Listen in as Dynasti Hunt and I talk about your business as an anti-racism educator, and the importance of her growth as an individual and her business.
You can listen to Dynasti on these other episodes:
– Episode 73: Building Your Brand
– Episode 122: Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in Fitness
Connect with Dynasti: https://www.dynastihunt.com/
TRANSCRIPT:
Jessica Freeman
Hey, everyone, welcome back to another episode. And this is another spotlight episode where I highlight one of my community members from the better collective. And if you have been listening to the podcast for a while you will not be a stranger to Dynasti because this is like her third or fourth time on the podcast
Dynasti Hunt
third time, third time,
Jessica Freeman
can I What can I say I’m a fan of Dynasti. We are friends and I, she just has a lot to share. And so I love having her on here. If you have not listened to the other episodes that she’s been on, I will link to those in the show notes. So you can just like binge on Dynasti content. But I’m so excited to have you here. I’d love for you to start us off by just sharing who you are and what your businesses create.
Dynasti Hunt
Thanks for having me. I love every time we get together, I’m always like, Oh, yes, we actually need to record and not just like, Jeff on life and everything.
Jessica Freeman
We’ve been chatting for, like 15 minutes.
Dynasti Hunt
Now we’re doing the podcast
Jessica Freeman
now. I guess. Like I know, you have things to do, I think we should
Dynasti Hunt
record. Right. And like, eventually we’ll get there. Yeah. So I am Dynasti Hunt. And yes, it’s like the TV show, just spell it a little bit differently. So if you’re looking for me, it does not end in a why it ends in an I asked my father, we can talk about that another day. But the work that I do is all around racial equity consulting. So for me, what I’ve really found is that it’s not just about saying like, oh, as an organization, you should focus on diversity, equity inclusion, that’s probably step one.
But if you’re really wanting to make fundamental change for individuals, particularly those who identify as individuals of any group that is non white, then I believe it’s really about focusing your work on racial equity. So I lead work that focuses around racial equity, both in coaching leadership teams and consulting organizations on how to get beyond the learning phase and get into the actual change phase.
Jessica Freeman
I love it and you have a membership like you have, you have lots of ways that
Dynasti Hunt
I have a lots of ways like you can join the membership community yet work. So if you’re an individual and you like my organization is not wanting to invest in this work right now, great. get onboard to the membership program, because I believe that individuals within an organization can actually change the system if they have the tools to that also a support for entrepreneurs. Because I also believe that even if you’re an entrepreneur, you can also be doing this work.
There’s a lot of ones that I do around that accelerator programs. And then I just spent a lot of time on Instagram sharing resources sharing post on medium. It is fascinating to me, the social media world and how you can stay connected to everyone and share additional resources that I hope are helping people have very different conversations at work.
Jessica Freeman
Yes, you should definitely follow her on Instagram, like she’s super active shares amazing things. You even went viral last year, and I don’t still you know,
Dynasti Hunt
that’s such an interesting thing. That was really interesting, because that post that went viral, quote, unquote, was a post that I wrote literally in 20 minutes, because I was just so like, angry about what was going on and what was happening in our country and thinking, Okay, and that’s enough, I’m gonna write this, and like five friends will see it.
And, you know, the next thing I know, it’s being shared and reshare. And I was like, Oh, well, that wasn’t the intention. But I’m glad I’m glad it was definitely for like five minutes. It was like friends and family. So yeah, it didn’t like those.
Jessica Freeman
Wasn’t it like e news and like
Dynasti Hunt
pop sugar cosmopolitan, or Fast Company.
Jessica Freeman
I like resharing it on their Instagram and like resharing that they’re sharing. And I’m like, we need to put this on your website. Like, that’s your that’s always my when people with friends or really like anybody sometimes. Even if they’re not like friends or clients, I will reply to people and I’ll be like, you need to put that on your website. True.
Dynasti Hunt
It’s true. Jess was like, okay, so when is this going to your website? Like? Yes. And that that needs to happen. But yeah, it’s so funny because people ask all the time, like, how did you go viral? Like, tell me your secret? And honestly, I think my secret is there is no secret. But for me, it really is just about being super authentic and what I share, and you know, just what I see, you know, I do this work every day.
So there are things that I see that I want to reflect on that I want to share that I want to push people on. So that’s what I put out there. So for those who are like, what’s the secret sauce here content, just be real. Be yourself. Be honest. No, you’re gonna make mistakes. I’m terrible at spelling. So people write me and be like that was misspelled. I know.
