The Ambiguous &: Business Basics & Beyond

In this episode, Molly Beyer expands on the discussion regarding avatars from the last episode. While last time was an examination on how to build an avatar of the people we want to externally work with, this time, Molly explores building an avatar for hiring. Building an avatar of who we want to work directly with and for us. Having an avatar for hiring helps us focus on hiring the person to fit our workplace culture, and not just a person who fits an ideal job description. 

Knowing the vision, mission, and values of our business is so crucial for defining ourselves and our company. The vision and values direct every decision we make and directly feed into our workplace culture. So they should also be the foundation guiding who we hire. If culture comes first, we should be hiring for the operational culture of our business, and not simply a list of skills in a job description. Molly explains how to reflect and strategize in order to build the best avatar for hiring. 

As Molly points out, “Data doesn’t create a cohesive, high-functioning team. Personality, fit, and shared values do.” Hiring is more than just filling a role. It’s about building upon and expanding the culture of our business and protecting the vision we’ve set in place to guide that business. This episode explores the necessity of having an avatar built out of values and our mission to guide who is hired to join our teams. Join Molly and see how to align hiring practices with business culture instead of a list of job skills.

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• “Who Not How” by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

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Contact Molly Beyer: 

• MKBeyerBooks.com
• MKBeyerConsults.com
• Facebook: MK Beyer Books
  
  

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In this episode, host Molly Beyer builds directly on the conversation from the previous episode - Reflection as Strategy: Year Compass - and continues exploring reflection and strategy. Following Molly’s belief that we cannot make intentional forward motion unless we understand where we’ve been, Molly explores business avatars, the ideal client, and how defining that person depends on culture and capacity. This is not a marketing exercise, but a guide to being honest about ourselves and who we work best with.

Every business, small to large, has a culture. A culture is based on micro decisions. It’s built on things like how we communicate, respond to stress, set expectations, follow up, talk about mistakes, show up on our best days, and show up on our worst days. Molly illustrates how we highlight clients who align with our values by reviewing our culture. Capacity is not just time, but our emotional bandwidth, mental load, physical health, systems, teams, boundaries, energy, ability to recover, and ability to hold space for others. Our capacity is the temperature gauge for our business. Molly uses reflection to tie culture and capacity together in reviewing the past and defining her business avatar.

Avatars are also defined by our goals: specifically, the goals that arose from our reflection. Molly explains how avatars must match our strategy and our strategy must match our reality. What else do avatars do? They inform our hiring practices and become a living, breathing combination of our values, culture, capacity, goals, lived experience, and the reflection Molly encourages us to engage in each year. Join Molly to learn how to look back effectively and discover the truth about our current avatar.

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• Episode 24 - Reflection as Strategy: Year Compass

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Contact Molly Beyer: 

• MKBeyerBooks.com
• MKBeyerConsults.com
• Facebook: MK Beyer Books
  
  

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In this episode, host Molly Beyer talks about a business reflection tool called YearCompass and explores why a reflection strategy is useful for goal-setting and realizing accomplishments. Molly points out that using someone else’s definition of success - a mentor’s, parent’s, or competitor’s - can leave us feeling perpetually behind. Success needs to be aligned with what matters to us to feel like true success. It’s not just revenue. Revenue matters, but Molly explores what else matters and how to track it.

Real success includes our time, having the freedom to step away. It includes our mental clarity and whether our business is chaotic or peaceful. And it includes our energy and alignment. Are we energized? Is this the work we want to do? Are we having an impact? Molly discusses how setting goals only allows us to look forward, but reflection allows us to look at what we worked on, what we’ve learned, and who we connected with in our career journey. Molly calls this looking at the year holistically and assessing everything from our health to education to mental state.

Molly’s reflection allows us to see where we’ve come, which then guides the strategies for the coming year.  YearCompass enables us to reflect on last year’s goals and assess our progress as we develop a new definition of yearly success. Confidence is knowing our numbers and developing a roadmap, not a moving target. And as Molly points out, reflection is not just an end-of-the-year strategy but can happen monthly or even weekly. Adopting reflection as a business tool lets us process feelings, recognize wins, and move forward with clarity.

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• YearCompass

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Contact Molly Beyer: 

• MKBeyerBooks.com
• MKBeyerConsults.com
• Facebook: MK Beyer Books
  
  

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In this episode, host Molly Beyer explores why the “messy middle” of business is a lot like learning to surf: because it’s where success doesn’t necessarily follow a straight line, but comes in waves. This is part of what Molly calls the growth edge, where we realize, in uncomfortable and sometimes disorienting moments, that the familiar routine we relied on is no longer working. The growth edge is not a crisis, however, and Molly’s advice will help us navigate the incoming waves with ease.

