June 16, 2025 • 41 mins
Chisa Pennix-Brown Chief Experience Cultivator at Give It To the People sat down withAmanda Gustafson of Amanda Gustafson Consulting on an episode of the Give It Get It Bizness Series.
Amanda is all about freedom- intellectual, financial and time. She helps business owners with small teams take consistent unplugged vacations. Amanda's own path to freedom started with reading "Your Money or You Life" in her 20's. She earned a Master’s in Counseling, and became a Dean and internal consultant within higher education.
She found entrepreneurial success in building a real estate portfolio. Amanda wanted to support other business owners, so when she discovered Clockwork, which is a proven method to create freedom with operational coaching, she went all in. Now she helps business owners with small teams streamline processes, build delegation skills and focus their teams so that they can have financial and time freedom.
Amanda is all about freedom- intellectual, financial and time. She helps business owners with small teams take consistent unplugged vacations. Amanda's own path to freedom started with reading "Your Money or You Life" in her 20's. She earned a Master’s in Counseling, and became a Dean and internal consultant within higher education.
She found entrepreneurial success in building a real estate portfolio. Amanda wanted to support other business owners, so when she discovered Clockwork, which is a proven method to create freedom with operational coaching, she went all in. Now she helps business owners with small teams streamline processes, build delegation skills and focus their teams so that they can have financial and time freedom.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
All right, well listen, we are jumping in. I'm gonna
just cut the music because we're not gonna do a
long drawn out like welcome or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
I'm just gonna say hi everybody, Me and Tammy are here. Yes,
I hope you guys are watching live. We are posting this.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
We tried something new today with our give It, Get
It Biz series and we have a different little studio
thing which is in the background. You guys don't need
to worry about that, but just we're going to be
broadcasting on three different platforms, so it's gonna be on Facebook,
on LinkedIn, and also on YouTube today. And part of
this is our give It, Get It Biz series because
(00:45):
we have our membership that we started in January, and
what we want to do is highlight some fabulous members.
So maybe if you would have been a member, you
might have been highlighted, but you didn't join yet. So
I suggest you go to give it to the well,
I said, give it to the people, go to give
it get it dot biz, which I will have run
across the screen, so you can go ahead and join
and be a member while we're here. This is gonna
be a quick, little thirty minute, something to get you
(01:07):
involved so that you can meet one of our fabulous
members who is super supportive. Okay, let me just say
that off top. And so the thing is, the whole
point of us happening this membership was to be supportive
to other people. So I'm going to bring on Amanda
and Amanda, how are you today?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
I'm great, glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yes, So before we jump in and get all in depth,
I'm going to give them some little background about, you know,
why we started this and what the whole you know,
the whole thing is. But I just wanted you to
tell them what even made you say, listen, let me
join this membership in the first place, because I always
think that it's something that attracts people. But what even
made you say, yeah, I'm gonn join this membership?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yeah, So I mean, look at you. Look at how
brightly colored you are, my dear. So I'm like, I
want to be around that energy. I want to be
around the people who are around that energy. And I
we connected at an Echo event a while back, and
I'm like, yeah, gotta, you know, find out what's going
on in the world of Chisa. So okay, I you know,
(02:12):
press the button step by stepped in glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Okay, well that's great, so Amanda, let me go ahead,
and I'm going to change up the screen a little
bit so you guys can see over here. So with
this and hold up, I might even want to change
it a little bit differently.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I'm doing a lot here. This is what happens when
you play around with technology in a new way. And
I always like to see some new stuff, so for us,
let me go ahead on this so you can see.
So this particular series is really designed so that you
can get some clarity, some actionable insights, so that other
business owners can know that, you know, maybe they're going
(02:52):
through the same thing, or maybe there's another person that
they didn't even know that can help solve their problems.
So we partner with government agencies, organizations and everything so
that we can make this complex stuff simple. It used
to be called from Chaos to Control, but we decided
to change that because we just want to go keep
everything the same. So give It, Get It BI series
and this particular series, I really like it because it
(03:14):
gives people the opportunity to see that there are other
resources that are in the world.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
So if you said you're.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Interested in joining, you can again go right there to
give it get it dot biz and you can go
ahead and scan a QR code or you can type it.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
In and you can join now.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
And I like it because it gives us the opportunity
to really be in a position where there are things
that we can do to help people. So we put
out classes on a monthly basis. We send our emails
that have all kinds of helpful tips and things like that.
But one of the things that we really wanted to
get into as we got more members was to say,
let's highlight those members. So Amanda, I'm gonna start with
(03:51):
tell them about Amanda Gouvsisen Company, like your whole everything
that you do, which is comprised of business coaching, and
then and the in depth little part of that, like
if you want to go a little bit deeper, and
then I have plenty of questions for you.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Okay, all right. So the short, sweet version of it
is that I love being the second banana, like the
one that helps the things happen behind the scenes. Sure
it's great being on stage sometimes, but you know, getting
everything working is a really lovely thing. So what I
(04:26):
do is I work with business owners to help them
design the business so it can run without them. And
as you'd imagine, that is not like an overnight task,
so it's a it's a full year coaching. The process
is the first three months is too quick. Wins, learn
(04:48):
the material, get the first start of it, and then
it becomes really digging in quarterly. How we're going to
get you step by step to the point where you
can take unplugg vacations or if you wanted to step
out of being there all the time, you certainly could.
So that's what I do with small business owners.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Do you find a lot of resistance because I think
that one of the biggest things is we say, we
want all of what you just offered, We want to unplug,
we want to do all of these vacations, and we
want to just do what we want to do when
we want to. And that's why I try to tell
people businesses freedom. But once you get free and you're
at the boss and you can make all of those decisions,
(05:30):
you still have to understand that if you go a
lot of days without making any money, there won't be
any money coming in, right, And so do you get
a lot of resistance to people who say, yeah, I
want this coaching, but then they get into it and
they're like, I don't know, am I accountable now?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Oh well, So to be clear, this is a transition
for me. So what I've been doing up till now
mostly has been operations coaching with a focus on salesforce.
So this is a transition. I will say that of course,
people you know, come get in and fear. I mean,
(06:09):
this is many people think of this as their baby, right,
It's their business is their baby, and so it's it's
hard to let your baby grow up, right, And so
that's part of what goes on is you know, saying, okay,
can I let my baby become a teenager and maybe
(06:29):
he have the keys to the car? Right? Like, you know,
can I be you know, start taking the steps of
trusting that my team can make good decisions without me
being there over their shoulder all the time. But yes,
I mean people get into business because they are excellent
(06:50):
at what they do, just brilliant at what they do.
And that transition from being the one who is brilliant
at doing it and then wears all the hats to
being the one who is brilliant at leading it, and
it puts down some of those. That's a tough one.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
That's a tough one. It is.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Now when in your bio she lists intellectual, financial, and
time as those are the main three things that people
you know want to get free from that she can
help you with. And so your work is revolving around that.
Why do you think so many entrepreneurs struggle to prioritize
all three? So, yeah, you got the baby, I'm gonna
(07:32):
try to let the baby grow up. But my mind
is like, oh my goodness, all three now for me,
I personally think that might not necessarily be a hard
thing because I will turn my phone off. I have
now a good hard stop at nine o'clock. I try
not to take calls after six if possible, I mean
unless it's like pressing.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You know. I take time for myself.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I know where the money needs to be, and then
I'm always looking for more money, right, So I think
I try my best to do that. But what is
that struggle for entrepreneurs, Like why can't they prioritize all three?
Speaker 3 (08:10):
I think I think sometimes Okay, So also when you
look at my background, I've got a master's in counseling.
So that comes in when I think about this with people.
