May 11, 2021
Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur? How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance with Vanessa Zamy
As an entrepreneur, it can be hard to keep it together. The demands of a business, your family, your employees, customers, and others can be very stressful. If you have a side hustle, you also have to manage your full-time job and the extras of your business. Learn how to manage your stress and be successful at your business. It can be done.
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About Vanessa
Vanessa Zamy is a business expert, keynote speaker, and bestselling author dedicated to helping full-time employees transition to entrepreneurship by building their business while employed. Her consulting company, Your Vision's Catalyst, coaches and advises 9-to-5ers on how to build a profit-producing, purpose-driven business without the overwhelm. It’s not hustling that’s bad, it’s how you’re hustling that they fix. With a focus on efficiency and effectiveness, Vanessa Zamy works with you as a new entrepreneur on taking care of your life while also taking care of business. Her motto: keep it simple, then keep it movin’! Vanessa’s background includes a Management Science and Engineering Degree from Stanford University, and strategic leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies.
Resources
e-Book: FINISH: The Solopreneur’s Guide to Getting Stuff Done - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0813YJ336
In The Side Business Formula, Vanessa Zamy teaches efficient and effective productivity, marketing, sales, and mindset strategies to ambitious, purpose-led entrepreneurs. You can check out more information on the community and business knowledge here: http://www.thesidebusinessformula.com/
www.vzay.com
www.thebusinessofbusinesspodcast.com
Full Transcript Below
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (00:02):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of the business of business podcast. I'm Roy, we are the show that brings you a wide variety of guests that talk about a lot of different subjects, uh, mostly dealing with, um, the entrepreneurs, solo, preneurs, small business, even some managers of some large companies. You know, we want to try to give you actionable items and, uh, you know, can help you give you some things to think about. You may not have thought about, but also, you know, connects you with professionals that can help you move to that next level and solve any problems that you may have. So today, uh, I've been looking forward to this call for a couple of weeks now because, uh, uh, uh, it's so important and I'll be the first one to say that, you know, I'm going to have to listen and take notes as we go through this today.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (00:52):
But, uh, uh, Vanessa Zamy is a, she's a business expert, a keynote speaker and bestselling author dedicated to helping full-time employees transition to entrepreneurship by building their business while employed her consulting company, your visions, catalyst coaches and advisors nine to fivers on how to build a profit producing purpose-driven business without the overwhelming, without it being overwhelming, it's not hustling, that's bad. It's how you hustle that they fix, uh, what they focus on efficiency and effectiveness. Vanessa works with you as a new entrepreneur on taking care of your life while also taking care of your business. That's an important point. Her motto is keep it simple, then keep it moving. Vanessa's background includes management science, an engineering degree from Stanford university and strategic leadership roles at fortune 500 companies, Vanessa. Uh, welcome to the show. Uh, you know, one point I did want to add is that when we talked earlier, you know, you had just, uh, something I noted that you said that, uh, through connecting with hundreds of ambitious purpose led solo preneurs in your community, uh, one thing is definitely clear that mental health issues and entrepreneurship is still, uh, rampant even today.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (02:17):
So it's a time to cut out the unnecessary on serving and mentally detrimental busy work in solo preneur ships. So first off, welcome to the show, thanks for taking time out of your day to be with us. And, uh, yeah, let's connect. I think it's an interesting subject. Yeah. Yeah. There's so much to unpack here. So let's just jump into, uh, you know, what are you seeing in your community, uh, currently?
Vanessa (02:47):
Yeah, so essentially, you know, in terms of, you know, the, when I talk about mental health as well, there, people will think of different definitions. So just to get us all on the same page here, essentially by health, referring to that anxious feeling, right? Stress, anxiety, worry, panic, all that stuff, right. That is common essentially, unfortunately, still today in entrepreneurship. Right. And it's definitely a common in a new entrepreneurship space, but even when you listen to this podcast, maybe you're also like a full-time employee somewhere else. Right. But unfortunately, you know, at the end of the day, it's given all the pressures, especially in this social media, digital world, there's all these pressures where, you know, you're a new entrepreneur. You're like, yeah. Like day one success. Yeah. Right. Because you saw, you see somebody who's like six figures in six or, you know, or you see all that, you know, you see someone with their jet or their yacht or whatever it is that they're showing you in a photo.
