Paradigm U. Podcast
Paradigm U. Podcast
Episode 152: Transforming Your Business: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Growth through Personal Development
Imagine transforming your business by flipping the performance model and stepping into a new identity. Sound intriguing? That's exactly what we're exploring in this conversation. April, candidly shares her personal journey to entrepreneurial growth with a 'be do have' mindset. Hear how she hired an operations director for her business without the necessary funds, by becoming the person she needed to be first. We establish how critical personal growth is in entrepreneurial success and explore how your business is a reflection of who you are inside.
In the second part, we delve deeper into being the boss of your entrepreneurial journey and the commitment it requires. April reveals her strategy for creating the right internal and external environment to catapult her business to the next level. We discuss the significance of being organized and adjusting your goals to the model you are working from. April shares how she operates her business as if it's six steps ahead, embodying a new identity and learning to cope with the discomfort that comes with growth.
This powerful episode is a roadmap for entrepreneurs ready to take their business to new heights. Join us for this transformative discussion.
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Welcome to the Paradigm you podcast.
Speaker 2:You're listening to the Paradigm you podcast. This episode is for all entrepreneurs. In fact, this episode is for everyone. What we're about to tell you is going to change how you show up every single day and will accelerate the outcomes that you are desperately wanting to create. Listen in.
Speaker 3:You're listening to the Paradigm you podcast. You're about to start transforming your life by growing your mind and expanding your paradigms. Here we'll cover real life topics, just like the stuff you'd share with a good friend. This podcast will serve up topics that weigh on our hearts and keep us up at night, whether it's navigating parenthood and becoming an adult, or wayfinding, personal development, marriage and money. You, my friend, are in the right place. I'm glad you're here.
Speaker 4:Hello, this is Lisa Sarnowski, co-host of the Paradigm you podcast. I am here with April Marlowski-Hudzinski Today we wanted to talk about our entrepreneurial journey. We've been talking a lot about life and parenting lately here on the podcast Overwhelm, exhaustion, stress, even achievement, and the stress that comes with that but sometimes our business really needs to take center stage. What I want to talk about on episode number 152 today is all about how we have the performance model of entrepreneurship backwards. So today, april, what do you think? Do you think it's cool if we talk about how we've actually been able to grow our businesses and really from the lens of personal development, and what that means? Yes, please, awesome. So can I tell you a little story where this all came from? For me, go for it.
Speaker 4:Okay, I have been coaching for a while and when I was working with a local nonprofit business coaching, it was back in 2018 and I saw this huge pattern emerge. The pattern was pretty simple. It was everyone knew exactly what to do in order to grow their business. I'm talking this was across industries. This was new startups, aspiring entrepreneurs. It was service-based coaches, consultants, freelancers to retail and food trucks and even construction workers. They all knew what to do? They simply weren't doing it, and it made me think even back to my health coaching and life coaching days, how people knew what they needed in their life to get healthier, have a better relationship or a more fulfilling career, but they simply weren't doing it. I'm guessing April, and I know this answer, but I know you felt that way, right.
Speaker 2:Yes, Still, even today. It's shocking, even knowing this information, how it can just sneak up on you and you're just not doing it. Yes, know what you have to do.
Speaker 4:Yes, and sometimes you find yourself in that fight or flight or freeze even of do I need to fight through right now or do I need to power down to relax? And ultimately it becomes confusing and you can feel really stuck. So what I started to coach on and learn more about was actually a performance model that I learned back in college, and I think we both had the same minor in college as well as major, because were you a leadership studies minor as well?
Speaker 2:I was. Oh, you were too.
Speaker 4:I was so ahead of the curve. I don't want to age us right now, but that was leadership. Studies was not what it is today in higher ed at all, but one of the first book we read was Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, and in there he introduces that concept of be do have. So what I recognize very quickly, especially when talking with a business consultant or in certain sectors of the industry, is we just we have it all backwards. We come to the table and we think as an, as a business owner I'll speak for myself here I know I used to think I need to have the money in order to hire the whomever graphic designer, website designer, some designer or tech person, because that's tends to not be my full strong suit in order to be successful in business. So I had to have the money first, then I could do the thing, then I could finally be successful. But that is all backwards.