Jessica Freeman
But you still know what it says.
Dynasti Hunt
I know. I know my gaps.
Jessica Freeman
And you still understood that okay, like, I guess we’re not here for perfection. But I mean that really like you really are. Very, I hate the word but like authentic on Instagram thing. I can tell like when you’re fired up and when you’re just like, hey, like, this is what we need to cover today. And then like your posts this morning you were like, why y’all say in this like,
Dynasti Hunt
I don’t even know what else to ask you like this is it this is the post I don’t have a caption for it. Yeah, like just like
Jessica Freeman
one mine. And I’m like, that’s what I love. Like that’s another thing I love, like the resources, the content, but then I just love that it’s sometimes like y’all are making me tired.
Dynasti Hunt
Like what the what y’all let’s talk about this. Yeah.
Jessica Freeman
I love it. So then the next thing I’d like to talk about is so we’ve known each other for four or five years, five years
Dynasti Hunt
now. Yes. Crazy doing website work and beyond it became friends. Yeah.
Jessica Freeman
Like one of my you were one of my first or second, like fitness people. And I remember being like, Oh my gosh,
Dynasti Hunt
I got another fitness person. I’m so excited.
Jessica Freeman
And I what I’m very, I’m still very excited that we did that.
Dynasti Hunt
For those listening who know me from the fitness world. I have not totally given up fitness. But I’m just really busy right now. I don’t have time to teach classes. I get this question all the time. So I just had a name that people were like, are you going to teach classes? Sure. 2023.
Jessica Freeman
Maybe? Yes. So that’s a little backstory. Like if you listen to the other episodes with Dynasti, you’ll, you’ll hear her talk about fitness. So used to do live instruction, and then you have some online things and write all that. So that still part of Dynasti, but
Dynasti Hunt
it is still part of my world. But now I’m working more on the back end of the fitness industry, because I definitely thought that the fitness industry, I was like, Okay, I’ll just separate myself. And when I go teach, I’ll just focus on that. And then when I come back to work, then I’ll do racial equity work, then against the fitness industry. And I was like, Huh, not y’all are dealing with the same issues too.
Well, all right, here we are. So I need to like take that mic off my head, and spend some time with the different mics. That’s what I’m doing right now, spending some time there instead.
Jessica Freeman
And that was one of my favorite things to see. Like, just from like an outsider perspective. And like, and having worked with you, but like, when you were like, oh, like I didn’t even know, like, as someone who had like, worked with you. Like, I was like, wait, you do this diversity work at your day job. Because yes, Dynasti also still has a day job. And I’m like, you really do have more than 24 hours in a day.
It’s, um, and I was like, we I didn’t even know this. And so when you were finally like, Okay, I’m not like holding this part of me back. And I’m going to like fully step into this. I was like, Yes, like, like I love No matter what it is, but like to see people be like, Okay, this is actually what I really want to do. And I’m gonna like, fully step into it,
Dynasti Hunt
I really appreciate that, you know, it’s really interesting, because I love my day job. And it’s so great to be able to do the work that I’m able to do and really push and lead and just collaborate with the team in different ways. And what’s interesting about it is I always kept them separate, it was very much like, I’m just going to have the fitness side, because very early on in my career I was taught you like you keep these two sides separate, these two worlds are very different, you have to keep them separate.
And so I very much thought that, but I think 2021 or 2020, rather, the combination of what was going on in this country. And then quarantine, I think, my also own evolution. So I shouldn’t say was just 2021, I think I had been getting myself to this point, I really felt like I can continue to be behind the scenes, or I can talk about it. And I can help more organizations, hopefully I can help more individuals, I can bring more light and exposure to it.
And also name that I’m not perfect in this work. I learned something new every single day. But I think a lot of times what people are, you know, they come out. And this is not to say anyone shouldn’t come out and share resources. But they’re coming out and they’re sharing a lot of resources. And then when it comes to like, how do you actually do this work inside of an organization? I think a lot of times people don’t have that context and don’t have that lens.
And so I recognize that I could continue to keep them separate and stay separate. Or I could visibly put myself out there and say like, I’m not perfect. I haven’t figured out all the pieces, but I can tell you what I’m learning. I can tell you what I know. I can tell you what I’ve seen I can tell you what works. And sometimes my posts are like, I’m writing this for you because behind the scenes, this was a like we mess this up.
