Summer Slevin

Check out more of Summer

Website: thetimerich.com/

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Instagram: /the.time.rich/

Show Notes

Robert Peterson 0:56
Welcome to the add value to entrepreneurs podcast, the place where we help entrepreneurs to not hate their boss. Our mission is to end entrepreneurial unhappiness. If you dream of changing the world, but you're not sure where to start. The Advait entrepreneurs podcast will help you transform your life in business. This podcast is for entrepreneurs who want more freedom and fulfillment from their work so they can live the life that they desire. You deserve it, and it is possible. My name is Robert Peterson, Farmer passer turned CEO and the smiling coach. I believe that success without happiness is failing. But there is hope. Join us each week as we bring you an inspiring leader or message to help you. Thanks for investing time with us today. After over a decade working with visionaries as an executive assistant and head of operations. Summer Sullivan created the time rich method to help identify and delegate tasks that are not within an entrepreneur's area of expertise or passion. This method aims to empower entrepreneurs to focus on their strengths and delegate the rest, creating more freedom and simplicity in their businesses. Summer Sullivan shares with Robert how she went from working as a virtual executive assistant to a passionate entrepreneur, she uses the tools she created working with successful leaders to become a successful entrepreneur herself. Now she's empowering others to build and scale successful online businesses. If you're an entrepreneur who started their business with a purpose and a passion that has been lost in the busyness of the daily grind, we get it. That is why we've opened up our free strategy calls. A lot of entrepreneurs probably including you just want a sense of clarity on the barriers holding them back, that you need to overcome in order to accelerate your growth and achieve your dreams. These short 30 Minute Calls give you a chance to work with one of our coaches without any commitment or pressure. Scheduling is easy, just go to smiling cole.com. Let's jump on a call and get you the help and clarity you need. Select a time and let's build your business. It's time for you to add value with summer. Thank you so much for jumping on the show today. I'm excited to have our conversation and share your wisdom with the world.

Unknown Speaker 3:12
Well, I'm excited to be here. And I'm happy to share whatever I can.

Robert Peterson 3:15
All right. So I normally just ask our guests to share their own personal entrepreneurial journey and kind of use that as a jumping off point for the rest of the conversation.

Unknown Speaker 3:25
Oh, okay, cool. Interesting. So my entrepreneurial journey started as executive assistant to many entrepreneurs. So it's just kind of one entrepreneur for the next It started when I was 18. And just, I just caught the bug pretty early on then I just love being around the unique minds of entrepreneurs. And I, myself am very visionary minded. But I also am very process oriented. And so being an executive assistant was really fun for me. Every time I was an executive assistant, I would really like create processes for what I was doing, get everything documented, so I didn't have to repeat myself. And then I would often train people into the positions that I was holding, and then just kind of level up each time. So that was kind of how I experienced many different elements of different people's businesses. And just the operations, the marketing, the human resources, all of the different elements of it, delivery and copywriting and all that. I got a degree in journalism, so I just love meeting people telling stories listening to people share their stories. So I also kind of intertwine that in my work to just really getting to know people and trying to ask the right questions. Then I moved into operations did head of operations for a while. And then in a roundabout way became an integrator for an entrepreneur, learned what the word meant learned EOS and started just applying it to some of the tools and templates I've already created over the last decade and then just decided to go off on my own. Scored 81 A At one on the visionary integrator assessment, which is the crystallizer at us stuff. So I realized, like I loved implement, but I also love to lead and create a vision. So I decided to start my own company to do both of those things and to get excited to wake up every morning. And now I have never had so much fun in my life. My whole mission this last year was to work less and make more. And I did it baby, I did it through tracking data, making sure I was on track, through really focusing on just service and delivering to my clients and then advocating for my boundaries, and being relentless in the pursuit of what sets my soul on fire. And I did all those things. And I've never been happier. And I cannot recommend being an entrepreneur and half to the people who are called to it.

Robert Peterson 5:46
I love that. Yeah, we talk a lot with our clients and on the show a lot about designing the life that you want, and then building the business to support it. And and I think a lot of people go, you know, what, how's that possible, right? Because they start a business the business takes over their life. And they're not, they're not intentional, with a plan from the very beginning. And so talk a little bit about the power of that intention and the power of building it to be what you want it to be from the very beginning.

