Empowering Teams and Leveraging Community for Business Success with Less Stress

How free are you as a business owner or startup founder? Think about what this sentence means for you at this juncture of your journey.

More specifically, do you have a reliable co-founder or set of part-time teammates who can let you work on the things you most enjoy and best move the profit needle??

What if you want to work remotely or go on a sabbatical, do you have the cash flow, team, and systems to make this happen without crippling anxiety or… fires to put out?

??? Season 2 on Grind Less Flow More presented some clear themes in approaches to solve these ever-important questions that may be in the way of your freedom as a business owner or startup founder.

??? However, you may not be ready for this season unless you have a foundation built - a very specific base which we covered in our first 10 episodes of Season 1. Season 1 guests spoke about the foundation needed on how to get out of your own way.

The three pillars were:

1) be clear on what vision excites you

2) how to not burn out

3) how to stay focused on things that make a profit.

Its crucial to first be hyper-focused on you because if things aren’t organized internally, you’ll find it very hard to build the right team around you.

??The main theme of Season 2 dug into the ever-important topic of: You can’t do it alone.?

You need teammates to divide and conquer with and you need to be intentional about what peers you surround yourself with to answer questions quickly and support you in tough times.?

??How do you find your community? It turns out there is a playbook and here are the two pillars that most came up in this season:

1. Empower your Co-founders and teammates: to do this you need to be acutely aware of your strengths and what you struggle with?
2. Find inspiration from a community of like-minded entrepreneurs: a profound way to do this is to have the freedom in your schedule to attend both local and overseas masterminds, retreats, and conferences??

?? For today’s season 2 recap I am now going to break down the stories from interview guests hailing from the E-commerce, Real Estate, Tech, Wellness, and Coaching industries, to reinforce these key themes - let’s start with episode 11.?

??Ep 11: Jay Parmar. From An Eventbrite Exit to Founding an eCommerce Brand Nomadically With His Wife

• After an over 10-year grind to exit his tech startup, Jay got to do more of the things he put on hold. Family and travel which he fully integrated into his next business - a family run tongue-scraper eCommerce company. Jay doesn’t want to be anchored to his desk with anxiety every two weeks as payroll goes out to a full time team. He is packing light with limited, remote/PT staff and works with his wife in a very structured and partitioned manner so they can be amazing parents to their young child. The everyday systems he breaks down in the episode are worth checking out.
• The way Jay sees it, once you have a child you shouldn’t think that your opportunity for extended travel is over until they move out for university - it’s the opposite, He says that until about age 8 when true friends and roots start to be built, it’s the perfect time to travel with your child. The added benefit to your child when you work and travel is that they see the world from a better perspective and as Jay said, they build the adaptability you see in expat families.

Experience the Season 2 Recap via Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and Google Podcasts .

??EP 12: Ben Weir: How To Avoid Burnout And Free Your Mind As A Visionary Founder

• Exiting 5 companies before age 30 is no joke although it cost Ben his health and hearing about the traumatic burnout he experienced was quite something.?
• His cure was when Ben found a form of inner work and spiritual practice named Reality Check. Not only did Reality Check cure his illnesses where Western, Eastern and Integrative medicine could not, but it allowed him to find a joyful flow state from which he creates effortlessly and travels the world full time. He has built some big communities in Colombia, Mexico City, and Costa Rica and is happy to make introductions if you find yourself going there - just message me for the intro.?
• The core of how Ben starts and sells companies so quickly is through the paradigm of a book called Rocket Fuel - how to divide and conquer with the two personality types for business success. The first is the visionary who is best for sales and ideas while the second is the integrator who most likes to be behind the scenes to ensure everything works - whichever one you are, make sure to find your better half. Doing both will stun your growth and drive you to burnout and a limited income ceiling.
• One other relevant standout from Ben was how through an integrator, he has not only opened time to travel, but he creates 1-2 hours a day where he just thinks and goes for walks. An uncluttered and free mind tends to come up with the best ideas…is this be something you can afford to do?

Experience the Season 2 Recap via Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and Google Podcasts .

??EP 13: Sahil Jaggi

• Sahil is a realtor and developer in Toronto who had a control problem and was lucky to get a wake up call before he burned out - it was a client yelling into his ear after he forgot to get back to them. As innocent as this sounds, it woke Sahil up to the fact that if he’s going scale and not drop the ball on client fulfillment, he needs a business partner and we’ll documented process.
• Sahil was about to hit $1M in commission but hit the breaks to work on building his teams and finding an operating partner - he took one step back to take many forward, in a sustainable sense.?
• This was personally my most motivating episode of the season as I caught myself nodding the entire time as he broke down the hard truth of what many of us do to pursue revenue at all costs.?
• Like Ben Weir, Sahil has capitalized on freeing more time with his new team and says he creates two hours a day to “be strategically bored”. He goes for long walks and let’s ideas bubble to the surface.?

Experience the Season 2 Recap via Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and Google Podcasts .

??EP 14: Marissa Grootes

• Marissa is an EComm entrepreneur and Tedx speaker who makes incredible self growth journals and products. She has battled multiple sclerosis and because of this reality, she has needed to be incredible at self care and delegating to teammates.?
• She has gift to make hard decisions quickly and remove emotions from her business. One example was her story of renting a storefront in Gastown a couple months before COVID and needing to make the quick call of walking away, only with a large lawyer bill in her hand. The business owners who had been there years and decided to wait it out lost thousands and were stagnant in their businesses as they just couldn’t take the emotion out of their decisions.?
• To help her run rapid experiments, Marissa has a closed circle of entrepreneurs she stress tests ideas with move quickly and unemotionally. You can do this as well by being intentional in your networking and having the initiative to pick up the phone or create a monthly mastermind.?

