How to go from Intern to President of Volunteer Local with Kaylee Williams - #87

As President of VolunteerLocal, Kaylee Williams’s leads the team to provide a platform for other companies to schedule, coordinate and communicate with volunteers and employees when organizing events.

Although she started as an intern in 2012, her skillset snowballed into an impressive array of accomplishments within the company. Currently, a shareholder in the company and mentor to many beginners in the startup world, Kaylee’s advice and past experience allows others to skip over common mistakes and create a beneficial trajectory for their companies and livelihoods.

In this episode we will discuss:

• Creating an effective company through constant communication with team
• Working with an international and traveling group of employees
• Kaylee’s rise through the ranks in VolunteerLocal 
• Learning to move forward after mistakes and successes
• Being able to have fun while creating new experiences
• Finding an appropriate mentor who matches your skills
• Outgrow mentors and understanding the mentorship cycle
• Learning how to sell your product by approaching it as solving a customer’s problem
• Implementing new models and letting go of former processes when they become ineffective
• Creating a team of employees that will benefit the company
• Doing the research beforehand to ensure your startup is in demand
• Prioritizing your personal wellness and realizing its impact on your company
• Taking your time, being consistent and investing in steady growth
• Utilizing healthy travel habits while on the road

Quotes:
“The support network that you have is the support network that you build for yourself.” (10:41)

“I think the best mentors are the ones that fill critical gaps in your current skillset.” (16:04)

“I try not to take criticism too seriously from someone that I wouldn’t take advice from. When my mentors criticize me, I take that to heart. But if I get criticism, even if it’s constructive from any other party, I take it with a grain of salt.” (17:11)

“One thing that I think is important especially when scaling a business is staying focused. Stay focused on what you know you can sell, the product out of the box today. Don’t get too derailed with different markets or different iterations of your core product.” (25:10)

“Your company is only as strong as the people around you. Their skillset, their passion and really I think the right combination of people and personalities can catapult your growth.” (27:13)

“I think so much of what is challenging and also exhilarating about building a company is that you are making all the rules. You are setting up the jobs and the expectations and the touch points and the structure or the lack thereof of how their performance is measured.” (29:46)

“Charisma and learning to tell your story certainly goes a long way.” (33:19)


Links:
VolunteerLocal website
https://www.volunteerlocal.com/

Kaylee Williams Twitter
https://twitter.com/kayleecat?lang=en

Kaylee Williams’ former band, River Glen
https://www.riverglenmusic.com/

Sponsors:
LadyBoss
LadyBoss is a premium nutrition company that provides the best weight loss supplements in the world for women. To sign up for LadyBoss or research their amazing nutrition products, head here: https://www.ladyboss.com/lean?affiliate_id=1260607 

LiquidWeb
LiquidWeb offers e-commerce solutions to help get your online shop up and running

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or watch our travel videos on YouTube here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCavHMv7t-VKqYZrusR4eUUQ