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Real conversations for women who lead differently. Join Yvonne Heimann, Leadership & Efficiency Coach, for honest discussions with female leaders who are rewriting the rules on their own terms.
Every episode explores the challenges women face in leadership - from building effective teams to creating systems that grow your business without burning you out. We dive into what matters: balancing intuition with strategy, building sustainable success, and leading authentically.
Whether you're a digital entrepreneur, executive, or business owner, you'll discover practical strategies for team management, business automation, leadership development, and personal growth. No fluff, no cookie-cutter advice - just real conversations about what works when you're ready to step into bigger leadership while staying true to yourself.
This isn't about following someone else's blueprint. It's about finding your unique leadership style and building a business that supports the life you want. Join us to explore frameworks that help you evolve as a leader without losing what makes you, you.
Perfect for female executives, women entrepreneurs, business owners, and anyone ready to lead with both vision and heart. New episodes cover leadership strategies, business systems, team building, and the intersection of feminine wisdom and strategic action.
She Is A Leader is brought to you by AskYvi.com, where visionary leaders find personalized support to transform their leadership impact through people-centered systems that scale.
Yvonne Heimann [00:00:01]:
Do you ever feel like you are drowning in to do lists, ideas, and unfinished tasks while your business dreams take a backseat? Many solopreneurs and online business owners struggle to turn chaos into clarity. Whether it's dropping new ideas too soon, feeling overwhelmed by your big vision, or trying to create routines that don't burn you out. It's tough to balance structure and freedom to sustain routines without slipping into hustle culture, and to make sure you are not bottlenecking your own success.
That's why today I'm chatting with Marine Gillet, a French business system strategist and fractional COO who's passionate about transforming messy businesses into streamlined operations. In this episode, we'll talk about how Marine uses systems, routines, and tech to support growth without losing the human touch. You'll walk away with practical strategies for building a business that supports your life and not the other way around.
Yvonne Heimann [00:01:12]:
So let me introduce you to Marine Gillet. So I'm bringing my French out today. She actually is a French business system strategist. So she doesn't just have a French name, she is over in France. We'll talk about that more in just a little bit. As I mentioned, business system strategist and fractional CEO. Coo. CEO of our own business and COO for other business businesses.
Helping solopreneurs and online business owners scale with clarity and structure. As the founder of Systematips, she transforms chaotic operations into streamlined scalable systems using tools like ClickUp, smart automations and lean team processes. Marine supports CEOs by stepping in as their strategic right hand so they can stop being the bottleneck and start focusing on growth. Her no bullshit approach, results driven as well as simply just personal. And you're gonna see that in my conversation with Marine has made her the go to expert for entrepreneurs ready to move from burnout to badass operation. And just like me, we are both so certified ClickUp consultants and passionate systems educator. Now Marine, how long do we know each other? Actually, it's been a while.
You were still in the US I don't remember.
Marine Gillet [00:02:43]:
I feel so honored to be here because you are, honestly, you are my ClickUp mentor. I don't know if you know that, but you're the one that like got me into ClickUp. Like I have to say, like when I first looked into ClickUp and wanted to install it for the company I was working for, I looked for your videos on YouTube and then I was on your program somewhere, I don't remember the name. And then yeah, you, you, you taught me ClickUp. So I'm like a baby, a baby consultant from you.
Yvonne Heimann [00:03:18]:
Oh my God. I always love hearing these stories because she, you know it, right? Content is often putting it out there and suddenly years later you're like, oh yeah, you taught me this. Or I saw you here and I'm like, damn, that's been like what, three years ago, four years ago? So yeah, when we met, you were still, I'm pretty sure you were still in the US because I remember you moving back to France and, and, and your, oh my God, your gym journey. Everybody that's watching the video just saw how that memory popped up in, in my head watching you and your dedication, your drive, your commitment has been freaking inspiring. So for everybody that has not yet looked Marine up, she regularly posts her process and how she does and that she goes to the gym and it. You are a systems person so I would love to know from you and poke you a little bit more for my audience on how do you stay on top of things? Because, again, you are really into routines and your systems. However, you don't seem to be, quote, hustle culture. So I'm curious of how do you find the balance between, yes, I'm doing this, yes, I'm going to the gym, but also realizing your body might need a break or you might go too much into.
