Leah Gervais: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the, your biggest vision show. I’m your host, Leah, really excited to be here with you guys today. At the time of this episode release, I will just be wrapping up my mastermind retreat here in New York city. It has been so incredible. Um, I really have no words for how much I love my mastermind and how wonderful it is to see them transform so much. Um, and it’s just been so fun to do a retreat in New York. 

It’s no secret how much I love the city and it just feels so good to be able to do things back here after, um, everything the city went through and everything the country went through. We’re going to wicked being able to go out to dinner, uh, being able to workshop in this penthouse, overlooking all of Midtown it’s, it’s just been really incredible.

Uh, so I hope that you have been doing some fun things as well. And if you are interested in joining my mastermind, don’t forget to join the wait list. We are going to start doing enrollments for the open spots in October, uh, and those will fill ups. So you can join just by going to leisure bay.com/coaching. Um, and there will be a link to the waitlist there there’s no strings attached to sign up. There’s no deposit required. It is just a, um, well, I’ll wait for you to be the first, to know when the spots open and, and connect with us about it before we release them to, you know, the rest of our audience. Um, so you kind of get first dibs and you have a lot more time to think about it and you might even get access to fast action pricing.

So hopefully if that is speaking to you, you go ahead and take action again, you have nothing to lose. So anyway, that’s been new in our world. I am also, you know, in the thick of my third trimester of pregnancy and it is so crazy to realize that our little guy will be here in less than 10 weeks at this point. Truly incredible, truly incredible. That is assuming he comes on his due date, which none of us really know that. But anyway, the point is, I’m just very excited to meet him. And this pregnancy is just flying by at this point, it was not like this at the beginning, and now I just can’t believe how quickly it’s all moving. So it’s a very exciting time. I hope that you’re enjoying this chapter as well, and that you’re enjoying, uh, the, the coming of fall.

So today I wanted to share a little bit of the behind the scenes of the support that I receive in my business and my life in order to have my business be where it is. I did a poll on Instagram of a few different topics, and this one was highly requested. So in this, I just sort of want to list out all the different ways that I find support in my life and business and in the ways I streamline things so that it hopefully gives you a little bit of guidance, perspective, ideas, whatever you’re kind of searching for about how you can get supported yourself as you scale and grow your business. And as you, you know, shift around your time, um, I think that if you are the CEO of your company, if you’re the entrepreneur that founded the company, your time is so much more valuable than money is because there’s only one of you.

And it is the only finite resource you really have in your business. There’s always more money to be made. So, I’ve paid a lot of attention to my time over the years, and I paid a lot of attention to how I can scale it, how I can get things off my plate, which help both strategically and energetically. You know, you want to make sure that you’re able to not burn out and that you’re able to take care of yourself and that you’re able to enjoy the journey honestly. So I thought that I would just share a little bit about what it looks like for me. This isn’t really an episode full of advice because I do really believe that this needs to look different for everyone. And I highly encourage you to listen to this through the lens of why I chose these types of support rather than what the support is itself, because it might not make sense for you to have the same ones, but it could spark an opportunity for you to take action and get help in a different way based on the thought presses processes of valuing your time.

So this was highly requested, and I thought I would just kind of go through and share where, where I’m at and where I get help and how I save my own time. So first things first, I want to share a little bit about our team in my business, because that’s obviously where I have the most support. Um, and I did, I think a whole episode on this a few weeks ago, that just looked at like how we’re building out my team, especially as I’m about to prepare for maternity leave, but I just wanted to share some of the positions we have, actually, you can go ahead and share all of them. Um, and what that looks like for me as someone who just reached the recently reached a seven-figure mark. So first and foremost, uh, there’s two managerial positions on my team. One is front facing and one is backend facing.

So the frontward facing one means that this person is the customer service manager and she is also a lead coach in my business. So what has worked for me is to really fine tune the way that I coach and the style that I coach and, um, have her. And I also have two other assistant coaches who I’ll talk about in just a second, but have them do some of the coaching that I can do as well. This has been really beneficial to our clients because so many more people are able to get coached through my methodology than we could do if it were just me alone. And it’s been really fun watching my, uh, lead and then assistant coaches step into their role because they all feel from what I understand very fulfilled by coaching. So it’s really been a great expansion for our team in general.

