Crafting Authentic Brand Narratives: A Masterclass with Tyler Mount on Leadership, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship

When life threw curveballs at Tyler Mount, he didn't just swing back—he rewrote the rules of the game. Join us as the Broadway luminary and digital marketing savant sits down with me, Dr. William Attaway, to unfold his remarkable narrative on Catalytic Leadership. Tyler's insights are a treasure trove for anyone curious about the potency of unconventional paths to triumph, emphasizing the wonders of following your heart into the great unknown of your passions. From the glitz of Broadway to the cutthroat arena of digital marketing and the dynamic world of real estate, Tyler's journey is nothing short of inspiring.

You've heard that relationships are the cornerstone of any successful venture, but Tyler Mount brings a whole new depth to this truth. In a candid conversation, he reveals how the art of personal branding and genuine connection forms the lifeblood of commerce, transcending mere transactions. Together, we dissect the symbiotic relationship between a vibrant company culture and the human touch of its leadership. By peeling back the layers on the impact of vulnerability and trust-building within teams, Tyler demystifies how authenticity fosters a flourishing business environment that clients can't help but gravitate towards.

Strap in as we navigate the transformative landscape of business consultancy and content strategy through Tyler's visionary lens. His innovative approach, marrying advisory finesse with the prowess of an in-house creative agency, is redefining industry standards, demonstrating that the right content can not only build trust but also drive powerful growth. Take notes as he shares his robust three-pillar content strategy, spotlighting the art of balancing personal and professional narratives to captivate and connect with audiences. Whether you're a budding leader or a seasoned entrepreneur, this episode with Tyler Mount offers a masterclass in crafting an authentic brand that stands out in today's crowded digital space.

Transcript

Podcast Intro: 0:02

Welcome to Catalytic Leadership, the podcast designed to help leaders intentionally grow and thrive. Here is your host author and leadership and executive coach, dr William Attaway.

Dr. William Attaway: 0:20

I'm so excited today to have Tyler Mount on the podcast. As an industry-leading branding and digital strategy expert, tyler has served as a branding and business consultant, a digital marketer and a social strategist to nearly a thousand clients spanning 14 countries worldwide. As the owner of Henry Street Creative, a creative agency specializing in brand design, content creation and web development for some of the most esteemed industry professionals, tyler and his team have partnered with Ryan Serhan, spencer Raskoff, the founder of Zillow Picasso, john Leger, the CEO of T-Mobile NBC, nomira Bakarot one hotel and countless others. Tyler's career has been profiled in dozens of reputable publications, including the New York Times, forbes Magazine, medium and Out Magazine, in addition to serving as a keynote speaker for marketing and real estate conferences across the country. His non-traditional, direct approach empowers business owners to take control of their businesses and build empires. Tyler, I'm so glad you're here.

Tyler Mount: 1:31

Thanks for being on the show. Thanks so much for having me. I'm so excited.

Dr. William Attaway: 1:35

I would love for you to share a little bit of your story with our listeners, Tyler, particularly around your journey and your development as a leader. How did you get started?

Tyler Mount: 1:46

Well, look, I have a very non-traditional, non-linear path to where I am today, which actually, I find is more common than you would think. No one well, I don't want to say no one. The majority of people don't wake up in third grade. They're like I want to be a digital marketing agency owner. I didn't even know we didn't even know what Facebook was when we were growing up, but I've always had a passion for people. I've always had a passion for helping people and I've always had a creative instinct. Growing up, I loved the theater. I still love the theater. I was a theater major. I'm a Broadway fanatic.

Tyler Mount: 2:25

I grew up in small town Texas. I knew obviously, that wasn't the place for me. So for college, I went to school for theater in Austin and then, right after graduation, I said I'm going to pursue my dreams of working on Broadway and I was very, very fortunate to be able to work on five Broadway shows as stage manager Prior to, like, the age of 25. So I was really fortunate to have that experience in the Broadway community. During that time. I really just had this urge to create content. Now, keep in mind this was in 2014, which doesn't sound like that long ago, but this was before the word influencer even existed. I created, you know, a content series that involved me and Broadway star sitting on my couch in my living room drinking wine, and we would chat, we'd play a fun game. And ultimately, that series changed my life because what started as a passion project really started to give me chops in what we now know as content creation and digital marketing. From there, that same series was acquired and picked up by Playbill, the leading Broadway legacy brand, and over the course of three years I went from zero subscribers to that series being seen by a hundred excuse me, being seen by a million people in 168 countries every single week. It changed my life and made me a common name and a very niche community.