The growth edge often shows up as resistance. Growth edges can look like avoidance, and perhaps even perfectionism or dissociation. Behind that is usually a strategy that’s no longer working. Maybe we’re trying to scale or hire, and control issues come up. Or maybe marketing for a new offer is stuck. Molly discusses what happens internally during these moments and how we need to re-focus our energies and narrow our zone of genius to ensure the right people are doing the right work for our business, including us.

Growth isn’t just tactical; it’s emotional, so fear of failure and imposter syndrome often creep in when the waves roll higher. Molly assures us that the surfing metaphor is accurate since surfing the growth edge may require us to learn to fall and simply get back up and keep riding. She has practical advice on how to expand support systems, balance challenge with capacity, and avoid fighting the waves when we see them coming. This episode is a space where Molly helps us identify what to do when our routines stop working and we need to grow, but are feeling overwhelmed.

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Contact Molly Beyer: 

• MKBeyerBooks.com
• MKBeyerConsults.com
• Facebook: MK Beyer Books
  
  

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In this episode, host Molly Beyer takes us back to basics to talk about spreadsheets. The basics are often where the most powerful shifts happen, so it’s an important look back. Spreadsheets for bookkeeping are used as either a supplement to accounting software or as a full-on substitute. Molly unveils the reasons why she believes a good ol’ spreadsheet can give a level of control and customization that sometimes the best software can’t match.  

Using accounting software where it makes sense is a great idea: the integrations and reporting features are incredible for a growing business. So why also maintain a spreadsheet? Molly gets into detail on four reasons why spreadsheets are beneficial, even if accounting software is also in use: 1. Flexibility and customization, 2. Ease of use and accessibility, 3. Cost effectiveness, and 4. Perfect for simple bookkeeping needs. 

Molly explores the scenarios in which spreadsheets make an ideal supplement to accounting software and why. She points out the things accounting software does well, the things spreadsheets do well, and where a spreadsheet can truly fill in a gap that software might be missing. Most of all, Molly wants to assure business owners who are still exporting QuickBooks into Excel that they’re doing it right. After all, as she says, the best bookkeeping system is the one that will be used. 

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Contact Molly Beyer: 

• MKBeyerBooks.com
• MKBeyerConsults.com
• Facebook: MK Beyer Books
  
  

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In this episode, host Molly Beyer explores the reality that impact and income can be partners and not opposing forces. It can be a struggle for heart-led business owners to reconcile doing well financially with doing good through their work. Molly explains how you can still do good while doing well. When done intentionally, impact and income can and should co-exist to strengthen each other. 

The purpose of a business should guide business decisions, both in how money is earned and how the business presents itself in the world. Molly describes how knowing the why of a business becomes a compass we can use to build meaning around margins and efficiency. Impact becomes part of the business model. Molly uses examples such as Toms Shoes building an entire business around the idea of buy one, give one, or Patagonia’s outdoor clothing and gear model, which also invests in worker wellbeing and environmental activism. 

Molly talks about how to match the impact to income models, how to bake company values right into the business, and explains why services help both clients and employees. Setting dual goals helps the business work towards both financial targets and impact metrics that track the social changes desired. She talks about SROI, Social Return On Investment tools, and how aligning business with purpose lets us think differently about innovation. Molly advises letting clients, collaborators, and the community understand the mission so everyone becomes part of it.

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Contact Molly Beyer: 

• MKBeyerBooks.com
• MKBeyerConsults.com
• Facebook: MK Beyer Books
  
  

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In this episode, host Molly Beyer talks about the difference between client-led and client-centric business models. They may sound the same, but they are very different in practice. Molly explores the differences between them and points out how understanding these nuances can help business owners build more effective systems and deliver experiences that truly resonate with clients. Avoiding burnout and being zeroing in on what works best for clients is the goal.

Client-led is exactly that: clients are in the driver’s seat. They’re the ones steering and pointing out where to go, and the business owner is the navigator and facilitator following their lead. Client-centric means the business owner has designed the entire vehicle with the client in mind. Seats are adjusted to fit them, the music is their favorite, snacks they like are in the glove box; the business owner has anticipated their every need. Molly breaks down how these differences play out in real time and when each one works best.

Molly’s intent in illustrating why client-led and client-centric function differently is to ensure that businesses don’t lean too far one way or the other. Being aware of how each business model affects clients and the business owner means that a combination of both models can be used to streamline the business operations into what works best for every situation. It allows for flexibility and evolution in ways that make the business efficient for all involved.

