The Ops Authority

If you've ever wondered if there's a way to find a better fit for your business future while also creating an incredible experience for your clients, I've got good news.

Today I am interviewing one of my rockstar students, Claire Grace. She will be talking about her journey and how her life has been impacted since joining the Director of Operations (DOO) certification program. She shares how the certification allowed her to create a next level experience for her clients while also being a better fit for her life.

For the full show notes, visit theopsauthority.com/podcast/116.

Meet Claire

Claire is a Certified Director of Operations and founder of The Assistant Quarters a UK VA & OBM Agency. Claire's journey to starting her own business is typical of many others. She had her first child in 2013 and just as her daughter was about to start school, she was made redundant from her 15+ year corporate career in Banking.

That unexpected turn of events gave her the nudge (and financial buffer!) to finally launch her own business as a Virtual Assistant. The goal, to work with ambitious female founders, be more present as a mother with the flexibility of working on her terms, without the stresses of a London commute.

Since launching in 2017, Claire quickly started to grow a team and rather organically grew The Assistant Quarters into a small VA Agency. In turn, transitioning her own 1:1 client offering from that of VA to OBM/ Ops Manager by bringing together a strong and skilled team of VAs with a range of specialisms to support clients to handle day-to-day ops support and implementation. Drawing on her experience of managing remote teams and her time in Project Management and Business Management roles, she realized her real passion was sparked in her work with clients to define their business strategy, nail their business operations and build strong teams.

Whilst on maternity leave with her second child in 2020 during lockdown, Claire signed up to the DOO Program, knowing that she and her business were ready to grow even further. She currently works with a small number of clients 1:1 as their DOO and offers her popular Business Freedom Formula Strategy Sessions. The DOO Programme has renewed her confidence and energy and she has exciting plans to further grow her Agency in 2021 and beyond.

What is your background?

• Was with the same company for 15 years, in all different kinds of roles: project management, ops roles, and executive administration
• Her hour commute was becoming difficult due to having a young child
• Banking in the UK goes through routine restructuring, and once her job was made redundant, she took the opportunity to look into becoming a VA
• She hasn't looked back, and would never go back to a corporate job
• Was solo for about 3-4 months, then hired an accountant and an associate around month 5

What was the journey from starting out as a VA to hiring your first associate to starting the DOO program?

• Came across the concept of an online business manager (OBM), and felt more aligned with that skill set rather than a VA
• Has been in business for 4.5 years
• Came across the DOO program and felt aligned with that skill set and it seemed like the next logical step

What intrigued you about the DOO certification?

• The opportunity to uplevel her strategy sessions
• Using the Strategic Mapping she would be able to enhance this service
• Felt like a much better fit for where she wanted to head after the birth of her 2nd child

"This felt like such a much better fit for where I was heading after having my second child." - Claire Grace

How did you integrate the Strategic Mapping™ with your new and existing clients?

• Initially started to talk with her current clients, and offered it to a few at a discounted rate to test the process
• Having the framework bolstered her confidence when she needed it
• Became much easier to sell confidently
• Went in depth with the script and the process from the beginning and kept refining it until it was her core service

How does the Strategic Mapping™ work as a product in your agency?

• A new client won't come on board until they have a strategic mapping session with her unless they just need basic VA services
• If they are ready for an OBM or DOO, then this service is positioned up front so they can be really clear on what their priorities are
• Her sweet spot is in team hiring and business systems operations
• She secures the client, delivers the strategic mapping, then highlights some of the additional services they could benefit from. They will get a proposal for DOO short term supports, or accountability assistance, or an introduction into the team if they need VA support.

"There is no better way to scope a project than going through a Strategic Mapping™." - Natalie Gingrich

Was there anything within the HR module that has really changed the way that you show up as an agency owner?

• She used to manage a remote team in her corporate career
• Going through the HR model made her reflect on how she could improve and how she wanted her team culture to be and how she wanted to show up as a leader

What gave you the permission to say yes to this investment?

• When she was first introduced to the program, lockdown had taken quite a hit on her ability to work, and she had to take a leap of faith
• She had faith in her connections' feedback about the program and read other testimonials and felt like this would be a good fit
• She wanted to be surrounded by other OBMs and VAs who were leveling up, and a business coach who specialized in operations

What is next for you?

• Wants to design a membership or course that will help people who have gone through strategic mapping to take the next steps

Any advice for those thinking of joining the DOO certification program?

