Latest / Your Girl: The High Ticket Sales Podcast | Scale Your Business & Get More Clients / Plot Twist: You’re the Bottleneck in Your Business

Transcript

Plot Twist: You’re the Bottleneck in Your Business · Your Girl: The High Ticket Sales Podcast | Scale Your Business & Get More Clients

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Today I want to talk directly to the business owner who is scared of the word operations, who definitely has a million notes on their notes app that says stuff like social media idea number two or talk to this person or to-do list number 55.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: I am you.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: You are me.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: I get you.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why today I really wanted to dedicate a whole episode onto operations and how to not be so scared of it and to how to actually let us scale with ease.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into it.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Hey y'all, welcome to Your Girl, the podcast for six to seven figure business owners who are ready to scale their business and hit their dream numbers.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Marie.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: I am the founder of Your Girl Media, where I have a boutique podcast agency where I'm scaling coaches to their dream numbers and helping them monetize.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I also have a badass networking group called Cocktails and Close, where we're drinking cocktails and closing the fucking deal.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, anywho, today we were talking about operations, which I know is a scary word.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe I'm just projecting that, but I feel like there's people who love it, thinking about my friends Lara and Andrea.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then there's people like me who are like, Why do I have to like learn a new app?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Why do I have to change what I already do, even though I know what I already do isn't working?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: So today we're gonna be talking about how it's not about adding more apps or more complicated systems or just more on your freaking to-do list.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: We're also gonna be talking about how you should be building a business that you are thinking of your future self with and how different revenue levels have different operational bottlenecks and like where are you at on that spectrum?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I say enough of me and let's get into it.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Please take your name, your business, and if your business was a cocktail, what kind of cocktail would it be?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_04: My name is Christiana Garza.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_04: I am located in Dallas, Texas now.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_04: My I'm a business consultant that specializes in operations and growth.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_04: If my business was a cocktail, I'm just gonna go with my go-to, espresso martini, because she's classy and she gives you a kick when you need it.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you get, yeah, that's exactly it.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like it wakes you the fuck up.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: You have a great night, and it's delicious.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_04: Yes.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Not everyone can make a good espresso martini, though.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_04: This is facts.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_04: There was a time I ordered from a Marriott hotel bar, actually, and I was disappointed.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_04: It's like it's gonna be dirty.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_04: Fair.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, fair, fair.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: I thought you were gonna say anything else.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: They were like, I went to a chain hotel and I had a terrible espresso martini.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, they probably don't even have an espresso machine back there.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: You should only get an espresso martini at a hipster restaurant, like uh like a good dive bar, also because hipster restaurants they usually have like really mid food, but the cocktails are incredible.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, like you trust like I love an espresso martini.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Fuck.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think the most recent best one I've had was in Lisbon, Portugal.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And we all as a table got three to four rounds before we started the night.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: We got fucked up.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_04: Like the quality and the price just it's super cheap.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: I I love that answer.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, okay, so now let's actually dig into ops.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And before you actually go even further, I want to describe what I think ops is.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, great.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I'm your ideal client.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm knocking at the door of six figures.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely do everything on my own.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Everything is definitely just really messy in my notes app.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I think, and I told you on the call, I I'm allergic to this stuff.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm allergic to systems, SOPs.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so when I think of ops, I think headache.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's taking a task and breaking it down into 50 other fucking tasks that I have to do.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it I means I'm gonna have to sign up for some app and I have to learn a new AI, and I have to hire more people.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um it sounds like the world's biggest headache, and that's why I'm like, you know what?
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Let me save myself some time and I'll go to my my little notes app that's messy.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I think ops is, and I'm yeah, yeah.
• 4:06
  unknown: Yeah.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_04: And that's honestly where so many people start.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_04: Like you, like somewhere that their brain gets to dump things out.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_04: The opposite side of that, I want to hang up.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_04: I don't like to use like a lot of negative terminology around it because people already have a stigma against operations generally, is that though it gets dumped there, it doesn't get organized to start being implemented or used or built out from there.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_04: So a lot of ideas go to get dumped there and then die there as well.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_04: And that's so funny because I'm pretty sure I used the you dump everything in your notes app line somewhere in one of the emails.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_04: That's me.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_04: That this is perfect for you, then.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm so excited that you're gonna be experiencing it.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_04: And ops, as I shared earlier, is it is really just simply broken down the forethought of how your business is built, both in how a team member is onboarded, whether they're a culture fit, not just that they get things done, but they fit well in how you operate and what the values and mission is for your business, too.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_04: It's the forward thought and working backwards of your client experience, not just that they get their emails delivered on time, whether that's manually or automated, but what is the transformation and how you want them to feel experiencing your work?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_04: And what are all of those pieces working backwards from the first time that they follow you on Instagram all the way to when they offboard six months in a contract?
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_04: And what are all of the human touch points and automation touch points in that entire timeline?
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_04: It can be how your team is built out and who then what the organization chart looks like.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_04: Not just that it's a role being being fulfilled, but that they are owning it and are really excited to be a part of your mission too.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_04: There's so much more there, but that's like hierarchy of it all.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't hear you say app or no, no app.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no app.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I guess you're just like you look at things bird's eye view versus like all of us our head in the sand just trying to get everything done throughout the day.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: So it's hard to look at the bird's eye view and then take action on that because it's like I literally have so much my fucking plate, I can't sit here and think about my organizational chart or my client experience from start to finish.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_04: No, like it's definitely intentional.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_04: And there's a a time when you're it's around, you're getting close to six figures that you can feel that tension of I've built this so far, I'm really busy right now.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_04: How do I take a beat to be able to build the support that I need to keep going?
