May 29, 2025 • 33 mins
Julie's brand new Big Gorgeous Goals: Official Workbook can be ordered now! Grab your copy.
Ania Aliev shares her journey of entrepreneurship through acquisition, transforming Life Support Systems from a paper-based business into a digital operation with growth potential. Her story demonstrates the importance of careful change management and maintaining mission-critical services while modernizing operations.
Ania, a Trinity College graduate, began her career in Institutional Equities on Wall Street before delving into entrepreneurship. While pursuing her MBA at The Tuck School of Business, she discovered the search fund model, leading her to launch her own fund in July 2023. After a 7-month search, Ania acquired Life Support Systems, a Boston-based company specializing in emergency preparedness. Their offerings include AED service, emergency oxygen service, first aid supplies, CPR/AED training, Active Shooter training, and Mental Health training, ensuring organizational safety and readiness.
You can connect with Ania on LinkedIn.
You can connect with Julie on LinkedIn or Instagram.
Find Julie's writing at her blog or by ordering her book Big Gorgeous Goals and the brand new official companion workbook!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Julie (00:04):
Welcome to Figure 8, where we feature inspiring
stories of women entrepreneurswho have grown their businesses
to seven and eight figurerevenue.
If you're in the mix of growinga bigger business, these
stories are for you.
Join us as we explore where thetough spots are, how to
overcome them and how to prepareyourself for the next portion
(00:27):
of the climb.
I'm your host, Julie Ellis.
I'm an author, entrepreneur anda growth and leadership coach
who co-founded, grew and exitedan eight-figure business.
This led me to exploring whysome women achieve great things,
and that led to my book BigGorgeous Goals.
(00:47):
Let's explore the systems,processes and people that help
us grow our businesses to newheights.
If you're interested in growingyour business, this podcast
will help.
Now let's get going.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of Figure 8.
Today I'm speaking with AniaAliev and she is the CEO of Life
(01:12):
Support Systems.
They do really important workin AED sales and maintenance.
They also do a lot of advocacyin this highly regulated space.
She turned her history ininvestment banking and MBA from
Dartmouth into anentrepreneurial venture buying
this business, and I'm sointerested to talk to you today,
(01:33):
Ania.
Thank you for joining me.
Ania (01:35):
Thank you so much for having me Really excited to be
here.
Julie (01:39):
It's so good.
I want to dive right in aboutlike what it's like to become an
entrepreneur by buying abusiness?
Ania (01:46):
Yeah, that's a great question.
It's definitely a little bit ofa different path.
When you think aboutentrepreneurship, you think
about building something fromthe ground up, and I had
previously done that, but not tosuch a scale.
And when I went to get my MBAat Dartmouth, I had no idea that
this model of private equityeven really existed.
(02:06):
And so I went to get my MBA andI thought I was going to
continue to build that businessthat I had started or build
another one, and I learned aboutthis form of entrepreneurship
while I was there and I wasreally intrigued by it.
So I learned about it from theinvestors that came to campus,
like Camelon, Archipelago, Lufu,Endurance, many of those that
(02:32):
I've worked with throughout mysearch but they came and they
did really informationalsessions on like what this
actually looks like, and atfirst I remember thinking this
is cool, but there has to bekind of like a catch here, right
.
But the more I learned about it,the more I realized that it was
just really, you know, kind oflike under discovered and I felt
like I would really regret notdoing it.
(02:54):
So to be able to align myselfwith amazing people who have
done this time and time againand worked with many people who
sit in my shoes and be able togo out and find a great,
established business to buy, toown and to operate, I just felt
like that was like the perfectopportunity for me and just
something I could really seemyself doing for decades
(03:16):
potentially.
So that's what kind of got meinterested in it.
And then, like I said, I justfelt like this itch to do it and
if I didn't do it I was goingto regret it.
So I ended up raising a fundand going out and searching for
a business to buy and that's howI ended up at Life Support
Systems.
Julie (03:34):
It's so interesting because I think you know, people
think they have to start it inentrepreneurship.
A lot of times, like, I'veheard from people so many times
of like oh well, you know, Ididn't start it, and I don't
think that that's actuallyreally an indicator, because
when you buy a business likeyou've bought a legacy business
(03:58):
and so now you're taking thisfrom somebody who's owned it for
a long time, you're puttingfinancing together so you have
obligations to the people whohave supported you and you need
to set it on a growth path sothat you can, you know, see it
to fruition.
Ania (04:16):
Yeah, exactly, it is a very different skill set than
just getting an idea off theground, and so it's an exciting
opportunity to be able to take abusiness that has already done
really well and just kind ofoperationalize it a little bit
more and take it to that nextlevel.
Julie (04:37):
Yeah, yeah, and I'm thinking about things like you
mentioned.
The business was entirely runon paper when you arrived.
Ania (04:43):
Yes, yes, that was a fun task.
Julie (04:46):
Yeah, updating technology , things like finding what the
path is to growth right, lookingfor those opportunities and how
you were going to capitalize onthem.
Ania (04:57):
Yeah, exactly, Finding those growth opportunities is
exciting and that's one of thethings that we were really
looking at when we were lookingat different businesses and
another reason why we loved thisone so much.
The industry is growing reallyquickly and there's lots of
things that you can do to grow,but then also inside of the
business, you have a lot ofopportunity for change and a
(05:22):
team that was really hungry forsome of the changes, which made
it really an excitingopportunity to be able to come
in and do some of that work.
Because sometimes when you comein to a team that's been
operating one way for decades,there can be some resistance to
change and people not beingexcited to go and do that kind
(05:43):
of work of doing digitizationand changing systems.
But I was lucky in the sensethat a lot of my team was really
excited to embark on that.
But you definitely can stepinto situations where people are
just really resistant, whichmakes it much harder.
Julie (05:57):
Yeah, because it's not just a change in, like you know
you at the helm, but it's like awhole cultural change within
the company from really top tobottom Right, and so you know
there are people who like howthings have been and and those
changes hard, it's hard for allof us.
Ania (06:16):
Totally.
Um, there are definitely peoplewho don't love seeing some of
that change, but on the whole, Ithink our team was really
excited about it.
Um, which is great because,especially on the form side,
right when you're going out nearservicing, it takes away a lot
of you know, having to carry allthese documents with you and
everything.
And having a digital databasehelps um, helps the technicians
(06:39):
enormously.
So that was a project thateverybody.
I think there was somehesitancy at first because there
was a lot of fear of like, okay, well, how are we going to know
that the system's not failingus?
And this is criticalinformation.
And then, once you see itcoming to fruition, it's
definitely like super excitingfor everybody.
Julie (06:58):
Yeah, and you're definitely there to make
people's jobs easier.
Right, Exactly.
But it is that piece of yeah.
Can you trust it the same way,or is it going to work well?