How do you manage all of that?
Marine Gillet [00:05:00]:
Well, I am not perfect at all. Like, I procrastinate, like, everybody. I have a messy house. Like, I'm not perfect. But I have to say, I chose my name System at tips, like in, in French. And it's because system truly saved me. I was in a, in a toxic relationship, and I had to find myself again. And because of routine, because of going to the gym and being and having discipline and getting my life together was all because of those systems that I put in place.
So without those, I would be lost today. So I'm really thankful and grateful that I, I, I had that. And, yeah, like, it's about balance. It's all about, like, listening to myself. I, I tend to forget sometime that I have to listen to be like, oh, I. You have to take a break. You are, like, on burnout. Like, calm down.
But I have two dogs that I have to take out every day, so it helps a lot. So I take breast, fresh hair, and everything. But, yeah, systems are part of my life, and I would be feeling really bad if I didn't go to the gym, like, let's say, for an entire week. And it's, It's. It might be crazy for some people because it's like a routine, but right now, it's like something that keeps me alive, that keeps me going. So, yeah, everything that makes me, like, is some sort of systems.
Yvonne Heimann [00:06:47]:
And I, I completely understand the gyms thing. For me, it's. It's just walking because I process a lot of information. Actually, when I walk, it's like, with my ADHD brain and all the ideas that I have and all the things that I want to do and all the stuff going on and all the clients. Yvi gets to take a breather when she walks, and I can tell on my mental health and how I feel if I haven't gone in days because I'm like, don't get me wrong, I have a week in the month where it's a fight, where I'm tired, where I'm burned out simply just by my body doing its thing. And it's even if it's just a short walk on those days, if I don't get those walks in, I. I will feel it.
I will feel it in my mental power. I will feel it in my mood and my emotions. You were actually often enough the driver of. Oh, yeah, no, Marine just went to the gym. I saw her post. I gotta go. I think at some point.
Yeah, tagged you in my gym post. It was this.
Marine Gillet [00:07:51]:
Yes, I remember. I don't even know if she knows.
Yvonne Heimann [00:07:53]:
She's holding me accountable, but I'm just tagging her in there because she's holding me accountable to go
Marine Gillet [00:08:00]:
Well, that's so funny because, like, just posting on my story that I went to the gym is like, it's for my own accountability, is to tell myself, okay, if I show people that I'm going, then they'll ask me, oh, did you go today? And so it's just for me, but, like, thinking that I can encourage all other people to go, it's like, crazy to me. It's. It's fun. It's good.
Yvonne Heimann [00:08:24]:
Now you have your systems and your routines and your process, and you help CEOs do the same thing. So it's interesting how we are really so similar in what we do. How. How do you help your CEOs specifically with them staying accountable with them, creating their systems and processes. Heck, probably even with them not being the bottleneck in their own business anymore. Did I just call people? Maybe a little bit.
Marine Gillet [00:08:59]:
Yeah. So I. To put a little bit of context, I've been a COO for five years of an infopreneur, a French infopreneur living in California. So that's why I was where I was, and he was selling programs on E commerce and Facebook ads and stuff. And it was really, really great. But what I would say is that working with him truly made me who I am today. He taught me so much, but he also taught me that, like, I'm a great integrator. And to be a great CEO, you have to be the one integrating the vision of the CEO and the CEO.
I mean, his name was Cyril. He was all over the place. And he had the vision to do this and this. We're gonna go there and we're gonna make that much money in that month. And I was the one that was like, okay, so let's make a plan to do this. In order to do this, we have to do that first, and then we'll use that tool and everything. And even with the shiny object syndrome that, like, he had, I had to be like, okay, let's test this one. But like, let's test this for real, not switch every two weeks.
