Episode 87: Building a People-first Culture with Sherry Deutschmann

Company culture isn’t about what you say, it’s about what you do –the standards you uphold, the values you live by, and how you treat each other even when no one is watching.

In this episode, you’ll meet award-winning entrepreneur, Sherry Deutschmann, who built a multimillion dollar business by putting employees first, even ahead of customers and shareholders. Sherry reveals her recipe for building a people-first culture and how a leader’s choices directly impact employee morale, engagement, and commitment.

Sherry Deutschmann is a serial entrepreneur and author of the bestselling book Lunch with Lucy, an inspiring and instructive guide to transformational leadership through empathy. Sherry is the founder of BrainTrust, a company dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs grow their businesses to $1Million in annual revenue and beyond.

 

Highlights:

[02:51] Sherry’s journey

[05:00] Overcoming early struggles

[09:43] Finding focus & positivity in difficult times

[12:28] Advice on finding your north star

[17:27] Building culture from the beginning

[19:26] Sharing profits with your employees

[25:25] Helping employees buy their homes

[29:04] Lunch with Lucy

[32:58] Overcoming struggles of entrepreneurship

[35:47] Advice on dealing with imposter syndrome

[40:29] About BrainTrust

[51:31] Writing “Lunch With Lucy”

Quotes:

“Take care of your employees and they will take great care of the customer.”– Sherry Deutschmann

“Focus on what you do have, your strengths and your gifts, and less on what you don't have.” - Sherry Deutschmann

“Celebrate failures and hardships because that is where the important lessons will be learned.” – Sherry Deutschmann

“When employees have greater access to company knowledge, the more it shapes their behavior and their decisions. It empowers them to make changes that drive the bottom line.” – Sherry Deutschmann

“Knowledge and breadth of knowledge takes away lack of confidence.” – Sherry Deutschmann

“Peer-to-peer learning is the best tool for entrepreneurs and for professional development.” – Sherry Deutschmann

“You can do more good in the world when you are doing well. When your business is doing well, then you have the resources, the power, the influence, to make your reach far wider and deeper.” – Sherry Deutschmann

“The employee-first business model is the secret tool to make companies more successful.” - Sherry Deutschmann

 

About Sherry Deutschmann:

Sherry Deutschmann is a serial entrepreneur, author, and passionate advocate for entrepreneurship. In 2019, Sherry founded BrainTrust, a company dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs grow their businesses to $1Million in annual revenue…and beyond.

Prior to founding BrainTrust, Sherry was founder and CEO of LetterLogic, Inc., a company she grew to $40 Million and sold in 2016. LetterLogic was named an INC 5000 company (fastest growing privately held businesses in the US) for ten consecutive years.

Sherry attributes the success of LetterLogic to its unique culture in which the needs of the employees came before those of the customer or shareholder. That culture led Sherry to be recognized by EY as one of their 2009 Entrepreneurial Winning Women and LetterLogic was featured in the New York Times, Forbes Magazine, Business Leaders, INC, and Fast Company. Sherry was honored by President Barack Obama as a White House Champion of Change in 2016.

Sherry’s book, Lunch with Lucy – Maximize Profits by Investing in your People – will be released on March 20, 2020.

 

Links:

Websites: https://sherrydeutschmann.com/ & https://ourbraintrust.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrystewartd/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sherrystewartd

Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrystewartd/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherry.stewart.d/