Welcome back to the Christianity and Business Podcast, an initiative of the RCW Dunham College of Business at Houston Baptist University. I'm your host, Darren Shearer, and this is the show that helps Christian business leaders to integrate biblical values into business. On this episode, we're joined by guest Leah Fall. Leah has actually been on a panel of women entrepreneurs, and we did Leah, I don't know if you knew this, but we actually re-ran that um that presentation, that panel on uh on the podcast as well as the live version that you guys did. So Leah is the founder and owner of 15,000 qubits of fast growing strategic SEO agency whose team operates completely remotely. She was recently named, well, I don't know how recently, um to Houston Business Journal's 40 under 40. You're definitely under 40, aren't you?
SPEAKER_01I am. It was last year though.
SPEAKER_02Awesome. She has experience leading teams of all sizes and skill levels in many industries, in-house, agency, and nonprofit. I think we're we must be the same age. I'm I'm 39. Um, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. Really happy to be here.
SPEAKER_02Tell us where did the name 15,000 qubits come from?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so um uh 15,000 qubits uh is uh is interesting. It's kind of like um, you know, those people that have a tattoo that's in a different language, and um uh you know, everybody always asks them, what does that tattoo mean? Because they can't really speak the language or don't know you know what that meaning is. And so it opens a door for that person to explain, you know, the meaning behind it. And so 15,000 qubits is intentionally ambiguous, um uh, effectively reaching the goal of getting somebody somebody to ask, what does it mean? And uh, and so I the Lord did not um let me know that he wanted me to be an entrepreneur until right at the moment that he created the opportunity um for 15,000 qubits to exist. And so um it really was uh all the Lord. So my husband and I got married about uh, let's see, coming up on seven years ago. And um, you know, I felt like um I was reading a book called The The Emyth, and it was uh talking about your primary purpose when you start a business. And I didn't know I was about to start a business, um, but I just had this, the Lord had just put this um uh desire in me to read all kinds of books on entrepreneurship, leadership, um, sales, business. Um looking back, you know, that was about 15 years ago, I started just reading like crazy. And um, and so about seven years ago, one of the books I was reading was The EMyth, and I would recommend it to anybody that's considering to start a business. And um, and my husband was uh also reading the book because I was so excited about it. And um, we were taking a run around the neighborhood and we were talking about, okay, if we were hypothetically to one day start a business, that would be super cool. Um, what would the primary purpose be? And for us, you know, it was um, you know, we had just gone through premarital counseling um by an amazing senior Papist senior pastor at um Second Baptist West Campus in Houston, and he did the most wonderful training for us. Uh he called it um zone of excellence. And um, he sat down with us before we got married and he said, when um as a believer, when you're in your zone of excellence for the Lord, you are working inside of four quadrants like a box. And that zone of excellence is the center of you know, your skills and talent that the Lord has given you through your experience, your spiritual gifts that the Lord has given you, um, your passion and heart and the things that kind of light you up and fire you up and get you excited. And then the bottom of that box is the you know the pain and the challenges and struggles that you that you've had. And once you're inside of those four quadrants, you're in your zone of excellence. So my husband and I um running but talking, so you can see how fast we we were actually running, um, full-blown conversation. Um, so we were run walking and we were talking about our zone of excellence and the book um with the primary the emith talking about the primary purpose. And um, and so, you know, I started thinking about how I had, you know, coming up on a decade of experience in digital marketing, and I'd been blessed with the opportunity to grow a few businesses online and learn a lot. And um I talked about how I wanted um, you know, my husband and I talked about how we wanted to use that skill set, which is, you know, very then it was very necessary and even more now, even more where we're at right now of digital marketing is so important um to growing initiatives and organizations and companies. Um, you know, but it was all about, it wasn't as much about the details of digital marketing as it was about who we wanted to serve. And so I just felt so compelled that it had to be about um supporting and empowering those taking steps of faith. And that faith component was just the ultimate driver. And in in looking back, it was it was almost as if we were actually planning the business we were going to start. It seems so weird looking back that we had no actual intention. And my husband and I have talked about this many times