Unknown Speaker 6:16
Yeah, I love planning. So that really does help. But really finding people around me for that external accountability for ongoing planning is really important, because it's so easy to get in the weeds and not take that bird's eye view out. For me, starting my business, I was really strategic about knowing exact numbers, like what does it mean to work less. And so I knew that I wanted to work 25 hours a week or less in order to meet that criteria, then I had to track my time to make sure that that was actually happening. And then audit that and readjust for what I needed to do, right, like certain might be a bit more, but then I need to be aware, I keep butting against this goal that I have, I really need to readjust re examine my priorities, what is making more mean? So what's the actual number associated with that, and then just being really strategic to say no to the things that won't move me in that direction, and to filter things through both of those as my filter. So does this actually helped me work less and make more does creating a new website helped me make more and work less, or does it just help me awake more, but not work less, or, you know, vice versa. So just filtering all these decisions through that, and then creating core values for myself. So I'm really big on just creating the filters for focus. And I think that's really important to know where you want to go. And like Elizabeth Gilbert says, If you don't know where you want to go, that's okay. If you don't have a passion, that's okay, just chase your curiosity. And I think that's a really good thing to do as well, within reason, because entrepreneurs are often curious about a lot of different things. So really try to try and for myself to follow one through to fruition. And before I go to the next shiny object, has been really helpful. And my boyfriend is very helpful in helping me filter things too. So having someone in your corner and on your team that's really going to help you be like, That's a great idea, why not just wait and think about it, and like let it settle in percolate before we make the decision, that's really helpful, too. So having people in your corner is probably the number one thing to help me get through to being an entrepreneur.

Robert Peterson 8:29
I'm gonna get back to people. But let's talk a little bit about the boundaries and the value of boundaries in that decision making. Because obviously, setting a goal is one thing, taking that goal to the to the place where you actually start putting boundaries around the things that are important to you. Really, really does make a decision in how you make decisions, you know, so knowing your purpose, knowing what you what it is that you really want, knowing your goal. And keeping the alignment of those two, so that your decision making matches is is very is a very powerful exercise. But it's one that not very many people do very well on their own for sure. So, so talk, talk a little bit about how those boundaries help you make decisions, and maybe you can share an example. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 9:19
I think that's a really great question. Because it can be hard to have boundaries, when you know, there's so much out there. That's really exciting. And there's so many possibilities and there's so many great ideas, right? So there's a lot of things that I kind of employ as a help to get my boundaries in place like one is just not a hell yes, it's a no. So that's always nice to think about but you don't really know what a hell yes, is until you really feel it and then it's like, oh, this is what it is. That means that all of the maybes are just easy nose. So that's really important to think about. For me also another thing important to say no, is trusting that the right things will come in And that's just been through a history of seeing that that is the case for my life, it's like I can trust that all the right things will flow to me. I don't have to hustle and attract and say yes to everything. Because I know that if I say no to this, another thing will come, that's even better and even more in alignment. So just getting really clear about that has helped me keep my boundaries. And then also just checking in consistently with my body and with my goals, those two things, knowing intuitively, that this isn't the right opportunity, or this isn't the right person to work with, or this isn't the right person to hire. Or this isn't how I should be spending time. That's really important. But then, really getting clear about what am I trying to do here. And again, being around people who remind you of that, why is really nice to like, I just was talking in my mastermind, about, you know, things that people were taking away from 2020 to one person was like, it's all about service. Like, as soon as I started spending more than 50% of my time focusing on what I want to get out of my business. I know that I'm not focusing that time on serving my clients. And I was like, yes, it's so brilliant. So that helps me filter in and set my boundaries even better to hear those re, like reenergizing re clarifying words from her. I'm like, Yeah, I'm spending probably 60% of my time right now on operations and creating my own processes and creating the business that I want. But if I could spend that time, reallocate 20 More percent on serving my clients, that can take me to the next level that can take my business to the next level. And that really is helping me create my boundaries too. And then last thing I'll add on this, because I could just go on and on, is, I know that I'm making an impact on the world with every decision I make. And if I want my clients to be working less and making more, which is what I want them to do, then I have to embody that too. And I have to not check my email at night and respond to their email immediately. Because I it's not as urgent. And if I'm teaching them that not everything is urgent, I have to live that too. And so that's been a really good filter for me, too, is like, How can I take my own medicine right now?

