In this episode of De-Stress Your Business, host Alexis Kingsbury is joined by Dawn Marriott, a business turnaround expert and partner at HG Capital.    Dawn shares her strategies for optimizing leadership time, delegating tasks, and making tough decisions. She discusses her role as CEO of Azets, highlighting the challenges she faced with rapid growth, integration of multiple acquisitions, and the need for detailed planning and accountability.    Dawn emphasizes the importance of building a strong team, managing time effectively, and making swift decisions to remove blockers. She also gives practical advice on achieving consistency in processes and the balance between centralized and localized decision-making.    The episode concludes with a quick-fire round where Dawn shares her personal insights and recommendations for business leaders.   Tune in to learn how to take action and see the positive impact!    ---   Links and Resources:  

• Dawn on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-marriott-6853701/
• Book recommendation: The Ultra Processed People (Chris Van Tulleken) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultra-Processed-People-Stuff-That-Isnt/dp/1529900050

How often do you find yourself overwhelmed because there’s no clear process in place?   Without well-documented processes, mistakes pile up, stress levels rise , and delegation feels impossible. But why do so many businesses miss the mark on this?   In this episode, Alexis uncovers the exact moment leaders should seize to document processes effectively and how that can transform your business.   --- Resources   Website: www.airmanual.co

In this special episode of 'Destress Your Business,' Alexis Kingsbury, founder of AirManual, announces a hiatus of the podcast and shares insights on whether to use video or text for documenting business processes. 

He reflects on previous episodes with Marianne Page, Adi Clevitt, Adrienne Dorison, Mike Michalowicz, and Erin Mathie, and discusses the pros and cons of video versus text documentation. 

Alexis emphasizes the importance of, if starting with video, transitioning to detailed text for accuracy and continuous improvement. Using his extensive experience, he guides listeners on the best practices for efficient process documentation.

--- - Want to see how we use AI to quickly document processes (instead of using video then turning this into a checklist)?  Check out this video: https://youtu.be/nmH9tixe_PU

Have you ever hired someone, and then discovered that their skill level is way below what you imagined?   This happens… a lot.   The culprit is not effectively reviewing their capability do to the job.   To do this effectively, you’ll need to:   Get really clear the key skills and experience they need to bring to the team   Set the objective of only hiring someone when you are confident that they have these skills   Work out what activities are needed to make you feel confident   For a sales team member, this might mean writing emails, and having mocked sales calls.   For an engineer, this might mean collaboratively working on real coding challenges, and a mini project where they take a new feature from start to finish.   We dig deeper into the stress and pain caused by making the wrong hire — and how to avoid this — on today’s episode of De-stress our Business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

When it comes to interviewing job candidates, we’re looking to answer 2 questions:   Does this candidate have the right skills for the job? Are they good fit for our culture?   But… how you interview someone for culture fit?   The answer is to use your core values.   If you have core values that everyone in your company firmly believes in, then you can create questions that help you to assess if a candidate shares these values.   If they do, then great! If not, then move on.   In this episode of De-stress Your Business, we take a look at how this works in practice, with some real examples.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

How do you go about defining core values?   Here’s a simple 4 step process:   List out the people in your organization that really shine. Don’t forget leaders!   List out the characteristics that they exhibit that really shine through. The ones that make a real difference to your customers. The ones that make it a place you’re proud to work in.   Take your long list, and iterate until you have 4–7 values that you really believe in. Try to choose the ones that will make a big impact to the way people behave.   Once you’re happy with your list, add descriptions and examples to illustrate what each behavior means in practice.   Once you have your core values, you should present them to the team and embed them into your organization:   Make them a key part of your recruitment process Include them in performance reviews Refer to them when making decisions Publicly praise team members who exhibit them Privately share feedback when team members conflict with them   We go deeper on this process in today’s episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

When used correctly, company core values are an absolute game changer.   Some great examples:   Amazon: Customer obsession; Hire the best; … Meta: Move fast; Focus on long-term impact; … Our own: Focus on impact; Enjoy the journey; …   By making “Customer obsession” a core value for Amazon, Jeff Bezos didn’t need to be in every meeting. His leaders and teams would understand to always prioritize the customer experience over other concerns.   When Facebook changed their core values from “Move fast and break things” to “Move fast” and “Focus on long-term impact”, everyone was clear on how they should act.   When used well, these values will help everyone to make better decisions, from deciding who to hire to deciding where to have your annual off-site.   And in doing so, they remove a lot of stress and conflict.   In today’s episode of De-stress Your Business, we dive deeper into why core values are such a game changer.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Before we interview a job applicant, we want to test 2 things:   Are they a good fit for our organization? Do they have the key skills we need in this role?   Looking at CVs is a terrible way of finding this out.    CVs and resumes:   Don’t give us the information we need Don’t allow us fairly compare candidates Take too long to review!   So we start the process by asking our candidates simple questions.   We start by seeing if they’re likely to be a good fit for our organization.   And if they are… we then look at whether they have the key skills we need.   The way we do this leads to a great experience for both our team and the people applying for jobs.   In today’s episode of De-stress Your Business, we dive deep into the second step: Using simple questions to review skills-fit.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

At AirManual, we often receive over 1000 applications for one job opening.   So we need an efficient way to filter this list down and make a great hire!   The first step is important. We don’t start with CVs.   Instead we ask 3 simple questions that start to show if this candidate’s right for us:

1. What’s your proudest achievement, and why?
2. What’s your favorite non-fiction book, and why?
3. Which of our features do you like the most, and why?

