Have you ever felt like you're leaving money on the table in in your business? We hear so much these days about niching down and pursuing our ideal client avatar, which is wonderful and all, but what if you could find a way to serve an extended audience in a way that met them where they were but didn't add too much to your plate? Sarah Campbell of Intrigue Designs did just that.
When she started Intrigue Designs, her focus was on the high end wedding market. The weddings she designed were overflowing with thousands upon thousands of blooms. Her designs pushed the limits of what floral design could be. But what about those clients who didn't have the budget to spend tens of thousands of dollars on their wedding florals? How could she serve them? And that's where <a href="https://popsofplum.com/">Pops of Plumb</a> came in!
What is Pops of Plumb? Pops of Plumb is an exclusively online way to shop for wedding flowers. Sarah recreated her most popular wedding designs and condensed them into collections. These packages were designed to be a la carte where brides and grooms can curate their own custom wedding packages. No fuss, no stress...brilliant! I'm seriously considering adding a model like this to my own business!
Sarah started a Facebook group for floral designers, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/intrigueteaches/">Intrigue Teaches</a> (back before Facebook groups were cool!) and it has been amazing opportunity for designers to connect, share and elevate each other. She also created a <a href="https://www.intrigueteaches.com/products/covid-19-florists-recovery-program?fbclid=IwAR2KeiSWWilGK4ETMZx0xmKDYu40d7O9cFRSWhleOQL0aaJSA_Lo05SEXF8">Covid19 Recovery Guide</a>, specifically for floral designers, to help guide them through this time of uncertainty.
Karen: If you could go back to the very start of your entrepreneurial journey and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
Sarah: You are as beautiful as you are projecting yourself to be. Put yourself and your personality front and center on your social, website, marketing all of it and the market will respond in a major way.
Check out all of the places to follow Sarah and her team at Intrigue Designs:
<a href="http://intrigue-designs.com/">Intrigue Designs</a>
<a href="https://www.intrigueteaches.com/">Intrigue Teaches</a>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/intrigue_designs/">Intrigue on Instagram</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;Have you ever felt like you're leaving money on the table in in your business? We hear so much these days about niching down and pursuing our ideal client avatar, which is wonderful and all, but what if you could find a way to serve an extended audience in a way that met them where they were but didn't add too much to your plate? Sarah Campbell of Intrigue Designs did just that.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When she started Intrigue Designs, her focus was on the high end wedding market. The weddings she designed were overflowing with thousands upon thousands of blooms. Her designs pushed the limits of what floral design could be. But what about those clients who didn't have the budget to spend tens of thousands of dollars on their wedding florals? How could she serve them? And that's where &lt;a href="https://popsofplum.com/"&gt;Pops of Plumb&lt;/a&gt; came in!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What is Pops of Plumb? Pops of Plumb is an exclusively online way to shop for wedding flowers. Sarah recreated her most popular wedding designs and condensed them into collections. These packages were designed to be a la carte where brides and grooms can curate their own custom wedding packages. No fuss, no stress...brilliant! I'm seriously considering adding a model like this to my own business!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sarah started a Facebook group for floral designers, &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/intrigueteaches/"&gt;Intrigue Teaches&lt;/a&gt; (back before Facebook groups were cool!) and it has been amazing opportunity for designers to connect, share and elevate each other. She also created a &lt;a href="https://www.intrigueteaches.com/products/covid-19-florists-recovery-program?fbclid=IwAR2KeiSWWilGK4ETMZx0xmKDYu40d7O9cFRSWhleOQL0aaJSA_Lo05SEXF8"&gt;Covid19 Recovery Guide&lt;/a&gt;, specifically for floral designers, to help guide them through this time of uncertainty.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Karen: If you could go back to the very start of your entrepreneurial journey and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sarah: You are as beautiful as you are projecting yourself to be. Put yourself and your personality front and center on your social, website, marketing all of it and the market will respond in a major way.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Check out all of the places to follow Sarah and her team at Intrigue Designs:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://intrigue-designs.com/"&gt;Intrigue Designs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.intrigueteaches.com/"&gt;Intrigue Teaches&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/intrigue_designs/"&gt;Intrigue on Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Have you ever felt like you're leaving money on the table in in your business? We hear so much these days about niching down and pursuing our ideal client avatar, which is wonderful and all, but what if you could find a way to serve an extended audienc...