Robert Peterson 12:13
Love that. So a couple of things. But love the people, obviously, you've got some great relationships. So so let's talk about these, these connections. And obviously, you have some mentor connections that are keeping you accountable mastermind, that that's that's helping to elevate your game. But I think one of the boundary things that people, you know, obviously the gurus talking about, you become the, you know, the amalgam of the five people that you hang around the most. Well, let's talk about the boundary of keeping yourself away from the people that don't believe in your dream and don't believe that, you know, well, you're only 24 You could never do that, right? The naysayers. So how do you protect yourself from and create boundaries, around those relationships that aren't moving you forward and art elevating, you know, bringing you to the next level?

Unknown Speaker 13:04
I think that's such a good question. And I once heard this at a conference, I went to that, even though you have, you have to have certain people in your life, the family members that you love, but maybe don't have the same mission or vision as you and are maybe negative or whatever, but you love them and you still want to be around them. For every one person that you have in that hand do you have to have five more to weigh them out and the other hand, and I think that's a really important thing, too. Like you don't want to cut out every relationship that you have, just because it's not completely in alignment with who you are and who you want to be. But I've been thinking about this so much, Robert, like I've been really thinking about this this last couple of weeks, really, because I went home and I visited my family for a couple of weeks. And I was I just I adore them I like they are just, I want to be around them as much as possible. But there is a lot of important boundaries that I have to put in place because they're not in alignment with a lot of things that I am in alignment with. And that's totally fine. But that means that I need to kind of be around the people who are really positive really empowering, believe in entrepreneur believe in getting rich believe in setting boundaries, believe and making money and working less and all the possibility. So I think it's really nice to still be around all different kinds of people. But be really clear about what you are consuming and taking in AI. And so I was just talking to my partner about this. I'm like, What inspires you about me that you want to be more like, and what inspires me about you that I want to be more like and one of the characteristics that we don't really want to pick up from each other, because your partner is who you're around the most, right? So they're going to have even more of an impact on you. They're going to be like two out of the five probably right? And so being really clear about what you want to pick up but what boundaries you need to put in place even when you're around that person so you're not picking up there. Whatever, you know, more skeptical worldview or whatever it is that you don't want to embody that. Just be really intentional about all that. And then also don't should on yourself. Because you should be hanging out with people that do fill you up hanging out with the people and surround yourself by like minded people in the ways that you want to be, you know, enjoying their company, you know, and so even if you, you know, want to hang out with your family, there are certain people that maybe you don't want to hang out with as much. And that's okay, like, don't worry about it, don't shame yourself into having to do things and spending your time with the wrong people in the wrong places. Because life is so short. And we all know this. But just being really intentional. And then knowing that saying yes to something is saying no to something else. So if you hang out with that other person, you are saying no to how you could also be spending that time if you said no to that, right. And so like knowing that each thing that you say yes to as a note of something else, when you say no, you say no to is it yes to something else. So it's like, you just have to be intentional.

Robert Peterson 16:00
Hmm. So good. All right, you mentioned earlier of checking in with your body to know whether or not this is the right thing for you? Or if this is the right decision. dig in a little more there because obviously not everybody is in tune with their body and, and mind body and spirit alignment is a stretch for for a lot of people. And so help help understand how, how do you how do you open yourself up to asking your body? Hey, is this decision? Right?

Unknown Speaker 16:31
Yeah, I think that that's a really, you're just asking such good questions. I think that's a really good question. I do not think it is automatic for most people in this society. Because I don't think it's something that we encourage throughout our lives as children and as adults, for you to just slow down and ask yourself without asking everyone else around you what you need. And knowing that intuitively, so it is a practice of checking in. And for me, it was definitely not a practice that I just picked up like that. It was something that through exercising the muscle of slowing down of listening of pausing, and I'm still not great at it sometimes. But I mean, you could even see my necklace is is the pause sign. So if it's like pausing, that was a Christmas present for myself two years ago to be like summer slowdown pause before making decisions, pause before proceeding. Only in that moment, that wedge that you create between some sort of stimuli and the reaction. That's the only that's the wedge is what is the check in, you know, if you can get that wedge in there. And if you can make that a little bit broader, you can, you can really slow down and check in. And once you start getting in the habit of checking in, you can start getting in the habit of listening for those intuitive clues. And I really like I don't remember who it was, but they talked about how the gut feeling feels expansive, it feels expansive, and you know that that's a gut feeling. And it doesn't feel urgent, my gut has never felt urgent. It's never felt like a screaming thing. It's, you know, unless I was like in danger, but if I'm making a decision, the urgency is more of the fear, the constriction, the fear of like, I might not ever get this again, this is such a good price. I should just take this course now I should all these like, if urgent things that make me feel like this, like those aren't the right decisions for me, like the things that helped me feel expansive, and at peace. Those are the decisions I want to follow. Those are the decisions that have never led me wrong. So good.