Tyler Mount: 3:55

From there, I took those skills when I was offered a position at my dream role, which was at NBC Universal, heading up portions of their digital marketing strategy. But obviously my goal was to stay relevant and to stay active in the Broadway community. So I was, through a weird series of events, graciously offered a position as a producer on Broadway. Having no experience, I was mentored by a now colleague and friend, someone who changed my life, a sting producer named Hunter Arnold and Kayla Greenspan, and they really helped me hone what it is to be a producer on Broadway. Again, strange series of events, that first show I did on Broadway won me my first Tony. The second show I did on Broadway won me my second Tony. The third show I did on Broadway won my third Tony. And the fourth show on Broadway got me my fourth nomination, which at the time made me the youngest producer in the history of Broadway to be nominated for all four major categories at the award ceremony. Now, keep in mind I'm doing that while I'm working in digital marketing, where I really find my passion and hone my chops at NBC. And then I eventually transferred back to real estate development where I started my career.

Tyler Mount: 5:11

And you know, during the height of COVID, multiple things in my career happened that led me to working in overseeing portions of the Biden-Harris campaign. Little did we know that he would obviously eventually become the leader of the free world. And as he transitioned to the White House, that's when I accidentally again started what is now known as Henry Sree Creative, my digital marketing agency and consultancy firm. Obviously, when you come off a presidential campaign, it's much easier to, you know, get a client. So that's when John Ledger and I of T-Mobile fame were connected. He was my very first client, a dear friend, someone I trust and adore, and the rest is kind of history.

Tyler Mount: 5:57

John turned into pharmaceutical companies, turned into Spencer Raskoff of Zillow fame, turned into Linda Yacarino, who is now the CEO of Twitter aka X, and almost a thousand clients later. In terms of business consultancy, website development, branding, positioning, we are really focused on bringing a personal brand to everyone, from new business owners to, of course, fortune 100 CEOs. What a journey, truly, truly and so non-traditional, but I've rarely talked to a business owner who's like I went to Harvard Business School because I knew I wanted to start this app I'm selling to them Exactly.

Dr. William Attaway: 6:44

You know, there's no such thing as a wasted experience, and I'm looking at all these different pieces in your journey. I would imagine that all of those stops, all of those elements that make up the stew that is you, all those elements have shaped your approach to digital marketing. I mean.

Tyler Mount: 7:04

Certainly what's interesting is I went to school for acting. I have never professionally acted outside of college and a lot of people would be like, well, that's a waste. We could play that game until we died. I could also argue that I wouldn't have had the experience I had in order to get the job on Broadway that led me to my content series, that led me to Playbill and the person at Playbill who connected me to NBC and the person at NBC who connected me back to real estate development. I met the person who brought me onto the Biden-Harris campaign from the theater, which would not have happened without my acting degree. My managing director. A lot of the staff members that I have on staff either come from the theatrical world or are my friends from theater prior to starting the agency. So, yes, although many people at face value could be like, well, let's say, acting school was a wasted time or a wasted experience, I actually would argue I wouldn't have the success I have without that so-called wasted experience.

Dr. William Attaway: 8:02

I agree 100%, you know. Another thing that you seem to be just an amazing illustration of is the power of connections. You know, so often we make a connection with somebody not really thinking that that's going to lead to this one, which is going to lead to this one, which is going to lead to this one. But I hear that story a lot. You seem to be like the poster child for this like all the different connections.

Dr. William Attaway: 8:25

now I think you may be my new illustration for this particular point the power of connections and how there's no such thing as a wasted connection. Adam.

Tyler Mount: 8:36

Yeah, no. I couldn't agree more, and I really would say that that's my inherent superpower. I love connection. I love getting to know people. I've never met a person that I can't talk to. I could talk to a wall.

Tyler Mount: 8:49

So you know and it doesn't come from an ulterior motive. I genuinely love being around people. I'm so extroverted and my personality and my genuine what I like to believe, you know desire to help people and show up for people, I think has really aided me in my journey and really is the basis of my philosophy for all of my clients. How can I, through digital marketing, help you create more relationships? No, I didn't say sell more product. That's a natural byproduct of what I do. Of course, all of my clients are successful and more successful Having worked with me. The point is we have to focus less on the business, less on sales, because the relationship is actually what moves commerce, far greater than going to Harvard Business School or being smarter than the next person.

Dr. William Attaway: 9:42

That's so good. You know, it's the old adage. Right, you do business with people that you know like and trust.

Tyler Mount: 9:47

Absolutely.

Dr. William Attaway: 9:49

And that's what we're constantly trying to do.

Tyler Mount: 9:50

Absolutely, that's such a gift.