Have you ever felt like you're leaving money on the table in in your business? We hear so much these days about niching down and pursuing our ideal client avatar, which is wonderful and all, but what if you could find a way to serve an extended audience in a way that met them where they were but didn't add too much to your plate? Sarah Campbell of Intrigue Designs did just that.
When she started Intrigue Designs, her focus was on the high end wedding market. The weddings she designed were overflowing with thousands upon thousands of blooms. Her designs pushed the limits of what floral design could be. But what about those clients who didn't have the budget to spend tens of thousands of dollars on their wedding florals? How could she serve them? And that's where Pops of Plumb (https://popsofplum.com/) came in!
What is Pops of Plumb? Pops of Plumb is an exclusively online way to shop for wedding flowers. Sarah recreated her most popular wedding designs and condensed them into collections. These packages were designed to be a la carte where brides and grooms can curate their own custom wedding packages. No fuss, no stress...brilliant! I'm seriously considering adding a model like this to my own business!
Sarah started a Facebook group for floral designers, Intrigue Teaches (https://www.facebook.com/groups/intrigueteaches/) (back before Facebook groups were cool!) and it has been amazing opportunity for designers to connect, share and elevate each other. She also created a Covid19 Recovery Guide (https://www.intrigueteaches.com/products/covid-19-florists-recovery-program?fbclid=IwAR2KeiSWWilGK4ETMZx0xmKDYu40d7O9cFRSWhleOQL0aaJSA_Lo05SEXF8), specifically for floral designers, to help guide them through this time of uncertainty.
Karen: If you could go back to the very start of your entrepreneurial journey and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
Sarah: You are as beautiful as you are projecting yourself to be. Put yourself and your personality front and center on your social, website, marketing all of it and the market will respond in a major way.
Check out all of the places to follow Sarah and her team at Intrigue Designs:
Intrigue Designs (http://intrigue-designs.com/)
Intrigue Teaches (https://www.intrigueteaches.com/)
Intrigue on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/intrigue_designs/)

Episode 20: Sarah Campbell and Pivoting

My first official repeat guest, Katrina Sellers fo Jules and Vetiver, joins me in this "semi-live" format where we bust open the myth of the "girl boss community." It's not what you think...we both love the community over competition movement and it has helped both of us tremendously as we've grown and expanded our business. However, we both believe there is more to the story. So let's dive in!

<description>&lt;p&gt;My first official repeat guest, Katrina Sellers fo Jules and Vetiver, joins me in this "semi-live" format where we bust open the myth of the "girl boss community." It's not what you think...we both love the community over competition movement and it has helped both of us tremendously as we've grown and expanded our business. However, we both believe there is more to the story. So let's dive in!&lt;/p&gt;</description>

My first official repeat guest, Katrina Sellers fo Jules and Vetiver, joins me in this "semi-live" format where we bust open the myth of the "girl boss community." It's not what you think...we both love the community over competition movement and it ha...

My first official repeat guest, Katrina Sellers fo Jules and Vetiver, joins me in this "semi-live" format where we bust open the myth of the "girl boss community." It's not what you think...we both love the community over competition movement and it has helped both of us tremendously as we've grown and expanded our business. However, we both believe there is more to the story. So let's dive in!

Episode 19: #Girlboss: Finding Authenticity in a Hashtag Movement

So let me set the scene for you...you've been at this entrepreneurship thing for a while. You're making waves, you're paying your bills, you know...all of the stuff you're supposed to be doing when you run a successful business. At least that's the way it looks from the outside, right?
But what happens when your heart changes? Or you see a need in the market that is different that what you're currently doing, and you KNOW you are the right person to fill that need? Do you stay where you are, doing what you know because it's safe and that's what you're known for in the market? Or do you go out on a limb, take a risk and jump in with both feet?
Today's guest on the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.bizbalancepodcast.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1580850050096000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGMDs6ZnQy-uTzDIEWS2qfql2hhFg" target="_blank" href="http://www.bizbalancepodcast.com/">Biz Balance Podcast</a> did just that...Sarah Hinton of <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bloomtrac.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1580850050096000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHcXP-ZRI-1gu9q-dVDRPRfLw-i8A" target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomtrac.com/">BloomTrac</a> ran a thriving flower business for years in sunny California, but when the realization hit her that other floral designers were working FAR harder than they needed to on the business side of their businesses, she knew she needed to step up.
But it wasn't all daisies and buttercups. No ma'am! She met a lot of resistance as she developed her software and got it out into the marketplace but was so passionate about her new product and knew it could change her industry. Her commitment literally changed how the floral industry operated.

<description>&lt;p&gt;So let me set the scene for you...you've been at this entrepreneurship thing for a while. You're making waves, you're paying your bills, you know...all of the stuff you're supposed to be doing when you run a successful business. At least that's the way it looks from the outside, right?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But what happens when your heart changes? Or you see a need in the market that is different that what you're currently doing, and you KNOW you are the right person to fill that need? Do you stay where you are, doing what you know because it's safe and that's what you're known for in the market? Or do you go out on a limb, take a risk and jump in with both feet?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Today's guest on the &lt;a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.bizbalancepodcast.com&amp;amp;source=gmail&amp;amp;ust=1580850050096000&amp;amp;usg=AFQjCNGMDs6ZnQy-uTzDIEWS2qfql2hhFg" target="_blank" href="http://www.bizbalancepodcast.com/"&gt;Biz Balance Podcast&lt;/a&gt; did just that...Sarah Hinton of &lt;a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bloomtrac.com/&amp;amp;source=gmail&amp;amp;ust=1580850050096000&amp;amp;usg=AFQjCNHcXP-ZRI-1gu9q-dVDRPRfLw-i8A" target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomtrac.com/"&gt;BloomTrac&lt;/a&gt; ran a thriving flower business for years in sunny California, but when the realization hit her that other floral designers were working FAR harder than they needed to on the business side of their businesses, she knew she needed to step up.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But it wasn't all daisies and buttercups. No ma'am! She met a lot of resistance as she developed her software and got it out into the marketplace but was so passionate about her new product and knew it could change her industry. Her commitment literally changed how the floral industry operated.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

