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Episode 123: Impact of an Integrator
239 Plays4 years ago
This week's guest is this Creative at Heart founder and integrator Kat Schmoyer. Kat joins me on the podcast to discuss what an integrator is and the impact that hiring one can have on a business. We also discuss what sort of tasks an integrator focuses on, what you can learn from an integrator even if you aren't one, and when you might be ready to hire one.
For show notes visit...https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-123-kat-schmoyer/
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Transcript
Why hiring a virtual assistant is crucial for solopreneurs
00:00:05
Speaker
I think an admin assistant or a virtual assistant is a quote unquote easy first hire.
00:00:11
Speaker
And that allows you to just offhand some of those tasks that you're like, man, I could do a loom video and show somebody how to do this. If they don't know how I can get somebody in, whether that's scheduling blog content, scheduling email content, jumping in and helping you with DMS every now and then being in your inbox, like training them how to do that. I feel like for a lot of solopreneurs, myself included, it's fear that keeps us from wanting to pass off the task.
00:00:36
Speaker
But if you find the right person to pass that task off to, it will free up your time.
Introduction of hosts and discussion on integrators
00:00:45
Speaker
Welcome to the Brands at Book Show, where we help creative, service-based businesses build their brands and find more clients. I'm your host, Davy Jones.
00:00:55
Speaker
Are you the visionary of your business? Do you have a clear idea of its future but just need someone to come alongside you to create some order out of all your ideas and plans so that they can actually be implemented? If so, you won't want to miss this episode. This week's guest is Creative at Heart founder and integrator Kat Schmoyer. Kat joins me on the podcast to discuss what an integrator is and the impact that hiring one can have on a business.
00:01:20
Speaker
We also discuss what sort of tasks an integrator focuses on, what you can learn from an integrator, even if you aren't one, and when you might be ready to hire one. Be sure to check out the show notes at davianchrista.com for the resources we mentioned during the episode. And we want to hear from you. Let us know what kind of content you'd like to see on the Brandship Book Podcast as we move forward. To leave your feedback, just send us a DM on Instagram, at davianchrista. Now, on to the episode.
00:01:51
Speaker
All right, cool. Welcome back to another episode of the Brands of Book Podcast. I have, how many times have you been on the podcast? I don't even know. At least, I think you've been on at least twice. So I think this might be your third appearance. Anyways, I have Cashmoyer, founder of Creative Heart among, you know, you have all sorts of stuff going on. One of us that just always seems to have a lot of stuff going on, but welcome back. Thank you. I'm excited to be here and I'm so glad we're talking about this.
00:02:18
Speaker
Yeah, I am excited to chat. I mean, I'm excited to chat at Create with Heart, so well, that's coming up, and I wanna hear all about that. Today, we're chatting about integrators, the role of having an integrator in your business and what that is, and Kat and I were just joking. This would be a very natural interview, I think, because I don't really know what an integrator is, so.
00:02:37
Speaker
It'll be easy for me to come up with questions because I don't really know what an integrator is. So those are always great interviews to have. But it's one of those roles that I've heard in different places. I've heard people talk about it on a podcast before. I think I've read a couple blog posts about it. It's funny at Till, and both Davey and Kristin at Till, we have teams, but at Till, especially lately, we'll have these funny conversations where we're talking about what roles we need to fill and someone will be like,
00:03:03
Speaker
I really feel like we need an integrator. And then it was like, what's an integrator? I don't know. I feel like I can picture you guys smoking cigars and like drinking and like talking about like, should we do this or not? And what does this mean? I love that. Yeah. Sounds like something we need. So you can demystify that for us.
00:03:22
Speaker
But I do think it's going to be, I think it's going
Creative at Heart Conference: Hybrid format and challenges
00:03:24
Speaker
to be a helpful conversation. Kristin and I have actually, we're getting ready to push out some content about building a team. So I think this is going to fit really nicely into that conversation. But before we get into all that, Creative At Heart, you know, we're coming off 2020. So needless to say. Right, 2020. Yeah, there has been no in-person conferences, of course. So now we're getting back to 2021. Creative At Heart coming up in June. What are you excited about?
00:03:49
Speaker
Everything. I mean, I'm just excited to be able to be back in person, you know, be able to see friends like, and we're so glad you're going to be there. The guys from tell are going to be there. Just Caitlin, Amy and Jordan, just some really incredible people are coming, but also excited for the new people, like just to be able to gather together in person and learn and grow and connect. I've missed it. It's been so, so long since we've gotten to do that.