Speaker 4:And so we're April and I have started to work from personally as well as professionally, and then also with our clients is. We flip that equation. So we flip it from have do be to be the person you need to be in order to do the things you need to do in order to have whatever it is you desire. So, when you work from that lens, you are now being the person you need to be in order to have what you want. Boom right, boom April. Where have you seen this play out in your business journey? Because you have such great, great successes and multiple businesses. But do you have an example?
Speaker 2:Yes, actually I have a recent example. I'm so glad you asked because, as you were explaining this, I'm like, oh, I just lived this exact model and actually I didn't even realize it, because B do have has become so habitual to me that sometimes I'm not even realizing that I'm applying that model. But recently so and I think I've shared this with listeners maybe oh gosh, six months or so ago I had decided that I needed to hire a person that was going to be the director of operations for one of my businesses, and it scared me, it made me sweat, it kept me up at night because I knew that my business couldn't afford to hire, bring on this person. But I knew in my gut and in my soul that this person needed to bring beyond my team, and so I was like, okay, how do I do this? Because I don't have the funds, I didn't have the margin to bring on this person, and I was like, okay, who do I have to be to actually do this?
Speaker 2:And it really came down to showing up for my business in the way of having a critical lens on my finances and looking at the business model and really kind of going through it with a fine tooth comb of what are the things that I need to do so that I can have this person on my team. It was fascinating it took I mean, you've witnessed me walking that journey. It really did make me just sweat, even sending out that job offer knowing that, oh my gosh, if I don't continue to show up the way, if I'm not going to be the person and the boss that I need to be to grow this business so that I can keep this person on my team and afford them, then I'm going to be out of integrity.
Speaker 2:And so it was definitely intimidating, but I needed to show up in the ways that a true business owner is going to show up, make some hard decisions, you know, look with a critical eye, be really committed to the decision. And then, of course, I had to manifest that person.
Speaker 4:Ooh, yes, and manifest. You did, I did, and I hope the listeners are really hearing it. It might sound like subtle nuance in how April is speaking, but I'm here to tell you that the words she's sharing are very powerful and we can all learn a lot from what she just shared. So, being committed, being the boss, you know, and what does that mean? It's it's we want you to start thinking of, of the entrepreneurial journey really as your own internal growth. So we always say your business is only a reflection of you, right? Your business can only grow and be as successful as you personally are in the inside. The business is simply a reflection on the outside, right? Your business external reflection is a business is a reflection of who you are on the inside, and so being that person, those personality traits of commitment, dedication, being willing to be uncomfortable equally is what I was hearing you not say, oh my gosh, I've been so uncomfortable for months.
Speaker 2:Yes, because I'm showing up in a different way for my business. You know a lot of entrepreneurs you can probably relate to this, lisa. A lot of entrepreneurs. They come into it and they're like I kind of secretively want some sort of boss to report to in some way.
Speaker 2:I want the kudos, I want the high fives when I do a good job and I want somebody to nudge me when I'm not showing up in the best version of myself, because we don't have those days, but if you're going to commit to it and actually be that person, you have to be the person who wears the hat of giving yourself the kudos, reflecting on what needs to happen and then nudging yourself and showing up fully, even on the days that you don't feel like it Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 4:I saw a meme last week and it showed a kid and the kid was yelling back at the teacher don't tell me what to do. And then it was that same kid, like fast forward 20 years, just laying on a bench saying will someone please tell me what to do? And so I think of that often. In this model where we get to now decide who do we want to be, and saying that I'm dedicated, saying I'm focused, saying I'm organized, these aren't just small words, it's. Look around your environment currently how is your desk, how is your online files and how is your inbox? Is that reflecting the entrepreneur that you need to be in order to get to the next level?
Speaker 2:Wait, can I pause you right there, I'm giggling. Okay, so full transparency for all listeners. I feel like, yes, I have been a very successful business builder. However, I have the messiest desk in office in the world. It cracks me up, but I know where everything is. I know I have piles that are very clearly like this pile stays. This is my bookkeeping. This stuff, all the financials, go in this spot always.
Speaker 2:I've tried all the systems Leis, I've tried the scanning things in and having it all technology.
