July 22, 2024 • 30 mins
When love meets leadership, magic happens—but only if trust and boundaries are in place.
Jessica and Alex break down the foundational elements of running a successful business as a couple, highlighting the importance of teamwork, defined roles, and shared leadership. They unpack how their different leadership styles complement each other and share personal insights into building trust, developing their team, and making high-stakes decisions that serve both business and relationship goals.
Through the lens of John Maxwell’s five levels of leadership, they reveal how entrepreneurial growth is deeply connected to personal development and clear communication. Whether you’re struggling with delegation or navigating roles in a family business, this conversation brings actionable wisdom and heartfelt perspective.
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Alex & Jessica Fortis
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alex (00:09):
Welcome to Married to the Hustle, the podcast where love,
faith and business come together.
Jessica (00:14):
I'm Jessica, and with me is my partner in life and
business, alex.
Together, we're diving into thewild world of entrepreneurial
couples.
Alex (00:22):
Each week, we'll bring you real stories, hilarious moments
and valuable insights fromcouples who are building
businesses and rocking theirrelationships.
Talk about living the dream orsurviving the nightmare.
So buckle up and get ready for afun ride with Married to the
Hustle.
Welcome back, guys.
(00:52):
We're so excited to have youhere with us on this week's
episode.
We're going to be chatting alittle bit about the power of
teamwork and how it is, you know, getting the team in place and
working together and respectingeach other's boundaries.
Again, today we have.
I'm joined by my beautiful wife, jessica hey guys.
So, jessica, you're excited totalk about this topic, because I
know I am.
I mean, we're nothing withoutour team, right?
(01:12):
And having the right team inplace and a group of great
individuals that are seeing thevision as a whole.
And yeah, let's talk about thistopic, Jessica.
What do you think aboutteamwork and how it plays in the
company right now?
Jessica (01:28):
I think it's so pivotal because the reality is that we
can't run the business byourselves, right?
But when it comes to teamwork,it's not just the teamwork of
the team as a whole, it's alsodividing those roles and
responsibilities that you and Ihave as well, so that the team
knows who exactly they need toreport to, who can they go to
for certain things.
(01:48):
And so divvying up theresponsibilities is really
important, because one of thebiggest things that happens when
you're building a business withyour spouse is that the
employees don't know who to goto, and so a lot of times like
(02:14):
children, right, it's likethey'll come to you and say
something.
It's like oh you know, correct,correct from a different
perspective, from a differentunderstanding, and it may at
times, look like we're not onthe same page.
And so that's why it's soimportant for teamwork, not only
for the team themselves, butalso how we tend to divvy that
(02:35):
up.
Alex (02:35):
Correct.
Correct, and just rememberingas well that you can't build
anything on your own right.
You got to have the rightpeople in place and trusting in
others to make the rightdecisions right.
And if it's not the rightdecision right, then and there
they made it and we learn fromit and we go on right.
That's the continual processthat we go through is learning,
learning as you're growing, andI would say trust plays a really
(02:59):
big role in effective teamworkTrusting that person, learning
together, mentoring, you know,coaching I know Jessica here's
coaching and her eyes just likeopen up, right, because Jessica
just loves to coach people andshe's great at it.
And what do you say like thetrust?
How does that play a role inteamwork?
Jessica (03:22):
Well, it goes back to who we are as leaders, right,
I'm a huge fan of John Maxwell,and John Maxwell talks about the
five levels of leadership.
And so in the first level ofleadership, he talks about
position, right.
So.
So people will follow youbecause they have to.
(03:42):
They have no choice, right?
So sometimes, as the owner ofthe company, they're like oh,
that's the owner, that's theowner of the company, I have to
do whatever they tell me.
And so building trust is whereyou start to gain.
You know that.
That level two of leadership,which is permission, this is
where you're buildingrelationships.
(04:03):
This is where people willfollow you, because now they
want to, they want to follow you.
You're helping them build thattrust, and so they're starting
to see you, how you're buildinga relationship with them.
You're getting to know them.
You're getting to know theirpains, their struggles, but also
the things that make them happy.
(04:24):
And so that moves you intolevel three in the five levels
of leadership, where now youstart to talk about production,
and people will follow youbecause of what you've done for
the organization, what you'vedone for the company, and they
know that you can deliverresults.
So they're following youbecause they know that if they
(04:46):
go to you, you're going to getit done.
And so, as you continue, theother two levels of leadership
one of them is in peopledevelopment and reproduction, so
the people that you followbecause of what you've done for
them.
And then, lastly, is thepinnacle, which is their respect
, which is people will followbecause of who you are and what
you represent.
(05:06):
And that's where there's analignment there with core values
, there's an alignment therewith your mission, your vision,
and so the most important thingwhen it comes to trust is that
we are moving up and down thosefive levels at every given time.
Right, you hire someone new.
They respect you because ofposition.
(05:27):
You develop someone and youpromote from within.
Now you're in level four in thepeople development, right, and
so what happens is that trust,it's constantly moving.
We don't just arrive and now Itrust you.
This is a process that we allhave to go through in order to
trust each other and to be ableto hold each other accountable,
(05:50):
and when that trust is broken,it takes a very long time to
repair it, and so that's whytrust is pivotal when it comes
to teamwork.
Alex (05:59):
That's so true Back in the day.
I know I've always had that,that wall up right where it's.
It's really hard for me totrust people, but I've learned
and it was one of our pastorsthat had spoke about it Right,
and I think you have mentionedit previously, right, what was
the saying?
Where you know I trust youuntil you give me reasons not to
(06:20):
.
Jessica (06:21):
And so Alex and I, right, we have the.
We're two different backgrounds, we're two different
individuals.
We're so different, right,we're very similar in a lot of
things, but we're very differentin others, right?
And Alex is show me and I willtrust you, and that's something
that he's working on, right.
And then I'm the opposite.
I'm like I will trust you untilyou show me otherwise, right,
(06:43):
I'm like I will trust you untilyou show me otherwise, right?
So so it's very important toassess where you are when it
comes to trust.
And I'm not talking about beingnaive, right, because the
reality is that sometimes westep into, you know,
conversations or relationshipsor business deals with people
(07:03):
you know, thinking that theyhave the right intentions, right
, but it's because they didn'tshow me any other reason why I
shouldn't trust them, right?
