091 - Dress To Be Seen As The Expert You Are (Tips From A Top Image Consultant)

Do you struggle with what to wear for meetings, events, and being on video? Knowing what to wear doesn't have to be so complicated. 

And the good news? You don’t need a wardrobe overhaul—just a smarter approach to dressing like the expert you are. 

I was excited to have Scarlett De Bease, President of Scarlett Image, join me for this conversation. Scarlett shared practical tips on how consultants and entrepreneurs can dress with confidence, shop your own closet, and make sure your wardrobe works for you—not against you.

Key Topics Included

🔹 Wear clothes that make you feel confident, not just professional. Your clothing should enhance your confidence—when you feel good in what you wear, you show up more powerfully in meetings, presentations, and networking.

🔹 Avoid last-minute outfit choices. Don’t run out and buy something new just before an important event. Clothes should be familiar, comfortable, and well-fitting so you're not fidgeting or distracted.

🔹 Mix and match for a versatile wardrobe. Instead of relying on outdated suits or defaulting to all black, choose pieces that work well together and allow for multiple outfit combinations.

🔹 Shop your own closet before buying more. There are likely great pieces hiding in your wardrobe that you’ve forgotten about. Rotate them forward and remove anything that no longer fits or feels good.

🔹 Stop waiting to lose weight before dressing well. Confidence isn’t about size—it’s about wearing what fits and flatters you now. Well-fitting clothes will help you feel good and show up fully in your professional life.

🔷If you're listening to this podcast, video feels way harder than it should.  If you're ready to make video a priority, and not spend hours making a 60-sec video visit BlackDogMarketingStrategies.com

 Join me in The Lab on Substack, my space to test, tweak, and share smart ideas worth chasing, especially around video, content strategy, and showing up online without burning out (or wasting your weekends) Click Here

📌 When you’re ready to make creating engaging social media videos a priority, I offer 1:1 coaching and done-with-you video services. 😉 Click Here

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➡️ Need more? Check out the 300+ videos on my YouTube channel Click here for my YouTube channel 

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For additional insights, connect with Annette Richmond and Black Dog Marketing Strategies on social media.
Substack: https://substack.com/@annetterichmond
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annetterichmond/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com...

Transcript

[00:00:00.04] - Annette

Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Thank you. From joining us from wherever you may be joining us, I always appreciate you being here. I'm Annette Richmond. This is the smarter career moves LinkedIn live show. And today we're going to be talking about fashion, which is so exciting. So I met you, Scarlett, I think it was like maybe 20 years ago when we were, like, just. Just in our early 20s, just getting out of those teenage years. And the last time I heard you speak was at a conference that I was doing, I think, 2012. And I am so excited to have you here with me today because although, you know, my outfit would belie this, I. I am, you know, interested in fashion. And so for people who don't know you, tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do.

[00:00:49.00] - Scarlett

Okay, thanks. Yeah. It's been a while. Time flies.

[00:00:52.15] - Annette

I know.

[00:00:53.10] - Scarlett

So I live in Westchester, New York. I work virtually as well as in person, and I have been working virtually for 15 years, showing primarily women what clothes to wear so that they will project the image of confidence, feel confident, and stop getting all stressed out trying to figure out what to put on for any occasion or every occasion, basically to be seen as the leaders that they are. Because if you're not wearing clothes that make you feel good, then others can smell that, and then you're not going to be looking. They're not going to look at you as a person to hire to solve their problems if you have your own problems. And a lot of times what we wear is a big problem if we're not wearing clothes that fit us well or that we like how we look in them.

[00:01:35.10] - Annette

Yeah, I appreciate that. And I know it's. It's often I've heard that if you're going to a big meeting or you're meeting with a potential client that you're, you know, kind of your dream client, that you don't want to necessarily be wearing something new.

[00:01:49.00] - Scarlett

Yeah. I mean, as long as. If it's new and it's great on you, but if it's new because you went, ran out and bought it because you just wanted something to that fit you, then you got a problem. But, yes, yes. But some. You know, I actually did a little video and I haven't posted it yet, about how some of the labels in clothes these days are so scratchy and itchy, the fabric is so cheap. And if you put something new on, like you said, and you don't really know about those labels, you can go a little crazy in that meeting and do this kind of stuff all the time with a label over here. So that's an interesting thing about something new. But what happens is a lot of people run out and buy something because they think they don't have anything. And then for many people, it's really. For women, men are like, if it doesn't fit, they'll just go up the size, no big deal. But for women, it's a whole other thing. And sometimes women tend to buy something that's too big or too small. And then you're going to be fidgeting with yourself.

