1007: The importance of an EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT (and other growth resources like a customer success manager!) w/ Liz Wiatt

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Hey, what is up?

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Welcome to this episode of the Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

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As always, I'm your host, Brian Lofermento, and I am so excited about today's episode because we are bringing an amazing entrepreneur on that.

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When I looked into her business, I almost want to summarize her business as growth fuel for entrepreneurs, because her services are so important.

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The way that she attacks productivity and strategy and marketing and growth is so important for all of us in our own growth journey.

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So let me tell you all about today's guest.

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Her name is Liz Wyatt.

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Liz is the Exec Hub founder and CEO.

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After years of working closely with serial entrepreneurs and helping launch several businesses from ground zero, Liz decided to start ExecHub.

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Liz's 15 years of experience includes creating websites, managing social media, client relations, operations handling, bookkeeping and executive assistance.

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I would argue most of those things are things that we kind of kick that can down the road.

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We try to ignore those things.

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They take way longer than they should.

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We try to procrastinate along the way with all of those.

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That's why I love Liz's business.

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She's honored and happy to help your business grow and succeed.

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There's so many cool things that she does within her services and really her attitude towards getting stuff done and freeing you up to do the things that all of us need to do as entrepreneurs, which is not a short list, so I love the fact that Liz and her company help out with that along the way.

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There's so much that we're going to get into in today's episode, so I'm not going to say anything else.

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Let's dive straight into my interview with Liz Wyatt.

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All right, Liz, I'm so excited that you're here with us.

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First things first.

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Welcome to the show.

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Hey, Brian, so glad to be on and looking forward to our conversation yes, and the one thing I didn't tease in my intro is that you're also a fellow podcaster, which I'm so excited for that to be into your mix.

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So you're doing a lot of cool work.

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Liz, you got to take us beyond the bio.

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Who's liz?

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How'd you start doing all this stuff?

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yeah, so I worked with several serial entrepreneurs over the years and helped them launch businesses from ground zero in a variety of industries from like accounting firms, a debt buying companies, a coffee shop, apparel, merchandising and restaurants and so I've worked a lot of different industries and I knew that I could launch my own business after learning from them, and so I started Exec Hub so I could help small to medium sized business owners launch and run their business successfully and grow fast.

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So we can provide an executive assistance, customer success manager or social media manager.

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So business owners can outsource our work they don't have to hire someone full time in house, but we can really come in and fill the gaps.

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Yes, I love that overview, liz.

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It is such an essential service and it's such an essential tool to have alongside.

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Especially, I love the fact that you started this conversation from ground zero, talking about those brand new businesses.

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It can be a lonely journey and it's something you and I have both personally experienced in our own entrepreneurial journeys.

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Talk to us about that, because a lot of entrepreneurs, when they first start out because it's so lonely, they don't realize that there's tools and resources and services that can help them.

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What types of immediate needs do you start hearing from those new business owners?

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Yeah.

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So I find out that they really need an executive assistant to come in there and lighten the load A lot of business owners.

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They might be doing their own marketing, they might be booking their own travel, handling their calendar, and it's taking them away from really growing their business.

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So if you reach out to us at ExecHub, we can come in there and be your executive assistant or social media marketing manager.

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And another big need I see is they might have a few employees, but those employees start end up having to take on work that they weren't hired to do like they might start doing the marketing or they might be handling client relations, and so we're a good option.

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We can work for 10 or 20 hours a week, because a lot of small businesses might not need a full-time executive assistant or a marketing director, but they need someone for like 10 or 20 hours a week.

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So we're really a good option for those small to mid-sized businesses or 20 hours a week, so we're really a good option for those small to mid-sized businesses.

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Yeah, Liz, I will say this Today you are very much preaching to the choir.

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I am all aboard.

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It's why I tease this episode as kind of business growth fuel, because I've since realized, having been an entrepreneur for 16 years now, how important it is to have extra set of hands and extra minds and eyes looking at all the things that we're working on.

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But I'll also say a lot of newer entrepreneurs don't fully understand or appreciate what to give to an executive assistant, for example, or what to offload to somebody else.

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What are some of those tasks that you see can take a lot of the load off of the business owners?

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Yeah, so, like I was saying, um, booking their travel, handling, calendar management, we can also do their bookkeeping.

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We do a lot of quickbooks for clients because a lot of small businesses the business owner, is actually doing the accounting work, bookkeeping, and so we can take that that load off as well.

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Um, and even we can do, uh, create images and posts for social media.

