Corrie LoGiudice is a life and business strategist, speaker, host, influencer and motivational maven.
A former SVP and 3rd generation entrepreneur, Corrie now works to help leaders of small and family businesses scale their legacies. Her 16+ years of experience in family business development ranges from assisting Fortune 200 companies to the small, mom-and-pop establishments that keep America running.
Corrie shares her strategies through her show & podcast, coaching, speaking engagements, writing, online courses, and social media platforms. She also has been featured in TEDx, the Mighty, Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, Elite Daily, Girlboss, HelloGiggles, the Everygirl, Insider & Business Insider.
Episode Transcript:
Katie (00:00):
Hi everyone. Thank you for tuning into the Hustlenomics Podcast. I’m your host, Katie. And today I am so excited to be talking with Corrie Logiudice. She’s a life and business strategist, speaker host, influencer and motivational Maven, a former senior vice president and third generation entrepreneur. Corrie now works to help leaders of small and family businesses scale their legacies, her 16 plus years of experience in family business and development ranges from assisting fortune 200 companies to the small mom and pop establishments that keep America running. So, Corrie, thank you so much for coming on the show today.
Corrie (00:33):
Thank you so much for having me it’s an honor. Yeah,
Katie (00:35):
Absolutely. I’m so excited to have you on. So I would love to kind of dive deeper and learn more about you, your background and kind of how you got to where you are today.
Corrie (00:44):
Sure. So I guess the best way I can describe what I do currently is I help business owners reduce their overwhelmed because when you can reduce your overwhelm from there, it’s much, much easier to grow your business. However that looks, and it’s also easier to achieve the freedom and flexibility that most people initially start their businesses for. I find that a lot of folks, you know, I’m very, very passionate about the American dream and entrepreneurship. And I, as you mentioned earlier, I am a third generation entrepreneur myself. So it’s something I kind of grew up with as being the norm. And there’s so many people out there that want this type of a lifestyle for themselves. And I believe it’s something that everybody should have a crack at, but being able to manage that, that overwhelm and stress of having a business as well as making it work for your life. That’s really where I, I strive to help the best that I can.
Katie (01:32):
That’s amazing. I love that mission. And so tell me a little bit about your background as working as a senior vice president and working with their family’s business.
Corrie (01:40):
Sure. So it’s actually kind of a funny story. So my degree is actually in fine art. So I like to joke that I have a very expensive piece of paper that says I can draw. So when I first graduated college, I really didn’t know what to do. Cause that’s one thing that colleges, especially art schools are not very efficient at teaching artists, how to make money on their art. They’re very big on teaching you how to make it, but they don’t teach you the business side. So when I graduated and I didn’t really have any prospects beside waiting tables, my father at one point came up to me and my family has a large electronics distribution company based out of here in the Northeast where I am. And so he basically asked me, Hey, you want to come and work as a graphic designer, you know, for a little bit, until you figure out what you want to do. So I started off doing the graphic design, a very, very entry level job. And before I knew it, I blinked and 15 years had passed and I was senior vice president and helping run the company. So I literally worked my way up from very, very beginner entry level to the very, very top.
Katie (02:39):
Amazing. And so at some point you realized that it was not something that you were interested in pursuing further. What was kind of that catalyst
Corrie (02:47):
To be upfront? I am still involved with it, but I came to a point in my life and I actually kind of talked about it recently. I did a Ted talk where I went through this whole process on making this major change. But for me it wasn’t that I didn’t want to be a part of my family’s business, but it was, I wanted to spend more time with my son. So, you know, in that timeframe, I became a mother and as the exact moment that my son arrived, my marriage disintegrated at the exact same time, which then resulted in me needing to move very far from where my family’s business was in order to save money and be closer to people who could help me out with my son. And eventually the commute just became unsustainable. You know w I talk about this in my talk, but at one point I decided to add up the number of hours that I was paying my old pair to watch my son while I sat in a car and it totaled 20 hours.
Corrie (03:40):
So I was paying somebody a part time salary, just so I could go to my full time job and being the type of driven individual I am. You know, I always took being in my family business very, very seriously. I’ve always wanted to be a successful business owner. For me being able to have part in my family’s business and kind of carry on that legacy. That was very important to me. So at that time, even though I wasn’t happy you know, and I was missing out on this time with my son, I didn’t make any changes, you know, I just kind of muscled through it and it wasn’t until I was the one to discover somebody I loved had taken his life by suicide. Having that kind of a major trauma, I described it as being a pivotal life moment. It’s either we make proactive choices and make changes on our own, or usually there’s some kind of a major life event that, that forces you to make those changes.
