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Dawne Hanks

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Dawne Hanks



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Summary

Gabriel Flores  0:01  

Hello, everyone and welcome to the shades of entrepreneurship. This is your host, Mr. Gabriel Flores this evening I have a special guest with me Don Hake from eliminate girl. Hey, Don, how are you doing? Doing? Well, how do i pronounce your last name correctly?


Dawne Hanks  0:17  

No. Hank Hanks like pigs?


Gabriel Flores  0:19  

I missed the Yes. Yeah, there's multiple just like Tom just like Tom would. Wait. Are you related Tom?


Dawne Hanks  0:25  

No, but the weirdest thing. People ask me that all the time. In junior high school, I used to tell people he was my uncle all the time. I was a big game player. So everybody at Whitford intermediate, I'm super sorry.


Gabriel Flores  0:40  

This is great. Don Hanks. Tom Hanks cousin is with me today on the shades of entrepreneurship. Let's introduce the world to DOD Don, please introduce yourself.


Dawne Hanks  0:49  

My name is Don. I'm a Portland local, born and raised. Been working in the sports lifestyle health industry for about over 20 years. I don't like to say that out loud. But I'll do it for you.


Gabriel Flores  1:02  

So what was sports? And what will you do in the past,


Dawne Hanks  1:05  

I worked at Nike for a while I spent a really large part of my career at Oakley. And then I worked on the publishing side of business and kind of trade publications. So I worked with a lot of actions or companies during that Gotcha.


Gabriel Flores  1:16  

And so So what do you do now?


Dawne Hanks  1:18  

I own my own business now nice. entrepreneur,


Gabriel Flores  1:21  

entrepreneur, eliminate girl hey, let's talk about what what does eliminate girl hate to


Dawne Hanks  1:26  

eliminate girl hate is a boutique consulting agency that specializes in gender equity. So I go out I speak I do keynotes workshops. And then I do individual coaching for women to kind of help them find their way in the professional world. But for men how to navigate gender equity and diversity issues as they are coming more and more into the forefront.


Gabriel Flores  1:45  

And how long has eliminate girl had been around? tricky question.


Dawne Hanks  1:49  

My business has been around since 2014. But like a lot of entrepreneurs, or in my case, a solopreneur. When you originally kind of start, it's all under your own name. Right. So it's been around since 2014. And then I rebranded under the eliminate girl hate this year.


Gabriel Flores  2:06  

Gotcha. So how did you originally start this, I was


Dawne Hanks  2:10  

working in Oakley and I was traveling and I had just finished a nationwide tour where I was talking about the economy of gender and sport. And it was hugely successful, did really well, and I won an award for it. And the optical industry is one of the 50 most influential women in the industry for that year, as an innovator because of what we were talking about in the form of gender and sport. And when I came back, I was with a company, and someone a very high profile leader at that organization, said, I don't know why we hire women at a men's company, especially in leadership positions, and I just, I can't explain the feelings that happened in my head. But you know, as someone who had been working in the industry for a long time, you're no stranger to the sexism or or the things that you face as a woman in that industry. But for whatever reason, that particular comment really got to me, because it limited my future. And I managed a lot of people as well. And it limited the future of those that were women that reported into me. And I just felt like I couldn't let the comment go by. And, and so I didn't. And it was the beginning of the end for me, I think, in Oakley and in California cuz I wanted to come home anyways. But it was the beginning of the end of me wanting to continue to do that line of work. I wanted to do something that had a greater impact. And that would make it so that other women didn't hear that statement.


Gabriel Flores  3:40  

Where did where did that come from that, that, that cause to want to make a bigger impact.


Dawne Hanks  3:47  

I think it's always been there. I was that obnoxious kid when I was little who protested everything, like I got the Coke machine taken out of school. I did sit ins for the Gulf War I was really obnoxious, and for a good cause. But when I started to work in the place there, there are so many things when you're working in the corporate world that come up and they're little things at first and then they just start becoming bigger things and bigger things. And when I did this speaking tour, it was so fascinating to me how many women had had similar experiences to me, how many women who did very well in their career weren't being paid for it. And how many women were facing this dilemma of being authentic to who they were as women and fitting in in a corporate environment. And I had so much pain and struggle in that I just could not see being a manager of people and not doing something about that.


Gabriel Flores  4:45  

Nice and so if a client hires you, what can they expect kind of like some services, you know, from the consulting piece from from your team?