Dr. William Attaway: 9:53

Wow, you talk a lot about leveraging the personal brand of a business owner, a business leader. That's interesting and I don't hear a ton of discussion around that. I'd love to hear more about that, about why you think that is so important and how businesses need to be thinking strategically and intentionally about this.

Tyler Mount: 10:13

Yeah, absolutely. I wouldn't say it's important, I would say it's absolutely vital. Right, it is not the traditional way of thinking about marketing. It's not the traditional way of thinking about commerce. Right, the old philosophy is let's focus on the company, let's focus on, let's say, the T-Mobiles of the world, let's focus on the product we're offering. But I would argue it's actually more important to focus on the thought leaders, the specialists who are running the company.

Tyler Mount: 10:43

Why? Because any company is lifeless. It is a corporate entity with no true heartbeat. The heartbeat is defined by the C-suite, the leaders, the executives who are powering the ethics, morals and values that trickle down and permeate every single aspect of the company. Again, whether you are a solo run entrepreneur run business or, again, if you're a Fortune 100 company, my job and my unique vantage point, which is highly effective, is to focus on those leaders. What do they do? What are their values outside of business? Because, again, if I can know, like and trust this business leader, I'm much more likely to have an invested stake in the company they're currently pushing but, most importantly, the companies they will continue to represent the remainder of their career.

Dr. William Attaway: 11:36

That's really powerful. Tyler, I think that what you're describing, too, is the importance of culture, companies. Culture comes from the leaders. That's something you can't delegate as a leader. You cannot delegate the creation and the maintenance of the culture. What you're describing is being so intentional about that culture, because the best content, the best products come out of the best cultures.

Tyler Mount: 12:03

Absolutely. Culture is oftentimes an overused word in corporate America. A lot of times or I should say historically culture refers to summer Fridays. Getting off early in the summer, on Fridays it's beanbag chairs and cold brew on tap right, which is like great, I'm all for that. I give my team summer Fridays. We don't have brick and mortar, but like, go get your cold brew. I don't care about any of that. What is most important is the team trusting the leader, understanding who the leader is, but, most importantly, humanizing the leader. If you act like a human with your team, they will respect you more, they will trust you more and they will be more willing to work and more willing to show up for the clients, even though, other than their paycheck, they don't really have an invested stake in their company. Nor should they.

Dr. William Attaway: 12:58

You know that's an interesting spin on something that I talk about. I talk about the importance of a leader treating their team members as actual 3D human beings, not as cogs in the machine with what they're trying to build. When you do that, people tend to lean in when they feel like they're being treated as a human. You're talking about the leader behaving as a human, Absolutely. That's so important. That's the other side of that coin and I think it's a both hand.

Tyler Mount: 13:26

And, look, I always, always operate obviously within the confines of appropriate professional rapport. Obviously, you know, we have employee handbook, we have all of those things that are necessary to run a professional and safe environment for my team. But I'll also stress that I have no problem, you know, within appropriate measures, sharing aspects of my personal life, aspects of things that I'm going through, aspects of the business that most you know employers would never share. You know, I and this isn't to pat me on the back, but I threw negative experience with certain, you know, previous employers. I have learned how I don't want to run an organization and you know, when we have, as a startup, previously like, let's say, year one been like okay, what do we need to do to clear payroll this week or this month, instead of saying, okay, team, we're taking pay cuts, I go no, no, no, no, I'm just not taking a paycheck this week, and that's not to pat me on the back. I'm not saying that's even necessary or required and all business owners should do that, but by showing up and saying, look, I would never ask anyone on my team to take a, let's say, break or a blow that I'm not willing to take, I think speaks volumes. And then, ultimately, I rarely make a business decision without enlisting the help of the team members that that would affect, which I find is wildly uncommon.

Tyler Mount: 15:08

If I'm thinking about having to reorganize or move people around or God forbid, lay someone off, I'm always having a conversation with all parties affected so that I can make an informed decision. We're building out, you know, certain aspects of the business right now and this isn't a unilateral dictator, you know dictator decision. I would never be able to grow these aspects of the business without my art direction team having say so, not only do I let them have say, I let them tell me what they want to do and I approve their thought process right. So that's really how we approach culture here, because if I give them a say and an invested stake in the organization, even if that's not contractually mandated through equity, I can still make them feel like the valued employee or staff member that they truly are by giving them ownership over parts of the business. That is how I retain employees and make them feel valued, because, frankly, they are, and I don't have a company without them, unlike other companies that I've worked at. I understand that and that's how I tried to lead through example.

