Episode 303
Why Hiring Help Isn't Always the Answer to Business Growth [Ep. 303]
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Today, we're diving into the nitty-gritty of stepping into that oh-so-fancy CEO role, and spoiler alert: hiring help isn't the magic bullet you think it is!
We’re here to chat about why pulling the trigger on hiring too soon can actually backfire on you.
So many folks jump to the conclusion that being a CEO means just delegating tasks, but let’s be real, if you’re not ready to lead, hiring just becomes a fancy way to pay for busywork.
We’ll break down what it truly means to embrace that CEO mindset, focusing on clarity, systems, and making data-driven decisions.
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Transcript
Hello.
Speaker A:Hello.
Speaker A:I'm coming at you again today with another real truth about stepping into the CEO role and why hiring help and delegating more is not necessarily the answer.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And again, I'm here for it.
Speaker A:I will go against the grain on this, all right?
Speaker A:But I'm going to be honest with you.
Speaker A:Most are not ready to lead, right?
Speaker A:And so hiring is a band aid and it's not a strategy.
Speaker A:And so today I'm going to break down why hiring too soon won't get you where you want to go and what stepping into the true CEO role actually looks like.
Speaker A:Okay, so here we go.
Speaker A:We're diamond in story time.
Speaker A:So I was in a mastermind, and it was my turn to be on the hot seat.
Speaker A:And I was asking in the hot seat, I was telling all of them, I said, you know, I really want to start using this language in my messaging around stepping into that CEO role and that you, in order to kind of grow and scale again, depending on where you are, that at some point you've got to move from being a highly paid expert to a highly profitable CEO, right?
Speaker A:And so what I mean by that and think about it, is like, most people start a business because they have a skill, they have a passion, they're an expert at something, right?
Speaker A:And they take that expertise, they take that skill, they take that passion, they start charging for it, and then it becomes business.
Speaker A:But most people have never really had.
Speaker A:Most business owners truly have never really owned a business before.
Speaker A:They maybe have never even taken a business class, right?
Speaker A:Like, they don't really know.
Speaker A:They've just learned by doing, and they've taken their expertise and they've gotten highly paid for it, right?
Speaker A:So really, a lot of what I teach and what I do is helping people to kind of step into that CEO role, because that's my expertise, right?
Speaker A:I was.
Speaker A:I've been in business before.
Speaker A:I've taken the business classes.
Speaker A:That's what I went to college for.
Speaker A:I have the accounting degree.
Speaker A:I worked in business development, right?
Speaker A:Like, business is my thing.
Speaker A:Graphic design is not my thing.
Speaker A:That's not a skill, right?
Speaker A:Like, my skill is business growth and development.
Speaker A:And so.
Speaker A:But a lot of that is really stepping into and owning that inner CEO.
Speaker A:And I did a podcast episode on this about understanding and owning their role of inner CEO.
Speaker A:I'll make sure it's linked in the show notes because everybody, I think for a lot of people, that CEO term, they don't like it, right?
Speaker A:They don't like it because it reminds them of, you know, White men in black suits sitting around a boardroom.
Speaker A:But at the end of the day, at the end of the day, CEO is really about making decisions, okay?
Speaker A:And being in control of your business.
Speaker A:And all of us are in control of our business.
Speaker A:All of us make decisions, okay?
Speaker A:But anyways, that's not what this episode is about.
Speaker A:When I asked in the Mastermind, what does stepping into the CEO role mean to you?
Speaker A:Most of the answers I got.
Speaker A:Now, mind you, there's 10 people in this mastermind.
Speaker A:I think there was eight there that day.
Speaker A:I would say six out of eight really all came down to delegating your hiring.
Speaker A:Oh, as a CEO, I'm going to hire out.
Speaker A:I'm going to hire out, and CEOs have all these people underneath them and I'm going to hire and whatever.
Speaker A:And that is maybe a part of it, but it's really not the full picture.
Speaker A:And it's where so many business owners go wrong, Right?