• Go for it! It has been the best investment she has made
• Have faith that coaches are there to support you, especially if you fall behind in the modules
• Don't just think of it as the just a program and certification, there is an entire community there to support you

"I wouldn't have the business I have now if I hadn't made this leap." - Claire Grace

Connect with Claire

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Previous Episodes Mentioned

Episode 113: Results Matter: Why Quality Programs Focus on the Results of Their Students

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This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/116.

What's wrong with finding a guru, and following their business-in-a-box model?

Today we are talking about why it's important to build a business that fits both your personality and your skills. We are opening up a new series for the next few weeks that will help you to create a vision for the types of business models that are available to you.

Two things you must remember:

• No 2 business are the same
• Your business will not be the same 6 months from now

The Best Business For You

As a young girl, I was raised by parents who had a brick and mortar business in the advertising specialities sector. When I dreamt of what type of business I may have one day, I literally couldn't see past a product based brick and mortar business. Of course commerce has changed a ton since then, but I limited myself to that style of making money. My vision followed a model I trusted.

As I went to school, a theme of helping came out, and the careers I had were in nursing, fitness, teaching, and leading teams. I explored these and landed at a fortune 150 company for 15 years, where I did a lot of leading, mentoring, and developing talent. These were roles that complimented my soft skills, and I flourished in this work.

Luckily, I had the opportunity to walk away from that phase and when I did I immediately knew I was going to have my own business.

"I craved the ability to create a legacy for my family as well as flexibility in work hours."

I flirted with the idea of a brick and mortar business because I knew the power of product models. But when I did deep work and thought about what fueled me in my professional career, it was service and using my soft skills of empathy, leadership, relationships, and development. What better way to leverage these through a service based model?

Then the online world was presented to me.

"I started to look at the entrepreneurial world with much more complexity because it wasn't just service based or brick and mortar.. there was a land of new options available to me."

There were also dozens of people willing to take my money to teach me their model, framework, or path to 6 figures.

I have started, grown, and scaled The Ops Authority in complete alignment with who I am, my gifts, what I desire, and the way I work best. I have built my own business which is different from any other person's business. It's completely mine and this is exactly what I want for you.

This series is about leveraging your personality, soft skills, and your innate way of working, to create a business that compliments you.

Assessments

We love quizzes and assessments because they take a peek into our personality. Think about Myers Briggs, Disc, Enneagram, 16 Personalities, The Hogan Assessment and many more. These results show you more about your psychology and your behavioral tendencies. By knowing these parts of your personality, you can use this as data to help you design your specific business model.

For example, if you're more of an introvert, I recommend a 1:1 model. Marketing may be an uphill battle because you don't want to be front and center. With a 1:1 model, you don't have to have as many sales events and with just a few conversations, you can fill your business up. This model allows you to focus on fewer people and deeply serve. It also means your churn will be less. This is frequently what our Directors of Operations (DOO) choose, especially as they're settling into business ownership. This is called a retainer model.

Something else that can help you become clear is the Kolbe index. This is different because it has nothing to do with personality but everything to do with action. The Kolbe looks specifically at your conative mind, which is the "doing" part of your brain. We're going to dive deeper into the Kolbe system next week, but for starters it looks at 4 modes: fact finding, follow through, quick start, and implementation.

"Personality may change, and will change over time but conation doesn't."

If you're a "quick start" on the Kolbe index, you probably have more vision and volume of ideas than others. It might be best to build a business with a supportive team to help you carry out those ideas. You also might leverage a funnel or have multiple offers, because you like complexity.

If you combine the two examples I've given you, an introvert and a quick start (looking at personality and natural action) this individual could create a business that will leverage paid and organic traffic to get the right prospects into a funnel to have a sales call, rather than someone who speaks on stages to build connection. See how that works?

"I'm on fire to help our community build a business that aligns to them and their values but at the same time leveraging the vast tools available to us rather than copying someone else's model."

For now you can learn a little bit more about the four business models available to service providers by taking our quiz at the theopsauthority.com/quiz.

"The right business model will bring you faster success, less stress, and more ease and confidence."

Weekly Ops Activity

Take the quiz and let us know your top result in our private Facebook community. I can't wait to see what your results are!

Other Ways to Connect with Me:

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Private Facebook Community

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This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/115.

What do you do when a client relationship goes south? How do you go about ending a client relationship on good terms?

