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Unlock the secrets to business success and gain valuable insights from local industry leaders. Join us as we delve into the strategies, triumphs, and lessons learned of thriving companies, empowering entrepreneurs to elevate their businesses to new heights.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:00:16] Hello everyone. Today's episode is 'The Entrepreneur's Edge: Outworking the Competition'. Welcome back to It's Time For Success: The Business Insights Podcast. I'm your host, Sharon DeKoning. In a recent episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Jeff Mulligan. Jeff is the COO of ASTEC Safety and a seasoned leader with over 47 years of experience. When Jeff speaks, we listen. It was a remarkable episode and I suggest anyone listen to it as well. One statement Jeff made truly stuck with me during that episode. I asked him, if someone is considering starting their own business, what would you say to them? Jeff's response, if you want to go into business, are you willing to outwork them? Are you willing to do more than anyone else out there? Looking back, I truly believe I would have said yes to both of those questions before I jumped into this whirlwind we call entrepreneurship. But in reality, I didn't fully grasp what he meant. Let's be honest, most entrepreneurs don't. We don't have a clue. You can read about it, you can prepare, but you don't feel the full magnitude of Jeff's words until you've made that leap. I was raised by an entrepreneur, I watched my mother work, I've watched other people in the community work long, hard hours. I thought I knew. I worked for those people. Hell, I was an employee. I thought I knew what being an entrepreneur and a business owner entailed, I didn't, I was wrong.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:01:41] Today, I want to dive into what it truly means to outwork and do more than the competition. These insights are not just from Jeff's wisdom, they are rooted in my own experiences, my personal struggles, and the lessons I've learned the hard way. The outworked mindset, what it actually means. It sounds simple, work harder than the next person. But here's the truth, outworking isn't just about grinding out long hours. It's about going beyond standard expectations, doing what others aren't willing to do. Are you willing to sacrifice things that are important to you? Are you willing to not sleep? Are you willing to miss your kids' activities at school? Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to be disciplined? Sometimes you're just tired. Sometimes you don't know how to figure things out. Sometimes it's just absolutely mind draining. Are you willing to push forward and push through those? Strategic effort, it's not just working longer, it's working smarter. Again, it goes back to the mind. Sometimes physical work is easier than mind work, and when you're starting an entrepreneurship or your business journey, sometimes it's both so you're draining on two avenues there, but you have to work smarter. You have to do your research, you have to do your digging, you have to learn, you have to listen to podcasts, you have to listen to books. There's so much that you can learn from and learn from your mistakes, so you have to work smarter.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:03:10] Jeff, with his extensive leadership experience, highlights the importance of execution excellence, ensuring that every hour of effort is focused and intentional. Let's repeat that, every hour of effort is focused and intentional. This is where many entrepreneurs, myself included, get it wrong. This is my personal reality check. Was I willing to outwork? Absolutely. Please, no big deal. I was raised by an entrepreneur. I grew up in an era where chores were done right the first time, or we simply had to do it again. I thought I had the work ethic, but in hindsight, I had no clue. Here's my mindset. Once I started my business, my initial mindset got corrected quickly, I should add. Once I start my business, I can work ten hour days no problem. It's not ten hour days Monday to Friday. It may be ten hour days, seven days a week. And let's be honest, sometimes it's 12 to 15 on busy seasons, every business seems to have a season. In reality, that could happen. Are you willing to do that? Here's my other mindset. 'I'm the boss, so I could take time off when I want'. Absolutely not, that is not going to happen, especially when you launch your business. Time off is not when you choose, time off is when the jobs are done, your commitments are fulfilled, that is when you get your time off. Those come first.