So when you think about things, there can be a
motivation issue and there can be a skill issue. And
sometimes you think you've got a motivation issue because oh
(08:33):
I want it, but I don't when really you have
a skill issue, right you don't you think you know
like it? Just I mean, like like say, you know,
those of us who want it to improve our health,
we think we know what we need to do, but
if we really knew like the next the little next
step to do, life would be a lot easier, right
(08:55):
if it's the whole idea of like, oh it's overwhelming,
I have to change everything all at once and you know,
prepare to run a marathon and changed my diet. But
we get the same kind of thinking when it comes
to designing our business to run in a different way.
And really it's a matter of looking, okay, small incremental steps.
(09:18):
Build the trust step by step so that you can
turn off the phone because you have built that trust
right with your team that you have you have seen
enough that you can you can say, yeah, they got it,
you know, and unless there's a you know, fire or flood,
I trust my team to take care of what needs
(09:39):
to happen.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Right, So now you said a big word there. Team.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Everybody doesn't have a team, that's true, So then they
have to trust themselves to stop doing some things. Or
is it like build a team in order to scale?
Like maybe you need contract maybe maybe you know, because
I mean, some people are in different places with what
they do. So the question would be what if it's
just me and I don't really have a team, Like
(10:05):
what do I do to even get to that point?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Because the thing is.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
And I've said this about myself, So if it's just
me and I'm doing all the things, how much can
I scale?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
The biggest thing? In charge more?
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Right, charge more because that's the most immediate thing that
can happen.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
And so we did that.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
But then you charge more and it's still you. So
then do you get to the point where it's like, Okay, well,
now I realize I need a team. I can start
hiring people and letting them help me do things.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
M yep. So I my ideal is working with somebody
who has already taken that step built a small team.
All right. So I love you, I love you solopreneurs.
I am one of you. You know, I get it,
and that step is a big one. Yes, truly. So
(10:52):
what I would say again, baby steps, if you are
one of those folks that is still in the solo
land and maybe you want to stay there, no judgment,
I'm I'm mostly going to do that. I'm going to
have some contractors, right, So if you're that, then start
setting aside money. Now. Every time you get a junk
of money, every time you make you make a sale,
(11:15):
some portion of that needs to go into your future
contractor fund. Right, Okay, so just like take it out,
You don't get to look at it, you don't get
to spend it. It just is going to sit there
until you have that. You have that you know, depending
on again trust how much is good for you? You know,
(11:36):
three six months of that person's what you're going to
pay that person, right, so that you can have trust
that when you bring someone on, you can ramp them up,
get get to them to the point where they can
bring in all the value that they're going to bring
and they don't have to be like making you money
(11:56):
day one, right, because let's be real here, So that
those kind of baby steps again, you know, are you
going to like immediately jump into trusting this person even
if you know them and you love them and they've
been your best friend forever. No, right, they need to
know your business. So same kind of thing when you're
when I'm working with teams, like we're just going to
(12:17):
take pieces right, one at a time and do that
do that business.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
No.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
I mean that's a good thing because I think when
we look at our businesses. You made a point there
when you said even if you've known them for a
long time, just because you've known them for a long
time does not mean.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
That they should be a part of the business either.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
But I do have some friends that I know that
if I I always said, if I get to be
a millionaire, I would definitely hire you because I know
you know what you're doing and you can do this
thing and I could leave and be confident that it
would be handled because you know how I like things
done right, and you don't find that that often right.
(13:01):
Like I even think about when I go through a
drive through or if I go into somewhere with customer
service and the people that are really really good at
customer service, I'm just like, yeah, I would hire you,
you know what I mean, because you can that they
have what it takes in order to be the type
of person that you want them to be. And it
might just be that you just need to train them
(13:22):
to do what you want to do, but you can
tell inertly that that's in them, that they have that
service spirit and that servant leadership kind of thing with them,
and that's an interesting thing. So for you, you've had
a very interesting path, so the counsel and the higher education,
real estate, and now you're doing operational coaching. What was
it that made you say this is what I meant
(13:42):
to do as opposed to anything else that you've done before.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
So what it comes down to is that freedom piece.
So I reached the point with my real estate portfolio,
that my small business that I can live what I
can call beans and rice on my real estate right.
(14:08):
And that's a lovely transition to say, Okay, now I
can really look at who I want to serve, how
I want to serve them. And I have been in
large organizations, and in large organizations, it's the politics that
you are dealing with, yes, And in small organizations you
can make a real impact because you are dealing exactly
(14:29):
with the decision makers involved and the politics are more like,
I don't want to hurt this person's feelings because I
love them, which is a much better problem to have
than you know, I'm covering my butt because you know, I'm.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
I got my.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Patient right, so you know, so I'm like, these are
my folks, These are you know, the folks I want
to serve. I can you know, I can go geeky
and quote ala statistics, but I'm like, these are you know?
I am you, I understand. I want to support and
I think there's a really great place to make that transition,
(15:08):
Like I talked about from being the chief everything to
being the true CEO and having that leadership role, and
that's something that can be taught.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Okay, all right, now let me ask you about this.
So the book Your Money and Your Life. Okay, you
said you kind of discovered that in your twenties, and
how do you think that that book shaped your mindset
about like freedom and what it means to you.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
In relation to how you do business.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Because I have a book that touched me, and then
I'm going to have to throw this story in after
you tell me yours outside of that book, think and
grow rich, right, I want I have that. I had
a conversation last week with a young lady, Ednithea, that
is based in Charlotte. She works with Score, she has
(16:02):
her own company, and I was like, oh, yeah, I
read that book, right. And the thing is, I read
that book when I was younger, So now, being older
and going through some things, what the book means to
me now might be a lot different and I might
be more cynicple now honestly than I was then. Right,
(16:23):
So with that book, and I'll type it in for everybody,
your money and your life, what helped you to get
to This is where I'm at, This is what I
want to do, This is what freedom means to me.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Sure. So one of the big concepts in that book
is money is something you exchange your life energy for.
So doing the calculation to say, okay, I am I
exchanging my you know, if I have a paycheck and
I'm making howe her many dollars per hour and let's
(16:55):
just use twenty because that's an easy number to play with. Okay,
So if I am buying forty dollars worth of groceries,
that's two hours of my life that I'm spending on
my groceries. Right, So being able to do that kind
of calculation and say, all right, so this is how
on the on the outgo, this is how I'm making
(17:18):
decisions about where my life energy is going. And that
book is in some ways really written for uh, someone
who is getting a paycheck, not necessarily the entrepreneurs. So
you know, like you say, keep keeping growing, keeping learning.
I'm also a big fan of Mike mccallowitz and actually
(17:40):
I'm certified in his process clockwork, which is what I
do with these folks. Right, So then saying all right,
really the true freedom comes from owning a business being
you know, getting to that entrepreneurship and using those skills
(18:01):
to really create that freedom. So you know, your time
freedom and your financial freedom. So h yeah, there's a
whole movement around FI now financial independence and that Your
Money of Your Life is one of the original books
in it.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yeah, okay, I like that.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Now the if we go back to like let's say,
Think and Grow Rich. So lady's reading and she's like,
I'm on a third page and I'm stuck in them.
I can't get past like the third page. And it
was so interesting to me because it was really talking
about the opportunities that are there, and I am a
big proponent. I've always been of the swat analysis of
(18:44):
looking at yourself to see what you can do better,
and I do it very frequently, probably way more than
is necessary because I'm always like, okay, So after every
event we have, we usually have a debrief. Most of
the time is right after the event. Okay, now I'm
bringing this up because you were there when we did
the summer at Central and we did the debrief, right.
(19:06):
So our thing after every event is to sit talk
with the people that helped put it together and say, Okay, well,
this is what I heard, This is what I heard,
this is what that person said, This was great the
way you did such and such. Oh it could have
been more of this, right, So we do this after
every event, and so that's why I'm saying, she's been
a witness to this, right, And you came up and
(19:27):
you know, we were talking about like, okay, so what
did you like, like what could have been better?