Robert Peterson 18:43
I I'm a huge advocate on that sales side that if it if it feels rushed, stop. Like if the price is good today. And they're a fair person, it'll be good tomorrow. And I know that most sales, most sales online, especially this, this whole space, the urgency and the I mean, so many are creating false, you know, fake urgency, and they're lying and really breaking the law and a lot of ways because they're manipulating people instead of, you know, creating true urgency and, and I get I get the psych psychology of it. Right. I get, you know, Robert Cialdini is a great teacher. And he's passed on some really great things about how the brain works. But the way you mentioned my guts, never felt urgency. And so I get this tightness in my gut and that's being fear driven. And I don't want to make the decision from that space of, of fear of fight or flight. I want to make a decision from from calm this feels right. All right, let's I'm all in Let's go. Right. And I think I think there's a reason so many people don't complete online courses. Like you 85% of people buy online courses and they don't ever even open them. Yeah, and I think a lot of that is people are buying them from that sense of urgency. But that's not the sense that engages in an online course, that's the sense that spends the money pulls out the credit card, because they feel like they're obligated to take advantage of it right now. But for us, that cares about people and wanting people to get to another level in their life, right, wanting to impact the world in a more meaningful way. I don't want to sell somebody a course that they're not going to take. Right. That's utterly ridiculous, right. And I know that there's a lot of people out there just obviously, they want to make money online, and they're fine with people not taking their course. But I'm not, that's, I want people to take it, I want people to grow from it and change and, and experience a different life because of it. And if they don't, I don't want their money. And that's the space that I want to be in. And so I want to be able to create this sense of urgency that brings somebody in, in a calm, right, and allows them to make a transaction in a way that feels like, Hey, I've got this problem, you've got this great solution, let's work together.

Unknown Speaker 21:11
And it's the right time. Yeah, I just I've been thinking about this so much. So it's really timely for me. But this is a part of, I think, being just a nice human, which is one of my core values as a person. But I have been thinking about this because I am around very successful entrepreneurs that are so inspiring to me, and they use tactics that are so inspiring and work for them really well. And then when I apply it to my business, it doesn't feel right. So this is an example the other day, I actually sent an email because I am raising my prices, because I have limited time. And now I have more people, I want to work with bigger companies and make more of an ROI for them. So I want to like an increase of what I'm doing, right. But I quoted somebody a different price. And I was like, I'm just gonna give you till the end of the year, if you make a deposit all, you know, honor the price. And I sent that email because that's what you do. And it creates urgency. And then as soon as I sent it, I felt icky. And I was like, Why do I feel lucky? And then I thought, how would I want to be treated? And how do I want to be talked to when I'm talking to other business owners? And I thought, You know what? No, so I emailed her back. And I was like, just kidding, you know what, I will honor that price for any time for you. If I quoted a price to you, I will honor that. And so if you ever choose to work with me, that's going to be your price, don't worry about it. And that sending that email was like, Okay, this is so in alignment with what I want other people to make me feel like but also just how I want people to feel like everything that I'm doing in the world is making an impact either positive or negative. If I can be really intentional about that being positive. That's, that's it like, and I just think that's the ripple that you create. And then creating my website, I didn't want it to be salesy. I wanted it to be transformational. Because if you walk away from even the website, and you feel hope, even if you don't want to work with me, or even if you like or not at the level to be able to work with me, I want you to feel like there is hope. And then I just give you groundwork and and a plan for the next step. And that to me is like that's the value, right? And like when it's the right time, you're gonna come to me because you're like, Yeah, Summer, like we vibe, and if we don't, then you'll go to someone else. And that's totally fine. There's, there's enough out there, you know, like there's, there's no scarcity in that. And so I just, I feel like just that is a part of listening to your body to just knowing what is right for you. Maybe the urgency is right for your people. Maybe that's fine, you know, but for me, it's just not in alignment with what I want. And that's okay.