Dr. William Attaway: 16:17

I hope everybody who is listening to this will rewind that and write that down and begin to implement that in their business. Because, tyler, what you just described is taking to a different level the idea of treating people as 3D human beings, treating them as actual people who have hopes and dreams of their own and helping them understand that they are valued. When people feel valued, they stick. This is my experience. Absolutely that's what you're creating. I mean major kudos on that, because so many people miss this. You're also keying in on something else, which is hey, I hired these people to do something. They have a specialty and a skill. Why would I not let them do it? I have to make all the decisions. No, sense.

Tyler Mount: 17:02

Yeah, it's like I can't tell you how many times I've been in a position you've been in a position so many people listening have been in a position where I'm hired to do something and they're like no, no, no, no, no, no, no, we're not going to listen, we're not going to do that, and I'm like fine, the check's clearing, but why did you call me then? The same thing with all of my staff members. If I could, let's say, run an art department and design websites better than the people I hired to do it, why did I hire them? I can make a lot more money doing it alone, and so that's what I think is interesting. I really even from a contractual standpoint and my team's employees and staff agreements. We have unlimited PTO and that's common in today's world in terms of culture. But I'm like, please go take it. What are we doing? Yes, they have mandated holiday schedules, but I'm like, guys, we've worked really hard this year, take Christmas to New Year's off and then beyond that from a financial perspective, because I find that a lot of companies today say, oh, unlimited PTO, which is positive culture, but we know, statistically, people take off less when they have unlimited PTO, so it's really disguised as a term to increase culture while also increasing productivity.

Tyler Mount: 18:17

What I focus on is the contractual and financial aspects because, yes, everyone in business responds to different. I'll say you've heard about love languages and relationships. They're the love languages of business, which is basically the same thing minus physical touch. So ultimately, there are some people like, for example, my managing director. We all love money, but she certainly values praise and there's nothing wrong with that.

Tyler Mount: 18:52

I certainly value money. So it's like how can I both feel wanted and value money? And that's what I would find most people say to me. I don't want a pizza party, I want cash and I go be my guest. So even look at our employee agreements. My business lawyer is like are you insane? Because our business agreements state a mandated raise. I have no problem mandating certain thresholds and mandated raises for my team If we are profitable to this threshold or this threshold or this threshold. I not only want to, but I'm contractually mandated to give you a certain percentage raise. If, for example, we have profit share for our senior leadership, which I've been told never to do, wow, have equity jurisdiction for my senior leaders, which I've been told to never do. And I say I understand how a business owner could be shy about doing those things, but ultimately, I don't have a business without the people who are leading it. So that's how I run my business, both from a culture standpoint and a contractual sense.

Dr. William Attaway: 19:58

I love how you have built intentional ways to value people in ways that they best receive that. You know you talk about the love languages. This is great language to use here, because so often we will try to value other people in the way that we want to feel valued. That may or may not be the best way for them. I love that you're keyed into, that, you're tuned into that, so that you can show them appreciation and value in the way that they best receive it.

Tyler Mount: 20:26

Absolutely. Even on intake, when I ask people and I meet them for the first time once they've been hired, I ask them that question. We go through a similar test, like you would if you were taking the love language test in your relationship, and there's no right answer. I just really need to know if me praising you in front of a group of people is more rewarding than me privately giving you a raise. It's funny because there are really visceral reactions surrounding this. A lot of people are like why would I ever want to be praised publicly versus getting a bonus? I will tell you there are people who would prefer that.

Tyler Mount: 20:59

Let me be clear I'm never like let's clap for this employee and I'm not going to pay them more. It's important to note that that's something we're looking through. The contractual aspect is just a baseline. I will tell you that and I'm telling all of my staff this week so I can gladly share with you. But it's like I'm exceeding their contractual minimum in terms of what they are contractually do in terms of raise and bonus this year, exclusively because I think that's the right thing to do. I'm forgoing my bonus, not for a pat on my back, but because they've worked very, very, very hard, and I wouldn't have a salary, much less a bonus, without them.

Tyler Mount: 21:43

That's how I try to run my business. Do I fall short many times? Yes, have I made many mistakes in business? Leading Absolutely. Will I continue to do that? Yes, but at the end of the day, I truly believe you learn from your mistakes and if your heart is in the right place, and truly in the right place, and you back it up with action, that's what moves the needle and retains star talent.

Dr. William Attaway: 22:01

And tolerance sounds like exactly what you're doing.

Tyler Mount: 22:03

I'm desperately trying. So I have a boat of confidence.

Dr. William Attaway: 22:08

I'd love to hear about Henry Street Creative. I'd love to hear some of the stories of people that you've worked with and almost a thousand clients so far and you're not done. What are some of the wins that you have seen happen?