  In 30 seconds, we can review:

• Can this candidate write well?
• Have they made any effort to understand what we’re about?
• Do they align with some of our company values?

  We filter out 75% of candidates this way, and it’s easy to outsource this to a VA.   We share this part of the process — and the pains it solves — in today’s episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

AirManual, we get over 1000 applicants for each job.   It’s not because we’re a household name (we’re not — yet!)   And it’s not because we pay twice the going rate (we don’t!)   It is because:   We get clear on one specific role we’re hiring for We hire remotely (and avoid any location constraints) We identify the things that make us special We provide a compensation package that’s generous for people who prioritize work/life balance over money We create an ad which _really_ sells this message   Even if you’re not hiring remotely, you can greatly increase the number of applicants for your job openings.   In this episode, we dig into how, and why.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

When it comes to recruitment, we love to throw around the term “A-player”.   We want to hire A-players! We need more A-players! We only hire A-players!   But… what exactly is an A-player. And can your business really afford one?   Put simply, an A-player is someone who outperforms most other people in a similar position and level.   When you have A-players, you’ get incredible bang for your buck!   Here’s how to hire one:   1/ Choose a specific role   For example, it’s much easier and cheaper to a find an A-player to be your Social Media Manager than it is to find one to be your Head of Marketing   2/ Document your existing processes so they don’t need to be an expert in everything   3/ Look at the key skills they need to excel in this job   Our Social Media Manager will need to be great at copywriting. But they do not need 5 years of Twitter experience!   4/ Hire for these key skills, and alignment with your company values   5/ Find someone who’s in the top 10–20% given the role and compensation   This is how you fill your team with A-players. If we’re specific enough on the role, it becomes very affordable.   We go deeper on this in today’s episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Within an organization, it’s common for one person to have more than one role.   We sometimes call this wearing more than one hat. And in a really small business, it’s not uncommon for one person to balance 3, 5, or even 10 more hats precariously on their head!     But it’s not just a small business problem.    As you scale up, you’ll always be introducing new teams. New teams will start off with a generalist who wears multiple hats, and over time you’ll hire specialists.   So how do we manage this?   The key is to look a few years into the future. Work out what roles will need to exist.   Then start working as if they already do. If that means that you currently wear 6 and a half hats on your head, then so be it.   Why? It will make your life much easier when it comes to systemizing processes, delegating tasks, and recruiting new employees.   Put simply: It allows you to scale.   We go deeper on this in today’s episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

There are a lot of different people involved when getting ready for a new joiner!   How do we make this easy to manage?   First, work out exactly who needs to be involved and why:   HR will need to support the new joiner before they join, and during company onboarding Finance will need to set up payroll IT will need to set up system access The manager will need to handle role onboarding An assigned buddy can help to support the new joiner in the first weeks   Then think work out who will be responsible for the overall process.   We want to avoid a lot of handovers that could lead to dropped balls. So let HR be responsible until the end of company onboarding, and then handover to the manager.   Finally, create a checklist for each person involved to use. HR’s checklist can include steps to ask Finance and IT to complete theirs, and to check it actually happens.   We cover all this and more in today’s episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Helpful resources:   - Checklist for HR: https://airmanual.link/templates/hr-onboarding-checklist - Checklist for manager: https://airmanual.link/templates/manager-onboarding-checklist - Checklist for Buddy: https://airmanual.link/templates/buddy-checklist - Checklist for Finance to set up payroll: https://airmanual.link/templates/payroll-checklist - Checklist for IT to set up system access: https://airmanual.link/templates/system-access-checklist   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Are you tired of chasing unicorns in your hiring process? It’s time to shift your strategy and discover a more effective way to build your team!   In episode 119 of the De-Stress Your Business podcast, we dive deep into the realities of finding affordable talent and why the hunt for the perfect "mini-me" is setting you up for failure. Join Alexis Kingsbury as he shares practical advice on attracting and retaining amazing team members without breaking the bank.   In this episode, we’ll cover:   Why hunting unicorns is a costly mistake Breaking down roles and skills for better hiring decisions Hiring for culture fit and skill match Providing processes, guidance, and training to ensure success   Tune in to hear real-life examples of what works and what doesn't, and get actionable steps to transform your hiring process. Whether you’re a small business owner or a leader in a growing company, this episode is packed with insights to help you build a dynamic team without the mythical quest.   Listen now to episode 119 of the De-Stress Your Business podcast and start building a team of exceptional talent!   ---   Helpful resources:

• Episode 117: Embedding Your Values and Brand into Your Business
• AirManual: www.airmanual.co

#DeStressYourBusiness #HiringTips #BusinessGrowth #AffordableTalent #TeamBuilding #Podcast

