June 17, 2025 • 22 mins
In this episode, Tara sits down with business success coach Helle Brodie, whose calm approach to business transformation offers a much-needed alternative to hustle culture. After decades of entrepreneurship - and burnout - Helle developed a framework to help others scale without losing themselves in the process. Tune in to hear her journey, her unique CPU method (Commitment, Performance, and You), and her powerful message for anyone feeling maxed out by their own success.
🔍 What You’ll Learn:
- How Helle shifted from 70-hour weeks to running a business on her terms
- Why authentic energy matters more than trying to “stand out”
- The power of frameworks (and why they’re actually freeing, not rigid)
- How burnout signals opportunity for real change
- Tips for scaling your business without sacrificing peace of mind
đź“Ś Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome + Meet Helle Brodie
01:00 – Helle’s Entrepreneurial Story (and Overwork Wake-Up Call)
03:45 – What Happens When Hustle Becomes Survival
05:15 – The Power of Authentic Energy in Coaching
07:00 – Building a Business That Doesn’t Own You
08:30 – The CPU Framework Explained (Commitment, Performance, and You)
10:00 – Scaling Through Masterminds and Human-Centered Models
12:00 – Tips for Transitioning Out of Burnout Mode
13:20 – Creating SOPs and Trusting Your Team
14:45 – Frameworks as a Path to Freedom
16:00 – Managing Stress as a Business Owner
18:00 – A Client Story: Overcoming Perfectionism
19:10 – Final Advice: Make a True Commitment to What Matters
20:00 – Where to Learn More About Helle Brodie
đź”— Resources Mentioned:
- FreedomJourneys.ca
- Free Download: The Freedom Formula for Entrepreneurs
- Book: Stress Wisely by Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe
🎧 Want to Scale Without Burnout?
Take the next step and discover your unique path by taking the Scalable Expert Quiz.
About Helle Brodie
I'm Helle, a business coach helping entrepreneurs just like you turn the chaos of business into their personal success story. I call that freedom: financial freedom, time freedom, and the personal freedom to savor your life.
Freedom in business is created through commitment, turning overwhelm into effectiveness, and building a business success mindset.
I've helped countless business owners turn their business back into the passion that supports their lives - not consume their lives.
About Me:
Hey, it’s your host, Tara Bryan. And I am on a mission to help more business owners learn to infinitely scale their businesses by leveraging the power of online without sacrificing the customer experience or results.
I like to geek out on all things business strategy, marketing, interactive digital and user experience. This podcast is all about what is working, lessons learned and actionable tips to create and grow a thriving online business.
Join us each week as we dive into different strategies, tactics and tips you can apply immediately to your business.
To learn more:
Find us at https://www.taralbryan.com
Here are two ways we can help you create, grow and scale your business:
1. Want to package your expertise or become a Scalable Expert? Take our free quick assessment to see how close you are to creating a scalable business.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tara Bryan (00:00):
Welcome to the Scalable Expert, the podcast where we unlock
the secrets to building a businessthat grows with you, not around you.
I'm your host, Tara Bryan, businessstrategist, mentor, and creator
of the Infinite Scale Method.
If you're a coach, consultant,or service provider who's
maxed out with one-on-one work.
Overwhelmed by the grind andready to scale your expertise into
(00:20):
a business that works for you,then you are in the right place.
Each week I'll share actionabletips, inspiring success stories,
and proven strategies to help youreclaim your time, grow your income,
and create a business that deliversresults without sacrificing quality.
Let's dive in and make yourbusiness infinitely scalable.
(00:41):
Hey, everybody.
Welcome to this episode of the podcast.
I am thrilled that you're here.
I want to introduce you to HelleBrody, she is our guest for the day.
So welcome Helle we're soexcited for you to be here today.
Kick us off, give us a littlebit of a sense for who you
are and what your business is.
Helle Brodie (00:59):
So first of all, thank you so much for having me on your show.
It's really an honor.
So who am I?
I'm a business coach.
I call myself a business successcoach and I work with entrepreneurs
who have been in business for a fewyears, and so they've figured out
how to get some business, and they'vecreated some messes for themselves.
It's pretty common because, you know, whenyou start in business, you're grabbing
(01:21):
at every opportunity that comes your way.
And before you know it, you're doingthings that you don't want to do,
you're working crazy hours, andit's not necessarily fulfilling.
And so how do I, how did I get into this?
Well, I've been anentrepreneur for 37 years.
I started my, my business, my firstbusiness, when my son was born,
(01:45):
and I thought, great, no boss, noovertime, no more two hour commute
to the office every day, moremoney, and my time is my own, right?
It was kind of an illusion at the time.
So, 37 years ago, I hung outwith my shingle, started a
(02:05):
landscape architectural practice.
Super successful.
I absolutely loved it.
Before I knew it, I wasworking 70 hours a week.
I was a single mom.
I had two kids, in, in competitive skiing.
And my own mother was terminally ill.
(02:26):
So I was exhausted and stressedand just surviving on adrenaline.
