The Biz Balance Podcast: Recent Episodes
Karen Greenoe
Welcome to the Biz Balance Podcast, where marriage, motherhood, and entrepreneurship collide! Here, lifelong entrepreneur Karen Greenoe will help you along your journey in the pursuit of work life balance. You’ll be immersed in conversations with those who have gone before us, and learn how to work more efficiently and effectively so you can be free to focus on what truly matters in your life. So let’s put our heads and our hearts together as we pursue progress, not perfection!
Have you ever felt like you're leaving money on the table in in your business? We hear so much these days about niching down and pursuing our ideal client avatar, which is wonderful and all, but what if you could find a way to serve an extended audience in a way that met them where they were but didn't add too much to your plate? Sarah Campbell of Intrigue Designs did just that.
When she started Intrigue Designs, her focus was on the high end wedding market. The weddings she designed were overflowing with thousands upon thousands of blooms. Her designs pushed the limits of what floral design could be. But what about those clients who didn't have the budget to spend tens of thousands of dollars on their wedding florals? How could she serve them? And that's where Pops of Plumb came in!
What is Pops of Plumb? Pops of Plumb is an exclusively online way to shop for wedding flowers. Sarah recreated her most popular wedding designs and condensed them into collections. These packages were designed to be a la carte where brides and grooms can curate their own custom wedding packages. No fuss, no stress...brilliant! I'm seriously considering adding a model like this to my own business!
Sarah started a Facebook group for floral designers, Intrigue Teaches (back before Facebook groups were cool!) and it has been amazing opportunity for designers to connect, share and elevate each other. She also created a Covid19 Recovery Guide, specifically for floral designers, to help guide them through this time of uncertainty.
Karen: If you could go back to the very start of your entrepreneurial journey and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
Sarah: You are as beautiful as you are projecting yourself to be. Put yourself and your personality front and center on your social, website, marketing all of it and the market will respond in a major way.
Check out all of the places to follow Sarah and her team at Intrigue Designs:
Intrigue Designs
Intrigue Teaches
Intrigue on Instagram
My first official repeat guest, Katrina Sellers fo Jules and Vetiver, joins me in this "semi-live" format where we bust open the myth of the "girl boss community." It's not what you think...we both love the community over competition movement and it has helped both of us tremendously as we've grown and expanded our business. However, we both believe there is more to the story. So let's dive in!
So let me set the scene for you...you've been at this entrepreneurship thing for a while. You're making waves, you're paying your bills, you know...all of the stuff you're supposed to be doing when you run a successful business. At least that's the way it looks from the outside, right?
But what happens when your heart changes? Or you see a need in the market that is different that what you're currently doing, and you KNOW you are the right person to fill that need? Do you stay where you are, doing what you know because it's safe and that's what you're known for in the market? Or do you go out on a limb, take a risk and jump in with both feet?
Today's guest on the Biz Balance Podcast did just that...Sarah Hinton of BloomTrac ran a thriving flower business for years in sunny California, but when the realization hit her that other floral designers were working FAR harder than they needed to on the business side of their businesses, she knew she needed to step up.
But it wasn't all daisies and buttercups. No ma'am! She met a lot of resistance as she developed her software and got it out into the marketplace but was so passionate about her new product and knew it could change her industry. Her commitment literally changed how the floral industry operated.
Well hey there! Welcome to another episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host, Karen Greenoe, and today, we’re going to be diving into one of my favorite entrepreneur hacks...the virtual assistant! More specifically, the six glaring signs to look for to let you know that you are ready to bring a virtual assistant into your business!
I had to laugh the other day because I was chatting with a wedding planner friend of mine in my studio and she said “Is Jenna here? I want to meet her! She’s always so on top of things but I’ve never met her!” She had absolutely no idea that Jenna was my virtual assistant. Jenna does such a good job acting as an extension of my brand that this planner didn’t even have reason to believe she didn’t have a physical desk in our building! But that perfected system didn’t happen overnight...it took five years of work, trial and error and back and forth to get to this point. But now that the system is perfected, even a vendor I work with quite frequently could not distinguish her from my in person, full time staff because of how well she represents my brand.
Now, before we go any further, I want to let you know that this episode is brought to you by my totally free Master Class, “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Just head over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass to snag your spot. If you’ve listened to any of the past episodes of this podcast, you will know that hiring my first virtual assistant changed my work and personal lives in ways I cannot even imagine. It gave me the time to take a step back and work ON instead of IN my business. Buuut I didn’t do it perfectly from the get go! It’s been a process of perfecting over the past five years and I am going to share my insider tips with you! So if you are ready to hop off of the hamster wheel of your business and get back to what you love doing, you won’t want to miss it! Head on over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass and sign up today!
Sign #1: You want to clone yourself.
Do you ever feel like you’d be much better off if there were more than one of you? I know I do...especially in the kitchen! I still don’t understand how it’s possible to saute the veggies while simultaneously patting your chicken dry all while making sure you don’t burn your rice. And I don’t know about you, but while I am trying to do all that, it mysteriously ends up taking twice as long! What the heck? Well, the same applies in your business. When you have so much going on in your business that you are trying to juggle at one time, everything takes longer, you get frustrated and you might even burn your rice. Not worth it. Between task switching, emails pinging and your phone ringing, you can’t manage to stay on top of it all.
Sign #2: Your business is holding you hostage.
Ok, so I have to kind of chuckle at this one because I have always thought of my business as my first born child and it makes me laugh thinking of one of my kiddos constantly vying for my attention while jumping up and down while also chanting “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” But as entrepreneurs, that’s what our business does sometimes. With the constant ping of our phones and inboxes and whatever social media app that you can’t figure out how to turn the alerts off on, it's a shock we ever get away. The hostage situation is real, y’all!
Sign #3: You spend more time working IN instead of ON your business.
I know you feel me on this one! All of those little admin tasks that add up to an entire day of work while you bounce back and forth between tasks and then suddenly, you look at your phone and realize it’s already 5 o’clock! Where the heck did your day just go? And I’m willing to be that all of those little tasks were NOT the reason you started your business to begin with! All of this adds up to a whole lot of not being able to grow because you simply cannot find the time! So many little things keep popping up needing your attention and you don’t have one second to step back and look at the big picture!
Sign #4: You always feel behind.
You know the feeling. You wake up in the morning and before you take that first, sweet sip of coffee, you check your inbox. Yep, still full. All of a sudden, before your feet have even hit the floor, you feel behind. So much of what you do is reactive instead of proactive. No matter how many hours you seem to work, your to-do list keeps getting longer and your inbox keeps getting fuller. Yuck.
Sign #5: You know you need help but you aren’t ready to hire a full time employee.
Here’s the thing. We are all given exactly 24 hours in a day so that kinda puts a cap on what we can do in any one day as a solopreneur. And let’s face it, you aren’t meant to spend every single waking hour working on your business. That is a sure fire way to burn out and, when you do come up for air, you will realize how much of your life you’ve actually missed out on. Bottom line, if you want to grow your business or even if you are happy with your current business size and simply want to reclaim your time outside of work, you need help, and you know that. But, hiring a full time employee is scary and it can be expensive, especially if you run a business that ebbs and flows with the seasons, like mine.
Sign #6: Your friends and family miss you.
This one is the most important. You find yourself all consumed with your business and you can’t seem to come up for air. You aren’t fully present at the dinner table with your husband or while you are reading bedtime stories to your kiddos. You know that full inbox is calling your name and you’re going to have to spend a few hours after tucking your little ones in catching up so you aren’t behind any more tomorrow. And I’m pretty sure your partner would love to catch up on your favorite TV show while snuggling with you on the couch instead of glancing over at you from a distance with the glow of the laptop screen illuminating your face.
Ok, this one is the kicker for me. Lucky for me, my husband straight up called me out on it and told me he wanted me back. It came to a head and I knew I had to change how I work if I wanted to enjoy our time as a family. But I get you, change is big and scary, but it can be good. Allow yourself the freedom to change this year. 2020 is your year.
Before we go, let’s reveiw those six signs one more time:
Sign #1: You want to clone yourself.
Sign #2: Your business is holding you hostage.
Sign #3: You spend more time working IN instead of ON your business.
Sign #4: You always feel behind.
Sign #5: You know you need help but you aren’t ready to hire a full time employee.
And finally…
Sign #6: Your family misses you!
You owe it to yourself, your business and your family to ask for help. I know you started your business with your own blood, sweat, and tears, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Share the load and enjoy the ride. And of course, don’t forget to sign up for my free master class “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Head on over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass and reserve your seat before they’re all gone!
Until next time, keep your head up and your shoulders back...you’ve got this!
Well hey there! Welcome to this episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host Karen Greenoe and today I’ll be sharing a surprising little fact about my business. And that is that I have turned down every single request for one on one coaching in the past six months. But it's not for the reason that you think. It’s not fear of not knowing the answers. It’s not overwhelm from my already long to-do list. It’s not that I don’t know how to get started. It is simply this. The desire to impact more lives. And in this episode, I am going to tell you exactly how I came to my decision.
But before we go any further, I want to let you know that this episode is brought to you by my totally free Master Class, “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Just head over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass to snag your spot. If you’ve listened to any of the past episodes of this podcast, you will know that hiring my first virtual assistant changed my work and personal lives in ways I cannot even imagine. It gave me the time to take a step back and work ON instead of IN my business. Buuut I didn’t do it perfectly from the get go! It’s been a process of perfecting over the past five years and I am going to share my insider tips with you! So if you are ready to hop off of the hamster wheel of your business and get back to what you love doing, you won’t want to miss it! Head on over to karengreenoe.com/webinar and sign up today!
Now, onto the coffee date that changed everything!
About a year ago I sat down with my friend Stephanie Neuman, who is a brilliant marketer and girl boss, to pick her brain about business coaching. She has years of experience in the sales coaching arena so I knew she’d be the one to ask. I’d just gotten the bug to start helping other female entrepreneurs, specifically those in the wedding industry because I was veeeery familiar with the struggles we all went through, but I had no idea where to start. Up until that point, I’d had one lunch meeting with an industry friend of mine where we talked through some of her biggest challenges she faced in growing her business, but that was the extent of my coaching experience. Even though I’d only had that one experience, I felt like I was being called to do something big. I felt like I’d done something right in my business and I could share that with other women who were struggling with the same exact things in their business that I had only a few years before.
Stephanie, bless her, listened to me pour my heart out. I was filled with passion and I know she could tell. She nodded silently. When I was done, she said something I did not expect.
She said “Karen, if you offer one on one coaching from the get go, you run the risk of burning yourself out faster than you can make an impact.”
Woah. I don’t know what I was expecting her to say, but it wasn’t that. But that is the beautiful thing about asking a friend for advice. A good friend will tell it to you straight and they won’t sugar coat it. We should all be so lucky to have friends that aren’t afraid to be honest with us even if they know it’s not what we wanted to hear. And you know what? It was exactly what I needed to hear, even if I wasn’t ready to hear it.
I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t leave that coffee date feeling a little bit deflated. I had this whole picture in my head of how this new offshoot of my business would look and I felt like it was crashing down around me. But, like so many things in life, it turned out to be quite the blessing in disguise.
After that meeting, I made a bold decision. I decided to not even create a fee schedule for one-on-one coaching. I know first hand how enticing a paycheck can be when you are first starting a new project. Trust me, in my first company, Lily Greenthumb’s floral design, I took anyone and everyone who walked through my door who was willing to pay for flowers, even if they were not my ideal client. I didn’t want that to tempt me when I knew that accepting one-one-one coaching could eventually lead to burn out. It wasn’t worth risking the FOMO. So I pushed that possibility out of my mind completely.
I started to look at different ways that I could impact more than one person at a time. Group coaching? Maybe. But how do I find like minded women who all are interested in learning the same thing at the same time? Full immersion events? Possibly, but coming from an events background, I know how expensive and logistically challenging planning an experience like that can be. Big shot out to Rachel Holis and the Rise Businesses Conference! Girl, I cannot even imagine how much work that is for you and your team to coordinate!
And that’s when it hit me like a bolt of lighting.
A PODCAST.
I knew from talking to so many women in the wedding industry that we all struggled with the same things. Time management, building a team, managing clients, getting stuck in the busy work. We all have the same challenges. And if I were to put together well thought out content that I could share on a public platform, I could impact more women that I ever could in a lifetime of working if I were to sit down with each one of you one on one.
I’m not going to tell you that it was all sunshine and roses. Even thought I was excited about the potential the podcast held, I was also terrified. I don’t know if I’ve shared this yet with you, but I actually changed my major in college from business to sociology for one reason. I was paralyzed with fear by one graduation requirement...public speaking. And, although I’m in my sounds studio, also known as my walk in closet, instead of on a stage, there was a decent amount of starts and stops in those first few episodes. Thank goodness my dear husband George, who is my master of editing, is so patient with me! But all of that was worth it to have the opportunity to impact you and your business.
On top of this podcast, I have another project in the works that will impact even more entrepreneurial women, but you’ll have to wait to hear about it!
So there’s my reason. I do not want to risk burnout before I can impact you and your business. I know that my time is limited between being a wife, raising two little girls and running multiple businesses, but I don’t want that to affect how I can help you and your business.
Don’t get me wrong, I may offer individual coaching some day, but not in this season. And I’m ok with that! Big things are happening for me and I know they are happening for you too. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to hop into your earbuds and encourage you today. We’ll catch up next time!
Oh, and before I go, don’t forget to go over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass and snag your seat for my free master class. You won’t want to miss it!
Well hey there! Welcome to this episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host, Karen Greenoe and today, we are chatting with Jamie Trull of the Balance CFO. Jamie started out her career in the very traditional corporate way by getting a degree in finance and then working for one of the biggest brands in the world. As her family grew, it became clear to her and her husband that a full time, traditional career was not the best fit for their family. And that is where Balance CFO was born! Jamie saw that there was a gap in financial literacy and confidence in female entrepreneurs and she wanted to help. But enough from me, let’s hear it from her! Welcome to the show, Jamie!
Now fun fact, Jamie and I both attended Wake Forest University at the same time but we did not know each other. It wasn’t until we both enrolled in Amy Porterfield’s course, Digital Course Academy, that our paths crossed! Amazing how the universe works, isn’t it? So Jamie, tell us all about your journey and how Balance CFO took off!
Jamie: I definitely started my career in a more traditional path. I majored in finance and got my masters in accounting. I went that route because it was safe, you know, I could easily get a job! But I was good at those things too. I really was fine with the long hours required to work up the ranks for many years buuuuut as I’m sure many of you moms out there know, when you start having kids, things change! I began to think to myself “Do I really want to work 80 hour weeks anymore? And to what end goal?
I think I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I just didn’t know what that would look like yet. I actually looked a bunch of different small business ideas, but nothing clicked. I’m too left brained for that.
“If I give it enough though and I sit here with a piece of paper for long enough, I’ll find the answer.”
I saw that people were moved by their passion to start their businesses, but they didn’t have the back end knowledge to back it up. And that’s where I came in!
And that’s where Balance CFO was born! I started offering remote CFO services to female entrepreneurs and it grew quickly. I wanted to be a voice of reason to women who were overwhelmed by all of the jargon and confusion that is surrounding finance.
“(The business) grew in reality but also grew in my heart.”
Balance CFO started as remote bookkeeping and accounting, but it shifted and grew. I found myself having many bosses instead of just one! It made it feel very similar to having a corporate job. I had to fight against that stress and I could see burnout on the horizon because I was putting just as many hours in as I had when I worked corporate. So I did a bit of soul searching and have been making some changes this year. I’m planning to do less one to one work and shifting more into a teaching model with groups and courses. It’s expanding my impact and that is incredible!
