The Real You
1:1 Long-Form Interviews with Interesting People Doing Amazing Things
In-depth discussion of people's journeys to tap into their full potential and find ways to be the truest version of themselves.
The Real You
EP 39: Ashley Carlson on Unleashing Your Business Potential Through Effective Delegation
Ashley Carlson transforms how entrepreneurs run their businesses by providing expert executive support and strategic planning through her company, Elevate Virtual Business Solutions. She helps owners focus on their zone of genius while her team handles operations.
• Founded Elevate as a solo virtual assistant eight years ago after leaving her travel agent career
• Grew the company to 13 employees offering executive assistant services, bookkeeping, and project-based work
• Uses a Director of Operations certification to provide strategic planning for clients' businesses
• Helps clients delegate effectively to save not just time but also brain space
• Works across various industries rather than niching down, keeping work engaging for her team
• Approaches social media as a relationship-building tool rather than focusing solely on metrics
• Developed core values for her business that guide hiring, client selection, and personal decisions
• Studied abroad in Italy, which expanded her worldview beyond her "bubble"
• Believes in understanding different work styles through assessments like CliftonStrengths
• Passionate about rescuing dogs and creating work flexibility that she once needed herself
Remember: you can do anything, but you can't do everything. It's okay to ask for help and get support where needed.
Ashley's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleymcarlson/
Ashley's Website: https://elevatevbsolutions.com/
David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-young-mba-indy/
David's Website: https://davidjyoung.me/
Welcome to the Real you Podcast. This is episode number 39. I'm David Young, your host. I'm a LinkedIn content and business coach. I work with new or growing service, providing coaches to strategically grow using LinkedIn. I launched this podcast in March of 2024, so just a little over a year ago. It's by interesting people doing amazing things, and today I'm joined by Ashley Carlson. She's the founder and CEO of Elevate Virtual Business Solutions. Ashley's a powerhouse in business ops, helping entrepreneurs streamline their businesses with expert executive support and strategic planning. She's very passionate about empowering business owners to delegate effectively and build scalable companies. When she's not leading her incredible team, she's a travel enthusiast, board game lover and a devoted mom of two who, I just learned, has a son who's left-handed, just like me. So we are the outliers. Ashley, welcome to the show. Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely so. We got connected on LinkedIn, like most of my guests, and your story is really unique, so I want to start there. You started this kind of virtual assistance company, I think just by yourself, four years ago. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:virtual assistance company, I think just by yourself four years ago. Is that correct? Yeah, I actually started Solo seven years ago, or actually eight years ago. It was right after I had my son, and it was in 2021 is when I decided to move from Solo to a team. So Elevate as a company started four years ago, but I was doing this kind of virtual assistant type of work before it became big, I feel like, and just was a way for me to continue my career on in some way while also raising my kids, and having that flexibility was important to me, and so I think that that's actually been one of my favorite things about growing Elevate is that what I needed eight years ago is now what Elevate is able to provide to our employees. So that's one of my favorite things about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like full circle. So you were doing so, that was your job beforehand. You were doing virtual assistant, like as a job, and then you kind of decided to use that experience and then form the business around that or based on your experience. That's cool.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, I was a travel agent prior to that for about four years and I loved it, but I was stuck in the office for definitely more than 40 hours a week.
Speaker 2:I was working six days a week because of the demand at the time and I just really needed flexibility. And we all know that I feel like a lot of companies didn't figure out the hybrid or remote, how it could work until 2020, forced them to figure it out, so I didn't have that option and so I kind of just went out and searched for one and it, like I said, it just allowed me to have that flexibility and because I was able to have a few years of that remote work experience before the whole world was forced to, I think that I headed into 2020 with. It felt all very normal to me and then that also gave me, I think, at the time, with how the world got adjusted and being able to see how people could be effective in supporting remotely, that is when I started getting flooded with a lot more requests for support and I quickly learned that I needed to put a capacity on myself and that's when it kind of all the stars aligned for me and starting a business just felt like, yes, scary of course, but it just was the right thing. It felt really good. There wasn't really. There was a lot more excitement and just I felt ready.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Do they still have travel agents, or are they a dying breed?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:They do?
Speaker 2:No, they do they. Actually, I still go to happy hour and all those things a lot with my old coworkers, so I definitely do not envy them. In the year 2020, to be a travel agent was not a great year because of all the restrictions and constant changes, so I did not envy them at that point, but it was definitely one of my favorite, you know, points of career of mine. It's such a fun role and I love that. I actually still we still get to do that in our role here at elevate um plan a lot of travel for people and I think that it's just one of those things. That's almost like putting together a puzzle, you know, and there's so many options out there and you get to pick which ones and kind of build your own itinerary for these people. So it's a really fun part of of what I do still, no, that's nice that you didn't.