Tyler Mount: 22:22

I mean, I would say the overwhelming majority 98% of our previous roster has experienced incredible wins. That 2% accounts for people getting out of the business people we just weren't good relationship fits with, which is inevitable when you're working with this quantity. What I will say is Henry Street Creative was really created out of a need in the market. I found I really specialize in business consultancy, so I work one-on-one with a lot of fantastic business leaders Again, people who are starting today in business, people who have done this for 50 years and want to understand how to do it better. And what I found is that I had very little control outside of the business consultancy world and ensuring the deliverables that I needed for my clients to be successful, to be delivered in a positive manner, meaning I would work with you and I would say okay, for example, I need you to have a personal website. Okay, go in, figure that out.

Tyler Mount: 23:31

Versus, I have an in-house resource that I can oversee. I can ensure the product and will go through me to ensure it's adhering to best practice and get this I'll charge you at cost. So, ultimately, henry Street Creative is a secondary byproduct of my business consultancy. All of my clients have the ability to, not the requirement to, but the ability to go through our in-house agency to get these top tier, first class assets created better than our competitors, at a rate that's oftentimes 50% on the dollar. Why? Because I'm not charging the overhead that our competitors are, and rightfully so, need to charge in order to stay alive, because I'm obviously sharing the staff members who are working on these projects are compensated very well for their time. I don't have to charge an additional, I'll say a traditional agency markup, like my competitors do, and that makes me incredibly competitive while giving top tier assets and being able to control it.

Dr. William Attaway: 24:31

I gotta tell you I've been in this space for a minute and I have never heard of a model like what you just described.

Tyler Mount: 24:38

It is wildly unheard of. Most sales and business coaches would tell me that I'm crazy. But my business consultancy model funds the entire agency because I retain my clients. I keep them because I provide them such value that they don't leave. I'll be honest To date I have never in my private client roster ever had a client leave. Will that change? Yes, I know it will change. It is inevitable.

Tyler Mount: 25:09

I have obviously consulted for third parties and some of their clients have left. But outside of that, my private roster traditionally hasn't left and doesn't leave because of the results. They're saying I charge a premium for that but at the same time, I'm ROI focused. My job is to make you a lot more money than you're ever paying me in marketing. That's why I try to keep costs as low as possible, because that ROI is the most important aspect when clients consider if they're going to stay or not. Yeah, I've worked on the agency side. Yes, I've paid millions of dollars monthly to agencies and I found that they were broken and I set out to say how can I truly reinvent the agency model? I think we've done just that.

Dr. William Attaway: 25:54

Remarkable as an executive coach. I've been coaching leaders for almost 30 years now, leading teams and organizations various sizes, various types. I've never once had a client say this was a waste of my time. That's my goal standard.

Dr. William Attaway: 26:12

You're going to have clients come and go. That's part of it and that's great. I mean I launch them and say, hey, do awesome things now, but I've never had one say it was a waste of time, and I think that's the value that you're bringing. You're bringing the value where people are like. Not only is it not a waste of my time, I'm going to invest in this in such a way that it enables everything else that you're doing.

Tyler Mount: 26:33

Yeah, I mean, look, I work with leaders in many industries. I'll say I'm fortunate enough to have worked in most, all industries, most major industries. I'm not saying every position on earth I've worked in, but the major ones you could name off the top of your head. I've been fortunate enough to work with leaders in those markets. What I will tell you is a large, large area of my specialty is entrepreneurship individual salespeople, that's insurance salespeople, mortgage lenders, and I do a lot of real estate work. What I find is the way I price.

Tyler Mount: 27:10

My model is you, on average, have to sell one additional house per year, based on our work together to recoup 100% of your investment and make 100% profit. That's not an exaggeration. The average home price in the major markets I'm working in sits between $800 to $1 million. That's anywhere from $24,000 to $30,000 in traditional revenue. I'm charging half of that. If you could sell one additional home and let me be clear you would be the first one in my roster not to do it. You've recouped that and made 100% back on your money. I've been paid well in order to help you along that way. I find it as a win-win scenario for both client and me. That's why I get out of bed in the morning because I love doing what I do. Obviously, you're quite good at it. I try to be. I'll let you be the test of that and I'll let my clients be the test of that. Certainly, I would say, the numbers lead to that conclusion.

Dr. William Attaway: 28:13

I want to talk for just a minute about marketing strategy. This is an area that you excel as an expert in this field. There's a lot of discussion around content and what role content should play in your overall strategy for marketing. What would you say to that idea? How important is content?

