The following transcript is provided by YouTube. Mistakes are present. To hear the podcast episode, click HERE.
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welcome to the world’s favorite water
treatment podcast scaling up h2o the
podcast where we’re scaling up on
knowledge so we don’t scale up our
systems I’m trace Blackmore I get the
fine privilege of hosting scaling up h2o
and folks this is gonna be a really fun
episode you’re gonna meet somebody who I
think is just fantastic there are a lot
of fun to work with and she makes me a
better me now before I get to who that
is I’m specifically talking on today’s
episode about episode 130 now that’s the
episode I aired back in March and it was
on tools that I use to help me be more
successful more importantly they were
tools that I use to help take stress out
of my life and today we’re going to go
into more detail about one of those
specific tools that I mentioned on that
episode but before we do I want to talk
about something else that I mentioned on
that episode and that was investing in
yourself or paying yourself first I
spoke on taking advantage of your
company’s 401k or getting your own Roth
IRA and I’ve received several replies
since I aired that show that since we’re
in a down market right now that that was
not good advice we should not be
investing in the market and the question
is you know if I invest in the market
right now does that mean I’m going to
lose money I want to explore that a
little bit because people have written
in they have concerns and they’re trying
to make sense of my advice and it
sounded good when the economy was so
great but now that the economy has taken
a downturn
is that still good advice well I would
say if you have five years or less to
invest in the market yes you need to be
concerned you need to talk to your
financial planner and figure out how you
can weather this down market so you can
take the most money out of your
retirement accounts if you’re getting
ready to retire however I’m pretty sure
that most people that listen to this
podcast have more than five or so years
to invest in the market so for those
people listening I want to direct these
comments to you and I would encourage
you that now is the time that you want
to invest in the market so my goal for
all of you is to not think about
investing in the market you should have
some sort of systematic plan setup every
month where a little bit of money is
going into some sort of financial
instrument that allows you to take
advantage of all the highs and all the
lows so it levels out so you’re getting
your money in the market and the goal of
that is is you want to get it in when
it’s low now if you set that up so it’s
automatically going in you don’t have to
think about it and you’re going to hit
those lows so many people are scared to
invest their money right now because
they see the market going down so what I
want to do is I want to take an analogy
that a financial advisor shared with me
when I was 16 years old and it just
stuck with me so no doubt about it we’re
in a down market right now so is it the
time to invest that’s the question well
I want to turn that to the analogy that
he told me and it was on tuna fish
folks tuna fish I love tuna fish when I
was in college I would buy tuna fish
because it was relatively inexpensive
and it was full of protein and whenever
it was on sale I would stock up on it so
the example that he would give is that
if I bought a can of tuna fish for $1
every week and then all of a sudden it
went on sale for two cans for $1 I would
at least buy two cans if not four or six
or maybe even whatever the limit it said
at the store because I knew that the
value would go back up to $1 and since I
was eating it every week I was going to
be able to take advantage of it at a
lower entry point at a lower purchase
price well folks think of the market
this way even though the number on your
portfolio might be lower right now
things that you can put in your
portfolio are on sale so if you’re not
doing something and folks you don’t have
to put hundreds or thousands of dollars
if you just invest dollars on a
systematic basis you’re gonna be able to
take advantage of that so for all of you
that have written in panic saying that
the markets going crazy I’m going to
lose all my money if I put the money in
the market well folks don’t invest money
you don’t have to lose now
invest money that you can leave in there
for a long period of time because folks
by the time you retire 20 plus years the
markets gonna be far higher I think then
where we started in this last quarter so
you can take advantage of that so my
advice to you is to set up some a
systematic plan and talk to some sort of
a financial advisor but please don’t
sell your accounts unless you have to
don’t make a paper loss a real loss well
I hope that’s helpful and I know my
guest today
is going to be helpful I’m really
excited to bring her on because she’s
part of the scaling up h2o team in fact
she’s part of the rising tide mastermind
team she is my executive assistant
Lauren Vaughn felt now when I aired
episode 130 several people in addition
asking me about finances are also asking
me about how do I use a virtual
assistant how do I hire a virtual
assistant what does a virtual assistant
do how could somebody that never comes
into the office possibly get the work
done so today’s episode is Lauren and I
chatting all around those topics I’m
gonna tell you about how Lauren and I
met we’re gonna talk about how we
figured out how we work well together
and folks how much better I am working
now that I have somebody helping me
so please welcome Lauren Vaughn felt
scale donation this is going to be a fun
interview my lab partner today is my
executive assistant Lauren Vaughn felt
how are you Lauren doing great thank you
so much for having me on this is so
exciting for me because you’re always
behind the scenes you’re correcting all
the wrongs that I do you’re making sure
everything looks good but now you’re
here in the front lines you are on the
podcast yeah this is so fun to get to
see the other side of things with you
yeah so Lauren this is gonna I’m really
excited about this interview because a
lot of people wonder you know how we do
so many things on the podcast of course
I get credit for everything and people
see all the things that we do with the
podcast all the things we do with the
mastermind of course all the things I do
with volunteer organizations like the
association of Water Technologies all
