Nicole Laino
Hello, and welcome to the limitless entrepreneur podcast. I am your host, Nicole Laino. And I am here with Miss Holly Haynes today she’s a she helps female entrepreneurs take back control of their time. We’ve proven productivity techniques, systems and structure to create a strategy that scales long term. She is also she has a 20 year consulting background. And Holly, I’m just so excited to have you here. Can you tell the audience a little bit about you where we’re at whatever I didn’t catch in that little bio, like, introduce yourself? Tell them a little bit about your story.

Holly Haynes
Yeah, thank you so much. So I mean, that’s like the the formal version, but I’m, I’m from Columbus, Ohio, I work full time, and I have a full time coaching business, I have twin girls who are seven. And yeah, I’m just really passionate about sharing sort of real life about what it takes to sort of follow your passion and still work full time. Because I think so many people start their business or side hustle or whatever you want to call it hobby, you know, when they have a full time job, and whether you want to leave your full time job, or you want to keep both. I’m just very passionate about doing it the right way and not burning out and making sure that you’re really focusing on what you you want to focus on. So yeah, that’s a little bit about me.

Nicole Laino
Yeah, and I love that, because I think that a lot of people feel like they, they can’t really start until they quit. So they quit prematurely. And then they have, they’re constantly worried about the money, and they’re worried about. So I and I understand I understand both sides of it. I had an exit strategy when I let left corporate, but I didn’t leave like when I had something else in place. It was just like, Yeah, this is how long I’m going to save for I’m going to get out, I’m going to move and do these things. And I’ll figure it out them. And I did always have that kind of hanging over me. And one of the things that I wished was, I had something in place. And I had been doing something I had been running my business while working in tandem for a little while. Because I would change my energy about it. In the beginning I had, I definitely came in with some desperate energy, which affected the way that I operated and some of the decisions that I’ve made. So I love that you actually you’re walking the walk because you’re doing it, but you’re also you’re you have a strategy, and you have you have an actual framework that you work people through to help them be able to do this and juggle those two, you know, keep those two balls in the air.

Holly Haynes
Yeah, definitely. Oh, go ahead.

Nicole Laino
No, I was just gonna take any, can you talk a little bit about? Like, How did someone start? So if they’re like, I want to start a business or I’m running my business, I’m working full time. And I’m so overwhelmed. That I don’t know, I don’t know how to hit the gas on both cars. At the same time. How do you drive two cars at the same time? What

Holly Haynes
I mean, you really are driving two cars at the same time. So actually four steps that I follow. And the first step actually is not business related at all or career related. It actually is, I call it just overall wellness. But it’s like, how are you taking care of yourself. Because if you’re going to add on like a second car, or you’re driving two cars at the same time or a second path, like if you’re already exhausted and already burnt out, and then you’re like, Oh, I’m going to do this thing, like this thing is going to take some attention and some nurturing and some growing and like your family has got to be on board. And it’s bigger than I think most people give it credit for. And so the first step that I always take is, you know, what, what is your sort of self care and overall wellness look like? Like, do you have the energy to take this on? Is are there things that you need to take care of just within yourself first. Because I I truly, truly feel like I always say sleep solves all things. Because typically it does for me, but if you are rested, and you are eating well and you’re taking care of yourself, whatever that looks like for you, then you have more energy, more creativity, you’re putting out sort of that, like, I’m here, like I’m enjoying life vibe, which I believe that really drives a lot of things as well. And so that’s where I start, and a lot of people are like, well that I don’t I’m not read, I would rather just like give me a task. And I like well that is your task. And so like yeah, that would be my first step. Because I truly feel like self care has to be incorporated into your business plan or your corporate plan or whatever your plan is so that it can be sustainable long term.