Speaker 2 (19:31):
You know?
Speaker 1 (19:32):
And to me, those things that conversation afterwards, that's the opportunity.
So if you know you throw great events, if you
know you have a great product or a great service,
that's always at the front of it.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
But I feel like there should always be an opportunity
for you.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
To see what you can do to improve, right, And
and the coaching that you're talking about to me, it's like, listen,
you already have a business, it's working, it's doing good stuff.
But if you let me come in and help you,
I can then see how we can make those incremental
improvements in your business. So can you kind of even
(20:09):
just talk to that, like for the event that you
were at that it was at Central and just what
you were thinking about like after the event. Because you've
been to plenty of events, it's always an event going on,
but it's also a reason that you said, Okay, let
me come to this event specifically.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Yeah. So uh, for me in my role, it was
a matter of getting a chance to sit with the
people who were there to listen, right, So I had
it was a pleasure to sit next to a gentleman
who has a concrete business and as another lady who
has an event business, and really to hear from them
(20:51):
what's alive, what's important, what's going on in there in
their business, what's key for them? So great content And
for me, I was there for the audience.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Ye No, I mean that.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
So when you're when you're like sitting there and observing,
right and you're listening, are you kind of saying, oh,
you could be a good client for me, or listening
to say, I know you need my help, but I
could tell you're not ready for me. Like, do you
get that kind of level of discernment when you're listening
to people?
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Oh, well, you.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Know I have.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Part of that freedom is the freedom that other that
everyone gets to make the decision for them. So I'm
not going to walk up to you and say you
need me, that's it. No, no, no, no, no, I'm
going to like that's you know, I'm gonna we're gonna talk.
We're going to say, all right, so what's what's keeping
(21:51):
you up at night? Like what's important to you? And
that that fellow that I mentioned the concrete business, he
has a friend who has a similar business who had
a health problem for a couple three months and couldn't
work and they had sales drop by fifty percent because
he was the guy who could do the sales. Right.
(22:15):
That's the kind of thing that the coaching that I
do is about fixing, is so that nobody is the
only person for any of those roles in your business.
You know's let's let's open that up, right, Yes, So
(22:39):
that's that's the kind of thing I'm like, Oh, you know,
so we're going to talk later. He's busy, but we're
going to talk later about how to do that for
him so that he doesn't have to you know, you
didn't have to think about that anymore. He can trust that,
you know, if something happens got bid for him or
his family, that he can step away for a couple
(23:00):
months and things will still run. Okay, that's what I'm about.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Yeah, No, I like that.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
So I want to touch on the clockwork because you
mentioned that really good. Yeah, it's basically like a core
methodology that you're using your coaching, and so for those unfamiliar,
can you break down how clockwork helps small teams, how
they can build systems and kind of allow them to
get to that level of the unplugged vacations that you're
talking about.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Absolutely, And you know, this is a great segue, so
you'll see I've got gift dot Amanda Gustavson dot com
under my name, So if you want to see this
kind of there's a small, three step free guide to
do it. You know, see what this looks like. You know,
no pressure, just take a look. But the idea is
(23:45):
we figure out what it is that is really core
to your business. So what is it that makes your
business the reason why your customers call you right? So,
and then once we know that, then we can make
sure that your team is making decisions to protect that
right because we don't want them. You know, they could say, oh,
(24:08):
you know, let's save some money. Let's get rid of
that one thing. That is the one thing that your
best you know, your best clients, your best customers love.
So let's be careful about these things. That's part of
that building that trust. And then we start really breaking
down into the granularity of who's doing what, how long
(24:30):
is it taking them, what can we get rid of,
what can we trash, what can we trim so, what
can we streamline, what do we transfer? And then how
do we do that because that's a process right of
that building trust and getting things in place, and then
it becomes a process of iteration. So that's that's how
(24:53):
it looks.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
So you're helping and then just from listening to what
you're saying for them, if they didn't have standard operating procedures,
to create that for themselves. So everybody, you know, everybody
has an acronym for everything.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
So I'm just.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Saying the ones that SOPs right right right with acronyms,
and it's just like everybody does not know what those
acronyms mean, but it's standard operating procedures so that they
have a system, because a lot of them don't even
have a system.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
They're just doing stuff.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
But then this way somebody else can learn that, and
then the next person can learn it, the next person
can learn it, so that this way it frees you
as the owner from having to do everything.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Yep, yep. So and there's a process for that, because
you don't automatically know how to do those kinds of things,
and every you know, those people who have tried it,
it can be easily like just live in a binder
somewhere that nobody ever looks at. Right. So now with
AI all these tools, it's much easier to just record
(25:56):
and capture what it is that you do.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
True and that.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Then the process is not only to hand off that task,
but hand off responsibility for that soop to the team member.
So when they find the better way of doing it,
they're the one responsible for recording the better way of
doing it.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Let me tell you something, people don't even understand the
level of what you just said. So what's crazy is
when we started doing Give It to the People, it
was it was in COVID so Montro, my husband, the
CEO of Give It to the People, I had to
show them how to do a lot of things that
I did so that I didn't have to do them right.
(26:40):
And so I'm like, well, listen, this is how I
do it, and I do it this way because my
mind thinks in logical steps and processes. But if you
find another way to do it that you like, there's
better than okay, because there's probably three or four different
ways to do the same thing right. And so it's
so interesting because I've seen how, even with us, how
that's worked. But at the same time, it was just like,
(27:04):
so he'll do stuff and he'll just be like, Okay, well,
you know, I got to go ahead and schedule these parts,
and I'm just like what He's like, yeah, because it's
this time of the month and this needs to be
done in such and such, and it's like not having
to think about that. It's so amazing. So you can
do that over and over and over again and repeat it.
And I mean, I think, honestly, that's kind of what
I do to help other people them not having to
(27:25):
think about those things because I already have a process
for it.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
So that to me is wonderful. I just I love that.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
And you know, to me, I think that one of
the biggest things that you are really talking.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
About is delegation. M Like, you let it go. You
don't have to do all the things.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
And so is there a typical block that you see
that people have when they're in teams and they're like,
and I've had this happen to me before, min min mind, mind, mine,
this wasn't even your job, lady, Okay, why are you
over here in this pot over there?
Speaker 2 (28:05):
So right, some people will delicate and then they still
want to be in your pot.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
What is that that that's like, could you get out
of my pot? And if you stayed in your pot,
let me stay in my pot. We're still gonna have
a wonderful meal. Right, But you want to be a pot?
Speaker 2 (28:21):
And yes, season you know what I mean? So that like,
what's that mindset block that people can't let go? Is
there that you need? Because I'm sure, it repeats over
and over again.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
Right right, Okay, So first I want to say that
there's a good reason why you have that fear, right,
you are not that you are not crazy, you are
not making stuff up, right, There's a good reason. Okay,
So send that you know down for a moment. Let's
(28:53):
see what is it that you fear is going to
happen if you let that go? Oh yeah, so let's
just pause with that.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
That's such a good question. And yeah, I wonder that
about if I could just tell you this. I can't
tell you the whole story, so if I could tell
you this story, I think that I haven't thought about
the question exactly the way that you posed it, But
I did say, does the other person feel like I'm
(29:28):
a threat? Like that's how I look at things, like
if I'm here to make things easier and you've already
delegated to me, would you just let me do what
I'm supposed to do? And I always say, I always
use the term those people let me run wild, let
me just do what I want to do, because they
trust that I'm going to do it. So I think
(29:48):
maybe there's a trust element the thing. And I think
maybe there's a Some people are just micro managers. Some
people just don't know how to let like they have
a fear, like you said, that it's not gonna get done.