Today, we are talking about a part of business that can be scary and intimidating; how to break up with a client. All of us will eventually come across a situation we need to get out of, and I'm going to give you a 10-step process on how to escape a relationship that is no longer healthy.

For the full show notes, go to theopsauthority.com/podcast/114.

Why You Should Break Up

Similar to dating, sparks fly at the beginning. But at some point (in some relationships), they stop. It doesn't happen overnight, but something changes and you reach a point where you have to make a decision. Do I stay or do I go?

Now, let's shift this scenario to business. At some point in every business relationship you'll reach a point where it's unhealthy, unfulfilling, clashes with your values, or holds you back from your greater potential. This is when you begin asking yourself if you should be in this relationship. When those feelings come over you, you begin looking for your exit plan. Today I'm going to guide you through how to professionally and respectfully exit the relationship.

How You Should Break Up 1. Get Clear on Why Sometimes this is obvious, and other times it takes some introspection. I'm a fact finder and get confidence from pros and cons lists. You should start this process by knowing why you're leaving. 2. Review Your Terms

Review the terms of your contract. What date is the contractual period ending? Do either of you have terms that you need to be aware of? Even if there are terms, you can still proceed.

3. Firm Up Your Exit Date

You know the business, the terms, and the client, so you have the info you need to determine the date you'll be leaving. Firm this up before disclosing your exit so you aren't talked into or out of anything.

4. Define What You Will Deliver

This is key and has been my differentiator in keeping former clients as referral partners and advocates of my work. Create a plan that outlines what you'll accomplish in the stated time period (from step 3.)

"You rock project plans and your exit needs one."

The clearer you are with what you'll accomplish, the less emotional it will be. You'll also be more productive.

5. Know Your Audience

Surely you've seen your client on good, bad, challenging, and successful days. Think about how they deal with difficult or tough conversations. I don't know of many that want to lose amazing talent like you. As we prepare for the next step, anticipate how this "break up" conversation will go down.

6. Prepare for Conversation

You've gathered the facts and done some thinking. Now it's time for the planning. Most often, I script these out:

• Why I'm leaving
• What date I'm done
• Last payment info
• What they can expect from me in the timeframe
• Transition plan

7. How You Will Deliver

Schedule a face to face meeting or phone conversation. Email or text may be an option, but keep in mind that it's not the most professional.

8. Have the Conversation

You've got this! Stick to the plan. It's a trusted plan with plenty of uses behind it. Of course you should be prepared for a response. With such a detailed plan, I've rarely run across a heated conversation.

"If you deliver with details and empathy, it increases your chances of being understood."

If it does go south, cut it short and follow up with an email.

9. Deliver on Your Promise

Here's where you turn into an undeniable professional! Regardless of why you're leaving the clients business, remember the plan that you communicate and deliverables you promised. Meet and exceed every single one.

"Be a woman of your word: do what you say, and deliver with excellence."

10. Send a Note

This is extra, but something I think is necessary. At the end of the period, send them a handwritten note. Thank them for the opportunity, and outline all of the wins you have accomplished together, and any other anecdotal feedback.

Breaking up is hard to do, no doubt. But this process has helped me to stay firm and overdeliver while wrapping up. I always tell my Director of Operations community that we're elevating the expectations of service providers and operations professionals. This is one part of how we can accomplish that!

Weekly Ops Activity Go into the Ops Insiders group and tell us: how can you articulate why you are leaving to a client so they hear it and don't take offense?

Other Ways to Connect with Me:

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Private Facebook Community

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This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/114.

When you decide to join an online course, what convinces you to invest? How do you determine if you're going to get that precious return on investment?

Today we are talking about how the best online programs are obsessed with results. There are a lot of different things we can look at as consumers of online products, courses, coaches, or masterminds… but the thing you need to do the most active research on is the results that they are getting for their customers.

For the full show notes, go to theopsauthority.com/podcast/113.

Evidence of Real Results

Results are the key ingredient that you need to consider when you are looking for the right program to invest in. It is far too easy to fall into the marketing traps of a one-size-fits-all formula.

Ask yourself:

• Does this solve a pain point that I'm currently having?
• Am I spending my resources because of the amazing marketing of the program or the attractiveness of the leader?
• If the leader/teacher is an icon, are we taking the time to actually get to know them?
• Does their teaching style resonate with you?
• Do you like/respect them?
• Does their presentation allow you to learn?