[00:02:40.21] - Annette

Yeah, fidgeting. I'm sorry, go ahead.

[00:02:43.09] - Scarlett

No, say while you're talking. People are not going to hear this. They're going to only hear you doing this sort of stuff. The whole. The fit is really important.

[00:02:54.21] - Annette

That, that is, that is true. And we, we chatted about this, I think briefly earlier, but before we went live. And you know, I know what's considered professional attire has shifted over the last 10 years. For, for men as well as women, men have more options. It's not necessarily now that they must wear the, you know, suit with the tie and that's, you know, professional. If they're really kind of going into something, a big meeting or something. I still think that it's more challenging for women. And, you know, is it the suit? Is it the mix? I see a lot of women on tv, strong women on tv, wearing now like a sheath with a, with a matching jacket. And so it just seems that stuff is kind of all over the place for women. So can you talk a little bit about that?

[00:03:42.05] - Scarlett

Yeah, so, yeah. So the good news is there are more options now for women than there ever have been before. Do you want to wear a suit which will then give the. The impression of authority or show your authority? But then again, is a suit too dressed up and make you look like stuffy and stiff? So the options are there like you can't believe now for women. And, and by the way, women are beginning to want to go back to that power dressing, but not like it used to be, you know, the big shoulder pads and. But interesting. So, like when I work with a client and I'm helping her have printed presence with what she's wearing, whether it's for speaking, boardroom presentations, interviews. I look for jackets that are not necessarily typical. You gotta go, don't go for the uniform look, but something with a little bit more personality and style. And you cannot wear the suits that you paid a fortune for that you bought 15, 20, 30 years ago. I know it hurts, but, but they don't work anymore. They make you look dated. So. But. But you can wear now a beautiful, you know, top with a pair of pants, maybe some fun colored shoes.

[00:04:56.19] - Scarlett

I'm really into accessories, if you can't tell, you know, but the standard black suit with a white shirt, which makes you look like you work in a restaurant. I don't advise.

[00:05:09.09] - Annette

No, I love that. So do you advise less of buying a suit and more, you know, mix and match? You know, a jacket, coordinated. Does your take on that?

[00:05:22.18] - Scarlett

Sometimes you can get a great suit in a color, for instance, or a pattern with a matching, you know, the fabric is the same as the pants. But my, my specialty, my sweet sauce here, my secret sauce, is that I. When I find things for my clients, they're pieces that can all be combined in new ways. So I might find a suit for someone, but those pants can be worn with many other things, or the jacket that might be like a unique style or cool collar or buttons, or a print can be worn with many other things, including jeans, if you wanted to, you know, on the weekends for casual. So the idea really is wardrobe, really is to have all the pieces in your best colors that fit you, the body you have now, and that they can be combined in a whole bunch of new ways. So you would technically have more outfits but fewer clothes than you have now when you have the right pieces in your closet.

[00:06:14.13] - Annette

Well, I certainly can relate to that. I have some of those suits in my second closet, and I don't know what I'm saving them for, but it's, you know, it is so interesting because I, I love the idea that you can look. I don't know, I. Sometimes I think powerful is a little overused. But you can look, as you say, like the expert you are without being in some kind of a power uniform, so to speak.

[00:06:40.17] - Scarlett

So, yeah, you know, the way. The way you can really. Confidence is the. Is the key word. When, you know, you feel confident, you become confident. When you feel confident what you're wearing, you immediately become more confident in what you're saying and in what you're doing and how people are hearing you, you know, so if you're wearing an outfit that is not like everybody else in the room in a good way, you know, by perhaps adding some accessories that add some personality or some pattern or print in the top. So if you do something that's a little different, it's going to make people want to have a conversation with you. It's going to make people think that you're not like everybody Else there. If you are a professional coach or an advisor and you're at a networking meeting and there's two or three people who do the same thing as you, you want to look different than them, you want to feel more confident than they do, because you'll be attracting more business, more clients that way.

