25. Wrapping Up Money Month with Insights on Hiring and Creating Opportunities
Also available on YouTube!
In this season finale episode of The Impact Ripple Podcast, I reflect on the enlightening conversations I had during "money month" with three esteemed guests from the finance industry sharing valuable insights to empower you on your hiring journey.
Episode 22 - How to Shift Your Money Mindset and Start Hiring Your Dream Team with Christine Walsh
Episode 23 - Breaking the Money Taboo: Overcoming Emotional Barriers to Building Wealth with Keina Newell
Episode 24 - Why Hiring Right is Critical for Your Small Business Success with Carla Titus
Then I address some common fears and insights I’ve seen during my years as a Hiring and Leadership Mentor. And we explore the concept of the "impact ripple," through fostering a compassionate and kind work environment, business owners can contribute to a better world.
Join me for this impactful episode as we wrap up Season Two and discover the transformative possibilities of hiring with humanity and intentionality.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
The significance of hiring beyond financial considerations and the value of creating opportunities for individuals who don't fit into traditional roles.
The concept of the "impact ripple" and how hiring soul-filling employees can positively impact not only their lives but also extend to their interactions with others, creating a more compassionate world.
Encouragement to envision the impact that hiring could have on one's quality of life, business, communities, and the world.
Advice to start small and gradually grow the team according to the business's specific vision and goals, emphasizing that a large team is not necessary if it doesn't align with the objectives.
The reminder that not everyone desires to run a business, and there are talented individuals who can contribute as dedicated team members, dispelling the fear of employees taking ideas and starting their own businesses.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Ep13 - Growing Your Team with Intention - https://www.sprouthr.co/13
Hiring VIP Day - https://www.sprouthr.co/hiring
Leadership Mentoring - https://www.sprouthr.co/leadership
Ashley Cox on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyncox
SproutHR on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sprouthr.co/
Transcription for Episode 25 - Wrapping Up Money Month with Insights on Hiring and Creating Opportunities
Ashley Cox 0:05
Welcome to The Impact Ripple podcast, the go to source for hiring and leadership made simple, doable and fun for visionary female business owners. I'm your host, Ashley Cox, author, certified HR expert and founder of Sprout HR. And I believe that you don't have to change who you are to be a great leader, because you already are one. Join me as we kiss uncertainty and overwhelmed goodbye, and say hello to the tools and support you need to grow a profitable, sustainable, impactful team with more confidence and ease.
Ashley Cox 0:44
On today's episode, we are wrapping up money month and season two of The Impact Ripple. And I don't know about you, but it has been a wildly insightful and empowering money month over here on the show, hasn't it? If you're listening to this episode, and you're like Ashley, I have no idea what you're talking about. Well for the month of May 2023. When we were recording these episodes, we have been talking of all about the financial side of hiring and leading your team and I had dynamic conversations with three of my favorite ladies in finance that you won't want to miss.
Ashley Cox 1:26
In episode 22. We spoke with financial coach Christine Walsh, and she joined me to talk about overcoming financial fears when making your first hire, which is a big topic of conversation at Sprout HR. She also shared about maximizing your team's potential and ensuring a strong financial return on your investment.
Ashley Cox 1:50
In episode 23 Keina Newell, another financial coach joined me to take a really honest look at how we think and feel about money, and how she's helping women embrace and build generational wealth. By creating a values aligned budget and mindset for your business and team that feels liberating, rather than restrictive. It's a whole fresh new perspective. So you definitely want to check out that episode.
Ashley Cox 2:20
And then in Episode 24, financial consultant Carla Titus joined me to break down all the nitty gritty financial numbers that small business owners really need to know and be aware of when hiring. She also talked about the importance of being intentional, and having a hiring plan to avoid disappointment and unexpected costs down the road. And we wrapped up that episode by talking about ways to build a team by starting small, while you ensure that you pay yourself along the way, which I don't know about you. But that's a topic that we don't talk enough about is as we're growing teams as business owners, how many times are we sacrificing our own pay to make sure we're paying our team. So if you've been in that boat, and listen, I've seen six figure multi six, figure seven multi seven figure business owners not paying themselves. So it is it is way more common than we talk about it's way more common than it feels, it's way more common than you might be thinking for yourself. If you're not paying yourself. So listen to that episode, because not only will it help normalize, that this is happening, but Carla shares some really fantastic strategies for how to get out of that pattern.