And it's really a battle and being completely honest with the person in front of you and not being scared of saying like, hey, calm down. Like, let's take a step back. Let me tell you what's possible, what we can do with the team and what we have here from what you want. Because that's, at the end of the day, that's. He's the CEO, he has the vision. So this is my, yeah, my, my thought on it.
Yvonne Heimann [00:11:00]:
And it's like I'm, I'm giggling here behind the scenes again for everybody. You should be watching on YouTube, not just listening if you don't see my faces, because you always can tell stories from my faces. And I'm sitting, sitting here and I'm like, yeah, because I'm literally in between. Everybody always thinks I'm the perfect implementer. Right? Because working with ClickUp, my systems thinking and all of that. Yeah, no, I, I am the worst at Shiny Object syndromes. I'm the worst at ideas. I'm the worst at dropping something after testing it for two weeks.
So, yes, I'm kind of both of it, right? And where, where I have found my, my level of peace is first of all, my Fridays is scheduled for Shiny Object Syndromes because it feeds my energy. It. I get to play, I just get to test something new. That's where I get excited. So if I don't allow myself to go down a rabbit hole and play, I'm not going to get that energy. I'm not going to get that back. So Fridays, Fridays, nobody is allowed to schedule themselves other than when I allow it to be able to read something, to play something to test something to just go down a rabbit hole and so that way I've been able to, to balance the CEO big vision, wanting to do all the things we had to build. We had to build a Yvi idea list to collect all the stuff that I constantly throw at my assistant.
So I feel, I feel both of you, between you and the CEO. Yes. Oh my God, yes. Now, listening to this and knowing exactly what you're talking about, I'm curious for anybody listening, yes, I'm kind of in the CEO. Yes, I'm kind of in the CEO. You are so much more in the integration and implementation. For anybody listening right now that is getting overwhelmed or that potentially already is fully overwhelmed with their business, with their ideas, with wanting to do all the things, with being that Visionary CEO, what would you recommend? Where they start? Where. Where can they start today to dig themselves out of, quote, being the visionary with all of the things and all of the stuff going on and all of the shiny objects.
And they're not necessarily bad, right? We just.
Marine Gillet [00:13:39]:
No, yeah, yeah.
Yvonne Heimann [00:13:40]:
You know what to do with them.
Marine Gillet [00:13:41]:
Ugh. It's. It's so hard because it. It truly depends on the person, I'd say, and on the. The business. Because if you already have a team, then I'd say, of course, like, delegate more to your team and. And, you know, but, like, if you're alone and you're in. You're just managing everything and you're like, the hat.
Wearing all the hats. It's so hard. And I'm living it right now because I stopped working with him. It was. It's recent. I stopped working with him in February to take on my own clients and just do that. And I'm like, oh, my God. I'm finding myself doing the things that I was telling him not to do, that I was so upset with him, and I'm like, I'm doing the same thing.
And I'm like, don't be like him. Don't be like him. But it's so hard. It's so hard. So, yeah, it's finding your. Your. Your flow, finding how you best work, and just trying to focus on one strategy at a time would be the best thing, honestly, to be like, okay, let's make a plan. Let's test this plan, and let's not try to deviate from the plan.
That would be a great start. But I know that's hard because even myself, even though I can help people do that, but for myself, I'm like, oh, but what if I'm changing everything right now? And, like, let's do this and that, and it's a lot.
Yvonne Heimann [00:15:20]:
And I think. I think. And that's one of the reasons why I was so excited when you agreed to come on to the podcast is we are real. We are people. We. Yes, we can build all of the systems and all of the processes, but. And living through it ourself, knowing that, yes, even. Even with the best system, there is going to be days.
There's going to be coffee mugs all over the house, even though digital files are perfectly organized. Right. So I think brings us back into a situation where we don't lose the human in the system, where, yes, cool. You went shiny object syndrome again. Let me pull you back in. I get what you are feeling. I get what you want to do. I hear, hear you.
I see you. We need to get back on. I think it just keeps that, that human in us where I have seen a couple of systems people where it's like systems only and it's, it's so strict, it's so rigid, they are losing the human in it.
