#awinewith Kiani Mills
MEET Kiani
Kiani is the Founder of Imperialé Property.
Find Kiani here:
Imperialé Property website or Instagram @imperialeproperty.
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:10):
Amazing kiani, thank you so much for being here on Smart tv.
Kiani Mills (00:15):
Oh, thank you so much for having me. It's great to be able to sit down and have a chat.
Danielle Lewis (00:20):
Yes, I am so excited to share your story. So let's just dive straight in.
Kiani Mills (00:28):
So
Danielle Lewis (00:28):
Tell us, I love to set the scene for everyone listening to provide a bit of context in terms of the rest of the episode, but tell everyone what your business is right now and also how you got there. So whether there was a career beforehand, other businesses, the backstory, tell us everything,
Kiani Mills (00:49):
How long you got. Oh
Danielle Lewis (00:50):
Yeah. Do I need a bottle of wine? I need to get rid of this coffee that I have today and get a wine.
Kiani Mills (00:56):
I need to switch out the coffee for the wine. We'll do that next time. Excellent. I'm there.
(01:02):
So I guess in my day job, I own a conveyance company and we're spread up the east coast, so Victoria, new South Wales and Queensland predominantly buying and selling houses. So we do the boring legal part in the middle real estate agents get the glitz and the glamor to sell the house, and then our clients get the keys and they're forever home on the other side. So we're the kind of the meat and the sandwich, the legal side. So documentation, making sure the contracts are right, making sure we work really closely with your mortgage broker or your bank and get everything kind of sorted. We're the middleman. So I've really enjoyed this because I'm a people person and I'm an extrovert if you can't tell. So being able to help and facilitate, I love problem solving too. So if anything does pop up out of the ordinary, it's kind of pulling all the skills in that I love. But I guess growing up my dream was always to be a lawyer. I hated school and used school as a really networking and social opportunity. I love
Danielle Lewis (02:01):
That. Yes. Very important.
Kiani Mills (02:04):
Well, was I strategically chose woodwork as one of my electives for year 10,
Danielle Lewis (02:10):
Which I think counts towards legal skills.
Kiani Mills (02:14):
I got an a plus plus. Oh my god,
Danielle Lewis (02:16):
I love that.
Kiani Mills (02:17):
I don't know if I did much of my own work. I think I got the boys to do it all for me. But it was brilliant and I loved it and it was fun. And yes, I found legal studies in high school, so that was where I went, okay, this is what I want to do. It was either that or a police officer. So I was like, dunno if the exercise side of police officer is really for me, so let's go get a desk job. So good. So I left school early and handed out resumes everywhere. Landed a job in the city working in a massive law firm, which was incredible. I was earning $14,000 a year, which was, oh
Danielle Lewis (02:51):
My god, the dream.
Kiani Mills (02:53):
I know living the dream, it would pretty much cover the train ticket. There were days when I would sleep on my desk at lunchtime because I was so tired and things like that. Totally not prepared for a full-time city living job. Anyway, I went through every different area of law and tried everything. I realized that criminal law, I believed everybody. I was just way too compassionate. Litigation and taxation was super boring. I landed in family law, which I quite liked for a period in time. Then I fell pregnant quite young with my son, and I remember sitting at the table typing up a transcript and listening to what this gorgeous little 8-year-old girl was sharing about what had gone on with her and her father. And my heart just broke and I was heavily pregnant, so I was super emotional and I was just crying, typing this transcript going, what am I bringing a child into?
(03:51):
Oh my god, this is horrific. And I walked into my boss's office who was also a female, and I got the job. She was in my mother's group, so we both had babies at the same time. And she was like, okay, too much. I get it. So we'll move you to the property department of the family law division. And that was where I found commencing and I was like, whoa. It's still personal, the process, it's black and white, no one's trying to stab you in the back or pull a GMP out of somewhere and no one's hurting anybody else and actually get a thank you at the end. Clients say thank you so much. There's that for me. It filled every little box. It gave my analytical brain a process to follow. The client interaction was there. So I followed that career into the property world and I loved it and just immersed myself in off the plan developments.