Vanessa (03:44):
And so then there's also that comparison point, right. In terms of, so, and then it's also, so part of it comes from level expectations and then matching that and sort of the imbalance between reality, right. And the level expectations that you have, or based off of what you've seen other people do, et cetera. But at the end of the day, it's maybe they did get those six figures in six days. Maybe they didn't. Right. But, but they don't tell you is that it was after six years of like, you know, doing a couple of businesses, it was at, this was like their fifth business that they've tried. This is after, you know, they use their friend's mailing lists that had a hundred thousand, you know, like they don't tell you all that other stuff behind it. Right. And so,
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (04:34):
Well, we kind of had a freeze up there, hopefully Vanessa
Vanessa (04:37):
They've already quit their job. They quit their job before the, before the business even made money. Yeah. Right.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (04:43):
Yeah. Yeah. And another thing they don't tell you is that with somebody else's yacht that they were standing in front of and that picture that they posted on Instagram, as you know, you know, we talk a lot about that and I, you know, there's so much that you said that, uh, needs unpack and I don't even know where to jump in, but you know, we get back to that purpose driven, uh, you know, something that we're passionate about, but then we also, you know, the social media has been awesome for businesses because we can get out there to a wide range of people and get in front of stuff. But I think it also professionally and personally, I think it can give us unreal listic expectations that people never post the train wrecks that they're having, or when things go bad or, uh, you know, when they can't pay their light bill, it's always posted and all the great stuff.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (05:34):
And so we gotta be careful not to try to compare ourselves to everybody else out there. And then the other thing that you've said too, is that, you know, overnight successes, uh, tend, tend to have, you know, happened over a, you know, five to 10 year period. And, uh, we just think that they've just busted on the scene because we've just discovered over, you know, they're getting a lot of publicity, but there's so much in behind that. So, um, again, uh, you know, I'll throw myself be the first one to throw myself under the bus about all of this, that, uh, you know, I always have a lot of, to do a lot of ideas, a lot more to do today than I could possibly cram into three or four days. And, um, you know, it does, you do get anxious, but I try to get out and take a walk and then always reevaluate, make a list of, to do, you know, and then try to prioritize what is the actual most important, even though they all are board it. So anyway, a lot of stuff, but I'm gonna let you kinda, uh, jump back in and take off with the takeoff there where you feel we need to.
Vanessa (06:41):
Yeah. I mean, it was a lot of stuff. So feel free to, you know, get me back to where you think I should go whenever, but essentially I'll touch on the point that you just recently made in terms of how you're, you're getting anxious, but you take that walk. Right. So, and, but it's like sort of having a lot to do you have a lot on your to-do list more than you can do for the day. Right. So we'll address that point first and then go into, then, you know, the point that she mentioned about how you're taking that walk. So in terms of the, you know, first point about, you know, having that extra, you have that long list, right? So it's all the stuff that needs to get done. Right. And you know, if you're, you're building a business, maybe you also got a family, you got to maybe have a day job as well to do a bunch of different things to do, and only 24 hours in a day.
Vanessa (07:21):
Right. And here's the thing, when it comes down to, you know, you getting things done, it's focused, right. It's focused and you mentioned a key word as well to priority prioritization priorities. Right. And understanding what those priorities are, but it even the prioritizing your goals overall. Right. And I will just tell my, my clients is essentially I have like a three part system to help me do this. Right. Well, first part is like, what are your non-negotiables right. So what do you need to do to take care of yourself and to feel like you've taken care of yourself right. In a day or a week, whatever, it's like, get your hair done every month, or is it data with the kids every night at 6:00 PM, whatever it may be. And then the second part of that is what are the goals that you want to get done in three months?
Vanessa (08:04):
Right now I'm speaking to the opposite. I'm speaking to a new entrepreneurial crowd. Right. But it's very easy for us to think, Oh, I want to, I want to get that, that empire in like three years, I want to do this in five years. By the end of this year, I will get like a hundred K. Right. And let's say, you're starting out at like five K or starting out with like zero. Right. And yeah, it's a lot of like setting that expectations with yourself in terms of, okay. Yes. You're going to get to the one year, but in terms of the next three months, right. What is it that you want to get done within the next three months? Right. Right. And I found it, especially when I was like, when I was starting out. Right. It was very easy for me to, I want to get this in like a year, this and two years in internet.
Vanessa (08:42):
Right. All these dreams, all these goals. But then unfortunately what ended up happening was that each day I would like, I would do something and then I would say, Oh my gosh, I'm so far away. Like, Oh, I'm the worst. Oh, I can't it. Oh, gee. Right. Then the next day I'll do something and be like, Oh my gosh. Like, Oh, so you just started comparing yourself to that. One-year, three-year, five-year, ten-year et cetera. In this marathon that you just started running. Right. And it just, it just didn't serve me well. Right. And it just led to, you know, be sad, sometimes being disappointed in myself. No, it's very easy to, because as an entrepreneur, chances are, you're an ambitious person. Chances are, you are an ambitious person, which means that chances are that you are, you know, you have all these high expectations for yourself and all these, you know, things that you wish you should, or you coulda et cetera, right. That you want to do. And so it was very easy that that list that you want to do is just all the stuff that you wish that you could do. Right. And it's all gonna happen. It's all gonna happen, but it takes being patient. Right. It takes prioritizing. It takes focusing on, okay, next three months, what do I want to get done next three months? Right. Not next three years, not next 33 years, next three months, what will I get done? Right. And yeah. Feel free to write.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (09:58):
Yeah. You know, the other part of that I think is being kind to ourselves because, uh, you know, like I may have 10 things on my list today and I'll get seven of them done. And, um, I can spend a couple minutes beating myself up over the three that I didn't get done. And, uh, but that's always going to happen. I think in, in a busy life, especially entrepreneurs, solo, preneur, there's so many things, so many parts of the business. So many ideas that, you know, if we prioritize, we have to be thankful at the end of the day that, and I got the top seven done, which, you know, that's awesome. Not worry about the three. We didn't get done. They'll roll over and we can pick them up tomorrow. Okay.
