Quality Over Quantity ft. Nadya Rousseau

Ep 003 - Quality Over Quantity - Nadya Rousseau

“I can go 80% of the day now without checking my email.”

Imagine not feeling the urge to check your email and constantly make sure everything is okay at work, when you’re enjoying family time or out on vacation? I’ll let you in on a secret- It is possible.

When you’ve been trained that success =  “go, go, go,” from childhood, that instinct carries into your adult life. 

Nadya’s workaholism  gave her a sense of control, but it also limited her growth. It took releasing that control and bringing in the right help, with the right systems, to lay the foundations for her next round of growth.

After being the sole reason your business got off the ground, how do you get out and gain freedom? Will you lead your team in the weeds, or allow yourself to release that feeling of control?

Key Takeaways

Constantly having your (fingers in all the pots) doesn’t help you grow after a certain point. It Keeps you from growing.  Letting go of control is a process:

• Delegating or outsourcing work can give you freedom to focus on your vision.
• Designing systems that are constantly improving are the key to keeping quality high when you can no longer touch every client.
• The quality of your team is more important than the quantity. If you don’t believe that someone on your team can get the job done and support everyone else, then it’s your job to find someone who can.
• Outside people help you see what you can’t. Professional coaches and consultants are skilled at scaling to see what you can’t. So you can focus on bringing your dreams and visions to life. 

Key Moments

{03:35} “I was producing the show, I was building my client base and I was going to school part-time, so I was working 70 hours a week that year regularly.  At that time it felt very much like,  I gotta go balls to the wall if I wanna achieve this goal and be leading this company.”

{03:57} “I felt like if I wasn't doing something or I wasn't really putting all my energy almost all the time into work, it was like I wouldn't be successful.”

{04:13} “It's not about working hard or working long. It's about working smart. It's about working efficiently, and it's about kind of giving away the stuff that you don't wanna do and giving it to people who do wanna do that and can grow in that.”

{14:33} “If I feel like, ‘oh, I say I'm gonna work a little bit this weekend’, and then the weekend comes and my energy is not saying it wants to work, it wants to relax, it wants to just be like, you know what, nevermind, I'll just tackle this on Monday.”

{18:41} “Start with your life and what you want your life to look like in five or 10 years, and then back into what your business needs to do to make that happen. That’s where purpose and profit can come together.”

More about Nadya 

Nadya Rousseau is a writer, producer, and the founder and CEO of purpose forward marketing, PR, and media company Alter New Media. In just five years, she has serviced over 600 mission-driven companies.

Get in touch with Nadya

Email: nadya@alternewmedia.com

Share your Story

Send it to us at podcast@jennylynnerickson.com

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Transcript

Jenny Lynne: [00:00:00] Welcome to Death of a Workaholic, where other people's stories are a piece of your map. I'm your host Jenny Lynn, and I'm ready to take you on an adventure. 

I am here with Nadya Russo from Alter New Media. She runs a marketing agency where purpose and profit are never mutually exclusive. We're talking about combining purpose and profits and trying to find a way where people can be both fulfilled and happy, and hopefully not kill themself while doing it. But before we get into all the great things you've done in the world, I'd like to just start with your story, Nadya. Sounds like your relationship with work started at 14. That's a pretty young age.


Nadya Rousseau: Yes. 


Jenny Lynne: I'd like to hear more about that. 


Nadya Rousseau: Oh my gosh. So yeah, and first of all, thank you for having me.
I'm super stoked to be here and have this conversation with you. I know for so many entrepreneurs it is, the struggle is real. Like we don't always know when to shut off or , it feels just kind of like a never-ending thing, right? So in my case, yes, you're correct. My first official job was when I was 14, although two years prior to that, I had been volunteering.

 My story is a long one. It's certainly not a traditional path, but what entrepreneur's path is traditional, right? And now I can say, we've served over 600 companies and I have a team of about 15 people. It's crazy. 

Jenny Lynne: It is crazy. And before we get into the team of, now, I wanna go back to the you of 14. So what did work do for you? How did it make you feel starting that young and working through work? What did it do for you? 