Speaker 2:I have a bajillion binders and I have filing cabinets, but that system seems to work the best, which kind of cracks me up.
Speaker 2:I'm like, okay, once I know what system, you know I have things organized in my world, yeah, but I will say that I struggled when we decided to hire this person and bring them on. You may have heard me, and maybe I've even shared this on the podcast, but for the last six months, I've really had to show up in a different way as far as my organizational style, because the way I organize things doesn't work for my team sometimes, and we're going through a lot of growth right now where we had to bring on some tech people to actually come in and help us to organize some of our files and how people are able to access them remotely, because I really encourage people to have that balance and so a lot of people on my team. They work from home and so they need to be able to access things. Well, if my brain is working one way but the rest of my team is thinking of it in a different way or looking for something in a different way, how does that work?
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And so I think that's the growth that I've been having, because I needed to show up and say okay, april, as the unorganized person, is not a true leader for her team if they all can't access the same thing. So I need to show up and be the organized person, regardless of how uncomfortable that makes me, because that will serve the rest of my team and accelerate our growth collectively.
Speaker 4:The acceleration of growth is profound, and what you shared there was just so so instrumental for people to really for listeners to understand. So what I want to talk about a little bit now is how do you know that you're working backwards and right? How would you know, as an entrepreneur, if you're listening right now, that the goals you want in your business you're actually perhaps need to tweak them a little bit with inside this model that you're working from have do be as opposed to be do have? Do you have any, any insights there?
Speaker 2:I mean, that's a perfect question, because that's where I was at the beginning of this year. I had this moment of okay, I need to hire, to take these pieces off of my, my and my team's plate, because we're feeling the strain. We have the vision of where we want to go. But I, if I would have embraced the story, lisa, that I didn't have enough money to do this, or nope, we aren't organized, or gosh, you know, hiring somebody who's going to work full time, remote, for the type of job that I was looking to hire for, that pushed me out of my comfort zone. I had to do a lot of hoop jumping to make sure that that happens.
Speaker 2:But it was the stories that I told myself and if I believed them. So if I would have said, nope, we don't have the technology and the capacity to hire this person, regardless of their skill set, or Nope, I don't have the financials to actually support that long term, gosh, that would have been. It would have been a well, let's wait one more year, let's wait, let's wait a little bit longer. We don't have the funds, we don't have the infrastructure. But instead, it was Okay. How am I going to call in and attract and bring in this perfect person that I really felt I needed for my team, and how am I going to show up and look at the finances to support them? And then what is the organization? So that was the flip, yeah.
Speaker 4:I. You know what I wanted to bring up to for any solopreneurs out there if you're if it's not a team issue you could be you could be faced with some problems like you want to get a newsletter out every week, or you want to go to a networking event every week, or you know, for some reason you need to learn a new trait in order to update things for your clients and you're just not doing it. Or you want to reply to your client within 24 hours and for some reason, it's taken you 72. And and it's just firming up those, those processes that you know we can sometimes, as entrepreneurs, go I need another time management course, or I need to get stronger habits, and all of those things are great and all of those things are necessary. However, they're all embedded in this model of who do you need to be, and I believe it was Albert Einstein who said we cannot solve our problems from the same level of thinking that we were when we created them, and I love that so much because it's a great visual to think of.
Speaker 4:If I have a problem in my business or something I'm trying to grow, then I need to solve it from April, and I like to call it point B. So who do I need to be? We need to solve it from that future person, that future version of ourselves. And you're not fully there yet because you're where you are today, but you're aware enough to know I need to be committed, I need to be the person who's resourceful and figures it out. I need to be a healthy entrepreneur and maintain some work-life balance. And there's a little bit of transition there. That happens, but we guarantee if you continue to fight for the person that you want to be, it will radically accelerate your growth in business.
Speaker 2:You know, lisa, you said being a healthy entrepreneur. I just want to pause there for a second, because that's where I'm at in my world right now, personally is realizing that there are some health tweaks that I needed to do to make sure that I'm maintaining the energy level that I want. And so that's interesting. You said that because I'm actually using and applying that in a. How do I get more healthy and how do I have more energy for my business, for my family? Just for showing up? And that is the same lens. How does a healthy person show up differently?