So let me set the scene for you...you've been at this entrepreneurship thing for a while. You're making waves, you're paying your bills, you know...all of the stuff you're supposed to be doing when you run a successful business.

So let me set the scene for you...you've been at this entrepreneurship thing for a while. You're making waves, you're paying your bills, you know...all of the stuff you're supposed to be doing when you run a successful business. At least that's the way it looks from the outside, right?
But what happens when your heart changes? Or you see a need in the market that is different that what you're currently doing, and you KNOW you are the right person to fill that need? Do you stay where you are, doing what you know because it's safe and that's what you're known for in the market? Or do you go out on a limb, take a risk and jump in with both feet?
Today's guest on the Biz Balance Podcast (http://www.bizbalancepodcast.com/) did just that...Sarah Hinton of BloomTrac (https://www.bloomtrac.com/) ran a thriving flower business for years in sunny California, but when the realization hit her that other floral designers were working FAR harder than they needed to on the business side of their businesses, she knew she needed to step up.
But it wasn't all daisies and buttercups. No ma'am! She met a lot of resistance as she developed her software and got it out into the marketplace but was so passionate about her new product and knew it could change her industry. Her commitment literally changed how the floral industry operated.

Episode 18: Sarah Hinton and Pivoting in your Business

Well hey there! Welcome to another episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host, Karen Greenoe, and today, we’re going to be diving into one of my favorite entrepreneur hacks...the virtual assistant! More specifically, the six glaring signs to look for to let you know that you are ready to bring a virtual assistant into your business!
 
I had to laugh the other day because I was chatting with a wedding planner friend of mine in my studio and she said “Is Jenna here? I want to meet her! She’s always so on top of things but I’ve never met her!” She had absolutely no idea that Jenna was my virtual assistant. Jenna does such a good job acting as an extension of my brand that this planner didn’t even have reason to believe she didn’t have a physical desk in our building! But that perfected system didn’t happen overnight...it took five years of work, trial and error and back and forth to get to this point. But now that the system is perfected, even a vendor I work with quite frequently could not distinguish her from my in person, full time staff because of how well she represents my brand.
 
Now, before we go any further, I want to let you know that this episode is brought to you by my totally free Master Class, “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Just head over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass to snag your spot. If you’ve listened to any of the past episodes of this podcast, you will know that hiring my first virtual assistant changed my work and personal lives in ways I cannot even imagine. It gave me the time to take a step back and work ON instead of IN my business. Buuut I didn’t do it perfectly from the get go! It’s been a process of perfecting over the past five years and I am going to share my insider tips with you! So if you are ready to hop off of the hamster wheel of your business and get back to what you love doing, you won’t want to miss it! Head on over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass and sign up today!
 
Sign #1: You want to clone yourself.
Do you ever feel like you’d be much better off if there were more than one of you? I know I do...especially in the kitchen! I still don’t understand how it’s possible to saute the veggies while simultaneously patting your chicken dry all while making sure you don’t burn your rice. And I don’t know about you, but while I am trying to do all that, it mysteriously ends up taking twice as long! What the heck? Well, the same applies in your business. When you have so much going on in your business that you are trying to juggle at one time, everything takes longer, you get frustrated and you might even burn your rice. Not worth it. Between task switching, emails pinging and your phone ringing, you can’t manage to stay on top of it all.
 
Sign #2: Your business is holding you hostage.
Ok, so I have to kind of chuckle at this one because I have always thought of my business as my first born child and it makes me laugh thinking of one of my kiddos constantly vying for my attention while jumping up and down while also chanting “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” But as entrepreneurs, that’s what our business does sometimes. With the constant ping of our phones and inboxes and whatever social media app that you can’t figure out how to turn the alerts off on, it's a shock we ever get away. The hostage situation is real, y’all! 
 
Sign #3: You spend more time working IN instead of ON your business.
I know you feel me on this one! All of those little admin tasks that add up to an entire day of work while you bounce back and forth between tasks and then suddenly, you look at your phone and realize it’s already 5 o’clock! Where the heck did your day just go? And I’m willing to be that all of those little tasks were NOT the reason you started your business to begin with! All of this adds up to a whole lot of not being able to grow because you simply cannot find the time! So many little things keep popping up needing your attention and you don’t have one second to step back and look at the big picture!
 