because it's kind of surreal how God worked through that season. Um, but we actually said in that conversation, we said, about five years from from now, maybe we'll start a business. And, you know, he was like, Well, what would you name it? And this is all in one conversation. And I was like, Well, you know, faith is is really like the big driver of what I would want to do, you know, anything inside of digital marketing, but I want to I want to empower those taking steps of faith. And I want to be, you know, a person of faith, and I want it to be all about faith. And um, and so I kept thinking about Noah and how Noah built the ark, you know, and he just had this mindset to listen to the Lord. And um, it was all like the build, like if you think about the build and just how much went into that and the resistance that he had, but he wasn't he wasn't shaken at all. Um, you know, he just built that ark, and that was all he thought about. And and so for me, that was faith, you know, because I think so often early on as a believer, when I thought about faith, it was like mystical. And, you know, I realized somewhere, thankfully, um praise the Lord, I realized somewhere along the way, um, uh about 10 years ago, actually, it was really when I can look back and say, I realized that faith was more about action. It was more about um there was a specific um, there was a specific uh message that I heard that the pastor had a red chair and he sat it on the um on the stage and he said, you know, I have faith in this chair. And then he asked us, do I really have faith in this chair? And um he said, if I refuse to sit in it. And it was like, well, of course no. You know, but then he went over and he stood on the chair and he was like, I have faith in this chair. And he asked us, and we were like, Yes, you have faith because you're standing on it. And so it's been this journey this last um decade of my life, figuring out what does that mean to have faith and stand, you know, firmly on the Lord and and do that. But the business is all it the whole thing is on faith. And 15,000 cubits is um when we looked, my my husband looked up uh that night, that one night, that instance, um, he looked up uh every aspect of Noah's Ark.com and uh and they weren't available. So then uh he's an engineer, so he realized in the Bible it actually says that Noah's Ark is 15,000 qubits. So um it's a really cool um uh way to get to open that door and to communicate about um, you know, like what the what the company's meaning is. There are a lot of other, you know, ways that that's come into play, even from a staffing and sales perspective. Um, but that name, you know, is probably one of the best things that that the Lord kind of put on my heart to do that has opened a door without it being forceful to communicate about um you know the backbone of a faith in the business.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because you probably get asked that question uh fairly often. Like what is it? Every time why 15,000 Q?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Every single, every single time, whether it's interview or clients or you just meet somebody and you tell them it's it is a blessing being such a great opportunity to witness and and to communicate, but also to to vet the team, you know, because especially sales and marketing, you know, they have to be able to communicate and comfortable with communicating that message. And so it's something that has to be addressed like on a staffing perspective as well. And so it helps to get a pulse on um, you know, like continuing to build a team that's going to honor that initial mission and um and heartbeat of the company.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02Have you been up to the ARK in uh can northern Kentucky?
SPEAKER_01I haven't, but I've had a lot of people that have told me I need to go.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah. That'd be a great, great thing to do as a team. Get your whole team to go up there and uh and and go check out, take a tour of the ark. And uh that'd be some good team building. Um but yeah, it's a it's pretty pretty phenomenal. We took our little boys there when they were even more little than they are now, and uh it was just a lot of information that they're not gonna really take time to take in because they couldn't really read at the time, but um we're looking forward to taking them when they're a little bit older. But I could see that being an amazing experience for your team with the significance of the name of your company. Um speaking of your team, how do you cultivate a Christ-centered culture with everyone working remotely? Uh, because a lot of the stories that I hear from these these great companies that are that are Christian led are um a lot of times they're kind of brick and mortar where they've got a bunch of people coming to the same office or same factory where you know maybe they can have um, I don't know. They're just able to they're spending a lot more time kind of in close proximity with each other, where I think some more of those opportunities might present themselves. Like, how do you how do you do that with everyone remote besides taking a tour of the the the arc up in Kentucky?