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:04:32] Another mindset, 'I'll have life balance because I'm in control'. Absolutely not, not happening. Once you start a business, you are simply consumed. You aren't just doing the job, you're not doing just your orders, what your customers want, or taking appointments, whatever those jobs are. That's not what you're just doing, these are the things you're also doing. You're also doing the bookkeeping, or in reality, figuring out how to do bookkeeping so you can do the bookkeeping. Finding the best suppliers and the best pricing. You have to figure out where to get your goods, your supplies. You have to figure all that out, and you have to figure out what's the best avenue for not only you, for the time frame or your area, but also the best for your customers. You have to manage cash flow. If you have a cash flow, you have to work on budgets. You can't donate to everything. Unfortunately, as much as entrepreneurs want to give back, because that's the way we roll, you have to focus on what you can give back. You have to handle customer service. You have to have the best customer service over any competition, and you have to teach your team to have the best customer service, and you have to handle complaints. Complaints are what we call a growth opportunity, a learning curve. You have to handle complaints with dignity and respect and with a mindset as a 'thank you, I'm going to do better next time', and incorporate that.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:06:02] You're also working on building a brand and the awareness in your marketing. You're the marketing team, you're going to be posting stuff on social media. If you don't do that, you're going to have to figure it out. Because unfortunately, that is the day and age. We have to market on social media and build that brand. Do you have a logo? What are your colors? What's your takeaway on that? If you don't have one, reach out to me, I can hook you up. Developing systems and processes. Remember, you're starting up, document that. You don't want to keep making the same error over and over. Even if it's not an error, you want to develop a system and a process so you can teach the next person to do it as well. That's the idea of it, so you're creating those all the time. Then you're also the HR. You're hiring, you're training and you're leading a team. Those are the other things behind the scenes besides doing your appointments or getting orders out. This is what it all involves. All of that never really fits neatly into a 9 to 5 workday in reality. You lose sleep as your brain will not shut off. You think of things that need to be done or ideas instead of sleeping. Especially when you get going, your mind is overflowing, your body's juices are just flying. So sleep is not a thing, and a 9 to 5 workday is in zero reality. At the beginning, I want to clarify that. If you're willing to trudge through, it's doable.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:07:31] Resilience and adaptability. This is what I call the 'entrepreneur survival kit'. Are you ready for this? Entrepreneurs face challenges daily. Who am I kidding, it's hourly. Especially as you grow, you think it's going to get easier and you're going to have people to help you. No, there's just more challenges. There's just more opportunities for growth or just more opportunities for learning. Resilience, which basically means the capacity to withstand difficulties and bounce back stronger, that's what resilience is. Adaptability, the ability to adjust, pivot and find new ways forward. Resilience, we withstand difficulties, basically. And you have to be able to bounce back. Adaptability, we have to shift, pivot when things are thrown our way that we weren't expecting. That's the way it is. Those are what every entrepreneur encounters regularly. A great book that illustrates this is 'Who Moved My Cheese', and it's by Spencer Johnson. The message in the book is that things change. All the time, things change, obstacles happen. But if you can learn to adapt instead of resist, opportunities will follow. Be open minded, keep those eyes open.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:08:43] Focus on solutions, not problems. If you have difficulty and you have to adjust, which is your resilience and adaptability, you have to focus on the solutions. Look for solutions, be mindful. It's there, I guarantee you it's there. Learn from setbacks instead of pointing fingers. Never point fingers, you're in it together. Do not do that, do not ever throw anybody under the bus. After 20 years of doing this, instead, learn from those setbacks. Learn from it, there's always a learning opportunity. Be open to feedback, open to new ideas, open to change. This is a prime example. We had a staff meeting, it was just to go over any errors in our system, any errors that went out so we can improve ourselves, that's what we were focused on. One of the team comes up with an idea. I didn't think of it, my general manager never thought of it. It was like, okay, that's brilliant. So be open. What we think is right all the time does not necessarily mean it could be right, but there might be something better out there. If a customer comes in and they want something different than what you're used to, be open to it, be mindful of it and study it until you come back with those. So just be open to every feedback. Even if it's a complaint, be open to it. There's always a way to learn from that. Implement it, whether you have to change your systems, whatever the case may be, fix it and say thank you to them for acknowledging it and thank you to them so you can