Sign #4: You always feel behind. 
You know the feeling. You wake up in the morning and before you take that first, sweet sip of coffee, you check your inbox. Yep, still full. All of a sudden, before your feet have even hit the floor, you feel behind. So much of what you do is reactive instead of proactive. No matter how many hours you seem to work, your to-do list keeps getting longer and your inbox keeps getting fuller. Yuck.
 
Sign #5: You know you need help but you aren’t ready to hire a full time employee.
Here’s the thing. We are all given exactly 24 hours in a day so that kinda puts a cap on what we can do in any one day as a solopreneur. And let’s face it, you aren’t meant to spend every single waking hour working on your business. That is a sure fire way to burn out and, when you do come up for air, you will realize how much of your life you’ve actually missed out on. Bottom line, if you want to grow your business or even if you are happy with your current business size and simply want to reclaim your time outside of work, you need help, and you know that. But, hiring a full time employee is scary and it can be expensive, especially if you run a business that ebbs and flows with the seasons, like mine. 
 
Sign #6: Your friends and family miss you.
This one is the most important. You find yourself all consumed with your business and you can’t seem to come up for air. You aren’t fully present at the dinner table with your husband or while you are reading bedtime stories to your kiddos. You know that full inbox is calling your name and you’re going to have to spend a few hours after tucking your little ones in catching up so you aren’t behind any more tomorrow. And I’m pretty sure your partner would love to catch up on your favorite TV show while snuggling with you on the couch instead of glancing over at you from a distance with the glow of the laptop screen illuminating your face. 
 
Ok, this one is the kicker for me. Lucky for me, my husband straight up called me out on it and told me he wanted me back. It came to a head and I knew I had to change how I work if I wanted to enjoy our time as a family. But I get you, change is big and scary, but it can be good. Allow yourself the freedom to change this year. 2020 is your year.
 
Before we go, let’s reveiw those six signs one more time:
Sign #1: You want to clone yourself.
Sign #2: Your business is holding you hostage.
Sign #3: You spend more time working IN instead of ON your business.
Sign #4: You always feel behind.
Sign #5: You know you need help but you aren’t ready to hire a full time employee.
 
And finally…
Sign #6: Your family misses you!
 
You owe it to yourself, your business and your family to ask for help. I know you started your business with your own blood, sweat, and tears, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Share the load and enjoy the ride. And of course, don’t forget to sign up for my free master class “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Head on over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass and reserve your seat before they’re all gone!
 
Until next time, keep your head up and your shoulders back...you’ve got this!