SPEAKER_01Well, this is one of my favorite things to talk about, but I do want to close the loop on what I was saying earlier. So after that walk talk my husband and I had, um, we literally, I literally got um the first contract, phone call out of nowhere, venture capitalists overseas that um that presented the opportunity for the first contract that started the company that moved me out of um uh working for somebody else and into having my own business within, I believe it was a week, maybe, maybe two weeks, but we already had the domain bought. At that, after that call, we bought the domain um 15,000 qubits. And I this shows you how much I didn't know what I was doing at that point. I had to look up what it meant to work as a 1099 person. I had no idea what it meant to not be a WT salary person. And we literally had the moment where we're like, I think we're starting the business. Um, so that's just closes the loop on how good God is uh and how um gracious he was. And and blessing me, I wasn't even planning for it. So um, but to talk about the remote aspect, I'm so excited to talk about that. So um, you know, I I believe that um I've learned a lot. I mean, uh I've I had like I said earlier, I have I had no idea what I was doing. It's been a lot of trusting the Lord and um uh you know, the Lord provides and you move things forward and I've done the best that I can and learned lessons. And um, you know, thankfully I have read a lot. So I had a lot of head knowledge that I could apply, but that doesn't mean you're gonna get it right every time. And so it's been a lot of learning. Um I'm seven years, six and a half years in at this point as a business owner, and um, you know, COVID in particular that year taught me a lot. Um I had a lot of assumptions in the first four years of building a remote team and how that was gonna work. And I put an infrastructure in place that I I felt like was gonna enable um me to sustain, you know, a crisp-based culture and um a mission-centered culture and a value-centered culture. Um uh, but we grew really fast in um in 2020. We went from four employees to 14 in a matter of three months. And uh and it rattled every single cage that that existed in the company. And um basically uh it just it's the illustration of putting your pedal to the metal until the wheels and this fall off and the steering wheel start shaking. Um, so uh I think you know, to answer that question of um, you know, the the remote-based, how do you have a Christ-centered culture in a remote setting? Um I would love to say that I think that the main answer to that question is has to do with being remote, but I think it has to do more with being a leader as a whole and a willingness to do the things that you need to do to ensure that you've really surrendered the company um to the Lord and that um you're willing to make the decisions as a leader, like based on the convictions that you have and your personal relationship with the Lord, and um, that that you're willing to do that, you know, because for me, what that meant was um, you know, come towards the end of 2020, I realized that growing so fast, it really took our entire heartbeat, our mission, the purpose, everything that you know existed in the beginning had gotten like it was just wrung out of it. And we were just um revenue driven, to be candid, and uh and growing incredibly fast. And the heartbeat didn't feel like it was there anymore. We didn't have talks about how we were serving the Lord and um our, you know, we didn't have relationship with each other and empower each other or have a uh a value system that was actively you know supporting uh a Christian value system. Um, so I ended up uh significantly reducing staff and um and and leaving uh high revenue clients because they were keeping us from being able to do that. And you know, I know that there are a lot of leaders that wouldn't be able to do that. And I think that that's probably the the only reason why I can say now, in the middle of 2021, that um I've been blessed, you know, to have just got back from a team retreat where um every person on our team now literally said that it's it's like something they've never experienced before. Like almost everybody on the team right now has worked in ministry or worked in a church. And um, and all feel like they're in an environment in a work culture where the Holy Spirit is so thick and so active and and everything is so surrendered that it's just an it's just immensely special. And you know, some of the tactics are like I said, the leader has to be willing to make those tough decisions. Um, I also think hiring is a really important, uh, important part of it. And for us, it's also important that the hiring isn't done in a way that it's like, you we want to hire Christians only, you know, we're not gonna do that. We don't do that. Um, for us, it's like you don't, you don't do that, you know, you you don't just like go hang out with only Christians. Like we're here to be alike. And so if somebody's okay with who we are, they can come and join the team, you know. But in the interviewing and hiring process, we let them know um specifically what the things that we do that show that we that we're all Christians at the company and that we're all active in our faith and our relationship with the Lord. We talk about, so we use a tool called Slack and we talk about how we have Slack channels that, you know, where we're sharing like verses and messages with each other and how when we get together we pray, and you know, these things that happen that that are just indicators of our faith, collective faith and individual faith, and that we make those conversations, you know, not just welcome, but very prominent. And and so, you know, it's important in that interviewing phase that you let somebody know what they're coming into and give them the opportunity to say, hey, I'm comfortable with that or I'm not, you know, and that's if if they're comfortable with it, at that point, it's a mute point, whether they are going to be the same or not, they're comfortable with it. And then if they're not a Christian, you know, you you get to influence them and impact them and witness to them and uh and be a witness to them. So um I could probably talk for three hours on this.
