Letting Go of Control: The Importance of Leadership, Systems, and Processes with Emily Floyd

Speaker A: Have you ever gotten to a place in business where you're working seven days a week for months on end? Or wondered how you'd ever develop the right systems and processes to help a business grow beyond you doing all of the work? I'll talk about those ideas and many more today with Emily Floyd. I can't wait for you to hear her story. Going from the retail world into pediatric medical billing, it seems like an unlikely transition with. But it's amazing to see how she's built a very successful business over time with an incredible team. I think you're gonna really enjoy this interview. It's gonna help you a lot. Uh, without any further ado, here's my conversation with Emily. Hey, Emily, welcome to the show.

Speaker B: Hey, Jay. Thanks for having me.

Speaker A: Yeah, I'm so glad that you're here. I love hearing stories of other entrepreneurs and how they've built their businesses successfully over time. Uh, and really, the goal is to help people build a business that lasts, or in some cases, to build a business to sell. But at the end of the day, it's really the same idea. And so I love to dig in a little backstory and go, how did you get to where you are? Everybody has an origin story for their business. What made you start what you're doing? And really, where did you come from before that? Um, in work.

Speaker B: So I have a pediatric billing business, but my background is actually in retail. So I worked for Target headquarters for a number of years and did a project for them in Austin and met my husband while I was there. My husband was not leaving Austin, Texas, to move to Minnesota, so I left Target and we moved to Dallas. My family's there, and a lot of retailers are headquartered there. So moved up there with the plan of finding a new position, um, in another retailer. But, um, what I really wanted was to be able to find. I always would tell people, I. I would love to run a business. I just don't have an idea. I think it would be great to be in charge of something and grow something and create something. Um, but without that seed of an idea. I was going to go back to retail, but one day I was at lunch with my now business partners, and, um, one of them mentioned, hey, I'm getting more calls than I can handle for people helping with their pediatric practices. We need to kind of rein this in. I don't have enough time to help everyone. And I realized there might be an opportunity here to create something, um, that supports these businesses. And that was the start of our company.

Speaker A: So it's A great partnership idea because you've got somebody who has run something successfully before versus you had been in retail. So it's a very different world. Um, and what I love about your approach to this was instead of just going, I've got a random idea that I hope people might like, which is how a lot of people start businesses. Instead, you were looking for a problem to solve. And, uh, we always say in messaging, that's really the key is what is the problem we're trying to solve. And it sounds like a lot of pediatricians struggle with some aspect of their business, whatever it may be, or of their practice, I should say. And what you were going is, hey, how do we create a solution? So did it start out in medical billing or were there other things that you were doing first before it got into that?

Speaker B: It did not start out in medical billing. I did not have any interest in medical billing. I was really interested in going in, assessing what, what was going on in their practice, whether it was HR related or marketing related, or how they were scheduling patients, trying to find and solve the problem. But what I realized is so many of them were struggling with having great billing. So I went on a search to find the right billing company that I could recommend to my consulting clients. And I just didn't find anyone who I felt would do a really great job for them. Because two of my business partners are pediatricians with their own practice. I had a model for a really great billing system and just a really great way to make sure that everything was getting paid. And so we adopted that into our company and started offering billing and then later just turned into exclusively a billing company.

Speaker A: I could imagine that a lot of pediatricians probably end up in a place where they don't get to focus on what they actually want to do, which is medicine. And instead they end up having to focus on things like running a practice. And then billing starts to get real minutia driven in areas that they don't have expertise. There's probably stuff they weren't teaching that much in medical school. We'd rather them focus on how to do medicine. So it's very awesome that you've kind of focused on that problem. But what's interesting about it to me is that it doesn't seem like. Because you even said, I, uh, had no interest in doing medical billing, and yet here you are doing medical billing. So a lot of people say things like, follow your heart, follow your passion. It doesn't seem like you did that. Instead it seems like you followed the problem that you Wanted to solve for somebody. But. But do you feel fulfilled in the work that you do, even though it's not the original passion of what you were setting out to do?

Speaker B: The thing I originally wanted to do and the reason why I said I'd love to run a company, um, and build something is because it was about the people and the process and being able to do something different every single day. Um, and I didn't really care what that was in. I felt like I could find the right experts, I could develop the expertise, um, and. And that's what I've done. And so I feel extraordinarily fulfilled. I have a huge team now, and I'm surrounded by really, really great people, and I truly love what I do every day.