00:04:13
Speaker
Yeah, I'm excited for it because I think this will be our first in-person event since 2020. So I'm excited for that. So that'll be, I think, our first in-person event. But it looks a little bit different this year, right? So there's an in-person aspect, but there's also a virtual aspect, right?
00:04:28
Speaker
Correct. Yeah. So one of the things because of 2020, we decided, well, let's try a hybrid model. We've never done that before. We've always just done in-person track. And so now you can join us virtually. And so we have some live Zoom conversations like panel group style that will be taking place. You'll be able to watch live the keynotes and interact with other
00:04:48
Speaker
attendees, other panel leaders, other breakout leaders, things like that. So really excited to have that virtual option, not just because of the pandemic, but also knowing that sometimes you just can't make an in-person event, regardless of COVID or not. You know, there's just other things going on and you're not able to come in person. So now we have this other option and it's going to be great.
00:05:09
Speaker
Yeah, and I assume that's probably one of the grand mysteries of trying to figure out or planning a conference is where am I going to host this? It doesn't seem like there's any clear-cut answers. It's like, well, if I host it on the East Coast, then it's harder for West Coast people to get there. So I do. I agree that the virtual – I'm really interested to see how the virtual aspect of things go. And just for people who are not comfortable traveling yet, it's a good option for them as well.
00:05:34
Speaker
Absolutely, absolutely. And we're learning a lot. I was nervous to do virtual because of the tech and all of these things. I'm like, no, I can handle the logistics of an in-person. Let's not have this virtual option. But so far, it's been really fun to walk through that process and figure out what our people are gonna want and gonna need so that they have the magic of creative at heart from their home. So I'm excited about both opportunities. Yeah, awesome. So I don't know if you already said this, but what are the dates of creative at heart?
00:06:02
Speaker
So creative is July 19th through 22nd. And if you're coming in person, it's in North Carolina, but then again, also the virtual option too. Yeah, awesome. When does registration end?
00:06:14
Speaker
the end of May, so June 1st, like May 31st at midnight or 11.59 p.m. will be the last day to register, yeah. That's great, so people have plenty of time after listening to this episode to go register if they're interested in doing so. Yes. And we'll be sure to include all of these dates and information on where to register in the show notes as always.
What do integrators do in a business?
00:06:34
Speaker
Perfect. So anyways, let's dive into our conversation about integrators. Yeah. Maybe we can just start by you answering the question, what is an integrator?
00:06:42
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Such a good question. Also, again, really excited to talk about this because I feel like it's a word that gets thrown around in our industry and you do kind of scratch your head and think like, but what is, like, what does that mean? It sounds kind of fancy. Like, what is that?
00:06:55
Speaker
It all starts from two books. I'm going to throw these books out there and I know Davey will link them for y'all. Traction and Rocket Fuel. They're both by Geno Wickham and then he did it together with Mark Withers for Rocket Fuel. And so Traction, I don't know if you've talked about Traction on here before Davey or not. I believe we've had, no, we haven't talked about it, but we've had at least one guest mention it before. Okay. Okay. Traction is very powerful for small business owners.
00:07:23
Speaker
It's about a method that will, like the name, help you build traction in your business. So about a method of team building, a method of really setting goals and being able to actually get things done. So it walks through what's called the EOS system, like the EOS model. And that model, again, helps you take big picture goals and break them down throughout the entire team. So whether that's.
00:07:46
Speaker
a team of 10 or a team of 30, like you're able to just really break down what the business needs to do to gain traction. Well, in that book, they mentioned visionaries and integrators. So then they took it, they wrote it a separate book called Rocket Fuel that is just about the visionary integrator relationship and how when that relationship is really fused together, you have a rocket fuel in the organization and traction can't happen unless you have
00:08:13
Speaker
true rocket fuel of a visionary and an integrator working collectively together to make growth happen.
00:08:20
Speaker
Yeah, there's so many things coming to mind right now, especially for people who are just starting business might be solar pioneers right now. And the implications of that for them. One of the things just as I was prepping for this podcast a little bit was reading about and correct me if I'm wrong here, that it's pretty rare to be both a visionary and integrator to naturally have the okay to naturally have both those characteristics. Yeah, they say that less than 5% will have like will truly have both that they can operate in like best capacity as both.
00:08:50
Speaker
a lot of visionaries have to be the integrator because it's your company. A lot of visionaries are the solopreneur. You start this business, you had a vision, you knew what you wanted to do, you knew who you wanted to serve, and then you also have to make the business happen. So you have to be in the weeds doing all the things and wearing all of the hats. And so this model is saying that, well, yes, you can grow a business that way in order to truly scale, in order to start to hit multi six figure, potentially even seven figures. So to really go big,
00:09:20
Speaker
you need to let go as the visionary and have an integrator that is going to then make it happen so the visionary can keep vision casting, can keep dreaming big. Okay, so we have visionaries, you know, who come up with a vision, cast the dream, have an idea of maybe where the company is going, or, you know, I guess, a vision for where the company is going. And then the integrator, you know, for I guess, lack of a better way to put it is the person who gets stuff done.
