How Jill Chuculate Rebuilt Caregiving Culture with Profit, Purpose, and 3% Turnover

[0:00]  We had a caregiver recently who had filed an abuse report and that family terminated them immediately and the right thing to do is take care of that that DSP. They did what was right. They did what's required by the law. So we have to take care of our people. And so what we did is we paid her 2 weeks like she she was didn't have any more PTO but I paid her out two weeks so that she had no financial hardships. and we paired her with another family within that two week period so that she didn't lo have any loss revenue days. So I just think and ultimately what what what happened to her? She felt heard. She felt seen. She felt valued. She has been singing our praises. Um she's not going to go anywhere. She's not going to go anywhere, you know. And I think I think that if you do that with a lot of your

[0:49]  employees, you don't have to give them two weeks pay. Like that's not what I'm saying. But if you empower your team and you give them a voice and you hear what they're saying and then you work with them to give them work life balance and all of these different benefits, they're not going to go anywhere. No, let's pause for a second cuz there will always be somebody who will chase that dollar, right? There will always be someone who's willing to one someone's paying $1 more, they're going to go there. But I've lived by the mantra that who's meant to be with me will be with me and who's not won't. And I just have to trust in that, right? For the majority, I would say when they're feeling valued and heard and respected and they're giving good pay and benefits that they can not only use, but they can afford, they they appreciate that and

[1:38]  and they won't leave. Welcome back to another episode here on the Heart and Hustle podcast. You bet on yourself and left the path to build something else. Take us back to that moment, the real run, where you knew, I can't keep doing it their way anymore. What does that feel like, Jill? Talk to us. Yeah, so there there's a defining moment. Um, I had spent nearly new 20 years working with seniors and disabilities and I had worked my way up to the top where I'm a VP and I'm sitting at the table and I'm surrounded by people who are making six, seven

[2:26]  figures and we're having a conversation on whether or not we could pay an employee $13 an hour. And to me, it was a no-brainer. But we were having this conversation. And it was that moment that really just kind of occurred to me that companies could do better. They just choose not to. And it was kind of disheartening because I was really passionate about where I was and what I was doing. But it also empowered me to recognize that changes could be made and I could be the one to make them.

[2:51]  So closed my eyes, held my breath, and I jumped and here we are today. Here we are. Here we are. And so you just told us when you first realized um how caregivers were treated, but you talked about you you took that jump. What scared you most about leaving the role and really building your own thing? I think it was my ego. You know, I spent such a long time developing a career and you know, as a female in many industries, our voices weren't heard very much and I was oftentimes maybe one or two females at a table and so my ego had to be put into check first because that was really the only thing holding me back. I worked really hard for that for that title, you know, but when it boiled down to it, I I don't live for the title. I live to make a difference.

[3:37]  True. What what what should you have been really scared of? Not having money, being broke, failing. Um, you know, I I kind of live by a mantra that failure is not an option for me. Um, it it never has been an option for me. So, um, I think I should have been scared of failing. I should have been scared of not making enough money to take care of my family and myself, but I wasn't. Yeah. I I'm happy that you were the I mean you weren't really the fly on the wall because you were in the meeting, but we're hearing some of these conversations that are really happening and and I'm always a big believer that you go into these companies and you always got to say what's in it for me and that was what's in it for you. It was that moment like oh there's an educational piece that I needed in my life, right? And that's

[4:23]  what really kind of made you take that leap of faith. What are some of the things we talked about some of the things you should have been afraid of, but what are some of the things that you are very proud of um today because it is a very lonely world, right? There's not a lot of people that think like you um friends, family, significant others that can't really hold that conversation. But I can imagine you look back and say, you know what, while it was the roller coaster of my life, this is what I'm so happy about today. What is that?

[4:52]  I am super proud of myself for recognizing that I could make change and trusting in myself to do it. Um, I lived in that corporate will for so long. Even at the age of 35, I had a stroke because I was working so hard. And I never gave myself grace and I never ever gave myself work life balance. And when I finally trusted in myself and was able to make that transition, it brought peace and it brought joy. I mean, and that's kind of why my name is named Joyful Connections.

[5:25]  It's I was actively searching for joy in my life and what I was doing was not bringing that. And so I had to trust in myself. And I'm incredibly proud of myself for trusting in myself and not listening to the naysayers and not listening to um the norms that people often have when you're making big changes. Um so I'm really proud of myself for trusting in myself.

[5:48]  I'm very proud that you trusted in yourself. It is not uh easy at all, right? Um people want to do it and they they have these dreams, these ideas of doing it. But then there's those like yourself that took the leap of faith, you know, uh put in God's hands. If this is for me, it's going to be for me. If if I fail, I I learn and I do better next time, right?