So so there's a very fine linebetween not trusting, between
fully trusting someone and justabsolutely stepping into that
conversation, being completelynaive.
And so that's where we, asleaders and business owners, we
(07:27):
need to do some self-discoveryin order to identify what are
some, some of those areas intrust that I that I need to work
on, and and and I'll say I'llsay this too when it comes to
business owners.
Alex (07:42):
A lot of times we lack trust in the delegation process
and I think that's one of myfaults too, right, and I know
we've spoken about it likedelegating right.
We're actually, you know, tryingto implement the EOS and one of
them is delegating to elevateright, delegate to elevate Yep.
(08:03):
And that's been the toughestfor me because you know this is
your baby right and I think inpart of that book they talk
about too, you know, thebranches, ripping apart the
branches and watching the treegrow, grooming the tree, you
know, and that's pretty muchwhat you're doing in your
business is trying to groompeople to take on tasks, to
(08:24):
learn a little bit more, toinvolve them in more
decision-making, right, and thatall involves trust because it's
your baby right.
So you're watching your baby,you start crawling, you start
walking right and having theright guidance behind you.
Jessica, I just wanted to touchback right, because I know we
both are big John Maxwell fansand the book that you talked
(08:47):
about, that we were just talkingabout the Five Levels of
Leadership and I need you to behonest what level do you see me
at right now in leadershipBetween that one and five?
Jessica (08:57):
That's a terrible question to ask me on a podcast.
Alex (09:01):
Why.
Jessica (09:02):
Why you know, and that's the thing this is.
You know, like I was sayingbefore, you're going to be in
different levels at differenttimes, right?
And so the perfect example ofthat is someone brand new that
doesn't know you.
You're always going to be inlevel one if you don't build a
relationship with them, correct?
Alex (09:23):
So that actually just happened to me where we hired
someone new and she wassurprised to see me at one of
the locations.
She was like, oh my gosh, youknow why are you here, Right?
And I said I'm part of the team, just like everybody else.
If I have to, you know, getdown and sweat, and I know this
job is not easy, but I'm I'mhere to help and assist and
(09:46):
serve wherever I can.
And that went.
That went a really long way forher right, Because she she
wasn't used to that, seeing that, you know, she's used to being
told what to do and, kind oflike, be very stern and and she
appreciated it.
And we appreciate her, you know, because without, without the
team, we're nobody.
But it goes back to that levelone there.
Jessica (10:10):
Exactly, but you were able to build a relationship
with her, so that moves you intolevel two, right, and then what
happens is, if she doesn't seeyou again, you're back to level
one.
Level one, yeah, and so that'sthe key.
So when you asked me that trickquestion, that's not even right
, alex.
But when you asked me thattrick question, that's not even
right, alex.
But when you asked me thattrick question where I see you,
(10:33):
right as my husband.
Alex (10:34):
I see you as a pinnacle right, someone who A level five
right, a level five Totally.
Jessica (10:39):
Right, okay, but that's right now.
Right, yeah, that's right now,at this moment, because I know
your heart, I know your passion,I know what you represent, I
know your mission, your vision,your dreams, your goals, right,
and so I see that.
But the great part of beingable to answer this type of
question is that self-reflectionpiece and I will tell you that,
for me, I see myself in betweena level three and a four in
(11:02):
this company.
Right, and as owner of, youknow, co-owner with you in this
company, because, you know, theteam gets to see me more, they
know that I produce results,they know that I love to develop
people and, you know, and Iwant to help them grow.
But, but, but that's usuallywhere I see myself in.
You know, I see myself in thatlevel three, level four.
(11:24):
Now, if we go into into mycoaching business, right,
because I know what I give, Isee myself as a level five all
the way, you know.
But it goes back to, I mean, Ijust had a discovery call today
with a new client and does sheknow me?
No, and it's an opportunity forme to work on building that
know, like and trust and so, andso we're constantly.
(11:48):
It's like a throttle right.
You're moving up and down, upand down on the five levels of
leadership, and these fivelevels, they're not the end, all
be all right.
But the fundamentals ofleadership that John Maxwell
discusses are truly what helpedme in my leadership career when
I was in corporate.
(12:08):
And so those levels neverchange, they never change.
And so when I say they neverchange, I mean like the
principles.
Right, the principles don'tchange, but we do change
depending on our audience,depending on our team, depending
on how we've worked onourselves.
If there's someone who'spulling rank all the time,
(12:32):
they're never going to leavelevel one.
Alex (12:34):
Correct.
Jessica (12:34):
Correct, and so that's really important for someone to
you know to be able to assessthat, and in the five levels of
leadership there's actually aleadership assessment.
So anyone and obviously this isnot, obviously this is not a
paid promotion but the fivelevels of leadership with John
Maxwell you can find this onAmazon and in the beginning
pages there's a leadershipassessment that I highly
(12:56):
recommend that you take, becauseat that point you'll be able to
really assess what is it thatyou need to work on in order to
improve among the differentlevels.
And so when you find yourselfback at a level one, you know
exactly what you need to focuson to get to two and three and
four and five Right right man,jessica, you always come, you
(13:17):
always give some nuggets.
Alex (13:19):
I tell you.
Jessica (13:20):
I live ready, I live ready.
Alex (13:23):
She's definitely an inspiration to me, for sure.
Like she, I can tell hersomething and yeah, well, check
out this book, you know, orshe'll send something with me.
So she always gives me nuggets,which I appreciate, and that's
how this all came about.
And so in the company, right,when we have to make decisions,
(13:45):
right, if you can describe, or Ican describe, I can share how
do we make the joint decisionsin the company when it comes to
either hiring, taking on newbusiness.
Lately, like this morning, I wasout in Palmetto, Florida, going
to look at an account and oneof the first things you said was
you sure you want to go workout there?
(14:05):
Right, because it's two hoursaway from where we're at.
But the reason why I do it isbecause we have to answer that
call.
Right, it's the customer's callright, and this is someone that
we've done business in the pastwith and being able to be an
answer for his company.
You know the big constructioncorporation and their
(14:27):
multimillion dollar business.
I don't want to say no to thatbecause just because it's two
hours away.
So yesterday, when I spoke toyou about it, you know you kind
of a little and do you show youhow to how do we, how do we come
to the conclusion?