the things I do with my company
Blackmoor enterprises and they think is
he superhuman
how is he getting all of this stuff done
and maybe
shouldn’t tell him because now I’m
telling them what my secret weapon is
yep the secret’s out I’m here to help
make you look as good as possible that’s
my goal that is a hard job and you do it
well well thank you so Lauren uh you and
I were talking a little bit before the
episode and of course you hear every
single episode you edit all the show
notes you contact all the guests you
know all the behind the scenes that we
do for the podcast you are a hundred
percent involved and you also follow
along with a podcast and we were talking
before we hit the record button that you
really enjoyed the podcast we did last
week on zoom webinars yes that is like
right up my alley I love that kind of
stuff I really loved just hearing all
your tips and all the great things you
had to say it was super helpful you know
and I learned something from another
group that I’m a member of that I know
you did and I shared it on the
mastermind and we started doing it on
the mastermind I didn’t know to talk
about it on the podcast last week but
there’s a secret if you hover over your
picture on Zoom and there were three
little buttons there you can click on
that as well you’ll see at the very
bottom of the menu it says hide self
view and it takes your picture away and
I know people are listening to that and
they’re thinking oh my gosh that’s
terrifying I have to be able to see what
other people are seeing but what happens
when you don’t see yourself I’m gonna
tell you it is so helpful I tried it out
the other day when I was on boarding a
new client and I had never met him at
her before but I felt like I was in the
room with her I was able to completely
focus on the conversation I was having
pay attention to them and I was the
distraction of seeing myself was
completely taken away so I’ve got to say
it was like being in person which we all
could use a little bit of that right now
what does it say about how many times we
look at ourselves yeah it really does
make you feel like you’re in that
conference room because you don’t get to
look at yourself in the calm
for trim so scaling up nation if if
you’re listening to this and you just
think that sounds nuts I’m going to ask
you to just try it it will improve your
meetings probably tenfold yeah I would
have to agree well I want to introduce
you to the scaling up nation of course
I’ve already said that you and I work
together you’re responsible for making
me look good that is not an easy task
but do you mind taking a moment and
telling the scaling-up nation a little
bit about Lauren bond Felton
yeah I’d love to well I would say first
of all that I’m a mom I’m a wife I’m a
daughter a sister those are the most
important roles to me I’m also a virtual
assistant and I love love love love what
I do I love getting to help lots of
different people help their businesses
succeed and help them really look good
to all their clients and employees I’m
basically a ninny in Graham three if
anybody’s into that which is an achiever
so that’s what keeps me super motivated
and then anybody just in to the
temperament a red blue and basically I
used to be an event planner project
manager and executive assistant and then
kind of got into this world after I had
my daughter I like to cook I love to
decorate and I also have a secret talent
for floral design so I have a very
detailed eye but then I’m also very
creative at the same time so that’s kind
of Who I am nation I have to tell you
Lauren gives the best gifts they’re so
creative they’re nothing like I can do
you had a custom picture of our dogs
that you sent to us for Christmas that
my wife absolutely loves and because
that you can do no wrong Thank You
Lauren you mentioned a term that some
people may not be familiar with you said
you were a virtual assistant what is
that
basically they’re a part of your team
it’s an administrative assistant
executive assist
personal assistant that works remotely
so we all have the idea of what an admin
assistant might do for you but they
basically can do everything that that
role does but just from a remote
location so you might have never even
met them before in person but but that’s
okay you can work with them through them
through video chat and they just
basically are there to help your
business succeed can help you achieve
your goals and do all the tasks that you
don’t like doing or really shouldn’t be
doing but we really just want to be your
greatest ally and your biggest supporter
to whatever dreams and goals you have
that you want to happen we take care of
all those little tests and make it
easier for you Lauren how many times
have you been to my physical office zero
I have not we got to have lunch one time
but I have not been to your office
luckily we live close by so that we
could meet each other but you don’t ever
have to go into the office and that has
not once hindered the relationship we
have the productivity that we have we
don’t have to be together in the same
location in order to get stuff done
exactly well I’m sure is how did you
become a virtual assistant well I had
just had my daughter and I was working
as an executive assistant and the role I
was in was very demanding and very busy
and crazy and I felt like it was taking
me away from my family and life was very
hectic and so I just knew there had to
be a better way and I love that quote
about figuring out what you’re good at
and then finding a way to make money on
it and so I said well what am I good at
well it’s being an administrative stuff
and project management and there had to
be a way that I could help other people
and then be able to be home and
prioritize my family so I I figured out
how to start my own business
and I decided how many what’s the least
amount of clients that I have to have to
be able to make this happen and so I
found the client and got going and it’s
been such a fun journey of doing this
for
about a year and a half now and getting
to help lots of people succeed and help
their businesses grow and I got to have
the margin in my life to be able to be
with my daughter every day and then to
have time where I get to focus and get
down to work and really do some awesome
things for people
so tres how did you find me then so
truth be known you were not the first
virtual assistant that I worked with if
I can back up and tell that story
because I really think it sets the tone
