#awinewith Leah Selfe
MEET Leah Selfe, Founder of Productivity Queen
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:07):
Leah, welcome to Spark tv. How are you?
Leah Selfe (00:10):
I'm good. I'm good. How are you?
Danielle Lewis (00:12):
I am so good and I'm so excited to talk to you. Yeah, long time. Stalker. Love you in Spark, all the things. I'm so excited to actually have you on the podcast and pick your brains and share your wisdom with everybody. I'm very excited.
Leah Selfe (00:28):
Amazing. Me too. Thank you so much. I have loved being inside Spark and I think it's nice to find a community of people who get what you're at at certain levels of business. It's nice to be able to be in a room of people and you say something and they're like, oh yeah, that's me.
Danielle Lewis (00:44):
I'm like, I know.
Leah Selfe (00:46):
I'm so glad to be here.
Danielle Lewis (00:47):
I know, because it can be a bit isolating sometimes and you're sitting in your home office going, am I the only person on the planet experiencing this?
Leah Selfe (00:56):
Am I the drama? Yeah. Is it me? Am
Danielle Lewis (01:00):
It's not. Spoiler, it's not.
Leah Selfe (01:04):
I love it.
Danielle Lewis (01:04):
Alright, let's start off by telling everybody who you are and what you do.
Leah Selfe (01:09):
Fabulous. I'm Leah and I run the productivity queen, which sounds really fancy, and we were saying off air, basically I just yell at people to get shit done. That's pretty much predominantly what I do. So I actually work in, I would
Danielle Lewis (01:23):
Like to have that job.
Leah Selfe (01:25):
It's a fun job. It's very cathartic. So I'm actually more so in the online business management space as well, but I also do offer productivity mentoring in the form of Ask kicking. And then obviously things are a little bit more in depth into really getting in and as I like to say, getting balls deep into someone's business and figuring out what's working, what's not working, and how we can restructure your business to suit your lifestyle as opposed to the other way round. Because a lot of people do that. They start a business for flexibility, for freedom, for time, money, whatever it is. And then we end up treating it like a job sometimes and it ends up being the other way around. So yeah, sometimes I come in with that fresh perspective and I'm like, yep, nope, let's just fucking, we're going to redo all this shit and we're going to make it work better for you. So yeah. I love it. That
Danielle Lewis (02:13):
Is so good. I love that. I love that. And oh my God, there's a lot to unpack there. So let's start with what the fuck is productivity?
Leah Selfe (02:22):
Oh my God, I was just doing a masterclass on this earlier today in another community and I really struggle to bring across how much I love productivity to other people. I say, yeah, let's be productive. And people just roll their eyes and some people in the back are like, fuck this. And they just get up and leave. So I'm like, how can we make productivity sexy again? And the biggest thing for me is the one reason I find people are so unproductive is because they are so unaligned with the shit that they're doing. And I know that sounds really woo woo, right? But if you pick up your to-do list, you're like, wow, this looks like so much fun today. And if you are not excited about it, you're not going to get it done. And generally speaking is because the shit you have on here, clearly this is a very blank to-do list.
(03:12):
The shit you have on your to-do list you're not excited about it is because it's not actually aligning with anything that you want to do in the future. So you, and this comes across in many different areas of your business when you struggle to be like, where's my next step? Or I feel like I'm plateauing or feel like I'm not moving forward, or Why isn't this working? And it's because generally what you're doing is no longer working towards your big vision or your big goals. And that could be because you've lost sight of those happens all the time. Or it could be because those visions and goals no longer align with where you are in your business. So you're now doing shit that no longer makes you feel good, which means you're not going to do it, which means you're not productive.
Danielle Lewis (03:54):
Okay, so this is so good because I just texted my partner, I was like, I'm just feeling a little flat today, and I think you just uncovered what my fucking problem is. That is so interesting because you so right. Sometimes I feel like we think all of the things that we write down on this to-do list are the things that are going to help move us closer to our goals. But I guarantee you no one's sitting down in the morning and actually assessing, okay, this is what I want to achieve in life. This is the vision. How do I get there? Do these annoying little tasks that I'm doing, actually move the goalpost.