Okay, I'm just going to takethe ride out there.
You remember what I told you.
Jessica (14:46):
No, I don't remember what you told me, but.
But I know why you're doing it,though, but, but I don't
remember what you told me.
Alex (14:57):
What was that that they?
You asked me.
You sure, recently we took onsome projects in Jacksonville
and there were some overnightstuff.
It was a little tough for allof us and I think part of the
issue of me going out toPalmetto is because you didn't
want to see a repeat of whathappened in Jacksonville.
Right, and I totally get it.
(15:17):
You're looking out for us,right, looking out for me.
I'm not one that likes to beaway from home, but you know,
and then I told you, I said youknow it's the customer.
They've called us before,they've used us before.
We never had an issue with themand in business, when you're
(15:40):
trying to grow and meet thecustomer's expectations,
sometimes you have to take thatdrive Right.
So I don't think it was it wasa bad decision, but I think it
was a pretty joint decision forus.
What do you think?
Jessica (15:49):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, there are some decisions that
have to make sense, right, theyhave to make sense.
And sometimes you know makingsense in renegotiating the
contract, making sure that yourcontract has a clause that says
(16:10):
you know that this contract is,there is some type of
expectation that if it doesn'tmeet the needs both mutually
beneficial to both the clientand us right that it should have
a clause in there thatindicates that we will sit down
and discuss this and renegotiate, right, because that way you're
(16:31):
clear on what needs to takeplace.
But not all money is good money, and I think we talked about
this before in one of ourprevious episodes and is that
there are times that we have tolearn to say no, right.
And just like there are timesthat you know a yes is a no
brainer, right.
And so for me, when making adecision, I have I have this
(16:55):
little sticky, sticky note here,because for a while I used to
struggle in saying no- she goeswith those nuggets again.
Alex (17:02):
guys, I'm telling you she's just full of nuggets.
Get your pen and paper.
Jessica (17:08):
And so I was struggling and saying no, and when I would
say no, I was almost likedisgruntled, right?
And so I started really toidentify okay, what's the
decision at hand?
And so I asked myself and I didthis with my coach, by the way
Number one is who is it serving?
Right, if I'm making a decision, who is it serving?
(17:30):
Is it for the client?
Is it beneficial for thecompany?
Is it beneficial for the team?
Right, so who is it serving?
Number one, keeping that in mind.
Number two if I'm taking on thejob, then whose workload is it
alleviating?
Because if it's not alleviatingany other workload, then
there's an issue in thedelegation process, right?
(17:52):
So whose workload is italleviating?
Number three is is it creatingany efficiency and processes?
So, by me saying yes or sayingno, by making this decision, is
it creating any efficiencies andprocesses in the process?
Right, in the process of mesaying yes, did we develop
(18:15):
something new?
Did we develop something moreefficient?
Because if we're saying yes tosomething and we're going back
into, you know the, the anightmare, you know, there
there's sometimes.
Alex takes on a project andhe'll be like I'm worried, this
floor feels like it's going tobe a nightmare and I'm like
don't say that Right, and don'tsay that.
Alex (18:36):
But that goes back to like mindset too right, because we
spoke about it a few few weeks.
The garbage you put in is thegarbage you're going to put out.
So, maintaining positivity.
Jessica (18:46):
Exactly.
And then the last one in mydecision-making process is does
this show a heart-centeredapproach?
Because there are times that wemake a decision and we're not
looking at the bigger picture.
We might be looking at theprofit, right.
It's like, oh man, this isreally profitable, right.
(19:06):
We might be looking at, youknow, oh, we have some extra
work for the team.
You know, when we're slow, youknow some, some of our team
members are like, hey, you gotsomething else, you got someone
else to get me send me somewhere, right, but that's not enough.
And then the key is, if you, ifyou take on decisions with a
heart center approach, that thisis beneficial all the way
(19:27):
around for everyone that'sinvolved, then it's a good
decision, right and so and so.
That that was one of the thingsthat I wrote down, and when we
moved our office, it was on mydesk over there, and when we
were in Winter Park, and now I Ihave it on top of my new office
desk, and so it's just reallyimportant to be able to navigate
(19:49):
through that.
And if you're having problemswith decision making and kind of
like dividing those roles andresponsibilities inside of a
business, when you're running abusiness with your spouse.
That's an opportunity forreflection.
Right when you're running abusiness with your spouse,
that's an opportunity forreflection.
You really want to sit down andidentify what are some of those
strengths and weaknesses thatyou each bring to the table.
How do you leverage that?
(20:12):
I just had a conversation withAlex the other day.
I'm going to put you out there.
We went to a networking eventand a couple of times in the
networking event people wereasking me questions about
pricing and that kind of thingand I was like, oh yeah, I don't
do pricing or bids.
That's Alex, I'll bring himover there, I'll introduce you
to Alex, right?
(20:33):
And then I would bring him overand I would introduce him.
Alex (20:42):
And so he says a couple of days ago he says you want me to
show you how to do a bid, justin case you get that question
again.
And this is what you do, andnot that I'm not that I'm an
expert, but it's just somethingthat I've learned, and I'm not
afraid to show others, you know.
Jessica (20:57):
But that was the thing.
Right.
Right and identifying strengthsand weaknesses.
When I say I don't knowanything about, about you know
prices and how to set up a bid,doesn't mean I want to do it
Right and so being very clear.
Right.
Being clear on that boundarywas important to me, right, and
so that's where identifyingstrengths and weaknesses is is
(21:20):
really important.
Like, you stay in your lane andI stay in mine, and we'll be
good.
Alex (21:25):
Right, and you usually you're pretty clear with that.
That doesn't interest me, Idon't need to learn that.
Nope, you do.
And if you have a questionabout such and such, then you
come to me and I'm like whoa.
But it's hey, there's.
I don't get upset, I actuallyrespect it because you know she
said setting her boundariesRight, and we need to respect
(21:47):
each other's boundaries and weboth have strengths and
weaknesses.
Jessica (21:52):
Absolutely.
Alex (21:53):
I could probably again, not an expert, but I can
probably close a sale on anaccount where Jessica might not
be able to close out an account.
Again, jessica might be able toput something together that we
need for a system right, andthat's one of my weaknesses, you
know I can't.
