In this highly productive episode, Donna Dube, Founder, CEO of Productivity Plus, shares 6 game changing habits that fuel growth and allow entrepreneurs to get out of the weeds and day to day operations and become confident leaders in growing a thriving business.
You will discover:
- The difference between solopreneur and CEO
- The most overlooked part of your job descriptions
- Why the overwhelm you feel isn’t necessary (and may actually be making things worse)
Episode Transcript
Scott Ritzheimer
Hello, hello and welcome welcome once again to the secrets of the high demand coach and I am here with yet another high demand coach and that is the one and only Donna Dube. She is a certified Director of Operations anti Business Growth strategist who works with established online service based business owners who are ready to make a bigger impact and maximize their profit while they do it. She does this by helping them leverage their time, talent and tactics so that business owners can go from solopreneur to a confident CEO without sacrificing their life, their health or their relationships. Donna believes that the most important asset you have is in your businesses, you and your time. And so being intentional and purposeful with how you use your time can really propel you and your business forward. No team no system, no automation can outperform a lack of focus. Donna the show much to jump in here. I’m so excited about this episode. Before we get to all of that though. Tell us your story. What What were you doing before you’re launching CEO amplify and how that leads you to make the leap?
Donna Dube
Yeah, well, thanks, God, I appreciate being here and happy to share. So like any many entrepreneurs, my journey to where I am now is windy and twisty. Not a straight and narrow path for sure. So I actually started my career as a nurse, I was an ICU nurse for a number of years, ma’am, I think well, how in the world does that come into helping CEOs and entrepreneurs? And really, again, I didn’t think it would, but it did. And so as my kids grew, and I was looking for something else, I decided to move into online world and do project management. So I was coming into online business owners, projects to help them manage sort of one aspect of their business. And while I enjoyed that, I really felt there was so much more, right. I could see CEOs being stressed to being stressed, not sure if we’re going to hire, how do we delegate a lot of things going on that I wanted to be able to dive into and help the with. And so from there, I really moved more into the operation side and more into actually helping the CEO or business leader really leverage those three things, their time, their talent and their tactics so that they can grow their business. And that’s level without sanity and keep their sanity. I mean, because you know, so many entrepreneurs run down that path of burnout. And you know, it’s a sad state, and some end up actually closing shop just because, you know, we couldn’t keep it all together. So yeah, certainly, for my own journey, I had some of that I didn’t get to a point of, you know, massive burnout where I needed hospitalization or any of that, but I was working 24/7 Right. I enjoyed what I was doing. But it was my family saying, you know, Mom, where are you from? Can you take me here? Like, you’re not present with me anymore? Right? I only my husband sat down, so something’s gonna break. And I don’t want it to be our family. So you know, make a change somewhere. Right? And wow, want to hear that? Of course, I did want to hear it. You know, that’s a time when I’d had to really take a critical look and say, Okay, I gotta just take a step back and see how can I do this in a sustainable way?
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. And how can you do that? What was the shift that took place that really helped you unlock that?
Donna Dube
Yeah, really, it was looking at how I’m using my time. So you know, we all have the same 24 hours in a day, right? But how can I use my time to the best of my ability for the business that I have? And so it’s really taking a look at I am the founder, I’m the visionary, I’m the leader. But the things I’m doing day to day, don’t, you know, I’ll emphasize that what I’m doing is maintenance tasks. And in admin, I’m doing customer service, I’m sending emails, I’m setting up landing pages, I’m making Canva graphics, those are not tasks that are SEO level work. Right? So so I really had to take a step back and say, If I named the visionary if I’m the leader of this company, then I need to be having time in my week that looks at that I need to be looking at what I call growth level tasks, things that have a direct involvement in moving my business forward and increasing my revenue.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. And what would be some kind of high impact growth tasks that you help your clients to achieve?
Donna Dube
Yes, for sure. So in that growth tasks, business is things like JV partnerships, networking, if you’re still doing sales calls, as part of the deal, if you don’t have a sales team in your business yet, taking what I call a CEO Power Hour, which is really a CEO date with yourself once a week, non negotiable, same time every week. And what you’re doing in that hour is really reviewing, reflecting and making sure you know what your top three priorities are for that week. And then having time blocked off in your calendar to make sure those top priorities are getting done.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, that is such a big point because it’s one thing to sit down and kind of plan Hey, this is what I need to do. But if that never makes it to your calendar, it’s a bit of a challenge to get there. I love that last step, some kind of nuts and bolts practical. And then we’ll zoom out a little bit, when is it best to do your power hour.