00:09:45
Speaker
Yes. So I've heard it described in two different ways. One, the visionary might build the car, but then the integrator needs to keep it going. So, hey, wait, we got to get oil. Oh, we need to change the tires. Oh, wait, we need to like check on X, Y, and Z. So.
00:09:58
Speaker
the visionary might have a pulse on the car market, right? Like, oh, this is the next new car. Like we need to go do this. We need to go do this. And they're really good at like market research and big relationships, right? Like relationships with big vendors closing deals. But the integrator is the one that's like, well, I need to make sure that this car is good. So I need to keep a pulse on the team.
00:10:18
Speaker
I need to keep a pulse on the offers that we already have going in our current customers and our current clients and like how are they doing before we just keep building all of these cars, but we're not actually making the one that we already have run well. Sure, sure. So what kinds of things would an integrator do in a business?
00:10:35
Speaker
A lot of the integrator's role is management. So an integrator works best when there is a team to manage. And so I serve as an integrator for one specific team where she has a mixture of full-time employees, part-time employees, and subcontractors.
00:10:50
Speaker
So I have my hands in those pots. And if you think about like an organizational chart for a company, okay, you have the visionary at the very top, right? CEO, visionary, founding entrepreneur, right underneath the visionary is the integrator. And then underneath the integrator is all of the facets of the business. So operations, HR, sales and marketing, however
00:11:11
Speaker
you know that plays out in your organization. So the integrator is that middle person that's managing all of the moving pieces and taking the visionary's dream and making sure that the team is bringing it to life. The integrator can also be an implementer but in a perfect scenario you have other people to implement so that the integrator gets to
00:11:34
Speaker
manage the implementers. But for example, in the team that I'm on right now, I'm also acting as marketing director because that's a whole that the business has and somebody needs to fill that seat. So I have way more hands in the pot of the marketing department than I do with the others in terms of the implementation that I'm doing, but I'm still integrating and that I'm integrating as in making sure all of those operation systems, all of the moving pieces are working really well together.
00:12:04
Speaker
Awesome. So I guess that's probably one area. I assume that the integrator was the implementer. So that's a helpful distinction. So it sounds to me that the integrator is more of like a COO, you know, to a certain extent, or at least that type of person. So managing operations, like you said, employees, subcontractors, assuming that people are following standard operating procedures. Is that right?
00:12:31
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. And the, at least right now with the integration that I'm doing and I'm loving is helping create the systems for that. Like we need an operating procedure. Like what are we doing? How are we making sure that every client, whether that's, you know, from a course, you know, somebody walking through a digital product you have or a service that they're walking through the same level of experience. So let's create the standard operating procedure.
00:12:56
Speaker
Integrators can also help implement the initial system. So whether that's something like ClickUp or Trello or Asana, whatever that is, like, hey, are we actually all using this to the best of the team's ability and of this system's ability? Do we need to make revisions in here?
00:13:12
Speaker
the integrator can implement to create it initially, but then again, in a perfect scenario, the integrator only does it once and passes it off and then gets to step back up into that management role to truly be able to integrate all of the pieces together.
00:13:27
Speaker
Sure. And so there's a level of accountability, I guess, that the integrator is bringing to the team. So it's ultimately the integrator making sure that each of the respective parties are doing what, you know, I guess has been assigned to them or what, you know, fulfilling their roles. Is that right?
00:13:42
Speaker
Yes, in Rocket Fuel, and I'm also a part of Rocket Fuel University, which is like the membership for the book Rocket Fuel. So if you read it and you love it, you can also take an assessment online that's free. If you're like, man, I'm not quite sure, like which one am I? You can take that assessment and then join their membership community, which is really awesome for additional connection.
00:14:00
Speaker
and education around this, but they talk about LMA, which is leading, managing and holding accountable. Like that is core to what the integrator is doing. So the integrator is likely, like I spend a lot of time in Slack trusting and verifying like, is this being done? What about this? What about this?
00:14:18
Speaker
going back and forth between employees and subcontractors so that the visionary doesn't have to do that the visionary can be focused on i need to create this next course or i need to go do x y and z podcast interviews the visionary there i feel like the visionary's role in the business should very much be revenue making like what does the visionary need to do to create that new revenue stream or put the brand out there and then the integrators behind the scenes make sure that all of the other pieces are following behind that.