Jessica (22:11):
And then the connection .
Oh my gosh, alex is so good atconnecting with our team you
know, just to be able to get toknow them and explore what they
like and what they don't.
And I just don't have thatnurturing side of me, you know,
and and and it's okay, I mean Itry, I try to nurture, right.
But then I know, you know,there were times when we were
both out in the field when westarted our business and Alex
(22:34):
would come home and be like man,this person's going through
this and did you know?
Like you know, I wish we coulddo something for them and I'm
like how'd you know that?
And he's like I just got toknow her and I'm like, wow, like
you know.
So so it's like it's not that Idon't take the time to build
that, that relationship ornurture it.
I just I don't know.
I just I'm not great at it, youknow.
(23:07):
It's like.
It's like when they put me as agreeter to serve listen, I'm
there to serve, but I'm just soawkward at greeting people at
the door and so I'm just notreally good at it and it's okay,
right, but I still serve with agood heart, right, but I'm just
not.
Alex (23:18):
I'm just not great at it, and so I try to stay in my lane
Right, right, and that's one ofthe I wouldn't say weak points
for me.
I think it's a strength, rightTo be able to, to sit and talk
to someone, for you know fiveminutes and you can find out,
you know a whole lot about them.
Jessica (23:32):
Right.
Alex (23:33):
I always, I always say to myself when you meet someone new
, you never know what they'regoing through, right, and this
can be a starting point for manypeople, right, coming in to be
part of our team.
We have, you know, a few peoplethat just came from another
country and they're happy to behere and this is their first job
(23:54):
.
So learning about them a littlebit.
What's their background?
Right.
And one of them happens to beback in her country she's a
nurse, right.
Background right.
And one of them happens to beback in her country, she's a
nurse, right.
So how cool is that to get toknow just different people.
And again, it goes back tobuilding the trust, right,
getting the buy-in from everyone.
And I've always been that way.
(24:15):
And I want to say just watchingmy mom, like, growing up, she
was always, she always servedeverybody.
She was always worried aboutothers before herself, right.
So when you see things, becauseyou, what you're taking in is
what you put out, right, we go.
It always goes back to that,right, what you take in is what
(24:36):
you put out.
And seeing my mom I mean my momis even to this day you go to
visit her.
You're not leaving her housewithout a plate of food, a cup
of coffee, right?
And she is just the way she isright.
It's a natural thing to her andI think you know me seeing it,
it becomes natural to us.
So that goes back to likeleveraging the strengths right
(25:00):
and how we complement each otherin the business Right, right,
right, because there's somethings that Jessica doesn't
enjoy doing, there's certainthings that I don't enjoy doing
that Jessica does very well inand I don't do so well right.
So we kind of leverage eachother's strength to go forward,
to move forward right, to pushthe needle ahead, like they say.
(25:21):
So, yeah, anything else, youwanted to touch on that, jessica
?
Jessica (25:25):
No, I mean I encourage you guys to assess your
strengths, weaknesses,opportunities and threats, and
we do the SWOT analysis onbusiness level, but many times
we don't take the opportunity todo that on an individual level,
and so it's so important foryou to know what are some areas
(25:48):
where you know you need to stayin your lane, and one of the
biggest issues with family-ownedbusinesses and couples building
a business is that they'rethey're bumping.
They're bumping heads with eachother.
You know they're.
They're if they take theassessment from traction, and
(26:09):
they're both visionaries right,there's truly no execution
strategy.
And so the same way with theintegrator role.
So so they take the assessment.
They're both integrators.
There's nobody with a vision,the integrator role.
So so they take the assessment,they're both integrators.
There's nobody with a vision.
And so it's so important to beable to understand each other's
strengths, understand what makeswhat you're really good at and
(26:32):
what you're not.
And you know, I I'm more, I'mmore of the direct, you know
approach, and Alex is more oflike that nurturer.
And so if we need someone togive a nudge to a client because
you know they need and Alex ismore of like that nurturer, and
so if we need someone to give anudge to a client because you
know they need to be nurtured alittle bit, then you know I'll
pass them on to Alex, he'll givehim a call, he'll soften them
up.
But if I also need to contactsomeone to collect on a bill or
(26:55):
something like that, right, it'slike I have to take a different
approach.
You know, be a little bit moredirect in order to get paid just
(27:24):
you and your spouse.
It's really important to knowhow to leverage each other's
strengths so that you're notstepping on each other's toes at
all times, and so that would bemy biggest recommendation.
How about you as we close ourshow?
Alex (27:34):
Yeah, jessica mentioned the SWOT analysis and we've done
it probably about two or threetimes.
Right, and those of you thatdon't know the SWOT analysis, it
stands for the your strengths,your weaknesses, opportunities
and threats right within yourbusiness.
We've done quite a bit of.
(27:55):
We've done the disk, we've donethe SWOT, we've did quite a few
right where it's trying totrying to get better and serve
people better, right?
So without teamwork I mean I'mgoing to close out Without
teamwork there's no work.
Pretty much to put it clear,building a team, trusting in
(28:17):
your team.
It does take time, it doesn'thappen overnight, but, yeah,
without teamwork, delegating toelevating, right, that's another
one.
I'm trying to give some nuggets, like Jessica, yeah, yeah,
jessica.
Jessica (28:36):
Say in your lane Say in your lane Jessica.
Alex (28:39):
She's a big note taker, so she's got all this stuff
written down and she's trying toget me like that.
She recently bought me lastyear the Remarkable, so I'm
trying to get you know a hold ofgetting using the Remarkable a
little bit more.
Jessica (28:55):
So Awesome.
Alex (28:57):
All right guys.
So with that, we thank you guysfor joining us and we can't
wait to share our next episodewith you.
And until then, keep hustling.
That wraps up another episodeof Married to the Hustle.
(29:19):
We hope you enjoyed today'sshow and found some inspiration
and practical tips to apply toyour own business journey.
Jessica (29:26):
We love hearing from you, our amazing listeners.
If you have any stories,questions or tips to share,
connect with us on social mediaor send us an email.
Your input makes this podcasteven better.
Alex (29:37):
And don't forget to subscribe to Married to the
Hustle on your favorite podcastplatform so you never miss an
episode.