Speaker A:Because hiring is not leadership and delegating is not necessarily a strategy.
Speaker A:It, again, it all depends, okay?
Speaker A:And so here's why I say hiring too soon backfires and why that's not really what it means to step into the CEO role, okay?
Speaker A:Because most people, again, if you've been an expert and you've gotten paid and you've, you know, doing your own thing and you've run your business solo and you've never really been in a management role, hiring somebody is not going to be the be all end, all right?
Speaker A:And most people don't really have those leadership skills because again, it's not that it makes us bad people, it's not that it makes you a bad business owner, but if you've never had to lead a team of people, you're not going to be able to lead a somebody else that you're bringing on in your business either.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And also understanding that, like, they're likely not going to do things the way you do and it's going to require more time.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And so they assume hiring is going to free up all this time.
Speaker A:But in reality, most people, if you're not ready for it, if you've never been a leader, you end up micromanaging.
Speaker A:It's just, it's.
Speaker A:Even if you say, I don't want to micromanage, you still end up micromanaging.
Speaker A:Even myself, like, I truly do not want to micromanage.
Speaker A:This is why I feel very strongly about building my business business as a team of one, potentially with some contractors.
Speaker A:But I have no desire to have employees.
Speaker A:I have no desire to scale it to an agency of any sort, you know, or having like sub coaches underneath me because I don't want to manage people, right?
Speaker A:Like, I got into business because I don't like being in management.
Speaker A:I freaking hate it, right?
Speaker A:And so if you don't like to manage people, hiring's not the answer.
Speaker A:It's not the answer, right?
Speaker A:And it just becomes expensive, busy work, really.
Speaker A:And so, you know, it's not.
Speaker A:That's not the answer to being in the CEO role, right?
Speaker A:You end up micromanaging.
Speaker A:You end up feeling very frustrated with very little results, right?
Speaker A:Like the results you're not crazy about, or you're paying for tasks that don't move the needle because you end up finding yourself like, okay, I've got this person, I've got to give them something to do.
Speaker A:I'm just going to have them do all of these things.
Speaker A:And so you end up in this loop of busy work and they're doing the things, and then you're like, well, is it even really working?
Speaker A:And I found myself in this situation.
Speaker A:I told you, I hired a CEO and she was doing all this work and it was amazing.
Speaker A:And then when it came down to it, where I was like, I didn't, I couldn't keep paying her at the time, I ended up having to take all the work on myself.
Speaker A:And when I look back at, I was like, why are we doing this?
Speaker A:Like, why?
Speaker A:Like, this is not moving the needle.
Speaker A:This is not proving anything.
Speaker A:Like, why have I been paying for this?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And so you could end up just paying for something that you really don't need, but you're paying for it because you need to fill their time, right?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And so hiring before you know what you really need is wasting money and it's inefficient and it's going to create just as much frustration.
Speaker A:And if you don't have good, solid processes in place, if you don't have a very clear deliverables, you don't have a very clear outcome.
Speaker A:You know, you've never managed, you know, manage people before.
Speaker A:You don't have any SOP set up, right?
Speaker A:You are still going to be the bottleneck.
Speaker A:And if that's what I'm saying, like, that's where I'm saying stepping into the CEO role is not about hiring.
Speaker A:Stepping into the CEO role is actually looking at yourself and saying, I'm not ready to hire because I'm not ready to lead somebody.
Speaker A:I don't have SOPs in place, right?
Speaker A:Because if you do hire and they have to ask you for every step of the way, right?
Speaker A:Then that's just.
Speaker A:It's just keeping you in that bottleneck, right?
Speaker A:Like you are still going to be the bottleneck in your company because they don't know.
Speaker A:They don't know how to run your business.
Speaker A:They don't know how to make those decisions, right?
Speaker A:And so it's not all about hiring, okay?
Speaker A:And so.
Speaker A:And hiring doesn't really make you a CEO, right?