Karen: What is one of the biggest pitfalls you see for entrepreneurs?
Jamie: Putting the finances on the shelf and refusing to tackle them head on. This makes the concept grow bigger and scarier. It can cause you to go down a bit of a shame spiral when it comes to money. Instead, flip your mindset and be consistent with your financial habits!
Freebie Download: www.balancecfo.com/habits
Your Financial Habits Checklist!
Karen: Talk to me about your social media strategy. Evvvveryone seems to be talking about Instagram right now, but you are KILLING it in Facebook groups! In just over six months, you’ve grown your group to over 4,000 entrepreneurs! That is INCREDIBLE!
Jamie: With social media, I always say to start with the platform you know. You’ll be more likely to stick with it. For me, that was Facebook groups. So that is where I started my presence. It also helps that Facebook favors groups in the algorithm right now so it shows that content first in people’s feeds. I kept seeing in other groups I was a part of that people were comfortable sharing information and ideas so I jumped in! Every time there was a question about finance, I jumped in and tried to help. Eventually, it got to the point where people started tagging me when there were finance or accounting questions. So I decided to start my own group! That way I could share value in a community that I could moderate. I was consistent with the one platform and that is what made the difference. I show up once a week with a mini training to add even more value to my members.
“You have to lead with value. It’s not about what I get.”
I live by the “Go Giver Philosophy” which, in a nutshell, is all about giving and giving from the right place. If you do that, it will come back and it will come back in unexpected ways and times, but it always comes back.
Karen: What are you most excited about for your business right now?
Jamie: I am about to launch my first digital course! It’s called “Financial Fitness Formula”
It will show small business owners how to gain control of their business finances without the overwhelm and the freakout! It’s launching on January 23rd and enrollment will only be open for a short time! To learn more about this course, click here!
Hello hello! Karen Greenoe here! Today we are going to tackle this subject that is on every mama’s mind. CHILDCARE. Whether you are just starting a side hustle, growing your business, or just need a freaking break, getting help with your childcare is so incredibly important. Not only is it important for YOU, but it’s also important for your kiddos. Although time with their parents is precious and helps build the foundation of who they are, social skills are learned from their peers. Setting aside time for your children to socialize positively will help them as they grow and mature in a way that being with their parents cannot. That being said, we all know that childcare can be a challenge, particularly because it is really stinking expensive. I get it! I am in the thick of it with you! In today’s episode we are going to talk a few child care options that you may not have considered that will not break the bank.
I have two little girls at home under the age of five and I know first hand how hard it is to accomplish much of anything when they are awake. We do try our best to limit TV time as well so turning Elsa or Moana into our babysitters isn’t always the best option either. Our older daughter recently quit napping so other than after bedtime, there really is no time for me to get things done uninterrupted on the days that I am home. And I’m willing to bet if you have little ones, you’re in the same boat.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I do need to tell you that I am extremely lucky. My husband is a stay at home dad, my mother-in-law lives two streets over and absolutely adores our little girls, and we live in an amazing community of friends with children of similar ages. We’ve also developed an incredible network of babysitters that are always willing to help us even at a moments notice. Because of all of this, it is easier for me to get away from the house to work, but there have definitely been times where we’ve needed a little bit of extra help.
In today’s episode I am going to share three ideas with you that I have used myself that have helped me carve away a little bit of extra time to build my business. All of these ideas are either free, yes my favorite four letter F word, or very inexpensive. Whatever your needs are, it is important to step away from the hustle and bustle of your family to re-center yourself. And of course, its an added perk if you can use that time to grow your business!
When I was younger, I always pictured myself as a stay at home mom. Mostly, I think that was because my mom stayed home with my brother and me for most of my life. She once told me that either she could be really good at her job or she could be a really good mom. But she didn’t think she had it in her to do both. I totally respect her viewpoint and do believe that she chose what was best for her. This seemed to be a logical path for me as well.
When I was in my mid 20’s and was selling surgical equipment, I was visiting with a friend of mine that was on my sales team. She had just had her second baby and I asked her why she was going back to work. I was genuinely curious. Her answer was one that I believe changed the trajectory of my life. She said that being a working mom made her a better mom. Because she had time away from her children it made her appreciate the time she had with him even more. Something clicked in my brain that day because she and I were so similar personality wise, a new potential path in life all of a sudden made sense to me. I didn’t need to pick one path or the other. I could travel both at the same time.
Again, let me be clear that everyone needs to pick their own path. Not every option is best for every person or every family. Some moms thrive being home with their children and being very involved with their day-to-day lives. Others fleurish at work and then can enjoy the time with your little ones even more. Some moms are somewhere in the middle and have found a perfect highbred of working and being at home. You are the only one that knows what option is best for you. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
My first two childcare ideas are focused on community. I truly believe that a strong community is so important in raising a family. You’ve heard the old saying that it takes a village to raise a child. I think that is just as relevant today as it was back in agrarian culture. So join a mommy group, get to know your neighbors, and reach out and make mom and or dad friends!
Idea number one: the progressive play date. This brilliant idea comes from my good friend Lauren. Her son is just a few months older than my daughter Giles and until recently they lived just down the street from us. She was one of my very first Biz Balance Podcast fans even before it launched so major shout out to you, Lauren! The concept of a progressive play date is this. Get together with 3 to 4 families with kids about the same age as yours. The kicker is that the families need to live within walking distance of you. Think progressive dinner party but with childcare! For one hour at a time, the kids will progress from house to house. Each parent is responsible for the whole gaggle for the hour that they are at their house. It may sound overwhelming to have a larger group of kids at your house for an hour by yourself, but it doesn’t have to be. Depending on the ages and needs of the kiddos, they may mostly entertain themselves. I’ve actually found that I’m more able to do things like laundry or dishes with a whole crew of kiddos at my house than I am with just mine. If you don’t think that would be the case for you, plan an craft or activity that would engage the group. At the end of your hour, you escort the kiddos to their next destination and you now have a block of at least 2-3 hours all to yourself! And it didn’t cost you a penny!
This next idea is perfect for you if the idea of being responsible for more than just your kids is enough to send you running for the hills. Idea number two is a group babysitter. Again, get a group of families together and have a singular babysitter watch all of the kids for an afternoon. Even if you pay that babysitter $25-$30 per hour to manage the mayhem, the cost per child is still pretty darn low. Added bonus, more socializing time for your little ones!
On to our final childcare idea! Idea number three is to get your rear end to the gym, specifically a gym with childcare! We joined the YMCA when Giles was tiny and we’ve loved the opportunities that it’s given us...especially the childcare! Our gym offers two free hours of childcare per day, six days a week. That is a goldmine of time right there! So let’s do the math...our membership is about $200 per month for our family of four. Two hours per day six days a week (not that I am suggesting you work six days a week! You need rest too!) equals approximately 51.6 hours per month. Divide the cost per month by the maximum number of hours and you get to a whopping cost of $3.88 per hour of childcare! I don’t care how you slice it, that is a freakin’ bargain! And while you’re there, hop into the workout room a few times a week for 30 minutes at a time and get your sweat on. Those positive neurochemicals that flood your body after a good workout will help you accomplish even more in your working time blocks. Added bonus here is that research shows that by giving yourself short bursts of working time with definite deadlines (like picking your kids up so they don’t sell them to the traveling gypsies) you actually get more done! So grab your laptop and get your butt to the gym! I promise, you will be in good company with the laptop wielding mommas! Bonus tip, before you head to a busy place like the Y to get some work done, sign up for a service like Brain.FM or Focus@Will that currates music that is scientifically proven to help you focus. I’ll link both in the show notes!
There you have it! My out-of-the-box childcare ideas that will buy you back some precious sanity and working time without breaking the bank. If you know a mom who would love these ideas, do her a favor and share this episode with her! Until next time!
Do you ever wonder if bigger isn’t always better? That maybe there is more to striving for more and more and more? In today’s episode of the Biz Balance Podcast, I’m interviewing Candice Lanning of The Beautiful Mess Photography. Together with her husband Dan, they’ve built a thriving business that supports their family, but doesn’t take them away from precious time with their two little girls. She and Dan both work from home, homeschool their sweet little girls and even grow some of their own food on their 10 acre farm. Welcome to the show, Candice!
Karen: Tell us how The Beautiful Mess started!
Candice: Well, I worked with college students as a volunteer coordinator at a men’s homeless shelter. At that shelter, we worked with a street photographer through the shelter that provided cameras for the residents of the shelter through grants so they could document their lives. I saw the transformation that this creative expression had on those men and I was HOOKED! I knew I wanted to make a difference through photography.
Karen: Tell us how the name “The Beautiful Mess” came to be? Because, let’s face it...our lives are all messy but they are beautiful at the same time.
Candice: We were inspired by one of our favorite artists, Jackson Pollock. Life isn’t perfect, but I love capturing the mess that is real life. Our logo was actually created by a design firm called Brazen by squirting chocolate syrup from standing on a high chair! It was perfectly messy!
“Life isn’t perfect, however much we may want it to look that way!”
Karen: How do you homeschool your kids while working from home?
Candice: For us...it’s teamwork. We decided on this dream together and so we each identified our strengths and decided on our roles for our business and how we homeschool/parent our children. Of course as our children or business grow/change/etc, we adapt--but at the end of the day we have a common goal-- Family over everything.
“Kids are the best and the hardest thing we’ve ever done.”
Karen: What have you learned through the process of homeschooling that you didn’t really expect when you started?
Candice: How much I didn’t remember from school! But at the same time, I was surprised how rewarding it was to be there through the learning. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing that and it was worth the sacrifice.
Karen: A few years back, you made a commitment to clean eating. Can you tell us about that?
Candice: Well, when pregnant with first daughter, I definitely ate for two! At the same time, I experienced a lot of swelling, had some heart issues and even developed Bell’s Palsy which is where part of your face becomes paralyzed. Quite an issue for a photographer! When I went to my doctors, they were only recommending medicine. I knew there had to be a better way. I ran across a cookbook called 100 Days of Real Food during that time. I started the journey of eating healthy, whole foods. My medical issues all but went away! It was incredible! By changing how we ate, not only did we feel better, but we instilled a love of healthy food to our girls. Eating healthy is a non-negotiable. We are only as good as our weakest link. So our hope it to have a healthy home and that starts with how we treat our bodies. It’s one of the few things we can control. So we try our best to have a clean and whole foods type of lifestyle. One of the unexpected joys of this lifestyle is that we cook most of our meals at home and as a family. In addition to that, we are eating together and talking around the table. Don’t get me wrong--we aren’t the Ingalls family and we don’t have it all figured out. In fact we are constantly adjusting to the ebb & flow of our business and our family. But if we stick to the goal of making family first along with our faith and health--I can’t help but believe we are headed in the right direction.
Karen: Tell me about your relationship that formed after this with the author of 100 Days of Real Food.
Candice: I was introduced to Lisa, the author, through a friend and I totally had a fangirl moment! She was actually looking for a photographer for her second cookbook! That partnership also propelled us into a new segment of the photography industry where we were able to take on more editorial work instead of just weddings and families.
Karen: Talk to me about your relationship with social media, because I know it’s not a huge priority for you!
Candice: Everywhere you turn, you see people trying to teach you “how to get more likes” and “how to get more followers” and “hustle, hustle, hustle”. There’s this mentality that if you do something, you have to be a rockstar, it has to be visible. But I’ve found this isn’t necessarily the case. We capture the intimate, real moments of the families that we work with and that is what we want to share. We are thankful that we have a job that is creating something meaningful. Our motto is ‘family over everything.’ If we wanted fame or to make more money—we could work all the time, but life is fleeting and we are given such a short time to shepherd the two little souls we’ve been entrusted with. We are so grateful for the way our business has allowed us to live our lives homeschooling while running our business from home. We believe in living life on our own terms and not allowing our industry to completely dictate what our business or lives should look like. The sooner we embraced that--the easier it became.
{All businesses} don’t all have to look the same. There isn’t one size fits all.Karen: How are we able to accomplish making meals/homeschool/running a business all in one day?Candice: Grace. A lot of grace for one another. Lists. We love lists to help keep us on track. Trial and error. I know I sound like a broken record...but it really requires teamwork. I am blessed to have someone that sees and desires the same things from the world that I do. Being on the same page is really important.
Our best advice is to work hard, outdo one another with kindness and cherish your family.
Karen: What are you most excited about right now in your business?
Candice: How it’s evolving and some of the new clients we are working with. After 13 years of business we are blessed to be doing a lot of the work that we are passionate about. We love photojournalism and editorial work along with what started it all for us with wedding and lifestyle work. There’s a lot of dreams up our sleeves and we can’t wait for you to see what is coming down the line.
Karen: Where can people follow you online?Candice: The best place to follow us online is our website {www.thebeautifulmess.com} along with our instagram page @thebeautifulmessphotography .
Hello hello! Karen Greenoe Here! On today’s episode of The Biz Balance Podcast we are going to be going through the important business lessons I’ve learned from the happiest place on earth. That’s right, today, we are talking about DISNEY WORLD!
If you’ve known me or any member of my family for more than about five minutes, you’d know that we are big fans of everything Disney. The music, the movies, the toys, everything. And yes, the costumes too! There is lots of dress up that happens in our house. In fact, our family Halloween costumes have been Disney centric for the past three years. Two years ago we donned Little Mermaid attire (Giles was of course Ariel, George was Prince Eric and I was a VERY pregnant Ursula...my scheduled C section with Mills was the next day! Honestly, I’m not even sure how I walked around the neighborhood being that pregnant!) Last year we dressed up as the Incredibles and this year we were at the cast of Disney’s Tangled. Giles picked our costumes so of course she was Rapunzel. Mills, our younger daughter, was Pascal, complete with a tiny tiara, George was Flynn Rider. And of course I was the queen! When it came time to decide what my mother-in-law was going to dress up as Sweet Giles suggested she dress up as Rapunzel‘s hair! We quickly vetoed that and the alternative was was for her to dress up as a floating lantern. I don’t know where she gets these ideas from but they’re pretty darn adorable! You should check out the show notes if you want to see a picture of our family Halloween costume from this year! Pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself!
It is no secret that the Greenoe family is a pretty big fan of Disney World as well. In fact, George and I got married there! Now before you go thinking that we are total super fans, I will tell you we are not. The main reason for us choosing Disney World for our wedding was because of the customer experience. Since I am in the wedding industry and knew the ins and outs of everything involved with planning and executing a wedding, even a small one like ours, I knew I wanted an experience that was easy and reliable from start to finish. We’ve seen everything that can go wrong behind the scenes and we wanted to get married somewhere where they had weddings down to a SCIENCE. Their system is so airtight that we used to joke that if our wedding cake fell over, they would have 10 back ups waiting for us to take its place! Thankfully the cake didn’t fall over so we never got to test that theory. The fact is, the Disney parks collectively host over 4,000 weddings per year so they know a thing or two about throwing a great party. George and I planned our entire wedding in four hours. Yep, you heard me right! FOUR. HOURS. We sat down with our coordinator and went through the entire checklist: music, flowers, cake, linens, even had our tasting in the event kitchen at Epcot in less than half of a working day. It was a little overwhelming, even for someone like me who knows the ins and outs of what is required to plan a wedding, but the system they had in place was astounding. It was truly a well oiled machine.