Corrie (04:30):
That moment really made me look at my life and how I was spending my time and who I was spending it with and make the changes in order to be able to ultimately lead a life that was more in alignment with my own values and beliefs. So when that had happened, I, you know, stepped down from my family’s business. I’m no longer running it that I am still involved and that allowed me the freedom and flexibility to create my new coaching and speaking practice, where I’m able to impact even more business owners on a larger scale.
Katie (04:58):
That’s very interesting. And, you know, I’ve talked to a lot of people recently who have kind of made a transition from a position that they worked out for a long time, that they, they probably enjoyed it. And it wasn’t like their life was incredibly miserable at this job, but they knew they were interested in doing something different. So what was that transition like? Did you kind of make it slowly, or is this something that you just woke up and said, all right, I’m taking the leap today? What was that like?
Corrie (05:22):
No, I mean, I think it’s really important for most people, especially if you’re considering a transition like that, that you do make slow steps towards it. And you’re very, very careful and considerate and what you’re doing, because it is a major decision, especially if you’re going to create your own business, you know, as an example. So I had always kind of known that I wanted to do something, you know, on my own. It initially started off as a side hustle. But during that time, while I was doing the side hustle, I was banking money, like big time and I’m a single mom, so that was not easy to do. But the reason I was banking that money was to that when I was ready that did want to make that major move, that I felt comfortable that I was going to have what I needed to support my family while I really fought and kicked and scratched to make it work. But the number one thing I’d recommend is make sure you’re doing whatever you have to do within your power, so that you feel comfortable and confidence that when you make that decision, it’s a no brainer.
Katie (06:16):
Yeah, I like that. I mean, we all know that the kind of quote, unquote, perfect time, there is no real perfect time, but you could definitely set yourself up for success in a way that you’re not constantly guessing. Did I make the right choice? So I really liked that balance. And so what made you decide to go into the coaching business? Is that what your side hustle started out as?
Corrie (06:36):
Yeah, so that’s a great question too. So come to find out, and it’s really kind of interesting. I, when I was going through this phase that I was really annoyed with my commute, but I wouldn’t admit it to myself. I’d actually put myself into therapy because even though I wasn’t frustrated and overwhelmed, like most people get, I felt weird and I couldn’t really figure out why. So I’m like, let me go to therapy to explore this. And it was at that point in time that the whole commute thing came up. So while we were discussing it, my therapist was the one who was like, Hey, have you ever considered coaching? And I had had in the past, if I was being totally honest, you know, I had seen a documentary with Tony Robbins in it at one point and I thought, wow, he’s got such a cool job.
Corrie (07:17):
You know, being able to ask a few pointed questions and, you know, in a moment, be able to try to transform people’s thinking and therefore their lives. So I always thought that was cool, but I never imagined myself in that role because I ultimately was meant to run my family’s business. So I kind of dismissed it. So my therapist bringing that up to me and I asked her, I asked her why, because I’m like, I don’t understand why you’re asking me this. And her answer was in the short timeframe that I had known her. Cause I had worked with her through my divorce. And then, you know, the, the pivotal life moment, you know, she commented that I have a way of being able to approach problems differently than other people. I don’t view it as a challenge or a problem. I view it as an opportunity to learn.
Corrie (07:58):
And therefore, you know, in my therapist asking me that she had, you know, basically said that I have an ability to be able to push through challenges. You know, divorce is a major challenge of running a business as a major challenge. I don’t view it that way though. And instead I view it as a learning opportunity. So her point was if I could help other people change their thinking, which coaching is fantastic for that, that I could really impact a lot of people and a lot of lives. And initially I didn’t really believe I could do that. I didn’t have the confidence that I could do it, but after the pivotal life moment, I started taking online classes to learn more about coaching and come to find out in my 15 years of leadership, you know what I learned in my family’s business, managing a large organization, I already had the skill set that I needed to be able to coach. And in addition to that too, you know, I mentioned it earlier, we have a large electronics distribution company. So in distribution, you’re the middleman between know a major vendor, you know, a fortune 200 vendor and small mom and pop retail stores. So over that 15 years, I got very, very proficient and teaching small mom and pops how to grow their business. Right. So essentially I was business coaching for 15 years, but I didn’t even realize it.
