Breaking the Glass Ceiling in the Industry Fireside Chat Pt.1 Ep 400

In a fireside chat at Grow with Video Live, Alex and Layla Hermosi shared insights with business owners on scaling businesses, hiring strategies, and leadership. They emphasized the importance of choosing the right platform for growth, trusting oneself, and the critical role of an executive assistant in giving time back to executives. They discussed the different challenges businesses face at various revenue milestones and the necessity of building a strong culture and team. The Hermosis highlighted that effective leadership involves relinquishing control for freedom and underscored the value of hiring based on problem-solving abilities. They also touched on the nuances of hiring sales managers, who should ideally possess experience, team-building skills, and cultural fit. Lastly, they shared their personal focuses on developing wisdom, discernment, patience, and balancing internal business management with personal branding efforts.

• The fireside chat is from an exclusive third day of a conference for VIPs who paid extra.
• The audience consisted of business owners at various stages of development.
• Topics discussed ranged from sales strategies to scaling a team and hiring assistants.
• The chat is shared as a gesture of goodwill from the participants.

"What you're about to listen to is a vip fireside chat from grow with video Live. There was a third day that was a secret unlock day for people who chose to pay a lot of extra money to be a part of that extra day of vip stuff."

The quote sets the stage for the exclusive nature of the event and the type of audience present, highlighting the value of the information discussed.

• Participants in the chat included business owners making a few hundred thousand dollars to over $10 million a year.
• Questions covered a wide range of topics, from increasing sales to team management.
• The diversity in audience and topics provided a rich ground for discussion.

"It was mostly business owners at different stages, some making a few hundred thousand dollars a year, all the way up to $10 million a year plus."

This quote indicates the diversity of the participants in terms of their business sizes and the breadth of topics that were likely covered in the Q&A session.

• The footage of the chat is exclusive and shared for listeners' benefit.
• The fireside chat is part of a two-part series, with the second part to be released in the future.

"Very exclusive footage, and you'll be able to hear the audio now."

This quote emphasizes the exclusivity and value of the content being shared with the audience.

• Alex and Layla Hermosi were the main speakers.
• Questions were pre-selected by the audience and curated to avoid poor quality inquiries.
• The event's format was designed to provide valuable and contextually relevant answers.

"So we did a pre selected Q A for you guys. So earlier this morning, we had everybody go and write down their questions that they had for you."

The quote explains the process by which the questions were gathered and selected, ensuring a high-quality discussion.

• Layla Hermosi emphasizes adapting to the current digital landscape and finding the right platform with the most opportunity.
• She reflects on the past success with Facebook and suggests looking for new platforms like TikTok.
• The importance of trusting oneself and being cautious with advice is highlighted.

"So I would go where I see the most opportunity. So I think for people in this room. It's what platform is exploding right now and which one has the biggest gap that I can fill with my skill set and with my Persona."

Layla Hermosi stresses the importance of identifying and seizing opportunities on emerging platforms that align with one's skills and persona.

• Alex discusses the importance of monetizing one's skill set and gaining experience.
• He advises against trying to pursue multiple ventures at once and suggests focusing on one.
• The process of trial and error is encouraged to gain perspective and improve judgment.

"I would be looking for the highest leverage opportunity to monetize the skill set that I had."

Alex's quote underscores the strategy of identifying opportunities that can maximize the use of one's existing skills for monetization.

• Different revenue milestones often present unique challenges, referred to as "glass ceilings."
• Alex breaks down the common hurdles at the 0-100k, 1-3 million, and beyond 3 million revenue marks.
• Solutions involve consistent sales, scaling acquisition channels, and improving the business's operational infrastructure.

"So zero to six is selling something to someone is what you need to do. Selling something to someone consistently on one channel gets you to a million."

This quote by Alex outlines the progression and focus areas needed to break through the initial revenue glass ceiling.

• Layla Hermosi discusses the timing and importance of hiring key personnel.
• She suggests that reaching near 1 million in revenue can be done with vendors and part-time help.
• Identifying a "super solid number two" is crucial for breaking past the 1 million mark.

"I think that when you get to close to 1 million, that's when you really have to start finding a super solid number. Two is what I want to call it."

Layla's quote highlights the pivotal role of finding a reliable second-in-command to help scale the business past certain revenue milestones.

• Scaling a business requires identifying key leadership roles and filling them effectively.
• Initially, founders often cover multiple leadership roles themselves, such as head of customer success, sales, and marketing.
• To grow from $3 million to $10 million, businesses should focus on building a second layer of leadership with experienced individuals.
• Scaling from $10 million to $30 million involves creating a full suite of executives and mid-level management to handle incremental improvements.
• Communication becomes increasingly important as a company grows, with the CEO or founder often taking on the role of chief communicator.
• Systems and structures within a business tend to break when they triple in size, necessitating significant changes to continue scaling.