(04:48):
We bought shopping centers, we bought buildings, we were dealing in the millions of dollars of transactions. I remember one day holding a 215 million bank check in my hands and we're like, holy crap. I didn't even think this much money did when I was 19 years old. It was insane. But anyway, the corporate world kind of gives you a bit of a false reality because it is so corporate, it's very clinical. It's like halogen lights and everyone's known by a street address or a matter number. There's no real interaction. So it lost that personal touch. And then I went through a pretty crappy experience when I went back to work after my second child after maternity leave and my job wasn't there for me and the world crushed around and I went, this is the corporate world. There is no kind of personal connection there, and I'm valued. You tell me what you need. And I'm loyal to the core, so it rocked me really badly. But that gave me a little insight. I got a job working in a law firm in what I call the suburbs, but it was in Port Melbourne, so it's not in the CBD. I'd only ever worked in the CBD. And they did it exactly the way it was when I first fell in love with it. And I went, oh, okay,
(06:05):
Here we go. So that was when I went right, I'm going to start my own business. I'm going to do this right. I'm going to change the way that corporate does it. I'm going to change the way people think about conveyances. Really try and introduce my young personality into this. I know when I started, this is 15 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, the idea of a conveyancer was old grumpy with a fag hanging out of her mouth.
Danielle Lewis (06:33):
Oh my god,
Kiani Mills (06:34):
Word is, and just this really kind of unhelpful persona. I was like, no, it doesn't need to be that way. Well,
Danielle Lewis (06:44):
And you think about buying a house and it should be a really exciting time in your life. Why would you want this person in the middle? That's like a cranky old hag.
Kiani Mills (06:55):
Yeah, and that's exactly right.
Danielle Lewis (06:56):
That's fairly inappropriate to save it. Anyway,
Kiani Mills (06:58):
That was the description. That was everyone I met and I'd say, I'm a conveyance. They're like, no, you're not. They're like, well, you're not 50. And I was like, well, yeah. Oh yeah. But it was predominantly as well because conveyancing was done in a law firm. It wasn't a standalone service as much as it is now. So we're quite lucky in this day and age and mortgage broking as well. You've got people doing the work for you as opposed to going to a bank and getting a team in Manila, doing back in work and things like that. So the whole industry's revolutionized in the last 10 years, which is really cool. But anyway, that's kind of as short as I could possibly.
Danielle Lewis (07:38):
I love it. No, that's amazing.
Kiani Mills (07:41):
And then we decided to expand. So we moved into New South Wales about three years ago and Queensland two and a half years ago. And then through all the covid things, I myself decided to jump on a jet plane and move to Queensland 12 months ago. So
Danielle Lewis (07:57):
What a journey. I love it. You know what? And I love it so much because it wasn't like I had a brilliant idea for a business when I was 12 years old. And then I started it and I've been a giant success story. It really is that I know
Kiani Mills (08:13):
Wish it was. Well,
Danielle Lewis (08:14):
Don't we all, don't we all. But I love that it was actually I tried this, I didn't love it, tried this, tried this. Oh, this is the thing. I feel like so many people hold themselves back because they go, I've got to have the right idea straight out of the gate. So I actually love your story
Kiani Mills (08:34):
And look in between all of that murkiness. And when I got let go of my job, I went and did recruitment, I went and did property management. I went and got my mortgage broking diploma. And also too, I worked in hospitality as a second job the whole time. Having kids, making sure there's enough money, hospitality was amazing. I learned so many skills and I think this is the hard thing. We get taken through school and no, I didn't finish year 12, but the idea is that by year 12, you should know what you want to do next and you should be stepping into a career. Whereas man, you don't even know who you are at that age, let alone what you want to do for the rest of your life. So I feel like I was quite fortunate that yes, I had a pathway there, but I was able to explore and try different things and see different worlds and experience things along the way so that now I could sit here and go, great, this is genuinely, it ticks all the boxes that I love and I've created a business that can work around me, can work around my children, can work with my staff and their children and thank you.
(09:45):
We've gone digital, we're virtual. I've got staff that work from Tasmania and I go to Bali and no complaints. But you have to go through the kind of crap, the mug, the things that you don't want to do to try and figure that out.
Danielle Lewis (10:03):
I know. And I think that there's no getting around that. I feel like as business owners, we are all trying to have this conversation right now that it's hard that it's not the shiny Instagram like living the life, but I don't think it's a bad thing. We talk about this idea of hustling, how negative it is and how days are bad and the rollercoaster, but I'm like, I don't think it's bad to go through that to actually figure out what you like doing, how you want to run your business, how you want your life to look, and also gain all of the skills that you do not learn at school.
