Boom, shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire. Brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network with great shows like Being Boss. Today we'll be focusing on scaling your business's potential with virtual assistance to drop these value bombs.
I have brought Michael Sherlock on the mic. Don't be fooled by the name Hair Color or Crazy Shoes. Michael Sherlock is serious about business and she will show you how to shock your business potential. And today, Fire Nation will be talking about just that shocking your potential.
We'll talk about how Michael went from two to eight remote employees when she actually lost 100% of her business to the pandemic and how do you know it's the right time to build a team and some resources that are going to help you out a lot as well for doing just this. And so much more when we get back from thinking our sponsors, the HubSpot Podcast Network is the audio destination for business professionals who seek the best education and inspiration on how to grow a business. Whether you're looking for marketing, sales, service, or operational guidance, the HubSpot Podcast Network, host, have your back. Listen, learn and grow with the HubSpot Podcast Network at HubSpot.com.com.
Podcast Network. Michael, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. What's up Fire Nation? Gosh, it's so exciting to be here.
And this is such a great question. And I really think that many people believe that vulnerability is a fatal flaw. And I have always believed that vulnerability showcases your humanity, but also the truth behind who you really are. And I was thinking, not that I'm going to suck up, but I'm going to quote a couple things out of your new book because it just was appropriate.
But you talk about in your book, and I know I've heard this before from you with how you got your podcast launched, that moment where you were already and you were just about to hit send, to send it off to iTunes. And you went, wait, oh, I'm just going to put it off for two weeks and then two weeks more, and two weeks more until your coach said, look, I'm going to fire you. That is vulnerability to share that kind of story. And I know that from my perspective, I share a lot of things.
I try not to share too much, but a year ago, as we went into the pandemic, my business suffered 100% loss of all my income because I had only planned one lane of income. And I shared this with my followers. And I had some people call and say, Michael, I can't believe you just did that. Why would you say that?
It shows that you weren't organized or it shows you're not as great as you were. And I said, yeah, why would I try and pretend to be otherwise? I knew I should have had multiple income streams and I didn't do it. So here's the time I'm going to do it.
But just as I had people questioning why I did it, I had so many more call and say, I can't believe you said that. Thank you so much. I've been in the same boat. I've been so afraid.
I didn't want to show that maybe I didn't have it all together. And I believe that when we show our vulnerability, we show truth in a whole different way. And it might not always make us look like we're awesome, but it does make us look like we're human. Honesty, vulnerability, transparency, it makes us seem human.
I like that word to use, Michael. I'm also going to say it makes us seem relatable because everybody has flaws. Every single person in this world has flaws. Everybody makes mistakes.
Everybody in hindsight would have maybe done something different to this or that, whatever that might be. And I'll tell you straight up, I got a lot of people questioning back actually 91 months ago now, because we've been doing it for 91 months. When we start publishing our monthly income reports, they're like, you're crazy because number one, like that's just weird, like sharing all your financials, bringing your lawyer on for legal tip, your accounts on for taxes. Like that's just crazy.
Like why are you opening up your kimonos, so to speak? And showing people everything. Like what if you have a really bad month or a couple of bad months in a row? And now also you went for making hundreds of thousands of dollars a month to like 10, $20,000 a month or 2000.
Maybe you lose money one month. Like isn't that gonna be embarrassing? And I'm like, listen, I'm taking my audience, Fire Nation on a journey with me. I want them to see me through the ups, through the downs.
I want them to be rooting for me to succeed and commiserating with me when I fail. Cause those things are gonna happen to me all the time. Like that is the ups and the downs or rollercoasters of the journey that we're on. And not to get too far off track because it's completely on point here.
Like so many people are about to launch their podcast, asking me and podcast is paradise. Like, hey, John, like should I launch my best podcast first? Like I've been recording episodes for a month and like my best ones are my last 10 obviously, should I launch those first? And I'm like, absolutely not.
Like you want your audience to be on the journey with you. Like I was a bad podcast host when I started, but I got a little bit better every day Michael. You're my 3000th and like 245th episode. So I've gotten a little bit better over the years, you know, frankly, but I was terrible.
And my audience was rooting for me. I had to get emails when they would say, John, like you're actually not terrible anymore. It's so nice that you're not terrible. So I love that you shared that.
Be open, be honest, be transparent. We want the best version of you, Fire Nation, not some weak pale imitation of other people. So back to you, Michael, your company is called Shock Your Potential. What is the meaning behind this name?
