Redefining Fabulous
Redefining Fabulous
How to Navigate the Hiring Season
Today's conversation with Breanna Bortner is about transitioning between seasons in your business and more specifically how to navigate the season of hiring help.
Bre is the Owner of Breanna's Business Boutique. She's a Type A, Virgo, Enneagram Type 1 Midwest girl, a wife, dog mama, and business owner. She loves spending my time traveling to new places and trying new restaurants.
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π₯ https://www.breannasbusinessboutique.com/
ππ: @breannasbusinessboutique
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Hey girl, hey, are you ready for some real talk? If you are a female entrepreneur who has ever felt like a total failure, or maybe even a frequent flyer of imposter syndrome, this podcast is for you. I'm your host Jesse, a millennial business owner, boy mom and creative genius helping women bring their business dreams to life. After 10 years of building numerous creative brands from the ground up, I'm ready to get real about what actually goes on behind the scenes of building your very own empire feel you're opening up brand new mindset for me and I really want that for you too, because honestly, I am just so over society's definition of what it means to live a successful life. So together, we are going to create and navigate a version of success that works for you. Together, we can redefine fabulous. Okay guys, welcome to today's episode of empowering coffee condos. I'm Jesse founder and chief empowerment Officer of this way to fabulous and today is a very, very special day which you guys can tell because the background is totally different. I'm here with Brandon bortner. She is an online business manager and owner of Brianna's business boutique. She's a type A Virgo Enneagram, one to Midwest gal. She's a Minnesota wife and dog mom, okay, she loves spending her extra time traveling to new places trying new restaurants. On a sidenote she's like the unicorn that fell from this guy for this wedding. Fabulous. You guys won't be hearing so much more from Brianna. In the future. So before we start, Brianna, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself. Just kind of like a quick synopsis of like where you are in your life right now.
Breanna Bortner:First of all, thanks for having me, Jesse. This is so fun. This is the most set up podcast. I mean, we've been setting up for this for since last night.
Jessi Cabanin:This is a compliment or a dig.
Breanna Bortner:I kind of feel like I'm in a spaceship. And yeah, this is just cool. We're in a new setting. We're having fun this weekend. And so thanks for having me on the podcast. This is gonna be an absolute blast. And also a nice to meet all of the listeners as well. So as Jesse said, I am Brianna. I am an online business manager. And just a little bit more about me. I mean, my roots are in the Midwest. I've lived everywhere between Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Illinois, and now I'm back in Minnesota. So
Jessi Cabanin:yes, I know she was in like Illinois, when I met her. As soon as I met her and follow her, she moved to Minnesota, it was the beginning of our sets that love story. Hey, sometimes long distance relationships, you know. So yeah, you guys will hear so much more about me and Breanna and our story, I will link that episode in the show notes. Because there's a lot of really random shit in our backstory that I think is just really, it's really entertaining. And I think it's also really eye opening for other people as to you know, getting yourself in the room and meeting new people and taking chances on yourself and on other people. There's just like, literally so much to that story, I will link that episode in the show notes, we will not waste your time with that today. So today, we're actually going to be talking about seasons of your business, and how to navigate when you are in a season where hiring or outsourcing is something that's currently on your like list of things to address, it's likely on the list of things that you are avoiding. And I say this from experience. So we're gonna be talking about the four seasons of, of business. And this does sort of like repeat itself every year. And it's not like your yearly seasons, but you you tend to follow the seasons over and over not necessarily in like a one year span. But you do like recycle the seasons as you grow and as you pivot in your business. So before main seasons are the same seasons, you have your winter, spring, summer and fall. Okay.
Breanna Bortner:And we live in the Midwest, so we are very familiar with these. And the winter season now that I'm Minnesota again, I mean that season is like seven months long. So like there's also a testament that like seasons aren't just you know, exact quarters or like perfect amounts of time and like distributed evenly because the winter is a hell of a
Jessi Cabanin:lot. Like okay, who hates Chicago winter and then moves to Minnesota? Like Archer winters, like even worse there.
Breanna Bortner:Yes. I mean, what happened yesterday, we were supposed to be driving here and Jesse sends me it's such a terrible day to be driving and there's like these pretty little snowflakes in her window. I was like Jesse we got over six inches of snow last night. I'm trapped in my House I don't know how to work my snowplow our streets aren't plowed to only SUVs are getting out
Jessi Cabanin:so you're in like a smaller town right? So like it takes longer for ya.