And if you enjoyed today'sepisode, please leave us a
review.
It really helps us grow andreach more entrepreneurial
couples like you.
Jessica (29:51):
Join us next week for more exciting stories,
insightful interviews andvaluable advice.
Until then, keep hustling, keepthriving and keep loving what
you do.
Alex (30:00):
Thanks for tuning in and happy hustling.
Welcome to Married to the Hustle, the podcast where love,
faith and business come together.
Jessica (00:14):
I'm Jessica, and with me is my partner in life and
business, alex.
Together, we're diving into thewild world of entrepreneurial
couples.
Alex (00:22):
Each week, we'll bring you real stories, hilarious moments
and valuable insights fromcouples who are building
businesses and rocking theirrelationships.
Talk about living the dream orsurviving the nightmare.
So buckle up and get ready for afun ride with Married to the
Hustle.
Welcome back, guys.
(00:52):
We're so excited to have youhere with us on this week's
episode.
We're going to be chatting alittle bit about the power of
teamwork and how it is, you know, getting the team in place and
working together and respectingeach other's boundaries.
Again, today we have.
I'm joined by my beautiful wife, jessica hey guys.
So, jessica, you're excited totalk about this topic, because I
know I am.
I mean, we're nothing withoutour team, right?
(01:12):
And having the right team inplace and a group of great
individuals that are seeing thevision as a whole.
And yeah, let's talk about thistopic, Jessica.
What do you think aboutteamwork and how it plays in the
company right now?
Jessica (01:28):
I think it's so pivotal because the reality is that we
can't run the business byourselves, right?
But when it comes to teamwork,it's not just the teamwork of
the team as a whole, it's alsodividing those roles and
responsibilities that you and Ihave as well, so that the team
knows who exactly they need toreport to, who can they go to
for certain things.
(01:48):
And so divvying up theresponsibilities is really
important, because one of thebiggest things that happens when
you're building a business withyour spouse is that the
employees don't know who to goto, and so a lot of times like
(02:14):
children, right, it's likethey'll come to you and say
something.
It's like oh you know, correct,correct from a different
perspective, from a differentunderstanding, and it may at
times, look like we're not onthe same page.
And so that's why it's soimportant for teamwork, not only
for the team themselves, butalso how we tend to divvy that
(02:35):
up.
Alex (02:35):
Correct.
Correct, and just rememberingas well that you can't build
anything on your own right.
You got to have the rightpeople in place and trusting in
others to make the rightdecisions right.
And if it's not the rightdecision right, then and there
they made it and we learn fromit and we go on right.
That's the continual processthat we go through is learning,
learning as you're growing, andI would say trust plays a really
(02:59):
big role in effective teamworkTrusting that person, learning
together, mentoring, you know,coaching I know Jessica here's
coaching and her eyes just likeopen up, right, because Jessica
just loves to coach people andshe's great at it.
And what do you say like thetrust?
How does that play a role inteamwork?
Jessica (03:22):
Well, it goes back to who we are as leaders, right,
I'm a huge fan of John Maxwell,and John Maxwell talks about the
five levels of leadership.
And so in the first level ofleadership, he talks about
position, right.
So.
So people will follow youbecause they have to.
(03:42):
They have no choice, right?
So sometimes, as the owner ofthe company, they're like oh,
that's the owner, that's theowner of the company, I have to
do whatever they tell me.
And so building trust is whereyou start to gain.
You know that.
That level two of leadership,which is permission, this is
where you're buildingrelationships.
(04:03):
This is where people willfollow you, because now they
want to, they want to follow you.
You're helping them build thattrust, and so they're starting
to see you, how you're buildinga relationship with them.
You're getting to know them.
You're getting to know theirpains, their struggles, but also
the things that make them happy.
(04:24):
And so that moves you intolevel three in the five levels
of leadership, where now youstart to talk about production,
and people will follow youbecause of what you've done for
the organization, what you'vedone for the company, and they
know that you can deliverresults.
So they're following youbecause they know that if they
(04:46):
go to you, you're going to getit done.
And so, as you continue, theother two levels of leadership
one of them is in peopledevelopment and reproduction, so
the people that you followbecause of what you've done for
them.
And then, lastly, is thepinnacle, which is their respect
, which is people will followbecause of who you are and what
you represent.
(05:06):
And that's where there's analignment there with core values
, there's an alignment therewith your mission, your vision,
and so the most important thingwhen it comes to trust is that
we are moving up and down thosefive levels at every given time.
Right, you hire someone new.
They respect you because ofposition.
(05:27):
You develop someone and youpromote from within.
Now you're in level four in thepeople development, right, and
so what happens is that trust,it's constantly moving.
We don't just arrive and now Itrust you.
This is a process that we allhave to go through in order to
trust each other and to be ableto hold each other accountable,
(05:50):
and when that trust is broken,it takes a very long time to
repair it, and so that's whytrust is pivotal when it comes
to teamwork.
Alex (05:59):
That's so true Back in the day.
I know I've always had that,that wall up right where it's.
It's really hard for me totrust people, but I've learned
and it was one of our pastorsthat had spoke about it Right,
and I think you have mentionedit previously, right, what was
the saying?
Where you know I trust youuntil you give me reasons not to
(06:20):
.
Jessica (06:21):
And so Alex and I, right, we have the.
We're two different backgrounds, we're two different
individuals.
We're so different, right,we're very similar in a lot of
things, but we're very differentin others, right?
And Alex is show me and I willtrust you, and that's something
that he's working on, right.
And then I'm the opposite.
I'm like I will trust you untilyou show me otherwise, right,
(06:43):
I'm like I will trust you untilyou show me otherwise, right?
So so it's very important toassess where you are when it
comes to trust.
And I'm not talking about beingnaive, right, because the
reality is that sometimes westep into, you know,
conversations or relationshipsor business deals with people
(07:03):
you know, thinking that theyhave the right intentions, right
, but it's because they didn'tshow me any other reason why I
shouldn't trust them, right?
So so there's a very fine linebetween not trusting, between
fully trusting someone and justabsolutely stepping into that
conversation, being completelynaive.
And so that's where we, asleaders and business owners, we
(07:27):
need to do some self-discoveryin order to identify what are
some, some of those areas intrust that I that I need to work
on, and and and I'll say I'llsay this too when it comes to
business owners.