Is it going to like all ofthose questions that come up?
Ania (07:10):
Exactly that's always the initial pull, I think, for
people is like, oh, I've donethis one way for since I've
gotten here, like how are wesure it's going to work?
I like the idea, but are wesure this is going to work?
And then, once you kind of putit in place, it helps.
Julie (07:27):
And have you had to think about that, like as the leader
just in, like prioritizing howthe change is coming down and
how fast, and all of those kindsof you know pieces to what you
want, you know getting from A toB and the things that you might
want to do, but how toprioritize them?
Ania (07:46):
Yeah, I think that's a great topic because I think as
leaders, sometimes we want tomove really, really fast, but
that might not be the pace thateverybody can move at, which is
completely okay, but you alsodon't want to overwhelm the team
with five, six, seven, eightdifferent initiatives at once.
So my approach has always beenlet's focus on one thing at a
(08:08):
time and picking you know pointpeople that are spearheading
certain projects alongsidemyself, so that it doesn't feel
like I'm just saying this iswhat we're doing and now
everybody do it.
You don't want people to feellike they're just doing
(08:28):
something because the CEO, orwhoever it is, said to do it.
You really want people tobelieve in why we're doing it,
and so that's why I think it'sso important to kind of pick a
different person each time thatspearheads each initiative with
me.
And then, in terms ofprioritization, I kind of laid
(08:50):
out everything that needed to bedone and then started picking
at which ones I thought would beone easiest to solve for but to
also have the biggest impact.
So something like getting thedatabase over to a digital form
versus out of paper.
That would have huge impactsfor everybody and if it worked
it would have been a reallygreat win across the board.
(09:11):
And I felt like I wouldn't.
It wouldn't it didn't have riskof having all these layers
underneath it where, like youtake something apart but you
don't realize how it'sinteracting with another piece
of the business.
I feel like I really concretelyunderstood what that was, so I
felt pretty confident that Icould take that as on as the big
(09:31):
project first.
But there are some projectsthat had to be deferred a little
bit because of that, becausewhen you buy a business that you
didn't help build, there arethings that, even as the team is
being like super forthrightabout what they're doing and why
they're doing it, they may noteven realize they're not
(09:52):
explaining something to you.
So you don't know what.
You don't know until you startripping things out and then, all
of a sudden, something overhere isn't working quite like it
was before.
Of a sudden, something overhere isn't working quite like it
was before.
Julie (10:04):
And it's this like careful, like, like calibration
of this big machine that youhave to do.
Because you're right, you'relike no, we need to like here's
the project, here's what we needto do, here's the.
Oh wait, all those things overthere broke because, because
you're still learning about thebig picture as well.
Ania (10:22):
Exactly so.
I think that's the biggest riskfor entrepreneurs who enter
into positions like mine, whereyou haven't built it up but you
have an understanding but at thesame time you don't quite
understand, as in the weeds, aseverybody else who helped build
the machine.
So that's the biggest risk whenyou take on some of these
(10:43):
initiatives, because if you takeit on and it doesn't go quite
to plan and it's one of thefirst ones it can be really
damaging in terms of trust andcredibility inside of the
organization.
But on the flip side, obviouslyyou hope it goes well and it
helps further build that trustand credibility with the team.
Julie (10:58):
Yeah, but it is really then for you also like leaning
into those human skills of youknow managing people, and like
change management and all of thethings, to really shepherd
things along and really belistening, for you know the
hiccups that are, that are goingto come.
Ania (11:17):
Exactly.
That's also why I think it's soimportant, like I said, to have
a person who's spearheadingeach project, because they have,
you know, a lot of times as youmove up in leadership roles,
people are honest but they holdback certain things.
So it's so important to havepeer level discussions open to
(11:38):
them as well for channels,because sometimes people feel a
lot more comfortable sayingsomething to their peer than
they do to their boss or the CEOor whoever it is.
But it's so important to getthose little tidbits because it
can really help steer you awayfrom a disaster in some of these
implementation projects andhelp you know.
(11:59):
It really helps you keep apulse on everybody as well in
terms of as you're implementingthese, because if they feel like
they can come and talk tosomebody if it's not you, then
you can at least have anunderstanding of where some of
the hesitation might be comingfrom.
Julie (12:15):
Yep, and, and it's just like making sure.
I feel like we always need tocommunicate more than we think
we do as leaders.
Different ways, number of times, all the ways that we need to,
you know, really keep tellingpeople things.
I feel like it's oftenunderestimated how long it takes
for somebody to actually likeabsorb the message, process the
(12:38):
information and then maybe comeback to you with questions.
Ania (12:41):
Yeah, I think that's so important and that's something
that I hear a lot and Iconsciously think about.
A lot is how many times I saywhat I say, because sometimes
you think you've said it enoughtimes and really like you've
really only said it like threetimes and that might sound like
a lot, but it's really not.
So I often I keep track of it.
(13:02):
Anything really important I tryto talk about at minimum 10
times before I'm like I thinkeverybody knows what we're
talking about and it's oneverybody's radar.
Now I've said it 10 times andacross multiple different
communication channels soverbally, email, repeated in
meetings and agendas.
(13:23):
So there's lots of differentplaces to get the information.
Julie (13:29):
And what drew you then to the AED market?
I mean, when you were sort ofevaluating potential and promise
and you said it's rapidlygrowing earlier in the interview
what was it that you saw theopportunity in this business for
?
Ania (13:44):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So I knew nothing about AEDsreally before I reached out to
the owner and I remember readingabout the business and I was
like, yes, AEDs, those areimportant.
I remember learning about themwhen I was my first job in
middle school and high schoolwas being a tennis camp
counsellor.
So you have to be CPR and AEDcertified for a lot of those
(14:08):
camp counsellor roles.
So I remember learning aboutAEDs and I was like, yeah, these
things are important.
This business sounds reallyinteresting.
Let me see what I can learn.
And so, in a perfect world, Iwanted to find something mission
critical.
But I knew, setting out on myjourney to buy a business like
that may or may not be the case.
(14:28):
You can only influence so manyfactors.
Right, and geography was areally important factor for me
personally.
So I knew that I may not beable to get everything and I
feel really lucky in the sensethat I did, but that was one of
the reasons why I really lovedthis business was the mission
(14:48):
critical nature of what it does,because what people don't
realize about defibrillators isjust buying them isn't enough.
Julie (14:55):
It's great to have one, not the end of the story.
It's sort of the beginning.
Ania (14:59):
Exactly it's the beginning , but we don't really talk about
service and maintenance a lot.
So people think that they'redoing their part just by having
one, which is great, butactually you need to do regular
service and maintenance on these.
So as I was reading about thecompany and learning more, I was
like how amazing is it that weare literally going out and
making sure that these workhelping keep communities safe,
(15:21):
raising awareness and it'salways really exciting.