of how much help I really needed a
friend of mine Charlie cicchetti he had
a virtual assistant for a while and he
was telling me the benefits of having
somebody help him out he’s a good friend
and he saw how much I was doing and he
was quite frankly worried about all of
that you he said you just can’t do all
of that and of course I was doing it so
Charlie also had some other motives one
of the virtual assistants that he was
using he split this person’s time and
the person he was splitting it with was
was no longer using her but anyway so
every time we would meet Charlie would
sincerely be concerned about all of the
things that were on my plate and I
really didn’t have a plan to get them
off of my plate my plan was just to
continue doing and hopefully the plate
would grow of course it doesn’t do that
and I want to say it was probably about
six months into this conversation and
Charlie asked me you know am I finally
going to get some help
and I told Charlie I just don’t have
time to train somebody I’m so busy and
it would take me probably doing
something six times in order to have the
same amount of time to train somebody
and then Charlie looks I mean he goes
finally you get my point I look at him
like he’s crazy
and he says my point is you don’t have
to do it the seventh and that just it
opened my eyes so I started working with
a virtual assistant and she was great
and she
do tasks for me and she was great at
doing tasks but I needed somebody that
can move beyond tasks and make some
decisions so I didn’t have to be
involved in every single thing and I was
in the process of trying to find
somebody like you Lauren and I was
failing miserably I then had lunch with
a good friend of mine who’s also a good
friend of yours al Kazi and he
introduced us and and I tell you that
was the best lunch I ever had I think
you and I got on the phone maybe the
next day we hit it off immediately yeah
and it’s just been fantastic absolutely
so where you want easy then about hiring
you didn’t know me I mean you had a
personal connection with which always
helps but were you I’m sure about it and
how did you overcome that I was
terrified to say it lightly because I
mean you’re doing so many things I mean
you’re helping me out with email you’re
helping me out with clients you’re
speaking to guess before I speak to
guest on the podcast so you you know so
much about my life and what I do and how
I do it that was a little intimidating
to think about giving up control at
first yeah and it’s scary to let
somebody into your email and all of
those things trusting your voice
basically took somebody else but all of
that being said and and me you know I
think we started off with baby steps at
first if I recall but you never
disappointed and then you know it just
made sense
you know the more I gave you to do the
more I was able to work on the stuff
that I was supposed to not just the
stuff I could do so how did you know
what work to start delegating to me when
we we got started I will say that that
was very difficult at first because I
was used to doing everything myself and
if I knew how to delegate it I probably
would have delegated it before as you
know we’re very active and the
entrepreneurial
rating system AOS and one of the tools
in there is called delegate and elevate
and what what I did is I used that tool
to figure out always coach my team
members to figure out what they’re good
at and what they like and stop doing the
things that they’re not good at and they
don’t like so I use that on myself and
what I did for an entire week I wrote
every task that I was doing down and I
figured out again if I loved it or liked
it if I was good at it if I wasn’t good
at it and then any thing that I didn’t
like to do and I wasn’t good at that
became my list on what I asked you to
help me with yeah that’s great I love
that tool I used that with all of my
clients when I onboard them to get them
to really hone in on what they’re good
at what they liked doing and then you
can give the rest away and it really
frees you up to enjoy what you’re doing
and could honestly do more you know the
funny thing is the stuff that I hate
doing you like doing I love it and I’m
good at it and I can get it done pretty
quickly yeah you’re so much better and
you’re so much quicker at doing it than
I was that’s perfect yeah I love that
what would you say then has been the
biggest payoff from us working together
the biggest payoff one is I felt like my
head was not above water and I would
occasionally maybe once or twice a day
come up for air but the rest of the day
that I was drowning I was drowning and
stuff I didn’t enjoy doing that’s an
exhausting place to be and I tell you
Lauren you do a really good job now
saying trace you should not be working
on this give this away right not afraid
to call you out for sure and I love that
you are you are very strong-willed and
you know I’m a red temperament I don’t
have a secondary temperament but you
have no issue calling me out and saying
that is not something you need to work
on well I think that kind of started off
with our
relationship in the beginning how we
kind of discussed everything in the
beginning my goal was you know you’ve
never been into the office but it’s my
hope that you feel a hundred percent a
part of this team
absolutely so we’ve got core values we
do things with the entrepreneur
operating system we don’t choose not to
do them just because you don’t come into
the office so I think it’s crucial if
you are working with somebody and now
there’s so many people working remote so
it might not even be a virtual assistant
it might just be a regular person
working at home you have to keep all
those things up and make sure that
everybody feels connected and valuable
so they feel like they’re appreciated
right right and I think we aligned on
core values as you shared with me about
how you guys operate and it is very
similar for me as well so I love that we
lined up on those things and we have
that similar you know way to talk about
things with each other I remember you
asking me what my biggest set teams were
we talked about our personality type and
what would make this relationship
successful for one another so I think
starting off on that basis then I kind
of knew that you were wired this way I’m
wired this way and so this is how we can
best work with each other so it’s more
than just getting tasks done and being
in personal I felt like we were able to
have a really personal relationship by
discussing those things and learning