Speaker A: You know, it's so interesting because I think a lot of people have this belief that the physical work that they're doing is the thing that has to fulfill them. But in your case, you're going to. Building the business and caring for both the team now and the clients is really where the mission and passion are. In the midst of it all makes me think of a book by a guy named Michael Gerber called E. Myth. And he talks about these three people that are needed in a business. And originally, you got to wear all three hats usually. But it's an entrepreneur, a manager, and a technician. So for me, I lean way heavy entrepreneur, a little bit of technician, sometimes too much. I like to get my hands in things I shouldn't. And almost zero percent manager. And so it seems like you and I are similar in that you have that entrepreneurial bank. You just want to build a thing, and it could be any kind of business. It just happened to be. This was the one where you saw, uh, an obvious problem for people.

Speaker B: I've recently had to realize that I can't do it all.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And part of. Part of that is finally coming to grips with the idea that I am not an executor. I am that entrepreneur. I am that visionary. I am that. Okay, what if we could do this? How would this work? I love ideas, but I'm realizing that now I need to be surrounded by other people who can actually help me carry it out. Um, and that has been a really hard lesson for me because truly, until the beginning of this year, so until about two months ago, I really felt like I did have to wear all the hats, and I couldn't give anything up, because if I gave something up, then I'd be giving up a part of my company. And this is what I've built. And this is what I've been working towards. And so I have just recently realized that I've surrounded myself with really great people. They have the same vision and the same passion that I do to take care of these practices and to take care of our teams. And I no longer feel like I have to be the executor and the idea person and make things happen. And it's been a huge change for me.

Speaker A: Well, congratulations. That's the step most entrepreneurs don't get past. Um, I would say it's like a cultural thing, because from a very young age, most of us were told things like, this is a very, like, American thing. You gotta pull yourself up by your bootstraps. If you want it done right, you gotta do it yourself. And there just couldn't be anything more from the truth than that, because we all need people around us. And I remember years ago, and I don't wanna get too political, but Barack, uh, Obama got himself in trouble many, um, times. But this one time he had said something like, you didn't build it yourself. And he was talking to entrepreneurs, and it got kinda skewed towards, like, you'd hardly even worked. And I saw people freak out about it. But the intent of what he actually meant, he just didn't say it very well, is we all have people around us who help us get to where we're going, and we have to be willing to let go of things in order to get to the next level. Which I know a lot of entrepreneurs end up stressed out, worn out, ready to quit because they feel like they have to carry everything. So what made you be willing to go, all right, I know I can do this, but maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I should hand this off to somebody else. Like, what was the moment where you went, I guess I can hand those things off?

Speaker B: We have grown to a place where I have a great management team in place. We have great team and great process, but we need to really have standard operating procedures for all of the things that we do over and over and over again. And I started to brainstorm and think with all of my ideas about, okay, here are all the ways we're going to solve these problems. And then I really thought about the tactics that it was going to take, and I realized, oh, this sounds dreadful. I'm not going to be able to do it because it will have my attention for 30 days. And then we're going to fall off the bandwagon and we're no longer going to follow this beautiful process that I created. And I'm not going to have the energy to bring everyone back to it and say, no, we're going to keep executing to this. And I realized, what would it be like if I had someone who was an operator who could come in and make sure that we just follow these processes? So I haven't found that person yet. Like I said, I just really came to this conclusion about six or eight weeks ago. But I, uh, already feel that weight lifted. I've started to look for that person or think more about what that would look like. And it will probably be six more months before I can hire that person. But I'm starting to see that, okay, I don't have to dread putting these processes in place. I can really rely on somebody else to do it.

Speaker A: Yeah. There's two specific things that you mentioned in the last two answers. Uh, and I'm gonna go back to the first, and I'll come back to the standard operating procedure. But the first one you said, I have a great management team and we're all aligned with the same vision. So talk to me about that, because a lot of people struggle with this, which is, how do I get people aligned around the same vision? How do I even hire people that believe the same things and are trying to accomplish the same, you know, as similar to the way that you would want to do it as possible? Like, what has that been like for you to find those people and make sure everybody is aligned with the same vision?

