#awinewith Lauren Schiavone
MEET Lauren Schiavone, Founder of Wonder Consulting
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:00):
You are listening to Spark tv, where we bring you daily interviews with real women in business at all stages. I'm your host, Danielle Lewis, and I am so grateful to have you here. Amazing. Lauren, welcome to Spark tv. I'm so excited to have you on the podcast.
Lauren Schiavone (00:16):
Thank you for having me. Happy to be here.
Danielle Lewis (00:18):
So good. And you have stayed up late for me, so I appreciate you even more. Let's start out by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Lauren Schiavone (00:29):
Awesome. Yeah, so my name is Lauren Shi and now I am the founder of Wonder Consulting. Wonder Consulting is an AI consultancy firm and we're really focused on helping non-technical business leaders be set up for success in an AI driven future. And I like to do that by demystifying AI into practical concepts that deliver business growth.
Danielle Lewis (00:52):
Wow. Isn't this so cool? 10 years ago this would not have even been a business.
Lauren Schiavone (00:58):
Absolutely. Honestly, not even a couple years ago.
Danielle Lewis (01:02):
Yeah, so true. Before we even go down the AI path, how did you get here? What is your story?
Lauren Schiavone (01:12):
Yeah, so I spent my entire professional career before this at Procter and Gamble working on some of the large biggest brands. I spent my time there in consumer insights and brand management as well as sales. I spent a lot of time working on product innovation and retail innovation and a lot of work to drive change across the enterprise. I left p and g about a year and a half ago. It was a very personal decision. I have two young children and I just wanted to do something that's much more flexible and I kind of left p and g really not knowing what was next. And I had my second baby and after a couple months after that, I was had just a chance to lift my head up again and just sort of look at the broader landscape. And I saw AI coming and I was like, oh my gosh, this is going to transform and disrupt absolutely everything the way we work, the way we live our lives.
(02:04):
And I just decided to go really deep in upskilling and I became super energized about it and super passionate. And I think one of the reasons I did was because I thought to myself, oh my gosh, if I knew then at p and g when I know now the time it would've saved me, the energy, it would've saved me. I would've been able to work on projects I found more interesting or more strategic. I would've been maybe able to spend more time with my family or doing the things that I love to do. And so that's when I was sort of like, you know what? I really want to take this learning and apply it and help other leaders have sort of the same aha moment and help drive that transformation across the businesses. So, so this past summer I decided to launch my own consultancy firm. And yeah, it's been an exciting ride.
Danielle Lewis (02:57):
Oh, this is just so incredible. And I love as well that you actually upskilled in this area. So it wasn't really your core skill or expertise. It was actually this is a trend. This is what I see coming. I'm going to do the work upskill and get ahead of the game. I feel like a lot of people leave their corporate careers and then start a business in that discipline. So if they were a HR person or a lawyer or an accountant or whatever. So that is really fascinating. What gave you the drive to just go, I'm just going to start something completely new.
Lauren Schiavone (03:33):
It's funny sometimes I'm like, what was I thinking? But no, I've always been interested in innovation. I was one of the first at PG to work on e-commerce business. I was one of the first on the Amazon team, so it's always excited me and energized me. And when I started to learn ai, I started to feel like I had felt in the early days of e-commerce, right? This is so exciting, but it's so much more exciting than e-commerce because e-commerce was one new shopping modality. It just was sort of a new way to shop. AI will transform absolutely everything. So there's so much innovation, there's so many use cases, there's so much transformation to be had. So I just was sort of enamored. And I think it's not that I have said goodbye to my previous career, I'm actually just blending the two. So I'm applying AI to the things that I've done before in my past, marketing insights, sales change management, and driving change across an enterprise.
(04:32):
So that's, I'd say what makes me unique in this space is I have sort of the technical understanding of the ai, but combined with how stuff actually gets done at an enterprise. And I think that's what's been really valuable to me. And then it's funny though the part about upskilling because it's an ongoing everyday thing in this space, and that's also sort of been a bit of an adjustment, right? Because when I was at PG, I wasn't trying to learn every day and upskill myself every day and trying to keep up with the pace of new information like this. And so that's just been sort of a new muscle to build,
Danielle Lewis (05:14):
Which I feel like is business ownership. I feel like the last decade that I've been in business, I have had to learn something new every day. We wear all of the hats to technology changes mean, obviously we're talking about a huge innovation, but I think that that excitement to learn something new and see how that can be applied to old ways of thinking or business as usual tasks, I think capturing that excitement and passion just will go so far in so many areas of the
Lauren Schiavone (05:48):
Business. And I think what's interesting about doing that as a solopreneur is yes, I'm learning something new every day, but I have this new confidence that I can figure it out because I know how to use chat GBT, right? I'll give you an example. Right now I'm in this space, I have to review contracts. I've never had to do that before, right? I'm like, oh my gosh, how do I do this? But with the help of chat GBT, I figured it out. I created a custom GBT or I just throw my contracts in and it gives me back sort of what I need. It's not a lawyer, of course, not a lawyer, and you should consult your lawyer when you need that, but I like that. Yes, yes. But I particularly want women to know because I think sometimes we lack confidence that learn this stuff, it will help build your confidence.