Nicole Laino
Let’s talk about that for just a second. We’re gonna pause on that because I love this. This was actually something that came up in one of the coaching calls in my in my program, I believe yesterday we were talking about this, that that you have to be at the top of your to do list. And the hardest I think for some of us, especially, especially if you’re coming from the corporate world, where you are in this Doer energy all the time, like you go to work you do the things you get rewarded, it’s, we’re being taught that, you know that that’s how you get the pellet. The little reward pellet is like, I do things, and then I get a great review, and then I get a bonus. And then then you get into that, that sort of it’s like a codependency with the doing. And, and it can be the hardest thing to take a step back and say, No, I have to take care of me. It’s one of the hardest things I can get like my clients to do is to tell them, I don’t want you to do anything. Well, yeah.

Holly Haynes
What do you mean? Yeah, and I’ll say I’m an Enneagram. Three, like, I am a doer, I’m a worker bee, like, to the core, like, working makes me feel like I’ve accomplished things. Like, I feel like it solves a lot of problems for me. But if I don’t have the space to slow down, like I burn out, I get sick, I lose my voice. Like all these signs come back in. And so that’s always the first step for me.

Nicole Laino
Yeah, and I love that you brought that up that paying attention to what’s happening. Like if you start to not feel well, if you start to if you start to notice that. And I always say that if you aren’t able to do the things that you want to do. So they’re hard for you. They’re really they’re a lot of work that really shouldn’t be, it feels like you’re trudging through, like quicksand. Yeah, and that is a sign for you to go inward. And do some inner work and take care of you and love on yourself a little bit like and stop trying to do because that’s not the answer. You’re trying to do it and it’s not working. You’re you’re getting a message and you’re not hearing it. So it’s getting worse.

Holly Haynes
Yeah. And so just to make it more tangible. A lot of times, I’m like, Okay, how many hours of sleep did I get? Have I done anything for myself today? Like, have I gone for a walk? Am I eating the right? You know, foods? Like how much sugar have I had? How much wine? am I drinking like all these like really basic questions, and then once sort of that sort of just gets in order, then I move on to like the overarching strategy and vision. And this is where my corporate background is. And so I lean on this quite a bit. But I feel like so often people get this amazing idea. And they’re like, Oh, I’m gonna start a business, but they have no idea, like, Well, what do they really want out of it? Or? Like, what is this business going to do for them? Or what is it going to do for other people. And so it becomes this like, really fun idea at the beginning. But then like, once they get into it, they’re like, oh, I have to add to create a budget, or this is like way more work than I thought it was going to be. Or I’m actually spending every second of my free time on this. And this is not what I wanted. And so I feel like taking the the step of really mapping out, like, what is your vision? Why are you starting this? Who are you helping? Where do you want this to be in like, three 510 years. And you could do this for your side hustle for your corporate job for your family? And so that, you know, like, you know, when you’re like, Oh, I just don’t have any time to do both be like, well, this is why I’m doing it. And it may take, you know, an hour on Saturday morning, or it may not it depends on what your goals are and what your vision is and what your strategy is. But when you have that mapped out, it’s so much easier to make those decisions like, do I need to get up at you know, 6am on Saturday, when the kids are sleeping to get this done? Or is it not that big of a deal, because, you know, this is just a hobby for me, and I just want it to be fun. And so it’s it really comes down to like step one, making sure you have the energy to take this on. And then step two, making sure you have that roadmap. So you know what you’re working towards. And then when you do have the time to work on it, you know exactly what to focus on.

Nicole Laino
And then take us through the rest of the steps that you go through or that that that you see as being you know, the roadmap for successfully driving both of these cars.

