Hello and welcome to the smart woman in business podcast today
I'm chatting with Rachel Allan a business owner for 14 years and mum - Sophie who's 7.
Rachel is also author of the book when business meets baby an integrated market entrepreneur and property investor
Rachel's business, visionary which she shares with her partner Craig has evolved from event management to marketing and a business
During her pre business career Rachel worked in government
Small and medium-sized businesses and not-for-profits in both Australia and Scotland, so welcome Rachel
I make very happy to have you here. So
Tell me a bit about your business journey so far
yeah, 14 years is actually a long time to be in business when you reflect on it and
my main aim for starting my business was because I was sick of working for the man and
While over those 14 years at times I've taken
Contracts that have seen me back in workplaces. It's sort of just
Being able to grow and involve my business as well. I think the hardest thing was when I had my daughter and
Suddenly had a really busy business where we were traveling a lot and a lot of events and we're working like seven-day weeks and stuff
And then I had a baby in the mix as well
And that was the hardest thing so I kind of I had to put the brakes on for my own insanity
and
evolve the business
was again and change its and bring it back to core as well - money making things and
Focus on the things that really light me up
So that's been a bit of an ongoing thing for seven years
It took me about two years to recognize the problem
And then writing the book has kind of spearheaded me off in a direction where I'm doing a lot more
supporting and mums in business and
And helping them to not make some of the same mistakes I did
It's such a challenge
Juggling the mum bit and the business bit because especially when you work from home
There's no off. There's no getting away from it and
Despite what people seem to think when you'd work for yourself
You still have all those pressures you have in a corporate job?
So you still have the deadlines and still have you know?
The tricky clients and you still have the tricky projects and still make mistakes and it's not
Always as easy as people think and we're not sitting around watching. That's
fish
No, it's some and you never off either so I find that if I've got if I'm sitting at my computer
I'll go I should be walking the dog or this watching to hang out or
Whatever anyone actually if I'm cooking with dinner or whatever
I'm thinking of the projects that I should be doing or a little bit or the email
I haven't replied to so it's just that constant being split I
Mean the upside is that you have flexibility or I'm able to pick my daughter up from school, which is a pretty non-negotiable thing
I do that most days. Yeah
And I'm also able to be part of what she's doing as well. So she's doing a dance comps at the moment
So I'm flexible enough to be able to go to those and support her and go to school excursions or show up for assembly
Yeah pay them outside for me as well like if
my daughter's teacher
all right a night, but she's getting in Ward on Friday so I can I can go to that I can show up but
Yes. Yes then on Sunday morning. I'll be up at 6 a.m
works
so
You said your business has evolved. So what were the signs for you apart from having your daughter that it was time to change?
oftentimes we limit ourselves in business because
We think we can't we can't move on we can't move up and we do have a tendency to be self-limiting
So what were the signs for you that you needed to step up and change things I think
for me my most recent change in the business was
that I was actually getting really bored doing what I was doing and
That lack of passion I suppose was showing up in some of my work and the way that I was approaching things
So I think being able to and also recognize that you know at times
You do like I need to change and evolve and I'm always learning
so therefore the work that I do also needs to step up and change also and
to understand that you you've got so
Much to contribute to the world and your story and your your contribution is really important and you can make changes
by stepping outside your comfort zone a little bit and just stretching yourself and
I've also looked at the way that the marketing industry and the world of marketing has changed and
It's so much more
diverse and
You can no longer. It's really hard to be an expert in everything
Because social media has become so deep and websites become so deep then
Quite specific and you can't be a cop you happy knowledgeable about everything
That's about not well picking a niche but also stepping up
So for me it was I understand how all of this stuff works and I understand how it benefits businesses
I don't enjoy doing Facebook posts for people and I don't enjoy sitting out them out to
Newsletters for people what I enjoy is the strategy and I enjoy being people being able to think bigger about their business
So for meals versus battle, what do I enjoy doing? What's the industry doing around me?
and then how can I create my business just stick into that as well and it's about
making
recognizing the bits that you do love because the whole point of record yourself is I
Do the work that I want to do and then I are that outsource weirdo injury the way that I don't want to do
yeah, and
trying to rectify
Start out you're freaking out about getting work. And then it's hard to get past that I'll just take every job that comes my way
mindset - all right, super
Reflects have a bit of Anna give myself a bit of a performance management session and go
What is it that I want to be doing with my time? And how do I then focus on that?
