#awinewith Nicole Smith
MEET Nicole Smith, Founder of The Artisans
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:05):
Let's do it. Nicole. Welcome to Spark tv.
Nicole Smith (00:08):
Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to chat and we've already had a really great little intro chat, so I'm really excited to continue that on.
Danielle Lewis (00:17):
I know, it's so funny, I find half the guests I have on the show we have to stop. I'm like, hang on a second. We are covering everything now before I even hit record. We're too chatty.
Nicole Smith (00:29):
The gold is coming out before the buttons hit stop.
Danielle Lewis (00:33):
I know. Well, it's actually funny. Sometimes I hit record and people kind of get their game face on
Nicole Smith (00:39):
And
Danielle Lewis (00:39):
Then I hit stop and they just relax and start talking. I'm like, no, we wanted that in them podcast. But anyway, I'm sure I'll be like that. Let's kick off by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Nicole Smith (00:51):
Amazing. Well, I am Nicole Smith and I'm the founder of the Artisans Business Solutions. And what we do over here is really help businesses to find the way they want to work through their operations. So how we do that looks and feels very different depending on where you are in business and what you're looking to achieve. But we come in as either a fractional COO support or looking at the back backend operations of your business. So it's all, I think all the fun stuff, getting efficiencies, foundations, all the sexy stuff of business that really actually helps you deliver what you are there to do.
Danielle Lewis (01:27):
I love that. I think we have such a big focus on sales and delivery, and that's as new business owners especially, we kind of go, this is the thing I'm great at. I'll just go find people so I can do those things. And that's all the other stuff, all the ops stuff that actually sometimes people aren't that great at and we're muddling through a little bit, but that is all of the stuff that actually sets you up when you're really ready to scale.
Nicole Smith (01:56):
That's exactly right. And I think really if you think about the lifespan of a business, depending on where you are when you enter a business, so if you've had a business before, you've already gone through the trials and tribulations of working out who am I as a business owner and what is a business actually need? Otherwise it's that sort of first five years, you're right in, you're trialing, you're testing, and you're being curious about, well, do I want a business that's just me? Do I want a business that's going to be a team of 50? Am I in an office? Am I working from home? What tech do I, how do I actually like to work and operate? There are so many people telling you what to do out in the world, and sometimes that gets really noisy. And so what I love to do is actually come in and support you to find out who are you and who is your business and what does that tone look like? And then we shape everything around that because unique, right? And it's wonderful when you find how you like to work.
Danielle Lewis (02:54):
I love that because I feel like, so I'm from the vintage of, so a decade ago it was all raise capital, be a startup, big teams, big fancy offices, blah, blah, blah. I scaled to a team of 20 and then I was like, oh, I don't like people. I had this whole mental breakdown because I was like, I've built this whole business that I don't like. I hate this model, but I kind of just did what I thought you were supposed to do in business. And I feel like we've had a little renaissance in the last few years where people are now starting to talk about actually you're allowed to design your business the way you would like to operate it.
Nicole Smith (03:36):
Exactly. And understanding that the word scale has so many different definitions. So I was actually just talking to my brother, I'm sure you won't mind me sharing this last night around scale. He's been in business for 10 years, very successful graphic and branding designer, and his idea of scale is to build a business that's sustainable for the lifestyle he wants to live, right? Whereas you talk to Bob next door and Bob's idea of scale is building that huge business where it's under management and it just kind of does its day to day stuff. So yeah, I think when you are a business owner and you understand and connect with what scale means for you, what success means for you as well, I think that helps bring all those pieces into line.
Danielle Lewis (04:27):
So this is going to be published at the beginning of 2025, so some people will be listening to it live, other people will discover it at a later date. But I think this is relevant no matter what time of year, but it's kind of pertinent to now because everyone's in there like, oh my God, changed my life, new Year's wives, how do you figure out what's right for you? Do you have any tips for someone who might be listening to this going, I think I've built something that's not sustainable, that's not serving me, that doesn't feel aligned. How do you actually figure out what you want your business to look like?
