Scale Your Small Business

Thanks for tuning into the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom. Today, we're talking about moving offices. This transition can be overwhelming, and it always seems like an endless task that somehow gets crammed into a short period of time. This week we're breaking down some tips that can help you calm the chaos.

First, before you even begin your move, collect your favorite things. These are your everyday use items–your notebooks, planners, pens–anything essential you need to run your businesses. This way, you know the things that matter are already taken care of.

Another tip is grouping and packing all the things you know for sure you won't be using during the move. Here's the second part: label everything with where it goes. Consider numbering the boxes and keeping a master list to refer back to once you make your move.

Once everything is categorized, change your address. Make sure you do this soon enough to give yourself time to transition. By getting ahead, you leave yourself room to move from one place to another. The sooner the better.

Get ahold of movers early, and share your moving schedule with everyone involved. This includes your team, the movers, and your landlord.

Create a checklist of every single item you're bringing with you. This is a super simple way to ensure nothing is slipping through the cracks without taking up space in your brain.

Don't be afraid to purge! This is a great moment to clear out any unnecessary items that you don't need to bring with you. Encourage your team to do the same!

Have some fun! Check out new decor that you'd like to have in your new office!

Once you're ready to go, double-check to ensure all your drawers, cabinets, and lockers are empty.

Make sure you have some snacks at hand. Moving is stressful, tiring, and can work up quite the appetite. You don't want to be hangry while you move!

Bring extra extension cords! You never know how many plug-ins you'll need.

Finally, give yourself more time than you think you need.

Key Takeaways

1. Before you get started moving, collect your favorite things and organize all the things you know you won't need during the move.
2. Label, label, label. Create a master checklist of every item and where it goes so it doesn't take up space in your head.
3. Give yourself more time than you need! Moving comes with it's own set of potential twists and turns. Allow yourself to have a buffer.

We're back with the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom. This week's guest is Wade Stewart. He's a small business owner in Tacoma, WA. After enjoying several years of success in his business, the long hours had taken their toll and he was unhappy. Once he went on his own Personal Retreat, he found a renewed sense of purpose. This Retreat was so successful he has written this book to help others who might find themselves in a similar place.

When Wade started his business, he had built a robust, thoughtful plan to scale at a reasonable pace. What happened, though, was an incredible amount of growth. Things started ramping up fast than expected, which snowballed into more exponential growth. This eventually spiraled out of control, and not wanting to go bankrupt and leave his family out to dry, Wade found himself working 15 hours a week, every day of the week. This lead to eating poorly, little sleep, no personal time, and the emotional manifestations matched the severity of his physical symptoms. All in all, it wasn't a good way to live. Trying to wear that many hats at once wasn't sustainable and Wade ended up reaching a breaking point.

Recognizing the slowly growing heat isn't easy, but it's an important step in scaling a business. When you notice other things outside of work are starting to suffer, it can be a good indication that it's getting a little disproportionate work-load wise. Just like you can get addicted to anything else, getting that next client, and the chase of that client, can become all-encompassing, and you can lose sight of what matters. The next step is confirming this is an ongoing thing, not just a bad string of months.

This is all to say that it's about loving the work you do. It's worth looking back--what is it you were passionate about in high school? College? Identify the little nuggets of your work that you really, really enjoy.

A great way to take stock of how you're balancing your work and avoiding burnout is through a Personal Retreat--something Wade does and has done in the past. Your retreat and analysis can happen as often as you think is necessary. And your retreat can happen anywhere that works. For Wade, he found solitude in an empty park and in a busy Starbucks. Really, it's about finding a place you can get into a zone. It doesn't have to be exotic--but it does have to be a place you can focus.

LINKS

https://www.personalretreat.training/

Key Takeaways

1. It's important to take stock of how you're doing. Burnout is brutal and can sneak up on you, but it is avoidable.
2. Find a time that feels right for you and analyze your business. Return to what it is that you're passionate about and expand it.
3. Your retreat doesn't have to be anywhere exotic. It could be a park or a Starbucks. Find somewhere you can get in the zone.