This was not the picture I had when I,you know, when I started my business.
Now, this isn't why I quit my job, right?
And so, you know, I walked into Starbucksone day and I thought, I looked at the
barista and I thought, you know, shehas way more fun in her life than I do.
(02:50):
I wasn't spending time with my kids.
I was losing connection with myfriends and starting to feel alone.
And even my hobbies were startingto feel more like obligation.
And then when my mom passed,I knew things had to change.
Like, I just couldn't live like this.
So I had two choices.
I could either give up my business, andit was tempting, or I could figure it out.
(03:13):
So I decided I was going to figure it out.
Took course after course.
Business courses, personaldevelopment courses.
I even gained a couple of coachingdesignations to get this figured out.
And I figured out there's a way to do it.
There's a way to have it all,you know, and, and it had
such a huge impact on my life.
I wanted to share it with otherentrepreneurs who were feeling
(03:37):
the same way I did, you know?
And, and, so I've, I've turned it into abit of a system and I call it your CPU.
So it's about commitment, it'sabout performance, and you.
And it's now the systemthat, that, supports my life.
It doesn't run my life.
Tara Bryan (03:58):
Yeah, that's amazing.
So I have to tell you that our storiesare very similar and so I can go through
that a little bit, in terms of that.
But I have to say that youhave such a calming energy.
Helle Brodie (04:11):
Well thank you.
Tara Bryan (04:12):
Is that what you bring to your clients when they're all
frantic and doing all the things?
You're just like, okay, it's fine.
We're going to develop a system, right?
You're just very calm.
Helle Brodie (04:22):
Well, thank you.
I take that as a huge compliment.
So when you think about it, thatentrepreneur who's going, oh my
God, I don't know which way to turn.
There's so much, there's this, there'sthat, I didn't know what's going on.
Can I even handle this?
Because self doubt alwayscomes into play, right?
Do you need another personwho's doing all of this stuff?
(04:42):
Or do you need someonewho's calm, you know?
And, you know, I've had myclients tell me, you know, you
just make us feel confident.
Tara Bryan (04:51):
Yeah, yeah,
Helle Brodie (04:52):
We have a sense of confidence we didn't
know we had after talking.
Tara Bryan (04:55):
That's amazing.
I love that.
It's because it's interesting because it'slike, again, like you and I do something
very similar, but I lead with more likethe passion and the confidence like I'm
like, okay, let's go right like I calmthem down, but I also am very confident.
So I'm like, okay, this is thepath, this is what we're gonna do.
And so you did the same thing youjust do it with more calm than I do.
(05:15):
So I love that because it's, it's anice parallel in terms of if you're
listening, listen to the differencesbecause, I think that this is a total
sidebar, but it is interesting likethat, that, we do similar things.
I'll share my story with you in a second,but we do similar things, but we would
attract two very different people.
Helle Brodie (05:34):
Absolutely.
Tara Bryan (05:35):
And that's an amazing, actual, kind of nugget for those
of you who are listening, is thatyou can do something really similar
to somebody else, but attractdifferent people and that's amazing.
And that's awesome, right?
Like somebody who would be attractedto a very calm style wouldn't be
attracted necessarily to my stylebecause mine is a little bit more,
(06:00):
you know, like passionate, right?
And then vice versa.
And so that's a total sidebar, but,but something that's really important,
If you are listening to this and you'relike, ah, just, I'm struggling with,
why somebody would hire me over somebodyelse and da, da, da, that's a really,
this is a really great example of that.
And so thank you for yourenergy because I, I love it.
(06:21):
It's very nice.
Yeah.
Helle Brodie (06:23):
Well, I just want to add, you know, I mean, that's why everybody
says you've got to be authentic, right?
Because if I try to be like you, like itjust, I'm sorry, it doesn't work for me.
Right.
Tara Bryan (06:34):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Helle Brodie (06:34):
And yet.
I mean, I've got lots of energy.
It's just a different type of energy.
Tara Bryan (06:38):
Different type, yep.
100%.
And, but that's the gift.
And that's, that was not evenintended in our conversation, but I
think that's such a powerful exampleof that in play, which I love.
And, it just brings me joy to hear youtell your story, from your perspective,
even though it's very similar to mine.
I was also, you know, doing thecorporate thing and then started
(07:02):
an agency that was very successful.
I'm 20 years in, not as long asyou, but, but 20 years, so I have a
good run, but it was the same thing.
I, I, you know, thought I wasgoing out to live the dream and
it was going to be amazing andeverything was going to be great.
And then, it was great, like I lovedwhat I did, had you know, an amazing
(07:24):
roster of clients, but the more clientswe had, the busier we got, and it
wasn't like, when is all that freedomand awesomeness going to happen?
Like, it's great that we're growing,but when am I going to realize all this?
And I had that same realizationwhere it's like, what, something is
not right in this business model.
(07:44):
And then took it into, okay, so how doI figure out how to scale this without
taking up all of my time, all of myteam's time and all of the things.
And so I love that because I, I thinkeverybody gets to that point, right?