Tyler Mount: 28:33

Look, content is one of the most important things in your personal and corporate marketing strategy. You've obviously heard a million times that a photo is worth a thousand words, while a video and content strategy and repeated content is worth a thousand photos. Ultimately, it's the easiest way we can get consumers to know, like and trust you. If I know you as a human, not just a salesperson, not just as the CEO of this company and I actually understand oh, maybe you have a family, here's your interest, here's where you're vacationing If I can really identify with you in many different ways, even if I don't make the amount of money you make, maybe I don't own a company, maybe I'm a teacher in small town Texas, but I still understand you and I have general lease, the same interest. That's what humanizes you.

Tyler Mount: 29:20

This person's very polarizing, but someone like Taylor Swift has mastered the art of relatability. Yes, she's a pop star. Yes, she is arguably the most successful pop star ever. She's one of the first billionaire pop stars and I will tell you it's for many reasons. Is she a good songwriter? Certainly. Is she great at what she does? Yes. Is she a great businesswoman? Certainly, but one of her biggest superpowers is being relatable to the masses.

Tyler Mount: 29:48

She is the person who has her cat and is a dork and a nerd, and whether you like her music or don't like her music, I don't care. The reality is she really, whether it's intentional or not, looks like the every woman, and that is what's really really important here. So content and content strategy that ladders up into that and not just into I'm a hustler and watch me be a business person, really humanizes her and that's why content is so important. And obviously, with all of my clients, we work deeply in content strategy, not just ethereally, but this is how we produce content, this is how we set up process and this is how we should be thinking about content. And then the step beyond is send me your content and let me approve it, let me workshop it to get it to a place that is going to be engageable but, most importantly, repeatable.

Dr. William Attaway: 30:40

How do you ensure in that process that the content is going to resonate with the people that you wanted to resonate with?

Tyler Mount: 30:48

Well, the unfortunate reality is, content strategy is not a science. It is half science and half pseudoscience. It's based on an algorithm we don't have complete insight into. It's based on consumer preference that we don't really have that much insight into. But what I can tell you is, if we start with best practice, we're going to be set up for success nine times out of 10. And so, ultimately, that is where I approach the secondary part, which is, I would argue, the most important part is approaching content authentically.

Tyler Mount: 31:20

What I hate hearing all the time is oh, this is what I should do. Well, a real estate agent should do this. This is how so and so should behave, and that's a misnomer. Maybe someone you followed acted that way because they thought they should, or maybe that's who they authentically are. If you are an eccentric, a reverent real estate agent, tech CEO, fortune 100 CEO, and that's who you are at your core, I desperately want to see that, because that humanizes you. It's going to make you more relatable. You think about the John Ledgers of the world. You think about the Ryan Sirhands of the world. All people I represent are of represented and nothing about them is standard, nothing about them is traditional in the realm of corporate America, and it's ironically what made them some of the most successful business people on earth. My job is to harness your authentic truth and show that through content and empower you in order to do so.

Dr. William Attaway: 32:17

So good. So if I'm a business owner, business leader, and I want to improve my content strategy, what is one step or one thing that they can do today?

Tyler Mount: 32:28

Yeah, so I'm all about action items. I'm not about this ethereal hippie-dippy mumbo jumbo that you hear about at all of these marketing conferences, about like harnessing your inner warrior and like praying to a turtle in Ethiopia. Right, the power of execution is key and that's what I focus on. So the first thing I say in terms of content strategy and this is something that comes directly from my colleague and client, Ryan Sirhands and his training program we really focus on dividing content into three major pillars. The first pillar is professional content.

Tyler Mount: 33:01

If you're a real estate agent, if you're an entrepreneur, this is me at work, working on my business, whatever that might be. The secondary category is personal. I want to see you outside of your business period, full stop. I want to see your family, your travel, your hobbies, your aspirations. Where are you eating? Where are you working out? What do you like to do? Do you love Broadway? Do you love music? Do you love horses? Like I don't care what it is. I want to see that aspect of your life because it makes you real.

Tyler Mount: 33:28

And then the third thing is what we call your differentiator, right? Sirhands calls it your and this idea of what separates you from other people doing what you do. I use this example in real estate all the time. Your ability to write a contract doesn't make you special. High schoolers who are 18, with an IQ of four can write a contract in real estate. The amount of people I have seen in real estate that maybe shouldn't be is unprecedented. The same thing with any industry. There are a million tech CEOs. There are a million tech startups, or a million mortgage lenders and insurance sales people you name it right.