Speaker B: I've been really lucky in the people who I've hired. And I wouldn't have been able to articulate this, um, even six months ago, but there was kind of a feeling I was looking for from people. And so there were a couple of key questions that I would ask in an interview. And if I could see their face light up when they got to tell me this story, I knew that we were going to think about the business in the same way. For me, I have to get my doctors paid, and we have to fight some really annoying battles sometimes. And so I wanted people who would come tell me about that huge fight that they took on to get that last 50 or $100 for their doctor, whoever they were working for. And so that's how I found people who had that same kind of vision and passion that I did was through those interview answers. But what I did is I kept telling people, this is who we are, and this is who we stand for. This is who we are, and this is who we stand for. Here are. Here's our vision. Here's Our mission. Here's our core values. And I started to realize I can't just keep dictating that this is who we are. So we did. I called it an offset. Like, I called it a Zoom retreat. We took a week and we met via Zoom, which sounds dreadful, and we made it as fun as possible, but we're all remote. And, um, we started with defining our vision and defining our core values. And. And I just took a back seat and didn't shape any of it. And I was so thrilled with what they came up with because it's everything that I would have said, it's everything that I would have wanted, um, and more. And so that validated that finding that passion in the interview really did uncover that they were the right people and sharing this road that we're on. Excited about making this happen for our clients.

Speaker A: Yeah. One of the things you said is so important, you can't look at it on a resume. It is like I saw their eyes light up when they told me about fill in the blank. And then on the values thing, whether it's mission, vision, values, all those kind of things in a bucket, I always say that what you write down as your core values are who you say you are, but culture, when people are like, what is the culture of the business? And to me, culture are the attitudes and behaviors that prove it. So you can say that you always look out for the client first, or you always lead with integrity or whatever the thing is that's kind of applicable to your team. But when the team comes up with it like you had them do, it's a very unique approach, because I think a lot of times people think these things have to be top down and they're like, shoved down onto people. But if it's just like, what they sign up and agree to, it's very different than them helping craft it from the beginning. Um, so the second thing was the standard operating procedures. This is where I see a lot of entrepreneurs struggle because they know how to do the things themselves. But to get it out of their head and into a document of some kind that is manageable to follow, but not overly cumbersome, that it can't be edited over time. Um, talk about that a little bit as you kind of work to unravel those things in your business. What has worked, what hasn't worked, as far as developing processes so that you're not having to do every single task that comes through the book.

Speaker B: So, again, I'm in a new stage of learning right now. I had, um, created some Great, great processes for onboarding new clients and onboarding new team members. And they had these great checkboxes that I did in Excel and it was beautiful and wonderful. And we never came back to those documents and we never looked at them again. We did it for two or three team members, two or three clients, and then they went out the window. So we actually just adopted, uh, eos, um, entrepreneurial operating system from Gino Wickman. And um, I've just made this. These are my rocks. My rocks are to create this process. So I'm just trying to be really intentional with having a trigger and then very clear assignments of who does what at what time. After that trigger is pulled. For example, job offer is accepted. Great. That unleashes about 40 processes, which sounds crazy, but it's things like setting up their Google email, making sure they have the zoom invites for day one, making sure they have a calendar and a mentor. Um, but it triggers that. And there are about four of us who participate in the onboarding process for someone. And having that very clear expectation with due dates and tasks on Google, on our Google Gmail tasks has been great because we all know what we need to do. And it's very clear who's done what because you check it off and it's linked into our own Google spaces. So it's a place where we already are going. So it's not some obscure document that you have to remember to go back to. Um, so so far that's how we're trying to create these.

Speaker A: You know what I love about that is that what you tried at first didn't work. And I think that's very common. Usually the first things we try don't work and people forget that. Usually the successful businesses are built on really, we're standing on piles of things that didn't work. And that's how we've gotten to the height that we're at, is because we've stood on all the failures, you know, and um, I love the idea that you kept it inside of a system everybody's already logged into. They're used to it as part of just our day to day of how things operate. And um, and you're constantly willing to go back and evaluate it, um, on the EOS side, for anybody that's listening, that's not, um, Read the book. There's a book called Traction by a guy named Gino Wickman and it's spectacular. We switched to that for our agency probably, gosh, I don't know, a decade ago maybe. And it's Been revolutionary because again, like, going back to both of us are more entrepreneurial leaning maybe, than manager leading. And the difference in that is managers are actually typically pretty good at producing standard operating procedures, outlining tasks, checklists, accountability, all that kind of stuff. Entrepreneurs typically are not because they're the ones who's going to go do it. I'm just going to go do the thing. The problem with that is it's just not scalable. Um, what other things have you run into over time where you go, I didn't know this was going to be this hard. I was excited about running my own business and having my own things. I think a lot of people like that idea. But then when rubber meets the road, you find out there's some difficulties along the way that maybe you didn't anticipate. So what are some things that maybe you've run across as you've been running your own business that you go, I didn't realize this piece of the puzzle was going to be as hard as it is.