You're, you're maxed out.
Your time is not your own and youthink about what am I going to do?
And in my case, I actuallyshut down the agency.
(08:05):
Like I was like, I'm done.
I can't.
So I'm, happy to hear that you didn'tdo that, but I just shifted into a
completely different business model.
Right.
But, but as you're kind of reflecting onthat journey and pivoting to a different
business model, tell us a little bitabout like, how are you growing and
scaling and serving your people nowand also not maxing out your time?
(08:29):
What does that look like in your world?
Helle Brodie (08:31):
Well, there's a, I mean, there's two sides to that, right?
So my, my process, CPU, is youknow, a lot of it's about you.
And I mean, if you're, if you'redoing similar things to me, you
know, that, that, you know, the,you know, when the, the owner
stops growing, the business grows.
So in this new model for me, becauseit's, you know, I haven't been
(08:54):
doing this for 37 years, right,
There's constant growthfor me in different areas.
You know, I've got a base, I'll sayknowledge about business and growth
and I'm still growing, you know,I mean, I thought, I think that's
critical for people like you and I.
Now in terms of scaling, so I have my oneto one clients and I absolutely love them.
(09:18):
The majority of my clients areone to one and I also run, I run a
mastermind for women in business.
It's called Thrive Business Circle.
Now at the moment, I'm just doing an inperson mastermind because a lot of people
are getting tired of looking at screens.
And so that's growing and I'm gettingready actually to open up a second one
(09:40):
because I'm just finding that there'sreally a lot of demand for that.
So that's one way that I'm scaling.
Eventually, I'll probably turn, turn someof my coaching into, into group coaching,
but at the moment I'm really, reallyenjoying just working one on one with
people and, and just helping them with,with their specific problems because,
(10:01):
as you know, we don't live in a silo.
It's not just business and personal life.
They kind of get mixed together.
So what's happening in your personallife happens in your business.
And so it's very easy to, to helpsomebody with the whole picture.
And I really, like, I really enjoy that.
So eventually I'll, you know, headmore into group coaching for now.
(10:23):
I've got my, my one on oneclients and I've got my mastermind
clients and, and it's great.
I'm loving it.
I'm just loving it.
Tara Bryan (10:31):
That's amazing.
And so, and, and so it's, it's greatthat you are, you know, you did
the one on one model, you figuredout like, okay, I'm going to shift,
I'm going to help really solve someproblems for my one on one clients and
then shift a little bit into group.
Even if it's not, it's not likeshifting your one on one into a
group model, it's starting with adifferent group model, which is great.
(10:53):
And then as that starts to grow, thenyou're going to go, oh wait, now I can't
handle any more one on one clients.
I can't handle any more ofthese masterminds because
your time is maxed out.
And so that's when then it makes senseto start looking at some scalable offers
package this gift that you have forhelping your one on one clients so you can
(11:15):
get out to help more people in the worldwithout kind of that one on one piece.
Helle Brodie (11:20):
You know, I think, I think I don't think I'm ever going
to give up 100 percent of my one onone clients just because like I just
enjoy enjoy it so much, you know.
And that's what I like about themasterminds is people bring their issues
to the table and as a group, we can helpthem solve their problems and support
(11:40):
them in achieving their goals, right?
You know, it's sort of a, it's the closestI could get to one on one coaching,
it's doing a mastermind because itreally addresses individual concerns.
You know, it's not a, yes, there are allthe standard things that we need to learn
in business that can easily be translatedto a, a group coaching, model, and I'm
(12:05):
just having a whole lot of fun right now.
Tara Bryan (12:07):
Yep.
Yep.
That's amazing.
Well, and that's, and that's whatsuch the gift around it, right.
Is that you can make it whatever you want.
You can make it where you'rehelping other people and.
You know, your one on one is still your,probably going to be your highest level
of service that you provide for someone.
And then you sort of fill out, fill outthe rest of it as you build out the rest
(12:29):
of your business, to put it together.
Awesome.
So tell us a little bit about, um.
so for my audience, tell them a littlebit about like, what would be a tip or
trick or something that has helped younot only in the business you have right
now, but make that transition from kindof just knowing that you just did not
(12:51):
have the capacity to keep working 70 hoursa week, and you needed to make a shift.
Like, what would be your advicefor someone who's in that position?
Helle Brodie (12:59):
So if I, if I look at my previous business, there were a
couple of sort of critical things.
I mean, I, I had to really learn totrust other people, and give away
or give them autonomy to really dothings the way, I mean, everybody
does things a little bit differently.
(13:19):
And so, in order to do that, what I neededto do was create processes, SOPs, so I
could take everything that was in my brainand pass it over to, to my team members.
So they had, I mean, they had aclear idea of how I was doing things.
Now, I mean, it took a while to sortthat out because I thought I was being
(13:40):
consistent, but I wasn't, you know,and it's just, we all think we're being
consistent, oh, but I'm just going todo this this time and I'm going to do,
well, no, when you have to actuallywrite it down and say, this is the
way it is that's when you realizeyou're not being consistent at all.
