because you’re getting hit by so much stuff. I didn’t have Instagram and Facebook. I didn’t even have the internet when we started. When I put in the back of a book, “If you have a story, share it at ch*******************@*ol.com.” Every morning, I got, “Your mailbox is full.” It’s like, “Okay, maybe we should create a web page with an opt-in.” It was just before that.
In today’s world, it’s really important to know who you are, what you do, why you do it, so you can share why, because people want to know why you’re passionate about this, why you care, and why they should care. Then how you deliver whatever it is that you do, whether it’s a hamburger at a franchise, or if it’s clothing and a subscription online, or if it’s teaching somebody in person to do something.
[00:12:14] Tom: I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask if you have any tips or secrets that you’ve learned from being in the trenches and being out there and finding success in what you’ve done that maybe you can share with our audience here.
[00:12:29] Patty: I would say stop waiting for somebody else to give you permission. No one’s going to come and tell you that you can retire or that you can scale or that you can step down and mentor somebody else. One of the biggest things is like, “This is my baby. How do I give it up?” which I’m sure you’ve heard over and over again. Looking at really giving yourself permission to do what’s next. Maybe you need to ask for help and advice and mentoring, but I think no one’s saving us if we’re not willing to save ourselves. I think that’s really important.
I think your story is really your superpower. That really creates connection. When I can talk to people about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it, I tell that story. I think it does really create a common ground. It does create trust, and it’s something that everybody else can’t duplicate. It’s my individual story. I think sometimes people think of it as our weakness, but really it could be your biggest competitive advantage. It’s like, again, that authenticity piece is so important.
[00:13:30] Tom: What are some suggestions or steps or something that someone might do first to get things going?
[00:13:36] Patty: I think the first step is to really be honest with yourself. I don’t know. It’s like I think we just can make up stories and we settle. I think the biggest thing is really look at, like, “Am I settling at any level?” One of the quizzes that I would suggest that everyone ask themselves is: “Am I doing what I would want my son or daughter to do?” If the answer is absolutely, then keep doing what you’re doing.
For most of us, we lose some boundaries every now and then. We aren’t really clear. We buy into somebody else’s vision. We sacrifice our real vision for some watered-down vision. I remember when I first started to do Permission Granted work and really less with Jack Canfield and more of my own. I said, “I want to do an event at a really beautiful home, and I want it to be really nurturing.” I had this big vision. I got really clear on my vision. Then everybody came and said, “Can’t we just do it in an airport hotel? It’s so much cheaper. It might be easier.” It was like all these reasons.
A lot of times, and when I was younger, I might have said, “Okay.” I was like, “No, I’m not settling. I want to do it this way. I have a vision about what this looks like, and I’m not going to let anybody get in the way of that.” I’m not saying if someone says, “Look, we tested everything, it’s not working,” feedback’s really, really important. I used to think it was the F word, but as long as it’s not coming from fear. There’s that differentiator. It’s like when you stop to think about something: is this decision based on fear or a story I’m telling myself, or maybe a belief of the way it used to be?
It’s like sometimes we need to do a little bit of therapy on ourselves if we really want to move into that place. At the end of the day, the biggest thing is just take action, try it. If it doesn’t work, try the next thing. If that doesn’t work, try the next thing. It’s just a numbers game. It will work if you’re consistent and you’re clear that you’re on a mission. Repetition, I say, is the key to success. It’ll happen. If you share your message and your vision with everyone you know, that’s a big thing.
That’s one of the biggest things I find with entrepreneurs. It’s like, “Oh, yes, I have this great idea, and I have this whole thing.” I’m like, “How many people know about it?” “Well, my wife or my husband or a few people, but not really that many.” I’m like, “The gardener should know, the trash man should know, the person at the supermarket should know. Everybody should know what you’re doing.” Because if we don’t let the cat out of the bag, other people can’t say, “You know what? I think I can help you get there faster.”
I was working on a project when the– you remember when The Secret came out?
[00:16:13] Tom: Yes.
[00:16:14] Patty: I had an author come to me. She wasn’t an author; she was an artist. She said, “I want to create these vision boards. Everybody’s vision board looks like a ransom note. I want to create something beautiful.” I was in the middle of, I don’t know, 12 books that year. I was like, “No, too busy.” She kept coming back. She was relentless. Another thing: be relentless. I finally said, “Fine, we’ll do it.” We did this Living the Law of Attraction book, and we did this vision board. We spent a ton of time and money designing this vision board that was like the million-dollar vision board.
I happened to be going to my son’s soccer game. I think he was in sixth grade at the time. One of the dads said, “What are you working on?” I said, “I’m working on this nightmare project, honestly, but it’s this artist. She’s really great, but it’s this vision board. I don’t know.” I was telling him what I was thinking about. He said, “Well, have you thought about doing an infomercial?” I said, “No.” He said, “Well, my friend did the George Foreman Grill. He’s done all these different infomercials. He owns a big company out of Seattle. If you want to do an infomercial on these vision boards, I’d be happy to fund it because I love the idea.” I said, “Okay.”
We shook hands. I went back to the office. Jack said, “How was the soccer game?” I said, “Great. We got funding for an infomercial.” [laughs] He said, “You should go to more soccer games.” It’s like, oh, because I shared my vision, even when I wasn’t really that into it that day. You just never know who’s listening.
[00:17:35] Tom: Well, Patty, what’s a great way for someone to get connected with you, learn more about what you’re doing?
