Forge Your Own Path with Casey Gromer

Amber Hawley: [00:00:00] Business owners are increasingly being pulled in so many directions, feeling like they aren't reaching their full potential in business and life. Despite their type A ways with my background as a therapist, entrepreneur, and as a. com dropout with ADHD, I interview and coach high achieving business owners like you who want to stop struggling for success by using psychological systems, strategies, and the occasional care frontation.

This is the easily distracted entrepreneur, your place to slay overwhelm, perfectionism, and shiny object syndrome so that you can get done what matters most to you. Welcome back to the podcast today. I have a really awesome guest who. Might just be the person who can answer all your dreams. No, no, no pressure there, right?

I'm already nervous, but I have the wonderful Casey Gromer, the founder of she sweet boutique here. And she [00:01:00] is, um, well, I'll actually let her tell you, but. Welcome, Casey. 

Casey Gromer: Hi, thank you, Amber. Is this where I'm supposed to tell everybody who I am? Yes, please, please give us your bio, your social security number, and your 

Amber Hawley: contact information.

Here's 

Casey Gromer: my bank account. We'll be in touch. Hello, listeners. I'm Casey Gromer. I am the founder of SheSweet Boutique. I call myself a fractional integrator, and what that means is I step into the businesses of visionary women. And I basically run them so that those women can step out of that day to day and step into their creativity and into their visionary beauty.

I also host a podcast called female founders, breaking boundaries. And if you hop over to that podcast, we're talking all about how we are supporting those women and stepping out of the day to day. And, um, yeah, I think that's [00:02:00] about the best of me. You're going to get today. 

Amber Hawley: Well, I've, if we had like sound effects for the podcast, after you say like, stepping out of the day to the day, I would have this like, like sound effect.

Cause that's why I feel like that to me, that is the dream. That is the life change. That is yes. 

Casey Gromer: Yes. Well, and we're going to get, I'm sure we're going to get into this, um, today, but there's different ways. To step out of the day today and we do it a little bit differently than some And there's also a journey as part of stepping out of the day today.

So, you know, maybe we'll touch on that today We'll see where it goes. 

Amber Hawley: Very intriguing. Yes. I know. Well, I don't I mean now I feel like just going into that but I know today we're going to talk about many things but you know before we started recording you were talking about That you actually have a lot of clients who are ADHD or as I like to say, [00:03:00] ADHD and ADHD ish, because not everybody is diagnosed or knows for certain, but they have those tendencies.

Right? But so you have a special place in your heart for us. I do. I do. 

Casey Gromer: Do we, is it story time? Is story time. Okay. Yeah. So first of all, I'm married to someone with ADHD and my daughter has ADHD. Um, and I had an epiphany at some point a couple of years ago when we'd been taking my daughter to therapy and we were trying to fix all of these things.

Things that were wrong with her. And, um, I was actually having a conversation with a therapist, um, one time, and I can't remember exactly what she said to me, but it, it just hit me, like, why am I trying to fix my kid? There is, there's nothing wrong with her. She is beautiful. She's wonderful. What I should be trying to do instead is first giving her the tools to develop her [00:04:00] own self worth and self confidence and giving me the tools to understand how she thinks.

and operates so that I can support her. And so that was kind of started this journey of my love for people who are distracted or have ADHD or have this tendency to, um, be a quick start. If you're familiar with the Colby. And because I am the exact opposite of someone with ADHD, um, I developed or, uh, and I found a.

I guess you would say like a yin and yang relationship with, uh, women, business owners who I recognize. I'm like, Hey, you kind of have this distracted thing going on. And I kind of have this really organized thing going on. And if we kind of got together, can you imagine all the magic we can create? And that's really where she sweet boutique was born.

And the idea behind that is that, um, my daughter is. Brilliant. Like, I'm not even just [00:05:00] saying that because she's my kid. She's my brilliant, she is brilliant. And what I recognize is all these women I'm supporting are brilliant. And I started thinking back across history of all of the people who have done like the historical go down in the history books things.

And many of them were people who were kind of like odd or distracted or had ADHD. And I realized, Hey, these are the people that are changing the world and we need Instead of trying to cram them into a box of what entrepreneurship looks like, or what leadership looks like, why aren't we supporting them and saying, Hey, you know, the way you're doing things is fine.