Katie (09:12):
Yeah. That’s so funny. It just, you know, your perspective changes sometimes. And so what were some of those online classes that you were taking?
Corrie (09:18):
At the time I was taking a few on you, to me just cheap $10 ones, nothing, anything in particular that stands out, I’m trying to think the work you books that had a big impact on me that I can recommend. I think it was the prosperous coach is a fantastic one. It’s really based in being a value to people. You know, I’m being of service, which is something that’s very, very near and dear to me. And one of the reasons why I got into coaching. So that was a great one. And then another really good one, which kind of just goes over the basics of what a coach should be doing is the coaching habit. And that one was really helpful, too.
Katie (09:53):
Great. Well, I’ll definitely link to both of those in the show notes. And, you know, I’ve talked to a lot of different coaches, cause of course, you know, there’s life coaches, business coaches, relationship coaches, you know, there’s tons out there. And so you specifically work in the business realm,
Corrie (10:06):
Correct? I work in the business realm, but I kind of like to say I’m more of a hybrid because I work in small business specifically. I find a lot of my clients, they have personal issues that leak into their business or business issues that leak into their personal life. So it really depends on the individual clients. And my, my system is kind of a blend of both. So primarily people hire me for the business side of it, you know, because I am a strategist, you know, I’m coming in to teach them what they need to do to be able to turn their business around. But it is, you know, sometimes the reason they can’t turn their business around is because they don’t have confidence. Right. You know, which is more of a like coaching problem. So those are all things that we address.
Katie (10:45):
Right. Right. Okay. So, and when you started your business and people take different routes, did you decide to get certified or did you know that your kind of experience doing what you did in the past with would be, you know, certification enough,
Corrie (10:57):
Right. Yeah. No, to be honest, after I started doing the courses and I was doing a reading, I realized I knew majority of the content. So I went the route of not getting certified. And my, my reasoning for this too, is the one individual coach who was more or less the inspiration for me even starting all this Tony Robbins, he’s not certified. So if he has the ability to create this, you know, big brands and impact all these labs, doing what he’s doing through his specific skillset that he knows, I didn’t feel that I needed to pay money to have somebody validate that for me, I figured my results would.
Katie (11:33):
Right. Yeah. And I always like to ask that question cause it’s different for everybody and everybody’s experiences are different. So just for people out there who are interested in going into coaching, just know that you have different routes that you can take and you know, you always can, can choose what works best for you. So one thing that you mentioned you did a Ted talk and which is amazing. Congratulations, I’d love to hear about experience, but your focus was kind of on overwhelm and business growth. And that’s something that I mentioned before we hopped on something that I’ve been pondering a lot recently as I’m trying to grow my own business. So first I guess that was a two part question first. I would love to hear about what the process was like of becoming a Ted speaker.
Corrie (12:12):
Sure. so the process is quite simply, you apply so, so long as you have a solid idea that kind of fits into whatever the theme of that local TEDx event is. There’s an opportunity to, to be there granted, you know, for me, and I’m a relatively new speaker I got into speaking cause as I was out doing networking events and I also have a podcast and I have a YouTube show, I was getting a lot of requests from people asking if I do speaking. So, you know, I kind of thought, okay, well I should probably look into this cause I’m getting you know, a lot of requests for it. So I started speaking seriously, probably in the fall of last year. And in doing that, you know, I did a lot of free gigs. I, any place I could go out and get in front of an audience and refine my talk and you know, get good at my craft.
Corrie (12:58):
I took advantage of that. And ultimately my work doing that is what I submitted to get the Ted talk. So I am a very, very early speaker, but it kind of goes to show that if you have a clear message, you know, there’s something that’s important that needs a platform to be able to show it. All you got to do is apply. It doesn’t mean you’re going to get in there. But if you’re a step closer to getting that talk by applying than you are by not even trying. Right. Absolutely. And so what was your top one? My talk was called. Don’t give up, change your strategy. It’s about basically my story, which I shared a lot of it here from, you know, working in my family’s business, the commute thing, the pivotal life moment, all of that’s incorporated into the top, but where I take it a step further is after that moment, when my therapist had suggested I get into coaching when I really buckled down and thought about, okay, well, how is it that I’m able to push through overwhelm, but other people have this challenge.