But I'm just always thinking to myself, like, if you
hire a person and this person has shown you that
(30:11):
they can get it done, you should just trust the
person to get it done.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
You know, Like, but I don't. I don't.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
I guess maybe I'm not that fearfull of things, and
there's always to me a backup, like, well, what if
they didn't do something, that doesn't mean that the thing
still doesn't need to get done because they didn't.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Do their job. So that's that's such a good question though. Fear.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
I think that's the biggest thing that people have. I
think it is just fear of somebody not doing something
or being shown up.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
Yeah, I mean all of those are possibles, right, and
so we don't know until we're in that situation with
that particular person what it is there and you know it.
So we're talking before, like you know, part of this
compation is you know, we're talking to you said, we're
talking with Amanda what we want to work with these people,
(31:05):
and it's a matter of like Okay, could I build
trust with this person? Right? And that's not that I'm
gonna trust them in this minute. No, no, no, you
don't know as yet, right, But could could I see
that happening? Right? And then how do we do that
with all of our teams so that we can slowly
let go of the pieces that you know, it's not
(31:28):
serving our company, it's not serving us to be doing
everything all the time. So what do we do there?
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I like the fact that you ask good questions though, like,
like I said, I didn't think of the question the
way that you asked it until you asked it, right,
And so then it's thinking about I do try for
me to put myself on other people's position. But then
I also say, let people do what they're good at,
(31:55):
and that to me is an asset to me because me,
I should trust.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Like and I guess I am that person.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
I trust that if you said you could do such
and such that you're gonna do it, that you're not
just gonna lie to me, that you're not gonna scam me, right,
And I put people in positions where I'm like, I
can trust that they'll do their job, you know what
I mean? And so I was having a conversation last
week and I said, you know, there's a lot of
people that I've given them their first opportunity to speak
at a conference, right, like, oh, I never spoke, but
(32:25):
I know you know what you're doing. I can tell
business wise. So maybe you just needed the opportunity to
be there for you to present and then you can
see how wonderful you are because I can see it right,
and that you'll do a good job and you'd be
Oh my god. The people they'll send me emails the
night before, Hey, do you want to read this over? Hey,
I'm not reading over your stuff.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Just let me.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
And the reason I'm not doing is because I want
to tell I want them to know I trust you
so much that please don't.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
I don't need to read over.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Like if I explain a situation to you and give
you an objective and tell you what we're trying to
do with it and you understand that, just run with it,
like let's see. And it's been amazing the amount of
people that's like, you know, that was the first time
I got to speak, or wow, people gave me such
good feedback or I got clients from that, and it's
(33:17):
just like, yeah, because I knew you were good at
that thing, So why wouldn't I trust you to do
the thing that you said that you were good at.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Now.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
I've had sometimes when people have been disappointing, and then
you know, either you don't work with them again, or
you give them a second chance if you've seen it
they've grown. That's those are the only two options that
I see. They're like, Okay, you know, maybe you didn't
have such and such together yet. So but it's also
in how you treat people. And I think you have
(33:46):
this very calmon demeanor. Yeah, because it's like, mister Rogers,
you give me this. Let's just change our shoes. Amanda said,
how change your shoes? Yes, those shoes are going to
be better for delegation. You know what I'm saying, So
delegation shoes. So we're here and put our delegation hat.
(34:09):
Like it just is a calming thing that I think
that you have. That it's probably really good in business
situations because it's probably a lot of chaos, right and
bring that to people. So I know, we said we're
not going to stay four hour. We already went over
thirty minutes. But I just need your answer for that.
So I want you to answer this question before we
(34:32):
go though, and then thank you so much for the comment.
There's a comment that said, definitely agree, it's the power
of delegation. Yes, So this question, what are three signs
that a business owner is ready to create the freedom
in their business? So we've talked about what you can
provide why they should do it, but if there's they're
(34:53):
still on the fence, Like I kind of want freedom,
but I'm not sure right, Like, what are some signs
like that you can say you're read you could do this?
Speaker 3 (35:03):
Okay, well, so do you have a team? Right? Have
you taken that step?
Speaker 2 (35:08):
There's one?
Speaker 3 (35:09):
Okay? Another is like is there some urgency to it?
Do you have a baby on the way? Are you
taking care of a parent? Are you, like, you know,
you really want to take that trip? Like is there
some really good reason to do this? Because let's be real,
(35:30):
we can suffer for a very long time, just on
and on and on and not make the change right
until that moment. So you know it's got to be
and there's got to be something big enough on your
heart to make that change. You know, it's it's not
just boom. So I think those those would be kind
(35:54):
of a two swipes. And you know, like you do
you like have confidence in your business overall, Like you
know that you're confident, you know that your your business
is making money, you know what you're doing. It's really
a matter of making that transition and for whatever reason
you're ready.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Oh okay.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
First of all, I want you to know those were
such good things that I really love that. I do
love the idea of the sense of urgency. But I
also think about the fact that you said that this
is a one year coaching program, right, so even if
it's not urgent right now, Murphy's Law says it will
(36:34):
be urgentiz all the time. And so you know, I
always think about I think about the what ifs all
the time, you know. I try to be like it's
so funny me and my husband opposites on that. He
thinks about, well, what if this goes bad? And I'm like,
well what if this goes good? You know, like, and
we just back and forth. But that's a good dynamic
because we're both planning for well, what if, right, and
(36:57):
it is going to be something that is going to
happen throughout the course of your business expected or unexpected, right,
So like when you're talking about a baby, Yeah, if
you're pregnant, the baby's probably going to be here at
some point in time.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Right.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
But then even if you have like a parent, right,
and a parent is aging, you don't know what could happen.
They might be fine today and then they fall down
and break a hip and now they need care, right,
So all kinds of things could happen in that timeframe.
And now we even have to think about tariffs, right,
like how much is our cost is going to go up?
(37:31):
I mean, and now it's not an immediate thing for
every business, but it really is when you consider how
much stuff costs now, right, and what you're having to
pay people and all of that.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
So I really like those three things.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
But urgency. Urgency is definitely one of those. Yeah, okay,
so yeah.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
Just jumping in that the the best defense against all
of these shocks from outside whatever is having well run business, right,
And so that's that's the core of what what we're about,
what I'm about.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
With you, Okay, I'm loving it.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
So if you could leave people with one last whatever
you want to leave a thought or word or phrase
something to motivate them or something like that leave the
people with something.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
All right, well, I think i'll you know you mentioned
mister Rogers. I'm like, you you are enough, you can
do this, and if you want to do this and
a matter of building skills, then I'm very happy to
talk with you about it. Okay.
Speaker 1 (38:38):
You see how calm she is and howe waid back.
She's like, you want to do this. It's like you
say it, but then I feel like, you know, I
feel like we should, you know, do like.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
One of those.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
You know, like I just feel like you just have
this like it's just so laid back, like you should
have one of the long cignarettes from back in the day.
Yeah right, it's just like you know, Dynasty. I'm getting that.
But for everybody else, listen, this has been a quick
little something. We did go a little bit over, but
we switched it up a little bit, so you know,
you do what you do. I hope you guys have
(39:13):
enjoyed this today as much as I have, and I
think it's always interesting.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
And you're the first.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Actually you weren't originally going to be the first, but
we had a schedule change and so now she's our
first member that we featured on one of these give It,
Get It viz series, so you get it, you get.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
The first of War. Yeah out here.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
So if you guys have not joined, then guess what
we suggest that you should join again. You can go
right there, give It, get It dot biz.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
You can join.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
We have a free version and we have a paid
version where you can join the membership and then you
can meet wonderful people like Amanda. If you watch today
or whenever you're gonna watch on a replane, you loved
what she said, you can still join the membership and
you can endorse her over there on the membership as well,
right to say, oh I love what she said. It
was insightful, all of the good things. You needed a
long st, you know, mister. But I really want you
(40:04):
to understand when she is saying to you the magic
of you can unplug and you can go on vacation
when you want to, and you give yourself back that freedom.
