This interview was originally published in The Simplifier #73.
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Interview: Gayle Greco - Creating a Healthy Business

By Shawn Tuttle

About two years ago I was referred to Gayle Greco for a creative perspective on a business challenge I was having. I found her to be insightful, cheerful, and calming. I had the sense that she could apply a skilled and focused eye on the issue at hand (whatever it might be) while remaining solidly connected with the spirit of the heart. It was this experience with her that totally piqued my interest in how she would develop a business in our current climate that still places disproportionate value on the $ bottom line. I’m thrilled to offer the following interview as a window into that scenario. Her story is further proof that business can be done differently. 

Gayle Greco
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ST: Let’s start with a brief description of your business.

Gayle Greco: Our business is Universal Mold Solution. We founded the company a year and a half ago. We have a new technology that Tom [Gayle’s partner] developed that is a safe, environmental way to kill toxic mold in homes, buildings, and structures. The beauty of it is: number one, it is environmentally safe. Secondly, it rides on frequency waves so it goes through walls, sub-floors, and ceilings. In your typical mold removal or remediation situations, you hear these horror stories where people have their walls blown out , their toilets ripped out…with this technology, you don’t have to do any of that. The third benefit is that people don’t have to be displaced out of their homes. The last benefit is that we are allowing people to get healthy again. We are curing their environment. By doing that, they are able to go back and live, work, or play in a safe, healthy environment.

ST: What a wonderful service.

Greco: It is. Our goal is serving the people on the planet, and that’s really our intention. Yes, we are starting a business, and yes, it’s a for-profit business. The ultimate goal is the health, viability, and safety of the people on the planet. It’s a fun thing to be involved in.

ST: Since you are looking to grow it substantially, that means a lot of different resources and people to bring in and interact with. How have you been finding the right people to help you along the way?

Greco: That’s the perfect question, Shawn! This is the best part of this whole experience, because the people have found us. We’ve both been in business—I’ve been in corporate America a long time—28 years, and Tom has built businesses before so we have experiences being in the typical model in the business world.

We set the intention at the very beginning, verbally and in writing, about how we wanted to build this business. This business is being built with us, and intention, and spirit. As we set that platform, we really simply stated: this is what we intend to do for the people and the environment, and this is what we intend for ourselves as abundance and prosperity goals.

We also said these are the types of people we want to work with and for. It’s about integrity, it’s about ethics, it’s about maturity, it’s about simple. So we set the intention for that. Without a great deal of effort the perfect people started showing up at the perfect time for what we needed. The first thing we needed was when Tom was working on the technology, he needed a little more scientific help. He has scientific and engineering background to a degree but doesn’t have it fully. We asked, “what are we looking for?” and these people magically began showing up and, with a huge amount of integrity, began working with Tom on the technology.

At the same time. I was starting to work on the business plan and I did the same thing.

This interview was originally published in The Simplifier #71.

Interview:  Patt Lind-Kyle - Author, Businesswoman, Meditator

By Shawn Tuttle

When Patt Lind-Kyle smiles, the entire room brightens. Her insightfulness combined with her curiosity creates an irresistible charm, such that you can’t help but feel brighter after talking with her. (This may explain why our interview was actually twice as long as would fit below! The entire section on her background can be read here.) For the last several years, she has offered a monthly meditation circle through Gather the Women. I’ve been in the circle for the last year and a half and have been fascinated by her understanding of what the brain is doing when meditating. She has just completed a book (which is on the way to a publisher right now) entitled Meditate the Way the Brain Works - The Mind’s Most Powerful Resource. Whether you meditate or not, this woman has a lot of enlightening thoughts to offer.

Patt Lind-Kyle

Lind-Kyle: I was living in Portland at the time. One night I got out of the truck to open the gate, and didn’t pull the emergency brake. It started moving and I jumped on, but it was too late. It crashed through the gate, went over the little precipice and was stopped by a tree. It threw me off and I landed on my bottom. Eventually I went to the hospital and I had a broken coccyx. Three days later, my kundalini rose. Kundalini is the energy in the spine; it goes through the spine, and it was quite an experience. It took six months to bounce back from that. After that experience, all I wanted to do was meditate.