Our top tip for employee onboarding? Put the new joiner in the driving seat!   With self-service onboarding:   New joiners can move at their own pace Teams and managers save hundreds of hours Managers can focus on coaching rather than lecturing New joiners get up to speed quicker, and then make fewer mistakes as they have resources to refer back to   We often see total onboarding time cut by 80% (!), and new joiners getting productive within 1 week.   But how do you go about making a self-service employee onboarding process?   And isn’t there a risk of creating something that’s tedious and dull for the new joiner — the opposite of the engaging and motivating experience we want?   That’s our topic for today’s episode of De-Stress Your Business.   ---   Helpful resources:   - Company onboarding process template: https://airmanual.link/templates/company-onboarding - Role onboarding process template: https://airmanual.link/templates/role-onboarding - Set up employee onboarding checklist: https://www.airmanual.link/set-up-employee-onboarding   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

When should employee onboarding start?   A common mistake is to kick it off when the new joiner walks in the door for the first time.   At this point, we’ve already missed an opportunity   Before day one, we can:   https://emojipedia.org/backhand-index-pointing-right/ Get contracts and policies reviewed https://emojipedia.org/backhand-index-pointing-right/ Explain our vision and values https://emojipedia.org/backhand-index-pointing-right/ Describe how we work together https://emojipedia.org/backhand-index-pointing-right/ Let the joiner know we’ll support their growth https://emojipedia.org/backhand-index-pointing-right/ Give the new joiner clarity on how their first day, week, and month will work   In doing so, we help to de-stress the new joiner, turning some of their anxiety into excitement.   And we make day one a lot more fun, as there’s less information to share, and the new joiner can make more progress towards getting productive.   In this episode of De-stress Your Business, we dive deeper into what you can share before day one, how best to do it, and the impact this can have for both the new joiner, and your team!   ---   Helpful resources:   - Pre-day one onboarding template for new joiner: https://airmanual.link/templates/onboarding-pre-day-one - Onboarding template for HR: https://airmanual.link/templates/hr-onboarding-checklist - Onboarding template for manager: https://airmanual.link/templates/manager-onboarding-checklist   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

When you plan employee onboarding for a specific role, you need to consider both the short and long term goals.   On day one, the new joiner will be excited, but also anxious…   … Will they be able to deliver the value the team needs?  … Will they be welcomed? … Will they be well supported?   We want to address these concerns as quickly as possible.   So look for a task that the new joiner can get productive in quickly, and focus on helping them get there. For a sales rep, it might be doing sales calls without support. For a software engineer, it might be developing simple features or fixing bugs.   Try to get here in days or weeks, not months.   Looking longer term, we want to help the new joiner to become happy and confident in all areas of their role.   This will take longer, and that’s OK. The key is not to stop until that end goal is achieved.   We go deeper into the essential steps for your role onboarding process in today’s episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Helpful resources:   - Company onboarding process template: https://airmanual.link/templates/company-onboarding - Role onboarding process template: https://airmanual.link/templates/role-onboarding - Set up employee onboarding checklist: https://www.airmanual.link/set-up-employee-onboarding   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

What are the essential steps for a company onboarding process?   The 5 key areas to include are:

 

1️⃣ Meet the team

2️⃣ Set up tools

3️⃣ Learn about vision, values and goals

4️⃣ Learn how to work together and get support: accountabilities, processes, performance

5️⃣ Learn how the business works: Target market, products, services, competitors, customer stories

  This doesn’t need to take long… but it’s important you don’t skip any of this.   Everyone on your team needs this context to perform well. And without it, you can expect bad decisions, mistakes, confusion, conflict… and general stress.   In this episode, we go deeper into why it’s so important, and what to include in each step of the process.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Most software engineers and managers hate documenting.   More than that… they openly distrust that the effort of documenting will ever pay off.   Why is that?   It stems from a misconception on what needs to be documented.    Engineers see beautifully maintained technical documentation and best practice documentation, and assume the goal is to replicate that.   But that’s a fools errand… by the time you’ve documented at that level of detail, you’ve cost the teams weeks of progress, and the content you’ve created is already out of date.   Instead, we need to tie all of our documentation to business processes.   Rather than having a document called “System architecture”, you might need to update your documented peer review process. Or add an “Learn about our architecture” step to the onboarding.   In this episode of De-stress Your Business, we go deep into the false beliefs that can hold back software engineering teams, and how to address them.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