about one another yeah I think I was
very important we also video chatted
which was great to be able to see each
other’s faces and get to know each other
and we do that on a weekly basis still
so that we can see each other and it
feels more personal that way and then I
think we both always decided to believe
the best about each other and we both
know our goal is to help scaling up and
everything that you do succeed and so
that’s really really the goal for both
of us and when we kind of set clear
expectations as well Lauren let me ask
was that difficult at first because I
know I can be very direct and if an
email can be said
five worse instead of ten words I’ll
choose five did it take a while to get
to learn where I was really coming from
I’ve definitely worked with other people
like that before so I kind of had that
in my mind I think what made it easy was
I knew I could come to you if if
something hurt my feelings or something
came across the wrong way I was able to
bring it up to you and I would hope
you’d be able to do the same for me and
that’s that’s what I really liked about
our relationship that we we were able to
kind of say those things to each other
because it’s definitely happened you
know you can step on each other’s toes
when you’re both in the end box and
you’re both working on a file and
whatever you can happen but the fact
that we both had those open lines of
communication that we kind of set at the
very beginning I knew I could come to
you and I didn’t have to be you know
afraid or scared or anything like that
yeah I think the upfront expectations
are key and when that conversation
doesn’t happen then you don’t know what
set of expectations the other person is
working off of right absolutely
so Lauren you’ve asked me some questions
about me bringing you on to the team let
me ask you a couple questions about you
bringing me on to the team so to speak
yeah so when when you start a new client
how how do you start off what’s what’s
the best process for that well like I
mentioned I really love using the
delegate elevate so that’s kind of where
I start off I get them to track their
tasks and figure out what they’re doing
all week long because lots of times
executives business owners don’t I don’t
think they know what they’re supposed to
be doing they get in and whatever slot
whatever is on fire is what they’re
working on so we’ve kind of got to get
down to what are they good at what do
they love doing and what should they be
spending their time on and then what are
the things that they can offload to the
virtual assistant or to somebody else on
their team so we kind of start there and
then I like to do a video chat meeting
where we go over that and then we kind
of figure out okay what can I lift off
of your plate what can I take for you
and so then we go from there and we have
a lot of different tools that are out
there to use I think you’ve got a
a communication tool and decide on
what’s the best way for you to to
communicate I know for you and I like
flack wasn’t really an option I think
that’s a great one to use but I think
for us we can call each other text each
other or email and then I think you need
to decide a project management tool so
what are they already using or what can
you help them implement and then you
know getting on board with where do you
share files getting all their branding
information if you’re doing social media
getting all that that you just got to
have a clear path to download all of
that kind of stuff another great tool is
LastPass
which we use to share all passwords so
that way they’re safe and secure I never
see any of your passwords but you’re
sharing them through there with me and
you’re controlling that so that way I
can log in and do what I need to do
setting up on email if I need to be on
their company email they add me and so
we kind of get all of that stuff set up
and then we choose the time to have our
weekly or monthly meeting depending on
how often we need to meet but I think
that that weekly meeting is really
crucial to keep you guys on the same
page and so just kind of figuring out
what what would make this a successful
relationship what are your goals through
this relationship and how can we how can
we get you above water into a place
where you’re really working in your
highest and best use let’s unpack a few
of the things that you just mentioned so
we share files back and forth there
might be some people listening in the
scaling up nation that don’t understand
how we do that or how that can be done
can you go into that a little bit so for
file sharing I think that it has been
really easy just to whether you use
Microsoft or you’re using the Google
Suites that you can use Google Drive you
can use Dropbox and share all of those
things with us we I’m a part of your
Microsoft program you’ve added me on
email and then I’m on all the SharePoint
files and so I’ve really been able to
keep all those
organized and keep everything all
aligned in there and then another big
thing is you had all of those procedures
typed out for me of the way that we do
things so that way is easily able to be
replicated loom videos is another great
thing to use so that you can record how
to do things how to do processes and you
just are able to do it through the
internet and you record a video and I’m
able to watch the video and I can just
carry it out so it’s a real simple way
to make those things happen do you have
anything else you can think of that we
have used to make sure sharing files and
sharing documents a lot easier I think
you mentioned the big ones and we’re
using office 365 and that just makes it
so easy and I like that you mentioned
loom loom is free I think there’s a I
think they charge you for some part of
their account but I don’t know what you
don’t get on the free account that you
would want to pay for it I think it
might be a certain amount of hours maybe
or a certain amount of videos yeah let
me let me share a little bit with loom
that was one of Charlie Cecchetti
suggestions when I said I didn’t have
time to Train somebody he said we’ll
just install Loom it’s a plugin for
Chrome and it records your screen and
you can also record yourself from your
webcam and you just narrate what you’re
doing so you’re doing the same work
you’re just narrating what it is that
you’re doing and then that uploads a
file that becomes a how-to video yeah
and you record yourself doing it one
time and then somebody else can do it a
million times after you it’s a really