[00:07:36.11] - Annette

You know, I love that and I do love your, your necklace, that is, or it may, perhaps it's not called the necklace, but I love that. It's, it's absolutely, you know, it's absolutely stunning in the sense that it really does stand out. It suits you, you know, the person that I've, that I've met and spoken with over the years. It's sort of, you know, it fits you. And one of the things that, that I love is that you help women sort of shop in their own closets, to go in their own closets and create outfits from things that they already have. And that certainly can be a money saver. So can you give us some tips or techniques on how people can do that?

[00:08:22.19] - Scarlett

Yeah. So, first of all, I always believe that this, that I always call it, there's gold in there. There's always something in the closet that you've forgotten about. But go to the very back and pull something out that I guarantee you forgot you had. So when I work with somebody in person or virtually, it is astonishing how many times they will say to me, I forgot I had that. I mean, it's really, it's very common. And sometimes a woman will go out and buy the same thing again because she forgot she already had it or, or something very much like it in the closet. Start going in the back where, you know, blow the dust off and take a look and see what you got there. There could be some really good things there. If you find something that fits you now that has potential to be combined with something else, put it towards the front of your closet, you know, where you actually will see it and notice it when you turn the light on or open the door. So that's one thing. Secondly, pull out anything from your closet that just doesn't fit anymore.

[00:09:19.04] - Scarlett

Just get it out. Because when you get that out, you're going to have more room to see. What you do have, I love to do is see, women tend to buy something, an outfit, and then they tend to hang it up that way in their closet. So they might even put the necklace on it that they wear with it. So now they have the shirt, the pants, the skirt, whatever, the jacket, and they hang it up that way, and that's their outfit. And I advise people not to do that. Hang everything up separately, because that necklace can go with many other things. The shirt can go with many other things. And so you're limiting yourself when you're hanging things up by an outfit. You're thinking that it's making your life easier, but you're actually limiting your options. So pull out the stuff that doesn't fit anymore. If you can't part with it, put it in a box in another closet, but just not in your main closet. Go in the back where the dust is and see what you've got going on in there. You know, and also shoes. Any shoes that you know you're not going to wear again, just get them out.

[00:10:18.05] - Scarlett

You know, get it out. The less you have in your closet, the more you actually will have to wear. That's a fact. I've seen it all the time. I've helped people get rid of things, piles of stuff. But then all the outfits that I've created with what they have, they actually have more to wear than they did before. So it isn't about having a lot. So, okay, blow the dust off. Look and see what you already have. Take things apart. Don't hang them together. And now let's say you take a shirt. You know, maybe it's a print. Take that top and then go across to your. Your pants and just see where the colors go. So maybe there's like a navy in that top, but you've always worn this particular print with black pants. Well, look and see if the navy pants work with it. Or go to your jacket, See what jacket would actually pick up or work with that print. So you literally just kind of go like that. It's a way to kind of open your options, open your mind.

[00:11:17.17] - Annette

And I'm sorry, go ahead.

[00:11:19.17] - Scarlett

I'm saying also, and if. But you. Everybody needs to buy something new, you know, that fits them now. But be very careful it isn't a duplicate of what you already have. Because that's why people, women have a lot of clothes and nothing to wear because they keep buying something very similar to what they already have. And then you're not. You're not able to expand your wardrobe, your options that way.

[00:11:42.03] - Annette

Ideas? I. I feel like I'm having a session with you right now.

[00:11:46.22] - Scarlett

I guess it happens.

[00:11:49.10] - Annette

You know, you're so speaking to me. I have, you know, probably 10 black tops, probably, you know, long sleeve, short sleeve, hanging in my closet. And, you know, I'm. I'm sure I'm not the only one with things in my closet with the tags on them. Because I, you know, you go in and you see something and then, oh, maybe it's even on sale. And it's like, oh, okay. But, you know, those things that you buy on sale, I know for myself, you know, I may not wear them because the fact that it's on sale and I feel like I'm getting a deal, but if I never wear it, then I'm really not. So when you're, when you are going shopping, and I have found that if I go through my closet, I've done this once or twice. If I was going on a trip or something and I looked in my closet and saw what I had and what I needed and shop for that. But other than otherwise, it's kind of like, you know, oh, whatever, jumps at me. So what do you have some tips for people when they're going, when they're going shopping?

