130 The One About The Tools I Use

Scaling UP! Nation! Thank you!

Why am I thanking you? Well, you’re fantastic. More specifically, you have helped me with this podcast in so many ways. Here’s what you do:

You listen to the podcast.
You get great guests for me to interview.
You tell others to listen to the podcast.
You give me questions to help with future episodes.
And the list goes on.

Today’s episode is from some questions that the Nation! has asked. They are specific topics that I have brought up on the show before but needed more clarity. I created this episode to help you with some of the tools I use that help me.

To be fully transparent, I have a unique opportunity and perspective to help water treatment companies and individuals. I have insight into how they can be of use for water treaters. Some of the items we are talking about today are tools I have developed and facilitated specifically for the water treatment industry. These products and services will create a commission or fee that will come back to me.

Tool #1: Roth IRA

A task I do that I love is meet one on one with people. A ‘one to one‘ is where I devote a specific time to talk with someone about anything they would like to discuss. Typically, it is around goals or an issue, but I never know what topic someone will bring up. Most recently, people have been asking me about savings. Excuse the rant, but schools are not preparing people with how they need to save money for their long-term goals. Schools are not even preparing incoming students for the barrage of credit cards they will get as a new college student. The lack of knowledge and abundance of credit card debt has led many young people not to know what to do. So, by default, they do nothing, at least in the savings department.

I want people to know you have to pay yourself first. Otherwise, no one else will do it for you. What do I mean by ‘pay yourself first’? Get a Roth IRA. Put $100 a month into it, and you will have a great savings plan started. Many younger people I speak with tell me that “I don’t want to lose access to my money.” Well, with a Roth, you can take out your contributions without any penalty. I believe you cannot afford not to do this. The best time to start is today. Compound interest is a game-changer. The more time your money has, the more your money will work for you. Please talk to a financial advisor to start contributing to a Roth IRA today.

Tool #2: Virtual Assistant

Using a Virtual Assistant is a tool that has been a real game-changer for me. As I am sure you know, you cannot do everything. Sometimes even trying will paralyze us into doing nothing. A few years ago, a friend told me about how he uses a Virtual Assistant (VA) to help him with tasks. Honestly, as much as the idea of having somebody help me, the sense of not knowing who the person was or how to delegate work to them paralyzed me. I did nothing for several months until my friend told me how concerned he was about how stressed I was getting. His conversation lead me to hire my first VA. Since that time, I have learned not only how to delegate, but how to create effective communication between myself and my virtual staff. If this sounds like something that could help you, let me help you through my experiences. Go to www.scalinguph2o.com/va to learn how we can help.

Tool #3: Calendars and Time Blocking

Time management is another issue that many water treaters struggle with. I have found that most do not keep a calendar. So, my biggest tip here is to start keeping a calendar. Anytime you commit your time to something, put it in your schedule. Your calendar should be a tool that you can use to see all of your commitments.

Another tip around the topic of time management is how to get non-time specific items done. For this, I use a tool called time blocking. All this means is I block an amount of time in my calendar to work on tasks. But here is the critical part, I don’t do anything else while I’m working in that time block. I let people know I’m working on a time block and not to disturb me unless it is an emergency. These two tips will help you get things done. Implementing these boundaries will help you hold yourself accountable to do them.

Tool #4: Audible

People also ask me when I have time to read as much as I do. The truth is, I don’t. I found a tool called Audible that reads to me in the car. With this tool, I’m able to get to where I need to be while reading. Two years ago, I read 65 books in a year using Audible. My grandfather told me that if I didn’t take time to read, I wouldn’t keep my mind open to learning when the opportunity showed itself. Reading encourages learning and keeps your brain, looking for learning opportunities. If you would like to try Audible for free, please go to www.scalinguph2o.com/audible.

Tool #5: Leadership Teams

I have dedicated several shows to a simple system for running your business more efficiently. Many people have asked me if I could help them adopt some of these principles in their company. I’ve helped other companies implement these strategies before, but I have never mentioned it on this podcast. If you think that a clear and straightforward system would help you and your company with its operations, please go to www.scalinguph2o.com/leadership to find out more.

Tool #6: The Rising Tide Mastermind

If you are a regular listener of the show, you have heard me talk about the Rising Tide Mastermind. Many of you have asked me about what a mastermind is. A Mastermind is a group of people who get together to:

Have comradery with each other
Help each other solve problems
Hold each other accountable
Celebrate the successes of others

The Rising Tide Mastermind is a group that serves the water treatment community in all of these areas and many more. If, after listening to today’s show you want to find out more about The Rising Tide Mastermind, please go to www.scalinguph2o.com/mastermind to find out more. After you fill out an application, I will talk with you to personally see if it is a good fit.

I hope these tools help you get to where you are going faster. All of the tools talked about in today’s show have helped me, please let me know if I can help you with anything mentioned here today.

Timestamps:

Common Questions [01:20]

How IRA Works [07:06]

Income Tax Return [00:46]

Calendar and Tasks [13:20]

People As A Tool (Virtual Assistant) [17:43]

Rising Tide Mastermind [24:12]

Leadership Teams [27:57]

Accountability Partner [34:00]

Quotes:

“If you’re not increasing your knowledge and specifically taking the time to read, other people are going to pass you.”

“The number one tip I want you to take away from this is that most people don’t keep a calendar. For the next couple of weeks promise yourself that you will write everything down in your calendar that you plan to do. That will allow you to learn to use the tool that you have. Just doing this simple task will make you more productive.”