How do you deliver employee onboarding that doesn’t suck?   5 guiding principles that make all the difference:   1/ Hold teams accountable for their own onboarding (— HR will only cover the small fraction of onboarding that’s relevant to everyone in the company!)   2/ Get clear on the end goal. We want employees happy and confident in all areas of their role — this is not just about their first few days.   3/ Fix the foundations. You need documented guidance on how tasks are expected to be done in your team. Training without these foundations will be forgotten.   4/ Put the new joiner in the driving seat. A self-service onboarding checklist is a game changer for both the new joiner (who can move at their own pace and never gets blocked) and the team (who free up 100s of hours that would have been spent training/mentoring/fixing mistakes).   5/ Sprinkle on the wow factor. You don’t need a big budget or investment in time — a few little touches like a handwritten note and a personalized gift make a huge impact.   We cover all this and more in this episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Most companies do a bad job of employee onboarding.   We want new employees to be excited, motivated, and confident in their new roles…   Yet many lose that excitement as it gets replaced by anxiety, stress and frustration.   Expectations aren’t clear. Getting up to speed takes forever.  Mistakes are common. Empowerment diminishes into micromanagement. Excitement turns into disillusionment.   Of course, it’s not just stressful for the employee.   The manager and team invest a huge amount of time into supporting the new joiner. And other priorities get derailed.   Why is this?   Why does employee onboarding suck in the most companies?   And what can we do about it?   We discuss all this and more in this episode of De-stress Your Business. ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Documented processes are one of your best tools for reducing business stress.   But if they’re not maintained, they’re worthless.   So how do we stop the rot?   How do we make sure that the investment we make in systemizing our processes pays off in the long-term, as well as the short-term?   That’s our topic on today’s episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Documentation... a nice idea, but never gets used, right?   When that’s the case, documentation actually slows down your business.    Days, weeks, and months are spent setting up tools and creating documents… that no one uses.   You’re going to need to overcome this hurdle if you want to create a great business.   Documented processes — with your team’s best practices embedded into them — are critical for both removing business stress and unlocking growth.   So… how do we make sure documentation actually gets used??!   That’s our topic for this episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

The best way to document your team’s tasks, training and onboarding?   Checklists.   But how do you write a good checklist?   How much detail is needed?   And how do you avoid issues when people actually start using it?   We’re discussing all this and more on today’s episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Do you feel like your relentless work ethic is holding your business back? You're not alone.    Many business owners find themselves trapped in a cycle of hard work that ultimately stunts their business growth. They become the bottleneck, trying to handle every task, from minor details to major decisions, which leaves them overwhelmed and their business stagnant.    This constant hustle can lead to burnout, frustration, and the painful realization that their efforts are actually hindering their success.   That’s why in today's podcast, I'm speaking with Erin Mathie, a rockstar in business transformation. Erin is a fractional COO and Process Triage Certified Facilitator on a mission to end the small business time trap. With her expertise, she has transformed hundreds of businesses, teaching owners how to delegate effectively and focus on what truly drives growth.    Erin's journey is inspirational: she turned her own tutoring company into a successful venture, working only a few hours a week, and now she's dedicated to helping others achieve the same freedom and success.   Our conversation covers: Erin's journey from overworked business owner to strategic shareholder How misdirected work ethic can be a business's biggest barrier Practical steps to identify and delegate tasks to free up your time The importance of documenting processes for better delegation Inspiring success stories of business transformations   Drop your questions in the chat!   #DeStressYourBusiness #Podcast #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #Delegation #ProcessImprovement #ErinMathie   ---   Helpful resources:  

• Facebook- https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-mathie-36b2699/
• LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-mathie-36b2699/
• Business Made Simple- https://make-business-simple.com/

Most employees work out how to get things done by…   … asking their manager … asking colleagues … trial and error (and sometimes being corrected) … a bit of training … and occasionally finding a useful document in a shared drive   This is broken in so many ways.   The manager and colleagues are constantly being distracted…   Days and weeks are lost making mistakes that could so easily have been avoided…     Training feels great on the day, but quickly gets forgotten…     So what’s the alternative?   Ideally, you want employees to be able to have access to all the guidance they need to excel in their jobs. This allows them to proactively solve their own challenges, avoiding mistakes and distracting their peers.   Training still feels great, but now the lessons are remembered because it’s embedded into the guidance uses on a daily basis.   To make work, you need a pyramid of guidance   The foundations? SOPs and policies. Training goes on top. With onboarding is at the peak.   In today’s episode, we’re discussing why this works so well, and how get started with this approach in your team.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

There are 8 reasons why most documentation is doomed to fail:   It’s not obvious where content should go It’s not focused on your biggest business problems It takes too long to create It’s not easy to use No one’s held accountable for using it No one’s held accountable for maintaining it People feel uncomfortable suggesting updates Your team’s had no training   On today’s episode we’re looking at how those last 4 points will hold you back, and what you can do about it.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

You've probably tried documenting some of your processes and best practices in the past.   But it’s not worked out…   People ignore the documents.  Mistakes still happen. The guidance doesn’t get maintained and starts to smell funny.   Why does this always happen?!   As leaders… why do we simultaneously know that documentation is important, and yet push back against it based on past experience?   It turns there are 8 reasons why most documentation is doomed to fail.    Any one issue is enough to cause the whole investment to collapse like a house of cards.    And at most organizations ALL EIGHT issues are present (!!).   In today’s episode, we start looking a what these 8 issues are… and how to avoid them.    ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

