What’s In This Episode:

Brad's taking a page from Blair Enns of the 2Bobs podcast this week and asking, "What if you couldn't sell or retire?" They also talk to Scott Smith about the joys of being a lawyer and vulnerability.

"If the whole idea of being vulnerable is so that you can get to the next level, in fact, what you're doing is using people." - Brad

Scott Royal Smith is a lawyer who works with investors to help them get their time back and enjoy their lives. His business is growing faster than he can keep up though. This leads to a conversation about authenticity, vulnerability, and risk.

"Some businesses can't be rearranged that quickly." - Jill

Retirement's not an attractive option for Brad. Jill has already found a way to do what she loves with The Founding Momsand she hopes to continue doing it for a long time. If you could never stop doing what you're currently doing, would you change anything? Jill would want to speed things in her business up so that she would only be doing things she wants to be doing.

Brad has the ambition to make a dent in the universe. And he makes better progress when he's not rushing and when he takes time for yourself. What makes something like this sustainable?

What if you couldn't sell or retire your business?

What’s In This Episode:

Jill and Brad get the most outstanding review they've ever received. And in case you've ever wondered, they've never been married and do not plan to be.

"Set up measurements so you know that your employees' work is creating progress in the business." - Brad

Brad recently sent out an email entitled, "What gets measured gets rewarded," but Jill doesn't agree. She doesn't think you get rewarded all the time for the things you measure. Jill trusts her gut and feels that when you only go on what's being measured, you might be missing out.

"Measuring things does not always provide a reward." - Jill

But without data, how do you know if your employees are doing a good job? You can't just go on "I guess," or "No one's complaining, so..." You want to know how exactly they're making a difference - and you can do that by setting up measurements. Teams need numbers, Brad says.

Jim Collins, of Good to Great fame says that there are always things you can measure to help you understand whether you're making progress or not, even if you don't believe so. Is Jill wrong? Or is Brad?

Do you believe that what gets measured gets rewarded? 

What’s In This Episode:

Time for a big picture question: are you playing offense or defense in your business? Problems arise when we try to burn the candle at both ends. When you're on defense and want to get back on offense, what do you do? Even in defense, you need business development.

"There are seasons in my business. It's not the same every day." - Brad

If you're in defensive mode, it also means that you may be holding on to resources that you don't need (i.e., paying people you don't need, etc). In these moments, Brad suggests that you shrink your resources down to essentials and then building out to a better solution.

"Patience is a virtue, but that has nothing to do with you demanding something of your team or the betterment of your business." - Jill

In a callback to last episode, Saul comes on and asks, "Is patience a virtue, or is impatiencea virtue?" Jill says patience is a virtue, but it doesn't have to do with business. Brad thinks there are certain things that just aren't going to happen any faster, and sometimes, being impatient is just pointless.

Saul thinks that on a certain level, you have to have a sense of urgency in business. He doesn't think people will get stuff done without the sense of urgency. Is it proactivity, or impatience? This leads to a discussion about business owners' expectations and whether or not they are reasonable, as well as dissatisfaction and dysfunction.

Are you playing offense or defense? What do you think about patience?

What’s In This Episode:

Are you full of energy or borderline burnt out? If you're the latter, Brad's got a 5-day email course that he wants you to read, called 5 Days to Get Control of Your Business and Your Life. In it, you'll find a simple exercise to cut down your work hours down immediately, a magic phrase that improves the output of your team and empowers them to solve their own problems, a proven practice to enable you to set boundaries, and a way to start fitting in things that you enjoy.

If this is something you're interested in, you'll find it here. Sign up and let Brad know what you think!

"You've been working real hard for a while and you don't know your own capacity." - Jill

Nobody says that they're going to work until they're burnt out, so how does it happen? Jill thinks it's a natural thing to fall into. You think you can do it all, but you can't. She also thinks that for women, hormones are a factor throughout the month.

Age plays a role too, Brad says. There are limits and that's a good thing - but you don't learn that unless you are of a certain age and have the experience.

"Humans have limits." - Brad

Jill is the queen of impatience - no one ever works fast enough for her. Brad says he's impatient too, but he also doesn't think that he's working fast enough. But both of them have learned patience over time. If people have unreasonable expectations, the best way they find to deal with it is to talk through it. Jill and Brad give listeners tips for dealing with burn out.

How do you deal with burn out?