Nicole Smith (05:02):
Yeah, I think that's a really good question. A lot of it is trial and error and you get to a point where you think, actually this just feels, I don't want to do that. It's really yucky. But if you are at the start, think about when you were employed, right? If you were in a big team, were you the person that just got in and got it done and just you like to just be by yourself or were you the person that was going, Hey guys, come on, let's get this organized, and what if we imagined it this way and if we go this way, and you are a natural leader thinking about what that team culture and environment looked like in that employment space. Because when you move over into your own business, the world is endless. All the possibilities are open and it's really about in that ideal world, take off the, I call 'em the self editing moments. I'm very good at self editing. I'm working to be better at it. So I'm sure a lot of your listeners have got that same beautiful trait, but try and pin that thought to the side, that self-editing thought, what is that first feeling? If I said to you in 10 years time and you are still in this business, what does that look like?
(06:24):
How does that feel? What are you doing in a day? Are you working with clients still because you just love that transactional experience? Or are you out, I don't know, riding horses on a Wednesday? Because that just brings you so much joy and you've got a trusted team in there that are doing the things for you. Really being that big picture, blue sky thinking shoes off on the grass in the sun sounds a bit woo, but just lean into it and really connect in with yourself. It's amazing what you can discover when you create that space.
Danielle Lewis (07:01):
Let's
Nicole Smith (07:01):
Busyness, put the busyness out. We don't want busyness connecting with what's actually truly for you. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (07:09):
I love that and I love that you mentioned the example of what does it look like in the future? And even circling back to the scale word, I was chatting to one of our Spark members before Christmas and she was saying, I've just been working with someone and they've been saying to scale, you've got to bring in all of these people. And then she's like, and I've got to be the sales bd kind of person. She's like, I want to do the work. I actually love helping these people. I want my day to be filled with more of that, not just being a manager of people who are doing the thing that I want to do. And I think that there is this old school mentality that there's one way, there is one way. So I just love that idea of taking space and visualizing what does the ideal business look like? So that can be the beacon that you're working towards.
Nicole Smith (08:03):
It's like the cookie cutter analogy. It's like we work a lot with technology and business and many times you buy an off the shelf solution and you have to kind of shove yourself into it. Well, I don't work under that mentality. My mentality is design how you want to operate, design what that business looks like, where are you now? So if we talk about team and org chart, create that now org chart, and you'll probably got, if you are just started or early days still, or maybe you all just want to be a solopreneur, your name is in all those boxes, but say in five, 10 years if you know and you can visualize that marketing is not your thing or sales is not your thing and you've got Joe's name in that box, now you can start to see that pathway and you can actually plan. Awareness is the key to all success. We make decisions based on the data. Bring in the doky geek, you mean? Not do it it love, love a bit of data. I was talking with a client about that just yesterday. If you've got the data behind you, you can make educated decisions. Even words is January still? So we're still getting our tongues back in over,
Danielle Lewis (09:19):
I might need another coffee as well
Nicole Smith (09:21):
Already today. Exactly. And yeah, I think then it will actually help you collecting that evidence, seeing that visualization of what it is and being able to take that one next step that moves you closer to what that's going to be.
Danielle Lewis (09:36):
And it really interests me getting nerdy for a second and measuring everything. We had our first CEO time call this week, which is basically our monthly accountability calls so people can check their metrics plan ahead, and we had a new member come in, she's just like, I've never measured anything before. I've not really done this. And I was like, people, it doesn't matter how long you're in business, there are still people who don't measure all of the important things in their business. And look, I'm a err on the side of simple kind of person. I don't think you need to measure literally everything, but there are just some really key things in a business that if you do measure and if you do have access to that data, it does make those decisions so much easier to make. And it does also, I find take the emotion out of the decision. Sometimes. I think I said this on another podcast, but I was like, when I go to my husband and go, oh my God, the world's falling apart. My business sucks. And he's like, okay, well what do the numbers say? How do we go? And because a gm, so he's a business guy
Nicole Smith (10:44):
Gets it, he
Danielle Lewis (10:45):
Gets it and I'll say, oh, well, and rattle off the numbers. And he's like, oh. So it's not actually bad at all. It's funny how
Nicole Smith (10:52):
So you're not falling off a cliff. Absolutely. Okay.
Danielle Lewis (10:54):
No, I'm fine. But it is funny how if you don't have those metrics and you don't have that data, that it is so easy to just make decisions on a whim or I guess knee jerk a little bit based on our emotions. Whereas if we do have access to that data, we can be a lot more informed and educated and know that we're on the right path towards whatever the goal is.