[00:12:47.15] - Annette

Should you sort of shop by design? Should you just go out and look around?

[00:12:51.05] - Scarlett

Well, so when I work with somebody, they know specifically what the best colors are for them. This particular styling details, whether it's necklines, shoulder seams, the length, proportions of something. When you know what specifically is right for you, it's much easier to resist that. Oh my God, I can't believe this $500 blouse is only $70 today. I got to get it because it's a bargain, but it's just, it's just still an expensive mistake because you're not. It doesn't fit the guidelines that are right for you. You have to know what's right for you, what makes you feel great and look great, and you know you can't wait to wear again. That's the kind of look and style that you should be sticking to when you're shopping. So if you don't like anything that you have, if you feel frumpy, if you don't feel good, no matter what size you are, if you could be a size 4 or you could be a size 24, if the clothes are not the right ones for you, you're not going to feel any better. It's never about being thin. It's always about having the right, the right of the wrong clothes.

[00:13:50.02] - Scarlett

When you know what works for you, that keeps you from buying more mistakes, that keeps you from, like I always say, you know, when, you know, when you shopping, your hand gets magnetized to something because of the price tag or because it looks like something you know and you, it looks like something you know because you have it at home already. That's why people have so many black pants and so many white tops. And, you know, so you have to. You can pull yourself away or from the, the button knot when you're doing online shopping, when you know that it doesn't fit the guidelines until, you know really right for you. You're always going to struggle with choosing what to wear. It's why a lot of women come to me when they're. When they're in their 50s and 60s, because they, @ that point they go, I'm just tired of trying.

[00:14:34.03] - Annette

Yeah, yeah, no, I hear that. And I mentioned to you also earlier the idea that I wear black. I tend to wear black all the time, and it's. I am comfortable in it and I do kind of like it on me. Did purchase. I'm going to a conference next week and I picked up a couple of things and I decided to. I got some, like, plaid pants to break up the black that, you know, because it, because it's, you know, I can wear my black top that I'm used to, but I have, you know, breaking it up. So. But. But how do people like me. How do you get out of that rut? And, and how do you. I mean, this is kind of a combination question. How do you know what is best for you? I mean, it's. It is such a puzzle. We look in the mirror and I think women are, you know, harder on themselves. I look in the mirror and I think, oh, gosh, I have lost five pounds. But, oh, gosh, I need to lose five more. Whereas a man. Not all, but some men, you know, they've got the belt going underneath their belly and feeling fooling themselves that they're still wearing the same size pants they were 10 years ago.

[00:15:39.15] - Annette

Because, you know, the belt and the pants are the same, but women are not like that. We look in the mirror and even if we look good where we find something wrong.

[00:15:48.11] - Scarlett

Yeah, yeah, I know. Men are like, oh, yeah, what are you talking about? I'm still wearing 34. I know. It's funny, you know, you really have to stop thinking that you're gonna get the answer on Instagram or tick tock from one of those. Those reels. People making these videos, you know, and, you know, you button it this way and then, you know, oh, yeah. Typically very, very thin young women. And it doesn't really work in for the rest of us, you know, for the real people, you know, so you have to really experiment. You have to be willing to experiment. So when I work with a client, I find her clothes that she would not have picked out herself. And the resistance is always there. I would never wear that. No. And I go, well, you know, we're working together, so just, you know, let's try and nine out of ten or nine and a half out of ten times, they end up buying and loving the very thing that they first said they didn't like. It's because you have to break the pattern. You have to step out of your comfort zone. You're never going to find out what looks good on you if you keep buying what you already have.

[00:16:50.09] - Scarlett

And when I say buy me you already have, I don't mean just like another pair of black pants. But a lot of people that go, all right, in this store, everything fits me, so therefore, I'm going to keep shopping in this store. But when she goes to her closet, she doesn't really like the clothes, or she doesn't. I don't know what to wear, or she feels like she has to go shopping again. Right? You have to go to a different store. You have to stop shopping. If you don't like what you have, stop going to the same resource.

[00:17:18.18] - Annette

So I also want to ask you, because, you know, for men, it's. It's kind of simple. You know, 34 pants, the length, the waist, the jacket size, the shoulders. For women, it's all over the place. You know, I could wear a medium in one thing, and I'm wearing an extra large in. In, you know, the same style. So how do you figure that out?