And we just need to change the way we're operating. We're supporting you. And that's kind of my soapbox 

Amber Hawley: that I love that so much. I mean, first of all, just, I mean, what a gift to your daughter. Cause the awareness, you know, as a therapist, I mean, that's. That's often what we're seeing is, you know, parents bringing their kids in, like, fix my kid.

Not, not [00:06:00] always there are amazing parents out there and there are people struggling with things, but, but yeah, we're something like this where it's like, we just approach things different or kind of see the world a little different. And like you said, sometimes that leads to innovation. And my experience as well as the ADHD people or, you know, ADHD ish people that I've worked with first of my therapy practice, then in my coaching practice.

They are brilliant type a like achievers, creative, innovative, all of those things. And then they, but they don't feel that all the time. They feel like crap because, you know, they're, there's, We don't fit in the box, and so society is constantly giving us this feedback, and, you know, we live in this, you know, uh, you know, perfectionistic kind of society of like everything's got to look perfect and be perfect, and you have to be on point, so part of what I feel my work is too is normalizing that and, you know, And yeah, finding people that support you who get it.

And that's [00:07:00] like a big piece of what I talk to my clients about. It's like, teach people, teach people how to work with you, but it's even better if somebody already knows, right? It's like, Oh, it's so validating. It's so validating when you have that experience. 

Speaker 2: Yes. I mean, one of the things I noticed with almost every client I go into is they do have this.

This vision of themselves being not good enough. I'm not doing it right. Um, you know, their, their value, their self worth is really low. And one of the first things I do is, um, I explained to them that they have a job description. And that job description is to go away and put yourself in a situation where you feel comfortable and creative and think.

And I think one of the boxes that One of the biggest boxes [00:08:00] I found is that the definition of a business owner or entrepreneur is someone who is showing up at work, they're managing their teams, they're managing their operations, like they're managing everything. And what happens when we do that, though, is we don't have the space to think and be creative.

And the future of the business or the future of the company is Stagnant because there's nobody at the helm of that ship looking out ahead across the ocean and saying, Oh my God, I see where we're going. So that is an actual job description that I give my clients is this is, this is your actual job. You are not lazy.

You are not. Um, worthless, you are, I mean, this is important work and no one else can do this work the way you do. And that's why you sit in the seat you do in your business. And it's too darn bad we're not on video because you should see my hand gestures right now. 

Amber Hawley: She means business people, she means it.

[00:09:00] It's true. No, I love, well, first of all, I love having somebody who's, you know, neurotypical getting all fired up. For us, because we need it sometimes and we need that validation. And, and I do agree that I think there's magic when you find those complimentary people that get it and support you and help you become the best version of yourself.

I mean, I think that's. That's the dream in hiring, right? Like that's the whole goal is, and yeah, realizing like, yeah, you don't have to, you don't have to be the manager to be the CEO, which I will say it so recently, and I think this was. I think it was in the last like month and a half or so, um, I'm in a program where we're kind of going through and talking about things and, and through a series of events, it came out.

And this coach had said to me, like questions, she's like, well, I'm not trying to insult you, but maybe you're just not a good manager. And [00:10:00] I was like, Oh, you know, like, It's not, it wasn't insulting because I understood where she was coming from. And I was like, I don't think I am actually because, but I always assumed I was because ever since I was, ever since I was 16 years old, I have been in management roles where I would either be the, like the team lead at the place I worked or I got, I was, um, assistant manager and retail by the time I was 18.

And then I, Went on into the. com world. And I was, um, like the internet operations manager, you know, like I've always managed a team and then starting my business. Then I grew a team, right? I have employees and I realized I was like. And I, but I've been struggling for a while. And then I was like, Oh, I love inspiring people.

I love leading meetings where we get really like amps up. I love like supporting people and talking to I connect well with people, but having to follow up. With them, like piss me [00:11:00] off. I was like, you're an adult with a master's or a PhD. Like just do what the, you said you were going to do. Like, I would feel so resentful and like, and then, you know, I would like internally, I wasn't, I didn't take it out on them, but I would like be like, and then I'd have to, okay, so let's talk about, you know, like, but it was, I was pissing me off and it was draining me.

