In this episode of The Dietitian Success Podcast, Krista sits down with business buds Kelsey Reidl and Stephanie Long. Together, the three discuss:
- What has ‘worked’ for them in growing their businesses to 6-figures and beyond
- The power of SEO
- Building your authentic network
- Business growth as a mom
- Gradual hiring
- and so much more!
Links:
- [Limited Offer – runs until mid-June 2024] Get your first 3-months of DSC at 50% off by using the code DSC50 at checkout
- Connect with Krista on Instagram @dietitiansuccesscenter and @kristako.rd
- Check out the Dietitian Success Center membership here
- Check out our Freebies here – PES Statement Cheat Sheet, Client Resource Kit & Business Planning Workbook
- Connect with Kelsey and Stephanie
Episode Transcript:
Welcome to the Dietitian Success Podcast. I’m Krista, the founder of Dietitian Success Center, an online learning platform for RDs and students. I am on a mission to help more dietitians build confidence and expertise in running successful, profitable businesses. I went to business school so you don’t have to.
My team and I have grown DSC to a platform that serves hundreds of members. We’ve experimented with all types of marketing, tech, sales strategies, productivity tools, systems, and more. And we want to spill the tea on what’s working, what’s not, and how you can leverage our insights to kickstart, expand, or elevate your own business.
Ready to dive into your business school crash course? If so, let’s get started.
Hey there and welcome to a new episode of the dietitian success podcast. So in today’s episode, I am sharing a conversation that I had with two of my really good business friends, Kelsey Reidel and Stephanie Long. They’ve been on the podcast before we have recorded group discussions together in the past. And so we decided to get together. And talk a little bit about. What’s working and what’s not working in each of our businesses.
And I think what’s so cool about this conversation. Is it really showcases that different things are working for each of us. And there’s really no. One right way to do anything in business. And I know I talk about that all the time, but I think that this conversation really. He exemplifies that. And so I hope that you enjoy this conversation.
What’s cool about these two people too, is that. We actually. Met. So Kelsey was actually my first business mentor business coach. When I started my business. I think it was about three years ago or maybe four years ago that we worked together. And so we worked together and then we became really good friends and we’ve stayed friends ever since.
And then Stephanie. Is somebody that we both just individually met on Instagram. And we, I don’t even know how it happened, but somehow the three of us started chatting more and more and more. And truly we’ve become. Such incredible friends. We actually last year, was it two years ago? I can’t remember.
We all got together and did a business retreat together in Canmore, Alberta. So we spent three days planning out. And brainstorming each of our individual businesses. And ever since then we have this, we use this app called Marco polo. Which is, if you haven’t explored it with a tight group of friends, it’s a really fun one.
I have a few different Marco polo groups that I’m a part of with like different friend groups. And it’s basically a video messaging app and it’s, especially if you’re long distance with friends, it’s just such an awesome way to keep in touch and communicate versus text, which can feel really impersonal.
You know, it’s hard to really get deep via text. And so that’s why we love Marco polo. So Kelsey, Stephanie and I, we talk about business stuff pretty much every single day on Marco polo. We will pop in. We will share the really deep stuff, the highs, the lows, the struggles, the challenges, and I’m sharing this. Just to highlight how important it is.
I think, to have those people in your life who you can really talk about business with because other people don’t really get it right. If they’re not going through it, if they’re not going through the experiences, the challenges, the highs, the lows. It’s really hard for them to relate and we need people who we can just openly share with. It makes it so much more fun and it makes it so much easier.
And then you have somebody, you have a built-in group of people to be able to bounce ideas off of. So, anyways, I know I’ve said this before, but. Just finding that business community. Even if it’s just one or two people is so essential. And so that’s what this conversation is, is us three sort of diving into what’s been happening.
What’s been working what we’ve been doing in our businesses, and I’m excited to share it with you. And just so you know, too. I think I mentioned this last week, but we are right now offering your first three months at 50% off of the dietician success center, monthly membership. And so if you’ve been thinking about joining DSC for a while, if you’ve been on the fence, if you have been listening to this podcast and thinking to yourself, oh, you know, I’m just, hi.
I feel like I want to. Start to dabble and starting my own business, but I don’t know if I’m ready yet. This is your sign. That now is a great time to get started. And so we’re going to be running this promotion right now. I’m recording this episode in mid may, 2024. We’re running this promotion until mid June.
So if you are listening to this in real time, if you’re listening to this live, then you can absolutely jump on that promotion. All the instructions. And such are written below this podcast episode. All right. That is enough from me. Let’s dive into this conversation.
Yeah, do you want me to just continue on that wavelength there in terms of what’s working? I feel like, yeah, like you might as well just kind of kick off with that, and then we can just like meander the conversation from there. Okay, yeah, totally. Um, yeah, so I feel like, okay, so I think that what’s working right now, number one, SEO.