Make sure that you are purchasing for all the right reasons. You need to truly connect with the leader, but mostly you want to critically review the outcomes that they promise. What do you get by working with them/participating with them? What kind of results have they helped generate for their previous students?

When I look for training/coaches/programs, this is the biggest gap I see. This is why I have been hyper vigilant about defining and tracking the results for our Director of Operations (DOO) certification program.

In my path of learning and development, one of the things that was lacking was the gap in the promise of results. We have done this in a couple ways in the DOO program:

Every student has a coach

Every single student is assigned a coach that they meet with one-on-one each week. That coach fills in the gaps and serves as a resource for any questions that come up in the recorded trainings. This is related to the ROI that our students are having.

Experts in Key Areas

We provide expert coaches in key areas, specifically in the areas of operations, leadership, and communication. Experts address the specific situations, questions, concerns that students have and this has made a big difference in getting specific (rather than generic) responses.

Develop Milestones

We took the time to develop milestones in each of the tracks of our program. There are two different tracks in our program:

Employee track: If you are an employee in someone else's business, they can sponsor you to come through the program. There are 6 different milestones to accomplish to make sure you stay on track, and they are focused on confidence and leadership.

Business Builder track: This is for the service provider who wants to build a business and have multiple streams of income or multiple clients at one time. This track includes an additional 6 milestones to hit. We define milestones so that the business builder can achieve exactly what they want when they join us.

Ask for Feedback

We continuously ask for feedback as people are going through the process and at the end of the program, relating to the content, coaches, and curriculum design. We make feedback an important part of the experience so that the students want to give us feedback. Since we were getting feedback more regularly, we started to make real time additions and adjustments based on what students need.

Facebook Community

This is a real authentic group where people come in and ask questions, and are vulnerable with their experiences. It is a guarded safe group, and I love the way I see our community leveraging this asset. We are able to coach them through overwhelming situations that they don't feel like they can figure out by themselves.

They also have true access to me. So many programs advertise access to the leader, but once you get inside, that leader is nowhere to be found. This is one of the reasons we set a maximum number for each of the cohorts. I want to make sure I have access to know everyone's situation, and goals.

We build real, deep relationships with several layers… not just with your coach.

Give Access for Life

I've had lots of advice on how to do this, but I want to make sure that students can come back to the content that they start to lack confidence in. They can come back and have access for life, and as we make improvements to the content, they get those.

"It's important to me that results don't stop when teaching stops."

We want this to be a community that they can leverage, because they continuously pour into it and point out the gaps. This is the breeding ground for a strong program as well as results for our students.

"I am obsessed with over-delivering and ensuring that our students get their return on their time, energy, vision, and investment."

By The Numbers

We require results, and we only work with people who are hungry for them! Here are the real results that we have gotten for our students over the last few cohorts.

• 82% of our students have achieved up-leveling the avatar they desire
• 85% of our students have walked away with new offers
• 71% Get a full ROI within 6 months
• Students are bringing an average of $16,275 into their business within 6 months
• Our satisfaction rate is 92%, with over 200 students
• Our completion rate is 96% (as opposed to the online industry average of 15%!)

Weekly Ops Activity

Check out the program! We are accepting applications for round 11 right now. If you have questions, you can ask them in our Facebook group!

Other Ways to Connect with Me:

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Private Facebook Community

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This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/113.

Do you want to hear more about the Director of Operations (DOO) certification program from someone who has gone through the program?

My guest today is certified DOO Sarah Khan, who has come through our Director of Operations certification program. Sarah has the ability to help people with leadership and business development, and I know you will enjoy her wisdom!

For the full show notes, visit theopsauthority.com/podcast/112

Meet Sarah

Sarah Khan is an operations strategist and consultant committed to busting the BS in the online service space. Her expertise is in bringing clarity to chaos by helping ex-corporate, visionary women business owners identify and prioritize clear action steps to achieve their goals, while managing all the moving pieces of their business. But her passion lies in rewiring corporate & employee mindset: the myths and "shoulds" of what it means to run a successful online business and the mental and emotional transition of moving from corporate employee to business owner in your own right. Through her grounded, pragmatic approach to business and leadership development, she sees through the FOMO, cuts out the "buts" and holds you accountable to your vision.