And so it was like, so interesting, like this culmination of things. And it was like, well, You don't have to be a good manager. You can be the visionary. You can be the leader. And I was like, Oh, like, wow. That was so like 

Speaker 2: eyeopening. Right. Yeah. Most, most of the visionary people I've come across are, it's so, so funny because it's not that they don't like people, but they want to have, they really want to have nothing to do with people in that.

Yeah. Context. Right. Like I've literally had multiple people say to me, how do I get my team to leave me alone? You know, they like the [00:12:00] inspirational piece. Most of them are thought leaders in some respect and that like fills their bucket and gives them energy. But when you're in the weeds of, like you said, following up, following through, checking and.

Like the actual human part of managing people, it does, it drains a lot of your energy where someone like me, like I dig that stuff and that's what I do really well. And that actually gives me energy is to, is to like organize people into, um, something functional. Right. So, um, And I think the most important part is.

There's two important parts. Actually, the first is recognizing it, right? And then the second is giving yourself permission to, to say that that's okay. And I think the part that I've been understanding is that so many people, visionary people like this have told themselves, I can't own a business. I'm terrible at running a business.

[00:13:00] And we're telling them that too. I mean, if you look at the, the rule book on leadership and entrepreneurship, those people aren't in it. And I think we're, that's starting to change. And I'm so glad because like we've talked about before, some of the most innovative people are these visionary creatives and the CEO type people.

That's what, so that's my kind of platform is, are you a visionary or a CEO? There's nothing wrong with being either. They're just different types of leadership and the people who are more visionary. I'm not visionary. And I, um, I don't have that ability to just see forward. But what I do have the ability to do is get into your head, Amber, and help you articulate and create a picture of this vision.

And then, and then. Spread it down through your business and to your customers and that's my role and that's what visionary people need is to connect their what's in their head and their dreams and their vision into a [00:14:00] story that makes sense and and is articulated down through the people that they're delegating to.

Amber Hawley: I love that. Yeah. And it's the execution part like that support in X to execution and yes, yeah, it is. And like you said, that's. It's never really supported. It's like, Oh, you're bad. You're not a good, you know, you're not good enough. You're not a good business owner. And the irony is, well, I think like even maybe a year, year and a half ago, I would have gotten a little defensive about that.

Like, no, I've been managing people forever and I am good. Like I have really strong connections with people who have worked for me and still maintain those relationships. And it took a lot of, like, after this last year and a half, I was like, uh, no, like I am an misery. And then figuring out how, like, I have, you know, I have a person on my team who like, she doesn't ever feel bad.

You know, some of it is that like, People pleasing some of that is just like, Oh, I don't want to have to deal with this, but [00:15:00] she's like, so neutral about it. And so when you, like, you have that person who's just like, I'm just about execution here. And she's like, totally fine. And like you said, when you have somebody gets energized by that, where I get drained and it's like, Oh, that's so validating, but it's interesting.

I think the only time we recognize those visionaries is once they've achieved a certain level of success. So like, you know, the, uh, Oh, my God. He's like, I love him. And I just, I was going to say Russell Brandt. And I did not mean that the CEO of Virgin. I just Russell Branson, Richard Branson, Richard Branson.

Oh, brain fog. We love you. Richard Branson. I was like, I love this guy. He's on my frigging, uh, vision board for God's sakes. Um, but Richard Branson and I, I like using him cause he does, he's out about having ADHD and he talks about it and really. To stigmatize, but he is such a visionary. Like I don't ever think about him managing people.

Like he's off doing his thing. Right. Right. He's that [00:16:00] he's that type of person. I think once you get to that level of success, then it's like, you've earned the right to be that way. Like you said, maybe a little eccentric, maybe a little like different and out there, and it's like, Oh, that works, you know, but like we could say Steve jobs as well, and.

Right, exactly. I, I, I'm trying to think of other people, although I feel like Oprah is probably a little bit of both. She is visionary, but I feel like she is an executor That is part of my fantasy. I have lots of stories. I think we should ask her stories. I know when I have her on next week, I'll ask her.