Speaker A:That's not what stepping into the CEO role is.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And so stepping into that CEO role, which I'm talking about, is a CEO that makes decisions based on data, based on strategy, based on outcomes, right?
Speaker A:Like, I know it feels intimidating.
Speaker A:We all hate corporate.
Speaker A:But at the end of the day, there's a reason for it.
Speaker A:There's a reason for this hierarchy because we need the people at the top that can kind of look and analyze this, right?
Speaker A:Like, you're not going to ask a cashier at your favorite grocery store to analyze what, what is, you know, what products are moving, what products are.
Speaker A:Have the best profit margin, right?
Speaker A:Like, that's not their role.
Speaker A:That's why they have a CEO.
Speaker A:That's why there's somebody up at the top, because there's a hierarchy here.
Speaker A:And so you are that CEO that's making your decisions based on data, strategy and outcome.
Speaker A:And maybe not.
Speaker A:Maybe you're still kind of in this place of like just doing the thing that, you know, has always worked.
Speaker A:But that's what I'm saying.
Speaker A:When you talk about stepping into it, it's like immediately people think hiring and delegating, but it's not.
Speaker A:It's not the answer.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So a CEO makes decisions on data.
Speaker A:A CEO builds structure before handing off tasks.
Speaker A:Again, this is also comes back to that episode about growth versus scaling.
Speaker A:If you don't have systems and structures and, you know, repeatable things in place, it's very hard to hand that off.
Speaker A:Now, sometimes that's not your zone of expertise.
Speaker A:And that's where OBMs come in or COOs or something like that.
Speaker A:Maybe you don't want to create the systems.
Speaker A:Maybe you don't want to create the structure and the SOPs and all that, because that is like so far out of your wheelhouse.
Speaker A:Remember, you are the expert, right?
Speaker A:You're the expert.
Speaker A:You're the one that people are paying because you're graphic design or because you're a WordPress developer, or because you're the dog trainer or the attorney or all of that.
Speaker A:And so structure might not be like that your, your zone of genius.
Speaker A:But where you can step into that CEO role is understanding and giving yourself the permission and saying, you know what?
Speaker A:I don't have the skill set to do this.
Speaker A:So here's the person I need and here's the clarity and here's exactly what I'm expecting, right?
Speaker A:That's the structure that you can create is at least to have a very clear understanding of where you are struggling, what you are expecting, and the skills that you need to bring into your business to compliment those skills that you don't have or you don't want to have.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:You don't want to learn it, you don't want to do it, you don't want to be that person.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:And so also a CEO leads from this place of clarity and ownership, not frustration and reactivity.
Speaker A:And a lot of times when we hire, we hire quick, we hire fast, we hire just like.
Speaker A:And it's usually because something's frustrating us, something we are in this state of reactivity where it's like, I got to get this shit done and I don't want to do it.
Speaker A:And so I'm just going to hire somebody to do it.
Speaker A:And so you think that makes more sense.
Speaker A:And sometimes it does, right?
Speaker A:It sometimes does make sense to just hire it out.
Speaker A:And I am a firm believer in that.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:So here's what I want you to understand is I'm not opposed to hiring, but when it comes to stepping into, in owning that role of CEO, you need to step into that role before you hire.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:This is not a, like, I'm going to hire and then I'll be the CEO.
Speaker A:No, no, no, no, no, no.
Speaker A:You've got to step, step into that CEO.
Speaker A:You've got to know what decisions need to be made.
Speaker A:You need to know, based on the data, exactly what you're looking for.
Speaker A:You need to have a very clear understanding.
Speaker A:And then you hire and you will get a much better turnout.
Speaker A:You will have better leadership.
Speaker A:You will learn to manage your time, your people better.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So if you don't know your numbers, if you don't know your revenue driving activities, if you don't know what key success factors you're working towards, how can you direct a team to them?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:If you don't know that stuff, you can't expect somebody else to just know it, right?
Speaker A:Like, you have to have these things in place.
Speaker A:And a lot of people, this is when they come into the focus.
Speaker A:Visionary.