Speaker 1:You weren't able to, or you didn't go too far away. So when people come to you, what, like talk about some of those, like the offers that you have, or like you know what, how would you, how do you approach, like tailoring what, what, everything that you guys do to like a business owner or company that comes to you?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So we have just celebrated four years as a business elevate, so with a team, an agency model, and something that we have learned along the way is what we do well as a group and what we do not. And so at this point four years and we are very clear about what we do for business owners and basically the best way I can describe it is operations, support and strategies. So I got my certification for director of operations, I think about two years ago, and was able to learn this method of strategic planning. That is really impactful and amazing. And then I compare that with my prior experience and I also just have a very strategy mindset. I did my CliftonStrengths not too long ago and strategy was one of the highest a lot of strategy type things, and so that's definitely one of my strengths, and so I'm able to do that for business owners who really need a plan of action.
Speaker 2:And then my team is really good at the day-to-day implementation, and something that we do differently is anything really operations side. We really become the right hand to the executive or the business owner, and so our goal is what do they do every day or week or month? That just doesn't have to be done by them Most of the time. Those are things that we can take off their plate so that way they can be a lot more effective and impactful in what they're working on. So, whether that is with our executive assistant services, we also have bookkeeping. We also last year launched more because both of those services are retainer ongoing. But we found that there was a lot of people out there who maybe didn't need retainer or just weren't quite ready.
Speaker 2:So we also have an offer where we can help with just a project basis. So, for example, right now we're working on a hiring workflow for someone who is just really struggling to have an efficient hiring process, you know, putting job offers out too late and she's losing it. Or the onboarding process is feeling clunky and people aren't clear of what they do when they get there, that kind of thing. So we're helping create that. So when it comes to business operations, that's where we shine, that's where we're really strong. So I basically I tell people I'm like, just book a call and we'll chat and I will tell you. You know how we can help, or if I know someone who is better suited. That's just that's why I started Elevate. I'm really passionate about helping small business owners. Executives, do what their zone of genius is and help them free up the rest of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I love that. Have you found over these last few years, is there a certain type of business at a certain revenue threshold, or type of business that they offer? Have you found that there's a synergy or a common denominator of where you guys do your best work, or is it all over the place?
Speaker 2:It's honestly, all over the place.
Speaker 2:I have met with so many people who have recommended niche down, get specific, and for us it's really difficult because, truthfully, how we have grown so quickly is referrals, and so what that means is it is who our clients are currently or were and who they know, and most of the time I will say, the commonality is just the phase of business that they are in and that's the growth phase they are wanting to scale.
Speaker 2:They are either currently growing or have grown and they needed us yesterday, and so that's the phase that we definitely see everyone in and the general sense of I need someone to manage me, I am not managing my time well, I'm losing business or I'm double booking myself or whatever that is, and so they need someone to help manage everything on their plate. And that is where we step in and do really, really well. I think the fact that we don't have a certain industry because we're so heavily referral based is actually what makes our job fun, because business operations, especially on the admin side, can get very monotonous if it's all the same in like iteration of a business, and so when you're dealing with different industries on the operations side, that makes it kind of fun for us and keeps it interesting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. How quickly can you step in and help? If you meet with someone and you guys figure out where they need you, how quickly is your team able? To step in and start working.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that typically depends on what the need is, and so what that could look like in our typical executive assistant services, it's a couple of weeks where we have a whole onboarding process where we're getting to know their business, really getting under the hood and seeing what things are working well, what isn't, what tools are they using, what systems are they using, things like that and we really build the plan on what support is going to look like and then you know. Then we have a whole delegation strategy where, okay, what does delegation look like and how skilled are they at delegating and what support do they need from us in order to delegate successfully? That is a huge thing for me. Even when I do strategic planning and maybe we're not the ones implementing, maybe their team is. That is still a big part for me is talking to them about how to delegate successfully. I don't want to just save you time, I want to save you brain space, because that often is also where people are feeling stuck.