I know. Okay. Ringy, dingy, Oprah, . You know, I have this question. Um, , but so it's interesting right? Once you've gotten to a certain level of achievement, you've proved yourself. But in the meanwhile, there's all of us, like most people who are suffering and feeling like crap and, and not realizing like, it's just about finding the right people.

Speaker 2: It really is. And honestly, so we had [00:17:00] started off our conversation talking about that trajectory of, um, where. In some cases, it may be about achievement, right? Because if you're going to hire somebody to play that role in your business, it's going to cost you money. And I mean, you know, in most cases, somebody at that level to read your mind is probably going to cost a little bit more than your 15 an hour employee.

However, there's another way of looking at it where if you Most business owners don't start out thinking that way, right? Most business owners start out wearing all the hats and that's fine. You probably have to start there, but if you start with the end in mind, you are building that business over time with.

That end in mind so that the type of people that you put into your support system are going to be the right type of people, even if they aren't an executive level integrator, like I am, there's still going to be the type of person who's going to be able to read your [00:18:00] mind and translate, you know, the way that your brain thinks into an actionable plan.

And, and then if you just keep doing that over time, you're going to set yourself up to where eventually. You're going to be able to realize this dream of like, Hey, my job is to go sit on the beach one day a week with my notepad and just jot down the first thing that comes to my mind. Um, and I think the other thing that we have to remember is that as you're.

As you're building this system, you really are looking at the right people and the right things. And so the types of things that you are delegating might not match what traditional businesses are delegating. So you have to look at really where your strengths are and come up with these Functions or roles or positions within your company where you can outsource the things that [00:19:00] drain you or that you are not good at.

Whereas, you know, like if you think of a typical business, you've, I mean, everyone's different, right? But there's some traditional, like first you hire this person, then you hire that person, then you outsource this. But, um, and maybe that's still true, but you still have to understand. Um, how you're filling the gaps, I guess, is how I can explain it.

Amber Hawley: Yeah, I do think that's an important piece, right? Because like you're saying, if you're saying, I have to follow this kind of Even unspoken plan of like, what's the first, first you get, I'll, I'll say for a lot of people, first you get a VA, then you get this piece or, well, for many of my ADHD people, I always say like hiring out or finding a solution for your finances is probably your best bet, right?

I was going to save your, save your ass in the end, but, um, but yeah, finding [00:20:00] Yeah. Finding those roles and not, but that's the problem. If we're, if we're saying, I just have to go in this order and you don't question, right. Cause there are people who are like, I love doing, you know, my financials every month or, and I, and I think it's, this is something I like to do and it's fun and what Allah, but they hate something else that typically.

You know, that other people I've heard, I've heard of, you know, work for some clients where they're like, I don't really want to be the spokesperson per se, like, I want to create the vision, but I want somebody else to be like that main face. And so people are like, what's like, no, it's, you know, you. You've got to be a brand and all that.

Speaker 2: Right. Like, no, you get to choose. Well, and if we go back to like the VA example or an administrative assistant type example, one of the ways you might look at that is like, if you're someone like me, who's better at. Being process oriented and, and very, you know, logical and organized. I might, I'm going to need [00:21:00] something different from my, I'm going to need an administrative assistant where I, I can hand, you know, I can just, you know, pass things off to, and I'm going to be following up with her.

And I'm going to be doing these other things. But if you're someone who's a very visionary thinker, very creative and free spirited, Your job description for your administrative assistant might be like, I need you to read my mind and be one step ahead of me. And I know that sounds really scary to some people, but, um, there are people out there who have that ability and do that.

And in fact, I've hired some people. Several of them for our clients, like, you know, when you're interviewing, there's different types of questions you ask where you can pull out of somebody, you know, how, um, uh, what's the word I'm looking for when you're like not interpretive when you're like intuitive, intuitive.

Just like you, Amber. Well, I am a therapist. Yeah. So how intuitive [00:22:00] they are. Um, so that's kind of what I mean by surrounding yourself with the right people is even if, even if it is a traditional position you're hiring for, you you have, not everybody is going to perform that position the same way. So understanding the strengths of that person that you're looking for is really going to set you up for success um, in the long run.

Oh, I love that. I love, 

Amber Hawley: yeah, thinking about, they have to have, they might have a different kind of skill set. See, I never would have thought of saying something like that in, in a description. Like that's, you know, especially that couples therapist to me, who's like, we are not mind readers. We need to talk about what our needs are, but you were right in business.