I wrote about it when Isubmitted the letter of intent,
but at the beginning I wrote Ican't wait for the day that
hopefully I get the call thatthe defibrillator was used and
it saved someone's life, and tohear those stories.
I know you've gotten so many ofthose over the years and I
can't imagine like how excitingthat is to know how many lives
(15:46):
you've saved, etc.
So I was really excited to getthe first one, and now we have a
wall of saves where we put upall of the lives that we've had.
So it's a really cool feelingto be able to do something so
mission- critical.
Julie (16:09):
Well, and I think there'd be nothing worse as a human in
the situation where you tried touse a defibrillator and it did
not work Like that would not be.
You know, that would not be agood situation for anyone to end
up in.
So I think it's a reallyimportant message to carry as
well.
Ania (16:23):
Yeah, I agree.
Unfortunately, like we do getorganizations that come to us in
situations like that where theythought you know we have one,
it's going to work.
Maybe they didn't buy it fromus or whatever and so or they
weren't educated about serviceand maintenance prior to, and
then they end up finding usafterwards.
(16:44):
But those are always the worstscenarios and I really feel for
people when that happens,because you want to try to do
the right thing, but it's hardto do the right thing If you
don't have the right tools.
Like you wouldn't show up to doa surgery.
Like you don't expect yoursurgeon to show up to do surgery
with, like you know, kitchenscissors you can't show up to.
(17:07):
You know a A situation likethat with the wrong tool Without
the right gear.
Julie (17:12):
, and so I mean it speaks to your view that ramping up
the on-site maintenance side ofthe business was a huge
opportunity.
Ania (17:21):
Yes, yeah, that's definitely been a majority of
the business for a long time,but expanding on that is
something that's really excitingto me and to our team.
So continuing to get themessage out and being a little
bit more thoughtful around howwe do sales and marketing and
how we're speaking to peoplewhen they come and ask us for
(17:44):
items.
In the past it really used tobe, you know, whatever they
asked for is what the team wouldproduce.
So oftentimes you know you comeand you don't really know about
service and maintenance.
So I'll just quote you fordefibrillators, right.
But now there's much more of apush to make sure we're talking
about the service and educatingaround the service piece as well
(18:07):
.
Julie (18:08):
Around how to keep it working in the best shape
possible, exactly.
So it's interesting becauseobviously it's a business that
has a good amount of regulationaround it.
It's not sort of thatall-encompassing amount of
regulation you know, when youtalk about that, people aren't
aware about maintenance andthose kinds of things.
Ania (18:30):
Yeah, no, it's a really interesting point because
there's not a lot of federalregulation, which is what makes
it challenging, and then itfalls down to each state
deciding what they would like todo, and some states are much
more regulated than others.
Some have regulations aroundvenues any public venue that has
(18:53):
capacity limits, so it can beas minimal as a place that has
300, a capacity of 300 to.
The first place that regulationstarts is in a building or
office space that's more than10,000 square feet, so it can be
really varied state by state,which is, I think, what makes it
(19:15):
really challenging to navigateas a consumer and as a business
or organization, because youdon't know exactly what you
should be doing and it's kind ofleft up to you.
And then a lot of people have afear around the liability
around it.
So what happens if we do haveit and it doesn't work?
And now what for us?
Because we weren't technicallytold we need to have this device
(19:38):
.
But now we have it.
Julie (19:40):
We voluntarily did this, yeah.
Exactly, yeah, all thequestions that would be normal
to be asking.
Ania (19:48):
Exactly to that point I just do want to
mention on the liability side,there are laws that protect
people from, and organizationsfrom, stepping in and helping.
So there should not be a fearabout having these devices, even
if you're not regulated to,because you're protected by laws
.
And if you have, like a thirdparty maintenance provider or
(20:09):
you're doing the maintenanceyourself and you're keeping
inspection logs, that will alsohelp you know on the liability
side.
Julie (20:17):
Yeah, well, and it's important.
And I mean, did you know whenyou bought the business that the
advocacy work would be asimportant as it is?
Ania (20:25):
I had a feeling that it would be.
I think it's really importantto continue to connect within
the community around theseissues.
That's the only way to kind ofgain more spotlight on the topic
.
I think one of the most talkedabout events in the recent years
was the DeMar Hamlin incident.
(20:45):
Everybody saw that happen onnational TV and that really
sparked a conversation aroundsome cardiac arrest and
defibrillators and theimportance of defibrillators.
Julie (20:56):
And somebody young and healthy and-.
Ania (20:59):
An athlete and since that incident there was a lot of
momentum afterwards, but youknow, now that's been two years,
so it's important to continueto stay involved and talk about
it and speak to you know, locallawmakers speak with
organizations that are workingto raise awareness because
(21:21):
they're doing the work ofcontinuing to try to keep it in
the spotlight.
Julie (21:26):
And I mean your background to get here was
interesting too, right Likeyou're doing institutional
equities trading, working, youknow, working in private capital
, those kinds of things.
And then obviously, MBA school,which gave you also a deep
business kind of education.
What about it?
(21:47):
Why did you decide to become anentrepreneur?
Like was it?
Did you feel drawn to it?
I mean, you talked to me alittle bit about the small
business that you started beforeCOVID, so you obviously had
entrepreneurship on the mind.
Ania (22:00):
Yeah, no, that's a great question.
So both my parents have alwaysbeen extremely entrepreneurial
and I grew up in a household ofentrepreneurs.
So my parents when I wasyounger I didn't appreciate it
as much, but my parents were theparents who were always at
every event and everybody else'sparents, would you know,
(22:22):
sometimes make it, sometimes not, and I'd always be like, how
are you guys able to literallybe at everything?
And when I was a teenager,sometimes it was a little
annoying, but looking back on itnow I'm so grateful for that.
And when I thought aboutflexibility and like what would
allow me to do that?
(22:43):
I have a son now, but I, youknow, maybe one day I'll have
more, more than one child, butwhat would allow me to do that
for my family and my childrenand entrepreneurship was really
that I am one of those people.
(23:04):
But I wanted to haveflexibility to you know, make my
schedule and do what needs toget done and also show up and be
there for my family.
But, as anybody who is aworking parent like, it's always
a give and take.
There's no perfect balance.
Julie (23:14):
Yes, but I do.
I really agree with you.
I mean it's why I started mybusiness.
It was around having theflexibility Flexibility doesn't
mean you like take the afternoonoff and go to the play.
It often means you're workinglater at night or early in the
morning and you probably workmore than you would in a
(23:35):
traditional career.
But it's.
It does give you the ability toput down things when you need
to do something, and it'simportant.
I mean it was great for myfamily.
Ania (23:48):
Exactly and to your point exactly.