Breanna Bortner:Didn't really come by and clean everything up until like between 10 and noon an hour after they canceled school as well because there was outside playing in the snow. So there was just a dumping of snow and I'm like, Jesse, come on. It's so funny because now I showed up where we are in Iowa and I have these like knee high snow boots and there is absolutely no snow on the ground here. So I look like I have Fortner. Okay, I do not belong here or that I'm like last but hey,
Jessi Cabanin:that's okay. Because we're exploring a new space right are exploring a new state and new city a new place a super fancy Airbnb that we got literally just so that we would have a pretty background. So okay, so let's, let's go back to the four seasons here for a second. So the four seasons, even though they're called Winter, spring, summer fall, they actually have nothing to do with the actual like weather. Okay, so your winter season in your business is more of a time where you are slowing down a little bit, you are resting, you are maybe reflecting on the last, you know, the last three months, the last six months, you're really kind of reflecting on the back end, and you're taking that break. Okay, so then spring is when you sort of come out of that resting period, and you begin doing some planning and you begin doing some mapping of you know how you're going to get where you want to go. Okay, and then when you move on to summer, summers focus is definitely more on the actual act of growing. So now you've taken those plans, and then those maps, and you're actually putting them into action. And you're actually getting things done at that point. Right. Okay, so then fall is sort of more of a balanced season, you're still working, you're still hustling a little bit. But a lot of things are more on autopilot. And you're almost starting to think of new ideas, right? So you're sort of in a position where you're starting to think of all these ideas and starting to realize that burnout is hitting, right. I think that fall is definitely when burnout hits us the most and kind of pushes us into that winter season, right? Because that's when we really need to, like rest and reflect. So yeah, and
Breanna Bortner:I think also the autopilot aspect of fall, especially for people like you, Jesse, I know you're really creative. And so when people fall into that space where things are on autopilot, and they almost seem too easy or too monotonous. It can kind of freak people out as well, for sure. It's a blessing, you know, to be able to earn with ease and to be able to do things that you love every day sometimes, like the lack of spontaneity, or like the lack of working towards something for sure. Can Make You Feel a little bit off. So that's why I personally like I love the summer season because I like to get things done and no way. Yes. You saw like how Jessi introduced me I am a type one Enneagram Virgo, like hi,
Jessi Cabanin:just go wherever we are. But how will we fit together? Again, I will link that that in the show notes. Because it's not for today. But yeah, um, yes, absolutely. Absolutely. I totally agree on that. So Briana, what season would you say that you are in with your business? Like right now?
Breanna Bortner:Yeah, so I would say that me personally, and in my business, we are slipping into winter. So we're actually in the right season, based on the actual physical season that we're in right now. I'm went through I'm in a coaching program right now. And so I'm making some changes to my business internally. And so it's causing me to like sit and reflect as like what I want in the new year. So I kind of have a blank slate, new opportunities, things that I need to create from the ground up. So it's a really exciting space to be in. There's a lot of opportunity, and space for expansion. But I have to plan things out still. So I'm really just trying to be like during the holidays to slow down. And like be grateful for this space to think about things. And in this time, I'm doing more like journaling, more meditation, more mindset work, to really kind of tap into like my inner self, and uncover what I want in that next season. So what is my spring going to look like?
Jessi Cabanin:Yeah, for sure. What kinds of things do you do in your transition from fall to winter? Just sort of set yourself up for you mentioned opportunity. I think that's a really important word. Because I do feel like opportunities. Opportunities are always out there, right? Opportunities always present themselves, but I feel like as humans and as business owners, we don't always see them or accept them because we're too busy to bring that into our life. So how like how what do you do in your transition from fall to winter? To set yourself up to be accepting of all of those opportunities and those thoughts and ideas like Have you set yourself up for that?
Breanna Bortner:Yeah, so I would say that you have to clear the deck as they call it. And, um, some things that I recently did is I actually increased my pricing. So I, you know, during my, my summer and my fall phase, I was like, kind of reevaluating things. And I decided that, okay, you know, I'm no longer feeling aligned with my pricing and the deliverables that I'm providing with people. So I increased the pricing. And so naturally, that meant that some things had to shift and change, and it was very uncomfortable. But in return, I gained that space that I need for that winter season. So doing something like that, like something that's like really uncomfortable, or something that you've been dreading can help you kind of shift into a new season. I think that's one way to definitely propel. And get yourself unstuck. Because if you're stuck in autopilot, yeah, that's the comfortable place. That's where you're happy. That's where your, you know, your your content. That's where like, things aren't scary, you know, that's working at home in your PJs, knowing that you you know, you have clients to serve and that you have money coming in the door and that you're happy. But then, you know, there's also that, like, what if you know, what else is? What else is out there? Who else could I be serving? Can I cast a wider net? So I think that's one thing that I did specifically to almost, I mean, like I induced winter, myself, it was like she was 40
Jessi Cabanin:weeks into fall, and she decided to induce winter to be born.
Breanna Bortner:Yes, it had to happen. It was like, yeah, it was just something that was inevitable. And luckily, I had the right support support system around me at that time to really make that possible. Because it is something that when you are alone, and you don't have business partners, or a supportive relationship, or friends that really understand what you're going through, like, as a business owner, I think that that season is even more uncomfortable. So during those transitional periods, it's really a good time to like find yourself a good community that can support you, for sure.