Absolutely. Yeah, maybe I kind of because I have sort of rebut if my business recently
I feel like I'm back at the start again to some degree. So now
Now when someone says to me, can you do this I can say to them
Well, yes, I can knowing that I've got a team behind me that I can announce
Yeah
Also too as well. So for me, it's not necessarily about how can I do the work?
It's more who can I get to do the work that I don't enjoy doing? Yeah
But then managing that
Team as well adds another element to it, but it's it's so good to be able to go. Yep
I can do that, but I won't do it but there are very few things are outsourced in my job, but in my work
Some of them yes
You do that bit I
Give a white bulk image-editing to my husband because he's Photoshop me as I go right you do that you do that bit. So
How do you manage we talks about that balance?
So, how do you manage and have you got any tools or processes that you rely on that?
you can share and
your life as
both a mum and our entrepreneur and a wife and partner and a friend and self care and all of that sort of
my life
my Google Calendar, I have Google Calendar set up for everybody in our family and
Also my work and I just interchange between those calendars all the time
I know
Now when?
for example
My daughter's life is going to be really busy and that she's going to need some downtime from school or that she needs
a bit more
Support so I can kind of manage that and make sure that I'm leaving space in my diary for that as well
I also know when it's busy times for me for work as well
So I have all my deadlines and therefore, you know
It's almost like saying to the family. You need to give me some space in this as well. Mmm
So my Google Carol is probably the biggest tool that I use every day
within the business I also use
Insightly a lot and that manages my tasks that manages leads it manages projects
It has everything in there that I need. So to me, it's just about having things
Automated and processes in the business so that it can just keep ticking over as well
And I love Zakia because that beer just connects all my different
Online tools like zoom and mouth shape and slightly and my caring program and it all just connects it all together
So it makes I don't have to do the mundane tasks all the time
It's it's about not having to be conscious of doing those. You just know they're done
System so that, you know, the cleaning gets done that needs to get done the washing
Planning there's food in the cupboard. So there's
Business
and family that I've created it's
Usually
My kids eat up five so I'm like
Swingin come home making that so we don't I'd be hungry about 7:00. So what is a great?
People what does a great daily office look like to you
I
Had to lots of great days
I love the days where I am connecting with people whether it's online or
In real and actually sitting down having coffee and I'm learning about their businesses
And whether it's just a casual coffee or a coaching session, sorry
Like those busy days where there's lots happening talking to lots of people, but I also like the other days where I can just close
the door I'm getting and get a whole bunch of work done and it's really productive and I'm crossing stuff off my to-do list as
Well, so they're kind of two extremes one sort of chatting and talking to people and the others closeted myself away
And it's it's it's an interesting
balance
When you do work for yourself of having that people time and having that alone time
I don't know where your base but I'm base truly so I don't like I don't even have a local coffee shop
Really I can go to
Coffee shops. Yeah, we have we have like but I don't do the school run. I don't go out in the morning
I'm like here by myself in my onesie. So
I
Just am here by myself as a horse. Am I we know so one of the things
And I'm going to speak to everybody in this series about this because and that's a really big thing that affects entrepreneurs but
One of the things that every single entrepreneur I know
deals with is impostor syndrome, so
What are your methods to overcome this and how do you respond to the bad days of things business?