Speaker 1:Nice. I know one of my clients did she was a ClickUp. I don't know if you remember ClickUp at all but, that was her thing is she would build like custom solutions. Do you guys get into like that type of detail where it's like Asana or Monday or ClickUp. Do you help them with that, or do you have people on your team that can help with that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we use ClickUp actually for our own system and we love it. We moved from Asana. I love that one too. We operate in all whatever systems our clients are currently using. So we have Monday, asana, trello, clickup, all of those and we don't do setups. I will say that when it comes to setting up a system, that's a whole different type of expert. You typically want to choose someone who is, to your point, a vetted ClickUp expert or a vetted Asana expert, someone who knows the system and all. They're going to be way more efficient in building these tools out in order for someone to use them well. What we step in and do well is once those systems are already set up, or helping them find someone to set them up. We can then help workflows move smoothly and all of those things once it's built. So we just don't do the system building itself, but we have people we know and trust to do that part, so more of the day-to-day stuff for us.
Speaker 1:Nice, you mentioned you liked it. But the switch over to ClickUp from Asana, that's been a good change for you guys.
Speaker 2:It's been great, yeah, and I know that Asana does a lot of what ClickUp does, and for us the reason was just the plans that each of them had. What we would get with a certain plan at ClickUp was a lot more than an equivalent plan at Asana, and so for us that was really the reason, and there there was just. It solved for a lot of things that were a little bit clunky for us overall, not just with Asana, but how we were working overall, and so. But we put a lot of time and thought into cause. It's a big deal to switch systems like that. It took a lot of time and energy and money, and so we put a lot of thought into that.
Speaker 2:And so those are the kind of conversations that we always have with clients, because we will get asked what system do you love? And my answer is always it's the one that you're going to use. Whatever system you're going to use, it could literally be a google sheet. If that is how your brain works and you know that works, well, let's just stick with that. But if you need something more robust and you're actually going to use it, then we can about it. But that's the key is, we don't ever want to set someone up and start using a system that they never touch, because then it's not working.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's pointless. So obviously you use LinkedIn. That's how we met. How do you? And referrals is a big part of your business.
Speaker 2:How do?
Speaker 1:you use social media? Do you use other platforms besides LinkedIn, and how do you guys try to position your messaging and marketing from that standpoint?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question. So I love to use social media and, in my mind, what social media is is a relationship tool. Right, it's a connection tool. It is something your website is a great resource for information and all of that, but it first people to really feel connected with you, for you to build relationships with other people. I feel like that's where social media comes in, and so for us, we're pretty active as a team, like for Elevate purposes, on Instagram, so that's where you'll see me and another team member of mine, Nicole, hopping on stories, a lot just sharing about what we're doing, trying to just maybe more of like the day-to-day behind the scenes, get to know us type of thing, also answering questions and all of that. And then on LinkedIn, for me, that's where I'm most active as far as where you're going to see, like where we, the content that we create is posted on my LinkedIn, and so that's how we have approached it so far, and again, for both platforms, it's really just relationship building.
Speaker 2:When I first started getting active on social media, I definitely got sucked up in the algorithm and the metrics and all those things and I started to realize and it still hits me sometimes that the people who tend to buy are not the people who are clicking and getting all those numbers that you're looking at anyway, and so really, the reminder that I try to keep in mind is all it is is visibility. I turned the because I think, because I came from corporate jobs, the term marketing in my head feels so much bigger and intimidating than it really is For me. I just turned it to visibility. It's just how I'm choosing to show up and engage with people and for me, that helps it feel more authentic and less pressure on the metrics and the numbers and all of that and really just about where I'm spending my time and the people I'm choosing to engage with that approach.
Speaker 1:Um, I, I live in I won't say die by the numbers, but I do study them, mostly because my brain is analytically wired and I love data and numbers. So I get I don't get caught up in it in terms of a negative, I just am fascinated by just looking at it. Um, but there are a lot of people that worry about like the algorithm and impressions and like a post didn't do well or whatever. Um, and it's just just stay consistent and just try to keep put the put the best content you can out there and that's all you can control. So I love, I mean, I just love the overall takeaway.
Speaker 1:That's such an interesting point about you know, I think they're called lurkers that's the word that usually term you here, right, which is kind of a weird. It's kind of that's like a negative. So I think we need a better term for people that buy that don't like, comment and engage, but for anyway, we won't come up with that right now. Anyway, the lurkers who observe your content, they don't like, they don't comment, but they just see it and so you're building that relationship with them, like you said the tool is they're seeing you, they're, they're reading your stories or they're seeing videos or whatever, and so they are there in some ways, right, they're getting to know you.