Donna Dube
So really, I choose Monday morning, that’s what works for me. But it really doesn’t matter. It’s what works best for you. So if you want to do it on a Friday afternoon, at the end of the week to set your next week up for success, that’s fine. If you have some quiet time on Sunday and you prefer to do it, then it’s fine. So the time really doesn’t matter. What’s more important is that you block that one hour off, it’s recurring. And it’s non negotiable, right now. So the only thing that can get in the way of that is some major life crisis. Right? So treat it very important. Like it’s a sales call, like it’s an important meeting that you have just as important. If we think about major, big business, that is the CEOs are sitting down with the Board of Directors, with the VP of sales with the VP of marketing, and getting an idea of what’s happening in the business and where they’re going forward. And this is really a time for us to do the same, even though we don’t have that same team behind us.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. Well, I love that word. So one of the things that I saw as I was researching the episode, this idea of a transformation or transition from kind of solopreneur, to CEO, and so I’m wondering, could you just contrast those two for a moment? What’s the difference between a solopreneur? was CEO and their business card? And what would what you would define as a true CEO?
Donna Dube
Yes, for sure. So we all start out like solopreneurs, right, we’ve got a good idea, we start a business, I’m we’re doing everything, right, everything under the sun we’re doing because we have no team, we have no support. And many times, we’re pulling different ideas and trying different things from what we’re hearing, and all the noise out there, what we should be doing or what we could be doing, right. And so it’s a time of experimenting a time of trial and error of learning fast failing quick, until we find something that’s working, finding something that is bringing us some return on investment. And once we start to grow our business a little bit bigger, we’ve got some more revenue coming in, we’re now capped out, we’re at full capacity, we want to grow more, but we can’t, right, we’re putting in as many hours as we can. And we still can’t do everything we want to do. And so that’s a time when we have to start looking again at who could we bring in to help support us and help us to grow even further. So no matter what your business is, we all reach that plateau. When our revenue is at a certain point, we can go further because we’re maxed out in terms of capacity. And so that’s when we have to start looking on bringing on team members. And then how do we lead and manage those team members? Now that we have, and these don’t have to be full time employees, right? In this online world, we can bring in a contractor for five hours a week, right? But if you think about it, if you’re being intentional with your time, if you give away something that’s taking you five hours a week, and you replace that with something that’s a growth level tasks, or five hours a week, now you’ve made a huge difference in how you’re spending your time.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. Yeah, I love that. What would you say it because you’re doing this with a lot of different CEOs, what would you say is the first hire? Oh, what what should I focus in the I’m in the sea? I’m in the solopreneur? Spot? A Max, I’m exhausted, I need some help. Where do they look first?
Donna Dube
Yes. So my suggestion there is to make a list of the tasks that you’re currently doing, that you don’t enjoy, and the heart, in your opinion, a time suck. So taking a lot of time, out of what you’re doing in the week. Once you have those tasks written down, then you can kind of look at them and say, What kind of area do they fit in? Is this an admin type of work? Is this a executive assistant type of work, I need help planning if you’re traveling a lot, or you’ve got outside things, or is this you know, social media content type of role. And so really having those tasks listed out will help you see what kind of role that will fit into. And then from there actually making a job description. So that who you’re looking to hire is clear on the role, what your expectations are. And in that job description. So, so important to include your vision and your values. And the reason for that is because it’s easy to hire someone who who you know, you can teach them the skills, right? Go in this software tool, set it up this way, it should look like this. Here’s my branding colors. But it’s much harder to hire someone who’s aligned in your values, you can’t teach them values. And so when you hire someone who’s aligned in your values, it’s a much smoother relationship and much easier, long term to work. So you want to put those values in right at the beginning at the job description so that you are attracting those people with the similar values and repel and those who, you know, don’t, don’t fit your value.
Scott Ritzheimer
And, and so I can imagine someone sitting there, you know, they’re they’re probably doing about nine things right now while they’re listening to this episode, and they’ll go, Okay, that’s great for for XYZ, right? It was like, I don’t even have time to come up with value. So we’re going to come up with a job description. I guess the first question would actually be, why is it for that person? Why is it actually worth it to make that time?
Donna Dube
Yes. So again, you can bring this down to number assignment, very objective person. So if you look at it, and say, Okay, I’m too busy, I don’t have time to do the values, the job description, all these things, I’m just gonna keep doing all the tasks. And if you look at what is your hourly rate, as a business leader, or CEO, and then you map out what those times you were doing times your hourly rate, so my hourly rate is X amount. I wasn’t in Canva, for an hour and a half, making social media posts. When you see the value of what that cost you. Yeah, when you times it by your hourly rate, you’re gonna fall off your chair.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, right. It’s true. It’s very true.