Leah Selfe (04:28):
And
Danielle Lewis (04:29):
It
Leah Selfe (04:29):
Even comes down to the client work that you're doing. So I know I went through this transition phase where I really enjoyed doing certain things, and then I was moving into the online business management space and the productivity mentoring space, and I was like, now there's things on that to-do list that I do for clients that just don't light me up anymore because it's not where I see my business going anymore. So it's like it's okay to not want to keep doing that stuff. And that is honestly why you're not productive. It's not because you don't want to do it, you just don't understand how it's actually benefiting you, because that's what our brains are wired to do. It's like if I do this thing, it's a what's in it for me? If I do this, what's in it for me? If I can't see what's in it for me, why the fuck am I doing it?
Danielle Lewis (05:14):
And do you think sometimes there's a bridge between, okay, my vision has moved, but I still have to do all of this client work, or I still have to do all of this, or I still have to do all of that because I haven't quite got to there yet. And that stuff has to fund the new dream.
Leah Selfe (05:30):
And I definitely feel like I can speak to this. This is where I was at not so long ago, and I would love to say there's a magical fairy godmother out there that's like, oh, you don't want to do that anymore and you want to move on to this thing and you want to be fully booked out and everything's going to be fine. Bam, bitch, there you go. But obviously that's not how it works. Could
Danielle Lewis (05:47):
You send her my way,
Leah Selfe (05:48):
Please? Right. If I ever find her people, I will let you all know, because that just doesn't happen. So it's like how do transition from one to the other without it being a massive dip in revenue without freaking out, without being like, oh my God, how am I going to make this work? And unfortunately, this is where you have to go from walking in your business to running in your business. So I use the analogy of when we were babies, we had to learn how to walk before we could run,
(06:17):
Which is exactly what we do in business. We learn how to walk, and once we're good at doing the things that we're good at walking, we start running. But then eventually we get kind of burnt out and we're not really sure if that's what we want to do anymore. So we go back to walking totally fine. But in order for you to get to the next step, you've got to do a little bit of running. You've got to start realizing that you have to put in a little bit more hard work. You have to put in a little bit more hours. And it's like how can you slowly start reeducating your clients? How can you start changing your messaging? How can you start transitioning some of your clients from the old stuff that you want to do to the new stuff that you want to do?
(06:50):
So there's no magical wand. No. In six months it'll all be fine and everything will work out. You just have to give it a go. But you do have to realize that it's just that time running and where you're running to is your own race. Nobody else is running the same marathon. Nobody else is doing the same power walk as you. So you can take as long or as little as you want to get there. There's no timeframe on it, but it's just in order for you to go back to being productive, you have to start pushing yourself towards things that actually make you feel good.
Danielle Lewis (07:23):
Yeah. That is so interesting. I just love what you just said that there you're running the race against yourself and there is no timeline because I feel like half the time the stress in my life is all self-imposed. Yes, yes. I have client stress sometimes when I'm,
Leah Selfe (07:41):
I mean, who doesn't? That's why we have businesses.
Danielle Lewis (07:44):
We love it. I love it, but I feel like I need to achieve X, Y, Z this year or else it's just my own doing.
Leah Selfe (07:54):
Yeah, fuck it off. Literally just fuck it off. I think it all comes down to where you're at in your business and where you're at in your timeline of your journey. So I'm a mom. I also run a business two or three years ago, if someone had said to me, what's your five year plan? I'd be like, still parenting. That's what I'm doing. Still doing the same fucking thing, looking after the same
Danielle Lewis (08:16):
Kid.
Leah Selfe (08:19):
Whereas now my son just turned, depending on when this comes out, my son turned 14 in October, 2023. So my five-year plan looks so different now. And it's not because I want it to look differently. It can look differently. I can now sit here and go, and I've told my son many times before the day after you turn 18, I am on a one-way ticket degrees to work overseas for six months. See you later buddy. Mom's living her best life. Sorry, those are my little emojis that come up with my, I keep forgetting. I
Danielle Lewis (08:54):
Just made my day.
Leah Selfe (08:55):
I know. Right over the screen.
Danielle Lewis (08:57):
This is fantastic.