It's like it's okay to work atthose odd hours, because
sometimes, when you're in moretraditional roles, it's like
that's frowned upon oh, you'renot at your desk by 8am or 8 am
or whatever it is Right, oryou're not sitting there at five
o'clock, like that's not OK,whereas when you're operating in
(24:12):
an entrepreneurial environment,you can can be working from 4
am to 7 am and then you knowgoing to do drop off or like a
parent teacher event and then goback and pick up where you left
off.
Julie (24:27):
Yeah, yeah, and I think it's just one of those pieces of
like you have to decide whatworks for you, but I definitely
think that that culture of notclock watching but being really,
really pointed on delivering ofresults is a really key
(24:49):
differentiator that you can leaninto and allow.
Like, nobody wants to be toldthey were late when they come in
at 9.01.
Yes, exactly Because trafficwas a little worse than they
thought.
And, as a leader, those aren'tthe things you want to be
watching for.
Ania (25:04):
Exactly that's.
Nobody likes being in anenvironment that's like that and
that's not the environment thatyou want to create.
And as a working parent, I havea lot of working parents that
work for me too, especially alot of working moms.
So affording everybody thatflexibility is really important.
Because, again, nobody wants tofeel like someone's like
(25:26):
waiting for you to step footinto the office you know two
minutes late one day, so you canget docked for that.
Julie (25:33):
Yeah, yeah.
And setting up your life in away to that makes it, you know,
so that you have the support onthe home front that you need to
be able to work the way you wantto work
Ania (25:45):
Exactly.
That's super important, makingsure you have the support at
home too, because it's reallyhard when you don't have those
systems.
I'm lucky to have those systems.
My husband is definitely.
He also works and heunderstands like the way I
function and the best ways thatI function work-wise, so he's
(26:07):
really flexible with me as well,which I really appreciate, and
we both have our families nearby, so that helps with a lot when
it comes to emergencies exactlyall those emergency doctor's
visits that you have to go toonce they start when you have a
toddler Exactly, which isexactly where my son is today.
So we had a month period overthe summer where it was like
(26:31):
every week we were at thedoctor's.
Julie (26:36):
And it's hard, right, it's really hard.
I remember when I startedworking with my coach, one of
the early things she did wassort of sit me down and say,
okay, yeah, what's the village,how are you doing it?
And my kids were older, like,like in their you know, eight to
12 kind of age and you know,okay, so how, what's your backup
if you can't drive themsomewhere, if you get called
(26:58):
away for something at work?
Do you have a taxi, chit?
I mean, I'm dating myself alittle bit, but, but you know,
like those kinds of things whereyou know you have backup plan
where your kid could still getfrom A to B, you can, you know,
feel comfortable about howthey're getting from A to B.
So is that a family member?
Is it a?
You know, do you have a nannyor somebody after school
(27:20):
housekeeping that helps them?
Do you have?
You know, and I mean the reasonthat you think about a taxi
instead of an Uber or somethinglike that is really about bonded
and insured, right, yeah, soyou know, like, just what are
those things that you put intoplace and how do you consider
safety and how do you considerthe right way to do it?
But you need all of those kindof infrastructures to help you.
Ania (27:45):
Yeah, exactly, they're so important and having those
conversations with your partneror your support system, whatever
that may look like, tounderstand that so everybody's
on the same page.
Because I also feel like a lotof times we carry a lot more
mental load and so you getexactly.
So, you get exactly.
So you get kind of bogged downby this like, oh well, what is
(28:06):
the plan?
Only they know, only you know,mom knows the plan, or whatever.
So, making sure everybody'swell versed on the plan, so in
case something happens, maybeyou're getting the notification
about it or whatever you candelegate more simply, so that
it's not as burdensome as liketrying to figure it out in the
moment or really everything inthat moment.
Julie (28:27):
Yeah, picking the important things right and
definitely I think like easingthe mental load is a big piece
of it, for sure.
Ania (28:34):
Yes, exactly, Sometimes it can feel like when you're, you
know, obviously running abusiness and then trying to
manage a household andeverything, sometimes it's like
all right, I just need fiveminutes to just think about
nothing.
I think sometimes we, you know,when we have like nothing on
(28:55):
our minds or we're just relaxing, we don't appreciate it enough
and like really enjoy that it'sthe constant running to-do list.
Exactly, but really like takingtime to actually like do those,
I think is so important.
It helps you recharge too,because if your mind's always
going 24 seven, you're nevergoing to get a break or get a
(29:17):
moment to calm down, and thoselike five minutes of truly
nothing can mean so much foryour energy and your
productivity.
Julie (29:25):
It's true, it's true.
So you are, what about twoyears into this journey?
Ania (29:32):
Yeah, about two years in from the search phase.
Julie (29:38):
Search LOI closing.
And now here we are.
What has been the mostsurprising to you in this
journey?
Ania (29:47):
That's a great question.
I think what has been mostsurprising is people.
Honestly, because I think,coming into this, I don't want
to say I was cynical, but I wasa little more apprehensive maybe
.
Yeah, I think I was more likepeople aren't going to want to
(30:10):
be as helpful as they are,people aren't going to be as
excited to jump into whatever itmay be.
So when I was looking for abusiness, I was like people
aren't going to want to talk tome unless they really are
interested in selling theirbusiness to me.
But I had so many people thatwere just so interested in just
being helpful, just to behelpful, which I found so
(30:32):
refreshing and unexpected.
Once I started operating, one ofmy biggest worries was okay,
how am I going to get people toactually be excited about these,
like, work related tasks anditems?
And, surprisingly, like andpart of it is due to the fact
that I'm an amazing team buteverybody was really excited to
(30:55):
do a lot of these structuralprocesses and changes and all of
that.
So every time, I feel like I'vebeen really surprised by how
wonderful everybody is and thatI think, coming into it, I did
not expect, because I expectedto have to, like you know, pull
(31:15):
more teeth and potentially, youknow, potentially you know I
hate micromanaging I'm not amicromanager but potentially be
like a lot deeper in the weedson certain tasks and initiatives
to make sure they were movingin the right direction.
But that has not been the caseat all.
Julie (31:34):
That's really great.
So you know really.
It's like, don't be afraid toask
Ania (31:39):
Exactly.
I think people on the wholesurprise you in positive ways
than in negative ways, and Ithink for a lot of people it's
the fear of the what if thatstops them from doing things.
But what I've learned is justrip the bandaid off and just do
it and then see what happens,and I found, honestly, most of
(32:00):
the it's surprising in apositive way and not a negative
way.
Julie (32:04):
I think that's such great advice, so good.
Well, Ania, I can't wait tofollow you along and see what
the growth looks like and howyou manage it in the future.
I wish you all the best, andthank you so much for joining me
today.
Ania (32:20):
Thank you so much for having me.
It was awesome to be a part ofit.
Julie (32:25):
I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
Please remember to hitsubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform so you won'tmiss any episodes.
Figure 8 isn't just a podcast.