What should your business do when a major incident happens?   Perhaps your website’s gone offline.   Or your laptop with client data on has been stolen.   Or a team member’s made an offensive post on social media… and the press are covering it!   How can you avoid this being hugely stressful for both you and your team?   How can you get into a position where incidents can happen, but you don’t even to be involved?   We discuss this and more in today’s episode of De-stress Your Business.   ---   Templates you can use today:   - Incident response process: https://airmanual.link/templates/incident-response-process   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Do you feel like your team meetings could be better?   The time you spend in meetings is a huge opportunity to motivate the team, remove conflict,  and tackle the biggest issues.   But this time is often wasted on long status updates, with issues taken away as “next steps” that take forever to get resolved.   We’ve spent the last decade iterating on our own meetings, and now have a formula that works brilliantly in every team.   Today we‘re sharing this formula, along with templates you can use to turbocharge your own meetings.   ---   Templates you can use today:  

• Daily team meeting: https://airmanual.link/templates/daily-team-meeting
• Bi-weekly team meeting: https://airmanual.link/templates/bi-weekly-team-meeting

  ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Do you value the meetings you attend with your team?   Do the biggest issues get tackled?   Do you always feel less stressed after the meeting than before?   Or… do you question the value of meetings, and wonder if it wouldn’t better just to ditch them completely?   In this episode, we discuss the incredible impact that great meetings can have, and how to make sure you’re having great meetings in your team or business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Ever been frustrated with someone at work?   I’m going to go out on a limb and say… it’s not (entirely) their fault.   There’s normally a bigger issue at play. It might be the lack of a clear process, or training, or support.   In this episode, we’re looking at how it can really help you and your business to always start with one simple assumption: It’s a process issue, NOT a people issue.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

The one thing that you can guarantee in business, is that issues are going to come up.   And you need a way of dealing with them so that:

• They get reviewed in a timely manner
• They don’t derail your overall progress
• The biggest issues get permanently fixed and don’t reoccur.

Without a way of handling the issues that will arise… you’re really going to struggle to scale up a team.    In this episode, we give you 3 steps you should be following for every issue that comes up in your business.   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

When we get busy as business leaders, we often forget one of most powerful tools we have to free up time: Delegation.   Today, we’re going to look at the types of tasks that you can be delegated across the business:  Sales, Engineering, Finance, Data Security, IT, HR, Marketing…   And we’ll review the common rules you can use to identify tasks to delegate, wherever you are in your business.    ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Let's look at how you can free up 15 hours of your time…   Every. Single. Week.     ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Are you struggling to align your team with your business values and brand?   Hanging a poster of your values on the wall isn’t enough to transform your business culture.   Leaders often recognize the need to define core values and establish a strong brand identity. Yet, as teams grow, maintaining these standards can become a significant challenge. Without consistent reinforcement, your business may lose its unique edge, becoming less special, less profitable, and less appealing to both employees and customers.   So, what’s the solution?   In this episode, I’ll guide you through the essential steps to embed your values and brand into every part of your business. We’ll explore what this looks like in practice and highlight common mistakes to avoid.   Learn what values and brand really mean for your business Hear inspiring success stories of businesses that effectively integrated their values Get actionable tips to ensure your values and brand are reflected in all aspects of your operations   Let’s transform your business into something truly special!   Listen now to episode 117 of the De-Stress Your Business podcast and start making a lasting impact!   ---   Learn more about AirManual: www.airmanual.co

Want to de-stress your business? Join us and find out how to:   👉 Free up your time 👉 End the groundhog day of constant fire-fighting and little progress 👉 Deliver better and more consistent results for your customers 👉 Make it easy to scale up 👉 Get into a position where you can easily take days, weeks, or months away from the business, and it can continue to thrive without you!   ---   Want to learn more? Join our weekly webinar and we'll show you how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Are you a bit of a control freak? (Like me!) 😬

Sometimes perfection and can be the enemy of greatness, particularly when it comes to delegation — holding us back from making progress because we need everything to be “just so”. 👌

However, sometimes leaders attempt to delegate, and find that the person they delegated to doesn’t do a good job.

🤦‍♂️ They make mistakes.  🤦‍♂️ They ask repeated questions.  🤦‍♂️ They completely miss the whole point! 

The leader ends up with the work back on their plate, and resolves that they are just too much of a control freak to hand the work over… they end up trapped!

So in this episode I go deep into this issue — how you can embrace just the right amount of your inner control freak to get amazing results when delegating… and the real life examples of it going well, and spectacularly wrong! 

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Helpful resources:

- Lear more about AirManual: https://www.airmanual.co

Many business leaders wrestle with getting their employees to work collaboratively.

Especially when it comes to finding the right balance between hitting day-to-day targets driving significant organizational changes.

Navigating the shift from individualism to collaboration in your team can feel like trying to solve an ever-changing puzzle. And understanding how one’s day-to-day tasks impact the organization’s mission adds another layer of complexity, yet is crucial for the company’s long-term success.

Today, we’re joined by someone truly exceptional – Sophie Theen. Not only is she a seasoned HR and operations executive, but she's also an award-winning author. Sophie's career spans from leading HR divisions and large teams to successfully running her own consultancy and mentoring women in technology.