Vanessa (10:37):
Absolutely. Absolutely. By giving yourself grace, give yourself grace and forgiveness for what it is that you did get done. And I was think of it like, so I have a optimistic realism. Um, and it's a, it's a term that I coined. I hold anyone else to that point in 2014, essentially. I remember this moment when this happened, but essentially it was, you know, my friend was calling me optimistic and I was like, I'm not optimistic. I'm thinking about like a girl with big tales, like skipping down the street. So I was like, I'm not that no. Right. And the thing is, so that I decided to call a new term, like optimistic realism. And essentially what it means is, you know, you know, I see the, I see the gray clouds, but I also acknowledge that their sons dining shiny, bright, I see the great faults, but also I choose to focus on the sun.
Vanessa (11:15):
Right. And so, and the thing is when it comes down to your list of things, you may have had 10 things that you want to get done today. Right. But even if you had seven, even if you got done seven, that's still good. Right. And it's very easy though, as an entrepreneur, you're an entrepreneur or whatever stage you're in it's to say, Oh gee, like I already got some things that I have three more things to do. Oh, I didn't finish everything. Oh, I'm the worst. Like I kept waiting to finish the list instead of acknowledging that you got those seven and things then. Right. And part of it could be that maybe you thought it was only going to take you, I don't know, two hours to edit this episode. And it turns out, you know, it took you three hours, so you just couldn't do the other stuff, you know, but that's, you still got the episode edited. Right. And so that's what it comes down to. Yeah. I love that.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (11:58):
Yeah. That's the other thing. And then, um, you know, I think we, we've talked a little bit about that relation our relationships with, uh, with our families, with our friends outside of our business, you know, we spend a lot of time, uh, close to our business doing stuff. But, uh, what I will say is that we can't, if you have three leftover at the end of the day, it's we can't sacrifice our other relationships to try to punch those through if we are scheduling our day out, because typically most entrepreneurs, I know they put in a lot of hours anyway. So you've got to definitely have a time that you can cut things off and really, uh, nurture and pay attention to these other relationships in your life.
Vanessa (12:43):
Yeah. Can you talk, you talk about the situation where it's like, let's say it's, you know, 7:00 PM, you still got three more things. Let's do you, Liz, but then you told your wife, it was date night, right? So your husband has date night. Right. And you had been, you know, some people will say, sorry, spouse, I cannot go on a date night with you. I just got to get these three other things done. But it's one of those things where you said 7:00 PM, right. Is there to be a date night. So what are you prioritizing? Right. What are you prioritizing? What do you want to focus on? Right. And the thing is that relationships are important, right? People who are supporting you are important and you don't want to, and maybe they're not, maybe you listen to this, to this podcast. And you're just like, Ashley, I don't care for real. Right. But assuming that your kids or your family aren't boards to you, then essentially it's like, Hey, 7:00 PM. You say, we're going to do this show up. Right. So be consistent. Or next time don't say you got to do it at 7:00 PM. Right next time, do it at 9:00 PM. Next time. Say it's me a different day. Right. And if that's what it takes, but essentially today, right now it's 7:00 PM. So, you know, get that goal.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (13:44):
Yeah. And, you know, working from home, I get the tap on the shoulder, like, you know, you're, you're done now, so you can just get up and quit. So that makes it easier. But yeah. You know, and I think the second part of showing up is to be present because I am guilty of this, uh, you know, being somewhere else or at a function. And even at Christmas, you know, Christmas dinner or whatever, and thinking, ah, I just thought that, you know, this thing or that thing or giving it some thought, and th that's a hard part, uh, to let go of that for, you know, whatever this period of time is to really be present and really be focusing on that other person and you know, what's happening.