<description>&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Well hey there! Welcome to another episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host, Karen Greenoe, and today, we’re going to be diving into one of my favorite entrepreneur hacks...the virtual assistant! More specifically, the six glaring signs to look for to let you know that you are ready to bring a virtual assistant into your business!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b id="docs-internal-guid-e11d9745-7fff-5241-f422-824e6fe231f5"&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;I had to laugh the other day because I was chatting with a wedding planner friend of mine in my studio and she said “Is Jenna here? I want to meet her! She’s always so on top of things but I’ve never met her!” She had absolutely no idea that Jenna was my virtual assistant. Jenna does such a good job acting as an extension of my brand that this planner didn’t even have reason to believe she didn’t have a physical desk in our building! But that perfected system didn’t happen overnight...it took five years of work, trial and error and back and forth to get to this point. But now that the system is perfected, even a vendor I work with quite frequently could not distinguish her from my in person, full time staff because of how well she represents my brand.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Now, before we go any further, I want to let you know that this episode is brought to you by my totally free Master Class, “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Just head over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass to snag your spot. If you’ve listened to any of the past episodes of this podcast, you will know that hiring my first virtual assistant changed my work and personal lives in ways I cannot even imagine. It gave me the time to take a step back and work ON instead of IN my business. Buuut I didn’t do it perfectly from the get go! It’s been a process of perfecting over the past five years and I am going to share my insider tips with you! So if you are ready to hop off of the hamster wheel of your business and get back to what you love doing, you won’t want to miss it! Head on over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass and sign up today!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #1: You want to clone yourself.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Do you ever feel like you’d be much better off if there were more than one of you? I know I do...especially in the kitchen! I still don’t understand how it’s possible to saute the veggies while simultaneously patting your chicken dry all while making sure you don’t burn your rice. And I don’t know about you, but while I am trying to do all that, it mysteriously ends up taking twice as long! What the heck? Well, the same applies in your business. When you have so much going on in your business that you are trying to juggle at one time, everything takes longer, you get frustrated and you might even burn your rice. Not worth it. Between task switching, emails pinging and your phone ringing, you can’t manage to stay on top of it all.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #2: Your business is holding you hostage.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Ok, so I have to kind of chuckle at this one because I have always thought of my business as my first born child and it makes me laugh thinking of one of my kiddos constantly vying for my attention while jumping up and down while also chanting “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” But as entrepreneurs, that’s what our business does sometimes. With the constant ping of our phones and inboxes and whatever social media app that you can’t figure out how to turn the alerts off on, it's a shock we ever get away. The hostage situation is real, y’all! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #3: You spend more time working IN instead of ON your business.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;I know you feel me on this one! All of those little admin tasks that add up to an entire day of work while you bounce back and forth between tasks and then suddenly, you look at your phone and realize it’s already 5 o’clock! Where the heck did your day just go? And I’m willing to be that all of those little tasks were NOT the reason you started your business to begin with! All of this adds up to a whole lot of not being able to grow because you simply cannot find the time! So many little things keep popping up needing your attention and you don’t have one second to step back and look at the big picture!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #4: You always feel behind. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;You know the feeling. You wake up in the morning and before you take that first, sweet sip of coffee, you check your inbox. Yep, still full. All of a sudden, before your feet have even hit the floor, you feel behind. So much of what you do is reactive instead of proactive. No matter how many hours you seem to work, your to-do list keeps getting longer and your inbox keeps getting fuller. Yuck.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #5: You know you need help but you aren’t ready to hire a full time employee.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Here’s the thing. We are all given exactly 24 hours in a day so that kinda puts a cap on what we can do in any one day as a solopreneur. And let’s face it, you aren’t meant to spend every single waking hour working on your business. That is a sure fire way to burn out and, when you do come up for air, you will realize how much of your life you’ve actually missed out on. Bottom line, if you want to grow your business or even if you are happy with your current business size and simply want to reclaim your time outside of work, you need help, and you know that. But, hiring a full time employee is scary and it can be expensive, especially if you run a business that ebbs and flows with the seasons, like mine. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #6: Your friends and family miss you.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;This one is the most important. You find yourself all consumed with your business and you can’t seem to come up for air. You aren’t fully present at the dinner table with your husband or while you are reading bedtime stories to your kiddos. You know that full inbox is calling your name and you’re going to have to spend a few hours after tucking your little ones in catching up so you aren’t behind any more tomorrow. And I’m pretty sure your partner would love to catch up on your favorite TV show while snuggling with you on the couch instead of glancing over at you from a distance with the glow of the laptop screen illuminating your face. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Ok, this one is the kicker for me. Lucky for me, my husband straight up called me out on it and told me he wanted me back. It came to a head and I knew I had to change how I work if I wanted to enjoy our time as a family. But I get you, change is big and scary, but it can be good. Allow yourself the freedom to change this year. 2020 is your year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Before we go, let’s reveiw those six signs one more time:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #1: You want to clone yourself.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #2: Your business is holding you hostage.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #3: You spend more time working IN instead of ON your business.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #4: You always feel behind.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #5: You know you need help but you aren’t ready to hire a full time employee.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;And finally…&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Sign #6: Your family misses you!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;You owe it to yourself, your business and your family to ask for help. I know you started your business with your own blood, sweat, and tears, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Share the load and enjoy the ride. And of course, don’t forget to sign up for my free master class “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Head on over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass and reserve your seat before they’re all gone!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Until next time, keep your head up and your shoulders back...you’ve got this!&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Well hey there! Welcome to another episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host, Karen Greenoe, and today, we’re going to be diving into one of my favorite entrepreneur hacks...the virtual assistant! More specifically,

Well hey there! Welcome to another episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host, Karen Greenoe, and today, we’re going to be diving into one of my favorite entrepreneur hacks...the virtual assistant! More specifically, the six glaring signs to look for to let you know that you are ready to bring a virtual assistant into your business!

I had to laugh the other day because I was chatting with a wedding planner friend of mine in my studio and she said “Is Jenna here? I want to meet her! She’s always so on top of things but I’ve never met her!” She had absolutely no idea that Jenna was my virtual assistant. Jenna does such a good job acting as an extension of my brand that this planner didn’t even have reason to believe she didn’t have a physical desk in our building! But that perfected system didn’t happen overnight...it took five years of work, trial and error and back and forth to get to this point. But now that the system is perfected, even a vendor I work with quite frequently could not distinguish her from my in person, full time staff because of how well she represents my brand.

Now, before we go any further, I want to let you know that this episode is brought to you by my totally free Master Class, “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Just head over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass to snag your spot. If you’ve listened to any of the past episodes of this podcast, you will know that hiring my first virtual assistant changed my work and personal lives in ways I cannot even imagine. It gave me the time to take a step back and work ON instead of IN my business. Buuut I didn’t do it perfectly from the get go! It’s been a process of perfecting over the past five years and I am going to share my insider tips with you! So if you are ready to hop off of the hamster wheel of your business and get back to what you love doing, you won’t want to miss it! Head on over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass and sign up today!