Ashley Cox 3:40
So I hope that you've enjoyed these conversations as much as I've enjoyed having them. And if you haven't turned into one, two, or all three of them yet, do yourself a favor, and put this on your podcast playlist, pop those earbuds and go for a walk, turn on YouTube, wherever you listen or watch to the show, watch the show. You're not gonna want to miss these conversations. If you're thinking about hiring, if you're in the process of hiring, if you're thinking about expanding your current team, there is something relevant in every single one of these conversations for you. So make sure you go back and check those episodes out. And I'll be sure to drop them in the show notes of this episode so that they're quick and easy for you to find and listen to.
Ashley Cox 4:28
Now, this episode was initially going to be about money also. But I decided to change direction a little bit to wrap up the month. Because hiring isn't just about the money. And I feel like through these conversations, we have really covered the whole spectrum of financial woes and concerns and questions and the things that are keeping us up as night at night as business owners and leaders who are growing our teams. Hiring is about so much more. And that's really where this podcast started. The the birth of this show was what I always have referred to as the hiring impact ripple, hence the name, the impact ripple. And so it's about creating opportunities. It's about designing radically different company cultures. And it's about leveraging and collaborating with the brilliant people that you bring into your business. Something I think that a lot of business owners are fearful of, and I've had a lot of conversations about this with our clients, with our audience, with fellow business owners and peers and colleagues in in the small business world. But something that people are really fearful of is if I invite this person into my business, are they going to take my idea? Are they going to learn everything they can from me. And I've been doing this for five or 10 or 15 plus years, and go out and start their own thing. But let me talk about that for a minute. Because this is the part of hiring aside from money that I think holds a lot of women back. And it's not that everyone has the desire to run their own business.
Ashley Cox 6:20
As a matter of fact, we're a very, very, very small percentage of the population who are running businesses. And maybe we're a little bit gluttons for punishment, right, because this is not an easy gig. But not everyone has this same desire, not everyone wants to create something from nothing, and have all the responsibility on their shoulder, and wear all of the hats and figure out puzzles and problems and all the things that come with being a business owner. And so I wanted to talk a little bit about that today. Because if you are feeling really supported around the financial part of growing your business now, thanks to money month here at Sprout HR and the impact level. The next thing that might creep up is fear of losing control, fear of someone taking what you've built and running with it. And I just want to say that not everyone has the desire to run their own business, not everyone wants to take that level of responsibility onto their plate. But that doesn't mean that they lack the drive, the motivation, the creativity, the passion, the excitement, that you need in a team member.
Ashley Cox 7:39
So if this has been holding you back, and you're like, listen, I'm scared, they're going to take all my stuff, or I'm scared that they're not going to be as driven as I am as passionate as I am as excited to build this business as I am. I want to I want to dispel that. I want to dispel that. Because just like you wanted to create a business for freedom, or flexibility, or unlimited earning potential, or just to do business differently. Maybe your business is a social justice business, maybe your mission is much bigger than just creating a product and selling it. No shame in either one. No right or wrong. Whatever you designed your business to be about, I guarantee their employees out there and people out there who want to be employees in a company, just like what you are building. People who are going to value what you're doing, they're going to be bought into that vision, that mission, that purpose, they're going to embody the same value propositions. They're going to want to help you bring this to life, in their own unique, special talent and role. And maybe that's not leading the way. And that's a good thing. Because if we all lead the way and we all had our own businesses, no one would ever work for anyone. And so that just doesn't make a whole lot of sense, right? And there are people out there who feel 100% fulfilled working for someone else, and collaboratively building a bigger vision together. Maybe that's not you, maybe your gig isn't to work for someone else. I constantly tell people that I'm absolutely ruined for working for anyone else ever again.