Kiani Mills (10:45):
Well, how else are you going to learn it? The only way we learn is either by making mistakes or doing something that we don't want to do.
Danielle Lewis (10:53):
Yeah, totally. Totally.
Kiani Mills (10:55):
And look, I mean also too, we're not princesses. We're all going to have to do things we don't want to do. If I've got staff away, mate, I will be the receptionist and answer the phone. I don't care. There are things that we have to do to make sure that our business is run and that's fine. But yes, you're right. We learn through these experiences that maybe are not the best. That's right. And even if they're glamorous sometimes we go, I can't imagine doing that every day for the rest of my life.
Danielle Lewis (11:26):
Great.
Kiani Mills (11:27):
One thing you don't want to do Good on you.
Danielle Lewis (11:30):
Exactly. Exactly. I know. I love that experience of learning and experiencing. I think that's the only way to do it and the only way to progress in business. So tell me then me, because you've had so many amazing experiences or well experiences, good or bad, what have been some of the biggest lessons going from working for somebody else to actually starting your own business?
Kiani Mills (11:56):
Oh gosh. Yeah, you're right. They're good and bad. It's not all rainbows and shiny things, but it's also not all hard either.
Danielle Lewis (12:05):
Yeah, totally.
Kiani Mills (12:07):
For some of us. And I think the big thing too is that we are all built different. And I know that I'm a natural born hustler. I love it. That's the part of me that gets excited. I need to be constantly stimulated and creating and in my power to be able to innovate. If I can't do that and I become stagnant, then my ops manager's like Kiani, don't touch anything. You'll break it.
Danielle Lewis (12:39):
It was good when you have people around you that know who you're
Kiani Mills (12:44):
At the start, you're right, it was just me. But in that role, because I was wearing so many different hats, that was kind of exciting, but overwhelming and frequently, oh man, some of the things that come and you're like, I should have known that and I didn't so far over my head. And that's where self doubt kicks in. You're like, who am I to be doing this? Should I be doing this? And for me, I think the biggest thing was that it was that questioning, constantly questioning, am I doing the right thing? Am I doing it wrong? And then if something did go wrong, crap, I should have known that I should do it better. And that all led me in the path and the direction of having professional, they're called performance consultants because I've had a couple of coaches in the past and I don't do the fluffy stuff. I'm an activator
Danielle Lewis (13:34):
Love
Kiani Mills (13:34):
That get it done now, and I need to see that my actions are resulting in something beneficial. So they call themselves performance consultants, which I love. I have
Danielle Lewis (13:44):
Never heard of this before. What is a performance consultant? Anyone in my life,
Kiani Mills (13:50):
The way that they came into my world was I was that I was overwhelmed, I was stressed. And I met gentlemen Nigel at my BNI chapter,
(14:01):
And I was listening to him talk about his business and he kept saying, I'm not a business coach. Then he'd be like, but we do help this. We help you with sales and we help you with this and we help you with that. And I'm like, what exactly do you do? And we sat down and I said, the only way I'm going to understand this is tell me how you would help me. And he's like, right, tell me your three biggest problems in your business. And I was like, got no time. All I do is send emails and I don't have my eyes over the cashflow. He's like, great, what we would do is this. We would do, then we'd help you do. And then we'd look at, and I was sitting there, I was like,
Danielle Lewis (14:37):
Sign me up, take my money.
Kiani Mills (14:39):
I'm like, my angel, you are
Danielle Lewis (14:41):
My Wow. Yeah, okay, interesting.
Kiani Mills (14:43):
I'm like, is this real? Is this possible? So the companies followed more global and within three months they had systemized my business. All I was looking for was like an hour, just one hour where I could think and process. And we ended up getting me an hour a day in three months, and I was doing 20 settlements a week on my own, running the business, trying to all do networking events, going to BNI, raising two children by myself running the house. So you can imagine that I was up at 4:00 AM and awakened until 1:00 AM emails constantly backwards and forwards and then phones and it was manic. So I couldn't because I was so in it,
Danielle Lewis (15:28):
I completely
Kiani Mills (15:29):
Beyond it. But when they looked at it, they were like, oh, great, we put this process in, we do this system, we do this, we do do this. So having those foundations set has given me now my scale. Our foundations are so solid we could double overnight. And we've got processes, the systems, the people, the everything. It's great. That's
Danielle Lewis (15:49):
Incredible.