Now I know that that’s not for everyone. There are definitely, especially if you yourself are a coach, some people want to be, you know, the head coach and that they want that to be the majority of what they do for me. I love coaching and I feel like my talents are equally as valuable doing more of the marketing and strategy in our business. 

So that might not look the same for you. Maybe you really love the coaching and you need someone to do all the marketing and you just are really the talent and you’re coaching most of the time. Um, maybe you want to have, you know, a few different coaches teaching how you do what you do or teaching your methodology. It really could look different for so many people, but this is what it looked like for me, having someone who is both the manager of customer service and the front end facing issues, or just projects that we work on and also does coaching.

And she also oversees the other assistant coaches. And then we have a backend manager. So that is someone who manages all the rest of the team. And then all of the projects internally that we work on, uh, she delegates them all. She works with all the contractors and she basically just manages the operations of the business itself. So at this point I primarily work with the two of them exclusively on our team. And I don’t work with the rest of our team members all that much because between the two of them, they manage the other team members, depending on whether the other team members are in front facing roles, working with our clients directly, or if they are in, um, you know, backend roles where they’re doing more operational or administrative work. So my job is to, uh, we’ll do my job and then coach the people I coach and market the things that I market and strategize the things I strategize.

That’s one of my favorite things in business is coming up with strategies and, and, and, you know, planning big picture things. And then I work with them to make sure that those things happen. So those are kind of like the two biggest supports to me directly in our business are those two managers. 

Then from there, we have various different, um, part-time roles, contractor roles, um, you know, freelance roles and people that just do some of them work with us with, for longer durations than others or on project basis is based to, but essentially then we have people that are managed by my managers. So that looks like a podcast producer. I have not produced one single episode of my podcast, myself, maybe the first one, just to make sure I knew how to do it, but I’ve had the same podcast producer for years, it’s my sister, Ellie. She’s phenomenal. 

So she does the podcast. We also have a social media coordinator. So someone helps me out with social media so that that’s not entirely on my plate. We have two support coaches, and then we have an, uh, QuickBooks, someone who does our financing. And then we also have someone who helps us with Pinterest. 

So that’s kind of what our contractor roles look like. And then finally I do have an executive assistant. So that is the third team member that deals directly with me. She doesn’t, she works a little bit with our operations manager because when she’s doing more administrative, um, assistant work for the business, they work together. But then she also just works with me on things that I need done. So she helps me. Um, she’s amazing. I mean, not only does she do things, you know, administratively in the business, but she also helps me in person and she really is just kind of like my right hand woman. So shout out to her. 

So that is what my business support looks like. Other than my team, the other part of business support, that I could not do this without our, my own coaches and mentors and the people that I learned from, and that support me. And I think it’s so important if you have any sort of service or you’re an entrepreneur that offers a service and you work with people directly, you likely hold a lot of space for those people.

 I’m just thinking of my mastermind students right now, because I’ve been spending this time during the retreat with them, but all of them holds so much space for their clients. One is a wedding planner. You have to hold a lot of space for brides. Um, one is a dating coach.

Um, one is a mindset coach for actors, you know, they’re uh, and two of them are health coaches. Like they’re helping their clients with very, um, I don’t want to say heavy, but just like personal and transformative and deep work. So they do have to hold a lot of space for them, uh, to work through that. And that can happen on their calls as well as around their calls. Um, as well as, you know, with energy that they themselves pick up on emotionally through the work they do with their clients. And it’s the same with me. And it’s probably the same with you. So it’s so, so important that you have space and that someone’s holding space for you so that you can continue to grow. You can process, you can have your emotions, you can have your fears, you can work through them, et cetera.

And I have always taken that seriously for myself as well. So what that looks like for me is basically always having a coach in some capacity. Sometimes I go through phases where I prefer, um, having a coach that works with me every week. Other times I prefer phases where I don’t prefer the weekly support because, um, I usually my schedule is just too busy and then I will do intensives like a weekend intensive with a coach or a, um, you know, a day together or whatever, um, every few months, or like once a month just in order to have that checkpoint and that like that multitude of space that is for myself. So I take that very seriously. And I think it’s really important to make sure that you are consistently carving out time for your own growth, because no, one’s going to do it for you and your business.