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_04: And that is accountability, that is working with someone one-to-one, or maybe a mix of both.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but like you can't read the label from inside the jar.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_04: Like I like to say a lot, is whether it's a bias that builds up or just like, I know that I need, I know I need things that are outside of my own skill set and to to build for the long run.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_04: Because there's also a very common belief that early stage business owners have is that I'm not big enough yet.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_04: I I'll big the I'll build those bigger things when I'm at six figures, when I'm making 10k plus months consistent consistently.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_04: And there's never a better time than right now to build as if you're already there.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, I literally saw a from a newsletter, someone said that.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was like you should be building your business at the billion dollar level, like not the whatever you make right now.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it makes me also wonder where you are on the hiring process.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like I like to call things like the hot girl cool kid table and then like the nerdy table.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: And the hot girl cool kid table in the sales process is sales.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone wants money, everyone's always hiring for a podcast.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: Let me fucking tell you.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's never a problem.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Instagram, social media, hot girl table.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, who else is a hot girl table?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: And on the on the the nerdy table, quote unquote, but the nerd the ones that actually really, really, really makes you money.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: I personally think ops is probably there.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Anything systems, newsletters, no offense, Laura, if you're listening.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um Laura doesn't know my newsletter.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, like anything that's like the back end.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's like that's less showy.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Do you agree with that that like it's in the nerdy kit table?
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_04: I agree.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_04: And I would say it, I think if they're like a floater between, because there is an aspect of creativity that needs to happen first, like the visionary aspect and how you want things to feel, and that's very human.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_04: And as I said, as I didn't say earlier, no app, no AI that I shared about it because it needs to be human first and then supported with the systems and maybe AI secondary.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_04: Because we humans is how you not just build your business, but that's who you're serving.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_04: And it's really fun to get creative versus thinking of all the things that you have to do, yeah.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_04: Getting to do.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so I want to talk about like the different levels of probably like you see in your clients.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: So, like if we can break it down between the people knocking at six figures, the people at six figures, and people at seven figures, like what kind of operational problems are you seeing that need to be solved for them to get to the next level?
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And if we can we could start at the knocking at six figures.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_04: Knocking at six figures, you had already shared about the a lot of things being dumped in one single area.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_04: For some people, it's notes.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_04: For some people, it's their sticky notes on their on their laptop.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_04: For some people, it's throwing it into voice memos in a Slack channel, um, where just a lot of dumping is happening because they are feeling that they have to get it out.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_04: Otherwise, it will not live out outside of their brain.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_04: But then it doesn't get put into motion because it's either just them, maybe an assistant that's some part-time support.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_04: And then something else that they're commonly experiencing is that just the belief systems around, I don't need that yet, like I'm not ready for that yet, making themselves smaller than their business actually is, just in their own mind.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_04: Secondary is a multi-six figure founder, somewhere between like 250 to six, even 700 annually, where they have a few team members.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_04: Maybe they onboard them well.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_04: Maybe they had no really systems or even like onboarding process ready for an internal team.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_04: And they got to a good place as far as financially and revenue-wise.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_04: But what's now the opportunity, I like to say, instead of like problem or challenge, is that they're on the deliverability bottleneck.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_04: Like they are still very much involved in all of the aspects of bringing the client the final deliverable or doing a lot of calls still.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_04: And in that part is where I would usually come in to do a VIP day or uh an intensive, where we look at what brought you here and what is needed or what's not needed anymore to continue supporting your business to go into seven figures.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_04: Cause a lot of times it's not like a new offer or it's not another a secondary, uh, another hire, but it's the ability to one recognize how far you've come because we often just look at all the work that still needs to be done instead of giving ourselves a pat on the back for a second for making it through multiple milestones and looking at just what can be improved.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_04: And a lot of times it's building trust in the team members that you already have to give them more room to take ownership of things.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_04: In that third category, which is where I usually step in as a fractional role of seven figures plus, is getting them out of that operator role and of the day-to-day maintenance of team communications, of KPIs, of what it looks like for success in most of those team members that have been there, either as a W-2 or a contractor, and they're considering maybe bringing them on as a part-time actual employee.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_04: That's so that they can fully be the visionary, the face of their brand, you know, writing a book, going on tour, speaking at many things, and they're not having to be the bottleneck of a lot of decision making anymore.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_04: Sometimes it even looks like the development or uh lead generation in some aspects.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_04: And that is a really fun place for a business owner to be, but they know that their next like of evolution of growth for the business success-wise is a second leadership role.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_04: And usually is someone like a CMO, a COO that comes in fractionally at that point.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: And you mentioned um on when you're on your website, you said that less than 12% of female business owners will hit six figures, and two percent, less than two percent are seven figures.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on here?
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: And is that only for women?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: Is that like in women?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's higher for men.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's annoying.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_04: Unfortunately, yeah, fucking annoying.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: I was like hoping you were gonna say no.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, their stats are higher.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_04: And I was talking with several people about this recently about just the shame that is around women, our our society and culture around women generally, but around money, especially.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_04: That when we make mistakes or our spending habits are looked at as shameful.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_04: And it just keeps us in these cycles of should I be making this much?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_04: And and am I allowed to spend this money?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_04: And where I was in a session uh literally yesterday, where a woman was sharing about how she realized how early shame cycles start for us is in childhood.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_04: There was she witnessed a few girls in a neighborhood practicing a chair routine.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_04: And when one of them would make a mistake, they would all run a lap, like teaching themselves on a nervous system level that a mistake equals shame equals punishment.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_04: And instead of thinking and reflecting, how can I do this differently so that my body will remember the routine?
