April 17, 2025 • 43 mins
Ashley Carlson transforms how entrepreneurs run their businesses by providing expert executive support and strategic planning through her company, Elevate Virtual Business Solutions. She helps owners focus on their zone of genius while her team handles operations.
• Founded Elevate as a solo virtual assistant eight years ago after leaving her travel agent career
• Grew the company to 13 employees offering executive assistant services, bookkeeping, and project-based work
• Uses a Director of Operations certification to provide strategic planning for clients' businesses
• Helps clients delegate effectively to save not just time but also brain space
• Works across various industries rather than niching down, keeping work engaging for her team
• Approaches social media as a relationship-building tool rather than focusing solely on metrics
• Developed core values for her business that guide hiring, client selection, and personal decisions
• Studied abroad in Italy, which expanded her worldview beyond her "bubble"
• Believes in understanding different work styles through assessments like CliftonStrengths
• Passionate about rescuing dogs and creating work flexibility that she once needed herself
Remember: you can do anything, but you can't do everything. It's okay to ask for help and get support where needed.
Ashley's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleymcarlson/
Ashley's Website: https://elevatevbsolutions.com/
David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-young-mba-indy/
David's Website: https://davidjyoung.me/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Real you Podcast.
This is episode number 39.
I'm David Young, your host.
I'm a LinkedIn content andbusiness coach.
I work with new or growingservice, providing coaches to
strategically grow usingLinkedIn.
I launched this podcast inMarch of 2024, so just a little
over a year ago.
It's by interesting peopledoing amazing things, and today
I'm joined by Ashley Carlson.
She's the founder and CEO ofElevate Virtual Business
(00:22):
Solutions.
Ashley's a powerhouse inbusiness ops, helping
entrepreneurs streamline theirbusinesses with expert executive
support and strategic planning.
She's very passionate aboutempowering business owners to
delegate effectively and buildscalable companies.
When she's not leading herincredible team, she's a travel
enthusiast, board game lover anda devoted mom of two who, I
just learned, has a son who'sleft-handed, just like me.
(00:43):
So we are the outliers.
Ashley, welcome to the show.
Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Yeah, absolutely so.
We got connected on LinkedIn,like most of my guests, and your
story is really unique, so Iwant to start there.
You started this kind ofvirtual assistance company, I
think just by yourself, fouryears ago.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
virtual assistance company, I think just by
yourself four years ago.
Is that correct?
Yeah, I actually started Soloseven years ago, or actually
eight years ago.
It was right after I had my son, and it was in 2021 is when I
decided to move from Solo to ateam.
So Elevate as a company startedfour years ago, but I was doing
this kind of virtual assistanttype of work before it became
(01:29):
big, I feel like, and just was away for me to continue my
career on in some way while alsoraising my kids, and having
that flexibility was importantto me, and so I think that
that's actually been one of myfavorite things about growing
Elevate is that what I neededeight years ago is now what
(01:49):
Elevate is able to provide toour employees.
So that's one of my favoritethings about it.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, it's like full circle.
So you were doing so, that wasyour job beforehand.
You were doing virtualassistant, like as a job, and
then you kind of decided to usethat experience and then form
the business around that orbased on your experience.
That's cool.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yes, yeah, I was a travel agent prior to that for
about four years and I loved it,but I was stuck in the office
for definitely more than 40hours a week.
I was working six days a weekbecause of the demand at the
time and I just really neededflexibility.
And we all know that I feellike a lot of companies didn't
figure out the hybrid or remote,how it could work until 2020,
(02:34):
forced them to figure it out, soI didn't have that option and
so I kind of just went out andsearched for one and it, like I
said, it just allowed me to havethat flexibility and because I
was able to have a few years ofthat remote work experience
before the whole world wasforced to, I think that I headed
into 2020 with.
It felt all very normal to meand then that also gave me, I
(02:57):
think, at the time, with how theworld got adjusted and being
able to see how people could beeffective in supporting remotely
, that is when I started gettingflooded with a lot more
requests for support and Iquickly learned that I needed to
put a capacity on myself andthat's when it kind of all the
(03:18):
stars aligned for me andstarting a business just felt
like, yes, scary of course, butit just was the right thing.
It felt really good.
There wasn't really.
There was a lot more excitementand just I felt ready.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Awesome.
Do they still have travelagents, or are they a dying
breed?
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
They do?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
No, they do they.
Actually, I still go to happyhour and all those things a lot
with my old coworkers, so Idefinitely do not envy them.
In the year 2020, to be atravel agent was not a great
year because of all therestrictions and constant
changes, so I did not envy themat that point, but it was
definitely one of my favorite,you know, points of career of
(03:58):
mine.
It's such a fun role and I lovethat.
I actually still we still getto do that in our role here at
elevate um plan a lot of travelfor people and I think that it's
just one of those things.
That's almost like puttingtogether a puzzle, you know, and
there's so many options outthere and you get to pick which
ones and kind of build your ownitinerary for these people.
(04:18):
So it's a really fun part of ofwhat I do still, no, that's
nice that you didn't.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
You weren't able to, or you didn't go too far away.
So when people come to you,what, like talk about some of
those, like the offers that youhave, or like you know what, how
would you, how do you approach,like tailoring what, what,
everything that you guys do tolike a business owner or company
that comes to you?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah.
So we have just celebrated fouryears as a business elevate, so
with a team, an agency model,and something that we have
learned along the way is what wedo well as a group and what we
do not.
And so at this point four yearsand we are very clear about
what we do for business ownersand basically the best way I can
(05:04):
describe it is operations,support and strategies.
So I got my certification fordirector of operations, I think
about two years ago, and wasable to learn this method of
strategic planning.
That is really impactful andamazing.
And then I compare that with myprior experience and I also
(05:24):
just have a very strategymindset.
I did my CliftonStrengths nottoo long ago and strategy was
one of the highest a lot ofstrategy type things, and so
that's definitely one of mystrengths, and so I'm able to do
that for business owners whoreally need a plan of action.
And then my team is really goodat the day-to-day implementation
, and something that we dodifferently is anything really
(05:47):
operations side.
We really become the right handto the executive or the
business owner, and so our goalis what do they do every day or
week or month?
That just doesn't have to bedone by them Most of the time.
Those are things that we cantake off their plate so that way
they can be a lot moreeffective and impactful in what
they're working on.
(06:07):
So, whether that is with ourexecutive assistant services, we
also have bookkeeping.
We also last year launched morebecause both of those services
are retainer ongoing.
But we found that there was alot of people out there who
maybe didn't need retainer orjust weren't quite ready.
So we also have an offer wherewe can help with just a project
basis.
So, for example, right nowwe're working on a hiring
(06:30):
workflow for someone who is justreally struggling to have an
efficient hiring process, youknow, putting job offers out too
late and she's losing it.
Or the onboarding process isfeeling clunky and people aren't
clear of what they do when theyget there, that kind of thing.
So we're helping create that.
So when it comes to businessoperations, that's where we
shine, that's where we're reallystrong.
(06:50):
So I basically I tell peopleI'm like, just book a call and
we'll chat and I will tell you.
You know how we can help, or ifI know someone who is better
suited.
That's just that's why Istarted Elevate.
I'm really passionate abouthelping small business owners.
Executives, do what their zoneof genius is and help them free
(07:10):
up the rest of it.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Yeah, no, I love that .
Have you found over these lastfew years, is there a certain
type of business at a certainrevenue threshold, or type of
business that they offer?
Have you found that there's asynergy or a common denominator
of where you guys do your bestwork, or is it all over the
place?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
It's honestly, all over the place.
I have met with so many peoplewho have recommended niche down,
get specific, and for us it'sreally difficult because,
truthfully, how we have grown soquickly is referrals, and so
what that means is it is who ourclients are currently or were
and who they know, and most ofthe time I will say, the
(07:56):
commonality is just the phase ofbusiness that they are in and
that's the growth phase they arewanting to scale.
They are either currentlygrowing or have grown and they
needed us yesterday, and sothat's the phase that we
definitely see everyone in andthe general sense of I need
someone to manage me, I am notmanaging my time well, I'm
(08:17):
losing business or I'm doublebooking myself or whatever that
is, and so they need someone tohelp manage everything on their
plate.
And that is where we step inand do really, really well.
I think the fact that we don'thave a certain industry because
we're so heavily referral basedis actually what makes our job
fun, because business operations, especially on the admin side,
(08:37):
can get very monotonous if it'sall the same in like iteration
of a business, and so whenyou're dealing with different
industries on the operationsside, that makes it kind of fun
for us and keeps it interesting.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah, for sure.
How quickly can you step in andhelp?
If you meet with someone andyou guys figure out where they
need you, how quickly is yourteam able?
To step in and start working.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Yeah, that typically depends on what the need is, and
so what that could look like inour typical executive assistant
services, it's a couple ofweeks where we have a whole
onboarding process where we'regetting to know their business,
really getting under the hoodand seeing what things are
working well, what isn't, whattools are they using, what
(09:26):
systems are they using, thingslike that and we really build
the plan on what support isgoing to look like and then you
know.
Then we have a whole delegationstrategy where, okay, what does
delegation look like and howskilled are they at delegating
and what support do they needfrom us in order to delegate
successfully?
That is a huge thing for me.
Even when I do strategicplanning and maybe we're not the
(09:47):
ones implementing, maybe theirteam is.
That is still a big part for meis talking to them about how to
delegate successfully.
I don't want to just save youtime, I want to save you brain
space, because that often isalso where people are feeling
stuck.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Nice.
I know one of my clients didshe was a ClickUp.
I don't know if you rememberClickUp at all but, that was her
thing is she would build likecustom solutions.
Do you guys get into like thattype of detail where it's like
Asana or Monday or ClickUp.
Do you help them with that, ordo you have people on your team
that can help with that?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Yeah, so we use ClickUp actually for our own
system and we love it.