fix it for next time. Change. Sometimes you're not expecting to change, but it happens, and sometimes when you're not expecting it. Say one of your lead team members is having a baby, they take time off for 18 months, that's a huge change. Be open to it, absorb it, figure it out and adjust. That's what it is, and be happy for them. Of course you're happy for them, they're having a baby, or they're moving. Whatever the case may be, be happy for them. Also, Jeff emphasizes the importance of creating an environment where employees feel valued and empowered. This is hugely important, I'm going to repeat it again. He says to create an environment where employees feel valued and empowered. Adaptability isn't just for leaders, it's for the entire team. Building a strong team is so important. You cannot do it alone, and having the right people on your team is hugely important.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:11:24] I have two key things to take away from this, collaboration and empowerment. Collaboration simply means to surround yourself with the right people. I can go on and on about that, but I'm going to touch on it a little bit later, so I'm going to jump over it because that one really gets me going and I could talk for hours on that one. Empowerment, give your team ownership and trust. This will get easier with time. If you're just jumping into it, I do not expect it. My belief is, I have to figure it out first, and then I have to let the reins go once I figure it out. Because they're going to need some sound advice, especially if I'm training them. In that case, if I hire a new employee and I'm training them on something, I want to build them up so they have that trust so they have success, and then I can let them go with it. Then I'm totally okay with letting them go. There's other ways, where you can hire somebody coming in and they know more than you. That's cool when that happens, that is so cool. You have to give them the ownership and the trust, and then they can train you. There's two ways of looking at that. Collaboration and empowerment is what we're going to chat about really quickly here. I have a philosophy and it just resonated with me even more this past weekend when my mom passed away. It's unfortunate, but life is too short to work for the wrong people.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:12:40] I started this business in my 30s, that's 20 years later. I'm learning something every day. Life is short, do not work with the wrong people. There could be two ways. If you're an employee, if you want to come work at It's Time Promotions with me, if we're not the right fit, if this is not where your happy place is, I'm going to help you find your happy place. That's just as simple as that. And there's no hard feelings, it's just not the right fit. As an employer, same thing. You want the right people in your team and you want them to succeed. They cannot succeed, they cannot grow, they cannot do what they're supposed to be doing. You want your employees to come feeling empowered every day. You want them to come feeling like they did a job well done. It's hugely important. Again, life is too short to work with the wrong people. That's just the way it is. I've learned that skills can be taught, but attitude and values are what truly matter. Sometimes it's okay to train, maybe spend a little extra time with that person if they have the right attitude and the right values. That will show around the business environment, it also rectifies onto your customers. This is hugely important. A fast learner who doesn't align with your culture can create tension, but someone who genuinely cares about your customer and supports your team, that's priceless.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:14:08] I love watching my team succeed, seeing them grow, step outside their comfort zones and own their roles. That's what gives me goosebumps, literally. And I get to see it on a regular basis. But I did not get to see it off the get go. If you're just starting your journey, I hope you get to that point in your business life to watch your team succeed and watch them smile and watch them grow and watch them step outside their comfort zone. It's so rewarding. Let's go back to what it takes to launch your business and what to expect. Personal sacrifices means the price of success, if that makes sense. They go hand in hand. You want success, you're going to have personal sacrifice. Three key points on this. Time and energy. You're going to have long hours, you're going to have tight budgets and you're going to have never ending responsibilities. I used to think that every day was Sharon, it is, and it's getting less and less, it's taken 20 years. Family sacrifices. You're going to miss dinners, you're going to miss your kid's events at school, you're going to work late. And when you get home, you're going to be just exhausted. You're going to have financial learning curves. You're going to have costly mistakes, tight cash flow and the constant need to reinvest. But there's lots of times where you have to reinvest that cash flow into your business. For example, I get an order for hoodies, great. The customer pays the bill, great. That money now gets put back into my business because now the next person might want 24 hoodies. You get where I'm going with this. You have to reinvest whatever you make back into your business. A paycheck is, when there's a little bit extra money, if there's any in your account to take out, that's how it works. Then when you do get employees, they get paid first.