Speaker 4:Yeah, and so asking yourself that Absolutely and what a great, what a great point that we can literally use this for any sort of behavior modification you want. Anything you want in life comes down to who do you need to be? And so, april, when you ask yourself that question early on and you share that here for listeners that is, the critical question is who do I need to be? And so, right now, april, do you have your, your personality traits that you're focusing on regarding who you need to be, based on your business goals For business goals or for health.
Speaker 2:Okay, let's do business. I can do business. So I, yes. So I am somebody who is showing up differently because we are living and operating our business as a business, operating our business as if we're six steps farther than we actually are right now. When we do our team meetings and when I come together, I keep thinking, okay, I need to show up as if I'm six, my, my business is six steps farther than it actually is.
Speaker 2:And this business is property management, our property management portfolio, but so for that one, we're actually operating as if we have X amount more properties, doors to manage under that belt. So we're looking at things, we're asking ourselves the critical questions, we're looking at different platforms for technology, not with the yeah, this is where we're at. But we're saying, okay, if I look at these, I need to look at it as if my business is already at that bigger level that I aspire to be at. And it's interesting because now it's almost like I've put on a new layer of skin or I'm stepping into that identity completely differently. So I show up differently for that business because I'm thinking of it as it's already in that future state.
Speaker 4:Yeah, what a powerful message. You're right Once you, once you start training your brain and really start walking into that identity of who you need to be, you start to be. You really do show up differently. It might not always be comfortable, right, but if you want to be comfortable, stay where you are right now in your business and just call it a day. If you want to grow, then welcome in some possible discomfort on the journey.
Speaker 2:Well, let's camp out there. Leis, Hold on. Yeah, if you are happy with where you're at, just keep doing what you're doing.
Speaker 4:I don't know these people. We tend to attract people that like to grow.
Speaker 2:Right, but isn't that funny when you think about that, because I can't imagine anybody listening to this podcast and listeners. If I'm wrong, go ahead and like, blast me on social media, but here's the thing If you're listening to this podcast, I agree with you, leisa, to your point. The listeners of this podcast are people who aspire to grow. They want that information on how they can elevate their life to that next level, and so here's the secret. You guys, leisa's giving it to you right now. Leisa, do you want to say it one more time?
Speaker 4:Be do have. Yeah, is that what I'm saying? Okay, I passed the test.
Speaker 2:You guys, seriously, it's all nested right within that, and if it feels uncomfortable, as Leisa mentioned, there's a reason for that. Perhaps there's a story or a lesson nested within that. So I want to invite you, if you start to feel that discomfort, asking yourself what does this mean? Yeah, yeah. Who do I need to be and what do I need to do so that I can have what I want?
Speaker 4:Absolutely, and I think this model gets really lost in the simplicity of it all it really does come down to. It is that simple? And yet there is a reason we are who we are today. Right, we grew up in certain social conditions and environments, and perhaps you know there was church in your life and that taught a different philosophy than perhaps the person you are today. Or socioeconomics and just family dynamics, and there's a lot of what has happened around us that has created our reality today and our subconscious thinking. And so giving yourself grace to say, hey, that's all great, it got me here, right, and who do I need to be in order to now be the next version of myself? You know? So I. It really is that simple, but it's. It's a journey, and that's okay.
Speaker 4:To equally recognize that we were conditioned a certain way, like, for example, for me I can't tell you how many times I heard my dad say money doesn't grow in trees. I literally would go around as a kid looking for trees would grow, just to prove him wrong. And so that has been a social conditioning that I've had to undo to say, well, money can flow to me easily. Money can flow to me easily and you know, I think we can all sit down for a second and just take five minutes to reflect and say, okay, what? What are some of these old stories that April's been talking about that have come up in my life? What are some of these old stories of health and balance with work life? Because perhaps it wasn't role model to me in my youth, perhaps I want to change that for my own kids.