Sarah was in corporate for 15 years in the project management and executive coaching space, and then transitioned to higher education. When she became a mother, she was laid off, then laid off again after she had her second child. This made her want to rethink her devotion to her corporate career, but she didn't consider entrepreneurship. She started dabbling in the online space as a VA, pivoted into the OBM space, and eventually made her way into the DOO certification program.

Interested in the DOO certification program? Fill out an application.

Connect with Sarah

Workbook

Facebook

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Other Ways to Connect with Me:

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Private Facebook Community

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This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/112.

Do you have trouble communicating honestly with your clients? Do you wonder what piece of the puzzle you are missing when it comes to building healthy, long-lasting client relationships?

Today we are talking about my #1 essential ingredient to having healthy mature client relationships. This is what so many people dream of, because their experiences are the exact opposite. They are used to unhealthy and immature client relationships.

Join us for a 5-day series coming up that's all about scope creep. (You know, when your client(s) take over your entire life, or a project goes from simple to stressed?) Register here to join us on August 30th!

Building Healthy Relationships with Candor

The word "candor" changed a lot of things for me. I have a long history of rising into formal and informal leadership roles, and behind all of that success is the concept of candor. I once had a tough boss who asked me to be less candid, and because of that I began to examine how I could grow in my career while still honoring and leveraging my gifts.

"Candor allowed me to build deep relationships, get authentic buy-in, helped me establish an open door policy, and be a respected leader."

Candor is the quality of being open and honest in expression, and it was my special sauce. The problem is that it can get a bad rap because it is easily misunderstood and can imply that you are sassy or condescending. But it is the #1 ingredient in my success in having long healthy mature client relationships!

"If I'm not going to be honest, direct, frank, or open… how could I ever truly be an authentic partner?"

Candor has enabled me to build solid relationships and two-way communication with my leader and the teams I'm supporting. Two-way conversations are a huge piece of what we encourage in our Director of Operations (DOO) program because I believe it has the power to keep you happy, fulfilled, and to grow your business.

When it feels like you are going different directions in your relationships, candor will bring you back. When things need to be addressed, these conversations can happen with much greater ease. Scope creep will happen in both client relationships and projects, and when it does… candor is queen. I am convinced that we have high turnover in the online space because there is a lack of candor happening.

Are You Candid?

Check in with yourself. Are you able to express your thoughts? Are you able to be open and honest with your expression? Continuously ask yourself this question.

Even in tough moments ask yourself what can you do to be honest and open? Sometimes it means delivering a hard message, but just because it's difficult doesn't mean it needs to be done in a negative way. You can still come with solutions, and kindness. I want to make sure that people don't assume that candor has a negative connotation.

How Can You Add Candor?

What can you do to add candor to your life?

• Pick clients you align with. You ultimately get to choose who you will work with. You will naturally have greater ease when you are serving clients whom you align with.
• Be bold and address gaps you are seeing. Take the reins and address the gaps, opportunities, shortcomings, and feedback.
• Have more conversations. Continuously get in front of your leader, and have thought provoking conversations, offer course corrections, and bring solutions. Have these conversations so they can begin to hear you better. Coach them and partner with them.
• Reporting is fundamental for any service provider. Your leader wants to see what you have been up to, and it will facilitate conversations that should be rooted in candor.
• Ask for feedback. How are you doing, and where are your opportunities? By doing this, it shows them that you are open. Take that feedback and expand on it to make it a two-way conversation.

"The ability to be candid is directly related to the quality of your client relationships."

Don't forget to sign up for The Scope Creep Solution!

Weekly Ops Activity

Tell me how you practice candor with your clients. Join us at our private FB community, and share an example of how you show candor in your relationships.

Other Ways to Connect with Me:

Website

Private Facebook Community

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This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/111.

Do you find it hard to establish and communicate boundaries with your clients?

Today, we are going to talk about why you need to set boundaries with your client or employer. The most successful relationships that I've had are those in which I've been able to show up as my true self, and have established boundaries. Not only did I have to do the work to define the boundaries, but I had to effectively communicate those boundaries. When I was able to do both of those things, I experienced the most fulfilling business relationships I've ever had.

Why You Need Boundaries in Your Business

What is a boundary? It is a limit which you consider acceptable. There is no box you have to fit in, and there is no list of boundaries that will be applicable for everyone. You get to be the author, and your boundaries should come from what you value.