00:14:47
Speaker
Sure, sure. So talk to me about kind of in what order someone would bring on an integrator. So let's say – let's just assume that a lot of our – a lot of listeners are visionaries because I think we have a lot of business owners out there. And I would assume if – between integrators and visionaries, it's probably mostly visionaries that are starting businesses. Maybe that assumption is wrong.
00:15:09
Speaker
But just for the sake of this example, let's say that it's mostly visionaries. When should an integrator be brought on? Is it an integrator brought on when a team is already in place? Or should an integrator be brought on really to help hire or build out a team? Is there any guidance there either from the book or from your experience?
00:15:30
Speaker
Yeah. So there's two different schools of thought, and I'm actually doing both of those things with the two brands that I work for. One, I'm helping to hire. So I'm helping create the systems with the solopreneur right now because of just the way that revenue is going. You know, there's the potential to continue to scale through team building.
00:15:47
Speaker
So it's almost consulting, right? To say, okay, well, if you want to bring on the team, then this, this, and this needs to happen. And then helping them assess, well, what's the biggest weakness right now where we need a team? Like we need a person for this role first. Like how do you assess that? So there can be a level of consulting within that from an integrator, but I really believe that to actually integrate there needs to be a team in place.
00:16:12
Speaker
So the other brands that I work for, again, has multiple full-time, part-time, and subcontractors. So managing a team of eight or nine, that's what an integrator can really start to integrate and can really start to potentially fix messes, things that have maybe gotten messy already in the team building process, and then help the business scale.
When to hire an integrator and the visionary's role
00:16:33
Speaker
I think that as visionaries, and I've
00:16:35
Speaker
Because I own my own business, I feel like I've served as a visionary and integrator in my own business and it's just been within the last year that I've had a lot of aha moments that like, wow, I'm actually way better at the integrator spot than I am at the visionary spot. When I took the test, I was 93 out of 100 for integrator and 53 out of 100 for visionary. So I'm like, man, I've been doing this way wrong for like eight years as an entrepreneur.
00:16:59
Speaker
So for me, it's been really cool to lean into integration, but I do think that as a visionary, you have to know your business. So I do think that it's better for the integrator if the visionary already has somewhat of a team, because as the visionary, you know the moving pieces. Like you've probably been doing it for a while before you brought on the team. So you do have a pulse on your brand and a pulse on your team, but now you're ready to trust and release and pass it off to the right integrator.
00:17:28
Speaker
Sure, sure. That makes a lot of sense. Also interesting that you bring that up about yourself because I think, I remember Jesse and I were talking about you and this is your, it had to be years ago, but I remember Jesse saying something along the lines of, I don't know if I've ever met somebody who is as much of a go-getter as you are, you know? And so it makes sense like looking and kind of hearing you talk about what an integrator is and just kind of what I know about you, it makes sense that you would really fulfill that role, you know? Thank you.
00:17:56
Speaker
Thank you. I mean, I really have loved it so much. It's been one of those things about 2020 that I'm going to look back and smile at, you know, because I made this pivot. And even though 2020 was so hard, it's been a really awesome pivot. And I do think that our industry is filled with more visionaries than integrators. And so it's been cool to step into this space and understand a little bit more about the visionaries way of thinking and try to help them either find the right integrator or again, do some consulting.
00:18:25
Speaker
to kind of in the interim period, get them set up for an integrator, whatever that looks like.
00:18:31
Speaker
And I think one of the hardest things about hiring a team is yes, it does allow you to scale. It does allow you to get more done than you would, certainly than you would get done alone. Typically it allows you to get more done better than you would yourself because you're hiring people who specialize in whatever that role is. But at the same time, as the founder of two businesses, it doesn't necessarily give you more time. In a way it does. No, totally. Training takes time.
00:19:00
Speaker
Beyond that, I mean, creating standard operating procedures, you know, and I just think of some of our initiatives or until we've been doing a pretty good job of doing that. But those kinds of things take time and then making sure that you can create them. You can put them in a Google Drive folder doesn't mean that anybody's ever going to look at him again. And so I go back to like trust and verify. Like I feel like that's something that I talk about with the one company I'm with.
00:19:21
Speaker
And we say like trust and verify like every day. And it's not to micromanage. It's really just to trust, but also verify and make sure like we're all making the wheels turn together. Yeah. All of that takes a lot of time. You know, they're not bad things, but again, to have somebody come, I could, I could very well, I could very easily see having somebody come in and fill that position and how it would free up so much time. So this is great. So I'm having, I'm having my own aha moment right now.