Robert Peterson 23:46
I love it. We will be right back after this short break. This episode is sponsored by perfect publishing a different approach to publishing a book. Perfect publishing carefully chooses heroes of Hope, who exemplify living a life they created through faith, hope, patience, and persistence. No matter what page you open to in this mini cube of hope, you will find a leader with a big heart, you will see you are not alone. The authors may share similar challenges that only hope and action could resolve. Get your free ebook at get a dose of hope.com Welcome back, let's get back to more greatness. I love that you honored it and even recognized what the that it didn't feel right. And you went back and re made the offer, right? Because a lot of times we get that hint, we get that that instinct that the little gut feeling, oh, that's just something right. But we ignore it. Right. And then and then there's not alignment between our language and our core values and our website, right because obviously, when you're creating your website, it's based on on who you are on the inside and, and and that's what comes out. And if there's not alignment, people will sense it. They'll know they just they're We'll read it and they won't, it won't be right. And they won't. They won't recognize why. They'll just be like, huh, whatever, and then move on. Yeah. But if it's if it if it is true, and then they get into your website, and they're like, Wow, man, I heard her on that podcast. And now I'm looking at her website. And it's like, this is beautiful. This is there's, there's, there's just something here, right? Because that energy is what is what really comes through your words and comes through the website, even even a website that has the perfect words, if it was put together with the wrong energy. I think people can tell. And, and yeah, there's, there's plenty of thieves out there. And, and all of us have this. You know, this bent towards distrust at this point of the online space, right? Because all of us have felt like, there's just so many people swindlin, right, every email you get into like, man, is this real is this? Can I trust this person. And so we need more and more people out there just doing good. So I love that you're focused on just being a nice human, like, I can have a website, just be a nice human, I can get on podcasts and just be a nice human and, and we can have conversations and people can start to hear that there are just nice humans out there trying to trying to make a difference for people.

Unknown Speaker 26:20
I honestly believe that most, most people are good. I mean,

Robert Peterson 26:24
yes, yes. Agreed wholeheartedly, the majority are good. All of us have been overwhelmed by by the bad email and the bad, you know, the auto emails and the auto texts and the auto, the auto phone calls. And so it feels like at times, yeah, there's a majority of bad, right. But the truth is, there's still a small minority, they're just, they're just sending so many automated messages.

Unknown Speaker 26:51
Yeah, I don't think they're even doing that. They're just following the formula that they've been given. And they think,

Robert Peterson 26:56
and I think that all the time I tell my I tell my dad all the time, I was like, because my poor dad checks in with me all the time about this scam or that scam? And he's like, is this real? Or is that real? Or, and I'm glad he checks because at least he's checking in. And, and I'm like, Yeah, you know, if those people would spend the same amount of time that they're spending trying to get scammed, people, if they spent that same energy in creating something good, they'd be making some incredible stuff. Because they're committed. Like, if you get on the phone with some of these people, they're committed to the, to the, to the game. And I'm like, you know, if you switch to this, if you switch sides, you could do some incredible good in the world, right? On again. Oh, nice Star Wars reference. I love it. So obviously, you got involved as a virtual assistant, and you've grown yourself, and you have a great deal of confidence. So how did you develop that confidence and, and, and grow yourself alongside these? Because I mean, obviously all of those entrepreneurs have had great employees great vas. But not all of them start their own companies. What makes summer different?

Unknown Speaker 28:16
The time rich method I tell you like I mean, it's honestly, there's no such, there's no such thing as confidence that doesn't come from results. I really don't think that like I think you can fake confidence. But if you don't get results, you're you're just having Bravo or something. But, but being able to like see that it's transformed people's businesses. Like I don't think there's a better drug in the world than a client that comes to me and said, Oh, my gosh, this really works. Or like just tells me that they love me or like tells me that they look forward to our calls every week, or that like they're I was the best investment they made all year. That is so cool. I mean, I don't think there's, I wouldn't want any other drug. There's nothing better. And I think that creates, just inevitably it creates competence. And I made a decision this last year to do a slow grow. I wanted to grow slowly, I wanted to get to know my people I wanted to like just be really selective about who I worked with and how I helped them because if I'm going to make the world a better place, I'm going to pick businesses that make the world a better place and then I'm going to help them increase their message by helping with their operations flowing more smoothly. So I need to be very clear about who I was working with. And I just started working with such brilliant people and started like helping save them eight hours plus a week on administrative tasks or you know, things that they can eliminate automate or delegate. And it just created this like sense of I don't know every morning I'm just like obsessed about creating processes and helping people find the right people and auditing things in their time and in people and it just works. It works to just get out of the way eats for one hour a week and look at your operations and look at your foundational stuff. I mean, look at Southwest Airlines, like they needed to spend more time on their operations like so I know what I am doing is impacting businesses at every level. Because if you don't focus on your operations, if you don't focus on documenting your processes and making sure that they're followed by all and if you don't make sure you're the right people in the right seats, doing the right things, you're gonna have rhythms and routines in your company, and a focus filter for how you're using your time. And what the 1% is, you're, you're spinning your wheels, at some point, you can't scale to the point where you want to be, because you max out on your time, you know, and so it's like, this is needed. And so I have so much confidence behind it, because I see it working, and I see how much it's needed. And I just love doing it. So yeah, it's just easy, it's easy to have energy behind it.