Sign #1: You want to clone yourself.
Do you ever feel like you’d be much better off if there were more than one of you? I know I do...especially in the kitchen! I still don’t understand how it’s possible to saute the veggies while simultaneously patting your chicken dry all while making sure you don’t burn your rice. And I don’t know about you, but while I am trying to do all that, it mysteriously ends up taking twice as long! What the heck? Well, the same applies in your business. When you have so much going on in your business that you are trying to juggle at one time, everything takes longer, you get frustrated and you might even burn your rice. Not worth it. Between task switching, emails pinging and your phone ringing, you can’t manage to stay on top of it all.

Sign #2: Your business is holding you hostage.
Ok, so I have to kind of chuckle at this one because I have always thought of my business as my first born child and it makes me laugh thinking of one of my kiddos constantly vying for my attention while jumping up and down while also chanting “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” But as entrepreneurs, that’s what our business does sometimes. With the constant ping of our phones and inboxes and whatever social media app that you can’t figure out how to turn the alerts off on, it's a shock we ever get away. The hostage situation is real, y’all! 

Sign #3: You spend more time working IN instead of ON your business.
I know you feel me on this one!

Episode 17: How you know you're ready to hire a virtual assistant

Well hey there! Welcome to this episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host Karen Greenoe and today I’ll be sharing a surprising little fact about my business. And that is that I have turned down every single request for one on one coaching in the past six months. But it's not for the reason that you think. It’s not fear of not knowing the answers. It’s not overwhelm from my already long to-do list. It’s not that I don’t know how to get started. It is simply this. The desire to impact more lives. And in this episode, I am going to tell you exactly how I came to my decision. 
 
But before we go any further, I want to let you know that this episode is brought to you by my totally free Master Class, “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Just head over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass to snag your spot. If you’ve listened to any of the past episodes of this podcast, you will know that hiring my first virtual assistant changed my work and personal lives in ways I cannot even imagine. It gave me the time to take a step back and work ON instead of IN my business. Buuut I didn’t do it perfectly from the get go! It’s been a process of perfecting over the past five years and I am going to share my insider tips with you! So if you are ready to hop off of the hamster wheel of your business and get back to what you love doing, you won’t want to miss it! Head on over to karengreenoe.com/webinar and sign up today!
 
Now, onto the coffee date that changed everything!
 
About a year ago I sat down with my friend Stephanie Neuman, who is a brilliant marketer and girl boss, to pick her brain about business coaching. She has years of experience in the sales coaching arena so I knew she’d be the one to ask. I’d just gotten the bug to start helping other female entrepreneurs, specifically those in the wedding industry because I was veeeery familiar with the struggles we all went through, but I had no idea where to start. Up until that point, I’d had one lunch meeting with an industry friend of mine where we talked through some of her biggest challenges she faced in growing her business, but that was the extent of my coaching experience. Even though I’d only had that one experience, I felt like I was being called to do something big. I felt like I’d done something right in my business and I could share that with other women who were struggling with the same exact things in their business that I had only a few years before.
 
Stephanie, bless her, listened to me pour my heart out. I was filled with passion and I know she could tell. She nodded silently. When I was done, she said something I did not expect.
 
She said “Karen, if you offer one on one coaching from the get go, you run the risk of burning yourself out faster than you can make an impact.”
 
Woah. I don’t know what I was expecting her to say, but it wasn’t that. But that is the beautiful thing about asking a friend for advice. A good friend will tell it to you straight and they won’t sugar coat it. We should all be so lucky to have friends that aren’t afraid to be honest with us even if they know it’s not what we wanted to hear. And you know what? It was exactly what I needed to hear, even if I wasn’t ready to hear it.
 
I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t leave that coffee date feeling a little bit deflated. I had this whole picture in my head of how this new offshoot of my business would look and I felt like it was crashing down around me. But, like so many things in life, it turned out to be quite the blessing in disguise. 
 
After that meeting, I made a bold decision. I decided to not even create a fee schedule for one-on-one coaching. I know first hand how enticing a paycheck can be when you are first starting a new project. Trust me, in my first company, Lily Greenthumb’s floral design, I took anyone and everyone who walked through my door who was willing to pay for flowers, even if they were not my ideal client. I didn’t want that to tempt me when I knew that accepting one-one-one coaching could eventually lead to burn out. It wasn’t worth risking the FOMO. So I pushed that possibility out of my mind completely.
 
I started to look at different ways that I could impact more than one person at a time. Group coaching? Maybe. But how do I find like minded women who all are interested in learning the same thing at the same time? Full immersion events? Possibly, but coming from an events background, I know how expensive and logistically challenging planning an experience like that can be. Big shot out to Rachel Holis and the Rise Businesses Conference! Girl, I cannot even imagine how much work that is for you and your team to coordinate!
 
And that’s when it hit me like a bolt of lighting. 
 
A PODCAST.
 
I knew from talking to so many women in the wedding industry that we all struggled with the same things. Time management, building a team, managing clients, getting stuck in the busy work. We all have the same challenges. And if I were to put together well thought out content that I could share on a public platform, I could impact more women that I ever could in a lifetime of working if I were to sit down with each one of you one on one.
 