Jessi Cabanin:And I feel like, like something that triggered me when you said that was that. So we have these four seasons, right. But then we also have four transformational seasons, right, because you have to transform from one season to the next. And in reality, those transformation seasons should essentially be another four seasons, because those four seasons in between are the ones where it's really uncomfortable. Because you're you're you're propelling yourself into that next season. But it's important to note that like, when you start to propel yourself into a new season, it should be purposeful it should be it should have strategy behind it, it shouldn't just be like, I'm sick of it. I'm sick of winter, let's go into the next one. Like it has to have meaning to it when you propel yourself into it. And so I think that for her, you know, what I'm hearing is that, you know, she was in fall, she was doing really well. She had a lot of clients, she had money coming in the door, and it felt balanced while she was in that season. And then when things started to feel unbalanced when the expectations were not there anymore, when the maybe the boundaries were starting to be tested a little bit more. And things were suddenly not balanced. Things weren't not aligned. So as soon as things started to feel unaligned for her that was unbalanced, that that's kind of your, your red flag to say, Okay, I think this season might be ending, it's time to go into our fall transition period into winter. And so what she just described about what she was doing to open the door for winter, that was her transformation season and like how she got from fall to winter. So I'm curious. So most of you guys will know this after listening to all of these episodes. But so Breanna and I work a lot together now. A good time. Like, I feel like Briana knows more about me than I know about myself, and about my business. And so I want to know, Brianna, what season Do you think that this would have fabulous isn't like right now, let's not go into my personal. Let's go. Let's just talk about this way to Fabulous. What season? Would you would you say that I'm in just from working with me inside of the business recently? What season would you say that we're in right now?
Breanna Bortner:No doubt 100%. The state of fabulous isn't spring. So when we first met that those are some of the first things that we did together as we were like, workflow mapping. And we were planning out, you know, longer term strategic things. We weren't like trying to get quick wins or like quick cash injections. We were working together to like, build a team. And we continue to do that. And one of the foundations of building a team is getting the right systems in place. So for the past few months, we've been going over all of your systems, we've been cleaning things up, we
Jessi Cabanin:haven't been going over things we've been just like dumping them in rehaul. We've been starting over we've been Brianna fIying everything about this,
Breanna Bortner:and it's so foundational to what you're going to be doing in the next season. because when you bring on new team members, and when you're, you know, you're expanding the current clients that you're supporting and bringing new people in the door, you have this vision, which, if you guys know, Jessie, she's like the vision queen. She's like, Yeah, it's insane. She has such a strong idea of what she really wants, which is so amazing. But she has this vision, and then it's going to come to life because of the things that we've been doing the nitty gritty kind of uncomfortable things that aren't so fun to do by yourself. That's what we've been doing the last few months working together. And so it's really setting you up for a great summer, which will likely come early 2023. So I would
Jessi Cabanin:say I almost kind of feel like we are approaching the transition from spring to summer. We have been planning and we have been mapping. And actually one of the main things that we are doing on our retreat this weekend in Cedar Rapids is really kind of finishing a lot of the mapping and the planning of this next growth season. And so I feel like it's exciting. It's almost like we are, we're not in that transition phase yet, but we're tiptoeing we are like, we are like just getting our toes in the water right now. And we are so close to just like diving into the water. Come 2023, which Oh, my God is a couple of weeks away.
Breanna Bortner:Yeah, we're tying the knot. We're making it like all pretty and I think it'll be
Jessi Cabanin:Yes, I feel like this retreat, we are sort of like sealing the deal. Yeah, we are like we have all these plans. We have all these, all these things when we were planning and mapping. And I feel like this weekend, we really wanted to just get away from all of our other distractions, so that we could really focus on like the partnership that we're building, and how we're building each other's companies. And so I just kind of I think it's really it's really interesting. So we are definitely in a, like I said, approaching that summer season where hiring is becoming a must like the growth that has happened in the last 12 months, has definitely put this way to fabulous in a position of needing to either start outsourcing or hiring or we're literally building a team, right? So Brianna, no matter how we look at what we want to do together, we literally just kind of like consider ourselves as partners at this point, because we are constantly going back and forth every day about each other's businesses and about all these ideas. But so she you know, has gotten more into me about why hiring right now. It like why I'm in the season I'm in and how we're going to get out of that season. Right. And Breanna is getting a lot of resistance for me. Because I you know, another story for another day. But you know, I'm having some PTSD of my past my past life in business and having a team and having it fail. And you know, we had a really long discussion yesterday about the fear of being successful again, because you know, I do feel like I find myself sometimes waiting for a shoe to drop, I just, you know, things start to go well, and all of a sudden, I'm like, I'm getting the bunker prepped, I'm like, ready for like the world to end again. Right.
Breanna Bortner:So one of like, the top five things that hold people back is for sure fear of success or failure on the complete flip side. So
Jessi Cabanin:totally. And I mean, in fairness, some are I think, are are afraid of both, I would say the person I am today, that business owner and today I'm not afraid of failure, I have completely changed my mindset of failure into being something to learn from something to know what I don't want something to know, what works and what doesn't, what feel aligns and what doesn't. And so for me, failure has totally flipped into this, like, you know what, I hope I fail at this because I want to learn something from this to continue growing. So I'm really excited about that part. But I want to talk a little bit more about hiring in general, because I know that a lot of my listeners are similar people to me. And they are, you know, trying to grow their small businesses and they are likely feeling in that stuck season where they don't know what's next. They they feel too much on autopilot, they feel like growth is almost not available because their own their only them. You know, I feel like a lot of my following. And just my my associating in just people I'm with in general are a lot of solopreneurs. And I get that I've been a solopreneur for a long, long time. But I think a lot of people are in the position of realizing that in order to scale both vertically and horizontally, they can't do it themselves. They have to bring in something to help that. So I want to talk a little bit more about hiring and where that falls. So what do you think like, in your opinion, what season does hiring typically fall into?