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We kind of do it from ground zero, like the whole process, and even follow up with people commenting on your posts, and a lot of business owners are even doing their own marketing.

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It kind of surprises you.

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You don't realize, when you start a business, all the different areas of business you need help with, and so we sit down with the business owner, we hear what your needs are and we can custom build it.

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Like one of our clients, we're doing marketing for them, executive assistance and bookkeeping, and another one we're just doing marketing.

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So we sit down and we hear what your needs are and we can really fill in the gaps for you.

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Yeah, hearing that, though, liz, I would imagine so many of these entrepreneurs and business owners their first reaction to your services is, oh my gosh, but I'm going to lose control, like I'm not going to be the one doing that, I'm not going to have the same input that I have when I'm the one who's doing that work.

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How do you help them get over that?

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Yeah, so one of my clients we were their first executive assistant they've ever had and they were very worried about that.

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But we started out with like the 10 hours per week and they're like so appreciative of what we're doing we've been able to take it off that they're even referring us to someone else.

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Just today they told me that.

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So that's exciting.

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And you know, I have been an executive assistants for several years so I know what business owners struggles are and even being a business owner myself, I know what you're struggling with.

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So I come into the meeting with them and I say, hey, here's some things I know I can help you with.

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And they they're like, okay, actually, yeah, that could help.

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And so they might not even know what their needs are and I can kind of anticipate them before they can, just from having worked in that industry for so long.

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Yeah, and I think that's super important, that you bring that foresight.

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It's something that I love about these conversations and I know that listeners are used to in all of our episodes is that you are also one of us.

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You are also an entrepreneur, you're not just the person who's a subject matter expert here.

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I want to talk to you about onboarding, though, because starting to work with an executive assistant, it's hard for a lot of business owners to think how am I going to give all this knowledge that I've been amassing for whether it's months or years to a brand new person who doesn't know me, who doesn't know my business?

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How do we get people up to speed to start helping us?

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Yeah, so before our first kickoff call, I put together a list of questions so I make sure I gather all the information needed.

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So we might need access to your different softwares, whether it be emails or your accounting software.

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Sometimes they want me to manage bank accounts, like make transfers, and then I just get together a list of what their preferences are, like some people want aisle seats on a flight, or some people want to have their meetings at certain times of the day and like their method of communication.

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So I have a list that I go through so that we get really started off on the right steps on what their preferences are and get everything together.

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So yeah, it's funny even hearing you give those examples, because these are things that we don't even think of.

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We know these things about ourselves, but to communicate them it's.

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That's one of the cool things that I think you've done at ExecHub is you have that onboarding sequence, a questionnaire to understand them things that they might overlook themselves.

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Liz, what are some of those strategic things?

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Because I can only imagine.

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I've never been a social media manager, but I can imagine if I was doing somebody else's social media.

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I'm going to need pictures from them.

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I'm going to need their brand assets.

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I'm going to need to understand their brand colors.

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How the heck do you go about transferring and giving access to all of these things that people probably need to help out when it comes to business and social media?

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Yeah, so, first off, we get access to their different social media platforms and I take a look at their industry.

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So like, for instance, one group we're working for a church and I look at other churches in the area, kind of what they're doing, what the trends are.

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You know, there's certain trends in different posts or whether it's like an accounting firm or whatever the needs are, and I'll put together a social media calendar.

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You know, say they want to post a week and I'll show what the post is, I'll write the content, I'll design the images and they do provide me with the photos, like they usually share a folder with me, and so I'm able to pull from that.

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And if I know I see a need, we need a certain picture of something I can just communicate with them.

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And we meet once a week, usually for 30 minutes, to go over what the needs are and kind of the upcoming posts or ads that we're going to be posting.

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So yeah, I love that you give us insights into those meetings Because I remember, thinking back to early on in my entrepreneurial journey, the first time that I hired someone, liz, I asked myself this question and I reflected on this quite a bit, which is don't I now have additional work in managing somebody else and making sure they have their workload and making sure I give them what they need to succeed?

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It's adding work for me and I didn't necessarily feel or see or understand the benefit side of that equation of all the work that they were taking from me so I could focus on the other things.

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Talk to us about that dynamic, because as business owners, you relate to this.

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There's so much that we can do that managing someone else it's another thing on our plate.

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What's the extent of that look like?

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Is it limited to those 30 minute calls every week?

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Is it that simple, or are there other considerations?

