Meet Molly Schnagl

Greg Schnagl: All right, let’s start with you. The title’s in your resume, but who are you at your core?

Molly Schnagl: Well, for me at my core, I would describe myself as an actionator in all aspects of my life. I’m just wired this way. I hear or see a challenge, and my immediate response is how to find a solution. This has always served me well over time, and I’ve honed into that strength while also trying to allow or guide others versus me just working on a solve. That of course is the hard part. Sitting back and allowing others to figure it out. I have found in my career arc that I’m steering more toward mentoring and asking more and more questions to allow others to find solutions. But at my core, I just want to burst with my ideas and deeply participate in the solutions. Whether that’s for my clients, teams, or people in my life, I’m someone who doesn’t sit around waiting for the world to change. I move toward change and make it work for me. For example, recently I found myself behind the eightball as it was related to an AI adoption and I simply wasn’t understanding all the buzzwords.

Greg Schnagl: Sure.

Molly Schnagl: I really didn’t like that feeling. My response was to solve, learn, apply it as fast as possible, then share and share and share with anyone who would listen to me, my team or anyone around. Like I just dig in. I typically just bring others along with me on my journey to find a solution, but at the end of the day, it’s just about finding solutions and moving forward.

Greg Schnagl: Yeah, I was privy to privy to that myself when you got into AI. Um, and of course I know as your husband a lot about you, right? More than most. But what people what might other people not know about you?

Molly Schnagl: I think that’s a good question. I think that most people at this point in my life, they don’t know really where I started. Like I started my career in Guam, far away, where I had several roles with um mobile oil and um but I think most likely people would be surprised to know that I opened and operated gas stations. It’s kind of funny to think back, but it was a long time ago working 24 hours at a gas station and hiring people and opening that store. But the other key thing people wouldn’t know is that I was a key player in bringing Dairy Queen into the convenience stores in the Guam market. And that really kickstarted my career. Um it was a small market so I could grow exponentially in a very short period of time.

Greg Schnagl: You did? Yeah.

Molly Schnagl: This experience and exposure, it just really set me up to what happened next, which was a move back to the US and then ultimately that guided me into some really key opportunities that set me up for where I am today. Um, for example, they were I got back into the US market just as they were rolling out speed pass and I was part of the speed pass rollout team here in the US and that set me up, grounded me for meeting a lot of people, networking and then establishing opportunity for the future. So, it’s kind of amazing as I look back to my beginning and um where I started, but it’s built a long-term client relationship that I still have today.

Greg Schnagl: Say more about speed pass because it does relate to your thirst for knowledge in the in the advent of an inter introduction of new tech. So, what was speed pass and why was it so unique at the time?

Molly Schnagl: I mean, at the time it was um it’s a transponder that was used for payment. And now we all just have a chip in our credit card, so that’s great. But back then um in the early gosh, early I guess late 90s, I suppose that’s when it was um it was a transponder that you could put in your car or transponder that you could hang on your keychain to make payments at a gas pump or the gas dispenser. And so it was a the first start of this new idea of not actually um handing a credit card over using a credit card to make payment um when you’re purchasing fuel. So it was innovative, it was exciting, it was like the big thing that was happening in the moment and for me I stepped back into the US and this was what was happening and I was invited to be part of that team that launched it. Now, I wasn’t part of the team that built it for sure, but right at the end moment, I got to get in there and kind of see how that was happening and how we could then um bring that to the other retail stores across the US.

Greg Schnagl: You gave us a little bit of your origin story um and alluded to some things you did. When people ask now, so what do you do? How do you like to answer?

Molly Schnagl: That’s a great question. It’s a hard one to answer. We’ve been doing this for 30 years.

Greg Schnagl: Like, what do you what does she do? What do Yeah, here you go. Here’s your chance. Put it all one little bitty space.

Molly Schnagl: Um, well, I I feel like today what I do is help companies and organization decipher a very complex digital marketing space. So we my team and we embed ourselves into the organizations almost like augmented staff learning the business nuances representing their interests with all of their vendors in the website operations space. So these vendors could be digital agencies, product vendors like software applications and so forth. all those things that make up that digital ecosystem. And we help coordinate um with those business clients and those vendors. And so we’re deeply integrated. We try to reduce churn, keep projects on scope, holding those partners accountable, and ultimately making the entire system more nimble and and at a lower cost through efficiency because we’re able to translate the language from one to the other.

Greg Schnagl: So, how how does this look like in practice? How how do you do that?

Molly Schnagl: Well, I mean oftent times our clients have a request or a business need for their website like a new feature or an enhancement and we are able to translate those needs to our partner agencies that we work. So we work with them on design and development and we’re able to really write that what we call acceptance criteria. let’s say um it’s translating the the business language or jargon into what becomes the design and development. So there’s not a gap in understanding.