I feel like SEO is finally, not finally, because I do think it’s been sort of delivering for the last year, but now I feel like we’ve hit this point where we have enough blog posts bringing in enough traffic in enough directions that it’s like, Because when we we have this on our our checkout form where we’re like we always ask people like how did you find us and so whenever somebody a new member comes in like I get that to my email and so I see for every single person and it’s like non stop it’s non stop right now google google google google like that’s just so consistent which is super interesting so I feel like that I feel like that and then also word of mouth and I was like it’s funny because I was thinking about this the other day like And I feel like this is sort of a helpful mindset thing when I start to get into kind of a zone of like, Oh, you know, are there really enough dietitians out there for like us to grow as big as we want to?
And then I think to myself, just like how many people still have no idea we exist? Like, right. I mean, at the end of the day, like there are, there are. You know, tens of thousands of dietitians out there that still have no idea we even exist. And like, if I can just access a couple thousand of those people, like, I’ll be super happy, right?
And so, I think for me too, it’s like, and so, that was just to, sort of say that like, I feel like word of mouth is another one that is like, working and it’s starting to like, snowball a little bit more probably. There’s more members which means more people are becoming more aware and telling more people and I think that’ll just only continue to like, ripple.
Um, and so that is something else that I feel like is starting to work quite well and I’m excited to just see that continue. Um, so, I feel like those are, there’s other things, but I feel like for me, those are like the two that just like stick out for sure. I don’t know. What do you guys think? Well, I’m curious for context, like how many blog posts How long have you been writing blog posts and how many are you writing?
Like, what’s the consistency just so that I’m curious for myself. And then also for those listening, like, what does it look like to use that as like an actual strategy, not just like a something that they’re doing once in a while, like something that they’re actually focusing time on. Yeah. So I would say we’ve probably been blogging for, I would say a year and a half.
Um, I’m going to pop over to our blog and just. See, um, and that’s really not that long, like, honestly, no, honestly, not that long, not that long. Um, but I’m going to estimate we maybe have like 30 to 40 blog posts. So it’s not even like an insane number. I mean, it’s a good amount and they’re all like very much SEO dialed in.
And so I would say we probably come out with one, maybe one a month. Okay. Yeah. So not, not really too crazy. I mean, yeah, there, there have been times where we’ve done more than that, obviously, to get to 30 to 40, but right now, probably one a month. Yeah. I’d say so. Yeah, I feel like that’s really reasonable.
Um, yeah, I’m curious, Kelsey. She had asked, like, what do you guys think? I’m curious your thoughts on everything she said. Mm hmm. I think, I love the idea of anyone listening who has not dove into SEO yet. That it’s such a good time to just start because it does take time and like Krista said, she’s got 40 posts.
Um, I remember it took me like 2 to 3 years to actually see my content showing up in search engines for the keywords and key phrases that I want. Needless to say, though, I didn’t have a dialed in strategy, but I was just posting probably one to two blogs a month. Um, and even though at the beginning of my business journey, I didn’t really use it as a strategy.
When you show up consistently with SEO, I feel like Google really starts to understand your website, what it’s about. So even if you just prioritize one or two posts every single month and then start looking at What keywords am I ranking for? It’s such a long game strategy. And personally, I don’t think Google is going anywhere.
I know there are algorithm updates. I know that with chat GPT, some people are using that as a search engine. But at the end of the day, when people need a product or service, and they don’t have a referral, or they don’t have a friend telling them, Oh, just use my girl or my gal, I do think that people still.
Pull up Google on their phone or on their computer and they type in what they’re looking for. And they’re inclined to potentially make a purchase based on a search result. And I think the cool thing about Google is that it always favours the best content. Like it’s not, really interested in content that doesn’t meet the user’s needs.
So if you’re somebody listening who can add really valuable content, I do think that that’s the strategy that over the long time horizon, you’re going to see success with it. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, but if you plan to be in business for two, 10, 20, 30 years, then it probably makes sense to use that as one of your success strategies.
Yeah, and we’re all creating content. So like, put your content to work, right? Like if we’re already spending the time, do it in a way that’s like strategic and almost like you’re putting, and maybe you’ve said this before, Kelsey, so I’m sorry if I’m taking your, your statement, but yeah, it’s almost like putting coins in a piggy bank for like a future financial success or it’s like, you know, it’s like one little like deposit every day.
Okay. for like the future that you’re going to reap. And I think so many of us are like, we want it right now, but business is the long game. Like, like you said, it took a couple of years. Krista, it’s taken a year and a half to, you know, see the traction. Same with me. So I think we just have to be like, so patient with the process.
Mm hmm. Yeah. What do you feel like is working for you, Steph? Um, so one thing that I, I feel like I’m consistently kind of talking to my community about is, organizing tasks. Um, this is something I’m really passionate about, um, is just, you know, I used to be pen and paper. What I needed to do, I’d have a list, you know, check it off, but you know, what would happen?
The paper would go missing. I’d make a new list. I’d be working off five different lists and I felt like I was never really getting ahead. And so, Probably about like two, yeah, two to three years ago, I took a course on Asana, which is a task management platform. And basically, in Asana, you can set up your tasks, you can put, uh, dates on your tasks, you can assign it to someone.