Speaker A:I'll always say to them, well, what are your key success factors?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like, and what I mean by your key success factors, a lot of people call them KPIs, key performance indicators.
Speaker A:But again, that's a very corporate term.
Speaker A:It's kind of hard to understand.
Speaker A:So I look at it as key success factors, right?
Speaker A:Like, what are the things that you need to track that actually measure whether or not you are moving in the direction of the success you are desiring, right?
Speaker A:So if you want to do more speaking gigs, how many pitches did you send out?
Speaker A:How many collaborations have you done?
Speaker A:Where are you, you know, do you have your speaker?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, your key success factor might be number of pitches, right?
Speaker A:So you can hire somebody to do the pitching for you.
Speaker A:But again, if you don't know how many pitches you need to do, if you don't know what type of pitches, if you don't know what type of speaking you're trying to land, you can't just hire somebody to do that.
Speaker A:That's not going to just magically make you a speaker, right?
Speaker A:It's not going to just magically get you there.
Speaker A:You have to have very clear understanding of exactly what's driving the results that are, that you're trying to do or get to so that you can hire the right person.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:And then, you know, here's the other thing with hiring is most people think, I just need a VA.
Speaker A:I need a VA.
Speaker A:I need aVA.
Speaker A:I need a VA because I don't want to do all this stuff, right?
Speaker A:But the thing about it is, is most bas are executors, right?
Speaker A:And I don't mean that negatively.
Speaker A:If you are a ba, I envy you.
Speaker A:I, I applaud you because you are doing the work, right?
Speaker A:You're doing the work.
Speaker A:You're doers, you're executors.
Speaker A:And I'm not saying this is for everything, but especially for those that hire over VAs, a lot of times are executors, right?
Speaker A:You give them a job, they do it.
Speaker A:They are not strategists.
Speaker A:They are not a second you, they are not a second brain, right?
Speaker A:Like, most of them just do what they are told to do because that's their role.
Speaker A:They know that role, right?
Speaker A:Just like you know the role you play with your clients and in your business, that is their role.
Speaker A:But a lot of times we hire them thinking they're strategists.
Speaker A:And I've been there, I've been there all the time.
Speaker A:I've say I've done this multiple times.
Speaker A:This is, again, I am telling you all of this because I've Done it right.
Speaker A:I've hired thinking.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.
Speaker A:I'm going to hire all this stuff out and then I end up finding myself frustrated because it's like why is this not working?
Speaker A:Why am I not getting it where I want to go?
Speaker A:But my MO is life.
Speaker A:I'm just going to give you the Cliff Notes version.
Speaker A:I'm going to trust that you're an expert and you're going to tell me if you need me or if it's not the best way.
Speaker A:And I'm telling you like I finally had somebody.
Speaker A:She was like that's not my job.
Speaker A:I need you to tell me what you want.
Speaker A:Like I'm not.
Speaker A:This is not my job to figure out what is better.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So if you are looking for somebody that is going to give you further expertise or further strategy, then you need probably more than a ba.
Speaker A:This is again get very clear on exactly what you are looking for.
Speaker A:If you are looking for an executor, somebody where it's like I have all this content and I just need them to schedule it out, right?
Speaker A:Like I write all the content, I edit all the content, I have it all laid out, it's all in a content calendar.
Speaker A:I just need somebody to get in there and schedule it.
Speaker A:Well then yeah, that's a va, right?
Speaker A:Like that's again that's a task that you can say here's what it is, here's how it goes, here's the days I post on, here's the tools I use, right?
Speaker A:It's a very clear cut description and job and they can do it and it's wash, rinse, repeat, right?
Speaker A:But do not expect them, do not hire a VA with the expectation and tell them, oh, I just need you to schedule the content and then it's a bunch of chat GPT content and you expect them to edit it, right?
Speaker A:And then you expect them to know when to post it and you expect them to look and understand the data and figure out well when gets the most results and what hooks work the best.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like that's not their job, right?