That is such an important key that as business owners
we don't do enough. And you know we over here
(40:25):
we practice self care and mental wealth and just being
able to do that even if.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
You don't want to.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Okay, but the ability all right, because some people are workaholics,
all right, even if you don't want to, you have
the ability to. And I love the power of being
able to say no to things because everything else is
flowing the way that it's supposed to. And I think
that to me, that's part of freedom, you know, when
you're a business owner. So Amanda, thank you so much
for being on Today. And if you watch live, we
(40:54):
appreciate you. If you watch on the replay, we appreciate
you as well. And as always, make sure you show
up and show out and you to give it to
the people.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
Bye, guys, good bye, mm hmm.
All right, well listen, we are jumping in. I'm gonna
just cut the music because we're not gonna do a
long drawn out like welcome or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
I'm just gonna say hi everybody, Me and Tammy are here. Yes,
I hope you guys are watching live. We are posting this.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
We tried something new today with our give It, Get
It Biz series and we have a different little studio
thing which is in the background. You guys don't need
to worry about that, but just we're going to be
broadcasting on three different platforms, so it's gonna be on Facebook,
on LinkedIn, and also on YouTube today. And part of
this is our give It, Get It Biz series because
(00:45):
we have our membership that we started in January, and
what we want to do is highlight some fabulous members.
So maybe if you would have been a member, you
might have been highlighted, but you didn't join yet. So
I suggest you go to give it to the well,
I said, give it to the people, go to give
it get it dot biz, which I will have run
across the screen, so you can go ahead and join
and be a member while we're here. This is gonna
be a quick, little thirty minute, something to get you
(01:07):
involved so that you can meet one of our fabulous
members who is super supportive. Okay, let me just say
that off top. And so the thing is, the whole
point of us happening this membership was to be supportive
to other people. So I'm going to bring on Amanda
and Amanda, how are you today?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
I'm great, glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yes, So before we jump in and get all in depth,
I'm going to give them some little background about, you know,
why we started this and what the whole you know,
the whole thing is. But I just wanted you to
tell them what even made you say, listen, let me
join this membership in the first place, because I always
think that it's something that attracts people. But what even
made you say, yeah, I'm gonn join this membership?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yeah, So I mean, look at you. Look at how
brightly colored you are, my dear. So I'm like, I
want to be around that energy. I want to be
around the people who are around that energy. And I
we connected at an Echo event a while back, and
I'm like, yeah, gotta, you know, find out what's going
on in the world of Chisa. So okay, I you know,
(02:12):
press the button step by stepped in glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Okay, well that's great, so Amanda, let me go ahead,
and I'm going to change up the screen a little
bit so you guys can see over here. So with
this and hold up, I might even want to change
it a little bit differently.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I'm doing a lot here. This is what happens when
you play around with technology in a new way. And
I always like to see some new stuff, so for us,
let me go ahead on this so you can see.
So this particular series is really designed so that you
can get some clarity, some actionable insights, so that other
business owners can know that, you know, maybe they're going
(02:52):
through the same thing, or maybe there's another person that
they didn't even know that can help solve their problems.
So we partner with government agencies, organizations and everything so
that we can make this complex stuff simple. It used
to be called from Chaos to Control, but we decided
to change that because we just want to go keep
everything the same. So give It, Get It BI series
and this particular series, I really like it because it
(03:14):
gives people the opportunity to see that there are other
resources that are in the world.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
So if you said you're.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Interested in joining, you can again go right there to
give it get it dot biz and you can go
ahead and scan a QR code or you can type it.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
In and you can join now.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
And I like it because it gives us the opportunity
to really be in a position where there are things
that we can do to help people. So we put
out classes on a monthly basis. We send our emails
that have all kinds of helpful tips and things like that.
But one of the things that we really wanted to
get into as we got more members was to say,
let's highlight those members. So Amanda, I'm gonna start with
(03:51):
tell them about Amanda Gouvsisen Company, like your whole everything
that you do, which is comprised of business coaching, and
then and the in depth little part of that, like
if you want to go a little bit deeper, and
then I have plenty of questions for you.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Okay, all right. So the short, sweet version of it
is that I love being the second banana, like the
one that helps the things happen behind the scenes. Sure
it's great being on stage sometimes, but you know, getting
everything working is a really lovely thing. So what I
(04:26):
do is I work with business owners to help them
design the business so it can run without them. And
as you'd imagine, that is not like an overnight task,
so it's a it's a full year coaching. The process
is the first three months is too quick. Wins, learn
(04:48):
the material, get the first start of it, and then
it becomes really digging in quarterly. How we're going to
get you step by step to the point where you
can take unplugg vacations or if you wanted to step
out of being there all the time, you certainly could.
So that's what I do with small business owners.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Do you find a lot of resistance because I think
that one of the biggest things is we say, we
want all of what you just offered, We want to unplug,
we want to do all of these vacations, and we
want to just do what we want to do when
we want to. And that's why I try to tell
people businesses freedom. But once you get free and you're
at the boss and you can make all of those decisions,
(05:30):
you still have to understand that if you go a
lot of days without making any money, there won't be
any money coming in, right, And so do you get
a lot of resistance to people who say, yeah, I
want this coaching, but then they get into it and
they're like, I don't know, am I accountable now?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Oh well, So to be clear, this is a transition
for me. So what I've been doing up till now
mostly has been operations coaching with a focus on salesforce.
So this is a transition. I will say that of course,
people you know, come get in and fear. I mean,
(06:09):
this is many people think of this as their baby, right,
It's their business is their baby, and so it's it's
hard to let your baby grow up, right, And so
that's part of what goes on is you know, saying, okay,
can I let my baby become a teenager and maybe
(06:29):
he have the keys to the car? Right? Like, you know,
can I be you know, start taking the steps of
trusting that my team can make good decisions without me
being there over their shoulder all the time. But yes,
I mean people get into business because they are excellent
(06:50):
at what they do, just brilliant at what they do.
And that transition from being the one who is brilliant
at doing it and then wears all the hats to
being the one who is brilliant at leading it, and
it puts down some of those. That's a tough one.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
That's a tough one. It is.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Now when in your bio she lists intellectual, financial, and
time as those are the main three things that people
you know want to get free from that she can
help you with. And so your work is revolving around that.
Why do you think so many entrepreneurs struggle to prioritize
all three? So, yeah, you got the baby, I'm gonna
(07:32):
try to let the baby grow up. But my mind
is like, oh my goodness, all three now for me,
I personally think that might not necessarily be a hard
thing because I will turn my phone off. I have
now a good hard stop at nine o'clock. I try
not to take calls after six if possible, I mean
unless it's like pressing.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You know. I take time for myself.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I know where the money needs to be, and then
I'm always looking for more money, right, So I think
I try my best to do that. But what is
that struggle for entrepreneurs, Like why can't they prioritize all three?
Speaker 3 (08:10):
I think I think sometimes Okay, So also when you
look at my background, I've got a master's in counseling.
So that comes in when I think about this with people.
So when you think about things, there can be a
motivation issue and there can be a skill issue. And
sometimes you think you've got a motivation issue because oh
(08:33):
I want it, but I don't when really you have
a skill issue, right you don't you think you know
like it? Just I mean, like like say, you know,
those of us who want it to improve our health,
we think we know what we need to do, but
if we really knew like the next the little next
step to do, life would be a lot easier, right
(08:55):
if it's the whole idea of like, oh it's overwhelming,
I have to change everything all at once and you know,
prepare to run a marathon and changed my diet. But
we get the same kind of thinking when it comes
to designing our business to run in a different way.
And really it's a matter of looking, okay, small incremental steps.