[00:17:40.18] - Scarlett

Right. Yeah. So when I work, I know the different manufacturers and labels. So I'm really. I mean, look, this is what I do. What I. What I do is I know what will work for different shapes. And I'm also willing to experiment with my clients, and they know that. I'll say, let's try this. Not sure, but let's try it. So, for instance, for some people, a shorter top is better than a longer top. You know, for some people, a wider leg pant is better than a narrow leg pant. You have to experiment, but you don't have to think that because the magazine shows something or the salesperson tells you that you look good and something that it's right. But it's really, you have to. If you don't, if you're not thrilled what you have, you need to go to a different store. You definitely need to try a different label, and you have to be willing to try on two sizes. That's the other thing. So let's say you're a size 10, damn it. And that's it. And so you try on the size 10 and they're a little snug. Most women will say, well, I'll just, I just need to lose some weight and then I'll shop again.

[00:18:40.11] - Scarlett

But if this has been going on for a while, and usually it has, there's no harm in trying a size up. Sometimes you have to go a size down. Sometimes women wear clothes that are too big. And when you try on two sizes of something and you find, you find the one that fits the widest part of you, you can have the narrow part taken in, but fit the widest part of you and then you're not going to have that feeling that, you know, you can't have dessert that day or, or God forbid you sit down. So, you know, just fit the wider, get the narrow part taken in. Men get their clothes tailored all the time and we don't. And we should, we should. When you go to like Nordstrom's, you know, go in the men's department and you try on a suit, there's a guy with a tape measure like where he come from, right. And a woman, nothing. You have to ask, you have to ask for help. You have to ask for a tailor.

[00:19:31.07] - Annette

No, I appreciate that. It's, it is so challenging and the idea of thinking, you know, you're one size or, or another size and it's just, you know, and, and the thing is too, which just actually dawned on me a while ago, is nobody sees the tag inside. They don't know if I'm what size I'm wearing.

[00:19:53.02] - Scarlett

I actually, yes, when I've done presentations, I actually talk about this, that, that you know, unless you're wearing your clothes inside out, nobody is going to know if you are squeezing yourself into a size because you determined to be that size. You're actually making yourself look bigger. It's the opposite of what you want. When you wear a size that fits you, even if it's one or two sizes up from what you want to be or used to be, you will look and feel thinner. Anytime something's too tight, it's going to make you look bigger and be incredibly uncomfortable. And I don't believe in being uncomfortable in your clothes. The other thing is that, I mean, I had a client once, her husband pleaded with her to find someone to help her because she was now not going out to like she, they lived in the city and they, the theater and everything and she wasn't doing anything anymore because she hated, hated how she looked in her clothes and hated the fact that she had Gained weight through the years, she was so upset that she had cut the size labels out of every single garment in her closet.

[00:20:55.12] - Scarlett

Every single one. So because she cut all the labels out, we didn't even know what size she was when we went shopping. And we figured it out. But she was so into the number that she couldn't, like, break out. So she wasn't even going out and doing things anymore. But when I showed her how she can look really good in the clothes that fit her, then she became more confident again. Then she felt good again. And then she saw that, yeah, okay, so what if I'm one or two sizes more than I was? I can look good now. That's a fact. We, it's very hard to get our bodies back. Very hard. You know, I look at pictures of myself, I go, I was that thin. Why didn't I appreciate that? Right? Because we never happy with what we have when we, when we have it. But if you, if you wearing clothes that fit you now, no matter what the number is, you will get compliments on you and how you look. No one will ever, ever come up to you and say, those size fours are fantastic.

[00:21:54.22] - Annette

I, I know when, when I, when I think about that now, and you mention it, I used to, that's what I used to wear. Size 4. You know, I mean, moons and moons ago. But it is, and I think it is difficult for, for women who, you know, you. We have gained some weight now. You know, I am. Was actually stunned when I looked at a photo of myself from a few years ago when I was actually 15 pounds heavier. And I was like, oh, my goodness, how did I not even see it at the time? And I sort of keep that to remind me. And I've been, you know, I'm, I'm working, I'm almost to my goal weight now and feeling, you know, comfortable at it. But it is, you know, it is difficult, you know, to see yourself changing. What do you say to people who say, well, you know what? I'm going to just wait until I lose, I lose some weight before I go shopping. I find this with clients that I work with, and I tell them, you know, they need to get a new, say, LinkedIn profile photo because it's really old, or they have something that's so Photoshopped it doesn't look like them.