This week on the Scale Your Small Business Podcast, we're talking about everyone's favorite: iPhone Apps. We're diving into some of the most useful, efficient, and effective apps available that you can start using today (and keep using from now on) to run your business.

The first app on the list is Calendly. Calendly allows you to create completely customizable appointments based on timeframe, topic, or any other category you can think of. You can decide what is public or private--whatever you need it to do, it'll do it.

Next up is 1Password. This app is exactly what it says--it's one password. You can create different 'vaults' for contractors, allowing them controlled access to what they need to work. You're always able to revoke access at any time without worrying about changing passwords.

Another app to use is called MileIQ. MileIQ captures your drives automatically. The app runs in the background on your phone, tracking your miles and creating a comprehensive record. At the end of the year, you can print off a report that has all your mileage.

Slack is an easy, consistent way to stay in touch with your team wherever you go. This messaging app lets you keep track of what's going on even when you aren't at a computer.

Google Calendar is another big one--it has an immense amount of uses and allows you to connect with so many different scheduling apps. It's a clean, efficient way to see all your appointments in one place.

Dropbox is an incredible storage platform that allows you to share and store large files. They even have an app that allows you to upload directly from your phone to your team all over the world.

Remitly is an app that allows you to transfer money into your employee's bank account without lag-time. You can send money overseas conveniently and securely.

Asana is a powerful platform that lets you layout projects step-by-step and assign tasks to individual members of your team.

Rev.com is an app and website where you can upload media and they will transcribe it automatically. This is a great tool when you're on the go and want to have a transcription made of a presentation or project you're proposing.

Evernote allows you to take pictures of your planner pages and catalog them digitally. In conjunction with Scannable, you can have a library of ideas at your fingertips.

An app that helps deliver content on time and consistently is Hootsuite. This app lets you schedule posts over a huge timeframe.

TeuxDeux is a powerful, incredibly clean app that lets you schedule recurring tasks on your to-do list.

If you're an Apple fan, AppleNotes is a great utility app to have on hand to copy-paste important links, content, and ideas. Apple products on the whole have seamless connectivity that helps you keep a consistently smooth process to running a business.

Key Takeaways

1. Apps can help you make your current processes better, and introduce improved methods of running your business.
2. Find and try apps that work best for what your needs are. Pick and choose how you use them.
3. Apple products on the whole have seamless connectivity that helps you keep a consistently smooth process to running a business.

Today's guest helps small business owners create a new level of influence to help land their dream opportunities. This week, we're chatting with Marlana Semenza, international photographer and visual strategist. She's worked with athletes, celebrities, WWE Superstars, and public figures including Miss North Carolina. She's going to break down just how we can teach people how to view us.

It's important to realize when you're creating a brand and producing images, it isn't just a pretty picture--it's a conversation. You have to understand who you're speaking to and what you're telling them. It should show them "why you." What you would be like to be around, be friends with, work with. It's for you to use to communicate that. Your brand is your business. When people come to work with you, they are coming to you, not your business. You carry that influence with you everywhere you go.

When a business is ready to build a brand and start making connections, it's crucial that you're clear about who you're speaking to. Speak to the "one"--your ideal client. The conversations you have with different people will have different needs, priorities, and goals. Make sure you're communicating effectively what it is you do and who you serve.

You have to show up on purpose. That means have a strategy and intention for what you're creating. Don't just post to post--speak to who you're speaking to and connect with purpose.

Identify what makes you unique! Consider how you tell your story--you're more than a photo of you at a computer. What makes you 'you?' These images play a huge role in creating your entire brand. By deciding what you want to represent and show up you teach people who to think of you. Steer the conversation.