Vanessa (14:25):
Yeah. And he was like, this is amazing. He brought that up because the topic that I was to bring up with my clients is great. It's all essentially, it's, you know, the fact that, you know, your lasagna stuff around where you're being busy, you're just like, I'm busy, I'm busy, I'm busy, OMG. Like I have so much to do. I can't do this. Right. So that's what you tell everybody. Um, and, but then one time, one day you make the time that you make the time for the birthday party, your party or the brunch or whatever it may be. And then you show there. Right. And then at the end of the day, you're like, Oh yeah. I went to that brunch check relationships checks right. At the end of the day though, where you really at that brunch. Yep. Right. You want to be not only there, but you also want to be aware. So what I say, right. You don't just want to be there. You want to be aware. Right. You don't want to be there and think to be thinking about 20 million other things, because then you're not being present. Right. You're not really showing up. Right. You're physically there, but you're not mentally there. Right. And so you're not aware of what's happening or, you know, your people, especially after, after you left, they all talk about you. It was boy, like what was going on?
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (15:29):
Believe me, I have had that happen to, you know, where, uh, my mom calls the partner and says, okay, what's up. He was awful quiet or whatever, but, uh, yeah, it's, it's, it's difficult. And you know, I think it's, um, it's, it's, uh, it's hard for me because I actually love what I do. I'm one of the lucky few that, you know, I've always been fortunate enough to really enjoy and dig into my job. So it's not, uh, it's not a struggle or it's not, uh, you know, I don't dread it. So that makes it even more difficult is when you really have a passion for what you do,
Vanessa (16:05):
That is true. Yeah. I mean, it's one of the things where it makes it difficult, but it also makes it rewarding. Right. And at the end of the day, it's just going back to that, you know, what is it like, okay, yes. You love this to do like the podcast. He loves the job that you're doing. Right. But I'm free to also love other things. Right. And so when I talk about that first part of taking care of yourself, where it's like, what are your non-negotiables, it's getting down to, what is it that also feeds into your life? Right. Right. I guess you want to take care of business, but what do you need to take care of yourself so that you can show up in all areas? Because like, as you know, right, great business, you get your feel good about your business. You will also feel good about your health and your wealth and your family, all that stuff. But the opposite is also true. You feel good about your health, your wealth, et cetera, all the other stuff, you also feel good about your business, right? And so they do connect in that sense as well, too.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (16:54):
So a lot of times people or people get into businesses or start on, you know, being an entrepreneur for different reasons. Sometimes it's, they want more money, more freedom. But, you know, I think we have to always kind of liken it to the dog and the tail. You know, we have to be careful that we are the dog wagging the tail, which is the business and not end up letting the business, you know, wag the dog basically is that, uh, you know, we have to set limits expectations because truly the relationships that we have outside of our work should be the most important. Our family, our spouses, our kids, our friends, and we have to pay attention to those because in the end, what's the use of being successful. If you're alone in bad health and, uh, all of that, you know, we want to be able to be successful to share our time and our resources with the, those that we love around us.
Vanessa (17:51):
Yeah. It's a holistic journey, right. It's a very, it's a very much so a holistic journey in terms of, you know, ensuring that you are covering those different areas. Right. And the thing is like, there may be like, let's say you're a new, new entrepreneurial type. Like Vanessa, I got all this stuff to do. Oh my gosh. Right. Okay. Maybe you do, but then set those expectations with other people, right? Say, Hey friends, by the way, I'm starting a business. I don't think I'm going to be able to go to brunch for the next couple of months, BTW. And then, you know, if they're your friends, they don't understand that. Right. Like if they are real friends, they will understand otherwise, you know, what you don't want to do is say, you're going to show up and don't show up, but you don't want to do is like, say, you're going to show up, you show up and you're not present.
Vanessa (18:27):
Right. You're not aware. Right. And so it's a matter of that communication setting expectations, not only with yourself and those limits and boundaries, like you mentioned that not only with yourself, but also other people around you. Right. And being comfortable and okay with that. And I think it's very much so. I like that when I always tell the cons, what I always say is you need to be selfish. Right. You do need to be selfish. There is a level of being selfish in terms of, you're going to take care of this business. Right. And at the end of the day, it's are you actually being selfish though? Because like you mentioned, right, you might be doing the business because you want to leave a generational wealth for your kids. Right. Maybe you want to have more freedom. Maybe you want to retire your spouse. Right. And is that really a selfish thing? Sound like a selfish thing. Right. But essentially it starts with you getting that business going and getting that business running right.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (19:14):
Over the years that selfishness has taken on kind of a meeting, I think beyond itself is that, uh, it's the saying, you know, because it starts with taking care of ourself. And so sometimes we have to protect ourself our time. We have to say no, and that doesn't make us selfish in, uh, you know, as long as we're not hurting other people, we, we, we have to be healthy before we can help our business or we can help other people. So definitely, uh, we just, the has to be at the top of the list as our self-care.