Dawne Hanks  4:53  

Sure, depending on what they're looking for. What we do is go into organizations and even educational institutions to help them under Stand equity in their environment. It's not we can come in and we can give a speech, no problem. I love talking in front of an audience. It's my Beyonce moment, quite frankly. But what we would like to do instead is work with them to understand the type of organization that they are in the struggles that they have and know directly from their employees, not just from the leadership of what's going on, and be able to provide services, educational opportunities, workshops, trainings, that will really meet the needs of their unique environments, because that's how I would do individualized coaching. And right now, there's a lot of people who are going to go out there and talk about diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, and all these initiatives that are going out there. And, and we could do something wider than that. But there is such a gender issue in our workplaces. It is so prevalent, and it isn't something that we really talk about, except for on March 8, every year on International Women's Day. And so I just, you know, we come in, and we want to work with you to develop the content that makes the most sense for your team. Now, let's


Gabriel Flores  6:02  

let's talk about some of those. You know, why? Why this is so important. You know, let's let's drop some stats.


Dawne Hanks  6:10  

That's the hard one. Well, I will I wrote some down, yes, make sure that I got a lot of people asked me why this matters. And to me, it really matters because of things like 50% of the world's chronically hungry people are women and girls, excuse me, that's 60%. Globally, 132 million girls are out of school, and less than 20% of the world's landowners are women. And that's straight from UNICEF. So right away, you can talk about the financial security and independence of women. And we have more women in the world than men. So you're talking about more than 50% of the population that doesn't have financial equity. Then when you talk about, we also make 81 cents for every dollar as a white woman, that's what I make. When you go into women of color, you dramatically decrease that. There are fewer ser CEOs who are women, then our leadership's named David, leaders who are named David, well, that's my favorite stat to throw to people, because it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life. I didn't know there was so many people named David. And then 35% of the women's world, the women of the world have experienced some sort of sexual physical or intimate violence from someone that they know. So everywhere that we go as women, we are told, and we are shown that we are not worthy of the places and spaces that we go into. And for me, you cannot do things when you don't feel worth and you don't feel your place in the world. And so it's really important to me, I don't want to just list off a whole bunch of bad stats, that sucks. There's some great news out there. Women are getting educated in ways that they've never been educated before. Over 50% of all degrees, when you talk about bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhDs go to women, they're getting educated in levels never before seen before I left the corporate world, I made more money than my mother, I made more money than my grandmother. I made more money than my father's both my father and my stepfather. And that is something that was never before possible. But then you look at the step you and I discussed before we went on the air that December, the total job loss was purely affecting women, while men gained 16,000 jobs in the month of December alone. How is it that we are at our lowest levels of women in the workforce in 2021? And it's not by their choice? Man, sorry, I just went on for


Gabriel Flores  8:38  

that was that's deep like that. We were talking about that stat, because I thought that was so incredible, that stat that we're you know, December 2020. All the job losses, women, all of them. Yeah, that's that's, that's just incredible. You know, when you've been creating this, what would you say, is an unconscious bias that you probably see most regularly?


Dawne Hanks  9:02  

Hmm. That's a really great question. I think that that we should be quiet, that we should be demure. You know, a lot of the we straddle a line as women in the corporate world because in order to compete, you have to quote unquote, act like a man. But if you act like a man in a corporate environment, you are penalized for it. So so often, I've heard that I was too aggressive that I spoke up too much that I was too. I'm using air quotes, again, passionate, and until I was in my 30s, I never had the language to be able to counter and in my 30s I had a boss told me I was too aggressive that I needed to tone it down, that I needed to kind of just simmer a little bit. And I turned to him and I called out a male colleague by name and said, Am I more aggressive then we'll call him Bill, am I more aggressive than Bill, and it shut down that conversation so quickly because I was so clearly not as aggressive as Bill was, I just happened to be a woman. Right? You know, until I may mess up the year, but I believe it's 1992 or 93, women in the Senate, still were required to wear dresses, Oh, interesting, the pants suit didn't exist. And they were, they were required to wear dresses, despite all of the things that might make that more difficult for them to do their daily work and be comfortable in doing their daily work. So it's small things like that, that are unconscious that most of us don't even know are the laws of our land, or the policies of our companies and our organizations, the pay structures, so many companies will not be open about pay, I found out at a job I was working that I made $100,000 less than my male counterpart, who did not have a degree and who did not have experience at the same level that I did, man. It's huge. Right. And so I think the reason it's a difficult question is because there are a lot of them. And there's so many we don't know.


Gabriel Flores  11:09  

Yeah, man, that's, that's true. And you know, now you're starting your business owner. Have you felt any of those biases? Have you felt any difficulties as as a you know, a female business owner? And if so, what what have you experienced?


Dawne Hanks  11:26  

I think it's more based on soft skills. I think when somebody says that they're a consultant, or a coach or a speaker, we all think about the guy rip in the phonebook.