Often times these things there is a big gap and then sometimes something’s developed and it’s not at all what the client wanted and they just didn’t weren’t understanding each other. So we sort of sit in the middle. We help facilitate that scoping exercise and make sure that it’s exactly defined as the client needed. We get the specs written up. We oftentimes are part of the um estimates and then we’re able to hold all of that accountable and deliver it on time. So, it’s really a win-win for both. It’s typically on time, on budget, flawless delivery, and everyone’s happy in the end. We don’t have an agency that feels like they had scope creep and didn’t get the didn’t get it right and then the client who is happy in the end because they got the product that they were asking for.

Greg Schnagl: So, you’re you’re doing this now. You spoke of what you had done um in Guam. Where was that transition point? Um what what was the moment in your life that set you on this path of your own space providing these opportunities for businesses?

Molly Schnagl: I think that that would be um I stepped out of that corporate setting um because I wanted to prioritize starting a family and becoming a mom. and I assumed that leaving the opportunity behind um would set me back somehow. Instead, I ended up contracting back to that same organization. And that little crack in the door changed everything for me. A few years in, I was asked to help build out a really largecale custom design signage program for 4,000 retailers across the country. And so that was my, you know, big breakout moment. Nobody knew how to do it. I didn’t know how to do it either. But as as I as I have been and as it’s defined me, I you know dug in and found really great partners, super smart people that um understood what they were doing and I could help them translate exactly what the business needed to do. It was a really super cool moment to for me um to turn from just being a support person into being the expert.

And that moment was when it set the tone for my career to be an early adopter like Speed Pass, like the digital signage program. um embrace all that innovation, figure it out, and deliver, deliver, deliver, and become really the go-to name in doing website work. I know that sounds really funny, but yeah. Um my breakthrough was really when I stopped waiting to say to be qualified and just learn fast enough to become the expert and then let people know. So around the company all of a sudden my name was um the person who understood digital understood websites and that just seems very broad but that’s kind of how it was. So when something came up there was my name and then the phone rang and that was it.

Greg Schnagl: I can speak to that, the ethos of you. Um you and you just nailed it. stopped waiting to be qualified and just go do say more about that.

Molly Schnagl: Well, I mean that’s a good question. I I think oftentimes people ask me what’d you go to school for? And like well not this. I mean certainly not this. Like my undergrad was in marketing management. I got my MBA from the University of Guam back in 92. So, I was not trained to be a digital marketer. Like, that wasn’t even a thing back when I went to school. So, um, people would ask me, “Do you have a computer science degree?” I’m like, “No, I don’t have any of that.” But I learned on my feet. Like, my opportunity in Guam, too, was a moment where they threw me in everything. Like, do this, do that. It’s a small market, so you just get your hands into all of it. And then then coming into the United States, I was able to grab on to some really great projects, network myself, and just learn on like I said, learn on my feet and and surround myself with really smart people that gave me inspiration to continue to learn and be the best I could be and show up.

So, I present myself as super confident and that sets the tone of for who I am and how I’ve built my business and continued to grow.

Greg Schnagl: So, you spoke about your past. Uh what’s what’s in the future? What’s one project or idea you’re working on right now that excites you?

Molly Schnagl: Well, right now, um, I am partnering with two others on a new SAS product, which is software as a service that we plan to take to the market in January. After years of experiencing how the business kind of works and rolls, we have identified opportunities to gain efficiencies and operational side of um website and to take a lot of what used to be manual hours that were pretty low value and turn them into automated delivery in minutes versus the hours of long um of manual time. So for us, it’s really exciting. We’ve been watching and and experiencing all these requests that come in and distract us from really doing the hard work and the high value work. And so we found a way to do some of this through automation and AI.

So um so it’s been great and I’m super excited. I mean, at the end of the day, there’s a lot of random things that come in to us all the time. And specifically, I’ll give you an example. Um, sometimes legal will come in and they have a specific word that they need removed from our from their website. And you have to find all the places on that website where that word exists. Whether it’s in the copy, in the metadata, in alt text, everywhere. So that used to take us hours to go through a website that has a thousand pages. Like how do you do that? But from a legal perspective, it’s priority. We need to get that out. And so this tool will do a quick run, produce a report in a sliver of time and give us all the tasks that we have to do to re remove that word. So it’s really saving a lot of time and I feel like it’s just the tip of the iceberg for all the things that this tool will do.

And that’s what excites me today. It’s new. It’s exciting. It’s a way to deliver more efficiency for our clients and also bring back some time for us to really focus on the things that we need to be doing.