Isn’t definitely not going to do it for you. And I want to shout out to Kara Aldwell, David Nagel and Lacey Sites for three coaches that I’ve worked with in the past, I would say a year that really, I feel like helped me get to the seven figure mark. So huge, thank you to them. I’ve done different things with them, just depending on the season and what I needed, but I always always make sure to invest in myself and my own development and my own business dreams and my own personal dreams and just help people help me or have people help me. Um, I don’t think we’re supposed to do this alone. Okay. Moving on to some personal support that I have things that I’ve taken off my plate in order to scale and bring more broom to make more room to receive in my life.

On the personal side, there are things that I just no longer do because I did them in the earlier days of my business. And I realized that they were not worth my time. So I have not grocery shopped in almost two years now. Um, I live in New York city where we have whole foods and they have a delivery service. And that’s what I use. Um, I know there’s also services like Instacart or door dash. Um, but I think that that’s a great example of something that is usually stress inducing. It’s not like the most fun for me to grow to a grocery store. Um, especially like with COVID and everything. It just can feel a little bit chaotic. Uh, and it does not feel like it is worth my time to do it myself. So, uh, we also that I have that delivered. We pay, you know, pay someone to deliver it to us.

Speaker 1: (12:16)

I’m able to just shop online. It really could not be easier. And that is a great thing I think to do if you’re just like starting to kind of like outsource things are starting to see what you could take off your plate. If that’s something that just feels like it’s not really adding to your life to grocery shop, have someone else do it for you. Uh, similarly I, you know, um, we, I don’t clean my apartment. Uh, we hire a cleaning service. They come usually every 10 days or so, and we use an app for it. It’s super easy. I’m just able to book the time and schedule and, uh, call that a date. So that is not something that I do anymore. When I first quit my nine to five job, I majorly what I call procrastinate cleaned. Um, I think that my friend Sophie told me that phrase, actually, so I have to give credit where credit’s due, but it would like make me feel really productive to clean the house or clean my apartment.

I’ve always lived in an apartment, but that’s, I would spend like two hours just being like, oh my gosh, I got so much done today because I cleaned my apartment. And at the end of the day, I was not making myself any money. And in fact, I was probably losing money because I needed to be making more money than it would pay to pay a Sur or than it would cost to pay a service to, um, to do that. 

So that is not something I do anymore. And I actually have, like, I don’t really have to stop myself anymore, but in the beginning I had to actively stop myself from cleaning because I am a clean person. I like things to be just so I like a really tidy apartment. I could do it every day if I didn’t stop myself. Um, but that is just not where I want my energy anymore.

I, this has especially been the case since I got pregnant. I honestly don’t do my hair that much anymore. I know that that might sound a little bit lazy. Um, but I live across the street from a, uh, blowout salon. And pretty much whenever I need my hair done, I just go there. Um, probably, you know, every once in a while I was still just washing my hair at home and, um, let it air-dry or, or sometimes I’ll do it myself. But for the most part, I just find it easier to hop on over there, have it done there there’s wifi. I’ll sometimes bring my laptop, um, and work a little bit, or I’ll just take that time to kind of like, you know, be with myself. And I find that when I get it washed professionally and they do such a deep, thorough job, I don’t have to wash it as frequently.

I also, because I’m so pregnant, I’m not doing super intense workouts right now. So my hair isn’t all that greasy. It’s not like I need to wash it every day. Um, so that is just something that I’ve decided that I do not want to spend my own time doing as well. I mean, I don’t know. It feels, it feels very like, uh, some, a barrier for women. I mean, if you have, I have very thick hair. And so if you’ve, you know, thick, long hair, then it takes, and you want to do your hair, you know, you want to actually do it and not just let it air dry, which I typically do. I like my hair done. Um, you know, that can take between showering, um, washing it, getting out, uh, like putting product in a hairdryer or like a blow drying it and then styling it with a curling iron that can be a one, two, sometimes even two hour process.