00:19:51
Speaker
But as far as, so I assume that everybody listening right now might not be, somebody might not be in a position to hire an integrator. And so what are some of the things that you've learned about being an integrator that might be helpful for people who maybe aren't in a position either to hire a team or to hire integrator right now? Yeah, good question. So I think first and foremost, taking the time to put some of those operations in place.
00:20:17
Speaker
put some of those systems in place so that if, even if it is just you right now, if you bring on a VA, if you bring on any sort of subcontractors and any other expertise,
How to optimize business operations with audits and consultants
00:20:28
Speaker
you have something in place that makes you feel like, okay, yeah, like we can start to grow and build together. So even if that just looks like right now pulling out your calendar and like blocking off a day this month where you're going to sit down and say like, okay, let me try to fix this mess. What's going on? Like when a client comes in, like what's the workflow? How do I keep track of my daily to-dos or how am I, you know, implementing these ideas that I have, just really looking at all of these moving pieces in your business, both the client facing moving pieces. So maybe a system like Dubsado,
00:20:57
Speaker
all the way to the back end of how are you doing it? Something like Trello, ClickUp, Asana, that sort of thing. So just really assessing, give yourself a little audit, I guess is like the best way to say it. Give yourself a little audit on your own systems and operating procedures.
00:21:11
Speaker
and then take the time to put them together. There are templates out there. So depending on what it is that you need help with, you can then go and purchase a template or maybe do consulting with somebody to help you get everything in place. And then you're the one continuing to implement it every single week.
00:21:30
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. That makes a lot of sense too. And I know for most of the tools that we use, there's communities of people who their entire business is built around consulting for that tool. So I know that's true for Dipsado. I know that's true for ClickUp and people who have just specialized in those platforms and their entire business is about helping people get
00:21:48
Speaker
different integration set up for those tools, getting those tools set up themselves so that they're working for the business. So there's a lot of resources out there and that's probably a good in-between step before maybe going out and hiring an integrator. What do you feel like just in your experience for somebody who's starting to think about potentially scaling and let's say integrators not their first hire, what have you found to be the first, a good
First steps in hiring: VAs and admin assistants
00:22:14
Speaker
first hire? And I'm sure this is like,
00:22:16
Speaker
probably differs a little bit from business to business, but I don't know if you've noticed any commonalities across the brands that you've been working with and of course your experience building your own businesses as well.
00:22:27
Speaker
I think an admin assistant or a virtual assistant is a quote unquote easy first hire. Typically that person is minimal amount of hours a week at least to start or even maybe it's a monthly package, you know, something like that. And that allows you to just offhand some of those tasks that you're like, man, I could do a loom video and show somebody how to do this if they don't know how, you know, you can do this.
00:22:50
Speaker
I can get somebody in, whether that's scheduling blog content, scheduling email content, jumping in and helping you with DMs every now and then, being in your inbox, like training them how to do that. I feel like for a lot of solopreneurs, myself included a few years ago, it's fear that keeps us from wanting to pass off a task.
00:23:08
Speaker
but if you find the right person to pass that task off to, it will free up your time. So start with that admin assistant, start with somebody that kind of has their hands in a couple of different pots for you, but on that truly administrative level and then see what happens either just within their growth with the brand, but also then the time that it frees up for you. And then you might find like, well, man, this is awesome. Now I need to go find the social media manager or now I need to go hire like
00:23:35
Speaker
this other person over here, and then all of a sudden, you're starting to build a little mighty team. Yeah. Hiring a VA, we did not hire an admin assistant first. We hired designers first. And I guess I always kind of had that question. I was like, is it really worth it? I can answer my emails. It's like, well, I mean, yes, it'd be nice to have somebody do this, but I can do this.
00:23:56
Speaker
And then finally hiring an admin, having an admin over the course of the last, our old admin, we just switched, not switched, but our old admin left for personal reasons, have another kid and family stuff and so on and so forth. I didn't want to make it sound like it.
00:24:11
Speaker
Something happened. She hated it here. And then Kate, our new admin, but both of them have been spectacular. And I'll tell you that when they're out of the office for some reason, I remember very quickly how much work they take off my plate. It's like all of a sudden at the end of the day, I have this inbox and I'm the one answering the emails. I'm like, oh.
00:24:35
Speaker
This is a great reminder of exactly how much they are freeing up my time. Yes, totally. It's one of those things where I'm like, wow, this really probably should have been one of our first hires. Well, I feel like it's that feeling at the end of the day when you're like, man, what did I actually do
Effective training and communication with new hires
00:24:52
Speaker
today? A lot of those things I think can be the admin assistant or a VA. It can be somebody that like, okay, all of these little random things that I had to do, I could teach somebody how to do it.