It's a way of seeing the big,gorgeous goals of women
entrepreneurs coming to life.
If you're interested inlearning more, you can find my
(32:46):
book Big Gorgeous Goals onAmazon, anywhere you might live.
For more about my growth andleadership training programs,
visit www.
julieellis.
ca to see how we might worktogether.
Read my blog or sign up to getyour free diagnostic.
Are you ready for growth?
(33:08):
Once again, that's www.
julieellis.
ca.
When we work together, we allwin.
See you again soon for anotherepisode of Figure 8.
Welcome to Figure 8, where we feature inspiring
stories of women entrepreneurswho have grown their businesses
to seven and eight figurerevenue.
If you're in the mix of growinga bigger business, these
stories are for you.
Join us as we explore where thetough spots are, how to
overcome them and how to prepareyourself for the next portion
(00:27):
of the climb.
I'm your host, Julie Ellis.
I'm an author, entrepreneur anda growth and leadership coach
who co-founded, grew and exitedan eight-figure business.
This led me to exploring whysome women achieve great things,
and that led to my book BigGorgeous Goals.
(00:47):
Let's explore the systems,processes and people that help
us grow our businesses to newheights.
If you're interested in growingyour business, this podcast
will help.
Now let's get going.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of Figure 8.
Today I'm speaking with AniaAliev and she is the CEO of Life
(01:12):
Support Systems.
They do really important workin AED sales and maintenance.
They also do a lot of advocacyin this highly regulated space.
She turned her history ininvestment banking and MBA from
Dartmouth into anentrepreneurial venture buying
this business, and I'm sointerested to talk to you today,
(01:33):
Ania.
Thank you for joining me.
Ania (01:35):
Thank you so much for having me Really excited to be
here.
Julie (01:39):
It's so good.
I want to dive right in aboutlike what it's like to become an
entrepreneur by buying abusiness?
Ania (01:46):
Yeah, that's a great question.
It's definitely a little bit ofa different path.
When you think aboutentrepreneurship, you think
about building something fromthe ground up, and I had
previously done that, but not tosuch a scale.
And when I went to get my MBAat Dartmouth, I had no idea that
this model of private equityeven really existed.
(02:06):
And so I went to get my MBA andI thought I was going to
continue to build that businessthat I had started or build
another one, and I learned aboutthis form of entrepreneurship
while I was there and I wasreally intrigued by it.
So I learned about it from theinvestors that came to campus,
like Camelon, Archipelago, Lufu,Endurance, many of those that
(02:32):
I've worked with throughout mysearch but they came and they
did really informationalsessions on like what this
actually looks like, and atfirst I remember thinking this
is cool, but there has to bekind of like a catch here, right
.
But the more I learned about it,the more I realized that it was
just really, you know, kind oflike under discovered and I felt
like I would really regret notdoing it.
(02:54):
So to be able to align myselfwith amazing people who have
done this time and time againand worked with many people who
sit in my shoes and be able togo out and find a great,
established business to buy, toown and to operate, I just felt
like that was like the perfectopportunity for me and just
something I could really seemyself doing for decades
(03:16):
potentially.
So that's what kind of got meinterested in it.
And then, like I said, I justfelt like this itch to do it and
if I didn't do it I was goingto regret it.
So I ended up raising a fundand going out and searching for
a business to buy and that's howI ended up at Life Support
Systems.
Julie (03:34):
It's so interesting because I think you know, people
think they have to start it inentrepreneurship.
A lot of times, like, I'veheard from people so many times
of like oh well, you know, Ididn't start it, and I don't
think that that's actuallyreally an indicator, because
when you buy a business likeyou've bought a legacy business
(03:58):
and so now you're taking thisfrom somebody who's owned it for
a long time, you're puttingfinancing together so you have
obligations to the people whohave supported you and you need
to set it on a growth path sothat you can, you know, see it
to fruition.
Ania (04:16):
Yeah, exactly, it is a very different skill set than
just getting an idea off theground, and so it's an exciting
opportunity to be able to take abusiness that has already done
really well and just kind ofoperationalize it a little bit
more and take it to that nextlevel.
Julie (04:37):
Yeah, yeah, and I'm thinking about things like you
mentioned.
The business was entirely runon paper when you arrived.
Ania (04:43):
Yes, yes, that was a fun task.
Julie (04:46):
Yeah, updating technology , things like finding what the
path is to growth right, lookingfor those opportunities and how
you were going to capitalize onthem.
Ania (04:57):
Yeah, exactly, Finding those growth opportunities is
exciting and that's one of thethings that we were really
looking at when we were lookingat different businesses and
another reason why we loved thisone so much.
The industry is growing reallyquickly and there's lots of
things that you can do to grow,but then also inside of the
business, you have a lot ofopportunity for change and a
(05:22):
team that was really hungry forsome of the changes, which made
it really an excitingopportunity to be able to come
in and do some of that work.
Because sometimes when you comein to a team that's been
operating one way for decades,there can be some resistance to
change and people not beingexcited to go and do that kind
(05:43):
of work of doing digitizationand changing systems.
But I was lucky in the sensethat a lot of my team was really
excited to embark on that.
But you definitely can stepinto situations where people are
just really resistant, whichmakes it much harder.
Julie (05:57):
Yeah, because it's not just a change in, like you know
you at the helm, but it's like awhole cultural change within
the company from really top tobottom Right, and so you know
there are people who like howthings have been and and those
changes hard, it's hard for allof us.
Ania (06:16):
Totally.
Um, there are definitely peoplewho don't love seeing some of
that change, but on the whole, Ithink our team was really
excited about it.
Um, which is great because,especially on the form side,
right when you're going out nearservicing, it takes away a lot
of you know, having to carry allthese documents with you and
everything.
And having a digital databasehelps um, helps the technicians
(06:39):
enormously.
So that was a project thateverybody.
I think there was somehesitancy at first because there
was a lot of fear of like, okay, well, how are we going to know
that the system's not failingus?
And this is criticalinformation.
And then, once you see itcoming to fruition, it's
definitely like super excitingfor everybody.
Julie (06:58):
Yeah, and you're definitely there to make
people's jobs easier.
Right, Exactly.
But it is that piece of yeah.
Can you trust it the same way,or is it going to work well?
Is it going to like all ofthose questions that come up?
Ania (07:10):
Exactly that's always the initial pull, I think, for
people is like, oh, I've donethis one way for since I've
gotten here, like how are wesure it's going to work?
I like the idea, but are wesure this is going to work?
And then, once you kind of putit in place, it helps.
Julie (07:27):
And have you had to think about that, like as the leader
just in, like prioritizing howthe change is coming down and
how fast, and all of those kindsof you know pieces to what you
want, you know getting from A toB and the things that you might
want to do, but how toprioritize them?
