Part three: I’ve saved the best for last
Ahhhh, you're back! I'm truly so honored and grateful to be here yet again as I finish up sharing the Rock Solid story! I've got some great things to share today, so let's get going!
I recently had a conversation with my neighbor that highlighted an important life lesson to me. She is about ten years older than I am and works as a scientist. Millie and her husband, Bryce, have both had remarkable career paths, quickly rising to the top of their fields through a great deal of hard work and perseverance.
As we discussed the differences between generations and how things have changed over the past decade, I noticed a certain sadness wash over her. Millie is just a year away from retirement, while Bryce has been retired for a few years. She expressed that they never really made the time to build meaningful relationships or have children. Despite their rapid success and long hours—often working over 12 hours a day—the value they expected from the lives they built is absent when they look back. This realization is truly heartbreaking and impacted me for days.
This brings me immense gratitude for
a balanced daily rhythm in life and work!
(Yes, I promise it's possible… keep reading!)
We start out in business seeing the seasoned professionals who've been in business for a decade or more, and they're out having lunch with friends and colleagues, enjoying weekends without working on their phones, and taking actual vacations.
That!
Yes, that is the life and work you signed up for!!
How do they do it all?
Here’s the most significant surprising part for me:
Even with the incredible growth of Rock Solid, my daily work life has gotten easier. We’re managing more teams, hiring more people, and attending more events. However, I’ve been able to step back more and more and… actually have days off midweek routinely. If I got all hung up in titles, I’d say mine feels more and more like “consultant” these days because I just jump in when I’m needed. I can do more with my husband and family, cook more meals (which is something I love to do - it’s often my place of “rest”), and simply enjoy the success we’ve worked toward!
The biggest bonus:
I see my team enjoying their lives, too! They aren’t dragging themselves to work each day and watching the proverbial time clock to sign off. We’ve gotten to the place where we don’t work on Fridays unless there’s an unexpected issue. I see them working with all their heart during the week and still enjoying family time and evenings, and they’re also able to enjoy 3-day weekends. Because we all work within our strengths and passions, AND collaborate so well together, work feels easy, even on the strenuous days.
This is success!
Not only can I do work that fulfills me, makes a difference in the lives of others, and allows me to enjoy life while doing so, but it is also a reality for those who work behind the scenes at Rock Solid!
“So, that all sounds wonderful, Tracy. But what does it mean for me? How do I implement similar strategies and teamwork into my organization? How would I possibly utilize a VA in my current stage in business? And why doesn't everyone have a VA?”
The 3 most common obstacles to building your own team:
1. Affordability
2. The Unknowns
3. The Workload
In the early days of Rock Solid, I had about 10 questions, and they all sounded something like, “Can I really afford this?” Fast forward to even just a year from the beginning, and I will confidently say that I wouldn’t have grown beyond maybe five teams in place at Rock Solid without building my internal team. Today, we have around 80-100 teams in place in the US and internationally.
The investment amount is obviously a viable concern and should be somewhere near the forefront of your mind. We are wise business owners, not flying by the seat of our pants! However, it does require a mindset shift.
Growth requires it.
Continued high-quality deliverables require it.
Begin with the end in mind. Have a vision to make your ideas a reality. Not doing every single thing yourself should be at the top of that vision list.
With Rock Solid, you can start with a small weekly package or purchase hours on a project-based package to meet your business's current needs. Once you're working with a highly skilled and experienced VA, I guarantee those hours will grow as your business grows!
One word of advice: do a little brainstorming and planning here. Learn from my mistakes and never hand your new teammate an actively flowing firehose and a few passwords.
On that planning note, here's the second gift I promised!
We have an excellent free guide to help you narrow down your actual needs and the place where a teammate will be most effective at your current stage in business.
YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE IT!!
It'll be an immense help with the 2nd obstacle!
One quick note: at Rock Solid, we don’t expect you to train your VA. We do expect you to LEAD them!
If you’ve never built a support team before, I understand. The only fact I was certain of back in the day was that I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I needed the person who could see what I couldn’t see, hear what I was hoping to communicate, and have the skills to bring it all together.