Speaker B: That's a great question. I feel like over the years I've run into lots of things that I didn't think would be that hard. Um, but probably the biggest thing is balancing, lifting everything off the ground and having clients and great client service while also trying to build this other side of the business. I didn't just have a leadership team. It took a long time to create that I didn't just have. Um, you know, here's how we're going to market our business or here's how we're going to talk to people. I started truly going pretty much door to door saying, do you need a billing company?

Speaker A: Sure.

Speaker B: And then I had these clients. And by the time I was ready to hire my first leader, I was so ingrained in the business and getting those clients serviced and taken care of and managing the team members who I was the leader for them at that time, just managing all of that and try to find a manager who I could really feel comfortable with. I didn't realize how hard that was going to be. I thought, great, I'm finally to this point. I have enough clients and enough momentum to warrant having a leader who just oversees the team. But I didn't have enough time to actually find that person or develop that person and make that handoff. So I was working a lot, felt like we were almost there, um, but just couldn't step back enough to make it happen.

Speaker A: Yeah, I think hiring leaders and even learning to lead leaders is very different than hiring team members and learning to lead Team members, because you need them to have a different skill set. You need them to actually lead people and ultimately execute on the vision, your vision and the vision of the company. Even if that was developed by the team initially.

Speaker B: Huh.

Speaker A: Over time. The other thing I think about that is, over time, the people who were there when that vision was created and it was outlined, they're not going to be there anymore. I mean, for us, there were people sitting in a room when we drew the core values up on the wall in the other room. And some of those people are still here, but there's many new ones who weren't here then, you know, and so how do we, you know, spread that culture throughout? So you think about that leadership team, um, creation. Were you promote. Were you building people up and hiring them internally, or were you hiring somebody intentionally as a leader? Like, how did that first couple happen for you?

Speaker B: Both? Yeah, I did both. Um, my first one was an internal promotion. Um, and you know, I, I love leadership. And when I think about how did I make a move from a place like Target to this business, um, is because I had that experience leading teams. Um, I led teams at headquarters, I led teams in stores, um, teams of leaders. And so for me, I felt like I knew the qualities I was looking for. So you can find them in the people you're working with. Um, so I did have a couple of internal promotions and then I went outside as well. Great.

Speaker A: I've done both as well. But most, mostly I've tried to, to build them up internally. The biggest problem I've run into, um, is I have had mistakes where I've promoted people too fast and you think like, well, they're good at the thing. Just because they're good at the thing doesn't mean they're going to get good at leading teams that are doing the thing, whatever that is. I think that's true in every business. And it's easy to want to, like, promote somebody because you want to give them an opportunity, but they've got to be in a place where they can actually handle it as well.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Um, so you talked about initially kind of just getting out there and doing door to door. I'm just going to make some phone calls. I'm going to knock on some doors. What was that like?

Speaker B: It was awful. But I tried to make it better for myself. I said, okay, after my 20th rejection, I am m going to, to have a celebratory dinner and buy myself a piece of jewelry.

Speaker A: I love that.

Speaker B: And that is what I did. And so as hard as it was every time I got that rejection, it just felt like, okay, I'm, um, one step closer, one step closer. And then sure enough, when I hit my 20th, we had a fancy dinner and I bought myself a ring.

Speaker A: That is the best. I love that. I've never heard somebody say that on a podcast. And I've recorded many of these and it matters a lot because I think so many times we want to celebrate the wins, but we have to remember it required so many losses to get to the win. And most people don't see those because they're whatever, they're seeing the public version of the thing. And it's so good to go. But I did the thing that I said I would do because. Because many times it's just reps. It's just, how many times can I do the thing? Because at some point somebody's going to say yes. And if one person says yes, then two people will say yes. And if two people say yes and I can keep them as clients, just do a great job for them. Ask them to tell somebody else. You never run out of business.

Speaker B: Exactly.

Speaker A: Um, so what other things have you come across where you go? Um, I did not want to. You said at the beginning I never thought I'd be in medical billing. Didn't really like or want to do door to door type cold calling, cold visits. So what other things have you had to get through to get past, to get to where you are?

Speaker B: So I had to overcome a lot of imposter syndrome, a lot of feeling like if I didn't have the perfect message and the perfect website and send the perfect email, then I was just going to be blacklisted forever. So I finally, during COVID said, okay, this is the perfect opportunity to reach out to some people who I call the cool kids in my industry and introduce myself. Everyone is scrambling to try to figure out how do we do telemedicine, how do we keep patients seen, how do we make sure that we have our kids are healthy and taken care of? I, uh, know just as much as everyone else does in this space because no one's done it before. And that's when I, uh, started introducing myself. And sure enough, pediatricians, they're wonderful people, they have welcomed me and that was really what launched me into, uh, national service. And we've grown so much as a result of that.