[00:17:40] Patty: You can go to pattyaubrey.com and opt in there. I’ve got some free resources for people, especially if you want to write a book or are looking to share your message further, faster. Lots of people I know that I work with are entrepreneurs that are retiring from one thing, and they’re like, “How can I take this wisdom and help other people mentor?” You can go there and get some free resources and check out what I’m doing, or you can follow me on Instagram or Facebook, which is Patty Aubrey.
[00:18:06] Tom: Perfect. Well, we’ll make sure we include those links in the show notes. Patty, this is a great time of the show. We ask every guest the same four questions before you go. The first question we ask is, have you had a miss or two on your journey, and something you learned from it?
[00:18:18] Patty: I think really I probably said this earlier, but the miss was not showing up sooner. That miss probably cost me anywhere from $10 to $20 million, to be honest. Because when you’re a great speaker, and you’re out there keynoting all around the world, you sell a lot more books than several million; you sell tens of millions.
[00:18:37] Tom: You’ve already shared some great makes, but I’d love for you to share: is there another highlight or a make or two that you’d like to share?
[00:18:43] Patty: I would say that really businesses don’t really grow until their leaders do. Grow yourself and do whatever it takes to do so. Don’t get too busy being busy that you forget that others are really looking for you for guidance. Often, as leaders, we forget how much people need us.
[00:19:03] Tom: Well, the name of the show is Multiply Your Success. Have you used a multiplier to grow yourself personally, professionally, or organizations you’ve run?
[00:19:13] Patty: With Chicken Soup for the Soul, the original book had Mark and Jack on the cover, leaning up against a Campbell’s soup can. Campbell’s called and said, “You can’t use that. There’s something called trademark infringement and trade dress.” I didn’t know what that was, but I said, “Okay.” We put their pictures on the back of the book and just called it Chicken Soup for the Soul. We came up with a different cover.
What that allowed us to do was go out and actively look for other authors, like Chicken Soup for the Women’s Soul, had Marci Shimoff. We changed that cover on the front with a different– If you ever looked at a Chicken Soup book, there was one side that was a color marble or something. On the back, we added her picture to Mark and Jack. We realized that two guys could not sell hundreds of millions of books. If we went out into specific arenas, where is somebody famous in the women’s arena? Where is somebody famous in the Christian arena? Who knows a lot about pet lovers? We got the guy from Good Morning America, Marty Becker, to be on Pet Lover’s Soul.
We really looked at who has areas of expertise that we don’t and who has avenues of distribution that we don’t. At any given time, we had anywhere from 50 different titles being marketed at the same time around planet Earth. How do you replace yourself with somebody that knows more and does it better?
[00:20:30] Tom: Amazing. Well, the final question we ask every guest is: what does success mean to you?
[00:20:35] Patty: I would say today, it used to mean the new car. I think today it’s alignment, just being in alignment and being present and spending time with my grandson and getting a do-over because the first time I was pretty busy. [laughs] It’s all about quality time for me now.
[00:20:52] Tom: Well, as we bring this to a close, is there anything you were hoping to share or get across that you haven’t had a chance to yet?
[00:20:58] Patty: Be nice to yourself. Be nice to yourself. Take the time that you need. Without you, as leaders, being full, it’s really hard to serve the world at the level that you can. Put your mask on first. We hear it all the time, but it’s so important to give yourself permission to ask for what you want.
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[00:21:20] Tom: Patty, thank you so much for a fantastic interview. Let’s go ahead and jump into today’s three key takeaways. Takeaway number one is when she said she liked being behind the scenes. I said, “Well, what if you like being behind the scenes?” She said, “Well, that’s okay if you’re just not being complacent.” She said, “Think about are you just being complacent or taking the easy path out, or would you really be willing to step out?”
Takeaway number two is when she talked about some of the tips she shared. I liked how she said, “Stop waiting for someone to give you permission. Stop waiting. You don’t have to wait for permission; just go, just do it. You can go after it.” She talked about how she waited too long by not showing up sooner. That was a miss that she talked about.
Takeaway number three are some first steps she shared. She said, number one, be honest with yourself. Number two, am I selling or not? She said, take the quiz, which asks, am I doing what I would want my son or daughter to do? I thought that was great. I thought that was really great. I liked how one of her tips was everyone should know what you’re doing. Make sure you’re telling everyone. She shared about that and the story she gave about some of the growth and things that she launched with The Secret, that she helped launch, and finding that investor at her daughter’s soccer game. You never know, right? Now it’s time for today’s win-win.
Today’s win-win comes from the end of the episode when she talked about her make, and she said, “Businesses don’t grow until their leaders do.” Businesses don’t grow until their leaders do. I thought that’s a great win-win. A reminder for all of you leaders out there: you’ve got to keep growing. I hear it all the time. If we’re in conversation about franchising your business or talking about it or thinking about it, so often I hear leaders that are nervous to continue that growth or to take that step.
It’s kind of like what Patty was saying. Hey, you don’t need permission. You can just go and do it. Take that first step. Don’t be complacent. It will force you to grow. It will force you to grow as a leader and whatever that thing is that you might be thinking about.
That’s the episode today, folks. Please make sure you subscribe to the podcast and give us a review. Remember, if you or anyone you know might be ready to franchise your business or take your franchise company to the next level, please connect with us at bigskyfranchiseteam.com, where you can schedule your free, no-obligation consultation. Thanks for tuning in, and we look forward to having you back next week.
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