1632 – What a Founder Should Do in Their Company with Seeker Solution’s Jamie Seeker

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0:59with us right now jamie seeker jamie you are the founder of seeker solution you were found on the web at seekersolution.com jamie thanks for joining us thank you josh thanks for having me all right what is seeker solution gosh seeker solution is so many things how do i answer that in just one one, one shot. Um, I would say that we provide services for business owners and it's mostly targeting small and medium sized businesses whose owners are still doing all the things you are running all of the, um, marketing and sales and you're running the operation and everything like that. And you get to the point where you realize you just can't do it yourself.

1:38And so that's where we step in and we help with operations management services. Um, and so that's where we come in, come alongside and help you to offload that and scale and get bigger and continue to fulfill your vision as an owner. Well, look, it sounds like, you know, I'd say one of the biggest flaws of founders is they fall into the e-myth trap, right? And they're just doing way too much in their company. I'd love your take on this, Jamie. What should a founder be doing with their company? Oh gosh, they should be doing what they were created to do and what they love to do and what they got into doing in the first place.

2:18And that's really what we help come in and identify immediately. That's one of the first things that we do is really talk about what fills you, what brings you joy, why did you get into this? And we get back to basics, we get back to that. And then everything else we offload. And you can't do that right away, right? When you're first starting, you have to do it all. I think that's a part of the boot camp of being an owner. And I think it's part of our dues that we need to pay. But at the same time, you don't want to lose sight of why you did it in the first place. And so I think to answer that question, what every owner and founder should do with their company is what brings them joy and brings them life and get back to the reasons why they started.

2:55Yeah. And I think when you talk about what's the difference between kind of the mandate to you need to grow the company versus what you just said, which is do what you're passionate about, do what you love. What happens if what that founder loves is they love copywriting or they love the operations of the work that they do and they love making pies, Jamie? What are they to do if they just think that's truly their love? But yet they're also at the same time complaining that they got cash flow issues, that sales are not where they're supposed to be. Well, sure. I'm not saying that somebody doesn't have to focus on those things.

3:41Somebody does. But I think we all have to get back to what our own visions are of what we think a leader should be. And we just need to squash those. Nobody said that just because you're the owner, you can't be making pies anymore. Nobody said that just because you're the owner, you have to be looking at cash flow and financials. I'm not saying that you don't have to know the basics and understand it. It is your company after all. But as long as you have people around you, that that is their passion, that is their thing. We are all created, I feel like for very specific and unique purposes. And one of the things that we try and do is uncover those things.

4:20And we work with your internal teams and look to find people and fill gaps where you don't have in your company. And so, yeah, what if you're, you know, you're the one that wants to keep your hands in it? Well, I do think you need to educate yourself and get yourself up to speed on those important things. Your company still needs to be profitable so that you can do what you love to do. But I'm not saying that you have to completely wipe all of that out and do, you know, all of the other things that really drain you and really you probably shouldn't be doing anyway. Are you the best person? Yes, you can do it, but should you be doing it?

4:55And so, yeah, I mean, so what? I mean, if you're one of those people that keeps loving doing the things that you started off doing, then continue to do that. If, if, if it's not something that you want to get off your plate in 20, 30, 40 years, you know, keep doing it. I say. Wow. So to our friend that's listening to us right now, um, think of the one job, if you're a founder of a company, think of the one or two jobs that you're still doing that for whatever reason you haven't delegated out because you enjoy it, or you just really haven't found anyone that you want to give the work to. I think Jamie, what you're saying is like, you're forgiven.

5:30You can do that. But at the same time, we still need to take care of all this other stuff that maybe you don't enjoy doing or could be handled much better. So what are some of the first steps if let's say you're working with a founder and that founder is like, yeah, Jamie, I'm doing way too much in this company and I am burning the candle at both ends. This is not sustainable. How do I get out of this? Yeah, well, I think that is something that we see. And I would say in 100 % of our clients, at some point, they're calling us and they're talking to us because they are overloaded and they're doing too many things.

6:10And so what we really just try to do is sit down and talk through, well, let's just make a list of everything that you're doing. List it out. And I think it makes it a lot easier to put it out there as opposed to hold it in. Because sometimes that feeling of everything that I have to do, that internalized stress of it all is something that really weighs us down. So I think the first thing that we do is identify the things that you are doing and put them up against the things that need to be done. And then from there, we kind of go through and prioritize, all right, well, what are the things that absolutely you have to do?

6:43Nobody else in this company can do it. It's not appropriate for anybody or for whatever other reason, or maybe you are truly the best person to do it. And we just make those green. We say, hey, these are green, these stay on your list. And we look at the things that what are things that anyone else can do. And those are usually pretty easy to identify. And, you know, for whatever reason, you've held on to it just for over, you know, doesn't really matter why it's still there. We make those red. And we say, okay, those are going to go immediately. We're going to find if you don't have this person in your company, we're going to find that person.