So for me, I’ll assign one to myself or my team member, um, and you can also put subtasks. So instead of just saying like, I need to launch, you know, X, Y, Z product, I can put an entire list of what needs to happen for that launch. And another reason I find that this has been helpful for me. Is I recently was diagnosed with ADHD, which explains a lot of my business challenges over the years.
And so it’s been like, I’ve really realized this tool has helped really reign in my, my desire to like bounce from thing to thing and just have a consistent, almost like a boss. Like I go to every day. Check the Asana, what is my boss telling me I need to do? Sure, it’s me, I set it up. But it’s like, you know, helping out my future self to be like, these are the things that need to happen.
And it gives me a plan of action without sitting here, kind of like twiddling my thumbs or working on, you know, different things bouncing from thing to thing. So it’s, yeah, having some kind of task management, whether it’s Asana, um, Chris, I think you use ClickUp. Is that right? You know what? We did. We used ClickUp for quite a while, and I feel like I still recommend to people to use ClickUp.
Um, I don’t know, I just liked it more than I’ve used Asana, I’ve used Monday. com, and I used ClickUp most recently, and I feel like I I don’t know what it is about there’s just like, I I don’t know. There’s just been little things that have made us want to try something different. Now we are in Airtable.
Um, which is now completely different and, uh, and reason being is because I feel like we needed something that combined task management with basically like Google Docs or somewhere to like store data, um, because I feel like now that I am in more of a, you know, team environment where like, you know, Maria and Olivia are like working in the business every single day and we’re all like very much in it all the time.
We were just finding that everything was super messy with having three different Google Drives, right? It’s like, Olivia would have things saved in hers. I would have things and it was just, it was crazy. chaotic. And so for, you know, we just really needed like a central database type thing for storing important information.
And so that’s why we’re in Airtable now. But yeah, ClickUp is like super similar to Asana. I think ClickUp was maybe a little bit cheaper if I remember correctly, but you know, they’re all great. And I feel like people, I completely agree with you. that having like a digital task management platform is super important.
Yeah. And I use the free Asana. I mean, sometimes I will upgrade. So the reason I usually upgrade is because, um, when I’m like launching something, I like to see the tasks show up for like the entire week and you can only use that feature on the upgraded one. So sometimes I’ll upgrade just to like put in, you know, my like quarterly plan and I’ll downgrade.
Although, you know, for 15 a month or however much it costs. It’s definitely a tool that I would pay for, but it, it honestly is probably the, the best tool that I use, um, for my time management. Now, obviously there’s other tools for the business, but to keep me, the, the business owner, the CEO, like focused, that is the one tool I always turn to.
Yeah. And I think like more so than anything, it’s like, not necessarily about the software, but it’s finding one that works for you. And then it’s something you said, Steph is finding a way to stay consistent because I feel like if you’re going to stay in business for a long time, you’re going to be repeating processes over and over.
And instead of leaving things to chance. So at this point, we’ve all probably launched courses and programs multiple times. So instead of just being like, what do I need to do? For this upcoming launch. It’s like, hopefully at this point we each have a process and that doesn’t need to be super formalized, but maybe it’s just a little sub task list in Asana, or maybe it’s a.
Like a little spreadsheet in Airtable that kind of says every time I launch this program, I do X, Y, and Z before the launch, I do X, Y, and Z during, and I think that kind of the, the lesson here is that if you find a process that works and that helps you to grow your business and launch a course or do whatever you need to do to get visible and it Proves to be successful.
Just think, how do I make sure I repeat this over and over again, instead of reinventing the wheel every single time you go to do something new? And I think these softwares can be so helpful. Um, and I think the challenge for a lot of newer business owners is that, Maybe they don’t have these systems like you’re talking about stuff and that everything just feels frantic.
It’s like, when am I launching? When am I doing this? Where is this resource? So at a certain point, I think we have to get our businesses organized in order to scale up. And I remember, A coach said to me once, can your business, like, are you ready for more? If I looked at your backend, if I looked at your finances, if I looked at your processes, like, are you really ready for more clients to come through or should you be spending time?
just getting so dialed in on the basic tasks that you do on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. And then more people can come through the door. And I was like, Oh, okay. So smart. And it’s funny, because I was actually talking about this in my podcast a couple of weeks ago, because somebody had asked the question of, Um, or it wasn’t really a question, it was sort of more of a statement around, like, I’m, you know, fairly new to my business, I feel like I’m spinning my wheels constantly, and I’m, like, making no progress.
As in, you know, I’m working all the time, I’m feeling like I’m getting burnt out, and it feels like there’s no end in sight. Like, it’s just constant, there’s always these things that I’m like, ah, I should be doing that, I should be doing that, you know. Whatever. And I was thinking about how we also like have to, I think, just like normalize the beginning stages of a business as being, there is so much work that goes into setting up those systems.
And that is like such a normal process. And It takes time, and it takes energy, and it takes effort, so I think it’s just like, if you’re in that beginning stage, and you’re like, feeling those feelings, everyone is feeling those feelings. It’s normal. I feel like it’s only once you have gotten to a point where you’ve sort of set up those systems, you’ve had the opportunity to test out those systems, to use those systems, systems, that’s when you kind of get to that point where you’re like, okay, things feel steady and they feel like they’re in a flow.