Breanna Bortner:So I would say that hiring like spans across a few of the seasons. So obviously in winter when you're resting and reflecting, that's the time where you're asking yourself like do I love what I do each day? Am I passionate about it? Are there areas of my business that no longer energize me? Are there certain areas that are bringing me down. Those are likely the areas once you pinpoint them that you want to outsource, if you want them to continue being part of your client experience, for sure. So I would definitely say winter is kind of the time when you start to even just like play with the idea of like, okay, could the could I bring someone else into this mix that loves to do this thing that I'm dreading?
Jessi Cabanin:Winter I feel like is almost like, the more calm thoughts of like, maybe I should hire versus like being in a busy season being like I have to
Breanna Bortner:hire. Yeah, this is like the ideal I would say the ideal not like the frantic. Oh, yeah, I need to hire somebody. And then like, just because you're in the right headspace,
Jessi Cabanin:you can actually think clearly logically. Okay, continue about what it what that looks like in other seasons. Yes. So
Breanna Bortner:then as you get out of winter season, and you go into spring, you're actually planning out okay, like, what does the job description look like for this person? You know, like, financially? How many like hours? Or what type of packages? Can I be? Right now? Yeah, yeah, definitely, you know, what do I envision for this person long term? You know, if it is a long term type hire that you're needing, like, am I do I want someone for just a short term project? Or do I envision this person who I start handing off one project to, and then they get two, and then they get three, and then, you know, we can start collaborating, collaborating more and more. So I think that's in spring, you're actually mapping out like envisioning getting comfortable with the feeling, and actually writing out what their tasks and things that they will take over look like. And then also, ideally, in the springtime, is when you're going to be documenting things that they need to know. So that says, when you're writing out SOPs or getting organized with your digital files, this is the time where you're getting things tidied up, because no one wants to come into an organization, that is a hashtag hot mess. So Jesse, just he's like, don't throw me under the bus. And this. There are so many people that are in that same boat that are just hiring frantically, and the back end of their businesses mess. And so if you can think about things and get them organized and clean, have your logins have your folders, make sure that they have access to the right things, those are the things that you're going to be doing in that spring. And then obviously summer is when you hire that person, that's when you're like growing and getting the things done. That's when you're seeing the progress that's being made. Because you get to work on the things that you love. And now you have this person on the side, who's also helping you kind of move the needle. So the summer is really when you actually start to see the fruits of your labor. And when you actually get to, you know, maybe sit back and relax a little bit more, especially slipping back into, you know, that fall where things are balanced in autopilot. That's when you have the person fully trained in, they're really comfortable with your brand. They understand your preferences, they know where things are. They know their expectations. So when I say that hiring and outsourcing falls into all of the seasons, it really does. It starts with the winter, when you're reflecting and then it ends in the fall, when you have this new hire that has panned out perfectly and is a good fit, because you've taken the time and you've done the deciphering that's needed in order to pick the right person role.
Jessi Cabanin:Exactly. And I think you can really like the way you just described that I think it is really obvious how what we mean about like, how this is a cycle. This is this is a cycle. Now you get to a point where, you know, I brought in Breanna and I felt things start to balance out a little bit more. And then we kept growing. And now things are out of balance, again, a little bit. And so now we're really starting to realize, okay, so as we fall out of balance, let's find how to get ourselves back to balance. And so it really is this cycle of all of those different seasons. So I want to talk a little bit about
Breanna Bortner:about the gift that I brought you for today. But but so we were talking earlier and one of like we've said we're opposites and many different things like Yeah, but we were talking earlier and one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. You've never tried, oh God. And so like, I feel like we're gonna get thirsty today. But I brought a kombucha and like Kombucha is my freakin drink of choice.
Jessi Cabanin:Katie's gonna lose her mind when she sees
Breanna Bortner:like I need kombucha. I have maybe like one to two a week. And I was scared that this was gonna happen if I didn't open it beforehand, but I wanted you to be part of the excitement because it was like the champagne I hope of probiotics. Okay, okay, good. I've had ones that actually fit over all over the carpet. So it is bubbly. So blue Just in case they want to sponsor us, this is a health aide kombucha one of my oh my gosh, can you hear the bubbles? I can hear the bubbles, but maybe you can definitely heard the licks. Yeah, so it's just like a bubbly, fruity, fermented drink. That is this is your probiotic in liquid form. So I feel like we're gonna be doing a lot of talking today.
Jessi Cabanin:Like, that's good. That's I'll take a little bit.