Speaker A: That's awesome. That imposter syndrome is a thing that I think all successful entrepreneurs struggle with. There's something deep down inside that asks the question, are you good enough? Do you have what it takes. And there's something in many of us that goes, no, you don't. And, uh, what I'm always encouraged by on these conversations is almost everybody says that. And so even now I've been in business for 25 years. There are still many days where I go, I'm not sure I have what it takes. And my wife will be like, but it's always worked. And I'm like, I know, but what if. And she's like, you've done this for a quarter century. Like, what are you talking? And I'm like, I know, but there's still that, like, angst and feeling, and I just want to do the next thing and do the next thing. That's just never good enough. And so I. I guess that's the question I have for you is, like, what allows you to get past that now? Is it experience? Do you still struggle with it? Because I still struggle with it. Um, is it just time? Like, what is it that allows you to kind of get through that?

Speaker B: Oh, I still struggle with it. Every email I write, every. I really think through it way too much. So I definitely still struggle with it. But I think I finally realized there's such value in hitting send on the message. And it doesn't have to be perfect. I did not have the first per. The perfect message or the perfect email when I first reached out to people and asked if I could help them. And I finally learned that there's no one message that's gonna make someone say, oh, that. That Emily girl. No, she doesn't know what she's talking about. I realized it's evolution, it's relationships. And I'm much more comfortable now, especially because I do have such a great team saying, oh, I don't know, but I have the right person to ask. And we have this amazing internal message board. And I'm going to post that right now because I can't answer that obscure billing question.

Speaker A: Sure.

Speaker B: And I now know that they don't expect me to know everything. They expect me to be able to find the answers for sure. And that's helped a lot.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's. I think that's exactly right. Is they just your clients, regardless of what the client is, they just want you to be the guide. They want you to help them figure out the answers to the things that they don't know. And in this case, medical billing, which is very complicated, at least from the patient, um, side of things.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: I get these bills in the mail. I'm like, I don't Even know what we're doing. I'm gonna start sending them to you and be like, what should I do here? Exactly.

Speaker B: Bring it on.

Speaker A: Except I need the opposite. I want the doctor to get paid. It's the insurance company that makes me frustrated. That's a whole other conversation. But, uh, one of the things you said, I think matters a lot, which is you said, just hit send, or I would even say just hit record. Uh, especially as it relates to content or marketing. A lot of people get in a place where they go, I don't know. I don't really like how I look on camera. I don't really like how I sound on audio. I'm not really sure what I would say. And all the most successful marketers, personalities, brands. If you go back and watch the real stuff. If you go back and look at the first episode of the Joe Rogan podcast, who. He's the most successful podcaster in the world right now. Um, it is a disaster. It doesn't look good. It doesn't sound good. The content's not great. But they just pressed record and they're like, let's just try the thing and then let's try it again and make it better. And try it again and make it better. When I started recording these, I didn't have three cameras and multiple mics and lights and all these things. I just had literally a microphone in the beginning, end of the table. And if you go back and listen to the first episode of Building a Business that Lasts, it does not sound great, because there was one microphone in a hollow room, but we just started.

Speaker B: But you got it done.

Speaker A: That's right. And so, um, you mentioned that you have other partners in the business. Obviously, they're pediatricians, so they are doing the work of being the doctor, where you're doing the business side of things. So how has that worked? A lot of people struggle with other relationships, other leaders, partners, all that kind of stuff. Like what have been, uh, the positives of those relationships that you've experienced?

Speaker B: They're not particularly involved. And so, um, for me, they're kind of an advisory board. And I'm really lucky because I'm able to show them the vision, tell them what I think we should do, get some input from them, and then just bring them the results. And, um, they're incredibly supportive and not particularly interested in getting into the details of the business and their business benefits from it. Right. They're able to come to me and say, well, how are your other clients handling this? And that way I treat them Just like any other client, because we work with practices all over. So, um, there's not a lot to balance just because they aren't sure the way it's structured in their day to day.

Speaker A: But, um, it's great to have, especially in those early days, that sounding board of people who are in the business. And you can kind of be that business entrepreneurial system side that they don't want to do, which can be a great, um, balance over time. What are some things that, um, have worked for you with regards to acquiring new business? So a lot of people struggle getting attention, acquiring customers. You said in the early days, we're out knocking on doors. So what has worked more recently for you to get in front of the right people?