Nicole Smith (11:19):
And our mind is such a powerful tool and it's very good at creating these silent stories that actually, yeah, and when you're a creative mind as well, I think you've got this, it's like full five, four D, whatever, the most high def visuals of what's going on. And if you ask yourself, well, what is the evidence to back that up? And if you are looking at your numbers or whatever it is that metric, how is my team actually performing? Well, I'm checking in with them in the weekly huddles we are having and we are doing this and that, and actually they're saying that they're happy with what's going on or the client feedback. I know in the past I've been really amazing at imagining that I've done a really shit job. Excuse the swearing from last go it go it. I'm so like pg, very
Danielle Lewis (12:16):
Welcome on this podcast.
Nicole Smith (12:19):
But you imagine these stories of like, oh, underdelivered, this, that, and the other. And then you get this email through and it's just like, I had one this week. Thank you so much for everything you've done. You've transformed the way our business is operating. And you're like, okay, yeah, yeah,
Danielle Lewis (12:38):
I do
Nicole Smith (12:38):
Know what
Danielle Lewis (12:38):
I'm doing.
Nicole Smith (12:39):
Yeah, I can back myself. Yeah. Talking about the awareness and the data, I think it's around what is the standards that we're holding ourselves to. So my husband and I, it's on the personal side, not business, but it's relative across both. We've actually committed this year to having our own finance and home meetings where we go through, we look at the cash flow, we look at this, we make decisions on our meals for the next fortnight and all these sorts of things, the household standards that are really important as a human to function to then come in and show up the best way you need to and you want to in a business and to serve your clients and your communities and all of that sort of thing. So really understanding for you as a business leader, what are the standards? What is the standards for you, but what is the standard for the business as a whole? Are you going to allow your team to come in and do X, Y, Z or is it actually up here? And really supporting them and communicating them with your team to understand why that's important to you in the business.
Danielle Lewis (13:48):
I love that. And look, and I think though it will feel a bit scary for some people, if somebody's listening right now and they're kind of feeling a little all over the place, is there anywhere that you would start with a business? So when you go into a business and you've defined that vision, this is where we're going. This is our measure of success. When it comes to those metrics, those processes, the team, is there somewhere that you start, if someone's coming in and going, oh my god, everything's a little all over the place.
Nicole Smith (14:22):
Every business is so different, but we have a process called the Business Operational Diagnostics saying a little bit,
Danielle Lewis (14:32):
Ooh, love
Nicole Smith (14:32):
It. And we high level view. We want to know what is your mission and vision? Do you have the financial rhythms in place? What is your now org chart? What is your future org chart? What are those visions that you're wanting to create? And then we go into the tactile. So what are you using? How are you doing it? Who's in the zoo? What's the pain? What are the obstacles? What's got you here that's stopping you from moving forward? And I think having that big picture, then again, it's that awareness piece, then you can make those informed decisions. If you are sitting there though and you're like, Nicole, that just sounds like a whole freaking huge thing. Take a piece of paper out outside big space, please go outside in a big, big space, blue sky. Hopefully you're not in Melbourne. It's nice today, but blue, sunny sky, and just dump it out, get it out of your brain.
(15:31):
Think about all those things that are going on in there. Where are we at with this silo of the business? Finances? What are we doing here? Technology, what are we doing here, hr, what's happening there? Wishlist, obstacles. And then all of a sudden it's going to start to see, you're going to know, feel that gut, feel what's actually happening in your business. We are very good at the blinkers going on the horses blinkers and the avoidance techniques when things are feeling a little bit challenging. I really encourage you if you're feeling anything about avoidance, is just be really curious what's going on there? Why am I feeling like this? What is it that if I move that out of the way would make that next thing easier for me? You got it. You can do it.
Danielle Lewis (16:22):
It's the real power in confronting that fear and shining a light on where you're at. I think that it's such a great point about avoidance. You are so right. I think we do get lost in the busy work a little bit sometimes, and we forget to put our CEO hat on. It doesn't matter if you are a solopreneur or you have a team of a hundred, you are the CEO of your business. And that will take on different forms, but at the end of the day, you are that person that is responsible for understanding where you're at, where you're going to go and what you got to do to get there. And we do get trapped. I think in that busy work, the to-do list, the power is in that stopping and that space and that shining a light on where we're at and what we're avoiding.