Robert Peterson 30:53
Nice. So you talked about narrowing your niche and the slope, choosing the slow grow. So let's talk about who's that who's that ideal client that you narrowed down to? The most minut detail. So you knew these were your people?

Unknown Speaker 31:09
Yeah, well, first off, I want to be able to get energy from them, because I'm gonna be engaging with them constantly. And if they drain my energy, it drains my business and every aspect of it. So I want them to be people that I get energy from that I want to become more like, because I'm hanging out with them. And I made a decision a long time ago that I would never work with anybody that I didn't want to become more like, and that meant all my employers. And it also meant the employees I worked with, right, and so I'm, I have a lot of boundaries with that. So that means my clients too. So that's one thing. The people who specifically work with me, I never want to be more than I never want them to invest more than 5% of their whole revenue. So I make sure that my my price point is, is the value I want to deliver. But I make sure that I'm working with the businesses who can afford that as well. Because I never want it to feel like it's a drain or a strain on their business, they're ready to invest in my services or to scale. So that's pretty clear out the actual like revenue that they make. I want to work with people who are ready to let go to grow. And so I don't want to work with people who are, you know, control freaks, or who don't want to let go of any element of their business, or who are so overwhelmed and stressed that they can't imagine spending one hour a week working on foundational things. So it's really clear, they also need to have invested in a membership, a mastermind a coach something high level, so that I'm not their first big investment so that they're not thinking, oh my gosh, I don't want that energy, I don't want that energy of like fear to really interrupt the process that we're doing together. So I really am very clear about who I work with. And then I love my clients, like every person I've worked with, I want to toss a football with, in fact, three of them I have and more than four. And so I've actually like I want to be able to play right and, and just be able to hang out with them and know that these are my people, and then I want to work with their people, right. And so the referrals is how I've gotten all of my business. So far, all of it has been through word of mouth or somebody overhearing you literally make co working space, or referrals. And so I love working with my people. And so therefore I'd probably love working with their people. And so that's how I've been intentionally growing. That's who I want to be around. And so that's yeah, that's my niche.

Robert Peterson 33:32
That's fantastic. And somebody those are areas people, most entrepreneurs probably wouldn't think about when they're thinking about who they want to work with. Right? They're, they're thinking about, you know, why they male or female? Are they millennials, or Gen Xers? Are they, you know, a certain type of business? You know, and of course, do they have a credit card? You know, I mean, Alex Hermoza, he's got three good categories, you know, when he talks about in 100 million dollar offers, they, you've got to have at least these three minimums, right, they've got to have a problem that you can solve, they've got to be targetable. So you can find them someplace, you know, where to find them. And, and they've got to have the resources. And so I like that you you identify, you don't want them to spend more than 5% of their revenue on on your program. And so that that's a that's a person that can afford your services. Yeah, so those those are those are really valuable.

Unknown Speaker 34:33
Yeah, and I've just chosen not to do

Robert Peterson 34:36
I'm sorry, no, you're good. Go ahead.

Unknown Speaker 34:38
I just chosen not to do standard marketing, I'm a high ticket offer or whatever, you know, and so I really build relationships with people. I only work with people pretty much that know like and trust me because that's who's gonna do that or or they've heard about me from somebody else they really know like, and trust you know, and that's really sacred. To me, I never want to tarnish that relationship or their relationship with whoever recommended me. So I don't do you know, the standard Facebook ads or, like I've decided not to, I did have a course for how to hire a VA. And then I was like, Well, I actually, I don't really need to diversify yet, maybe that'll come. But I really just love what I'm doing now. And so I want to just attract more people like this. So my, my marketing is really just talking to people referral, talking to their minds, and teaching. So like teaching and workshops, teaching in the mastermind, so that people walk away with value. So it's not just like hearing my Facebook video, or, you know, which is totally fine. That's absolutely works for people, I just have chose not to, chosen not to like hustle, or invest a lot in a nurture, sequence or marketing, I want everything to just be trusting the right people will come to me, just focusing on the one thing that works the best and putting all my resources in that the one thing so

Robert Peterson 36:08
that's fantastic. So good. All right. So let's talk we talked a little bit about your personal growth, journey and personal development. What is What does summer do to take care of yourself? What are some of your non negotiable routines in a day?