Holly Haynes
Yeah, so step one, take care of yourself. Step two, strategy and vision. Step three, is for me personally, the way that I was able to scale the fastest was through automation and duplication. So I had a pretty clear strategy of what I wanted and where I wanted to go. But I’m only one person so and the automation and duplication looks different for everyone but it’s it’s can be really basic like what are some simple basic tasks that you’re repeating all the time and so an example that I always give is I do and I think you do this to like I batch things together, like Mondays are what I call CEO days and it’s like all if I have one hour like all I’m doing is like the back end stuff of my bed. Business or strategy work. Tuesdays are always podcast days. So I will schedule podcasts on Tuesdays. So my brain is not doing all different things at all different times. And that’s a system, right? You can also, you know, obviously have like email funnels and Client Onboarding and invoicing and all of those things where you can automate like technical tasks, so you don’t have to do them. But another example that is super helpful for me is just a basic routine. And so for me, my morning routine is one of my, I would say my entire business was built on this system. And it’s because I use this methodology every single morning. So I wake up, I have a very strict morning routine, where I’m focusing in on myself. And then I have very set business hours, which are typically like six to 730 in the morning, where I am, like, Uber, focused to the point where like, my phone is turned off. I am like, in the business working. And people are like, Well, if you only work an hour and a half a day, which is sometimes it’s more than that, but how are you getting all this done, but I’m not distracted. I have focus, it’s first thing in the morning. So I’m able to, like knock things out. And that’s really how I’ve how I’ve managed to sort of stay on track. And then what happens because I still am in my nine to five is I’m not like checking DMS in the middle of a meeting and my nine to five are worried about, Oh, I gotta get this podcast on how am I going to do this. And so it really helps me stay organized. And I know I have the backend systems to support me. So that’s really probably if I was to go through the method, that’s the biggest time saver is automation and duplication.

Nicole Laino
Yeah. And you know, and I want to talk to you a little bit about what your routine looks like in the morning because I think that that’s something that stumps a lot of people like it seems putting together a morning routine that works for you like I it, it took me a while to figure out what belonged what didn’t, to allow it to be both a routine where I’m not thinking about it, and I’m not making decisions in my morning routine, because decision. Like, that’s what you want to avoid is taxing your brain on more decisions that need to be made. But, but setting something up that really felt like it flowed and it served me so how do I center myself? How do I ground myself? How do I? How do I set myself up for success for the rest of the day and have an intention? So I’m not just I’m not reacting all day. So what does yours look like?

Holly Haynes
Yeah, so my routine, I’d say it’s changed a bit with the pandemic, but it’s, it’s pretty normal. So my biggest goal and I said sleep solve all things is I tried to get seven and a half hours of sleep. And I based my routine off the book, The 5am Club, which is very scientifically based on like how your body responds after it sleeps a certain amount of time. And so for me, it was like very factual. And I was like, okay, like, if I’m going to feel rested after seven half hours, then I’m going to try this. And so it’s stuck. So I typically go to bed at like 939 45. And then I get up anywhere between like, five and 530. actually listen to affirmations, like as soon as I wake up, so I use the think up app. And I play them while I empty the dishwasher, which I know sounds sort of weird, but it’s just like this. That’s just what we do. And then I sit down and I journal and I write down my three things that I am going to focus on for the day. So I actually have a planner with this method in it and in the planner pulls out these three things. And the three things can be business related, personal related, whatever they are, I call it the cake method. It’s a three layer cake. Everything else is sprinkles. It keeps it really simple. And so it’s like, Okay, here’s my focus for the day, it might be a podcast interview, it might be taking the girls to Girl Scouts, like it just depends on the day. But I have found that if I go into the day with like three things that it feels way less overwhelming. And then anything else that I think of that I need to do, I just put on a list and I’ll get to later if I have time. If not, we’ll get to it tomorrow. So sometimes I’ll have like two or three, nine to five things. Again, it just depends on the day. And then I’ll work out, I read and then I’m sort of into the like, get kids ready. Get off to school kind of thing. I do listen to podcasts while I get ready. I used to listen to them on my commute, but we’re all still home. So it’s a good I mean 530 to 730 So it’s a good like two and a half hour routine, but for the most part I will knock out my business tasks first thing in the morning so I’m not like spinning my wheels all day on what they are. I’m able to really focus on my nine to five and if I do have a car couple of minutes or half hour hour, I know exactly what I need to do. Like, I may have some Instagram Stories scheduled, or I may like, answer client emails or something like that. But it’s usually like very focused, and then I’ll get to it the next day. So