Ashley Cox 9:44
You feel the same way. That's okay. And not everyone feels that way. So we have to remember that when we're thinking about hiring when we're thinking about bringing people on who are going to help us bring that vision to Life. And you don't have to hire 100 people to change lives. I know a lot of times when I'm talking to clients or talking to folks who are thinking about building a team, and they're like, I don't know, something that comes up very frequently is why don't want a big team. And I know we've mentioned this before, I've mentioned this before and in other episodes, but I want to just re emphasize this again, because your team doesn't have to look like anybody else's team, I promise. If you hire one person, that might be the size of your team. And that might be enough. If you want to hire 100 people, that might be the size of your team. And that's exciting. And that's enough, you might want to have 100,000 people working for you one day, and a billion dollar valuation company. And that's great. And that's enough for you. But the beautiful thing about having your own business is that you get to build the kind of team that makes the most sense for your business. That is the appropriate size and structure, for your vision for your business goals, your business plan, what you're bringing forth in this world. And I know we did a couple of episodes, specifically around building your intentional team, I think it was episode 13, we started off season two with building your intentional team. And I really go into detail there. So I'll drop that link in the show notes for you as well, so that you can go back and listen to that.
Ashley Cox 11:42
Because it might mean that you start off with a five hour a week contractor to support you. It might mean that you have a team of 10 full time employees one day, and that you can start small and grow to that level, that it doesn't all have to happen today or this week or even this year. And so even creating an opportunity for one person, inside of your radically different business. Maybe you work remotely, maybe you have flexible scheduling, maybe you have unlimited PTO, whatever that radically different company culture looks like to you, you can create an infinite impact ripple and impact ripple is so large, and so far reaching even just hiring one person that you may never know the impact that you've truly had in this world. In the very beginning intro of the impact ripple podcast, the trailer is what it's called. I shared about what the impact ripple is. And I think it's time for us to talk about that again and in a little more detail. The impact ripple isn't just the impact that an employee or a part time team member or full time team member or contractor has on our business, on our life, on the things that we're doing. Although it does, right, it has a massive impact. It can help us generate more sells. It can help us grow our vision, it can help us reach milestones and goals. It can give us our time back, it could give us peace back it can give us mental freedom and clarity back there's so so many benefits internally in toward us, as business owners when we hire team.
Ashley Cox 13:42
And the impact ripple goes the other way too. It goes the other direction. The impact ripple looks like hiring that one person into a soul filling, job, role, career. It looks like that person coming to work excited, motivated, inspired. It looks like them contributing in meaningful ways. Having their ideas and their voice heard, respected, and acted upon. It's the difference between coming to a job that leaves you feeling energized and excited to go home and to come back the next day. Versus a soul draining job. That leaves you depleted, frustrated, angry. And so when these people go out into the world, this soul filling job person, right the person that has the soul filling job when they go out into the world. They have more energy. They're Kinder because they've been treated with kindness. They've been treated with respect. They're nicer to the drive thru person who's serving their meat All they're, you know, leaving nice tips at the restaurant, when they go out to eat with their family, they're playing with their kids, when they come home instead of venturing out in front of the TV because they are lit up, they are excited, they are passionate, they feel fulfilled, they kiss their spouse or their significant other when they walk through the door and have kind words for them instead of harsh words, because that emotion of that soul draining job has to go somewhere. And usually, and unfortunately, it goes to our families, because that's our safe space. That's where we get to be the fullest expression of ourselves. And unfortunately, if they're on a soul draining job, their family gets a really awful experience when they get home.