You know, it's been such a fun journey. Cause like you, you know, I love the story about how you came up with entrepreneurs on fire. You know, Shock Your Potential actually came by complete accident. I was working when I started this business and I was ready to promote my first book and write my second book.
And you know, my person sitting down to do my website said, well, you know, what do you stand for? How are you different? And I said, well, I'm kind of shocking. You know, I have really colorful weird hair.
My name is Michael. I'm a girl. You know, I talk about really serious business stuff, but I do it with flair. But my whole goal is to help people reach their potential.
And they look at me and go, Shock Your Potential. And I went, oh, hey, that sounds great. But what it really means on the day to day basis is that, you know, we all know we have potential, but often, many times we hold ourselves back, even if it's once a year, once a month, once a week, that those times where we know that we need to step in or lean into the greatness, but we're afraid, or, you know, it's just the unknown in that hesitancy, that when I work with people, you know, maybe they didn't go after that promotion they wanted. Maybe they avoided going for the close of a sale, or maybe they had a hesitancy in opening their business or growing and scaling their business.
And my goal is really to get people to see, if you know that that potential is there, you do yourself in the world a disjustice by not stepping into it. And if I had to shock you by kicking you in a pants or giving you that jolt of energy to remind you you can, then you take it from there and you'll start to see the world and yourself in a completely different vantage point. I talk about shock, your potential, this will be the actually name of my third business book, but I take the letters in the word shock and I break them down to what it means to really move yourself or your business forward. And I don't know, would you like me to share those little, I love acronyms, Michael, let's break this down.
So the S is for stand out. And that's how do you stand out or do you stand out? And in reference to even what you write in your book, it's about kind of getting to that super niche point, the point where you know what makes you truly different than others that may be kind of in your field. And I always say, you know, what are the words that people use about you behind your back?
And if you don't know, you probably don't like the words they're using. So you have to control that dialogue. And the H is for hone your skills or hire your deficiencies. So there's some things that we need to do ourselves.
And if we're not good at them, we do need to hone our, if you're gonna be a podcast host and you're not great at it, you gotta get better at it, right? But there's also elements of what we do where we can hire our deficiencies. And I'll talk to, I know a little bit about that as we go through, but the O is operate as if you're already there. And I don't mean fake it till you make it.
I mean, if you wanna be the best podcast host, you wanna be the next Oprah, you'd look at those people who are next in line on the way. You know, like you talk about a year out from you, 10 years out from you, 30 years out from you. And you take time to review them, learn from them, ask them questions or people around them so that you begin to operate more in a sphere of what you are capable of, which actually allows you to see much beyond where you think you're capable of. And the C is for cultivate people and opportunities that are gonna get you there.
So it would have been great, you know, when I first started listening to you, I was like, one day, I'm gonna be on entrepreneurs on fire. I'm just gonna do it. I know I'm gonna do it. And here I am.
But you know what, if I would have tried to do this three years ago, five years ago, even a year ago, John, it wasn't the right time. But now is the right time for my business. And now is the right time for me. And as we cultivate different people and opportunities, they bring us along the journey.
But the one I love the most is the K. And for me, that stands for know your worth and know your value. And that means we have to believe in ourselves, even when our heads are telling us otherwise. You know, those moments of doubt that keep us from moving forward, when we spend time really working on how we know and believe in our worth and our value, then it gives us the courage in those moments where you're like, should I hit send on that?
And you're like, yes, yes, you are ready for this. Do it. But that knowing our worth and knowing our value grows us farther and faster and allows all these things to kind of cycle again. So much value here at Fire Nation.
I was taking notes like a Banshee. You wanna go through a couple things. First off, I love that phrase that you use, Michael. You do the world in injustice by not living in your zone of fire.
And you know, I did add that zone of fire. But I mean, you do the world in injustice, Fire Nation by not living in your zone of fire. So don't do the world in injustice. Be you be the zone of fire.
You know, shock the world with your amazingness. And then I love that acronym, stand out, hone your scale or hire your deficiency. So key there. I mean, when people kind of be able to be able to kind of like, John, how do I grow my podcast audience?
I'm like, how about you become a better podcast host when people listen, they're like, wow, this is actually really good. Like work on your skills, hone your skills. And of course hire your deficiencies. I have so many deficiencies.
I hire people to make up for my deficiencies. Operate as if you are already there. Now I did put a little asterisk here because I'm a big believer in the worst advice that I've ever received is fake it till you make it. Now I know that's not what you're saying here, Michael.