Nicole Laino
yeah, and I think we miss, we underestimate how much we can get done. Because when we’re focused, because when we’re, when we’re not distracted, when we are committed, I’m a big tomato timer person, I’m a big thing. Setting timers like I just do it on that that echo I tell her to set a timer for 20 minutes. And what it does is it sets this boundary for myself where I say like for this 20 minutes, I’m only doing this thing, I’m focusing only on that. And then it makes me very aware if something else comes up or I get distracted by something be like that’s not what you’re working on right now. Yeah. And it brings me right back, and I’m able to get things done. And, and it’s funny, these aren’t new tactics. So people hear them and I know it’s not so so you’re listening. You I’m talking to you, listener, if you’ve heard these before, and you’re saying, I’ve heard these before, and you’re starting to cast them off. My question to you is, but have you really tried them for any extended period of time? Because the answer most people give me when I asked them that is no. Yeah. And I would say that, and then I don’t And yes, I would say

Holly Haynes
the most consistent thing that I tell my clients is when they’re overwhelmed, or they’re like, how do you drive two cars at the one at the same time, like you said at the beginning, use the cake method and pick three things to focus on tomorrow, and see how it goes. Because it’s just it’s super basic. It dials in your focus, like you said, you can set a timer for each of the three things. You don’t go to bed feeling overwhelmed, because if you’re like a person like me, who likes to like cross things off, you’re like, yes, I’ve got those three things done. Now I can take a break, like your brain is like, Oh, I did it. And then the next day, you have more confidence. And it just builds over time.

Nicole Laino
defining success is important. Because otherwise it can feel like we should be working all the time. Because we’re thinking of all the things that we have to do. We’re thinking about all the things like this week, this month, these things that I want to achieve. And that leaves us doing all the time and we don’t create any space for ourselves. And meanwhile, you are accomplishing things. But when you don’t put the framework and the boundary around it to say, this is what I’m going to accomplish today. And when you do celebrating that, like I did everything on my list today, yeah. Or I did two of the three things like That’s awesome. In the short amount of time that I had, you can give yourself a break and not feel like you should have done more, which I think a lot of particularly type A people fall into, because we just feel like we should be doing all the time. Yeah, I should just I should just be producing and more and more and more.

Holly Haynes
Yeah. And then I’ll tell you the last step. So the last step is measurable results, which I pulled from sort of my corporate background, which I call a scorecard. And it’s really just making sure that what you’re doing is working. So you could maybe the 5am method is not your thing. So after a week, if you’re like, gosh, I still feel really tired and I’m not getting anything done, then you shouldn’t do that, you should change it. Or if you have, let’s say you created like a email funnel, and you’re not sure if it works. So going in once a month and making sure that your open rates are certain percentage or that you’re getting new subscribers, like whatever that is that you need to check on, you need to make sure that you’re setting aside time so that you are getting results and it is taking you towards that sort of vision that you set out to accomplish. So if you’ve got this vision and you’re doing all this work, but like you’re not seeing it come any closer, then you know you’ve got to change something and so I talk a lot about like putting together your personal scorecard and it could be you know, wellness, like how many hours of sleep are you averaging a night or like if you use my fitness pal or something like tracking like how you’re feeling? Or it could be business metrics of actually track all of it monthly basis but like, what are your email stats? How many new clients do you have? How many new people are in your Facebook group? Like whatever that looks like? And then you just have a sense of are you working on the right things and then if you’re not because you’re not getting the results that you want, then you know that you need to adjust something and typically the data will tell you what to adjust so you’re not spinning your wheels on. This isn’t working I’m so frustrated. Yeah, well, this is what’s not working and then here are some ways that you can change it.