Speaker A:And so again it's really getting clear on like what exactly do you need if you want hiring to actually help you grow?
Speaker A:Okay, Hiring a va, expecting them to create the systems or drive business decisions is not.
Speaker A:That's not going to happen.
Speaker A:It's up to you.
Speaker A:You are the CEO, you drive the business decisions.
Speaker A:That's what stepping into that role of CEO looks like.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And sometimes it's especially with hiring those that hire a va.
Speaker A:I've heard this so many times.
Speaker A:I've hired.
Speaker A:And it didn't help.
Speaker A:It didn't help.
Speaker A:It just cost me money.
Speaker A:A lot of times it's because you've not hired the right person.
Speaker A:Most of the time it's somebody you need either a very specific VA, like a tech VA, or you need somebody that knows how to write SOPs, or you're needing more of a strategist, you know, someone like me that can look at and understand what's going on in your business and help you to make those decisions and help you to create the strategy around it.
Speaker A:And then once the strategy is created, then maybe have somebody hired to help you execute the strategy.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Or maybe you need a project manager, something like that.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But it's not necessarily just a va, but that tends to be the first hire people make.
Speaker A:And that was the first hire I made.
Speaker A:It's like, I need a va.
Speaker A:Well, no, really, as time went on, what I needed was attack va.
Speaker A:I needed a graphic designer, I needed a web developer.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like find.
Speaker A:That is very unlikely that you will find one person that can do all of those things.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And sometimes I need a second brain.
Speaker A:And when I needed a second brain, I hired another strategist.
Speaker A:I didn't hire a VA as a second brain.
Speaker A:I've tried that.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But it's like I ended up, you know, that didn't work out.
Speaker A:It didn't work out because it wasn't the decision that needed to be made.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:It came from a place of reactivity.
Speaker A:It came from a place of, I don't wanna do this.
Speaker A:And so I'm just going to hire it out and that will work.
Speaker A:And I'm not saying you shouldn't stay in your zone of genius, but as the expert, as the genius, as the one that gets paid before you do that, it's about stepping into.
Speaker A:So what does stepping into the CEO role actually look like?
Speaker A:If hiring is not the answer?
Speaker A:Okay, Michelle, hiring's not the answer.
Speaker A:I hear you, but what is the answer?
Speaker A:How do I step into the CEO role?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Clarity, Clarity over busy work.
Speaker A:Knowing exactly which area moves the needle before you outsource anything.
Speaker A:That is why this is step one.
Speaker A:Step one in the focus Visionary.
Speaker A:And I had a couple clients push me back on this.
Speaker A:And like, Michelle, I think you should make this step two, because step two is more fun and step one is really boring and it's overwhelming.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:Again, and I didn't.
Speaker A:I was like, thank you for the feedback.
Speaker A:But no, because if you are ready to truly step into that CEO role and you are really trying to grow and scale your business, well, then you got to know the freaking facts.
Speaker A:You got to know the facts.
Speaker A:You got to know what moves the needle before anything else, because the facts drive all your decisions, right?
Speaker A:So if you don't know the facts, if you don't know with moving the needle in your business right now, you need to sit down and spend some time doing that.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:You really do need to know what is moving the needle.
Speaker A:And this, again, do not base this off of emotion.
Speaker A:Do not base this off of.
Speaker A:Yeah, but I think, you know, all my clients are coming in from Instagram.
Speaker A:Are they?
Speaker A:Are they really, like, go back and audit your last three clients?
Speaker A:Where did they come from?
Speaker A:If you can tell me without a shadow of a doubt, they came from Instagram.
Speaker A:Okay, great.
Speaker A:But I guarantee you, it might just be that you like hanging out on Instagram, but it's not exactly where your clients are coming from.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So that's number one.
Speaker A:Number two, systems before people, again, you've got to have the processes, you've got to have the structure.
Speaker A:You've got to have a system in place before you can just pass this off to somebody else.
Speaker A:And it doesn't mean that once you pass it off that they may not, like, try to.