really helpful tool and something I want
to mention is I was doing things the way
I knew how to do them and you started
out doing them those ways but you found
better ways quicker ways more efficient
ways to do them yeah that’s a great
point having a fresh set of eyes from
the outside to be able to look at the
processes and look at how things are
done and and bringing their own
expertise and ideas and you’re really
able to collaborate
and figure out more efficient cleaner
ways and a virtual assistant really does
have those that set of eyes to be able
to see things like that and I think
we’ve made our processes a lot quicker a
lot cleaner and a lot more clear for
things moving forward I would definitely
agree with that and again processes all
part of the EOS program so we’re
following EOS and you don’t have to be
in the office to do that yeah
you also mentioned our weekly meeting
and that is such a concentrated meeting
we’re talking about so much stuff we’re
getting the pulse of the week do you
mind breaking that meeting down for the
audience yeah and I love our weekly
meeting because it helps keep me moving
and it helps me get my questions
answered but I think it also helps you
stay organized stay on top of your list
I know it’s easy to forget things and
things fall through the cracks when you
meet weekly with your virtual assistant
you’re able to kind of go through
everything so that we have a clear plan
moving forward for the next week so the
way I kind of like to do it is I think
of okay what top of mind what’s the
thing that we need to talk about right
now it’s hot on the plate and so we talk
about that come up with ideas strategize
and then we’re able to move on to
everything out so from there I like to
look at your calendar and I’ve kind of
been looking out ahead what’s coming up
week what’s coming up in a month a
couple of months so that way if you have
an event or something you’re planning
for that would require more time than
I’m able to bring those those things up
to you then just what kind of things
need your response from there so looking
at your email and was there an email out
you didn’t reply to or somebody’s asking
something and I love them being able to
hear from you what what would you like
from your reply back or how should we
handle this situation and so I think
that really helps then me be able to
stay on top of your email and keep
things moving and then I kind of asking
you what do you have for me what else
are you thinking what’s a new big idea
or what’s something new you want to
implement
and from there we’re able to come up
with a plan and keep moving forward and
we try to use video conferencing
whenever we can the platform we use is
zoom so that way we can see each other
we can pick up on those nonverbal cues
and we can even share our screens if we
need to yeah that has been so helpful to
be able to can show you when I’m
thinking or you can show me over screen
share and and of course we’re also able
to just check in and ask how’s your week
going how our think how’s your life
going and that’s a personal touch point
as well to be able to you know keep our
relationship up and it’s not all just
yeah I’m pretty sure there are people
out there listening that they’re
thinking okay I’m not ready for a
virtual assistant but there’s some other
people out there that are thinking how
do I know if I need a virtual assistant
what would you tell them well I actually
created a quiz on my website that I like
to use to kind of have people go through
to see how about all for you or just one
task or do one pain point or is it just
everything that you’re completely
pondering but I think some big things to
note are have you taken how many
vacations have you taken or you have
margin and your life for you would you
say you have work-life balance are you
getting to spend time with your family
and friends are you getting enough sleep
that you want and and just so you have a
clear picture of what you should be
working on each day is your inbox
stressing you out or do you not have a
good to-do list the things get messed up
when you book a meeting or the miss
appointments see forget things just some
people even are having trouble tracking
their expenses and managing all that and
voicing for their business or you
getting paid on time and then do you
just have a new project that you want to
make happen and you don’t you kind of
don’t know how to make it happen so
those are some of the questions I kind
of like to ask to see to get a little
bit of a status of where where they’re
at but I think that’s a pretty good
indicator if you don’t you don’t have
the margin in your life that you’re
wanting then a VA could really really be
to be right for you so tres what would
you say would be a good indicator if
somebody needs a virtual assistant well
I can speak from my own experience and
as I mentioned earlier in the show I
really felt like I was drowning I I
loved to help people out I’d love to say
yes when people asked me to do things
and I was saying yes so many times that
I wasn’t saying yes to myself and that
was becoming an issue and yes Stacy and
I did take vacations but I was working
just like I was here at the office on
vacations and that of course isn’t fair
to your family so I decided that there
were certain things that I needed to
work on certain things that I enjoyed
working on that delegate and elevate
that we talked about was was just really
key in me figuring out what those items
were and by by doing that I started
becoming more productive I started being
happier and again the things that I
wasn’t good at were the things that you
were good at and the things that were
making me unhappy are the things that
make you happy so it really did work out
well yeah it kind of goes back to that
thing like what is your what’s your time
worth you know I’m glad you mentioned
that
to great friend of mine Templeton my
business coach of course you’re working
with Templeton as well well Tim’s
fantastic I hope to learn a tenth of
what Tim has forgotten about business in
my life just a fantastic individual but
I want to say it was really early on in
our relationship and Tim was asking me
how things were going what I was doing
and I told him that I was getting ready
to cut the grass at our office and he
kind of you know looked at me
inquisitive Lee and he said cut the
grass at your office you were just
telling me all these things that you
were doing and of course I was looking
at that I was capable of cutting the