[00:22:58.00] - Annette

And I work with a lot of, you know, entrepreneurs as well as people in corporate, and they're like, well, you know, I have to wait till I lose some weight or this or that. And what do you say to people like that?

[00:23:08.02] - Scarlett

Yeah, I hear it a lot. And I've been doing what I'm doing 15, 16 years, and I've heard it a lot. And a lot of the women, I mean, the few recently who hired me, who talked to me five years ago, who wanted to lose some weight before they worked on how they look, they wanted to change something about themselves before they changed their clothes. Each one actually weighs more than she used to, each one. But I say don't, because you're losing the opportunity, the time, the joy of feeling good about yourself. Now, if you're wearing clothes that fit you now and make you look and feel good, it actually can be an incentive then to maybe lose weight, if that's really your goal and you want to work at it. Because when you can see yourself looking good, it gives you more of a positive mindset. But when you see yourself looking kind of yucky, I mean, I don't know, on a bad day, I'll just eat my way out of the. You know. You know, so when you feel bad about yourself, you tend to. You tend to do more things that are bad for you.

[00:24:09.17] - Scarlett

But when you feel good about yourself, you tend to treat yourself more positively and more kindly, you know, but any. Anybody who, you know, also headshots. I did a video recently about. You got to look like your headshot. You know, I mean, this is really important. If people are looking for you and then they. And they meet you and then that's not the person that they saw. It's like one of those dating sites, you know, Wait a minute. Who's. You're tricking me. You know, you don't want to do that. You want to look like you. Be you. So I highly advise people to have some clothes, some outfits that work for the body you have now. If you lose weight, great, then you can get even more wonderful clothes. But until then, don't keep wearing the clothes that make you feel bad and make you look like you're. Don't care, you know? Yeah. So. Yeah. But everybody I know who said that to me either hasn't lost the weight or has gained more. And so that time period was a lot of days, you know, a couple of years worth of feeling bad and insecure.

[00:25:13.07] - Scarlett

And you know what? When you're insecure, you don't go to events or you don't put the camera on in zoom. And I turn down invitations to some pretty nice events because they just were. They were just like, I don't want anybody to see me.

[00:25:25.12] - Annette

Well, I, you know, I have. I've never. I haven't been quite so much where I haven't gone, but I can remember times, not recently, where I just felt like, you know, when I went, I felt so frumpy, and it just. It really takes away a lot. And we're kind of at the end of our time together, and I think that that is a wonderful place to stop because I love how you went through that. But before we say goodbye and what do you have? Some. And I do want to mention that you have a lot of resources, so, you know, people can certainly go to your LinkedIn profile, you have a link to your website. You have a lot of different resources, videos, and. Right. On all. All sorts of things. So are you open to, you know, sort of connecting with people on. On LinkedIn?

[00:26:10.22] - Scarlett

Absolutely. I would love that.

[00:26:12.07] - Annette

Okay, So I do want to ask you, though, if there's any. We've talked about a lot of different things. Is there anything that you'd like to add that we should have maybe discussed and you'd like to. To share that now?

[00:26:22.23] - Scarlett

Just don't underestimate the power of what you wear and what it does for your. For your personal life and your business life. That when you focus on getting clothes that make you feel confident, we don't want to say powerful, but that you have some impact in the room, you actually will make more money when you focus on that and get that done, then you're able to use your energy on what you're saying to people, what you're presenting to people, the services you're offering to people, how you connect with people. So get the stuff that makes you go a little nuts in the head, Right. All that insecurity stuff that we all tend to have, you know, and get that out of the way, and then you can focus on really making more money, you know, and growing your business. That's really. It's really key. But they complement each other. What you wear is a reflection of what you do.

[00:27:20.06] - Annette

Well, I thank you so much, and thanks again for being here. This has been so lovely. And again, I feel like I've had a personal session with you myself, so I appreciate that. So thank you to everyone who has joined us who is listening now or will be watching this on the replay or listening to it on my podcast.