I was like, I don't give a crap. I want you to read my mind or maybe just listen as I, you know, Verbally process. And I may have said something at the start, but at the end I've come to a solution and you have, that's the part to listen to. Yeah. 

Speaker 2: Well, intuition is a real thing. I mean, I don't think we talk [00:23:00] about it enough.

And so if you can find that type of relationship, you're so lucky. Yeah. Well, that, that might take a few tried it. 

Amber Hawley: Yeah. Yeah. I was like, that has me so excited. I can't even tell you. I knew when I feel like I've gotten pretty good over the years, cause I've I'm going into like year 11 of learning how to weed out people that I know just are not going to be a good fit for me.

Like I go by personality a lot, like of course, skillset matters, but yeah, personality is a big thing. Cause I have had those experiences where, like I always say, you know, like in the Myers Briggs, like I try to find a, a J to my P and, um, but I've had those, those experiences. Times where the person is very rigid and judgmental.

And if I feel judged, then I'm like shutting down and I'm like, and then I'm like, why would I hire somebody? This, this is my business. This is my, this is supposed to be my sanctuary. Like, why would I want somebody who's being judgmental? Which is why I do talk to people that we have to, we do have to think about that.

And then like, [00:24:00] again, goes back to kind of. Normalizing and teaching people, you know, and so I, I love that you're talking about this because you know, sometimes we don't feel we can say those things. Like I've gotten to the point now when I hire people, I was like, look, if you can't put me on auto pay, like if it's because like the invoice is different every time, I need you to know that if I don't pay, like I'll either pay you as soon as I see that sucker.

Just be done because everything is on auto pay or if I don't please just like vox for me because my email is a shit show and oh my god and if it's not above the fold I miss it right so I'm like just know it's never me not you Trying to pay you. And that's why I can't say, I would like, can I just pay you upfront?

Can I, can I be on autopay? Like I can't handle the pressure. I need an annual subscription.

But yeah. So yeah. Figuring out those ways. I like that. You're normalizing. Yes. Like doing it a little, doing it to work [00:25:00] for you. 

Speaker 2: Right. Well, I mean, I think so I came from the corporate world. Right. And. There's, there's always been a rule book of this is how things are done. This is how we operate. And when I stepped out of the corporate world, um, everybody, you know, some, a lot of people are still following that rule book and I'm a Gretchen Rubin questioner.

If you have ever read any of the Gretchen Rubin books. And so I started to ask myself, why, why is this true? Why does it have to be this way? Why can't we do it the other way? And so. When I started thinking about all the rules in the rule book, you know, you started to ask yourself, why can't I run my business this way?

Or why do I have to have these qualities to be a good leader? And is there anyone out there that is doing it this other way and making it work? And so I want to, I mean, the more I stand on my pulpit and talk about this and the more women I chat with. You know, just because of the nature of my business, I work with women, but there, there are men.

And a lot of people out there is that the [00:26:00] biggest thing that holds people back is the permission to say, I'm great just the way I am. And I can be successful. I just have to write the rule book a little differently for me. 

Amber Hawley: Oh, that is, I mean, that's the, for me, it's a mic drop because it speaks to everything that I'm trying to do and like for myself, but also for all the people That I know whether they're friends or family or clients, like it's so important.

And this is the thing questioners. And I love Gretchen Rubin. Like, I love all the personality things, like anything that helps us. I always say, know thyself, the more, you know, yourself and accept yourself, the easier it goes, right? Like, but questioners are very innovative because they are challenging the status quo.

And yeah. And I say like, it's good to know when you hire questioners though, because sometimes it can feel like they're. It can feel like judgment or it can feel like they're telling you, you know, like questioning in the negative way and I'm like, Oh, I'm judging, I'm judging, I'm judging [00:27:00] every day. I'm like, okay, she's judging AF people.

Speaker 2: Judgy AF. Listen here, blog article writer. You're, you're five qualities of a good leader article. Call it's really, you're 

Amber Hawley: like way to phone that in. That was really pedestrian. No. Well, okay. Sometimes, I mean, I'm a, we're human. We do judge, but, but no, I think that's why I like knowing, like. Assessing when you bring someone in, you know, they're a questioner, you look at it in such a different way than when you're just seeing it as a challenge, like being challenged versus having somebody who's super innovative to kind of help you think through the process.

