Podcast S1:E3 Your Best Today with Shunta Grant
You can connect with the brilliant Shunta over on Instagram or on her website!
Show notes:
Ellie: In a world telling women to do it all. Shunta Grant teaches women to joyfully decline a life filled with the overwhelm tension and Discontentment brought on by a constant state of busy-ness. Shunta helps women live life on the other side of busy by teaching them how to show up as their best one day at a time. Shunta is the creator of the Best Today brand, which equips women with the resources to be proactive and intentional with their time, her signature product, the Best Today Guide helps women get clear on what they want and provides a simple three-step process to guide women toward their vision for the future. One day at a time.
Hello. We're here today with Shunta Grant. She is absolutely incredible. She has created an amazing system for helping women to simplify their days and get more enjoyment and fulfillment every day, while still getting the stuff they need done to move the needle forward towards their goals. So I think that that is something that I find so incredible.
Shunta. Tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're from, what your preferred pronouns are, those types of things.
Shunta: Hi. Yes, I'm Shunta Grant. She/her. And I am the owner of the Best Today brand as a company we're known for our signature product, that I think you were alluding to the Best Today Guide and I am simply on a mission to equip women with resources to teach them how to be proactive and intentional with their time. And the reason why that matters it's because that, I believe is the key to helping you show up as your best. Like we say one 'today at a time'.
And we do that through the Best Today Guide as well as other resources that we provide. But really we point people first and foremost to that, Best Today Guide, because it's the first thing to help you start to really get clear on your vision for your life and what it is you actually want so that you know what you're going to be spending your days moving toward.
Ellie: That's so cool. Thank you. And when did you start your business?
Shunta: So this is my third business. So if we're talking about the Best Today company that launched this year, 2020 in March. Our Best Today Guide went on sale on March 16th, 2020, which actually here in the U.S. Was the very beginning of the pandemic effecting us in our daily lives. That is the first week that schools closed and they have not opened since well, not open fully sinc. That it's when people start to experience massive job loss.
So it was a fantastic time to launch a brand new product out into the world, but it actually has worked out very well for us. And we have, exceeded every goal and expectation we had for this year. So, but yeah, we started at the Best Today company in 2020, but I have been a full-time business owner entrepreneur since 2015. When I left the practice of law, I was an attorney for seven years prior to that. And then I left to do business in September, 2015. So I've been an entrepreneur/business owner for over five years now.
Ellie: That's awesome. That's just like such a journey to go from being an attorney too. I mean, both positions are really helping people, but you're just doing it in such a different way. These days. That's really, really
Shunta: cool.
Yeah, this is way better.
Ellie: I'm sure. I used to work in a legal practice as a Legal secretary. And, I just, the, the hours that attorneys put in it, it's something absurd. Like it's just beyond the billable hours thing.
Shunta: It is.
That's why don't do it anymore.
Ellie: So what do you love about your business?
Shunta: What I love and this is actually true of all of them, but what I love about the Best Today company is that we are in the business of doing something that really matters. We're helping people in their real lives.
While every business I believe solves a problem, meets a need, and is important. I believe that the work that I do with the Best Today company is. I know it is because I've seen it. It is helping to transform people's lives. It is helping them to understand that even as adults, they have not been clear on what they want. They have not been clear on who they are. They've been wasting their time and they see how they've been doing that. They, they see that they haven't been showing up as their best.
And nor have they had a desire to, or at least that wasn't reflected in the choices they've made. And just to see so many women make these choices in shifts and change and be to be intentional about their lives. How that is going to not only change the people who are in their homes, the people in their communities, because women or people of influence naturally.
it is changing, not only one person, you change one woman, you are changing the lives of many people. And so through the work that we do, we are every single day changing the lives of many through each and every woman who, is a part of our community. And that's what I love. I love that. I get to see the fruit of that every single day, not one day goes by where we don't receive a DM.
A testimonial on email feedback from, you know, if it's not the Best Today Guide it's Right Now Routine or something that we've created. I can show you how this has helped me and how it has changed me. And that'd be true of the work that I do with business owners, through the open book subscription that I have, that'd be true because of Zoe, my hair bow company, where I've seen moms weep. You know, at giving them hair bows when they learned that their daughter has been diagnosed with cancer.
So everything that I do has greater meaning than the product itself and all of the companies that I have and all the work that I do. But, particularly with the Best Today brand, what I love is that I get to hear those real life stories every single day.
Ellie: Definitely. I love what you said there about how, when you can help and impact one woman's life, you're really helping so many. And that's something I believe really deeply is that. women are, the ones . They handle so much of life. They are the one looking after everything in their household, nearly they're making the financial choices. They're deciding which foods are being eaten, which businesses they're supporting with their dollars. And I actually was just writing about this today, about how women overall. If you see small business communities over on Instagram and how their cheerleading, each other they're buying from each other. And so when you can bring a woman up to that next level of fulfillment it really does impact and ripple out further and further. And that's something that I really believe as well.
So you're managing multiple businesses here and that's something that if not done well, can really, really be a juggle. What simple systems are you using to make sure that you're doing business with ease?
Shunta: The first thing is I'm doing business with ease. We believe in streamlining here. Streamline was actually my word of the year for 2019. And we streamline our processes here. There is someone in our company who's job, our Operations Assistant, is to streamline the streamlined. So it was like, we streamline a process and then we go back and we say, how can we streamline it more?
So that there's not 15 people trying to do the same thing. So there's not miscommunication. We use a software called Monday.com that we use where that's what we list our ROs, which is what we call results and outcomes. We don't have to do lists. We don't do tasks. We are based on like, "what are the results?" "What are the outcomes?" "What are we trying to actually accomplish here?" And how is that moving us toward our one focus goal? We have one focus goal in the company.
That we strive toward, that's an internal goal and everything we do points to that. So it's very clear, very simple. Everyone is mission-based. We are very clear on what our mission is and everything we do has to point to that. And so I think for us, the system is simply having one goal and one message, one mission and everything pointing toward that. It makes it very, streamlined.
Ellie: Yeah, absolutely. I'm all about streamlining. So, out of curiosity. How many people do you have in your company?
Shunta: So with the Best Today company, we are growing and hiring as we speak, actually, we have, a team of let's see well, Contractors. We have people who do our podcast and we have a podcast editing team. We have my operations assistant. We have a communications coordinator. We have, our assistant who kind of helps me with my inbox and calendar schedule. And we're kind of shifting what that looks like. So about five of us on the team right now, but we expect that to probably triple, if not more in the next year.
Ellie: That is so cool to hear. Yeah, I knew you were hiring. I was listening to some of your podcast episodes and, you know, and such. That is really, really cool.
So how did you develop the Best Today system?
Shunta: The Best Today Guide essentially has been, has been something I've been doing myself and using for years. I've used it in several programs. I've created for business owners and just for women in general, and just had never all the pieces hadn't come together. I actually have a podcast episode that came out probably more than a year before the Best Today Guide, where I talk about questions to ask yourself every day that's, as you can see, incorporated in the Best Today Guide and the third step.
So it was a mixture of looking at what has helped me succeed. What has helped me with my time, what has helped me. To become the person I am and to do the things that I do, and then creating a physical product that reflects how someone else could do it, how someone else could pick this up. I'm never heard the message before never heard anything about it and to start and pick up the process. So it really just started out with what did I do for myself? What worked for me? And then what have I seen work for thousands of other women that I've worked with?
Like I said, cause we had different iterations of it for years before I actually turned it into a physical product until I turned it into something that had the main stage, because it is really our key signature product at the Best Today company.
Ellie: That makes a lot of sense. I think so many times it can be really easy, especially with the people that I tend to work with. It can be easy to forget that it takes all of those iterations to get to the product that, that is like the thing, right? Sometimes it takes so much of your experience and learning and trying and tweaking and getting feedback to get the thing that is just right. To really get it out there in a way that impacts people the way that you're looking for.