Gabriel Flores  11:38  

You know, where the Dominus pen examiners pen.


Dawne Hanks  11:41  

Exactly. And that's not really what I do, I'd really rather it's an organization or an individual, it's so one on one that touch and it's touched might be the wrong word to say, but that connection that is being formed, right. And so I think a lot of people don't value that as because it is a soft skill. They're looking for somebody that can come in and say, Okay, if we have this talk today, when I'm done, your business will grow 40%. That's not true. But you know, that if you have equity in your company, you the average company has a 41% increase in revenues, when men and women are treated equally in those organizations.


Gabriel Flores  12:20  

Was there ever a moment like this far creating, you know, eliminate, grow hate that you're like, you know, maybe I should have stuck stuck with the corporate world?


Dawne Hanks  12:28  

Yes, really, every single day, really, any entrepreneur that tells you otherwise, I think is full of whatever. Part of it is the stability. As women we are taught to want stability. That's what we look for in our partners and our mates. That's what we're told as women we need to hold on to as far back as when we had the word is escaping me. But when we were had arranged marriages, right, that security and that financial security was so important to the life of a woman and what she could have the world being different. I set my own financial security. There's a thing in my brain that says How dare you turn down a good job with a good paycheck and medical insurance and benefits and all of those things, a 401k. And go and do your own thing. Who are you and we use the word imposter syndrome way too much. I know, it's a big deal and all the conversations and I feel it. But I don't think women are alone in that impostor syndrome. I think that when you strike out on your own, the hardest thing for me has been the fact that I have to do everything. I don't get to do just the parts I love. I really am the person who is making every post who's writing every letter who's stamping every envelope, who's putting away every t shirt, and you know, everything and so the the corporate world, I didn't have to do that I got to manage that. And so I had a competent shake, I had a humbling experience on what I didn't know. And I think that I, I want so badly for it to work, when it's your passion, when it's something you love. You can take a day off and you can't have a day of I'm feeling like crap today, and I'm going to take a break. If you do, nothing happens. And that's really hard.


Gabriel Flores  14:27  

You know, we talked about that all the time in customer service as well. I always say you know, you don't wake up every morning and put on the ugliest outfit, and then go blame the world for what you look like. You just can't do it. You know, it's kind of the same kind of same rules apply, you know, have have, I would say, you know, for the listeners at home, you know, they are interested in certain in business. What do you felt you have learned through this process? Maybe the technical part of like, you know, filing an LLC or whatever. What are some tidbits that you've learned that you can kind of say, hey, think about this when you're starting a small business


Dawne Hanks  15:00  

So, I will say two things before I give anything practical one is give yourself the space and grace that you give to others. So often we don't do that. The second one is that you don't have to do everything right away. You know, I make I'm a list person, but I do daily lists, sure, who doesn't, To Do List all those, but I have a monthly list. And it's three to five things that these things are the most important things I do this month for the next step of what's to come. Sales funnels, right. The if I'm talking practical, it sales funnels, it's how do you get and create automated sales funnels so that you're not spending your hours in a way that can't be billed for, or that can't be productive, you know, just things that could be easy or automated. So creating those sales funnels would be the biggest thing.


Gabriel Flores  15:56  

And so for what, for listeners at home, what what is a sales funnel, ways to


Dawne Hanks  15:59  

contact your customer are ways to stay in contact with them, let them know what you're doing, let them know who you are. The other thing that I think is really important in this I can't take credit for my coach isn't Emma's Harris, he works with an organization called The Story gatherings. If you've never heard of it, it's just an amazing group. They have a story is their conference. And it's all about storytellers in the world. And he said to me, if people don't know what you're doing, then they can't help you. And I will say as a woman, asking for help is probably the biggest challenge that I have. I have this ingrained thing in me that if I'm going to do it and be successful, and people are going to value that success that I have to do it alone. And it's been very helpful to understand that that's not true. And when you start telling people what you're doing, so many people are interested, even if your brother isn't or your sister isn't, or your parents aren't your grandparents or the people in your close circle, a lot of times they don't understand what we're doing. And they don't support it the way we think that they should not because they don't believe in it and want it. But because they maybe don't get it or because it changes the dynamic or they're worried about you, whose mother wants to hear that you're leaving a corporate job to start your own business, right. And so remembering that and finding that community that you need, and people who maybe don't know you well enough to have that same worry for you, and can reach you on and cheer you on and support you and tell you when you're going down the wrong path. Definitely.


Gabriel Flores  17:31  

I think that's important to have those individuals that are they're gonna hold you up, like kind of bring you up that corporate ladder, but they're also going to grab you when you're falling down it.