I’m not going to tell you that it was all sunshine and roses. Even thought I was excited about the potential the podcast held, I was also terrified. I don’t know if I’ve shared this yet with you, but I actually changed my major in college from business to sociology for one reason. I was paralyzed with fear by one graduation requirement...public speaking. And, although I’m in my sounds studio, also known as my walk in closet, instead of on a stage, there was a decent amount of starts and stops in those first few episodes. Thank goodness my dear husband George, who is my master of editing, is so patient with me! But all of that was worth it to have the opportunity to impact you and your business.
 
On top of this podcast, I have another project in the works that will impact even more entrepreneurial women, but you’ll have to wait to hear about it!
 
So there’s my reason. I do not want to risk burnout before I can impact you and your business. I know that my time is limited between being a wife, raising two little girls and running multiple businesses, but I don’t want that to affect how I can help you and your business. 
 
Don’t get me wrong, I may offer individual coaching some day, but not in this season. And I’m ok with that! Big things are happening for me and I know they are happening for you too. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to hop into your earbuds and encourage you today. We’ll catch up next time!
 
Oh, and before I go, don’t forget to go over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass and snag your seat for my free master class. You won’t want to miss it!

<description>&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Well hey there! Welcome to this episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host Karen Greenoe and today I’ll be sharing a surprising little fact about my business. And that is that I have turned down every single request for one on one coaching in the past six months. But it's not for the reason that you think. It’s not fear of not knowing the answers. It’s not overwhelm from my already long to-do list. It’s not that I don’t know how to get started. It is simply this. The desire to impact more lives. And in this episode, I am going to tell you exactly how I came to my decision. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b id="docs-internal-guid-f788d042-7fff-569c-bdb1-a5b3c03f0d8a"&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;But before we go any further, I want to let you know that this episode is brought to you by my totally free Master Class, “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Just head over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass to snag your spot. If you’ve listened to any of the past episodes of this podcast, you will know that hiring my first virtual assistant changed my work and personal lives in ways I cannot even imagine. It gave me the time to take a step back and work ON instead of IN my business. Buuut I didn’t do it perfectly from the get go! It’s been a process of perfecting over the past five years and I am going to share my insider tips with you! So if you are ready to hop off of the hamster wheel of your business and get back to what you love doing, you won’t want to miss it! Head on over to karengreenoe.com/webinar and sign up today!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Now, onto the coffee date that changed everything!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;About a year ago I sat down with my friend Stephanie Neuman, who is a brilliant marketer and girl boss, to pick her brain about business coaching. She has years of experience in the sales coaching arena so I knew she’d be the one to ask. I’d just gotten the bug to start helping other female entrepreneurs, specifically those in the wedding industry because I was veeeery familiar with the struggles we all went through, but I had no idea where to start. Up until that point, I’d had one lunch meeting with an industry friend of mine where we talked through some of her biggest challenges she faced in growing her business, but that was the extent of my coaching experience. Even though I’d only had that one experience, I felt like I was being called to do something big. I felt like I’d done something right in my business and I could share that with other women who were struggling with the same exact things in their business that I had only a few years before.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Stephanie, bless her, listened to me pour my heart out. I was filled with passion and I know she could tell. She nodded silently. When I was done, she said something I did not expect.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;She said “Karen, if you offer one on one coaching from the get go, you run the risk of burning yourself out faster than you can make an impact.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Woah. I don’t know what I was expecting her to say, but it wasn’t that. But that is the beautiful thing about asking a friend for advice. A good friend will tell it to you straight and they won’t sugar coat it. We should all be so lucky to have friends that aren’t afraid to be honest with us even if they know it’s not what we wanted to hear. And you know what? It was exactly what I needed to hear, even if I wasn’t ready to hear it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t leave that coffee date feeling a little bit deflated. I had this whole picture in my head of how this new offshoot of my business would look and I felt like it was crashing down around me. But, like so many things in life, it turned out to be quite the blessing in disguise. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;After that meeting, I made a bold decision. I decided to not even create a fee schedule for one-on-one coaching. I know first hand how enticing a paycheck can be when you are first starting a new project. Trust me, in my first company, Lily Greenthumb’s floral design, I took anyone and everyone who walked through my door who was willing to pay for flowers, even if they were not my ideal client. I didn’t want that to tempt me when I knew that accepting one-one-one coaching could eventually lead to burn out. It wasn’t worth risking the FOMO. So I pushed that possibility out of my mind completely.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;I started to look at different ways that I could impact more than one person at a time. Group coaching? Maybe. But how do I find like minded women who all are interested in learning the same thing at the same time? Full immersion events? Possibly, but coming from an events background, I know how expensive and logistically challenging planning an experience like that can be. Big shot out to Rachel Holis and the Rise Businesses Conference! Girl, I cannot even imagine how much work that is for you and your team to coordinate!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;And that’s when it hit me like a bolt of lighting. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;A PODCAST.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;I knew from talking to so many women in the wedding industry that we all struggled with the same things. Time management, building a team, managing clients, getting stuck in the busy work. We all have the same challenges. And if I were to put together well thought out content that I could share on a public platform, I could impact more women that I ever could in a lifetime of working if I were to sit down with each one of you one on one.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;I’m not going to tell you that it was all sunshine and roses. Even thought I was excited about the potential the podcast held, I was also terrified. I don’t know if I’ve shared this yet with you, but I actually changed my major in college from business to sociology for one reason. I was paralyzed with fear by one graduation requirement...public speaking. And, although I’m in my sounds studio, also known as my walk in closet, instead of on a stage, there was a decent amount of starts and stops in those first few episodes. Thank goodness my dear husband George, who is my master of editing, is so patient with me! But all of that was worth it to have the opportunity to impact you and your business.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;On top of this podcast, I have another project in the works that will impact even more entrepreneurial women, but you’ll have to wait to hear about it!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;So there’s my reason. I do not want to risk burnout before I can impact you and your business. I know that my time is limited between being a wife, raising two little girls and running multiple businesses, but I don’t want that to affect how I can help you and your business. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Don’t get me wrong, I may offer individual coaching some day, but not in this season. And I’m ok with that! Big things are happening for me and I know they are happening for you too. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to hop into your earbuds and encourage you today. We’ll catch up next time!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Oh, and before I go, don’t forget to go over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass and snag your seat for my free master class. You won’t want to miss it!&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Well hey there! Welcome to this episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host Karen Greenoe and today I’ll be sharing a surprising little fact about my business. And that is that I have turned down every single request for one on one coaching in th...