We moved from Asana.
I love that one too.
We operate in all whateversystems our clients are
currently using.
So we have Monday, asana,trello, clickup, all of those
and we don't do setups.
I will say that when it comesto setting up a system, that's a
(10:40):
whole different type of expert.
You typically want to choosesomeone who is, to your point, a
vetted ClickUp expert or avetted Asana expert, someone who
knows the system and all.
They're going to be way moreefficient in building these
tools out in order for someoneto use them well.
What we step in and do well isonce those systems are already
set up, or helping them findsomeone to set them up.
(11:01):
We can then help workflows movesmoothly and all of those
things once it's built.
So we just don't do the systembuilding itself, but we have
people we know and trust to dothat part, so more of the
day-to-day stuff for us.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Nice, you mentioned you liked it.
But the switch over to ClickUpfrom Asana, that's been a good
change for you guys.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
It's been great, yeah , and I know that Asana does a
lot of what ClickUp does, andfor us the reason was just the
plans that each of them had.
What we would get with acertain plan at ClickUp was a
lot more than an equivalent planat Asana, and so for us that
was really the reason, and therethere was just.
(11:45):
It solved for a lot of thingsthat were a little bit clunky
for us overall, not just withAsana, but how we were working
overall, and so.
But we put a lot of time andthought into cause.
It's a big deal to switchsystems like that.
It took a lot of time andenergy and money, and so we put
a lot of thought into that.
And so those are the kind ofconversations that we always
have with clients, because wewill get asked what system do
(12:07):
you love?
And my answer is always it'sthe one that you're going to use
.
Whatever system you're going touse, it could literally be a
google sheet.
If that is how your brain worksand you know that works, well,
let's just stick with that.
But if you need something morerobust and you're actually going
to use it, then we can about it.
But that's the key is, we don'tever want to set someone up and
start using a system that theynever touch, because then it's
(12:29):
not working.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Yeah, it's pointless.
So obviously you use LinkedIn.
That's how we met.
How do you?
And referrals is a big part ofyour business.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
How do?
Speaker 1 (12:37):
you use social media?
Do you use other platformsbesides LinkedIn, and how do you
guys try to position yourmessaging and marketing from
that standpoint?
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So I love to use social mediaand, in my mind, what social
media is is a relationship tool.
Right, it's a connection tool.
It is something your website isa great resource for
information and all of that, butit first people to really feel
connected with you, for you tobuild relationships with other
people.
I feel like that's where socialmedia comes in, and so for us,
(13:08):
we're pretty active as a team,like for Elevate purposes, on
Instagram, so that's whereyou'll see me and another team
member of mine, Nicole, hoppingon stories, a lot just sharing
about what we're doing, tryingto just maybe more of like the
day-to-day behind the scenes,get to know us type of thing,
also answering questions and allof that.
And then on LinkedIn, for me,that's where I'm most active as
(13:32):
far as where you're going to see, like where we, the content
that we create is posted on myLinkedIn, and so that's how we
have approached it so far, andagain, for both platforms, it's
really just relationshipbuilding.
When I first started gettingactive on social media, I
definitely got sucked up in thealgorithm and the metrics and
(13:54):
all those things and I startedto realize and it still hits me
sometimes that the people whotend to buy are not the people
who are clicking and getting allthose numbers that you're
looking at anyway, and so really, the reminder that I try to
keep in mind is all it is isvisibility.
I turned the because I think,because I came from corporate
(14:16):
jobs, the term marketing in myhead feels so much bigger and
intimidating than it really isFor me.
I just turned it to visibility.
It's just how I'm choosing toshow up and engage with people
and for me, that helps it feelmore authentic and less pressure
on the metrics and the numbersand all of that and really just
about where I'm spending my timeand the people I'm choosing to
(14:36):
engage with that approach.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Um, I, I live in I won't say die by the numbers,
but I do study them, mostlybecause my brain is analytically
wired and I love data andnumbers.
So I get I don't get caught upin it in terms of a negative, I
just am fascinated by justlooking at it.
Um, but there are a lot ofpeople that worry about like the
algorithm and impressions andlike a post didn't do well or
whatever.
Um, and it's just just stayconsistent and just try to keep
put the put the best content youcan out there and that's all
(15:08):
you can control.
So I love, I mean, I just lovethe overall takeaway.
That's such an interesting pointabout you know, I think they're
called lurkers that's the wordthat usually term you here,
right, which is kind of a weird.
It's kind of that's like anegative.
So I think we need a betterterm for people that buy that
don't like, comment and engage,but for anyway, we won't come up
with that right now.
Anyway, the lurkers who observeyour content, they don't like,
they don't comment, but theyjust see it and so you're
(15:30):
building that relationship withthem, like you said the tool is
they're seeing you, they're,they're reading your stories or
they're seeing videos orwhatever, and so they are there
in some ways, right, they'regetting to know you.
And then when you have thesolution or a service that fits
their need, then they feel morecomfortable.
You know whether it's justbooking a discovery call or
reaching out.
So, and you don't.
(15:51):
That's the problem, right.
You don't know when that'sgoing to happen.
It could be six months, couldbe a year, who knows.
So you can't get discouraged ifyou're not seeing.
You know those immediateresults.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Yeah, and I do like your point, though, about still
using the numbers for what, likewhat I use them for, is more
just data of you know.
Is what we're doing working, orare there any?
For me especially, I look forbig dips or increases and try to
use the data to understand whydo we need to keep doing
(16:21):
something or stop doingsomething or try something
different.
So I think that for me, thedata is still valuable.
I just am not equating it tosuccess.
I'm more just equating it tostrategy, maybe of things to
shift.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Yeah, that's a great way.
I do the same thing because Itry to look at like I use
different types of posts, soI'll do carousels and videos.
Text with pictures, pictures,text with code templates.
Um then, sometimes I have salesposts.
I see who reaches out on those,so I'm trying to figure out,
like you're saying, like whatposts are causing.
You know cause and effect ofthat.
So the data again, you can useit for however you want, but you
(16:57):
can be used for good, so itdoesn't have to be doom and
gloom for like impressions beingdown, but it can be this type
of post as well, or this postdoesn't do as well, and then you
know you can do more of one andless of another.
So no, I think that's great.
Now, how many people currentlydo you have on your team?
Speaker 2 (17:13):
We have 13 employees, oh wow.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Okay.
And then they all kind of havedifferent level of expertise.
Or do you have an EA departmentand then you have an ops
department?
Or how do you figure out who'sdoing what work?
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yeah, Most of our team are executive assistants.
We do have and we call themlead executive assistants for
the most part.
We do have two and we call themlead executive assistants for
the most part.
We do have two support EAs andwhat that looks like is people
who maybe are less experiencedbut still very skilled in what
they do, just maybe lessexperienced with the client
(17:49):
management side of it.
Having that confidence to leadan executive does take a lot and
we do a lot of training on that.
But we have some EAs who justprefer to be on the back end and
get the job done and they havegreat attention to detail things
like that.
So that's how.
And then they tend to supporton larger projects and things
(18:10):
like that to help the ballrolling.
And then we also have twobookkeepers One is a lead
bookkeeper, One is a supportbookkeeper, and then from the
whole team we also have some whoare on internal roles, so
helping us with client and teamrelations.
So we have an accountmanagement team.
(18:31):
We have a couple of people whohelp on the operations assistant
side for us, things like that.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Nice, it sounds like a great setup.
What is your kind of future?
You know vision.
I mean I'm not going to ask youlike an interview question like
what is your five-year plan for, but like you know it's going
well, it's grown.
Is it kind of just continuingon this path or do you have kind
of bigger, grander visions?
Or like, how do you think aboutyou know the next?
You know several years.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Yeah, that's a great question and something I think
that I have realized.
We can plan all we want andhave all these goals, but I
think the biggest thing is beingable to pivot and be flexible.
Something that I am cravingthis year is steady growth.
We have had rapid growth forthe last four years, and so now
(19:20):
this year, it's a lot moreintentional steady growth.
So, for example, just likewithin the last week, we have
been tracking our hours in adifferent way, speaking of data
right, using the tools that wehave on the data, with billable
hours versus capacity, thingslike that and we, within the
(19:41):
last week, have realized that,with a few new clients coming in
, our team is at capacity whenit comes to retainer work, and
so now that means that we needto shift and start really just
bringing on clients for theproject-based work that I
mentioned earlier.
Or bookkeeping has space.
So, just being aware of wherewe have space to bring on new
clients and where we can supportpeople right now Not to say we
(20:04):
can't support with more EAsupport down the road, but as of
right now, we are at capacityfor that but have space for
other things and so I think,just being more intentional,
with where our growth is atevery phase, versus just kind of
drinking from the fire hosewhen it comes to growth.
My life wasn't balanced duringthose times, and so I'm really
(20:26):
craving some consistent growth.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Yeah, the lack of fire hose is great for everyone.
Do you guys ever do?
Probably not, because of thetime sensitivity, but do you
ever do like waiting list?
If it wasn't a of the timesensitivity, but do you ever do
like waiting list if it wasn't asensitive project would you say
like we can work with you, butwe couldn't start until you know
july?
Speaker 2 (20:44):
yeah, uh, that's our.
The last few calls that I'vehad with people, I've let them
know, you know, here's the,here's the projects that we can
work on for you right now untilwe have space for a retainer, um
, so there's, yeah, there's, andthere's plenty of possibility
for us to still make an impactfor them.
As you know things go, I also,you know, can offer consulting
(21:04):
sometimes, things like that.
So, like I said, really it's Ilike to have those calls where
people can share with me and Ican ask questions about where
they're at, what support theyneed, what's feeling
overwhelming to them andidentifying how we can help them
right now, because there is somuch possibility and whether
it's me or someone else, I trustI just want to help.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Yeah, no, it's a great mindset Shifting gears a
little bit.
So you are in LA.