Like, this is not the direction that’s not how we want to do it. So like somebody should learn from me from my own mistakes, but it is definitely been Fascinating to shift and have that be kind of like the openness of putting yourself out there. You know, I think sometimes even family and friends are like, are you going to lose your job, whatever what you’re saying, and my job is super supportive.
But also, I think it’s an evolution of self of getting to the point where if I do because of something that I said, then so be it, because this is what I truly believe. And I don’t want to be anywhere, work anywhere and work within your organization. That doesn’t value me for me. So definitely been an evolution of career. And you know, how you think about yourself and how you bring authenticity, even to, sometimes to people in places where they may not be ready for it just yet. But if you are, then that’s what you have to do.
Jessica Freeman
Yeah. 100%, like, just step into that, even if you’re not perfect. Like I just saw someone this morning that was like, you don’t have to know everything to still be able to help others. Yeah, it’s true. It’s there are a million ways to do websites, and I don’t know all of them.
Dynasti Hunt
Absolutely. So I think that’s true. And then I think you have to be open to learning, you know, and continuing to learn. So like you don’t know everything. So what are the books? What are the resources? What are the containers, like, I find myself as student every single day, I’m reading all the time and digging in and looking at different courses and learning from other educators. Because I’m like, I don’t know everything.
Nor am I going to pretend to but I can definitely push myself to dig in more to the learning side of things. So it has helped me a lot. I also will say that I have a box full of books. And I’m planning to read all of them this year. But somebody should cut me off like this order, like eight more. So it’s like, meet those two. And yeah, I need to be cut off real quick, real quick.
Jessica Freeman
there’s a there’s a cap like we got to get a cat, we need to read more of these before we order more.
Dynasti Hunt
So I think I’m officially cut off. So if anybody has book recommendations, do not send them to Dynasti, do not I haven’t cut off into life. And wait, what is over here,
Jessica Freeman
wait until like maybe next year, literally, literally. Make a note, make a note. So switching gears, but still talking about learning, just a lot of different a different learning. I would love for you to share why you join the butter collective? Yeah.
Dynasti Hunt
So there are a couple different reasons one, because I knew you knew your work. And so I knew that I was going to get a lot of just helpful information. So one thing about Jessie all that y’all should realize is, you know, she’s been working with me on my site and pieces behind the scenes for over these years. But what I also love about her is just her content, like every time I go to her page, I’m like, Oh, that was really helpful. And that was great.
I paid for this because that was free. And that was my unpaid Instagram. It’s so helpful. But the reason why I joined the collective is because I knew that I was going to be getting information that would be not only helpful to my website, but just also as I think about operations overall. So for me, the collective has been this place where I think some people come in and they’re like, Oh, it’s my, my website, or SEO, and those are pieces of it. But it’s about a whole lot more.
Like when I started to work on a podcast with a friend of mine, we do a collective podcast separately, I went back to some of the original resources and better collective to really think about like, how we start how we plan, you know, I go back to the better collective when I have a question that’s more around me functioning and running my business. And so for me, the better collective has been this one community where I feel like I can go to it and get what I need that yes, it’s related to like the operational systems of my business. But it’s more about how do I make the operational systems work for my business in a way that helps my business grow. So it’s been super helpful.
Jessica Freeman
I do I do love to talk about systems and other tech, like,
Dynasti Hunt
it’s so good, because I think so many times we miss that part. And I was just sharing with someone yesterday that I’m focused a lot on systems only because I think that we like go out in the world. And we’re like, Okay, I’m going to go out and consult or I’m going to coach or I’m going to teach a class and do all this stuff. But we don’t take the time to really truly like function and sit and operate and make sure our business is operating on the back end. And then continue to look at how does it function, you know, and that could be like systems, that could be actual people that you need to add to the team.
But like, what are the investments because if you want to scale and grow, you’re going to have to make investments, you’re going to have to turn around and take the dollars that you may like all those dollars can’t be like alright, I’m pocketing that we’re getting. Yeah, you got to turn around and make those investments. But you’ve got to be strategic about what the investments are that you want to make. And so with the better collective, it’s been helpful to think about what are those strategic investments that I need to think about? As I grow my business and as I scale, and as I navigate both having this and still having my full time job and wanting to honor both,
Jessica Freeman
yeah, yeah. And she’s not the only one that has popped in with like, what about this other thing like podcasting or project management systems or whatever. So it’s it’s a lot of website. But we also talk tech and systems and just all the other pieces. Because I love to one of my favorite parts of web sites is helping people like automate things, or just like save time. And like a client I just finished working with, she was like, I’m so frustrated, because I send people to, like, when they inquire about working with me, I want them to book a time.
