Hands-Off CEO

As entrepreneurs, we often feel the pressure to sacrifice our personal lives to achieve business success. But is it possible to have both? In this episode, a CEO who was able to maintain a work-life balance is taking me through his iterative process of reaching that sweet spot. We will be discussing the keys to maintaining work-life balance while scaling your business, including tips on setting boundaries, prioritizing sel...

What do you do when your business hits a ceiling and struggles to scale? In this episode of Hands-Off CEO, Jeff Ennis tells me how he transformed his company's operations, revamped his mindset, and added more value to his clients. From expanding their services, hiring the right team, standardizing their processes, to automating their systems, Jeff shares how he has doubled profits and reduced the number of jobs in his busi...

This is part 2 of a 2-part series on the Hands-Off CEO podcast, where you'll hear host Mandi Ellefson being interviewed by Ross Mayfield, a copywriter and marketing strategist on her team. In this episode, Mandi and Ross share some of the more vulnerable stories and experiences they haven't shared on the podcast before. They dispel the myth of the "seven-figure lifestyle business" and discuss the truth about what it really...

This is the first episode of a 2-part series on the Hands-Off CEO podcast, where you'll hear host Mandi Ellefson being interviewed by Ross Mayfield, a copywriter and marketing strategist on her team. The conversation takes a deep dive into the mission behind Hands-Off CEO, and you'll hear stories of clients who have experienced real transformations in their business through challenging circumstances. You'll also learn abou...

In this week’s episode of Hands-Off CEO, Sharon Toerek discusses how to streamline legal decision-making in your business. She joins host Mandi Ellefson to share insights on setting up systems for making informed legal choices and delve into the importance of master service agreements and key components of a legal service agreement. You will also learn practical tips specifically for agencies and gain a deeper understandin...

Success for clients goes beyond achieving great results. There are several pillars that make up client success, with onboarding being just one of them. Megan Huber of Structured Freedom joins Hands-Off CEO to share her unique perspective on onboarding and how it plays a role in scaling a service-based business.

Megan Huber is a scalability expert for coaches and expert-based businesses, specifically those that are teach...

One of the keys to becoming a hands-off CEO is having a powerful team you can trust to run your business while you focus on growth. In this solo episode, I share the five barriers to building and running these powerful teams, and what you can do to overcome them.

Key Ideas:

1. One of the barriers to building a multiple million dollar company that can run without you is the freelancer mindset that many CEOs have. Many o...

Growth as a CEO often looks like more stress, more responsibility, too much work, and not enough profit. Even if making good money, many businesses are slowed by how little profits they retain. Real profitability is what a CEO would actually make if they were paid at market rate instead of their own salary. But how do you measure that? Mandi Ellefson shares how to calculate your business’ real profits in this solo episode ...

How do you determine if the direction your company is taking is the right one? Mandi Ellefson discusses an effective formula for devising the right scalability plan, and shares a step-by-step guide.

Key Ideas:

1. If you haven’t established clarity in your vision, it’s easy for your business to end up taking detours. You may eventually reach the right path, but not without wasted time, energy, and resources. Creating a ...

There is a big misconception around operations, sales, and marketing and how they all intersect. Mandi Ellefson debunks some of these misconceptions and discusses how operations and sales impact scalability in a consulting agency.

Key Ideas:

1. Most approaches to scaling a consulting agency are actually more applicable to scaling a general company - they don’t account for the nuances of a consulting agency. 
2. Many opera...

Delegating ownership frees up time for CEOs so they can focus on the business. Mandi Ellefson talks about the right way to let go of your business and hand the reins over to capable leaders, and how this helps you actually work on growing the business.

Key Ideas:

1. The challenge with delegating ownership is that if you don't scale the right way, you'll find that your client results start to decline, Mandi shares. Ofte...

What defining moments or milestones have happened to you along the way towards your current level of success? Mandi Ellefson shares her story as she discusses milestones that people typically experience in their business journey, and how to identify and address common challenges.

Key Ideas:

1. Very few business women ever reach 7 figures in their company. 
2. “Whenever there's a certain goal that we are shooting for, the ...

How can you succeed while doing less? Focusing on the present may allow you to create more value. Mandi Ellefson describes her Wim Hoff ice bath meditation experience as she shares tips on overcoming fear. 

Key Ideas:

1. Taking deep breaths to center yourself grounds you in the present and helps you see past your fear. Mandi describes how she was able to shift from fight-or-flight to a place of calm. “I went from suffe...

This week we have a replay of one of Hands Off CEO's most popular episodes.

Mandi Ellefson is discussing why popular scaling advice is terrible for consulting agencies. She shares insights about marketing, systems, and what you should actually do to scale.

You’ll hear Mandi talk about:

1. “Do you really want to systematize and accelerate a process that's just getting okay and mediocre results?” Mandi shares a story ...

Mandi Ellefson shares how leaders can drive rapid growth in their company beyond themselves in this solo episode of Hands-Off CEO.

You’ll hear Mandi talk about:

• Convincing someone to do something: they have to want to do it, and money isn’t the most reliable incentive. [1:32]
• The food chain of passion. “If you don’t have a lot of passion, then neither will your team.” [3:43]
• The secret to growing your company beyond...

What do you need to put in place to generate cash flow? Are you ready to hire the right people to support your growth? Mandi Ellefson discusses how to take advantage of the buying season to increase business growth. She advises CEOs to get out from under day-to-day operations, freeing up time for more strategic planning.

Key Ideas:

1. Quarter 4 is when your clients and prospects are pulling out their budgets, Mandi say...

The right executive assistant is the Chief Bottleneck Breaker of your company. This role should NOT be ignored. Mandi Ellefson discusses how an executive assistant can free up 20 hours per week, and why this role is especially relevant for CEOs.

Key Ideas:

1. Mandi’s own experience can attest to the benefits of an executive assistant, as hers was able to free up no less than 20 hours per week by doing a lot of the soul...

Increase your productivity without the strain? Yes, please! Executive assistants can make it happen. Mandi Ellefson shares how she cut 20 hours off her work week by hiring an executive assistant, and why every CEO should have one.

Key Ideas:

1. Trends are changing in the staffing industry, Mandi claims. Recently, it hasn’t been as competitive as it has in the past. Through paid advertising, you’re likely to find some r...

Reach your ideal prospects wherever they hang out - via LinkedIn or cold email or any other channel - and scale your consulting agency. Mandi Ellefson shares the five variables that make cold outreach work in this solo episode of Hands-Off CEO.

Key Ideas:

1. Use direct outreach to make money quickly if you’re in a bind and need to bring in more clients. It’s a good strategy to use as you build up your company, when you...