Nicole Laino
Yeah, and like I I like doing that on Fridays. I like kind of taking a look back and just being like what worked what didn’t and why this week. What felt good, what didn’t feel good. What do I feel I you know, what can I celebrate myself for and what should I be Are you looking to improve on next week? What? What are the key performance metrics that I’m looking at? am I looking at my Facebook group? Am I looking at what did I hit the gas on this week? And what do I really want to see? Like what am I usually it’s more like a monthly thing that I’m looking at. I’m looking at what do we work on this month? Is that working? Or not? Am I getting more listens on the podcast? Yeah. Are those calls to action actually sending people anywhere? Have I gotten any leads from it, trying to understand if the things that you’re doing are working, because we a lot of times, we just add more to our to do list without checking to see if the things we’re doing are working?

Holly Haynes
Yeah, exactly. And so I always say like, for me, burnout is when I’m exhausted. And I feel like I’m working all the time, and I’m not seeing results. And so these steps will one help you feel rested, and like you’re accomplishing things, but also have those processes in place where you know, if it’s working, and if it’s not, then you can just take the steps to adjust.

Nicole Laino
Yeah, I love that. And I’m just gonna, I’m gonna, I’m gonna kind of recap the four steps. So everybody has them fresh. So the first one is, the first one is take care of yourself at the top of the list. Number one is take care of yourself, set yourself up, ground yourself, really make sure that you are loving on yourself so that you are able to do the next three steps in a in a, in a way that doesn’t burn you out completely. Number two is vision casting, and strategizing. So where do you want? Where do you want this business to go? Where do you see yourself going? So that you can attach yourself to not the day to day but to the greater vision which I’m, I’m in love with I absolutely agree with this whole heart. And I agree with everything. But that that I think is so important, and I think it’s something people forget to do is to look far enough out that it’s inspiring, because everyday it’s going to be grueling in the beginning. And it’s not going to be instant success. For most of us, it’s going to take some time,

Holly Haynes
really is what I’m telling you to do. Yep.

Nicole Laino
Three is automate and duplicate. So putting together routines focused time, automating what you can, and working toward that it doesn’t have to all be automated in the beginning, but what can you do to routinize? And, and set things up where there’s a system running, rather than just trying to do everything every day? Like how can you how can you put your arms around, like your time and the things that you’re doing and make them as efficient as possible? Yeah, exactly. And then for was measurable results. So keeping a scorecard what’s working, what’s not really looking at everything that you’re you’re doing and how how you’re performing in the things that you’re that you’re doing and the initiatives that you have. So I I love all of this, because it’s very clean. I love elegant. I love when things just seem simple. And sometimes it can seem overly simplified. To some people, they’re like, Oh, well, it’s so simple. It can’t be. And I would

Holly Haynes
urge you to try it. Yes. Because I would say even trying to get in eight hours of sleep, and then do you have you know, metrics that you’re tracking? Everyone’s like most people don’t do that. But those are like game changers. So sometimes it really is a little things that make the biggest difference.

Nicole Laino
And I think that that’s like, you know, I’m all about beliefs and what we think and how it influences the way that we operate. And I think that that’s a belief that people have, they have a belief that it has to be hard that it’s got to be this big, earth shaking, aha moment, like new strategy things, something they’ve never heard. But I encourage you if you’re listening right now, to open yourself up to the fact that it can be this easy. What if it really was just about getting in bed an hour earlier? Yeah. Is that so hard for us to do? And to to accept and do regularly, but we will kill ourselves all day long? Isn’t that interesting?

Holly Haynes
It is. And I think the whole method is based on being very intentional, every single day. And so everyone’s like, Oh, I don’t understand how you do all the things like, I’m very intentional. Like, I’m very intentional when I plan things where like, I mean, I have honestly the rest of the year planned out like through 2020 Not like planned out to the day. But I know like when we’re taking vacation, what work projects are happening. So that when people ask me things like I can be very intentional about my answer. So I know like, hey, you know, we’re on vacation that week. So I’m not going to do that. But I feel like unless you have that big vision, you’re going to totally miss that. And so a lot of times it’s not more work. It’s just more strategic focus, making sure that you’re focused on the right things at the right time.