Experience the Season 2 Recap via Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and Google Podcasts .

??EP 15: Swish Goswami

• Swish has been a poster child for early entrepreneurship and public speaking and has hung out with Gary Vee and other big influencers - he runs a tech company called Surf which gives you points as you browse the web.?
• The standouts from our talk in regards to nurturing a great team were his team rituals around 15 min intentional meetings, opening the door for people to be vulnerable and, how he structures profit sharing to align incentives - he was forced to be a more engaged leader when COVID ruined his financing round and he realized that to keep people around, he needed to step up as a leader.?
• Swish credits nomadic living to his creativity and boldness to be an entrepreneur as he bounced across different cities such as Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, and New York - each one taught him more about himself and allowed him to meet the right people. I personally could not agree more. Lastly, Swish admitted to anxiety being something he deals with a lot and thanks to a special group of mentors, they help him cope with it. Don’t be afraid to lean on peers and open up.?

Experience the Season 2 Recap via Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and Google Podcasts .

??EP 16: Likky Lavji

• Likky Lavji is a serial IT entrepreneur and now a leadership coach. He’s certified as a Go Giver coach which stems from the Go Giver book which changed how I think about giving people value. The way travel changed his life was realizing how empty he still felt after exiting his IT company and relaxing in Mexico, the peace finally let his misery rise to the surface. This is when he traveled to the US for a go at coaching - he hasn’t looked back. Getting out of your everyday environment is what can inspire new realizations and actions.?
• Likky gets quite vulnerable about his childhood trauma and how that leaked into how he treated his staff through a tone of perfectionism and lack of trust - this led to a lot of staff resignations and he was limited greatly in his growth.?

Experience the Season 2 Recap via Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and Google Podcasts .

??EP 17: Robbie Bent

• Robbie Bent runs the Othership App and physical cold plunge studios across North America.?
• When you’re managing the stressors of brick and mortar businesses, you need a great team to give you space to strategize instead of being bogged down in operations. Robbie uses his own medicine to be a good leader and eliminate stress through the power of break work - you can try a 1-minute “stress off button” routine he demonstrates in that episode.?
• Similar to Marissa and Swish, Robbie is relentless about how he stops trying to figure everything by himself. In fact, he breaks down a method used in the silicon valley on how to systemize and be precise in how you ask for help - I implemented it right away and suggest it to you as well. It’s such a subtle change in your everyday approach to managing relationships and it makes all the difference

Experience the Season 2 Recap via Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and Google Podcasts .

??EP 18: Matt Heiytd

• Matt is the Founder/CEO of BackStretch Recruitment Group which he started after professional golf didn’t take him where he wanted to go.
• Being in recruitment, Matt is big on personality tests. The Gallup top 5 strengths finder was how he instantly created harmonious relationships with his wife and business partners - it’s interesting when you hear him explain its application and it’s another layer of understanding to how to manage complex relationships with people closest to you. It takes about 20 minutes and costs about $25 - it’s very worth it to take alongside people close to you. Gallup does a great job.?

Experience the Season 2 Recap via Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and Google Podcasts .

??EP 19: Dustan Woodhouse

• The last guest of the season was the Canadian mortgage broker legend, Dustan Woodhouse who’s booked our essential reading for any new broker.
• Dustan is all about leading by example. His sober October bet stretched all the way to him not touching an alcoholic beverage for 8 years and counting. He’s one of the hardest working people I know with admirable discipline not only with his health but ability to take long sabbaticals from social media and ability to pick up the phone for sales and uncomfortable conversations. Things like this go a long way.?
• His thoughts around hiring for Ying and Yang, that, hire someone who loves doing what you hate was profound. We hire people we like and are like us and we wonder why we butt heads.
• Dustan is militant about not basing his business off inefficient in-person meetings and the flexibility to work closer to whistler than Vancouver keeps him healthy and inspired - like all speakers, lifestyle design is the bedrock of his business design.?

Experience the Season 2 Recap via Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and Google Podcasts .

??Final Thoughts and Actions

Back to my original question. How free are you as a business owner or startup founder??

?? How well can you lead a team or co-founder and are you not afraid to ask for help from your entrepreneurial peers?

Once we get out of our own way and learn to let go of our business and our pride, we let other people in.?

?? We can’t and should not do this journey alone and most definitely not without the freedom to be inspired from travel and other entrepreneurial communities around the world.

I hope you’ll join me and this ever-growing community of business owners that optimize for freedom, relationships, and cash flow.?

?? On a personal note, I just renewed my Mexican Passport and finished a lengthy process to obtain Spanish Citizenship through a very unique and temporary reparation program. My long standing Canadian passport now has two other passports to keep it company and this all opens up the playing field to work remotely and invest in real estate around the world.?

???This podcast is starting to come offline as our cash flow and life flow accelerator creates more intentional gatherings with entrepreneurs who align with our guests and mission to flow more. I hope you’ll consider joining us and in the meantime, stay mindful about how some of the guests we spoke about today are designing their lives for freedom in their businesses through enriching their relationships and expanding geographical horizons.

Experience the Season 2 Recap via Episode 20 on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and Google Podcasts .

Find the links to resources mentioned on our website: https://grindlessflowmore.com/

Thank you and flow well.?