She’s also the author of "The Soul of Startups: The Untold Stories of How Founders Affect Culture," exploring how founder personalities shape company culture—a pivotal read for founders, managers, and HR professionals. 

Today we cover :

🎯 Shifting from 'me' to 'we' in team culture 🔄 Balancing company-wide goals and day-to-day tasks for success 🌈 The impact of diversity and inclusion on effective team direction 🚀 Nurturing the next generation of leaders.

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Helpful resources:

- Sophie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophietheen/ - Sophie Theen’s website: https://www.sophietheen.com/ - Sophie’s book, The Soul of Startups: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soul-Startups-Stories-Founders-Culture/dp/1119885590

Feeling overwhelmed by the complexities of product design?   Every business owner knows the stakes are high when bringing a new product to market, but common design mistakes can turn an exciting process into a stressful nightmare. What if there was a way to simplify this process and reduce the anxiety it brings?   This week on De-stress Your Business, we're thrilled to host Rob Law, the mastermind behind Trunki, the beloved brand that revolutionized children's travel gear.   Rob's journey from a high-profile rejection on BBC's Dragon's Den to selling over 4 million suitcases worldwide is nothing short of inspiring. With over 120 awards and a personal endorsement in the form of an MBE for Services to Business, Rob's approach to product design not only avoids common pitfalls but also harnesses creativity to thrive in the global market.   Join us as we discuss: Key strategies to avoid design mistakes that most business owners face. Insights into turning design challenges into competitive advantages. Real-life stories of overcoming adversity in product development. Practical tips for streamlining your design process and reducing stress.   Tune in for an episode packed with actionable advice to help you navigate the product design journey with more confidence and less stress.   #DeStressYourBusiness #podcast #productdesign #entrepreneurship #businessgrowth #RobLaw   ---   Helpful resources:

• Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/trunkidaddy/
• LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-law-mbe/
• Website- https://www.roblaw.com/
• Zeepy: https://zeepy.co/

In this episode of Destress Your Business, Alexis Kingsbury discusses the importance of issue management in empowering teams to solve problems and freeing up leaders to focus on strategic growth. 

He introduces a three-component approach to issue management: the issue tracker, meeting rhythm, and empowering the team. Alexis emphasizes the need to avoid getting derailed by issues and instead give the team the opportunity to solve them. 

He provides examples of different types of issues and explains how a good approach to managing them can save time and prevent frustration. 

Alexis also shares the benefits of implementing an issue management system and empowering the team to own the process.

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Helpful resources:

- Series of videos from Alexis on how to solve common problems in your business around handing over tasks, onboarding team members, and keeping processes up-to-date https://airmanual.link/gettingstarted

Struggling to scale your business when your face is the brand?   The journey from a personal brand to a thriving, scalable business can feel like navigating a complex labyrinth.    That’s precisely why we invited Chris Ducker, the visionary behind transforming personal brands into prosperous enterprises, onto De-stress Your Business.    Chris isn’t just a serial entrepreneur; he’s a guru in leveraging personal identity to build and scale businesses without losing the personal touch that made them special. With his strategies, entrepreneurs worldwide are breaking the chains of limitation, pushing their businesses into realms previously thought unattainable.    This episode unpacks:  The crucial pivot point in Chris's career from personal brand to business magnate Effective tactics for expanding your brand’s influence without diluting your identity  Secrets to keeping your brand's heart beating strong, even as it grows beyond you  Transformative strategies that turned Chris's insights into a global business phenomenon  How to cultivate a business legacy that echoes beyond the personal brand   Join us for an enlightening conversation with Chris Ducker and discover how to scale your personal brand into a legacy.   #DeStressYourBusiness #Podcast #ScalingUp #PersonalBrandPower #BusinessGrowth #ChrisDucker #EntrepreneurialJourney #BuildYourLegacy   ---   Helpful resources:  

• Chris’s Podcast- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/youpreneur-the-profitable-personal-brand-expert-business/id590043753
• Website- https://chrisducker.com/
• LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisducker/?originalSubdomain=uk
• Rise of the Yourpreneur (book): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rise-Youpreneur-Definitive-Go-Future-Proof/dp/1999857941
• Giftology (book): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Giftology-Increase-Referrals-Strengthen-Retention/dp/B01KVTL44U/

Tired of tasks bouncing back to you after you delegate them?   Feeling trapped in a cycle of micromanagement, despite having a capable team?   You're not alone.    Every entrepreneur dreams of a business that runs smoothly without their constant oversight, but achieving this seems like a Herculean task.    Enter Adrienne Dorison, the co-founder of Run Like Clockwork, and the wizard behind transforming businesses into self-sustaining entities.    With a track record of liberating business owners from the trenches of day-to-day operations, Adrienne has mastered the art of making delegation irreversible.    This episode of De-stress Your Business is a potential life-changer. We sit down with Adrienne to uncover:    How to ensure tasks you delegate don't find their way back to you.  Strategies to empower your team for ultimate independence.  The journey from operational efficiency expert to helping entrepreneurs worldwide achieve freedom from their businesses.  Exclusive insights into building a team that excels without your constant input.   Listen in for an eye-opening discussion that promises to end the delegation boomerang for good.    #DeStressYourBusiness #podcast #entrepreneurship #delegation #teamempowerment #businessautonomy #operationalEfficiency   ---   Helpful resources:  