Leah Selfe (09:00):
But yeah, so it's just like you have to start figuring out what it is that you want in your life and where you are at, and just figure out what those goals look like for you. So, and I think this is where I get frustrated sometimes with social media. It's like how to grow to a seven figure business in 18 months or whatever, or 12 months fucking shoot me now.
Danielle Lewis (09:24):
Oh my God, it drives me mental
Leah Selfe (09:27):
For starters. Is that even a goal for you? If it's not a goal for you, stop chasing somebody else's idea of a goal.
Danielle Lewis (09:34):
Yes. I
Leah Selfe (09:35):
Love that. That brings us 100% back to your running in somebody else's race. Yes. They haven't given you the proper instructions, they haven't given you the proper guidance, and they just expect you to follow along and receive the same outcome. It's like it's not even your race. So you really need to look at where your business is at, where your life is at. And if five years down the track looks too crazy, then just worry about the next 12 months.
Danielle Lewis (10:01):
And that's really interesting because I know, so I went on this journey, I started my other business, scrunch, the influencer marketing software marketing agency, and we went down the tech startup route, raise millions of dollars, have a ginormous team, have expensive office space. Headline, headline, headline. Oh my fucking God. It was the worst
Leah Selfe (10:21):
And
Danielle Lewis (10:22):
Burnt it all to the ground. And now I have two amazing employees, a whole bunch of freelancers. We all work a hundred percent virtual. It's just amazing. Not still without its stress, but it's the model that I would like. But you're so right. It's like I just turned around, I was miserable and I just turned around and I was like, well, that seems stupid, the boss. So you are the one that made all of this happen. Yeah.
Leah Selfe (10:50):
Why you did it because you, that's what you thought you had to make
Danielle Lewis (10:54):
A hundred percent.
Leah Selfe (10:56):
If I want to be a tech startup and this is what I want to do, well that's what everybody else is doing. And that seems to be the version of success. So that's mean. That's what my goals have to look like. That's the vision for my business. And when you start doing that, you start losing sight of what it is you actually want and you burn out, you get stressed, you stop doing the shit that you need to be doing, and all of a sudden you're chasing your tail going, why do I feel like I'm just surviving from one day to the next?
Danielle Lewis (11:20):
Oh my God, that's so true. So how do we figure out what we want?
Leah Selfe (11:25):
I know, right? The golden question, Leah, tell me how the big, are
Danielle Lewis (11:30):
There questions that you would say ask yourself or a process you go through? Or
Leah Selfe (11:35):
For me, I take my clients through a values process. What are your values? Because what you value in your personal life is very much going to align with what you value in your business. Because generally speaking, and in most cases, your business should be supporting your personal and your lifestyle. So if those don't align, then it sometimes can be really hard to try to figure that out. So once you kind of have an understanding of what it is that you value, like say for example, I value quality time with my son, he is 14. He doesn't want to hang out with his mum all the time. I'm not cool anymore. No. Right. So I've moved from quantity time with my son to quality time with my son, and that's what I value. So in order for me to do that, I now structure my business so that I can try to get as much as I can done in the times that I know either my clients are going to be online, he's going to be at school, or he's going to be with friends or whatever. So that when we do have quality time on the weekends or late nights, it's actually quality time.
Danielle Lewis (12:43):
Yes, your head's not somewhere else or it's not, I've just got to emails or whatever.
Leah Selfe (12:49):
So that's a version of, in order for me to figure out what it is I want, I have to understand what it is that I value the most. Love that because that's going to fuel what it is that I want. I don't want to be working until 10 or 11 o'clock at night. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm a business owner. Sometimes I have to do that, right? But I want to be able to make that an option for me. I don't want it to be something that I have to do every day to make my business run. So I choose to work during school hours right now because I want to be able to spend quality time when my son leaves school. There's a good chance I'm going to be able to do whatever it is the fuck that I want. So it's like you just have to find what you value to then be able to create a business structure that suits that value. So fortunately, there is no plus these seven things, divide it by these four, and you'll get this, I wish, but start with what it is you value and then go, cool. Well, how can I build a structured business to support those values? Because whatever the outcomes are in my business, that's going to align with the values that I want to achieve in my personal life.
Danielle Lewis (13:51):
And I love how you said when he leaves school, it might change. We are not locked into what works today. May not work next year or five years or 10 years or whatever. And so we're allowed to also change our minds.