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_04: It's just immediate, okay, you gotta go punish your body now for that.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_04: And so many other areas of life I was reflecting of wow, we just immediately go to I'm in trouble in our in our own mind and how we're building.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_04: But this was one of the reasons I stepped away from working in a billion dollar coffee chain company.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_04: Is I want to see more women become successful.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_04: And one of those markers is is in revenue because when women have more resources, their communities are able to thrive more because we invest and pour into the people around us.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_04: And no one is taught how to build a business.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_04: We just know we want to take this passion or this desire further and make it a job.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_04: And a big key in that is uh understanding what operations are and being able to build for the long term.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_04: And so many entrepreneurs are in that stage of just building to their first six figures, and it's where a lot of people end up just quitting as well.
• 15:40
  unknown: Yeah.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_04: So that's where my passion's going now, into where everyone is trying to make it work.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, and it's it must be so like I don't know what the word is for it, but like you just want to encourage all those people that are right at the line.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, oh my god, you're literally almost there.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: You just need some organization, like you're almost there, but I think everyone just gets really burnt out at this stage.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if it's the same in the six figure, like and when you skip past six figures, but like I feel it, and I know my friends feel it.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: We all have these sweatshirts called Six Figure Club, and we all like have like a playlist we listen to.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's like our thing, like, but we all are feeling the same emotion, which is like we're right on the edge, but we're also like you use it in your website, you say like burning, you're like burning on an engine, like you're going so full throttle at every single direction.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: How could you help someone like me or like my friends where it's like it's not just about the sticky note app?
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, where would you start?
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if I gave you my business right now, like where the hell would you start if it looks super kind of messy, you know?
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_04: We look at what kind of whole a space to hold you for how you operate, what is best for you?
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_04: Because what works for me is not necessarily going to work for you and your brain and your own habits and rhythms for your day-to-day life.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_04: If it makes sense to braindump something, where can that actually go to start to be put into a project that can be executed, whether it's you or your assistant, because you're already doing the brain extraction part, but now it's the from A to B of okay, how are these things going to get done either this week, this month, or is this like a next quarter implementing?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_04: On every Sunday night, I do a brain dump, but it's not just writing things down.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_04: I have a six, like a six foot by eight foot whiteboard behind my laptop here.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_04: I love this face on a Sunday night, red light, sometimes a cup of wine.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, brain dumping.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_04: From there, I put it into my digital calendar of what came out of that, so that instead of thinking about all this laundry list of things that I have to do, it goes into a 15-minute slot, maybe or 30-minute on my calendar instead of just like this is a work block of five hours.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_04: And then I start to get a little more granular of what needs to be accomplished in those time gaps.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_04: This is what has worked for me, has worked for a lot of other people that I know too.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_04: Of then I have this one thing I'm focusing on and not the 25 laundry list items all at once.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_04: Cause I think it when the load like starts to lift, when I started doing this repeatedly, I was not thinking of all the things I had to do when I'm falling asleep or right when I wake up, or when I'm out with friends and with my family, thinking about the things that still need to get done.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_04: But that's no way to live either.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't even do that.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: I just I'm like, I'm not even gonna think about it.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe that's a problem.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm like, once I'm done with work, like I because I think in entrepreneurship, it's you could just forever be an entrepreneur all day, all night.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like I I will put it to the side, be like, I don't fucking care about this anymore.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I can't, like, I can't.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I love that you can.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: No, I'm just like, I'm not gonna do that.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I guess also, especially with like the onboarding, I think that's also a bit of a mess for a lot of people.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, we're acting more like freelancers, but we're charging like VIP pricing, but then the client comes in and it's like, oh, okay, like there's no like flow to this, or they have to remind you stuff.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I I mean, I'm gonna be fucking honest.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: I just offboarded a client.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: I was so, so busy bringing on new clients in August that my client who was finished working with me had to remind me of my offboarding call.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: She was like, Hey, should we book one?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Oh my god, I'm so sorry.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I should be saying that to you.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm just so busy.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: I can't that see that right there.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's a that's a fucking problem.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we've worked together for two years.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I was gonna offer her one, but I didn't have a reminder to send it to, you know.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, yes, yeah.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_04: It's this is like a perfect time to start looking at what is your capacity, even for clients right now, whether that's the retainer ones and and what is the cycle of working with them?
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_04: Is it a three, six, nine, twelve month cycle that you work with someone?
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_04: And what are all of the milestones of working with someone that, yay, we've been working together for six months?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_04: Here's a full report on everything that we've done so far.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_04: Let's just take a moment to celebrate what has been accomplished.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_04: And then what are the call styles like?
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_04: Do you have, when you do check-ins, are they just, you know, pumping through like a checklist of things?
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_04: Or is it also other aspects of things that have gone well?
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_04: Are you accepting feedback through the live call, or do you prefer to receive feedback through a form where you don't have to be face to face with someone?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_04: Because for some people, they don't mind.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_04: But then other people are like, I can't face someone if they're gonna tell me something that would need to grow me.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I didn't think about that, like asking for feedback.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: I do, I think I do it mainly like in person.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I don't think about it.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: But like, yeah, having like an a part of that process is like also the feedback, and then also getting testimonials.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like this all needs to be like in a system because it is yeah, you probably can't have too many clients doing that by yourself.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, clearly I felt I feel the pressure of that after taking I have eight clients right now, and I was bringing on a ninth, and already I can see like things are falling out of place, just and that's only nine clients, right?