Speaker A:They may not have their own way of doing it.
Speaker A:They may not create their own efficiencies.
Speaker A:They may not have better.
Speaker A:You know, but at least you're giving them a system to follow, right?
Speaker A:So I have been outsourcing some stuff to my husband.
Speaker A:He's been helping me a little bit in my business.
Speaker A:But I'll tell you what, like, I can't just give him something and say, like, one of the things that he really helps me with is uploading all of the replays from the Q and A sessions or any session that we have in FVA that's recorded, he uploads them for the members to be able to refer back to.
Speaker A:But I had to create a very clear system of exactly what I needed him to do.
Speaker A:How to download it, you know, get it downloaded from Zoom and uploaded into Vimeo and where to put it and how to put it on the document and where and then what to do with it afterwards, right?
Speaker A:Like, I can't expect him to just know this, right?
Speaker A:Like, I needed to create a system.
Speaker A:And I'll tell you, one of the things that I'm really struggling with right now is truly my content creation.
Speaker A:Like, I can create content all day long.
Speaker A:But I don't have a good system to outsource and tell people what to do with that said content, because I was all over the place.
Speaker A:I was trying to be this omnipresence, which there's still a level of that, but, like, when it's like, well, I want this posted on LinkedIn and then this one goes on some stack, but substack is articles, but they also have notes.
Speaker A:But then we also need to repurpose the podcast, right?
Speaker A:Like, it was super confusing.
Speaker A:So as much as I would love to hire it out, I know for a damn fact I am not ready to hire it out because I don't have a clear system for it yet.
Speaker A:And so my job as the CEO is to really figure out what exactly do we need to do with all of this content?
Speaker A:What goal, what purpose is it trying to serve?
Speaker A:What are we trying to do with it?
Speaker A:Where are we getting the best results and then figuring out a streamlined process to make it happen.
Speaker A:And ChatGPT is really great help with this, but it can also be overwhelming because it spits out content like you can't believe.
Speaker A:Like, once it's going, it's easy to get caught up in that.
Speaker A:Like, oh, well, let's try this.
Speaker A:And let's rate this post.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:One of my biggest struggles is actually just getting the content out of ChatGPT, you know, and into a place where I can refer back to it.
Speaker A:I don't have to scroll through my chats all the time.
Speaker A:So, again, like, making that decision.
Speaker A:This is me understanding that, like, as a CEO, I'm not ready.
Speaker A:I'm not ready to hire this person out, okay?
Speaker A:Because I don't have a process in place to make this seamless.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:And then number three is hiring for the right gaps.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Hiring can really help.
Speaker A:It can, and it can help you grow and scale, but it's got to be the right person, and a VA may not be the right person.
Speaker A:So you need to look at and see, like, where am I the bottleneck?
Speaker A:Am I the bottleneck?
Speaker A:Because I have so many freaking ideas and I can't figure out which ones to execute on, and I'm just wrapped up in this overthinking.
Speaker A:Well, if that's the case, then you need the fba, you need me, you need a strategist, right?
Speaker A:If it's that you have all the ideas, you have it all laid out, but you can't get the tech sorted, right?
Speaker A:Like, you've got a new lead magnet set up or you want to launch a podcast or whatever it is and you've got it all done.
Speaker A:But the tech of it, sure, the automations is set up and like figuring out how things connect to one or the other.
Speaker A:Then you maybe need a tech expert or a tech va, right?
Speaker A:Or if you're feeling like everything's just a mess, there's no SOPs, there's no nothing.
Speaker A:Like maybe then, you know, chat can help with that.
Speaker A:But like maybe you need somebody to come in and kind of do an audit and like that.
Speaker A:That would be more of a COO or an OBM or something of that sort.
Speaker A:So someone that can help you build these internal systems so that you can continue to step into.
Speaker A:Again, it's about decision making, right?
Speaker A:Being a CEO is not about just getting the stuff off your plate.
Speaker A:That's not it.
Speaker A:It's about leading with intention, creating focus and knowing when and where to bring in the right help.