Corrie (13:49):
They kind of in every, anytime something gets difficult, people view it as an excuse. And I view it more as, okay, well, what’s there to learn from this. I figured out that there’s a system. There’s a framework that I use in the talk was on that. So I call it the motivation method and basically there’s five individual culprits that will cause your overwhelmed. And they’re all really easy to remember. They all begin with a C. So there’s, if you’re, there’s a clarity is number one. So if you’re not clear, not only what it is you want to do, but why it’s going to be much, much harder to get there and not being clear is going to be a source of frustration for you. Right? Number two is your competence. So it’s one thing to know what you want, but if you’re not confident and you can have it, then you’re not going to get there.
Corrie (14:36):
Right. And unfortunately confidence is on you. It’s no one else’s responsibility to make him confident. So that’s something that you have to go out and number one, be clear enough to be able to identify what you’re not competent in and then be able to go ahead and get those skills that you need to become more so perfect. Example of this was, you know, when my therapist had said, have you ever thought of becoming a coach? I thought she was crazy because I wasn’t confident that I could do it. So it was up to me to go out there and read the books and take the classes and do what I needed to do to now become the confident coach I am today. Right? So confidence is number two. Number three is your community. Your community is your support network as well as your environment, right?
Corrie (15:13):
So as the people that you surround yourself with. So I like to mention, there’s a quote by the municipal motivational speaker, Jim Roan, you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. So this is what I mean by community. So if the five people you spend the most time with either don’t believe you could do what it is you want to do, don’t know how to do what that is or don’t support you in doing it. It’s going to be that much harder to become motivated to actually go out there and do that. So you really have to be selective on who you choose to surround yourself with in order to be able to achieve what it is you want. The fourth one is your conditioning. And when I say conditioning, I mean your mental health and your physical wellness, right?
Corrie (15:56):
So self-care, if you are constantly trying to pour from an empty cup, you’re never going to get anywhere. And you’re just going to always be overwhelmed and ticked off and cranky, right? So being able to take care of your mental health and wellness and make sure it’s a priority will help you, you know, have the, the momentum and the motivation to keep going towards what it is you want. And lastly, it’s consistency. So if you don’t have a plan in place or a strategy as I like to call it. So for example, having daily, weekly, monthly goals, and actually scheduling time to check in on your progress towards them, it’s going to be that much harder to get there. So in general, if you find that you’re frustrated or you’re overwhelmed about something, it’s usually one of those five things. And if you can identify what that is and then make changes, it’ll kind of kickstart your motivation to keep going.
Katie (16:45):
Fantastic. And I know it’s probably relative to are very subjective to everybody that you’re speaking to it. And of course, which category they fall into, but if someone heard one of those and it sparked something in them and they know that’s, what’s maybe holding them back, what are some steps that they can take to move past some of that overwhelm?
Corrie (17:02):
Sure. So I’m actually first off, I wanted to mention too, I do have a resource that can help audience with that. Okay. So there, if you visit Corrie lo.com backslash overwhelmed culprit, it’ll take you to a quick six question quiz. It takes like three minutes and it’ll walk you through and it’ll tell you which one of the culprits is yours, right? So then from there, depending on what your result is. So for example, let’s say it’s, you know, your community you know, and as you sit and you think further on it and you realize, okay, well, you know what, no, I don’t think my spouse believes I can do this. Or, you know, I spent all this time with, you know, these three friends and they are super negative all the time and they were dragging me down and then becomes a much easier to have the confidence, to make the decision to then, you know, set better boundaries with those people in your lives, as well as to add relationships with new people who are more in alignment with what your future vision is for yourself. Great.
Katie (17:57):
That’s a wonderful resource. Thank you so much for offering that. I’ll link to that. In addition, it’s everybody can find it. And you mentioned that you have a podcast as well. I’d love to hear about that.
Corrie (18:06):
I do. I have it’s both a YouTube show and a podcast. So on YouTube, it’s called the Corrie lo show and on my podcast is called Corrie low radio.
Katie (18:17):
Fantastic. And so what do you talk about on the show
Corrie (18:20):
And that’s evolved a lot over the years. It was much more kind of self-help motivational in the last year. I am kind of taking a pivot now and doing a bit more business specific content, but I got my start by interviewing people from all walks of life who went through a major pivotal life moment, similar to I similar to me and how they were able to then transform that moment and do something to deliver service to others now. And it’s really interesting because going back and listening to all the interviews now, there’s probably, you know, 20 to 30 that I didn’t last year, the vast majority of them are business owners now, and they’re using their experience now to help and serve others. And they’re also able to, you know, call that their career. Wonderful.