Alex (07:42):
A lot of times we lack trust in the delegation process
and I think that's one of myfaults too, right, and I know
we've spoken about it likedelegating right.
We're actually, you know, tryingto implement the EOS and one of
them is delegating to elevateright, delegate to elevate Yep.
(08:03):
And that's been the toughestfor me because you know this is
your baby right and I think inpart of that book they talk
about too, you know, thebranches, ripping apart the
branches and watching the treegrow, grooming the tree, you
know, and that's pretty muchwhat you're doing in your
business is trying to groompeople to take on tasks, to
(08:24):
learn a little bit more, toinvolve them in more
decision-making, right, and thatall involves trust because it's
your baby right.
So you're watching your baby,you start crawling, you start
walking right and having theright guidance behind you.
Jessica, I just wanted to touchback right, because I know we
both are big John Maxwell fansand the book that you talked
(08:47):
about, that we were just talkingabout the Five Levels of
Leadership and I need you to behonest what level do you see me
at right now in leadershipBetween that one and five?
Jessica (08:57):
That's a terrible question to ask me on a podcast.
Alex (09:01):
Why.
Jessica (09:02):
Why you know, and that's the thing this is.
You know, like I was sayingbefore, you're going to be in
different levels at differenttimes, right?
And so the perfect example ofthat is someone brand new that
doesn't know you.
You're always going to be inlevel one if you don't build a
relationship with them, correct?
Alex (09:23):
So that actually just happened to me where we hired
someone new and she wassurprised to see me at one of
the locations.
She was like, oh my gosh, youknow why are you here, Right?
And I said I'm part of the team, just like everybody else.
If I have to, you know, getdown and sweat, and I know this
job is not easy, but I'm I'mhere to help and assist and
(09:46):
serve wherever I can.
And that went.
That went a really long way forher right, Because she she
wasn't used to that, seeing that, you know, she's used to being
told what to do and, kind oflike, be very stern and and she
appreciated it.
And we appreciate her, you know, because without, without the
team, we're nobody.
But it goes back to that levelone there.
Jessica (10:10):
Exactly, but you were able to build a relationship
with her, so that moves you intolevel two, right, and then what
happens is, if she doesn't seeyou again, you're back to level
one.
Level one, yeah, and so that'sthe key.
So when you asked me that trickquestion, that's not even right
, alex.
But when you asked me thattrick question, that's not even
right, alex.
But when you asked me thattrick question where I see you,
(10:33):
right as my husband.
Alex (10:34):
I see you as a pinnacle right, someone who A level five
right, a level five Totally.
Jessica (10:39):
Right, okay, but that's right now.
Right, yeah, that's right now,at this moment, because I know
your heart, I know your passion,I know what you represent, I
know your mission, your vision,your dreams, your goals, right,
and so I see that.
But the great part of beingable to answer this type of
question is that self-reflectionpiece and I will tell you that,
for me, I see myself in betweena level three and a four in
(11:02):
this company.
Right, and as owner of, youknow, co-owner with you in this
company, because, you know, theteam gets to see me more, they
know that I produce results,they know that I love to develop
people and, you know, and Iwant to help them grow.
But, but, but that's usuallywhere I see myself in.
You know, I see myself in thatlevel three, level four.
(11:24):
Now, if we go into into mycoaching business, right,
because I know what I give, Isee myself as a level five all
the way, you know.
But it goes back to, I mean, Ijust had a discovery call today
with a new client and does sheknow me?
No, and it's an opportunity forme to work on building that
know, like and trust and so, andso we're constantly.
(11:48):
It's like a throttle right.
You're moving up and down, upand down on the five levels of
leadership, and these fivelevels, they're not the end, all
be all right.
But the fundamentals ofleadership that John Maxwell
discusses are truly what helpedme in my leadership career when
I was in corporate.
(12:08):
And so those levels neverchange, they never change.
And so when I say they neverchange, I mean like the
principles.
Right, the principles don'tchange, but we do change
depending on our audience,depending on our team, depending
on how we've worked onourselves.
If there's someone who'spulling rank all the time,
(12:32):
they're never going to leavelevel one.
Alex (12:34):
Correct.
Jessica (12:34):
Correct, and so that's really important for someone to
you know to be able to assessthat, and in the five levels of
leadership there's actually aleadership assessment.
So anyone and obviously this isnot, obviously this is not a
paid promotion but the fivelevels of leadership with John
Maxwell you can find this onAmazon and in the beginning
pages there's a leadershipassessment that I highly
(12:56):
recommend that you take, becauseat that point you'll be able to
really assess what is it thatyou need to work on in order to
improve among the differentlevels.
And so when you find yourselfback at a level one, you know
exactly what you need to focuson to get to two and three and
four and five Right right man,jessica, you always come, you
(13:17):
always give some nuggets.
Alex (13:19):
I tell you.
Jessica (13:20):
I live ready, I live ready.
Alex (13:23):
She's definitely an inspiration to me, for sure.
Like she, I can tell hersomething and yeah, well, check
out this book, you know, orshe'll send something with me.
So she always gives me nuggets,which I appreciate, and that's
how this all came about.
And so in the company, right,when we have to make decisions,
(13:45):
right, if you can describe, or Ican describe, I can share how
do we make the joint decisionsin the company when it comes to
either hiring, taking on newbusiness.
Lately, like this morning, I wasout in Palmetto, Florida, going
to look at an account and oneof the first things you said was
you sure you want to go workout there?
(14:05):
Right, because it's two hoursaway from where we're at.
But the reason why I do it isbecause we have to answer that
call.
Right, it's the customer's callright, and this is someone that
we've done business in the pastwith and being able to be an
answer for his company.
You know the big constructioncorporation and their
(14:27):
multimillion dollar business.
I don't want to say no to thatbecause just because it's two
hours away.
So yesterday, when I spoke toyou about it, you know you kind
of a little and do you show youhow to how do we, how do we come
to the conclusion?
Okay, I'm just going to takethe ride out there.
You remember what I told you.
Jessica (14:46):
No, I don't remember what you told me, but.
But I know why you're doing it,though, but, but I don't
remember what you told me.
Alex (14:57):
What was that that they?
You asked me.