Breanna Bortner:So I want to get
Jessi Cabanin:this is all about hopping out of like, your comfort zone, right. So as we're in this almost transition period, we're testing. We're testing some boundaries. We're testing some limits. We're trying new things. We're trying new places. So you know, Okay, cheers. Drink this on air. Hmm. Almost smell smells like apple cider vinegar. Easter eggs. Like it smells like when you're like coloring?
Breanna Bortner:Eggs. Oh, because they've been coloring them? Yeah. Yeah, it smells like apple cider vinegar. Bucha.
Jessi Cabanin:But interesting. drink of choice. Okay, well, it's not bad. I get I encourage you to try it if you haven't, because it won't bother you.
Breanna Bortner:And the best part is that like your gut feels so good afterwards.
Jessi Cabanin:Okay, so let's, let's dive in a little bit deeper about hiring. So Brian is someone obviously I brought into my company for numerous reasons. But she's also someone who's very much helping me right now in this transitional season in bringing other people in. So what would you say if someone is out there listening that is in a similar position where hiring is something that avoiding just like me, but it's it's becoming like a necess? Like absolutely necessary thing to survive and to continue moving forward? What questions would you like have them asking themselves to like, qualify if maybe they're ready to hire? Or if maybe they need to wait until that next season?
Breanna Bortner:Yeah, a good question. Definitely. And it's good to kind of slow down when you're in this phase, and really think about, you know, some mental questions like some, for some people hiring is really hard because they have to let go of their baby, they their businesses, their baby, their processes, their baby, their signature, whatever they do is their baby. And so you have to be like mentally ready to let go. Because no one wants to come into an organization where the business owner, like number one hoards all the work doesn't give any, or is a micromanager. And that's one of my biggest pet peeves as from being both an employee, a corporate HR employee, and also being a business owner who goes into other people's businesses and help them no one wants to be micromanage. And the reason why you're being micromanage is because someone cannot let go of control. So you do have to be mentally ready to give up things and be open to the fact that they might look different than how you would do them. Right. So there's lots of financial questions, obviously, about outsourcing, you know, and that kind of dictates the type of role that you hire where you hire them from, how many hours or what type of package you buy from them. So you need to ask yourself some financial questions like do you just have some extra cash reserves? To hire out for a project that's been on the backburner? Or do you have enough money to like sustainably purchase a package month after month after month because you want to grow a longer term strategic relationship? Is there a train
Jessi Cabanin:coming
Breanna Bortner:so I guess there's a train at this Airbnb
Jessi Cabanin:Okay, so you we got the mentally we got the emotionally and we got the financially so those are the three main kind of topics of questions you want to ask yourself to kind of qualify yourself to see if you're ready for the next step. But let's talk a little bit about what else to think about like if you decide if you qualify yourself as I am ready to hire this like I this ticks all my boxes, hiring is definitely my next step. What is the thought process at that point? Like what's important for them to think about?
Breanna Bortner:Yeah, I forget who says it but it's like the like you hire people because like you don't hire people that like know less than you like you should be hiring people that know more than you. And so, what I like to say like when you're hiring like are you going to be hiring a generalist, someone who is you know, maybe can cast a broad net over email management and social media and light website updates. Are you going to hire someone that you know is a gem or listing those areas? Or are you gonna hire somebody that's a specialist that does one thing really good and loves to do it. And that might, that one thing might be the thing that you hate, or that you think is exhausting, or that you think leads you to burnout. So I would ask yourself, you know, that type of question too. But then ultimately, that person that you bring in, like, bring in someone that understands your vision, give them clarity, when you're on that initial consult, call, which you should definitely do 10,000% Make sure that they understand your vision, and that they are kind of a forward thinker, and that they can bring some like new ideas and like fresh perspectives to the table, and you should be open for that. So you know, you want them to have a brain almost kind of opposite of yours. And I think that's why Jesse and I, we hit it off right away is because our brains work so differently. And when we work together, like freaking magic happens,
Jessi Cabanin:for sure. And I feel like there's an aspect to it where like, I'm fascinated by the way that your brain works, because it's like, polar opposite of mine. And so like, I think it also I've made the mistake of hiring people who are too similar to me, because for so long, I thought that all I needed was a clone of myself, all I needed was someone who was just like me, so that I would have a second me. I thought that for so freakin long. And I think when I met Briana, and when we started doing some of the stuff was when I really started to realize that like, having another meet, God help us all, if we had to have me. God help us all, if there was two of Jesse in the same company, three justice in the company. That's another story for another day. Like, God forbid, that that would like that would decline so fast. That was like, we would never be able to accomplish the things that we are uncapable of doing. I think of being
Breanna Bortner:married to yourself, I've thought of thank you for, like, I would hate to date myself. Oh, my gosh, I would destroy myself like you.
Jessi Cabanin:I mean, it's true.
Breanna Bortner:So you think about like your romantic partners. Every relationship every marriage that I am friends with, or couples that we hang out with complete opposites. You have an introvert, you have an extrovert, you have the some person that's always hot, the person that's always cold, you have you know, you have the person who's super ambitious, the person who's maybe not, there is always ying and yang. And that should be like that in working relationships as well.