Tyler Mount: 34:03

What makes you as a human being not your products your humaneness different, and so that's what we focus on. For me, it's like mentorship, and I love Broadway. Sue me right. Previously I would have been really hesitant to share that, because what if people think this is a side hustle? What if people think I like Broadway more? No, I've made so many connections by that love and it obviously doesn't define me, but it helps me in content strategy. So I would say first, really focus on a consistent strategy that will allow you to post three to five times a week. In all of those categories. You'll note that your professional life is only a third of your strategy. It is not even close to the majority of your strategy. Nothing is. We really want to focus on a holistic, omni-channel approach to humanize you and take you to the next level.

Dr. William Attaway: 34:51

So good, so practical. Can anybody can do that.

Tyler Mount: 34:55

Thankfully, it is so easy once you have guidance and, oftentimes, someone holding your hand and then pushing you off the cliff and helping you fly.

Dr. William Attaway: 35:07

Tyler, you are leading at a significant level these days and I would imagine that you have grown as a leader from where you were five years ago. Five years from now, your company is going to need you to lead at a different level, yet You're gonna have to grow. How do you stay on top of your game? How do you level up with your leadership skills?

Tyler Mount: 35:32

You know, I level up with my leadership skills every day by working with the best leaders in the world, and I do that by learning how I don't want to lead. I do that by learning how they lead and how that works. I learn by seeing that, at the end of the day, all of these people are human beings. They have wants, needs, fears. A lot of the times these leaders that oftentimes are household names have looked at me and been like I have no idea what I'm doing right and I go oh, that gives me such peace because I'm sitting here in my body, just like you're sitting there in your body, just like hundreds of people listening are sitting in their bodies, oftentimes with imposter syndrome, being like who do I think I am to run a company or sell something and or whatever it might be? Again, by being on the inside and having unprecedented access to business leaders and then trying to share that with the world, I realize everyone here is human and so the more I grow, the more opportunity I get, the more experience I get. It really is an exponential growth pattern.

Tyler Mount: 36:37

You know, my passion is obviously helping people and I can help more people. The more people know about me, I can help more people, the more stages I'm speaking on. I can help more people, the more incredible opportunities I have, like today's opportunity speaking with you. You know being on national television. Those things are important to me and ever more important to me as I grow. You know my personal brand because that allows me to help people. I always remind people personal brand and self promotion is not selfish unless you're doing it for selfish reasons. Hospitals, nonprofits they all advertise not because they want to become billionaires. They do it because that's the best way they can tell people how they can help them. And that's what I do in my personal business and that's what I help creators and entrepreneurs around the world do as well.

Dr. William Attaway: 37:29

Hard to serve people when they don't know who you are. Absolutely. That's so good, you know. It's easy, I think, for somebody listening to this to listen to your story, your journey so far, and say, man Tyler's, tyler's journey has just been up into the right Like he hasn't. He hadn't really faced any of the challenges that I face as an entrepreneur, he hadn't really struggled like I struggle Would you have anything to say to that?

Tyler Mount: 37:55

Oh, I mean, everyone in life is only showcasing their highlight reel, right, and we're comparing our truth to someone else's highlight reel, because we know all the truth inside. You know, what I didn't mention to you is like let's talk about how I auditioned for eight months and I didn't get, you know, cast in anything as a professional actor. That was a huge failure. Let's talk about how I was fired from a Broadway contract for reasons that are out of my control and I thought I would never work again. Let's talk about never getting a pay raise at a certain job that I had, despite being incredibly valuable. Let's talk about not making many raises that I had to as a producer on Broadway. Let's talk about being laid off from NBC. Let's talk about, you know, transitioning out of real estate development before I was ready to. Let's talk about not trans transitioning to the Biden Harris campaign in the White House.

Tyler Mount: 38:55

Let's talk about being negative my first year of business. Let's talk about being in the red my second year of business. All of those things happened and all of those things are truthful and all of those things you know experienced made me experience great pain and fear of failure and feelings of inadequacy. I'm human, right, and everyone I work with is human, and I would be hard pressed to find anyone I've worked with who hasn't experienced that, and I'm wildly vocal about it. That doesn't make me weak.

Tyler Mount: 39:28

I think that makes me stronger, because when a client comes to me and is like Tyler, I'm in the red, I'm like I don't care, let's get you out of the red. We can't change you being in the red right now. We can change it tomorrow, right, and so let's work through that. So, yeah, I'm here to talk about my highlight reel and how I help people, but I wouldn't be able to help people if I too haven't failed and failed epically in my life, and, frankly, I'll fail again this year and I'll fail again next year. It's the people who say well, I'm getting back on the treadmill today because this is my life's passion, so good.

Dr. William Attaway: 39:58

So transparent, so authentic, so real. Thank you for that.

Tyler Mount: 40:03

Of course, my pleasure.