Kiani Mills (15:50):
You don't know what you don't know.
Danielle Lewis (15:52):
Oh my god, that's a good lesson to learn. It's so interesting though, because I think a lot of founders really are that personality where they're the creative or just the doer, or I've got this big idea, or I'm the people person. People really underestimate systems and processes.
Kiani Mills (16:11):
Well, yeah,
Danielle Lewis (16:12):
They're so unsexy,
Kiani Mills (16:14):
So
Danielle Lewis (16:15):
Valuable.
Kiani Mills (16:16):
And because too, when you let things go for so long, they are quite tricky to implement because you're doing it a certain way that's worked so long. It's like it's longer to do it this way, but once it's in, it's great. So for some business owners, it seems too overwhelming to change until it's either a necessary evil and you have to, or I can't do this anymore and I'm closing the business.
Danielle Lewis (16:46):
Yeah. Well, it's really interesting you say that because I often hear that when people are hiring new employees as well, so they are kind of like, I need help, but I don't have time to train them.
Kiani Mills (16:57):
That's exactly it.
Danielle Lewis (16:58):
And it's like, well, if you don't train them, don't hire them because you're just going to create a bigger problem for yourself.
Kiani Mills (17:06):
And it is such a juggle. It is constantly a juggle because as business owners, we want to be able to hire in advance, not hire from a point of stress and demand, but the cash flow is not there when we've got it in advance. So we can't justify bringing someone on. Then the cash flow is there, but we've got no time. So then we've got to make time. And even now I've learned through my company that every new staff member will cost me three months of their salary.
Danielle Lewis (17:36):
Yes. Oh my god. That's
Kiani Mills (17:38):
Their salary. So as a business, we need to factor that into our bottom line because we need to get prepared to carry that. So if the business number one can't afford to pay their wage and can't afford to carry them for three months with no return, what do we do? But it is amazing that by dropping back into the systems and the operations and the processes, you may not actually need that staff member in their full capacity, or you may be able to swap and change roles and responsibilities a little bit so that you can make room for a part-timer or whatever it might be. I just think having that systemized process in place could actually, and it did for me, oh my gosh. I went from nine staff members in Victoria only to, we are five and a half across three states.
Danielle Lewis (18:28):
Oh my God. Wow.
Kiani Mills (18:30):
And as I said, we could double our business tomorrow and capacity wise we're fine. It works.
Danielle Lewis (18:36):
Yeah. Well, and it's such a good point to make too, because profit, profit margin, I mean, I feel like having more staff gets glamorized a little bit.
Kiani Mills (18:49):
Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (18:51):
And I feel like you are seeing all the, this company's hiring, this company's hiring, and we going, and people are looking at that going, well, I can't afford to do that. Obviously they're winning and I'm losing, or whatever. Or they're just going, I need to hire somebody in just in case we grow.
Kiani Mills (19:09):
And
Danielle Lewis (19:09):
It's like, no, if you can actually figure out the systems and processes and automate things and systemize things, that actually increases your bottom line
Kiani Mills (19:20):
And gives more time back for your staff to be spending with the clients, which is the goal, client is the goal. So take the paperwork and the repetitive and the double handling and all of that off their hands and give it back to the clients. But it's an interesting comment that you made around the perception of a bigger team, and I went through a massive struggle at the start of Covid. We closed all of our offices and we had to reduce staff. And to me, that was my ego and my identity. My idea of success crumbled at my feet. And I had this almost like I'm going to call it a mini midlife crisis. I love it. I was on the phone to my team at philotimo, they're like my virtual board, so every business decision I make, I run it by them. And I was crying being like, but who am I? What do I have to show now? And oh my goodness, it looks as though we're losing everything and it looks as though we're getting smaller, but in fact, we were condensing to then be able to grow bigger. I just couldn't see it At that time. My ego was so loud, and all I really cared about was what other people thought.