Marlana's process starts with an extensive questionnaire that gives her an idea of who you are, what you're about, and what your social media circumstances are now. From there, a conversation is had that goes beyond the surface-level information the questionnaire offers. That is the jumping-off point. From there, of course, there are in-person photos happen, but also FaceTime photos allow Marlana to take high-quality photos of anybody, anywhere. All with the same process. Expect instead of Marlana Semenza taking the photo, she coaches her clients in positioning, lighting, location, and posing. All that adjustment happens via FaceTime.

Key Takeaways

1. It isn't just a pretty picture--it's a conversation.
2. Get clear on who you're speaking to and communicate why 'you.'
3. You carry your influence everywhere you go. Make sure you're showing up with intention to every client.

LINKS

Social media channels:

https://www.instagram.com/marlana.semenza.photo/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlanasemenza/

https://www.facebook.com/Marlana-Semenza-Photography-129332310573483

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3wRcnYROOe3qO4b-_KK3kQ

Website:

www.marlanasemenza.com

This week on the Scale Your Small Business, we're breaking down the weekly review. This crucial time of reflection can have a massive impact on your development, growth, and success. The best part? You only need five minutes.

Before we dive in, remember that this can happen any time of the week. Whenever works best for you--whenever you're getting ready for your day.

Five minutes all you have to spare?

First thing's first--clean up your area. This doesn't mean deep-clean every inch of your space, but do take care of your workspace and desk. Throw away any trash, coffee cups, whatever it is. Make sure it's ready to go when you come in the next day.

Next, get all the paperwork from your desk clean up and get it into one pile so you know where everything is.

Then, brain dump. Get everything out of your head and onto paper, word document, phone note, whatever it is.

15 Minutes?

If you have more time, review your previous calendar and make sure you didn't miss anything along the way.

From there, review your upcoming calendar so you know what's on your plate the week ahead.

Additionally, empty out your voicemail and inbox. This doesn't mean address every single item, but do take stock and make sure you know what you have. Form a habit of deleting anything unneeded.

This is the time to make sure you haven't forgotten anything.

Go through your text messages to make sure you don't have any outstanding texts you need to reply to before you start your week.

30 minutes for your weekly review? Do everything up to this point, and add these:

Sort through your pile from early. Perhaps some are more urgent, things you need to file, whatever it is, put it where it needs to go.

Write your weekly to-do list. Sometimes, this will spark your memory and remind you of items you may have forgotten about. Also, review last week's to-do and move whatever you need to.

Write out your 'waiting for' list. These are things you may be partnering with someone or a team member is working on.

If you have an entire 60 minutes to do your weekly review, here are some additional practices to consider:

Review your projects. Especially when you have a larger one, break it down into small chunks. Ensure nothing has been forgotten or fallen through the cracks.

Review your 'someday maybe' list. This list is for you to remind yourself of what you may have time to take on.

Next, consider creating a '43 folder' system, where there are folders for every day of every month of the year. From there, you can put in any items, invitations, or important files based on the day they need to be reviewed.

Schedule next week's weekly review. If you can do this at the same time every week--awesome, but don't let a reschedule stop you from doing this important work.

Update any software you may have waiting. You can perform other tasks on this list at the same time!

Empty your digital and physical trash cans. This seems minor, but this small step makes a huge difference. Something as simple as making sure your desktop and actual desktop will give you a truly fresh start.

Key Takeaways

1. A weekly review is an essential step to prepare you for your week ahead and prevent tasks from slipping through the cracks
2. Your weekly review can be whenever and for however long works best for you--but make sure you take the steps necessary to give a good look towards your week.
3. Sometimes the smallest tasks make the biggest difference. Don't ignore the little things!

Today on the Scale Your Small Business Podcast, your host Jillian Flodstrom is sitting down with Jill Sussman, owner of Sky Realty, where she helps people build wealth and legacy through real estate.