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's it's doable.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_04: And if and also the the question to ask is what do you want for this business?
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_04: Do you want to just stay as head of everything running forever?
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_04: Or do you see this becoming and growing into an agency style where you're doing a lot of the lead generation, maybe you're doing the strategy, but then there's other implementers, assistants in the editing, and then you finalize it, you approve things.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_04: And those are bigger questions to think when you're starting to feel these tests.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_04: And bottlenecks of this is getting really hard right now.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_04: What is my why?
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_04: But also, what is the bigger picture of how you're going to be building this for the future?
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_04: And if it's okay, once if the trigger for that is 10 clients and then you're bringing on someone and training someone, then you know, okay, it's one more.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_04: I can not just grit and get this done, but I'm gonna show up the best I can for these clients.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_04: And they are about to now experience a new wave of working with me because there's something more developed coming.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's like out of level of respect for your clients, like you need ops.
• 22:38
  unknown: Yeah.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like out of like if you really do love your clients, and I'm saying this out loud to myself, like you you need this for them too, because like they're paying for that, and like they yeah, they should be treated with like the the full royal, you know, the white man treatment.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like it's so hard again because you're like on the day-to-day grind to not think like the bigger picture.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and like what would you say, like the big common, like I know you don't like to use the word problems, but like opportunities your clients are having, like, yeah, what are some what are some big themes that you're seeing?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_04: Client experience, being one, yeah, feeling and realizing things are falling through the cracks, just exactly as you said, where a client brings something to your attention, you realize, oh my god, oh my god.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_04: Um, the referral aspect, the testimonial aspect, because all of that becomes social proof for continuing.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm saying that to myself too.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_04: I went on a huge campaign in the last couple of weeks, sending my testimonial link to like the last 40 clients that I've had, and I've maybe had six or seven come back because it's been, you know, how however long I worked with them.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_04: Um things like that client experience is a big one.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_04: And then I'd say another larger one is the internal aspect of what kind of what is onboarding look like for a W-2 or an assistant?
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_04: Is there a training?
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_04: Like, is there are there videos that they need to go through?
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_04: Of course, there's access parts, but is is there like a handbook of some kind or a playbook of welcome to my business?
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_04: And these are the guidelines.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_04: These are what this is what I expect of someone aligning with my vision because me and your name being put together are like we are a team now.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_04: You're not, I'm not just paying you for what you do for me.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_04: We are together representing the business and the mission and the values and serving the clients together.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_04: Um, that's a really big one that people don't think about is not just getting someone to check off a task list, but how do you communicate together?
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_04: How do you handle conflict?
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_04: How do you if someone is absolutely sick and how can things be handed off if you just have to take a day, whether it's mental health or whether it's a physical health thing, all valid.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_04: Thinking through those things and then creating the support for that is so important.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just like listening to all the things you're saying, and I was just like, Yeah, I mean my my VA Glenn is the one teaching me about all this stuff.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, hello, like this is what you're gonna do.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: I need this information.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_04: He is a diamond in the rough.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he he's so proactive.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like, he's always just like, Oh, I already did this thing and like I did that thing.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: And he is doing more like operational stuff.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I would have never thought of that.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: And like it, it seriously has been so helpful.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: He's got me so organized, he put me on notion and created a whole world there for me because again, we're I'm on the fucking notes app, and he was like, That's not gonna fly.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, okay.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what'd you say to the business owner out there who's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, this all sounds great, but low-key, they they don't want to let go of any control.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: They like they get they're settled in their systems.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds nice to do all this stuff, but they maybe crave being the everything in their business.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_04: I'd say lovingly that control becomes your own demise, that we all need a mirror at one point or at another to because it only makes us better.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_04: It only makes us better when uh you hire a coach or mentor and investing in a skill set to improve your business only uh does your business good.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_04: It only it only improves the client experience, it only not only brings organization, but will bring peace in your own life.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_04: It's building for the version of you that you can feel and that you know you're going to be, and you're building for her or for him as well.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's interesting you said the word peace because I think that's not uh a feeling that you feel in your business for the first like few years that you're building it.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's straight up an uphill battle for like a really long time until it starts to plateau.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you say peace, I'm sure someone's just like, What?
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've I can create I can have that, you know?
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's not a fucking fight.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm only now like starting to see like the past year, it's not been a fight, it's been very like plateau, very nice.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I now like, how do we create that peace?
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm sure there's people listening to this being like, What fucking peace?
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how how is that even attainable?
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm just trying to survive.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_04: Peace is I mean, that gets defined then differently for everyone, but peace looks like I mean, for me, it looked like being able to wake up and not think immediately of what I am doing that day.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_04: It is deciding to work a three-day work week or a four-day week work week and the business not slacking because of it.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_04: It can look like the clients that you work with being incredible and not draining the soul out of the way.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, 100%.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_04: Realizing that a$5,000 paying client will just trust you to do the work and not bother you over a$500 paying client that expects the moon on a silver platter.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that's the first lesson business owners learn.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: They price themselves so low, and then they realize like at like the bottom of the barrel, kind of like Karen's.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then you just yeah, it's so crazy.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like the higher paying clients are just like such a I trust you.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_04: What I paid you for.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: Well, they're busy.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, I don't have time to sit here micromanage, like, you got it?