SPEAKER_02Um, but is there anything else that you So like when you're interviewing, you're you're saying that, hey, just so you know, we're all Christians here. Like, is that what you're saying?
SPEAKER_01Or what what is how do you frame it?
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we do say that. So um specifically, we actually just had an interview last week that went to final stages and we have a multi-stage interview process. We take interviewing very, very seriously. And um, we talked about our value system, which are four specific um values that we reinforce, and then um we talk about what our culture is like. So now all of our teams educated on the difference between that. I feel like it's sometimes a very um confusing topic for some people because I feel like there are a lot of organizations that say they have a value system, but it's really not um lived out inside of the organization. And I think there's a lot of ambiguity on what a culture is and what a value system is. And so as a team, we all talk about how your values are the components that are what you believe that you're convicted and convinced about that are going to dictate how your decisions are made and the way you act. Um, but your culture is a series of behaviors that reinforce that value system. So, what we like to talk about in the interviewing um stage is you know, we have our value system is, and our value system is a celebration culture, um, a growth mindset, commitment to excellence, and people first. And though those sound, you know, like secular, they are actually like biblical backed, like they they do follow an evangelical value system. And um, and so we talk about that, we talk about what that means to us, but we also talk about how we believe what a culture is in a company, and we believe that a culture is just a series of behaviors that we encourage as an organization that reinforce that. So, like for example, one small example of that is that um, you know, we have a channel in our Slack that's called Motivation Channel, and every morning we'll share verses or we'll encourage each other and we'll write personalized messages to each other. And for us, that's you know, that kind of embodies multiple value systems there. Um but we have several different kinds of meetings that are permanent meetings on our schedule that reinforce a value system where we do certain things. Um we have a lot of different, you know, behaviors and also that you know, we pray as a group when we eat, like that is something that's a people first. Like we all know that that's important to us, so it's something that we do together, but we've had the dialogue that we're comfortable with it. So that's how it reinforces people first. Um and also growth mindset, because for us, prayer is the way that we grow. And and so it's just it's an open dialogue in that interview process of the behaviors that flow from the value system that we have. And because we are very open about our faith internally, um, that comes up naturally. And it doesn't come up just from me. So in my interviewing process, we have, like I said, it's a multi-step process. So it's initially with one person and then you meet the entire team. And so I want to make sure that that interviewing, that candidate gets to hear from the team, not from me. And so when it comes from everyone and it's not coming from me, it feels natural and organic because it is. And then they really get to see like what they're stepping into, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. When you were saying that you you have kind of cut off clients that turn turn away clients that kind of were holding you back from living out your values. Like, what did what do you mean by that? What what did that look like if you don't mind sharing?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Um so there, yeah, that was a um that was a big one. Uh um, that changed everything um uh in the last uh six months. So uh, you know, there's there were a few clients that um no matter what we did, uh it wasn't right. And um no matter how much time team members put on the project, it wasn't good enough. Uh and the way they were talked to was not kind and not respectful. And, you know, they they went for a few months and they kind of you know tried to grit it out. And um, you know, what our value system is growth mindset and commitment to excellence. So several core team members really clung to those values and they tried to have grit and um really kind of stick it out, and they did a phenomenal job, but I, you know, kept keep I kept my eye on it and kept my eye on it, and uh it just it wouldn't get better. And uh, you know, it was just such a like we're a small company, you know. I have I'm um uh solo founder, no backing, you know, this is all um self-funded here. So uh it's it it is um cash flow is king in a small business, right? So you have to be managing that, but also when you have a client that's um half your revenue, you know, they have a certain say over priorities of the company. And because they were several of these clients were so high revenue and high impact to our bottom line, um, it was nearly impossible to um, as a leader, back that up and run the business in a healthy way so that I could be a good steward of finances and um and ensure that this client was happy. It was it was just a real um, it just it so our people first value is you know, at the end of the day, everyone has intrinsic value and worth and you have care for every person that you come in contact with. And so consistently having team members that were treated so inconsistently with that value system killed um our culture. It it killed how they felt about like how they were working, because I have several team members that would work just on that client. So if that's all they were feeling, they were absorbing that, and especially in a remote setting, uh, it it just became their culture. That