I think I'm very prone as an individual to be like, I've created this great thing. I've asked some questions, I've got it. It's ready, but it's usually not right. I haven't done that back and forth quite as much as I need to.
So for somebody who doesn't know. Tell me a little bit about how the system works, how Best Today works.
Shunta: Okay. So the Best Today Guide a paper product and it walks you through a three step process before you get to that process. I helped you get clear on your vision. And so we have getting started pages that walks you through, getting clear on what your vision is for your life.
Thinking about not only what you do want, but what maybe don't you want. The things that you need to prune out of your life. The things that are kind of in the way. The self-destructing habits that you have, the thing that you're doing. Right? They are preventing you from getting where you want to go.
And then, projecting what the image of, what is your best look like starting to get, start to think through that. You're going to do a lot of that throughout the 14 weeks of the Best Today Guide.
The Best Today Guide covers 14 weeks. And then you get to the three-step process, which is step one. Preview your week, every single week. And we show you exactly how and give you everything you need in a two page format that allows you to clear your mind at the top of every week and then plan your week or preview your week every week. And we'd show you again, how to do that. Really getting clear in defining on what's the most important thing in your week, and what you're going to have accomplished by the end of the week.
Step two is to plan every day, the night before we show you exactly how to do that on the nighttime page, where you're going to go through and write what you're going to do for your morning routine, where you're going to do for your mental, emotional, physical health. Define the one most important thing for the day. And then you have your list of results and outcomes.
And we use with results and outcomes intentionally, because we don't want you to think in terms of to dos, because that's what most people do, who just write down a whole wishlist and end up spending the day, doing things that actually didn't get them anywhere they wanted to go.
We want you to think, where is it you want to go? Where is it that you need to make progress on? What is it that you need to complete today? What are the outcomes you need?
And then step three is to begin every day, which is the next page with the Best Today morning practice, that's asking yourself four questions. What is your best look like today? What are the self-destructing things you do that you need to avoid today? Writing out your vision for your future. And one thing you're going to do today, that progress that you toward that vision for the future.
It might sound like a lot. I think when people first hear it, I do all of these things in minutes. It does not take a lot, but the more you build that muscle just as with anything else in life, the better you're going to get at it. And then you're going to start to see the results.
I have not had anyone - I dare anyone actually, on the planet - to actually do our system for 14 weeks and not come out a different person than you did at the beginning. And that person being better than the one that started in the beginning of that 14 weeks.
Ellie: Yeah, that totally makes sense to me. I think that thinking that through. Because it has such practical resources. And practical practices, right? That you're doing every single day. But on top of that, it really helps you kind of mitigate some of those mindset issues that people come up against. I think that people, when they're trying things, they often do really struggle to prioritize and so it kind of nips that in the bud. And it really sounds like a system that every single person would really benefit from using.
Shunta: Yeah, absolutely.
Ellie: We kind of touched on this, but more like going forward. So say somebody is using the Best Today Guidenand what they filled out their before, right? So they've started their week. They've done their evening and then their morning writing. And then what does a normal day as somebody using the method look like?
Shunta: Well, the specifics of their day are different. We have women using this who are corporate professionals, CEOs of multimillion dollar companies. We have women who are using this, who, Of course, a lot of business owners. We have a lot of women using this who work from home, who stay at home, who are teachers. We have women who are single with no children live alone. We have parents married, widowed, divorced, all the things. So everybody's specifics looks different, but the principles apply to all of those women.
That's the beautiful thing. The same principle applies. To the person who, is single and living alone- to the person who has multiple responsibilities outside of home with career work, whatever. And so what it looks like is you wake up with a plan. You already know every morning when you wake up exactly what your day looks like or what you have planned for it to look like, because you were intentional the night before to write down, this is what I'm doing.
So she wakes up refreshed. She wakes up knowing, this is what my day looks like. This is what my morning looks like. She knows what she's going to do for the day for her mental, emotional health. So she's taking care of herself before she faces the world and whatever it is that she has before her. And again, that looks differently for everyone .