You sure, recently we took onsome projects in Jacksonville
and there were some overnightstuff.
It was a little tough for allof us and I think part of the
issue of me going out toPalmetto is because you didn't
want to see a repeat of whathappened in Jacksonville.
Right, and I totally get it.
(15:17):
You're looking out for us,right, looking out for me.
I'm not one that likes to beaway from home, but you know,
and then I told you, I said youknow it's the customer.
They've called us before,they've used us before.
We never had an issue with themand in business, when you're
(15:40):
trying to grow and meet thecustomer's expectations,
sometimes you have to take thatdrive Right.
So I don't think it was it wasa bad decision, but I think it
was a pretty joint decision forus.
What do you think?
Jessica (15:49):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, there are some decisions that
have to make sense, right, theyhave to make sense.
And sometimes you know makingsense in renegotiating the
contract, making sure that yourcontract has a clause that says
(16:10):
you know that this contract is,there is some type of
expectation that if it doesn'tmeet the needs both mutually
beneficial to both the clientand us right that it should have
a clause in there thatindicates that we will sit down
and discuss this and renegotiate, right, because that way you're
(16:31):
clear on what needs to takeplace.
But not all money is good money, and I think we talked about
this before in one of ourprevious episodes and is that
there are times that we have tolearn to say no, right.
And just like there are timesthat you know a yes is a no
brainer, right.
And so for me, when making adecision, I have I have this
(16:55):
little sticky, sticky note here,because for a while I used to
struggle in saying no- she goeswith those nuggets again.
Alex (17:02):
guys, I'm telling you she's just full of nuggets.
Get your pen and paper.
Jessica (17:08):
And so I was struggling and saying no, and when I would
say no, I was almost likedisgruntled, right?
And so I started really toidentify okay, what's the
decision at hand?
And so I asked myself and I didthis with my coach, by the way
Number one is who is it serving?
Right, if I'm making a decision, who is it serving?
(17:30):
Is it for the client?
Is it beneficial for thecompany?
Is it beneficial for the team?
Right, so who is it serving?
Number one, keeping that in mind.
Number two if I'm taking on thejob, then whose workload is it
alleviating?
Because if it's not alleviatingany other workload, then
there's an issue in thedelegation process, right?
(17:52):
So whose workload is italleviating?
Number three is is it creatingany efficiency and processes?
So, by me saying yes or sayingno, by making this decision, is
it creating any efficiencies andprocesses in the process?
Right, in the process of mesaying yes, did we develop
(18:15):
something new?
Did we develop something moreefficient?
Because if we're saying yes tosomething and we're going back
into, you know the, the anightmare, you know, there
there's sometimes.
Alex takes on a project andhe'll be like I'm worried, this
floor feels like it's going tobe a nightmare and I'm like
don't say that Right, and don'tsay that.
Alex (18:36):
But that goes back to like mindset too right, because we
spoke about it a few few weeks.
The garbage you put in is thegarbage you're going to put out.
So, maintaining positivity.
Jessica (18:46):
Exactly.
And then the last one in mydecision-making process is does
this show a heart-centeredapproach?
Because there are times that wemake a decision and we're not
looking at the bigger picture.
We might be looking at theprofit, right.
It's like, oh man, this isreally profitable, right.
(19:06):
We might be looking at, youknow, oh, we have some extra
work for the team.
You know, when we're slow, youknow some, some of our team
members are like, hey, you gotsomething else, you got someone
else to get me send me somewhere, right, but that's not enough.
And then the key is, if you, ifyou take on decisions with a
heart center approach, that thisis beneficial all the way
(19:27):
around for everyone that'sinvolved, then it's a good
decision, right and so and so.
That that was one of the thingsthat I wrote down, and when we
moved our office, it was on mydesk over there, and when we
were in Winter Park, and now I Ihave it on top of my new office
desk, and so it's just reallyimportant to be able to navigate
(19:49):
through that.
And if you're having problemswith decision making and kind of
like dividing those roles andresponsibilities inside of a
business, when you're running abusiness with your spouse.
That's an opportunity forreflection.
Right when you're running abusiness with your spouse,
that's an opportunity forreflection.
You really want to sit down andidentify what are some of those
strengths and weaknesses thatyou each bring to the table.
How do you leverage that?
(20:12):
I just had a conversation withAlex the other day.
I'm going to put you out there.
We went to a networking eventand a couple of times in the
networking event people wereasking me questions about
pricing and that kind of thingand I was like, oh yeah, I don't
do pricing or bids.
That's Alex, I'll bring himover there, I'll introduce you
to Alex, right?
(20:33):
And then I would bring him overand I would introduce him.
Alex (20:42):
And so he says a couple of days ago he says you want me to
show you how to do a bid, justin case you get that question
again.
And this is what you do, andnot that I'm not that I'm an
expert, but it's just somethingthat I've learned, and I'm not
afraid to show others, you know.
Jessica (20:57):
But that was the thing.
Right.
Right and identifying strengthsand weaknesses.
When I say I don't knowanything about, about you know
prices and how to set up a bid,doesn't mean I want to do it
Right and so being very clear.
Right.
Being clear on that boundarywas important to me, right, and
so that's where identifyingstrengths and weaknesses is is
(21:20):
really important.
Like, you stay in your lane andI stay in mine, and we'll be
good.
Alex (21:25):
Right, and you usually you're pretty clear with that.
That doesn't interest me, Idon't need to learn that.
Nope, you do.
And if you have a questionabout such and such, then you
come to me and I'm like whoa.
But it's hey, there's.
I don't get upset, I actuallyrespect it because you know she
said setting her boundariesRight, and we need to respect
(21:47):
each other's boundaries and weboth have strengths and
weaknesses.
Jessica (21:52):
Absolutely.
Alex (21:53):
I could probably again, not an expert, but I can
probably close a sale on anaccount where Jessica might not
be able to close out an account.
Again, jessica might be able toput something together that we
need for a system right, andthat's one of my weaknesses, you
know I can't.
Jessica (22:11):
And then the connection .
Oh my gosh, alex is so good atconnecting with our team you
know, just to be able to get toknow them and explore what they
like and what they don't.
And I just don't have thatnurturing side of me, you know,
and and and it's okay, I mean Itry, I try to nurture, right.