Jessi Cabanin:Absolutely. And I think that one of the really unique parts about me and Brianna coming together, and what she just mentioned, was understanding the vision. So I think that, like, when we first started talking and working together, you know, we were doing some trade for service, we were you know, we were kind of exploring what, like, what this friendship could be like, what this business partnership could be like. And, you know, I think that the thing that really remained common was that we, we have this vision of helping women chase their dreams, and be successful and redefine what success means to them. And so you know, I feel like, it's just really important, really, really important, the vision part, because if someone is the polar opposite of you, but they get the vision, that person is going to help you get there because that person is like the key to all the doors that you can't open, right, that person is the like, supplemental knowledge that you need. And so I just find it really fascinating how differently our brains work, because it forces me to sort of like test my own thinking limits to test the way I look at things. And so I can go into something another day and say what we're gonna do, instead of what Jessie would do, Jesse is really confused, Jessie's looking at this thing, and she's so confused, and she wants to walk away, but what we'll bring on to do. So I feel like it's very, it's a very fascinating like, cycle.
Breanna Bortner:Yeah. And so back in my corporate days, I was a, I was in corporate HR for about five years. And although it was not for me, I did learn a lot. And throughout that time, I had various different like functions that I was involved with as gender. I was a generalist for HR. So I did hiring, I did firing, I did employee training, Benefits Administration. I did all that sort of stuff. And one thing that I thought was so interesting when I was in the hiring space, is how important larger organizations think that it is to hire someone who has exact industry knowledge and who's been in the exact industry that's like, always part of the job description. And I'm like, but what if we didn't hire people who had exact industry experience, and we hired people from other industries, and we learned how they do things. And we opened the door for like, an unbiased third party walking in saying like, Oh, well, you know, what, you know, in this industry, you know, we kind of shake things up and do it this way. And it works really well or like, Oh, I like how you guys do it here. So not only You know, having those those boundaries up and not always having those doors close to people, you know, let's say you're a wedding photographer, and you're like, Well, I only want an admin assistant who's worked in the wedding industry. It's like, Well, why not try it? I think it's always a great option to try someone who has different industry experience as well, because they can bring a lot to the table.
Jessi Cabanin:Yeah, for sure. For sure. And I feel like there is, there's something to be said to just about the relationship that you sort of end up building, because you're just you're you're, you're evolving as a human, like you're evolving is in your business, but you're also evolving as a human. And I think that like, when you come together, and we understand the vision, that vision grows, that vision evolves, that vision pivots, that like being able to do that, in a vision with someone is incredible experience to be able to have this vision that I thought was so big, and then you bring in someone else who thinks about it even different, even even more different than like you caught up. And all of a sudden the size of that vision, just like tripled, right? And then that and then that vision seems huge. And then you go through the seasons, and you go through the hiring and then you're back at your back at that one feeling huge. And now it triples again. You know, and I feel like there's just a, there's a momentum, a serious momentum to having someone on your team who is the opposite way who can force you to look at things a different way. I think that's like the key to momentum. Yeah, so definitely, um, okay, so those are all really great tips for things to think about, like when you're in the hiring stage when you're in that season. Now, let's talk about where so I know for me personally, I've had a really hard time figuring out where to find these people. So what would your recommendations be or tips be for? Like when now you're to that step where you know, you're ready to hire VA now, like, where do I go?
Breanna Bortner:Yeah, and this is where I think a lot of people get stuck is because it's like, how do I find the right people. So there's a few different avenues that you can do. One of them is from the third party sites. So using sites like Fiverr, or Upwork, I think these are great, like entry points, like you want to kind of test the waters, you want to maybe hand off like, Hey, I have this short term project, I'm a little bit, you know, booked out and busy right now, I would love to bring someone in and see what they do for what they can do for this project, whether it's an internal project or a client facing project, I think that's a great place to start and get your toes wet. And there you have the support, you know, from Fiverr, or Upwork, to kind of, you know, manage the relationship. Kind of another option would be an agency. So there are agencies for VAs or social media managers, that type of model is different in that, like, you're assigned an account manager, you have someone that like, interviews you about the role. And that's really for those positions that are like longevity, like you like I want an admin assistant that can be on my team that will grow with us that will understand the vision, we want to work together, you know, one plus years, that's a great route to go as well. And then in that type of model, you pay the agency, you know, the agency pays the contractor middlemen. So that's another option. But my favorite of all of them and how I find my clients and how I recommend, recommend other people find their it's the reverse, right, I find my clients and then they find me as a contractor. It's through networking, it's through a business groups that I'm in, it's through showing up to virtual events, or in person events. It's Facebook groups. I've found few of my clients through Facebook groups, or posting like job ads in Facebook groups. There are some like VA matchmaking services that are online as well that are completely free of charge, you know, where you enter the details of your engagement, and they match you with someone that whose profile or interests align. So that option is my personal favorite. I've had the most luck with that. On top of just you know, searching your network, right, if you have a copywriter that you'd like to work with, I would likely ask you if I needed a copywriter. Absolutely. And