Danielle Lewis (20:46):
Oh my God, you are just so right. And I feel like every business owner ever went through that during covid, right? Really hard decisions had to be made staff products, people that I know. We actually had a bloody giant office that we had to get out of. We got this five year lease on an event space, so like a giant warehouse event space, right? In 2019. And then Covid hit, and we couldn't use those events. But again, it's like our identity was all around. We host these amazing events. We have marketers come in, blah, blah, blah, blah. And to let it go was like, we failed
Kiani Mills (21:29):
A hundred percent. Yeah. Our worst nightmare as business owners a worst nightmare. And you're locked in the confines of your own house, so you can't, I don't know. I think that was the other thing too, because it was during Covid, normally I would go and sit with them face to face and we'd nut out. We'd go on the whiteboard, we'd figure out what it's going to be. But because there was that no human interaction either, and even just being able to talk to friends and family about it, it was like, oh, I'm so alone and secluded and everyone's going to forget about me and I'm going to be a nothing and a nobody, and I'm not going to be able to pay my stuff. And oh, the stories that I was telling myself were insane.
Danielle Lewis (22:12):
And you're so right though about not the face-to-face element, even video. It just quite doesn't quite cut it, I don't think. I
Kiani Mills (22:19):
Feel you. I want to sense you. And two, you can even notice when you go to say something or crack a joke or you got to wait for them to stop talking and you're like, oh, we've lost the flow. Okay, keep going.
Danielle Lewis (22:31):
It's so true though. And I think as business owners, when we're going through this period of, holy shit, my world's ending, then having a video conversation still doesn't quite reassure you because quite got the reassuring vibe from the other person.
Kiani Mills (22:46):
That's exactly right. It's exactly right. And yeah, look, I think the ego and the perception is such a big thing. And we do, I mean, we've grown up in a society where maybe before social media was as big as it is now, but the only things we really saw on TV were your Microsofts and your Apples and your big corporates and your big companies. And it was all about turnover and staff. And so we've been raised in an idealistic world that more is bigger or bigger is better, whereas they don't tell you behind the scenes that Uber didn't make a profit for the first eight years or something crazy like that. And they don't tell you those kinds of things. It's all perception. And yeah, it took a really long time for me to, in my mind, it felt like a long time rework that and rewire that, but now it's like, oh hell no. I'm proud. We run skinny, we run tight. As I said, we've got so much time to give back to our clients now. Can't believe we didn't do this sooner.
Danielle Lewis (23:44):
And family as well. Like you mentioned, you have two kids. I'm sure getting time back in your day is probably a good thing.
Kiani Mills (23:52):
Absolutely, a hundred percent. It's beautiful. And it's where for a lot of years, there just wasn't time for it. It was got to get everything done and you get as much of me as I have to give you, and that is it. So back to systems, back to staffing, back to everything, it's all relative because our worlds are combined. Life is business. Business is life. We are one human not to. And a lot of people have this perception that there must be a certain way at work and a certain way at home. No, no, no. Then you're in conflict of yourself 24 7. So no wonder you're having mental breakdowns or getting throat infections or whatever. I present, I get a sore throat every time I get run down and I'm like, oh,
Danielle Lewis (24:40):
Oh, hello body. Thank you for telling me that I should rest. What am I
Kiani Mills (24:44):
Not doing for myself? Yeah, I'm rest. Right, okay, I hear you. Thank you.
(24:49):
But it's a funny one because we haven't really been raised that way. We haven't been taught that. So I think that's going to be a really cool focus. And it has been already Covid Hass been kind to us in some ways that it's brought mental health to the surface, and especially in business owners, small businesses. We did see a lot of devastation with businesses through that time, but SMEs really are the future. We're going to bring this economy back again, and we're going to do it with that smile on our faces. I have no doubt.
Danielle Lewis (25:22):
I love that so much because you are spot on. There's just so much of my business experience where I did feel that I was always caught between being this person at work and not being so much of myself and being totally miserable about it. And I was corporate, so I thought I had to bring the corporate personality into the business, but also this idea of balance, everyone kept talking about work-life balance, and I'm now staunchly in the camp of that doesn't exist. So I do love that you made that mention because it's funny, we talked about how we didn't quite get the life skills or business skills at school, and then it's like, yeah, we learned this whole world of life work-life balance, hustle, culture, bigger is better. And it's like none of those things are actual reality. And you don't learn it until you are in your own business.