"And then around 3 million is when we take in a business and we're trying to get it from three to ten, the first thing that we do is identify the biggest areas of leverage in terms of leadership."

This quote highlights the importance of leadership in scaling a business, specifically the strategy of identifying and leveraging key leadership roles to facilitate growth from $3 million to $10 million in revenue.

"And then to get from ten to 30, it's really building out a full suite of executives, which is usually around five to six, and then a full suite of maybe ten director level, manager level people."

Layla Hermosi emphasizes the need for a robust executive and managerial structure to effectively manage a business as it scales from $10 million to $30 million in revenue.

"Systems break when they triple."

Leila points out a common pattern where business systems tend to fail when they experience tripling in size, suggesting that businesses must adapt and restructure to accommodate growth.

• Success can lead to unnecessary complexity in a business, which is often the result of adding new elements without considering the inherent complexity of growth.
• Entrepreneurs may feel the urge to innovate or diversify, which can complicate the business model and hinder scalability.

"You let that success get to your head. And so you add complexity into your business without understanding that the complexity in your business is the volume."

Layla Hermosi warns about the pitfalls of letting success drive unnecessary complexity in business operations, which can be a barrier to scaling.

• Entrepreneurs must learn to delegate and relinquish control to enable business growth.
• As the business scales, founders transition from hands-on roles to more strategic positions, eventually reaching a point where they may no longer be involved in day-to-day operations.
• This process often involves a shift in mindset, from doing everything oneself to empowering others to take on leadership roles.

"Layla trains one person on how to do all of those things and then doesn't do it's. I've trained myself to be so good at doing such a large volume of work and making such an impact, and I had to train myself to step back and not do any of it."

Layla Hermosi describes the difficult transition from being deeply involved in all aspects of the business to stepping back and allowing others to take over those responsibilities.

"Entrepreneurship as a journey from, like, a spiritual standpoint, is a consistent relinquishing of control at each level."

Leila reflects on the entrepreneurial journey as a process of gradually giving up control in various aspects of the business to gain more freedom.

• The CEO's involvement in the hiring process is crucial for maintaining company culture.
• Even as a company grows, the CEO should ideally have the final interview with every candidate to ensure cultural alignment.
• Personal relationships and setting clear expectations with new hires are key to building loyalty and maintaining culture.

"I think that if your company is not in the thousands, I don't know why the CEO would not have the final interview with every person."

Layla Hermosi stresses the importance of the CEO's role in the hiring process to maintain company culture and ensure that new hires align with the company's values and expectations.

"I think having those personal relationships is so much more advantageous than people realize."

Layla Hermosi advocates for the benefits of personal relationships within a company, suggesting that they contribute significantly to team loyalty and the overall success of the business.

• Greeting someone, especially by someone as busy as a CEO, is a profound way to show care and importance.
• The act of giving time is seen as the ultimate expression of valuing a person within a company.

And so there's no better way to show care for someone as a human than to greet them, than to take your time.

This quote emphasizes the significance of personal interaction, specifically greetings, in expressing respect and care for individuals within a professional environment.

• The CEO's involvement in firing depends on their relationship with the employee.
• If the CEO has a close relationship, recruited the person, or if the person is within their network, they may take responsibility for the termination.
• Managers should be responsible for firing to ensure they are invested in the employee’s performance and development.
• Direct involvement of HR in firing can lead to lazy management and an increased rate of terminations.

Yeah, I mean, that's tough. I think that if I have a close relationship, relationship with somebody in the company, then I take it upon myself.

Layla Hermosi indicates that the personal connection between a CEO and an employee can dictate the CEO's involvement in the firing process, suggesting a more hands-on approach in such cases.

• Company values should be non-negotiable and provide a clear indication of the company's culture and direction.
• Values should be purposefully exclusive to attract the right people and repel those who do not fit.
• As a company grows, values serve as a guide for decision-making in the absence of the founder or CEO.
• The right culture can compensate for an inferior strategy, providing resilience and a competitive edge.

And I'm bringing these two points up because the two points that I'm going to make are the two things that I thought were complete horseshit as I scaled up.

Leila highlights a shift in belief regarding the importance of company values and culture, acknowledging their critical role in the success and scalability of a business.

• A good executive assistant is invaluable and can function as a generalist within the company.
• When hiring, look for candidates who can clearly articulate how they will address your current challenges and onboarding themselves.
• The right executive assistant should be able to identify the constraints you are facing and have a plan to alleviate them.
• Transparency and real-life problem-solving scenarios during interviews are key to finding the right fit.