Ania (07:46):
Yeah, I think that's a great topic because I think as
leaders, sometimes we want tomove really, really fast, but
that might not be the pace thateverybody can move at, which is
completely okay, but you alsodon't want to overwhelm the team
with five, six, seven, eightdifferent initiatives at once.
So my approach has always beenlet's focus on one thing at a
(08:08):
time and picking you know pointpeople that are spearheading
certain projects alongsidemyself, so that it doesn't feel
like I'm just saying this iswhat we're doing and now
everybody do it.
You don't want people to feellike they're just doing
(08:28):
something because the CEO, orwhoever it is, said to do it.
You really want people tobelieve in why we're doing it,
and so that's why I think it'sso important to kind of pick a
different person each time thatspearheads each initiative with
me.
And then, in terms ofprioritization, I kind of laid
(08:50):
out everything that needed to bedone and then started picking
at which ones I thought would beone easiest to solve for but to
also have the biggest impact.
So something like getting thedatabase over to a digital form
versus out of paper.
That would have huge impactsfor everybody and if it worked
it would have been a reallygreat win across the board.
(09:11):
And I felt like I wouldn't.
It wouldn't it didn't have riskof having all these layers
underneath it where, like youtake something apart but you
don't realize how it'sinteracting with another piece
of the business.
I feel like I really concretelyunderstood what that was, so I
felt pretty confident that Icould take that as on as the big
(09:31):
project first.
But there are some projectsthat had to be deferred a little
bit because of that, becausewhen you buy a business that you
didn't help build, there arethings that, even as the team is
being like super forthrightabout what they're doing and why
they're doing it, they may noteven realize they're not
(09:52):
explaining something to you.
So you don't know what.
You don't know until you startripping things out and then, all
of a sudden, something overhere isn't working quite like it
was before.
Of a sudden, something overhere isn't working quite like it
was before.
Julie (10:04):
And it's this like careful, like, like calibration
of this big machine that youhave to do.
Because you're right, you'relike no, we need to like here's
the project, here's what we needto do, here's the.
Oh wait, all those things overthere broke because, because
you're still learning about thebig picture as well.
Ania (10:22):
Exactly so.
I think that's the biggest riskfor entrepreneurs who enter
into positions like mine, whereyou haven't built it up but you
have an understanding but at thesame time you don't quite
understand, as in the weeds, aseverybody else who helped build
the machine.
So that's the biggest risk whenyou take on some of these
(10:43):
initiatives, because if you takeit on and it doesn't go quite
to plan and it's one of thefirst ones it can be really
damaging in terms of trust andcredibility inside of the
organization.
But on the flip side, obviouslyyou hope it goes well and it
helps further build that trustand credibility with the team.
Julie (10:58):
Yeah, but it is really then for you also like leaning
into those human skills of youknow managing people, and like
change management and all of thethings, to really shepherd
things along and really belistening, for you know the
hiccups that are, that are goingto come.
Ania (11:17):
Exactly.
That's also why I think it's soimportant, like I said, to have
a person who's spearheadingeach project, because they have,
you know, a lot of times as youmove up in leadership roles,
people are honest but they holdback certain things.
So it's so important to havepeer level discussions open to
(11:38):
them as well for channels,because sometimes people feel a
lot more comfortable sayingsomething to their peer than
they do to their boss or the CEOor whoever it is.
But it's so important to getthose little tidbits because it
can really help steer you awayfrom a disaster in some of these
implementation projects andhelp you know.
(11:59):
It really helps you keep apulse on everybody as well in
terms of as you're implementingthese, because if they feel like
they can come and talk tosomebody if it's not you, then
you can at least have anunderstanding of where some of
the hesitation might be comingfrom.
Julie (12:15):
Yep, and, and it's just like making sure.
I feel like we always need tocommunicate more than we think
we do as leaders.
Different ways, number of times, all the ways that we need to,
you know, really keep tellingpeople things.
I feel like it's oftenunderestimated how long it takes
for somebody to actually likeabsorb the message, process the
(12:38):
information and then maybe comeback to you with questions.
Ania (12:41):
Yeah, I think that's so important and that's something
that I hear a lot and Iconsciously think about.
A lot is how many times I saywhat I say, because sometimes
you think you've said it enoughtimes and really like you've
really only said it like threetimes and that might sound like
a lot, but it's really not.
So I often I keep track of it.
(13:02):
Anything really important I tryto talk about at minimum 10
times before I'm like I thinkeverybody knows what we're
talking about and it's oneverybody's radar.
Now I've said it 10 times andacross multiple different
communication channels soverbally, email, repeated in
meetings and agendas.
(13:23):
So there's lots of differentplaces to get the information.
Julie (13:29):
And what drew you then to the AED market?
I mean, when you were sort ofevaluating potential and promise
and you said it's rapidlygrowing earlier in the interview
what was it that you saw theopportunity in this business for
?
Ania (13:44):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So I knew nothing about AEDsreally before I reached out to
the owner and I remember readingabout the business and I was
like, yes, AEDs, those areimportant.
I remember learning about themwhen I was my first job in
middle school and high schoolwas being a tennis camp
counsellor.
So you have to be CPR and AEDcertified for a lot of those
(14:08):
camp counsellor roles.
So I remember learning aboutAEDs and I was like, yeah, these
things are important.
This business sounds reallyinteresting.
Let me see what I can learn.
And so, in a perfect world, Iwanted to find something mission
critical.
But I knew, setting out on myjourney to buy a business like
that may or may not be the case.
(14:28):
You can only influence so manyfactors.
Right, and geography was areally important factor for me
personally.
So I knew that I may not beable to get everything and I
feel really lucky in the sensethat I did, but that was one of
the reasons why I really lovedthis business was the mission
(14:48):
critical nature of what it does,because what people don't
realize about defibrillators isjust buying them isn't enough.
Julie (14:55):
It's great to have one, not the end of the story.
It's sort of the beginning.
Ania (14:59):
Exactly it's the beginning , but we don't really talk about
service and maintenance a lot.
So people think that they'redoing their part just by having
one, which is great, butactually you need to do regular
service and maintenance on these.
So as I was reading about thecompany and learning more, I was
like how amazing is it that weare literally going out and
making sure that these workhelping keep communities safe,
(15:21):
raising awareness and it'salways really exciting.
I wrote about it when Isubmitted the letter of intent,
but at the beginning I wrote Ican't wait for the day that
hopefully I get the call thatthe defibrillator was used and
it saved someone's life, and tohear those stories.
I know you've gotten so many ofthose over the years and I
can't imagine like how excitingthat is to know how many lives
(15:46):
you've saved, etc.
So I was really excited to getthe first one, and now we have a
wall of saves where we put upall of the lives that we've had.
So it's a really cool feelingto be able to do something so
mission- critical.