• Free Masterclass: Clunky to

Does your revenue feel like a leaking bucket, where more effort pours in than value pours out?     Many entrepreneurs tirelessly chase new sales and pump resources into various business areas, only to find that their overall valuation barely budges. This constant grind can lead to burnout and frustration, leaving business owners questioning which parts of their revenue truly drive value and which are just exhausting their resources.   The uncertainty and stress of not knowing how to optimize or where to channel efforts effectively can stifle growth and innovation.   Enter Louise White, a titan in transforming business revenue and a visionary in market strategy. Having orchestrated the turnaround and explosive growth of numerous businesses, Louise consistently turns stagnant revenue streams into massive wealth generators.    From redefining media companies in the digital age to achieving a monumental 28X return on a business exit, her strategies have proven to be goldmines.   In today's episode, we sit down with Louise to uncover: The secrets to distinguishing between high and low-value revenue. Proven strategies for restructuring your business model to focus on the most profitable areas. Insightful anecdotes from her own experience of turning struggling media companies into lucrative ventures.   Don’t miss this opportunity to reshape your perspective on revenue and propel your business to new heights with Louise White’s expert guidance!   #BusinessGrowth #RevenueOptimization #LouiseWhite #Podcast #Entrepreneurship #BusinessStrategy   ---   Helpful resources:

• LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisewhite
• Twitter- https://twitter.com/louisecwhite

Feeling like you're constantly pushing a boulder uphill when it comes to your business's profitability?    You're not alone.    Many entrepreneurs pour their heart and soul into their ventures, only to find themselves trapped in a cycle of hard work with minimal financial reward.    This relentless struggle can lead to burnout, frustration, and the haunting question: "Will my business ever achieve the financial success I dream of?"   Enter Reza Hooda, a true powerhouse in the world of business finance.    Reza's journey is nothing short of inspirational — from facing the grim reality of a failing accounting practice to catapulting it into a £1 million success story, all while slashing his work hours to less than 10 a week.    But Reza didn't stop there. His knack for turning financial despair into prosperity has positioned him as a sought-after mentor in the Profitable Accountants Community & Mastermind.   Under his guidance, businesses have gone from struggling to keep the lights on to celebrating record-breaking profits.    Reza's methods have proven time and again that with the right approach, financial success is not just a possibility but an achievable reality.   In this episode of De-stress Your Business, we sit down with the financial wizard himself to uncover:   The harsh realities of why so many businesses struggle to be profitable Reza's personal transformation from near failure to financial freedom Actionable, no-nonsense strategies Reza has used to revolutionize profitability for countless businesses How you can start applying Reza's winning tactics to see real results in your own business.   This conversation is a must for any entrepreneur tired of the financial runaround and ready for a serious profitability breakthrough.    #DeStressYourBusiness #profitability #RezaHooda #financialsuccess #businessgrowth #entrepreneurship ---   Helpful resources:   - Website: https://www.rezahooda.com/ - Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/rezahooda/?_rdc=1&_rdr - Twitter: https://twitter.com/RezaHooda - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rezahooda/ - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmWN24OzFacM6VA1qWqmFsw - Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-profitable-accountant-podcast/id1535053500 - Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Four-Pillars-build-accounting-freedom/dp/1399953419   Don't miss Alexis’ FREE webinar: Hunting Unicorns: How to Get Affordable Talent into Your Accountancy Practice.   You can register here: https://airmanual.link/huntingunicorns

Struggling to stand out in the crowded market?   Dive into the power of niching down with our latest episode!    Alexis shares his own twists and turns, moving from a broad approach to striking gold by focusing laser-sharp on accounting businesses with AirManual.    Learn how zooming in on the perfect customer not only doubled conversions but also made the entire business smoother and more efficient.    From deep dives into industry insights to crafting 'Hunting Unicorns', this episode is packed with real-world lessons and actionable tips.   Tune in to hear about:   Real-life challenges and successes in implementing a niche-focused strategy The creation of 'Hunting Unicorns', a fresh approach to finding top talent affordably The steps that led to a breakthrough in customer focus    Get ready to find your niche and watch your business soar!   ---   Helpful resources:   - Sign up for our free webinar here https://airmanual.link/huntingunicorns - Contact Alexis at alexis.kingsbury@airmanual.co   Want to learn more? Watch Alexis’s Masterclass to learn how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