00:25:03
Speaker
And so not being afraid of that training process. And I feel like a lot of visionaries are afraid of that. Like they just, and I get it. It's your baby. It's, it's your vision, right? And now you're passing it off. And so again, if you are then at a place where an integrator, the integrator can then take over some of that training too, to help mentally, you don't have to worry about it. Like you might be a part of the hiring process, you know, and on those interviews, and then you pass it off to the integrator who keeps the ship running.
00:25:30
Speaker
Yeah, and maybe before we wrap up here, one of the things that we should or I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on is training. And I guess there are so many, I don't know, challenges to training, I think. I mean, one of the ones that you just suggested was these are things that we feel like we do and we're gonna be able to do them best. And I will say that every time we hire somebody, I learned that no, I'm not the best person at that. It turns out that somebody else can do this and oftentimes better than me.
00:25:57
Speaker
But beyond that too, it does take maybe a little bit more time to get somebody familiar with their role and how to deal with every single situation. And so that was one of the things that, I don't know if it was surprising to me necessarily, but I had to remind myself, each time we hire somebody, it's just, hey, it's gonna take some time to get this person up to speed. And for them to be able to handle every situation that comes at them, and I need to over-communicate.
00:26:24
Speaker
Absolutely. Having a tendency, and again, I'm just sort of, this is a stream of consciousness, I guess, but just processing here with you. I think one of the things that probably all of us, but I know I find myself guilty of sometimes is thinking or just assuming that person knows what they're gonna do or knows what to do or knows how to handle an issue or whatever. And you kind of forget how much you know and how much experience you have in your own business.
00:26:47
Speaker
So anyways, I mean, could you speak to that a little bit? I mean, just tips that you found helpful in training and then holding people accountable, you know, and walking that line in terms of, on the one hand, you want to offer people grace because, you know, people make mistakes and it takes time to get adjusted. On the other hand, there are standards that people have to meet. So I guess could you speak to that a little bit?
00:27:06
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So I think it's also like two different things when you're hiring, like one, you might be hiring for a specific expertise. And I feel like for you with David and Crystal, like you guys have web designer, like clearly I would not apply for a web designer position with your brand. Like I like, I have no idea what I'm doing. I can like tweak my show at template and I'm like, that's it. So obviously in that you're not only looking at personality, but expertise really does play a large role and that makes sense. But then there are other parts of the business that
00:27:36
Speaker
they might have zero experience but if the personality is a good fit and there are other strengths that you feel like they could bring to the table both for the team as a whole and then just your brand as a whole, they could be a really good fit. And so whenever I'm hiring, always thinking about the strengths and the personalities. I know Nancy Ray has talked a lot about that and some of her like hiring things as well.
00:27:57
Speaker
And then once that person is on the team, definitely taking it slow. I do so many loom videos and sometimes I will break it down and I'll say like, you might know how to do this, but I'm literally going to show you exactly what I do in this situation. I want to pretend like they don't know anything and not in a negative way, not in a mean way.
00:28:16
Speaker
But in a way that now I don't have to try to go back and reteach them something later. I've walked through every single part of the process. So they're going to get a ton of loom videos. It's going to be organized on a Trello board, but they're going to get a lot of loom videos walking them through how to do whatever it is that we're teaching them how to do.
00:28:33
Speaker
utilizing something like that. Loom is a great tool with Google. It's free. So you can do that one. I also suggest just making sure just like you said, Davey, like over communicating, but constantly checking in to show that you are available for that over communicating, reminding people like there's no such thing as a silly question.
00:28:51
Speaker
You know, this person's just joined the team. They're probably really nervous, a little overwhelmed. Like they're trying to get the lay of the land. They're trying to figure out team dynamic and personalities and all of that stuff. And so constantly saying like, Hey, how can I help you? What's going on today? Like, what do you need? And reminding them and reassuring them, I think goes a long way and then allows for even more communication from the little stuff to the big stuff. So those would definitely be like the two biggest tips I would have for training.
00:29:20
Speaker
Yeah, so much good stuff there. And one of the things, I think I've said this on the podcast before, but I remember my first day teaching, walking into high school, it was high school English, ninth grade, thinking I'd put together the best lesson plan ever. Like, this is no fail. There's no way kids don't understand this. And realizing, yeah, everything I thought in terms of how to put together directions had to be rethought and broken down even more.