But before that, it very much feels like that sort of hamster wheel, I think, of, of a little bit of chaos. So anyways, it was just sort of more of like a less of a, you know, oh, you don’t need to feel that way. And I think more of a like, no, it’s totally normal that you will feel that way. I think we’ve, we, we all feel that way, um, at that early stage.
Yeah, it feels like 101 things to do, and where do you focus your time and energy? And I think it’s just almost be just exactly like you said, just knowing that’s normal and not like I’m wrong or bad. I can’t figure it out. I don’t have the key to success. Like I’m going to fail. It’s just like, no, everybody goes through this, but it’s the people who.
Pushed through it, you know, step by step that make, you know, the progress and that, that have the success. I wouldn’t say that there’s like, A magic pill to success. I’m sure you guys would agree, like, we all just worked really, really hard to get where we are right now. And even in you saying that, like, there’s no magic pill to success, we were chatting before we started recording this episode that we popped into a Google Doc and we each shared, like, three of the lessons learned over the past seven or eight years of, how did we get to where we are today?
And it’s funny because none of us. Wanted to talk about the same lessons, like what has worked for me is so different than what’s worked for Krista is so different than what’s worked for Steph, which is a really good reminder that like, you’re going to go through your own growing pains and much as you may always want to outsource, um, Your upgrades to a mentor be like somebody coach me or teach me what to do.
Oftentimes you have to just get your feet wet, try a bunch of stuff and realize that you’re going to find your own way. You’re going to find exactly what feels good in your business. And if you stay super committed to the process, because I mean, there are so many times, and I’m sure you guys have felt this where it would have been easy to just like throw up my arms and say, This is hard.
Like, you know, I constantly have to be learning and growing and evolving and pivoting and listen to gut feelings and doing strategic stuff. And it’s like, entrepreneurship asks a lot of us, but if you’re committed to the process and willing to just observe what’s going on, what’s working, and then come to your own conclusions, I feel like that is almost like the secret sauce to being successful.
It’s not following. other people’s blueprint, but taking what you hear of their blueprint and saying How can I integrate what Steph’s doing, but do it my own way, or what Krista said is working in her membership, but now I have to apply it and try it on my own terms? So yeah, it’s kind of like the answer that nobody wants to hear, which is like, it depends.
Like how do you get to a six figure business? How do you get to stay in business eight years? Well, it depends. Like what’s going to work for you? Yeah, exactly. And I think being open, open to like pivoting. And changing and that actually reminds me of what I wanted to say earlier was sometimes we get so stuck in analysis paralysis, like what’s the best program to use?
What’s the best platform? I don’t want to decide, but even as you illustrated Krista, you went from, I’m not sure if you did a sauna, but you know, there to click up to air table, like it’s okay to change. It’s okay to evolve and pivot. And you’re going to at every stage in your business, but you know, just start with what you.
Can do right now. Maybe that’s starting with, you know, the programs that are easiest or cheapest or whatever, and then you can upgrade and change as you go. But I think we, so often it’s, it’s a great quality, but it can also bite us in the butt, it’s, you know, that perfectionism of like, so many of us are perfectionists coming into this, we want the right thing right away, but that doesn’t come until you’ve kind of learned the lessons and you start to evolve and get the right pieces of the puzzle together.
Yeah, I’m super curious because A lot of people say in business or just in general, there’s this phrase that’s like, your network is your net worth. And people always say, go to networking events, or you have to expand your network. I would love to ask the two of you, how much do you think your network has supported you in growing your business?
And if so, in what ways? Or do you feel like You haven’t had to rely on building a network, quote unquote. Hmm. Ooh. Okay, that’s a really interesting question. Um, and, you know what, it’s a funny question for me because I feel like I identify as an introverted person and so, to me, the idea of, like, going to a networking event is like, ugh, like I just I’m just not really, like, That’s just not my vibe, but when, but I guess I think about networking and I very much agree with that statement because I think about like, my online world, like my online community, I think is very much my network and to relate that back to business, it’s like, and my business specifically, I think about how many Thank you.
Of our members have been, like, long term members that have been with me since, like, DSC first started, and they, like, heard the origin story on my podcast, because, like, you know, I very much was, like, as I was building it, I was, like, talking about it on the podcast, and, like, you know, telling people, okay, here’s what’s happening, here’s how it’s going, and I think that process sort of, like, rallied this like community of people around the cause.
And I think because we’re all rallied around the same cause, it’s turned into like a lot of people being long term members that have just like been around since day one. So it’s like, that’s how I think about it. Um, is like, I think about all of those people that are You know, members that have been, that yeah, like are, I guess, my, my network because they were involved in that process.
So, that’s how I would think about that. That’s how I would respond to that. Um, yeah, such an interesting, such a good question. What about you, Steph? Yeah, I would say, again, also, I’m not one to just like go to a networking event, unless I have to, um, but the online networking, I’d say that happens very casually, you know, just through conversations, through connecting with people, um, has actually paid off in spades in my business.