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Yeah, so we're able to really get a lot done in a 30-minute meeting once a week.

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So when we meet we go over what are we doing this week, like I'll put together a list of like hey, this is our action items for this week and they'll answer any questions, and then I'm able to just get off the phone and we're able to get to work and accomplish what we need.

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And we might just need an email or a text throughout the week.

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But you know a lot of the clients we've not had to extend the conversations longer than that because we're able to, you know, have the goals for this week, get them done, and then the next week at our 30-minute meeting, we can kind of readjust and say, hey, what do we want to focus on this week?

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So we kind of take it a week at a time for six months out, but then in our weekly meetings we can make those.

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You know adjustments along the way.

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Yeah, I love that, especially because one question I talk about a lot in these episodes is timeline.

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I think it's fascinating to hear how differently different business owners and entrepreneurs and visionaries look out into the future, because the world is changing faster now than it's ever been changing before.

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Liz, you mentioned that six month timeline.

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It's cool to have kind of that vision and that at least direction of what we're looking to go in.

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How does strategy play into all of this?

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Because I know that that's part of the expertise that you bring to the table is not only understanding the tasks at hand, but the strategy that supports the very businesses that you work with.

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How do you incorporate strategy into the way that you and your clients are viewing the work?

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yeah.

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So I talk with each business owner and they have different goals, you know, um.

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And then with the marketing um.

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It's really good to plan out in advance because different things can come up and you might need to make adjustments, but it just saves you time and gets you really organized.

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And then with the executive assistants the last thing a business owner wants is to last minute try to figure out their travel and any kind of meetings, and when you plan in advance, it allows you to really focus on the work at hand.

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So that's why we take the load off of them.

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And even one client we have right now that we're an executive assistant for, we already have their travel that's booked for, you know, their spring break with their family, and so they've said, wow, I feel like I'm way ahead of the game.

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And that's what we really want to do as exec cup is get these business owners to where they can really focus on what they need to focus on right now, um, by us handling everything even months in advance so, liz, you use that example of spring break and I think that that's important for us to call out right now, because a lot of people, especially here on a business podcast, a lot of people might think well, we're explicitly talking about outsourcing, business needs and business tasks.

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But, it's really cool to hear and I know that you've lived inside of this world of executive assistants can take things off of your plate personally.

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The first time that I really breathed a sigh of relief, liz, was when I had my executive assistant call.

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It was my internet service provider at the time.

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Typically a very painful experience of waiting on hold and to have someone else do that for me freed me up not only timeline-wise but also mentally.

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I didn't have to sit on hold and get frustrated.

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Talk to us about that dynamic between the business stuff that we all inevitably know we need help on, but also how important it is to be supported personally as well.

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Yeah, well, a lot of business owners.

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They might own multiple houses or they might go on a lot of personal travel with their family.

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They might be very successful, and so that's a full-time job just managing all their families.

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Some of them even have four children, and so we can even add their family calendar on there, whether it's picking up the kids, you know, and you know they go home and their wife's trying to tell them everything.

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It's hard to remember it all, and so we can kind of help them out on that end.

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We'll pay off their credit cards.

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We can do bookkeeping on the personal side as well, and uh yeah, as you know, as a business owner there's tons of needs even on the personal side.

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So exec hub can even help with um some of that as well yeah, that honestly it's.

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It's such a sigh of relief and for me, throughout 2024, one of the biggest things that I've realized is most things I do if I can create a system and a process behind it.

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It's not just me who's capable of doing these things.

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Talk to us about the importance of those SOPs, standard operating procedures, those things.

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Is that something that your clients typically have?

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Is it something that they should have?

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I guess this extrapolates beyond just your business.

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As a fellow business owner, is it something that's important on our end to create those SOPs?

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Walk us through that whole world.

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Yeah, so some of the clients we're working with we are helping them with their operations and getting that more automated, like we even give recommendations on different softwares they can use that can save them time.

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Like, one client wanted a software where they could record their meetings on their cell phone, because they actually have meetings with clients in person, outside of the office, and we found that Otterai is a great option that gives you action items, summarizes, notes and even like accounting softwares that can just automate processes.

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And, yeah, it's really important to get organized.

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And we even handle project management.

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We have a company that we're doing project management for big marketing projects, so they have their own marketing team.

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But we're coming in there and we're scheduling out what needs to be done, who's handling what and making sure everybody's getting it done and in a good way, and so, yeah, it's very important to get everything organized and set up.

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Yeah, for sure no-transcript manager.

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we can onboard your new clients.

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We can check in with them on a weekly or monthly basis.

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We can also call them and see if there's things we can do better or improve on and then report back to the company on what we've heard.

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And also we can upsell services.

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So say, one client is using you for one area but your company also offers other services they might not know about and we can kind of see hey, we noticed that we're doing this for you, but we also have these other services that we know can help out with you.

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And so we can even put together proposals and send those to your clients and make sure that your annual renewals are happening on time.

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And we also send gifts to clients.

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We can meet with them in person and it's really good to ensure you're have good relationships with your clients to make sure that they want to stay with you, and clients want to hear from their team and make sure that they're cared for right.

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So we really enjoy helping you out in that area.

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Yeah, liz, I want to ask you about when?

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Because all of these things, as I said, they're all growth fuel for businesses, and I just imagine the leg up, the big advantage that any business has when they have someone who can focus on all of these areas.

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And I'm not just talking about having that executive assistant.

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I'm also going to layer on top of that, liz, your expertise and the fact that you're thinking about sending gifts to clients.

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A lot of entrepreneurs probably wouldn't even think about that, so they wouldn't identify it as a need.

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When should we start thinking about this, because we all benefit from it?

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Is there a time when it's too soon?

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Is there a time when we should realize, holy cow, I have too much on my plate?

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Like now's the time that I need to talk to someone like liz?

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Where in our business growth journeys.

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Does this become viable for us?

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Yeah, so exec club can help you out from day one to any part of the journey.

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Um, we even have had clients reach out to us that know they're launching a business in january and they wanted advice on putting together a marketing strategy and we helped them with that.

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And so you know, there's really not one point that you need ExecCub.

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It can be at any point along your journey.

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We're happy to come in there and really help you out.

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And, like I said, we can custom build our services based off your needs.

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And there's one thing I like about ExecCub is we're a one-stop shop for executives.

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So, business owners, if you're like, hey, I have a need, call ExecCub.

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We can find a way to help you out and custom build it to really help your business grow.

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Yeah, Liz, I'm going to ask you the inevitable question.

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I'm sure you hear it all the time and I'm not going to push you for numbers because obviously, at the end of the year, the beginning of a new year, numbers are always changing and there's no one way to answer this question.

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But I know that when you talk to people about this they must ask well, how much does this cost?

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Is this something that's even a possibility for me?

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How do you talk about costs when it comes to customers, knowing that, of course, there's all different levels of engagement and some people need very few things, Some people need the entire gamut of your services?

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How do you even begin to talk about that entry point for pricing?

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Yeah, gamut of your services.

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How do you even begin to talk about that entry point for pricing?

00:18:46.290 --> 00:18:49.403
Yeah, so we really base it off on you know, a lot of our options are 10 or 20 hours per week of work options, and it's just built at the end of each month.

00:18:49.403 --> 00:19:01.826
We send a bill at the end of the month for the prior work and so we can kind of sit down and talk with you about pricing based off those needs, and so I'd be happy to talk with anybody, and yeah, so yeah for sure.

00:19:01.946 --> 00:19:06.326
It's something that for me, as I started the 10 hour a week, I think that that's really important.

00:19:06.326 --> 00:19:10.766
Listeners are very familiar with Laura Chavez, who works so tirelessly behind the scenes.

00:19:10.766 --> 00:19:17.009
She makes so much possible and she started out behind the scenes at just five hours a week and that's something that we've been able to grow.

00:19:17.009 --> 00:19:29.314
Talk to us about that growth path, because 10 hours a week probably doesn't sound like a lot to people because, liz, we're all crazy entrepreneurs and we work on our businesses far too much, so how much can get done in 10 hours a week?

00:19:29.314 --> 00:19:32.996
And then what's that roadmap look like when we do have those increased needs?

00:19:34.464 --> 00:19:37.875
Yeah, so a lot can actually be done in 10 hours a week.

00:19:37.875 --> 00:19:46.051
I was actually more surprised than I thought when we got started with it and, like one client, we're doing 10 hours a week, we're able to manage their bookkeeping.

00:19:46.051 --> 00:19:53.967
They have a new business we're doing their marketing for and we're even helping them with executive assistance, and they're a smaller team and so they really don't.

00:19:53.967 --> 00:20:07.792
They didn't need like the 20 hours or 40 hour a week person to help, and so we can really fill in those gaps and knock out work just so that they can regain more time onto their plate.