grass there was no reason that I
wouldn’t cut the grass
and Tim told me that there are certain
things that only I should be doing and
when I’m doing those things it’s making
the business more valuable it’s making
people in the business more valuable
it’s making people appreciate me more
and if I wasn’t working on those things
I was doing everybody a disservice and
he even went on to say you know at your
top billable rate what could you charge
somebody and we came up with a number
and not that I would always bill
somebody that rate but that was my
potential and then when you put that
side-by-side with hiring a lawn service
it was just ridiculous for me to cut the
grass and I didn’t understand that until
Tim drew that out for me
now you don’t cut grass but you do so
you know that’s when I originally
learned it was grass but to apply it
with you and I working together you know
I’m now able to work on the items that I
should be working on and the items that
I was working on that really maybe I was
even good at them but I didn’t really
enjoy them you are so much better Adam
yeah and we’ve been able to start new
things and build on lots of different
things you had because you were able to
have that space to fruit and freed up to
think of new ways to do things and new
things gentlemen you know I would say
that the mastermind came out of that I
don’t know that you would have had the
margin to do that otherwise that is a
great point absolutely that has always
been a dream of mine a goal and if I was
doing everything that you’re doing
there’s absolutely no way I would have
had the bandwidth to do it yeah and
you’re doing you’re helping me so much
with the mastermind I don’t know how I
would do the mastermind without all the
backroom stuff that you’re helping me
out with I would say that was one of
those days when we picked off the
mastermind the first time for me I was
seeing all of that finally come together
and all the hard work that we had we
input into it because it does require a
lot of behind-the-scenes emailing and
getting people all set up but I think
that it’s I think they would all say
there’s been valuable to them and it’s
been really exciting for us to see as
well well of course we’re coming off of
all the stay-at-home orders and during
that time we had so many changes in our
business and you and I were able to put
on was it 13 webinars yeah I believe so
and you know I of course I interviewed
everybody but there’s so much more that
has to happen to get the speakers to
come on to make sure that we can post
things properly I bet you there’s at
least a dozen things that have to happen
there’s no way I would have been able to
do that and then serve the community in
the capacity that we both were able to
yes and I think it was a testament to
all the processes that we have because
it was like everything happened and you
got a speaker in a couple of days we
recorded you send the recording to me I
get it edited and then we come up with
the whole plan to get it out to
everybody lots of marketing a lot of
communication and I think it was really
remarkable that we were just able to
kind of push those things out so quickly
and help more people honestly because we
had such strong processors and really
great lines of communication between you
and I to get all of that that out so
quickly by the way scaling up nation if
you have not seen those webinars there
are still some out there that are that
are very relevant you can go to scaling
up h2o comm forward slash webinar and
all of those are listed on there for
your viewing pleasure such a great
variety of topics for anybody in
business or just anything anything that
you might be going through from HR to
CFO stuff I mean I thought the content
was really incredible top top-notch
speakers that you found for sure all for
free which was awesome yeah that was
incredible we found experts in all of
those fields and
were willing to come on and help us out
yes gave away their knowledge so
definitely go go check those out Lauren
let me ask what are the top ten things
that a virtual assistant should be doing
or maybe I should put it this way what
are the top ten things that someone
shouldn’t be doing and allowing somebody
to help them I loved coming up with this
list and kind of honing in on what the
different areas are because I think you
can you can find the A’s that are
experts in these different things and
that are just able to kind of cover all
of them because I do a little bit of all
this for you the first thing I’d say is
research think of all the things that
you want to learn more about in your
industry or you need to look up articles
for or you need to find data or any I
mean anything that you want to research
but don’t have the time to do a virtual
assistant has all that time that they
can now give to finding that and
curating stuff for you or learning how
to use a new tool or system so some of
the stuff I do has just been learning
how to do new marketing things or new
social media ideas for scaling up and VA
has some time to do that research that
you wouldn’t have to do so I think
that’s a great great place to start
social media is another big thing if you
don’t have somebody at your company
that’s doing that or you don’t really
care about it virtual assistant can
really help put a good presence for you
and your business out there they can
create graphics and all of that kind of
stuff for you there’s plenty of tools
out there for that another thing I would
say is marketing and email so that’s
another kind of way to get your company
out there and your business and your
name and just really working together to
hone in on your brand and your voice I
think tres and I talked a lot about his
company and his brand and then we also I
read his articles
I mean I basically decided I’m going to
be a student of tres Blackmore scaling
up Blackmore enterprises I want to be a
student of you and so if I can learn how
tres writes how he speaks that is what I
want to be able to do
that out there in marketing and emails
and all that kind of stuff
another thing is tracking your expenses
or invoicing if your company’s smaller
and you don’t have somebody that doing
that it’s real easy for them to be able
to track and help keep up your
QuickBooks or whatever you might have
another two big ones are calendar
management and email management those
are just basic things right off the bat
that can somebody else can spend their
time in they can flag curtain and emails