Julie (16:09):
Well, and I think there'd be nothing worse as a human in
the situation where you tried touse a defibrillator and it did
not work Like that would not be.
You know, that would not be agood situation for anyone to end
up in.
So I think it's a reallyimportant message to carry as
well.
Ania (16:23):
Yeah, I agree.
Unfortunately, like we do getorganizations that come to us in
situations like that where theythought you know we have one,
it's going to work.
Maybe they didn't buy it fromus or whatever and so or they
weren't educated about serviceand maintenance prior to, and
then they end up finding usafterwards.
(16:44):
But those are always the worstscenarios and I really feel for
people when that happens,because you want to try to do
the right thing, but it's hardto do the right thing If you
don't have the right tools.
Like you wouldn't show up to doa surgery.
Like you don't expect yoursurgeon to show up to do surgery
with, like you know, kitchenscissors you can't show up to.
(17:07):
You know a A situation likethat with the wrong tool Without
the right gear.
Julie (17:12):
, and so I mean it speaks to your view that ramping up
the on-site maintenance side ofthe business was a huge
opportunity.
Ania (17:21):
Yes, yeah, that's definitely been a majority of
the business for a long time,but expanding on that is
something that's really excitingto me and to our team.
So continuing to get themessage out and being a little
bit more thoughtful around howwe do sales and marketing and
how we're speaking to peoplewhen they come and ask us for
(17:44):
items.
In the past it really used tobe, you know, whatever they
asked for is what the team wouldproduce.
So oftentimes you know you comeand you don't really know about
service and maintenance.
So I'll just quote you fordefibrillators, right.
But now there's much more of apush to make sure we're talking
about the service and educatingaround the service piece as well
(18:07):
.
Julie (18:08):
Around how to keep it working in the best shape
possible, exactly.
So it's interesting becauseobviously it's a business that
has a good amount of regulationaround it.
It's not sort of thatall-encompassing amount of
regulation you know, when youtalk about that, people aren't
aware about maintenance andthose kinds of things.
Ania (18:30):
Yeah, no, it's a really interesting point because
there's not a lot of federalregulation, which is what makes
it challenging, and then itfalls down to each state
deciding what they would like todo, and some states are much
more regulated than others.
Some have regulations aroundvenues any public venue that has
(18:53):
capacity limits, so it can beas minimal as a place that has
300, a capacity of 300 to.
The first place that regulationstarts is in a building or
office space that's more than10,000 square feet, so it can be
really varied state by state,which is, I think, what makes it
(19:15):
really challenging to navigateas a consumer and as a business
or organization, because youdon't know exactly what you
should be doing and it's kind ofleft up to you.
And then a lot of people have afear around the liability
around it.
So what happens if we do haveit and it doesn't work?
And now what for us?
Because we weren't technicallytold we need to have this device
(19:38):
.
But now we have it.
Julie (19:40):
We voluntarily did this, yeah.
Exactly, yeah, all thequestions that would be normal
to be asking.
Ania (19:48):
Exactly to that point I just do want to
mention on the liability side,there are laws that protect
people from, and organizationsfrom, stepping in and helping.
So there should not be a fearabout having these devices, even
if you're not regulated to,because you're protected by laws
.
And if you have, like a thirdparty maintenance provider or
(20:09):
you're doing the maintenanceyourself and you're keeping
inspection logs, that will alsohelp you know on the liability
side.
Julie (20:17):
Yeah, well, and it's important.
And I mean, did you know whenyou bought the business that the
advocacy work would be asimportant as it is?
Ania (20:25):
I had a feeling that it would be.
I think it's really importantto continue to connect within
the community around theseissues.
That's the only way to kind ofgain more spotlight on the topic
.
I think one of the most talkedabout events in the recent years
was the DeMar Hamlin incident.
(20:45):
Everybody saw that happen onnational TV and that really
sparked a conversation aroundsome cardiac arrest and
defibrillators and theimportance of defibrillators.
Julie (20:56):
And somebody young and healthy and-.
Ania (20:59):
An athlete and since that incident there was a lot of
momentum afterwards, but youknow, now that's been two years,
so it's important to continueto stay involved and talk about
it and speak to you know, locallawmakers speak with
organizations that are workingto raise awareness because
(21:21):
they're doing the work ofcontinuing to try to keep it in
the spotlight.
Julie (21:26):
And I mean your background to get here was
interesting too, right Likeyou're doing institutional
equities trading, working, youknow, working in private capital
, those kinds of things.
And then obviously, MBA school,which gave you also a deep
business kind of education.
What about it?
(21:47):
Why did you decide to become anentrepreneur?
Like was it?
Did you feel drawn to it?
I mean, you talked to me alittle bit about the small
business that you started beforeCOVID, so you obviously had
entrepreneurship on the mind.
Ania (22:00):
Yeah, no, that's a great question.
So both my parents have alwaysbeen extremely entrepreneurial
and I grew up in a household ofentrepreneurs.
So my parents when I wasyounger I didn't appreciate it
as much, but my parents were theparents who were always at
every event and everybody else'sparents, would you know,
(22:22):
sometimes make it, sometimes not, and I'd always be like, how
are you guys able to literallybe at everything?
And when I was a teenager,sometimes it was a little
annoying, but looking back on itnow I'm so grateful for that.
And when I thought aboutflexibility and like what would
allow me to do that?
(22:43):
I have a son now, but I, youknow, maybe one day I'll have
more, more than one child, butwhat would allow me to do that
for my family and my childrenand entrepreneurship was really
that I am one of those people.
(23:04):
But I wanted to haveflexibility to you know, make my
schedule and do what needs toget done and also show up and be
there for my family.
But, as anybody who is aworking parent like, it's always
a give and take.
There's no perfect balance.
Julie (23:14):
Yes, but I do.
I really agree with you.
I mean it's why I started mybusiness.
It was around having theflexibility Flexibility doesn't
mean you like take the afternoonoff and go to the play.
It often means you're workinglater at night or early in the
morning and you probably workmore than you would in a
(23:35):
traditional career.
But it's.
It does give you the ability toput down things when you need
to do something, and it'simportant.
I mean it was great for myfamily.
Ania (23:48):
Exactly and to your point exactly.
It's like it's okay to work atthose odd hours, because
sometimes, when you're in moretraditional roles, it's like
that's frowned upon oh, you'renot at your desk by 8am or 8 am
or whatever it is Right, oryou're not sitting there at five
o'clock, like that's not OK,whereas when you're operating in
(24:12):
an entrepreneurial environment,you can can be working from 4
am to 7 am and then you knowgoing to do drop off or like a
parent teacher event and then goback and pick up where you left
off.
Julie (24:27):
Yeah, yeah, and I think it's just one of those pieces of
like you have to decide whatworks for you, but I definitely
think that that culture of notclock watching but being really,
really pointed on delivering ofresults is a really key
(24:49):
differentiator that you can leaninto and allow.