Donna Dube
And so when we look at it objectively like that, it’s like, Yes, I don’t have time to set up these things. But if we don’t set up those things, it’s actually costing us a significant amount more. Yeah, it’s so true. You know, it’s the same as if you have a new product program or service that you want to put out in the world, you have to do some work beforehand, to get your messaging, right, to get emails out there to have a webinar or whatever you’re going to do to, you know, market this, you have to do some work beforehand, right? And it’s the same when you’d want to hire someone. So the gain is there. But you do have to put in some effort beforehand.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. Yeah. So I want to shift gears a little bit and talk about something that I saw, again, was a theme through a lot of your content is this idea of kind of entrepreneurial overwhelm. Why why is that such? I mean, these are high capacity people, you know, it’s not the Yeah. And so why is it that we have these very, very high capacity, very intelligent, very sharp, folks. And overwhelm is almost in every single one of those environments?
Donna Dube
Mm hmm. Yes. Again, I think it’s a situation where we’re growing. And we’re bringing on more and more things in our business. And we ended up being the bottleneck, because we have to make the decisions, we have to have our hands in each of the pieces, right? So again, it’s taking off that hat and putting really putting on the CEO behind saying no, I need to think like a visionary and like a leader of my business. And when I have the team doesn’t matter how small, I need to give them autonomy, need to say, these are the priorities. This is the expectations, and I need to let them run with it. Right? Yes, I can mentor and I can give feedback. But if I’m micromanaging, and on top of every little piece, of course, I’m going to feel overwhelmed.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, that’s so true. I think the the kind of dark irony in that is, you’re doing things that aren’t actually moving you forward. So you’re wearing yourself out and your team out, and it’s actually slowing you down. Is that right? Yes. 100%? Yes. Stunning. Stunning. So you mentioned this idea, this exercise of going through? And what are the things you’re spending a lot of time on that that that you know, are time socks that you don’t really enjoy doing? Is there anything that you would say even if you don’t enjoy it, it’s still your job as CEO?
Donna Dube
Yes, for sure. And so those, again, are some things near growth level tasks, right. So you might not really enjoy in person networking. But that is part of your business, you’re the face and the brand of your business, you can’t delegate that to a team member. Right. And so there will be situations where there’s going to be a piece we don’t really enjoy. I’m an operator through and through and marketing is not my favorite thing to do. But what we have to do in that realm, I say, Okay, what areas of marketing? Am I comfortable with what aligns with me? And what can I do that will work for my business? Right? Because there’s 1000s of tactics out there, we have to find something that fits with us something that we can do on a regular basis. And, you know, it’s making a difference and bringing that return on investment. Yeah. So yeah, the truth is, you know, the dishes got to be washed sometimes, right?
Scott Ritzheimer
There’s so much wisdom in that advice. And you said it so succinctly that I’m afraid people might miss it. But one of the questions I get asked a lot is like, you know, should I use this strategy? Should I use that shot? Should I do I have to, you know, set up a website, or do I have to, you know, be active on social media? How can I ever post all day every day? Well, who has time for that? And, and I love the way that you approach this is I found there’s not necessarily one strategy that works and there’s not really any one strategy that doesn’t work. There are a few but None None. That would be in the realm of what we’d be asking about. What really I found is the key thing is, does, is it something that you can do consistently over time? Or is it at least close enough to align with how you how you’re built, how you’re wired, what you enjoy that you can find enough joy in the journey of that to stick with it over time. So I love that and just want to double up on it. Because I think it’s so important. It’s not about going out and finding the silver bullet, you know, it’s about finding that thing that you can do and just keep doing and keep doing and diligently.