All wedding funness aside, I want to dive into some of the key things that Disney World does exceptionally well. For each item, I’ll walk you through ways you can apply these concepts to your own business to make each sale, each client interaction and each experience just a little more magical. Now, whether you are a Disney fan or not, you have to admit that they pretty much have customer service on lock and there is a lot we can all learn from their business practices. In fact, a number of leadership summits and entrepreneurial conferences have been created around Disney’s business philosophy. Whether you are a Disney fan or not, there’s a lot we can learn! So let’s jump right into my favorite Disney-fied business practices that you can adapt and make your own. Let’s do this!
Disney-fied tip #1: Create a magical experience in the details. Whether you’ve been to Disney World recently or not, you know that the experience is pure magic...especially for children. There is wonder at every turn! From the costumes to the music to the architecture and everything in between, the smallest details are intentionally designed to make you feel something magical. And it is more than just a surface level experience too. The Hidden Mickey’s throughout the park keep you on a constant treasure hunt. Exchanging pins with the staff of the little gift shops. Even the name of the wristbands for your park access called “Magic Bands” make you feel like magic is truly possible. The mundane is given a feeling of magic to create an experience at every turn.
In an interview with Fast Company, Lee Cockerell, a former executive with the park, states this attention to detail is practically a religion. Disney is so committed to creating a magical experience that books have been written on the topic!
So what can you do in your own business to create a magical experience? What can you do to give that extra little sprinkle of pixie dust into everything you do? Well, I’ll tell you what we do. From the moment we greet a potential client at the door, they are greeted with warmth and welcome. We set out flowers. We offer them a bottle of water with a Lily Greenthumb’s branded coozie. We have a floral-scented candle burning. We have upbeat yet classy music playing in our consult space. The chandeliers in our studio are sparkling. Phones are silenced. From the moment a client steps into our studio, they are our sole focus. They know they are taken care of before they pay us a single dollar. These details will set you apart from your competition and create a memorable and more importantly, positive experience.
Disney-fied tip #2: Always have a back up plan. You heard me joke about the ten backup cakes we probably had on our wedding day, just in case, but there was a little level of truth to that. When our wedding planner pinned on my father-in-law’s boutonniere, he lifted his arm to wave at someone only seconds later and snapped off one of the orchid petals. Within seconds, he had a replacement boutonniere. Ever since, we’ve always included at least one back-up boutonniere in all of our wedding orders. The truth is, things happen and the most important thing to keep in mind is that your clients will always remember how you handled it. Taking that extra little step, often at very minimal cost to you, means the world to your client.
As another level of service, make sure everyone on your team is very familiar with these back up plans. When something doesn’t go according to planned, and trust me friends, it happens, nothing will set your client’s nerves on edge more than a panicked look on one of your team member’s faces as they run off to find you. Make sure that everyone is on the same page.
Tip #3: Stay in character. No matter what. So funny story. Years ago, prior to us having kiddos, George and I were in Disney and one of the first characters we met for a photo opp were Cinderella’s evil stepsisters. I bounced on up to them to snap a picture and have what I thought was going to be the typical Disney experience. They’d give me a hug, we’d smile for the camera, exchange some pleasantries, but I was WRONG. Y’all, they were straight up MEAN. They immediately started making fun of what I was wearing, talking back to me, and at one point, refused to take a picture with us. I know it sounds silly, but I walked away from that experience a little shaken. I was definitely not prepared for my first Disney “villan” experience! As I walked away, after I took a few moments to recover I thought to myself “daaaaang they were good!” These girls did not break character for one second! Even though this bubbly little redhead bounced up to them all full of cheer, they didn’t let it shake them. They were so in character that my demeanor had no effect on them. Their role was to play the bad guy and dang, they did it well!
So how does this apply to you? It means that you ALWAYS must be on brand when you are representing your company. No matter what your clients throw at you, remember that you are representing an entity far bigger than you are. Your actions and reactions to their energy directly reflect on your company. You will have people or experiences that throw you off. You will have push back, but stay in character.
I think this goes a little further too. I’ve seen more times than I care to mention on social media where small business owners are posting or engaging in polarizing conversations in a public forum. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think that speaking your mind is important, as is attracting and repelling, but is worth the risk of pushing away a potential client who could have been a good fit just because you made some off-handed remark about politics, religion, gender, race, etc? I think not. Some of my favorite clients over the years have had very different viewpoints and lifestyles than I have. And that is ok!
Tip #4: Show the magic, hide the logistics. I’ve had the pleasure of being in Disney World several times during the fall to Christmas changeover. And let me tell you, it is pure Disney magic! You go to sleep one night and you wake up the next morning and BAM! Christmas is everywhere! I don’t know how those little Disney elves do it, but it is truly incredible. Just one more thing that creates wonder in the hearts of their guests. Every single tree, wreath and garland is magically placed overnight. It was as if Mary Poppins herself pulled everything out of her magic carpet bag, clapped her hands twice and spit spot, there it was! By contrast, we also visited another park during this same time, which will not be named but did have very fun, thrill-seeking rides, and they had crates and crates of holiday decor scattered throughout the park for at least a week while they decorated.
I’ll also note that how they do construction and maintenance in the Disney parks is also truly incredible to me. Y’all, whether you know it or not, there is ALWAYS construction going on at Disney World. But they hide it so well that you would never know! Printed covers that look like the original buildings to cover scaffolding, redirected walkways and after hours work hides the magic so seamlessly behind the scenes that you’d never know it was there!
If any of you have signed up for Disney Plus, I highly recommend watching the mini series “The Imagineering Story.” The behind the scenes about Disney World and the other disney parks is absolutely incredible. I learned so much about the Disney creative process and, I’ll be honest, it was one of the inspirations to write this very episode. On the topic of hiding the logistics behind the season, did you know that a good number of trash cans in the Magic Kingdom are not even trash cans at all? They are trash SHOOTS! There are no bags, no staff to empty the trash. The trash is whisked away into and underground system that collects it all and keeps the park pristine. Amazing, right?
You can apply these same principles to your business too. I know you are treading water like mad under the surface, but take a few deep breaths and take the time to show your clients the calm and collected entrepreneur that you really are. Reaffirm to them that they made a good investment in you and your services. Show them that you have your act together and you will take care of them. I had a makeup artist a few years ago pull me aside after a wedding delivery and she said “Karen, you are always such a breath of fresh air when you come to deliver the bride’s bouquet! I know you are probably running like crazy, but the air of tranquility that comes off of you is so refreshing! The clients can really feel it!” So, no matter how crazy things are or how harried I may be, I always do my best to make sure that the client doesn’t feel that stress. There is plenty of other stress that they have to deal with without taking on any of mine!
My last Disney-fied tip is the most fun. And that is to surprise and delight. Find small, often mundane ways to take your clients off guard in a delightful way. On our most recent Disney trip, we were standing outside of the Emporium in the Magic Kingdom when a group of four Disney employees ran up to the door with a roll of masking tape. They proceeded to make a square of masking tape on the pavement in front of the door. Every time someone would step into the square, they would cheer and woop until the person stepped out of the box. Some people stepped in by accident for one second and quickly jumped out when the crowd started cheering. Some, like my dear daughter Giles, danced in the box for a full five minutes, loving every second of the attention. Mills, was so adorably cautious that she wouldn’t set foot in the box! If you want to see these adorable videos, check them out in the show notes at bizbalancepodcast.com/disney. But something as simple as a box made of masking tape was enough to get guests to pause and delight in the moment. Outside of the box thinking, for sure! Pun fully intended!
Again, these surprising and delighting things don’t have to be expensive. They only take a little creative, out of the box thinking. But they are an opportunity to make your clients take pause and remember that they made a good choice when they decided to work with you.
One way we surprise and delight our clients is to include branded paper hand towels with their bouquets so they won’t get their dress wet. It is not a huge investment, but the response is almost always “oh my goodness! How thoughtful!” Get creative. Think outside the box and continue to delight your clients. They will keep coming back for more and sharing with their friends and family all about the incredible experience they had working with you.
So, to recap, my Disney-fied business tips that you can apply today are:
- Create a magical experience.
- Always have a backup plan.
- Stay in character.
- Show the magic, hide the logistics.
- Surprise and delight!
There you have it! If you loved this episode and want to spread a little pixie dust of your own, leave a review and share it with a friend! I cannot wait to hear from you! Until next time!
On today’s episode of the best balance podcast we are going to be doing something a little bit different. We are jumping into a conversation with my girl Katrina Sellers who started Jules and Vetiver, a fine fragrance company back in 2018. I have had the pleasure of sitting front row watching this girl grow in herself and in her business. But what we are going to be doing today is peeking behind the curtain on some of the struggles us entrepreneurs grapple with on a daily basis. I will affectionately called the segment Coaching Call with Karen, y’all know how I love my alliteration! Support and mentorship in your business is so incredibly important so I hope that this episode will encourage you to see that you are not alone.
Katrina: I quit my corporate Job in 2018 to launch Jules & Vetiver, Charlotte’s first fine fragrance company. I’m part of a new(ish) phenomenon in the perfume world: self-taught, small-batch, indie perfumers. We’re shaking things up in the dusty, uptight fragrance world!
Our batches are small, and our formulas are based entirely on client feedback, giving our followers the opportunity to directly collaborate with us on our products. Many scents are locally or seasonally inspired. We also offer custom and semi-custom fragrance, where clients build their own scents based on their individual tastes. Our mission is to provide the most customized, educational, hands-on perfume experience our clients will ever experience.
Three biggest strengths:
- An obsession with making clients happy makes everything I do extremely customer-centric. I’m a hospitality lover at heart, and I’m driven by a desire to delight people.
- A sense of humor, which is essential to get you through the tougher times of entrepreneur life. If you can’t laugh at yourself and the messes you sometimes get into, you’re going to crack at some point, period.
- Being a nerd at heart. When you’re naturally a curious person, it’s easy to passionately delve into a certain subject matter and want to learn everything you can about it. And the more you know about your field, the more you’re curious enough to keep learning and growing and getting better all the time, the better your business will continue to be.
Three things I struggle with:
Katrina: Self-doubt. This is probably true of most, if not all, business owners. Whenever there’s a setback, or things are slow, there’s always a temptation to look at it as “a sign”. A sign that you’re doing things wrong, a sign that you’re destined for failure. The single hardest thing as a small business owner is to push through these moments. I think a lot of businesses don’t make it for this reason. All it takes is to cave during one of these moments. You have to remind yourself that you’re committed to the cause and you’re not going to bail. I need to remind myself that I love this too much, even when things are hard, to allow that to happen.
Karen: Let’s first talk about The Social Media Comparison game. I would encourage you to use social as a place to share, of course but also use it as inspiration and fuel to move you forward instead of looking inside and saying “they did it so well, how could I possibly do it any better?” It really is a double edged sword but can be a powerful tool if you let it.
Second, take the pressure off of “failing.” Really, what is the worst that could happen? If your worst case scenario is you have to put the dream of your company on the back burner and go back to a traditional JOB, is that really so bad? I also like to periodically take the time to look back and see how far I’ve come. I find it very encouraging to remind myself where I was only a few short years ago. I’m doing something that so few people have the courage to do. And that is amazing! Bottom line, you will continue to fail, but the most important thing is to look at those as learning experiences to move you forward.
Lastly, I know we are both mothers of girls, so I want you to think about the values you are instilling in her. When your sweet girl looks at you building your own empire, show her what is possible. Remind her that there is no glass ceiling. If she were in your shoes, would you want her to berate herself? Or would you tell her to take her supposed “failures” and use them as a learning experience? Show her that you are kind to yourself and that will be one of the most important gifts you can give to her.
Katrina: FOCUS! One of the hardest things when you’re in the early stages of being an entrepreneur is the fact that you’re likely a solopreneur. You’re doing this alone. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds, sometimes, being your own boss. No one’s telling you what to do, and that sounds cool in theory, but...no one’s telling you what to do. You’re setting strategy, you’re setting goals, you’re making everything happen. You need to remain focused and you need to have a big picture strategy, otherwise you’re going to get distracted and reactive and you’ll end up working hard, on everything that your distracted brain thinks of, but it won’t manifest itself in anything constructive. Staying focused and being mindful of strategy is the key to working smart instead of just working hard. Establishing OKR’s has been so helpful. I need to give myself time for creativity. If I’m productive it just makes me feel better!
Karen: I’ve definitely struggled with this! I would start with boundary setting. When we are not given a task framework from a boss like we would in a traditional job, it can be hard to stay on task. We also end up filling all available time with work related tasks rather than being hyper productive. I’ve found that when I have more time to fill, I actually get less done. Start by setting your big three at the beginning of the day in knocking out those three most important tasks right away. You’ll be amazed how much more productive your date feels!
Katrina: Finances. More specifically, having to make decisions constantly about where and how to spend, which are the areas worth investing in, which aren’t. It can be stressful to have to constantly decide how to allocate money, especially in the early years when the money pile is pretty thin. There’s a lot of wondering if you’re making the right calls (see “self-doubt!).
Karen: This one is a tough one! Finances have always been so hard for me. Even when I have money, I hold on to it with fear. But, the fact is, money is a renewable resource. You cannot make perfect financial decisions 100% of the time just like you can’t expect yourself to be perfect in general 100% of the time. But go with your gut. If you look into an opportunity and it seems like it would be a good idea, go for it. If you feel a pit in your stomach about an investment, it is probably a good idea to either look into it further before jumping in or walk away entirely. Yes, it is easier to and faster to have massive success when you invest a ton of money, but slow investments are ok too. I’ve only ever taken on a smallllllll SBA loan when I first started and other than that, I always wait until I have the money to spend it.
Questions for Karen
Katrina: How do you set your business strategy? How often do you adjust your plans?
Karen: I’m very lucky in my business. We have very natural breaks in our business that just so happen to be pretty evenly spaced. The first is in December/January and the second is in July/August. I make it a point to take these slower months to reevaluate, to sit down with my team, to step away and think. I feel into this routine because of the seasonality of my business but I do highly recommend finding at least two times per year to take a step back and reevaluate.
Katrina: How do you stay optimistic and motivated?
Karen: By looking back and seeing how much good I’ve done! Affirming to yourself that you are doing big things and there is not another YOU out there.
Katrina: Do you have a lot of entrepreneur/small business friends? Or do you have working friends? Do you think they relate to your lifestyle, or not really?
Karen: I’ll be honest, I lost a lot of friends when I first started my company. Not in a bad way, they just kind of fell away. We were in different phases of life. I was newly engaged and a business owner while a lot of them were working 9-5’s and were single. I made an effort to connect with people within my industry who could relate to the demands I worked with and my crazy schedule. It made it easier but it is still hard. Its just a whole different world we operate in as business owners. I’m trying to be better about reaching out to friends, in and out of the industry, to stay connected. You NEED friendship, no matter what kind of work you’re doing.
Katrina: What’s the one key thing you’ve learned in the last five years as a business owner that has improved your business, or your ability to handle managing it?
Karen: OUTSOURCING! Oh my goodness, I used to hold on to EVERYTHING in my business with the tightest grasp. But now, I know that I don’t NEED to do everything and it is worth it to essentially buy back my time. We are only given so much time so to me, that is my most valuable resource.
Katrina: How do you not feel guilty indulging in personal time, vacations, etc.? Or do you? (I always feel like I don’t “deserve” to take liberties like that, even though I was fine with it when I had a corporate job! Now things feel different, like I’m always supposed to be in Masochistic Entrepreneur Mode.)
Karen: Oh girl, I feel you on this one! I used to feel that if my clients KNEW I was taking time off, they would, for some unknown reason, be mad at me! Crazy, right? But I’ve been making massive improvements in my mindset over the past few years. Yes, owning a business is a big deal, but at the end of the day, it is your job, not who you are. Setting boundaries to protect your personal time is CRUCIAL. When its time for you to take a break, communicate with your clients when you are going to be out of the office, and DO NOT FEEL GUILTY! Everyone needs a break every once in a while!