Like, nobody wants to be toldthey were late when they come in
at 9.01.
Yes, exactly Because trafficwas a little worse than they
thought.
And, as a leader, those aren'tthe things you want to be
watching for.
Ania (25:04):
Exactly that's.
Nobody likes being in anenvironment that's like that and
that's not the environment thatyou want to create.
And as a working parent, I havea lot of working parents that
work for me too, especially alot of working moms.
So affording everybody thatflexibility is really important.
Because, again, nobody wants tofeel like someone's like
(25:26):
waiting for you to step footinto the office you know two
minutes late one day, so you canget docked for that.
Julie (25:33):
Yeah, yeah.
And setting up your life in away to that makes it, you know,
so that you have the support onthe home front that you need to
be able to work the way you wantto work
Ania (25:45):
Exactly.
That's super important, makingsure you have the support at
home too, because it's reallyhard when you don't have those
systems.
I'm lucky to have those systems.
My husband is definitely.
He also works and heunderstands like the way I
function and the best ways thatI function work-wise, so he's
(26:07):
really flexible with me as well,which I really appreciate, and
we both have our families nearby, so that helps with a lot when
it comes to emergencies exactlyall those emergency doctor's
visits that you have to go toonce they start when you have a
toddler Exactly, which isexactly where my son is today.
So we had a month period overthe summer where it was like
(26:31):
every week we were at thedoctor's.
Julie (26:36):
And it's hard, right, it's really hard.
I remember when I startedworking with my coach, one of
the early things she did wassort of sit me down and say,
okay, yeah, what's the village,how are you doing it?
And my kids were older, like,like in their you know, eight to
12 kind of age and you know,okay, so how, what's your backup
if you can't drive themsomewhere, if you get called
(26:58):
away for something at work?
Do you have a taxi, chit?
I mean, I'm dating myself alittle bit, but, but you know,
like those kinds of things whereyou know you have backup plan
where your kid could still getfrom A to B, you can, you know,
feel comfortable about howthey're getting from A to B.
So is that a family member?
Is it a?
You know, do you have a nannyor somebody after school
(27:20):
housekeeping that helps them?
Do you have?
You know, and I mean the reasonthat you think about a taxi
instead of an Uber or somethinglike that is really about bonded
and insured, right, yeah, soyou know, like, just what are
those things that you put intoplace and how do you consider
safety and how do you considerthe right way to do it?
But you need all of those kindof infrastructures to help you.
Ania (27:45):
Yeah, exactly, they're so important and having those
conversations with your partneror your support system, whatever
that may look like, tounderstand that so everybody's
on the same page.
Because I also feel like a lotof times we carry a lot more
mental load and so you getexactly.
So, you get exactly.
So you get kind of bogged downby this like, oh well, what is
(28:06):
the plan?
Only they know, only you know,mom knows the plan, or whatever.
So, making sure everybody'swell versed on the plan, so in
case something happens, maybeyou're getting the notification
about it or whatever you candelegate more simply, so that
it's not as burdensome as liketrying to figure it out in the
moment or really everything inthat moment.
Julie (28:27):
Yeah, picking the important things right and
definitely I think like easingthe mental load is a big piece
of it, for sure.
Ania (28:34):
Yes, exactly, Sometimes it can feel like when you're, you
know, obviously running abusiness and then trying to
manage a household andeverything, sometimes it's like
all right, I just need fiveminutes to just think about
nothing.
I think sometimes we, you know,when we have like nothing on
(28:55):
our minds or we're just relaxing, we don't appreciate it enough
and like really enjoy that it'sthe constant running to-do list.
Exactly, but really like takingtime to actually like do those,
I think is so important.
It helps you recharge too,because if your mind's always
going 24 seven, you're nevergoing to get a break or get a
(29:17):
moment to calm down, and thoselike five minutes of truly
nothing can mean so much foryour energy and your
productivity.
Julie (29:25):
It's true, it's true.
So you are, what about twoyears into this journey?
Ania (29:32):
Yeah, about two years in from the search phase.
Julie (29:38):
Search LOI closing.
And now here we are.
What has been the mostsurprising to you in this
journey?
Ania (29:47):
That's a great question.
I think what has been mostsurprising is people.
Honestly, because I think,coming into this, I don't want
to say I was cynical, but I wasa little more apprehensive maybe
.
Yeah, I think I was more likepeople aren't going to want to
(30:10):
be as helpful as they are,people aren't going to be as
excited to jump into whatever itmay be.
So when I was looking for abusiness, I was like people
aren't going to want to talk tome unless they really are
interested in selling theirbusiness to me.
But I had so many people thatwere just so interested in just
being helpful, just to behelpful, which I found so
(30:32):
refreshing and unexpected.
Once I started operating, one ofmy biggest worries was okay,
how am I going to get people toactually be excited about these,
like, work related tasks anditems?
And, surprisingly, like andpart of it is due to the fact
that I'm an amazing team buteverybody was really excited to
(30:55):
do a lot of these structuralprocesses and changes and all of
that.
So every time, I feel like I'vebeen really surprised by how
wonderful everybody is and thatI think, coming into it, I did
not expect, because I expectedto have to, like you know, pull
(31:15):
more teeth and potentially, youknow, potentially you know I
hate micromanaging I'm not amicromanager but potentially be
like a lot deeper in the weedson certain tasks and initiatives
to make sure they were movingin the right direction.
But that has not been the caseat all.
Julie (31:34):
That's really great.
So you know really.
It's like, don't be afraid toask
Ania (31:39):
Exactly.
I think people on the wholesurprise you in positive ways
than in negative ways, and Ithink for a lot of people it's
the fear of the what if thatstops them from doing things.
But what I've learned is justrip the bandaid off and just do
it and then see what happens,and I found, honestly, most of
(32:00):
the it's surprising in apositive way and not a negative
way.
Julie (32:04):
I think that's such great advice, so good.
Well, Ania, I can't wait tofollow you along and see what
the growth looks like and howyou manage it in the future.
I wish you all the best, andthank you so much for joining me
today.
Ania (32:20):
Thank you so much for having me.
It was awesome to be a part ofit.
Julie (32:25):
I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
Please remember to hitsubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform so you won'tmiss any episodes.
Figure 8 isn't just a podcast.
It's a way of seeing the big,gorgeous goals of women
entrepreneurs coming to life.
If you're interested inlearning more, you can find my
(32:46):
book Big Gorgeous Goals onAmazon, anywhere you might live.
For more about my growth andleadership training programs,
visit www.
julieellis.
ca to see how we might worktogether.
Read my blog or sign up to getyour free diagnostic.
Are you ready for growth?
(33:08):
Once again, that's www.
julieellis.
ca.
When we work together, we allwin.
See you again soon for anotherepisode of Figure 8.
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