I’ve made so many different connections with, uh, different associations, different kind of like key members of a community that have linked to me with someone else and then kind of put me down another path. Um, even just like my original like Instagram besties, like, you know, the people that kind of have been around, you just talk through DMS all the time.
Like those people are the people I bring on my podcast that helped me grow my business. So I just think. Yeah, it’s a layered question and I wouldn’t say that I am like seeking to be like, I got a network and like, how can I network with someone? But I think just who we are as people, um, it happens authentically because we’re excited about what we do and we want to share it with more people.
So the networking just, yeah, happens organically. I love what both of you shared too, because I feel like Much as we know that we need to network, it doesn’t have to look like the traditional way. And I think for all of us, we’ve built communities and connections in ways that suit our lifestyle. And I know for a lot of us, that was eight years ago when Instagram was still newer and like being in touch via DMs and seeking opportunities by reaching out to brands and companies or tagging them.
Like, There’s so many different ways to get out in front of new communities and to meet potential partners. Um, and I just think it’s important to realize that so many people these days, they want an online business so that they don’t have to leave their house, which is awesome. But I also think you still have to actively, somehow, be meeting people and making genuine connections.
It’s like, it’s okay if you don’t want to leave your house and go to a traditional, like, I don’t want to go to a networking event, that sounds, horrible and like so awkward but knowing that it’s like I still think we need to be getting out there every day in some way shape or form and to me that’s like one of the most important success habits that I think, um, I’ve been reflecting on in my journey is always meeting new people because you truly never know who’s gonna have an opportunity for you.
So I always think about like if I connect with 50 people, I’m certain that like one or two or three people are gonna end up being Connections that somehow provide me an opportunity or I give them an opportunity and I just feel like it’s almost a numbers game, but you just can’t be building a business in a dark cave, never talking to anyone.
So I think it’s just an important reminder to always be looking for opportunity and just getting social, whether that’s in the digital world or in the in person world or whatever way feels comfortable. Um, so that you’re not just feeling isolated and stuck because there’s this energy of like, I haven’t left my house in 40 days and I’ve talked to nobody.
Yeah. And I think you just can’t really build a bit. I mean, you probably could build a business in isolation, but I don’t want to. That’s not fun for me. And actually that just made me think about a question I’d love to ask you is, how important do you think something like our, You know, Marco Polo business, besties chat or, you know, other business groups or masterminds you’re in.
How important do you think that’s been to your success to, you know, get you to that next level in your business? Do you think it plays a role at all or is it just like an extra, um, on the path? Yeah. I mean, I feel like for me, um, it’s definitely been key, especially at the beginning stages. Like I’m at a point now where I’m actually not in any sort of a, I’m not in any sort of like a mastermind or a business coaching group or anything.
I’m not sure why that is necessarily. I think I’m just sort of in a season of life where I’m like, okay, where things are now. And I feel like actually our group like solves that for me right now. Funny enough, Marco Polo group, like it sort of solves that problem for me right now. I don’t feel like I need to actually anything else at the moment.
Um, but I do feel like at the beginning stages when the learning curve was so steep from going from like having relatively no business knowledge to like, you know, getting something up and running and like having a successful business. That was like so essential to have somebody to support me. And I mean, I’ve talked about this obviously before, like Kelsey was my first business coach.
That’s how we met each other, which is so cool. And so her, like that was instrumental in like, Kelsey was even there with me, helping me like brainstorm and map out the idea for DSC. Like, That was super essential. And then since then I’ve sort of You know, taking different courses, join different groups that have all solved different little problems for me, but, um, yeah, I think, honestly, I think it’s, it’s, it’s essential.
You really can’t, if you know you have a current problem that needs to be solved, like, I don’t think you can free information your way to a solution a lot of times in business. I think, like, I just have learned that like paying for a solution is just often the best way to get from A to B. Um, and that’s my, yeah, whether that’s a course or whether that’s coaching of some form, I’m a firm believer in making those investments personally.
Yeah. Yeah. I think it’s kind of one of the most important business success tips that doesn’t have a direct return on investment. It’s like, I can’t really quantify what it is to have a Marco Polo group with the two of you. I can’t really quantify what it was for Krista and I to be sitting in my living room brainstorming DSC.
It like, it’s that whole mentality of one plus one does not equal two. Um, it equals infinite, right? Because Knowing that we have the three of us to put our heads together and solve each other’s problems is invaluable, right? An online course is never going to come up with what the three of us can chat about.
And yeah, it’s just one of those things where I wish every single person in business or listening to this podcast could find a community of people that they could jam with. Because I think, especially as female entrepreneurs, sometimes we look around and we’re like, I don’t really know who cares about this.
Like, does anyone else like to study email marketing? Does anyone else listen to how I built this? And oftentimes your friends and family are like, what’s that? Or who cares? Or, you know, I shut my laptop at five and I drive home and it’s just like, Oh yeah. Like, you know, it is important to connect with people who, who get it and who have similar visions or paths or.
you know, people who just want to chat about the things you want to chat about. So I think, yeah, I, I personally think our group or any group I’ve ever paid to be part of, even though ours is free, like we just naturally love chatting. You could also pay to join a group, meet a bunch of people and just watch as things start to unfold and eventually just create your own community.