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:16:02] One of the hardest parts of starting this business while being a mother, I wanted both worlds, but the reality was I couldn't. I couldn't do both worlds alone. So I took it upon myself and I hired a nanny. Actually, I shouldn't say I took it upon myself. My husband is the one that suggested it, bless his heart. I phoned my husband one day after work, if you call 8:00 after work. My daughter was at daycare and I phoned him bawling my face off. Because I was late picking up my daughter, I didn't finish my order, I knew I had to get her. He was working as well, and I just felt like I was in this horrible whirlwind all by myself, and I was failing. I was failing at business, I was failing at being a mother, I was failing at being a wife, I was failing in all accounts. What a horrible place to be. Unfortunately, I feel that you will find that also when you're just starting out. Be mindful, it does get better. If you do all these things we talked about, and more that's going to be talked about coming up, it does get better. I hired a nanny, and Leona was a godsend. She handled the cooking, she handled the cleaning, she looked after my daughter and made sure she got home after school on the bus. But when I got home, whether it be 8:00 or 7:00, I could be present with my kids. I didn't have to rush in the door and throw in a load of laundry and throw a pizza pop in the oven or whatever the heck was in the fridge because I didn't have time to grocery shop. Those things were all looked after. The moral of this little story is to find what works for you. It's going to be tough, but you're going to have to find that balance of making your life easier and to make you not lose your flippin' mind and fall into that 'poor me syndrome'. I call it below the line. Stay above the line, whatever the count, and find that way that you can stay above the line. Mine was a nanny, and those particular first years of starting this business.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:17:57] Being a woman comes with a few of its challenges, also. In my generation, we were still expected to handle all the household chores. I should elaborate on that. My husband was also working a lot of hours as well, so I still had that mindset while still running a company. I think as a female entrepreneur, I don't know how many generations it's going to take to get out of our mindset. The kids will always come first to us. But I have some learning to share with you, here we go. Mistakes are okay, just don't make the same one three times. You can't do everything. Delegate and trust your team. Whether that be a nanny, whether that be a gardener, whether that be daycare. Whatever that is, trust them and delegate. Let them help you. Burnout is real, so take breaks even when it feels impossible. Sometimes it could be going for a walk at lunch, getting some fresh air. Whatever the case may be, go for a coffee with a friend. It can be 20 minutes, take that break. Work life balance. Does it exist? Let's be honest. When you're starting a business, balance is tough. It does get easier. Again, I'm just saying off the get go it's going to be a little bit tough for you. But this is what I've learned. I'm going to have a few points here, really fast. These are in point form, write them down or listen to them again because these will help you.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:19:25] Look for good in everything. Be grateful even for the hard lessons. Surround yourself with the right people. It's okay to have a small circle, make sure they're the right people. You don't need any 'Debbie Downers'. Make those sacrifices. Be mindful of them, and pick the right people to surround your precious time with. Give back. I don't mean financially. If you can, great. Do that too. Give back wholeheartedly. Give back by compliments. It could be simple things. Give back by opening the door. Give back by saying thank you. Give back as much as you can in whatever way you can because it's important. Hugely important because it makes you feel good and makes you feel positive. It comes back to you tenfold, so give back. It's okay to cry, honestly. You're overwhelmed, and you're exhausted, it happens. It's okay to cry. It's okay to say 'fuck it'. Literally say 'fuck it' and take a vacation. Take the afternoon off if you need to. Remember, mental health is important. And if you need that time, be mindful of it and take it. Laugh, laugh a lot, laugh again. It's hugely important to laugh. Laughter is good for the soul. Even at yourself. Actually, more importantly, laugh at yourself. You're going to screw up, it's okay to laugh at it. Watch sunsets. Take a deep breath and soak it all in. Watching them go down