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like yeah, and then what would you say like um is the most expensive mistake you've seen and like in your experience of like a founder not not investing in ops, like not putting in the work for it?
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_04: Missing on the out on the inbound inbox DMs.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_04: I oh god, I've paid this price myself.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think I'm paying that price right now.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_04: Probably, probably, yeah.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_04: It's the inbound misses that we lose when things are not organized, because it should be within 24 hours if someone sends you something that you're a that you or someone on your behalf can follow up to, whether that's booking that call, whether that's sending a voice memo to confirm that yes, like let's get started on this together, whether you do sales calls or not, because I love Alyssa.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_04: Um that uh it is a and it's it just becomes a not just not a container, but uh like bricks that are built that you stand on.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_04: And this foundation is built so that you can have that piece so that when things are coming in for you, you then get to decide from all of this opportunity what feels right for you, and not have to uh be grasping at what the next opportunity is, uh you get to decide what works for you and what's right for you.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I bet there's so many people listening to this right now, they're like just terrified to open their Instagram DMs.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I know Alyssa is listening to this.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: If she is like she has 2,500 leaves in her DMs, and they're just like cannot keep up.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and it's just like I I feel that when I open my Instagram, I'm like, holy shit, I'm talking to like 60 women right now, and I don't know what level on the funnel they're in either.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: So Laura is interested in this offer, and this person's interested in that offer, and this person's hot, but this person's cold.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's just why we have a lead tracker, thank God.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: But still, yes, like it's very overwhelming to like even yeah, the how many leads are being thrown down the drain right now.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: I know this is for everyone listening, but like I'm listening to this and I'm like, I I feel this pressure, yeah.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and not even just me.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I know I know friends that are well into six figures and they are dealing with the same problems of like because it you only just get more visibility, which means more growth, which means more leads, which means like you need to hire more people.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's like in the end, that it just needs to be organized.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like you need or be organized, yeah.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_04: And you I love that you are now using Notion because there is a there's a catch-all organization system for everyone.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_04: I love one thing.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_04: A client of mine loves Asana.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_04: I don't like touching Asana.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_04: I like um I use notes apps sometimes for really tiny projects, and then I push them into my high level and click up.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_04: But it's there's there's something for everybody.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_04: And so I feel like also as adults, that owning our time is a it's a bow or it's a it's investment into our future.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_04: If we can own our time, whether that's whether, you know, what you're you're being you're out and about one day, like a Saturday, Sunday, and you're just gonna, and that is when you are fully off the clock.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_04: And or maybe if it's on a Friday, if it's on a Monday, and that's like what you are building towards, then there are ways to organize your life that fit best for you.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_04: And that it's like I'm I'm so big on that.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_04: It's not the this the I'd say the work that I do is not copy and paste, it's not a plug and play for everybody because my brain is not your brain, and your brain's not Alyssa's brain or Laura's brain or Jane's brain.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_04: We need to find what works for us, just like a lot of the school systems.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_04: Like, not everyone learns the same, not everyone applies or implements the same.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_04: And that's why we have all these beautiful businesses that are a beautiful representation of our own skill set to support one another and see each other thrive and flourish and become six and seven-figure, multi-seven figure business owners.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I like his like in working backwards too, like figuring out like what is your what is your dream for like a day to day or week to week and like that kind of what do you do you crave?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: What do you crave?
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is it peace?
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is it excitement?
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is it freedom, you know?
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I like that, like working backwards.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I do want to talk about before we go into cocktail hour, I want to talk about your challenge.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's coming up really soon because it's free.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: People can come to it and they can actually like actually work on this stuff, IRL.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: So um, yes, tell us about your challenge.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yes.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_04: So that'll be Wednesday, September 16th, Thursday the 17th, Friday, the 18th of September.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_04: And right now we're early September, so probably about a week out or so from when you hear this.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_04: It is free to join.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_04: We'll have the link in the podcast in the show notes.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_04: Um, I'll be sharing it on my Instagram as well.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_04: But these three days are for the solopreneur who, as you have described, Marie, of being in your own head of things that are just falling, starting to fall through the cracks and you're feeling that pressure.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_04: Or for someone who is just getting started, they know what their offers are, they're ready to really take their side hustle seriously and build the foundation that the version of them of themselves already thriving needs.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_04: And it's a real belief system shift of not building or running your business like an employee, but running it like the operator that you actually are.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm gonna be guiding and teaching that.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_04: And of course, we're gonna like get a little gritty and actually implement some things together live, but it's more importantly the belief systems that are gonna be shifted in who you are and that you're not just a day-to-day like task runner and table runner of making your business keep moving, but that you are the visionary too, and you are operating it like the owner that started this thing.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to say to anyone who's allergic to all this stuff, like I sent this to my VA.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: I want, um, so then if A, your VA can learn how to operate his business, his or her business better, they can he can operate.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm saying he, because my VA's name Glenn, he can operate his client's businesses better and make even save more time for himself, and then also can operate your business because I'm gonna be fucking freaking.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I I'm gonna come, I probably won't retain anything like he would.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm sending my VA to join because I want him to implement the things that like I'm probably just gonna be really over my head.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or maybe not.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like maybe I'm gonna learn something that I'm like, wow, like I actually think this is so sick.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, so I'm excited to like have my mind blown and also like change my mind about it, but also send this to your virtual assistant to come.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's a hack.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_04: Um it is, it is.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_04: When you just shared that, I was like, that is actually genius because for any service-based business, we need support.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_04: And if you're already working with someone, they should be there too.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: A hundred percent.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and also I forgot to mention you are also a member in Cocktails and Clothes.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, first of all, love that you're in there and also thank Glob that my I was good enough in my systems to talk to you in the DMs to get you in.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because imagine again, if I dropped the ball and you weren't in here, and we don't have that many people in ops in cocktails and clothes.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really a freaking blessing.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so what's like just real quick, like what's been your experience?