What if the stage could be a place where you feel most alive, not terrified?   Well, you can!   Even though public speaking is at the top of the list of fears for most people, even greater than the fear of heights or spiders, it can be overcome.   Meet Andrea Pacini, the presentation maestro who has elevated the art of public speaking into an empowering skill for leaders across the globe.    With a track record of transforming over 500 TEDx speakers and collaborations with global giants like Microsoft and The World Bank, Andrea doesn’t just talk the talk; he walks you through the fire of your fears to the other side, where your confidence shines and the fear disappears.   Andrea’s journey from public speaking anxiety to coaching the world's top speakers is nothing short of inspirational. His method, grounded in real-world successes, proves that anyone can captivate and mesmerize an audience with the right guidance.   In this episode, we'll uncover:   Andrea's personal battle with public speaking and how he emerged victorious.  Step-by-step strategies to prepare and deliver presentations that not only inform but inspire.  Techniques that will have your audience hanging on every word, whether you’re in a boardroom or broadcasting virtually.  Success stories of individuals who went from fearing the stage to owning it, thanks to Andrea's coaching.    Today’s episode will show you how to turn your public speaking fears into your greatest strength.     Please post any questions you have in the comments!   #destressyourbusiness #publicspeakingfear #AndreaPacini #presentationmastery #overcomeanxiety #leadershipcommunication   ---   Helpful resources:

- Ideas on Stage: https://www.ideasonstage.com  - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/apacini/ - Confident Presenter book: https://amzn.eu/d/bKswMEe - To make the most of the book, take the Confident Presenter Scorecard to assess you presentation skills in less than 3 minutes, for free: https://ideasonstage.com/score - Attend the next Ideas on Stage web class: https://www.ideasonstage.com/uk/masterclass

  Want to learn more? Watch Alexis’s Masterclass to learn how to free up 15 hours per week and remove the constant stress of running a business, without slowing down growth. Visit www.airmanual.co/webinar for all the details!

Making moves in your business, but hardly moving forward? Are you ready to stop sabotaging your own success?     Today, we're delving into the harsh realities of entrepreneurship with our guest, Lloyed Lobo. His journey is a testament to resilience and success.    From surviving the Gulf War to co-founding the fintech platform Boast.AI, empowering over 100,000 innovators through his community at Traction, and being featured in some of the world’s top business publications.     But here's the twist: he isn't just here to share his triumphs. Lloyed feels he has wasted so much time and money on doing the wrong things.    So, we’re diving deep into the mistakes he's made along the way, covering everything from the stupid things he's wasted time and money on, to the best investments he's ever made.    Join us as we navigate the pitfalls of entrepreneurial decision-making, revealing what truly matters when it comes to investing your resources wisely.    If you're ready to take control of your journey and make smarter choices, this episode is a must-listen!   #DestressYourBusiness #Entrepreneurship #Wisdom #ResourceManagement #LloyedLobo #PodcastJourney    ---   Helpful resources:  

• Get Lloyed’s new book, 'From Grassroots To Greatness: 13 Rules to Build Iconic Brands with Community Led Growth' (Wall Street Journal Bestseller) at https://FromGrassrootstoGreatness.com
• https://www.instagram.com/lloyedlobo 
• TractionConf.io
• Boast.AI

Ever wondered about the game-changing role of a Chief Operating Officer (COO) and how it could revolutionize your business?    Join us as we dive deep into the power of the COO in your business, with the incredible Emma Cartmell, CEO of CHS Events and co-founder of COO Accelerator.     Explore Emma's journey from the energy industry to heading a thriving events empire.  Learn key strategies to enhance your effectiveness stepping into the COO role.  Understand the crucial distinctions between CEO and COO roles with real-world examples.  Discover how a stellar COO can not only reduce stress but drive overall business success.  Get insights into the growth story of the Conference & Hospitality Show and the role of a dynamic COO.   Don't miss out on Emma's practical strategies and personal stories that bring a wealth of experience and insights.   #destressyourbusiness #leadership #COO #businessgrowth #entrepreneurship   ---   Helpful resources:  

• Emma King on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmacartmell/
• Free Company Scorecard Template and 5-step guide: https://www.freecompanyscorecard.com
• Free Masterclass on How to Free Up 15+ Hours Per Week https://www.airmanual.co/webinar

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the amount of work to be done, unsure of how to break free and reach your full potential?    Well, you're not alone — managing time is arguably the most common problem everyone struggles with.   Good time management comes from good habits.    But what habits do we need in place? And how can we make it easier to adopt these?   Our guest today is Jeff Gosling, who’s here to shed light on the power of habits to transform your business.    Jeff is a renowned speaker, published author, and trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies. He’s also an award-winning business coach with a track record of propelling entrepreneurs to success.    With decades of expertise, he’s helped numerous businesses confront the harsh realities of business stagnation and explore practical strategies for breaking free from the grip of bad habits.   Jeff has spent decades guiding numerous entrepreneurs to get the most from the time they have… and has managed to implement a time tracking habit into his own life which has transformed his productivity…   He’s done it EVERY DAY for FOUR YEARS!   In this episode you’ll discover: How Jeff's unconventional habits propelled him from an average entrepreneur to a top-notch coach How his time tracking strategy revolutionized his work and life How seemingly overlooked habits can hold game-changing potential for business owners!    Get ready to unlock your business's full potential and break free from the grip of bad habits!   #DestressYourBusiness #businessgrowth #productivity #worklifebalance #habits #accountability #businessstrategy #entrepreneurship  ---   Helpful resources:   - Jeff's website: https://actioncoach.co.uk/coaches/jeff-gosling/ - Jeff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrgosling/