Mastering the Mindset: Transitioning from Hobbyist to Pro in the Hospitality Industry with Yvonne Halling

00:00:32 - Jenn Boyles

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Direct Booking Success Success. As always, I'm Jennn Boyles, your host. And today I have Yvonne Halling with me. Yvonne, welcome.

00:00:43 - Yvonne Halling

Good to see you. Thank you, Jenn. It's great to be here with you.

00:00:48 - Jenn Boyles

Now, Yvonne and I spoke way back in episode ten, so that's, what, a year ago, and she has the most remarkable life story that sort of intertwines with hospitality and life events and whatnot. So if you haven't listened to that, you need to go back to episode ten and have a listen, because it is quite something. And we're not going to go into detail today because we've already done that, but go back to episode ten and have a listen, because it is quite something of how you've gotten to where you are today. So, Yvonne, tell us a little bit about who you are.

00:01:24 - Yvonne Halling

Okay, yes, happy to. So. My name is Yvonne Halling. I am the owner and founder of Bedandbreakfastcoach.com, the company I started in 2013 in response to my huge success that I had with my own B and B in France. I ran a bed and breakfast business in France for 17 years, for a number of years as what I would call a hobby business. And then I had to transform it into a professional business because it became our only source of income, which you can find out more about in episode ten. But basically, I've been helping BnB owners, guest house owners, boutique hotel owners, innkeepers, short term rental owners, self catering, serviced accommodation owners, anybody who's in independent hospitality and is wanting to grow their business and have a more enjoyable life. Yeah, great.

00:02:21 - Jenn Boyles

And I'm glad you are here today joining me. So we are going to be talking about the psychology of professional hosting. And I'm really excited to get into this with you because what you just said is so interesting when you went from having a hobby to a professional business and there is a difference. I don't think a lot of people realize that there is a big difference. Where shall we start?

00:02:46 - Yvonne Halling

Well, you're right. There's a huge difference between a hobby business, the mentality, shall we say, of a hobbyist, and the mentality of a professional hospitality business. And having been in both places myself, I feel that I have some great insights to share. So I think that the first place to start is with what I would call the CashFlow Quadrant, which is from Robert Kiyosaki's excellent book called The CashFlow Quadrant, where if you draw, like on a piece of paper, you draw a square and you divide it into four. On the left side of your paper, you will have what is referred to in his book as the employee mindset, or you could say the hobbyist mindset. And then on the right hand side quadrant, there were two squares which you could call the professional mindset, and he calls the business owner mindset. And the difference between these two is huge. And there is what I would call a chasm between the two ways of thinking. And I think you can sum it up in the employee mindset of wanting to exchange time for money because that's what we're taught to do. We go to school, right? We go to school in the Western Hemisphere. We all go through some kind, some version of the British education system, which is what I went through. And we are taught to get good grades, work hard, get good grades, go to college and get a good job. And then we'll be set. And that still prevails in education today. So untold, right? And that's all well and good. There's nothing wrong with that. But that mentality won't serve you when you want to start your own business, because what happens is people gravitate from the employee mindset, which is all about exchanging time for money, into the self employed mindset, which is where I was right. That's where most b b owners start. But we're still on the left hand side of the quadrant, and we're still focusing on exchanging time for money. Yeah.

00:05:07 - Jenn Boyles

And I think you see it across all different industries is time for money. You think about going to a job, you do 40 hours a week, you are paid such and such. It really is like how you say it is. It's that employee mindset, and I think also, and maybe you'll touch on this as well, that there's no right or wrong. Some people are more proficient at being an employee and some people more proficient at being self-employed. Now, I know I am not a good employee.

00:05:43 - Yvonne Halling

Me too. Yeah.

00:05:45 - Jenn Boyles

And I can already see it in my daughter. I can already see this in my daughter that she is not going to be an employee by any means. But it's not just wanting to be the boss. It's that you get so ingrained in what you're doing and you take ownership of it that you just can't see how people can sit back and just take A.

00:06:10 - Yvonne Halling

And like you say, it's not for everyone. And I think when we get into when we start a B and B or we start a vacation rental, we want to be professional, then we have to recognize that we've been trained and programmed to be an employee. And I think the people who want to have their own business, they want to start their own independent host charity business, have got fed up with employee life on some level. Maybe they found it too restricting. Maybe they want to create more freedom in their lives. Maybe they want to create more money. Maybe they just want to do their own thing. Maybe they have a ton of creative ideas. I come across this a lot. They have a ton of creative ideas that they cannot bring to life in the left hand lane, shall we say, right. So, yeah, I mean, it takes all sorts and we need everybody. Everybody's valuable, everybody has value. But if you want to create a professional business, then you have to recognize that you're not trained to do that.