Dawne Hanks  17:40  

Yeah. And tell you like, Do you know what you just did? To be honest? Yeah, you got it? Yeah, that was amazing. Or that sucked.


Gabriel Flores  17:48  

You know, I think that's a big thing, too. You know, it's, I feel like a lot of times people are apprehensive to really celebrate the wins. No, celebrate those wins. You know, I, you know, I sometimes talk with some of my buddies, and I'll tell them some things and I get, like, ridiculed about it, you know, made fun of I'm like, No, I'm trying to celebrate this win for you. In fact, I would love to hear about your wins, too. Like, we shouldn't be doing this together. Because at the end of the day, I want to surround myself with successful people. Right? And that's, that's kind of what I really want to do.


Dawne Hanks  18:21  

People you hang out with, you know, I


Gabriel Flores  18:22  

talk about that in this podcast so often. Oh, man, that loops around man, I'm telling you. So I'm gonna have to challenge you. Because, you know, you talked about, you know, so one of the biggest challenge is asking for help, but I'm gonna challenge him. How did the people at home help? How did they get involved? Well,


Dawne Hanks  18:36  

I think it's easy. Number one is checking your own biases and, and being open to conversations, whether it is about gender equity, the racial and justices that are happening in our country right now, the immigration issues that are happening in our country right now, there are a lot of disenfranchised people. So it's not just women, right? There are a lot of disenfranchised people. And the more that we reach out and learn about it, and are open to hearing of those experiences, the better. If you want to directly work with us, we have a website's eliminate girl hate.com, you can contact us on there, we're on Instagram, type in eliminate girl hate.com or eliminate girl hate, excuse me, and you'll see us on there. And just reach out even if you're an individual who's stuck in your career, you don't know what to do. Let us let me and let us help you understand what that is and really go towards your purpose and passion because in my opinion, the only way to be truly successful is if you are going towards your purpose and passion and you invite community to come and go along with you.


Gabriel Flores  19:40  

What advice would you have for those individuals at home? Or even for a younger self younger, younger dawn?


Dawne Hanks  19:46  

It's funny I think I already said it, but it is the grace and space. I think we we look at other people and we have such admiration and respect for what they're doing. And then we look at ourselves and even when we when to our earlier conversation, not only do we not celebrate it, we almost don't even recognize the when I can give you an example, when I saw my original plan, I've been speaking and consulting and coaching, but I wasn't going to turn it into a brand, I was just going to do it for the fun of doing it. And I decided I would write a book, still working on it. So I'm not gonna give you any details, I come back and talk about it, a children's book, and then a book for adults and, and when I spoke it out loud to my coaching group and my my kind of team, if you will. They, they were like, That's great. We love it. But I think there's something more to that. And then I was sitting on a call with 70 people. And I was wearing a t shirt that said, eliminate girl hate, you can find them all over the internet, there's a ton of them, all sorts of different ones. And I was wearing one. And all these women started direct messaging me. And they were like, I have to know about your business, I want one of your T shirts. And I kind of looked down and I was like, and I just had this lightning bolt of a moment. And it was like my whole life has led to eliminate girl hate. And I went that night and I purchased the URL, I did not think it would be available. I thought it would be ridiculous. $23 purchase the URL and didn't do anything. Right. I didn't even tell anybody. I did it. And then I had a one on one call with a coach and I said, I bought the URL. And he lost his ever loving mind. He celebrated me in such a way that I was very uncomfortable with at first. And I was like, Dude, it's $23 purchase, like it's not that big of a deal. And he said, How many people would have had that thought and just said, Well, maybe I should check it out and not do it. And it was that tiny little permission that others give us that I think is important we give to ourselves the permission to dream about something and keep dreaming about it and making the dream slightly bigger. Because I will tell you that two weeks after purchasing that URL, the book went on hold for a little bit. And the business changed a complete rebrand a new website, a new social. So many new things happened in those two weeks, just from having that moment of realization and that moment of permission. And so I think if we can give ourselves that permission to do that and stop worrying so much about what everybody else is telling us we need to do. That's how we got here in the first place. Yeah.


Gabriel Flores  22:27  

Do you feel like looking back on all at any point? You feel lucky?


Dawne Hanks  22:33  

Well, look, we we were born in a certain time where we're all really lucky to be born when we were born. Born where I'm born, born who I was. So in that respect, yes. As for the business, I never felt lucky. I feel a calling. I feel called to do it.


Gabriel Flores  22:58  

Beautiful, beautiful. Don Hanks on the shades of entrepreneurship. Thank you so much for those at home. Please visit me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Have a great evening.


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