ST: So the kundalini being released was a positive experience?

Lind-Kyle: Yes, It’s an energy that shoots through your spine and it changes conscious. My consciousness was changed and I had no interest in anything but meditation. I’d do the dishes and take care of things and then I’d just sit all day long.

ST: How long ago was that?

Lind-Kyle: This happened in ‘94-’95. Then David said, “You really need to do something longer than just a 10-day retreat. ” He was very supportive–so I did a 3-month in ‘95, then in ‘96 I did another 3-month. It was like heaven.

ST: One of the things I find very interesting about our meditation group is how you tie it in with the brain. How did that connection develop?

Lind-Kyle: neuro-feedback machine. I ran across Anna Wise’s website and I found it fascinating. She said you check people to see if they are meditating. I thought, that’s revolutionary! I can check my brain to see if I’m meditating or not? So I studied with her and learned the machine and learned about the brain waves. Anna showed me that there were indicators if you shifted levels of consciousness. 

ST: What do you see as the connection between meditation and everyday life? How does it affect ones ability to do business and to function in the world?

Lind-Kyle: Meditation reduces stress. Stress affects our blood pressure and it affects our ability to think clearly. Meditation keeps us in balance.

This is some extra background info that came out of my interview with Patt Lind-Kyle (which is featured in the upcoming edition of The Simplifier.

ST: Let’s start with your professional background. Did you grow up with Swamis?

PLK: No.I was born in Minnesota but grew up in California. I went to USC and got a degree in dental hygiene, when it was still a four year program. I did dental hygiene for eight years and then I taught, first at the University in Hawaii and then at Foothill College (just south of San Francisco) and was there for 15 years.

While I was there I got fascinated with how my students learned. I started looking into what was learning. At that time, in the late ’70’s, nobody was talking about learning and there weren’t classes in it, not even for teachers. So I took a year off teaching and took every class I could put together related to learning.

This interview originally appeared in The Simplifier #69.

Interview: Katie Carter - Yoga Teacher, Community Builder

By Shawn Tuttle

Within months of moving to Nevada City, I had found my yoga teacher at the local yoga studio. Katie Carter’s Friday morning class was dynamic and strong and yet I always left feeling refreshed and deliriously happy. In addition to being a popular teacher, she owned the studio–but those points didn’t explain her impact as a community builder. Her joyful attitude, delightful humor, and positive energy have fostered a large family of yogis (people who practice yoga). While she decided about a year ago to transition out of her role as business owner, since selling the business she has remained a pillar in the community by teaching and mentoring newer teachers. I was thrilled for the opportunity to interview this beloved local role model who embodies the fulfillment phase of a natural professional.

Katie Carter and Quincy

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ST: What was your background before you founded the Wild Mountain Yoga Studio?Katie Carter: I have a degree in Fiber Arts. When I first moved to Nevada County, I was 22 years old. I bought a business in Nevada City, a weaving store. I had a business partner who knew a lot about business and I taught the classes.  There is a lot of arthritis in my family–my brother has a pretty severe frozen spine. I knew I wanted to try to prevent it from happening to me. I don’t know if the yoga prevented it or if I just wasn’t going to get it. 

ST: And when did you open the yoga studio?

Carter: I opened up the studio in September of 1995.

ST: Tell me about your experience of taking something that you love and creating a business out of it. Just because someone likes to bake, doesn’t mean they should open a bakery.

Carter: For me, when I started teaching, I was at the right place at the right time. I think this community was really ready for more organized yoga. There were a few yoga teachers at the gym, but I think yoga was just starting to become popular or well known. I knew this information couldn’t be held back, it was ready to be shared. 

On my own spiritual path, I was ready to not be afraid to “om” in front of my friends. That was big to put out a sign saying “Hey, there’s something more, something deeper you can become a part of. You can connect physically, emotionally, and spiritually on some level.”

When I opened the business, it used all of my past skills. I had done art and I loved making fliers and creating business cards. I hadn’t realized what a good organizer I was. I opened up a studio and within 3 weeks, there were 5 teachers saying they wanted to teach there. That part was easy.

ST: What was your biggest challenge?