00:07:13 - Jenn Boyles

And we should also say that it's not just you who can have a professional business, a professional business with just one property.

00:07:21 - Yvonne Halling

Yes.

00:07:24 - Jenn Boyles

It's not about scaling at all.

00:07:27 - Yvonne Halling

It's not about having a million dollar business. If anyone's listening and thinking, oh, I don't want to be that big. You don't have to be that big. It's the way you approach your business and the mentality with which you approach your business and your guests that determines whether or not you're an amateur or a professional. One of the things that I found because I was trained to be an employee, because I went through the British education system, as many people do, or some version of it. One of the things that really hit me in the face. I was thrown into entrepreneurship or the self employed thing out of necessity, which you can find out more about in episode ten. Yeah, it wasn't a choice. Although I had been messing around with a few things on the side as I was raising my two girls, I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I didn't need to work when my daughters were little, but I always had some kind of side hustle going on because I just enjoyed it. It was a creative outlet, but we mainly relied on a paycheck. And when you rely on a paycheck and this happened to me, you develop a kind of entitlement and that won't serve you. When you work for yourself and you make that journey to the right hand side of Robert Kiyosaki's quadrant, it won't there's a kind of knowing it doesn't really matter how much work I do well, I'm getting a paycheck knowing there's that and it's kind of crushing. If you've got a lot of creative ideas and there is no outlet for those creative ideas within the employee space, you can find that quite crushing. And I think that's what we're saying when you said it and I've said it when we're unemployable, because there isn't room for creativity, not so much in that space that I'm generalizing here. Depends who you're working for, depends who your boss is, depends who your coworkers are, depends what you're doing, what industry you're in. But generally speaking, a lot of people come to this industry, certainly when they come to me through the public sector, and that has to be the worst place in the world where creative ideas are not welcome because there's a way of doing things that nobody wants to change.

00:09:54 - Jenn Boyles

Yeah. The government runs in a certain way, and this is how it's always been done. This is how it continues to be done, whether you're here or somebody else is in your seat.

00:10:04 - Yvonne Halling

Yeah. Yes, exactly. So you've got all of these beliefs, and you've got all of these programs, if you like, running that are through no fault of anybody's, really. It just happens, and you want to become the best host that you can be. Then there is what I call a personal development journey to be taken to cross the great divide into the business owner mentality. And the definition, I think, is on the left hand side of the quadrant, you're exchanging the types of money, and then on the right hand side of the quadrant, you're exchanging value for money. And there's a limit to how much time you can exchange for money, because we've only got 24 hours in a.

00:10:53 - Jenn Boyles

Day, and we all have the same amount.

00:10:55 - Yvonne Halling

Exactly. But there is no limit to how much value you can create for money. I think that's a really important point in order to get into the mindset of how can I add more value? How can I create more value for my guests? Is a completely different mentality to the hobbyist where I was, why isn't anybody booking with me? I'm entitled. Right. Why isn't anybody coming here and not setting boundaries and not being a very professional person in yourself? I went through all of this. I'm speaking from experience, and I'm not pointing fingers. No.

00:11:39 - Jenn Boyles

I did the same thing. I started renting out the first apartment for fun, just to see what it was.

00:11:46 - Yvonne Halling

Exactly.

00:11:47 - Jenn Boyles

So I think a lot of people will really resonate with what you're saying. And there's something that just turns, whether it's for yourself, where you all of a sudden, this had to be the business, or if for my case, it was when we were looking at Direct Booking Success and turning it into a business, really, to get that mortgage paid. And that's what sort of started us on the roof.

00:12:18 - Yvonne Halling

Yeah.

00:12:18 - Jenn Boyles

I think there's a moment in your life where you all of a sudden go, okay, what I'm doing has been fine, but I have to step it up a notch.

00:12:26 - Yvonne Halling

Right. And stepping up a notch is really crossing that divide. It is. And that looks different for everybody. There isn't a formula that I can give you, but there is a personal development journey to change the way you think, because the way you think in the time for money, on the time for money side of the quadrant will not serve you in the value for money equation. It just won't. It won't work. I think the first step on the psychological psychology of professional hosting begins with you. It begins with how you approach things, not how big you are or how many units you've got or how many rooms you've got. It starts with how you approach your business. And also another key element in this equation is how you perceive yourself, your identity. Your identity in this is really, really important. And so you may have seen yourself, in a way, before you made this personal development journey over to the professional side, if you like. You may have seen yourself as I do all the cleaning and I do all the laundry and I greet my guests, or I don't greet my guests, or however you have been running things. Again, that won't serve you on the professional side. The business owner gets help with those low value tasks because he she understands that his or her job is to attract bookings and give the guests a great experience, not to waste time doing the $10 an hour tasks. Again, when I'm coaching, mentoring people in my programs, that is one of the hardest things. That's the hardest bridge to cross.