Leah Selfe (14:07):
Exactly. And I'm saying four or five years down the track, he may decide in year 10 or 11 that he wants to leave and do an apprenticeship.
Danielle Lewis (14:15):
Totally.
Leah Selfe (14:15):
So then it could change again. It really does depend on what is happening in your life. And I think you have to be understanding that it can flex and flow. There is no, this is how I set my business up on day one. So this is what it has to be until the day I die or I sell it or I decide to stop it. You can change it as much as you, as much as little, it's your business.
Danielle Lewis (14:38):
Yeah, I love that. I remember, so when I first found out that you could start businesses decades ago, I know. So I read the Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferrows, and I was like, hold on a second. You are telling me you can just design the life that you want to live. You can just invent a business. Anyone can just make this shit up. And I was so fascinated by it. But I think, and to my point before I got into this spiral of reading headlines and following other people and what they were doing and kind of got myself into this state of, oh my God, what the hell did I build? So then the realization that, oh no, I can actually change things, is look, it wasn't easy. I had to go through process of what do I actually want this to look like? Yes, it's not going to happen on day one. I still have to do some things that I don't love doing. At least I know I'm working towards the model that suits the values I have and the lifestyle I want.
Leah Selfe (15:41):
You are willing to take uncomfortable action if you know the outcome is going to get you closer to what it is that you want. So the reason you don't take it is because you are so unclear about what that looks like for you in the future.
Danielle Lewis (15:54):
Yes.
Leah Selfe (15:55):
You know what I mean? That's so good.
Danielle Lewis (15:56):
I love that term uncomfortable action.
Leah Selfe (15:58):
Oh, god.
Danielle Lewis (16:00):
Because it still sucks.
Leah Selfe (16:01):
Yeah. Don't get wrong. It's not because I know what I want. I wake up every morning and I'm like, fuck yeah, I'm going to do all the things. Sometimes I still sit here and I'm like, I don't want to do that, but I know that if I do it, it's going to be good. So still, there are some things that are still uncomfortable, but I know that by doing it, one, I'm going to become more comfortable with it. But two, eventually I'm going to get to a point where it's going to get me somewhere in my business so that I may not actually need to do that uncomfortable action anymore.
Danielle Lewis (16:30):
Oh, the dream,
Leah Selfe (16:31):
Right. Transfer that responsibility to someone else or just fuck it off altogether.
Danielle Lewis (16:37):
That is so good. I love that. How did you get into this? Did you
Leah Selfe (16:43):
Have a career question
Danielle Lewis (16:44):
Or did you have other businesses or what the hell?
Leah Selfe (16:46):
What the hell? How did it all happen? Take us back in time. So I had worked probably for about 15 years in the corporate world. Prior to starting my business. I had spent just over 10 years of that in the travel events and hospitality industry. So I was very used to moving groups of people of anywhere from 500 to 5,000 for events, travel groups, all those bits and pieces, conferences, the whole kit and caboodle. I had been made redundant from what I thought was going to be my forever career company. Unfortunately, it didn't work out, so I was made redundant and I was like, ah, shit. So I thought, okay, I'll use those same skills, but I'll just go in a slightly different direction. So instead of being on the travel side of events and conferences, I was going to be on the hotel side, and it was fun and I was enjoying it, but it just wasn't the same love that I had for it before.
(17:41):
And then unfortunately, one year and three days to the day, good old covid hit. Yeah. Oh my God. So then I was stood down until the September of that year, and I was very realistic in the fact that I was in an industry where having more than a group of 10 people together was not possible. Oh God. And I was organizing hundreds if not thousands of people. So I was like, awesome, this is great. So I knew eventually that job seeker would stop and I would have to figure out what else I was going to do. The problem was though, is that I had had such an extensive background in travel and events, which was just a complete shit show when Covid hit that and for a long time, long time, oh my God, that was, I reckon one of the worst hit industries. So I was like, fuck, how am I going to make this work?