(09:18):
Build the trust step by step so that you can
turn off the phone because you have built that trust
right with your team that you have you have seen
enough that you can you can say, yeah, they got it,
you know, and unless there's a you know, fire or flood,
I trust my team to take care of what needs
(09:39):
to happen.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Right, So now you said a big word there. Team.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Everybody doesn't have a team, that's true, So then they
have to trust themselves to stop doing some things. Or
is it like build a team in order to scale?
Like maybe you need contract maybe maybe you know, because
I mean, some people are in different places with what
they do. So the question would be what if it's
just me and I don't really have a team, Like
(10:05):
what do I do to even get to that point?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Because the thing is.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
And I've said this about myself, So if it's just
me and I'm doing all the things, how much can
I scale?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
The biggest thing? In charge more?
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Right, charge more because that's the most immediate thing that
can happen.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
And so we did that.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
But then you charge more and it's still you. So
then do you get to the point where it's like, Okay, well,
now I realize I need a team. I can start
hiring people and letting them help me do things.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
M yep. So I my ideal is working with somebody
who has already taken that step built a small team.
All right. So I love you, I love you solopreneurs.
I am one of you. You know, I get it,
and that step is a big one. Yes, truly. So
(10:52):
what I would say again, baby steps, if you are
one of those folks that is still in the solo
land and maybe you want to stay there, no judgment,
I'm I'm mostly going to do that. I'm going to
have some contractors, right, So if you're that, then start
setting aside money. Now. Every time you get a junk
of money, every time you make you make a sale,
(11:15):
some portion of that needs to go into your future
contractor fund. Right, Okay, so just like take it out,
You don't get to look at it, you don't get
to spend it. It just is going to sit there
until you have that. You have that you know, depending
on again trust how much is good for you? You know,
(11:36):
three six months of that person's what you're going to
pay that person, right, so that you can have trust
that when you bring someone on, you can ramp them up,
get get to them to the point where they can
bring in all the value that they're going to bring
and they don't have to be like making you money
(11:56):
day one, right, because let's be real here, So that
those kind of baby steps again, you know, are you
going to like immediately jump into trusting this person even
if you know them and you love them and they've
been your best friend forever. No, right, they need to
know your business. So same kind of thing when you're
when I'm working with teams, like we're just going to
(12:17):
take pieces right, one at a time and do that
do that business.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
No.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
I mean that's a good thing because I think when
we look at our businesses. You made a point there
when you said even if you've known them for a
long time, just because you've known them for a long
time does not mean.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
That they should be a part of the business either.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
But I do have some friends that I know that
if I I always said, if I get to be
a millionaire, I would definitely hire you because I know
you know what you're doing and you can do this
thing and I could leave and be confident that it
would be handled because you know how I like things
done right, and you don't find that that often right.
(13:01):
Like I even think about when I go through a
drive through or if I go into somewhere with customer
service and the people that are really really good at
customer service, I'm just like, yeah, I would hire you,
you know what I mean, because you can that they
have what it takes in order to be the type
of person that you want them to be. And it
might just be that you just need to train them
(13:22):
to do what you want to do, but you can
tell inertly that that's in them, that they have that
service spirit and that servant leadership kind of thing with them,
and that's an interesting thing. So for you, you've had
a very interesting path, so the counsel and the higher education,
real estate, and now you're doing operational coaching. What was
it that made you say this is what I meant
(13:42):
to do as opposed to anything else that you've done before.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
So what it comes down to is that freedom piece.
So I reached the point with my real estate portfolio,
that my small business that I can live what I
can call beans and rice on my real estate right.
(14:08):
And that's a lovely transition to say, Okay, now I
can really look at who I want to serve, how
I want to serve them. And I have been in
large organizations, and in large organizations, it's the politics that
you are dealing with, yes, And in small organizations you
can make a real impact because you are dealing exactly
(14:29):
with the decision makers involved and the politics are more like,
I don't want to hurt this person's feelings because I
love them, which is a much better problem to have
than you know, I'm covering my butt because you know, I'm.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
I got my.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Patient right, so you know, so I'm like, these are
my folks, These are you know, the folks I want
to serve. I can you know, I can go geeky
and quote ala statistics, but I'm like, these are you know?
I am you, I understand. I want to support and
I think there's a really great place to make that transition,
(15:08):
Like I talked about from being the chief everything to
being the true CEO and having that leadership role, and
that's something that can be taught.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Okay, all right, now let me ask you about this.
So the book Your Money and Your Life. Okay, you
said you kind of discovered that in your twenties, and
how do you think that that book shaped your mindset
about like freedom and what it means to you.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
In relation to how you do business.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Because I have a book that touched me, and then
I'm going to have to throw this story in after
you tell me yours outside of that book, think and
grow rich, right, I want I have that. I had
a conversation last week with a young lady, Ednithea, that
is based in Charlotte. She works with Score, she has
(16:02):
her own company, and I was like, oh, yeah, I
read that book, right. And the thing is, I read
that book when I was younger, So now, being older
and going through some things, what the book means to
me now might be a lot different and I might
be more cynicple now honestly than I was then. Right,
(16:23):
So with that book, and I'll type it in for everybody,
your money and your life, what helped you to get
to This is where I'm at, This is what I
want to do, This is what freedom means to me.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Sure. So one of the big concepts in that book
is money is something you exchange your life energy for.
So doing the calculation to say, okay, I am I
exchanging my you know, if I have a paycheck and
I'm making howe her many dollars per hour and let's
(16:55):
just use twenty because that's an easy number to play with. Okay,
So if I am buying forty dollars worth of groceries,
that's two hours of my life that I'm spending on
my groceries. Right, So being able to do that kind
of calculation and say, all right, so this is how
on the on the outgo, this is how I'm making
(17:18):
decisions about where my life energy is going. And that
book is in some ways really written for uh, someone
who is getting a paycheck, not necessarily the entrepreneurs. So
you know, like you say, keep keeping growing, keeping learning.
I'm also a big fan of Mike mccallowitz and actually
(17:40):
I'm certified in his process clockwork, which is what I
do with these folks. Right, So then saying all right,
really the true freedom comes from owning a business being
you know, getting to that entrepreneurship and using those skills
(18:01):
to really create that freedom. So you know, your time
freedom and your financial freedom. So h yeah, there's a
whole movement around FI now financial independence and that Your
Money of Your Life is one of the original books
in it.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yeah, okay, I like that.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Now the if we go back to like let's say,
Think and Grow Rich. So lady's reading and she's like,
I'm on a third page and I'm stuck in them.
I can't get past like the third page. And it
was so interesting to me because it was really talking
about the opportunities that are there, and I am a
big proponent. I've always been of the swat analysis of
(18:44):
looking at yourself to see what you can do better,
and I do it very frequently, probably way more than
is necessary because I'm always like, okay, So after every
event we have, we usually have a debrief. Most of
the time is right after the event. Okay, now I'm
bringing this up because you were there when we did
the summer at Central and we did the debrief, right.
(19:06):
So our thing after every event is to sit talk
with the people that helped put it together and say, Okay, well,
this is what I heard, This is what I heard,
this is what that person said, This was great the
way you did such and such. Oh it could have
been more of this, right, So we do this after
every event, and so that's why I'm saying, she's been
a witness to this, right, And you came up and
(19:27):
you know, we were talking about like, okay, so what
did you like, like what could have been better?
Speaker 2 (19:31):
You know?
Speaker 1 (19:32):
And to me, those things that conversation afterwards, that's the opportunity.
So if you know you throw great events, if you
know you have a great product or a great service,
that's always at the front of it.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
But I feel like there should always be an opportunity
for you.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
To see what you can do to improve, right, And
and the coaching that you're talking about to me, it's like, listen,
you already have a business, it's working, it's doing good stuff.