It's really important Fire Nation that you are authentic genuine, open, vulnerable as what Michael and I have been talking about all episode here. But you do have to understand the same time as that successfully's clues and that all ships rise and a high tide. And when you surround yourself with the right people and operate in that zone, you are going to rise so much faster because you're the average of those five people. Cultivate people in opportunities, so critical.
Know your worth, know your value. And Fire Nation, if you think Michael's even close to being done, drop in value bombs, you have another thing coming. As soon as we get back from taking our sponsors, she will be on fire. Sometimes what prevents us from reaching our biggest business goals are things like stress, anxiety, relationships, trauma, family conflicts, even our own self-esteem.
I speak from personal experience because when I first launched Newers on Fire, I had all kinds of fears and what it was clogging my mental bandwidth. Luckily there are ways to get past that stress, anxiety and fear because none of these things should get in the way of your dreams. That's why there's better help. Better help is not a crisis line and it's not self-help.
It's professional counseling done securely online. Here's how it works. Better help will assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. You'll connect in a safe and private online environment, making it both confidential and convenient.
And you can start communicating in under 48 hours. Plus, better help is more affordable than traditional offline counseling and financial aid is available. I want you to start living a happier life today. And as you listen, you'll get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at betterhelp.com.fire.
Join over 1 million people who have taken charge of their mental health. Again, that's betterhelpheelp.com.fire. The CRM you choose to help you run, grow and scale. Your business is important.
And what's even more important is that you get your team on board with using it. With HubSpot CRM platform, you can trust that adoption will be easy. This means less time training your team, more efficiency, better data, richer insights, and all of this results and a bigger impact on the customer experience. So how does HubSpot do it?
For starters, they provide what's called a contact timeline, which gives you the historical context you need to get work done fast and connect with your prospects and customers in a meaningful way. And if you're on the go, then you can use HubSpot's mobile app to move forward anytime, anywhere. Outreach, team collaboration, access to previous messages, and the ability to take notes and ad attachments as soon as you get off a call, it's all there waiting for you. You can even set updates and messages using HubSpot keyboard across multiple apps like WhatsApp, Slack, Gmail, and more.
Learn more about how you can scale your company without scaling complexity at HubSpot.com. Michael, we're back, and I know you mentioned a little bit about this towards the beginning part of the interview, but I want to dive deeper here. You recently went from two to eight remote employees. In the same year that you lost 100% of your business due to the pandemic, how the heck does this happen?
Oh my gosh. I first say, right before the pandemic hit, I had my first two remote employees for several months and we were gaining a lot of traction. But as I alluded to before, I was being fed. I had all these speaking and training engagements all over the world.
I had the most incredible calendar booked up for the next 18 months. And because I was being fed on a regular basis, I wasn't hungry. I wasn't going to have to scrounge for more food. And as you look at this, you go, okay, that's great, it's wonderful.
But it keeps you from understanding how do you take care of yourself in winter? It's the grasshopper and the ants and who's going to make sure that there's food throughout the whole season. And so with those two employees, I remember right after I saw everything cancel for the next 18 months, I'm not gonna lie, John. I sat in the corner, I curled up in the field position, stuck my thumb in my mouth, and basically cried for about 24 hours.
And during that time, I thought, okay, now you're done feeling sorry for yourself. Get up now, what are you gonna do? All right, I said, okay, you've always wanted to create an app to go directly to the people that love your work. Create the app.
All right, you've taken a year off the podcast to figure out what it means. Figure out what it means. Relaunch the podcast. You've always wanted to gain affiliates to work with.
Go get them. And so I spent time looking at this list and I said, okay, in order to do this, I can't do this with my two. I need to invest in my company right now. I need to take this opportunity of a breather and say, I will never be in this position again.
And so I knew that I needed someone to help me with the app. So I hired someone for the app. I knew I needed somebody else for the podcast. I hired that person.
And all of a sudden, now here I am, a year later with eight remote employees. All mine are based out of Kenya, which I'll talk a little bit about. Interesting. And I have this amazing team that because of what we do, I've been on over 20 podcasts just since December.
I have over two dozen affiliate relationships that are bringing in great income now, and will bring great income in the future. The podcast relaunched to an entirely new level. So now we have sponsors where we never did before, all because I hired people to focus on the areas that would actually grow my business. And what's really interesting through this is that as people watch from the outside, kept asking me, Michael, what are you doing?