Yeah. To serve you better. So I love that. Well, thank you. I'm a, I'm a rebel. So 

Speaker 2: I bet that's shocking. Right. I'm trying to think of the, I just like pay so much attention to being a questioner. I am not an [00:28:00] obliger. Is that one of them? 

Amber Hawley: Yeah. Yeah. Obliger. I actually, for a minute I was like, I might be an obliger cause I, you know, I grew up with that.

Like, well, we're both from Minnesota. That's the other connection we both have. Yeah. I grew up with that Midwestern, you know, like. Thing where it's like you people pleasing and you're nice, Minnesota. Nice. Although I never fit in. That's, I think that's why I had to leave so soon. Cause my thing was like, you need to know you're a jerk.

Like that was rude. That was unacceptable. Um, no, but that's true. Um, but yeah, the rebel part it's the rebel. What's interesting about that is it's not like, it's not like being a. What are they called? Um, like a hipster where you just like anything that's cool. I don't like, it's not that at all, which I think is that where people go to.

It's actually about, I, I have strong values and I, and I will do things if that's in my value. But if [00:29:00] I'm not into it, I'm not doing it. 

Speaker 2: So that's the, my secondary, because if you can imagine questioning, and then if something, if I'm questioning something and I'm, you know, realizing like, why the heck. Why the heck do we have to give 1500 gifts on Christmas, right?

So then I turn into a rebel, okay, society, I don't need to follow your rules. I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm going to rewrite the script on this. 

Amber Hawley: Exactly. I know. I, I say it to people and I realized like this could be construed wrong. I say like, Okay. Okay. Like, I like to follow laws that I think makes sense, right?

It doesn't or rules. I should say rules, not laws. Although I will say, I do feel, I feel that like stop signs in mall parking lots are optional. So there are some laws, but rules, I feel that rules, they need to make sense or I'm not going to do it now. You know, and people think, Oh, rebels are like selfish and they only do what they want.

And it's like, yes. And like, I have a [00:30:00] value of showing up for my clients. And so I think if you like work with me, you'll know. I almost. No, I have been, there are times where I should have been in bed on bed rest and I would show up for clients and have sessions and be miserable and they're like, are you sure you're okay?

I mean, I never canceled never, never, never, unless it's really, really bad, but because it's a value, I show up, but then there are other things like, um, and I always, I know I'll get flack. I always get flack about this one, but like. Uh, open houses at school. Um, I'm sorry if I'm busy and I've had a rough week, I'm not going like, what's the point of that?

I just don't like, it's okay. If there's a problem, you can come contact me. And it's not because I don't value the teachers. I, I have many teacher friends and I love them and I send lots of gifts and all of that stuff. But there are times where like, that is not, I'm not going to go out at seven o'clock at night after a long week.

Speaker 2: Yes, I. Um, I have kind of a similar approach, but I like to call it priorities, right? Like the school [00:31:00] is the school has one set of priorities. And if it doesn't align with my set of priorities that really have to ask myself, why am I doing this? Like, what am I going to get out of it? What is my kid going to get out of it?

What is the teacher going to get out of it? Ah, there we go. Now we're serving, you know, somebody else. For what's important to them doesn't necessarily make, but the whole point I was like, and we may have gone on a tangent people, the whole point of this tangent is that you, um, you know, to embrace who you are and don't let.

The way that entrepreneurship or leadership has been defined in the past, tell you whether you're going to be successful at something or not there, you know, success is achievable in any way, shape or form. And as long as it's defined, there's a way to get there regardless of what, you know, whether you're ADHD or if you're, um, somebody that has no vision like me, [00:32:00] you know what I mean?

Like it's, it's achievable. You, you just have to define your own path. Right. I love that. 

Amber Hawley: And I guess then my question comes to you. So for people, you know, obviously most people when they're first starting out, aren't going to be ready for a fractional integrator because you've got to have some, you know, well, cashflow and also like something set up already, but yeah.

When you're, how would you know when you're at the point, like what are good indicators of somebody like you might be ready to start down this path or to be looking at this? Yeah. 