What are you most excited about right now in your business?
We launched a subscription collection a few months ago. It allows clients to get two new surprise scents each month, and then vote on which was their favorite. It’s been so fun to learn what our clients like, and it allows us to tailor our full-sized offerings to their tastes. It essentially allows them to play with new scents each month while also directly curating our collection. It’s the type of collaborative experience I love having with my clients. I’m excited for that collection to grow, and for us to further expand our bespoke and semi-bespoke offerings, like our in-person Fragrance Bar.
Where can people find and connect with you?
We’re online at www.julesandvetiver.com, and Instagram/Facebook/Twitter at @julesandvetiver. We’re currently carried by a few stockists in the Charlotte area, but most of our customers buy directly from the website.
Hey guys! Karen Greenoe here. Today we are going to be talking about the power of positive body language. Now before you picture your uber proper grandmother snapping at you to sit up straight at the dinner table, hear me out. In this episode, we’re going to be talking specifically about boosting your self-confidence through powerful body language. Not only does powerful body language affect how you feel about yourself, it can also impact how the outside world perceives you. It is a powerful tool to keep in your arsenal for both your personal and professional lives. With higher levels of confidence, both real and perceived, you put your best foot forward which and lead to booking more jobs, feeling more sure of yourself in your relationships and downright feeling better about yourself!
I’ve made a bit of an unofficial study of the power of positive body language throughout my adult life. Through my years in dance, my college studies in sociology, my sales career and now my entrepreneurial journey, it is incredible how much positive and powerful body language has impacted my life. And I want to share what I’ve learned with you. Fun story, in the 8th grade, I was cast in the role of the queen in our school Christmas play simply because I had the most “queenly” posture in my class!
I will go ahead and say that I’m not sure how much of this has to do with being an introvert versus an extrovert. To be completely honest, I don’t even know which I am! I feel comfortable in both spaces but definitely feel tendencies towards one or the other based on my environment. Based on the summary of my life experience, I think I am more of an extroverted introvert than anything. But, like I said, it depends on the day! What we will talk about today has nothing to do with socializing or even presenting yourself verbally as I know that can truly be a challenge to those who tend to be more on the introverted side of the spectrum. We are going to focus simply on how you carry yourself and how that impacts how you feel about yourself and how the world perceives you.
Before we get started, I want to do a little bit of a mental exercise. I want you to picture two women who look exactly the same physically. They could be twins if you want! They are wearing the same thing, their hair is fixed the same way, everything about their appearance is exactly alike. The only difference is their body language. One has hunched shoulders, her eyes are down cast, and she appears to be closed in on her self. Her expression looks defeated. The second is standing upright, her shoulders are rolled back, her gaze is fixed straight ahead and she has a pleasant expression on her face. What conclusions do you immediately draw about these two women? What do you assume about them? Is the first woman having a tough day? Are things are not going well in her life? Maybe she just lost her job? Maybe she is going through a destructive relationship? What words come to your mind? Sad? Unsuccessful? Maybe depressed? In general, I would think that this woman is not happy with the current state of her life.
By comparison, the second woman seems to be exactly the opposite! Maybe she just booked a big job! Maybe her child just got into an Ivy League school! Maybe she just had an incredible girls weekend with her closest friends! Of course, these are all assumptions, but it truly is incredible how something as simple as your body language can tell the world so much about you and how you feel about yourself. So why wouldn’t you make a conscious effort to lead people towards a positive conclusion?
We’ve all heard the saying don’t judge a book by its cover but the truth is, we do. It’s just human nature! So why wouldn’t you use every tool in your arsenal to convey the power that is within you? Because, let’s face it. You are capable. You are strong. You are an incredible human being who has so much to offer the world.
The foundation of positive body language is your posture. I am willing to bet that their difference in posture is the first thing you recognized about the two women in our mental exercise. Strong, positive posture speaks volumes about you without you having to utter a single word. But, there are some things about strong posture that I bet you didn’t know! Did you know that it can reduce tension in your neck and shoulders? I don’t know about you, but whenever I am stressed, this is where I feel it! Something as simple as rolling your shoulders back, sitting up straight and taking a few deep breaths can help that! Strong posture can also increase your energy, improve your circulation and boost your lung capacity! Amazing, right? Conversely, slumped posture can lead to back pain, soreness, mental stress and even your general mood.
My first official experiment with the power of positive body language started in college. I was a sociology major and I had a professor who loved pushing us out of our comfort zone. We would go out to various heavily trafficked areas of campus, like the middle student union, and create what she called “exploraments.” Basically they were experiments that pushed the boundaries of social norms to see how people around us would react. Thankfully, it typically takes a lot to embarrass me so I was one of the first to raise my hand and volunteer! During one of the exercises, we stood in the center of the food court of the student union in different body poses and observed how people reacted to us. The first was a hunched over pose where our eyes were down cast. The second was a more confident pose where our back was straight, our shoulders were rolled back, and our eyes were lifted up. What we found time and time again was that when we stood with our shoulders hunched in a less confident pose, people did not even notice us. They passed very close by, but never even looked our direction or made eye contact. In contrast when we stood full of confidence and with powerful posture, the crowds of people literally parted around us and virtually everyone made eye contact. It was incredible! Other than being the weirdo standing still in the middle of the student union, it was quite the exhilarating experience!
I took what I learned from that social experiment and started using it in my daily life. When I walked through a store or down a crowded street, I would roll my shoulders back, stand up straight, and gaze straight ahead with a slight smile on my face. It was incredible how much more attention I attracted and how many pleasant, half smiles I received by strangers passing by. Not only had my confidence made me feel better about myself, it also appeared to be doing the same for the people around me. It was a beautiful cycle that continued to propel me upward in my confidence.
My second experience with powerful positive body language came through dance. I took up dance seriously in high school and continued through my young adult life. I was one class short of my dance minor in college but that was because, after spending a year abroad in New Zealand and coming back halfway through my senior year, the final class for my major and the final class for my minor were only offered in the same timeblock. I’ve heard that you kinda have to have a major to graduate, so I ended up not having a minor.
My favorite dance processor in college was my ballet professor. She was a tiny spit fire of a woman with a personality ten times larger than her body. She couldn’t have been over five feet tall and probably weighed 90 lbs soaking wet, but she commanded a room unlike anyone I’ve ever seen. When she walked into the room, we all stood at attention. Even the football players in my classes, who could easily bench press her with one arm, zipped their lips and stood up straight when she started class. It was actually pretty amusing to see these big, powerful athletes snap to attention when she walked in.
As you’d expect from a ballet class, we spent a lot of time working on our posture, balance and poise. One of the best illustrations she gave us was to imagine that we had two threads, one attached to each of our collar bones that were gently pulling us towards the ceiling. With that picture in mind, our shoulders automatically rolled back, our posture was straight and we stood with confidence.
Of course, in my dance career, I spent a lot of time on stage. And I can tell you right now, stage fright is a very real thing, no matter how long you’ve been on stage. The butterflies in your tummy, the nervous energy, the fear of messing up in front of all of those people may get more manageable, but it is always there. And it doesn’t have to be a literal stage to cause those fears. I could be figurative too. It could be the nerves of starting a new job, a big presentation, or even speaking in front of a mom’s group. We all experience stage fright in some way. I think that ballet gave me the best tool to deal with these feelings. As a dancer is waiting in the wings to go on stage, they spend a few moments moving their body (wiggling, stretching, jumping up and down) but then, right before their cue, they stand with their collar bones opened up, their shoulders rolled back and take a deep breath. And of course, don’t forget to smile!
The other day, I found a little pearl of wisdom in a very unexpected place that I think will help you too. I was reading Liane Moriarty‘s book Nine Perfect Strangers and one of the characters said some thing that I thought was incredibly insightful. He was chatting with another character who was nervous about a presentation and, to calm his nerves, he said that “the difference between fear and excitement is the exhalation.” Think about that for a minute. The feelings of fear and excitement can be so similar. The butterflies, the sweaty palms, the rapid heartbeat. But, if you take a moment to take a deep breath and exhale slowly, you can quickly change that fear into excitement.
The last thing I am going to leave you with is a little homework assignment. I want you to go watch Amy Cuddy’s TED talk on Power Poses. I’ll link it in the show notes so go to BizBalancePodcast.com/bodylanguage to get the link. It is definitely worth the 20 minutes to watch. But, I’ll go ahead and give you the summary here so you can start implementing her strategies today.
Amy is a professor at the Harvard Business School and has theorized that our body language not only impacts how others perceive us, but also how we see ourselves. She and a fellow professor analyzed how standing in a powerful stance vs. a weak stance can impact our outcomes. A powerful stance would be something that makes you bigger or opens you up. Think Wonder Woman with her hands on her hips and her chin held high. A weak stance would be something that closes you in and makes you small. Powerful would be expanded, weak would be contracted.
Each of their test participants were asked to stand in one of these poses for two minutes. Before and after they held their respective postures, Amy and her team took saliva samples to compare hormone levels. What they found was that levels of testosterone (the confidence hormone) and cortisol (the stress hormone) are triggered or depleted based on your body language. Individuals that held a powerful pose tended to be chemically more confident and less stressed than their counterparts that held a weaker pose.
Bottom line, there is a real, chemical reaction happening in our brain that is directly connected to our positive body language. The big take-away here is that our bodies change our minds our minds change our behavior and behavior changes our outcomes. Wouldn’t you want the best possible outcome for yourself? Set yourself up for success and practice your positive and powerful body language.
So practice your power pose. Whenever you are nervous or are about to enter a stressful situation, take a few moments to make yourself feel big, to feel powerful, to feel dominant. You will be amazed how much stronger and more confident you feel. With practice, your baseline will become more confident. You’ll naturally feel more competent. You will have the power to take on challenges head on that you never would have dreamed of before. Don’t fake it til you make it. Fake it til you BECOME it.
There you have it. I hope this episode inspired you to stand up a little straighter, roll your shoulders back and tackle your day with confidence. I know you can conquer any challenges that are in front of you with a little boost of your inner power. Start by showing yourself what you are capable of and the rest of the world will follow!
Hey guys! Karen Greenoe here! In today’s episode, I am going to share with you the top five pieces of advice I’ve ever received as an entrepreneur. I am constantly in a state of learning and some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten have been from unsuspecting sources. Some have been from business leaders at the top of their industry with years and years of experience under their belts. Some have simply been from friends and family who are far enough removed from my process and, lets be honest, problems, that they can see a solution easier than I ever could. But no matter the source, it is those moments that stop you in your tracks and make you reevaluate how you are operating your business. Those moments can change everything.
The truth is, when you are building a business, you never stop learning. And that is how you grow! I think Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon, put it best in his interview with Guy Roz of NPR’s How I Built This. He said that starting and building a business was like earning a ten year long MBA. Chip, I couldn’t agree more! Learning by doing and being open to knowledge all around me is how I’ve been successful. I am always striving to keep learning and to keep growing. There is always a better way and changes to be made.
Before we dive in, I want to give a shout out to Audible for making this episode possible. Audible lets me make the best of every second of my commute to and from the office every day. Its like having unlimited access to the world’s best business coaches in my earbuds! I just finished listening to Marie Forleo’s new book Everything is Figuroutable and it was pure motivational gold! In fact, in a few weeks from now, I’m going to do an episode all about what I learned from Marie’s book. You won’t want to miss it! To get your free trial of Audible, go to karengreenoe.com/audible.
Alright, let’s jump right in!
Tip number one: Treat it like a full-time job.This little gem that was gifted to me by my dear uncle Don who is one of only two entrepreneurs in my family. He and I sat down for dinner very soon after I graduated from college and when I was trying my hand at wedding planning. If you heard my very first episode of this podcast, you know that the adventures of wedding planning were not for me! However, it did instill in me the love of the wedding industry and a desire to be a part of it. At the time, what my uncle meant by his sage wisdom was that in order to make an entrepreneurial dream succeed, you have to put in the time. You have to be there in the trenches at least as many hours as you’d spend at a full time job. There are very few, if any, true examples of an overnight success. It is very tempting to only work part time or take breaks in the middle of the day, but if you are all in as an entrepreneur, you have to put in the time. There is no substitute for hard work and getting your hands dirty.
I think about this piece of advice now, over 15 years later, when I find myself getting caught up in the Comparison Game. You know, that really icky game you play with yourself on social media where there are no true winners? You find yourself saying “oh man, they have 50,000 followers and I only have 1,000!” or “geeze, I cannot believe they got that opportunity and I didn’t!” But you know what? Social Media is a highlight real. Very rarely do we see the hard work that went into these success stories. I always like to remind myself of the iceberg meme that’s been all over the internet lately. Above the water sits the tiny little iceberg of success while underneath is a huuuuuuge block of ice made up of your sleepless nights, starts and stops, rejection, small victories, persistence and hard work.
I’ll also say that this piece of advice strikes me in a completely different way now that I am over a decade into small business ownership. To me, “treat it like a full time job” means that I am not expected to work around the clock. I’m not expected to burn the candles on both ends. I’m not expected to miss out on family time just to put in a few more hours at the office. No boss, or at least not any boss I would care to work for, would take away your vacation time, make you miss your kids dance recital or require you to stay up until midnight every night working. Treating my business as a full time job now means that I have clearer boundaries between working time and personal time. Yes, sometimes I have to write an email after I put the girls to bed. Yes, sometimes I talk about work at social gatherings (mostly because people ask, not because I bring it up!). But I am very aware that when working time is over, it needs to be over. My family, my relationships and my health are too valuable to ignore.
This next piece of advice comes from my friend and world renowned photographer, Critsey Rowe. Only a year or two into my business, I ran into Critsey at an industry networking event. We struck up a conversation about our workload for the season and I proudly shared with her that I had over 50 weddings booked for that year already! Her eyes nearly popped out of her head! Now, granted, 50 events for a floral designer and 50 events for a photographer are two completely different animals. While I could easily design two smaller weddings by myself and deliver them in the back of my Hyundai Sante Fe in a couple of trips back and forth, the thoughts of double header weekends to a photographer was exhausting. When her shock subsided, Critsey gave me a knowing smile and started shaking her head. I was quite confused. She looked at me and said “Karen, on average, what percentage of people who inquire with your company end up booking?” I, again proudly, stated that my booking average was about 90%! Again, she shook her head and calmly said “Karen, you realize that’s a bad thing, right? With a booking average that high, it means you’re the best deal in town.”
Ouch. That one stung.
She went on to ask me if I was happy doing that many events. The truth was, I did find myself running in 20 different directions on any given day. The clients I was booking weren’t necessarily the best fit for my company. I was underpricing myself just to get the business and build my portfolio. As a result, I was booking a ton of work, but it wasn’t quality work. At the time, I was a soloprenuer and by taking on that many clients and that much work, I was burning myself out. I wasn’t taking care of my clients the way I wanted to. And I was exhausted. All. the. Time.
After this conversation, I reevaluated my pricing. I saw that even though the numbers LOOKED good, I was putting in so many hours to keep it all afloat that I actually wasn’t even profitable. When I broke down what I was actually earning per hour, it was not sustainable and definitely would not support my family long term. By raising my prices just a smidge and really honing in on my ideal client, I was able to cut my client load drastically while increasing my bottom line. I also had a much higher level of job satisfaction because I’d broken out of the “rinse and repeat” design and was actually able to flex my creative muscles. Win win!