So I’m with Krista on this one. I really think that it’s so valuable to just. Chat with people who understand you and that, yeah, you can go in and out of hiring coaches, um, but always have a group of business besties that you can just real talk with about the behind the scenes of business life and, and problem solve with each other.
Yeah, I agree. And that actually kind of, like, segues into another conversation I’d love to have, um, is having this, like, you know, group of people around you, but, uh, in a team setting. So people that you’re paying to be a part of the team, the bigger vision, and I know that that’s something we’ve all kind of put some time and attention into is, like, getting the right team members that can help us grow our business.
And I know Krista has, like, really focused in on this in the last, um, I, uh, couple years. So I’d love even Krista to hear your thoughts on like hiring a team, how important it is to like invest into your business and like how much that can like skyrocket success. Yeah, totally. I, oh man, I love talking about this topic because I think it’s not talked about much, or if it is talked about, it’s often, I think maybe it can carry a lot of negativity in terms of like, uh, I’ve had negative experiences with, you know, team or whatever.
Like I hired this VA, it was not what I expected, whatever. Um, so one of the things that I, I feel like is important to start with on this topic is that I think that if you’ve never hired anyone yourself, but you’re like in that, um, spinning hamster wheel of like, I have so many tasks that I need to be done, hiring somebody does not have to mean part time.
Like, And I think that that’s so important is that hiring someone can mean for one or two hours a week at the beginning. And actually, I think that that is the best way to do it is to like, always approach hiring in a stepwise manner. So like, You start really small with somebody and then as your business grows with them, as you start to develop your relationship and you really feel like they fit the profile of a person you want to work with long term, then you continue, you start to increase their hours, you increase their hours, you increase their hours, like, you know, for Olivia and I, for instance, she’s been a Around, um, almost since I first launched DSC.
And I don’t even remember, she probably started at like 5 hours a week, maybe? I can’t remember exactly. Like, 5 hours a week, and then increased to 15. And then increased to 20, and then increased to 25. And then, now to where she is now, like, it’s been a very stepwise, super gradual approach that has felt really comfortable for both of us.
And so I think, you know, that’s definitely something that’s worked well is approaching hiring from that perspective. But then the other thing, too, that has worked really well for me when I think about people that have worked amazingly and people that haven’t worked so amazingly is just Trying as much as you can to hire somebody that you know.
Um, I feel like, honestly, there’s such a, I think when, with hiring, like, personality fit is sort of number one. I think a lot of the other skills can be trained. Somebody can learn as long as they’re open to learning and they want to learn. But personality fit does, that, that is pretty fixed. Right. And I think that that is like really foundational to having like a good working relationship and to feeling good about the people that you work with.
Um, and so, you know, as much as possible, I think like either really trying to get to know whether the personality fit is right at the beginning or just like finding people in your community. to work with you, that you can sort of, you, you know that you get along, you feel like they have the traits that you would want in somebody that you could spend time with.
I think that those are sort of my two most important lessons learned there. Yeah. Yeah. Do you find it hard to invest in someone? In the business like or is that does that come pretty naturally to you. I know you grew up with entrepreneurial parents and family members. So did you kind of know from a beginning stage like you need to invest in the business in order for it to grow or has that been a learning experience of like letting go of some of the incoming income and being like this needs to go right back out.
That has been such a learning. I feel like that’s been such a learning. Um, yeah, for sure. For sure, and I think it’s only been through trial and error and through like, seeing how certain investments have, have paid off over time that I’ve been able to let go of that, but I feel like that has been such a challenge.
Um, For sure. And, and particularly with team, I think, because you often are like, Ah, okay, if I, like, I can do this all myself. No, I can probably do that myself. No, I can just do that myself, right? We have this like con, I’d rather just do it myself than pay someone to do it. And it’s like, well, no, I mean, you know, what else could you be doing with that hour of your time?
That’s actually going to be a revenue generating activity. Um, So yes, for sure. I’m, what about, what about you guys? I’m curious about that, that like, investment piece. I mean, I can chime in. I still feel weary every time I pay my program manager and I pay her every other week. Like I’m still always like, Oh my God, like this is a huge output that I’m making on behalf of the business.
And we’ve worked together for four and a half years. So I think it’s, it’s always scary to invest, whether it’s in team, whether it’s in hiring an agency to help you, whether it’s in Facebook ads, like, you know, even though we are entrepreneurs and we’re used to taking risks, it’s still always feels risky to employ someone else.
And it almost makes you feel like, Oh my gosh, like I have to show up for them and be a good leader. And Make sure they, that I’m clear and they know what to do. And I think it continues to feel like such a growth edge for me. And I often question, like, am I even doing a good job of being, like, really crystal clear of what I’m looking for, what the vision is or what we’re doing?
And so, um, I think it can be challenging for, And I can only speak for myself, but like, I often kind of march to the beat of my own drum, and I just think about things, and I want to implement them the next day. But when you’re working with someone else, you really have to get organized and work on different timelines, and also realize that sometimes our greatest strength can also be our greatest weakness.