00:20:07.792 --> 00:20:13.391
So and then, if people want to expand to a higher amount of time, whether it's, you know, maybe they need us for 20 hours a week we can adjust that and give you more hours.

00:20:13.391 --> 00:20:18.369
If we see, hey, wow, you need way more help than 10 hours a week, we're happy to expand our services.

00:20:19.191 --> 00:20:22.518
Yeah, and I think it's important to talk about in-person versus remote.

00:20:22.518 --> 00:20:36.915
Of course, we live in a global marketplace these days and I'm so grateful for that fact, liz how much of your clientele and how much of your focus area is on clients that you get to see in person, that they're in your local geographic region, versus servicing people all across the country and world.

00:20:37.938 --> 00:20:44.837
Yeah, I'd say we have about 75% here locally in Birmingham and the other 25% are actually different states.

00:20:44.837 --> 00:20:45.982
We have one out of the country.

00:20:45.982 --> 00:20:51.042
So that's been really fun and we're happy to work with anybody around the US or around the world.

00:20:51.042 --> 00:20:54.711
We're fully remote For our local Birmingham clients.

00:20:54.711 --> 00:21:00.275
We do have some that I've met with in person and that's been fun and I can help them out with things here locally.

00:21:00.275 --> 00:21:03.515
But we also love working remote and with people out of state.

00:21:03.515 --> 00:21:06.694
We have people in Florida, tennessee, costa Rica.

00:21:06.694 --> 00:21:10.395
So it's kind of fun expanding to different locations.

00:21:11.144 --> 00:21:13.951
Yeah, that's very cool, liz, I'm going to put you on the spot here.

00:21:13.951 --> 00:21:16.153
This is a little bit of a difficult question.

00:21:16.153 --> 00:21:20.724
It's more strategic, but you have the vantage point having worked with so many different businesses.

00:21:20.724 --> 00:21:28.505
I kind of teased it at the top of this episode that there's so many things we all ignore in our businesses and you've listed so many here today.

00:21:28.505 --> 00:21:33.835
You talk about bookkeeping, social media we talked about in your intro, about creating websites.

00:21:33.835 --> 00:21:34.827
What are?

00:21:34.827 --> 00:21:35.308
Maybe?

00:21:35.308 --> 00:21:42.037
Give us three of those things, three things that you find that most business owners procrastinate on or they never even get done.

00:21:42.037 --> 00:21:43.190
I'm going to call myself out.

00:21:43.190 --> 00:21:50.933
Social media, for sure, is on that list, something that we're changing, but what are the top three things that you see most people ignoring that you can take off their plate?

00:21:52.386 --> 00:21:57.377
I would say some of the biggest needs with smaller businesses are would be the social media marketing.

00:21:57.377 --> 00:22:04.674
They might not be doing it at all or the business owner might be scrambling to do a few posts and you really need to spread awareness about your company to grow.

00:22:04.674 --> 00:22:06.650
The other is the bookkeeping.

00:22:06.650 --> 00:22:15.666
A lot of times they'll put it off for months or maybe they're not handling it well, and we can really come in there and take that off and make sure you're doing it right and accounting for everything.

00:22:15.666 --> 00:22:20.156
And then the other one would probably be the customer success management.

00:22:20.497 --> 00:22:31.288
A lot of times they're like, hey, we got this client, but they're not giving them attention or really caring for them, and that's where ExecCup can really come in to make sure you're retaining your clients and engaging with them.

00:22:31.288 --> 00:22:36.657
We're the main point of contact to answer any questions they have, if they have issues, to make sure those are handled.

00:22:36.657 --> 00:22:40.300
So those are definitely some areas where business owners can kind of put it on the back burner.

00:22:40.300 --> 00:22:48.039
But it can really hurt you in the long run or even short run, and so it's important to make sure you have all areas of the playing field covered when you're running a business.

00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:53.732
So yeah, liz, I think you were kind of there when you said that most people procrastinate when it comes to bookkeeping.

00:22:53.732 --> 00:23:04.112
I know way too many solopreneurs that wait until tax season to go back and try to figure out 12 months of financial activity there, which is obviously not what we want to be doing.

00:23:04.112 --> 00:23:09.517
So I love the fact that you emphasize that so much, not only in our conversation today, but certainly in your services.

00:23:09.517 --> 00:23:10.923
It's incredibly important.

00:23:10.923 --> 00:23:22.027
I want to switch gears a little bit here in the conversation and talk to you not only as the subject matter expert, but also as a fellow entrepreneur, having been in the space for as long as you have and helped other businesses.