Vanessa (19:47):
Yeah, it does. It does. And I work with a lot of, a lot of entrepreneurs who are like mothers and wives, and they're also doing their business and all this other stuff. And that's also definitely very difficult, at least for them to grasp. But you know, once they do, it's like amazing. They just show up better. Right. And things that like, you know, your kids, your spouse, right. Like you mentioned your mom, right. People can see when there's something that's a little bit off and you may be trying to put up a front, you know, like, Oh yeah, good. Right. But, but things at the end of the day, if there are people who care about you, they'll see something's a little off. Right. And if it's off for a lot longer than it needs to be, they may ask some questions. So things like, how do you ensure that you were taking care of yourself so that you are showing up right. The way that you should, the way that you want to. Yeah. Not only that, but the way that you want to, for the people around you. So, yeah.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (20:37):
So it, it, you know, we've talked a lot about setting those expectations upfront, which is very important, but it's also, I think, as equally important to, uh, to reevaluate as we go through time. And I don't know if you can suggest a timeframe, I can feel myself getting bogged down in, uh, you know, feeling a little bit of that out of control. And that's when it, you know, I try to be self-aware enough to say, okay, I need to step back. Let's look at the to-do list where we're going, you know, what, you know, kind of reevaluate and reprioritize basically. And so, um, what, what can you suggest for that?
Vanessa (21:16):
Uh, yeah, so it seems like, kind of what a little bit, what you're alluding to is burnout a little bit in terms of, you know, when, you know, entrepreneurs are doing all this stuff through on that, and you're kind of on a wheel and at some point you're just like exhausted and you're down and out for like two months. And then you come back, you're back on the wheel and you're down and out, you know? And the thing is that I'm all button things like stuff that we talked about and talk about another down too, as well, too. But even the stuff that we tend to talk about during the past couple of minutes in terms of that focus, prioritization, all that stuff and ways for you to take care of yourself, right. It feeds into you not having that burnout habit. Right. But let's say you are in a space where you are in a burnout and what I ended up doing the way, the strategy that I do for myself, but also that I've now brought to my group in community last week that everyone liked them all didn't.
Vanessa (21:58):
And I was like, okay, great, awesome. Um, but essentially the green, red, and yellow lights system that I implement for myself. And so essentially it's, you know, cause it goes back to that whole concept of, you know, you're comparing every day to like your three-year goal that you have. Right. And the thing is that that doesn't serve you at all, because essentially what's happening is that you end up feeling like you're behind every single hour. You just feel like you're behind. So then you try to like catch up to this like three-year thing and like a day, and it just ends up being like, you're just doing too much. You're doing too much. You're burning yourself out at the end of the day. Right. And so, but with the red, yellow, green, red, yellow light system that I created for myself and essentially it was my way of saying, okay, all right, Vanessa, yes, you have this goal of this.
Vanessa (22:42):
Three-year five-year et cetera, this one year goal. Right. And essentially it happened, you know, looking at the end of the year. And I was like, okay, yes, you have this goal. And that's like, great. And amazing. Cool. Um, but essentially, what is it that is that focus for the next month? And so what happens to the green, red, yellow light system? And I started implementing this like sometime like middle of last year or so, and essentially the green light was essentially okay, what worked well? What worked well for the business? And it's, I'm looking at it timeframe month-to-month it is month to month, last month, what worked well for the business, right? That's what, that's what going to keep on going for the next month. And then a red light is what did it work well, right. What did we learn from that? And then we end it and we stop it, right.
Vanessa (23:25):
Is what that's the red light. And then a yellow light is where sort of, it helps you to pace yourself and prevent that burnout. Right? So yellow light is what is the one thing, but one new thing that you're going to do differently next month. Right? And this is essentially to help the, all those ideas. You have all these amazing ideas as a new entrepreneur, an entrepreneur generally, always amazing ideas. You're like, yeah, I can do this for my clients. I can do a retreat. I can do a center. I could do this asset. I do a podcast. I can do all this stuff. Yeah. Ooh. Right. And then you try to do all the things, right. Cause you're seeing your business, you try to make your business happen in five years and like our day. Right. And the thing is at the end of the day, it's not like you got more time, like you didn't get your day, did it become all of a sudden 48 hours?
Vanessa (24:09):
Right. So at the end of the day, you're working with the same amount of time, money and energy. Right. However, you do need to experiment and you do need to try new things in your business. Right. So that you can continue to grow and flourish, but it's like one thing at a time. Right. So each month what worked well, what didn't work well, and then what's the one new thing that you're going to do differently right. In your business. And the way that, that worked. For example, for my business in November, for example, I was doing this like, no, and I told her I was using this like contractor for some strategy for free marketing on Facebook. That was a new thing for it. Doesn't yellow light thing. I tried to not tell her that did not work out. Right. So in November, in November it was like, what's the red light, that thing like that red light, but now we need a new, a new yellow light.