(06:45):
And actually on that note, there's what we call an AI adoption gap. So women are less likely to really yes, than men. So the statistic is, it's quite interesting because eight out of 10 women, their jobs will be impacted by ai, but only six out of 10 men's jobs will be impacted by ai. Yet women are 30% less likely to learn ai. And that's because so many high achieving women, many, I'm sure you know many, I'm sure our listeners, there's this theory called this Good Girl theory. So AI is cheating, AI is cutting corners. I don't do that. And so part of my mission really is to help women upskill and learn these skills and also help them understand it's not cheating. You don't think a calculator is cheating or excel or the internet, it's just a new tool. I was doing a training with some dear friends actually, and one was, it got halfway through and she was like, gosh, it does it kind of feel like cheating. And I looked at her and I was like, Hey, stop with that thinking because the man sitting next to you is not going to think that, right? So we need to all change our mindset on
Danielle Lewis (08:05):
That. I love that so much. It is so true. I think that, I don't know why we like to do things the hard way. It is just absolutely bizarre. But I love that reframe that it is just another tool, and we have all of these tools at our disposal. This is just another one in the mix and just happens to be very advanced. So on that topic of ai, what are you seeing in the market right now? How can a woman in business act or how should she be thinking about leveraging AI to grow her business?
Lauren Schiavone (08:43):
Yeah, I think the first place to think about AI is it is absolutely a productivity tool. And that's probably the first sort of use cases that are very applicable to a business owner, something that you're doing all the time. It takes a lot of time and maybe it's quite tedious and you can find a way to make it much faster with an AI tool. But we need to shift our thinking from AI is not just a productivity tool to AI as a growth accelerator and can be a growth engine for your business. So depending on what your business is, it can help you get to better insights for bigger ideas. It can help you create new services. It can help you deliver better work to your clients. It can help you better upskill your clients can essentially do so many things. And the way that I always tell people is, look, the world of AI is so overwhelming.
(09:37):
There is a new tool every day, really, probably every hour. So I always tell people focus on what is called an LLM or a large language model. And Chachi BT is the best example of an LLM. These models like chat, GBT are trained on massive amounts of data and they can do so, so many things. People today are maybe just writing an email with chat GBT that is just scratching the surface of what is possible. And so what I always tell people is become an expert in a tool like chat. BT spend a lot of your time and energy stay focused because that capability combined with your own expertise and experience a critical part, those two together will give you superpowers.
(10:22):
So stay focused. Don't get distracted by the tools and just become an expert. And because by the way, those tools are getting better every day. And that's the thing also that gets me energized and also continues to blow my mind, is if you think about it, AI is the least capable it will ever be. So people will, it's easy to sort of complain about things like, oh, it didn't give me the best image, or, oh, the ad didn't look great. Okay, well, it still created an ad in a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost, and it wasn't that bad. And you better start learning that now because soon the technology is going to be incredible. And if you're not learning now, you'll be massively behind, honestly, in probably just a couple of months or a year or two.
Danielle Lewis (11:13):
Yeah, that is such incredible advice. I've never heard anyone say that before, that it is the least capable that it will be right now. So right, everything is improving every day. Every time I go in there, it's like it's leveled up in some way and I'm like, oh my God, I'm behind. I need to learn. But I do love that idea of focusing in on one tool, really learning that and using it as kind of a jumping off point. I think that's the interesting thing as well, is we don't have to be full on experts. We don't have to replace everything in our business with AI on day one, but if we just start with something small, see the impact, and then sort of roll out from there, I love, maybe the image isn't quite what you wanted it to, or maybe the ad isn't, or maybe the articles, but if you are staring at a blank page, it might take you hours to get started or hours to complete that task if it gets you 50% of the way. That's huge.