company was so big, or those companies were so big that that became the culture they were in. And at the end of the day, they look in the mirror and they say, Oh, this isn't the company I wanted to join. This isn't what I was told on the front end, and this isn't something that I believe in. And, you know, if you if you're building a um a really special um organization that is is truly surrendered to the Lord and has an active heartbeat and a pulse and is something that is just like as humans were called to be a light in the world, I believe that that businesses are called to be a light in the world. And and if you're building that, you know, to the point that it gives me chills to think about having an organization that is a light in the in the business world, you're only going to do that if you're protecting it. And you're only going to do that if you have employees that are personally like that. And employees that personally believe in that will not stick around. Um, if they are constantly shut down and they're not able to live that out, they will go somewhere else. And and so, you know, that to answer your question, probably all the way around it, but but that that was what, you know, like that that's a little bit more on that topic is um that they, you know, it just that was the specific value. Um, we actually have created what we call a red flags list now, that in the interviewing, and we interview our clients now, which is something that I've done a lot differently in the last six months, we've actually gotten to where um, you know, our mission as a company is to grow people, not just businesses. And by growing people, not just businesses, we have to work with the right people. So if if those clients that we're working with don't have a mindset of growth mindset and people first mindset and appreciate what we can bring to the table for them, we won't grow them. You know, so so we have a red flags list in the interviewing process and the um in the sales process for our clients to make sure that they're gonna be successful and also to make sure that the that all of my teammates don't find themselves in where we were at last year, you know, where they're working with one big client or one or two clients that um, you know, are are so absorbed, they're absorbing their culture and it's so different from ours that it feels like they're working somewhere else.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. What's an example or two of some of those red flags that you look for?
SPEAKER_01Um, so they're they're pretty distinct. Um I can give you a uh um the exact one of the exact ones is um if they speak with a teammate and they're and they're talking with teammates, but then um in the sales process, um uh they you call manage up or whatever that term is, where you say, like, okay, well, I need to talk to your manager. Um, that's always a fair, it's a red flag. It's not it's not necessarily a no-go zone, but it's it's a red flag because to us that's a that's a red flag of people first. Um, you know, in the when you're within the first couple weeks of meeting somebody and you're managing up and you're going over their head and you're going around them, it's just never really a good sign. Um, and then another another red flag that we have is um if uh if it becomes combative on um tactics, you know, digital marketing, it's funny. There are a lot of opinions on digital marketing. And uh if it becomes more combative than collaborative and harmonious, and it becomes more like they're gonna, they're they're gonna kind of direct it, and we're just the hands that are executing on the digital services, our mission is to grow people, not just businesses. And so we're probably not at the price point or gonna deliver in a way that they're gonna be happy with. Um, so you know, those are two examples of um of of that, the red flags that we have.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Uh I can definitely relate to that, you know, in internet marketing, like where I mean, there's there are companies that teach um how to how to do how to start a company teaching digital marketing. Uh, you know, it's not just digital marketing companies, it's like a company teaching other people how to start businesses teaching people how to do digital marketing. And um, and that's that's tough when they don't when they think that they've got all the expertise. It's like, well, why did you why did you hire us? Yeah, but but that that mutual respect is so critical and and staying true to your values. Like if you just went into business to just make money, it's like, well, hey guys, we're just you're just gonna have to grin and bear it. Um and it's like if you're gonna leave, I'll just hire the next person and you know, that this wait in line for a job like this. I mean, to work remotely, like that's awesome. Like, there's a lot of people that would love to have that opportunity. But um just appreciate your heart and and really staying true to the commitment to build um a company to help people grow, take steps in their faith. Like that's a that's a really beautiful um way to put it, is um that and and people know that going in. Like, hey, that this is kind of what people what we're committed to here is for people who want to kind of grow in their in their faith and share using the Slack channel to share different devotional thoughts and and things like that. Like how did how did the biblical like how do y'all bring the biblical principles into some of the conversations about what's actually happening in the business? Like aside from sharing and and maybe the scriptures that are that you're sharing are kind of in light of something that happened or something going on specifically in the business, as opposed to like a general, this is gonna help you in your in your walk with God. But like, how do you apply the Bible to some of those specific decisions being made?