And I like want their information, but also book a call with me all at the same time. But like I do it, I think she was like a Google form. And then calendly or something, and she was like, and I’m just like, not getting like half the time, they don’t book a call. And I was like, well, we need to like condense that into like, one thing, like, we could use this program or this program, and then you’d literally get it all at once. And she was like, Oh, yeah, like she was like, but then like, well, that like form isn’t as pretty. And I was like, honestly, that doesn’t matter.
Dynasti Hunt
Yeah, I’ve definitely gotten past the like, pretty piece like it’s taken me a while, but you definitely at first, you just like, I want it to look so pretty. And I’m like, if it’s not functional, if it’s not saving you time, if it’s not actually optimizing what you’re doing for the client, then pretty is not going to help you Yeah, like surgery and a
Jessica Freeman
certain things can be pretty. But like, then there’s there’s some things that like, it’s just, it doesn’t need to be pretty your contact form doesn’t need to be this like work of art. It’s a contact form.
Dynasti Hunt
Right? I totally agree. Totally agree.
Jessica Freeman
So you’ve been in the collective for like a year and a half. Which is crazy. What’s like one of your biggest takeaways, dirt from your time? Yeah.
Dynasti Hunt
So I think one of my biggest takeaways has been some of the open q&a. So we’ve been doing some of the open q&a, and one of them that I just remember distinctly and that continues to help me and I go back to try to listen to all the q&a is every month, it’s just on sales pages, and copyright. So shout out to Michaela, but like the, the AHA that I had around like sales page, and writing and thinking about your actual content, and writing just blew my mind, but also being able to come and bring that to the table and to say, Can you look at this live?
Can you give me real time feedback, because I really struggle with, you know, like programs where it’s a recorded session, but you don’t have time to like, get any coaching? I’m like, No, no, I need the live coaching. So that just having the live q&a and the live coaching has been super helpful. And also the many tips that you give where you’ll send a tip and be like, Alright, y’all this week, this is something that you need to do.
So for example, you wrote one where you were like, make sure you’re talking about your services. And I was like, hmm, when’s the last time I talked about the word community writing? No. I haven’t talked about it in forever on my page. So this is a good time to talk about it. So those have been super helpful and right on time.
Jessica Freeman
Yeah. And that’s like the sometimes it’s just those little reminders that we need, like, yes, we can have these big workshops. But I’m like, sometimes we all just need a reminder, even myself to do so. Yeah, those little things. And in the q&a, I think that’s everyone’s like, favorite part when I introduce the q&a, because people are like, I just want to share my screen. Or can you look this over and which some people are like, Oh, my gosh, that’s intimidating.
I don’t want to share my, like my sales page in front of everybody. But some people are okay with it. And so just getting that feedback is can be super helpful. Like, we all need feedback. We all do. So I would love for you to share a tip that you have for other business owners, whatever it is just something
Dynasti Hunt
that you’ve learned. So it’s a great question. I think one of the things that I learned and this goes back to some of my work in education, but scheduling a weekly one to one for yourself. So I see people doing like longer, like CEO days, which I’m going to start to incorporate one day a month where I can just plan everything out for myself. But what I’m finding is and when I don’t do it, I fell off. So a weekly one to one where it’s 90 minutes, maybe sometimes it’s two hours, depending on what you have to do. And it’s literally a checklist where you like reflect on what went well, last week.
What did you struggle with last week? What are your top three priorities for this week? Who did you connect with this week? You know, like, it’s basically a chance to reflect on what happened the week before, think about what’s coming and then plan for what’s ahead. It gives you just space to just learn a little bit more every single week about what you’re doing, how you’re doing check in with you, but also gives you a chance to plan and think about, like what’s on the horizon.
So I tell everybody scheduling a weekly one to one with yourself, where you have an agenda, a checklist that you’re going to work through for your reflection, you close your computer, you get off of email, you turn off your phone, and for 90 minutes, it’s you and a reflecting space is so helpful. And I’ve been off like, I’ll admit to the everyone that I haven’t done one in six months, and I feel so off, because that’s been such a part of my practice. So I’m restarting those.