Marine Gillet [00:16:29]:
We're not wired to be robots and in the age of AI and everything you'd say like, oh, it's so easy because you can do so much more with AI And I'm like, sure, if you like implement it right and if you keep again the human in it and if you. But yeah, we're meant to, to have season and especially like women like you say like we're built differently. We have hormones all over the months doing up and down and for me in my situation, I know like there is a period on the months I am not happy at all. And I'm like, I'm not scheduling a lot of meetings because I'm like, I cannot take on meetings otherwise I will just start crying if someone say that I did something wrong. And I don't want that. So I'm like, yeah, it's, we cannot be that rigid. It's just impossible. And goes back to the hustle culture.
Like I'm not against like working hard, but I'm against the, you know, like, oh, you need to wake up at 4am if it's good for you, you know, if you like that. Sure. But I mean it shouldn't be a requirement for success
Yvonne Heimann [00:17:48]:
And I don't believe it is. I'm like, you're probably similar to me. I collect a lot of data about my body where I've tested the whole get up at 4, get up at 5. I'm like, when my body goes along with it and I have those days where I get up at 5. Oh, it's nice being pretty much done and having been productive before everybody else wakes up. However, 90% of the time, 5 o' clock is not my time. I need and what I have found for me is I feel best when I get up like 6:3/7 interestingly enough right now, which it doesn't matter the time zone, once I'm, once I'm back into feeling normal on my time zone, it's still the same time. But that 6:30, 7 o' clock and getting to bed at 10:30, that's when I feel my best.
So why am I not going to give myself a leg up to get up when I feel my best just because somebody else decided we have to be the 5:00am Club.
Marine Gillet [00:18:45]:
Yeah, exactly. And it's great that you said that. Like, you should definitely test and learn like you do with ads, in marketing, or in anything. You should test like, what's best for your body, what's best for you. Just like in systems, what best works with you. No, it's great.
Yvonne Heimann [00:19:08]:
You also mentioned wanting and building your business for more freedom, more adventures with. By the way, I love watching your Instagram stories when you go out for the weekend and just also more offline time. So how, how do you design your business to be able to support that lifestyle for you?
Marine Gillet [00:19:33]:
Okay, well, first of all, I know that my pitfall is my phone. I love social media. I love social media. I'm always on my story. You see that? But I, I'm in between Millennial and Gen Z. And so I get very addicted to my phone. So I know that's the big issue for me is getting away from my phone to be able to be productive. So I have a couple of tricks.
First of all, on the bad days, I put my phone in the bathroom and I lock the door. But on the good days, I have an app that's called Opal that just ban all my app that I do so I can focus on my business. But then what I noticed too is that I try to do 15 minutes engagement here, 15 minutes engagement there. Like, I allow myself and sometimes I succeed to that on a good day, but I allow myself to do like, oh, okay, 15 minutes of social media replying to comments and everything. 15 minutes on like 30 minutes at lunch, 30 minutes at night. But I try to be like, like that because oftentimes I open my phone, I'm like, oh, I'm gonna reply to this comment or send this DM to that person. And then I'm completely lost in the realm of TikTok and I don't remember what I'm doing here. So yeah, a big issue for me is my phone addiction.
Marine Gillet [00:21:13]:
So it's really building a business where I can plan content early on and, and program it so I don't have to be a lot on my phone. So I try to auto publish. I try to write my content and in ClickUp and not, you know, directly in the app and for being offline, it's more of I try to plan two weeks in advance of like blocking time for like, family and friends and, you know, my boyfriend so we can go out and have, you know, alone time without me, like having to stress out because I have a meeting like in the middle of the night. Because of course I work in English, in French. I market to French right now, but I still networked in English so I still have a couple English people over there. That, that. But yeah, it's, it's hard. But designing this.
What I would love to accomplish this year and, and next year is one of my goal is to, is to launch more digital products maybe. And right now I'm doing a hundred, like I'd say 90% of my revenues are from service like consulting and implementing and automation and everything. But it's service based and I would like to redesign this so I have more revenue coming from digital products and you know, less dependent on my time. Of course. So this is the goal for me right now.