Number three comes from the insanely talented floral designer, Karen Tran. I’ve had the opportunity twice now to attend Karen’s master classes in floral design, once in New Orleans and the other at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. On the last day of the New Orleans class, we were talking about how to attract your ideal client. If you refer back to point #2, I never really had a problem getting people in my door, my problem was getting the RIGHT people in my door. After taking a quick scroll through my Instagram feed, which was very new at the time, Karen looked me square in the eye and said “If you try to be everything to everyone, you won’t end up being anything to anyone.”
Oooof. Another ouch.
But she was exactly right! I’d been so concerned with posting to social media every single day that I was throwing up any and all images of work I’d done. It didn’t matter if it was a design I loved or hated. It didn’t matter if the lighting was good or the picture was a little dark and low quality. It didn’t matter that it was a design I wanted to repeat or something that would make me want to burn the building down if anyone asked for it again.
She went on to say that the best thing we can do for ourselves as creatives is to show the world more of the work we WANT to do, not necessarily everything we’ve done. Show what you want to be known for in the future, not necessarily everything you’ve done in the past.
You’d better believe I went on to completely revamp the galleries on my website and changed up my Insta-game after that conversation!
Another thing I changed after that conversation was to really hone in on prequalifying potential clients before sitting down for a meeting. It used to be that I was so excited about each and every potential client that I wasn’t making sure we’d be a good fit for each other before we both invested the time in meeting. And it wasn’t just on my end! Each client I’d meet with would have to take time off of work, drive to my office, spend an hour or two with me before potentially discovering that we were not a good fit. Now, before booking an appointment, I’d ask questions, look at their inspiration and really get to know them a little bit more. By doing this, I was able to tell if they would be a good fit for our company. This saved time and energy in sales meetings and insured that we were focusing our attention on the clients we could best serve.
This next piece of advice I’ve heard from several sources but the first place I ever heard it was from the marketing guru and online educator, Jenna Kutcher. In fact, Jenna is the one that lit the fire under my butt to start this podcast! So a big thank you shout out to you! Jenna says that busy is not a badge of honor. This one hit me square in between the eyes and caused a total mindset shift for me. I had been so focused on filling every minute of every day with business related tasks that I lost sight of whether or not those jobs actually moved me forward. I was busy for the sake of busy. When people would ask me “how have you been, Karen?” my default answer was always “busy!”
But let’s face it, busy is NOT a synonym for productive! In fact, they are often complete opposites! How often have you had a day that is so busy but at the end of it, you couldn’t say with certainty what you did that kept you busy all day. Or if those activities amounted to a hill of beans in the broad scheme of things!
So I changed my mindset. Busy was now a four letter word. It would no longer be my baseline. I would take a few minutes at the beginning of the day to plan instead of plunging into my day like a spastic octapus with my arms flailing everywhere. Busy isn’t worth it. And it doesn’t amount to much. When you’re busy, you tend to rush. You make stupid mistakes. You make simple math errors that make a big difference. You forget to return an important phone call. You forget to pick up your drycleaning. Let’s be honest, a busy mindset will get you nowhere.
When people now ask the obligatory “how have you been Karen?” I now answer “Great! My girls are crazy, but they keep me entertained! Work is wild but it keeps me off the streets!” That last one usually elicits a little laughter, at least! I’m working on eliminating “busy” from my vocabulary and my life in general. Focused productivity is the only way to fly!
For my last piece of advice to share with you today, I will be honest, I have absolutely no clue where I first heard it, But I’ve clung tightly to through my entire journey in my career and my life in general. And that is to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.
To me, this has multiple applications. The first is that you should never be too proud to learn something new. No matter where you are, no matter who you are with, you can always learn something. The second is that nobody is expected to have all of the answers, except for maybe Alexa and Siri, but they are even stumped sometimes. You aren’t meant to fill all of the roles in your business either just because you are the leader of the team. And, even if you are a solopreneur, you can still draw support from experts to fill in the gaps in your knowledge and understanding.
I will be the first to admit that sometimes my stubbornness takes over and I grumble to myself that I can figure it out on my own. But that is not always the best way! Not too long ago, I spent the better part of an afternoon watching YouTube videos on how to create a pop up opt in on my website. Although the instructions were clear and eventually made sense to me, I had to watch the video multiple times in order to get everything right. And you know what? It’s still not perfect! In retrospect, I probably should have found an expert, or at least someone with a skill set a few steps above mine, that I could pay to knock this task out in a fraction of the time. How much more could I have accomplished in that afternoon by working in my genius zone and farming out something I didn’t know the first thing about! But retrospect is always 20/20!
I really do believe that you and your business will be made better by aligning yourself with experts. For example, I’ve had a CPA for my business from the start. Finances and taxes, specifically, was not something I was willing to screw up. My first CPA ended up retiring but I’ve been working with my current CPA for the past seven years. When he and I first sat down, he was asking me all of the expected business questions. But then he asked one that surprised me. He said “Karen, why is your business categorized as retail?” I furrowed my brow, looked confused and said something super graceful like “Uhhh, cause we sell flowers?” I really am good at giving oversimplified and often times rather dumb answers to questions that I don’t acutally understand. Its an amusing character flaw. He saw my confusion, smiled knowingly and said “Well, technically, you are in manufacturing. You are not taking a product and then turning around and selling it as is. You are taking a raw product and with tools and expertise, you are adding value to it and selling it at a higher rate. And that is a pretty basic definition of manufacturing. And did you know that there are tax incentives in the state of North Carolina for manufacturing?” My eyes were about the size of saucers. Who knew! By this one simple change, which I may have never known about without aligning myself with an expert, I saved thousands, just in that first year, on my company taxes!
The moral of the story: never be afraid to keep learning and incorporate that new information into your life and business.
So, to recap, let’s go over those five pieces of advice one more time:1. Treat it like a full time job. Put in the hours and the hard work, but also give yourself time to rest and recharge. Take PTO seriously.2. Having a flood of client work can sometimes mean you are the best deal in town and can lead to burnout.3. If you try to be everything to everyone, you won’t end up being anything to anyone. Hone in on what you want to be known for and make that your marketing presence.4. Busy is NOT a badge of honor and is certainly not a synonym for productivity.5. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. Never stop learning and do not be afraid to ask the experts for help.
There you have it! My top five pieces of advice for entrepreneurs as we navigate the wild ride that is small business ownership. I hope this has inspired you to keep learning and growing in your life and your business! And of course, I encourage you to always keep an open mind and an open heart. You never know where you’ll pick up your next “ah ha” moment. I cannot wait to hear about yours!
Hey guys! Karen Greenoe here! Today we are going to talk about a topic that will not only impact your business but your personal life as well. And that is the topic of true happiness. I do believe that although external factors can affect your level of happiness, true happiness starts inside of you. Happiness is a decision that needs to be made daily. In this episode, I am going to walk you through the three simple steps that I believe will help you grow into true happiness.
Now, from the outside, I know it can look like I have a bit of a Pollyanna attitude towards life. But, it was not always that way! In fact, when I was a kid, my mom very frequently told me I had quite a bad attitude and a smile was not my standard facial expression. You would never know that looking at me now! Somewhere around fourth or fifth grade, something occurred to me. Something clicked in my head that made me realize that life would be a lot more fun if I were happy. Now, I know that sounds a like really basic understanding, but it really was a huge shift in my life and I remember it vividly. Before this time, I was a stubborn and argumentative kid. I would go out of my way to be difficult and didn’t take the feelings of others into account when I would act. I even remember my teacher contacting my mom and asking what in the world had happened after I made this sudden mental shift. Overnight, I was a brand new kid! And it was nothing that changed in my surroundings. I had the same family, the same house, the same school, the same friends. The shift was inside of me. Ever since then, and it’s been over 25 years, I have made it my goal to find the happiness even in the darkest situations.
I will tell you, I am no stranger to the darker moments in life. I’ve experienced more than my fair share of grief and loss in my short time on this earth. Just three months after George and I got engaged, my dad passed away suddenly. Five weeks after our first daughter was born, my mom lost her battle to breast cancer. A meer 10 days before our second daughter was born, my father-in-law lost his battle to esophageal cancer. I have experienced a lot of loss and sorrow in my 35 years on this planet. My brother actually jokes that since he is my last living immediate relative, I’m not allowed to have any more children because he fears for his own safety! All joking aside, even through these dark times, I refuse to let it discolor my outlook on the world.
I will go ahead and throw this disclaimer in here as well. There is a real clinical difference between unhappiness and depression. I firmly believe in the power of therapy and encourage you if you have even the slightest concern about your mental health, to seek professional help immediately. After both of my parents passed away, I did have several sessions with a therapist and grief counselor. Aside from helping me work through my grief, it really was an incredible process of self discovery that helped me come into my own even more. I highly recommend it to everyone, even if you have not yet had to deal with a major loss in your life.
I promise that we will have a later episode that truly focuses on the power of therapy as it relates to your mental health and the strength of you as a person, but this episode is going to be focused on the choices you make to pursue happiness in your life.
Have you seen the movie the Pursuit of Happiness with Will Smith? If you haven’t, run, don’t walk, to Netflix and watch it tonight. This movie is a beautiful example of how, even though the world is a tough place, true happiness can still be found.
I’ll give you a brief synopsis here, the movie is based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a struggling salesman. He’s invested heavily in a medical device that is inferior to other technology but far more expensive. When he cannot sell the devices, he loses everything. His wife leaves him, he loses his apartment and he and his son take up residence in a homeless shelter. But, even through the adversity that the world throws at him, he does not lose hope. He remains positive and encourages his young son to do the same. He chooses to pursue an unpaid internship with a stock broker company in order to chase a better life for himself and his son. At the same time, he is still struggling to sell the medical equipment. There is a beautiful scene where he fixes a piece of medical equipment with the last of his money. As the little lightbulb comes on on this piece of equipment, you can see the lightbulb go off in his eyes as well as this grown man breaks down in humble tears. The camera pans out and you can see his is surrounded by the dark of the homeless shelter, but the light from that tiny bulb burns through the darkness. I will admit, I cry at the scene too. It was as if that lightbulb shifted everything in his life and showed him that even in the darkest times of your life, there is hope.
I remember watching this movie when it first came out and I sobbed. Seeing this man lose everything and then come out on the other side into true success is incredibly inspiring. Seeing how much he did with so little, at the darkest moment of his life, reinforces in my mind that if you have your head and heart in the right place, you can overcome anything.
I truly do believe that true happiness has nothing to do with the external influences in your life. Of course, it is easier to be happy when things are going your way, there are plenty of people who we would consider successful who are not happy. No amount of money or quantity of physical possessions can buy happiness. Happiness is a choice that has to start with you.
In this episode I will guide you through some practices I use every single day to bring a little bit more happiness into my life. Happiness is a choice that I make daily.
Step one: find ways to push out negativity. Negative thoughts are bound to creep into even the most positive person‘s mind. But, if you let them stay there for too long, they will set up a permanent residence and fester. I know this is a really gross comparison, But have you ever seen a picture of someone who has gangrene? The afflicted tissue starts to die and it slowly starts to creep into healthy tissue. In order to stop the spread, a limb must be amputated. So what are the negative limbs in your life? Are they relationships? Are they TV shows? People you follow on social media? What is it that is bringing negativity into your life? Once these things are identified, you can cut them out and replace them with things that will do just the opposite. Just like a negative thought and emotion spreads, so does positive thought and emotion! It is your choice which one you want to take up residence in your mind.
I recently re-read Dale Carnegie‘s book How to Win Friends and Influence people. I know some of his methods are a bit old fashioned, but one metaphor stuck out to me above all the others. In the book, he instructs the reader to think of their mind as a bank vault. When you go to make the deposit, it can either be positive or it can be negative. The more practice you have and the more frequently you deposit positive thoughts, the more likely you are to withdraw a positive thought as well. It works the opposite way too. The more negative you deposit into your mental bank vault, the more likely negative is to come out. The choice is yours. And who wouldn’t want a bank vault full of positive thought?
A big portion of this is positive self talk. How do you talk to yourself when you are alone? Do you encourage yourself? Or do you question yourself? Do you celebrate your successes or are you focused on your failures? I assure you, no one looks closer at our failures than you do. There are plenty of people out there who have not seen a single one of your failures and think you are an awesome human being.
Be kind to yourself. The more you poke holes in your confidence, the easier it will be for others to do the same. And of course on the flip side, the kinder you are to yourself, the more likely it will be for external negativity to bounce off. Pushing out negativity in all forms and replacing it with positivity will establish a solid foundation on which you can continue to build your version of happiness.
Step number two: come from a place of gratitude. I know it is so easy to focus on the things that are not going right in your life and your business. Actually, I call people out on this quite frequently! Even my sweet husband George, and he is one of the most positive people I know! I’ve gotten into the habit of asking him “what have you done to be nice to yourself today?” Focusing on the negative is a dangerous and slippery slope that is very hard to recover from. So before you start sliding down, intentionally replace those thoughts with things you are grateful for. When I catch myself focusing on things that are not going right in my life, I take a step back and check myself before I wreck myself! Focusing on the negative can do just that. It can wreck your self confidence and your ability to be grateful. Instead, I take a moment to remind myself of all of the things that are going well in my life. I have a wonderful and loving family. I have a beautiful home. I built a business from the ground up that supports my family. There are so many things to be thankful for.
I do try to write down the things I’m grateful for, but it doesn’t always happen. I did start out with the best intentions and have a pretty pink gratitude journal in the top drawer of my nightstand. I know that by having my gratitude in writing I am doing a service to my future self. I will be giving myself something to look back on to remember the things that were going right in my life. But, I will admit, I am bad about keeping up with it. I’m working on it! Just trying to be real and live up to my “progress, not perfection” motto!
Gratitude should be shared too. Tell other people that you are thankful for them. Write notes of thanks to people who have supported you. Remind them that they always have a place in your mind and your heart. That simple act will make more of an impact than you would ever know. Even a simple “thank you so much!” with kindness in your eyes to the teenager at the grocery store who helped you find those obscure sundried tomatoes that you love makes a difference. Every act of thankfulness and gratitude brings just a little more light into the lives of the people you touch.
The last part of gratitude is giving back. I share on this podcast all the time how important it is to share your time, talents and treasures. We are given so much in this life that we owe it to the universe to give back. There are so many ways to give back that have nothing to do with donating money so I encourage you to look for ways every day that you can lend a helping hand to those around you. Whether its a listening ear to a friend who’s going through a tough time or bringing food to a community pantry, if you live in a place of gratitude, giving will come naturally. Feel free to get as creative as you want with your giving!
When our oldest daughter turned one, we had a big old birthday party at our house. The smash cake, the photo booth, slews of friends and family, the whole nine yards. But one thing I knew we didn’t need from this whole party was more toys. Since she was too young to know the difference (we totally can’t get away with this now!) we asked our guests to not bring presents. Instead, we asked them to bring party supplies. Paper plates, streamers, cake mix, candles, favors, etc. It was so fun seeing how creative people were with their gifts! After the party, we put together birthday party kits to take to our local community help center. We were so blessed to have the means to throw this big ole birthday party, but we knew there were many families that didn’t have that luxury. This was our way of giving back and giving families the ability to celebrate with their children.
Step number three: spread your happiness! Now that you’ve built up this base of positivity and happiness, it is time to share! Did you know that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with? It’s true! We all have that one person that always charges us up after we hang out with them. Be that person! Be the person that pulls people up, not the one that drags them down.
Find simple ways every day to spread kindness and happiness. Make eye contact with your waitress at dinner as you thank them. Smile. Give genuine compliments. Strike up positive conversations with strangers, but not in a weird way. Remember that a flame never grows dimmer by lighting someone else’s candle. Instead, the whole room gets brighter and brighter. Share your flame. Spark happiness everywhere you go.