And finding the day in which I can do that. I know a lot of people who I’ve told this to will then go do them on Sundays, I actually am switching those two Fridays, only because I believe in like giving yourself time off on the weekend. And they say like reflecting on a Sunday night is that the way you want to start your Monday or if you really are itching to do that, then you block off the first two hours on a Monday. And that’s your time to do your weekly reflection before you head into the week. But having space and time to have a weekly check in with yourself. I think it’s really important.
Jessica Freeman
Yeah, agreed. I don’t do the I don’t do like a 90 minute thing. But I just have a spreadsheet that I fill out every week. And it’s just I call it my CEO report. And I just update. It’s some vanity metrics of like, what’s my follower count here? my subscriber count like whatever. But then I also just track. Okay, what clients did I get this week? Where did they come from a win and a lesson.
And I mean, you could do whatever else you want. Like I’ve kind of figured out like, I think this is what I want to track. So even if you’re like, I don’t have 90 minutes, like, figure out some way to check in, because I think that’s really important. Like whatever that looks like having some CEO time to just
Dynasti Hunt
agree. Because otherwise you just run, you’re just running and you’re on to the next thing and you don’t take the time to like stop and pause. And then you’re like, Oh, I’m burnt out. I’ve got all this stuff. It’s very chaotic. It was because you haven’t stopped to like, step back and go, Hmm, what’s really going on what really do I need? And also to just like what, like, you might need some space and time to just say like, actually, I need a week off.
I need to get away from it all. And I need to pause any projects and take time. But if you’re not reflecting, you’re not going to know like what’s ahead. So I encourage everyone I have put it back on my schedule and adjust the time for a time that works for me. But it’s something that I’ve done for years. And when I don’t do it, I could feel the difference.
Jessica Freeman
Yeah. So I think I think that just checking in and having and I just talked about this on Instagram this week about like, CEO time working on the business, like, otherwise, you’re gonna wake up in five years and be like, I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t even like what I do anymore. I don’t know. Like, exactly. Exactly. It’s just yeah, check in with yourself, whatever day of the week, however long it takes you whatever. If it’s a journaling, spreadsheet, like whatever, do something. Yeah, that’s I love it. And then lastly, what’s your favorite tool or app or whatever that you would recommend? Who? Yeah,
Dynasti Hunt
there’s I mean, there’s a couple that come to mind in terms of tools. You know, right now, interesting enough, I am I loving slack in a way that I didn’t before. So I was never like a big slack person. But now with like modern technology, I’m finding that I have clients who will email me, and I’m like, or text me and I’m just like, I really need to get you out of text into slack. And so it’s forced me and now I’m loving it that much more. So I really love slack.
And then probably the other one that I love, which is an interesting one. It’s not necessarily a business tool, but I find it helpful is medium, I find the quality of the writing on there to be super helpful. I think there’s a lot of like think pieces, but they force me to think in different ways. And they’re actually really helpful content for Oh, I think differently about this. I think I want to write about this. And then I want to post about this. So when you’re thinking about like creative ways to come up with new content, I encourage people to invest in drop in it’s like five bucks a month, but I’m really loving medium and what’s out there and the content and the quality of the writing that’s out there.
Jessica Freeman
Yeah, I there’s a lot of good stuff on medium and I’m a huge fan of slack. I use it with all my clients, like all the clients are in slack. I’m like don’t email me. So I love it. And I have had people who were like, Are your clients okay with that and I’m like, to kind of have To be it’s my best work. This is my system. So if you’re gonna work with me, this is what we’re gonna do and, and I just I love it. So I’m glad that you are also a slack fan because
Dynasti Hunt
it’s when I’m turning into one it’s taken me a long time. There are certain systems that I’m just like it’s taken me five years and now I’m like, Oh, please don’t text me. Back it is.
Jessica Freeman
Well, thank you so much for being here. This was as always fun. Before we hop off, would you share where we can connect with you online?
Dynasti Hunt
Absolutely. So my website is dynastihunt.com my Instagram handle is @dynastihunt. Actually, all my handles are at Dynasti Hunt. So if you just look on all the social channels through just Dynasti Hunt,
Jessica Freeman
awesome. I will put the links in the show notes for you guys so you can connect with Dynasti. Otherwise I will see you all next week.