Unknown Speaker 36:23
Who routines? Well, I'm not sure. I think I think you and I have talked about the Enneagram the Enneagram. I don't know how you pronounce it. But yeah, so um, I am the enthusiast, right. And so I just need a couple of like boundary routines, and then I need free time and flexibility. And so I schedule out, you know, my calls that I have, I have my VA do a call either once a week, or sometimes more just for external accountability, because I love doing all the fun things. But I have external accountability to work on things. I have like a rhythm. So I check in with my business every single month. And I just have an air table that I created and just sends me an alert and I just check in and I say summer what can you eliminate automate delegate this month? What are you working on? What's draining you outside of your work? Like is there anything there so I just do like a self assessment every single month. And I tried to take my own medicine. So I tried to do what I encourage my clients to do. And I have just routine calls. But then I also have the external accountability of belonging to Jamie's brights, Jamie brides mastermind, and that creates rhythms for accountability, you have a hot seat to help you break through, you know, bottom like that you have we also have quarterly calls. So it's helpful to have that external routine. But to fill up my soul, I just play, I have to have play in my life, I have to watch really fun movies I have to read that completely consumed me, I have to take bubble baths, I have to play with my dog on the floor. I have like a little trampoline in my living room that I just jump on. I just got a new projector. So I just I just want to have fun. I do improv. Just, you know, like just fun things I hang out with a lot of my girlfriends and I do a lot of painting and creative things and cooking. So I just, I need it to be I need my life to be very full. And fun because I'm is that right? I mean a lot of excitement and energy and different things. But I also get a lot of energy and excitement from working with different clients. Even though we have you know, a lot of the same routine things that we look at a customized roadmap. We follow a lot of the same processes and systems and tools and templates. I'm working with diverse clients in diverse businesses, and that keeps me super engaged and recharged. So yeah, lots of different things.

Robert Peterson 38:59
Alright, let's dig into this improv thing a little bit. We've talked about confidence and, and your ability to speak from the stage and share. How is improv changed? How summer shows up behind the mic.

Unknown Speaker 39:13
Oh, that's interesting. So I actually did Toastmasters for a while too. And I think that helped break that initial ice of it not really being about you, it being about the content that you're delivering and how you're showing up right? Not making it this personal thing that everybody's looking at me. They're really just you know, you're engaging them in the content, right? But improv makes you step outside of your comfort zone like you're a spider. You're a spider right now you have to be a spider on stage. You don't you know, you're an old man. You're an old man on stage. You know, like now you're somebody's mom. So like you're switching into all of these characters and you're just embarrassing yourself. I'm sobbing onstage I'm screaming at my mom like you're sipping and all these characters Just just making you I mean, my face gets read to this day, but especially at first I'm like, oh my god, I cannot believe I'm being a spider on stage right now. Like, this is so embarrassing. If you're like, I'm being so silly. This is, this is so embarrassing. But it's so funny. And people are just kidding, like, bubbling up with laughter and joy watching you be a spider on stage or whatever it is. And you're just, you're just having fun. And I think as an adult, you lose that sense of play and silliness and not having it to everything be based in this reality that can be very serious. I think play, no matter how you get it is so important in your life. And my life at least, it's just been a very good way to balance. You know, I just I think it's, I think it's a fun thing in relationships. My partner and I are very playful. And I think that helps us not take everything so seriously. I'm very playful with my clients have fun, but we get things done. And so I think that those things are really important to have equal parts of

Robert Peterson 41:08
Alright, so let's let's dig into the improv thing. Obviously, acting out and, and the rule is yes, and yes. And you said, because because you ruin everything. If you just say, Well, no, I don't want to be a spider. No, but and then. And then the whole, the whole gag stops and the audience looks at you like, what did you what just happened? And all the other people on stage look at you like, well, you just ruin everything. Right? But that ability to go with it? How does how's that helped in some of your business decision making?