Ashley Cox 15:49
But you could create a completely different experience for that one person, and their family and their friends and their communities. Because when that person goes home, they're excited, they're fulfilled, they feel valued. Their life and their work, are working in tandem. They're like a song, you know, the harmonies and the melodies are playing together. It's not that one is, you know, overtaking the other. They get to be both an amazing human, loving their family, loving their community, loving their world, and an amazing team member, loving their work, providing meaningful contributions, feeling heard and respected. That's impact. That's the impact ripple. Because you're not just touching that one person, you are touching every single person who comes along with them on this journey in life. And so while you absolutely want to make smart and thoughtful hiring decisions and investments, from a financial standpoint, hiring is also something that comes from the heart. And if you think about the impact that you're creating, and like Christine always says, to me, what is generative? If we're thinking about what is generative, I get to win, because I get help. I get time back in my life. I get to grow my business, we get to make more money together. It's not just me making money. It's not just you making money. It's us making money together with our team, which provides even greater impact, whether that's one person 100 or 100,000.
Ashley Cox 18:05
Hiring is something that's not just a spreadsheet of numbers, right? You know, a lot of times we talk or we hear people talk about how, you know, a lot of big companies just view their their team view their people as numbers on a spreadsheet. And they're not humans anymore. And the impact ripple and sprout HR and myself personally are bringing the humanity back to hiring. That is the goal. It's bringing humanity back. And it's making sure that we understand that we are hiring real people through real emotions, real experiences, real talents, real brilliance. And that we get to do this together and create something that we're all craving, freedom, flexibility, time with our families work that's fulfilling, fill in the blank.
Ashley Cox 19:21
So as we wrap up things today, and for this season, it's time for one last round of our final segment. Imagine the impact where we get to envision what it could look like for you to take action today. And I kind of feel like a really went there already. And there's more right? Imagine the impact that hiring could have on your quality of life. You don't have to do this alone. You don't have to be the The only brilliance that exists in your business, you don't have to be the only one wearing the hats. You don't have to be the only one carrying this big vision and mission forward by yourself. You get to hire help, not just for selfish reasons, like I need some time or I need, you know, some support wearing all these hats, those are very valid. But you also get to think about the bigger impact that you're creating. You get to create opportunities for people where opportunities may not otherwise exist. I've a really big passion for providing career options for people that don't fit into normally traditional roles, right? For that working mother. For the person that has, you know, a neuro divergent personality. There are so many ways that we can create meaningful, fulfilling jobs for people that don't fit into the typical construct of what a corporate America job looks like. And I want for you to just think on that dream on that. Maybe you were that person in that job where you didn't feel like you fit? How can we create different? How can we create supportive? How can we create fulfilling? How can we create robust opportunities for people that maybe don't otherwise fit? And not because there's something wrong with them. But because there's something wrong with the system. Imagine the impact that we could have, if we created opportunities, and careers. That allowed more people to do work, they're excited about and contribute in powerful ways. Hmm, I get goosebumps just thinking about it. So think on this as you go back, and you listen through the episodes for money month as you go back, and maybe you listen to all the episodes because you're just now catching the show. And, and this is I think, Episode 25. So we've got a great subset of episodes for you to listen to all about hiring all about leaving your team all about the mindset around stepping into that leadership role. And dream. I'm not asking you to hire somebody today, or this week, or this month or even this year, but dream about what that could look like for you, your business, our communities, and the world.
Ashley Cox 23:04
Now, before I sign off for this season, I'd love to hear from you. What message or episode have you loved the most or found the most value from in our first two seasons? Sharing that information is really helpful to know, what are you craving more of? And if you have a specific question or an idea for the show that you'd like to hear me talk about or have me invite a guest on to talk about on the show, please share that as well. You can connect with me over on LinkedIn, that's the best place to share your feedback and your thoughts and your ideas and your questions. And let's chat about it. I'll post the link in the show notes where you can connect with me on LinkedIn. So come have a conversation with me. It's me over there. I'm answering the DMs I'm posting you know on our on our profile I'm you know answering the comments on the profile, so you get to have a conversation with me. So come find me. Let's do it.
Ashley Cox 24:04
And then finally, if you found this episode helpful, we'd love for you to rate and review the podcast on your favorite podcast player and share it with someone that you think would help. This really helps other visionary female leaders just like you find the show and learn that they don't have to change who they are, to be a great leader. You already have everything you need inside of you. So thank you once again for joining me on the impact ripple podcast until next season. It's always an honor to be here with and for you on your leadership journey.