00:23:22.027 --> 00:23:25.193
Liz, what's it like as your own ceo?

00:23:25.193 --> 00:23:32.299
What's that transition been like when it comes to not only providing these services but also growing exec hub as an awesome business?

00:23:33.343 --> 00:23:34.789
yeah, it's been a lot of fun.

00:23:34.789 --> 00:23:42.391
Like you like said, I'd helped launch several businesses from ground zero for other people, and so this has been my first time to do it and I'm so glad I did.

00:23:42.391 --> 00:23:50.415
It's been so much fun and I built my website and it was ready for two months and it took me two months to get the courage to actually launch my company and go forward with it.

00:23:50.415 --> 00:24:04.702
I had the fear, you know what, if I don't even get one client, and now I've gotten so many and I'm like having to hire employees and it's just been a really exciting journey and I'm thankful that it's kicked off so well and I'm excited to see where it goes and it just is a lot of fun.

00:24:04.702 --> 00:24:08.573
I'm so glad to get to do my own thing and get the company going.

00:24:09.134 --> 00:24:10.897
Yes, that's the real life insights.

00:24:10.897 --> 00:24:19.492
Listeners always love hearing that part of the story, because you just mentioned a big fear for everybody what if I launch and nobody pays attention and I don't get any clients?

00:24:19.492 --> 00:24:31.847
Talk to us about those first few clients, liz, because I find that there's always great stories there, whether it's personal connections or LinkedIn or even just having a casual conversation in a coffee shop, which tends to happen to me quite a bit as an extreme extrovert.

00:24:31.847 --> 00:24:34.771
But, liz, what were your first few clients like for you to onboard?

00:24:35.692 --> 00:24:36.094
Yeah.

00:24:36.094 --> 00:24:42.530
So my first client I posted on LinkedIn that I launched this new business called Exec Hub and he messaged me on LinkedIn.

00:24:42.530 --> 00:24:49.673
He's a business owner and I knew him in college at Auburn and he lives in Tennessee, but so that was really fun having him come on.

00:24:49.673 --> 00:25:02.327
And then my next client was actually a referral from a friend, and then another one was somebody that I met at a chamber of commerce here in town Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce and so all of my clients have actually gotten from a different avenue.

00:25:02.327 --> 00:25:04.092
It's not all been from one area.

00:25:04.092 --> 00:25:31.458
Some have been networking events, some have been friends, some have been friends of friends and a lot of them just from different social media platforms connecting with people, and so it's really cool to see just the journey and the new people coming on and all of our clients have been really amazing.

00:25:31.798 --> 00:25:51.226
Advertising on Facebook you have to do all these things, but, liz, that's a real life story, that's your real life experience about how they can come from all of these places, and huge kudos to you for proactively announcing your business on LinkedIn that strategy I can't tell you how many times I've heard that and it almost always works, so I love the fact that you put yourself out there.

00:25:51.226 --> 00:26:02.884
I want to also ask you about AI, because I would imagine in your line of business, either people your potential clients are using AI to help support them with a lot of tasks, or even on your end.

00:26:02.884 --> 00:26:08.657
It's really amplifying your effects and allowing you to do even more work for and with your clients.

00:26:08.657 --> 00:26:10.873
How's AI affecting your industry?

00:26:12.184 --> 00:26:14.546
Yeah, it's been a lot of fun With different clients.

00:26:14.546 --> 00:26:17.508
We've been able to collaborate on different automated softwares.

00:26:17.508 --> 00:26:38.461
I've been able to recommend some to them that they've never used before, and sometimes they'll introduce me to one that's new and I'm able to study up on it, learn it and use it for my business, help it, improve their business, and so it really becomes a collaboration area, since we work with a lot of different industries, to say, hey, this is really worked out, you should try this one and it can save time.

00:26:38.461 --> 00:26:48.063
And we have stuff that can be like whether it's taking notes or automating bookkeeping, or even you know ways to project management stuff.

00:26:48.063 --> 00:26:49.146
We have a lot of different softwares.

00:26:49.146 --> 00:26:59.692
We can recommend that to make sure projects are getting done and tracking timelines for that, and so it's really important to use AI this day and age, and so it's been really cool to implement that.

00:27:00.365 --> 00:27:03.071
Yeah, liz, it's funny, all the guests that I've had on recently.

00:27:03.071 --> 00:27:08.432
I've been asking this question so much more over the past few months and we're all using AI differently.