Speaker B: For me, it's launching, um, a speaker series. So, um, you know, once I went to those, to those cool kids and introduced myself, um, that led to speaking opportunities and that's just led to more, uh, introductions. It's led to some more credibility. Um, that's the thing that has helped me the most. It is not going directly to the pediatricians. For me, it is building credibility and letting them get an idea of the kind of service they're going to get, the kind of expertise that they're going to get. And then I also believe in sharing a lot of free resources and information. I think that this is a community I really, really care about. I want to help everyone, whether you're a client or not. And so my calendar is open to everyone. Hey, you have a problem in your office, schedule some time. I'd be happy to talk to you about it. And I do conversations with people about hiring and firing, um, front desk flow. Okay, my biller's not performing. What do I need to do to help her? And it doesn't always turn into. In fact, most of those calls don't actually turn into a, uh, contract, but they turn into one more person who is at a conference saying, oh, I always go to Emily's presentations because she gives so much information, or I haven't changed billers, but I get this newsletter and all this information from Emily and it's been so great. So for me, it's sharing information through the speaking through calls, just being available to people.

Speaker A: You know what I love about that is one of the things I think people are always trying to do, and I think you and I are both trying to do in our own businesses, is make things scalable. But sometimes you got to do the unscalable in order to achieve the scalable. And you know, at some Point it may be that, you know, you have somebody who you're not even functionally running the business. All you're doing is being on stages, you know, um, who knows, you can figure out what that balance, what that looks like. But I love the idea of doing the unscalable, like opening your calendar up and going, hey, I'm happy to chat. M. I'm here to help. You know, especially in moments where you're not getting paid for it. It's not. It's not apparently adding any more value, but over the long run it will, because when you sow good seeds, they reap good crops, you know, and, uh, I really believe in that. Uh, talk to me about biggest successes over time. Things that you go, wow, I can't believe this happened. I can't believe this worked. Or you go, wow, we really worked hard to plan that, and it really went well. So what's something that the business has achieved or you achieved in the process that you are really proud of?

Speaker B: Ooh, that's a great question. I'm very proud of my team. I have an amazing, amazing team. Um, um, I'm also. There was a financial number that once I hit that million dollar mark, it felt like, okay, I have something here that's, that's real and a service that people really value and one that I'm passionate about. A group, uh, of clients I'm passionate about. So that was a pretty big success. And being in a position now where I'm starting to look for that operator, that feels like a really big success and milestone. Like we've created something that can kind of run on its own and doesn't need me. At first that felt really scary. Yeah, but. And I know I have a lot of letting go to do over the next six to eight months, but that feels like a big success, too. To be at that place financially where we can afford it and just personally where I know I've created something solid that someone else can take and help execute.

Speaker A: It's interesting how we, like, make up these milestones in our head. Like, I remember I started super young and so, you know, hitting $100,000 in total sales felt like a lot because it was just me at the time, and I was a kid, you know, and then, you know, getting into big kid land and hitting a million dollars, you go all, uh, right now, I'm legitimate. The problem that I had was when I hit a million dollars, I felt like I had more problems than I'd ever had before because I didn't know how to Manage an actual company. That's when we actually to circle back. That's when we took on traction at eos, because I knew that like, historically I'd just been winging it by my own charisma and ability. And that wasn't going to last. You passed a certain point, you have to have leadership, you have to have systems and process, you have to have these pieces in place or else it's just not going to work. Um, and I almost burnt myself out in the process. So I've definitely been there before.

Speaker B: I went through an 11 month period where I worked seven days a week. And part of me looks at that time now and you almost feel like an entrepreneur has to have that time, that story. And I don't think that's true because, uh, it was 11 months of seven days a week is too much. And now I don't check in on the weekends. It's a hard rule. But yeah, you can definitely burn yourself out that way.