Speaker 1:And then when you have the solution or a service that fits their need, then they feel more comfortable. You know whether it's just booking a discovery call or reaching out. So, and you don't. That's the problem, right. You don't know when that's going to happen. It could be six months, could be a year, who knows. So you can't get discouraged if you're not seeing. You know those immediate results.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I do like your point, though, about still using the numbers for what, like what I use them for, is more just data of you know. Is what we're doing working, or are there any? For me especially, I look for big dips or increases and try to use the data to understand why do we need to keep doing something or stop doing something or try something different. So I think that for me, the data is still valuable. I just am not equating it to success. I'm more just equating it to strategy, maybe of things to shift.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a great way. I do the same thing because I try to look at like I use different types of posts, so I'll do carousels and videos. Text with pictures, pictures, text with code templates. Um then, sometimes I have sales posts. I see who reaches out on those, so I'm trying to figure out, like you're saying, like what posts are causing. You know cause and effect of that.
Speaker 1:So the data again, you can use it for however you want, but you can be used for good, so it doesn't have to be doom and gloom for like impressions being down, but it can be this type of post as well, or this post doesn't do as well, and then you know you can do more of one and less of another. So no, I think that's great. Now, how many people currently do you have on your team?
Speaker 2:We have 13 employees, oh wow.
Speaker 1:Okay. And then they all kind of have different level of expertise. Or do you have an EA department and then you have an ops department? Or how do you figure out who's doing what work?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Most of our team are executive assistants. We do have and we call them lead executive assistants for the most part. We do have two and we call them lead executive assistants for the most part. We do have two support EAs and what that looks like is people who maybe are less experienced but still very skilled in what they do, just maybe less experienced with the client management side of it. Having that confidence to lead an executive does take a lot and we do a lot of training on that.
Speaker 2:But we have some EAs who just prefer to be on the back end and get the job done and they have great attention to detail things like that. So that's how. And then they tend to support on larger projects and things like that to help the ball rolling. And then we also have two bookkeepers One is a lead bookkeeper, One is a support bookkeeper, and then from the whole team we also have some who are on internal roles, so helping us with client and team relations. So we have an account management team. We have a couple of people who help on the operations assistant side for us, things like that.
Speaker 1:Nice, it sounds like a great setup. What is your kind of future? You know vision. I mean I'm not going to ask you like an interview question like what is your five-year plan for, but like you know it's going well, it's grown. Is it kind of just continuing on this path or do you have kind of bigger, grander visions? Or like, how do you think about you know the next? You know several years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question and something I think that I have realized. We can plan all we want and have all these goals, but I think the biggest thing is being able to pivot and be flexible. Something that I am craving this year is steady growth. We have had rapid growth for the last four years, and so now this year, it's a lot more intentional steady growth.
Speaker 2:So, for example, just like within the last week, we have been tracking our hours in a different way, speaking of data right, using the tools that we have on the data, with billable hours versus capacity, things like that and we, within the last week, have realized that, with a few new clients coming in, our team is at capacity when it comes to retainer work, and so now that means that we need to shift and start really just bringing on clients for the project-based work that I mentioned earlier. Or bookkeeping has space. So, just being aware of where we have space to bring on new clients and where we can support people right now Not to say we can't support with more EA support down the road, but as of right now, we are at capacity for that but have space for other things and so I think, just being more intentional, with where our growth is at every phase, versus just kind of drinking from the fire hose when it comes to growth. My life wasn't balanced during those times, and so I'm really craving some consistent growth.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the lack of fire hose is great for everyone. Do you guys ever do? Probably not, because of the time sensitivity, but do you ever do like waiting list? If it wasn't a of the time sensitivity, but do you ever do like waiting list if it wasn't a sensitive project would you say like we can work with you, but we couldn't start until you know july?
Speaker 2:yeah, uh, that's our. The last few calls that I've had with people, I've let them know, you know, here's the, here's the projects that we can work on for you right now until we have space for a retainer, um, so there's, yeah, there's, and there's plenty of possibility for us to still make an impact for them. As you know things go, I also, you know, can offer consulting sometimes, things like that. So, like I said, really it's I like to have those calls where people can share with me and I can ask questions about where they're at, what support they need, what's feeling overwhelming to them and identifying how we can help them right now, because there is so much possibility and whether it's me or someone else, I trust I just want to help.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, it's a great mindset Shifting gears a little bit. So you are in LA. I think you're the first person to come on the show that's been in LA, have you?
Speaker 2:Are you?
Speaker 1:from there, or you've been out, or, if not, like how long have you been out there?