I think you're the first personto come on the show that's been
in LA, have you?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (21:32):
from there, or you've been out, or, if not, like how
long have you been out there?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I am born and raised out here, so we are in the
northern LA County area.
If people know where MagicMountain is, that's where we're
at or I'm at.
My team is all over the US, butthat's where I'm located.
Born and raised here.
I went away for school, studiedabroad, did all of that, and
then when I graduated collegewhich was 100 years ago, in 2009
(21:58):
, that was like when therecession one of the recessions
hit and I just had a very hardtime finding a full time job.
I was doing really well with mypart time jobs but and so I
ended up having to move backhome and my husband and I were
both from here and we ended upjust both being here, and it's
(22:18):
actually a really great place toraise our kids where we're at,
so we're we're happy here.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
I've been to Anaheim once for a conference, and I
think that's the only, but inSan Francisco once and then
Anaheim, I think there's only afew times I've been to
California and I've loved bothtrips, but I just haven't
haven't gotten to spend a lot oftime out there.
But it's a beautiful, beautifulpart of the country.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Yeah, anaheim is about an hour away on a good day
and then maybe like two and ahalf hours on a traffic-y time.
So you learn, you learn thetimes to drive places here.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Uh, as a kid who grew up in Kentucky, when I was in
Anaheim we drove down to SanDiego.
They gave us like a half a dayfree, and so one of the guys I
worked with, we just drove downand I can't remember now it's
been too long, but either themountains were on our left and
the ocean was on our right orvice versa, and I guess again,
as growing up I didn't seemountains or the ocean, so just
(23:14):
to drive down a highway and haveit flanked by those two things
was it was kind of mind blowingJust not something I'd ever
experienced.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
So it was pretty, pretty amazing to see.
Yeah, core memory for sure Iknow I went to.
I went to college in San Diego,so I know exactly what you mean
.
Those moments on the drive,it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Yeah, it's.
It's almost like you're in adifferent like.
I felt like I was in anothercountry.
I couldn't believe we could bein the same country.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I have a couple of friends that I know who have
gone snow skiing and surfing onthe same day, just to say
they've done it here inCalifornia and that's pretty
cool.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
That's super fun.
So you mentioned you're atravel enthusiast.
What's your favorite trip thatyou've taken thus far?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Oh, that's really hard.
So, like I said, I studiedabroad.
Yeah, that's easier.
I studied abroad in college.
I studied in Florence, italy,and when I was there, I mean the
city will forever have a placein my heart.
It's amazing.
It's that small town type offeel, but still kind of a city
(24:21):
in Italy, and you just, I don'tknow, it will always be one of
my favorites.
And I will say the one thingthat I really loved when I
studied abroad in Italy and thenalso since I've been back, like
as a travel agent, we went backto Europe a few times.
And one thing that I love is,once you're there, you can
easily get places with the trainsystem they have, and so when I
(24:43):
studied abroad, we were able totake weekend trips to we went
to Switzerland, lots ofdifferent places around Italy,
we took quick flights over toSpain, things like that, things
like that.
And so I think that that's oneof my favorite things is, once
you're over there, takeadvantage of how easy it is to
(25:04):
get around and just soak up,soak up the culture, soak up the
food.
My favorite thing when myhusband and I have gone back and
traveled, we went through Italyand Switzerland actually for
our honeymoon for three weeksand my favorite thing I always
do, I prefer longer stays inplaces, so that way you're not
just checking off the list ofthe sites that you need to see,
but you're also just wanderingand getting lost, really.
(25:25):
I mean, we traveled to Europebefore there was like cell
service in foreign countries,and so we really literally did
get lost plenty of times.
But when you do that, you cankind of just wander and find
things and things that youwouldn't have seen on a map or a
tourist tourism guide, and sothat's my biggest tip to anyone
when they travel is, I mean,obviously with safety in mind,
(25:49):
but just kind of wander off thebeaten path just a little bit,
or just don't have a plan andjust stroll.
So anyway, I don't think thatanswered your question.
So I love Italy will definitelyalways be a spot.
We also did when I was a travelagent.
We did a river cruise throughGermany on the Rhine River, and
(26:10):
that was absolutely incredible.
We did Amsterdam to Basel and Iwant to do that again.
I would love to do that again.
It was just stunning.
I'm not a cruise person, but onthe river cruises they are
really small ships and I cause Iget seasick and you don't get
seasick on those and they,because of the way these towns
(26:33):
were built back then they werebuilt, the waterways were their
traffic ways right, and so theboats are able to park basically
in these fortress towns andthings like that, just things
that you wouldn't, you know, see, if you did train travel too.
So kind of mixing it up a bit.
I also really love if anyoneever goes to Switzerland.
(26:54):
I have gone multiple times toInterlaken, switzerland.
There's lots of places aroundthere too, but there's just
something about the Swiss Alpsand kind of what you mentioned
earlier, that green mountainview, like there is just and
there's lakes, and like thewater in the lakes for me
there's just, or the water inthe mountains for me is just
stunning, and so those, I wouldsay, are my favorite trips.
(27:17):
And I mean we also love a goodall-inclusive resort in Mexico
when you don't have to worryabout your food bill at the end.
You just get to just not worry,yeah, so I think you said top
five and I feel like that wasfive.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah, no, that's amazing.
My wife studied abroad incortona.
Um were older than you, so, uh,prior to when you were there,
but same principle.
She still talks about it.
I mean, that was a long timeago, I won't.
I won't say how long it was,she would kill me, but um, she,
I mean, yeah, talk about a corememory, like she.
Just she loved that time overthere and I think she's still
(27:54):
friends.
I think there's a one of thewomen that were was there with
her, like they still likecommunicate from time to time,
so, um, and she hasn't been back, which I think is my fault, so
I think that she's really,really antsy to get back.
Uh, we've done it a coupletimes.
My kids are 15 and 11, sothey're definitely old enough
now like to go and do it, but wejust haven't you know planned.
(28:15):
you have to plan that kind offar like in advance, especially
with our like kids, sports andtravel schedules and stuff.
Like you can't, just can't justkind of up and book a two week
Europe trip, like you have toput that on the calendar like
pretty far in advance.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
There is a lot more logistics once you have kids,
that's for sure.
Exactly, I think that studyingabroad is something that I tell
everybody that they need to doit, regardless of where you go.
Because for me you're at thatpivotal age where you know
you're in kind of a bubble whereyou go, where when you grow up,
age what K through 12 in school, and you're kind of in this
(28:49):
bubble and then you move to auniversity or college and you
kind of get put just in a newbubble.
And for me, studying abroad andjust traveling in general, it
really hit home for me how bigthis world is and how many
possibilities there are for youin the type of life that you
want to live, and it's allamazing.
(29:10):
And so it just made me realizethat cliche saying of the world
is your oyster, it's so true.
And so it really just opened mymind to that of it.
Like that bubble that I wasliving in, that I didn't even
realize I was living in, justreally got burst and it was
really eye opening and justreally life changing.
And I think, especially at thatage where you don't realize
(29:34):
that your, your view of theworld is pretty protected for
all those years because, youknow, so just being I mean the
fact that I like studied abroadwithout cell phone.
You know, like they didn't havethat I had to go to an internet
cafe.
I had to go to an internet cafe.
We didn't even have internetand computers in our, in our
(29:54):
apartment.
Like you had to go to aninternet cafe just to write an
email to your parents to letthem know you were fine.
So it's kind of wild, butreally it was.
Yeah, it's just I telleverybody you have to do it, you
get the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Yeah, I love that.
And that kind of leads me tothe next point.
So when you and I had a, wetalked before we got on today
and we were just talking aboutlike the genesis of the show and
why I started the show and oneof the premises was like the
real.
You was about like the masksthat we wear and you're talking
about like kind of the bubblethat we, that we're in.
And so for me, like my parentsdivorced when I was young and so
I kind of felt like I wore allthese different masks, like with
(30:30):
my mom's family and my dad'sfamily, and then at school, and
then with my friends, then onsports teams, and right, you
just kind of had you figured outthese ways to kind of protect
yourself and you didn't straytoo far, depending on, like, the
group you're with.
But then, like at some point,you know, as you get older and
you start to mature and you kindof settle into yourself, then
you realize that's reallyexhausting to like have to try
(30:51):
to remember, like who am Isupposed to be in this group?
Speaker 2 (30:53):
And like can.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
I say this and like, like I just kind of want to just
be me, right, and so you kindof figure out where, like you're
just kind of like I'm justgoing to be myself, and then
like whoever's down with thatlike awesome, and then whoever's
not like also awesome.
Um, and I remember you sayingthat kind of resonated with you
as you has kind of have kind ofmoved and you know, got married
and had kids and your businesshas evolved, and then you've
(31:17):
businesses evolved, and thenyou've that kind of like
resonated you know with, withsome of your experience as well.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, I think that I mean to your point, when you
have that aha moment ofrealizing that you are these
different versions of yourselfand you don't want to do that
anymore.
I think one of the biggestthings is you have to take a
little bit to be well, who am I?
Because I think that there area lot of us struggle with people
pleasing.
I mean, I'm a recovering peoplepleaser.
(31:40):
I wouldn't even say I'm all theway there.
Yet there's still thatinstances of where you you only
show a version of yourselfbecause you don't want to
disappoint someone or upsetsomeone or whatever, and so you
only show it still might beauthentic, but it's just a
partial version.
And I think that all of that isit's all coming from these
masks that we wear and figureand taking me, like realizing
(32:04):
who am I as a person, and thatway you can just show up
consistently across the board.
I think that one of the thingsthat was really awesome as a
business owner and I didn't dothis for a couple years into
Elevate but coming up with whatour core values are as a
business Oftentimes because I dothat exercise with clients now
as part of my strategic mapping,and it's really great to see
(32:28):
that exercise come to fruitionfor them, because I remember the
experience.
For me.