Like, how are you doing this? And where did you find these people? And it was just a great story in and of itself. But I said, look, my entire team is remote out of Kenya.
And I can afford this kind of talent. They're great for me. There's challenges with it. But I had so many people say, well, how do I get a Lorna?
Who's my director of marketing? How do I get a Josie? Who's now my podcast manager? And can you introduce us to people?
So in the middle of all this craziness, I actually started a second company called Kuqua Biz. And Kuqua means growth in Swahili. And because I'd had so many people that I interviewed for just my eight positions, I started matching them up with my friends who have their own small businesses. And all of a sudden now, we have this great opportunity to match incredible talent at an affordable rate for those of us in the US, Canada.
Of course, we actually have somebody coming in on Australia, Belgium, and the UK as clients. But we're matching these. And we're not only making great opportunities for these small business owners to grow and scale in a way they didn't think they could. But we are providing this incredible opportunity for these talented professionals in Kenya who have severe unemployment and not as many opportunities as the rest of us to really become a part of a global workforce.
So it's just been an incredible win-win. It's been a whirlwind. But man, I gotta say the pandemic's been the best thing for my businesses. Oh man, and this is what I am always trying to preach via nation is that before the pandemic, Michael was living in her comfort zone.
She had things set up, it was comfortable, it was cozy, it was nice. All the magic happens outside your comfort zone. When you're outside your comfort zone, that's where all the magic happens. Like every new project that I've gone, I've undertaken over the past 10 years, has been outside my comfort zone from physical products to courses to communities now at Trishney Publish Book.
Like I haven't just stayed in my comfort zone of doing this, just having amazing conversations with amazing people. No, you have to get out of your comfort zone, stretch limits, be anti-fragil. So what would you say to fire nation right now, Michael, who wants to grow and scale their business? But they're worried about doing so much within all this uncertainty that is now around us.
You know, it's where I was too. And you know, when everything first fell apart, my first thought was, I'm gonna have to let my two people go. I mean, how do I do this when I've lost all my income? And once I got past that fear, and I realized to your point, I will never grow if I don't take this opportunity right in front of me right now.
But before I even hired the first two, the reason I knew it was time to grow and scale by adding people was because I knew it was time. And I know that sounds funny, but it was keeping me up at night. You know, it was bothering me when I was doing tasks that I needed to be done, for instance, in social media to promote my business. But I was tired of doing it.
I couldn't juggle that and be my own salesperson and create my materials and, you know, the and and and. And when it reached that point, and I recognized that I will not grow to anywhere near where my possibility is or my potential is until I add people, then this is the time to do it. But the decision then to go from those two and continually add over the next couple of months to eight, it just made more and more sense because I was able to allow people to get more singularly focused. So now I have one person who only does one part of my business in all these different areas.
And that kind of attention to detail allows them to get much deeper in things that I ever could. I mean, we're doing things with our shock, your potential app that I would have never even thought possible because I have somebody who can dedicate a hundred percent of their time to it. And so as we grow, if you're sitting here right now and you're like, I know and I've been saying to myself for months, if only I had someone, then you already know it's time. The only question is what's holding you back.
And for most people, it's really the uncertainty of whether or not they can afford it or whether or not they want to give up some of their profits at this point in time. So let's talk about this Kenya equation. Like how did that come to focus? It's such a great story.
I had a client of mine who had offices based in Singapore and Bangkok and they also had remote teams in Kenya and in Kathmandu, Nepal. And so as I worked with this client for several, for a couple years, I did a lot of work with the Kenyan team. And in fact, when I went to visit their offices in Singapore in Bangkok, the head of the Kenyan team flew into Singapore and we met and we became friends. And so as I learned more about her culture and what her team was doing and the affordability, frankly, of working with people from that area, I said to her, I go, how can I, I need someone like you?
And she said, I'll work for you. And I said, I can't hire you. You work for my client. Now, fast forward, she actually works for me now.
I don't work with that client anymore. But she got me connected with other people. And lo and behold, one of the other people who worked for that client who also networks for me and heads up all my staffing, we just, when I came back to them and said, okay, not only do I need more people, but I know there's opportunity here. How can we help build this?
And because I am so invested in my team and these people, they just found the most incredible talent. And we call them talent. So we match them with clients. We match our clients with talent.
And it's deeply personal to me, especially when I see the differences we make in their lives. But it's so exciting to me also to see that small business owners who really need this now more than ever, that we can make a difference and allow them to grow. And frankly, it's a complete competitive advantage against people who are still hiding in their shells and saying, I don't know, I'm just going to wait until this blows over and maybe I'll get back to speaking and training again. Wow.
I mean, that is a fascinating story in Fire Nation. Sometimes you just don't know what decisions are going to lead you to how and what path. And so you just start making decisions and taking action and being open to what the world is going to bring to you. Now, let's talk about a resource that you can recommend to Fire Nation if they know they're ready to build out a team.
Yeah, well, I actually have a couple of resources. And the first one is, if you're even thinking about this, we do have a course. Just have put it up. It's a 10 lesson course.
It's regularly $49, but we're going to have to deal for Fire listeners for $29. Whoa. And what I know, I'm going to give them a great deal. And the course is really to help you go through the questions about, is this the right time?
Who do I want? It's actually going to put you through quizzes, like your own leadership persona, what you want out of somebody, how do you know whether or not they're the perfect fit for your business. So we have that all built out. Now, if you really are cost conscious though, you can also download the Shockey Potential app.
And you can go into our entrepreneurs segment of the app. And for the executive membership price of $5.99 a month, which you can basically take the whole course in that month in case you didn't want to stick with it, you can get the whole course there too. So you can spend $29 or $5.99 your choice. But one other thing, I just want to say, and yes, there's more, is that if you decide that you want to work with our Kuqib as clients, your first week of service is on us.
If you reference being a part of Fire Nation. Whoa. I mean, come on now, Fire Nation. Come on.
So listen, Michael, you've got so much value to get Fire Nation. You've got so much awesomeness going on. What of everything that we talked about here today? Do you want to wrap up like a nice red bow?
What do you want to make sure Fire Nation gets? Let's talk about anything right now that we didn't get to get to yet. And then we'll say goodbye. You got it.
Well, first of all, if they have any questions, just email me at info at shockyourpotential.com or michael at shockyourpotential.com and reference Fire Nation, because in that way, I know where you've come from. But I think this is a real key to leave with, just thinking about, is that when we are really truly, we want to leave a legacy. And we want to leave a legacy because of our business. That means we have to take good risks that make sense.
But good risks also mean growing. And every time you are faced with that decision of, should I grow this business or not? If you are really trying to leave a legacy, then making the decision to grow the business is always going to feel a little bit uncomfortable, and it should always take you leaps and bounds. And if it had not been for me really already forging the way, because everyone who started with us with cuckooabiz, as clients, looked at my own journey, and they could have seen it.
They saw it from every step of the way. The proof of concept is there. And so it's always exciting to take leaps and chances, but it's always better when you know that somebody has paved the path, has already made some of the mistakes, many of the mistakes, and is also working to be your partner in growing. So our business is not just about matching you as somebody else and walking away.
We are there for our talent, we are there for our clients, and we are learning to build a community that makes you still a single business owner, but feel like you're a part of a giant community. I mean, Fire Nation, this is really exciting stuff to be part of a bigger community, to learn from people who are actually in the trenches, doing the thing. So one more time, Michael, before we say goodbye, what options and opportunities does Fire Nation have to learn more from you, to learn more from your team and do this right? Yep, easiest way, either shockyourpotential.com forward slash fire for the course on our website for $29, or download the Shock Your Potential app, go into our executive session, and you will find it at the entrepreneurs section, and you will find it there, or email us at info at shockyourpotential.com.
Fire Nation, you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with MS and JL, and I'm going to be here today. So keep up that heat. Head over to eofire.com, type Michael in the search bar, that's M-I-C-H-A-E-L, and her show notes page will pop up with everything that we talked about today, best show notes in the biz, time stamps, links to everything that we chatted about.
And I just want to say, Michael, thank you. Thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today for that. We salute you, and we'll catch you on the flip side. Hey Fire Nation, today's value bomb content was brought to you by Michael, and are you ready to rock your very own podcast?
Well, check out our free podcasting course where I will teach you how to create and launch your podcast for free. That was a little too giddy. Freepodcast course.com, I will catch you there, or I'll catch you on the flip side. The HubSpot Podcast Network is the audio destination for business professionals who seek the best education and inspiration on how to grow a business, whether you're looking for marketing, sales, service, or operational guidance, the HubSpot Podcast Network.
Hosts, have your back. Listen, learn and grow with the HubSpot Podcast Network at HubSpot.com.com. Podcast Network.