Jessi Cabanin:I think that's where like word of mouth comes in and why it's such a powerful tool that is really undervalued. I think that word of mouth can seem hard. Because if you're not doing the work on the outside, all the sudden trying to get word of mouth. That's not how it works. Word of mouth is a long game. Word of mouth is making sure that you are taking every opportunity you can to build a relationship with people because as soon as someone trusts you, they're going to refer you to someone else. And what happens with referrals is that if somebody you trust refers you to someone they trust, there's already a trust factor in that relationship. Even if you've never met them, and I am walking proof of, of word of mouth being an astronomically amazing tool, because my entire almost my entire career in the wedding industry was based on word of mouth, I never paid a dime to advertise my invitation company in the 10 years that I had it, I never paid a dime to advertise. And I broke the million dollar like point at that. And to do that, without throwing tons of money into advertising is like, I want people to understand that just because you want to grow your company does not mean I'm not gonna sit here and say that the you know, spend money to make money is not true, it is true in certain instances, but like dropping your money into advertising that you have no control over is just like the biggest waste of money I have ever, like ever, ever heard of. So. So I
Breanna Bortner:find it to throw money at your problems ever
Jessi Cabanin:alcoholic them instead. So, okay, so let's talk a little bit about what it's like to even hire someone like an online business manager like Brianna, because I feel like for a lot of people, and OBM is a great first hire, to start taking away a little bit of the small things that take time. And so I think this is true for almost any industry that in OBM is probably a very, very highly recommended first hiring tool. And I also feel like maybe it's just Breanna
Breanna Bortner:V. VA or an OPM is usually a good first step. Because
Jessi Cabanin:what what is the difference between a VA and an OPM? What's the difference?
Breanna Bortner:Yeah, so VA virtual assistant. That's how I started my business. And so for the first three months, I was doing virtual assistant work, I would say in that type of role, it is more client led in which we would show up to a meeting and Jesse, you would be giving me tasks. And then I would complete them. I would say for generally, most VA engagements that that's it, you know, they complete the tasks, and then you're like, oh, I should give them more work. And then you give them more tasks, right. And then these, these are generally across the spectrum of admin or billing or social media, things like that. And I realized quickly that I didn't fall into that space, I had Miss titled myself as a virtual assistant, because where I was really thriving was actually giving direction, being proactive, pivoting with the customer giving them ideas. And so I found that an online business manager where I could get involved in more areas of their business where I could be giving them recommendations, setting up the systems. And actually like leading, instead of being delegated to, that's where I found my strong suit was. And so if you're looking for someone to kind of take control to be like, you know, this is what you need to do. This is what contractor he needs to do. And this is what I'm going to do. And then we're going to meet back again next week, and then we're going to decide what the next stepping stone is, then an online business manager would be the right person for you. So you kind of have to decide, are you looking to just delegate? Or are you looking for someone to kind of take the reins, manage the team and manage the projects? Because I would say that's more on the OBM side of things.
Jessi Cabanin:So the VLSI seems pretty cut and dry, pretty transactional? Yeah, pretty, like here's a list, do it and then come back, and we'll recycle this. So the OBM, how do
Breanna Bortner:there's a season for both? I should definitely say there's for sure. A season for both. There's nothing I was a VA, there's nothing against vas, I have a VA. And so there is a season for that. And there's a space for that. And so there's nothing wrong with it.
Jessi Cabanin:So if a VA is pretty cut and dry, it's a pretty straightforward engagement. What are the options from an OEM standpoint? Like what what are your options as an OEM? What do you offer your clients as far as like, options in ways to engage with you?
Breanna Bortner:Yeah, yeah. And that differs by OBM. But I would say the bread and butter of most opium business is either a, like a VIP day or session model, or it is a retainer. So the retainer as we know, it is the long term, either like a three to six to 12 month engagement, where we're committed to working with one another, where we have these big ideas in these big projects that we're breaking down into smaller action, actionable tasks, and executing them together and with the remainder of the team if there's other contractors involved. And so that retainer, if you were in the season where you were like, I know that I have you know, these big visions right, like I have this membership I want to get off the ground or I have this like, massive sales funnel that I want to build, or, you know, I'm doing a full overhaul on all of my systems that makes sense to engage someone long term. Those aren't necessarily things, you know, your project of hiring and building your team, that's not something that's going to be done in one day, for sure. So we're, we're, you know, we're kind of looking into the future together. For the VIP sessions, I offer half days, which are four hours of like focus and accountability and work either together or separate. And that really is for the person that is like, Okay, I have this project, and I just, I just need to get it done. You know, I've said that I'm going to update my website, or I've said that I'm going to create this lead magnet and build the automation and my email marketing tool, and I just haven't gotten to it, it's been on the back burner, that's the perfect opportunity to get your toes wet and work with someone for half day or a full day, whatever options they have, and get to understand their working style and get to understand like, the deliverables and results that they have, and get that quick win with a super like fast turnaround. So those are the two options that I generally see, sometimes people do, you know, one off intensive or like goal setting sessions, things like that. But I would say, like to get like the most power out of whatever engagement you choose, I would choose like a VIP day, or a retainer for three, six or 12 months.