Speaker 4:So, giving yourself some grace, but equally sitting down and say, okay, what do I want to have, what do I need to do to get that done? Your, your wonderful task list, which I know our listeners are phenomenal task doers. But most importantly, who do I need to be? And really flip that, that dialogue, so you can do and have in a lot easier way. Because, because, ultimately, who you need to be is going to speak a lot to your values. You know, and we've talked a lot about values here on the podcast and I think the next one we should do, april should should maybe dive into that some more so we can honor how that integrates with this performance model.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's very tight, very closely, and I think, equally, some people may not necessarily know what their values are and that, my friends, if you are somebody who you're like, you guys are talking about values and I think I know what mine are, but I actually don't know. I would invite you to listen to the next episode because I think that is a really good, important topic, but it's something that gets kind of glossed over. Yeah, a lot, especially for entrepreneurs. They say, yeah, when you're making your business plan quote unquote you have to have your mission, vision and values. And I can't tell you how many times I'm coaching somebody and they're like they just gloss over that section of the values. Or they're like, oh, yeah, I'll figure that out. Or yeah, no, I'm, my values are I just want to help people. Yeah, that's great, but if you don't have the money to keep your business afloat, you aren't going to be helping very many people. Yeah, very long.
Speaker 4:So true, so true.
Speaker 2:So, if you are an entrepreneur and you are listening to this, I would like to invite you to take a few moments to just ask yourself how are you showing up? What do you actually want to have or to create? What are the things that you need to do, differently from how you're currently showing up, to change that experience or that environment or just how you're operating, and what is the belief system that you need to show up with? You know, lisa, actually really quick, maybe I shared this with listeners, but about a month ago, I gave up caffeine. Have I told you about this? Yes, yes, you have. Yeah, so that's a perfect example.
Speaker 2:I looked around my environment and I was like, okay, this is not working for me. Living off of energy drinks is just like draining me. Yeah, I want to be somebody who's more healthy and equally has energy. So I asked myself who do I need to be and what do I have to do? Well, I need to be somebody and truly believe that I am somebody who does not need caffeine. And what do I need to do? I need to stop buying those drinks from the grocery store or putting them on our grocery list. I need to stop hanging out at coffee shops. For, you know, when I have a work day and I'm like I'll just go work at a coffee shop, that's not helpful. So what are those little tweaks that I needed to do so that I could have the experience of? I am not somebody who drinks caffeine. Yeah, now I'm a month in and I have not consumed any caffeine. That is amazing.
Speaker 4:Boom, it's a thing of the past. Right, you're the person who's doing it now, and I think that should really be a good thing. That should really be. The takeaway here for our listeners is be, do, have, and so, as you move forward, continue to ask yourself who do I need to be in order to, you know, get whatever your goal is accomplished? What do I need to do? What do I need to have? So, but the first question is the most important one and the one that will actually create the change sustainably within your business. It's who do I need to be? And I will share for the listeners my three are healthy, wealthy and disciplined, and disciplined has been a word that has been a challenge for me and I have walked into that this year, and it's definitely been changing things around my house and around our business as well. So, but who do I need to be?
Speaker 2:I love it. All right. Anything else? Any last words? Cool? All right. Well, on that note, we want to encourage you to go out and, you know, ask yourself who you need to be, what do you need to do so that you can have the environment, the experience, the life that you are desiring? All right, on that note, it is closing time. Cheers to good karma.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this entire podcast. I hope this episode has left you feeling curious and inspired. This podcast is intended to create expansion in your life through unique stories and shared experiences, and if you enjoy today's episode, I have a request. I'd like to ask you to share this podcast with your friends and family. I bet they'd enjoy it just as much as you have. And, if you found value, please share this on your social media outlets. That is good karma in action, my friends. All right, it is now closing time. Cheers to good karma and the power to choose joy.
Speaker 5:If you like this, tell your friends.
Speaker 1:Stay tuned for the end because we have outtakes.
Speaker 3:And now for the outtakes. And now for the outtakes.
Speaker 2:Hold on, I'm totally using this as outtake. Go for it.
Speaker 5:Oh that was fun, I got tongue-tied. Hey, are you even listening? Test one, test one, two, three, four.
Speaker 2:Okay, Now say hey, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 5:Hey, welcome to the podcast. You're really great. Everyone, Everyone that's listening to this podcast, even if they don't even hear the rest, even if they only can listen to a part of it because of a screaming baby You're all really awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks for listening.
Speaker 5:Bye-bye, bye, over and out. Thanks for listening.