00:14:20 - Jenn Boyles

It's putting on that CEO hat, isn't it?

00:14:23 - Yvonne Halling

Yes.

00:14:23 - Jenn Boyles

And realizing somebody has to steer the ship, if you will.

00:14:28 - Yvonne Halling

Somebody has to drive the thing. Yes, exactly.

00:14:31 - Jenn Boyles

And that there is a low level task that, yes, you can do, but if you have somebody else doing that, that frees you up to be doing the high level tasks.

00:14:42 - Yvonne Halling

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Like I say, it's one of the hardest things for owners, particularly smaller ones who are just starting out, maybe with one property like you, they think, and I thought this too, right? I've been here too. It won't take me long. And no one can do it like me. And besides, I can't afford it. And that is a trap.

00:15:09 - Jenn Boyles

It is, isn't it?

00:15:11 - Yvonne Halling

A big trap. You've got to trust that while you are busy working on those low value tasks, who is bringing in the bookings? And the answer is no one. Yeah.

00:15:29 - Jenn Boyles

And I think once you get that, then you sort of free yourself up to really grow, don't you?

00:15:36 - Yvonne Halling

Yes. With a lot of fear and trepidation on my part. I had to take that leap of faith in order to grow myself as the CEO, as you put it. Grow myself, grow my self perception and my self image into somebody of value that has value to offer and that can create value if I can just trust that somebody else will take care of the no value stuff and just elevate myself in my own eyes. Yeah.

00:16:13 - Jenn Boyles

And I also think there's another trunk that comes in there. Once you sort of get onto this road of being professional and self discovery and self enriching, is when you start to doubt.

00:16:30 - Yvonne Halling

You said it.

00:16:30 - Jenn Boyles

That's the hardest part. We hear a lot about impostor syndrome, which is when people don't get up every single day and think, really, who am I to be doing this job.

00:16:43 - Yvonne Halling

Yeah. Who doesn't do that? Right. Who doesn't get up and think that right. Who am I to be an expert on my area, right? There must be other people out there who are better than me. Right.

00:16:56 - Jenn Boyles

It's about getting out of your own way.

00:16:58 - Yvonne Halling

Indeed.

00:16:59 - Jenn Boyles

Because you're your harshest critic, your biggest critic, you're the biggest roadblock to yourself.

00:17:06 - Yvonne Halling

Yes, we are. And again, that's the personal development journey, the self discovery journey. Uncovering your own unique value and your own unique perspective is a lifelong thing. It is not one and done. It's not one and done. No.

00:17:25 - Jenn Boyles

Can you imagine? Like, you look at somebody in their 20s now and I just think or I look back at myself in my twenties and I think, help. Look at the journey you've been on of personal growth and personal development. And then I'll look at somebody who maybe has been employed the entire time and think, wow, there's such a marked difference.

00:17:50 - Yvonne Halling

Yeah. I think that's a really important thing. A while ago, just for fun, I compiled a series of pictures of myself from the last 20 years, shall we say, and I look completely different now than I did. I mean, obviously I'm older, but I think that my demeanor and my thinking patterns and behaviors and all those things that go with a particular mindset show on your face. Okay. Yes, I believe they do. And if you can, it's a constant thing, as you say. It's a never ending journey of, how can I add more value? How can I do better by my guests? And when you think about it, you keep your guests in mind for everything that you're doing. You'll set yourself way ahead of the competition just by the very thinking process of that, just by rethinking those thoughts. Because let me tell you, most amateurs don't even think that way. They're acting in a way where they don't really care that much about their guests because they're trying to get the money in. Yes. Professional people are trying to get the money in as well, but in a different way.

00:19:10 - Jenn Boyles

By providing the value.

00:19:13 - Yvonne Halling

Yes. The unique experience that only you can provide. Yes. That's the journey. Find out what that is and keep looking for it and keep honing it, refining it and questioning it so that you come up, you arrive at a place where you feel comfortable, maybe a little bit stretched in the beginning, because that's the gross you can't avoid the grove.