is probably one of the most beautiful things in a day for me. Find something to level you. For me, it was my old horse. He leveled me. Sometimes if I'm feeling too much, he just took it from me and I'd go for a ride. Find that in your life. It could be anything. It could be a book, it could be a swim. Whatever that is to level you, find it and embrace it, acknowledge it and repeat it. Enjoy a Caesar. I like my Caesar's. And I particularly love them in a hot tub with my husband after a long day. That's my go-to. Find whatever way you can de-stress with somebody you love and do it often. And most importantly, be present. Be present on a regular day. Be present when your kids are around. Listen to them. Be present when your husband tells you a story. Be present when you're out for a walk. Look at those flowers. Be present when your dog is nudging up to you, pet them and love them. Be present in whatever the situation may be. Be present. That's how I balance my work life balance. It is not a matter of equal hours in a day. No, I'm just going to be mindful of those situations. And it does help, it will get you through those few rough beginning years.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:22:11] I have some practical steps to outwork the competition, because Jeff says we have to outwork the competition. And he is exactly right, you have to outwork them. Step number one, what's worked for me anyways, continuous learning. You have to stay sharp, stay relevant. Things are evolving. We have AI at our fingertips right now. Heck, when I started this, I didn't even have Google, for crying out loud. You have to stay sharp, stay relevant, stay current. Whether it's to learn the new apps on your phone, to do your Google Calendar, to keep your notes in there, to keep your password. Whatever the case may be, stay sharp, stay relevant, stay current. Read a book. You can download a book if you drive a lot. Whatever the case may be, you're going to have to do continuous learning. And read that book, 'Who Moved My Cheese?'. Those kinds of things. Take it, absorb it, learn from it. Networking, huge. I didn't do this for many years because I was in my business. But guess what? If you network, you think you don't have the time, and you probably don't have the time, take the time. Building these relationships not only grows your business, which you're hoping it would do, because you get your name out there and you meet other people, of course it's going to build your business, but you get to learn from these people. You get to talk business with other people. It's hugely important. The third thing is to set those goals. Define clear, measurable targets and stick to them. There's different ways of doing this. I particularly like to journal. Sometimes I journal the same things over and over because I'm focused on those. That's what I want in my life and I'm going to keep writing them down. Define those clear, measurable targets and stick to them. Now remember, sometimes things shift. There's pivots, you're gonna have to pivot. But that's okay, your goals can just shift as well. Just be mindful of them, but define them, be clear about them, focus on them. I don't know where you're going to write them. It can be a sticky note on your monitor. It could be in your Google Drive. It could be anywhere, in your notes on your phone. Find it, review it, and set them.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:24:14] Let's quickly wrap this up, because I can talk all day about this, and I'm not going to, but I'm just going to do a quick conclusion on Jeff's comment. Jeff Mulligan's insight is a powerful reminder that success isn't just about a great idea, it's about relentless execution, resilience, and the willingness to outwork the competition. Again, listen to that episode with Jeff Mulligan, because it all summarizes this. I'm just elaborating on my take of it. If you're on an entrepreneurial journey or considering it, I hope this episode gave you insight, perspective, and a dose of reality. Good luck. I'm just kidding, it's great. Honestly, I'm just teasing. It is a lot of work, but you can make it happen and it's going to be great. Seriously, if you want to grab a coffee, virtually or in person, I love London Fogs, I'd love to chat. Reach out to me. I'd love to talk, I'd love to talk business, I'd love to listen to stories, I love to listen to wins. If you want to be a member on my podcast and share them with other people, to help other entrepreneurs out there, reach out to me. I'd love to interview you, I would love to chat with you, please. You know what my secret power is I always tell people? I listen. That's all it is, I just want to listen to you. I want to listen, I want to learn, I want to help others. I suggest sharing this podcast with anyone who could benefit from my experiences, or is considering taking a leap into business. This podcast might help them. Again, they might want to reach out to me and talk to me because I love that stuff. Anyways, that's it. That's a wrap on this podcast. Until next time, this is Sharon signing off from It's Time for Success: The Business Insights Podcast. Thank you everybody, bye!