I think
For me, I don't feel that I don't feel like um an impostor anymore. I suppose fourteen years of doing what I do
I I now have the confidence in myself
And I know that I can do
what I'm doing or what I'm telling people I can do and I've got lots of runs on the board sorts of businesses that I've
worked with
whether it be
Coaching or actually doing a marketing for them
So I don't feel like I'm an impostor and I've moved past thing, you know, fake it to make it more that sort of
stuff I
Really? Enjoy what I do and I feel passionate. I get lit up when I see people I'm working with had the successes
So I think that keeps me going keeps me motivated
on the bad days
Some days. I just don't know what I just linked me on his man flu thing. I
Woke up on Friday. No, no wait, you know what? I'm actually going to not sit at my desk today
I've got some work on do on my laptop
I'm gonna turn my phone off and I set on the couch on my laptop doing updates to my website
Watching Netflix series in the background
Just because I needed a down day I needed to get better
And I think just giving a bit of self care, you know, if you are having a tough time
Don't reach out to people I've got an awesome hot seat group like a
mastermind group that if I am
Having one of those days where I'm doubting myself, or I'm wondering where the next bit of money's gonna come from or clients
Haven't paid the invoices or whatever I can actually go to that group and have a bit more in and say no
What's it all worth my own, you know?
And then they come back going you keep going you had these wounds last week and you know
Just so I think having that support around you and the people that you can reach out to
To say cut me on the back and build me up and they also do the opposite
So if I'm in there you're making excuses for not having achieved something. It's like can I get obese?
possibility now visibility
Absolutely, I stopped the crappy just get out there and do it make it happen. Yeah
Support really helps with that stuff. Yeah, so that that sense of community
Is like it's like the water cooler?
For entrepreneurs and I find that I'm in facebook groups. I have my own group
And with my VIPs and then I have another group as well
Obviously smart women a business group and then I can go in there and go. Alright, who's doing? What? What are we doing?
What are we up to this way you can get
Motivation from them and see them really going wow
This is you know, I've had this fantastic revelation or you know, and that sense of community
Especially for me out here in rural, Victoria
The Internet has revolutionized that and where we used to be so isolated or I couldn't even do my business, you know
Yeah before the Internet
It didn't exist
That sense of community wealth social media is not always positive there are some there are many positives there
So yeah, absolutely and self-care like just on those days. Just don't push yourself through
Doing something actually for a walk or around yourself or just do something that's going to help change that
Thinking in your head. Yeah flip that switch. Yeah. So what's your why what keeps you motivated?
He's talked about your client speaking goals. So
Maybe deeper than that
Yeah, so that we can achieve the things that we want to achieve and hit our goals that we want to use like my both
My partner and I have got you know, our our financial goals and things we want to achieve
this I think that why is there a
close
Self-fulfillment when I get down to it, it's because financial money doesn't particularly light me up. Obviously
I like having money and I like me out of hay things, but it's not my big motivator for me
It's very much about selfish film. I meant knowing that I'm making a difference to the people that I speak to
And that I'm able to help them in times that they're stuck or just keep them clarity and a bit of focus moving forward
So I think for me yes, it's very so it's very much self fulfillment
And it yeah beyond all of the other things we've spoken about. Yeah
Money's nice, but helping people is even better
In yeah money's great but it doesn't make the worker and really no and I was speaking to someone
last week and they said how they hate their big money goal and then went oh
well
That kind of wasn't as exciting as I thought so you do need to have although money is a really easy rule in business
Um measurable goal having something more than that purpose to keep you going is great. So to finish up
What is your number?
one tip or top three whatever for all the smart women of business across Australia and the world
I realized this was going global. So yeah
Look my my tips would be gonna get a plan and have your goals in the plan and be always every day
Doing something that he's working towards having that goal and stay focused and
I also think be careful who you listen to
There's and loads and loads of experts and people out there who want to impart their business knowledge to you
But it may not necessarily be for you either
you know, I was listening to someone get some advice on the weekends for any business that they've started and
it was from another marketer and
he was very passionate about the business and he's telling them how they should do it what they should do, but
Some of the ideas and things that he was throwing at this new business owner
She was squirming like she just didn't feel comfortable doing some of the things that he was
suggesting or telling her that she needed to do so, I think really listen to who you
Think about who you're listening to in business and make sure that they're really clear
there about
What you want to do in business or take their advice and turn it around to doing something that you feel comfortable in business doing?
That's great. Well, thank you so much Rachel for your time. I
Will put up Rachel's links. You can find that more about Rachel in the show notes, and I'll see you
Later
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