So it was a combination of things.
(14:00):
I needed something to, to transferwhat was in my head to my team.
And then I needed to trust them with it.
And the cool thing about theprocesses was that it was a baseline.
So because we were then doing everythingconsistently when that team member had
a new idea or something changed in themarketplace, we could look at this new
(14:25):
idea compared to what we were doing andsay, oh, like we were being consistent.
Oh, so how does that fit in?
How's that going to change?
Like it just, theybecame living documents.
In the business and not to createrigidity, you know, and they're all
about flexibility because once youhave them in place, they're actually,
(14:49):
they're a framework for freedom, right?
Because you know, what needs to happen.
Tara Bryan (14:53):
I love that framework for freedom that remember that people,
because that is totally it, right?
Like, it's not, yeah.
It's not restrictive, but it's taking thatchaos and moving it into something that's
manageable, and then from that manageableplace, then you can get creative, right?
But like, you can't be chaoticand creative at the same time.
It doesn't work.
Helle Brodie (15:15):
Yeah, well, and so what it does is, you know, I say a framework
for freedom because it frees you up fromthe, okay, what do I have to do next?
What do I have to do next?
To, okay, this happenseasily and effortlessly now.
And now my mind and my time isavailable for the creative stuff.
(15:37):
For solving important problems, right?
For what really matters.
You know, and in the end, it gives you,it gives you time to do what you really
got into business for, what you love.
It frees up your time, it increasesyour cash flow, increases your profits.
Like, I mean, there's a, they're dulland boring things, you know, we didn't
get into business to start, you know,create processes, but they really
(16:00):
are the lifeline of your business.
You know, they really arethat framework for freedom.
Tara Bryan (16:06):
Yep, yep.
I agree a hundred percent.
And that's the, that's the, one of thethings that we do is, is I always call
it duct tape and paperclips, right?
Like what you know, that when you, yourbusiness is put together with duct tape
and paperclips, it's time to take apause and really start to, to figure out
your process and frameworks and all ofthe different things so that you don't
(16:28):
just keep operating, in crazy mode.
Helle Brodie (16:31):
Yeah, chaos.
Tara Bryan (16:33):
Yeah, for sure.
Awesome.
All right, good.
So, give us one tip or a book, resource,tool, template, something that you
can't live without, in your business.
Helle Brodie (16:46):
I have one here.
I don't know if it shows.
Oh, I think it's mirrored.
It's called Stress Wisely.
Um, and it's just, you know, stress is oneof the things that, that I address with
my clients because we all feel stress.
Stress is never going to go away and thereare some good parts to stress, right?
(17:09):
You know, there's, the kind ofstress that just energizes you and
it gives you a boost of adrenalineand you get a ton of things done.
And then, you know, if you've ever seenthe stress curve, you know that that's
where you are and then you hit the peakand then it starts going downhill, right?
And it's that, it's the stressthat is continuous, there's
(17:30):
no break for us for it.
You know, our bodies and our minds are,we perform well when there's stress
and there's rest.
As entrepreneurs, what happens is weget stressed and more stressed and more
stressed and more there's no break.
And so, it's really aboutit's about self care.
(17:50):
You know, it's about understandingwhat is it that causes you stress.
What's your trigger?
I have a, a client, Sue, for example.
She went through the whole thing.
That whole same picture.
She was going crazy.
She's very, very capable.
Incredibly bright.
And she discovered that, I mean,she could handle almost anything.
(18:13):
She discovered that the main cause ofher stress was actually perfectionism.
That's what was making her stress.
So once she understood that, we couldstart to work through that process.
She created, um, self care ritualsthat were, you know, she couldn't move
from, you know, workouts, no more takeout food, or, very little take out
(18:38):
food, good night's sleep, all of thosethings to really look after herself.
And then she developed, strategiesto use in the moment, right?
Take a few deep breaths between meetings.
Go for a quick walk at lunch, getsome fresh air, clear your mind.
She started journaling, you know,she, she developed strategies
(18:58):
she could use in the moment.
And stress, I mean stress affects usall, especially these days with all
the crazy stuff going on in the world.
Tara Bryan (19:07):
Yep, yep, for sure.
Helle Brodie (19:09):
And we're not going to get into details.
Tara Bryan (19:11):
No, no, no, no, not right now, that's for sure.
Helle Brodie (19:14):
We'd be here two days.
Tara Bryan (19:15):
Yeah, awesome.
Well, that is a great resource.
We will definitely putthat into the show notes.
I haven't heard that one before,so I'm excited to go check it out.
Helle Brodie (19:24):
It's actually relatively new.
Tara Bryan (19:26):
Is it?
Oh, okay.
Well, that must be whyI haven't seen it yet.
So, there's usually like a number, sortof a similar theme to books that people
bring up and so, it's always excitingto see new ones that are cropping up.
So, that's awesome.
Alright.
For my audience, what would you givethem as like your one main, For,
(19:50):
wherever they are in business right now.