It really is basically askingyou, as the business owner, what
are your core values, and it'sbeen really great to utilize
that.
In everything we do, whetherit's work with clients or hiring
team members or makingdecisions, whatever that is it
all comes down to core valuesand it's helped.
(32:49):
It's an exercise that helps me,as a person, make those kinds of
conscious decisions, ofdecisions I make, whether it's
people I surround myself with,things, things that I go to or
don't go to.
All of that it's askingyourself is this an alignment?
Is this going to light me up?
We have all become so busy thatI have really realized that I
(33:09):
just can't say yes to everythingbecause that's not going to
spark joy for me.
I'm going to end up beingresentful or being really out of
balance because I'm justexerting so much energy and
things that don't bring me joythat I can now intentionally ask
myself is this something I wantto say yes to?
Is it going to bring me joy orfill my cup in a way, or is this
(33:34):
going to make me say no tosomething else because that does
bring me joy, but now I'msaying yes to the, you know.
So it's all these questionsthat I have learned as a
business owner that I can applyto other areas of my life and
just becoming a more authenticversion of myself.
And, yeah, it feels good, Ithink.
I think we talked about thatbefore, of how it just feels
(33:57):
freeing but also scary.
You know, being okay with this.
This is me and not everyonemight like it.
No, yeah, I mean there's.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
That's so true, and I think the older we get, the
easier that part is, becauseit's what there's like a quote.
It's like in your twenties youcare about like everything, and
then your forties you care lessin and your 60s you realize
nobody cared in the first placeor I butchered the quote, but
you get the point.
Um, you just kind of realizelike nobody was paying really as
much attention as like wethought they were um that's a
(34:26):
great point about the valuesthere.
You know, I realized, becauseyou know, part of the reason why
I'm doing like what I'm doingnow with the podcast and the
business is I never really fitin to a lot of my traditional
like corporate roles and I didsales and finance and customer
service and, um, one of thesomebody on a camera who I don't
know if it was a therapist or acareer coach, but they were
talking about values and theysaid that if you don't do that
(34:47):
like value exercise, what you'retalking about, what you're
doing with yourself and yourclients and your employees, if
that doesn't align so like ifyou, let's say, you do a
personal like values exerciseand then you take a job, and
then that job is that in doesnot.
It doesn't have to match exactly, but if it's not pretty close,
like they'll never.
There will always be friction.
Like you cannot have this setof personal values and even take
(35:10):
a great job.
It can be great on paper andand be a great match to your
skill set and and money and allthings, but if, for whatever
reason, that company's valuesand like your job doesn't match,
it's simply not a long-termsolution because there's so much
friction between, like what you, what's important to you, and
then the company, and so and Inever really thought about that
(35:30):
and I don't think a lot ofpeople when you're like looking
for a job or like let's makesure that, like, my personal and
company values align, like Idon't think that's really talked
about.
So I think it's reallyinteresting and I'm happy to
hear that that's something thatyou guys do and like think about
, because I think it makes ahuge difference.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Yeah, absolutely it's .
It's especially if the corevalues are in direct conflict
with something that is reallyimportant to you.
You know, I just I think that Ithink that's a great point that
it'll never, the balance willjust never, it will never feel
fulfilling, fully right, becauseit will always feel you can't,
(36:05):
that's something you can'tchange in a company and you
can't change it about.
You feel you can't, that'ssomething you can't change in a
company and you can't change itabout.
You, um, core values are attheir core.
What just is?
So, if there's there's amisalignment, it's just never
going to work, at least not thefulfillment that everybody
deserves in what they're doingyeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Um, I wish somebody had told me that earlier me too
after I just beat my headagainst the wall for 20 years
and was like this doesn't work.
I don't like this at all.
Why am I doing this?
I want to quit every day.
That's funny.
You had mentionedCliftonStrengths and that's a
little bit values related.
So I've taken Clifton twice andI've taken all the other big
(36:43):
ones DISC, myers-briggs,enneagram, human Design,
something called High Five.
I just learned there's apredictive index something, so I
said, oh, I should take thatone.
I haven't done that one.
So what's funny about myClifton is my I'm so heavy in
the execution strengths, so likeseven of my top 10 are just
like purple, which is allexecution, so it's just like
(37:04):
getting things done, just likethrough and through, and so it's
like, okay, I needed to figureout something where I can do
that like a lot more.
So it's interesting that youhave like the strategic part,
which is more of like thethinking and the planning, and
like how can we, how can we getto the point where we need to
have like execution?
So that's really.
I'm fascinated, fascinated bythat, and I think those can also
(37:26):
be very helpful, whether it'sfamilies or co-workers or
businesses or whatever.
I think that's another greattool you can use to try to
figure out, you know, are you onthe right track?
Speaker 2 (37:37):
Yeah, and I think it's important, like, like you,
just because I'm really strongin my strategy, um does.
That's great, but I also couldnot ever work siloed right.
I need other people who arestronger in other things and
then because of that we can workwell together, like yin and
yang.
And so we actually, as our inour internal team, just went
(37:59):
through the CliftonStrengthswith everybody and then used a
consultant to talk about how wework differently and how we can
work really well together withour strengths, and that was
really eye-opening.
So I love these likepersonality tests and things
because I just think it helpseveryone understand themselves.
And when you share it with,like you said, whether it's with
your spouse, people who areclose to you, people at work
(38:22):
that you work close with,whatever it is, it's really
great to understand each other alittle bit better, because
we're not all built the same, weall have different ways that we
communicate, and the better wecan understand that, I mean it
just results in something somuch better.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Yeah, 100%.
I think more of that could beused.
There's somebody on LinkedIn,her name is Brittany Anderson.
She does like family coachingand she's big on understanding
the dynamics of your familystructure.
So, you know, partner kids,whatever, and having them take
these types of assessmentsbecause it helps so much in like
(38:57):
the family communication andtry to eliminate conflict and
then, like you said, likeknowing you know obviously we're
all motivated differently andlike what language you want to
use when you're trying to getlike your kids to do to do
something, and like trying tomake that easier with the
language that works for them,and I think that's a fascinating
concept.
Again, I didn't necessarilythink about that Like, oh, I
(39:19):
should have my wife and kidstake it, but it makes sense too.
So I think just any time youcan use data, which we talked
about earlier, to just help youragain, communication and just
that, less friction, I think youknow if the tools are there,
they're, you know it's worth it,worth exploring at least.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
Yeah, absolutely, and I think for me too it's.
It's one of those things thatwe all operate this way right,
where we don't realize that theway I operate and think is just
not the same as someone else's.
So when you're just goingthrough your day in a certain
way or communicating things in acertain way, whatever it is,
sometimes there's moments whereI'm like, oh, that's what you
(39:54):
needed or that's how youapproach it.
I would have never thought,just because that's how my that
is so out of the box for me.
And so being aware of how otherpeople work helps you maybe add
a little more detail whenyou're explaining or whatever,
because you're like, okay, theydon't think this way, so let me
make sure they understand howI'm thinking.
And also, I think, just moreunderstanding mutually people
(40:18):
will get less upset becausethey're just like, oh no, that's
just how her brain works.
So there's a big big part ofunderstanding how people who you
are close with understandinghow they operate.
I think that that just is areally helpful tool to have in
your tool belt.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Absolutely.
So we're wrapping up here.
I know you're a big fan of dogs.
I think I read in whether itwas I don't know if it was a
post or your about section butif you won the lottery, you
would buy a bunch of land.
You would rescue all the dogs.
I believe is what you said.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
Yeah, I think I put that in a LinkedIn post
somewhere.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
Yeah, I knew it was somewhere.
Um, that's, I love that.
Uh, I love dogs too.
I have a COVID dog.
Um, my kids had wanted a dogfor a long time.
I said no cause I knew I wasgonna have to do all the work.
And then COVID hit my wife's ateacher.
So suddenly they were all home.
They went from being out of thehouse majority of the day to
being at the house all day and Iwas losing it, and so I was
like, let's get a dog, I need afifth, I need a fifth wheel here
(41:12):
to take the focus.
Take the focus off.
Speaker 2 (41:15):
I love that.
Yeah, and they had the time toto deal with a puppy and and
yeah, it would take theirattention away.
They'd keep them busy for awhile, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
Yeah, exactly so it worked.
And now now, now thateverything's back to normal, he
keeps me company by sleeping, uh, all day, uh in my, in my
office yes, yes, minor, minor,right here at my feet right now
that's nice.
What kind?
How many do you have, and whatkind are they?
Speaker 2 (41:38):
I have two, and they are two rescue dogs.
I don't know exactly what theyare, they're just, they're both
much.
They're actually they're oldnow they are almost nine and
twelve.
So okay, yeah, I know, yeah,but they still act like puppies.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
So and do they do the usual like go outside and then
come in and sleep and then eatand then sleep and then sleep,
and then sleep and then gooutside and then sleep yeah, yes
, and if there's a squirrel or abird or the delivery guy, they
are at high alert.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
It's a highlight of their day.
Mine hates the doorbell.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
That's his single it's the highlight of their day.
Mine hates the doorbell.
That's his single.
It's his single.
Greatest enemy in life is thedoorbell um because, when that
thing gets rung it's like hejust four alarm fire and just
the loudest bark he can muster,and like he thinks people are
coming in and I'm like it's justthe neighborhood kids buddy,
like they just want to see ifour kids are home and that's all
(42:29):
that, nobody's.
Nobody's coming to hurt you.
They're like people are stormingthe fortress, he is reacting as
if it is eminent danger.
We must grab the weapons andprotect ourselves.
Um, no, I love that.
So, uh, well, this is great.
Thanks so much for coming on.
Um, any final thoughts oranything you want to share, and
then I'll put this in the shownotes.
(42:51):
But if you want to share, likeyour LinkedIn profile website,
how people can reach out ifthey're interested in learning
more about you and your business, yeah, absolutely so, I guess.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
One final piece of advice that I like to remind
people of it's on our website.