Nicole Smith (17:12):
There's also the message out there so frequently with the accessibility to support and help, and it is amazing. So we can bring in a virtual assistant or we can bring in a fractional COO or HR person or whatever it might be that you need, but you are, you've hit the nail on the head. This is your business. It's not about giving the reins over. You still need to have that oversight on where you are. What are the decisions, why that strategic direction is controlled by yourself as that business owner and business leader. And I think when it gets really busy and we are feeling overwhelmed, which I'm sure many of the people listening now, we've all been there, the 2:00 AM nights or the non sleeping nights, you wake up in the morning, I need 10 trillion copies to function. This is normal business, entrepreneurial life. We get it. But just I've forgotten my train of thought now talking about coffee. Just lean into what it is that you need to be aware of. As a business leader, I love you've got those CEO days in your community because when you have that space carved out standards, they're coming back to standards.
Danielle Lewis (18:29):
Don't
Nicole Smith (18:30):
Cancel something that's blocked in for you. That's your business time.
Danielle Lewis (18:34):
Oh my god,
Nicole Smith (18:35):
That's a priority. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (18:37):
It's such a good point. Yeah, don't cancel something you would never cancel on a client. Don't cancel on yourself.
Nicole Smith (18:43):
Exactly.
Danielle Lewis (18:44):
Oh my God, that's so good. And now you mentioned a couple of times this idea of a fractional COO. So what does that actually mean for people who might not be familiar with the word fractional?
Nicole Smith (18:55):
Yeah, a hundred percent. So the easiest way I describe it is as needed. So for a purpose, for an example, we're working with a client right now. They're looking for some stability in a time of transition. And so what I do is I come in to that business, I work with those key stakeholders, understand where they are, what are the really important things they're looking to bring in. One of them is stability. Fantastic. So what is it that I can do as the fractional COO to support that business over whatever timeframe it is to really ingrain those behaviors, those practices, empower the team, think about things at a strategic level and open up the vision of the business leaders and the leadership team as well in the day in day out. Think about it like we are in a box when we're in our business and we only see what we see, so it's probably not good for a video, but we only see what we see when an external person comes in and shines some light, a different way of thinking, something that maybe we've been avoiding for a little bit. It brings me so much joy, and it's such a privileged position to be in. Just having the power of a conversation with someone that is external from the day to day
(20:22):
Is just I, yeah, real chills. So good.
Danielle Lewis (20:27):
And I just find you will ask the business owner questions that they've not sat down and answered before, that they've not asked themselves. And I think there's so much power in asking the right questions because otherwise we do. Sometimes, yeah, we kind of go, I know that's my big goal, but for some reason I keep getting stuck here. And then someone comes in and asks a question like this and you're like, oh, I didn't even think of that. It's that getting out of your own head, being asked the sometimes tough questions or sometimes just different questions. It can be the bridge to what's holding you back
Nicole Smith (21:08):
And creating that supportive space as well.
(21:12):
It's not around me coming in and being like, you need to do this and have to do that and must, must is not in my vocabulary, but even the word there we go is January is doing things to my time. Again. I'm here to be a guide and a support for you and to be curious around, okay, well what does that actually look like? Or what could that look like if we did this instead of this? Or have you thought about that? The benefits of having a fractional C-suite in your business. And there are so many out there, and I'm so excited that it's growing. The CFO space has been the real guiding light for a long, long time. And so all of others, the marketing, everyone's coming through, but we've all had experience in various areas. So my background is I've worked in corporate businesses in Australia and in London in financial services, and then moved into small business back in Melbourne here in financial services and logistics. So we've had a vast array of experience and we are bringing my vision anyway, is funneling it in your phone's, falling out, sorry, funneling it in to give that bigger business thinking to accessibility for our small business humans. How
Danielle Lewis (22:32):
Fun. That is so powerful and must be really interesting for you going from employee in big business and seeing that level, being that operational strategic person and then giving that advice and helping other businesses through that same process, but then you've had to live it. Now you run your own business.
Nicole Smith (22:57):
Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (22:58):
What's that been like for you?