Greg Schnagl: Sounds like there’s a throughine in your career of getting cutting edge and then go do go do.

Molly Schnagl: Yes.

Greg Schnagl: So, we know the outcomes here. What’s the vision that drives your work? What’s the big picture that motivates you to do all these things you’ve done and are currently doing?

Molly Schnagl: I think my vision has always been to build something that lasts, right? A business, a reputation, a team that stands for trust and excellence over time. The real driver for me is proving that a small embedded teams can make a massive impact uh inside global op organizations. I don’t need 50 people to move the needle. I don’t need 500 people to move the needle. I just need clarity, accountability, and then just a deep understanding of how things work.

And so my vision is to prove that small can be powerful and longevity is still a competitive edge, right? So for me, the intent is to be efficient and effective, deliver high quality every time, show up with confidence and be positive. And at the end of the day, you know, pack it up, walk away and rejuvenate with a healthy life balance. Like that’s also really important to me.

Greg Schnagl: Yeah. So tell say more about that for balance. What is it? How does it matter to you and others?

Molly Schnagl: Well for me it it it is this balance you know I left the corporate world not to walk away from ambition but to really redefine it on my own terms. Like I wanted to build success that fit my life, not the other way around. For others, especially women balancing business and family, I want them to see that you don’t have to pick between stability and growth. You can build something sustainable, respected, and still scalable. The model that I’ve built shows that partnership and profit can coexist and that matters.

Like everyone I have a team of people that are filled with things outside of work and the daily grind so to speak. I think that you know we have found a really good balance with a model of support that shows the freedom of work and play. you know, things come up and our way of working in and in and with my team is okay, we hear you, we see you. How can we backfill and support you without our clients seeing or feeling that gap and give you the space needed to deal with whatever is happening in your life, whether it’s vacation or family challenges, like we are here to support you. And I think that that balance is um you know why my team loves to do what they do, right? It’s not just work. It’s we have we we care about each other as as a family. So I I feel like that’s part of it.

Greg Schnagl: So you made this vision come to reality. What what concerns did you have when you were in this process of developing it?

Molly Schnagl: I think early on my biggest concern was just credibility, right? Like I wasn’t trained in this and I wanted to be taken seriously um while working differently. I mean, keep in mind like I made this transition in 96ish somewhere 99 whatever it was. Okay. um the late 90s anyway working from home wasn’t a thing, right? They I I joke around sometimes and say they sent me home with a floppy disc and a you know stick this cord in the wall where your phone goes and that’s how we’re going to do it. I mean I feel like I was one of the first work from home people. Um I know that everyone knows what that feeling is like today, but it wasn’t like that then. you had to show up and sit at a seat and you know that that’s what was important and I was like a very early adopter to home home work. So I wanted to be taken seriously even though I had made that change and then later I I had to scale and grow and I didn’t want to lose anything that I built to start with right that balance that work life balance that I spoke to before.

So I didn’t want that to go away or lose any of that but also just you know my biggest concern was just maintaining my credibility. So at the end like my answer has always been the same like lead with performance deliver so consistently that nobody can question my model and that’s just how you build this long-term relationship through the results that speak louder than my structure. So at the end I mean this credibility comes from consistency right not from size not from structure cuz mine was different.

Greg Schnagl: Yeah. So that you speak of the uniqueness. What might people misunderstand about your vision?

Molly Schnagl: I think people sometimes mistake longevity for complacency. Um they assume that if you’ve been with the same clients for decades, you must have stopped evolving. But for me, it’s the opposite. Longevity only happens when you keep reinventing your value. The work I do today looks nothing like it did 10 or even five years ago. The tech changes, the strategy shifts, the people change certainly, but the trust stays constant because I stay ahead of what’s next.

I dig in and I’m just super loyal to my clients. And I mean, here’s here’s a story for you and here’s why. I mean the loyalty is deep down uh let’s call it my big break as I transitioned out of corporate yeah that client really believed in me and gave me the opportunity right during that time so many things were happening really at the same time the company was going through a massive merger and people were navigating their own challenges and concerns And at the same time, I’m navigating this new work from home model and my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and needed my help and support. I mean, she moved in. We took care of her. Y and at that time, I really needed time and I was unable to really work as much. Mhm. But they stuck with me and they gave me all the necessary grace of time to get through what was really a tough few years. And I’m not saying one month, I’m saying a few years. And they they stuck with me.

And I’ll never forget it. And in return, while all those people are gone and the business has drastically changed, I will forever be loyal and committed to a place that took care of me. It’s built my foundation. It’s everything that we’ve talked about so far. So for this for this reason, I I am fiercely loyal. I just am.