Helle Brodie (19:53):
For wherever they are in business.
I would say that that fallsinto commitment, right?
Commitment is different thanthis is what I'm going to do.
Like, are you really going tocommit to what matters to you?
What's working for you?
And making a commitment meansthis is what I'm going to do.
There's all these bright,shiny objects out there.
(20:15):
I'll consider the bright, shiny objects,but I make a commitment to this, and
that's making a commitment to yourself,to your business, and to your future.
Tara Bryan (20:26):
I love that.
Very good.
Very, very good.
I like that.
Awesome.
All right.
So for my audience, if they wouldlike to learn more about you
and what you offer, any of thosemasterminds or one on one, give us
some sense for where we can reach you.
Helle Brodie (20:42):
So I have a website my business name is called Freedom Journeys.
So that's why these processes are afor, you know, a framework for freedom.
So it's freedomjourneys.ca.
So I'm in Canada.
So freedomjourneys.ca
and I also have a, a resource, thatI'd like to share with your audience.
(21:02):
And it's called the Freedom Formulafor Entrepreneurs, 10 Steps to
Leveraging Your Time, BoostingProfits, Busting Your Income
Ceiling Without Losing Your Freedom.
Tara Bryan (21:13):
Excellent.
I love it.
All right.
You've heard it from her and wewill also add it to the show note.
Thank you so much forbeing on the episode today.
We just appreciated all ofyour insights that you had.
And for those of you who, arelistening today, thank you,
and we'll see you next week.
Welcome to the Scalable Expert, the podcast where we unlock
the secrets to building a businessthat grows with you, not around you.
I'm your host, Tara Bryan, businessstrategist, mentor, and creator
of the Infinite Scale Method.
If you're a coach, consultant,or service provider who's
maxed out with one-on-one work.
Overwhelmed by the grind andready to scale your expertise into
(00:20):
a business that works for you,then you are in the right place.
Each week I'll share actionabletips, inspiring success stories,
and proven strategies to help youreclaim your time, grow your income,
and create a business that deliversresults without sacrificing quality.
Let's dive in and make yourbusiness infinitely scalable.
(00:41):
Hey, everybody.
Welcome to this episode of the podcast.
I am thrilled that you're here.
I want to introduce you to HelleBrody, she is our guest for the day.
So welcome Helle we're soexcited for you to be here today.
Kick us off, give us a littlebit of a sense for who you
are and what your business is.
Helle Brodie (00:59):
So first of all, thank you so much for having me on your show.
It's really an honor.
So who am I?
I'm a business coach.
I call myself a business successcoach and I work with entrepreneurs
who have been in business for a fewyears, and so they've figured out
how to get some business, and they'vecreated some messes for themselves.
It's pretty common because, you know, whenyou start in business, you're grabbing
(01:21):
at every opportunity that comes your way.
And before you know it, you're doingthings that you don't want to do,
you're working crazy hours, andit's not necessarily fulfilling.
And so how do I, how did I get into this?
Well, I've been anentrepreneur for 37 years.
I started my, my business, my firstbusiness, when my son was born,
(01:45):
and I thought, great, no boss, noovertime, no more two hour commute
to the office every day, moremoney, and my time is my own, right?
It was kind of an illusion at the time.
So, 37 years ago, I hung outwith my shingle, started a
(02:05):
landscape architectural practice.
Super successful.
I absolutely loved it.
Before I knew it, I wasworking 70 hours a week.
I was a single mom.
I had two kids, in, in competitive skiing.
And my own mother was terminally ill.
(02:26):
So I was exhausted and stressedand just surviving on adrenaline.
This was not the picture I had when I,you know, when I started my business.
Now, this isn't why I quit my job, right?
And so, you know, I walked into Starbucksone day and I thought, I looked at the
barista and I thought, you know, shehas way more fun in her life than I do.
(02:50):
I wasn't spending time with my kids.
I was losing connection with myfriends and starting to feel alone.
And even my hobbies were startingto feel more like obligation.
And then when my mom passed,I knew things had to change.
Like, I just couldn't live like this.
So I had two choices.
I could either give up my business, andit was tempting, or I could figure it out.
(03:13):
So I decided I was going to figure it out.
Took course after course.
Business courses, personaldevelopment courses.
I even gained a couple of coachingdesignations to get this figured out.
And I figured out there's a way to do it.
There's a way to have it all,you know, and, and it had
such a huge impact on my life.
I wanted to share it with otherentrepreneurs who were feeling
(03:37):
the same way I did, you know?
And, and, so I've, I've turned it into abit of a system and I call it your CPU.
So it's about commitment, it'sabout performance, and you.
And it's now the systemthat, that, supports my life.
It doesn't run my life.
Tara Bryan (03:58):
Yeah, that's amazing.
So I have to tell you that our storiesare very similar and so I can go through
that a little bit, in terms of that.
But I have to say that youhave such a calming energy.
Helle Brodie (04:11):
Well thank you.
Tara Bryan (04:12):
Is that what you bring to your clients when they're all
frantic and doing all the things?