Speaker 2:I am born and raised out here, so we are in the northern LA County area. If people know where Magic Mountain is, that's where we're at or I'm at. My team is all over the US, but that's where I'm located. Born and raised here. I went away for school, studied abroad, did all of that, and then when I graduated college which was 100 years ago, in 2009, that was like when the recession one of the recessions hit and I just had a very hard time finding a full time job. I was doing really well with my part time jobs but and so I ended up having to move back home and my husband and I were both from here and we ended up just both being here, and it's actually a really great place to raise our kids where we're at, so we're we're happy here.
Speaker 1:I've been to Anaheim once for a conference, and I think that's the only, but in San Francisco once and then Anaheim, I think there's only a few times I've been to California and I've loved both trips, but I just haven't haven't gotten to spend a lot of time out there. But it's a beautiful, beautiful part of the country.
Speaker 2:Yeah, anaheim is about an hour away on a good day and then maybe like two and a half hours on a traffic-y time. So you learn, you learn the times to drive places here. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:Uh, as a kid who grew up in Kentucky, when I was in Anaheim we drove down to San Diego. They gave us like a half a day free, and so one of the guys I worked with, we just drove down and I can't remember now it's been too long, but either the mountains were on our left and the ocean was on our right or vice versa, and I guess again, as growing up I didn't see mountains or the ocean, so just to drive down a highway and have it flanked by those two things was it was kind of mind blowing Just not something I'd ever experienced.
Speaker 2:So it was pretty, pretty amazing to see. Yeah, core memory for sure I know I went to. I went to college in San Diego, so I know exactly what you mean. Those moments on the drive, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's. It's almost like you're in a different like. I felt like I was in another country. I couldn't believe we could be in the same country.
Speaker 2:I have a couple of friends that I know who have gone snow skiing and surfing on the same day, just to say they've done it here in California and that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:That's super fun. So you mentioned you're a travel enthusiast. What's your favorite trip that you've taken thus far?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's really hard. So, like I said, I studied abroad. Yeah, that's easier. I studied abroad in college.
Speaker 2:I studied in Florence, italy, and when I was there, I mean the city will forever have a place in my heart. It's amazing. It's that small town type of feel, but still kind of a city in Italy, and you just, I don't know, it will always be one of my favorites. And I will say the one thing that I really loved when I studied abroad in Italy and then also since I've been back, like as a travel agent, we went back to Europe a few times. And one thing that I love is, once you're there, you can easily get places with the train system they have, and so when I studied abroad, we were able to take weekend trips to we went to Switzerland, lots of different places around Italy, we took quick flights over to Spain, things like that, things like that. And so I think that that's one of my favorite things is, once you're over there, take advantage of how easy it is to get around and just soak up, soak up the culture, soak up the food. My favorite thing when my husband and I have gone back and traveled, we went through Italy and Switzerland actually for our honeymoon for three weeks and my favorite thing I always do, I prefer longer stays in places, so that way you're not just checking off the list of the sites that you need to see, but you're also just wandering and getting lost, really. I mean, we traveled to Europe before there was like cell service in foreign countries, and so we really literally did get lost plenty of times. But when you do that, you can kind of just wander and find things and things that you wouldn't have seen on a map or a tourist tourism guide, and so that's my biggest tip to anyone when they travel is, I mean, obviously with safety in mind, but just kind of wander off the beaten path just a little bit, or just don't have a plan and just stroll. So anyway, I don't think that answered your question. So I love Italy will definitely always be a spot.
Speaker 2:We also did when I was a travel agent. We did a river cruise through Germany on the Rhine River, and that was absolutely incredible. We did Amsterdam to Basel and I want to do that again. I would love to do that again. It was just stunning. I'm not a cruise person, but on the river cruises they are really small ships and I cause I get seasick and you don't get seasick on those and they, because of the way these towns were built back then they were built, the waterways were their traffic ways right, and so the boats are able to park basically in these fortress towns and things like that, just things that you wouldn't, you know, see, if you did train travel too. So kind of mixing it up a bit.
Speaker 2:I also really love if anyone ever goes to Switzerland. I have gone multiple times to Interlaken, switzerland. There's lots of places around there too, but there's just something about the Swiss Alps and kind of what you mentioned earlier, that green mountain view, like there is just and there's lakes, and like the water in the lakes for me there's just, or the water in the mountains for me is just stunning, and so those, I would say, are my favorite trips. And I mean we also love a good all-inclusive resort in Mexico when you don't have to worry about your food bill at the end. You just get to just not worry, yeah, so I think you said top five and I feel like that was five.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's amazing. My wife studied abroad in cortona. Um were older than you, so, uh, prior to when you were there, but same principle. She still talks about it. I mean, that was a long time ago, I won't. I won't say how long it was, she would kill me, but um, she, I mean, yeah, talk about a core memory, like she. Just she loved that time over there and I think she's still friends.