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like what drew you to the community, and then what's like your been experience in there?
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I believe I was talking to either Alyssa or Megan Wall.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_04: I can't remember who it was who had shared their experience.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_04: And I was like circling the drain for a little while.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_04: I think it was earlier in the year.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_04: And when you were had your founding members and they were coming to a close, and I think I was seeing the the number tick down from 20 down into the teens, and I had gotten in there somewhere between 20 and 10 left.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_04: And someone shared that there was a member of the community that just had made a big ask, and everyone showed up for Alex.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_04: And that just not only did it blow me away, but I said, of course.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_04: Like that's what a good community does for each other.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_04: They show up for each other when not just things are hard, but to see each other truly win.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_04: And that was enough for me.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_04: Not just enough for me.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_04: I was like, yeah, bet, I'm in there.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_04: Not because I was like, oh, I need that, but I that's the kind of community that is more than worth joining for those that want to see each other win.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think with communities, you have to find the right room.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: And and every room has its own personality and different vibe.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like mine is definitely for the hype girls that like the cheerleaders that like we want to see you win.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been in other communities where it's like a it's just like, you know, like it's more chill or it's very like spiritual.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like it's there's all different kinds of vibes.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: And if you find that room, jump on it because it's gonna elevate you.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: And like, I don't know, I I think the quality of the people in there, it just I'm just so lucky.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: And like, how are these?
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how is everyone so awesome and so uh supportive?
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like just like us, maybe like an hour ago, my our friend Megan Wall like posted.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: She was like, hey guys, Michelle, one of our members, Michelle, someone has a fraud account on her threads, and she's like, flag them.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I need a situation like that where we're like, okay, guys, let's get it together, like flag the shit out of that account so we can save Michelle's account, like just stuff like that.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, is super useful.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm super glad you're in there.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: And also, again, we we do need someone in ops because I feel like we a lot of creatives, not not that you aren't creative, but there's a lot of like creativity happening.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: But we need we definitely need that, like, how do we how are we gonna scale like thinking bigger, you know?
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_04: I just want to say too that it's a reflection.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_04: The community is a reflection of who you are and your vision and the people that you attract.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_04: And it is, I am so grateful to be in your orbit and to be in this community because I know it's only going to stay and continue to grow with women who are just so incredible.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're coming up on the next cohort, which is gonna come in September.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_00: 15 women are gonna join.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, who?
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_00: Who's gonna be in this one?
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's just like each cohort I have all these superstars, but also again, why I need my really truly in all serious, this is why I need to keep organized because I'm I was just thinking about thinking about that the other day.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I am so behind in my DMs.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: Who am I missing out on talking to right now to get in the community?
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: And not in a salesy way, but like what like magical person should be in there that I'm like not paying attention to because I'm drowning.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like, not to bring all back to offs.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like so many people in the community where I'm like, thank God, like they're in here and I paid attention to my DMs.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, yeah.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, I'm a so good.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, okay, I'm gonna have everything in the show notes to sign up for your challenge.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: Again, it's free.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: Bring your team if it's not your VA, bring someone on your team too, so that y'all can like just level up together.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and yeah, just real quick, do you want to share your Instagram?
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_04: My handle is at the official Christiana.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_04: Facebook is the same thing, the official Christiana.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_04: Same thing on threads.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_04: My podcast is omg.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_04: It's Christiana G.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_04: And website is Christianagarza.com.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_04: And you have a really good podcast voice.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_04: Very relaxed.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_04: Oh my gosh.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_04: That is such an amazing compliment from you.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: You edit so many podcasts.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: I know I do edit a lot of podcasts, but I recognize the good voice.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: But it's like, I feel like for me, like a good podcast voice, it has to have enthusiasm, but it has to be calming, but it has to be warm, and it has to be like passionate.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: And like, yeah, you have a very good podcast voice.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: Podcasting is such a vulnerable medium because you don't see it, you don't see the person.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: So the voice is everything.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so it can make or break like a podcast, how they're how the person sounds.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and sometimes people are more meant for YouTube or more meant for socials, but like if you have a really good voice, you will do well with a podcast.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, fine.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_04: I'll go record episodes.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're like, fine.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'd say um, but let's get into cocktail hour, which is my favorite.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, mmm, what should I ask you first?
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: Let's see.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, okay.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want spicy or sweet question?
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_04: Ooh, this is spicy.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_00: What would your employees or clients say is your most annoying founder habit?
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_04: Um.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_04: Annoying.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_04: Uh that I I don't think that's annoying.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_04: I was gonna say something about my dog being in on all of my meetings, but that's not annoying.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_04: No, that's so awesome.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_03: I'd say that some is that annoying?
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_04: Because I feel like people give so each other so much grace when it comes to things like tech, even.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_04: But annoying would probably be that I have sometimes like clickers, like fidget toys, and I don't realize how loud they are.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_04: I'll be like on a call, like under my desk, like fidgeting with something that's clicking.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_04: And what my clients do is like, what is that noise?
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_04: Is that your laptop?