Jill found her passion for reality as a 13-year-old child while going around looking for houses as her parents went through a divorce. She found joy in imagining her life in these places but at the same time, her parents taught her the in's and out's of finances and things that may be off-limits to other kids at that age. She started paying attention to pricing and other real estate-related information. A few years later, she worked at a rental company where she would build a portfolio, call landlords, and handled everything that came with the job. From there, she realized real estate was the ticket to the life she wanted to live. To this day, the skills she learned she still uses.

Standing out from the crowd is a major aspect of being a successful real estate agent. Jill never worked at a traditional real estate agency, so she was different out of the gate. Jill decided she would get her license for herself. From there it grew organically, which set her apart of the rest of her field. She attributes this quality to being intentionally and consciously different than other people. With the energy she brings she makes a point to be different than others.

Jill says consistency is the hardest part of growing your business. But beyond that, it's timing. You have to have the desire to grow, but you also need to have the energy and the will to match it. Understand the 'why' of your growth. Consider how and when you're at your best, and maximize that!

Being discouraged is a natural part of growth. Return to your vision. Sometimes, it's about having the introspection of when to move on. Don't try to create a mechanism that won't work. Don't force your vision into a medium that isn't working. Don't be afraid to start over. Be consistent and concentrate on your energy. Your energy will attract people to you.

Mentorship is an important part of personal growth. Finding the right mentor is imperative. It can help you more than an employee at the onset of your business's growth. They can help you stay on task, focus on what's important, and guide you along the process. Connect with people in your network and identify who may be a great mentor. Be open and willing to learn at every moment. Don't be afraid to pay for mentoring--the return is huge.

Key Takeaways

1. It's not just about having the desire to grow. You have to have the energy, the willpower, and the timing to get there.
2. Being discouraged is a part of growth. Return to your vision and trust that your passion and energy will attract others.
3. Mentorship is imperative. Be open and willing to learn from a variety of perspectives.

LINKS

https://jillsussman1.com/

Today on the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with Jillian Flodstrom, we're breaking down the pros and cons of working from home versus working from an office. There are benefits and challenges with both, and especially as we handle the pandemic, this question is more relevant than ever.

One of the first things you can consider when comparing working from home and from an office is commuting. If you're spending all your time running around, driving from location to location, you're losing valuable time that could be spent doing something far more productive. By working from home, you allow yourself that time back.

Secondly is workflow. When you work from home, you're able to make your hours work for you. If you're an early bird or a night-owl, you can take time to focus on priorities other than work without sacrificing any productivity.

Next, is attire and dress code. When you're working from home, you can wear pretty much whatever you want. This may be great for you, but over time, many will find that it impacts their productivity. Consider if you're the kind of person that needs to get ready from the get-go in order to get things done.

A primary reason many people choose to work from home is for family and pets. You're able to give them the time they need to tend to their needs while being able to work at the same time. This is a very important aspect for many business owner's work-life balance and should be considered.

Working from home allows you to take breaks when you need them. You're able to go for a walk, stretch, get some sun, whatever you need to do to decompress. Conversely, when you're working from an office, there are absolutely no distractions or uninterrupted.

Considering the cost is a huge part of working from either home or an office. Make sure you're clear on the cost of renting an office space and everything associated with having that space.

Finally, the most important thing to consider is understanding that you're sharing a space when you're working from home. With your kids, partner, pets, visitors, you name it--you share it. It can be difficult to have professional phone calls with this number of distractions. At an office, you can sit down and work without worrying about sharing your space or attention.

Key Takeaways

1. You're sharing a space when you're working from home. With your kids, partner, pets, visitors, you name it--you share it. At an office, you can sit down and work without worrying about sharing your space or attention.
2. By working from home, you allow yourself to work when it makes sense for you, no matter the time of day.
3. Consider costs, work-life balance, and comfort v.s. productivity when choosing to work from an office or home.

Thanks for joining us on the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with Jillian Flodstrom! This week, we're joined by Dr. Alan Chong. He's been a doctor of chiropractic for over 27 years and has built two thriving clinics. Now, he shares his knowledge by mentoring and coaching other healthcare professionals and offers guidance on his podcast, Practice Mastery.