You're just like, okay, it's fine.
We're going to develop a system, right?
You're just very calm.
Helle Brodie (04:22):
Well, thank you.
I take that as a huge compliment.
So when you think about it, thatentrepreneur who's going, oh my
God, I don't know which way to turn.
There's so much, there's this, there'sthat, I didn't know what's going on.
Can I even handle this?
Because self doubt alwayscomes into play, right?
Do you need another personwho's doing all of this stuff?
(04:42):
Or do you need someonewho's calm, you know?
And, you know, I've had myclients tell me, you know, you
just make us feel confident.
Tara Bryan (04:51):
Yeah, yeah,
Helle Brodie (04:52):
We have a sense of confidence we didn't
know we had after talking.
Tara Bryan (04:55):
That's amazing.
I love that.
It's because it's interesting because it'slike, again, like you and I do something
very similar, but I lead with more likethe passion and the confidence like I'm
like, okay, let's go right like I calmthem down, but I also am very confident.
So I'm like, okay, this is thepath, this is what we're gonna do.
And so you did the same thing youjust do it with more calm than I do.
(05:15):
So I love that because it's, it's anice parallel in terms of if you're
listening, listen to the differencesbecause, I think that this is a total
sidebar, but it is interesting likethat, that, we do similar things.
I'll share my story with you in a second,but we do similar things, but we would
attract two very different people.
Helle Brodie (05:34):
Absolutely.
Tara Bryan (05:35):
And that's an amazing, actual, kind of nugget for those
of you who are listening, is thatyou can do something really similar
to somebody else, but attractdifferent people and that's amazing.
And that's awesome, right?
Like somebody who would be attractedto a very calm style wouldn't be
attracted necessarily to my stylebecause mine is a little bit more,
(06:00):
you know, like passionate, right?
And then vice versa.
And so that's a total sidebar, but,but something that's really important,
If you are listening to this and you'relike, ah, just, I'm struggling with,
why somebody would hire me over somebodyelse and da, da, da, that's a really,
this is a really great example of that.
And so thank you for yourenergy because I, I love it.
(06:21):
It's very nice.
Yeah.
Helle Brodie (06:23):
Well, I just want to add, you know, I mean, that's why everybody
says you've got to be authentic, right?
Because if I try to be like you, like itjust, I'm sorry, it doesn't work for me.
Right.
Tara Bryan (06:34):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Helle Brodie (06:34):
And yet.
I mean, I've got lots of energy.
It's just a different type of energy.
Tara Bryan (06:38):
Different type, yep.
100%.
And, but that's the gift.
And that's, that was not evenintended in our conversation, but I
think that's such a powerful exampleof that in play, which I love.
And, it just brings me joy to hear youtell your story, from your perspective,
even though it's very similar to mine.
I was also, you know, doing thecorporate thing and then started
(07:02):
an agency that was very successful.
I'm 20 years in, not as long asyou, but, but 20 years, so I have a
good run, but it was the same thing.
I, I, you know, thought I wasgoing out to live the dream and
it was going to be amazing andeverything was going to be great.
And then, it was great, like I lovedwhat I did, had you know, an amazing
(07:24):
roster of clients, but the more clientswe had, the busier we got, and it
wasn't like, when is all that freedomand awesomeness going to happen?
Like, it's great that we're growing,but when am I going to realize all this?
And I had that same realizationwhere it's like, what, something is
not right in this business model.
(07:44):
And then took it into, okay, so how doI figure out how to scale this without
taking up all of my time, all of myteam's time and all of the things.
And so I love that because I, I thinkeverybody gets to that point, right?
You're, you're maxed out.
Your time is not your own and youthink about what am I going to do?
And in my case, I actuallyshut down the agency.
(08:05):
Like I was like, I'm done.
I can't.
So I'm, happy to hear that you didn'tdo that, but I just shifted into a
completely different business model.
Right.
But, but as you're kind of reflecting onthat journey and pivoting to a different
business model, tell us a little bitabout like, how are you growing and
scaling and serving your people nowand also not maxing out your time?
(08:29):
What does that look like in your world?
Helle Brodie (08:31):
Well, there's a, I mean, there's two sides to that, right?
So my, my process, CPU, is youknow, a lot of it's about you.
And I mean, if you're, if you'redoing similar things to me, you
know, that, that, you know, the,you know, when the, the owner
stops growing, the business grows.
So in this new model for me, becauseit's, you know, I haven't been
(08:54):
doing this for 37 years, right,
There's constant growthfor me in different areas.
You know, I've got a base, I'll sayknowledge about business and growth
and I'm still growing, you know,I mean, I thought, I think that's
critical for people like you and I.
Now in terms of scaling, so I have my oneto one clients and I absolutely love them.
(09:18):
The majority of my clients areone to one and I also run, I run a
mastermind for women in business.
It's called Thrive Business Circle.
Now at the moment, I'm just doing an inperson mastermind because a lot of people
are getting tired of looking at screens.