So to recap, my three steps to fostering more happiness in your life are:
Step one: push out negativity and replace it with positivity.
Step two: come from a place of gratitude and thankfulness.
Step three: share your happiness with the world!
Thank you for tuning in today and I hope this episode has helped you create a roadmap to more happiness in your life.
Before we sign off, I want to remind you that you do have the power to make a difference in your community. Giving of your time, talent and treasures is so incredibly important. So, to put our money where our mouth is, the Biz Balance Podcast will be partnering with a new initiative in our community every month. For every new subscriber and iTunes review, we’ll make a donation to that organization. This month as we kick off the school year, we will be helping support an initiative called Backback Meals. I was absolutely shocked when I found out that more than 30% of the students at our local schools are on a free or reduced lunch program, and many of these students go without food when they are not at school. In partnerships with our local schools, the Backpack Meals team sends students home with their backpacks filled with nutritious food every Friday. To learn more about Backpack Meals and the other initiatives we support, please visit karengreenoe.com/giveback. And always, thank you for listening to the Biz Balance Podcast! I will see you next time!
Hi friends! Today I’m chatting with my friend Wendy Petricoff of Charlotte Parenting Solutions. Wendy is a mom, small business owner and all around amazing woman. We were connected when George and I were at our wits end with parenting our two little girls and good gracious, I am so glad our paths crossed! It is not at all an exaggeration when I tell you that Wendy changed how we parent! Parenting is definitely the hardest job I’ve ever had and I am SO excited that she is here to share a little wisdom and guidance.
Wendy started her entrepreneurial journey as a process of self discovery. She went on a big family trip to the beach when her oldest child was two years old and her mom, in no uncertain terms, informed her that her tiny little tirant was ruling their family! She couldn’t get my arms around how she wanted to parent so she resolved to absorb every ounce of knowledge that she could.
When it was time for Wendy to go back to work, she approached her friends and asked them what she was good at and what she should pursue. Every single one of them said they always come to her for parenting advice! So that’s where her journey truly began. She started by setting up a parenting workshop at their preschool and quickly moved to small group and private sessions and eventually online. And that is where our paths crossed!
Wendy is now certified in Love and Logic Parenting and has a developed quite a resource for parents to help them navigate the world of parenting.
In today’s episode, I’m going to be asking my burning parenting questions and I hope that Wendy’s answers will give you actionable steps to immediately implement and make your parenting journey a little easier.
How do I get my kids to listen?
If you tell them once, and they don’t do it, don’t tell them again. Just take care of business. Bring in consequences, set limits and assure them that we will follow through in a loving way. Remind them that “If you can’t take care of it, we will!”
My older daughter LOVES to be in control and hates it when she doesn’t have control. What do I do?
Control is a big deal, it means that your kids are trying to assert their independence. Set ways to share control in a way that includes everyone. When we command kids that need control, we send them into fight or flight and then nobody wins. Bring in choices, family meetings and redirections to make them feel like they have control.
How have you seen parenting evolve since you’ve started coaching?
Gone are the days of children being seen and not heard! Parents and children are now more connected than ever which can make kids feel more comfortable around their parents. The downside of this is that they tend to be more disrespectful of their authority. The key is that you keep those lines of communication open in a respectful way.
Have you seen a shift in gender roles in parenting?
There has been a huge shift in parenting in the last 5 years with dads stepping to the forefront. We still have a ways to go, but the shared balance of parenting responsibility is growing. It’s very encouraging to see and it gives each of the parents an opportunity to care for themselves as well as for their children.
What is the most important thing you can do for yourself as a parent?
Self care! You cannot pour from an empty cup. Remember to ask yourself what YOU need, not just what your child needs. Build in transitions into your day. You need a little bit of space to make those transitions. Set your alarm for 10 minutes before your kids walk in the door. Get your mind and heart right, get yourself a snack. Make a list of the things that make you feel good that you can do to refuel yourself.
There has been so much talk about kids and social media. What is your take on it?
We have to be good role models when it comes to social media and technology use. If you don’t want kids using phones at meals, don’t bring your phone to the table. If you don’t want your teenager to use their phone in the driver's seat, put yours in the back seat! Make technology and social media use part of the normal family discussion. Get input from your kids too. Don’t command. Share control with the kids. Our phones keep us connected to those far away, but disconnects us with the people who are closest to us.
What is a limit that you could put on yourself to help break yourself from your technology addiction?
No technology at the dinner table, ever. Set a cut off time for your kid’s phones. Create a wind-down time between the end of technology use and bed time.
How have you seen social media affecting children? In how they interact and their social well being?
Nothing gets left behind. It used to be that any drama that would happen at school would get left at school. Now it's constantly accessible. They need a healthy break from the interactions with their peers to get recentered. It raises their stress and anxiety levels. They are always on high alert.
As a parent, what would you say to the parents of middle and high schoolers with regards to social media use and the stress that comes from it?
Our kids need our help setting limits. Kids do not necessarily have the ability to self regulate. It needs to start as a conversation, not commands from a dictator. What is our family going to look like? What do our social media limits look like? What can we do to help with the anxiety and the stress? Provide your kids with the tools to help them relax...a healthy bedtime, exercise, mindfulness, etc.
What is something you’d recommend to parents that helps them develop responsibility?
Chores are the secret to success. They need to be involved with the day to day contribution of the family unit. Kids need to feel needed in their family. Chores actually help build self esteem. In order to develop a list of chores that works for your family, answer the following quesitons. What fits in your home? What is age appropriate for your child? What is manageable for your family unit?
What are the best resources for parenting?
Foster Cline and Jim Fay: Love and Logic
Dr Wendy Mogul: Blessing of the Skinned Knee
Dr. Laura Marcum: Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids
Dr. Dan Siegel: The Whole Brain Child
What are you looking forward to in your business? What is coming up on the horizon?
More online classes launching soon! My goal is to empower parents to feel calm, confident and credible.
Where can everyone find you?
Charlotte Parenting Solutions on Facebook and charlotteparentingsolutions.com
About Wendy:
I have the BEST job in the world! I get to make parents lives easier by working hand in hand to develop a solid parenting plan. When my first child was two, I discovered, while on a beach vacation with my sisters and parents, that I needed parenting help. Yep. They didn’t hold back and told me that I needed some parenting skills. My little two-year old tyrant had complete control of my family. I like to call myself a recovering ‘didn’t have a clue what to do parent’. That was where my journey began…and 15 years later I am extremely grateful because I have been able to parent my 16 & 18 year old children in a way that I feel really good about.
I have taken the time and studied up on all the best tools and techniques to help me raise two great kids and now I LOVE sharing all I’ve learned with you! I want parents to feel confident, calm, connected and credible! I help you address misbehavior in a loving way so you can raise kids who are responsible and FUN to be around (mostly!). I invite you to reach out to me and we’ll find the best way to work together, whether it’s private sessions or a workshop perfectly tailored to your families needs.
Hi friends! Today we are diving in to the five big obstacles that are holding you back from outsourcing. Hold onto your seat because I am going to be calling you out! When I talk to small business owners about their biggest stumbling blocks in their business, hiring, training and managing a team is always close to the top of the list. I get it! I’ve been there! But let me tell you, there is so much freedom to be had in building a team that believes in and supports you. You were not meant to walk around with the entire burden of your business on your shoulders. It is ok to ask for help and can be one of the most rewarding parts of owning a business. So in today’s episode, we will be dissecting the five top limiting beliefs around outsourcing and how to overcome them. But before we jump in, I want to tell you about my free interview template to get you started on hiring the perfect virtual assistant for your company. Go to karengreenoe.com/VA to get your hands on it. Hiring doesn’t have to be overwhelming! Use this guide to help walk you through the interview process! I have a confession to make. I am OBSESSED with outsourcing. I am constantly looking for new things in my life and business that I can standardize and outsource. I spent far too many years in the trenches where I felt 100% responsible for every tiny piece of my business. It was overwhelming and I really did feel that if I stepped away, it would all crumble to pieces. When I was on maternity leave with my first daughter, I did have a design team in place to maintain the business while I spent a few away. They designed events, met with clients and kept the place from burning down. They really did do a great job, in spite of me. And I say that because I really did a really crummy job of handing over the reins. I gave them just enough information and control to keep the boat afloat, but nothing more. I was still scheduling all of the appointments and answering incoming emails. I was still sending payment reminders and logging invoices. Heck, I was answering emails in the hospital while I was in labor! Definitely not the vision of work life balance that I strive for today. But my attention was divided and I was not giving my all to either my business or my newborn daughter. Bless my husband, he called me out MULTIPLE times about not being present. He was exactly right. Because I wasn’t doing a great job on a job I shouldn’t have been doing in the first place while on maternity leave, my team was suffering. They were meeting with too many clients in one day. They didn’t know if a certain flower was being substituted or if the client had made a last minute change. I was not doing a great job supporting them. Bless them, they stood by me even through all of this nonsense! When I came back from leave, it was obvious that something had to give. I couldn’t keep up. I had to find help. My team was already overwhelmed. I needed a dedicated person to hand over some of the more administrative tasks. I knew it wasn’t enough of a job to fill a full time position, nor did we have the room in the budget to hire another salaried position. And that is when I hired my first virtual assistant. The first thing I handed over was managing incoming inquiries on our website and scheduling. Next was billing and reminders. And it snowballed from there. The transformation was INSTANT. The number of emails coming through my inbox every day dropped drastically. The number of emails I sent every day was easily cut in a third if not more. I felt so free that I could run through a field a wild flowers in all of my newfound free time! I want that feeling for you. I want you to feel like you can hand off elements of your business that are keeping you BUSY when you don’t need to be. I want you to feel like you can step away and the whole thing won’t crumble. On the flip side, I know its hard. I know it’s scary. But in today’s episode, we are going to break down the limiting beliefs that are holding you back from outsourcing so you can move forward into your biggest freedom! So let’s get started! Limiting belief #1: The belief that no one can do it like you. We are small business owners are very proud people. I get it! I am right there with you! You are so proud of what you’ve built, and you should be! You are doing something that’s such a small percentage of people in the world can do! And that is incredible! But that doesn’t mean that you can’t accept outside help. We’ve all heard the saying that no one will care for your business like you well. While that may be true in some regard, I would challenge you and say that there are people out there who can support you better than you can support yourself. There are people out there that have skill sets that are different than yours and can actually do things better. And that is what makes the world a beautiful place! We all have different talents and when those talents come together, it creates something truly beautiful! I truly believe that it is essential to your success to surround yourself with people that are smarter than you and have complementary skill sets to yours. One example I will give you is my bookkeeper. I’ve been working with the same accountant for years and they have always taken such great care of me. When my business really began to grow, it became obvious that my limited understanding of accounting and reporting needed to be supplemented. I remember spending the better part of an afternoon sitting in my CPAs office with their QuickBooks expert as she ran through all of the things I would need to do to tackle my bookkeeping on a monthly basis. I took pages and pages of notes and was just trying to keep up. When I got back to my office, I opened QuickBooks and attempted to reconcile the past month of transactions. I was instantly lost! Even after taking all of those notes and spending all of that time with her, I still didn’t know the first step to take. Instead of spending even more hours trying to figure everything out all over again, and simultaneously being terrified that I was really going to screw something up, I sent her an email. I think her for her time and then said I really don’t think I am cut out for this task! Could I hire you for a few hours a month to run all of my reports and reconcile my accounts? Of course she agreed wholeheartedly and now every month, I have a beautiful statement that is 100% done correctly! And that is one more thing off of my plate that I never have to worry about. She does a much better job than I could ever hope to! Limiting belief #2: Thinking you don’t have the time. I totally understand where this belief comes from. When you were starting to build a team, it can be very time-consuming. It is so easy to look at how jam-packed our schedules are and think that there is no possible way you could fit in training another person to work in your business. But I will also tell you that time spent building your team will return to you tenfold! If you carve out a few minutes a day or an hour or two a week to start taking small steps towards your bigger goal of handing off things in your business, you will be amazed how that time adds up. Start small. Bring on a VA to handle a few tasks in your business that suck up a ton of your time but are relatively simple to standardize and teach. For me, that was my inbox. I found myself writing the same email over and over and over again as inquiries would come in. And I STILL wasn’t getting to that ever elusive Inbox 0 status! By creating a collection of template emails which literally consisted of me copy and pasting my past emails into a Google Doc, I could train my VA to respond in all sorts of scenarios. Limiting belief #3: Being overwhelmed by training. I get this one too! Being overwhelmed and creating systems that you can then hand off to someone else can be a daunting task. And then the thought of managing that person and making sure things are done to your brand standards make it even more overwhelming! I get it! Here is what I challenge you to do. Take everything in small doses. Document the systems that you want to hand off. Every time you work through a repeatable process in your business, write it down! Record it! Right templates! Over time, this will help you create a training manual that you can then hand off to someone else. Training does not have to be intimidating. Get it all down in writing so that it is easier to transfer. Limiting belief #4: Believing that it won’t save you time. Ooooooh Girlfriend, this one is straight up not true! I cannot begin to tell you the number of reclaimed hours I have had in my business by standardizing my procedures and handing them off to my virtual assistant. She can knock out these tasks far quicker than I can and in a mere five hours a week, she can do what took me 20! So, if you look at it that way, you are actually LOSING time by not outsourcing! As the business owner, you should be focusing your time and attention on the things that move your bottom line forward, not the things that simply maintain. Focus your daily activities on the things that truly make a difference and you will be amazed how quickly you grow! And here we go we are saving my favorite for the last! Limiting belief number five: The cost. I get it, Hiring cost money. But what I challenge you to do is break down what you should be paid on an hourly basis. Run the numbers. If that hourly rate is higher than what you would pay a virtual assistant, you are actually costing yourself money. And if you jump back up to limiting belief number four, because a virtual assistant can often accomplish what you do in a much shorter period of time because of focused work tasks, you are costing yourself even more! I am going to challenge you even further. There is more of a cost to not outsourcing that cannot be quantified in dollars and cents. Your time is the most valuable resource that you have. Even if you don’t use your newfound time to make more money, is it time that you would be better served to spend time with your family? Or with friends? Because let’s face it, your family will be there far longer than your business so any investment made in them is one that will pay off in huge dividends. Do not forget about the ROI of the heart. So friends, I hope this episode has shown you that you are not alone in your fear of outsourcing. Change is different. Change can be scary. But I promise you, but laying the groundwork to create a business support system around you to carry the burden of running your business, you will free up time, reduce overwhelm and reclaim your life.
Jenna’s company, In the Details Darling, was born out of a need for more work life balance for small business owners, more specifically moms, who needed help managing the back end of their business. She’s seen so many business owners fall into the trap of letting your business control your life instead of the other way around. She now works as a brand manager, strategist, mentor to future virtual assistants.
Karen: Where did you originally see the need for your business? What inspired you to get started?
Jenna: Well, to be honest, I was a bit inspired by you, Karen! I loved your ability to get your clients excited about working with you. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur I just wasn’t quite sure what to do yet. I was working in the travel industry and talked to a number of my business colleagues and saw that there was a real need for back end support in small business. I saw that things weren’t necessarily being done in the most efficient way possible. That is where I come in! I now continue to serve the travel industry but also specialized creatives.
Karen: What are some tips that you could give to an entrepreneur who knows they need help and don’t know where to start or are scared to ask for help? I know when I started outsourcing, I had a very traditional model of employment in my head...salaries, 40 hours a week, etc, and it was a little daunting!
Jenna:
- You have to have systems in place. Otherwise, you will be spending money and wasting time and they won’t be able to accomplish anything. I create workflows and canned emails and that helps immensely. Letting go can be so hard! But when you put structure and systems in place, it makes it easier to release the reins.