For me, my morning looks like waking up at four in the morning and making sure I have time for my quiet time, having time for moving my body, physical activity, sweating. For journaling. For whatever it is I need in the day. And so then it's actually being intentional about the things you're going to get done in that day.
So essentially , the person who uses the Best Today Guide consistently is going to find that they have more peace, more time to do the things that actually matter in their lives, and they're taking care of their mental, emotional, and physical health every single day.
Ellie: That's just absolutely incredible. And so. Let's talk about kind of more back to you and your businesses. What would you say your biggest business win is so far or has been?
Shunta: That's a great question. You know, so many different things come to mind, but for me, the wins are when women come back and tell me about the transformation. When the woman who comes and tells me that because she has been so consistent, her teenage daughter has taken notice and now wants to , start using the Best Today guide. Wants to create a workout routine for herself, wants to start helping around the house.
Again, that trickle effect that we see that when one woman changes her life, she is by nature going to influence others to do the same. You know, it's the mom who comes and tells me that her children notice that she's in a better mood. And they're like, mom, you've been really happy the last few weeks. What is it? And it's when she started using our products.
It's the business owner who comes and shares their success when they learned how to put routine in. I've had business owners who I've told to stop working so much and to rest. And they've had their best months because they've realized that work doesn't equal income. More work doesn't equal more income. So for me the biggest wins are seeing other people win because that's what I'm in business for.
That's really the payment. It's just that people winning doesn't, you know, pay the shipping costs. So for me, the biggest wins are seeing other people have wins. Big or small.
Ellie: For sure. I think that that's why a lot of us are in business is to help other people. And I think that that is the best feeling is knowing that you're making a real impact. That you're changing people's lives. And that you're making their lives better and easier and more fulfilling that's always the coolest feeling.
So what would one of your biggest mistakes or learning experiences ?
Shunta: Hoof so many! The biggest mistake I've ever made in business, has been trying to do what, looked like, should be done, but didn't sit right with me or just felt like I was forcing it, trying to either replicate what someone else has done for success. And I don't mean like a product, but I mean, a process like, "Oh, okay. The thing to do now is to create this kind of model for your business." "Oh, the thing to do is to use this form of social media."
I'm trying to make a round peg fit in a dollar sign. It just doesn't work.
And for me, the opposite is true is when I have been the most true to myself and said, "This feels really good!" Even though it looked like it made no sense.
It looked like it made no sense to start a brand new company. And then beginning of a pandemic and in order to do that, I had to turn down a lot in my other two businesses, but it's been one of the best decisions I made this year. And had I made the mistake of trying to listen to and follow the money. That's another thing, and only look at what looks like this is where the money is. That's one where I missed out on even more in to I missed out on the impact that I desire to see in the world.
So the two mistakes would be, thinking first about the money, as opposed to like, what is the impact that I want to make? Because the more impact you make, the more money you're going to make. And then two trying to make my business model match what it looks like, "this is the way to do business". "This is the way it looks like success." As opposed to doing it the way I do it.
No one else doing what I do, how I do it. Period. And that's exactly how I like it.
Ellie: Yeah, definitely. I think that that's really relatable. I definitely made the mistake starting out, trying to do things the way that everybody else did them. Or the way that I saw them be done, especially as far as business models. I hated LinkedIn. And everybody told me I needed to be on LinkedIn. And I am on LinkedIn, but I don't use it.
I also would have similar experiences where , I set up a virtual assistance business and people told me I had to offer specific services and price in a certain way. And I found that by not doing most of those things over time, when I learned better. I ended up having more success and being kind of the go-to person in my area, because I was the only one that offered these services, this way, and that I had a better, customer. People felt really safe and supported in the way that I did things. And I've actually, since I've left doing virtual assistant work, still get people being like, "please?". And I'm like, no, but I have some referrals for you!