Dr. William Attaway: 40:04

You know I ask every guest this question. You know you are a continual learner. You've talked about how you learn from so many of the leaders that you're around. Is there a book that has made a big difference in your journey that you would recommend to other leaders?

Tyler Mount: 40:17

Yeah, absolutely. I call it my Bible. It is called your Badass. It is now, you know, a very common self-help book written by an incredible author named Jens and Ciro, and it was the first book I read that I was like, hmm, she gets me, I get it. I'm done complaining. I am now going to manifest my own existence. And am I successful at doing that 100% of the time? Yes, and do you know what's wild? My friends and my colleagues will tell you. Tyler is a crazy manifestor because I have this wild sense of confidence that has cyclically improved by me being able to manifest things right.

Tyler Mount: 41:01

I truly believe, if you have a positive attitude and a positive energy and you surround yourself and you do the work, this doesn't just magically happen. I don't meditate in the morning and then go to sleep. I wish, but ultimately it really changed my life and, as someone who has been fortunate enough to work with many celebrities and household names, I'll tell you I don't get starstruck and that's a huge advantage of mine. These people are people. I don't care who you are. I'll tell you if I disagree with you, but there are two people on earth that I would lose my ever living mind. To me, one is Oprah Winfrey If you have connections, william, please let me know. And number two is Jens and Ciro, because she had such a profound impact in my life that I would just love to meet her one day and tell her about that, because I truthfully, truthfully, truthfully believe that, in addition to sure my hard work and dedication, her book won me my Tony's, her book got me my career, her book built the house I'm living in. The book bought my upstate house. All of those things I have today are sure byproduct of my work, but also byproduct of this book.

Tyler Mount: 42:06

You are a badass and I will tell you secretly. You know everyone has, after they've had one too many cocktails at a client party, they have their tell, my tell is buying this book for anyone I speak to. Like I was at Madison Square Garden and I purchased it for everyone behind the concession line. You know what I mean. Like that's how much I love this book. So if you're listening, you want to change your life. It's nine bucks. If you don't have the nine bucks, email me, all all kidding aside, and I'll send it to your house, because it's that game changing Amazing.

Dr. William Attaway: 42:36

You know, often people are going to leave an episode like this with one big idea, one big takeaway. If you could define that, what would you want that to be?

Tyler Mount: 42:46

Yeah, I have a really clear answer for you. You know I always go back and forth here. It's either to live life authentically and not care what others think, because no matter what you do, no matter who you are, you will always have dissent. You know, I always get this example there are people who hate working with women. There are people who hate working with men. There are people who hate Democrats, republican, pro-life, pro-choice, energetic, too calm you name it. Whatever it is, there will be a group of people who don't want to work with you because of that.

Tyler Mount: 43:18

So why try to be something you're not when you're still going to ostracize people for being that fake creation? Instead, focus on yourself and that authentic truth, and that really changed my life. The other thing that I live my life through and my business through is the idea that lighting someone else's candle does not extinguish your own. Yes, the idea that me helping someone for free, not wanting anything else in return, and knowing I will get nothing in return, just because it's oftentimes the right thing to do, has changed my life and changed my business, and I have a really strong methodology in how I do that to every single person I meet.

Dr. William Attaway: 43:57

Wow, this has been such an amazing conversation, so much value that you have added to me and, I know, to so many of our listeners. Thank you for that.

Tyler Mount: 44:08

I so appreciate you having me.

Dr. William Attaway: 44:10

I know people are going to want to stay connected with you and continue to learn from you and about you. What is the best way for them to do that?

Tyler Mount: 44:17

Yeah, absolutely, thanks for asking. You know, speaking on this philosophy of lighting other people's candle, you know I said I have a strong methodology that leans into this and that's what I want to share with everyone listening. If you want to learn more about me and my business consultancy and how I change the lives of Fortune 100 CEOs and, you know, new entrepreneurs, visit Tyler gmoundscom. There you can book, truthfully, a 30 minute free consult with me. This is not a sales call. You won't get additional sales pitches for me. I truthfully want to sit, I want to hear about your business, I want to hear what's not working and I don't want to point you in the right direction, because, if me, spending 30 minutes with you changes your life, it's 30 minutes well spent. So, ultimately, visit Tyler gmoundscom, find out a little bit more about me, what we're doing, and then, obviously, if you're interested in any of those creative services video production, website logo, anything that you need to brand yourself and your personal brand online you can obviously visit our agency website, which is HenryStreetCreativecom.

Dr. William Attaway: 45:21

Tyler, I can't wait to see what your next chapters look like.

Tyler Mount: 45:25

I can't too. Let's just hope they continue to get better. That's the goal right For all of us.