Speaker A:Again, stepping into that role first before hiring.
Speaker A:Okay, then hiring may be the answer, but it's not the first step.
Speaker A:Okay, so give yourself a minute and take just a few minutes and ask yourself what is actually moving the needle in my business and what is just busy work that feels productive, but is it okay?
Speaker A:And then before you hire, where are you missing structure or SOPs?
Speaker A:Do you have a clear system or SOP in place?
Speaker A:Maybe you've already hired, right?
Speaker A:You could be in a position where you've already hired and you're feeling like, I'm just not like getting out of this what I need.
Speaker A:Maybe you need to go back to them, have a conversation, say what would make this easier?
Speaker A:Do we need to create a system behind this?
Speaker A:Why don't we walk through it together and we'll document it and take notes as we go.
Speaker A:There's systems and tools out there that will help you do that, but then also really get clear on what you're truly hiring for.
Speaker A:Are you needing brains or hands?
Speaker A:I talk about this a lot, especially at the end of the year when we're doing like end of year reflection of like, do you need more brains, meaning more strategy?
Speaker A:Someone that can help you kind of organize your thoughts and like listen and, and create strategy?
Speaker A:Or do you need hands, doers, executors, people to help you execute on the strategy, right?
Speaker A:You've got to get really clear on what you're hiring for before you do any hiring or otherwise.
Speaker A:It's just going to be freaking waste, okay?
Speaker A:It's going to be a waste of time.
Speaker A:So don't hire.
Speaker A:That is not like that's.
Speaker A:Not what it means to step into and own that role of CEO.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And again, I also just want you to understand, like, this episode was all about hiring.
Speaker A:But I want you to really think about what does being a CEO mean to me, right?
Speaker A:Ask yourself that question, journal on it, contemplate on it, go for a drive, go for a walk and just keep asking yourself that question.
Speaker A:What does being a CEO mean to me?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And if you're getting like a visceral reaction to, I don't like that word, why?
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Is it because you had a negative experience?
Speaker A:Is it because you have some type of ingrained view about what CEOs do?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Again, go back.
Speaker A:I'm going to put that, I'm going to make sure that episode is linked about really truly what is a CEO.
Speaker A:And I'm telling you, it's really just about making decisions, right?
Speaker A:It's about being in control of your business.
Speaker A:It's an extremely empowering place to be.
Speaker A:But it's not easy to get there because most people, again, like, they, I have never sat in that role.
Speaker A:They've never been that person.
Speaker A:They've never been that business leader.
Speaker A:And it doesn't mean you're not a good business owner.
Speaker A:It just means that this is a new skill that you have to learn.
Speaker A:It's a new skill set that you have to be willing to step into if you want it.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And so, you know, I think for the, you all have it inside of you, but you might just need some help bringing it out.
Speaker A:Okay, but this is, again, this is exactly what we uncover inside the Focus Visionary Accelerator.
Speaker A:We are going to help you identify, like, your time, your money, where it's best invested, where, where should you hire, where should you delegate, where should you get rid of things that are not moving the needle?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:We talk about all of that, but it's really more about stepping into and really feeling like the CEO.
Speaker A:And just like, for, as an example, like, I was going through my key success factors.
Speaker A:I have a spreadsheet that I created and for everybody and it's all about its key success factors.
Speaker A:Like it's a tracking spreadsheet.
Speaker A:And I was going through it this morning and I have my key success factors.
Speaker A:And I knew March was, you know, I talked about that in that Q1 behind the scenes episode.
Speaker A:Like, I knew March was kind of a down month, but in all honesty, like, when I started really looking at the success factors and I compared from February to March, it's very obvious why March was down.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And a lot of that was because I was traveling.
Speaker A:And it just, it's a lack of action, right?
Speaker A:So it's, it's easy to take it very personal again.
Speaker A:It's easy to get wrapped up in the emotion of it.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:And I'm telling you, I've spiral, trust me when I tell you I have spiraled.