Speaker 2: Well, first I don't wanna discourage anybody. Like we, we, I try not to, um, put anybody into a category based on revenue numbers or whatever.

And so you, I, I call myself an advisor, advisor or an. I, you know, I have this thing coming out and called the advisory council. It's a thing down the road. I have no vision. Don't call me anyway. But the point is, is [00:33:00] that at any point in time, you might have a question or you need some support with a topic.

That's something that a, and like your. Your right hand person, your fractional integrator would, um, answer for you. So you can get that level of support from me. But if you're looking to bring on somebody in a more, um, consistent capacity, one of the biggest things I look at is your size of your team. So you have to have.

Some support in your business to bring somebody on in a consistent manner. So for me, I serve clients and, um, I, they get a debt one dedicated day for me at least, and then some additional time every week. And, um, but what we're talking about. And our work together as a fractional integrator to a visionary is going to be the execution of your dreams.

And so there has to be somebody on the other end, actually doing some work. And that's why we look at the size of your team, because we're going to be talking about, this is what has to get done. And now somebody [00:34:00] has to go do that. So, um, that's really the number one thing I look at. So I've got clients who have anywhere from one person on their team.

All the way to, um, 25 people on their team. And, um, we can, I certainly have capacity to serve bigger teams than that. But, um, it, it's the point where your, your vision, you kind of like me that it's just like a translator, that's really what I do. And so the point where your vision is getting lost because you've got so many team members that you.

You can't, it just isn't flowing out through them. And so the translator comes in to translate the vision and execute the plan. 

Amber Hawley: I love that. And, you know, well, so two things. One is, um, I'm going to give you the therapeutic reframe. You do not identify as a visionary, but clearly you do have vision because anybody who's executing has to have vision.

Anybody who runs a business has to have vision. So I'm just [00:35:00] going to say that one right there, but I 

Speaker 2: get the way I like to put it is that I don't come up with ideas probably as easily as a lot of your listeners. But what I am really good at is listening to your, Yes. Your idea and then like, ah, and like you said, transform it into this, this creative story that inspires the world.

Amber Hawley: I love that. Still vision involved, just saying. So. Yeah. No, but no, I think that's really important. And now of course, I've forgot my second question or my, my second thing that I wanted to follow up on , where, but you were talking about. Yeah, it's about the size of the team, I think is really important because yeah, the goal is, you know, well, I think it's really funny, right?

Because often those of us who are in the space where we feel like we're ADHD ish. We went into business for ourselves [00:36:00] because we, we either struggled with traditional systems of like, we didn't fit the mold or like, and so many people I know would, there was like this constant worry. And I see it all the time with clients that they were going to be fired when they were really like the top performer, but there's just this feeling of not being good enough.

And so they go into business for themselves to do it themselves. And then I think eventually, as you scale and grow your business, you eventually actually need someone to tell you what to do again. So it's kind of this irony, although it's a different, there's a different power dynamic in it, of course.

But I think when you have that person who can just really lay out the plan for you, that's where it's like, ah, yeah. And like you said, you could tell me, oh, you have to do this, this, this, this, yeah. And if it came back on to me, then we're back in the same spot of, okay, now we're still stuck, right? 

Speaker 2: Yeah. So, um, one of the things that most of my clients are doing is if you don't have an, [00:37:00] uh, an executive assistant or an administrative assistant, after we start working together, almost a hundred percent of them, that's one of the things they're set out to do because, um, you realize that, uh, you know, I, as the visionary, I still have work to do and I'm becoming the bottleneck.

So, but the, the nice thing about it though, is having someone like me to work with your executive assistant or administrative assistant between the two of us, we can read your mind and you know what I'm saying? Like we are three steps ahead of you. And so that's an amazing combination right there. And I forgot.

What was the other point? I 

Amber Hawley: do that sometimes to people. 

Speaker 2: That's, this is the part where I woke up and I, yeah, no, I mean, 

Amber Hawley: well, we were talking, it was many things. Well, you're saying the part about having somebody who's giving you kind of direction or helping you, but also being able to outsource it, not be, not have it come back on your plate.[00:38:00] 

Speaker 2: Oh yeah. Right. That's yeah. I don't know. That's, that's where we go back to the part of, um, why, who you pick to put on your team is really important and that will, and why, um, it's important to have somebody executing the work, because if, if the work does come back to you, then it's, it's not going to get done.