7:16If you do, we're going to train them up. And that's going to start today. And then we look at all those things that it's like, okay, these are yellow. These are things that probably shouldn't be on your plate long-term, but they need to stay on there now because there's some other priorities or whatever. And once we kind of establish that red, yellow, green system, it makes it very easy to move forward and say, all right, well, we're going somewhere. And so, yes, you're still overloaded and you still are doing all the things, but you can kind of see a plan to get out of that. And I think right now, the biggest stressor is we just stay in that busy in that cycle.

7:50And we don't put a plan in place or we don't really do anything to change it. And so that's really where we come in is to help set up that accountability and move you toward that. Yeah. I mean, I think if we were to, if someone were very honest about how they spend, you know, if they were to add up all the minutes in a week, you know, there's probably a lot of not just maybe work that could be delegated, but a lot of wasteful time. Like I think of like, you know, things like email. You know, there are, trust me when I say that there are processes that you can set up so you don't have to field all that stuff.

8:28Absolutely. Yeah, and so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Jamie, how long does it take to make some meaningful progress toward, you know, getting some of our sanity back? Well, I would say a lot of that depends on the person. In our process, though, we've been doing this for a really long time. And so we have pretty good our own standard operating procedures, if you may, that we kind of go through to make sure that we identify just really quick wins. That's part of some of the things that we do internally to identify. And so I think right away, I think just the process shows you that, oh my gosh, I'm feeling that it's different.

9:07Even if I haven't done anything different, I'm doing all the same tasks today. I haven't delegated anything. I haven't done anything, but just truly identifying it and seeing that, okay, you know, that hope. I do think that from what I see and what we've worked with over the years, we do see immediate relief. But the sustainability comes with the accountability. So, yes, you might achieve immediate relief, just like any kind of diet or change that you do. You can see immediate results, but we're really not in it for the short term. We are in it for the long term sustainability and helping you to maintain these changes and to hold on to them.

9:46Because the first thing that people do is whenever we hit any kind of obstacle, we take it all back. And so those are some other things that we work through. And that takes some time. I think you really start to see some tangible results within 90 days. But the sustainability really comes. And that all depends on the person and the accountability measures. and their willingness to continue to push through and grow and not revert back to what they're comfortable with. So that longevity varies and it can take some people longer than others. But I will say, you know, to see some real good tangible results, immediate relief, 90 day tangible results where you can go, oh, that remember when I used to do that?

10:27Yeah. So what stage of business, Jamie, should would you expect that someone might be in to know that they would be a good fit for you or they'd be ready for you. They can afford you that sort of thing. Sure. I mean, we have our, our target market, I would say that is our wheelhouse, but we have worked with, you know, all stages of it and we have different, you know, different solutions for different things that are appropriate. But I would say that our main, um, target demographic that we do really well with are those that are scaling and operator is still owner, you know, still doing all the things.

10:59And so that's usually between two to 10 million in revenue. You haven't quite brought on your C-level employees yet. Anybody above that typically will have the layers and systems in place. Before that, you're not really quite ready to, I think the financial strain is not having that, used to having payroll and things like that that you're responsible for, I think, before the 2 million or, you know, like I said, we've done all sizes and all stages. but I would say that that's our wheelhouse right there. Yeah. And so for someone that's listening to our conversation, what would you recommend? They've been hearing you.

11:42They're like, yes, yes, yes. Jamie, I need help. What would they do from here? Well, really they can check out our website. We have different ways to engage in different solutions that we offer. And so what we try and do is think about what are all of the different things that happen in an operation that you could potentially outsource or, you know, fill in that gap and offload off your plate. So whether it's, you know, social media strategy, whether it's financial management, what, you know, what am I, what are my numbers telling me? I don't know. I'm not a numbers person or whether it's, you know, human resources.

12:16We do outsource that as well. So there are different ways to engage with us, check out our website, secret solution.com and really kind of see if any one of those solutions fits, you know, one of your gaps And one of the things that's kind of giving you a pain point and we can have a conversation and we've got a contact form. We've got phone numbers, you know, we're all over social media and whatnot. So you can kind of check us out and get to know what we're all about through our Instagram page. I think we try to post reels that have to do with situational things that, you know, we deal with. So that's a good way to, to identify.

12:45Oh yeah. I think, I think this could be me. This is me. Yeah. Your website, seekersolution.com. Any other resources that you'd recommend for folks that are kind of contemplating? Maybe they might be a little early stage and, you know, but yet they'd still like to follow your advice or best practices. Yes, actually. Yeah, go for it. I do. I have, I've got a download that I can actually email out. So if somebody wants to reach out to us and say, hey, send me that leadership download. And it's just a couple of pages and it's very tangible steps. talking about some of the things that we're talking about today is, you know, okay, yes, maybe I do kind of fit some of these boxes.

13:28Maybe I am carrying all the, all the load and some tangible steps to kind of, you know, do on your own and, and get yourself out of that a little bit. So yeah, I can absolutely email that out if somebody's interested. Yeah. Awesome. That's a seekersolution.com. And again, Jamie Seeker, what a great last name. Thank you so much. It's Thanks, Josh.

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