Jessi Cabanin:So for this way to fabulous, the way that we started, just to give you a little perspective on you know where I was and what I did to get to where we are now, when I first met Brianna, we jumped into a more of a VIP type of relationship, because I think that we were at a point where I was at a point where I was not at all sure what the hell I needed to do, okay, so if you are out there feeling like you are a total hot mess, the very first thing you need to do is book a VIP day with Brianna and she will like help you figure that out, then that turned into a second VIP day where we started to do, we started to dig a little deeper, and then it turned into more of a retainer type of relationship, because we realized that a lot of these things were not quick wins. A lot of these things were not things that we're going to get done in a half a day, or even two half a days a month, that was just not how it was going to work. And so, you know, we took that time to dip our toes into the VIP experience first, to kind of see what we needed. And then we jumped into the retainer. Would you say that that's pretty typical for the majority or for clients?
Breanna Bortner:Yeah, it's a great way to understand someone's working style and you know, kind of test the waters, you know, we're talking about ways that you can source talent. Yeah, you could book a few different VIP sessions with different providers and see who you know, really understand your vision the most and see who you know, whose work or expertise or communication style, like mash the best with you. And then from there, you can inquire about those longer term retainers. But I would say the VIP sessions are great. They're super powerful. They're, you know, they're jam packed with like deliverables and walking away with things. And I remember Jesse after ours, we have the two sessions. And then we just kind of started talking about like, your like you, I just like I need more of you. And so it was like, Well, I do have retainer spots, like open at this time. And one thing that sticks out to me is like you just said like, I like don't even think I'm ready. I've never like hired so quickly before. But I think it's because we had built up that trust not only for meeting in person and hanging out, and me booking your services. But we also got to work together over these VIP sessions. And you like walked away with things that you felt good about, or things that you were like excited to use. And so I think that also accelerated like your hiring decision. And like we're talking about this, like this is ancient times, this was like three months ago. And like, look how much has evolves.
Jessi Cabanin:So do that twice. And then we got engaged on the third date.
Breanna Bortner:Yes. And now yeah, now we're on our honeymoon in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Yeah, so I would say that's kind of like the perfect story. And a great way to start.
Jessi Cabanin:Yeah, for sure. So as we wrap this up, I'm super interested to know what season you are in. So if you're listening and you are in like maybe you know exactly what season are and maybe you can connect with something that we said today that you think to yourself like yes, I am 1,000% In that season, good for you. I want to know what season you're in because I want to help cheer you on to that next season cheer you into that transformation season. Because sometimes we all just need a little bit of extra support, even if we don't want it per se or we don't think we need it. We all need a little bit more of like a shove here and there. So if you're out there listening and you are are like, I am so overwhelmed. I have no idea what season I'm in or what the heck I'm supposed to do. Brianna has some tips for you to help you figure that out. So, Brian, if anybody's out there and they're feeling this way, you know, how can they get that support from you? Yeah.
Breanna Bortner:So I want you, I'm inviting you to message me on Instagram, that's the best place to get in touch with me. And let me know kind of the things that you're struggling with, or the different situations that you find yourself in right now. And let's kind of pinpoint what season you're in. So you know what that next actionable step can be. And so just to kind of recap the seasons, so you can try to pinpoint yourself. The winter season is the resting and reflection, the spring is the planning and mapping, the summer is the growing and getting things done. And then the fall is the balanced and on autopilot. So you can try to classify yourself. If you can classify yourself, I still want to hear from you. And I'll still give you that actionable step forward. But if you're needing help, I want to open that door for conversation because I think it's important to, like, pinpoint the season that we're in, but then also embrace it. And like, if you're supposed to be Resting, resting, like the season that I'm in now, like freaking rest, like enjoy that, like sleep in an extra hour. You know, walk instead of run, do the things that your body's like craving, instead of fighting it because you're in the season for a reason. And you have to like, learn from it. So I think that's the most important piece. So send me a DM. I'm sure Jessi will put my instagram handle absolutely in the show notes, but it is at Brianna's business boutique on Instagram. So I look forward to chatting with you all and kind of helping you get get ready for that next season.
Jessi Cabanin:Yes, perfect. I will link all of that information in the show notes for you guys. Thank you, Brianna so much for sitting here with me today. Going through all this stuff, throwing me under the bus. Thanks for that too. I am so excited. As you guys heard. Instagram is definitely the best way to connect with her. Okay, I hope that you guys found even one tiny slice of connection and inspiration from today's episode, and I will chat with you guys soon. Thanks, Jesse. All right, baby. I hope you really enjoyed today's conversation. I'm super curious to know what your biggest takeaway was from today. So go ahead and share this episode on social media. Make sure you tag me at this way to fabulous and let me know what you connected with. What did you learn from the episode and what action item are you going to take today? Until next time, guys, keep pushing, keep dreaming. And let's keep on redefining fabulous chatroom guys