Speaker 1:I think there's a one of the women that were was there with her, like they still like communicate from time to time, so, um, and she hasn't been back, which I think is my fault, so I think that she's really, really antsy to get back. Uh, we've done it a couple times. My kids are 15 and 11, so they're definitely old enough now like to go and do it, but we just haven't you know planned.
Speaker 1:you have to plan that kind of far like in advance, especially with our like kids, sports and travel schedules and stuff. Like you can't, just can't just kind of up and book a two week Europe trip, like you have to put that on the calendar like pretty far in advance.
Speaker 2:There is a lot more logistics once you have kids, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:Exactly, I think that studying abroad is something that I tell everybody that they need to do it, regardless of where you go.
Speaker 2:Because for me you're at that pivotal age where you know you're in kind of a bubble where you go, where when you grow up, age what K through 12 in school, and you're kind of in this bubble and then you move to a university or college and you kind of get put just in a new bubble.
Speaker 2:And for me, studying abroad and just traveling in general, it really hit home for me how big this world is and how many possibilities there are for you in the type of life that you want to live, and it's all amazing. And so it just made me realize that cliche saying of the world is your oyster, it's so true. And so it really just opened my mind to that of it. Like that bubble that I was living in, that I didn't even realize I was living in, just really got burst and it was really eye opening and just really life changing. And I think, especially at that age where you don't realize that your, your view of the world is pretty protected for all those years because, you know, so just being I mean the fact that I like studied abroad without cell phone. You know, like they didn't have that I had to go to an internet cafe.
Speaker 2:I had to go to an internet cafe. We didn't even have internet and computers in our, in our apartment. Like you had to go to an internet cafe just to write an email to your parents to let them know you were fine. So it's kind of wild, but really it was. Yeah, it's just I tell everybody you have to do it, you get the opportunity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that. And that kind of leads me to the next point. So when you and I had a, we talked before we got on today and we were just talking about like the genesis of the show and why I started the show and one of the premises was like the real. You was about like the masks that we wear and you're talking about like kind of the bubble that we, that we're in.
Speaker 1:And so for me, like my parents divorced when I was young and so I kind of felt like I wore all these different masks, like with my mom's family and my dad's family, and then at school, and then with my friends, then on sports teams, and right, you just kind of had you figured out these ways to kind of protect yourself and you didn't stray too far, depending on, like, the group you're with. But then, like at some point, you know, as you get older and you start to mature and you kind of settle into yourself, then you realize that's really exhausting to like have to try to remember, like who am I supposed to be in this group?
Speaker 2:And like can.
Speaker 1:I say this and like, like I just kind of want to just be me, right, and so you kind of figure out where, like you're just kind of like I'm just going to be myself, and then like whoever's down with that like awesome, and then whoever's not like also awesome. Um, and I remember you saying that kind of resonated with you as you has kind of have kind of moved and you know, got married and had kids and your business has evolved, and then you've businesses evolved, and then you've that kind of like resonated you know with, with some of your experience as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that I mean to your point, when you have that aha moment of realizing that you are these different versions of yourself and you don't want to do that anymore. I think one of the biggest things is you have to take a little bit to be well, who am I? Because I think that there are a lot of us struggle with people pleasing. I mean, I'm a recovering people pleaser. I wouldn't even say I'm all the way there. Yet there's still that instances of where you you only show a version of yourself because you don't want to disappoint someone or upset someone or whatever, and so you only show it still might be authentic, but it's just a partial version. And I think that all of that is it's all coming from these masks that we wear and figure and taking me, like realizing who am I as a person, and that way you can just show up consistently across the board. I think that one of the things that was really awesome as a business owner and I didn't do this for a couple years into Elevate but coming up with what our core values are as a business Oftentimes because I do that exercise with clients now as part of my strategic mapping, and it's really great to see that exercise come to fruition for them, because I remember the experience. For me. It really is basically asking you, as the business owner, what are your core values, and it's been really great to utilize that. In everything we do, whether it's work with clients or hiring team members or making decisions, whatever that is it all comes down to core values and it's helped.