It’s like, We are good workhorses, like we just put our head down and get shit done, however, that’s also a weakness to not look at who can help me, how can I give this to my team member, how can I look up and realize I don’t have to do everything, um, so yeah, it’s like a curse that I’m still trying to break in myself, that I don’t have to do it all, and that Team is actually the most worthwhile investment because isn’t it neat that we can bring other people into our visions and the business that we’re building.
Yeah, and I think also finding someone that has, um, skill sets that you might be lacking in, or maybe that you have similar skill sets, but that they can amplify in you as well. Um, you know, we want to find someone that, for example, my, um, assistant, is very, very helpful at keeping me on track with things, you know, and like I mentioned earlier, I can have more of that, you know, ADHD jump around brain.
And if it was just up to me, I would jump around all day long. But having someone there that has the, uh, personality traits of being organized and being orderly, um, really helps me hone that in. But then it also gives me the container for her to have that. And for her, for me to know that she’s got my back with all these organizational pieces.
So I can get into the more visionary jump around and get excited about things. Cause I have this backbone in my business to support me with the actual tangible thing. So that for me has been a huge blessing. Oh, yeah, I actually I I’ve had that same experience. I think most recently and this was sort of like the best.
I’m sorry. My dog is going nuts in the background. I don’t know if you guys can hear that but he is barking like crazy. Um, so I, I feel like this was, this was like one of the most clear examples for me of like ROI with team. Um, or rather one of the most clear and one of the most recent was just how, I mean, obviously, so since I’ve had a baby, my baby is almost six months old now.
And so the capacity that I’m able to. work in my business is a lot less. Like I’m at about 15 or 20 hours a week right now. Um, but was 40 plus before, right? Cause I, nothing else. I was just able to work all the time. And so, um, you know, and so since then had made the decision earlier this year for Maria to be full time in her role, she’s the operations manager.
And so she does, she was able to take off a lot of that day to day stuff and like, For our most recent we recently did a launch of our counseling and coaching course and like she really was in charge of like scheduling all the emails out, you know planning out the launch and I like Oh my gosh, it was, it was a completely different launch experience than I’ve ever had before because balls were not being dropped by me, right?
Like when they had always in the past, like when I was the one who was in, you know, in control of everything or who, or rather when I was the one that was like doing all the things, you know, I wasn’t pre scheduling a bunch of emails. I was like day of. Okay, like gonna write out a launch email right now, right?
Or, you know, just different little launch components that I think had such an impact on the overall success and the overall experience that like, she was able to do because like, that is her role. And when I really reflect on that. Myself on like my strengths, doing those little detaily things are not my strength and like planning those things out and, you know, making sure all the emails are scheduled like that’s not my strength.
So to your point, staff, it’s like finding someone who is able to, you know, Pick up the slack for where you have a hard time showing up, but it’s probably important. Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. And it’s just like reciprocity relationship where you give and take and you’re both supporting each other. And knowing that they see the vision of the business is so important.
Um, yeah, it’s really great. I feel really supported and held when I have a team that I know I can lean on. And I think all of us are in that position right now where we’ve like nailed that down and we can think. So much bigger for different projects and down the line ideas instead of being so caught in the day to day minutiae of of the business
I have a question. I I think we should probably wrap up because I know you both probably need to get to your babes But on that point, I know this wasn’t kind of on our list of things to talk about But I think it’d be such an interesting thing to touch on for a moment Um with the both of you just having had a baby And we’ve talked about, you know, the business success that we’ve had up until this point.
I’m curious if you have, both of you have either had this thought or are currently feeling this feeling of now that I have a baby or now that I have, you know, this little person I need to take care of, that means that my business growth stops. That means I’ve hit a wall and you know, I’m never going to be able to kind of, you know, go to seven figures or go to eight figures or whatever.
Again, it might not be a monetary thing, but I’m just curious if like having a baby has. You know made you realize this is the most growth I can do in the business Or do you almost feel like a door has opened for exponential growth now? Yeah, I can chime in I definitely I actually postponed having kids because I thought there is no way that I can possibly build the business I want to build, make the money I want to make and raise a family.
So my husband was saying like, okay, knock, knock Kels, like time’s ticking. Um, he was ready for kids before me. And I kept saying like, no, my business is my baby. And in reflecting on that, I realized like I was telling myself This story, which we all do, it’s like, I can only make 70, 000 a year, or I can only work between the hours of nine to five.
My story was, I cannot possibly balance motherhood with running a business the way I want to, and it’s just about reframing, because now that I’ve gone through three and a half months of doing both, I realize that I have become a different person through this, who thinks more strategically, smarter with my time.
I focus on the one or two important tasks that I need to do each day and things are still moving along. So, um, you know, there’s going to be different phases, different experiences. Um, when your kid’s not sleeping, is it reasonable to think that you can, you know, think clearly and brainstorm the next visionary idea?
Probably not, but you have to give yourself grace and just realize that. You can also see time in a different way and realize that if you know what to work on and who to outsource to, anything is possible. And I think it’s just about reevaluating your priorities. So that’s kind of what my thought process is, but I’m still in it.