Kiani Mills (26:21):
A hundred percent. They're the stories that we've picked up through the media or through our family or whatever environment we were school, whatever it is, whatever it is. Reading all those magazines when we were younger, it is different. And until you're in your own business, everyone's going to run their own business differently as well. And there is no right or wrong way. It really is whatever works for you. But I guess the big thing for me back to one of the biggest thing was just know that there are people out there to help you. A lot of people get, oh, and I was one, I was like, I can't ask for help. That means that I'm, I'm not good or I'm not successful seating. Or here I am working up to these networking meetings every week and standing up and professing that I'm the best in the business and blah, blah, blah.
(27:08):
I'm like, I can't tell them that I'm struggling with keeping on top of my emails or that I don't have time to make a phone call because I've got 45 million things to do. And it is that we run on smoke and fumes in the backend because we're too proud to reach out. But I mean, look, my story is probably one of millions where I needed something and if I didn't get that, I probably wouldn't have continued the business. I would've been like, you know what? I'm going back to work. I'm just going to go back and get a crappy job and I don't know, do something that's just going to feed my kids. It's too hard. But finding that little my angels was, for me, the biggest thing. But it came back to asking for help. Just ask for help. And I think if anything, my purpose in trying to create my platform in the way that I have is so that people can see that it's not all beauty all the time. And if you need anything, just ask me. We're all humans at the end of the day. And people who have been through it the crap, they want to help others, but people think, then the perception again goes, oh, they've already been through it. They're not going to have time. For me. It's like, no, no, no, no. I was you once and there's no way I'll let you go through that. Let me help you. But yeah, again, we're sometimes a little bit proud or don't have time either way.
Danielle Lewis (28:32):
I mean, it's just so interesting because I absolutely love that it shocks me because as founders, you are spot on. We are so putting out the big picture. We are so successful. We are experts in our field, work with us, work with us, work with us, and then behind the scenes in the business, totally freaking out. And there's always something you don't know. You are an expert in your industry, perhaps not an expert in every element of business that you need to be experts in. But then I'm blown away by the generosity of founders like you who have done it before. So it's this funny little thing that goes on with founders who don't want to ask for help and founders who are so generous and it's like, we just need to break down that wall in the middle and we would all be thriving.
Kiani Mills (29:21):
Oh, you know what? I was talking to someone yesterday and she was up here in the sunny coast and she was saying there's so many amazing retirees up here who are councilmen, ex CEOs, ex CFOs. She's like, they're just such beautiful humans and they just give their time for nothing. And we're like, maybe we could create some form of mentor program, something that not-for-profit, absolutely no contribution to volunteer mentor program to help young business owners. And yes, generationally things change, but these are successful people and they genuinely just want to give back with their time. They've done the hard yards, they've figured it all out. They're living their retirement life and they want to give back. I went, beautiful concept. That would be really cool. But I guess we forget the fact that our friends, our families, businesses, friends, acquaintances, we've got that. We've already got that in our hands. We just don't utilize it enough.
Danielle Lewis (30:23):
It's so good. I just love the idea. Whilst there were good and bad things about Covid, one thing I think that did happen when we were all trapped inside our home offices was that the feeling of being alone was perpetuated. And so I just love that you are spot on. There are just so many people willing to help and there's so many resources out there and people are just willing to have a conversation. And I mean as long as there's a value exchange, but I think that if you ask for help, you can realize as a business owner that you really are not alone in this
Kiani Mills (30:57):
A hundred percent. And I think that in itself is a big mental jump to get over. For a lot of people, it's like anything mental health, you have a hard day or I dunno, fight with a friend or a breakup or something and you're like, gosh, you feel as though you are so alone and that it's only happening to you and it's such a normal feeling, but there are so many others that are going through it exactly the same way and exactly the same time. And exactly. We do some how broadly feel similar things, and it's a really hard concept to, it's a hard pill to swallow as such. It's a big one. But once, especially in business, once you can get over that, that's when I feel as though people are more receptive to help and support, and even just suggestions. I know when I first started and people would offer their opinions and I was full up to here, I was like, I have zero space for anything. Thanks for trying to help me or create more work, whichever. At the time it felt overwhelming, but I was in that receptive place. I'd asked for help. I'd taken that first step in trying to get that business help that I know I didn't have. All of a sudden everyone's suggestions were like, oh my gosh, wow, thank you. That's great. I'm going to take that. I'm going to do that feedback actually too, feedback from clients
(32:30):
Stopped being so scary because it wasn't personal anymore. It was how do I improve instead of what have I done wrong? And that was a massive change as well. Being able to change how you receive feedback. If you assume that it's all constructive criticism, it lands a little bit different.