Speaker A: Yeah, I think there is like a cultural belief, I think the pendulum is like constantly swinging back and forth. Like there's this cultural belief that uh, to be an entrepreneur you gotta be in like hustle land all the time. But then I think there's also this other belief now that's like, it's all me time, all the time. And if you're not taking two naps and having yoga twice a day, then you're hardly even resting. And it's like, okay, well that's not for me. I actually like to work. I don't struggle not, I don't struggle with working, I struggle with resting. You know, I think a lot of entrepreneurs are like that, but nobody's meant to work all the time. The example I always give is regardless of what you believe about the Bible, Jesus rested often. He often went away to rest. And it's like, why? Because to set an example for the people that followed him. And so we should do that too, you know. And um, I always say people always work for three reasons and they start businesses for these three reasons too. Freedom, money and purpose. And we want some combination of those things. And they're different in different seasons of life depending on what's going on. But like, in that 11 months, you don't have a lot of freedom because you're chained to the business. And you feel like if I don't do these things and the whole thing's gonna fall apart. And if it falls apart, then what's all this time that I've put into it so far and I've Got team members that could lose their jobs. And you know, but sometimes I've found that when I, we always joke here that whenever one of us goes on a trip that is in sales, we always close deals. And it's like for whatever reason, when we take a little rest, something happens. And I think that's true. So, um, one of the things that I know a lot of people struggle with and I have, uh, on that same topic, is this whole day of work life balance. So number one, what does that even mean to you? Because, uh, it means different things, different people. And how has that changed in different seasons of business and in life? What have you learned?

Speaker B: So I have two young kids, two and six. And um, so I'm just starting all the grade school. You know, we have soccer and karate and basketball. Um, but for me it's being able to choose what I do with my time. And one of the great things about working remote is I can work at six o' clock in the morning and I don't mind it. So I'm usually at my desk at six o' clock and I work until two or three in the afternoon. And then I have time to take care of some things at home before I'm picking, um, up kids. And my husband is great at sharing kid responsibilities. We have a whole schedule and it's great, we share it.

Speaker A: But, um, standard operating procedure at home, you know.

Speaker B: Exactly. I'm learning. And so me, it's really about what am I, what do I choose to do with my time and structuring my day in a way to get the things done that I need to get done. So I don't feel like I lose a lot of time in the morning because I'm at my desk. And then I can take time to go to practice or go see a school play or the little Valentine's dance we had. Um, so that's really important to me. It's being able to turn off my phone in the evening. Um, I didn't realize how much it was impacting my son until I made a declaration that I, I'm gonna start putting my phone in this drawer when we're together. And he was so happy that I didn't realize just how often I was checking it. Um, and then turning off my email on the weekends. So we use Gmail as our email platform. And it's just, I'm constantly refresh, refresh, refresh. And once I learned that you can hit that little button and say, manage what's on this phone and turn that off. It's very freeing.

Speaker A: It is.

Speaker B: So that's been a lot of what work life balance looks like to me.

Speaker A: Yeah. And I think, you know, I mean, I'll just tell you, like, my kids are much bigger. My youngest is 11, my oldest is 19 and I have five. And, um, it just goes so fast when they're little, I always say, like, the days go slow, but the years go fast. And, uh, I have found that there were so many times when, where I said to my wife, I've just got to get through this project. I just got to get this sold. I just got to close this deal. I just got to launch this website, whatever it is. And there'll always be a next one.

Speaker B: Yep, there sure will.

Speaker A: And a next one and a next one. And I realized very quickly that I don't get those years back. And I look at my kids now and thank God, like by the, you know, the sound force, uh, of my wife going, these things have to change.

Speaker B: Hm.

Speaker A: But if I hadn't, it's like, man, I would have just missed out. But I haven't, I haven't missed out. We've done many amazing things together. And my kids know I work hard. And there's also seasons, usually still seasons now, where I tell Claire, I'm like, look, we, uh, just got back from a trip before the recording of this podcast and we're going on another one in about a month. And I'm like, look, the next three to four weeks, I'm just going to be kind of pedal to the metal. And she's like, that's okay. Me too. I got school stuff with the kids, all this kind of stuff. And you just figure it out, you know, clear communication. And it changes so much. Different seasons of life too. Like when they're little, they require so much more, like, physical attention. But then when they're older, they require so much more emotional and mental attention. And, um, it's just not worth missing. And so people are listening. You think about work, life, balance. It is not 50, 50. Like I always tell people that. I'm sure it's not for you either. Some days it's 100% business and 0% anything else. Other days it's flip flopped. But learning to go, I can turn this off and it's gonna be fine when I get back. Or at least asking the question, what needs to be true in order for me to be able to do that? Because there was a season for me where I couldn't actually turn it off. It would have actually broken. It wouldn't have Gone Well. And so I started to ask questions over time of what do I need to change so that when I turn this thing off, it still is fine, you know, And I'll have people all the time who will tell me, agency owners, who will go, jay, how do you deal with a client that you know is texting you at 11 o' clock on a Friday? And I'm like, PM and I'm like, are you answering their texts? And they're like, well, yeah. And I said, well, what you allow, you encourage. Well, if I don't answer the text, I'm not going to be a client. Good client. Well, maybe they're not a good client then, you know, let them go. Be free.

