Welcome to another empowering episode of our podcast! In this episode, we invited Ally Michel to talk all things about community, entrepreneurship, accountability, prioritization, delegation, automating, and finding the perfect business social group to share struggles and successes.
Entrepreneurship is a challenging and demanding journey that often requires us to travel to undiscovered places as it's easy to feel isolated, overwhelmed, and burned out in the quest for success.
Many business owners often find it challenging to delegate tasks and responsibilities to others, which often stems from the fear of losing control, lack of confidence in others, and perfectionism but delegation is not a sign of weakness. Instead, it's a sign of strength and wisdom. Recognize that you can't do it all alone and that we need other people's talents and expertise to contribute to our lives so that we can focus on high-impact tasks.
Ally is a self-proclaimed spreadsheet addict and proud Virgo who lives and breathes organisation in the sunny city of Brisbane. She is a virtual assistant extraordinaire and founder of Bridbane Cheers Squad entrepreneurial events. She's the go-to person for all things about planning and organizational needs. Ally is a graduate of a Bachelor of Business, majoring in both Events Management and International Tourism and Hotel Management, which has proven to be a real asset to her business and clients in the long term. Ally also has her own full-time company, offering personal assistant services to other small businesses across many different industries.
In 2021, Ally created the Cheer Squad, a movement, networking platform, and an opportunity to mingle and connect with other like-minded entrepreneurs that want to get that support of being in a community and truly understand how they can support each other and be part of the same path of entrepreneurship.
Ally shared with us how she thrives as a business owner to help entrepreneurs who go through the phase of loneliness, self-doubt, and burnout finds solace and enjoyment in joining events that cultivate meaningful conversations, encouragement, and support from like-minded individuals.
We talked about how to build accountability by being part of a community of like-minded individuals that share their wins and challenges to support and encourage each other in times of conflict.
Join us as we delve into the importance of community, accountability, and self-care in entrepreneurs' lives and how delegation and outsourcing can help them concentrate on tasks that would highly influence their business. The wisdom and expertise of Ally will significantly benefit business owners who find it challenging to handle every job that's on their plate and aim to find the right person to handle various administrative tasks so that they can focus more on strategic and revenue-generating tasks.
"It's important to surround yourself with the people that can lift you, and it's important to silence the people that aren't doing that for you." – Ally Michel
Topics Covered:
(00:00:00) Episode Snippet
(00:00:38) Introduction
(00:01:51) Acknowledging our guest speaker, Ally Michel
(00:04:27) Who is Ally Michel?
(00:06:16) Highly driven: Being a Virgo
(00:06:49) When does the Cheerssquad come into existence?
(00:07:54) Business owners encourage and support each other.
(00:10:19) Why do people struggle to join a support group?
(00:11:43) Finding friends to share wins and challenges.
(00:12:42) The importance of having a cheerleader.
(00:14:00) The importance of accountability cannot be overstated.
(00:14:51) What do people enjoy doing while building their connections and interacting with like-minded individuals?
(00:16:30) The Pomodoro Technique
(00:17:08) Staying refreshed and being on top of our tasks.
(00:18:55) What is a Pomodoro Technique?
(00:19:57) How Pomodoro Technique impedes procrastination?
(00:22:32) Prioritizing, Delegating, and Automating
(00:24:17) The importance of joining a virtual co-working day.
(00:26:33) Be nice to yourself.
(00:27:21) Why do people struggle with delegation?
(00:27:46) Ad: Would you like instant access to a simple, intuitive, scientifically proven framework that has helped entrepreneurs and creatives like you remove burnout, gain clarity, and minimize anxiety in no time?
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(00:29:31) Money mindset: The Lack-Mentality
(00:30:12) The fear of letting go
(00:30:38) Learn to trust others.
(00:32:21) Find the right person to trust with your business.
(00:33:53) The entrepreneurs' hourly rate
(00:34:41) Outsourcing: A way to prioritize high-impact activities in your life and business.
(00:36:33) A guide to three strategies to start your side hustle: https://alewiecekrojo.com/3strategies
(00:37:07) Time is our most important asset.