- Determine what you’d like to outsource. Look at the areas of your business that aren’t getting done and start there!
- Ask yourself what your business would look like if you had more free time? Could you take a brain break and move your business forward more?
- What are the tasks that you love to do? What are the things that only you can do? What are the things you don’t know how to do? What are the things you don’t want to do? What tasks do you feel like you SHOULDN’T be doing?
Karen: What would you say to someone who is intimidated by the cost of outsourcing? I know that I have a very tight grip on money. Its a product of my upbringing.
Jenna: The investment you spend to get things off your plate is worth it. Not doing so actually COSTS you money. Don’t think of outsourcing as an expense, think of it as buying back your time.
Karen: Where is the best place to find a VA?
Jenna:
- Word of mouth! Ask business owners you admire if and where they outsource. By consulting with other professionals, you’ll be able to get social proof on an individual or outsourcing company.
- Outsourcing with Love-this is a total shameless plug! One of my clients is a VA who has been booked up for a very long time and is constantly having to refer out work. So she created a VA directory of pre-vetted professionals that you can plug into your business. Each VA in the directory has to have at least two referrals from past clients in the area they are wanting to work. There is no charge for business owners for use the directory so you should definitely check it out!
Karen: What are small business owners doing that is actually making their job harder?
Jenna: Not documenting as you go which makes the transition into outsourcing a lot harder.
Not revisiting your systems, as you grow, your systems need to grow and change too.
Karen: What is your process for asking for feedback from past or current clients? I know sometimes it takes an outsider’s perspective to know when we need to change.
Jenna: I always ask my clients to state “one thing I wish Jenna would change” and “one thing I wish Jenna would never change.” Its amazing the feedback you get! You have to have a little bit of thick skin sometimes, but it is worth it!
Karen: What is something you’re excited about right now?
Jenna: Well, I’m working through a rebrand which is super exciting! I’m also working on a curated client experience package that includes gifting, systems, canned email content, etc.
I really believe in surprising and delighting. Its the simple gestures make all the difference! It is my goal to live life as I’m feeling it. I need to express what I’m feeling, especially gratitude, to those around me. Because not everyone receives it! You feel it in your heart but you don’t necessarily share it. And that is what I’m all about!
Bio:
Jenna Daykin is a systems strategist and brand manager who helps travel professionals and specialized creatives gain back freedom in their businesses through systems implementation and task management. She believes wherever you are, you should be all there - life, business, and everything in between. You can find her working through her to-do list at a cozy coffee shop, getting lost in the streets of a quaint city, or spending a quiet night in with her husband and two sweet pups.
Hey guys! Karen Greenoe here! Today we are going to have a conversation about a topic that I see a lot of entrepreneurs, especially creative entrepreneurs, struggling with. And that is the topic of boundaries. Now in the interest of full disclosure I had absolutely zero boundaries when I started my company about 10 years ago. I was available to my clients all hours day and night. I was answering emails from bed. I was sacrificing my relationships in order to be available for my clients. But I will tell you, if you are in that same position, it may feel productive, but it is not effective. Not only is that not sustainable, it’s not expected either! Do you think any of your clients expect their dentist to be available on a Sunday afternoon because it is a convenient time to have an appointment? Or their kids school to be open on a Saturday so you can meet with the teachers? Now, I know some professionals offer these extended hours, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be the industry standard. I want you to start thinking about ways that you can fit your business around your life, not the other way around.
Before we dive in, I want to do a little mental exercise to give you a visual reminder of what boundaries can do for your ever elusive work/ life balance. In your mind’s eye, I want you to picture a big white clean table top. In the middle of that table is a mixing bowl. One of those nice, big stainless steel ones with the silicone bottoms so it won’t slide all over the table while you’re mixing. That bowl is filled with brownie mix just waiting to be poured into a brownie pan. All of the eggs, oil, and chocolate chips and even that yummy fudge swirl are all mixed in. Ok, darn it, now I really want brownies. But that is not the point of this exercise! Now I want you to picture this. The tabletop is your personal life. The bowl is your boundaries. And the brownie mix represents your business. All of the things the table, the bowl, and the brownie mix are serving a specific purpose. They are all good things. Nothing is bad about any of it. With the brownie mix contained within that bowl you can move the bowl to the center of the table if you need to focus on it more, you can move it to one side or the other, or, depending on your circumstance and what you need to focus your attention on the most, you can take it off of the table entirely. The size of the bowl doesn’t really matter that much. Or even how full it is with brownie mix. The fact that the bowl is there is what is important. Now what happens when the bowl disappears? Does the brownie mix stay in one place, or does it slowly spread over the whole table and start dripping off of the edges? The truth is, without the bowl in place, you are left with a big sticky mess that is really hard to clean up. Having that bowl in place keeps the brownie mix contained. Without it there, the brownie mix leaches into every square inch of that table. So, tell me, would you have rather have your brownie mix in a bowl or poured all over the table and dripping onto the floor?
Just like the size of the bowl can change the shape of the bowl, the color of it, what its made of, are all 100% up to you. Just as everybody’s boundaries look different. My boundaries aren’t necessarily the same as the entrepreneur down the street or the mom that lives on the other side of the world. There is no one size fits all. Your boundaries need to fit your life and your business. But, recognizing and sticking to our boundaries can be one of the most freeing things you can do for yourself and your business. I see so many small business owners struggling with this concept and it really does take a toll on their relationships, their family, and yes, even their business.
So, I am going to give you an overview of what boundaries look like in my business. These have evolved and adapted over the years as my business has changed and my family has grown. But, the further and further down the path of entrepreneurship I get, the more I recognize that sticking with these is essential for the health of my family and the health of my business.
The majority of my boundaries are centered around communication. Although it is absolutely incredible how connected our world is in this day and age, it’s also a bit of a curse as well. We feel like we are letting our clients down if we are not available to them at all hours day and night. But, I guarantee you, the clients that are worth working with will respect the boundaries that you put in place and, by leading through example, you will find that many of them will automatically start to respect those boundaries without you even having to spell it out in the first place.
Boundary number one is office hours. I do hold relatively strict office hours. This applies to meeting times, communication, and even events. Because of the nature of our business, most of our social events are held on Saturdays. So our work week is Tuesday through Saturday. We try to hold Sunday and Monday as holy as possible, although we do have some long standing clients that regularly have events on these days. One in particular, a professional sporting team in Charlotte, hosts all of their regular season games on Sundays so this line does get a little blurred during the season. But, to make up for that, we do strictly limit the number of one-off Sunday and Monday events that we will accept. I am a firm believer in the two day weekend. My hat goes off to Mr. Henry Ford who, at the turn of the 20th century, recognized the advantage of two days of rest back to back. If you are not getting two days off back to back on a regular basis, I urge you to try your darndest to work this into your life. You will be far more productive and far happier in your work when you are coming from a place of rest. There is massive amounts of research around how many hours a person works per week and how after 40 hours, productivity declines drastically. But that is a topic for another episode!
When I first started my business, I offered after hours appointments nearly every day of the week. Granted, I was not nearly as busy as I am now and we had not started our family yet so for the time being, I made it work. Also, our first studio was located a little bit outside of town so if someone who worked in Charlotte wanted to get to me, it was a bit tougher to meet during the day. But, like I told you in episode number one when we moved our company to our second studio location, I received a bit of a shell shock that catapulted me into not offering after hours appointments. The dance club that was next-door to us started offering fitness classes in the early evening. I honestly did not mind it until they started offering nude yoga! Now I have absolutely nothing against anyone who wants to take part in this practice, but I was the owner of a luxury floral design company, I thought this might not be the best impression to make on my clients! So I was essentially strong-armed into ending appointment times by 530. Thank goodness this happened before we decided to start our family because it made it very easy to continue this practice and be home for my growing family immediately at the end of the workday.
We also used to offer Saturday appointments and any Saturday that we did not have an event we would book back to back to back consultations. One Saturday, I remember having SEVEN back to back meetings! I didn’t have time to eat, drink or go to the bathroom that whole day! It was absolutely exhausting! And, on top of that being a lot to manage, what I started to notice was that the clients I was meeting with on Saturdays were more likely to be price shoppers. We had a much lower booking average for those clients we met on the weekends. Now, this is not a hard and fast rule and we have had clients that have come into town specifically to meet with us on the weekend so there is some flex with this role, but the exceptions are very rare.
Figuring this out really did open my eyes to the possibility that my time was better invested with my family on a non-event Saturday even though I FELT like I was doing what was the best for my business. Even though I’d had this realization, I was absolutely terrified to stop offering Saturday appointment to my clients. But, a few months later when I started running the numbers, our booking average had actually gone up and we had secured more events for the next few months than we had in the past year altogether. I truly believe by establishing this boundary, our clients started to value our time more and ensure that they were more committed to working with us before they would come to meet instead of coming in to kick some tires.
My second boundary is phone calls. I am going to go ahead and apologize to anyone who is ever tried to communicate with me by phone because I know it is really hard to get in touch with me. If I do not recognize the number or am not expecting your call, 99.9% of the time, let it go to voicemail. Now, here are my reasons for this. They are absolutely nothing to do with the people on the other end of the phone and it is entirely to do with me. Actually, that’s not entirely true, I do get a TON of telemarketer calls on both my cell and office number so I’ve got to weed them out somehow. But in all seriousness, my first reason for not answering incoming calls that I am not expecting is I know that when I get on a phone call I give it my all and, I know this is going to come as a shock to all of you, I am a little bit of a chatterbox. I am very guilty of staying on the phone for far too long and in most cases, everything that we talk about could have been communicated through a three-minute email which we would all then have a written record of. And, when you were running a small business, there are so many details floating back-and-forth on absolutely every facet of your business that is often very difficult to keep track of every single point.
The second reason for this is that it is very hard for me to quickly get back onto task once I’ve been on the phone. Phone calls are a distraction to me. I recently read a statistic that said once you are distracted from deep work it can take you upwards of 25 minutes to get back on task. And if there is research on this topic I know I am not alone. I would much rather have you leave me a voicemail and I returned that call when and I can be prepared to sit down and have a conversation with you that is well thought out and serves you well.
Now I know it may sound like I am screening our phonecalls, but on our office voicemail we do state that if you are calling to make an initial event inquiry, to send us an email. Not only does this mean that our office manager, Jenna, can coordinate any inquiries with new clients, it means that we have a written record of that communication that we can refer back to.
So, instead of answering phone calls as they come in, I pick one time during the day to return voicemails and knock out all of my phone calls for the day. I sit down with my notes in front of me, I have no other distractions, and I am 100% focused on the person I am talking with. You know if you’ve listen to more than one episode of this podcast that I would much rather have short spurts of true focused work than long stretches of bouncing back-and-forth between tasks. It is amazing how much you can get done and how much more effective you can be if you focus more on focused work in short periods of time.
My third boundary is email. this one is a tough one. If you’ve heard more than one episode of this podcast, this has been a boundary I’ve struggled with for a long time. I’ve found myself fitting emails into the cracks of my day while I am between appointments or with my family. But, the truth is, I can type on my laptop MUCH faster than I can on my phone so it is by far a better use of my limited hours in the day to sit down for a set amount of time and respond to all of my emails from the day in one go.
I also try very hard to not answer emails outside of office hours. But it wasn’t always that way! You remember the story about how I was answering emails while in labor with my first daughter? Yeah, I never want to go back to that!
A few years back, I was chatting with a mother of the bride and she said “You know, Karen, if I email you at 9pm, I know I will always get a quick response back.” I thought about that for a minute and you know what? She was exactly right! By 9pm, I’ve put my girls down to bed, I’ve cleaned up the kitchen after dinner and I’m settling in on the sofa with the hubs to watch a show. And every single night, I had my computer on my lap. I probably missed half of the plot twists in whatever show we were watching and I definitely wasn’t receptive to conversation with my sweet hubby, who I’d basically not seen all day. So, now, it is my goal to put technology aside during that time and focus on each other and whatever silly Netflix show we happen to be watching at the time.
Other than your clients having the impression that you are available all hours day and night, the other issue with answering emails after hours means that when you wake up that next morning, you are far more likely to wake up with a full inbox. And there is nothing worse than starting your day feeling like you are already behind! Instead, if I do feel the need to catch up on emails after hours, I’ll use a program like Boomerangwhere I can write my email response and schedule the delivery for the next morning during normal office hours. That way, by the time they have read the email and responded, I’m already well into my morning and my Big Three and already have a sense of accomplishment for the day!
One last word on email before we move on. Let’s talk about email auto responders. I have a bit of a confession to make, in the past, I have not been the best at setting autoresponders on my email when I am legitimately out of the office where I should NOT be answering email like if I am on vacation with my family. I have always had this fear that if someone knows without a shadow of a doubt that I am logged off, they will be upset with me. But this is simply not the case! If you are concerned, like I was, make sure to communicate that to clients ahead of time. The ones who are worth working with will recognize that we all need time to rest and give you grace. Now, let’s talk about the flip side of this. The OVERUSE of out of office messages. In my opinion, and again, this is just my opinion, if you have healthy email boundaries in place, you do not need an autoresponder set for the weekends, holidays or times that your clients would EXPECT you to be out of the office. Instead, list your office hours in your email signature and have the courage to sign off when the universe expects you to! Your business will not crumble if your clients do not “know” you are out of the office on Christmas Eve. Take heart and take a step back! Your business and your clients will be waiting for you when you return!
My last communication boundary is social media communication. I know we all have our preferred methods of communication and, like I said earlier, it is incredible how connected our world is and how many different ways we can communicate with each other. For me, my preferred method of communication is email. I love being able to refer back to our conversations in writing all in one place. Also, when something is taken care of, it gets moved out of my inbox. With things like Facebook messenger, Instagram DM’s and text messages, you cannot move those conversations out of your line of site after they have been responded to. For me at least, that means I do pretty frequently drop the ball on social media communication. Also, it leaves me feeling like I am scrambling when I am jumping back and forth between communication types. I want to serve these inquiries as best I can, but they need to be in a way I can manage well. So for these types of communication, I have an autoresponder saved on my phone to direct people to my email. It reads something like “Thank you so much for reaching out! I will be the first to admit that I am terrible at keeping up with Facebook messenger, DM’s, texts, etc, so please send me an email and I will make sure you are taken care of!”
It is a beautiful thing that the world is now more connected than ever before, but it can be overwhelming. You have to control it or it will control you. Set the expectation and stick with it!
The next step to creating clear boundaries is having a gatekeeper! As a business owner, it is SO easy to say yes to things that don’t necessarily fit with the goals of your company because you are so concerned with paying the bills. I get it! I’ve been there! Heck, I still find myself there sometimes! And then there is the issue of FOMO. By saying no to something, you are worried that you might miss out on your next big thing, your next big break. But trust me friends, if your gut says no, there is a reason. Trust it. When your next big opportunity comes along, you will know it! Now, even with my recurring clients, we still have to say no every once in a while. Being clear and communicating that you are not available is not a bad thing. You do not have to be available to everyone all the time!
Whenever we have an incoming inquiry through our website or our general inbox, it goes to our office manager, Jenna. When she joined our team, I put together a very specific guideline for the type of events and clients that fit within our company structure. Because that structure is in place, she can very easily say yes or no to new inquiries based on these standards . Because I do not even see those inquiries coming through, it gives me a place to step back and release the reins to someone else. When I was making the decisions on who would be a good fit for us, I will admit, I was acting emotionally. And very often, I was saying yes from a place of fear! Knowing in the back of my head the bills need to be paid, payroll needed to run, and this whole ship needed to stay afloat, made it so I had a very hard time turning business away. But, you cannot be the perfect fit for everyone. And that is ok!