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Contact Molly Beyer: 

• MKBeyerBooks.com
• MKBeyerConsults.com
• Facebook: MK Beyer Books
  
  

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In this episode, host Molly Beyer addresses a topic that should get more attention than it does: intuitive pricing. While it’s especially relevant for service providers, intuitive pricing is valuable for any business where no two clients or projects are the same. Pricing does not have to be fixed. Molly explains how pricing can be fluid and intuitive, and the benefit of such flexibility to solopreneurs who are often plagued with either underpricing or overpricing.   

Intuitive pricing, as defined by Molly, is the practice of setting or adjusting pricing based on experience, gut instinct, and real-time feedback. It takes the place of more formal pricing models or competitor benchmarks. It’s not winging it, but is instead a human-centred approach that allows for adapting while staying connected to the business’s numbers. One of the benefits is that it’s not just flexible, but strategic.

Molly identifies the benefits as giving a business owner room to say yes or no with confidence, building a responsive business instead of a rigid one, allowing for reconciliation and support in terms of bookkeeping, and making flexible decisions with confidence. She also outlines the risks and how to mitigate them. When setting intuitive pricing, Molly advises creating a flexible framework that allows for ranges instead of rigid rates, and to keep notes on what was quoted and what worked. This episode highlights a more instinctive approach to pricing that allows each business owner freedom to meet clients where their needs are.

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Contact Molly Beyer: 

• MKBeyerBooks.com
• MKBeyerConsults.com
• Facebook: MK Beyer Books
  
  

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In this episode, host Molly Beyer unpacks the world of tax professionals and explains exactly who tax professionals are, what they can do for an entrepreneur or business, and how to choose the right one. It isn’t just people staring down a stack of IRS letters who will find this information useful: understanding who can assist with business tax financials is key for anyone starting out, growing a business, or just wanting to feel more confident about finances. 

There are four main types of tax professionals, and Molly explains the most common types and how they operate. CPA is the most common tax professional designation encountered. CPAs are licensed by their state boards and have rigorous certification standards. They don’t just do taxes; they can also help with financial planning, business strategy, and audits. The next type is an EA, or Enrolled Agent. They pass an IRS exam or have worked for the IRS, and are a great option if needs are mainly tax-related. Tax attorneys and non-credentialed tax preparers are the final two types of professionals. Tax attorneys are the highest level of tax representation available, and the most expensive. Non-credentialed tax preparers, on the other hand, are individuals who prepare taxes but don’t hold a formal license.

Molly offers insight into when each type of professional is most useful, their relative cost, and when to consider a higher tier of professional versus when a reliable non-credentialed tax preparer is perfectly fine. Whatever the need, she recommends building a relationship with a tax professional before tax season and asking the right questions to stay informed on what’s best for every stage of business needs.

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Contact Molly Beyer: 

• MKBeyerBooks.com
• MKBeyerConsults.com
• Facebook: MK Beyer Books
  
  

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In this episode, host Molly Beyer talks about self-help, the drive for continuous improvement, and when it crosses a line to become a stealthy form of self-sabotage. Lifelong learning is a good thing: development, both personally and professionally, is necessary for growth and confidence. But where does it become too much? When we start to measure ourselves against impossible standards and begin to feel like we’re never doing enough. Molly explores where this line is and how to avoid it.

Perfectionism, according to Molly, can be used as protection. If we keep working on ourselves, we avoid ever actually showing up, which is a common trap she sees grow within self-help. But perfectionism is a moving target and not a prerequisite for success. She also names obsessing over self-improvement as a common trap. We reach a point of constant self-improvement obsession and analysis of self without actually doing anything different. The third trap is self-care as avoidance, the fourth is negative self-talk disguised as reflection, and the final trap is losing sight of the bigger picture. 

Molly breaks down what each of the five traps looks like in the workplace and how they work against us. Too much self-help works until it doesn’t, until it breaks down and leaves us in a shame spiral. Molly asks, “What if we’re not broken?”. She offers ways we can gently and intentionally break the cycle of self-sabotage. One of the key points is to ask ourselves if we’d talk to a loved one the way we talk to ourselves. She has sound advice and direction on how to break free from each of the five traps, designed to help us remember that we don’t have to earn our worth through endless self-improvement. We don’t have to hustle for our healing. 

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Contact Molly Beyer: 

• MKBeyerBooks.com
• MKBeyerConsults.com
• Facebook: MK Beyer Books
  
  

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