Speaker 2:It's an exercise that helps me, as a person, make those kinds of conscious decisions, of decisions I make, whether it's people I surround myself with, things, things that I go to or don't go to. All of that it's asking yourself is this an alignment? Is this going to light me up? We have all become so busy that I have really realized that I just can't say yes to everything because that's not going to spark joy for me.
Speaker 2:I'm going to end up being resentful or being really out of balance because I'm just exerting so much energy and things that don't bring me joy that I can now intentionally ask myself is this something I want to say yes to? Is it going to bring me joy or fill my cup in a way, or is this going to make me say no to something else because that does bring me joy, but now I'm saying yes to the, you know. So it's all these questions that I have learned as a business owner that I can apply to other areas of my life and just becoming a more authentic version of myself. And, yeah, it feels good, I think. I think we talked about that before, of how it just feels freeing but also scary. You know, being okay with this. This is me and not everyone might like it. No, yeah, I mean there's.
Speaker 1:That's so true, and I think the older we get, the easier that part is, because it's what there's like a quote. It's like in your twenties you care about like everything, and then your forties you care less in and your 60s you realize nobody cared in the first place or I butchered the quote, but you get the point. Um, you just kind of realize like nobody was paying really as much attention as like we thought they were um that's a great point about the values there.
Speaker 1:You know, I realized, because you know, part of the reason why I'm doing like what I'm doing now with the podcast and the business is I never really fit in to a lot of my traditional like corporate roles and I did sales and finance and customer service and, um, one of the somebody on a camera who I don't know if it was a therapist or a career coach, but they were talking about values and they said that if you don't do that like value exercise, what you're talking about, what you're doing with yourself and your clients and your employees, if that doesn't align so like if you, let's say, you do a personal like values exercise and then you take a job, and then that job is that in does not.
Speaker 1:It doesn't have to match exactly, but if it's not pretty close, like they'll never. There will always be friction. Like you cannot have this set of personal values and even take a great job. It can be great on paper and and be a great match to your skill set and and money and all things, but if, for whatever reason, that company's values and like your job doesn't match, it's simply not a long-term solution because there's so much friction between, like what you, what's important to you, and then the company, and so and I never really thought about that and I don't think a lot of people when you're like looking for a job or like let's make sure that, like, my personal and company values align, like I don't think that's really talked about. So I think it's really interesting and I'm happy to hear that that's something that you guys do and like think about, because I think it makes a huge difference.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely it's. It's especially if the core values are in direct conflict with something that is really important to you. You know, I just I think that I think that's a great point that it'll never, the balance will just never, it will never feel fulfilling, fully right, because it will always feel you can't, that's something you can't change in a company and you can't change it about. You feel you can't, that's something you can't change in a company and you can't change it about. You, um, core values are at their core. What just is? So, if there's there's a misalignment, it's just never going to work, at least not the fulfillment that everybody deserves in what they're doing yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:Um, I wish somebody had told me that earlier me too after I just beat my head against the wall for 20 years and was like this doesn't work.
Speaker 1:I don't like this at all. Why am I doing this? I want to quit every day. That's funny. You had mentioned CliftonStrengths and that's a little bit values related. So I've taken Clifton twice and I've taken all the other big ones DISC, myers-briggs, enneagram, human Design, something called High Five. I just learned there's a predictive index something, so I said, oh, I should take that one. I haven't done that one. So what's funny about my Clifton is my I'm so heavy in the execution strengths, so like seven of my top 10 are just like purple, which is all execution, so it's just like getting things done, just like through and through, and so it's like, okay, I needed to figure out something where I can do that like a lot more. So it's interesting that you have like the strategic part, which is more of like the thinking and the planning, and like how can we, how can we get to the point where we need to have like execution? So that's really.