for you kind of clean things up I spent
a couple of days I think unsubscribing
from things for trade and creating
folders and just getting things kind of
organized and and coming up what what
the best system was for tree it’s not
going to look the same for everybody but
I think figuring out what works for you
and your client let’s see to-do list and
task list if you can be the one helping
put if the VA can be the one putting the
list together of here the top things you
need to be working on here’s what we’ve
got to get on this next week project
management is another one if you have a
project or a new thing you want to
implement like when trace brought up the
mastermind to me coming up with the
process and what we’re going to do and
how we’re going to get it out there VA
can really help you launch a new thing
another one is events and I know right
now it’s not really in person events but
preparing webinars and zoom links and
all of that kind of stuff is a huge one
that a virtual assistant can help you
get the right information out to the
right people
set up the meeting set up with what what
you need and then another one I would
say is editing documents and
publications if you write different
articles or if you’re putting out
different emails or whatever it might be
they can edit for you which is really
helpful and kind of take the time to
make your writing look just perfect and
then another one I would a bonus that I
would add it’s just creating staff and
client appreciation that’s one thing
that I’m really passionate about and I
would say reminding reminding you of
your of birth
and anniversaries and things important
things that are coming up and just
coming up with different ways to make
you look really good to you you canyon
and your clients is a really great thing
that a VA can do for you so those would
I would say are the top things that
right off of that and to get somebody
started off with Lauren let me ask
you’re doing all these things to help me
look good I’m getting credit for all of
your work thank you by the way so how
does that make you feel that it mean it
really makes me feel good like I really
believe that’s how I’ve been created is
to kind of be behind the scenes and when
you when you win I win like when your
business succeeds or when when I see
people in the mastermind succeeding like
and I know personally that I did a good
job and I think you do a great job of
encouraging and celebrating me so that
helps to that I get the handwritten note
from you or just even a thank you like
that that’s enough for me so I I really
do thrive being behind the scenes but
kind of how I’ve been wired and what I
love doing well I think we started this
interview talking about relationship and
it sounds like we’ve come full circle
talking about relationship Lord if
there’s somebody listening and they just
want to learn some more information what
should they do well I would say that
they can download the delegate and
elevate tool we’ll have that listed in
the show notes and that’s a great way to
start seeing what you can really
delegate we also have the list of I
think we have 35 things so they’ll get
good ideas sparked for you of what you
could delegate to a VA and then I would
just say you can book a call with me and
we can get started and see what what
might be who might be the best person
for you and and where we can go from
there and I’ll have that link in the
show notes and then as always you can go
to my website Lauren bond felt calm I’m
will have that listed in the show notes
as well well Lauren I want to thank you
for all the things that you do for me
and all the things I’m able to do
because you are helping me out but I’m
not quite done with asking you questions
you are now going to get in the hot seat
and I’ve got some lightning round
questions for you okay
good all right you’ve heard me ask these
two countless guests now it’s your turn
you now have the ability to go back in
time and talk to your former self on
your first day as a virtual assistant
what advice would you give yourself I
would say don’t don’t be so nervous
just go for it like you can do this
looking back now a year and a half later
I didn’t have to be nervous or afraid
like I had exactly what I needed when I
needed it so I think that was that was
the coolest thing is you can research
and learn anything so you will you will
be able to figure it out I would give
myself a vote of confidence
I think if I went back yeah and for what
it’s worth I never detected any
nervousness it was all confidence all
the time so that was just in your head
that wasn’t coming outward yeah that was
all in my head what are the last few
books that you’ve read well now that I’m
a parent it’s brown bear brown bear what
do you see and things like that but I
did read untamed by Glennon Doyle I like
learning from other perspectives and
people different than me I really liked
that and then there’s a parenting book
that I’ve been reading parenting from
the inside out and I just really liked
that because it kind of helps you look
at how you grew up and how you were
raised and Hawk you can work through
some of those things to hopefully not
screw up your kids to ball when they’re
sitting on a couch talking about it
later to a professional yeah right
Lauren there is no doubt that a
scriptwriter is going to find out about
your life and they’re going to make a
movie about it
who do they cast for Lauren laun fell
well it’s funny I thought when I was
little I was always obsessed with the
fact that maybe my life would be a movie
and my mom is a big journal or so she
always made me journal
so I have scores and scores of stuff
that a writer could use I could tell
about my life but I’ve always thought
that my doppelganger was Mandy Moore so
that’s that’s probably who I would say
well there you go
final question you can now talk with
anybody you want throughout history who
to be with and why I would have to say
John Adam I have been kind of obsessed
with that period of time so I just love
to know kind of what they were going
through and thinking about and all of
that is there starting you know this
country so I know it’s a little weird
but that’s what I love to talk with I
don’t think it’s weird at all in fact I
think the HBO series they did on his
life was one of the best series ever I
loved it I think that up I loved it
well Lauren I want to thank you for
introducing yourself to the scabbing up
nation you courser helping put out all
of these episodes each and every week