Vanessa (24:52):
Right. And then we started something, I was like, okay, let me get a Facebook ads contractor. Right. So that, then we got started working on that in November. We released the ad in December. Beautiful, beautiful. Right. It's a continue the green light, for example. Right. And, but the thing is, or even just like connecting with my team in terms of, you know, my sales team and how they operate as well, too. Right. But it's the green, red, yellow light system to help you pace yourself. Right. And also be aware of the current present moment of your business.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (25:20):
Yeah. And I kind of, I'm a little bit on the analytical side, so it kind of plays into, uh, not tracking things. I mean, we are, there are intuitive feelings that we have, but uh, let's say we're doing something for 30 days and maybe the last five days, it hasn't gone. Good. So we're really down on that. That's why I tell people, you know, keep a journal, keep a log because what we want to do is look at that over, you know, a month, a week, a month, however long, and see what are our returns from that? And is it something that we should continue, you know, should we put a red light on it or not, but don't just, um, you know, get, don't wait till that time where you're kind of bogged down and not really feeling it. And then just, you know, trash, some stuff that may have really been going good for you. They might have just skipped a beat over the last few days.
Vanessa (26:11):
Yeah. And it's, it's definitely like a thing that, what ends up happening is that you ended up, you know, Oh, I tried this master class, that one thing that I tried, that one strategy didn't work that one time for like one hour. Right. And it's like, you tried it for one time, one hour during like, as one week. Like that's not enough data to assess. Right. That's why I use like a 30 day. Yes. Love it. Yeah.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (26:32):
Yeah. And then like, it's, like you said, that adding that new thing and then being mindful enough to watch it and let's see, is that going to work? And then, you know, again, we get back to there's 24 in a day. So then we can prioritize, you know, those things that are really working in life. And it doesn't always have to be, uh, moving us toward revenue or profit. I mean, it could be the interaction with our, uh, with our relationships or our loved ones too. We need to keep, you know, how does that, maybe it's better to schedule a lunch where you can go see people at lunch instead of a dinner where you get hung up in the day, things like that.
Vanessa (27:09):
Yeah, exactly. Right. Like maybe you try to be like, okay, 7:00 PM every night, I'm going to have date night. Okay, cool. And then maybe you realize it didn't work out. So then it's like, well maybe, maybe the weekends are better. Right. But it's like, that's becomes a yellow light. Right. For like, what is the new thing you're going to try out based on what you learned from the failed experience, but maybe they work well. So then you keep on going that did it. Right. And yeah,
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (27:33):
I like your motto. Keep it simple and keep it moving because, um, you know, one thing too, sometimes we can sabotage ourselves by, uh, way over-complicating things. So I think that's interesting to it. Is that something that you've observed or noticed with the new entrepreneurs as well?
Vanessa (27:52):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and it goes into, well, sometimes it leads to analysis paralysis in terms of people just not starting their business, because they're just like, Oh, that's why the ABC, Oh my God, what about this? What about that? What about this? And I'm just like this, what about that? Like, you'll figure it out in five months right now today. Right. And so over complicated opinions is a, you know, a big issue there in that space. And then also just in general, like, you know, let's say you want to do a new strategy. Right. What I'm finding with my clients is that, you know, the ones who let's say they wants to do a new fund, a funnel, a new marketing sales funnel. And it's like, yeah, okay. You need to create this landing page and be like, yeah. But like, what about the picture and the color of the picture?
Vanessa (28:31):
And like, just, just put a picture. Like, it's not like it's not really not that common. Put a picture, see how it works. You change the picture, right. If the picture doesn't work, you change the picture. Right. And the thing is, and unfortunately that over complication is what makes people stress themselves out. Right. It just leads to that stress and anxiety that you're putting on yourself. And part of it is also part of the perfection. Part of it is like, you know, wanting to be perfect. One of the things to just look crystal clear and, you know, just be nip and tight right on day one. And, and what does that STEM from full circle extends from? Maybe you're looking at the people on the beat and all that stuff, all the news and all that stuff. And you're telling yourself, Oh, look at them. So perfect. Right. But at the end of the day, what you're seeing is version 10.0 right. You're seeing version the version six year Mark. Right. What you're not seeing is Virgin zero year Mark. Right. Version 1.0. And so, but everyone had 1.0, before they got to 10 point. Oh, but you don't realize that you don't acknowledge that. And so you're trying to be perfect. You trying to over-complicate stuff you have to try and it's like, no, just put it out there. Right. Just put it out there.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (29:33):
Yeah. And I think that gets back to, um, you know, planning, unfortunately again, I'll speak for myself is that, that is like, Hey, I thought of that landing page. Now I want it up this afternoon. And, um, it's just, sometimes it doesn't work that way if you have a vision may be, but what I've found for me, web page writing, especially, you know, I used to get disappointed because I'm like, Oh, I'm going to sit down and knock out a 1200 word blog today, you know, in an hour or two. And it just doesn't work. And so, um, setting the realistic expectations where we don't overwhelm ourselves, but also like, um, you know, fix that blog page, fix the, uh, uh, landing page up, do it. But don't, you don't have to put it live, but just get it fixed and look at it for a day or two. And then, you know, it's like after a while, things either become clear either. Yeah. That's exactly what I wanted. Or ah, here are some changes that need to be made and you know, everything is dynamic. Anyway, you throw it up, it's up for a week or two. And it's like, well maybe, you know, maybe you see another page that you find something you like and want to change. So we're always growing and changing. It's never going to be perfect the first time.