Unknown Speaker 41:45
Well, I think actually, my yes and mentality that I had before improv helps me in improv, right? Because before improv, I still I had a very Yes. And life. I lived in a van, I made a podcast with people I met in the national parks, I've traveled to Africa and Australia. And all you know, I've had this very full, yes. Okay, let me see. And now actually learning the know, has been helpful, too. And so that's actually been almost the more helpful thing for me is not saying yes to everything. But saying, yeah, that feels good. That feels right. But when it comes to kind of just not, I think more importantly than the yes and is, yes. What does this make possible? So things that are not in my control, I've really taken a different mentality of, okay, so you're, you're the old man. Now, what does this make possible for my character? Okay, now, you're really angry. What's this make possible for my character? Like, right, but okay, why are you angry? Why? Why are we a husband and wife? Like, what was our backstory, like really asking more questions, and digging into more of that? Okay, now, what does this make possible? So when I hit business blocks, I'm thinking to myself, Okay, this is hard, I'm going to let myself feel that yeah, I just lost this client. That was really hard, you know, my first client that I had that, you know, it just didn't work out, because we didn't have the boundaries thing. It was like really hard to make these decisions. And it felt just difficult to get through it. And then as soon as I was able to feel the emotion, really, within just a very short period of time, I was like, okay, oh, no, what does this make possible? Like, what does having this knowledge that I have now? And what does having this experience that I've had, and what does now knowing where I want to go more clearly make possible, and I think that's a really important thing, because as an entrepreneur, things will happen, right? Like, not everything is good most. Most entrepreneurs don't experience just an upward trajectory of awesomeness all the time, right? They will lose a client or they will lose members or their their technology will break down, or their website will collapse during the launch or, or, or, or, or right like these will happen. Things will happen externally outside of your business. Things will be hard sometimes so and it's not always easy to have the positive thinking and I'm not saying that you should always think positive because I think you should be realistic too. And you should know you should let yourself feel. But I think it's important to ask what what this made possible. What you know, like having to fire somebody, what does that make possible for you? Even though it's a really hard thing? It's it can be very, most things are very beneficial to have happened to you in the right light. And I think that's what improv kinda does is like, okay, here we are. I'm a spider. What does this make possible for me in my life and my character and who I am and how I feel. And so, yeah, I mean, play and thinking about how how this, you know, can help make more things possible in your life.

Robert Peterson 44:59
So Alright, Summer, what's what summers big dream?

Unknown Speaker 45:04
My big dream and life? Yep. Oh boy, Ashley from business. I mean, I know my purpose is to love and inspire others and to be loved and inspired by others. So that's, that's my big dream. I want to do that through the gifts that I have. And being in my zone of genius and joy and helping others be in their zone of genius and joy. I want to make more and work less, I want to help others make more and work less. So I think that's the dream. I think that's the dream, baby.

Robert Peterson 45:33
All right, so what's what's what are you gonna do in 2023? To make that happen?

Unknown Speaker 45:38
Okay, well, my big goal in 2023 is to speak to 20 masterminds. So I want to, like provide value to the members of 20 different masterminds. So that's my big dream. It's a big goal. I think it's a it's an achievable one, but it's a big one. And so I just, I just want to share the message and talk to people about efficiency people processes, focus and rhythms for accountability. So that's the dream. That's the goal this year.

Robert Peterson 46:03
That's fantastic. Right summer, we end every episode with the guest sharing their words of wisdom to our entrepreneurial audience that's listened to 40 minutes of wisdom already. But what is what is some words of wisdom that you would leave somebody with?

Unknown Speaker 46:21
Trust the process? Just the process. It's not all easy. It's not all good. But it's all it'll all be good. In the end. Just trust the process. I think that's really important.

Robert Peterson 46:34
Love that. Don't quit, don't quit. Don't quit before you get it.

Unknown Speaker 46:38
Don't quit before the magic happens.

Robert Peterson 46:41
Summer, thank you so much for joining me, this has been a fantastic conversation. I'm so inspired. And I know that that our audience will definitely be inspired and be looking for ways to connect. And so what what's the best way to find summer,

Unknown Speaker 46:58
the time ranch.com Or summer at the time rich. If you want to just send me an email. It's always a gift to hear from people. So I'd love to hear from you.

Robert Peterson 47:05
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