Well hey there! Welcome to this episode of the Biz Balance Podcast! I’m your host Karen Greenoe and today I’ll be sharing a surprising little fact about my business. And that is that I have turned down every single request for one on one coaching in the past six months. But it's not for the reason that you think. It’s not fear of not knowing the answers. It’s not overwhelm from my already long to-do list. It’s not that I don’t know how to get started. It is simply this. The desire to impact more lives. And in this episode, I am going to tell you exactly how I came to my decision. 

But before we go any further, I want to let you know that this episode is brought to you by my totally free Master Class, “The 3 mistakes I made when I hired my first virtual assistant...and how you can avoid them.” Just head over to karengreenoe.com/masterclass to snag your spot. If you’ve listened to any of the past episodes of this podcast, you will know that hiring my first virtual assistant changed my work and personal lives in ways I cannot even imagine. It gave me the time to take a step back and work ON instead of IN my business. Buuut I didn’t do it perfectly from the get go! It’s been a process of perfecting over the past five years and I am going to share my insider tips with you! So if you are ready to hop off of the hamster wheel of your business and get back to what you love doing, you won’t want to miss it! Head on over to karengreenoe.com/webinar and sign up today!

Now, onto the coffee date that changed everything!

About a year ago I sat down with my friend Stephanie Neuman, who is a brilliant marketer and girl boss, to pick her brain about business coaching. She has years of experience in the sales coaching arena so I knew she’d be the one to ask. I’d just gotten the bug to start helping other female entrepreneurs, specifically those in the wedding industry because I was veeeery familiar with the struggles we all went through, but I had no idea where to start. Up until that point, I’d had one lunch meeting with an industry friend of mine where we talked through some of her biggest challenges she faced in growing her business, but that was the extent of my coaching experience. Even though I’d only had that one experience, I felt like I was being called to do something big. I felt like I’d done something right in my business and I could share that with other women who were struggling with the same exact things in their business that I had only a few years before.

Stephanie, bless her, listened to me pour my heart out. I was filled with passion and I know she could tell. She nodded silently. When I was done, she said something I did not expect.

She said “Karen, if you offer one on one coaching from the get go, you run the risk of burning yourself out faster than you can make an impact.”

Woah. I don’t know what I was expecting her to say, but it wasn’t that. But that is the beautiful thing about asking a friend for advice. A good friend will tell it to you straight and they won’t sugar coat it. We should all be so lucky to have friends that aren’t afraid to be honest with us even if they know it’s not what we wanted to hear. And you know what? It was exactly what I needed to hear, even if I wasn’t ready to hear it.

I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t leave that coffee date feeling a little bit deflated. I had this whole picture in my head of how this new offshoot of my business would look and I felt like it was crashing down around me.

Episode 16: Why I Turned Down One on One Coaching

Welcome to the Biz Balance Podcast, where marriage, motherhood, and entrepreneurship collide! Here, lifelong entrepreneur Karen Greenoe will help you along your journey in the pursuit of work life balance. You’ll be immersed in conversations with those who have gone before us, and learn how to work more efficiently and effectively so you can be free to focus on what truly matters in your life. So let’s put our heads and our hearts together as we pursue progress, not perfection! 

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