(18:38):
I'm a single mom, so my income is the income. And I did what most people did when they got made redundant during Covid. I cried, ate all the ice cream, watched all the Netflix I could possibly imagine, love that. It's great best time of my life. But then I was like, well, this isn't going to pay the bills, so I've got to figure out what the fuck I'm going to do. And I actually threw a post-It note party. So if you haven't heard of this, it's my concept. I stole it from Amy Porterfield, and I tell everybody about it. I'm into it. I love it. Absolutely love it. So what I do is, and I use this even in my business now, when I'm stuck on an idea or I feel like I need to make big decisions, or I'm just like, fuck, it's a really shitty day.
(19:22):
I put on some music, really cool music, music that gets my lady juices flowing, just makes me feel good. And then I jot everything on my head onto post-it notes, and I put it up on the wall. Now I'm a little bit obsessed with stationary, so if you are watching the YouTube version of this, you'll be able to see my colored post-It notes everywhere, love stationary, and everything goes on to a post-it note, and I put it up on the wall, and then I just leave it there for about 24 hours. And then I come back and I review it. And it was in that moment of doing that post-It note party where I put down everything that I loved, everything that I hated, everything that I was good at, everything that anybody else told me I was good at, which that was a hard one.
(20:02):
Don't take compliments very well. So I was like, thank Leah think. And then I came back and I was like, you know what? I'm really good at managing things. I'm a really good project manager. When you think about it, putting on an event or moving groups of people, that's a project. There are so many moving parts. There's deadlines, there's so many risks involved, there's so much you have to think about. And I was like, I'm just really good at helping people understand how to do that and putting that together. So yeah, that's how I kind of moved into the virtual assistant space of going, how can I help businesses manage certain areas of their business and just help them out? Because I wasn't really sure how I wanted to piece that together or niche down as people say. So I was like, you know what? I'm going to help everybody do everything. And it was in that moment that it all started, and I haven't had my business since August, 2020.
Danielle Lewis (20:56):
Yeah. Wow. That is so cool. How did you go? How did it feel moving from employee to business owner? Was that a
Leah Selfe (21:05):
Oh, I was so fucking scared. So scared. I'm not even going to sugarcoat the shit out of that. It was so scary. And I think because I knew I had to make it work, being a single income earner, I was like, I really don't have a choice. Because my options to go back to being an employer, I would have to go back to an industry that I knew I wouldn't love. It would've been retail, telecom. It would've been something that just would not have lit me up. I would've literally done it just to pay the bills and put food on the table. And I was like, I don't want to do that. I've worked so hard in my career to get to a place where I enjoy the sector and the people and the things that I do that I don't want to have to feel like I have to restart that all over again and find a new passion. But I also knew on the other flip side of that, where I was like, if I start a business, bitch has got to hustle. I was like, shit.
Danielle Lewis (22:04):
Oh my God.
Leah Selfe (22:05):
Yes. So I mean, it was scary, but I think there's definitely milestones that you come across where it's like the first year, the second year, the third year of business and all those bits and pieces. And I think it definitely just came down to the fact that when I started to do more work with more clients and people were referring me to other people, and I was getting really good feedback. I mean, dont get me wrong, it hasn't been all fucking rainbows and butterflies, but it was in that moment where I was like, you know what? I'm actually a hell of a lot stronger than what I thought I was. That fear that I had in myself of almost being like, I have to make this work at any cost. I now look back at that and go, that's some resilient shit. Not a lot of people have that in them, and I really have to give myself a lot of credit for sticking through and making it work.
Danielle Lewis (22:58):
Oh my God, you've just given me goosebumps. Fuck. Business is really fucking hard. And for anyone listening right now, if you are waking up in the morning and you're not giving up on your business, you are fucking amazing. Holy,
Leah Selfe (23:14):
So true. So true. It takes a special kind of human being to run a business because it is, it's big and it's scary, and there's so many unknowns. Even if you have contracts in place and retainers and you've got all these things that you feel like you're secure in, there's still so many unknown things that are happening. But in saying that, after three years, I will never go back and work for somebody else. I will never be an employee number or receive a paycheck or anything like that. I fucking love it as much as sometimes I wake up and I go, fuck, this is stressful. Totally. I still wouldn't change it for the world. I have met so many amazing people. I've got to do so many amazing things that I know I wouldn't have been able to do if I was sitting at a desk waiting for the clock to hit five o'clock.