Dr. Chong's favorite part of building, growing, and running his spine clinic is working hands-on with patients. Beyond that, now with two clinics, he was able to create a business within a business, each complimenting each other and further finding a niche from which comes more cash flow.

Now in his 35th year of practice, Dr. Chong was presented with an opportunity to purchase and take over two clinics and do it all on his own. As a result, he was working 55 clinic hours a week--a massive amount of time. The key to lowering that to 32 hours is hiring. His tips for hiring start with making sure they are like-minded individuals. Ensure that you're both aligned in your top 3 core values. If they're totally off the wall from yours, probably not a good hire, regardless of how good they look on paper. Additionally, he asks his interviewees what their references would say about them.

COVID has been one of the most difficult challenges Dr. Chong, and many other small business owners have faced. There will moments where many will feel like quitting. Fortunately for Dr. Chong, he found that personal development and finding that drive within saved his business.

The biggest piece of advice Dr. Chong would give himself is to have asked for help sooner, and more often. Especially from his team. In addition, being more transparent, authentic, and real with clients and team members is crucial. When he did, he realized that bricks and mortar--the place in which you work, needs to be inspiring. There's a good chance you may just tolerate it--don't. If you can't stand your office, bring something into it that will make it personal.

Dr. Chong's approach to coaching is based on mindset. He asks simple questions to his clients. What makes you tick? What motivates you? What's going on in your head? What's holding you back? What are you angry about? Sometimes it's purely a mind shift to move on. If you have a mind, you better get your mindset in order. It's not a Monday to Friday, it's every single day of the week. Affirmations don't build your processes, They build your mindset. They build your mental fortitude. Your brand is all about your mindset. How stable and consistent are you with your processes? What's your personality like? Are you a driver?

Dr. Chong's advice to those struggling to break through to that next level is this: each deep inside and think about why you went that direction anyways. Revive the passion--remember what your first passion project was.

LINKS

DrAlanChong on Instagram & Facebook

Dr. Alan Chong on LinkedIn

Practice Mastery Podcast

Key Takeaways

1. Hire like-minded individuals. If they're totally off the wall from yours, probably not a good hire, regardless of how good they look on paper.
2. Ask for help sooner and more often.
3. Building mental fortitude is not a Monday to Friday, it's every single day of the week. Affirmations don't build your processes, They build your mindset.

Welcome back to the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom. Today, Jillian is diving into an incredibly important subject for a business owner of any size, but especially one that's looking to grow, scale, and thrive. We're talking about contracts--why they're important, how to make sure you're going through the process properly, and what to look out for.

On a personal side, Jill has had a first-hand experience with the importance of contracts. She was in business with her former business partner for over 10 years. She'd invested her entire being into that business. There was a succession plan they had in place: he was going to retire, and she was going to take over that business. Then unbeknownst to Jill, she was notified along with others in the company that he was selling the business--but not to her. There was no courtesy of a personal conversation, just an email. Had there been a more formal, written contract and not just a verbal one, this would've been a completely different story.

Sometimes involving attorneys and your team in certain business dealings can be uncomfortable, but it is super important because if you don't, if you don't have anything in writing, if things are not spelled out, you could be left in the lurch. Right now, you may be getting along with the person that maybe you're in business with, or you want to get in business with, but things can change. The person can change. Their decisions can change. Sometimes mental health needs to take priority.

If these essential documents are written out, it becomes something the court could enforce.

Even with close friends, family, and loved ones--sometimes they don't have a choice. Sometimes you are collateral damage. By getting these contracts in place ahead of time, you set yourself up to feel much better. If something comes up, it's very easy to edit it now, while you're both still friends.

Consider everything--EVERYTHING--when writing out your contract. If it's something that you're going to take possession of a business on a certain day, what day is that? What is the plan once you've taken possession? Are you taking over clients? Are you starting over fresh? What about those systems that the current business might be using? Review, review, review before you sign.