Yeah, I mean, I don't think that you can go wrong if you hire a good executive assistant.

Layla Hermosi stresses the importance of hiring a competent executive assistant, underscoring their role as problem solvers and their ability to adapt to various responsibilities within the company.

• The discussion on hiring a director of sales or an equivalent position to handle acquisitions was raised but not elaborated on.

(Since the transcript does not provide further details on this topic, no quotes or explanations are provided.)

• An effective executive assistant should give the executive attention back, relieving them of tasks and stress.
• The value of an executive assistant is measured by the amount of time they can save the executive.
• Personal rapport with the executive assistant is crucial for effective communication and task delegation.
• The distinction between an administrative assistant and an executive assistant lies in the level of decision-making authority and responsibility.

One is the definition of help is giving someone attention back.

Leila explains that an executive assistant's role is fundamentally to alleviate the workload of the executive, thus allowing them to focus on more critical tasks.

(Since the transcript does not provide further details on the hiring process for a director of sales or equivalent, the study notes focus on the information provided regarding executive assistants and other discussed topics.)

• Founders often have different types of tasks and workloads, which require different kinds of support from executive assistants.
• An executive assistant with industry experience can significantly reduce the time a founder spends on onboarding and training.
• The hiring process should involve asking candidates to solve problems they would encounter in their role to assess their problem-solving skills and thought process.
• Assessing a candidate's ability to handle incomplete data and their propensity to ask clarifying questions is crucial.

"The things that I do take a long time and are really valuable and high leverage, but I don't have a lot of things that I check off."

This quote emphasizes that the speaker, Alex, engages in high-value tasks that require significant time investment and are not numerous or routine.

"Having somebody, especially who has industry experience as well, gives you a huge leg up."

Alex highlights the advantage of hiring an executive assistant with industry experience, as it streamlines the workflow and reduces the need for extensive training.

"Because what we're doing is we're hiring a person to solve a problem."

The quote underlines the purpose of hiring an executive assistant, which is to address specific challenges or gaps within the founder's workflow.

• Executive assistants can handle significant projects such as hiring for executive roles and managing large real estate purchases.
• Trust in an executive assistant's judgment and capability is essential when delegating high-level tasks.
• Understanding the scope of an executive assistant's role and responsibilities is crucial before hiring.

"One of them is leading the hiring of an executive role, and she's doing the first interviewing of everybody."

Layla Hermosi provides an example of the high level of responsibility and trust placed on an executive assistant in the hiring process for a critical role within the company.

"And then one of our other executive assistants is leading a very large real estate purchase that we're doing right now with a partnership."

Layla Hermosi illustrates the varied and complex projects that an executive assistant can lead, emphasizing the role's potential breadth.

• Hiring a sales manager involves looking for candidates with proven experience and success in sales management.
• Active recruitment is often more effective for higher-level positions since the best candidates are usually already employed.
• A sales manager needs to have experience in a similar industry and sales cycle to be effective.
• Sales managers should be team-oriented and able to foster a strong sales team culture, which is critical for success.

"I want somebody who's already won multiple times, and they just need to win it on my team."

Speaker B, Leila, stresses the importance of hiring a sales manager with a track record of success, equating it to winning Olympic gold medals in their field.

"Sales managers are operators... They have to be there to coach the team up."

Leila explains that sales managers must possess operational skills, leadership qualities, and the ability to nurture a positive team culture, which is vital for a high-performing sales team.

• Wisdom and discernment are key skills for making strategic decisions and guiding a business from a hundred million to a billion dollars.
• Patience and impulse control are necessary for sustained growth and maintaining strategic direction without unnecessary innovation.
• Building a team of experts who have "been there, done that" is crucial for working with businesses in acquisition.com.
• Learning how to manage a team of executives who are specialists in their fields presents unique challenges.
• Balancing internal business management with building a personal brand and creating content is a struggle that requires prioritizing attention and effort.

"Wisdom and discernment. Just making good. It's a lot of decision making."

Speaker B, Leila, identifies wisdom and discernment as critical skills for effective decision-making in business growth.

"So I think it's finding people who are already experts, and then it's been interesting to learn how to... how do you manage and how do you grow those people?"

Speaker D, Layla Hermosi, discusses the challenge of managing a team of experts and the importance of continued learning and adaptation in leadership.

"It's being able to figure out where my attention is more important."

Layla Hermosi talks about the personal challenge of dividing attention between internal business operations and external brand building, seeking to excel in both areas.

• The transcript concludes with the end of part one of the fireside chat, with a teaser for the second half of the discussion.

"And that concludes part one of the grow with video live VIP section fireside chat."

The host, Alex, wraps up the first part of the conversation, indicating that there is more content to come in the following segment.