On today’s podcast, I’m sharing more insight and behind-the-scenes information about closing down The Bold Profit Academy about a year ago. 

Life has certainly been different and there are more changes coming. I want to talk about how life is going for me, a big decision about this podcast, and what’s coming next. 

So let’s dive in.

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Today we are discussing what we want to say “No, thank you” to our parent or our mentor for. This is especially important to explore if like many of my clients operate family-owned businesses. That means that they either work with family or they bought or inherited a business from a parent or, like 48.1% of entrepreneurs, they had a parent who was a small business owner, or maybe you've had a mentor, that can apply to you too.

It is a great exercise for closure, for healing, and for really stopping some of those intrusive thoughts that plague small business owners today. The narratives play over and over in their head, but you realize it is not your voice that is talking to you. It is distinctly the voice of a parent, of a mentor, of somebody else, and you are carrying around someone else's perspectives, and they are impacting all the decisions you make in your business.

They're getting in your way.

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This is part one of what I would consider an essential two-part podcast that has an exercise that I want you to do, especially if you have a family-owned business and are considering working with me at some point.

This will be a task I give you when working with me. It is simple, powerful, and incredibly frustrating for some people. Listen to the end of this podcast, where I will give you part one of the exercise.

This exercise is about really looking at your mentor or your parents, if this is a family-owned business, or even if you were raised by a small business owner, and now you own a different small business, which is about 48.1%. 48.1% of entrepreneurs said they grew up in a family business.

Now, that is a statistic from 2009, and I searched and searched and searched to see if I could find a regular, I mean, a more updated statistic. Unfortunately, I couldn't, so we're going to roll with that 48% of small business owners were raised by small business owners. That is me raising my hand.

So whether you are currently still working with family, whether you have bought or inherited a business from your family, or whether you're in that 48% like me, you have picked up plenty of beliefs, mindsets, perspectives, whatever you want to call them, from family that you bring into your business every single day. Some of them serve us. Others, not so much. Sometimes they can even be downright toxic.

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We are taking a step into the Wayback Machine today with a much beloved and much-downloaded podcast episode from 2018 with my dad, Elliot. Now, I spent five years working for him, but never took over the business.

I think that my father was really great at encouraging me to follow my own passion, which I really appreciate. However, Elliot, my dad, has been a great mentor to me where everything throughout my life was annoyingly a lesson.

Now, that doesn't mean our relationship was without its ups and downs, dramas, and disappointments. I always like to share that when people hear me talking to my dad because we have both worked really hard to have the relationship that we have today.

I'm replaying this because 100% of the businesses that I work with right now are family owned. Given the data on family-owned businesses, there is an excellent chance that maybe you have a family-owned business.

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I want you to take a moment to really tune in. Today, it's just you and me, and I have something important to share. It's a message that might not have reached you before, but it's one you deserve to hear loud and clear: You are worthy of running a highly profitable business, and it doesn't have to be complicated.

I've been hearing from so many people – clients, colleagues, potential clients – who are pouring their hearts and souls into their businesses. They care deeply, perhaps too deeply. They're bending over backward to please everyone, from clients to employees, and it's taking a toll.

But here's the thing: You don't have to prove your worthiness through over-delivering or over-caring. You're already a good person, a caring person. You don't need to contort yourself to fit some ideal of what a business owner should be.

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Today, we are covering what it looks like to pay yourself at the various stages of business, and really, there’s no one way to do this at all. But what I think would be helpful is if I shared with you my journey and my experience paying myself at these different levels, so maybe that jogs something for you. Maybe it elicits some curiosity, a question, a different way to think about things, or what have you.

The first thing that I want to say is that starting a small business is actually a really privileged thing to do. Because you are never guaranteed a paycheck. When you own a small business, you are never guaranteed that you are going to be able to pay yourself.

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On today's episode, we are pulling from 40-year-old research from the Harvard Business Review, published in 1983 by Churchill and Lewis. We're walking through the various stages of business so that you can get a good understanding of where you are, what your problems might be, what mistakes you might be making, and, really, what you can look forward to.

Last week, we talked about startups and growth. I said that most business owners are stuck in growth. They go on to have this mom-and-pop type business, or they've just created themselves a job, or worse, they have really stunted any ability to go beyond where they are. It's a place where people languish.

This is where they go out of business, and this is where they decide to go back and get a job and work for someone else, which is normal, but it doesn't have to be that way. There's actually a better place for everybody to be headed.

That is what we are talking about today. We're going to go over the last three stages of business, one of which is the most overlooked stage and also happens to be my favorite. 

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Today’s episode dives deep into the crucial alignment of business activities and their proper timing. It's a guide for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs who swear by the mantra of not just surviving but thriving in their ventures. Commitment to this journey is akin to marathon training – a progressive adaptation rather than a sprint. 

I was thinking about some lessons that I try to teach my kids, and the one thing that I have been talking to them about for ages is the concept of having a good intention but being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting into trouble. If you're a parent, I'm sure you have had the wrong place, wrong time conversation with your kids. 

That's when I realized that business owners are doing the same thing or similar. They have good intentions, but it is the wrong project or action at the wrong time in their business.

We're going to discuss the importance of understanding the startup phase, what it really takes, and how to ensure you’re not jumping ahead of yourself, leading to avoidable pitfalls. Plus, I'll be talking about an exclusive offer that might be the helping hand your business needs to elevate from grinding gears to cruising altitude.

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How do you know if you're successful? How do you know if your business is successful? I had this funny moment the other week when I told my local business community to stop sending me referrals of businesses that are riding the Hot Mess Express.

There were about 30 of us there, and we had a really good chuckle, but since then, I've had people coming up to me saying that they think they're a hot mess when they actually aren't who I was referring to. I had this moment where I was like, “Wow, people's perception of themselves is really off.”

It was interesting because there were a number of seasoned business owners who I see as a benchmark of success, who came up to me after that hot mess express comment, and said that they felt like they were a hot mess. It seems like small business owners have no idea how to gauge whether or not they're doing a good job, which makes so much sense

Keeping a small business afloat is no easy feat. It's a rollercoaster ride filled with uncertainty, discomfort, and the constant need to embrace the unknown. As small business owners, we often find ourselves craving timelines and deadlines, desperate for a roadmap to guide us through the tumultuous seas of entrepreneurship.

In the last six months, my own business has witnessed significant changes. I made the tough decision to close a group program that had been a cornerstone of my business's success over the past five years. This episode will provide insight into the timeline of these changes and how they reflect a real-life pivot in a small business.

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Let's connect over something I've been hearing a lot lately. Picture this: small business owners like you and me, bustling through their days, juggling tasks, and feeling like they're stuck in the trenches. Sound familiar? Trust me, you're not alone.

I've been chatting with owners of businesses bringing in over a million dollars annually, with teams of ten or more. Whether they're in trades like contractors, HVAC, electricians, plumbers, service repair companies, or professional services like accountants, attorneys, and financial planners, their struggles are remarkably similar. From constant interruptions to the nagging feeling that their business relies too heavily on them, the frustrations are real.

They also have the same challenges around managing employees, measuring work, their time, and how they allot their time. It's all really similar frustrations around the fact that they are always in the trenches, doing work that they have paid someone else to do, frazzled by the constant interruptions from employees and clients.

But here's the good news: it doesn't have to be this way. Last time, we talked about systems and processes. Today, it's all about workflows and automation—the keys to unlocking your time and reclaiming your sanity.

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