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_04: Like, no, it's just because I I can't I can't be yeah.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's confusing.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, I do the same thing when I'm on a zoom call.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you watch me on a zoom call, I am all over the screen.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: I can't, like this actually I've just I've actually sat still for a very long time, but I get so close to the camera, I will like get up in the camera and then I'll like back up and then I'm swinging around.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like I clearly like can't stand still.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that's fucking annoying to watch on a Zoom call, actually.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_04: Like the N and L of some of them being like all over the place, like the background changing a million times.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_04: Like they're just like running a marathon.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'll move the computer like to two different million directions.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, you want to see my whole house?
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just I can't uh stand still like this.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_00: Also, by the way, my sister makes these crochet pickles.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like you might like one of these, so it doesn't make any noise, but you can squeeze it.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: And he has these googly eyes that are angry.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_04: Cute.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_00: You need a crochet pickle.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_00: Is she on Etsy?
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_00: No, you can no, no, she probably should.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_00: She's so talented, and she can make these in like three minutes.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's do a sweet question.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: What does success mean to you right now?
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_04: Success to me right now uh uh looks like a good harmony between uh being available for my kids and being available for the growth I'm experiencing.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_04: It is I am a very driven person, but have learned to not wait or lean into only when I'm motivated.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_04: So I can be on multiple night benders, but then I'm not a pleasant mom the next morning.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_04: And that is completely my fault because I will be up till 2 or 3 a.m.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_04: And then my kids wake up at seven, and five hours is not enough for women to be sleeping.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_04: So there has been a I don't like saying balance because things just come in and out of what is important, even on a week to week and sometimes daily basis.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_04: So I think success right now has been redefined of being able to show up for whatever is most needed.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_04: And Required of me that week.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_04: And that has felt really good.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_04: But being able also to know when to shut my laptop.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_00: And we don't want to become the stereotype of like, oh, dad's never we're home, dad's always working, but now it's like we're women and we can run our own businesses.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_00: So we don't want to become like, oh, mom always, always angry after work or always like has her laptop open, you know, like and it's I I don't even know how people have businesses and kids, honestly.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because I I know this is gonna sound really annoying to say, but this feels like a kid or a plant if I have to really downgrade, because it's just something you constantly have to feed and keep alive.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: And it has like a million arms and legs, and like I actually don't know how people do that and have multiple children.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_00: Holy shit.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_00: I guess hopefully you have like a team, a help.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_04: I do as my mind could not do it without them.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I uh I I thought I wanted to be a full-time homeschool parent, quickly learned that that was not for me, and I felt like guilt and shame around that.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_04: But I through redefining what success is and what thriving looks like for my family, I realized that being a grade school teacher was not it.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_04: And I not only you know really leaned into that, but found really great support for my kids for that, and my husband was supportive of it.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_04: So you just gotta find what is best for you and make those decisions confidently to do so.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a really hard thing is to admit what you actually want.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's a lot of like shame, like a lot of things can come up when you actually say, like, oh, I actually think I don't want that or I do want that.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um but they're better for it if you chase your dreams versus you being like a miserable, like stay-at-home, like homeschool mom, which for someone else is like, fuck yeah, but for you, you're like, I this is this can't be it.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, like it sounds it sounds nice on paper, but I think like if you all if you're a business owner, like you're kind of always meant to be one.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_00: So like I I would end up making like a million like kid businesses where I'm like we're doing a lemonade stand every Tuesday.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm just like taking over their lives.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_04: I just we're gonna upsell them on the cookie, on the brownie.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: Where are the ops?
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: What's the system behind this lemonade stand?
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: No, I would overtake their lives.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, speaking of lemonade, did you ever play lemonade tycoon or zoo to zoo tycoon as a kid?
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: No, I did not.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_04: I did literal lemonade stands.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, I'm like, I'm not a loser.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_03: I actually did it in IRL.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_04: I did it on you actually made money.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: It was so sick.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_00: You like built lemonade stands and built like empires in New York based off like you would start with one lemonade stand in like the hood or like a bad neighborhood.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then you would you would eventually get to Central Park, and then you can like then you can have like a monopoly, and then you can have a eventually.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_00: I never got to a storefront.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's how I knew I think I want to be business because I you could build a zoo, which was a very hard business to run, by the way.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_04: Don't do that.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I would never touch that with a thousand foot pole.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_03: Highly recommend the lemonade stand.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, that's hard.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_04: Like, this is itching my brain.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I was like, if I could play a game like on a Saturday night, like that would be it.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_04: Like to build my lemonade tycoon.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's from like 2003.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_04: So it's like really old now.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_00: But it's so nostalgic.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like to play.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know if you can download it, but I just know if anyone else played Lemonade Tycoon, like, yeah, like you're probably supposed to be playing it place in your heart.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um okay, my last question.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_00: What is my last question?
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's not a fun one.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_00: What's something you've done in your business or life that would shock everyone here, even though we don't know everyone knows you?
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_04: That would shock.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_04: Um, okay, I will say this.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_04: I made the biggest investment that I ever have this year.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_04: And it was the most I've ever made in a month, and that was a year and a half ago.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_04: So I haven't made that much since, and I made the biggest investment this year.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_04: So that was shocking for my bank account.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 48:11
  unknown: Yeah.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_00: But so sometimes, not not sometimes, a lot of the times these investments take time to grow, like grow like bamboo.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's like taking forever.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then suddenly it starts clicking, and you're like, now I see why I invested in that.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like and it was worth it.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_00: And you mentioned that on your website, like you were like, this is not like for fast growth.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like nothing, nothing's fast.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_00: And if someone's selling you that, it's bullshit.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_04: And it's it's either a time investment, cost investment, or skill set development like investment.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_04: And success, like overnight successes are tenures in the making.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_04: Like that was one of my favorite quotes I've ever heard.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that was from one of the sharks from Shark Tank is that all these people you see that are suddenly viral, that are suddenly have like a seven-figure business, you didn't see the grind of them working in the worst neighborhoods in New York, building their lemonade empire.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_03: You didn't see me grinding in the hood with my lemonade yet online.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so weak.