What’s In This Episode:

Are you ready to go or are you kind of crawling into 2019 a little bit burnt out? If you’re the latter, Brad’s got a 5-day email course that he wants you to read, called 5 Days to Get Control of Your Business and Your Life. In it, you’ll find a simple exercise to cut down your work hours down immediately, a magic phrase that improves the output of your team and empowers them to solve their own problems, a proven practice to enable you to set boundaries, and a way to start fitting in things that you enjoy.

If this is something you’re interested in, you’ll find it here. Sign up and let Brad know what you think!

"Start talking to folks before you throw something into the world by yourself and don't get the tone of the city or the people in it." - Jill

Ashley Quinto Powell of The Bossy calls in and she has a great opportunity to launch a Chicago chapter after founding her business in Madison, Wisconsin. She wants to know the best way to do a launch in the Second City (though she would prefer not to do a fun run). Jill and Brad help her to get practical and less vague.

"The first thing you want to do is to stop solving people's problems." - Brad

Brad's talking about the most popular Harvard Business Review article of all time, published in 1973: "Who's Got The Monkey?" The monkey is a problem that the employee doesn't know how to solve, so they leave it with the business owners. So, ideally, you want to make sure that your office is a no-monkey zone.

So when someone walks in with a problem, the first thing to do is to be really stupid, Brad says. It trains people to come to you with solutions.

How do you deal with the monkey?

What’s In This Episode:

It's a new year! Are you ready to go or are you kind of crawling into 2019 a little bit burnt out? If you're the latter, Brad's got a 5-day email course that he wants you to read, called 5 Days to Get Control of Your Business and Your Life. In it, you'll find a simple exercise to cut down your work hours down immediately, a magic phrase that improves the output of your team and empowers them to solve their own problems, a proven practice to enable you to set boundaries, and a way to start fitting in things that you enjoy.

If this is something you're interested in, you'll find it here (https://anchoradvisors.com/control/). Sign up and let Brad know what you think!

"Are you paying attention to the bigger picture?" - Jill

Are you working in your business vs. working on your business? Now, you hear that everywhere - but in the beginning, it was a reasonable question. And how would you know if you're working in or on? Jill's issue with the question is that it assumes there is a right answer.

In Brad's view, he thinks the goal should be that there's nothing that has to get done this week (as in a deadline) that he - as the business owner - is responsible for doing.

"When you're in the details, it's hard to have any perspective." - Brad

Brad uses Monday mornings to organize, and then by Monday afternoon, he knows what his objectives for the week are. He's not opposed to switching back and forth (from working in your business vs. working on the business) but he cautions against getting stuck on details.

As Jill is going through some changes in her business, Brad thinks that's great: we can only make changes as fast as people can absorb it.

What’s In This Episode:

Happy 2019!

Jill’s got a brand new book called The Best Business Book in the World (*according to my mom)! For anecdotes, biz tricks, tech tips, and tools, you can get her book on Amazon.

Do you ever think to yourself, "I really wish I could talk to Jill or Brad for an hour about MY business?" Now you can! Sometimes you just need a little help, or you have a question to ask that’s been bugging you. You suspect that it’s not really a whole consulting engagement — you just need an hour to talk something overwith someone who understands and can provide perspective. Book an hour with Brad here. 

"When you're starting a business, it's important to have a lot of ideas because you don't know what's going to work." - Brad

Blogger, podcaster, and entrepreneur Gresham W. Harkless Jr. calls in to talk about his focus problem. He has a lot of ideas but how can he laser focus?

Jill suggests he use a whiteboard and write it out and test it out on his podcast or social media. Brad suggests Gresham pick one thing and do it over and over and get known for it. And use his creativity to sell exclusively to one client.

"As you're honing your entrepreneurial instinct, you need a lot of feedback." - Jill

What are your 2019 resolutions? Our producer, Saul, wants to react to situations in a more controlled and measured way. And say "no" more. And finish his album.

Jill's business resolution is to have more interest in accounting. And maybe figure out what's happening with analytics (even though she won't say the word). She's also going to raise her prices.

Brad doesn't make resolutions, but he is interested in changing his habits. So he's going to try to cut out sugar 5 out of 7 days a week. On the business front, he's upping his email game.

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What are your plans for the new year? Let us know! 