But if you let me come in and help you,
I can then see how we can make those incremental
improvements in your business. So can you kind of even
(20:09):
just talk to that, like for the event that you
were at that it was at Central and just what
you were thinking about like after the event. Because you've
been to plenty of events, it's always an event going on,
but it's also a reason that you said, Okay, let
me come to this event specifically.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Yeah. So uh, for me in my role, it was
a matter of getting a chance to sit with the
people who were there to listen, right, So I had
it was a pleasure to sit next to a gentleman
who has a concrete business and as another lady who
has an event business, and really to hear from them
(20:51):
what's alive, what's important, what's going on in there in
their business, what's key for them? So great content And
for me, I was there for the audience.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Ye No, I mean that.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
So when you're when you're like sitting there and observing,
right and you're listening, are you kind of saying, oh,
you could be a good client for me, or listening
to say, I know you need my help, but I
could tell you're not ready for me. Like, do you
get that kind of level of discernment when you're listening
to people?
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Oh, well, you.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Know I have.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Part of that freedom is the freedom that other that
everyone gets to make the decision for them. So I'm
not going to walk up to you and say you
need me, that's it. No, no, no, no, no, I'm
going to like that's you know, I'm gonna we're gonna talk.
We're going to say, all right, so what's what's keeping
(21:51):
you up at night? Like what's important to you? And
that that fellow that I mentioned the concrete business, he
has a friend who has a similar business who had
a health problem for a couple three months and couldn't
work and they had sales drop by fifty percent because
he was the guy who could do the sales. Right.
(22:15):
That's the kind of thing that the coaching that I
do is about fixing, is so that nobody is the
only person for any of those roles in your business.
You know's let's let's open that up, right, Yes, So
(22:39):
that's that's the kind of thing I'm like, Oh, you know,
so we're going to talk later. He's busy, but we're
going to talk later about how to do that for
him so that he doesn't have to you know, you
didn't have to think about that anymore. He can trust that,
you know, if something happens got bid for him or
his family, that he can step away for a couple
(23:00):
months and things will still run. Okay, that's what I'm about.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Yeah, No, I like that.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
So I want to touch on the clockwork because you
mentioned that really good. Yeah, it's basically like a core
methodology that you're using your coaching, and so for those unfamiliar,
can you break down how clockwork helps small teams, how
they can build systems and kind of allow them to
get to that level of the unplugged vacations that you're
talking about.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Absolutely, And you know, this is a great segue, so
you'll see I've got gift dot Amanda Gustavson dot com
under my name, So if you want to see this
kind of there's a small, three step free guide to
do it. You know, see what this looks like. You know,
no pressure, just take a look. But the idea is
(23:45):
we figure out what it is that is really core
to your business. So what is it that makes your
business the reason why your customers call you right? So,
and then once we know that, then we can make
sure that your team is making decisions to protect that
right because we don't want them. You know, they could say, oh,
(24:08):
you know, let's save some money. Let's get rid of
that one thing. That is the one thing that your
best you know, your best clients, your best customers love.
So let's be careful about these things. That's part of
that building that trust. And then we start really breaking
down into the granularity of who's doing what, how long
(24:30):
is it taking them, what can we get rid of,
what can we trash, what can we trim so, what
can we streamline, what do we transfer? And then how
do we do that because that's a process right of
that building trust and getting things in place, and then
it becomes a process of iteration. So that's that's how
(24:53):
it looks.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
So you're helping and then just from listening to what
you're saying for them, if they didn't have standard operating procedures,
to create that for themselves. So everybody, you know, everybody
has an acronym for everything.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
So I'm just.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Saying the ones that SOPs right right right with acronyms,
and it's just like everybody does not know what those
acronyms mean, but it's standard operating procedures so that they
have a system, because a lot of them don't even
have a system.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
They're just doing stuff.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
But then this way somebody else can learn that, and
then the next person can learn it, the next person
can learn it, so that this way it frees you
as the owner from having to do everything.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Yep, yep. So and there's a process for that, because
you don't automatically know how to do those kinds of things,
and every you know, those people who have tried it,
it can be easily like just live in a binder
somewhere that nobody ever looks at. Right. So now with
AI all these tools, it's much easier to just record
(25:56):
and capture what it is that you do.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
True and that.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Then the process is not only to hand off that task,
but hand off responsibility for that soop to the team member.
So when they find the better way of doing it,
they're the one responsible for recording the better way of
doing it.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Let me tell you something, people don't even understand the
level of what you just said. So what's crazy is
when we started doing Give It to the People, it
was it was in COVID so Montro, my husband, the
CEO of Give It to the People, I had to
show them how to do a lot of things that
I did so that I didn't have to do them right.
(26:40):
And so I'm like, well, listen, this is how I
do it, and I do it this way because my
mind thinks in logical steps and processes. But if you
find another way to do it that you like, there's
better than okay, because there's probably three or four different
ways to do the same thing right. And so it's
so interesting because I've seen how, even with us, how
that's worked. But at the same time, it was just like,
(27:04):
so he'll do stuff and he'll just be like, Okay, well,
you know, I got to go ahead and schedule these parts,
and I'm just like what He's like, yeah, because it's
this time of the month and this needs to be
done in such and such, and it's like not having
to think about that. It's so amazing. So you can
do that over and over and over again and repeat it.
And I mean, I think, honestly, that's kind of what
I do to help other people them not having to
(27:25):
think about those things because I already have a process
for it.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
So that to me is wonderful. I just I love that.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
And you know, to me, I think that one of
the biggest things that you are really talking.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
About is delegation. M Like, you let it go. You
don't have to do all the things.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
And so is there a typical block that you see
that people have when they're in teams and they're like,
and I've had this happen to me before, min min mind, mind, mine,
this wasn't even your job, lady, Okay, why are you
over here in this pot over there?
Speaker 2 (28:05):
So right, some people will delicate and then they still
want to be in your pot.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
What is that that that's like, could you get out
of my pot? And if you stayed in your pot,
let me stay in my pot. We're still gonna have
a wonderful meal. Right, But you want to be a pot?
Speaker 2 (28:21):
And yes, season you know what I mean? So that like,
what's that mindset block that people can't let go? Is
there that you need? Because I'm sure, it repeats over
and over again.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
Right right, Okay, So first I want to say that
there's a good reason why you have that fear, right,
you are not that you are not crazy, you are
not making stuff up, right, There's a good reason. Okay,
So send that you know down for a moment. Let's
(28:53):
see what is it that you fear is going to
happen if you let that go? Oh yeah, so let's
just pause with that.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
That's such a good question. And yeah, I wonder that
about if I could just tell you this. I can't
tell you the whole story, so if I could tell
you this story, I think that I haven't thought about
the question exactly the way that you posed it, But
I did say, does the other person feel like I'm
(29:28):
a threat? Like that's how I look at things, like
if I'm here to make things easier and you've already
delegated to me, would you just let me do what
I'm supposed to do? And I always say, I always
use the term those people let me run wild, let
me just do what I want to do, because they
trust that I'm going to do it. So I think
(29:48):
maybe there's a trust element the thing. And I think
maybe there's a Some people are just micro managers. Some
people just don't know how to let like they have
a fear, like you said, that it's not gonna get done.
But I'm just always thinking to myself, like, if you
hire a person and this person has shown you that
(30:11):
they can get it done, you should just trust the
person to get it done.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
You know, Like, but I don't. I don't.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
I guess maybe I'm not that fearfull of things, and
there's always to me a backup, like, well, what if
they didn't do something, that doesn't mean that the thing
still doesn't need to get done because they didn't.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Do their job. So that's that's such a good question though. Fear.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
I think that's the biggest thing that people have. I
think it is just fear of somebody not doing something
or being shown up.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
Yeah, I mean all of those are possibles, right, and
so we don't know until we're in that situation with
that particular person what it is there and you know it.