I’m still learning. Krista, do you have any thoughts on that topic? Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think, yeah, I mean, so we were just talking before starting the, like pressing record here. Um, like I’m not one to talk about revenue numbers, but I was sharing that like, you know, in DSC, like we had the highest revenue month we’ve ever had in the month of March, which was really exciting.
And so, you know, that’s five months postpartum. Um, so I actually think. I don’t know, I think like the opposite is kind of true for me, that it sort of made me more intentional and smarter about how I’m spending my time and how and making sure that the balls aren’t getting dropped in the business. Like I actually think they kind of were before.
Um, interestingly, if I’m being honest, I think that there were a lot of, you know, I think 90 percent of the stuff we were doing was amazing. And then there was kind of that like 10 percent of like things I wasn’t doing, like those last few emails in a launch or, you know, posting those things on Instagram or whatever that, you know, call to action that I don’t have in that blog post because, Hey, I’ll get to it later.
Whatever. There’s like those little detaily things that I kept telling myself, ah, this doesn’t matter. Like this is fine. Whatever. I’ll get to this one day. I’ll get to this one day. And then I think because capacity is so much reduced, you know, I had to shift into being like, okay, no, I need some help, brought, you know, Maria in full time, she’s able to pick up those balls that I’ve been dropping, and those things I think are the things that are like, now bringing us to the next level, it’s like closing that gap between that 90 to 100, which is really cool.
Um, and also to like, to your point, Kelsey, like, I’m now able to think about what is the next strategic direction for us. And like, for example, I’ve been spending the last week in the weeds, like my full 20 hours of work has been in the weeds on YouTube strategy. And I’m like, so excited about it because I can, you know, I can spend the time to do that, which is really fun.
And it’s like, and I really do believe that that is. Another thing that’s going to help us grow so it’s like I think it’s forced me to be like smarter with my time I think which is really cool So that’s it’s been I would say overly like more positive than And then anything else for me. Yeah, I love that.
And I guess it’s hard to know because of the way that you guys have like started your business and then started a family but almost reflecting back. Do you think you could have had a small family when starting your business and got it to the place it is? Or do you think it would have like almost been a longer progression because you would have had more limited time when there’s like 101 pieces that need to be put in place?
That’s a good question. I, it’s hard to go back and wonder. So I don’t know, Krista, do you have thoughts on this? I do. I think because I think about the beginning of my, so, so yes, to answer your question, I do think it would be a lot more difficult to, I think it would take, it would have taken longer and it would have been more difficult to have the family and then start the business.
And like, still a thousand percent possible in every way. But I think about how. You know, for me, like, the first year of, pretty much the first year after I launched DSC was COVID. And like, I was just home working all the time because there was nothing else to do. And so I can’t disregard the fact that that was a really important time for, like, building the foundation.
And when I talked about that. You know, that steep learning curve at the beginning. I think I was able to expedite that because I had more time to just solely dedicate to this business. Um, but I think that just means that you, that learning curve takes longer to accomplish. I still believe it can be, you know, you can get there.
It’s just, you know, I think it’ll just take longer. That, that’s just, you know, speaking from my own experience and, you know, full honesty. Yeah. Totally agree with that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I don’t think there’s like one, we’ve talked about this in many different ways today. There’s not one right way to run a business.
So even if it took three years longer than your business bestie who has, you know, 40, 50 hours a week, that doesn’t mean you’re wrong or you’re not going to be successful. It’s just. Success redefined in a different way, right? And it’s making time for other things in your life. And I, you know, I always catch myself thinking this, like, I think so often we think business is a sprint.
We got to sprint so quickly, get it all done, figure it out. But it’s a marathon. Like we got to, sustain for a long time. So even if you have to slow down right now because you have other priorities, that means maybe you can pick up in a year when, or a couple of years when your kids are older and everything’s always ebbing, ebbing and changing for people.
So it’s, I think that’s a big reflection piece too, is like, it’s nice to hear both of your perspectives, but we’re all coming from hugely different life experiences. So to remember that, like, it’s a self game we’re playing in business. It’s, you know, how much can we grow? How much can we. You know, challenge ourselves and in this game of business, it’s not about anyone else.
It’s really just about our personal growth and, and doing what feels good to us. And be in it for the long game. Like don’t start a business and expect to be, to be a millionaire overnight or to have 30, 000 email subscribers by next week. Like think of this on the long time horizon and you will be successful.
You will. Smash your goals, but sometimes it takes just reframing, like, yeah, it might take a year or five, but will it still be worth it? And hopefully the answer is yes. Mm hmm. Any last thoughts, Krista? I feel like that is the perfect note to wrap up on, being in it for the long game. Couldn’t agree more. I love that.
It’s so true. Well, this has been fun. I wish we could do this every week because I love this little jam session. It’s great. Me too. So special. So special and always just nice to reflect and I don’t know, to share what we’ve learned, because I know that so many people have helped us along our paths as well.
Absolutely. Well, I love you guys. Thank you for sharing all your wisdom. This has been so fun. Thanks for pulling us together, Steph. That was awesome. Yeah. Thanks for the nice evening hangout, and yeah, let’s do it again soon.