And so that's growing and I'm gettingready actually to open up a second one
(09:40):
because I'm just finding that there'sreally a lot of demand for that.
So that's one way that I'm scaling.
Eventually, I'll probably turn, turn someof my coaching into, into group coaching,
but at the moment I'm really, reallyenjoying just working one on one with
people and, and just helping them with,with their specific problems because,
(10:01):
as you know, we don't live in a silo.
It's not just business and personal life.
They kind of get mixed together.
So what's happening in your personallife happens in your business.
And so it's very easy to, to helpsomebody with the whole picture.
And I really, like, I really enjoy that.
So eventually I'll, you know, headmore into group coaching for now.
(10:23):
I've got my, my one on oneclients and I've got my mastermind
clients and, and it's great.
I'm loving it.
I'm just loving it.
Tara Bryan (10:31):
That's amazing.
And so, and, and so it's, it's greatthat you are, you know, you did
the one on one model, you figuredout like, okay, I'm going to shift,
I'm going to help really solve someproblems for my one on one clients and
then shift a little bit into group.
Even if it's not, it's not likeshifting your one on one into a
group model, it's starting with adifferent group model, which is great.
(10:53):
And then as that starts to grow, thenyou're going to go, oh wait, now I can't
handle any more one on one clients.
I can't handle any more ofthese masterminds because
your time is maxed out.
And so that's when then it makes senseto start looking at some scalable offers
package this gift that you have forhelping your one on one clients so you can
(11:15):
get out to help more people in the worldwithout kind of that one on one piece.
Helle Brodie (11:20):
You know, I think, I think I don't think I'm ever going
to give up 100 percent of my one onone clients just because like I just
enjoy enjoy it so much, you know.
And that's what I like about themasterminds is people bring their issues
to the table and as a group, we can helpthem solve their problems and support
(11:40):
them in achieving their goals, right?
You know, it's sort of a, it's the closestI could get to one on one coaching,
it's doing a mastermind because itreally addresses individual concerns.
You know, it's not a, yes, there are allthe standard things that we need to learn
in business that can easily be translatedto a, a group coaching, model, and I'm
(12:05):
just having a whole lot of fun right now.
Tara Bryan (12:07):
Yep.
Yep.
That's amazing.
Well, and that's, and that's whatsuch the gift around it, right.
Is that you can make it whatever you want.
You can make it where you'rehelping other people and.
You know, your one on one is still your,probably going to be your highest level
of service that you provide for someone.
And then you sort of fill out, fill outthe rest of it as you build out the rest
(12:29):
of your business, to put it together.
Awesome.
So tell us a little bit about, um.
so for my audience, tell them a littlebit about like, what would be a tip or
trick or something that has helped younot only in the business you have right
now, but make that transition from kindof just knowing that you just did not
(12:51):
have the capacity to keep working 70 hoursa week, and you needed to make a shift.
Like, what would be your advicefor someone who's in that position?
Helle Brodie (12:59):
So if I, if I look at my previous business, there were a
couple of sort of critical things.
I mean, I, I had to really learn totrust other people, and give away
or give them autonomy to really dothings the way, I mean, everybody
does things a little bit differently.
(13:19):
And so, in order to do that, what I neededto do was create processes, SOPs, so I
could take everything that was in my brainand pass it over to, to my team members.
So they had, I mean, they had aclear idea of how I was doing things.
Now, I mean, it took a while to sortthat out because I thought I was being
(13:40):
consistent, but I wasn't, you know,and it's just, we all think we're being
consistent, oh, but I'm just going todo this this time and I'm going to do,
well, no, when you have to actuallywrite it down and say, this is the
way it is that's when you realizeyou're not being consistent at all.
So it was a combination of things.
(14:00):
I needed something to, to transferwhat was in my head to my team.
And then I needed to trust them with it.
And the cool thing about theprocesses was that it was a baseline.
So because we were then doing everythingconsistently when that team member had
a new idea or something changed in themarketplace, we could look at this new
(14:25):
idea compared to what we were doing andsay, oh, like we were being consistent.
Oh, so how does that fit in?
How's that going to change?
Like it just, theybecame living documents.
In the business and not to createrigidity, you know, and they're all
about flexibility because once youhave them in place, they're actually,
(14:49):
they're a framework for freedom, right?
Because you know, what needs to happen.
Tara Bryan (14:53):
I love that framework for freedom that remember that people,
because that is totally it, right?
Like, it's not, yeah.
It's not restrictive, but it's taking thatchaos and moving it into something that's
manageable, and then from that manageableplace, then you can get creative, right?
But like, you can't be chaoticand creative at the same time.
It doesn't work.
Helle Brodie (15:15):
Yeah, well, and so what it does is, you know, I say a framework
for freedom because it frees you up fromthe, okay, what do I have to do next?
What do I have to do next?
To, okay, this happenseasily and effortlessly now.
And now my mind and my time isavailable for the creative stuff.
(15:37):
For solving important problems, right?
For what really matters.
You know, and in the end, it gives you,it gives you time to do what you really
got into business for, what you love.