(00:37:20) Work smarter, not harder.
(00:39:33) You may have to try different things before finding the right fit.
(00:40:50) How does Ally encourage socialization and conversations through in-person events?
(00:42:16) Be honest with yourself.
(00:42:42) Be proactive about your unique situation.
(00:44:28) Find a networking group that works for you.
(00:45:23) All good things take a bit of effort.
(00:45:57) What does "living in alignment" mean to Ally?
(00:46:42) Living authentically.
(00:47:02) Word of wisdom from Alex Michel
(00:48:27) You can't accomplish great things alone.
(00:49:06) Losing friendship to live in alignment.
(00:49:39) Where to connect with Alex Michel?
(00:50:52) Outro
Key Takeaways:
"Business owners that give solid advice, encouragement, and support just make the world of good friends." – Ally Michel
"The main difference with the cheer squad versus other networking groups is we're a social club for women in business that it exists to create friendships." – Ally Michel
"It's hard to find like-minded women at 30-50 years of age without going to networking groups." – Ally Michel
"Accountability is a huge thing." – Ale Wiecek Rojo
"Whatever tool you want to bring into your life that will increase your productivity and accountability." – Ally Michel
"A lot of us hustle and grind, and we burn ourselves out at the end of the day because we sit at our desks for five hours at a time; no wonder why we feel tired." – Ally Michel
"The idea behind Pomodoro technique is that when you take those breaks, you give your brain a rest so then you come back with energy." – Ally Michel
"A lot of business owners tend to work a lot of the time in the business and not on the business." – Ale Wiecek Rojo
"It's amazing to mind map your current tasks and figure out where you need to let go of things, to delegate, automate or eliminate things." – Ally Michel
"Be nice and kind to yourself and go in with the expectation of getting something done that's here." – Ally Michel
"People have this fear of letting go and surrendering to someone else in taking care of something that they've always cherished in their business." – Ally Michel
"Once you do delegation and you see the results in your business, mindset, and mental health, it becomes a bit addictive to start delegating." – Ally Michel
"If you delegate once and it doesn't work, don't be afraid to say it's not working and change the people that you're working with to make it fit for you and make it work for your business." – Ally Michel
"When you delegate, I found that the more process driven your virtual assistant is, the better you do and the more you thrive." – Ale Wiecek Rojo
"If you're in a space where you can outsource, that can take off some of the load so you can do that high-impact work and make the money to achieve your goals in that way." – Ally Michel
"My most important asset is my time." – Ale Wiecek Rojo
"When you're a part of a social club, it searches for virtual assistants much smaller. You can lean on the people that you've got to grow, learn from, and get motivated from." – Ally Michel
"You might have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the right environment for you." – Ale Wiecek Rojo
"You might need to become very clear on the type of business you want to have or want to grow for you to then find the right tribe." – Ale Wiecek Rojo
"You need to be honest with yourself." – Ally Michel
"Honoring the fact that you're lonely and being proactive is important." – Alex Michel
"All the good things in life take a bit of effort, and they're not comfortable sometimes, but I think the rewards are definitely there." – Ally Michel
"Living in alignment is when I can get a kick out of helping others, and they get a kick out of me doing that for them." – Ally Michel
"Take comfort in the fact that everyone has been where you are right now." – Ally Michel
Connect with Ally Michel:
Website: https://www.allyaide.com/
https://www.thecheerssquad.com/our-founder
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyaide/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allyaide/
Connect with Ale Wiecek Rojo:
A guide to three strategies to start your side hustle: https://alewiecekrojo.com/3strategies
FREE 7-Day to Alignment Challenge: https://alewiecekrojo.com/7dayschallenge to sign up.
Mentor session with Ale: https://calendly.com/alewiecek/lifestrategyjam?back=1&month=2023-06
7 Questions to Your Purpose (Episode 2): https://alewiecekrojo.com/7questionstopurpose
Website: https://www.sqrone.com.au
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alewiecek
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/168135012857578
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/alewiecek
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@alewiecek1597
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