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's a really good question. Um, I you know, honestly, I feel like that's been a discovery that I've had over the last few years is how to do that. And in the beginning, I was um, you know, really confused on um uh whether you know we're a Christian organization or not a Christian organization and um what our values mean and how they reflect the Bible. And and um, you know, so I I kind of let go of the wheel a little bit over the last year and um, you know, started just being more intentional about my time in the beginning of the day with the Lord. And um, when I'm doing that, I find that, you know, it's it's not as much like I've got a checklist or a process where at this time I share this scripture, or at this point, this is you know how we back this conversation of hiring a new person or bringing on a new client. Um, but it's more just about being surrendered and being fluid. And um, you know, it also has been about uh having a understanding where to have the right conversations. And I've got um, you know, a leadership team, which is basically we're a small team. So we're all a leadership team, but I have one individual who I'm working with that is just um, you know, she's just on a trajectory of really moving into being my successor. And um, you know, I'm I'm grooming her in a high-level leadership role. And so we have a lot of conversations, her and I. Um, uh, and they're very, you know, surrendered to the Lord and very open about, okay, well, what does the Lord say about this? And, you know, like you go pray about this, I'm gonna pray about this, and let's come back together. And we really try to make not make reactional decisions or reactive decisions, but um be intentional in our decisions and intentional in giving some space for prayer and the Holy Spirit. Um, but as a collective team, you know, we just uh, and this goes back to building a remote culture too, we do in-person meetings. So I get Airbnb for a couple of days and pull everyone together when I can. And we got together a few weeks ago and um almost all three days, the whole conversation, the whole, the whole time, you know, it wasn't a hard agenda, it wasn't um uh directed with a very hard flow. It was completely open. And the first day we started with um, what, you know, what's the Lord put on your heart? And everyone kind of talked. And what ended up happening, which is how the Lord works, was that I thought I was gonna share something that the Lord had put on my heart that they were gonna not really be that receptive to. Only they had things that they that the Lord had put on their heart that they felt like it was kind of gonna take them away from the company and take them away a little bit. And we made an entire company pivot, like a whole whole business model pivot based on what the Holy Spirit had been saying to us and counseling us on and guiding us on and and putting in our hearts and and minds and over the last couple of weeks, but completely isolated. And we came together and we all just talked about that. And in the whole theme and conversation of those three days that we spent together was God is good. God is good and we didn't know, but we don't need to know because he's in charge. And that that's more it, it is, you know, like feel creating that space so that it's just open and it's receptive. And you know, backing into the leader part of it, I think as a leader, you have to be receptive to that. You know, you have to you have to have an open space for that. You have to create a foundation of trust and um where where they know that they're not gonna say that and get a weird look or um get an immediate pivot off of it, but that it's has a warm reception. And and it it did for those three days, the whole dialogue was on just how good God is in our company and in us and how grateful we are and how thankful we are for what the Lord's doing and how we just want to be good stewards of that and we're open for anything. And I think that that's probably the biggest thing that I've learned because I have, you know, I have definitely had like moments where, you know, there are certain things that I would say, you know, typically come up, um, that I'll make sure to kind of, you know, have certain things that I usually say that are just a part of like how I how I react to situations like um, you know, there are certain worship songs that if I'm feeling certain ways, I'll just go to them and I'll like take a step away because we're a digital marketing company, we're always at our computer. So taking a step away, getting outside, listening to worship music in the middle of the day and creating an environment with the team where they know that that's okay, not only okay, it's encouraged. Um, you know, that that's one of those things too, is you know, those are tactics and business tactics, but they're also they have the Lord's wrapped around it, you know, our being surrendered to the Lord is wrapped around it. And you feeling um balanced and connected to the Lord is more important than you getting this task done. Like we're a team for a reason.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Wow, that's so good. Well, I think it's your um genuineness uh um and your commitment to honoring the Lord and your business is very evident to everyone who's who's listening, and I can tell from the people in your company. Um Leah, as we wrap it up here, what action do you want people to take? And and maybe you could um speak to people that are, because we we haven't really focused on this particular group, people that are leading virtual teams specifically, because I think there's probably a growing number, including myself. Speak to me, speak to those of us who are leading virtual teams about what we can do to honor the Lord in our businesses.