[6:11]  You've been blessed. You didn't fail. You you've actually kind of um probably succeeded your own belief in yourself. Oh, certainly. Certainly. I never thought I would ever have grown a company to be the large as it is. And I used to joke and I've stopped saying this because now I believe what you say or what you put out there is your reality, but I used to say, gosh, what are they going to do when they find out I don't know what I'm doing, you know?

[6:36]  And um I' I've been reassured that I do know in fact what I'm doing and that I am a strong capable leader within my organization and within my industry. Um but that was kind of my little joke that I had was you know I I am someone who comes from very meager means and you know I don't have the typical upbringing and I don't have the typical um schooling that one would have to run organizations like what I have and um so I have truly been blessed. um you know, not to get all biblical on everybody here, but there's a verse that really struck to me and it's it's about trust, right? And it says, you know, you don't see the birds, and I'm just paraphrasing, you don't see the birds out there, you know, worrying about what they're going to eat next or where

[7:22]  they're going to live. And if God loves you more than he loves the birds, then why are you worrying, right? And so that's kind of been a mantra of myself um that I've had as well is just in that whole trust piece. I just got to trust trust myself. trust that things are going to work out and it does. You know, to what you were just saying on the joke, right, that you were saying to yourself that's really comes from imposter syndrome, you know, and and a lot of times when when I always looked at it, right, when I took that leap, I felt like I was in this dark tunnel. I could see the light. I just didn't know how far that light was, you know? So, I had to keep going. I had to have that faith. I got to have patience. But there was times I would go to bed and think just like you were thinking what the hell am I doing? Am I am I even good?

[8:05]  Can I coach others? I mean, mind you, I'm already doing the work, right? Uh but the same thing educational piece, you know, because I I didn't I didn't go to school for a career. I did go to school, but that's only because I wanted to show my kids they had options, but I was already building businesses at, you know, 22 years old. So for me, I realized like it's not so much about um you know, black and white pieces of paper. It's the work ethic you can put in. It's it's a leadership because I can imagine that you have great leadership, Jill, which is why you're successful.

[8:38]  But impostor syndrome is the thing that eats us alive. Do you feel that uh were you going through those moments a lot where you were just kind of doubting yourself and how did you overcome them? I I I actually did go through quite a bit of imposttor syndrome. Not at the beginning, but kind of midway through like when everything was established and it was a welloiled machine and it's operating. That's when I'm like, "Oh god, I'm in too deep, right?" Like, what if they don't know or what if they find out I don't know what I'm doing? Um, again, I had to train myself how to talk to myself. And I think that's something that a lot of people have um that they're working on these days, right? Is we tend to say a lot of negative things about ourselves that aren't true, but if

[9:26]  we continue to say them, we'll make them be true, right? And so, um whenever that imposttor syndrome came in, I just have to look around. The other thing that I do is I keep a kudos file. So, every kudos that I have ever had, and this is so cheesy, I'm almost embarrassed to say this because this will be public, but I have a kudos file from like the beginning of my career. And I have kept every email of from every company I've ever worked for, including my families now and my employees now. And any praise that they've given me, I've kept that. And anytime I started to feel like, what am I doing? I'm not doing what's right or this isn't working out or I don't have the skill set. I go through my kudos file and there's nothing about filling your love cup better than having, you know, reading those words again.

[10:14]  Wow. I actually like that. That first of all, not cheesy, right? We always got to fill our cup somehow and you found a way to fill your cup because in the roles that we're in, we are the ones that pour into everybody's cup and sometimes left out dry. And people don't see that because we still show up smiling faces, you know, wanting to help even when we're the ones that actually need the help. Um, so I actually love that. And what I've done, I'm My wife says I'm a little hoarder. Okay. Uh, I don't think so. But I also keep things I don't have a file, but I have these letters or the birthday cards or when I left somewhere those cards. Um and and and yeah, you lead with those because one of the biggest things when I left, I remember my supervisor saying and and the crazy thing is that me and him weren't seeing eye to eye when I was on my way out. But he says there was there was a kind of a layoff, right? There was all these

[11:02]  instructors had to go. He says, "How did everybody there was at that time I think like uh maybe almost 10 of us. You're the only one that I'm not worried about." And that even though we weren't seen eye to eye, it it felt I felt that, you know, like man, thank you. you know, yeah, on my way out, you showed me that I have value or you told me that you see my value, but for whatever reason, you just didn't see it while I was in, you know, the role. That's usually what happens. But you you do have to take those moments, those I tell you another one. I was uh speaking to a chief development officer from Subway. He's retired now, but I had the privilege to do undercover balls, but I still speak to this gentleman, right? And one of the things, and sometimes people got to tell you the way it is. I was building this brand, right? The the podcast and the coaching, the consulting, the journals that I've been creating and um still

[11:50]  asking myself like what do I charge? Like am I doing the right things? And he says, I've seen you build brands over the years. I I it's crazy how people need what they teach best. And I'm like, what do you mean? He says, you're teaching people to know their worth. When do you when do you know yours? When do you actually start to value your time? And that was the light bulb, right? But for so many years, I'm pouring into everybody's cup. I'm telling them exactly what to do where to the tea. Yeah. But there's times where we have to kind of go back and hear some of those people out. Go back to those messages and notes. And I'm happy that you found something, especially during that dark time, like in the middle of it where it's like, okay, how the hell do I get over this? Yeah. Because I got something here. I see it. But if I stay here, I'm never seeing that end that

[12:37]  tunnel, right? I'm never seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I'll just stay here just looking at the light. So, Joe, this is so good. We're already starting off to a good start. I like it. You You know what's really rare is that you could have actually turned this into a nonprofit, but you chose the for-profit model instead. Yeah. Was that a hard call? And what freedom did it give you that people might not even realize?

[12:58]  I think I didn't realize the freedoms that it would give me going forprofit versus nonprofit. And what I mean by that is it's allowed me to truly invest more into my people. um meaning I have more revenue coming in so that I can give gosh better pay, more benefits, um employee recognition, employee events, all these different things that I wouldn't have the financial ability to do to reinvest in my people and really help them fill what our culture is about. I wouldn't have the financial abilities had I gone nonprofit. Now, there's nothing wrong with going nonprofit. I actually probably would have gone nonprofit if I would have known better, but I didn't. So, I found myself down this path and I've just, you know, I've just been so blessed to be able to recognize where I'm at and then

[13:48]  take that and one up it for my my employees to make a difference within my industry to set a standard of expectation that my caregivers or other caregivers that are out there should expect from their employers. So I feel very fortunate to have kind of gone the path that I went because I have been able to change change some lives, make the difference that I was looking to make. Before you're making the biggest impacts as you are today, did Jill always want to be in this field? Like healthc care was her thing.

[14:17]  I've always had a heart for service. I've always had a heart for the underdog or the perceived underdog I should say, right? Um and when I started out working with seniors, I was incredibly passionate about that. you know, helping give quality of life at end of life, making sure that, you know, the individuals that we were supporting and serving were still treated with dignity and respect and recognized for the incredible works that they did in our world. Um, you know, transitioning to Joyful and we started out working with kids and, you know, it it hit another piece of my heart. I guess my heart's in all these little compartments because it hit a whole another piece of my my heart and was very fulfilling to me. So I don't necessarily think when I was a little girl this was the vision that I had for myself but I did know that I wanted to make a difference and that is

[15:05]  what truly leads me is that I am I am called to make a difference. What's so special about your leadership skills compared to others that that you just give yourself kudos for time and time again because you've seen other leaders we always have good leaders and bad leaders in our lives and they both teach us they teach us what not to do and what to do. Um, what are some of the leadership skills that you've kind of taken from other people that you just are proud of? Yeah. Um, you you hit the nail on the head when you said, you know, some of life's greatest teachers are those good leaders and those bad leaders. You got to learn from both of them. And you got to be open to learning from both of them as well. And I think what I learned most is the idea of giving grace and understanding the why behind things,

[15:55]  right? I the caregiving or the healthcare industry for me and in my opinion has always been one that was more fear-based managerial styles. And I had been on the opposite end of that where I was, you know, fearful of my job and fearful if I didn't do the next thing right. And I was always told, it doesn't matter what you do today, it only matters what you do for me tomorrow. Right? And um through all of that, I learned to give grace. Grace to myself, grace to the people that I surround myself with, um grace to my employees, grace to my families, and to me, grace is is a gift. I don't think people often take time to ask why or understand what's going on on the opposite end of that table. And I think when you have a relationship and you can develop grace, you can understand a

[16:42]  little bit more um about what people are going through. And if you can afford people grace, they'll afford you grace. And we're all human. So I'm going to mess up. Always do. Not always. A lot of the time I mess up. Um, but you know, I hope that if I give them grace in a time where they mess up instead of being a fear-based managerial style, you know, taking the hammer down, I hope that when I make a mistake, they'll give me grace, too.

[17:10]  100%. No, I love that. I I I do agree. It when you could listen to people and sometime I would say the term of meet them where they're at. Today's not a good day, right? Okay, I get it. Is there anything I can help you with? Right. that that that just in itself shows that someone cares. And a lot of times that's all someone wants to do.

[17:27]  They want to be heard. They want to be seen. They want to be loved. Right. And that's what you bring to the table. And and I'm giving you grace because I get that every day. Life be life sometimes. Yes. You know, we don't know that your kids were up all night last night and you couldn't sleep. They're sick. We don't we don't ask those questions. But it does make a difference when you when someone as their their boss, their leader says, "Hey, is everything okay?

[17:49]  Is there anything I can help you with? I realize something may be a little off." Right? all of a sudden they're you they kind of you open that door for them to say, "Hey, I'm I'm sorry, but this is what's going on, right?" And now you can kind of help in that situation. So, I love that. I love that you learned that and you brought that into um your everyday. Yeah. Joyful. I love the name.

[18:06]  What? So, joyful comes because you just wanted to feel joyful. Like, where's And then changed the wording a little bit. So, how did that all come about? Okay. Well, this may be more than you want to know, but um so Joyful is spelled jo Oie E, which is how you spell joy in French. And um I thought I was French. Turns out I'm not. So um the name just kind of stuck. Um but for me, it was all about finding joy, right? Like I started a mission six years ago that joy needed to be the first and foremost thing that happens in my life to give me fulfillment. And then bringing that on to my families and my employees. I wanted them to find joy. Even if it's just a moment, we got to actively look and find the joyful moments in each and every day. And you know, my hope is that

[18:56]  through joyful, we'll make connections that bring you joy. So that's kind of where we came from. Um I get a little um corny about all of this, but truly I am led to find joy and inspire joy in others. Um, and yeah, that's kind of where it came from. So, first of all, I want to say the most corniest ideas become the multi-million dollar companies, right? Because it's so corny, but so good. I think this is so good. I don't want to say corny. Maybe you think so, but I think it is good. And then one of the other pieces you kind of put together is that caregiver and family matching piece. Not corny at all. Like, yeah. What what was that something you knew would be a like did you know this would be a game changer from day one or did it kind of evolve into this? No, what I knew was that of that first of

[19:45]  all the healthcare industry has extraordinarily high turnover conversions. We're looking at 45 50% conversion in caregivers and statistically caregivers are often underpaid, overworked, put in environments that they aren't prepared for or they don't feel successful in or they don't have the tools to be successful in. So for me, our pairing process really came down to identifying ways that could empower my employees to make choices that were best for them, right? So it was empowering and giving them a voice. And so our pairing process, instead of just saying, "Today you're going to go see Bob and you're going to stay with Bob and you don't know Bob, but you're going to go be with Bob." We really broke it down to a more in-depth process where we're really looking at a multitude of factors before we even introduce. First things first is

[20:34]  we um share bios with the DSPs or our caregivers so they can choose who's going to work best with their lifestyle, with their experience, with their personal interests and likes. And then we share them with the families. And we're really looking for a few different items here. We're looking at your experience. We're looking at your schedule. We're looking at proximity.

[20:53]  We're looking at your personal interests. Like if you like playing basketball and the kiddo likes playing basketball, let's see if we can make that a match, right? So just kind of taking a more mindful and thoughtful approach in how we connect families can help us reduce that turnover, increase longevity wrong increase longevity. There we go. I got that out. And um develop stronger relationships.

[21:17]  Okay. And then how about most agencies are actually drowning out here, but not you. You're actually thriving. I think the last time we spoke you were at a 3% rate. Like what's the biggest lie? Because now I hear all the time that we can't keep people, right? But you're showing different. What's the biggest lie that companies tell themselves about why their people actually leaving because clearly it's not bothering you some.

[21:44]  I think I'm going to go back to what I said in the beginning. I think companies can do better. They just choose not to. Sometimes we've got to stop thinking about our own pockets and we got to start thinking about other people's pockets and how we're going to take care of other people, right? If if you put your your employees and your families first, that bottom line's going to follow every single time. You know, um you know, my my CPA is talking to me a lot about, well, you know, 85% of your revenue goes to payroll. And that's exactly how I want it. That's exactly how I want it. If the Heart and Hustle podcast has ever sparked any idea or made you think differently, do us a favor. Make sure to guys share this, post it on LinkedIn, or even text that nonprofit friend that you just have.

[22:30]  Whatever works. This is what keeps the conversation going and allows us to just grow this community together. Seriously, we appreciate you. Let's talk about some of these these benefits. 120 hours PTO. There is no fault policies, tuition help, not normal at all in some of these places. Did you actually get push back? It looks like maybe you have for being too generous. And what did you actually learn from being too generous? Like maybe a story where caregivers shocked you by showing exactly why betting on people is worth it.

[23:04]  Yeah, I have gotten a lot of push back on on how generous I am, but that's me and I'm not going to change me. And I I was actually struggling with this recently um because you know I want to I want to continuously give and do more and sometimes I have to pump the bricks a little bit but I think I'll give the most recent example that I have that I can think of and I don't know if you were going to talk about this later on but we'll bring it up now. Um, you know, we had a caregiver recently who had filed an abuse report and that family terminated them immediately and the right thing to do is take care of that that DSP. They did what was right. They did what's required by law.

[23:49]  So, we have to take care of our people. And so, what we did is we paid her two weeks like she she was didn't have any more PTO, but I paid her out two weeks so that she had no financial hardships. and we paired her with another family within that two week period so that she didn't lo have any loss revenue days. So I just think and ultimately what what what happened to her? She felt heard. She felt seen. She felt valued. She has been singing our praises. Um she's not going to go anywhere. She's not going to go anywhere. You know, and I think I think that if you do that with a lot of your employees, you don't have to give them two weeks paid. Like that's not what I'm saying. But if you empower your team and you give them a voice and you hear what they're saying and then you work with them to give them work life balance and

[24:36]  all of these different benefits, they're not going to go anywhere. Now, let's pause for a second because there will always be somebody who will chase that dollar, right? There will always be someone who's willing to one someone's paying $1 more, they're going to go there. But I've lived by the mantra that who's meant to be with me will be with me and who's not won't. And I just have to trust in that, right? For the majority, I would say when they're feeling valued and heard and respected and they're giving good pay and benefits that they can not only use, but they can afford.

[25:10]  They they appreciate that and and they won't leave. I I would even kind of to what you were saying on loyalty, right? Creating loyalty. What you do is create loyalty. When you show up that way for others, now people are going to be loyal for you and show up when you least expect them to show up. And I I had a friend that um he worked for this company. He did not know he had to do open heart surgery, went for what he thought it was just going to be an easy procedure, realizes open heart surgery.

[25:38]  He's out for months now. And um I spoke to him and like you mentioned, all he did was praise the company. He says, "They told me I could take the next three months off, but I'm trying to get there like quicker." And I'm like, "Why? They've given you the time." He's like, "I just feel so bad, but I can't believe they did that for me." And I asked him, I'm like, "Man, you're so talented.

[25:56]  Like, you don't you never thought about doing XYZ?" He's like, "I love it here, and they care for me, and I get to I I get to just live the life that I want, knowing that I work for someone that cares highly of me. I will never leave." That's his words. I never leave. And I can imagine, Jill, that's exactly what people are saying. I will never leave.

[26:13]  Jill showed up to me in a time where I didn't expect her to show up. Why would I leave? You know, even if they leave for a dollar, they're going to come back because the law the way you made them feel. Yeah, that happens. I know. I know. I think beyond that, the bigger picture is the better I take care of my employees, the better they take care of the people they serve. True. Right. And with us having such a reduced turnover, that empowers my families and the individuals they're serving to really establish solid relationships that build on trust and growth. And what does that mean? That means the individuals we serve are able to break down different barriers and grow and develop skills that they didn't know they could develop and reach those goals that they've created for themselves. I mean, it's a beautiful ecosystem, right? Like if I

[27:02]  take care of my people, imagine the ripples that will have down the road and how these individuals we serve, how their lives could change. That's no 100% agree with you. Let's say I'm a new founder. I want to start my own business and I ask you, what is the secret to building trust when you're small and scrappy? What's the first thing you actually tell them?

[27:23]  Oh gosh. I think um consistency and transparency, right? Why was that so important to you? consistent like consistency is they understand and they know they can count on you, right? If I'm consistently there, I'm consistently doing what I'm say I'm going to do. Um and and transparency also kind of layered on top of that. When they know my inner workings and they know me, again, that transparency piece um in communication, they're going to get grace, right? But that consistency piece, that's the first, that's the base, right? They you're consistently there. you're consistently showing up and showing them that you're there for them and whatever aspect it is that starts building the trust, right? And then the next layer is that transparency when they see that

[28:09]  you're human and that you're not a black and white textbook and that you are just a little bit different. That transparency and that communication piece, that another layer of trust right there. Right. So, listen. You got it all. You got it all. You got it all, Jill. I'm loving it. I don't know what I do, but we sure try. Oh, you do. You're doing amazing. Well, another thing that I think you're doing amazing on, we spoke about um when I speak when I say AI, people start to really freak out because they're like, "Oh my god, you know, my job is being replaced or uh you know, it's all over my phone and they want to steal my identity." Like there's so many different things that people are saying about AI. But even in the caregiving, it's a kind of a space you don't hear it often, but you got curious, right? what's shifted your mindset on AI and what is joyful connections doing in the AI space

[28:58]  that could that enhances what they're doing on a day-to-day. Yeah. So, I view AI truly like a team team member that enhances what we do. Um, you know, you've heard the saying like two heads are better than one. Well, AI is like a zillion heads on top of it, right? So we utilize it for idea generation, strategy, um how to refine our communication. Um even for some of my young leaders who maybe they are new in a leadership role and they're not quite sure how to communicate that communicate.

[29:34]  It's one I think that's what I'm trying to say. They're not sure how to communicate as particular scenario. Maybe it's a difficult conversation. we've gone into using AI to help us strategize and refine our our talking points and help us kind of go to the next level. It's actually very exciting um because I do view it gosh there's so many different minds within AI that can help us cultivate and create strategy.

[30:02]  You know what's funny is today I decided to use chat GPT. I'm trying to scale right and I'm hiring a virtual assistant. So, I got to start to put a lot of these things into place. So, I said if I touch my day and what I do on a day-to-day basis and so it would create a lot of these things, right?

[30:19]  Because data is what you put in is what you prompted. So, I'm so excited and uh I even asked like I was I had like 20 minutes and I my wife wanted to go for a walk and I said I asked Chad BT just jokingly I have 20 minutes my wife wants to go on a walk with the kids should I go right like just to see what it responded and I said this is great you know take that walk it it balances energy XYZ so here I am at the high telling my wife like oh my god chip has been so helpful like it's really structured my day made me wake up early because it said I need to start wake up early based what I do um so she says is I feel like you're almost idolizing this. You can't idolize this. And I'm like I got so upset. I'm like no, it's a tool. Like what do you mean? It it's helping me. It's giving me structure.

[31:01]  Like a lot of when it comes to CEOs, owners, uh founders, you're in this world alone at times. How great is it that you can talk to someone that speaks your language? You know, it's not about idolizing anything, you know? Right. I mean just to like sometimes when my brain is completely exhausted and I'm like I need more I need more recruitment. So how do I do that? You know so then I'm like I need you to create me a recruitment strategy and like here's the information and away it goes. But you know what else we recently started using AI for that's really been incredible is it helps us bridge our language barriers. We have multiple families who English is not their first language. Um, and I'll give the example.

[31:49]  We have a Spanish-speaking bilingual care coordinator and lead DSP. And we, aside from having them rewrite all of our collateral or all of our policies and procedures in Spanish, I can upload a document into AI and it will translate it for me. Now again, you still got to have your people read it over and make sure that it's translating correctly.

[32:13]  But it takes the majority of that hard work out. And what did it do? It completely bridged the language barrier and created documentation, trainings, policies, and procedures in Spanish so that everybody feels included and understood. And gosh, that just changes everything. Yeah, it's pretty cool. With so many AI tools, what do you think would be like if you could think about joyful connections, taking yourself to the next level, communication, engagement, website, whatever that looks like, what is the AI tool that you would like to see to enhance what you're already doing at Joyful Connections and scale you an AI tool. It is very scary. Now, I'll tell you this. This is a very very scary piece, but I think again it is so helpful. I'm going to regret saying

[33:02]  this. I know I am. But the AI tool is you can take a video of yourself and make that video speak in a different language, too. I can imagine it's probably out there. I can imagine it's probably out there. But that is really good. Um, it is needed when you think about podcast. Just imagine this translated into Spanish.

[33:24]  Now we're really given some resources acknowledge this out there. It is very very scary to think that it's possible, right? Especially if our how about if our words are moving to like you know I mean that's kind of scary but I see I I have someone that um records and he does um teleprompter a lot of teleprompterss.

[33:42]  His eyes when he's reading obviously looks like this, but when he posts it, his eyes are looking down the camera on the, you know, the barrel of the camera the whole time because AI straightened his eyes to look straight the whole time. I'm like, wow. I mean, there it's fine line. It's a very fine line between awesome and not so awesome, right? Very fine line. But I do think that there is a lot of value if you utilize it as a tool and that you are open to the different references and information that you can get from it. I think that it truly can change the dynamics in your strategy. Yeah. And again, I I just keep thinking like think about how many heads are in AI. There's a lot of heads.

[34:25]  That's a lot of information. I mean, it makes me to me I think I'm smarter now to be quite frank. Like I don't I don't I got books back here. You probably don't see them but they're for decorations cuz I really don't read. However, I'm reading a lot of chat dbt in the conversation that we're having because that's how I love to learn is conversational like actually doing it.

[34:44]  Um so yeah I kind of what you said that tool I tell my wife exactly that babe no it's not I'm not idolizing this thing but it's a tool in my toolbox like it truly is helping me stay organized. I hear that all the time where people says I'm really good at what I do. I just need structure. I need someone to tell me what to do. But guess what? Chad TPT can be that for you if you understand how to utilize it though, you know, and I think that's where replacement shows up. People are scared of their jobs because AI is going to take it over. I think be afraid of your job because someone that understands AI will take it over because you're going to see like it roles. You're going to see AI, you know, within companies. So I think I don't know about it. Think of it this way also. AI can come up with the plans and strategies, but I still need somebody to execute on that. That's part two. Yeah.

[35:33]  Right% unless you're gonna create some automation or something. Yeah. No, we can go on this forever. I I truly love that you're into the AI space and I I can't wait to see what AI does for your business. But when you think about some of the biggest things that really just make you happy because I think when you when the line of work you're doing, it's truly impactful, right? you're changing lives and whether you believe it or not, the people that you've hired are changing lives out there and you're the leader that's kind of controlling that. What are some of the great things that you've seen thus far within your company, but also some of the things that you want to um implement on your company for the next 5 10 years to continue to see growth?

[36:14]  Gosh, there has been so many incredible moments that we've witnessed and that we've seen and that we've contributed to. um whether it's, you know, an individual's personal growth and achieving things and having movement that maybe they never had before because we had a caregiver that was truly invested or we just recently um this last Saturday was the Portland Autism Walk and Joyful Connections has paid for every autism walk in the state of Oregon so that it's free to everybody. So creating opportunities is one of the biggest pieces of our puzzle and creating or removing those barriers so people can go out and engage. And if it's a financial barrier, Joyful is removing that. And so I'm just really very pleased with how we show up. It's not just about me and my leadership

[37:03]  team. We show up. We're in the community. We um recently became a investor and a partner in a preschool that was being shut down. and this preschool supports individuals of all abilities and um we've funded them. So now that preschool's still there and there's more and more kiddos that get to go to school that need that get to have inclusion with neurotypical and non-neurotypical individuals and engage differently. So for me, I'm incredibly proud of my team, my people, how joyful has shown up in our communities and the difference that we're making both on a personal one-on-one level and at a community level. Um, as for five-year plan, I I I toss that one around a lot. I have lots of visions and ideas and really

[37:53]  cool things that I want to put out there. I don't know if I'm ready to say them out loud, though. Okay. Okay. Keep it Keep it. Keep it hot. Hide. It's okay. It's okay. I'll connect with you on LinkedIn to make sure that I actually see what's actually coming out of this. Um, no, I think it's cool. I think it's cool that you have a plan, and it is true. I think a lot of people sometimes may say low too early and um may not get the response that people want and it kind of detours that idea, right? Um so people you got to be very mindful of who you tell your dreams to because someone may say that's crazy, but it wasn't their dream to begin with, but what it does is start to instill a little doubt.

[38:28]  So I hear you Jill. I hear you for sure. Uh no, no, no. For I I this has been a great time. I can't believe that we're already 36 minutes into this conversation. By the way, I felt we started 10 minutes ago and we're really at at the end of this all. So I ask you is how could people connect with Joyful Connections? H whether it's a website, whether it's sharing like people think when helping means you need money. Not true. How does joyful connections outside of monetary um could use help?

[38:58]  Oh, how could Jo joyful connections outside of monetary use help? Um, that is one good question. I have never thought of that question before. Um, you know what? I'm going to go back to what my vision is for this company. The way that people can help Joyful is if you're in this healthcare industry, level up. Do better. Come on now. Invest in your people because you know what? You're making it really hard.

[39:29]  You're making it really hard. people. Caregivers have left this industry and they're never coming back because they were so brutalized. So, the one thing that I need at Joyful Connections, the help that anybody can be out there is let's take care of our people. Yeah. This Come on. Listen, you're so good. When we started this, Joe, the funny thing was that we're like, we don't know what we're going to say. I can't wait for you to watch this back because you're probably not going to remember what you said. What you are going to do is watch it back like, damn, that was good. I said that because you you truly dropped so much gems in here when it comes to those in the healthcare space and you hit it on the head. So many people are leaving. Pandemic allowed people to see their worth that they could do other things and make more money and not be um you know kind of thrown in what the pandemic looked like for us. But it was also because they felt undervalued, underpaid, all these

[40:17]  different things is really the reasons they left. It wasn't the pandemic. It was that was what broke the the uh camel's back per se, right? So, I definitely hear what you're saying on that. So, now it's time for that blind question. I if if if you can go back and whisper one truth to yourself right before you took that leap to build joyful connections, what would you actually say to yourself?

[40:42]  The one truth that I would say to I love that I got you thinking during You do. You have me thinking. Um, I I'm just going to go back to trust. Just trust. Trust the process. Just trust. It will all work out in the end. You just got to trust in yourself. Right. You you you mentioned um and we don't get too deep into it, but you mentioned kind of the spiritual side of it. Do you lean on that often when you make these type of decisions? Yeah, I I think that I do. I do lean into my spirituality and understanding that there's a whole lot more out there than just me and Lord knows I need all the help I can

[41:30]  get. So, so you know, just just trusting that it'll all work out however it's meant to be and having peace and joy in the process. Love it. What is your blind question for the next leader that we have here on the Heart and House of Podcast? I wrote it down. What's your go-to mantra or catchphrase that always helps you power through those tough moments? Okay. Okay. You know, mine's for a very long time was faith. That's what I kept telling myself. Faith and it's part of the process. Faith and it's part of the process because as you mentioned, when the things get tough, it's part of the process.

[42:12]  nothing nothing easy or nothing success success just doesn't come easy right uh we see success a lot on social media and it looks so easy they you know but in reality they've had sleepless nights while some people like to call it lucky some of those people that's their life their whole life you know years and years of giving it all and then that happens um so I had to kept telling myself it's part of the process faith just have faith Right. I love that you mentioned that. Where where can people continue to follow you? Whether it's you personally, whether it's more of the Joyful Connections. Talk about the website. Are you on social media, LinkedIn? Yeah. Yeah. And yeah. Um, so our website is www.joyfulconnections.com. And again,

[43:00]  that's spelled joyfull.com. We're on Facebook, we're on Instagram. Um, yeah. and it I that's pretty much where I'm at, too. Um, but I think it's it's would be great if people did kind of tune in to us and follow us because we are doing some really cool things over here. We've got five scholarships to give away this year to um individuals graduating from high school who want to seek higher education. Um, that's nationwide scholarships that we're offering. So, we're always doing something a little bit different. Mhm.

[43:33]  Um, we're reinvested in our people and in our families. And if that's kind of your particular brand of tea that you like to drink, come along. I don't think we mentioned it. Is Joyful Connections just something in a certain state? Is it nationwide? To those that are listening can understand where and how can I even get involved? Yeah. So, Joyful is only in Oregon. Um, maybe someday it'll be in another state. For now, it's only in Oregon. Um, however, a lot of what we do when it comes to giving back to the communities we serve is nationwide. So, um, okay.

[44:11]  So, there's my I love it. I love it. No, thank you so much. Thank you so much, Jill, for having such an amazing conversation. Um, be authentically yourself and being such an amazing leader, taking risk. Um, as a woman, I know it's not easy to get into some of these spaces, right? Because you see it all the time. women are are paid less.

[44:30]  They're, you know, uh sometimes under what? Like I want to say underlooked, but is that the word? Overlooked. Overlooked. Overlooked. Underlooked, dummy. Uh overlooked. Right. So, there there's so many things that you had to face and overcome. Continue to do what you're doing. There is a woman, there is a little girl that will continue to I don't know if you have kids. I don't think we talked about it, but there's a little girl that would see who you are, will hear this story, and say, "Man, if she did it, so can I." And I think that's what's so so amazing about these conversations is that we're just having a great time. But there's really a story behind it is that you took a risk and when people counted you out a long time ago, Yeah. when you walked away from that table and people thought like, "She'll be back like she's crazy." Mhm.

[45:18]  You showed them that, yeah, I am pretty crazy. And look what crazy got me, right? I love these stories, too. I love these stories. But we thank you guys for watching. If you guys haven't already, make sure you guys connect with Jill. Joyful Connections as well. Um, visit their websites, visit their social media, continue to connect. I really do believe this is bigger than just one little location. I think this is going to take over our our nation. Um, and I can't wait to have this conversation again. So, thank you, Jill. Thank you guys for watching. Make sure that you guys do share, like, and comment. This has been a friend on the hard and hustle podcast with another great leader in Jill. We'll catch you guys on the next one.