It is a lesson I have learnedthat we help clients through is
just remember that you can doanything but you can't do
everything, and it's okay to askfor help and get you know
support where, where needed.
I, like I said, we hang out asa team on Instagram.
(43:22):
If you live there, it's atElevate BB Solutions.
On LinkedIn, if you hang outthere, my um profile is Ashley M
Carlson and our website iselevate bb solutionscom.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Awesome, uh, be sure to put that in.
Thanks so much for coming onsharing your story, uh and your
wisdom.
Thank you, ashley.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
Thanks for having me.
Welcome to the Real you Podcast.
This is episode number 39.
I'm David Young, your host.
I'm a LinkedIn content andbusiness coach.
I work with new or growingservice, providing coaches to
strategically grow usingLinkedIn.
I launched this podcast inMarch of 2024, so just a little
over a year ago.
It's by interesting peopledoing amazing things, and today
I'm joined by Ashley Carlson.
She's the founder and CEO ofElevate Virtual Business
(00:22):
Solutions.
Ashley's a powerhouse inbusiness ops, helping
entrepreneurs streamline theirbusinesses with expert executive
support and strategic planning.
She's very passionate aboutempowering business owners to
delegate effectively and buildscalable companies.
When she's not leading herincredible team, she's a travel
enthusiast, board game lover anda devoted mom of two who, I
just learned, has a son who'sleft-handed, just like me.
(00:43):
So we are the outliers.
Ashley, welcome to the show.
Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Yeah, absolutely so.
We got connected on LinkedIn,like most of my guests, and your
story is really unique, so Iwant to start there.
You started this kind ofvirtual assistance company, I
think just by yourself, fouryears ago.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
virtual assistance company, I think just by
yourself four years ago.
Is that correct?
Yeah, I actually started Soloseven years ago, or actually
eight years ago.
It was right after I had my son, and it was in 2021 is when I
decided to move from Solo to ateam.
So Elevate as a company startedfour years ago, but I was doing
this kind of virtual assistanttype of work before it became
(01:29):
big, I feel like, and just was away for me to continue my
career on in some way while alsoraising my kids, and having
that flexibility was importantto me, and so I think that
that's actually been one of myfavorite things about growing
Elevate is that what I neededeight years ago is now what
(01:49):
Elevate is able to provide toour employees.
So that's one of my favoritethings about it.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, it's like full circle.
So you were doing so, that wasyour job beforehand.
You were doing virtualassistant, like as a job, and
then you kind of decided to usethat experience and then form
the business around that orbased on your experience.
That's cool.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yes, yeah, I was a travel agent prior to that for
about four years and I loved it,but I was stuck in the office
for definitely more than 40hours a week.
I was working six days a weekbecause of the demand at the
time and I just really neededflexibility.
And we all know that I feellike a lot of companies didn't
figure out the hybrid or remote,how it could work until 2020,
(02:34):
forced them to figure it out, soI didn't have that option and
so I kind of just went out andsearched for one and it, like I
said, it just allowed me to havethat flexibility and because I
was able to have a few years ofthat remote work experience
before the whole world wasforced to, I think that I headed
into 2020 with.
It felt all very normal to meand then that also gave me, I
(02:57):
think, at the time, with how theworld got adjusted and being
able to see how people could beeffective in supporting remotely
, that is when I started gettingflooded with a lot more
requests for support and Iquickly learned that I needed to
put a capacity on myself andthat's when it kind of all the
(03:18):
stars aligned for me andstarting a business just felt
like, yes, scary of course, butit just was the right thing.
It felt really good.
There wasn't really.
There was a lot more excitementand just I felt ready.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Awesome.
Do they still have travelagents, or are they a dying
breed?
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
They do?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
No, they do they.
Actually, I still go to happyhour and all those things a lot
with my old coworkers, so Idefinitely do not envy them.
In the year 2020, to be atravel agent was not a great
year because of all therestrictions and constant
changes, so I did not envy themat that point, but it was
definitely one of my favorite,you know, points of career of
(03:58):
mine.
It's such a fun role and I lovethat.
I actually still we still getto do that in our role here at
elevate um plan a lot of travelfor people and I think that it's
just one of those things.
That's almost like puttingtogether a puzzle, you know, and
there's so many options outthere and you get to pick which
ones and kind of build your ownitinerary for these people.
(04:18):
So it's a really fun part of ofwhat I do still, no, that's
nice that you didn't.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
You weren't able to, or you didn't go too far away.
So when people come to you,what, like talk about some of
those, like the offers that youhave, or like you know what, how
would you, how do you approach,like tailoring what, what,
everything that you guys do tolike a business owner or company
that comes to you?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah.
So we have just celebrated fouryears as a business elevate, so
with a team, an agency model,and something that we have
learned along the way is what wedo well as a group and what we
do not.
And so at this point four yearsand we are very clear about
what we do for business ownersand basically the best way I can
(05:04):
describe it is operations,support and strategies.
So I got my certification fordirector of operations, I think
about two years ago, and wasable to learn this method of
strategic planning.
That is really impactful andamazing.
And then I compare that with myprior experience and I also
(05:24):
just have a very strategymindset.
I did my CliftonStrengths nottoo long ago and strategy was
one of the highest a lot ofstrategy type things, and so
that's definitely one of mystrengths, and so I'm able to do
that for business owners whoreally need a plan of action.
And then my team is really goodat the day-to-day implementation
, and something that we dodifferently is anything really
(05:47):
operations side.
We really become the right handto the executive or the
business owner, and so our goalis what do they do every day or
week or month?
That just doesn't have to bedone by them Most of the time.
Those are things that we cantake off their plate so that way
they can be a lot moreeffective and impactful in what
they're working on.
(06:07):
So, whether that is with ourexecutive assistant services, we
also have bookkeeping.
We also last year launched morebecause both of those services
are retainer ongoing.
But we found that there was alot of people out there who
maybe didn't need retainer orjust weren't quite ready.
So we also have an offer wherewe can help with just a project
basis.
So, for example, right nowwe're working on a hiring
(06:30):
workflow for someone who is justreally struggling to have an
efficient hiring process, youknow, putting job offers out too
late and she's losing it.
Or the onboarding process isfeeling clunky and people aren't
clear of what they do when theyget there, that kind of thing.
So we're helping create that.
So when it comes to businessoperations, that's where we
shine, that's where we're reallystrong.
(06:50):
So I basically I tell peopleI'm like, just book a call and
we'll chat and I will tell you.
You know how we can help, or ifI know someone who is better
suited.
That's just that's why Istarted Elevate.
I'm really passionate abouthelping small business owners.
Executives, do what their zoneof genius is and help them free
(07:10):
up the rest of it.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Yeah, no, I love that .
Have you found over these lastfew years, is there a certain
type of business at a certainrevenue threshold, or type of
business that they offer?
Have you found that there's asynergy or a common denominator
of where you guys do your bestwork, or is it all over the
place?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
It's honestly, all over the place.
I have met with so many peoplewho have recommended niche down,
get specific, and for us it'sreally difficult because,
truthfully, how we have grown soquickly is referrals, and so
what that means is it is who ourclients are currently or were
and who they know, and most ofthe time I will say, the
(07:56):
commonality is just the phase ofbusiness that they are in and
that's the growth phase they arewanting to scale.
They are either currentlygrowing or have grown and they
needed us yesterday, and sothat's the phase that we
definitely see everyone in andthe general sense of I need
someone to manage me, I am notmanaging my time well, I'm
(08:17):
losing business or I'm doublebooking myself or whatever that
is, and so they need someone tohelp manage everything on their
plate.
And that is where we step inand do really, really well.
I think the fact that we don'thave a certain industry because
we're so heavily referral basedis actually what makes our job
fun, because business operations, especially on the admin side,
(08:37):
can get very monotonous if it'sall the same in like iteration
of a business, and so whenyou're dealing with different
industries on the operationsside, that makes it kind of fun
for us and keeps it interesting.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah, for sure.
How quickly can you step in andhelp?
If you meet with someone andyou guys figure out where they
need you, how quickly is yourteam able?
To step in and start working.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Yeah, that typically depends on what the need is, and
so what that could look like inour typical executive assistant
services, it's a couple ofweeks where we have a whole
onboarding process where we'regetting to know their business,
really getting under the hoodand seeing what things are
working well, what isn't, whattools are they using, what
(09:26):
systems are they using, thingslike that and we really build
the plan on what support isgoing to look like and then you
know.
Then we have a whole delegationstrategy where, okay, what does
delegation look like and howskilled are they at delegating
and what support do they needfrom us in order to delegate
successfully?
That is a huge thing for me.
Even when I do strategicplanning and maybe we're not the
(09:47):
ones implementing, maybe theirteam is.
That is still a big part for meis talking to them about how to
delegate successfully.
I don't want to just save youtime, I want to save you brain
space, because that often isalso where people are feeling
stuck.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Nice.
I know one of my clients didshe was a ClickUp.
I don't know if you rememberClickUp at all but, that was her
thing is she would build likecustom solutions.
Do you guys get into like thattype of detail where it's like
Asana or Monday or ClickUp.
Do you help them with that, ordo you have people on your team
that can help with that?
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Yeah, so we use ClickUp actually for our own
system and we love it.
We moved from Asana.
I love that one too.
We operate in all whateversystems our clients are
currently using.
So we have Monday, asana,trello, clickup, all of those
and we don't do setups.
I will say that when it comesto setting up a system, that's a
(10:40):
whole different type of expert.
You typically want to choosesomeone who is, to your point, a
vetted ClickUp expert or avetted Asana expert, someone who
knows the system and all.
They're going to be way moreefficient in building these
tools out in order for someoneto use them well.
What we step in and do well isonce those systems are already
set up, or helping them findsomeone to set them up.
(11:01):
We can then help workflows movesmoothly and all of those
things once it's built.
So we just don't do the systembuilding itself, but we have
people we know and trust to dothat part, so more of the
day-to-day stuff for us.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Nice, you mentioned you liked it.
But the switch over to ClickUpfrom Asana, that's been a good
change for you guys.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
It's been great, yeah , and I know that Asana does a
lot of what ClickUp does, andfor us the reason was just the
plans that each of them had.
What we would get with acertain plan at ClickUp was a
lot more than an equivalent planat Asana, and so for us that
was really the reason, and therethere was just.
(11:45):
It solved for a lot of thingsthat were a little bit clunky
for us overall, not just withAsana, but how we were working
overall, and so.
But we put a lot of time andthought into cause.
It's a big deal to switchsystems like that.
It took a lot of time andenergy and money, and so we put
a lot of thought into that.
And so those are the kind ofconversations that we always
have with clients, because wewill get asked what system do
(12:07):
you love?
And my answer is always it'sthe one that you're going to use
.
Whatever system you're going touse, it could literally be a
google sheet.
If that is how your brain worksand you know that works, well,
let's just stick with that.
But if you need something morerobust and you're actually going
to use it, then we can about it.
But that's the key is, we don'tever want to set someone up and
start using a system that theynever touch, because then it's
(12:29):
not working.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Yeah, it's pointless.
So obviously you use LinkedIn.
That's how we met.
How do you?
And referrals is a big part ofyour business.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
How do?
Speaker 1 (12:37):
you use social media?
Do you use other platformsbesides LinkedIn, and how do you
guys try to position yourmessaging and marketing from
that standpoint?
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So I love to use social mediaand, in my mind, what social
media is is a relationship tool.
Right, it's a connection tool.
It is something your website isa great resource for
information and all of that, butit first people to really feel
connected with you, for you tobuild relationships with other
people.
I feel like that's where socialmedia comes in, and so for us,
(13:08):
we're pretty active as a team,like for Elevate purposes, on
Instagram, so that's whereyou'll see me and another team
member of mine, Nicole, hoppingon stories, a lot just sharing
about what we're doing, tryingto just maybe more of like the
day-to-day behind the scenes,get to know us type of thing,
also answering questions and allof that.
And then on LinkedIn, for me,that's where I'm most active as
(13:32):
far as where you're going to see, like where we, the content
that we create is posted on myLinkedIn, and so that's how we
have approached it so far, andagain, for both platforms, it's
really just relationshipbuilding.
When I first started gettingactive on social media, I
definitely got sucked up in thealgorithm and the metrics and
(13:54):
all those things and I startedto realize and it still hits me
sometimes that the people whotend to buy are not the people
who are clicking and getting allthose numbers that you're
looking at anyway, and so really, the reminder that I try to
keep in mind is all it is isvisibility.
I turned the because I think,because I came from corporate
(14:16):
jobs, the term marketing in myhead feels so much bigger and
intimidating than it really isFor me.
I just turned it to visibility.
It's just how I'm choosing toshow up and engage with people
and for me, that helps it feelmore authentic and less pressure
on the metrics and the numbersand all of that and really just
about where I'm spending my timeand the people I'm choosing to
(14:36):
engage with that approach.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Um, I, I live in I won't say die by the numbers,
but I do study them, mostlybecause my brain is analytically
wired and I love data andnumbers.
So I get I don't get caught upin it in terms of a negative, I
just am fascinated by justlooking at it.
Um, but there are a lot ofpeople that worry about like the
algorithm and impressions andlike a post didn't do well or
whatever.
Um, and it's just just stayconsistent and just try to keep
put the put the best content youcan out there and that's all
(15:08):
you can control.
So I love, I mean, I just lovethe overall takeaway.
That's such an interesting pointabout you know, I think they're
called lurkers that's the wordthat usually term you here,
right, which is kind of a weird.
It's kind of that's like anegative.
So I think we need a betterterm for people that buy that
don't like, comment and engage,but for anyway, we won't come up
with that right now.
Anyway, the lurkers who observeyour content, they don't like,
they don't comment, but theyjust see it and so you're
(15:30):
building that relationship withthem, like you said the tool is
they're seeing you, they're,they're reading your stories or
they're seeing videos orwhatever, and so they are there
in some ways, right, they'regetting to know you.
And then when you have thesolution or a service that fits
their need, then they feel morecomfortable.
You know whether it's justbooking a discovery call or
reaching out.
So, and you don't.
(15:51):
That's the problem, right.
You don't know when that'sgoing to happen.
It could be six months, couldbe a year, who knows.
So you can't get discouraged ifyou're not seeing.
You know those immediateresults.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Yeah, and I do like your point, though, about still
using the numbers for what, likewhat I use them for, is more
just data of you know.
Is what we're doing working, orare there any?
For me especially, I look forbig dips or increases and try to
use the data to understand whydo we need to keep doing
(16:21):
something or stop doingsomething or try something
different.
So I think that for me, thedata is still valuable.
I just am not equating it tosuccess.
I'm more just equating it tostrategy, maybe of things to
shift.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Yeah, that's a great way.
I do the same thing because Itry to look at like I use
different types of posts, soI'll do carousels and videos.
Text with pictures, pictures,text with code templates.
Um then, sometimes I have salesposts.
I see who reaches out on those,so I'm trying to figure out,
like you're saying, like whatposts are causing.
You know cause and effect ofthat.
So the data again, you can useit for however you want, but you
(16:57):
can be used for good, so itdoesn't have to be doom and
gloom for like impressions beingdown, but it can be this type
of post as well, or this postdoesn't do as well, and then you
know you can do more of one andless of another.
So no, I think that's great.
Now, how many people currentlydo you have on your team?
Speaker 2 (17:13):
We have 13 employees, oh wow.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Okay.
And then they all kind of havedifferent level of expertise.
Or do you have an EA departmentand then you have an ops
department?
Or how do you figure out who'sdoing what work?
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yeah, Most of our team are executive assistants.
We do have and we call themlead executive assistants for
the most part.
We do have two and we call themlead executive assistants for
the most part.
We do have two support EAs andwhat that looks like is people
who maybe are less experiencedbut still very skilled in what
they do, just maybe lessexperienced with the client
(17:49):
management side of it.
Having that confidence to leadan executive does take a lot and
we do a lot of training on that.
But we have some EAs who justprefer to be on the back end and
get the job done and they havegreat attention to detail things
like that.
So that's how.
And then they tend to supporton larger projects and things
(18:10):
like that to help the ballrolling.
And then we also have twobookkeepers One is a lead
bookkeeper, One is a supportbookkeeper, and then from the
whole team we also have some whoare on internal roles, so
helping us with client and teamrelations.
So we have an accountmanagement team.
(18:31):
We have a couple of people whohelp on the operations assistant
side for us, things like that.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Nice, it sounds like a great setup.
What is your kind of future?
You know vision.
I mean I'm not going to ask youlike an interview question like
what is your five-year plan for, but like you know it's going
well, it's grown.
Is it kind of just continuingon this path or do you have kind
of bigger, grander visions?
Or like, how do you think aboutyou know the next?
You know several years.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Yeah, that's a great question and something I think
that I have realized.
We can plan all we want andhave all these goals, but I
think the biggest thing is beingable to pivot and be flexible.
Something that I am cravingthis year is steady growth.
We have had rapid growth forthe last four years, and so now
(19:20):
this year, it's a lot moreintentional steady growth.
So, for example, just likewithin the last week, we have
been tracking our hours in adifferent way, speaking of data
right, using the tools that wehave on the data, with billable
hours versus capacity, thingslike that and we, within the
(19:41):
last week, have realized that,with a few new clients coming in
, our team is at capacity whenit comes to retainer work, and
so now that means that we needto shift and start really just
bringing on clients for theproject-based work that I
mentioned earlier.
Or bookkeeping has space.
So, just being aware of wherewe have space to bring on new
clients and where we can supportpeople right now Not to say we
(20:04):
can't support with more EAsupport down the road, but as of
right now, we are at capacityfor that but have space for
other things and so I think,just being more intentional,
with where our growth is atevery phase, versus just kind of
drinking from the fire hosewhen it comes to growth.
My life wasn't balanced duringthose times, and so I'm really
(20:26):
craving some consistent growth.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Yeah, the lack of fire hose is great for everyone.
Do you guys ever do?
Probably not, because of thetime sensitivity, but do you
ever do like waiting list?
If it wasn't a of the timesensitivity, but do you ever do
like waiting list if it wasn't asensitive project would you say
like we can work with you, butwe couldn't start until you know
july?
Speaker 2 (20:44):
yeah, uh, that's our.
The last few calls that I'vehad with people, I've let them
know, you know, here's the,here's the projects that we can
work on for you right now untilwe have space for a retainer, um
, so there's, yeah, there's, andthere's plenty of possibility
for us to still make an impactfor them.
As you know things go, I also,you know, can offer consulting
(21:04):
sometimes, things like that.
So, like I said, really it's Ilike to have those calls where
people can share with me and Ican ask questions about where
they're at, what support theyneed, what's feeling
overwhelming to them andidentifying how we can help them
right now, because there is somuch possibility and whether
it's me or someone else, I trustI just want to help.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Yeah, no, it's a great mindset Shifting gears a
little bit.
So you are in LA.
I think you're the first personto come on the show that's been
in LA, have you?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (21:32):
from there, or you've been out, or, if not, like how
long have you been out there?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I am born and raised out here, so we are in the
northern LA County area.
If people know where MagicMountain is, that's where we're
at or I'm at.
My team is all over the US, butthat's where I'm located.
Born and raised here.
I went away for school, studiedabroad, did all of that, and
then when I graduated collegewhich was 100 years ago, in 2009
(21:58):
, that was like when therecession one of the recessions
hit and I just had a very hardtime finding a full time job.
I was doing really well with mypart time jobs but and so I
ended up having to move backhome and my husband and I were
both from here and we ended upjust both being here, and it's
(22:18):
actually a really great place toraise our kids where we're at,
so we're we're happy here.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
I've been to Anaheim once for a conference, and I
think that's the only, but inSan Francisco once and then
Anaheim, I think there's only afew times I've been to
California and I've loved bothtrips, but I just haven't
haven't gotten to spend a lot oftime out there.
But it's a beautiful, beautifulpart of the country.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Yeah, anaheim is about an hour away on a good day
and then maybe like two and ahalf hours on a traffic-y time.
So you learn, you learn thetimes to drive places here.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Uh, as a kid who grew up in Kentucky, when I was in
Anaheim we drove down to SanDiego.
They gave us like a half a dayfree, and so one of the guys I
worked with, we just drove downand I can't remember now it's
been too long, but either themountains were on our left and
the ocean was on our right orvice versa, and I guess again,
as growing up I didn't seemountains or the ocean, so just
(23:14):
to drive down a highway and haveit flanked by those two things
was it was kind of mind blowingJust not something I'd ever
experienced.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
So it was pretty, pretty amazing to see.
Yeah, core memory for sure Iknow I went to.
I went to college in San Diego,so I know exactly what you mean
.
Those moments on the drive,it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Yeah, it's.
It's almost like you're in adifferent like.
I felt like I was in anothercountry.
I couldn't believe we could bein the same country.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I have a couple of friends that I know who have
gone snow skiing and surfing onthe same day, just to say
they've done it here inCalifornia and that's pretty
cool.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
That's super fun.
So you mentioned you're atravel enthusiast.
What's your favorite trip thatyou've taken thus far?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Oh, that's really hard.
So, like I said, I studiedabroad.
Yeah, that's easier.
I studied abroad in college.
I studied in Florence, italy,and when I was there, I mean the
city will forever have a placein my heart.
It's amazing.
It's that small town type offeel, but still kind of a city
(24:21):
in Italy, and you just, I don'tknow, it will always be one of
my favorites.
And I will say the one thingthat I really loved when I
studied abroad in Italy and thenalso since I've been back, like
as a travel agent, we went backto Europe a few times.
And one thing that I love is,once you're there, you can
easily get places with the trainsystem they have, and so when I
(24:43):
studied abroad, we were able totake weekend trips to we went
to Switzerland, lots ofdifferent places around Italy,
we took quick flights over toSpain, things like that, things
like that.
And so I think that that's oneof my favorite things is, once
you're over there, takeadvantage of how easy it is to
(25:04):
get around and just soak up,soak up the culture, soak up the
food.
My favorite thing when myhusband and I have gone back and
traveled, we went through Italyand Switzerland actually for
our honeymoon for three weeksand my favorite thing I always
do, I prefer longer stays inplaces, so that way you're not
just checking off the list ofthe sites that you need to see,
but you're also just wanderingand getting lost, really.
(25:25):
I mean, we traveled to Europebefore there was like cell
service in foreign countries,and so we really literally did
get lost plenty of times.
But when you do that, you cankind of just wander and find
things and things that youwouldn't have seen on a map or a
tourist tourism guide, and sothat's my biggest tip to anyone
when they travel is, I mean,obviously with safety in mind,
(25:49):
but just kind of wander off thebeaten path just a little bit,
or just don't have a plan andjust stroll.
So anyway, I don't think thatanswered your question.
So I love Italy will definitelyalways be a spot.
We also did when I was a travelagent.
We did a river cruise throughGermany on the Rhine River, and
(26:10):
that was absolutely incredible.
We did Amsterdam to Basel and Iwant to do that again.
I would love to do that again.
It was just stunning.
I'm not a cruise person, but onthe river cruises they are
really small ships and I cause Iget seasick and you don't get
seasick on those and they,because of the way these towns
(26:33):
were built back then they werebuilt, the waterways were their
traffic ways right, and so theboats are able to park basically
in these fortress towns andthings like that, just things
that you wouldn't, you know, see, if you did train travel too.
So kind of mixing it up a bit.
I also really love if anyoneever goes to Switzerland.
(26:54):
I have gone multiple times toInterlaken, switzerland.
There's lots of places aroundthere too, but there's just
something about the Swiss Alpsand kind of what you mentioned
earlier, that green mountainview, like there is just and
there's lakes, and like thewater in the lakes for me
there's just, or the water inthe mountains for me is just
stunning, and so those, I wouldsay, are my favorite trips.
(27:17):
And I mean we also love a goodall-inclusive resort in Mexico
when you don't have to worryabout your food bill at the end.
You just get to just not worry,yeah, so I think you said top
five and I feel like that wasfive.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah, no, that's amazing.
My wife studied abroad incortona.
Um were older than you, so, uh,prior to when you were there,
but same principle.
She still talks about it.
I mean, that was a long timeago, I won't.
I won't say how long it was,she would kill me, but um, she,
I mean, yeah, talk about a corememory, like she.
Just she loved that time overthere and I think she's still
(27:54):
friends.
I think there's a one of thewomen that were was there with
her, like they still likecommunicate from time to time,
so, um, and she hasn't been back, which I think is my fault, so
I think that she's really,really antsy to get back.
Uh, we've done it a coupletimes.
My kids are 15 and 11, sothey're definitely old enough
now like to go and do it, but wejust haven't you know planned.
(28:15):
you have to plan that kind offar like in advance, especially
with our like kids, sports andtravel schedules and stuff.
Like you can't, just can't justkind of up and book a two week
Europe trip, like you have toput that on the calendar like
pretty far in advance.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
There is a lot more logistics once you have kids,
that's for sure.
Exactly, I think that studyingabroad is something that I tell
everybody that they need to doit, regardless of where you go.
Because for me you're at thatpivotal age where you know
you're in kind of a bubble whereyou go, where when you grow up,
age what K through 12 in school, and you're kind of in this
(28:49):
bubble and then you move to auniversity or college and you
kind of get put just in a newbubble.
And for me, studying abroad andjust traveling in general, it
really hit home for me how bigthis world is and how many
possibilities there are for youin the type of life that you
want to live, and it's allamazing.
(29:10):
And so it just made me realizethat cliche saying of the world
is your oyster, it's so true.
And so it really just opened mymind to that of it.
Like that bubble that I wasliving in, that I didn't even
realize I was living in, justreally got burst and it was
really eye opening and justreally life changing.
And I think, especially at thatage where you don't realize
(29:34):
that your, your view of theworld is pretty protected for
all those years because, youknow, so just being I mean the
fact that I like studied abroadwithout cell phone.
You know, like they didn't havethat I had to go to an internet
cafe.
I had to go to an internet cafe.
We didn't even have internetand computers in our, in our
(29:54):
apartment.
Like you had to go to aninternet cafe just to write an
email to your parents to letthem know you were fine.
So it's kind of wild, butreally it was.
Yeah, it's just I telleverybody you have to do it, you
get the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Yeah, I love that.
And that kind of leads me tothe next point.
So when you and I had a, wetalked before we got on today
and we were just talking aboutlike the genesis of the show and
why I started the show and oneof the premises was like the
real.
You was about like the masksthat we wear and you're talking
about like kind of the bubblethat we, that we're in.
And so for me, like my parentsdivorced when I was young and so
I kind of felt like I wore allthese different masks, like with
(30:30):
my mom's family and my dad'sfamily, and then at school, and
then with my friends, then onsports teams, and right, you
just kind of had you figured outthese ways to kind of protect
yourself and you didn't straytoo far, depending on, like, the
group you're with.
But then, like at some point,you know, as you get older and
you start to mature and you kindof settle into yourself, then
you realize that's reallyexhausting to like have to try
(30:51):
to remember, like who am Isupposed to be in this group?
Speaker 2 (30:53):
And like can.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
I say this and like, like I just kind of want to just
be me, right, and so you kindof figure out where, like you're
just kind of like I'm justgoing to be myself, and then
like whoever's down with thatlike awesome, and then whoever's
not like also awesome.
Um, and I remember you sayingthat kind of resonated with you
as you has kind of have kind ofmoved and you know, got married
and had kids and your businesshas evolved, and then you've
(31:17):
businesses evolved, and thenyou've that kind of like
resonated you know with, withsome of your experience as well.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Yeah, I think that I mean to your point, when you
have that aha moment ofrealizing that you are these
different versions of yourselfand you don't want to do that
anymore.
I think one of the biggestthings is you have to take a
little bit to be well, who am I?
Because I think that there area lot of us struggle with people
pleasing.
I mean, I'm a recovering peoplepleaser.
(31:40):
I wouldn't even say I'm all theway there.
Yet there's still thatinstances of where you you only
show a version of yourselfbecause you don't want to
disappoint someone or upsetsomeone or whatever, and so you
only show it still might beauthentic, but it's just a
partial version.
And I think that all of that isit's all coming from these
masks that we wear and figureand taking me, like realizing
(32:04):
who am I as a person, and thatway you can just show up
consistently across the board.
I think that one of the thingsthat was really awesome as a
business owner and I didn't dothis for a couple years into
Elevate but coming up with whatour core values are as a
business Oftentimes because I dothat exercise with clients now
as part of my strategic mapping,and it's really great to see
(32:28):
that exercise come to fruitionfor them, because I remember the
experience.
For me.
It really is basically askingyou, as the business owner, what
are your core values, and it'sbeen really great to utilize
that.
In everything we do, whetherit's work with clients or hiring
team members or makingdecisions, whatever that is it
all comes down to core valuesand it's helped.
(32:49):
It's an exercise that helps me,as a person, make those kinds of
conscious decisions, ofdecisions I make, whether it's
people I surround myself with,things, things that I go to or
don't go to.
All of that it's askingyourself is this an alignment?
Is this going to light me up?
We have all become so busy thatI have really realized that I
(33:09):
just can't say yes to everythingbecause that's not going to
spark joy for me.
I'm going to end up beingresentful or being really out of
balance because I'm justexerting so much energy and
things that don't bring me joythat I can now intentionally ask
myself is this something I wantto say yes to?
Is it going to bring me joy orfill my cup in a way, or is this
(33:34):
going to make me say no tosomething else because that does
bring me joy, but now I'msaying yes to the, you know.
So it's all these questionsthat I have learned as a
business owner that I can applyto other areas of my life and
just becoming a more authenticversion of myself.
And, yeah, it feels good, Ithink.
I think we talked about thatbefore, of how it just feels
(33:57):
freeing but also scary.
You know, being okay with this.
This is me and not everyonemight like it.
No, yeah, I mean there's.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
That's so true, and I think the older we get, the
easier that part is, becauseit's what there's like a quote.
It's like in your twenties youcare about like everything, and
then your forties you care lessin and your 60s you realize
nobody cared in the first placeor I butchered the quote, but
you get the point.
Um, you just kind of realizelike nobody was paying really as
much attention as like wethought they were um that's a
(34:26):
great point about the valuesthere.
You know, I realized, becauseyou know, part of the reason why
I'm doing like what I'm doingnow with the podcast and the
business is I never really fitin to a lot of my traditional
like corporate roles and I didsales and finance and customer
service and, um, one of thesomebody on a camera who I don't
know if it was a therapist or acareer coach, but they were
talking about values and theysaid that if you don't do that
(34:47):
like value exercise, what you'retalking about, what you're
doing with yourself and yourclients and your employees, if
that doesn't align so like ifyou, let's say, you do a
personal like values exerciseand then you take a job, and
then that job is that in doesnot.
It doesn't have to match exactly, but if it's not pretty close,
like they'll never.
There will always be friction.
Like you cannot have this setof personal values and even take
(35:10):
a great job.
It can be great on paper andand be a great match to your
skill set and and money and allthings, but if, for whatever
reason, that company's valuesand like your job doesn't match,
it's simply not a long-termsolution because there's so much
friction between, like what you, what's important to you, and
then the company, and so and Inever really thought about that
(35:30):
and I don't think a lot ofpeople when you're like looking
for a job or like let's makesure that, like, my personal and
company values align, like Idon't think that's really talked
about.
So I think it's reallyinteresting and I'm happy to
hear that that's something thatyou guys do and like think about
, because I think it makes ahuge difference.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Yeah, absolutely it's .
It's especially if the corevalues are in direct conflict
with something that is reallyimportant to you.
You know, I just I think that Ithink that's a great point that
it'll never, the balance willjust never, it will never feel
fulfilling, fully right, becauseit will always feel you can't,
(36:05):
that's something you can'tchange in a company and you
can't change it about.
You feel you can't, that'ssomething you can't change in a
company and you can't change itabout.
You, um, core values are attheir core.
What just is?
So, if there's there's amisalignment, it's just never
going to work, at least not thefulfillment that everybody
deserves in what they're doingyeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Um, I wish somebody had told me that earlier me too
after I just beat my headagainst the wall for 20 years
and was like this doesn't work.
I don't like this at all.
Why am I doing this?
I want to quit every day.
That's funny.
You had mentionedCliftonStrengths and that's a
little bit values related.
So I've taken Clifton twice andI've taken all the other big
(36:43):
ones DISC, myers-briggs,enneagram, human Design,
something called High Five.
I just learned there's apredictive index something, so I
said, oh, I should take thatone.
I haven't done that one.
So what's funny about myClifton is my I'm so heavy in
the execution strengths, so likeseven of my top 10 are just
like purple, which is allexecution, so it's just like
(37:04):
getting things done, just likethrough and through, and so it's
like, okay, I needed to figureout something where I can do
that like a lot more.
So it's interesting that youhave like the strategic part,
which is more of like thethinking and the planning, and
like how can we, how can we getto the point where we need to
have like execution?
So that's really.
I'm fascinated, fascinated bythat, and I think those can also
(37:26):
be very helpful, whether it'sfamilies or co-workers or
businesses or whatever.
I think that's another greattool you can use to try to
figure out, you know, are you onthe right track?
Speaker 2 (37:37):
Yeah, and I think it's important, like, like you,
just because I'm really strongin my strategy, um does.
That's great, but I also couldnot ever work siloed right.
I need other people who arestronger in other things and
then because of that we can workwell together, like yin and
yang.
And so we actually, as our inour internal team, just went
(37:59):
through the CliftonStrengthswith everybody and then used a
consultant to talk about how wework differently and how we can
work really well together withour strengths, and that was
really eye-opening.
So I love these likepersonality tests and things
because I just think it helpseveryone understand themselves.
And when you share it with,like you said, whether it's with
your spouse, people who areclose to you, people at work
(38:22):
that you work close with,whatever it is, it's really
great to understand each other alittle bit better, because
we're not all built the same, weall have different ways that we
communicate, and the better wecan understand that, I mean it
just results in something somuch better.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Yeah, 100%.
I think more of that could beused.
There's somebody on LinkedIn,her name is Brittany Anderson.
She does like family coachingand she's big on understanding
the dynamics of your familystructure.
So, you know, partner kids,whatever, and having them take
these types of assessmentsbecause it helps so much in like
(38:57):
the family communication andtry to eliminate conflict and
then, like you said, likeknowing you know obviously we're
all motivated differently andlike what language you want to
use when you're trying to getlike your kids to do to do
something, and like trying tomake that easier with the
language that works for them,and I think that's a fascinating
concept.
Again, I didn't necessarilythink about that Like, oh, I
(39:19):
should have my wife and kidstake it, but it makes sense too.
So I think just any time youcan use data, which we talked
about earlier, to just help youragain, communication and just
that, less friction, I think youknow if the tools are there,
they're, you know it's worth it,worth exploring at least.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
Yeah, absolutely, and I think for me too it's.
It's one of those things thatwe all operate this way right,
where we don't realize that theway I operate and think is just
not the same as someone else's.
So when you're just goingthrough your day in a certain
way or communicating things in acertain way, whatever it is,
sometimes there's moments whereI'm like, oh, that's what you
(39:54):
needed or that's how youapproach it.
I would have never thought,just because that's how my that
is so out of the box for me.
And so being aware of how otherpeople work helps you maybe add
a little more detail whenyou're explaining or whatever,
because you're like, okay, theydon't think this way, so let me
make sure they understand howI'm thinking.
And also, I think, just moreunderstanding mutually people
(40:18):
will get less upset becausethey're just like, oh no, that's
just how her brain works.
So there's a big big part ofunderstanding how people who you
are close with understandinghow they operate.
I think that that just is areally helpful tool to have in
your tool belt.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Absolutely.
So we're wrapping up here.
I know you're a big fan of dogs.
I think I read in whether itwas I don't know if it was a
post or your about section butif you won the lottery, you
would buy a bunch of land.
You would rescue all the dogs.
I believe is what you said.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
Yeah, I think I put that in a LinkedIn post
somewhere.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
Yeah, I knew it was somewhere.
Um, that's, I love that.
Uh, I love dogs too.
I have a COVID dog.
Um, my kids had wanted a dogfor a long time.
I said no cause I knew I wasgonna have to do all the work.
And then COVID hit my wife's ateacher.
So suddenly they were all home.
They went from being out of thehouse majority of the day to
being at the house all day and Iwas losing it, and so I was
like, let's get a dog, I need afifth, I need a fifth wheel here
(41:12):
to take the focus.
Take the focus off.
Speaker 2 (41:15):
I love that.
Yeah, and they had the time toto deal with a puppy and and
yeah, it would take theirattention away.
They'd keep them busy for awhile, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
Yeah, exactly so it worked.
And now now, now thateverything's back to normal, he
keeps me company by sleeping, uh, all day, uh in my, in my
office yes, yes, minor, minor,right here at my feet right now
that's nice.
What kind?
How many do you have, and whatkind are they?
Speaker 2 (41:38):
I have two, and they are two rescue dogs.
I don't know exactly what theyare, they're just, they're both
much.
They're actually they're oldnow they are almost nine and
twelve.
So okay, yeah, I know, yeah,but they still act like puppies.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
So and do they do the usual like go outside and then
come in and sleep and then eatand then sleep and then sleep,
and then sleep and then gooutside and then sleep yeah, yes
, and if there's a squirrel or abird or the delivery guy, they
are at high alert.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
It's a highlight of their day.
Mine hates the doorbell.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
That's his single it's the highlight of their day.
Mine hates the doorbell.
That's his single.
It's his single.
Greatest enemy in life is thedoorbell um because, when that
thing gets rung it's like hejust four alarm fire and just
the loudest bark he can muster,and like he thinks people are
coming in and I'm like it's justthe neighborhood kids buddy,
like they just want to see ifour kids are home and that's all
(42:29):
that, nobody's.
Nobody's coming to hurt you.
They're like people are stormingthe fortress, he is reacting as
if it is eminent danger.
We must grab the weapons andprotect ourselves.
Um, no, I love that.
So, uh, well, this is great.
Thanks so much for coming on.
Um, any final thoughts oranything you want to share, and
then I'll put this in the shownotes.
(42:51):
But if you want to share, likeyour LinkedIn profile website,
how people can reach out ifthey're interested in learning
more about you and your business, yeah, absolutely so, I guess.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
One final piece of advice that I like to remind
people of it's on our website.
It is a lesson I have learnedthat we help clients through is
just remember that you can doanything but you can't do
everything, and it's okay to askfor help and get you know
support where, where needed.
I, like I said, we hang out asa team on Instagram.
(43:22):
If you live there, it's atElevate BB Solutions.
On LinkedIn, if you hang outthere, my um profile is Ashley M
Carlson and our website iselevate bb solutionscom.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Awesome, uh, be sure to put that in.
Thanks so much for coming onsharing your story, uh and your
wisdom.
Thank you, ashley.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
Thanks for having me.
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