If you are thinking about all the relationships that haven't been successful, a common theme was probably that you were under-appreciated and overworked. Overworking never produces an overly satisfied party. The over-striving to impress someone sucks your time and energy.

"A healthy relationship lends itself to a productive, effective, and highly communicative partnership."

I want you to move from a place where you feel like an employee to the next level of that feeling of partnership. Being productive, effective, and communicative are met by having boundaries and having mutual respect for those boundaries. The win/win for you and your client is that you are able to show up and share your gifts, rather than carry the stress, questions, and worries.

So, let's dive a little deeper into why boundaries are so important in the work you do.

You Come First

You likely got into business because you want to do life on our own terms. You want to use your gifts and expertise and be able to show up authentically as you. These boundaries are going to be derivatives of your goals, dreams, values and vision.

You Deserve Balance

We all have talked for years about the concept of work-life balance. After all of that work, the work-life balance is still elusive… especially in a corporate environment. If you are stepping out and doing business on your own, I want you to be balanced. The closest you will get to that is going to be the place you are the happiest with yourself, your family, and your work.

Take as Much as You Give

You can easily get out of balance when you are overachieving or when you are not clear. Those things lead to overworking and burnout, which is the opposite of what balance looks like.

Your Mental Health Matters

If you feel stressed, can't sleep, or have a lack of exercise, all of this will lead to a place of poor mental health. These lack of boundaries can lead you to a place of being in a poor mental health space.

"No boundaries equals stress all of the time."

High Performing Connections and Relationships

When you have boundaries you have high performing connections and relationships. If you have been in a position where you have felt that you were never doing the right thing or never doing enough… it likely lacked an ease of communication. In this situation you will never have the feeling of high performance. When you have all of that chaos around you, it never feels like ease.

"When you have high performing connections, it builds a solid relationship and creates the best client relationships."

Stay Focused and Productive When Present

When you have boundaries, you will stay focused and productive when present. Time is a boundary for most of us. If you put a boundary on your time and couple it with a healthy communicative relationship, then when you show up to work you will be focused and productive. You won't have all of the emotions that will slow you down.

Avoid Uncomfortable Situations

When you have boundaries you avoid uncomfortable situations and misunderstandings. Your clients can't read your mind, so if you don't clearly communicate your boundaries, there is no way a client can uphold them. They won't be able to know if they are putting you in a situation that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Love Your Work

I want you to love your work, and honor your gifts. When you do this, you will experience less turnover. When you are seen for the great gifts you have, and are able to use your gifts, you will stay in that place for a lot longer. Finding new clients will always set you back, so minimize that by working with people who respect your boundaries.

"If you can go into a relationship where your boundaries are said, understood, and practiced, you will love your work in a different way."

If this topic resonates with you (it should if you're a service provider in any capacity), we have a 5-day series coming up and it's all about scope creep. You know, when the time when your client or clients take over your entire life or a project goes from simple to stressed? Register here.

Weekly Ops Activity

Evaluate the struggles you are currently experiencing with your client, write them down, and then write out a boundary statement that you can institute to minimize your struggle. Head over to the FB group and share it with us!

Other Ways to Connect with Me:

Website

Private Facebook Community

Facebook Page

Instagram

This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/110.

Have you had to deliver hard news to your client before? Do you shy away from being the bearer of bad news?

On today's episode, we are going to be talking about the 5 Ps to deliver an unexpected message to the leader of a business you are supporting. It is inevitable that throughout the course of a client relationship you are going to run across a situation that needs to be addressed. As a Director of Operations (DOO), part of the responsibility is to share feedback. The key is to be a communicator, and I hope these tips will equip you.

Imagine this scenario: you are on a team and the leader has shared a strategy and you and the team are working to implement. No one on the team believes in this strategy, and the buy in is super low. The hard part is that the leader has no idea. They are completely unaware that the team doesn't support it. Because the team is made up of "yes ma'am" people, they aren't empowered to speak up. However, you have the ability and the responsibility to have a conversation about these things.

This isn't easy, but it is necessary to be a leader in the business, for yourself, and in the industry. This type of leadership will set you apart, and you are changing the way the team or business sees you.

The 5 Ps

These are the 5 things I go through to make sure I deliver a message with ease, and deliver it in an approachable way where the leader will be open, and resist a negative response.

Perspective

Gather perspective, gather your facts, and look at the trends in the industry or their business. Look at the root issues and always stay objective. Make sure it's not just you who feels that something is off, and that you aren't framing questions in a way that gets you a response that will confirm your position.