My last step in setting boundaries is having grace with yourself. You are human, you run a human business and you have human relationships. None of us are perfect. There is no point in beating yourself up when your boundaries slip a little. It is bound to happen. I will admit, there is always a splash or two of brownie mix on my pretty white table. But that splash or two is pretty easy to clean up and get back in the bowl. So, if you have to release some of those boundaries every once in a while, go easy on yourself. Progress is the goal, not perfection.
So starting today, think about the boundaries you can put in place in your business. Once you start putting these boundaries in place and enforcing them, you will be amazed how much time you can free up to enjoy your personal life. Hop on over to the Biz Balance Podcast VIP’s group on Facebook and tell me all about it! I hope this changes your work life balance as much as it has mine!
Julie Staley is the founder and lead photographer for Old South Studios here in Charlotte, NC. Her incredible formula for success and her bubbly personality make this woman a total powerhouse. She built an incredible team, established a brand with incredibly high standards and made a name for herself in Charlotte and beyond. After 13 years of shooting weddings, Julie is now planning for her retirement as she recommits herself to pouring into her family and cherishing the precious time she has left with her (almost) grown daughters. In this episode, we will dive into all sorts of fun topics from working with your spouse to hiring and the ugly truth behind scaling. Be prepared for an honest conversation that will leave you feeling inspired and empowered!
Julie graduated from the University of George with a degree in nutrition. She went on to become a dietitian and then a pharmaceutical sales rep. After her second daughter was born, the reality of two kids in daycare hit and Julie knew that changes needed to be made. She and her husband Andrew decided that she would stay home with their sweet girls, who were one and four at the time. That lasted a year before she felt the drive to work resurfaced. And, from their dining room table, Old South Studios was born!
When her younger daughter was off to kindergarten, Julie dove into entrepreneurship full time. With encouragement from friends, she picked up a camera and never looked back! A few years into the business, Andrew joined her to create systems, run the books and build the powerhouse that would set the industry standard in our market.
Julie’s (not so) Secret Formula
The Old South way is not rocket science, but it works! From the beginning, Julie established the venues and vendors that were aligned with her brand and extended sincere partnership to them. She offered photos without ever being asked, she had a quick turn around and she was always there to lend a helping hand. While other photogs were griping about vendors requesting images, Julie used it as an opportunity to be a market partner. She turned the tide on demands, use it as a gift and an opportunity to build future relationships.
She also developed true relationships with her clients. After one bride saw how far Julie and her team bent over backwards to make their wedding day a smashing success, they couldn’t help but refer their sisters, bridesmaids and family friends to Old South Studios! The formula is simple. Be kind and over deliver.
Building a Team
A few years into the business, Julie started expanding her team. First with an office manager and then associate photographers who could shoot weddings on their own under the Old South brand. Even with a whole crew of talented women, Julie says that there was never any drama in the hen house. She attributes this to hiring the photographers that are willing to grow and adapt, hiring for the personality and work ethic and teaching the talent. Knowing how time consuming and sometimes overwhelming the back end of this business can be, she gave her associate photographers the opportunity to shoot weddings and create a relationship with the client while not working about the rest of the work that needs to be done.
When Big Got too Big
Its the truth, bigger is not always better! As Old South Studios grew, Julie began to realize that she was trading time with her family to success in the workplace. Her CPA was giving her high fives, but Julie was running ragged and missing out on the family time that she would never get back. There is a difference between being successful on paper and feeling successful and fulfilled. She looked into selling or franchising, but both options would mean even more work to grow the company before handing it off. Precious time with her family was ticking away as her two girls were approaching college. Julie truly began to realize that time was not hers to own. She’d worked hard to create a wonderful life for her family and had set an incredible example for her girls. They would never see a glass ceiling and would know, deep in their hearts, that anything is possible with a little bit of grit and grace.
The price of anything is the amount of life you trade for it.
-Henry David Thoreau
Julie’s Tips to Building the Life and Career that Serves You
-Leave margin in your life to get quiet. When you are running at full speed at all times, you do not have the time to look to one side or the other and evaluate as you move forward. Leaving margin gives you the opportunity to check your gut and make changes when it suits your life.
-There is no one size fits all for your business. Do not look to others to see what is right for YOU.
-There’s light and shadow to all situations. Its finding the balance that suits you that truly matters.
-Its ok to find joy in a new path even if you miss your old one.
Thank you for tuning into this episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! Before we wrap things up, I want to remind you that every month we will be partnering with a new charity or initiative that is doing good in our community. For every review and subscription we receive, we will be making a donation to that month’s organization. For more information about the programs we partner with, visit www.karengreenoe.com/giveback
About Julie
Julie is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in nutrition. She worked as a registered dietitian then pharmaceutical sales rep for many years in Atlanta. After a move to Charlotte and after baby #2, she left corporate America to have more time at home with my 1 and 4 year old daughters. After 1 year of full-time SAHM status, she began pursuing her photography hobby more seriously while the girls were in preschool. By the time her youngest went to kindergarten in 2006, she was working full-time as a professional photographer. Eventually, she was able to grow Old South Studios to one of the largest wedding photography studios in the Southeast with a commercial studio in Charlotte, 8 photographers on staff. They have captured over 400 weddings in 5 different countries since 2011. But, after their biggest back-to-back wedding seasons (2016 and 2017), Julie intentionally began slowing the business down to find more work/life balance. She let her team go at the end of 2018, closed their studio in April 2019 and will capture my their wedding in December of 2019. 2020 and beyond will be solely devoted to her family.
Welcome to the Biz Balance podcast! I am so glad you’re here! My name is Karen Greenoe, I’m a wife, a mother of two precious little girls and an entrepreneur. This podcast has been a dream of mine for so long and I am absolutely thrilled that you are along for the ride with me! On this podcast, I will be sharing what I’ve learned on my journey through life and entrepreneurship and interviewing those who have gone before us in the hope that it will help you on your journey. We will share practical tips and tricks that you can immediately implement in your life and business to make your road a little smoother. So let’s put our heads and our hearts together so we can learn from one another and hold each other up.
A little bit about me...I did not come from an entrepreneurial family. Not in the least bit. Both my parents were PHd’s in chemistry and had always worked for big companies. But I always had a bit of the entrepreneurial bug, even when I was a kid. My mom bought me my very first “business” book. You can’t see me, but I’m putting air quotes around “business!” It was called “Better Than a Lemonade Stand” and it outlined all of these different business ideas for kids. Simple things like garbage can mover, house number painter, so on and so on. From there, I was hooked. I sold Mary Kay in college, made cute gifts to sell to my sorority sisters and even tried my hand at wedding planning. Let me tell you, I was not cut out for that one! You wedding planners are serious superheros! I seriously don’t know how you do what you do! You have my mad respect! But, after college, reality stared me straight in the eyes and said “you’d better get a big girl job.” Begrudgingly, I agreed.
I held a couple of jobs in those first few years after college, one in a hotel sales office, one for an education consulting firm and finally, a women’s health company where I was in surgical sales. About six months into that last job, I met my husband, George.
We met at a yard sale that was being hosted by mutual friends. Our eyes met over a dish of chocolate eclair casserole. That first night, we talked about all of the things you SHOULDN’T talk about when first meeting a guy...family, marriage, religion, everything. He will tell you that he knew that night that he was going to marry me. It took me about a week to come around to the idea. From then on, we were absolutely inseparable.
And that was in 2009. And we all know how America looked in 2009. The economy was in shambles and in most industries that year, uncertainty was the only constant. I got sick of it pretty quick. I was ready to take the leap into full time entrepreneurship. But there was one problem...I didn’t know what I was going to do!
George and I were attending a hobby conference together and as my eyes wandered around the room, it hit me. I was going to be a florist! I have no idea where that lightning bolt came from, but I have never been more sure of anything in my life! George saw the resolve in my eyes and was instantly supportive.
My family didn’t take me seriously at first. I do not hold it against them at all. I think they saw the state of the economy and were worried that I was taking too big of a leap. It wasn’t until my dad saw my 35 page business plan that he replied “Oh! You’re really serious about this!”
My dad cosigned a very small small business loan and thank goodness he did because I had absolutely nothing of value to my name! After he signed the loan, my father, who was a man of very few words, unbuttoned his plaid button down shirt to reveal the t-shirt he was wearing underneath. It read “I’m your father, not an ATM.” Thanks dad!
In August of 2009, I officially took that leap of faith and went all in on starting my first “real” business, Lily Greenthumb’s Floral Design. I signed a lease on a cute little brick and mortar space in downtown Matthew North Carolina (just outside of Charlotte) before I signed my first client (crazy, I know!) With my tiny small business loan along with my life savings and we were off to the races! My doors opened for business on December 5th, 2009.
Business exploded. I’d booked more events than I’d ever dreamed. Probably too many! Against all odds, this little company was an (seemingly) overnight success! But along with that came some real difficulties. Finding help. Setting boundaries. Knowing when to shut it off. I was seriously working around the clock.
Every year, I am reminded of this when I log into Timehop and see a Facebook post about making boutonnieres til 1 am. That was my reality!
That Christmas, as the retail orders poured in, I remember sitting at my (soon to be) in-law’s kitchen table and crying my eyes out because I was so exhausted and overwhelmed. It was like drinking from a firehose. I couldn’t even see straight, let alone plan.
Every night when I got home from my studio, I’d answer emails and write proposals for hours. One day, I remember George asking if I could try to shut off work by 8pm every night so we could have some time together. I actually laughed at him. Can you believe that? I was sliding down the slippery slope of becoming a workaholic. My relationships were suffering and I wasn’t taking care of myself.
I did eventually find help as I started building my team. My first hire I brought on in 2011 and she is still with me today over eight years later and I am so thankful for her! She dove into my business and she is my right hand woman. She is an incredibly talented designer and takes care of this business as if it were her own. Since then we’ve had a number of designers, assistant designers and interns come to work with us. It really is incredible to see how this crazy little idea has grown so much bigger than me. In the past 10 years that we have been in business, we have designed over 800 weddings and events!
But, in those early days, I will admit, I was still not good at handing things off. I was scheduling all of the appointments, sending all of the reminders and tracking all of our orders. All on top of actually meeting with clients and designing! It was overwhelming.
It took a few years, but reality again looked me square in the eyes. And those were the eyes of my sweet firstborn daughter, Giles. Someone else now needed my time and attention. Holding her was the sweetest feeling but, because I had not prioritize my life and my time, I was struggling. I was trying to keep too many balls in the air and, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t doing a very good job of it! Would you believe I was actually answering emails while in labor? Talk about misprioritized time! Something had to give!
I remember having a skype call with my team while I was on my first maternity leave. As soon as I logged in, I instantly saw how exhausted they were. I’d been accidentally double booking appointments, not following up, clients who were not a good fit for our company were pouring in. I wasn’t doing a good job doing my job and they were suffering because of it.
It wasn’t that my company couldn’t survive without me, its that I had not empowered my team to even make that a possibility.
So I took a hard look at how I was running my business what I was doing on a daily basis. What absolutely needed to be done by me? What could I delegate? What could I eliminate all together? Let me tell you, y’all, it was scary. But on the other side of that fear was a HUGE amount of freedom. By prioritizing and delegating, I was now freed up not only to spend time with my new family, but to work on things that truly moved my business forward instead of being in the weeds all of the time. I learned how to set work aside when my family needed me. To draw boundaries to protect myself and my time. How to work smarter, not harder. These are the things I want to share with you!
Mommas, I hear you out there. I hear that there aren’t enough hours in the day. I hear that you are trying to juggle all the things. I hear that you just want one minute to sit down and catch your breath. I’ve been there. In reality, if you are a working mom in any capacity, you are basically doing two full time jobs. It is my goal to share practical advice and stories from those who have gone before us that we can easily incorporate into our lives as working mommas. I cannot wait to hear your “ah ha!” moments as we travel along this road together.
I have a question for you...what do you have in common with the most successful people in the world? Other than all of us breathing oxygen, we all have exactly 24 hours in each day. So if you had a choice, why would you spend a single minute of that doing something that doesn’t move you forward. We will talk a LOT on this podcast about making the most of your time. I like to think of it as time effectiveness rather than time management. To me, time effectiveness means spending more time on the things that matter and move you forward rather than trying to shove so many more things into your day so it is absolutely bursting at the seams.
So today, with that in mind, I’m going to share the three productivity hacks that have changed how I operate in my business. It has made me feel like I have truly accomplished something in my day, reduces my stress level at work and at home because I feel like I have less hanging over my head.
Number one: The Big Three
The big three are the items on my to do list that are the top priority of the day. It may be something I’ve been avoiding, something that requires a little extra brain space or something that’s lived on my to do list for a little too long and is, frankly starting to annoy me because of its sheer existence. When I get into my office every day, the big three are the first things I tackle. My team knows that when my office door is closed, I am heads down. We affectionately refer to this as “Karen’s Hour” and unless the sky is falling, they know to leave me alone. I silence my phone, take off my Apple Watch and close all browser windows that aren’t required for the task at hand. And I KNOCK. IT. OUT.
Number two: Set Boundaries
Boundaries look different for everyone, but I can tell you, they are so freeing. One boundary I set for myself years back was not taking after hours appointments. It’s actually a funny story how this one came to be. In our old studio location, we had a dance club next door. They decided to start offering fitness classes in the early evenings. The zumba was no problem. I quite enjoyed the music. But then they started offering NUDE YOGA. Now, let me be clear, I have no problem with pursuing things that I would not particularly chose to pursue, but this one did affect my business. One early evening, I glanced out the large, plate glass windows from our consult table and saw, out of the corner of my eye, a gentleman sauntering out wearing nothing but cut off denim overalls. I decided then and there that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t worth the risk of my clients being uncomfortable just so I could meet them after work. Instead, I now offer lunchtime Skype calls for my clients that can’t get away during the work day. In the beginning, I was worried that this boundary would push people away, but honestly, the right clients are quite understanding and often opt for a lunchtime call. Drawing the line in the sand has not affected my bottom line at all. In fact, I think it’s helped my clients value me even more as a professional because they see that I value myself and my time. Bonus, even with my longer commute, I now very rarely miss family dinner time.
Number Three: Admit You’re not the Best for the Job
This one is a hard one, but I promise you, I’ve saved the best for last! This is hands down the one thing that changed my business the most and freed up most of my time. I took a good hard look at where my time was being spent and realized that a good portion of this time was spent on tasks that I could easily train someone else to do. By doing this, I was able to dedicate my working time to tasks that only I could do. These were the tasks that made the biggest difference in my bottom line and moved my business forward the most!
I know this sounds daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! With a little time on the front end, you can create a training program to easily hand off tasks, even if you don’t currently have a team. Bringing on a virtual assistant was ground breaking in my business and allowed me to have someone on staff that could handle a number of the tasks I was currently handling without bringing on a full time or even part time team member. My current VA works five hours a week and has a set list of tasks each day that she can easily knock out remotely. Also, because she manages our incoming inquiries, I am not tempted to say yes to things that do not serve the long term goals of our company. FOMO is real, y’all! By having a gatekeeper in place, saying NO is so much easier!
Try outsourcing in your personal life too! We use Blue Apron and Instacart for meal planning and groceries as well as have someone who takes care of our lawn and cleans our home and office. Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean that it is the best investment of your time.
So give it a try first thing tomorrow. Set your big three, start setting boundaries and brainstorm on things you can outsource. You will be amazed much more productive you feel! I cannot wait to hear about it!