I’ve heard some almost unbelievable stories about hiring “my cousin’s college roommate's sister, who loves Instagram and TikTok. Yet somehow, my social media accounts just aren’t growing!” Please don’t do this.
Hire someone with EXPERIENCE! Remember, skills ARE transferable, but the person with experience makes a tremendous difference!
An educated, experienced VA will lead you proactively as you learn to work as a team. Their proactiveness will help you as you become more comfortable with delegating those tasks that you’ve always handled solo. Their virtual communication skills will inevitably help you learn the best methods and platforms to polish your communication skills. Finding someone who matches or complements your personality and work-style will elevate your life and business in ways you can’t imagine!
I’m proof that building the best team helps to build the business. You don’t have to have every skill and know every answer. As Simon Sinek says, STACK THE DECK! This is the time to make the best decision for forward momentum and growth because you’ve got big things ahead!
Delegation is definitely a learned skill and behavior, but to truly answer this, I’ll approach it from a different angle—so please bear with me for a moment!
I have a question for you and we dive into this subject:
What do you consider a luxury in life?
Take a minute to jot down (or at least consider) the first 5 things that pop into your mind!
Whatever is included on your list of luxuries, what are you doing to make them realities in your life?
How about family priorities?
Your schedule doesn’t lie. If you say that your primary value involves putting your family first, but time with them is not all over your schedule, well, then the truth of the matter is that they aren’t your priority.
(I know, that one stung a little for me, too.)
Do you give yourself permission to take other priorities as seriously as your work?
Are you still dropping everything for work?
Are you truly protecting time for those things and people you need to protect time for?
This brings me to a very “real” moment, especially considering the last 9 years. It’s been quite a journey. When I look back, it can literally bring tears to my eyes. We’ve come a long way, baby, haha!
But I love this lesson the most—and I love to encourage others with it the most as well!
As I learned and grew in business, I realized there were things I didn’t want to do and many things I didn’t do well. There are areas where I shine most brightly, and those areas are actually the money-makers! I learned how my brain works, and when I’m doing tasks that suck life from my being, that brightly shining light begins to dim… and with it, the income-earning potential.
Yes, delegation is a learned skill and behavior! But getting it right is a GAME CHANGER!!
So… do I have “enough” work to hand off?
Absolutely!
Even a few hours of help each week adds up significantly, allowing me to focus on my strongest skills and build effectively! All the while, my teammate is building something incredible on her side of things that causes our efficiency and productivity to skyrocket.
Meanwhile, my brain is at rest—or at rest as much as it can be. Perhaps I should say my brain is calm. The calmer it is, the clearer I think. In this state, I can move with strategy, not with emotion.
I make better decisions for the business and • MOST • importantly, better decisions for life. I spend more time with my people—real time, uninterrupted by notifications and missed deadlines. I am resting—and trust me, that doesn’t just mean more hours of sleep each night. I have an entirely different view of rest than most people! Slow mornings and boring days are my M.O. When I can incorporate these luxuries into my daily routine, life and business are much better.
Yes, please, to delegating - even when I don’t think I have enough work to do so! Warren Buffett said that the most successful people say no to almost everything!
Finally….
let's get this wrapped up!
GROWTH
You’re only one person, no matter how talented and gifted, and there are only 24 hours in the day! If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, build your team!
QUALITY, QUALITY, QUANTITY!
Burnout happens when we think we’ve got this. Solopreneurship is terrific for a season. But when it all becomes too much, our quality wanes. We can’t do more or help more people if we’re working from a place of burnout and lackluster quality!
THE LIFESTYLE YOU ASPIRE TO LIVE
Make sure your priorities align with the life you hope to live. Building your team allows you to prioritize while scaling your business to be all it was meant to be!
It’s time to stop glorifying being busy - your worth isn’t measured by how much you do! This is our moment to release what no longer serves us and make space for what will—not just in our habits, but in our mindset and hearts.
Talk Soon!
Tracy