Speaker A:Like I had a massive spiral just yesterday.
Speaker A:Yesterday I was like, came home, I had been out and about and I just was like spiraling and I just couldn't get out of it.
Speaker A:And you know, so don't get me wrong, like it's easy.
Speaker A:So that's why today I was like, you know what, Michelle?
Speaker A:Like, go and look at the facts.
Speaker A:Because the emotional side does send you spiraling.
Speaker A:And when I looked at the facts, it was very obvious what I needed to do.
Speaker A:It was very obvious.
Speaker A:It was like, oh, you do actually have some good warm leads.
Speaker A:You just gotta follow up with them.
Speaker A:But you've been too busy to do that.
Speaker A:You do have things that are moving in your business.
Speaker A:There are things that are working.
Speaker A:You can see what's actually benefiting you and what's not.
Speaker A:You can see where there's inconsistencies.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like when you went, you know the amount of calls I did versus when in February versus March, it was significantly lacking.
Speaker A:Like everything was down in March from an action perspective.
Speaker A:Well, that's why things were down in revenue wise.
Speaker A:But it doesn't mean that I can't pick it back up.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And that's the thing, is it allows you to look at and go, okay, what do I need to do differently?
Speaker A:Where can I show up differently?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:That's what it allows you to do.
Speaker A:And so that's really the more important part about stepping into the CEO.
Speaker A:Hiring is like step seven.
Speaker A:It's like it may be a good fit, it may not.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:It's not the be all, end all is all I'm saying.
Speaker A:It's not the answer to everything.
Speaker A:It can help and it can be a good option, but it's not the only option.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:It's not the only option.
Speaker A:And it's not necessarily going to be this like magic stick to getting you where you want to go.
Speaker A:It's only going to work if you work it and if you're ready and prepared for it.
Speaker A:Okay, so go step into and own the role of CEO and start, identify, like, start really embodying that identity because you do have it inside of you, I promise you.
Speaker A:And you like journal, meditate on it.
Speaker A:If there is something, if there's still this visceral reaction of like, why do I hate that?
Speaker A:Why do I hate that term?
Speaker A:I want you to go deeper.
Speaker A:I want you to keep asking yourself, what is it about that that sends me spiraling?
Speaker A:Is it just scary?
Speaker A:Is it that I just have never done this before?
Speaker A:Did you have a really poor experience?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Remember, just because you had a poor experience doesn't mean that's going to be your.
Speaker A:Like, you may have had a poor experience in corporate, but it doesn't mean that's who you are.
Speaker A:You're not going to be that person.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And I see this so often where people like constantly try to work so hard to not be the person that they had a negative experience with that they completely lose their identity.
Speaker A:That's another.
Speaker A:That's a topic for another day.
Speaker A:I'm probably going to talk about that one on chubstack.
Speaker A:So anyways, that's.
Speaker A:That's really all I wanted to talk about today.
Speaker A:I'm gonna end this right here because I could keep going on, but I'm gonna end up on in a freaking tangent off in left field.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So anyways, if you are thinking of hiring, step into the CEO role first and get very clear on who you're actually hiring to move your business forward like the real CEO that you are.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I love you.
Speaker A:I believe in you.
Speaker A:I'll talk to you soon.
Speaker A:Thanks so much for listening today, but remember, now it's time to take action.
Speaker A:My goal is to get you results.
Speaker A:So what is one action you can commit to taking this week?
Speaker A:Feel free to share it with me in my DMs or tag me on your socials.
Speaker A:Not sure what action to take?
Speaker A:Grab the link in the show notes and schedule a strategic power hour.
Speaker A:We can talk through it together and get you a strategic plan of action in just 60 short minutes.
Speaker A:Oh, and one last favor.
Speaker A:As with every podcast, reviews and ratings are what help us continue to show up and grow.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So if you wouldn't mind, please take a quick minute to leave a five star review on Apple or Spotify and share this episode with a friend.
Speaker A:Thanks.
Speaker A:Talk soon.