Yvonne Heimann [00:23:10]:
For every woman listening right now that is like, oh my God, yes, I see systems everywhere. This is something I want to do. Maybe kind of like that COO position. No matter if fractional or full time is something for them, if somebody's like, hey, I want to test this out, maybe this is something for me. What would you tell them? Where to start? What is something they maybe should learn first or try out first or play with to figure out if this is something for them.
Marine Gillet [00:23:40]:
It's really hard because when I started with Cyril, to be completely honest, he hired me as a va and then we were two in the company and we built the company from the ground up and I became coo. Um, but, and so I did all the job, all the nitty gritty like jobs in the company. I did it which allow me to like to have empathy for anyone that I was recruiting because I knew what was the job like, what they had to do and I was able to, you know, to tell okay if they were a great fit because I did the job myself. So, so, and it's really niche too because I'm, you know, I'm talking about COO, but I've only worked with Infopreneur, mostly Infopreneur and you know, small online digital business. So I'd say like if you've never worked in a digital place, like the, a great place to start honestly is to be a VA because VAs or doing everything and they can touch to everything. And that's how I discovered that, oh, I like social media, like systems. I did social media management before I was a VA and then I was a VA and then I like, oh, activecampaign amazing automation. Great.
And yeah it's like trying to find yourself is hard but I'd say it's like testing, testing different part of the job. So I'd say a VA or online business manager position is a great start because if you haven't been on the lower position it's hard to understand and how to have empathy for a team and lead a team the best way you can if you haven't been in their position. I believe that.
Yvonne Heimann [00:25:46]:
I love that. And it's like I was giggling behind the scenes again. I'm like yeah. Started in social media until I finally realized I see systems everywhere and people, people. Not, not too many people seem to be working in the brain space like I do. We. We seem to be this. Yeah.
This CEO thinking where it's just like other people see a whole bunch of chaos and we just see the system behind it. We just need to organize it the right way. Right. I love it, it can be. It can be a curse too. My last apartment complex where I used to live, it's like I saw all of the resources wasted. If it was team resources, if it was any upgrades they did and I'm like why did you do that? All the waste you are producing. Oh my God.
If. If anybody in my audience is ready to stop wasting their resources and wants to check you out, where can they find you?
Marine Gillet [00:26:49]:
Well, they can find me on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and now YouTube. Crazy everywhere. I'm basically everywhere as systematips. Basically System A tips all together. And yeah, I'm. My content unfortunately is all in French. I'll try and dub it in YouTube if I can figure it out.
Yvonne Heimann [00:27:20]:
But we have the feature. Oh my God. I was jumping and dancing. We got the auto dubbing feature. All of my Spanish speaking people were so happy because now they get the YouTube videos and so Spanish. Right. But yeah, it's. Once YouTube rolls out that auto auto dubbing feature it is amazing. And I also know that I do have some audiences from Europe so there is a good chance we have some friends speaking in there.
And as always ladies, you know the links are going to be in the description. We have them all for Marine. Going to be there. Easy for you to click on girl. Thank you so much for coming on. It is so much fun bringing. Bringing my ladies on where I'm like why didn't. Why didn't I invite her yet?
Marine Gillet [00:28:09]:
That was such an honor. I love that we didn't get to speak that much like the time we were, we were always talking on dm, on Instagram. But like I was like, I think I, I saw you like, like maybe four times on Live. And that's all, like counting this one. And I'm like, oh, I have.
Yvonne Heimann [00:28:34]:
And this is, this is the fun thing about social media, right? It's where I am right now. She's one of my best friends and we barely saw each other in person maybe once or twice a year when we happen to be at the same conference. And I'm like, I'm working on taking this nomading international so maybe we'll finally make it in person rather than just digital
Thanks. So thanks so much for coming on for everybody. If you haven't subscribed yet, what are you doing? Go hit that subscribe button. I want to see you in the next episode. Thanks everybody.