Perspective will allow you to plan your message.

Plan

Pull the facts that you have gathered from the perspective phase and create a plan. You need to have a plan around delivering this information. During this phase you will utilize documentation, and crystallize the facts.

"It's helpful to have something that allows you to remove the emotionality from it."

Consider how the leader engages in conversation and feedback, and tailor the message around them. This is important to get the buy-in from the leader to be able to have a 2 way conversation.

Private

The delivery of this information needs to be private. If it is a group setting, it will feel like a pile-on, which never ends well. You want the leader to become aware of something so you two can collaborate to create change. Set up a meeting in one-on-one format and leverage the plan.

Proactive

This message is unexpected for the leader. How they receive it depends on the personality type of the leader and how coachable they are. Take faster action than you typically would. You want to take fast, planned, methodical, analytical action. In other words, don't spend too much time on fact finding. This is part of you stepping up as a leader on your team.

"Being proactive is key to open, honest, effective, communication."

Positive

You don't know how the leader will respond, so it's important to stay positive throughout the entire experience. Keep yourself in a positive place, meaning you are open minded and separate yourself from the message that you are delivering.

"Continue to be a positive force for the team after the message has been delivered."

Your job is to point out the gaps and the root problems, but at the end of the day, the leader gets to do what they want with that information.

Weekly Ops Activity

Head over to the Facebook group and let us know what are some of the scenarios when you delivered an unexpected piece of feedback to your client?

Other Ways to Connect with Me:

Website

Private Facebook Community

Facebook Page

Instagram

This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/109.

Could a development program such as the Director of Operations certification benefit an employer or client you are already working with?

Today we are answering a question that we are frequently asked: How can I leverage my leader to financially assist with the cost of the Director of Operations (DOO) certification program (or another professional development program)?

Present Conditions Needed

These are the conditions that need to be present before you ask anyone to contribute to your training and development.

1. You need to be in this business for at least 6 months, and have complete buy-in to the business. You need to deeply connect to the value and mission of the business you are supporting, and resonate with the leader's vision.
2. You have already brought success to this business, and have set/met goals for them and with them. You will need to provide documentation such as the metrics/reporting to prove that you have contributed to the success of this business.
3. Do you have the intention of staying with this business for the next year? Make sure you have honest intentions to bring this business a ROI if they are investing in you.
4. Do your research. Ensure that you are really invested in the program and the content that you are purchasing, and that it will be applicable to the growth plan of the company you are supporting.
5. Make sure you have time to commit to the program you are investing in.

The Proposal

You will need a proposal, and to be able to effectively communicate to the leader. What are the benefits of them sponsoring you? What are the benefits of you learning this new knowledge? This is the first thing you will need to include in your proposal.

Benefits of DOO program

1. The content is operations focused. We focus on 5 key pillars: strategy, key performance indicators, project management, human resources, and finances. These will all be translated into their business.
2. You will gain new ideas and frameworks that you can implement immediately.
3. You will be able to perform case studies and activities on their business within the first 2 weeks of the program.
4. You will have access to a very specific community of subject matter experts, which gives an extra layer of support
5. Retention rates: when businesses contribute to the people who have been good to them, the satisfaction rate is higher and leads to a mutually beneficial partnership, and less turnover
6. You get to walk away with greater responsibility, and the ability to manage and lead.

Create a job description

I want you to create a job description with the new skills you are going to learn. I want you to showcase how you are going to uplevel as a result of this training.

In the DOO program, as you go through each discipline you will be able to practice on your business so they will get immediate benefit.

The Facts

Research the program information:

• What are the dates
• When are thee meeting times
• How much time is needed from you
• The price

Check out directorofops.com to gather all of the necessary details.

The ROI

The next part of your proposal is to show the expected ROI. How can you show the leader how their investment will contribute to a greater profit margin? If you can do this it's very likely they will say yes.

• How will these skills contribute to the bottom line?
• How fast will you be able to get a full return on investment?

"We want the student, as well as their leader, to be overly satisfied."

All of this information is going to culminate into a formal proposal.

Communication

Set up a meeting to deliver the proposal, and have a follow up email ready to go. Communication is key during this entire process. Be confident, eager, and have your facts together so the leader will say "Heck Yes!"