00:27:08.432 --> 00:27:09.769
You mentioned project management.

00:27:09.769 --> 00:27:23.287
That's one area that I've definitely been focusing a lot more, especially since nowadays, I mean, we can upload project files and we can upload our internal documents and SOPs and have it start mapping out responsibilities and timelines of projects.

00:27:23.647 --> 00:27:24.730
I personally love that.

00:27:24.730 --> 00:27:28.464
What are some of those ways that you're using AI as opposed to just?

00:27:28.464 --> 00:27:34.127
I think the biggest mistake is too many people hop onto ChatGPT and they say give me a 30-day content calendar.

00:27:34.127 --> 00:27:38.678
So, rather than us just being lazy and doing that, liz, what are some of those real-life ways you're using it?

00:27:40.286 --> 00:27:42.554
Now I like some chat GPT if you use it right.

00:27:42.554 --> 00:27:49.932
But I would say, with the project management, some tools we use are Miro is a good board where you can collaborate with team members.

00:27:49.932 --> 00:28:02.278
You can pin posts in there, articles and assign work to people, you can do commenting, and then also Notion's, a cool one to use if you're wanting to assign tasks to people, have timelines, you can save documents in there.

00:28:02.278 --> 00:28:09.750
So there's a lot of tools out there you can use to really manage teams and keep everybody on a timeline, and it all organized in one place.

00:28:09.750 --> 00:28:12.857
And so, yeah, we've used those in different ways.

00:28:13.525 --> 00:28:14.748
Yes, oh gosh.

00:28:14.748 --> 00:28:16.974
I want to echo your recommendation of Notion.

00:28:16.974 --> 00:28:19.789
All of my businesses live inside of Notion.

00:28:19.789 --> 00:28:21.494
There's so many capabilities in there.

00:28:21.494 --> 00:28:25.010
It's pretty much all of my favorite tools rolled up into one.

00:28:25.010 --> 00:28:26.413
So I love those insights.

00:28:26.413 --> 00:28:32.305
Liz, as we come towards the end, I want to squeeze two more questions in with you, because the first one is really about productivity.

00:28:32.305 --> 00:28:36.279
You are a business owner, you are a boss to other people.

00:28:36.279 --> 00:28:38.226
You are doing services yourself.

00:28:38.226 --> 00:28:40.352
You are also a fellow podcaster.

00:28:40.352 --> 00:28:46.236
These days, there's so many different and on top of that, you obviously have your personal life, so there's so many different hats that you wear.

00:28:46.236 --> 00:28:50.074
How do you structure, whether it's your days, your weeks, your months?

00:28:50.074 --> 00:28:52.588
How the heck do you manage your time personally?

00:28:54.013 --> 00:28:56.441
Yeah, I've definitely started doing the time blocking.

00:28:56.441 --> 00:29:00.696
So I have my set meetings and I block out time to finish projects on my calendar.

00:29:00.696 --> 00:29:06.944
It makes me really make sure I stay on top of everything and you know, if you don't block out time for things, that just won't get done.

00:29:06.944 --> 00:29:22.409
And so I really stay on top of it all and make sure I get things done with clients and even track my time with clients to make sure I'm giving them the time they need and they might even want to know what I did during the time, and so I make sure we have a list of all that and it all tracks so that everybody knows what got done.

00:29:23.171 --> 00:29:24.693
Yes, so important.

00:29:24.693 --> 00:29:26.057
People are always surprised.

00:29:26.057 --> 00:29:28.998
You and I were talking a little bit off air before we hit record today.

00:29:28.998 --> 00:29:35.114
People are always surprised about the fact that I manage a five day a week podcast and it only takes me one day a week.

00:29:35.114 --> 00:29:43.811
I still have all the other days in the week to completely get work done and manage my emails and manage my team and do all the other things, and it's because I batch that productivity.

00:29:43.811 --> 00:29:48.838
I just say, hey, tuesdays are my interview days and that's it, and that's the only thing that I focus on that day.

00:29:48.838 --> 00:29:50.105
So I love those insights, liz.

00:29:50.105 --> 00:29:52.368
This last question it's super broad.

00:29:52.368 --> 00:29:53.951
You can take it in any direction you want.

00:29:53.951 --> 00:30:02.169
And that is what's your one best piece of advice Knowing that we're being listened to by entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs at all different stages of their business growth journeys.

00:30:02.169 --> 00:30:05.207
What's that one thing that you want to impart on them here today?