Nadya Rousseau: It definitely made me feel independent. You know, I think, upon reflection, you know, there's part of me that feels some resentment because I was always, you know, pushed into a thousand extracurriculars and jobs and I was never really able to relax. I felt like, I was almost condemned for taking like an hour, hour and a half to, watch tv. It's like, you need to go to the gym or you need to do this, you need to do that. It was always like this culture in my [00:02:00] household of, you have to go, go, go, go, go nonstop. But when I was in my own, not hearing that, but I was just working the job, whatever it was, you know, I felt empowered from the standpoint that I knew I was making my own coin and I was learning skills and, it was never like, oh, I can't figure this out. 

 I think later on, you know, kind of looking back, I was just like, would it have been so bad to just take one summer to just chill and not be like, forced to be a camp counselor? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
 

Jenny Lynne: Yeah. It's the voices of our past shape a lot of those, identities and things that we do by default without necessarily realizing it. You know, they serve us and then we like to do more of it. Yeah. So, fast forward, what was your turning point where you realized that you weren't necessarily working more, was not necessarily helping you?


Nadya Rousseau: The relationship with work as an employee is very different than the relationship with work as a business owner.

Yeah. Or even as somebody who's just self-employed. [00:03:00] Because , when you're self-employed and when you're a business owner, that life, it's very much your lifestyle. Versus, I'm working as a teen or kid to build character and to get experience or to keep myself busy. 

And any workaholism I had was not at  the day job. It was more so in my pursuit towards being successful in my chosen path at that time . Mm-hmm. . Then, you know, when you move into that full blown entrepreneur mode, which 2016 was my hardest, craziest working year because I was working full-time in that law office, I was producing the show, I was building my client base and I was going to school part-time, so I was working 70 hours a week that year regularly. At that time it felt very much like, I gotta go balls to the wall, if I wanna achieve this goal and be, leading this company.

So I think, the earlier years of entrepreneurship, I was working a lot. Pulled allnighters. I felt like if I wasn't, doing something or I wasn't really putting all [00:04:00] my energy almost all the time into work, it was like I wouldn't be successful.

But you know, I think that's part of your early journey as an entrepreneur, and then you come to realize that it's not about working hard or working long. It's about working smart. It's about working efficiently, and it's about kind of giving away the stuff that you don't wanna do and giving it to people who do wanna do that and can grow in that.


Jenny Lynne: So what was the hardest part when it came to letting go? What was the most difficult thing to let go of?


Nadya Rousseau: Oh my. It's so many different things. You know, this definitely have struggled with delegation. I mean, I still struggle with it here and there. Not as much anymore. Like I can go, 80% of the day now without checking my email. Cause I know my assistant has handled most of it. Mm-hmm. , I'm like, I don't wanna, I'm not gonna even look at that until the end of the day. Like, that's what I'm paying her to do. So, I just feel. It was a variety of things. It just came down to feeling like I had to be in [00:05:00] control and that fear of losing control if I didn't hold onto the stuff.
Yeah. 


Jenny Lynne: You're talking about the entrepreneurial journey and the life journey, so Well, um, and you're absolutely right. When we're younger and when we're working for someone else, there is a value to kind of exploring all these different possible opportunities and seeing what we like and don't like and what we're good at and not,.
And, you know, gathering all of that knowledge and wisdom. But then when we start as entrepreneurs, it helps us build our company. We wouldn't be successful if we didn't put our nose to the grindstone and get it off the ground, but then at some point that very thing that helped us, the control stands in our way.


Nadya Rousseau: Mm-hmm. . Yes, 100%. It becomes a, a roadblock to your growth because then you can't focus on the higher level things cuz you're still. The weeds. It's like, how do I move myself out of this? The idea that I have to be this workaholic, you know, work drone employee type person for my own self and just, I'm [00:06:00] a business owner, I'm a visionary and I'm building things and I need, you know, worker bees. But at the same time, like I try to instill some elements of entrepreneurialism into my team. Mm-hmm. as well. 


