What’s In This Episode:

As Jill and Brad close in on nearly 5 years of podcasting and almost 300 episodes, they reflect on how to increase your creative output.

"Here's a growth secret: Don't keep your business a secret." - Brad

If you've got a business, you've got to be creating things to put out into the world, Brad says. Jill hates the question, "How do you do it?" because she wants to ask the same question back. At The Founding Moms, Jill writes a daily email, she hosts this podcast, she has a monthly video course, a monthly webinar, a weekly Facebook live... she creates a lot. How? She does it with the help of her team, scheduling, and implementing systems.

Brad recently upped his monthly email to 3x/week and finds it easier. Writing once a month was stressful but writing every week has just become something he does. And it doesn't mean that he's always inspired to write, but with practice, everything becomes easier. They liken it to going to the gym: if you do it consistently, you just get used to it. In fact, Brad doesn't really believe in inspiration. Jill does... and thinks that you can even find inspiration in your competition.

"You can't run a business without creating." - Jill

What drives someone to create? This leads to a discussion around content, a word that Brad hates. People don't consume content. People don't create content. What they do is inspire, teach, and entertain.

How does someone do all the things they have to do? Where do they get the energy? Jill says that as long as she's communicating, she's fine with it. She was nervous about things when they first got started, but over time it's gotten easier. And the more you create, perhaps the more efficient you get.

How do you increase your creative output?

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?