Vanessa (30:47):
Yeah. Yeah. But people, she is like expecting it to be like, even if you're doing a new product or whatever, right. And then we go to an example of where you're like, Oh, I'm going to this web page and you happen to have it happened this afternoon, but here's the thing you now thought of this idea in the morning to do is what patient afternoon. But you probably had a list of other stuff that you wanted to do that day. Right. And so it comes at mental maneuvering, right? It's like, okay, yes, you can get that web page done today. But just realize that you may not get that episode editor. You may not get whatever it is else that you wanted to do. Right. Or if you do, you'll be, you know, something will have to go something for perfection. We'll have to go, something will have to go. Right. And you got to keep it simple. Right. If you want to get all that done today, you got to keep it all simple. Right. Otherwise you run the risk of spending 10 hours on landing page. And then you look at the list of that a day. You're like, Oh my God. Right. So, yeah.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (31:36):
Cause that's another, um, it's a good quality, but I think it's like with all qualities, if you push it to the extreme that, uh, it can actually work against you. But the, um, you know, kind of wanting to be in control of everything is that sometimes we have to relax that and say, you know what? I can find a vendor that I can transmit my ideas to. I can be carrying on with the core of my business, let them do the development and get back to me and then I can evaluate it and we can tweak it. So, uh, but that is a challenge. Do you run into that quite a bit with your clients
Vanessa (32:17):
In terms of like finding the right people and speaking stuff,
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (32:21):
Uh, wanting to be in con wanting to be the control freak and do you know
Vanessa (32:25):
Well that's yeah, yeah, yeah. That see that's the thing I think. And the thing is that maybe it's, I haven't seen it with my friends, but I do see with people who aren't yet my clients, where they are, you know, before they come to me, they're like, Oh yeah, I need to do it all myself. Like I am, I can do it all myself. And it's like, sort of like people with something approved, right. It's like, it's done. It looks what it is, the property that you just feel like you have something to prove to somebody that you could just do it all yourself. Right. Right. Not realizing that the people you're seeing on a newsfeed, they have a team of like 10 other people. Right. Like they have other brains, they have other hands doing stuff for them right. At the end of the day. But you think that you got to prove something to somebody and it's just like, no, you don't. Right. And for me, I mean, I got rid of that habit back in like high school. And I was just like, Oh my gosh. If I get other people to do stuff that leaves me more opportunity to do stuff. So it's like, great. So yeah. Yeah.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (33:19):
We can't be afraid to reach out. There's a lot of good, uh, services out there. You know, we get recommendations. We can find somebody who can get us 80 or 90% of the way there. And then we can add that finishing touches on it to make it the way we want it to. So, yeah. Yeah. Well, Vanessa, I appreciate you so much taking time out of your day to come talk with us. So, uh, one thing is, do you have a, um, a tool or a habit or something that you use in your personal or professional life every day? That just adds a lot of value?
Vanessa (33:55):
Uh, yeah. So I would say that's something I started doing like middle twenties, maybe early twenties money, but essentially, Oh yeah. It was like, Oh, he it's like spring early spring time printing. Wow. It's been so long, but I feel like it was yesterday, but essentially it was, I was listening to something of Tony Robbins and he mentioned like some five questions. And so I've actually started doing that. And like, so she started doing that Bay back early 2020, where I started doing like these five questions that I do in the morning and I don't write it down in a journal, but some people do, I literally will just like once I wake up and I'm like aware that I'm awake, I just run through these five questions in my mind. Then I go bed. I live my life. Right. So the questions are, what are you most excited about for today?
Vanessa (34:39):
What are you most grateful for? What are you most proud of? And then essentially, how will, you know, how will you achieve a business breakthrough today? I was like, how will I do you've been a victim today. Hmm. Yeah. Um, and then the fifth question is related to your goal. Right. And so it's, you know, how will today get me closer to, and then you answer your goal, right? So maybe it's retiring responsibilities for tying yourself. Maybe it's getting a, you know, investment property in California, maybe it's, you know, whatever it may be, but how well did they get you closer to that one goal. Right. And so that's the five questions that I run through in the morning. And that's what I had been doing. That's that's the tool, so to speak, right. That's the tool. Um, and in terms of you're looking for more, like, how do I like just get my, get stuff done in my life and stay calm and relaxed?