Greg Schnagl: Yeah, that was that was a powerful time. And so when people do misunderstand, how do you how do you grapple with those misunderstandings and any personal doubts?

Molly Schnagl: I think I deal with both by taking action. I just don’t waste much energy defending what I do. I prove it through results. And when doubt creeps in, I outwork it by learning. The fastest way I know to silence uncertainty is to become an expert again. So with every major shift from digital signage to web management to AI, yeah, they all these things have tested me. And every time I double down, I learn faster. I come out stronger and that pattern really builds the confidence that you can’t fake like this is who I am.

Greg Schnagl: Mhm. Share us a story where that approach led to a breakthrough.

Molly Schnagl: My approach has led to future opportunities that come sometimes very unexpectedly. I gained a new client around three years ago. This wasn’t by chance really. It came by trust and reputation after hard, you know, long hard work. Um, there’s no blueprint to this. I was presented with a problem at that time which just perfectly fit my wheelhouse and I got to dig in and partner with some really great people to help them in their digital transformation. And ultimately, it was amazing and award-winning in the end. I mean, it was a big breakthrough because I proved that our model is effective. It’s transferable. It’s just been a a really exciting time to re-energize me, too.

Greg Schnagl: So, we’re speaking of outcomes and origins, but how do you make this happen on the regular? like what small habit do you feel has made like the most significant difference for you throughout this entire voyage?

Molly Schnagl: That’s a that’s um I’ll tell you something about a little bit about who I am. I guess it’s I would say an answer to that is my own bio- rhythms. I’m an early to bed, early to rise person. A lot of people know that about me. I have been this way my entire life. I was a figure skater growing up and my dad would shake me out of bed at 4 in the morning. So, it’s just what I’ve always done and it’s how I’ve become productive. Like my most productive moments are in the wee hours of the morning. Um, anytime after 8:30, you’ll see my eyes starting to flutter shut. So yeah, this this habit though is it it’s it’s been there my whole life and it it’s how I’ve become disciplined and how I follow rigor. It’s you know I’m productive in the mornings whether it’s my work a daily wake up or daily workout or getting in answering a bunch of email. Forgive me for those people listening that get emailed too early in the morning, but these um these are the things that I’ve done that has that have set me up for success and made me the best version of myself each day.

Greg Schnagl: And for listeners, it should be known that uh this morning we were up at 5 re previewing this podcast and taking action as she does. She’s like, “Why don’t we just record it now?” So here we are early morning getting it done right perfect example um of you in action. So if someone feels stuck, if they don’t have that background, they don’t have that integrated routine um if they’re feeling stuck, what’s first step they might take?

Molly Schnagl: I mean my advice to anyone who might feel stuck is stop waiting for clarity. I mean you have to just move. You can’t just sit and wonder and wait. Um, I mean, so many people think they need to have a full plan before they take action. And I think I’m proof that you don’t. You just need to have the momentum. Get one foot moving in front of the other and the path will reveal itself and it might not be what you thought and it’s going to change. And when I have faced uncertainty like leaving corporate scaling, learning AI, I didn’t have a map.

 I just had movement. Action creates confidence. Let’s do great things is one of my people that work in on my team. They see that often. You know, let’s do great things. Let’s get s*** done. Right. That’s what we say.

Greg Schnagl: Yes. Yes indeed. So who helped you? Which mentors or experiences?

Molly Schnagl: I mean I think that I would identify mentors as many of my clients, right? I’ve been with them for 25 plus years and it working with them has certainly been a master class in leadership, communications, corporate politics, all the things. So, um I think I would say u my clients um you my husband who tolerates me every day and listens to all of the things and and provides me guidance too. So, um I think and through experience, nothing really teaches you more than staying the course long enough to see full cycles of change. And when you start to realize the trend isn’t what matters, it’s the constant and how you show up through it.

Greg Schnagl: Yeah. Where is the best place pe for people to connect with you or listeners to find you?

Molly Schnagl: Um, you can find me on LinkedIn. I will be the first to admit that I don’t do uh a lot of posting myself. I’m working on that. That’s an area I’d like to do better, but that’s not something I like to look and read and follow conversations in LinkedIn. But you can definitely find me there. I also have my website tomeganmarketing.com where you can learn more about my business and my talented team that support my clients and um yeah, you can find me at molly@tomeganmarketing.com.

Greg Schnagl: So if you listeners remember just one thing from today, what do you hope that to be?

Molly Schnagl: That relevance is a choice. You don’t have to chase every new trend. You just have to keep learning, keep moving, keep adding value. The world will always change. But the people who last are the ones who adapt faster than they panic. That’s been my playbook for 25 years, and it still works.