But then I know, you know,there were times when we were
both out in the field when westarted our business and Alex
(22:34):
would come home and be like man,this person's going through
this and did you know?
Like you know, I wish we coulddo something for them and I'm
like how'd you know that?
And he's like I just got toknow her and I'm like, wow, like
you know.
So so it's like it's not that Idon't take the time to build
that, that relationship ornurture it.
I just I don't know.
I just I'm not great at it, youknow.
(23:07):
It's like.
It's like when they put me as agreeter to serve listen, I'm
there to serve, but I'm just soawkward at greeting people at
the door and so I'm just notreally good at it and it's okay,
right, but I still serve with agood heart, right, but I'm just
not.
Alex (23:18):
I'm just not great at it, and so I try to stay in my lane
Right, right, and that's one ofthe I wouldn't say weak points
for me.
I think it's a strength, rightTo be able to, to sit and talk
to someone, for you know fiveminutes and you can find out,
you know a whole lot about them.
Jessica (23:32):
Right.
Alex (23:33):
I always, I always say to myself when you meet someone new
, you never know what they'regoing through, right, and this
can be a starting point for manypeople, right, coming in to be
part of our team.
We have, you know, a few peoplethat just came from another
country and they're happy to behere and this is their first job
(23:54):
.
So learning about them a littlebit.
What's their background?
Right.
And one of them happens to beback in her country she's a
nurse, right.
Background right.
And one of them happens to beback in her country, she's a
nurse, right.
So how cool is that to get toknow just different people.
And again, it goes back tobuilding the trust, right,
getting the buy-in from everyone.
And I've always been that way.
(24:15):
And I want to say just watchingmy mom, like, growing up, she
was always, she always servedeverybody.
She was always worried aboutothers before herself, right.
So when you see things, becauseyou, what you're taking in is
what you put out, right, we go.
It always goes back to that,right, what you take in is what
(24:36):
you put out.
And seeing my mom I mean my momis even to this day you go to
visit her.
You're not leaving her housewithout a plate of food, a cup
of coffee, right?
And she is just the way she isright.
It's a natural thing to her andI think you know me seeing it,
it becomes natural to us.
So that goes back to likeleveraging the strengths right
(25:00):
and how we complement each otherin the business Right, right,
right, because there's somethings that Jessica doesn't
enjoy doing, there's certainthings that I don't enjoy doing
that Jessica does very well inand I don't do so well right.
So we kind of leverage eachother's strength to go forward,
to move forward right, to pushthe needle ahead, like they say.
(25:21):
So, yeah, anything else, youwanted to touch on that, jessica
?
Jessica (25:25):
No, I mean I encourage you guys to assess your
strengths, weaknesses,opportunities and threats, and
we do the SWOT analysis onbusiness level, but many times
we don't take the opportunity todo that on an individual level,
and so it's so important foryou to know what are some areas
(25:48):
where you know you need to stayin your lane, and one of the
biggest issues with family-ownedbusinesses and couples building
a business is that they'rethey're bumping.
They're bumping heads with eachother.
You know they're.
They're if they take theassessment from traction, and
(26:09):
they're both visionaries right,there's truly no execution
strategy.
And so the same way with theintegrator role.
So so they take the assessment.
They're both integrators.
There's nobody with a vision,the integrator role.
So so they take the assessment,they're both integrators.
There's nobody with a vision.
And so it's so important to beable to understand each other's
strengths, understand what makeswhat you're really good at and
(26:32):
what you're not.
And you know, I I'm more, I'mmore of the direct, you know
approach, and Alex is more oflike that nurturer.
And so if we need someone togive a nudge to a client because
you know they need and Alex ismore of like that nurturer, and
so if we need someone to give anudge to a client because you
know they need to be nurtured alittle bit, then you know I'll
pass them on to Alex, he'll givehim a call, he'll soften them
up.
But if I also need to contactsomeone to collect on a bill or
(26:55):
something like that, right, it'slike I have to take a different
approach.
You know, be a little bit moredirect in order to get paid just
(27:24):
you and your spouse.
It's really important to knowhow to leverage each other's
strengths so that you're notstepping on each other's toes at
all times, and so that would bemy biggest recommendation.
How about you as we close ourshow?
Alex (27:34):
Yeah, jessica mentioned the SWOT analysis and we've done
it probably about two or threetimes.
Right, and those of you thatdon't know the SWOT analysis, it
stands for the your strengths,your weaknesses, opportunities
and threats right within yourbusiness.
We've done quite a bit of.
(27:55):
We've done the disk, we've donethe SWOT, we've did quite a few
right where it's trying totrying to get better and serve
people better, right?
So without teamwork I mean I'mgoing to close out Without
teamwork there's no work.
Pretty much to put it clear,building a team, trusting in
(28:17):
your team.
It does take time, it doesn'thappen overnight, but, yeah,
without teamwork, delegating toelevating, right, that's another
one.
I'm trying to give some nuggets, like Jessica, yeah, yeah,
jessica.
Jessica (28:36):
Say in your lane Say in your lane Jessica.
Alex (28:39):
She's a big note taker, so she's got all this stuff
written down and she's trying toget me like that.
She recently bought me lastyear the Remarkable, so I'm
trying to get you know a hold ofgetting using the Remarkable a
little bit more.
Jessica (28:55):
So Awesome.
Alex (28:57):
All right guys.
So with that, we thank you guysfor joining us and we can't
wait to share our next episodewith you.
And until then, keep hustling.
That wraps up another episodeof Married to the Hustle.
(29:19):
We hope you enjoyed today'sshow and found some inspiration
and practical tips to apply toyour own business journey.
Jessica (29:26):
We love hearing from you, our amazing listeners.
If you have any stories,questions or tips to share,
connect with us on social mediaor send us an email.
Your input makes this podcasteven better.
Alex (29:37):
And don't forget to subscribe to Married to the
Hustle on your favorite podcastplatform so you never miss an
episode.
And if you enjoyed today'sepisode, please leave us a
review.
It really helps us grow andreach more entrepreneurial
couples like you.
Jessica (29:51):
Join us next week for more exciting stories,
insightful interviews andvaluable advice.
Until then, keep hustling, keepthriving and keep loving what
you do.
Alex (30:00):
Thanks for tuning in and happy hustling.
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