EP408: How to Work With a #2 To Scale Your Business
If you’ve hit a growth plateau in your business, there’s a good chance it’s time to hire your second in command. I’ve seen designers in our Flourish and Thrive community experience these plateaus, which keeps them from moving forward.
They know they “should” be hiring, but they put it off because they’re unsure how to hire a great team member or which activities to let a number two take ownership of.
This is a common stumbling block which is why I’m so excited to have Carla Garro and Sam Wunschell of Lita Seaglass on the Thrive by Design podcast. They generously shared how working as a team has helped the company double in size and revenue.
How a Second in Command Supports a Creative Visionary
I’ve been coaching Carla for a while and have witnessed her business growth over the past several years. When Carla realized she needed someone to support her in doing things outside her zone of genius, she realized that Sam, already on her team, had all the qualities for the role of operations manager.
Carla hired Sam 4-years ago as a packager but, over time, realized Sam had strong qualities better suited elsewhere in the business. For instance, Sam is very tech-savvy and can move quickly between different tasks without losing her flow.
Sam is also extremely resourceful, precisely what a visionary like Carla needed to continue growing Lita Seaglass.
Your Operations Manager Compliments your Zone of Genius
Carla was looking to set up systems requiring a tech-savvy mind, which she admits is outside her zone of genius. She’d noticed that Sam was excellent in many different areas beyond packaging, so when Sam offered, “After I finished all my other stuff, could I take a crack at it?” Carla said, “Why don't you just make that part of your role?”
As a creative, Carla knew she needed help setting up the back-end systems for the different jobs inside the business, so moving Sam into the role of operations manager was a natural evolution.
Communication is Key to a Successful Business Relationship
Communication has been the key to the duo’s success. When something is not moving smoothly in the business, Carla and Sam talk about it. Carla communicates her ideal outcome, and then the two come up with some options together. Their respect for each other’s strengths and weaknesses creates a successful business relationship.
“I highly recommend everybody gets a Sam.”
Creative visionaries are great starters and finishers. It’s the middle part where they sometimes struggle with bringing an idea or a new product to fruition. But with a number two, like Sam, who loves the middle part, things get done.
Clear communication is one of the best things Carla and Sam have established, which is why they can work so well together.
Doubling Your Business with the Right Support
Since Sam has stepped into the number two role, the Lita Seaglass team has doubled in size from four to nine, and revenue has also doubled. “The things that we're able to do, and the way that we're able to do them, just is so much better.”
As Carla shared in this episode, it took a few years to get to this point. She and Sam worked hard on developing the structure for systems and SOPs. Now that it's set up, everything moves faster and more smoothly. The future looks bright for Lita Seaglass!
In Podcast Episode 408, we go in-depth about hiring the right team for growth…
- Making sure that you know your strengths so that you can hire people who complement you
- Hiring a second in command who is the polar opposite of the creative visionary
- Keeping an open mind about what you want and how you like to communicate to find the right person for each role
- Training your team to self-direct and to feel confident in making decisions without worrying about making mistakes
- And so much more…
“It's really important for me, as the leader of the company, to allow everybody that space in their role to make a mistake so that then we can teach how to handle it and how to move forward.”
In this episode, Carla and Sam talk openly about their relationship, how it’s evolved over the years, and how it’s been essential to the growth of Lita Seaglass Jewelry.
Here’s a quick overview of Episode 408:
[0:00] How to hire a great team member
[6:45] Sam and Carl’s distinct roles in the business
[11:43] How Sam trains the team
[13:58] Hiring the right person for the role
[23:15] Empowering your employees
[26:26] How the business has grown
You’ll find incredible value from this episode around hiring your number two or any other role inside your business. It makes all the difference in the world when you have someone who can just take direction and run with it!
Enjoy!
Xo,
Tracy
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