00:29:44
Speaker
Not suggesting that we treat any of our team members like ninth graders or anything but I think one thing I learned there was you know, I need to reevaluate the Jumps in logic that I'm asking people to make you know because you just forget how much you know I mean all of those things I think are things that we found to be true as well lots of loom videos loom loom is a great tool and
00:30:03
Speaker
And then just making yourself available too. And I think that this is another thing that maybe you don't think of so much running a remote business because when you're in person, like if you're going to an office, that time sort of naturally makes itself, I mean, you're just in an office, you can run into somebody, you can go into an office, ask somebody a question. With a remote team though, you really have to make sure that there's time to check in.
00:30:26
Speaker
and that you're not just assuming that, oh, if someone has an issue, they'll bring it up to me. You really need to put aside time and give people space to bring that kind of stuff up. And again, this has been a great conversation. I feel like it's fun processing a lot of these things. And this is why we are releasing some content around hiring and team building because we've learned a lot about it over the course of the last year especially.
How to hire the right integrator for your team
00:30:49
Speaker
And so it's fun to talk about these things.
00:30:52
Speaker
No, totally. I love it. And something I'll just like ping onto that real quickly. I feel like if you're at a place, if you're listening to this and you're like, okay, I think I need an integrator and not just you think you need one. Cause I do feel like all visionaries need an integrator, but you really feel like you have some team structure in place and you're like, all right, yes, I need to offhand some of this.
00:31:10
Speaker
One thing to really consider when you're hiring an integrator when you are reaching out to the actual integrator is asking about that availability because of our industry. It is really unique. A lot of integrators are retainer or a certain number of hours for the month. And so really making sure that whatever it is that's being offered.
00:31:28
Speaker
fits your business model. Do you need somebody who is more full time, literally available nonstop in Slack, then that's going to look different than somebody who's just jumping in. I know some integrators that are like five hours a week, and that has worked in the team that they are running, but in other teams, like in the teams that I'm running, that would not work at all.
00:31:47
Speaker
And so just making sure that you have those conversations with the integrator because for the integrator to truly take over all of the things that you want within the team, it usually is more hours or just more hands on deck during that timeframe.
00:32:02
Speaker
Yeah, no, I'm glad you brought that up. I think that's an important thing for people to know as they go about trying to find the right integrator for their business. And I think something too on the flip side, if you are a solopreneur and you're maybe not even in the headspace right now where you're like, I can't even imagine what it would look like to hire somebody,
00:32:21
Speaker
I know that we're not saying, oh, you have to go hire somebody or whatnot, you know, everybody, that kind of stuff comes or whatnot. But I think hiring people is easier than people think it is before the first time they do it. You know, like it's a matter of, I mean, get with your accountant, figure out what that looks like in your state, you know, from an accounting and, you know, whether you can afford it, of course, perspective, what kind of things you have to keep in mind in terms of employees versus contractors and taxes and stuff like that.
00:32:48
Speaker
But as you were saying, there are sort of intermediate steps. It's not like you're bringing somebody on, or it's not like you have to bring somebody on full time with matching 401ks and full medical benefits or whatever. There's a whole continuum in between of part time, maybe an integrator that's gonna work five hours a week.
00:33:08
Speaker
Yeah. And a lot of the integrators in our industry I found, and I don't know if it's just because they don't, they've never, maybe they've never read rocket fuel. Maybe they're like, Oh, and someone's listening to this and they're like, man, I, I'm an integrator. Like I do that. I feel like our industry calls them online business managers.
00:33:23
Speaker
So somebody might start as a VA and then morph into an online business manager as their experience grows within the industry or within specific brands that they're working for. And so you could potentially either reach out to a VA if you find that, okay, you know what, I want to step more into visionary role. So I just need to start off handing some of these tasks, bring on a VA, and then as the team grows, either that person can step into the integrated role, like they already know your brand, if they have some of the traits that you're looking for and the experience that you're looking for.
00:33:52
Speaker
Or then you're hiring out for an online business manager integrator or something like that. Sure. And you know, one question I guess I want to wrap up with is potentially having an integrator already in your business, but maybe not knowing it yet, you know, or somebody who just has those skills and recognizing it. I don't know if you or if like any of the training that you've done or resources or just other integrators that you know,
00:34:14
Speaker
or situations where you have co-founders and one of the co-founders is naturally a visionary and the other integrator, but I don't know if that's, like if you have somebody on your team who might be able to fill that role, how do you go about, like what would you recommend they do maybe to refine or sharpen those skills?
00:34:33
Speaker
Yeah, it sounds silly, but read the book rocket fuel. Like I really do. I think that that is really powerful and listen to it on audio. If you're like cat reading is like so old school, like fine, get it on audio, pretend it's a podcast, whatever you want to do, but really look at rocket fuel. And then like I said, there is an assessment. It's like short and sweet five minutes. Take that assessment.