00:19:44 - Jenn Boyles

Feel a little bit sick, don't you? You do know you're onto something.

00:19:48 - Yvonne Halling

I've certainly felt a little bit sick many times.

00:19:53 - Jenn Boyles

Yeah.

00:19:53 - Yvonne Halling

Of yeah.

00:19:55 - Jenn Boyles

And I think it's sort of an OD time right now because we have people who have really jumped on the airbnb bandwagon and these gurus that have I really don't like the word guru, but it's the only word I can think of where we've got rich quick. More heads on, know, and that is like, it is almost keeping up that hobbyist mentality. And I think if you're listening to this and you're going, am I a hobbyist? Am I professional? What am I? I hope I'm professional. I think if you are going after your own Direct Booking Success and maybe you are still cleaning the place, but you are acting as the CEO of your business, then I think you can call yourself a professional property manager or host or whatever word you want to use. But I think there is a bit of a divide right now, which is a bit OD, and I hope that it doesn't stay for too long and it doesn't get any wider than it is. But I think if you're already looking at Direct Booking Success and have your own website and maybe you have some people helping you, you are on that road.

00:21:05 - Yvonne Halling

Yes. And it is a road, right? The starting point is when you decide, right? And once you've decided, even if you're still cleaning, you've made a decision, right? And that will take you on the journey to the right hand side of the quadrant to the business owner who creates value for money and takes you out of the time for money trap. What you were saying about the airbnb thing, I think it's, know, everything's a double edged sword, isn't it? Everything has a pro and a con and it's been great for hospitality, the whole, you know, and so many, as you say, so many gurus have popped up, know, heads on beds and get more bookings and all of this without the principles in place. It's like, just pay me money and I'll help you to get more Direct Booking Success. I'll just tweak your listing or whatever, right? And there aren't the business principles in place and people have become jaded with that, I think, now you've been in business a long time, Jenn, I've been in business a long time. There is no substitute for time. Basically, you have to do your time, you have to pay your dues, you have to go through the stuff, your own stuff and the stuff that business brings in order to have the wisdom, definitely, that you can share with others. And if you haven't been through that, and I see a lot of people who haven't, then you're not revealing wisdom.

00:22:37 - Jenn Boyles

You'Re just teaching traps, that's fab. Exactly.

00:22:42 - Yvonne Halling

Or tips and tricks. Tips and tricks. I hate it.

00:22:46 - Jenn Boyles

Why?

00:22:47 - Yvonne Halling

Who are you trying to ask? I think, you know, if you're listening to this, you have become an airbnb host, which is fine, it's no problem at all with that. But you're a bit jaded, too, with that world, and you want to increase your Direct Booking Success, and you should be wanting to increase your Direct Booking Success, because that's a real business. A Direct Booking Success business is a real business. An airbnb business on that platform is not a real business.

00:23:21 - Jenn Boyles

I 100% agree. Okay, so if somebody's found themselves on this road, maybe the rest in this podcast have been going, oh, my goodness. Okay. Yes, I am the CEO of my business. I've been putting these things into place without sort of realizing it. What would you suggest they do to continue down that road now that they've had sort of an awakening? They need this personal development.

00:23:48 - Yvonne Halling

Yes, it is a bit of an awakening, isn't it? It is, because it's the decision that counts, right? As I say, you might still be doing the cleaning and the laundry, but you've made the decision to become the CEO of your business. Then you need to seek out people who can truly help you on this journey because you want to shortcut the process as much as possible. And by that I don't mean quick fix, I mean getting the principles and the strategies in place that work in the right order. And you can't get that from watching free stuff on the Internet. No, you can. Mentor, don't, you do need a mentor. You need to seek out somebody who's been there and who's been where you want to go and who is going where you want to go. And that person only needs to be a few steps ahead of you. But as long as they've got the wisdom that's what you're looking for, you're looking for the wisdom that they've gained. You're not looking for their tips and tricks.

00:24:51 - Jenn Boyles

And I don't know if this is interesting or not. I found it quite interesting as I've worked with a business coach, and I know many people have worked for business coaches and people that I sort of follow on social media or whatnot have these look like huge marketing businesses online. They're all working with business coaches as well because we're already in a lonely industry. We're already working on our own. And having somebody there with you that can help you through the bumps and there will be bumps is essential, as far as I'm concerned.

00:25:29 - Yvonne Halling

Yes, I totally agree with you. I'm always working with the business coach myself. Always. All the time I was running my BnB, I was working with a business coach or somebody who was helping me learn something that I needed to learn. Because you can't shortcut that. Like I say, you can watch YouTube videos and you can do Internet searches and you can get people's free stuff, but you'll never get the real stuff unless you work and commit and invest time and money and energy into somebody who can show you the way, basically, and hold you accountable.