And when I wash it at home, I find that I need to do that like every other day. Um, I hope that this isn’t weird or like TMI for anyone. I don’t think it is. But anyway, this is just the truth. And so, you know, the next thing, you know, you’re spending like four or five, six hours maybe per week on your hair, how much time do men spend on their hair per week? Zero, zero. And so if we are spending, uh, you know, 15, 20 hours a month on our hair, instead of taking care of ourselves, instead of working, should we decide to do so instead of extra sleep, instead of, um, things that make us happy, like we’re at a disadvantage. So I actually feel pretty passionate about that. I didn’t realize until I said it right now, but it feels like something that women have definitely the lower hand, the lower hand, I guess, would be the expression on, um, that I’m not here for.

So I do not do, uh, when I really want to blow it out and everything. I do not do that myself anymore and I’m able to work during it so worth every penny. Okay. Some health things that support me so that I feel optimal in my health and with my energy are that I weekly go to a chiropractor as well as an acupuncturist. Now keep in mind, I have pretty severe scoliosis. So I have been using both of those services for years at this point, um, because they really help my back. And they just, you know, I, since I have dealt with so much back pain, it’s almost like a maintenance thing that I have to keep up. But, uh, I do think it’s important to point out that, um, you know, wherever you are, whatever you can do to optimize your health, to make you feel good and to optimize your energy, you should do it is worth it.

You are worth it. Um, and it is, you will make the money back if you have more energy and just feel better. So acupuncturist and the chiropractor are a part of that cycle. For me, cycle of support. I also, uh, have delivered a vitamin so that I don’t have to go out and grocery shop for them. And I also have a service called bumping blends delivered, which is pre cubed smoothies. So I am a smoothie person. It is like a big way that I get fruits and vegetables every day. I love it. I make them once a day and I did not really see the need for bumping blends for a while because I just thought it takes what five minutes to chop up, um, you know, fruits and vegetables and make my own smoothie. But I have to say it is so nice having the pre-made blends delivered to my door already frozen.

All I have to do is take the ice cubes out of the pack, put in some water and blended, especially pregnant. It is really nice on days that I’m just really tired. And I just know that I need some vitamins and, um, some nutrients. So if you struggle to make smoothies and that feels like something that you should do, then maybe consider that I know that there’s daily harvest. 

That’s something I’m going to look into when I have my baby, um, just healthy food delivery services so that you can still eat the way you want to, but not have to prepare it yourself. I’m all for it. Uh, and then, you know, just typical regular things to keep your health optimize. I’m all about like getting your nails done regularly, getting massages, et cetera. All right. The final section that I have is family care, home care, things that help with like my family and home, um, to outsource that I don’t, they’re not all on my plate, our first having a dog-walker.

So I love walking Ruby that doesn’t feel like something that I really need off my plate all the time, because it’s such a great, you know, way to spend time, but I just simply can’t do it every day, especially being pregnant some days, it’s just not good for me to go on these long walks. So we have Walker, especially some days when we’re busy and, you know, just making sure that that doesn’t fall on me in case there’s my time needs to be spent doing other things. We also hired a dog trainer when we first got her so that she learned obedience without having to fall on my plate as well. And then for my pregnancy, I have a birth doula and when we have our baby, we already have a night nurse hired. So essentially what this is, is

The one who will stay the night in the nursery with the baby, so that mom and dad can sleep. And, um, that is just because I know how much better I function with sleep than without, it’s like, not even a question. So I want to optimize that time and I want to optimize my energy. So we will be having, um, help with the baby when, when the baby’s asleep and when we are asleep. Okay. So that is kind of what I had come up with. I hope that this is helpful for all of you listening. If you have any questions about this, please DM me and let me know if this was helpful to you, DM me, and let me know. And if there’s anything I can do to help you around the team-building piece, then please let me know, because I think it can be really hard to navigate what’s right for you, if you’re ready for something.

And I do really believe it looks different for everyone. I have to say. I think that there’s sort of this unhelpful narrative, um, in the online business world about growing a team at all costs and hiring before you’re ready. And I just honestly don’t agree with it. Um, I don’t think that you need to hire at all costs. And I certainly don’t think it’s something you should do if it’s not right for you or for your business or for your team. Everyone is a different leader. Um, it is a big investment of time and money and it’s a commitment to hire people. So I don’t think that it’s worth blindly doing. And of course we all know that you can’t do this on your own. So there’s a fine balance. And I’m happy to talk to you about it if it’s something that you’re navigating. And I hope that this was really helpful. So I will talk to you guys all soon. And here is your biggest vision.

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