Danielle Lewis (24:03):
And you know what? Having a job stressful too. Why not build something amazing for yourself and
Leah Selfe (24:12):
Why not be angry at yourself? You get stressed out as a business owner and you're like, oh my God, why is this so stressful? You literally have nobody else to blame. What a wake up call that is. Right. Go and yell at the boss. Put in your resignation. Oh wait, that's me. I can't do that because it's my shit show. Totally. So if that's not the wake up call that you need, then I don't know what else to tell you.
Danielle Lewis (24:36):
Oh my God, that is so true. I love that. What's one of the biggest challenges you've faced in the last few years of business that you wish someone had have told you about?
Leah Selfe (24:47):
Oh, babes, how long we got? We've been
Danielle Lewis (24:50):
Here for a while. We just need to open another bottle of wine, please.
Leah Selfe (24:54):
I dunno, we have enough time for this. I would honestly have to say one of the biggest challenges, and I wish someone had told me sooner, is, and it's so easy to say, but stop comparing yourself to other people. It's taken me such a long time, and the reason that I found it so hard is because I was comparing myself to people that weren't in a similar position to me. So I am a single mom running a business with a teenager. I was following people that didn't have kids, had a partner, had run a business for potentially six to seven years, if not longer, had all the time in the, and I was like, why am I feeling like I'm not getting the same level of success? And it was because I was trying to compare oranges for apples. Not that I'm saying that women and moms who have kids can't do all those things, but it's like my timeline is different. The way that I have to react to that is different. So that was my biggest thing, is I have to stop comparing myself, but more importantly, I have to stop comparing myself to people that are not even on the same wavelength as me.
Danielle Lewis (26:00):
And to your point, at the start, following advice or designing a business for an end game, that's not what you want on the timeline. That's not achievable for you.
Leah Selfe (26:11):
Exactly.
Danielle Lewis (26:12):
Yeah. I love that. That's so true. It's just so easy these days to look at Instagram as the example and say, why am I failing at life?
Leah Selfe (26:23):
Right.
Danielle Lewis (26:24):
It's just insane. And you dunno what anyone else is going through either. Right? You see the pretty smiles and the designer handbags and the, I make a billion dollars every day,
Leah Selfe (26:36):
And as much as I used to try to tell myself, it's just a highlight reel. You don't get to see all the good stuff when it's all you see all the time. It can be really disheartening. So the biggest thing that I've done to get over that I no longer follow, and if I follow someone and my instant reaction is, Ugh, you're gone.
Danielle Lewis (26:56):
Nice.
Leah Selfe (26:57):
And it's not because I don't value what it is that you do, but right now in my life where I'm at in my business, in my family time, that doesn't align with me. We may have a different conversation in six years time and I'm like, oh my God, all those people are fucking amazing. And now I follow every single one of them again. But right now, nah. So it's like I now follow the people that I look at and go, fuck yeah, I want to do that one day.
Danielle Lewis (27:20):
Yeah. I love that, and I love that. It's like you hold the power to curate your life experience.
Leah Selfe (27:28):
If you can build your own business, you can build the support that you need around that business yourself. You don't have to go off somebody else's stupid checklist.
Danielle Lewis (27:35):
No, exactly. I love that. All right. I feel like we could talk all day, but let's leave our Spark community on one final piece of advice. Yes. I always like to ask people, when reflecting on your time in business, if you could have a glass of wine with another woman in business, give her one piece of advice that's helped you through the tough times, what would it be?
Leah Selfe (27:59):
I think the biggest piece of advice I would give is to just trust the fact that you know what you're doing,
(28:07):
Even if it feels so uncomfortable to admit that to yourself. We as women need to trust our intuition so much more. It's about being able to understand that if it feels good to you, just do it. The worst thing that's going to happen is someone's going to say, no, someone's not going to buy it, or you'll never have that idea again. Oh no, it's okay. Nobody fucking died. We're not brain surgeons people, right? So it's like if you feel like you want to do something, do it. If you don't want to do something, don't do it. But not doing it isn't going to be the answer for you. So just trust your intuition and give it a go.
Danielle Lewis (28:47):
You are incredible. Leah, thank you so much for spending your time and sharing your wisdom with the Spark community. You are absolutely incredible.
Leah Selfe (28:56):
Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you. It's been amazing. Thank you so much.
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