• 49:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's so true.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we see all these like big people over, like, oh my god, like I could just be like just like them in like six months.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, baby, no, like, I mean, I call me reference Shelby Sapp because like I think she's so freaking inspirational.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, she was selling like bug spray for a long time.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: And she is 23 and she's a millionaire, so I will say she's had a like very short success rate, but like still she was selling bug spray.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_00: And what she did with that bug spray though, is she like learned, like, she made sure like she wasn't just selling bug spray, she was like trying to learn from the fucking best in that bug spray company.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_00: She was like, How how are you guys making money?
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_00: Great, I'm gonna do that.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, I don't I find her so inspirational.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, actually, I want to ask you on the call, like, what is like like an investment?
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_00: What is a good direction for an investment for someone at my level?
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know that you have probably very different price ranges for people at different needs, you know.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_04: I will say that there's an offer at the end of the challenge that is it's stretchy, but it's not like insane.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_04: And it's a live experience.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_04: Like I don't do courses or videos for the type of work that needs to happen to build out the foundations that you need.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_04: Um, it's the first offer is 2000 and it's for 12 weeks live experience, like with me and with a few other topic experts.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_04: And then for the next level for that is either a VIP day and that's at 4,000.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_04: And then there's a like another, like if you want to do 30 days of implementation, where like step in as a COO for a month, that's for four grand, then another upsell with that, or it's an intensive for eight to 12 weeks, and that's around 8,000 for working with someone who's in multi-six for eight to 12 weeks.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: So you're not staying in someone's business, you you you don't, you don't like their monthly retainer.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_04: So if I if a fractional engagement, yes.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_04: That is like where I'm with them.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_04: I'm like their second in command type of person.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_04: For those who are in six figures, it's I usually like come in for an amount of time and help them rebuild, help them streamline, and then I step out and usually we'll do like quarterly consulting from there and then to make sure that things are like in step, like progressing.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and then usually when they get to higher six, they're like, hey, could we do more often?
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_04: Or I think I might be ready for maybe like a low retainer.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_04: Like, what does that look like?
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but as I as things start growing, especially through the the challenge and program that I'll do, like I'm planning to do it three times a year going forward next year.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm I'm just like really focused and stirred up to bring the demystifying what operations are into the people that don't know that they need them yet.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_04: Into that early stage.
• 52:08
  SPEAKER_04: And I sure money is important for growth, but like I don't care about like the big retainers right now.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_04: Like I am really felt like a shift in the impact that I want to make.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_04: And that's where everyone is building and just relaying what their beliefs are about them, about their business, about where they can really go with it.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, love.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now everyone knows how they can work with you.
• 52:31
  SPEAKER_00: If you are ready to not be so scared of operations and actually just get your shit together, to be frank, um, come join her workshop.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna leave everything in the show notes for you to sign up.
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really a good idea to also send your VA there, send your virtual assistant there, send someone on your team to go and learn from her if you yourself don't have the capacity, because I'm in that boat.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, anywho, um, I hope you enjoyed this episode.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_00: I am about to have the craziest week.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to create and cultivate, which is, I think, like the largest women and business conference or something like that.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's here hosted in Los Angeles, where I live.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think 12 of the members of my community, Cocktails and Clothes, are gonna freaking be here.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so excited to meet everyone in person because we've been friends online for like a year.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I've met some people like here and there, but not like as a group.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how freaking exciting! We're gonna go to my friend's loft party in downtown and just like it's so healing to like meet your online friends in real life.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_00: It really, really is.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and people are like taller or shorter than you think they are because we don't know because we're all on Zoom.
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_00: So it's always like so fucking shocking when you see like an online friend in real life.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, what?
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_00: What?
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's just so important.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so, anyways, I'm so excited.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I'm gonna do a post-conference recap because this is I don't like big things.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like big events, I don't like Costco, I don't like festivals.
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_00: So this is gonna be like a really interesting thing.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_00: I know I'm an extrovert and you're probably like shocked, but I don't like big spaces.
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_00: But I love that like 10 of my members are gonna come and be there with me so that like I feel like I have a little island of people, of my friends, at this huge event that like Cardi B is gonna be like singing at.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what the fuck?
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways, um, if you're going to create and cultivate and you're listening to this, hit me up on Instagram.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my Instagram is at your girlmedia and let me know that you're going so that we can like link up.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because it's gonna be a sea of people there.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lot, a lot of people.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_00: But, anyways, I hope you have a great rest of your day.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you have never left this podcast an Apple podcast review, or if you've never like shared it with a friend you think needs to hear it, please do.
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_00: It really takes like two seconds, but guys, it really makes a difference for this podcast to grow and also get in the right ear.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_00: So either just leave us like a written five star review on Apple, or if you have someone you think needs to hear this podcast, one of your best friends, like we need to level up together because I don't want to be on a yacht and my friends are not on a yacht too.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, anywho, I hope you have a great rest of your day.
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_00: And as always, don't forget, you're a bad bitch.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I will see you next time.