And I've trained specific people to be able to refer people to, because I wanted, my customers really cared for. And that's something that nobody paid me to do, but I know that it's going to serve me well to have mentored a couple of virtual assistants.
So, we didn't really get into this, but you have... is it three businesses? Four businesses?
Shunta: Three, essentially.
Ellie: And how do you manage all three? I know you said that a big part of it is because you do business from a place of ease. And you're really good at prioritizing. So I guess I have two questions. One is how you manage all of your businesses? And then also how you're so great with prioritizing?
Shunta: Anyone who wants to be great at prioritizing just needs to get really clear on who they are and what they want. It is as simple as that, anyone trying to make it more complicated? Run away from them.
A lot of things are actually very simple. Business is simple. Simple doesn't mean easy. Simple does it mean free of challenges or hardships, but simple does mean simple, right?
So the first thing is it's as simple as getting clear on what you want and what matters in this moment, because anything that's not that isn't a priority. So that's really easy. The other part of your question is by doing exactly what I just said, the way I'm able to manage these companies is whatever is most important right now is what gets my attention. And right now that is the Best Today company. That's the Best Today Guide. And so that's where most of my efforts have been all year. I've turned down a lot, in the other two companies intentionally.
So that can focus on this. And, that's how I make it work. I also only work in up until September only two days a week. Now I'm at three days a week, eight to three. So again, I have to be wise with my time and make decisions based on where I'm trying to go in the long run. And so that is how I've been able to make it work.
Ellie: That's totally makes sense.
So much of what you've talked about comes from people getting really, really granular and really clear with what they want out of life. What would be like one step that somebody could take today to get a little more clear on what they want out of life?
Shunta: Ask yourself, "what do I want?" And write that down. It doesn't have to look perfect. It's going to change. I'm going to tell you whatever you write down is going to change because you're going to change. but what do you want? Write down everything that comes to mind when you ask yourself, what do you want? And sometimes it's helpful to say what don't, I want write that down because you also know the things you need to do to avoid having the things on the, "I don't want this" list. But start right there. What do you want? Answer that question in whatever way it means for you.
Ellie: Yeah, so doing that and being really honest with yourself. Not really letting yourself probably put too many filters on that because I think as women, we hold ourselves to this standard sometimes. And because we're really good at serving. And we're really good at community is sometimes putting ourselves into other people's boxes. Because we want to be able to fulfill ourselves, but still meet the needs of our family. And we want to be able to have the life we dream of, but still meet the needs of whatever community you're serving. And I think oftentimes, those can go together, but we put barriers or things in front of ourselves. "I can't do that because I have these other responsibilities." And I think that taking those out of the question and saying, "okay, I'll figure that those things out after I figured out what I want", "I will figure out how those fit around what I really want in life". Can be something that women sometimes struggle with, but totally can and should do.
Yeah. Well, it's been really good having this talk with you. Is there anything else that you want to add?
Shunta: Yeah, just, for anyone who's listening, who is thinking that you need to be more proactive, more intentional with your time and you want to learn how. It's not difficult. So first, stop complicating it. It's very simple. And you can start with what I just said. Like I said, getting clear on what you want, you can order the Best Today Guide, because again, that's going to walk you through it. But I also have a podcast episode that walks you through all three of the steps for the Best Today Guide you can do in a blank notepad, if you want to start there.
And if you're a business owner who wants to see what that actually looks like in real life. I also have something called the open book subscription, which allows you to have a behind the scenes view. I opened the book to show you how I do what I do. And that might be a great option for you also, which can be found at Openbooksubscription.com.
Ellie: Thank you! And so to learn more about Shunta. You can go visit her website it's besttodayguide.com. And is there anywhere else people can find you? Is there a social media place that you hang out more than others?
Shunta: I am on Instagram only. And I'm @ShuntaGrant, S H U N T A G R A N T. And we're also @TheBestTodayBrand on Instagram and besttodayguide.com is the best place to go.
Ellie: Well, thank you so much for joining in.
Shunta: Thank you.
Ellie: Thank you for listening to the Capable Collective podcast.
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