Nicole Smith (23:01):
Fun. Look, I'm just entering my sixth year in business myself. And I have to say the first five years have been a journey of exploration. Even though I know and have known from my heart what I've wanted to do from day one, I allowed myself to listen to the guides of others and when on this journey around creating this space that the value that I bring was not really the space that I was playing in. So just as you are as business leaders listening here, we've been there, we've done that. We've got the coffee mug, I've got all the experience. I forgot actually, to be honest, I forgot about my own experience. Wow. I forgot that the projects I worked on and the level that I operated on and the standards I held myself accountable to when I was working for others, I did forget that for a moment in time. So it's really exciting to be back here now in January, 2025. And I feel like everything's fully aligned now and yeah, it's exciting. I now can have the standards for myself that I support other businesses to have.
Danielle Lewis (24:18):
Oh my god, I just love it so much. It is wild because a lot of times women in business do that, right? They are absolutely incredible in their field, decide to go out on their own and do kind of just forget their worth, forget their value, forget that they were absolutely killing it and amazing because I think the weight of the things you don't know, like, oh, now I'm a bookkeeper, now I'm a marketing person. Now I dance on reels for some reason. But it is that I think because of the unknown and the things we have to learn, yes, you do need to adopt a beginner's mindset sometimes and get help and learn and take all the courses and all the things, but that doesn't devalue what you bring to the table. That doesn't devalue your experience. You are still up here. You are still absolutely unbelievable at what you do, and you just can't forget to bring that energy into your business.
Nicole Smith (25:17):
And I don't know many people listening probably when you're in your zone of genius, watch out. I just click into some other realm and I'm so excited, enthusiastic, and my mind just does these things that I can't even explain. I can see all this stuff zooming around and then we get into workflows and there are all the things. And I think it's because my purpose, my inner purpose is so, so clear that I've been in businesses where I have hated going to work the culture. I just remember being in one where I had asked to work from home. This was pre covid, pre that was a normal thing, and I was in charge of the IT system. So I had set up the business so that it was fully remote, and the answer to my request to work from home for a day was no.
(26:16):
And that was, I think the real, I had a beautiful experience after that, but that was the first spark of there's got to be a better way. Imagine if we can create businesses that people love being in, they love what they do, they love where they're working, they love who's surrounded with them. And as a business leader, you just love it. And that is possible. And I think why I love what I do, and I'm still here going into my sixth year, I think with any journey, there's ups and downs and there's lefts and rights, and what am I doing? You're in 3M in the morning searching on seek to see what jobs are available, and you're like, beep, beep, delete. That's not happening. It is so easy to say no, to say, I'm going to put that to the side. It's actually really a credit to yourself for really giving it a hot shot and just leaning in and doing those hard things and giving yourself the opportunity to work on your inner work. There is the busyness, there is the client work, there is all that stuff, but until you actually pause and focus inner, that's when the magic really, really kicks in.
Danielle Lewis (27:40):
Oh my God, I absolutely love it. You are the exact person that I needed to speak to today. You're the You're welcome. That I needed. I love it. Now, we could talk all day, but I always love to wrap up these podcasts with one last piece of advice. So reflecting on your time in business, what would be a piece of advice that you would give to another woman on her business journey?
Nicole Smith (28:07):
You are the number one, right? So what I mean by that is say yes to you first. I actually on my first set of business cards, and I found these when I was doing the deep clean of my office the other day, I have on here, if you're watching, if you're not watching, apply your oxygen mask first.
Danielle Lewis (28:33):
Oh, I love that. Yes.
Nicole Smith (28:35):
Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (28:35):
You
Nicole Smith (28:35):
Probably heard that across the world before, but I think when the busyness happens, when those moments of SAP doubt happens, we tend to just go into the doing and the over-delivering and the over marketing creating and all of those things. But if we just surrender and if we allow ourselves to speak literally from my go to that Zumba class that I've started this on a Thursday night, that's a priority. If we put our own oxygen masks on first, you can do and achieve absolutely anything. So take that with you on a January of 2025 and report back at the end. I want to know how has your oxygen flow going this year? Oh,
Danielle Lewis (29:19):
So good. Nicole, you are incredible. Thank you so much for jumping on the podcast, sharing your wisdom, sharing your journey. Absolutely incredible and so grateful for you.
Nicole Smith (29:31):
Thank you so much for having me. I've loved this conversation.
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