Nicole Laino
Yeah, and paying attention to what feels good for you. So it doesn’t mean that you have to have have everything planned in order to be successful, but does it make you feel like, you’re, you’ve got this. Because that can go a long way, just that feeling when you wake up in the morning to be like, I got this, I can do this. And I know where I’m going because I did step number two. And that looks awesome. And that’s inspiring me every day. And this little bit of time I spend planning means that every day is easier, it means that things get done without me having a breakdown, and

Holly Haynes
break down, it’ll cost you a couple of days, like I’ve definitely had them. So I know that

Nicole Laino
what and I think our resistance to doing to doing some of this stuff is actually in some ways a resistance to success, that, that it goes with that belief that things have to be more difficult than they then they really are. And that we have to work hard for our money. So we work hard, in order to feel worthy of the thing that we’re asking for. And, and so I encourage you, if you’re listening to this, if you’ve listened all the way through to this episode, there’s no end of the episode to take these four steps and implement them and put it on a 30 day challenge. Just do I’m a big believer in that like set a short period of time for you to say I’m committing to doing this for 30 days, if you do for 30 days, and you’re like I saw no change, I did not feel any different. I didn’t see any results. And you really just felt like nothing, nothing moved in your favor, then you know, you tried it. But until you do that, and you make that kind of commitment, you cannot pass judgment on something. And what if it is as easy as taking good care of yourself? Thinking about what you want, automating a little bit, setting some routines and putting up some putting up a scorecard so that you can measure whether something’s working or not. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Yeah, be great. And it is great. And you have a free gift that actually is going to help them with this too. So why don’t you tell them a little bit about that? Yeah, so

Holly Haynes
I created the well, the method is called the crush the rush method. And I have a podcast called the crush rush podcasts, which actually Nicole is on to have to check that out. But in the sort of methodology is what I created a side hustle starter kit, so you could download it. And it literally walks you through like the vision, the wellness, the strategy, the scorecard, and some of my favorite things. And it’s all basically all the notes that you took through the show and a really nice PDF, where you can check things off. And really put together your sort of strategy for starting your business, working your nine to five or whatever other priorities that you have, because we all don’t want to work all the time. And yeah, so you guys can grab it, it’s totally free. And I walk you through all the things.

Nicole Laino
Fabulous, I encourage you to go check that out. Because not only did you give so much information in this episode, but you actually get to take it home with you and have a guide so that you you don’t fall off with it. And you can keep yourself you can hold yourself accountable and follow along with all of the steps. But Holly, is there anything that you wanted to leave the listeners with? And you know, tell them they’re gonna get the starter kit. So that’s, I’m guessing how they can stay in touch with you and to listen to the crush the rush podcast, which I have you on? I know that that episode I think is airing soon. So I’m super excited about it. Her show is amazing. You should absolutely check it out, subscribe, review it all of the fun things. And what how else can they stay in touch with you. And if there’s anything you’d like to leave them with, please share. Yeah, so

Holly Haynes
I’m pretty active on Instagram. Its Holly underscore Marie underscore Haynes. And then my website is Holly Marie haynes.com. But I would say one of my favorite quotes that I always love to leave people with is that good things take good things take time, but great things take longer. And so don’t be afraid to slow down to speed up. And so one of the biggest pieces of advice that I always give is like, block out two hours and just map out all the things that you want to do. And then when you’ve got 20 minutes or 30 minutes, you can look at that and say like this is what I’m working towards or this is why I’m doing what I’m doing. It really does make a difference to slow down and put these things in place so that you can speed up and get there faster.

Nicole Laino
Fabulous. Well thank you for sharing and yeah, and we are linking all of that stuff up in the show notes for you. So you don’t have to worry about writing it down. We’ll have her Instagram link or website link and the link to the starter kit so that you can get that super super easily. So right on over to the show notes if you want to if you want to grab any of those and I thank you for Being here, I thank you for listening with us and being part of this conversation with us. And I’m going to leave you with what I always leave you with. You are only limited by the limitations that you accept. When you stop accepting those limitations. That is when you become limitless, you become a limitless entrepreneur. So until next time, I will see you then, bye bye