RANK 43: This is the Reality of a Business Owner

In this engaging episode of The Leaky Bucket Podcast, hosts Sam and I (Ian), owners of MBS Accountants, open up about the realities of entrepreneurship. We share our personal experiences and the challenges we face as business owners, including a recent sound issue that disrupted their podcast recordings.

You will gain valuable insights into the resilience required to overcome setbacks in business and the importance of maintaining mental strength. Sam and I also reflect on the rapid passage of time and how having clear personal and business goals can keep you on track.

If you're a business owner or aspiring entrepreneur, this episode offers a candid look at the ups and downs of running a company. Join us as we discuss the power of perseverance and the unfiltered truth behind business ownership.

Tune in now to The Leaky Bucket Podcast to discover the real stories of entrepreneurship and gain inspiration to thrive in your own business journey. Don't miss it!

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Transcript

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Episode 55: 1:14

Hey everybody and welcome to yet another episode of the Leaky Bucket podcast. I am joined yet again by my wonderful business colleague and wife, Sam. Welcome to another episode. Thanks. So first up we're going to talk about the leak of the week. So the leak of the week this week is about ourselves personally with our son's birthday. So today's our son's 18th birthday and we are sat here at quarter past 10 in the evening recording some podcast episodes, and there's a reason behind that. So we had already recorded and we actually go on holiday for a week. So normally we record one ready for the following week, but this time we had to record two. And unfortunately, when our marketing manager went through them she realized that the sound had not picked up and had not worked. So that's the reason that we're sat here at this time of night And I think the reason we're mentioning this is... Mainly to let you know, as most of you are business owners that listen to this, uh, podcast, I believe. And it's to let you know that actually, no matter how good your business is, what's happening, there will always be some bits that go wrong. And invariably, those things do fall down to us as business owners to sort when it comes to working out of hours, etc. You know, it's not the greatest thing to have to do, but... It is what it is sort of thing. We've done all the celebrating with our son and actually he went out and ready for midnight last night so that he was out as the clock struck on his birthday. And he didn't roll in until very early hour, well, early hours of the morning. So he's actually gone to bed now anyway, ready for our holiday. So. We're not missing out on time with him, but it does feel a little bit like we are missing out on time because we know we're having to sit here and work and get bits done, although we both do love doing the podcast. Yeah, I think you've given a great insight to that side of things. What I thought actually would be a good insight. So our marketing manager Applce, when it's a technical query or everything, she tends to send that to me because, well, you were just going to divert it to me anyway, Sam, but, say, look we've got some smart bit of kit here. We use as a bit of a mixer, but what it does is it run recording to separate audio channels. Brings them all together as one. The same with the video as well. So all the switching, the cameras, everything is all done nicely on the fly and, the audio as well. But there was a problem with one or other of the microphones, but because they were both together, she's tried everything she can to bring them both to a suitable quality. But as soon as you adjust one, it adjusts the other at the same point. So. It's a great piece of kit in terms of there's an advantage when we're recording, but in terms of poor Applce trying to figure things out afterwards, you're just like, nah, I've given it everything I can. And it's just not, yeah, it's just not cutting the mustard sort of thing. So actually I think another lesson probably off the back of that is just to go, actually. Apple's a great example of our team in terms of she's taking responsibility. She's taking ownership of that. She's taking accountability. She's trying to do everything she can in order to fix it before coming back to us and just going, it's not going to work. We're going to, unfortunately she knows we're going away, but is there any possibility we could actually just rerecord and get it done? Interestingly, that's how, uh, good you think I am at the technical side of stuff, because, uh, I only got the part that the sound wasn't working, so you, clearly felt that was enough for me. Sound doesn't work, re record, end of. That was about right. I just thought, to be fair, you're not going to be fussed and bothered with it, yeah, so it's just, tell me what the situation is. Right, has Apple managed to fix it? No, we need to re record it. Right, that's it. That's what we need to do. Yeah, that's fine. That works best for me. I like the direct route anyway, as we discussed previously, I'd prefer to just know what's the headline. What have I got to do? Done. Sorted. So moving on, then we are going to move to actually the epic win of the week. And this is a little bit different. We've had a few new team members this year, even though we knew at first shot, actually, we thought the timing. Wasn't going to be great. Right. So new team member actually started on Friday. We're now on Monday and we go straight on holiday, but she's effectively taking over from my role. And originally we looked at it, which is like, no, what bad timing. You come in to going to take, over from my role, but I'm not even going to be here to hand over. And then we went, hang on, actually, there's a full job description. The processes and everything are all documented and written. We know who all the clients are. All of the stages of where all of those clients are all documented, and there's a process that's being followed that you can see where you've got to. There's support from the rest of the team who know how to do that role as well. Actually, why can't they start? And... Yeah, I think the biggest thing you've missed there is the fact that actually we spoke to one of the team members that would have to take on your role. As well, while you weren't there and actually her input was no guys, it would be easier actually if she started before you went because then I'm just keeping an eye on her and giving her small bits to do and checking in and stuff and I take the harder, more complex elements that we can't pass over at the moment rather than me having to do everything. At least I'm still handing over some bits. For me, it's a huge win because actually, it's one is a team member stepping up, obviously, and highlighting that to us, which we give our team the freedom to be able to do that and highlight and go, we're not perfect. We missed things. But actually, that's why we have that leadership team and things in place to spot those elements. But also that we've got somebody who you. It's going to start. I'm very confident they're going to hit the ground running. They're going to be great. I've already scheduled in a nice big debrief for when I'm back, so they can tell us about what they learned, what didn't go well, what went really well, and then work out a great training plan from there. And actually it's that thing to go, actually, when somebody comes into a role, do you want to put them in the water with armbands on? Or do you want to take them off and see if they sink or they swim? Uh, definitely not putting her in the water and seeing if she sinks or swims That's not how it works we have a huge amount of processes at MBS and i'm the main driver behind those and there are Loads in place for that role as there are with any role in order to follow particularly when somebody is new, so it's very structure based and actually, although there's somebody in there that's going to be doing training for that person as well there are two other people within the pod. So they're extremely well supported within the pod themselves. And then you've got the wider team to go out to as well. But actually we're very, direct in letting new team members know, and through the interview process as well, that we're heavily process driven and they must follow the processes. So that we know exactly where things are at. So we can feel very confident with the fact that actually, one, it's easy for the rest of the team to check, because you can literally have a look at the processes and see if they've marked everything off and completed bits and things. And two, it's easy for the person doing those, because there's a process to follow. So it works both ways. Yeah, it wasn't. Exactly. Chuck them in. And yes, although, you know, they could, there's lots of safety nets in place to make sure that they, don't sink, but it's that case that actually, at some point, you do have to, you do have to release that safety net a bit. Yeah. If you've got somebody who's, just come in and they're being shadowed and they're being followed, you do need to test and see, can they. Can they do that role? And can they get on with it? And actually, my feeling was that actually, this is a much more prescribed role. So most of our roles is sort of the process is, documented and driven towards an outcome, but the process doesn't necessarily define all the micro steps that have to happen. There's a degree of their own flair and input that each team member can put into that process to, to make it their own. But this one's less so. But yeah, predominantly that happens after the probation period, which in MBS is three months. Certainly, definitely wouldn't happen within the first month. Within the first month, you have to follow all the processes. It's a way of ensuring that somebody is following what we've asked them to, et cetera, and the things that we have in process before, or they can throw ideas at us during that, but they wouldn't be able to go off piste as such. Brilliant. Sam, we're going to move forward and we're going to go to the pick of the week. And the pick of the week actually comes from, you don't do as much reading as I do but there are a couple of key books that I think Basically, you've waited and you've had lots of feedback off me for a number of books. Yeah, I do read a lot of books. The problem is, predominantly I listen to audiobooks rather than reading books, so I do read a lot. But you retain the information so much better than me. So once I've read another book, I've almost sort of forgot the one I read previously. For the audience out there, I have some memory issues, medical memory issues, sort of thing. So hence why I'm so keen on processes. So yeah, I have a bit of an issue with books because I kind of read them and then I move on to a different one and now I've sort of forgotten, particularly as time goes on. Yeah, the memory has gone. So this is a book that I've actually read. The bits that I would remember are marginal compared to what Ian would remember from it. It's probably the book you retain the most from because it's probably been the most key in terms of the changes within our business. And my always argument with this book, right, is if there's one book that you're going to keep on you all the time because you can refer back to it and see little intricacies of how you can improve and change things. This is the book because there's just so much you can implement and do. You can't do it all in one go. But you can understand it all in one go. Anyway, we sort of skated around the point. The book is Traction, brilliant. And so Traction by Gino Wickman, give us a bit of a, an insight into why, the book's useful in terms of how it's helped in terms of, I suppose, particularly the win of the week, actually. I think it's been. fundamental in that respect, maybe in terms of things like having the core values and things in place and, our sort of meeting agendas and our processes. Yeah, I think, uh, most of the structures we've got within the company in terms of those bits have come from traction. So. Core values, we had them in place, weren't really adhered to, and I think we didn't even know them ourselves, to be honest, over a period of time. And we Went to Dan Bradbury group and we started having coaching, uh, through there and we had a meeting with Kevin and he recommended this book, which actually, well, Ian had already read at that point, I hadn't, and I think it highlighted to us again, how important Some of the bits are in there, so we put core values in place, we did new ones, that we actually adhere to, we know, and we fundamentally run our company on our team, our clients, they are quoted all the time, our meeting structures run off the back of traction as well. So I think, uh, a mix of two things, that book and being reminded to read it and pay attention to the stuff in there, sort of thing, had a massive impact on our company. Would you agree with that, Ian? Yeah, I think it's huge. Obviously all of our team members the existing ones at the time, but also new ones have to read the book. What the heck is EOS, which is like the, staff members introduction to a business that operates on EOS, which is the entrepreneurial operating system, which is. What Traction, teaches and I was thinking, and it didn't sound like the amount of times of what we've done, uh, no, actually first step off the back of Traction, right? What we created and developed was the accountability chart with not just going, Oh, actually we have such and such person working for us. That's the role. We went, actually, here's all the roles and I plug the people we've got into those roles. But also then what you did when you're testing if that's the right person to do that role They have a thing called gwc. Do they get it? Do they want it and do they have the capacity to do it? And I think not only has assessing against our core value has been useful but actually working out and go Okay, but is this a person is this a person in the business type issue? Or is this a person within the wrong role? Type issue because actually the get it want it capacity to do it is a great thing where you can go Do you know what actually maybe if they did a different role? That's what's going to fit them and off the back of that We developed our three or four different roles that we've got and we know the characters That will the foot rows roles. So actually when we were specifically recruiting for the role that we've recruited for at the moment that we were saying about I'm very confident we've picked the right type of character that fits that role. Hence the confidence that we've got that they can start and literally they do one day and then that's it. We're off and gone. And actually that's what we're aiming towards. Yeah, a business that not that a business that does run without us, a business that can run without us. And I think EOS and traction is the way through into that. Yeah, it's definitely a massive impact on our recruitment etc Because we implement all those things into our recruitment now so some of the elements that we do anyways, we test skills and things like that, but I think what it allowed us to learn is quite how different people will show up in interview. And actually what you're looking for in somebody for a specific role. So, for example, for us, for a client manager, you are looking for somebody that's quite loud and not necessarily opinionated in interview, but. They do give their opinions. They don't shy away from bits. You don't want somebody that's sort of nervous and things because they're client facing. They need to be able to work on the spot. And they need to be good at conversations that they're not necessarily expecting. Whereas a management accountant, normally they will show up quite nervous. Now that can be in the element that they're, they can be quite loud, but normally it's in an element where they ramble a little bit because they're nervous during interviews. So you, or they could come across quite quiet for the same reason that they're nervous. So it's allowed us to realize that actually when interviewing. You need to look beyond what they're saying and how they're appearing sort of thing. And give them that little bit of time to get that initial bit over. So we always do a little bit of chit chat and start to try and get that little bit over. And we have our skills test to refer back to as to how they performing that, etc. Brilliant. Should we move on? Yep. Excellent. So the peak behind the curtains this week is based on our son's 18th birthday So as I mentioned earlier, it's ashley's 18th birthday today And well, we just think time's flown, you know, and it got us thinking about not just personal element of the fact that we now have an 18 year old, God knows how that's happened. But we have an 18 year old about the fact that actually time does just go really fast. And I think sometimes it does feel a little bit like you've blinked and time's moved on. And I think there was an element of us going for us, geez, 18 years ago, where did we think we would be? You know, did we think we would be here sort of thing? Is there more we could have done in that 18 years or have we done loads in that 18 years? It just kind of got us thinking a bit about as business owners, we put bits in and myself and Ian do a plan where you have sort of a one year plan, three year plan, five, ten, etc. But I think actually when you look at it, particularly five and ten years, for me, Specifically, I think that they're like way off, but actually they come down really quickly. So I think those things are really important to have in place, uh, both your personal goals and your business goals over time, and to reflect back on them as well and ensure you are achieving what, you want to. And if you're not. Why not? Have you achieved something else and you're happy with that? That's, you know, actually something changed along the way and therefore your plans changed. But yeah, I think those, things are really important. What's your opinion, Ian? Yeah I think, agree. It's, time's definitely flown. I was thinking about a lot of those plans that we put in place some, of it has come to fruition, some of it not, but actually you find as we've got stepped closer that we've gone, no, that's not what we really want. And then we've adjusted and changed. Yeah, the path and the direction that we're going, uh, in that respect. But I think the thing that's become clearer, probably to me over a period of time and made sure that we're, more focused on is the, what's in this for us? is this working for us? Are we building the life that we want to build? And I think more and more that time's gone on through what we're doing that yeah We've become clearer on that and become well focused in on to it. Yeah, definitely so although we are up here, which for me is a little bit mixed because We've very much designed the company around the fact that yes, we have commitments etc And our client's very important to us, but family comes first sort of thing. However, that doesn't mean we shirk our commitment. So as I, as Ian mentioned earlier, that he still had a meeting while we're in Belfast because that was already set in and you can't just mess people around and change things like that. So that still happened. And the fact of it being our son's 18th birthday, ideally we wouldn't be up here, but he has gone to bed because he's tired from his phone party antics. Probably a little bit of he came in. But we come up here to do this as soon as we were able to based around family commitment. So if that meant we weren't up doing this until sort of 2, 3 am in the morning, then that's what we would have done because actually celebrating with our son for his 18th. was the most important and then knowing we had the podcast recordings done it will still get done and it will still come out on time it's just that it had to center around that first so if that meant we were up here at whatever time that's when we'd have done it to ensure it's still done but it wouldn't have been missed because that's not how it works when you're sort of juggling both bits Brilliant. Thank you. Sam, moving on, we've got the buzz of the week. Right now, going on recently, there has been the athletics world championships, and I wanted to pick on a particular athlete from the Netherlands. And I think what was interesting and key here is mindset. Uh, mental strength, forgive me, I forget her first name, but her surname bowl, right? And she's a 400 meter hurdler, right? Uh, and I've had a go at doing hurdles. They're, hard and they're tough and they certainly weren't as high as what they do. But running them over 400 meters is, uh is, definitely a mental strength as well as physical. But what was interesting was, right, she took part in the 4x400 mixed relay. So not hurdles, just 400 meters, right? And it was her, another female and two, two males, and she ran the final leg, right? And when she was doing that, she came in, she was leading, and with less than five meters to go, She tripped and she fell, uh, and she lost two places. She managed to get up and maintain herself and get over the line, right? But she effectively lost the gold medal and actually the team that was in second set a new world record, right? But because they obviously they overtook and they got over. So how she would have even been beyond that still. So there was ultimate failure. Everything was on her shoulders. It was hers to lose at that point. But then the next race that she ran was the four by 400 meters. But for the women, and again, she ran the final leg pressure was no doubt on when he started her leg. She was in third position. She came into the final 100 meters. She overtook and got into second and she just carried on and kept going and she even took first place. And I sort of reflected and went actually isn't that an element a bit like a bit like business, you know, there's failures and there's things that will set us back but mental strength to keep going is It's what's really needed and yeah we had a, brief discussion about this, but yeah, Sam was interested on your insights in terms of how that, yeah, how you see that reflecting back into, the business owners world. Yeah, I think you definitely have to have that resilience to be a business owner and I don't think it's for everyone. Well, honestly, and that's not a bad thing. That's, it's not a weakness to go, that's not for me sort of thing. I think it's highly likely that every business owner has had a period of time, or at least a thought at some point where they've gone, Jesus Christ, I just go get a job. 90 or five set salary. I know when I've got to work, I don't need to do any extra hours, there's no extra shit that's going to come my way that I've got to sort up a ridiculous time or, you know, only falls on my shoulders as such. And I think sometimes, particularly in the earlier years or when you're going for growth and bits, you can have those elements where there are those bits that crop up and it's stressful and hard work running a company sometimes. But ultimately there's a reason that people stick it, isn't there? Entrepreneurs, I don't think they can help themselves. I don't think, I don't think we make great employees. Because it's just not in us. We want to be achieving things ourself. We want to be pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve, looking for other things, et cetera. Yeah, I think, yes, you are completely right that you do have to have a resilience in order to run a company. Yeah, I was trying to think who it was with the quote, right, but their thing is the definition of an entrepreneur is being able to move from one failure to the next, but with renewed enthusiasm every single time. And I just, yeah, I think that sums it up brilliantly. Going to move on in a second to the power move of the week, but I just want to quickly speak to the listeners beforehand and just go, look, we'd love to have your, Feedback, your information, your questions. One, do you want to hear us talking more about some of these personal impacts and stories that we have relating to, how it affects both me and Sam, or do you want us to shut up about those bits? Just talk about business and keep it in that side of stuff. Also as well, though if, you want to fire in questions, we're definitely more than happy to get questions from you. In terms of things we're talking about things, maybe you can suggest that's a leak for you and your business or a win in your business or any power moves that you've made. But yeah, certainly send those thoughts, feelings and questions in Sam power move of the week. What stood out to you from this week's episode that you think is the power move within that. So first of all, I've got to apologize because I realized that I got the, uh, order slightly wrong between the buzz of the week and the peak behind the curtains. I was clearly very keen to hop off a bit earlier and be able to go to bed seems it's getting quite late, but yeah, I got around so apologies about that. I think the power move of the week for me is to be honest, it's a general all round over it to sort of go. I think our ultimate power move is the fact that we've got a team member, a new team member in and. We've got all those processes in place and actually it ran really smoothly already on her first few days and I don't foresee there being any issues and we certainly know our team members can cope with it, the ones that we've left sort of in charge of looking after her, if you like, and getting things set up. So I think that's got to be sort of the power move of the week. However, there's this nagging little bit in my head that's kind of going. That is brilliant, but actually, I think, in an element, while it's not a power move as such, I think the thing of sharing with other business owners, the fact that actually, they're not on their own, every business owner does have some issues, and I think sometimes when, certainly when I speak to other business owners, they feel like our business is, well, we run things so successfully and so easily and you never have any problems, et cetera. And that's just not the case all the time. Yes. The company is successful and yes, the majority of the time we don't have issues and bits like that, but stuff does crop up like these recordings going wrong and there being a sound issue where. We have to jump in and you have to record things at another time or you have to do a task at another time. I think ultimately, I think for me that is kind of a power move, even though it's a little bit of a negative because the positive behind it for me is the fact of having that element where other business owners feel reassured because I think sometimes being a business owner can be a lonely place where you feel like you're the only one that has. Issues or lots of things to solve. So sometimes it can be reassuring to hear that other people problems or similar issues. What about yourself? No I'd agree. I think when, it was, when we were discussing and sort of thrashing out this new format that we were going to look at I think it was Applce, our marketing manager, she suggested the leak of the week and. I was just like, yeah, it's got to be in there. Like, do I think we can come up with a leak every week? Don't know. Don't know if that much stuff, like, goes wrong. But at the same point, I was like, do you know what? It probably does. But what we've learned over the years is... Don't have a hot headed reaction. Yeah, be calm, be collected, work it out. Because actually there's, always another, route you can take. And so one of the key things we wanted to share by us doing this together was to go, actually things don't always go smoothly. There, there are challenges, there are difficulties. But the stuff you see out there on social media and all that sort of stuff is just paint the rosy picture, make everything look amazing. And I'm sure when this episode goes out, the audio will be absolutely fantastic and brilliant. And if we hadn't have done this and talked about that, people probably would have never known. So I'd agree. I think that's a, yeah, that is one of our power moves.