Katie (19:04):
Definitely want to tune into that. And one thing that I’ve learned about podcasting is even though I’m interviewing other people and learning about them, it’s also made me be more self-reflective and it’s made me realize things about myself. So through your, your journey of your YouTube and your podcasting and even your business journey, what have you learned about yourself? That’s maybe surprised you,
Corrie (19:22):
Oh, that’s a great question. You know, probably I know more than I give myself credit for, and I think imposter syndrome kind of happens to all of us in some way, shape or form. I’m also, probably too. I am my own worst critic, you know, being a creative, I have this, you know, kind of perfectionism streak that everything has to look the right way and sound the right way and be perfectly produced. Even a great example for me is that, you know, the Ted talk that I did this past week, it as I mentioned, I, I done the talk multiple times before, probably upwards 20 to 30 times when I got off the stage immediately after TEDx. Initially I was disappointed in myself because I had felt that some of my prior performances were better. Right. For whatever reason, I’m not sure why in my head, but I had this vision that it wasn’t as perfect as I felt it could have been.
Corrie (20:09):
And what really changed after was, you know, interacting with the audience during the breaks, after and hearing from their input that not only did I have a major impact on them through my story, but all of the insecurities I had in my head regarding how the cock went, they had no visibility to it whatsoever because they’re not telekinetic. They have no idea what I’m thinking. So really I was my own worst enemy. So that that’s probably my biggest takeaway is not striving so much for perfection. It’s better to have it done and to make an impact in people’s lives then for it to be absolutely perfect. Okay.
Katie (20:43):
I couldn’t agree more and I definitely struggle with that as well. I feel like that’s definitely a through line. I’ve, I’ve heard with a lot of entrepreneurs that I’ve talked about and hopefully this podcast can help people understand that we all go through it, no matter what stage we’re in, in our business and how much success we’ve had, we sometimes doubt ourselves. So you’re not alone if you’re feeling that for sure. Yeah. So do you have any resources out there and you’ve named quite a few already that I’m definitely going to link to in the show notes, but any others books, podcasts, courses, really, anything that’s been helpful in business or personal development that you would recommend to the listeners?
Corrie (21:15):
No. I mean, I I’d say I probably listed the biggest ones. I do have a list of online tools that I use to automate things. And I walk my clients through automating different aspects of their business because sometimes that could be something that causes overwhelm obviously, and it’s really quick win. So that is you can find it@corello.com backslash up five tools, five hours with the number five. Fantastic.
Katie (21:43):
I’m a huge automation person. So anything that I can automate, I will. So that’s awesome. That’s a great resource. Well, outside of business, I kind of like to ask this to people because sometimes as entrepreneurs, we get obviously enveloped in our business and we think about it all the time and sometimes we just need something to get our minds out of it and to relax. So what do you like to do to enjoy yourself and recharge and just not think about business? Sometimes
Corrie (22:07):
Such a great question. And truth is I need to be better with this cause I have a tendency I’m always on, I’m so driven that like I don’t stop working cause I, I enjoy what I do. So I really make it a point when I can to be outdoors. I love to, you know, be out in nature and live in the New York city area too. So to find that kind of time outside is difficult, but I do find it. But my absolute favorite place is the beach. So during the summer I make it a point to not work on Fridays and I have a three day weekend and that Friday I always spend the entire day at the beach. Cause my son’s at school. I don’t have to worry about babysitters or anything so I can sit on the beach with a book and I’m in heaven. So that would probably be my favorite. I love that
Katie (22:49):
Something to look forward to every week. That sounds so divine. Wonderful. Well, I know people are going to want to check you out and follow your journey. So can you tell everybody how to find you online?
Corrie (22:59):
Sure. It’s my website is Cory low, C O R R I E L o.com. And then you can find me everywhere on social media. So I’m on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn. And my handle is I am Corrie lo
Katie (23:15):
Perfect. Well, I’ll link to all that in the show notes. Everybody could find it pretty easily. So Corrie, thank you so much for coming on the show. It’s been such a pleasure to talk to you today.
Corrie (23:23):
Thank you so much for having me.
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Resource List:
The Prosperous Coach: Increase Income and Impact for You and Your Clients
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