Vanessa (35:27):
Cause that's essentially, that's a skill that is one of genius that people have told me I had for the past 15 years. And didn't realize that until I started with this catalyst and was like, Oh, snap, this is what people have been asking me for. And I wasn't had the fortunate opportunity, um, to write a book about it. But essentially what I do is right now, especially the stage that I'm at is that what I do is I just like, well map out stuff. Like if I have something new that I want to do some new project or some new goal, what I do is I end up just writing it out. I just ended up like literally take out a piece of paper and I just have seven columns on a piece of paper Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. And then I like to 6:00 AM to like 10:00 PM. And I just, the whole just block out stuff. I was like, okay, I do this on that day and this on that day. Okay. Great. It all works. Okay, cool. I'm good. I never looked at the paper ever again, but essentially in my mind it would just helps me to understand and be aware that, Oh, I can actually get this new project thing done so to speak. So yeah.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (36:17):
Yeah. That's awesome because I think we have to, well, I think your five questions get you up and get you started on the right foot and moving in the direction you need to. And then also the, you know, looking at our plan over a week, coming up, it's, uh, you know, what's on our agenda, where are we going to have some time to plug some things in? And uh, you know, they always say plan your work and work your plan. So anyway, that's awesome. Uh, what, what I want to get you to tell me about a couple things, uh, before, you know, we, um, ask you how people can get ahold of you. So you've got a, uh, the ebook called finish the solo preneurs guide to getting stuff done. So we'll talk a little bit about that. And then you've also got your, uh, bootcamp.
Vanessa (37:05):
Yes, I do. I do. Oh yes. I'm happy to share. So essentially finished the solopreneurs guide to getting stuff done is available on Amazon. Um, and essentially that book stemmed from it's like at the time that we're recording this podcast about a year year, uh, when he did appreciate me, um, it was released, but essentially, um, that book stems from that, you know, like for even pre my, my business starting business days in which it was really just about how did I get all my goals done? And so I talked about the zone of genius, essentially. I'd moved around different places, but each year it was always one person, a different person who will essentially say, Vanessa, how do you do it? Like, how do you do it? And I never quite knew the answer. I never quite, I didn't know what they were even asking me.
Vanessa (37:47):
So I didn't quite know how to, and I was like, I just study the byway. I don't know, what are you like asking me for? Um, and then essentially at some point I woke up in the morning, I was like, well, can we get a background noise? Okay. Um, and at some point in, you know, I'm walking in the morning, I woke up and decided, you know, yes, this is the book. This is what people have been asking you for. Right. And so essentially it's finished. It's a six step process that I developed that essentially goes through product management. And self-management tips for you to get stuff done throughout your day, throughout your week, throughout your life. As you look towards achieving your goals, that's what that's about. And then my bootcamp is something I do live, um, to connect with people and give them time marketing time management and sales skills for their business.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (38:29):
And we'll be sure and put, uh, I'll be sure and put the links to both of those on the show notes as well. So you can go over there and, uh, be sure and check those resources on. I think they'd be a very valuable to a new entrepreneurs and those that, you know, may be bumping up against some time and productivity issues, kind of get you back on the straight and narrow. So, all right, Vanessa. Well, that's awesome. Thank you so much for again, for taking time out of your day to be here. So tell everybody what can you do for them? Um, uh, how they, you know, kind of basically who's your client, what you can do for them and how they can reach out and get ahold of you.
Vanessa (39:07):
Yes. So I coach consult and advise nine to fivers on how to build their profit producing purpose should have business even as demanded day job. And so if you are looking to continue moving forward your business, let's say you're struggling, you're overwhelmed, you're stressed out. You're just like I'm doing the things or nothing is happening, right. And if that is you, then I'm here for you. My team and I are here for you and you can reach us in the skyrocket, your side business, Facebook group to private Facebook group. So you're welcome to check us out, to sign up for that group. You can check vanessazamy.com that's [inaudible] dot com. And in that group, we have boot camps. Pop-up boot camps, uh, pop-up workshops. Let's see what else I do. I go live every day as well too, to give a different business tip related to time management, marketing, and sales goal, setting mindset, business strategy, all that jazz is in that group for you as a resource. Okay.
Roy - The Business of Business Podcast - Are You An Overwhelmed Entrepreneur How To Maintain Your Sanity and Balance (39:58):
Awesome. We all reach out. See how Vanessa can help you. Uh, that's gonna be it for this episode of the business of business podcast. I want to thank you for listening. You can find us, of course, at www.thebusinessofbusinesspodcast.com. We're on all the major, uh, podcast platforms, uh, Apple podcast, Google podcast, Spotify, and, um, also on all the social media from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and of course a recording of this episode will be put up on YouTube as well. So until next time, take care of yourself and take care of each other.
www.vzamy.com
www.thebusinessofbusinesspodcast.com