It frees up your time, it increasesyour cash flow, increases your profits.
Like, I mean, there's a, they're dulland boring things, you know, we didn't
get into business to start, you know,create processes, but they really
(16:00):
are the lifeline of your business.
You know, they really arethat framework for freedom.
Tara Bryan (16:06):
Yep, yep.
I agree a hundred percent.
And that's the, that's the, one of thethings that we do is, is I always call
it duct tape and paperclips, right?
Like what you know, that when you, yourbusiness is put together with duct tape
and paperclips, it's time to take apause and really start to, to figure out
your process and frameworks and all ofthe different things so that you don't
(16:28):
just keep operating, in crazy mode.
Helle Brodie (16:31):
Yeah, chaos.
Tara Bryan (16:33):
Yeah, for sure.
Awesome.
All right, good.
So, give us one tip or a book, resource,tool, template, something that you
can't live without, in your business.
Helle Brodie (16:46):
I have one here.
I don't know if it shows.
Oh, I think it's mirrored.
It's called Stress Wisely.
Um, and it's just, you know, stress is oneof the things that, that I address with
my clients because we all feel stress.
Stress is never going to go away and thereare some good parts to stress, right?
(17:09):
You know, there's, the kind ofstress that just energizes you and
it gives you a boost of adrenalineand you get a ton of things done.
And then, you know, if you've ever seenthe stress curve, you know that that's
where you are and then you hit the peakand then it starts going downhill, right?
And it's that, it's the stressthat is continuous, there's
(17:30):
no break for us for it.
You know, our bodies and our minds are,we perform well when there's stress
and there's rest.
As entrepreneurs, what happens is weget stressed and more stressed and more
stressed and more there's no break.
And so, it's really aboutit's about self care.
(17:50):
You know, it's about understandingwhat is it that causes you stress.
What's your trigger?
I have a, a client, Sue, for example.
She went through the whole thing.
That whole same picture.
She was going crazy.
She's very, very capable.
Incredibly bright.
And she discovered that, I mean,she could handle almost anything.
(18:13):
She discovered that the main cause ofher stress was actually perfectionism.
That's what was making her stress.
So once she understood that, we couldstart to work through that process.
She created, um, self care ritualsthat were, you know, she couldn't move
from, you know, workouts, no more takeout food, or, very little take out
(18:38):
food, good night's sleep, all of thosethings to really look after herself.
And then she developed, strategiesto use in the moment, right?
Take a few deep breaths between meetings.
Go for a quick walk at lunch, getsome fresh air, clear your mind.
She started journaling, you know,she, she developed strategies
(18:58):
she could use in the moment.
And stress, I mean stress affects usall, especially these days with all
the crazy stuff going on in the world.
Tara Bryan (19:07):
Yep, yep, for sure.
Helle Brodie (19:09):
And we're not going to get into details.
Tara Bryan (19:11):
No, no, no, no, not right now, that's for sure.
Helle Brodie (19:14):
We'd be here two days.
Tara Bryan (19:15):
Yeah, awesome.
Well, that is a great resource.
We will definitely putthat into the show notes.
I haven't heard that one before,so I'm excited to go check it out.
Helle Brodie (19:24):
It's actually relatively new.
Tara Bryan (19:26):
Is it?
Oh, okay.
Well, that must be whyI haven't seen it yet.
So, there's usually like a number, sortof a similar theme to books that people
bring up and so, it's always excitingto see new ones that are cropping up.
So, that's awesome.
Alright.
For my audience, what would you givethem as like your one main, For,
(19:50):
wherever they are in business right now.
Helle Brodie (19:53):
For wherever they are in business.
I would say that that fallsinto commitment, right?
Commitment is different thanthis is what I'm going to do.
Like, are you really going tocommit to what matters to you?
What's working for you?
And making a commitment meansthis is what I'm going to do.
There's all these bright,shiny objects out there.
(20:15):
I'll consider the bright, shiny objects,but I make a commitment to this, and
that's making a commitment to yourself,to your business, and to your future.
Tara Bryan (20:26):
I love that.
Very good.
Very, very good.
I like that.
Awesome.
All right.
So for my audience, if they wouldlike to learn more about you
and what you offer, any of thosemasterminds or one on one, give us
some sense for where we can reach you.
Helle Brodie (20:42):
So I have a website my business name is called Freedom Journeys.
So that's why these processes are afor, you know, a framework for freedom.
So it's freedomjourneys.ca.
So I'm in Canada.
So freedomjourneys.ca
and I also have a, a resource, thatI'd like to share with your audience.
(21:02):
And it's called the Freedom Formulafor Entrepreneurs, 10 Steps to
Leveraging Your Time, BoostingProfits, Busting Your Income
Ceiling Without Losing Your Freedom.
Tara Bryan (21:13):
Excellent.
I love it.
All right.
You've heard it from her and wewill also add it to the show note.
Thank you so much forbeing on the episode today.
We just appreciated all ofyour insights that you had.
And for those of you who, arelistening today, thank you,
and we'll see you next week.
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