00:34:52
Speaker
And I think that's just gonna clearly start to tell you right away, like, oh, okay, yes, I am swinging in the visionary role. Or maybe you're like me and you think you're a visionary and you're actually an integrator and then you like have a lot of aha moments. But then asking your team to do it, ask your VA to do it or ask somebody within your organization already to take this assessment or read this book and start to have those conversations per what Rocket Fuel teaches and what the traction method teaches is there can only be one person in each of those roles.
00:35:20
Speaker
So if there are co-founders, there typically is a natural visionary and integrator. Sometimes that's strengths, just they are naturally that way. Sometimes that's because of the roles they've been forced to fill. So then you start to have those conversations and one's like, man, I hate being the integrator, like what's going on? And then you have a little bit of friction, but you figure it out. So even for y'all at Till, Davey, I think it would be really fascinating with the three of you, like there's three and technically per the book, there can only be like two, one, eight.
00:35:47
Speaker
It would be really interesting to see like, okay, how does this work and how are the operating systems already set? Like between the three of you and not only how or have the chips fallen, but is everybody really acting within their strengths with the way that the chips have fallen? And that's what I think is super fascinating within businesses already that maybe have an integrator that they don't know it.
00:36:08
Speaker
Yeah, you know, it would be really interesting for the three of us at Till to take that assessment.
Reflecting on team roles and client selection as an integrator
00:36:13
Speaker
And honestly, not really sure kind of where we each fall. I mean, it's really interesting to think about because at Davey and Krista, I think it's a little more clear cut. Krista's probably more of an integrator and I'm probably more of a visionary. You know, I'd be interested. I'll have to ask her when we record the hiring podcast, what she thinks about that. But I would assume she would agree. And then
00:36:31
Speaker
On the tilt side of things, it's just a really interesting partnership. And honestly, just one of the most fun partnerships that I've ever been a part of. I'm just thinking through our skills or what I think sort of each of us are naturally good at. And I feel like we all have very different strengths that compliment each other well. And so it's been a very harmonious
00:36:47
Speaker
partnership, which is of course good. Yeah, absolutely. And maybe no one's an integrator, you know, maybe you're filling different roles within the org chart and saying like, but we're having to fill integration. So maybe that's a hiring out next or something. Yeah, yeah, potentially. So our skills, I feel like complement each other. And then we have, and it doesn't mean we haven't had hard conversations and challenges and stuff for sure. But you know, we have a lot of fun too. And our skills and too, and even like just looking over the business and at different growth phases,
00:37:17
Speaker
one of us or different sets of the founders have had maybe more relevant experience or I don't know. It's really interesting to think about. I won't bore anybody with just my off the cuff reflections on that. I'll save it for another podcast. But Kat, thank you so much for talking to us about what an integrator is. And honestly, this conversation is a lot of fun because I think more fun because I just had very little idea obviously of what an integrator was. You got the wheels turning for sure.
00:37:44
Speaker
where can people learn more about Creative of Heart and where can they learn more about, I guess, are you available to hire as an integrator? Yeah, I knew that question was coming, like the whole episode. Yeah, sorry. No, that's okay. I think if it were the right fit potentially, but yeah, I'm just gonna say that. I think if it were the right fit, it's not something that I'm looking to take on lots and lots and lots of clients. I've been really selective and right now I have two and I love it. I love it so much. And so I think if it were the right fit, I'll leave it at that.
00:38:13
Speaker
Awesome. So if people do want to explore whether that's the right fit or they have questions about being an integrator, where can they get in touch with you about that? Yeah. So, okay. For integration, catchmoir.com is my website. And you can also find me on Instagram, send me a DM. I love voice DM. I love chatting that way. So let's reach out. Even if you just have other questions, not just about potentially hiring me, but just integration in general and rocket fuel and traction. Like I love all of this stuff. So would love to
00:38:39
Speaker
connect on Instagram about that. And then for creative at heart, if you're interested in being a part of the conference this year, round10.creativeatheartconference.com. And we have a live chat feature on that website. And it actually goes to my phone or my husband's phone, depending on who's available. So it will be one of us. Cool. We will talk to you. And we would love to do that and talk to you more about round 10 in July. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, thank you again for your time. And I'll make sure I include all that information in the show notes for sure.
00:39:08
Speaker
Awesome. Thank you, Davey. This was so fun. I loved it. Agreed. Thanks for tuning in to the Brands That Book Show. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving a review in iTunes. For show notes and other resources, head on over to DaveyandCrista.com.
00:39:34
Speaker
you