Exactly. 

Amber Hawley: Yeah. No, I, I, yeah. And that's a big piece of it is. I think, yeah, eventually you realize, like, I just want to not be the stopgap. Like, I, I need to stop being the one where, where, where all, all, all tasks go to die, so to speak, or they go into purgatory really. And then eventually they get done. Like, you know, on that night where I've taken my Adderall too late in the day, and then I just stay up all night doing it.

But, you know, that, but I dunno, I digress. 

Speaker 2: And why not? 

Amber Hawley: Oh, well, you know, I think this has been so helpful. And I really think that people listening, you know, are [00:39:00] going to, I can't imagine it won't like touch on people, like feeling this validation of, you know, You know, there's not nothing wrong with me. Like, because I think the thing I always hear is like, if I just did it better, like, I just need to become like, I would read books on leadership.

And I was like, I just need to become a better leader because really what I was, and I wasn't understanding, I was trying to become a better manager. And once I this, I'm telling you, like, Six weeks ago or so when I was like, I know I'm not going to, like, I'm not going to be, I'm going to hire someone who's good at that.

I am not going to be a better manager. And it was so freeing. It was amazing. 

Speaker 2: So if you listeners take anything away from today's episode, it would warm my heart. Incredibly. If you would, you know, at the. When we finally wrap up this episode after the five tangents that we've been on that have been super fun.

Um, if you would just go to your, your legal pad or, you know, whatever, wherever [00:40:00] you, and just erase all of your thoughts and expectations about who you are and what you're doing and why you're doing it and, and your business ownership and just say, okay, if I could build this. Exactly how I wanted it to serve me.

How would I do that? And tell yourself this is possible. 

Amber Hawley: I love that. And that's a fantastic place to end our winding narrative and tangential little show. But yeah, thank you. I think that's a great place to end. But if people, cause I'm sure, I'm sure there are people who are going to be like, uh, I need some more.

I need some more Casey in my life. Where can people go to find 

Speaker 2: out more? Well, I, I, Over on Female Founders Breaking Boundaries, I talk a lot about some of the tools that we are using to support the visionary or the creative entrepreneurs. And so if you're listening to the [00:41:00] podcast, a lot of these tools are going to be available to you very soon.

And, um, you can either use them yourself. Self if you're in that in between phase, or if you have somebody supporting you, perhaps their tools that, um, the people supporting you can start to implement in your business. So female founders breaking boundaries. My website is she dash sweet boutique. Dot com.

And if you want to head out to the website, I have a little assessment. So if you're listening here and you truly want to know, am I really a distracted entrepreneur or do I have some CEO tendencies? Where do I fall on that continuum? I have a little 10 question assessment. That's the assessment you can take to help you uncover where your strengths are in your leadership.

And when you download that assessment, um, we will start to send you some tools that might be helpful for you depending on what your score is. And you can get the assessment at she dash sweet [00:42:00] boutique. com backslash distracted. And if you forget that link. It's okay. It's on the homepage of my website. So, 

Amber Hawley: okay.

Well, and it'll be in the show notes as well. So definitely like people will be able to go there. Well, and you know, I am a huge fan of assessments. I'm telling you. So obviously I'll be the first one to take that assessment because I love anything that gives you any kind of clarity. So thank you again, Casey for For coming on, um, I really think this is going to be hugely helpful for people and just validating and normalizing their experience.

Speaker 2: Well, thank you. And I think, you know, if anytime you want to continue any of these tangents, you know, my number, let's get on a call. 

Amber Hawley: I know. I feel like we could do a few episodes about this. I think we have, we, I didn't realize we shared a soapbox. Like that's what's kind of very nice. Like I, I have that same thing I get, I get very riled up today.

I'm just mellow. I'm letting you do it. Although I still feel you're very calm. My, my version [00:43:00] of Ryle looks a little more, there's a little more F bombs in my Ryle. I don't know. Let's get me riled up and find out. We are coming back for that one in the next episode, people. All right. Thank you again. Thanks Amber.