Make sure you build a team around you that you can lean on, rely on, and look for guidance.

Finally, don't do this under stress. Think carefully and do it with intention! Make sure you have your ducks in a row.

Key Takeaways

1. Involve attorneys and other legal help to ensure everything is clearly spelled out in every business dealing you're involved in.
2. By writing out these contracts, you give the court something they can enforce.
3. Don't shy away from contracts with loved ones. Edit and review now, while things are smooth to lay a safe foundation for your business partnership.
4. Make sure you build a team around you that you can lean on, rely on, and look for guidance.
5. Don't do this under stress. Think carefully and do it with intention! Make sure you have your ducks in a row.

Thanks for tuning into the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom. This week's guest is Darla Delayne, a 35-year business veteran, an inspirational powerhouse coach, speaker for women who lead their business empires. She helps women entrepreneurs fine-tune their greatness and light up the world with the fire within them.

There are often barriers women run into when starting to grow their businesses. For Darla, she believes women need the permission to know that success can happen the way they want it to happen, and it can resonate with them. They don't have to watch everybody else and do what everybody else is doing. It's getting back to what makes women powerful, their intuition, inspiration, where we're creative, and how that fits within those beautiful structures and systems so they have a foundation. Often, she says, women don't trust themselves, don't think it's for them, or don't feel they have permission to really do it because, face it, historically, that's what women have been told.

Her advice is this: you can do this, anyone can do this. There are customers for everyone, and to stay with your unique self and who you are and what you do and don't try to be somebody else. Then you'll hear that intuitive gut feeling to know and that competence will come out.

Darla prides herself on running and teaching others to operate a heart-run business. Seven years ago, everything came crashing down in her life, but Darla declared that her number-one priority would be her happiness. To make sure she did that, she started tracking her happiness by the hour. Once she became aware of her own happiness, before long, one hour turned to two, two to four, and eventually, her entire day was filled with joy. The kicker is this: she also charted her income at the same time. Guess what? A perfect correlation revealed itself.

It's about watching how you feel, and understanding that your productivity and the way you show up is directly tied to your happiness. In the end, if you're not enjoying it, you're preventing yourself from getting what you want. YOU are the magic sauce that makes money happen.

Now that she's helping other women grow their business, Darla reminds us not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Systems are in place to help you, it's about incorporating the heart. Your brain is filled with what you put in it--plans to predict outcomes and results. Your heart is filled with infinite possibilities. Remove "goals" from the thought and replace it with "visions." By doing this, you're setting yourself up to focus on what really matters. Even though it's a business, it's still connected to how you feel.

A massive fear women face when starting and running a business is imposter syndrome and not believing they're capable of doing what they're doing. Darla notes that this is a stress response--it's something your brain was designed to do to keep you alive. The thing is, you dictate your mindset and your limitations there.

It's about getting out of your own way. You don't have to have a ceiling. by saying yes to yourself, and knowing that you're fine, no matter what happens, you're okay. Go for it. Do it. If it falls apart, you'll figure out a way to put it back together.

Finally, Darla's last piece of advice is to invest in a coach. You need someone looking from the outside that can guide you through. Stop DIYing your business. Why waste time trying to invent the wheel when you've got someone there that can really help you?

Key Takeaways

1. There are customers for everyone, and to stay with your unique self and who you are and what you do and don't try to be somebody else.
2. It's about watching how you feel, and understanding that your income and the way you show up is directly tied to your happiness.
3. Your brain is filled with what you put in it--plans to predict outcomes and results. Your heart is filled with infinite possibility.
4. It's about getting out of your own way. You don't have to have a ceiling. by saying yes to yourself, and knowing that you're fine, no matter what happens, you're okay. Go for it. Do it. If it falls apart, you'll figure out a way to put it back together.

LINKS

DarlaDelayne.com

@DarlaDelayne on social

Quickstartbusinessschool.com