Speaker B: Yeah. And I have, I have done that. I have said, I will be back in the office on Monday morning and I will be happy to answer that then. And hard stop. And yeah, I have fired my first client now. And, um, you have to kind of set your own boundaries. Have you read the book, the, uh, Ruthless Elimination of Hurry?

Speaker A: Yeah. John Martin Comer. It's the best.

Speaker B: It's the absolute best. And, um, my sister at her church, they, I guess he's released. He just released another book. And part of it is. I haven't either. Um, but part of it is, um, around rest. And so he, uh, talks in Ruthless Elimination about having a day where they are just a family together. And I guess he talks a little bit more in his latest work about, um, no, you really need to pick a time to have that dedicated rest. And so, um, following my sister's example, we have set that for Friday evening until Saturday evening. And I can't tell you what that has done to my family. I don't plan grocery trips. I don't plan to clean that closet. I don't plan anything that isn't restorative. And restorative means different things to different people. Um, I really love to cook. So a grocery store run to buy some fun ingredients and cook on a Saturday night or Saturday afternoon, that is restorative to me. Um, but it's been really great to realize I still have to get all those other things done, but I'm more intentional with my time throughout the week and on Sunday afternoon. And I feel like that's been a really big game changer for me and the idea of work, life, balance and how I give myself to my family without all of the other tasks building up.

Speaker A: Right. And it's gonna be okay. Like, just be okay with taking. And I have to, like, I have to almost force Myself into it. Like when I go on vacation, I'm such an email addict. Like you're talking about refreshing your email. I'm m such an email addict that I have to physically delete it from my phone. Like I can't even put it on pause. I have to actually remove the apps because I'm so addicted to it. But I know that. And I have another guy that I know, he's even worse and he actually has his assistant change his email password so he can't even get into it if he wanted to.

Speaker B: That is hardcore. That's really hardcore.

Speaker A: If he really has to get into got to call her and say I need my password because I got to get into it for X, Y or Z. I'm not quite there yet, but I have gotten to a place where Claire and I can leave for three, four, five days and I just won't check email because I've done the work and you've done the work to put teams in place. Mhm. Who are great at what they do. In fact, many times the teams are better than I am at what I do. I'm better at certain things, but they're better at most of the things. That's why they're on the team. And so it's so great. So one of the things I always ask as we kind of start to land the plane is, um, you already mentioned two the ruthless elimination, hurry and traction or eos. Um, but any other places where you have found influence in your own personal growth and knowledge? Maybe it's a book, maybe it's a podcast, maybe it's an event. Where are you going to raise your level so that you can help raise everybody else's.

Speaker B: That's a really great question. Um, I'm kind of a business book junkie, so as soon as I hear one mentioned I just have to go and, and grab it. Um, but I think that anything, uh, that talks about intention. So I've, you know, listening to various podcasts, I feel like meditation is a really big thing right now. So, um, learning more about gratitude and meditation, um, and then really focusing on anything that talks about self care from a, you know, asleep and exercise and um, that kind of self care. Those are probably the things that are directing me now. I can't think of a particular. I can't think of anything in particular.

Speaker A: Well, we've already mentioned a bunch of stuff as we've talked. So um, I'm so thankful for you to just candidly share the things that have worked, the things that haven't. Worked. Um, I know that anybody building a business is going to experience highs and lows. Most of them are going to experience imposter syndrome. Most of them are going to have days where they're not sure they can make it, seasons where they worked seven days a week. Maybe they shouldn't have. Um, maybe they felt like they had to. And so thanks for your candidness and openness. I'd love for you to share. Where can people find you or your business online? Uh, if they want to learn more?

Speaker B: Sure. Um, our website is altuspediatricbilling.com awesome.

Speaker A: Emily, thanks for being on the show.

Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me. It was so fun.

Speaker A: Hey, ah. I hope this video has helped you with some tips and ideas to build a business that lasts. Make sure you subscribe to our channel so that you don't miss out on the next videos that we roll out. And more importantly, for some awesome free resources, head over to our website at buildingabusinessthatlasts.com you can get a free copy of my book there where I tell you how I have built an agency that's grown year over year for the last 20 years in a row. So go grab that buildingabusinessthatlasts.com and make sure to subscribe to our channel. Thanks. We'll see you soon.