Jenny Lynne: Mm-hmm. . Yeah. Well, they have to at that, at that size. You need people that are adaptable and will solve problems across different areas and kind of play outside their sandbox and lane. And I consider that all part of the, you know, entrepreneurial identity, whether you work for someone or, or yourself. So, exactly. Very good description. So what allowed you ultimately to release control? 


Nadya Rousseau: Last year I think was my big year of learning the, the necessity of releasing control. I certainly, again, not a hundred percent there yet, but I am so much farther than I was at the beginning, , of 2022 last year.

Indefinitely hiring different, leadership coaches, consultants. , just educating myself I think really helped getting that objective point of [00:07:00] view in, in the mix and not being like, oh no, I can figure it out. I mean, cuz that it doesn't just start and stop with your team. It start and stops with all of the things. And so if you're just still trying to control even your own self, like, oh no, I'll figure it out. I'll just find, I'll figure it out, whatever. That is not gonna be helpful. Like at some point you have to hire outside help if you're trying to grow as a leader.


Jenny Lynne: and did you have a moment where you knew you had to bring in help? 


Nadya Rousseau: Um, I mean, I don't think there was any one moment. I feel like it was more like an accumulation of moments and just mm-hmm. feeling like overwhelmed and just feeling tired of, like balls being dropped. But yet it's like I'm paying, all this money out to a team, but I yet, I'm still working and working, working so late.
Yeah. And like, what is the deal? Like something has to give, like maybe I'm not doing something right in this process. And then I come realized like all the different areas I'm stepping in on [00:08:00] unnecessarily. And you know, even still, it's like sometimes I'm like, oh, you know, as a leader you have to realize like a lot of those, these issues come down to you.

And of course sometimes you are gonna have like bad apples and people are gonna be not who you thought they were when you brought them in. And you know, not to say like that doesn't happen and some people are just toxic. At the end of the day though, it's your decision to keep that toxicity on your payroll and let it impact the rest of the team or not.
Mm-hmm. it is. 


Jenny Lynne: And um, it's, sometimes it's easier to outwork the problem than it is to solve it. 


Nadya Rousseau: Yeah, exactly. 


Jenny Lynne: Sometimes we don't even realize we're doing it. . 


Nadya Rousseau: Yep. . Exactly. 


Jenny Lynne: So you've got this outside help and you have a team now, and as you kind of stepped away and allowed the team to come into their own , and, um, really help bring to life the dreams and visions that you had, what is one of the things that allowed you to be really successful at making that happen?[00:09:00] 


Nadya Rousseau: Well, ironically, my team was actually larger in the beginning of 20, 22 than it is now. It was 20 people and now it's 15. And even now I still feel like I'm able to, , step away a little bit more. Mm-hmm. now it's not a hundred percent. I'm still a little involved in aspects of client fulfillment, but you know, it's also because I do enjoy, and so does Lauren, my co-founder and wife.

We enjoy. Aspects of it. Um, and I feel like as long as you enjoy aspects of it, it's okay. But just understanding that as you grow and if your intention is to grow to a certain size, you are still gonna have to plan to let that stuff go. Mm-hmm. . So you can step into, you know, just full-time. But like this week, we both got in as media for CES here in Vegas, which, you know, big tech conference, very big. But you know, last year, year, a couple years before that, I would've been like, oh my God, like I can't do this cause how am I gonna do this? [00:10:00] Because all this stuff is gonna fall through the cracks. 

And it's like, nope. Now , I have my calendar, I have my assistant helping. And I don't feel like that is not a fear mm-hmm. that I have, you know? 


Jenny Lynne: It sounds like that you reduced your team, but was it that you got more of the right team members? Is it that you helped them? Is it that they understand what needs to get done? What was the, like, what was the factor that allows it to work better now with fewer team members? 


Nadya Rousseau: Better systems, better clearer systems and processes, which we are. , updating and, you know, just earlier I went over updated brand strategy with the team and making sure everyone's on the same page for, you know, with the company mission and vision.

Just, thinking at a higher level and understanding like without things being streamlined and having automations and, having clear KPIs and checklists for your team members, for your divisions, for the people heading up those [00:11:00] divisions, things are not going to work. You're not gonna be able to grow.
So the whole 2022, the theme was kind of relaying, if you will, the foundation of the company. And , while we did not grow in revenue at the same level that we had in prior years, we did about the same, I think that we did in 2022. I feel like it was all so necessary. So now this year we can double or triple or quadruple even.
Mm-hmm our revenue because now we feel like we're gonna be in a position to be able to handle, that type of volume that we're seeking. Because it's more of a foundation in place, which it's still a work in progress. 
Yeah. Yeah. 


Jenny Lynne: We had a similar theme for 2022. We called it Slow Down to Speed Up. So every time we were asking our, or trying to do something, we asked ourselves, do we have to say no to this so that we can create something that will. be more automatic and simpler in the future. And there was a lot of decision making.
It was a lot that we had to walk away from in order to do the right things. 
[00:12:00] 

Nadya Rousseau: Mm-hmm. . 

Jenny Lynne: So did you end up creating the systems? Did you need to bring someone in from the outside? What was the, what was your method to kind of getting all that knowledge that was in your head on paper and instilling the ownership to keep it current and fresh?


Nadya Rousseau: Yeah, I mean I'm definitely have had input in the systems, but I let go majorly. Cause I was like, I do not want to head up all of this. I just don't, I don't have the energy for it. I don't have, I have other things I have to focus on. Um, so I've been, you know, obviously very involved in the process and then helping identify the right people to help us through the process.

But I've not been at the helm of the process. I would say my executive assistant, teet, hi Teet, has been at the helm of the process. She's very strong in operations and so she's been heading up a lot. But you know, we did, um, you know, have been working all last year with a business consultant , who is local to, you know, here in Vegas, but also [00:13:00] a, um, another consultancy called Eight Figure Agency. Shout out Jordan and team!


Jenny Lynne: So you found the right people and how did you find those right people? 

 
Nadya Rousseau: So the, the business consultant is someone, his name is Jim Lordon. Hi Jim. And his wife Dagmar, which they run something called, um, globe Con here in Las Vegas. And so in their case, I had already been in a mastermind with them, like kind of like a local monthly thing. Mm-hmm. since October 21. And so it started kind of moving into a deeper relationship with them whereby they were helping with some of that consulting. And then the eight figure agency, the founder, he actually slid into my dms on LinkedIn.

And I'm not usually very keen on the way a lot of people reach out on LinkedIn, but his approach was very authentic and it came at a perfect time. And so, you know, I had a call with them and I'm like, he knows his. And show me at your [00:14:00] table makes all the difference in the world, doesn't it? ? It really does. And he had worked with companies, you know, I was familiar with as well. Um, you know, companies with founders I've actually engaged with that are very successful. So I was like, all right, let's, let's do this.  


Jenny Lynne: Awesome. So life after workaholism, what does it look like for you? 


Nadya Rousseau: Oh man. I mean, certainly I have my moments, if I feel like, oh, I say I'm gonna work, a little bit this weekend, and then the weekend comes and my energy is not saying it wants to work, it wants to relax, it wants to just be like, you know what, nevermind, I'll just tackle this on Monday.

Then I just tackle it on Monday. Like I don't have my email, like I don't really check my email after a certain time of day anymore. It doesn't feel like, oh my God, I have, I have to check my email. Like I used to feel like I always have to check my email, which I'm like, Nope, this can wait. Like people can get a response in 24, 48 hours. Like this is a business, I'm [00:15:00] not like a PA to every single client or a prospective partner or whatever. Mm-hmm. . Um, so, I do an email pause every weekend. Like I use something called Boomerang for Gmail, which I love, and so I just. Like I straight up paused my email.

It's better than like just doing it within your email itself because you will not see anything. It will literally pause everything. 


Jenny Lynne: Awesome. 


Nadya Rousseau: You're not tempted to look in there. You're not gonna see it unless you searched for it. So I use that and, I'm not working until like one, 2:00 AM 3:00 AM every day. I don't always have a set schedule, you know, sometimes I will be like, I wanna work into like 10 or something or something I wanna catch up on, but I don't feel like I have to. And, I value other aspects of life. I mean, definitely entrepreneurship and you know, all my goals. It's a huge part of who I am. I don't think you ever fully shut off as an entrepreneur in terms of the ideas that come into your head. I just [00:16:00] am at peace with not thinking about work every five seconds. 