Donna Dube
Yes, it’s so true, because consistency is key. Right? And not just with putting out our content, but even, you know, with what we’re doing week after week, to get that momentum and build our business. Ya know, I was working with a client once and when I first started working with her, she was having a blog. So she sat down and wrote out some ideas for a blog. And then she had someone sort of take that and you know, edit it and spice it up and post it. And it was starting to become a thorn in her side, the you know, the team member be like, what route a blog post, we need some more outlines, and okay, and she try and find time to fit it in. And it really wasn’t working for her in terms of return on investment. Yes, she was getting some views. But we’ve got a lot of conversions from that. And so, you know, we had that discussion, say, okay, it’ll plug working blog writing isn’t working? What could we do instead? And so we brainstorm through around a bunch of ideas. And, you know, podcasts was one that came up, while certainly podcasts are popular these days, easy for people to listen to and go. But again, there were some features there, you know, well, can I actually do this? And, you know, can I sit in front of my microphone and talk to people for half an hour, surance a week, and you know, all those things, but we worked through those. And when she did get a process in place for having the podcast, it’s been smooth sailing sets, right? It’s much easier for her, she has her team members, you know, pitch and find guests. And she just basically shows up, does a little bit of research beforehand, does the interview, her team edits her team post. So so much easier from her in? And we’re actually getting a lot more views and a lot more lessons, I guess, just to say, that we were getting with a blog writing, right? So just having that mindset shift that okay, maybe this isn’t the best for me, and what can I do instead?
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, yeah. So there’s a question I’d like to ask everyone. I’m fascinated to hear what you have to say. Questions this, what would you say is the biggest secret that you wish was not a secret at all? What’s that one thing that you wish every founder, CEO, solopreneur listening today knew?
Donna Dube
Yes. Okay. I think Scott, my answer would be that data and metrics is not scary. And so that way seem a bit strange. But in line with what we’re talking about today, a lot of making these decisions has to be looking from an objective point of view, right? What is the data showing me? Is this bringing me a return on investment? Right? I’m posting on five social media channels three times a week, if that’s what it is. We are my people, really? Where are people actually reading my posts and converting, whether that’s signing up for my email list or coming to something I’m doing for free? You know, where are they actually interacting with the things I’m putting out there? And so then, if there’s things that we’re going to pause or stop, we need to know, from objective viewpoint by looking at the data. Okay, this I’m doing, it’s not bringing the return on investment. So I can stop. Yeah. Right. So really, that data and metrics doesn’t have to be scary. And we need that information to make those informed decisions.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. So one more question for you here. And then I want to make sure we point people in your direction, because I know there’s folks listening, they’re like, Absolutely. Donna’s got this figured out, I don’t need to figure it out. She can help. So before we get there, though, I want to have you take off your coach, consultant operator have even put on your CEO hat. So what’s the next stage of growth look like for you as a CEO? And what challenge would you have to overcome to get there?
Donna Dube
Nice. Yes. So as we’re recording this, we’re coming to the end of the 2023 year, and so we’re all sort of looking ahead for 2024. And so for me, I want to increase the amount of effort I’m putting in and the amount of marketing I’m doing towards a group program. So we’ll be opening up again in January. And so I’m really going to be focusing on that. Along with I would say my word is balance. And so while I talk a lot about how to leverage our time and how to have that work life balance, it’s a journey for me too. Yeah. So, you know, my, my family has recently had some health concerns. And so that sort of pulled me away a little bit. So really, just being mindful of that balance and knowing that, what is my capacity, and in this next quarter, how can I make sure that I’m staying within that capacity and keeping my eyes on the most important things?
Scott Ritzheimer
So, so good. Well, Donna has just been an absolute delightful episode before I let you go gotta know How can folks get in touch with you? Someone saying, hey, I want to work with Donna, where can they find more out about you and the work that you do?
Donna Dube
Yeah. So my website is ceoamplify.ca. And you’re welcome to explore there, I do have a download, which you can grab, which is walking you through the CEO Power Hour. So that one hour date with yourself, if it’s something you’re not doing in your business now. And that kind of resonated with you go and grab that. And you can see the steps on how to put that into place. And then you can also find me on social media, of course, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Scott Ritzheimer
That’s awesome. I want to second grab your copy of the CEO power hour playbook. If you’re not doing it already. It takes all the mystery out it makes it super simple, super practical, and something that you would not believe you lived without if you do it for just a couple of weeks. So Donna, thank you so much for being on the show. Just tremendous, tremendous time. I really appreciate you and for everyone watching and listening today. You know your time and attention mean the world to us. I hope he got as much out of this conversation as I know I did and I cannot wait to see you next time. Take care.
Contact Donna Dube
Donna is a certified Director of Operations and business growth strategist who works with established online service-based business owners who are ready to make a bigger impact and maximize their profit. By leveraging their time, talent and tactics Donna helps business owners go from solopreneur to confident CEO without sacrificing their life, health or relationships. She believes time is the most important asset you can have in your business. Being intentional and purposeful with how you use your time can really propel your business forward. No team, system, or automation can outperform a lack of focus.
Want to learn more about Donna Dube’s work at Productivity Plus? Check out her website at https://ceoamplify.ca/
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