Lauren Schiavone (12:15):
Yes. And the other thing to keep in mind when you say article is you have to keep in mind that most things in life, the quality of the input guides the quality of the output. So people will say all the time, oh, it doesn't sound like me. Okay, well if you spend time sharing materials with it on how you speak, if you did a tone of voice analysis on yourself, if you shared that, I know it will sound like you. And so also just sort of pausing and saying, okay, how do I do better? Because I see also people get something back and they're like, this isn't what I wanted. And BT can't do anything but think about Chachi. BT are a tool like that as a really capable, motivated, always pleasant intern or new hire. And when your intern or new hire comes to you and it's not the work you were looking for, you don't say like, oh my gosh, you're so stupid. Get out of here. Right? You're fired. Yeah, exactly. You say, okay, how do I provide more direction? How do I share some examples? How do we go step by step? And that's the mindset in which you need to be interacting with these tools. People kind of think it's like a one. No, you need to have a conversation. Very few people get exactly what they are looking for on their first prompt. It is a process. It is a conversational tool back and forth,
Danielle Lewis (13:52):
And I'm continuously blown away. So I've been using chat GPT specifically for a while, and it's like when we finish a task, it started talking to me. I talk to it. So I have this funny like, oh my God, you're the best that I say to people. And it started saying, oh, you're the best to me. I'm like, wow, this is
Lauren Schiavone (14:16):
Freaky.
Danielle Lewis (14:17):
Yeah,
Lauren Schiavone (14:17):
It really is incredible. Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (14:21):
But I just love that. I mean, you're so right. It is the effort we put in to someone or something. It's exactly the same with an AI tool. You do need to be prepared to, yeah. You can't just read your mind. Not yet anyway. Not yet.
Lauren Schiavone (14:36):
Not yet. I mean, actually I think that's coming. And some days I'm like, why can't you just read my mind? But yeah, it's not there just yet. Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (14:46):
Oh, I love it so much. It's so exciting. So how did you go from employee to business owner? What was that transition like for you? So I mean, obviously you were in a period of transition. You mentioned second baby time, and so exciting new technology, new industry. Then when you got your feet under the desk and you're like, okay, now I've run a business. What did that feel like for you?
Lauren Schiavone (15:17):
So I had always told myself when my second baby was a year old that I wanted to get back to work. So it was about around that time, and I was starting to think of just doing traditional CPG sales and marketing consulting. And I went to a local training and it was an AI training for small business owners. And I was there as a student, a participant, and I sat there and I was just listening, and I was like, oh my gosh, I could teach this training. And I was coaching the people around me. And to be honest, that is the moment where I gained the confidence to say, I can do this. I was sort of wavering back and forth. I knew in my heart I wanted to do it, but I wasn't sure that I was ready. And in that moment I was like, okay, I'm ready. And I sort of shared that with the mentor and she was like, great, I'm going to introduce you to someone.
(16:17):
I met with that person. And with the help of AI too, I told that person sort of what I thought their business opportunities were and how I could help. And that was my very first client. But I think it's been a process of like, oh, I need a website. Oh, I need an email. What do I want my company name to be? So much pressure. Yeah. And then I think the one thing, and I learned this at PG, the power of agility I would call it, and is that a couple of times already I've kind of shifted my approach or changed up something that I was doing, right? Because I think that's just sort of responding to the feedback that you get and listening to your consumers. So I started with the plan and I'm pretty close to the plan still, but some components have evolved.
Danielle Lewis (17:19):
Yeah, I love that. And I think that's ongoing, isn't it? You just don't know what you don't know in business a lot of the times. And it is that process of, and technology changes and the new things come along and we Oh, let's do that. I love that so much. And how you mentioned, I always fascinated by business growth. You mentioned your first customer came from a mentor's referral. How have you gone about growing the business so far?
Lauren Schiavone (17:48):
Yeah, I think that's odd, candidly, right? One of the hardest parts. Yeah, totally. And certainly flexing new muscles. I used to joke. I still joke. I mean, there are times people ghost me. And when I was working at PG, no one ever ghosted me.
Danielle Lewis (18:07):
No. Oh my God. I used to work for a big corporate too. And the rude shock of people not answering your phone calls. Yes,
Lauren Schiavone (18:14):
Yes. Just like the pitter-patter out. But that's the first thing you sort learn is like, okay, thick your skin right, thick your skin. And not taking it personal. And also realizing that there's also something I learned at PGA moment of receptivity. I never take it personal. I've learned not to take it personal. You know what? I'm going to stay top of mind for that person. And when they're ready, they'll know that I can help them rightly because their Oh crap moment on ai, it is going to come, right? It's going to come. I dunno when, but it's going to come. So yes, certainly reaching out to my network has sort of been a way, having some of my mentors introduced me to some other folks that were maybe part of my direct network. And then also getting involved in other AI communities have given me opportunities.
(19:15):
I was able to speak at a conference and that gave me some, oh, and then, oh, my LinkedIn. So I think that was another thing of going from my role at p and g, now I'm like, oh my gosh. And I kind of ignored LinkedIn. Maybe I'd been on to respond to recruiter or something, but I certainly wasn't posting. And so now I have to build a content strategy and a key part of my branding or my marketing is what I put on LinkedIn. And that's just again, a new muscle, but something that I've learned is critically important and does lead to some great opportunities. Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (20:00):
Yeah. It's interesting that when we're employees, sometimes we don't think about our personal brand, but when we're business owners, our personal brand is such a powerful sales and marketing channel.
Lauren Schiavone (20:14):
Yeah, I, and that's been tricky to figure out what do I want to stand for? What do I want that to be, and how is it differentiated? So I think for me, it's a couple parts. One, it's being an AI practitioner because many are AI theorists and haven't actually sat in the seats of the people doing the work. So being super practical has been important. I think the second thing is anyone can get on there and show the latest and greatest AI tools. It's not really my game because I like to instead share the more strategic how to think about the strategically or share the strategic frameworks. And then the third part is trying to be really authentic and transparent and to sharing personal stories again, which is nothing I would've ever done before. But the first time I did that, my three-year-old was giving up her pacifier and we had this whole thing, she was going to get our nails done, and she was going to pay with her pacifiers.
(21:21):
And she said, and they're going to go back to their mommies and daddies. And I was like, yes, they're going to go back to their mommies and daddies. So we go through all that. We get home that night and she's a little sad going to bed, and she's like, are my house with their mommies and daddies? And I'm like, yeah. And I'm like, do you want to see where they are? She's like, yeah. And I was like, okay. So I just opened chat GBT, and I'm like, create a picture of Passi Land and a Passi family. And they were a hit, and she loved 'em, instantly calmed her down, and they're still sitting, they're taped up in our cri, right? Because I'm like, will it make you feel better if I taped them up? She's like, yes. So yeah, I shared that story and that was the first time I really ever talked about my personal life.
(22:12):
But it got great interest and I actually just started a new series every Monday. So I say Mondays are for the moms, and it's the ai, don't have time for that series. AI tips and trick for busy moms. And so far it's also been had a ton of engagement, and that's obviously something super personal and authentic to me. And I tried just to be really authentic. Last week I uploaded a picture of my face after I got this laser treatment. It was really hurting me and I didn't know what to put on it, and I didn't listen when I left. So authenticity, I think is a key part of the branding.
Danielle Lewis (22:53):
Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, it's interesting. I feel like if we have a problem, somebody else is probably experiencing it as well. So being open and honest and sharing the stories, I think that's what helps us connect with other people. It's so easy to hide behind a big brand. And I think more and more consumers of any kind want that behind the scenes want that authenticity and connection versus just the big Nike brand logo or the p and d or the whatever it is, is we want to buy from people.
Lauren Schiavone (23:30):
And I think what's interesting about it is I saw this post from someone who does business coaching, and she sort of was like, when I started, she was in hr, I was going to a lot HR conferences, and I was making a lot of HR relationships. And then I realized, wait, these people are all doing the same thing I'm doing. I got to get to the other people. And I was like, oh, my posts are getting a lot of attention from people in the AI community. People kind of just like me. I need to figure out in my content strategy, how do I get outside of that? So the sharing more personal stories and the more the mom stuff, the relatable stuff has been much better for bringing in non AI people, the people who don't know it yet. Exactly. Exactly.
Danielle Lewis (24:23):
Yes. And that's such an important thing to think about with content, with marketing, with our messaging. Yeah, it is. Don't forget, we're not talking to our industry peers. We are talking to the people who we're trying to serve.
Lauren Schiavone (24:37):
Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (24:38):
Exactly. Oh, I love it so much. Lauren, you are absolutely incredible. Now, I always like to leave these podcasts with one last piece of advice. So reflecting on your time in business, what would be a piece of advice that you would give to another woman on her business journey?
Lauren Schiavone (24:59):
Well, first I'd say just do it right. Go for it. But I'd say be confident. Have confidence in yourself. And I think every woman struggles with that to some extent. And certainly I have. But it's interesting because having a daughter changed my perception on it a little bit. And I just think to myself and said, what would I tell her in this moment? Right? I'd say, you're brave, you're strong. We do hard things, and why am I not talking to myself like that? And so it was just sort of an interesting moment where I realized, okay, my self-talk needs to be positive the same way that I would say it to her or encourage her. That's what I'd say. Be brave. Be confident we can do hard things.
Danielle Lewis (25:56):
Oh, amazing. I love it so much. Lauren, thank you so much for your time this evening. It's been absolutely incredible to have you on the podcast and sharing your story. Yeah, thanks for having me. That wraps another episode of Spark tv. Shout out to Spark TV sponsor IP Australia for their amazing support of the Spark Podcast and women in business. And if no one tells you today, you've got this.
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