and now they know who’s helping me yeah
so fun getting to finally talk with you
guys with my voice instead of just
through today so that was really really
cool thank you so much for having me on
here I really appreciate it well it’s
been my pleasure and my last question is
how weird is it going to be when you
help me at it you hear your own voice
yeah I’ve already thought about that not
not looking forward to that I hope this
episode helps somebody and help people
find the relief they need my passion is
getting people to be able to spend more
time with their family and friends and
just be able to to live their best life
so that that’s my hope
Lauren thank you for not only coming on
scaling up h2o
thank you for helping me edit scaling up
h2o putting stuff out there on the
website doing the social media post all
the things that you are so good at that
I could do but I would never do them as
good as you do them and because you do
them it frees me up to do the things
that I am awesome at so thank you for
all of that nation I can certainly say
that I am more productive because of all
the things that Lauren helps me out with
she makes sure that I stay focused on
the things that I should be doing and
not simply just doing the things that I
could do folks I’m capable of doing so
much but when I get focused on my
highest priorities that’s when the
needle really moves that’s when I can
see things really happen and it’s so
easy for all of us to get inundated with
all of the stuff that we have to do but
if we identify things that we don’t have
to be the ones that do them and work on
the things that we are so good at not
only does that make us more productive
it gives you a feeling of freedom that I
just cannot describe so I’m sure we have
two camps out there we have some people
that are wondering if a virtual
assistant is something that they would
ever use they just do not see a need for
it well folks virtual assistant probably
is not for you right now but this is
still a good episode because it’s going
to teach you to do the things that you
love to do and you like to do and
eventually delegate the things that you
don’t I want to talk about that tool
that Lauren and I mentioned delegate and
elevate in a second and then the other
camp are the people saying wow trace you
have hit the
nail on the head I definitely need
somebody to help me because I feel like
I’m drowning I can’t get everything done
and all I’m doing is working hard every
single day doing all these tasks and I
can’t get my head above water and folks
that’s exactly where I was and because a
friend of mine saw that and was
concerned he helped me out with hiring
my first virtual assistant so to pay his
kindness back Lorne and I put together a
web page to help you get started on
figuring out if hiring a VA is right for
you that web page is scaling up h2o comm
Forge slash Va Va as in virtual
assistant there you can see some
suggestions on what you should have a
virtual assistant do for you I think a
better way of looking at that is what
you shouldn’t be doing and delegating to
someone else
like a virtual assistant Lauren I spoke
about the EOS tool delegate and elevate
and it’s one of my favorite tools for
this you can download that on that web
page and what that is it is a page with
four quadrants on it now whether you
think you need a virtual assistant or
you do not I encourage every listener to
fill out this page because it’s going to
allow you to realize what you love to do
and what you like to do and when you can
work on those things and figure out how
someone can help you on the other things
you’re going to love your life so much
better so here’s the assignment I want
you to download that page and I want you
to write down every task that you do for
at least a day I would encourage you to
do an entire week and then you’re going
to put it in one of the four quadrants
so up top and quadrant one
our things you love to do and you’re
great at doing them quadrant 2 are
things you like to do and you’re good at
doing them quadrant 3 are things you do
not like to do but you’re good at doing
them and quadrant 4 are things you don’t
like to do and you are not good at
social media posting was definitely
something that I needed help with
because it fell in Quadrant 4 now I
think that’s in Laurens quadrant 1 so
how cool is it that she’s doing a task
that she loves to do that I hated doing
know if I hated it I just didn’t
understand it as well as she did folks
when I started figuring out the things
that I love to do the things that I like
to do and I just focused on those and I
delegated everything I didn’t like to do
that made my day-to-day so much better
so as you can tell the key to this
delegate and elevate form is you’re
going to delegate everything below the
line so everything in quadrants 3
everything in quadrant 4 for those of
you that are really far off from hiring
an assistant this is still a good
exercise because if you can focus on the
things that you love and like and then
figure out how someone can help you or
maybe you can automate the other things
it’s gonna help your day-to-day as well
well I’m sure you learned today that is
not just me that puts on this podcast it
does take a village we have several
people helping us of course Lauren that
we just spoke with Sean who does all of
the editing for us Sean has an
incredible superpower where he can make
me sound so much better than I actually
do sound we have Danielle that helps us
out as well and those are the people on
our team and the reason I mention that
is one I want to thank them but too
I want you to know that when you can
bring other people in to help you
accomplish what you are trying to do and
allow yourself to focus on the things
that you love to do and you like to do
folks that’s what life is all about and
when work is fun and things you are
working on is fun that’s when you are
happy and let’s face it life is too
short not to be happy life is also too
short not to have another brand new
scaling-up h2o episode next Friday and
folks I will bring that to you and in
the meantime have a great week folks
nation I think the secret to being
successful is aligning yourself with
other successful individuals and that is
exactly what the rising tide mastermind
is if you are looking for a group to get
you further faster then please look at
the rising tide mastermind the whole
group is designed with that purpose in
mind and if you want to find out more go
to scaling-up h2o com forward slash
mastermind