Danielle Lewis (32:52):
Oh my God, you're so right. If you assume that everybody is out to help you, that's just incredible. It actually helps alleviate brain space, right? As founders, we've just got so much going on. It's like if you just assume everyone's out to help you, then all of those little nuggets, absolutely. I can do that. Absolutely. That makes that quicker. That makes that better. Cool. I no longer have to think. All of the inputs are coming from people who want to help my business, who are my customers who will be repeat customers, listen to them.
Kiani Mills (33:24):
I promise you, you'll be able to sleep at night too. Oh man. There's so many times when someone would say something and because I wasn't in a position of receiving that information, I took it personally. I wore it, I carried it. I didn't sleep. I was cranky. But then yes, if you can look at it and go, oh, thank you so much for your feedback. I really appreciate you taking the time. I'm going to now attend to that. I wasn't aware of that before. Thank you so much. We are going to be better humans for it, whether it's coming as whatever the intention is for them putting it out to you, we receive it as something that we can grow on or learn on, and sometimes it's Thank you so much. I appreciate it. And it may not be right for right now, but just bank it somewhere. You're right. It's just changing the way that it's received so it's not so personal.
Danielle Lewis (34:20):
I love that so much. Okay, well, we could talk all day, but let's wrap with the last thing. I would love for you to share perhaps one tip, so we have a lot of people tuning into Spark TV who are just starting out
Kiani Mills (34:36):
In
Danielle Lewis (34:36):
Their business journey. Maybe one thing that maybe you had wished you had known back in the day or perhaps a tip that might help people get through the hard days.
Kiani Mills (34:47):
That is a really good question. Lists are a really big one.
Danielle Lewis (34:59):
Ooh, I love this already.
Kiani Mills (35:01):
So for me, I guess it goes back to that overwhelm. Writing a list of everything I had to do and then chalking it out step by step, made everything a little bit more manageable. It sounds very basic and it sounds very simple, but by writing out a list, I guarantee you, and you just do the big things. Start with big things anyway, and then it's almost like from each big thing, what five little actions can I do to reach that big goal?
Danielle Lewis (35:30):
I love
Kiani Mills (35:31):
That. Yeah, because it's not, yeah, we could jump from lily pad to lily pad in the minute we fall off a lily pad, we're screwed and we're drowning. It's like, well, no, let's just put five little lily pads around the outside so in case we fall, we've got something to kind of catch ourselves on. But it also creates momentum. Momentum is the biggest thing. It seems overwhelming at the start, but if you can say a list of five things and then each one of those five things, there's little things, little actions that you could do, make you feel better about yourself, make you feel like you're ticking things off, but you are making little micro steps towards your macro step and that all it is, especially new business, is about momentum and it's keeping it going. Even on the crap days, even on the bad days, just doing little things. If we are constantly doing little things before long, there'll be big things.
Danielle Lewis (36:19):
I love that so much because it's so easy and actionable. Get out of your head, get it onto a piece of paper and chunk it down. That is so smart. I am literally just going, I'm going to steal that and do that today for all the things I have to do.
Kiani Mills (36:35):
Well, I'm glad. I'm very glad.
Danielle Lewis (36:37):
Oh, so good. Kiani, you are absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for spending your time with us today on Spark tv. I know that this conversation will add a lot of value to new business owners life, so thank you so much.
Kiani Mills (36:52):
Yeah, thank you so much. I apologize for what my camera's done for the last little while, but it's a bit of mood lighting going on here.
Danielle Lewis (36:58):
I
Kiani Mills (36:58):
Love it. I love it. No, it's been awesome. As I said, I love sharing. I love helping. This is an amazing platform for that. So congratulations and well done. Yeah, I'm looking forward to watching you guys keep doing amazing things.
Danielle Lewis (37:10):
Thank you so much.