Payment Piece

Propose that they pay some or all; you will need to use your discernment with this request. Be realistic and flexible, because there are a lot of different ways to do this.

Best of luck!

Weekly Ops Activity

Head over to the Facebook group and let us know if you have a leader in mind who you are planning on asking to contribute to your learning and development.

Other Ways to Connect with Me:

Website

Private Facebook Community

Facebook Page

Instagram

This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/108.

Have you mastered time management? If you're not sure, ask yourself if you have set aside enough time to work on your own business (hint: you need more than you think).

My guest today is Amanda Warfield, who is here today to talk about the realities and the struggles of time management as a service provider.

Meet Amanda

Amanda is a simplicity-focused time management & business strategist, and host of Chasing Simple - a podcast to help creative entrepreneurs uncomplicate their life and biz. She traded in her classroom lesson plans for speaking and educating creatives on sustainably enjoying work/life balance, and her clients and students have gained back time, energy, and mental clarity. Her mission is to help overwhelmed entrepreneurs take back their time and energy, so that they can stop trying to fit it all in, stop feeling guilty for spending time not being "productive" and stop feeling worn out and defeated at the end of each day. If her nose isn't in a book, you can find Amanda annoying her husband by slipping Disney into every conversation, or forcing her cats to snuggle.

One of the biggest problems she sees is that service providers fill their schedules with clients so they can make the money they want, but then they neglect their own businesses. This means they aren't growing, and they're stressed out.

A lot of times she hears people say that you should treat yourself as a client, but no matter what you do for your client, you are only doing one small part of their business. That is not enough time, and it leads to stress, overwhelm and burnout.

Four Steps To Time Management

1. Write down every single task that you have to do as the CEO of your business. Brain dump everything and make sure you include the things you outsource. Do this seasonally, because with every new season of life you have to have a new schedule. Give yourself a week or so to work on it.

"Whatever routines and schedules you create have an expiration date because when a new season of life comes along, they aren't going to work for you." - Amanda Warfield

2. Group like with like. Take the whole list and start categorizing things. What tasks are similar enough to put you in the same brain space? The brain loves repetitive tasks, which puts you in a groove.

3. Pull out a blank schedule. Write down when you are available to work. Instead of asking how long a task will take, ask yourself how long you have to work on the task.

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4. Plot those categories into your schedule block. Are you working all day every day for your clients? How much time does it leave for you to work on your own business? Go back to your goals and realistically judge how many clients you need to have to meet your income goals. Compare it to your schedule and see if you need to raise your prices or reconfigure your packages in order to raise your prices. If you are spending more than 3 days a week working on client work, you aren't going to have enough time to work on your own business.

One of the most common things that creeps up on us as entrepreneurs is marketing. We get overwhelmed with our podcast, blog, or youtube channel and experience burnout. If you can keep your client work to half of your work time, you will have time to work on the behind the scenes tasks. These are the things that will move the needle forward for you such as networking, administrative work, marketing, and visibility.

"Clients bring in the income, but they aren't actually moving the needle forward in your business." - Amanda Warfield

Taking on too many clients and then burning ourselves out is a challenge. How have you been able to navigate this?

• Uses her 4 step system and decides when she can take on clients
• Got really clear on when she was setting aside time for clients, what her current packages looked like, and how many people she could take on
• Asked herself "Did that get me to my goal?"
• Do expectations meet reality? So many of us expect to grow our businesses a lot faster than realistically possible

"Are your goals realistic, or are they just going to stress you out?" - Amanda Warfield

What are your tips on serving clients who require communication every day?

• Know when you are most productive
• Utilize your energy and arrange work blocks to your advantage
• Set aside 30 minutes a day to deal with email (and make sure to set expectations with your client)

"Give your best self to your own business." - Amanda Warfield

"No one is going to take care of your growth in your business but you." - Natalie Gingrich

Any additional thoughts?

• When are you most productive during the week? During the day?
  • Match your most brain power consuming activities to your most productive times of the day/week
• Work according to your energy levels; you don't need to be a 5am person if you are more suited to working into the night

Weekly Ops Activity

Do the exercise that Amanda shared, and let us know in the Facebook group: how many clients does your schedule allow for?

Previous Episodes Mentioned

Episode 87: Planning Your Weekly Schedule Like a CEO

Connect with Amanda:

Instagram

Other Ways to Connect with Me:

Website

Private Facebook Community

Facebook Page

Instagram

This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/107.