Speaker 1:I'm fascinated, fascinated by that, and I think those can also be very helpful, whether it's families or co-workers or businesses or whatever. I think that's another great tool you can use to try to figure out, you know, are you on the right track?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think it's important, like, like you, just because I'm really strong in my strategy, um does. That's great, but I also could not ever work siloed right. I need other people who are stronger in other things and then because of that we can work well together, like yin and yang. And so we actually, as our in our internal team, just went through the CliftonStrengths with everybody and then used a consultant to talk about how we work differently and how we can work really well together with our strengths, and that was really eye-opening. So I love these like personality tests and things because I just think it helps everyone understand themselves. And when you share it with, like you said, whether it's with your spouse, people who are close to you, people at work that you work close with, whatever it is, it's really great to understand each other a little bit better, because we're not all built the same, we all have different ways that we communicate, and the better we can understand that, I mean it just results in something so much better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%. I think more of that could be used. There's somebody on LinkedIn, her name is Brittany Anderson. She does like family coaching and she's big on understanding the dynamics of your family structure. So, you know, partner kids, whatever, and having them take these types of assessments because it helps so much in like the family communication and try to eliminate conflict and then, like you said, like knowing you know obviously we're all motivated differently and like what language you want to use when you're trying to get like your kids to do to do something, and like trying to make that easier with the language that works for them, and I think that's a fascinating concept. Again, I didn't necessarily think about that Like, oh, I should have my wife and kids take it, but it makes sense too. So I think just any time you can use data, which we talked about earlier, to just help your again, communication and just that, less friction, I think you know if the tools are there, they're, you know it's worth it, worth exploring at least.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and I think for me too it's. It's one of those things that we all operate this way right, where we don't realize that the way I operate and think is just not the same as someone else's. So when you're just going through your day in a certain way or communicating things in a certain way, whatever it is, sometimes there's moments where I'm like, oh, that's what you needed or that's how you approach it. I would have never thought, just because that's how my that is so out of the box for me. And so being aware of how other people work helps you maybe add a little more detail when you're explaining or whatever, because you're like, okay, they don't think this way, so let me make sure they understand how I'm thinking. And also, I think, just more understanding mutually people will get less upset because they're just like, oh no, that's just how her brain works. So there's a big big part of understanding how people who you are close with understanding how they operate. I think that that just is a really helpful tool to have in your tool belt.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. So we're wrapping up here. I know you're a big fan of dogs. I think I read in whether it was I don't know if it was a post or your about section but if you won the lottery, you would buy a bunch of land. You would rescue all the dogs. I believe is what you said.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I put that in a LinkedIn post somewhere.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I knew it was somewhere. Um, that's, I love that. Uh, I love dogs too. I have a COVID dog. Um, my kids had wanted a dog for a long time. I said no cause I knew I was gonna have to do all the work. And then COVID hit my wife's a teacher. So suddenly they were all home.
Speaker 1:They went from being out of the house majority of the day to being at the house all day and I was losing it, and so I was like, let's get a dog, I need a fifth, I need a fifth wheel here to take the focus. Take the focus off.
Speaker 2:I love that. Yeah, and they had the time to to deal with a puppy and and yeah, it would take their attention away. They'd keep them busy for a while, that's for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly so it worked. And now now, now that everything's back to normal, he keeps me company by sleeping, uh, all day, uh in my, in my office yes, yes, minor, minor, right here at my feet right now that's nice. What kind? How many do you have, and what kind are they?
Speaker 2:I have two, and they are two rescue dogs. I don't know exactly what they are, they're just, they're both much. They're actually they're old now they are almost nine and twelve. So okay, yeah, I know, yeah, but they still act like puppies.
Speaker 1:So and do they do the usual like go outside and then come in and sleep and then eat and then sleep and then sleep, and then sleep and then go outside and then sleep yeah, yes, and if there's a squirrel or a bird or the delivery guy, they are at high alert.
Speaker 2:It's a highlight of their day. Mine hates the doorbell.
Speaker 1:That's his single it's the highlight of their day. Mine hates the doorbell. That's his single. It's his single. Greatest enemy in life is the doorbell um because, when that thing gets rung it's like he just four alarm fire and just the loudest bark he can muster, and like he thinks people are coming in and I'm like it's just the neighborhood kids buddy, like they just want to see if our kids are home and that's all that, nobody's. Nobody's coming to hurt you.
Speaker 1:They're like people are storming the fortress, he is reacting as if it is eminent danger. We must grab the weapons and protect ourselves. Um, no, I love that. So, uh, well, this is great. Thanks so much for coming on. Um, any final thoughts or anything you want to share, and then I'll put this in the show notes. But if you want to share, like your LinkedIn profile website, how people can reach out if they're interested in learning more about you and your business, yeah, absolutely so, I guess.
Speaker 2:One final piece of advice that I like to remind people of it's on our website. It is a lesson I have learned that we help clients through is just remember that you can do anything but you can't do everything, and it's okay to ask for help and get you know support where, where needed. I, like I said, we hang out as a team on Instagram. If you live there, it's at Elevate BB Solutions. On LinkedIn, if you hang out there, my um profile is Ashley M Carlson and our website is elevate bb solutionscom.
Speaker 1:Awesome, uh, be sure to put that in. Thanks so much for coming on sharing your story, uh and your wisdom. Thank you, ashley.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me.