Guest:

• Gresham “Gresh” W. Harkless Jr.is the founder and Blogger in Chief for CEO Blog Nation (CBNation.co) and is the founder and digital marketing specialist behind Blue 16 Media. Blue 16 Media is a digital marketing company providing digital marketing services to small to medium-sized businesses and organizations. Central to his marketing philosophy is that You Are a Media Company: Developing a Marketing Strategy to Connect with Your Target and Reach Your Goals. CBNation.co is a community of niche blogs for entrepreneurs and business owners including video content and audio content (podcast). 

What’s In This Episode:

Do you ever think to yourself, "I really wish I could talk to Jill or Brad for an hour about MY business?" Now you can! Sometimes you just need a little help, or you have a question to ask that’s been bugging you. You suspect that it’s not really a whole consulting engagement — you just need an hour to talk something overwith someone who understands and can provide perspective. Book an hour with Brad here.  

Buy Jill's book!

"I just want to remind everybody that social media is social." - Jill

Author and esthetician Samantha Dench calls in because she has a ton of followers on social media, but has a hard time converting sales. Brad says she needs to think about the value that she's offering. Jill also reminds her that she needs to be social on social media - more like you're sitting and meeting a friend for coffee, and less like you're trying to sell.

"Inviting people to community on a one-on-one basis is really powerful." - Brad

As the year draws to a close there’s one thing that’s nearly certain. Brad's to-do list is overflowing!

Maybe you’ve been hustling to get ready for the holidays, or maybe your clients have a lot of end of year requests that they want you to finish before their budget goes away. But the end of the year can be overwhelming for many.

Brad's father once said, “Brad, when you find you are at the bottom of a hole, stop digging!”

How do we get out of that hole when our to-do’s are overwhelming? Stop and do three things:

• Say No -- Stop Doing List: there are probably some things you don't need to do.
• Delegate: What can I hand off to others?
• Declare Bankruptcy: Start over in the new year.

How do you deal with overwhelm and your to-do list?

Guest:

• Samantha Denchhas been a licensed esthetician since 2003 and owner of Skin Deep since 2010. She has a passion for helping others solve their skin concerns through custom facials and internal wellness.

What’s In This Episode:

Jill's got a brand new book called The Best Business Book in the World (*according to my mom)! For anecdotes, biz tricks, tech tips, and tools, you can get her book on Amazon.

We're also talking about WHYs today. Have you seen Simon Sinek's TED Talk? Jill uses it all the time because it was the first time that someone explained why WHY was so important in a way that makes sense.

"Without the 'why', no one's gonna trust you and no one's gonna pay you any money." - Jill

Brad says that we spend a lot of time talking about the what and the how, but the why is a lot more interesting. Brad follows Marcus Blankenship, who wrote recently that sometimes the why is also important when we're delegating tasks to our team. Especially when we're considering creative tasks, what would be more helpful? The what or the why?

"I want to demonstrate our values and be consistent with our brand." - Brad

Jill has woven the concept of why into everything The Founding Momsdoes - why helps everyone understand where you're coming from.

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Do you talk about the why of tasks with your team?

What’s In This Episode:

Do you ever think to yourself, "I really wish I could talk to Jill or Brad for an hour about MY business?" Now you can! Sometimes you just need a little help, or you have a question to ask that’s been bugging you. You suspect that it’s not really a whole consulting engagement — you just need an hour to talk something overwith someone who understands and can provide perspective. Book an hour with Brad at http://www.anchoradvisors.com/one-hour

"Having some real face-to-face time helps build the relationship." - Brad

Gavin Baker of Baker Labs calls in. Baker Labs does online marketing for those in the healthcare space. His problem is that his team is remote, and he's trying to figure out a way to bring them together in a way that's more meaningful and has better communication. They use tools like Slack and Zoom to communicate.

Brad says maybe they should have a daily check-in on Slack. Or on Zoom, build in some chit-chat to the agenda. Jill suggests leaving Zoom open for a bit to have more of a real-time feel (or using Daily, like she does!) and there's no agenda. You can do the same type of things that they do in an office, like cake for someone's birthday, Brad says - just do it on screen.

Or just get together once a year in a physical space, he says. If you think you can't afford it, try to plan it around an event that some of the team members are already going to, says Jill.

"You have to do what's best for your business." - Brad

Listener Rebecca writes in, "What loyalty do I owe to my suppliers?"

Brad suggests that Rebecca goes back to her supplier and tells them that she's more impressed with the other supplier she's found. She's not necessarily doing it for negotiation with her current supplier, and it will be easier if she sticks to facts. Jill and Brad once again delve into the murky area concerning loyalty.

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How do you handle supplier loyalty?