Jenny Lynne: That's awesome. So I'm hearing that this boomerang, by the way, everyone should write that down. Boomerang for Gmail. If you're on Gmail, I wrote it down. I'm gonna be trying it out.

Love it. Love it. So it sounds like your map was really understand that you're trying to control, release control. Figure out what you can do. Get help for everything that you're struggling with. , yes, the right experts. Um, and then know what life needs to look like for you and make that life happen. Did I kind of summarize your map beyond, 


Nadya Rousseau: I would say yeah. You definitely summed it up and, you know, there's so many other things and you know, not to say like, oh, I feel like people think, oh, if I'm not a workaholic, I'm not gonna achieve all these things. It's like there's so many things I plan on achieving, and so, just because you know you're not a workaholic anymore, doesn't mean you can't get stuff done. But you have to figure out like, am I gonna need to hire more people? Do I need to pursue these things incrementally? Like that's another [00:17:00] thing that's really important to note. I used to feel like, oh my God, I have to achieve everything all at once.

And you know, granted my goals are still super ambitious, but at least I know like I was gonna roll out a Mastermind. Mm-hmm. at the top of this year. And then I looked at all the other things that I didn't quite achieve that I wanted to in 22. Along with some other things, I'm like, you know what? I will roll out this Mastermind in 2020.


Jenny Lynne: Good for you. Good for you. Yeah. That's it. Being able to look goals and visions further out and really focus on what's important right now is critical. And actually that is your one, one recommendation for people as they work through workaholism. So tell me a little bit more about that creation of a vision statement or a vision board that you really want people   to take and run with that.


Nadya Rousseau: Yeah, I was in a mastermind at the end of last year and he had us, do kind of like an in a retrospective of sorts where we were thinking about where do we wanna be in 2027, and then , how would we work backwards? So, , I would [00:18:00] suggest thinking about like where you wanna be in 10 years, um,  maybe started five years and then thinking about working backwards. Think about, what you have in your life. Mm-hmm. not just professionally, but personally. Yeah. Um, you know, what would make sense? And if you're like, well, in order to achieve this, I need to be able to hire five more people, but I don't have the revenue to hire five more people right now.
If that's the case, then you have to figure out like, all right, well what do I need to do in this year so I can hire those five more people so I can start pursuing this goal? And so that's really part of. 


Jenny Lynne: So start with your life and what you want your life to look like in five or 10 years, and then back into what your business needs to do to make that happen.
Yeah, exactly. Amazing. Amazing. And that's where purpose. and profit can come together. 


Nadya Rousseau: That's right. Purpose and profit are not mutually exclusive. You know, a lot of people think I say purpose ahead of profit, and I'm like, Nope, I believe that they are not mutually exclusive. You know, you need to be pushing forward to, you know, make a lot of money, to make a lot of impact, [00:19:00] and then when you make a lot of impact, you can make a lot of money. So it's reflexive.


Jenny Lynne: I love it that you heard it first from Nadya Rousseau. . She's a writer, producer and founder and c e o of purpose, forward marketing, PR and media company alter new media. In just five years, she's serviced over 600 mission driven companies and helped them achieve the same thing. She is working and has achieved for herself now.

Thank you so much, Nadia, for joining us today. 


Nadya Rousseau: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. This was so much fun. 
 

Jenny Lynne: Thank you for joining us on Death of a Workaholic, where other people's stories are a piece of your map beyond workaholism. I'm your host, Jenny Lynn, and if this was a valuable addition to your map, then please like, subscribe or follow. Or sign up for my newsletter to get updates when new episodes are dropped.
You can reach out to me at podcast jenny lynn erickson.com, or you can go to my website, death of a workaholic.com. If you have a map that you think would be valuable for other [00:20:00] people, then please reach out and see if we can book you on the show. That is podcast@jennylynnerickson.com or death of a workaholic.com, and I can't wait to see you on the next drop.