So we're talking before, like you know, part of this
compation is you know, we're talking to you said, we're
talking with Amanda what we want to work with these people,
(31:05):
and it's a matter of like Okay, could I build
trust with this person? Right? And that's not that I'm
gonna trust them in this minute. No, no, no, you
don't know as yet, right, But could could I see
that happening? Right? And then how do we do that
with all of our teams so that we can slowly
let go of the pieces that you know, it's not
(31:28):
serving our company, it's not serving us to be doing
everything all the time. So what do we do there?
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I like the fact that you ask good questions though, like,
like I said, I didn't think of the question the
way that you asked it until you asked it, right,
And so then it's thinking about I do try for
me to put myself on other people's position. But then
I also say, let people do what they're good at,
(31:55):
and that to me is an asset to me because me,
I should trust.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Like and I guess I am that person.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
I trust that if you said you could do such
and such that you're gonna do it, that you're not
just gonna lie to me, that you're not gonna scam me, right,
And I put people in positions where I'm like, I
can trust that they'll do their job, you know what
I mean? And so I was having a conversation last
week and I said, you know, there's a lot of
people that I've given them their first opportunity to speak
at a conference, right, like, oh, I never spoke, but
(32:25):
I know you know what you're doing. I can tell
business wise. So maybe you just needed the opportunity to
be there for you to present and then you can
see how wonderful you are because I can see it right,
and that you'll do a good job and you'd be
Oh my god. The people they'll send me emails the
night before, Hey, do you want to read this over? Hey,
I'm not reading over your stuff.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Just let me.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
And the reason I'm not doing is because I want
to tell I want them to know I trust you
so much that please don't.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
I don't need to read over.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Like if I explain a situation to you and give
you an objective and tell you what we're trying to
do with it and you understand that, just run with it,
like let's see. And it's been amazing the amount of
people that's like, you know, that was the first time
I got to speak, or wow, people gave me such
good feedback or I got clients from that, and it's
(33:17):
just like, yeah, because I knew you were good at
that thing, So why wouldn't I trust you to do
the thing that you said that you were good at.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Now.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
I've had sometimes when people have been disappointing, and then
you know, either you don't work with them again, or
you give them a second chance if you've seen it
they've grown. That's those are the only two options that
I see. They're like, Okay, you know, maybe you didn't
have such and such together yet. So but it's also
in how you treat people. And I think you have
(33:46):
this very calmon demeanor. Yeah, because it's like, mister Rogers,
you give me this. Let's just change our shoes. Amanda said,
how change your shoes? Yes, those shoes are going to
be better for delegation. You know what I'm saying, So
delegation shoes. So we're here and put our delegation hat.
(34:09):
Like it just is a calming thing that I think
that you have. That it's probably really good in business
situations because it's probably a lot of chaos, right and
bring that to people. So I know, we said we're
not going to stay four hour. We already went over
thirty minutes. But I just need your answer for that.
So I want you to answer this question before we
(34:32):
go though, and then thank you so much for the comment.
There's a comment that said, definitely agree, it's the power
of delegation. Yes, So this question, what are three signs
that a business owner is ready to create the freedom
in their business? So we've talked about what you can
provide why they should do it, but if there's they're
(34:53):
still on the fence, Like I kind of want freedom,
but I'm not sure right, Like, what are some signs
like that you can say you're read you could do this?
Speaker 3 (35:03):
Okay, well, so do you have a team? Right? Have
you taken that step?
Speaker 2 (35:08):
There's one?
Speaker 3 (35:09):
Okay? Another is like is there some urgency to it?
Do you have a baby on the way? Are you
taking care of a parent? Are you, like, you know,
you really want to take that trip? Like is there
some really good reason to do this? Because let's be real,
(35:30):
we can suffer for a very long time, just on
and on and on and not make the change right
until that moment. So you know it's got to be
and there's got to be something big enough on your
heart to make that change. You know, it's it's not
just boom. So I think those those would be kind
(35:54):
of a two swipes. And you know, like you do
you like have confidence in your business overall, Like you
know that you're confident, you know that your your business
is making money, you know what you're doing. It's really
a matter of making that transition and for whatever reason
you're ready.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Oh okay.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
First of all, I want you to know those were
such good things that I really love that. I do
love the idea of the sense of urgency. But I
also think about the fact that you said that this
is a one year coaching program, right, so even if
it's not urgent right now, Murphy's Law says it will
(36:34):
be urgentiz all the time. And so you know, I
always think about I think about the what ifs all
the time, you know. I try to be like it's
so funny me and my husband opposites on that. He
thinks about, well, what if this goes bad? And I'm like,
well what if this goes good? You know, like, and
we just back and forth. But that's a good dynamic
because we're both planning for well, what if, right, and
(36:57):
it is going to be something that is going to
happen throughout the course of your business expected or unexpected, right,
So like when you're talking about a baby, Yeah, if
you're pregnant, the baby's probably going to be here at
some point in time.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Right.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
But then even if you have like a parent, right,
and a parent is aging, you don't know what could happen.
They might be fine today and then they fall down
and break a hip and now they need care, right,
So all kinds of things could happen in that timeframe.
And now we even have to think about tariffs, right,
like how much is our cost is going to go up?
(37:31):
I mean, and now it's not an immediate thing for
every business, but it really is when you consider how
much stuff costs now, right, and what you're having to
pay people and all of that.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
So I really like those three things.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
But urgency. Urgency is definitely one of those. Yeah, okay,
so yeah.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
Just jumping in that the the best defense against all
of these shocks from outside whatever is having well run business, right,
And so that's that's the core of what what we're about,
what I'm about.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
With you, Okay, I'm loving it.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
So if you could leave people with one last whatever
you want to leave a thought or word or phrase
something to motivate them or something like that leave the
people with something.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
All right, well, I think i'll you know you mentioned
mister Rogers. I'm like, you you are enough, you can
do this, and if you want to do this and
a matter of building skills, then I'm very happy to
talk with you about it. Okay.
Speaker 1 (38:38):
You see how calm she is and howe waid back.
She's like, you want to do this. It's like you
say it, but then I feel like, you know, I
feel like we should, you know, do like.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
One of those.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
You know, like I just feel like you just have
this like it's just so laid back, like you should
have one of the long cignarettes from back in the day.
Yeah right, it's just like you know, Dynasty. I'm getting that.
But for everybody else, listen, this has been a quick
little something. We did go a little bit over, but
we switched it up a little bit, so you know,
you do what you do. I hope you guys have
(39:13):
enjoyed this today as much as I have, and I
think it's always interesting.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
And you're the first.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Actually you weren't originally going to be the first, but
we had a schedule change and so now she's our
first member that we featured on one of these give It,
Get It viz series, so you get it, you get.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
The first of War. Yeah out here.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
So if you guys have not joined, then guess what
we suggest that you should join again. You can go
right there, give It, get It dot biz.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
You can join.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
We have a free version and we have a paid
version where you can join the membership and then you
can meet wonderful people like Amanda. If you watch today
or whenever you're gonna watch on a replane, you loved
what she said, you can still join the membership and
you can endorse her over there on the membership as well,
right to say, oh I love what she said. It
was insightful, all of the good things. You needed a
long st, you know, mister. But I really want you
(40:04):
to understand when she is saying to you the magic
of you can unplug and you can go on vacation
when you want to, and you give yourself back that freedom.
That is such an important key that as business owners
we don't do enough. And you know we over here
(40:25):
we practice self care and mental wealth and just being
able to do that even if.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
You don't want to.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Okay, but the ability all right, because some people are workaholics,
all right, even if you don't want to, you have
the ability to. And I love the power of being
able to say no to things because everything else is
flowing the way that it's supposed to. And I think
that to me, that's part of freedom, you know, when
you're a business owner. So Amanda, thank you so much
for being on Today. And if you watch live, we
(40:54):
appreciate you. If you watch on the replay, we appreciate
you as well. And as always, make sure you show
up and show out and you to give it to
the people.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
Bye, guys, good bye, mm hmm.
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