00:30:06.571 --> 00:30:11.685
I would definitely say, if you're considering launching a business, is to just take action and do it.

00:30:11.685 --> 00:30:25.162
You can really be held back by fear or worries, as it took me two months to get the courage to launch it, but, like, after you launch it, you can make adjustments and improvements and you'll hear from your clients and customers ways that you can do it better, and you won't know that till you actually launch it.

00:30:25.162 --> 00:30:37.200
And so in any area of business whether you already launched or haven't is you need to just take action and do it and learn from it and ask your clients and customers what they think ways you can do better, and then you'll get that feedback and know how to improve.

00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:41.230
And so that's one way as a business owner is to just do it.

00:30:41.230 --> 00:30:46.132
You know we can wait, but when you do it, you hear the results, you see it and can make adjustments and improve.

00:30:46.172 --> 00:30:50.075
So yes, so well said and very important advice.

00:30:50.075 --> 00:31:01.938
Liz, I love the fact that you call yourself out with that advice of your two months of nervous waiting before you actually took the plunge, because, you're right, we learn so much more when we're actually on the field playing the game.

00:31:01.938 --> 00:31:03.794
That's where we get the most valuable feedback.

00:31:03.794 --> 00:31:05.702
So, liz, you've been a wealth of knowledge.

00:31:05.702 --> 00:31:09.554
Honestly, you've dropped so many strategies on us here in today's episode.

00:31:09.554 --> 00:31:21.509
It's why I always say that success leaves clues, because not just the stuff you've shared with us, but also your own journey, your own way of thinking about things and approaching business.

00:31:21.509 --> 00:31:22.374
I think there's so many lessons in there.

00:31:22.374 --> 00:31:27.893
So for listeners who want to inevitably go deeper into all of these services that we've talked about from ExecHub here today, drop those links on us.

00:31:27.893 --> 00:31:29.356
Where should listeners go from here?

00:31:30.605 --> 00:31:36.138
Yeah, so you can find us on our website at execworkhubcom, and then on LinkedIn, facebook, instagram.

00:31:36.138 --> 00:31:37.519
You can find us at ExecHub.

00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:49.392
We'd be happy for you to reach out and, as Brian was talking about, I have a podcast called ExecHub Podcast and I interview other executives and business owners so we can learn from them, and we'd be happy for you to tune on.

00:31:49.392 --> 00:31:51.412
It's posted on our social media channels.

00:31:52.224 --> 00:31:54.292
Yes, listeners, you already know the drill.

00:31:54.292 --> 00:32:01.530
We're making it as easy as possible for you to find all of those links down below in the show notes, wherever it is that you're tuning in to today's episode.

00:32:01.530 --> 00:32:08.517
But Liz's business website super easy to remember execworkhubcom, or just click right on through from the show notes.

00:32:08.517 --> 00:32:11.299
Don't even try to remember it, just click right on through from the show notes.

00:32:11.299 --> 00:32:14.422
You'll also find a link to Liz's podcast as well there.

00:32:14.422 --> 00:32:21.378
So don't be shy in consuming even more amazing business content that pushes you forward and gets you to take action.

00:32:21.378 --> 00:32:26.693
So, liz, on behalf of myself and all the listeners around the world, thanks so much for coming on the show today.

00:32:27.896 --> 00:32:31.217
Thank you, brian, really enjoyed being on here and hope everybody has a great week.

00:32:31.960 --> 00:32:37.532
Hey, it's Brian here and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:32:37.532 --> 00:32:41.480
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:32:41.480 --> 00:32:48.270
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at thewantrepreneurshowcom.

00:32:48.270 --> 00:32:50.717
And I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:32:50.717 --> 00:32:59.490
There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

00:32:59.570 --> 00:33:01.556
These are not sponsored episodes.

00:33:01.556 --> 00:33:03.146
These are not infomercials.

00:33:03.146 --> 00:33:06.653
Our guests help us cover the costs of our productions.

00:33:06.653 --> 00:33:17.606
They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

00:33:17.606 --> 00:33:26.095
So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there.

00:33:26.095 --> 00:33:27.445
We also have live chat.

00:33:27.445 --> 00:33:32.056
If you want to interact directly with me, go to thewantrepreneurshowcom.

00:33:32.056 --> 00:33:33.486
Initiate a live chat.

00:33:33.486 --> 00:33:42.877
It's for real me, and I'm excited because I'll see you, as always every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast.