I Don't Care

Send a text Burnout is bullshit. Now let me say, I know that I'm about to catch so much shit from people on this episode, if you just look at the title. I know. But I also know that I'm coming from a place of the reality of "been there, done that". I get it, and I don't want people to think that I am dismissing your exhaustion.I'm definitely not. This is not me minimizing how heavy things feel, and it's definitely not me saying you are not tired or that you're not overwhelmed. What it is is me telling you the truth, though. It's the fact that we call burnout something different than what it is entirely. What burnout is; is a lack of structure.Support the show

Send a textI wanna talk about something today that could actually genuinely change the way that you lead in your business. It's not because it's a trendy business concept, but more because it actually forces you to confront one of the biggest reasons that you're probably overwhelmed. It's because you expect a hundred percent in areas in your business from your team where 80% would actually be enough.The truth is your business doesn't need perfection. What it needs is consistency, standards and predictability, and none of that actually requires a hundred percent from anyone, including you as the owner. You probably have heard the 80/20% rule a lot in business.A lot of times when I bring this up to owners, I have to explain to them, it isn't about lowering your expectations. It's actually about raising clarity around what actually matters. Leaders who try to control that last 20% - the part that doesn't change the outcomes - are the ones that end up overwhelmed, and with teams that struggle and feel like they're being micromanaged.Support the show

Send a textToday we are gonna talk about where I've been. Not necessarily because I owe you an explanation, but because there's definitely a leadership lesson in this that I think every business owner needs to hear,  that we don't always talk about. I didn't necessarily fall off. I didn't burnout. I think burnout is bullshit. We'll talk about that in a later episode though. Don't come for me right now. I just stepped back. It was an intentional, very deliberate and completely unapologetic decision that I decided to make because I really feel like leadership requires clarity, and clarity sometimes requires space. It wasn't a breakdown, there wasn't chaos, it wasn't losing control. A lot of it was strategy, and it was intentional.Support the show

Send a textI wanna talk about something that took me a little bit of time to understand, and it's that when you have standards, that doesn't make you difficult. And it doesn't make you cold. It doesn't make you unapproachable, and it definitely doesn't make you mean. It doesn't matter what people tell you or what people say.None of those things are true because you have standards and expectations. What it does is, it makes you clear, and for whatever reason, people have gotten real uncomfortable with clarity.  I'm not. I'm not sure why, but somewhere along the way, being direct started being misinterpreted as being aggressive  - and holding people accountable, now all of a sudden means that you are micromanaging. Then looking at someone who has expectations, suddenly that makes them the villain.Support the show

Send a text Man, I feel like maybe I am going through an identity crisis. I've been spending a lot of time talking about identity of you and your business, and you and your brand, and lately I've been thinking a lot about like - the old me, the version of me. Before the titles, before like all the systems.Just - the me before, like every decision felt like it carried someone else's paycheck or stability or their future. For you business owners, I know that you understand the weight of that, and probably who you were before all of those things existed. You know, I miss that girl sometimes. The girl that was bold enough to build something without overthinking every angle, you know? The girl who didn't carry everyone's expectations on her back, and the one who didn't have to filter everything through, "is this professional, is this appropriate"? You may or not relate, and either way is fine.Support the show

Send a textWell. 👀 It has been a hell of a month, and that explains the little break in releasing episodes. This episode is gonna be pretty real and pretty raw. I have had a hell of a month, and it's not been the kind that's filled with the chaos of fire drills, compliance and audits, and back-to-back coaching calls.It's been more like the kind that makes you like stop, take a deep breath (or 10) and ask yourself, what in the fuck am I doing right now? Or what in the hell just happened? It has literally been the kind of month where everything you thought you had nailed down suddenly feels so uncertain - that you are in a place where the foundation shifts just enough to make you second guess the people that are around you.And maybe even yourself in some capacity....Support the show

Send a text So, last night I was scrolling on Facebook like I do, and in about I don't know, five minutes, I counted like eleven (11) different business coaches all screaming the same bullshit; "grind harder, work while you sleep, push until you make it!!!" I sat there and I thought to myself... "how are people still buying this bullshit?".Because, I don't get it: I don't give a shit about hustling and grinding, and neither should you. Hustle. Isn't. Strategy. It's desperation with a really pretty Instagram filter, it's the new culture buzzword, and it's bullshit.Walk with me, hustler. But let's slow this walk to a sustainable pace, so you can actually create the space to listen...Support the show

Send a text No. That's it. That's the sentence. And if that word alone makes you uncomfortable, buckle up. Because this episode is about to slap you in the face, and I'm okay with that because here's the truth: Every single time you say yes, when you mean to say no, you're lying. You're lying to yourself. You're lying to the other person, and you're definitely lying about the kind of business you actually wanna build.And liars don't make it long-term in business so......Support the show

Send a text I am going to get kind of real with you today on a hot topic that I just think is bullshit. Imposter syndrome. It is an absolute buzzword on the internet right now and has been for a while, and frankly, I just think that it is bullshit, and it's a way for us to continue to lower our expectations and have an excuse to not get out of our own way.You may not agree with everything that I have to say, and that's okay. That's not what this podcast is about. It's not about you agreeing with everything that I say or thinking everything that I say is correct. I would actually hate if that was the audience base that I'm building. I wanna challenge you just to think about things a little bit differently, and especially when it comes to things like imposter syndrome, because it's things like telling yourself that you "feel like a fraud" or that you're "not ready" for the thing that you're about to do. Sorry. But its bullshit.Support the show

Send a textI'm aware, this could get hit with backlash and I don't care. There are two words in my agency that you will never hear my team use. Maybe three. Now that I've said that, because "never" is also another word, but the two words that my team does not use is "family" and "love".I know that already, some of you are maybe a little bit uncomfortable because you've been saying those words in your agency for years, but words matter. And those words create expectations you cannot and should not carry as a leader. So today I'm breaking down why family and love don't belong in your business vocabulary, what you should use instead, and how confusing these words will burn you, your team, and your clients.Support the show

Send a textI TOO HAVE BEEN GUILTY OF SAYING THE SAME THING THAT I'M ABOUT TO RIP APART."No one will care about my business as much as I do", or it's ugly cousin "No one will ever work as hard as I do". You've said it. I've said it. Every business owner I know has said it. And if you're saying it right now, you probably think it makes you sound committed or hardworking or maybe even noble. But let me be clear, that belief, that sentence...it is not a badge of honor.It is a neon flashing sign to me that get ready for it; You are the problem. Let's start here. Support the show

Send a textTo start, I explain what "I Don't Care" is all about. Now if you're wondering who I am and why I get to say all these things, here's the short version. I built my business in the middle of chaos. I was working full-time doing investigations during the day of abuse and neglect of individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities.I was also starting and running my own business in the senior care world. I would investigate during the day. I'd build staff schedules late at night. I would take caregiver call offs on my drive or on my lunch hour, and I thought that that was normal because I didn't know that it wasn't, and there was nobody telling me that - this wasn't leadership and this wasn't sustainable.What it actually was was burnout. I'm Nicole Haney, entrepreneur, strategist, and coach who's seen first hand how easy it is to get caught in the wrong things. If you're ready for a mindset with teeth,strategy, grit and the kind of clarity that changes everything, subscribe now and let's get started.Support the show