00:26:04 - Jenn Boyles

So it's choosing the right fit for you.

00:26:07 - Yvonne Halling

Yes.

00:26:08 - Jenn Boyles

And that's why this industry is so great, too, because we've got hospitality, we've got different personalities. You, myself, there's so many others out there that you find somebody that you click. I Yvonne is coming back to speak at the third Direct Booking Success Success Summit, which is coming up and I'm super super excited to have you back.

00:26:35 - Yvonne Halling

Me too.

00:26:36 - Jenn Boyles

Yeah, it's going to be great. Now, you're going to be speaking on the seven key elements for a happy and prosperous hospitality life. And I am going to assume, without giving everything away, that the psychology part of the professional posting is one of those key elements.

00:26:52 - Yvonne Halling

Indeed it is, yes.

00:26:53 - Jenn Boyles

Can you give us a teaser on anything else that you're going to be speaking about?

00:26:57 - Yvonne Halling

Yes. Well, when I take clients through my process, which I developed from my own experience, and I've been using this process with clients now for the past nine years, almost ten years, we have a framework, and there are four elements, four key elements to that framework strategy, structure, systems, and scale. And I'm going to be pulling out seven key pieces from those four components of our framework that will move the needle for you. And if you listen to the podcast, I'm going to be giving you a little bit of an experience of what it's like to put these in place in your business. So, for example, strategy is what is your online promise? What is your online presence looking like? Structure is how you deliver on your online presence at your property. And that means being professional with yourself and with your team and with your money and with your guests. Systems speak for themselves. And this is the part that most hosts do not have in place. Despite me banging on about it for the last nine years, most hosts do not have the systems in place. And I'm going to show you what the three systems are, and then scale is the cherry on the top, and I'm going to be showing you how to add more revenue streams. So you want to pay attention to the whole summit, but particularly my little bit, my contribution, because I will be able to show you what are the elements that turn you from a hobbyist into a professional host. I can't wait.

00:28:42 - Jenn Boyles

I really can't wait, because I really enjoyed your presentation last year, and I think this year is going to pop. And I think that if you're listening to this and you're going, I really want to be working with simply, I really want to be looking for a mentor. This summit, the best of the best are coming together. Of course, there's other people in the world, and I couldn't have everybody in the world at the summit. But this summit, I've handpicked people that were on the same page with hospitality and being professional in the hospitality industry. And it's a great place for you to come and see and listen to people, interact with different people that could potentially be your mentor. That's somebody that you could work with. So, yeah, I think it's going to be great fun. I'm in the middle of planning right now. We're recording this just at the end of August, so it's all a go. And I'm really excited about your presentation.

00:29:42 - Yvonne Halling

Me too. Can't wait.

00:29:43 - Jenn Boyles

So I can't let you go with not without asking you, what does Direct Booking Success Success mean to you?

00:29:51 - Yvonne Halling

Direct Booking Success Success means having control over the flow of bookings into your hospitality business. That means being able to attract Direct Booking Success on demand when you need them. It means not experiencing the feast and famine of the high season, low season. It means having peace and tranquility, peace of mind. And yeah, peace of mind so that you are not constantly on the search for more and more bookings.

00:30:22 - Jenn Boyles

Thank you, Yvonne. Thank you so much for coming on today. I'm going to put your links in the show notes, but where can people connect with you if they want to hear more?

00:30:32 - Yvonne Halling

Great. Thank you. It's my pleasure to be here. You can find me all over the internet. I have a YouTube channel. Bed and breakfast. Yvonne Halle. Bed and breakfast coach. I'm on Instagram. Bed and breakfast coach. I have a website called Bedandbreakfastcoach.com. I'm on Twitter, spotify. I'm now on TikTok.

00:30:51 - Jenn Boyles

Oh, my goodness.

00:30:52 - Yvonne Halling

And on Facebook, of course. t.

00:30:59 - Jenn Boyles

And we will see you at the third Direct Booking Success Summit, October 3 to fifth, 2023. So if you're listening to this after it, you'll have to wait all the way to the next autumn for the next one.

00:31:12 - Yvonne Halling

But yeah.

00:31:13 - Jenn Boyles

So come and sign out Direct Booking Success to listen to Yvonne's presentation and others. Thank you, Yvonne, so much for spending time with me today.

00:31:22 - Yvonne Halling

My pleasure. Thank you, Jenn.