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. So I would say one of one of the biggest things is steward your flock and have your expectations and your processes and your standards outlined and communicated very well. You know, and and I mean specifically around virtual. So what a lot of companies are doing is they're either pivoting virtual or they've they've been virtual and they're growing slow. And so it just all kind of comes together. But it's very important if I'd say you can hire one person and feel it out and figure out some of the flow and how you work, but down to like how our lunch is handled. What does it look like when you start your day? So for us, we have a three-page document that is how we do remote. And so that's the first thing that we open up, we crack that open and we talk about that with employees and we bring it up, you know, every couple of months to kind of look at it and revisit it based on what we've learned. But we know, you know, when we start that um we all at 8:30, when we start, we all go to the general team and we all type something in. And it's our way of virtually stepping into our office. And if we don't do that, we're late to the office. And and so they that's that's how you start your day. You know, to do lunch, how do you do lunch virtual? If you don't tell your team, they're gonna come in and they'll have no idea what to do. Come 11, 11:30, 12 o'clock, do I leave? Is it an hour? Do I say bye? Do I say hi when I get back? Like it just feels confusing. And so I think you know, it's it, it's more, it's important to always be a good steward with processes and clarity and expectations, but even more so with a remote culture because um it's so easy for for individuals to get like lost and um and isolated and feel and question themselves like should I ask? This is dumb. I shouldn't ask this, um, or I should know this, where's it at? And then they spend an hour looking for something. You know, just just create that guide for them. Our our guide has every single detail of the way we work. Like in the in the Slack um channel, we welcome GIFs and images, and the this is what these channels are for and how they work. Um, this is how we do video, this is what our expectations are on video. It's video on. We're building relationships, we're building a community, you know, but they know that coming in. So um, you know, another thing that I would say is um uh, you know, as far as like from a remote and virtual team aspect, um, there's some elements of bringing physical to um the virtual team. You know, from the very beginning, I made, and worse, like I said, cash flows came. So I'm not able to go and spend tons of money on it, but I've always made trips to the dollar store and to Walmart or the $5 section in Target. And I bought things that um I send the team in a little care box every couple months that either speak to our value system or speak to the team or speak to a memory we had that quarter. And so over time, you know, they've got like a little uh paper mache unicorn that spoke to our celebration culture and a joke that we have. And they all have it and they can all lift it up into the camera and show it to each other, and it makes them feel connected. And um, and so and then actually getting together. Um, and uh, you know, COVID kind of killed that a little bit, but we brought it back as quick as we could, you know, every other month or so we try to get together, whether it's one person goes to another person or we get together as a group. Um, but then I would say another, and you cut me off because I could go all day about this. Um, but at least I'd like to get in is um, you know, that that value system, baking that value system into your team is really important. You have to first understand what your value system is. Keep it really simple, and then um, and then give give your own your own perspective on what a couple of behaviors are that are good examples of each of those values. And then what we do is one well, one of the things that we do is that um every couple Fridays, so we every three Fridays to be specific, we meet for 30 minutes and we do something called a campfire. And in the campfire, it's like our virtual campfire, and literally we put a campfire in our back screen of our uh uh of on our Zoom or Google Meet, and um we sit there and we call out each other on the values and we say, Hey, this is how I saw you show up for people first over the last couple of weeks. And I'm just grateful for you doing that. And this is how I saw you show up for a commitment to excellence. And what's been really cool about that is that when we have a new team member start, we do it every week for a little while. And you don't have to train on the value system at that point, the team trains on the value system, and that value system becomes evident, and um and and that's how you can virtually embed that value system. It's one of the ways, you know. And we've we've gotten really specific about every couple months, we uh we actually look for ways that we can point to our value system more. So we're doing a new rebrand on our uh our logo and um image as uh as a company, and we've created a new um color palette. And all of our colors are all named after a value. So um the yellow that we're gonna have is called hello yellow, and it stands for people first. And what we did was we have account managers, and the account manager gets to pick a team, and that team is a color that resembles a value system, and they get to pick the one that they want, and then they talk about that to anybody on their team. Um, and it means something to them. So finding little ways that you can just talk about your values and be intentional about your values, but I think it's even harder remote. You have to be very intentional.
SPEAKER_02Well, so much um application here for everybody. I'm sure I hope people are taking good notes, and I'm sure people got plenty of ideas for things to implement. And I will second the um, although we haven't actually used the campfire background, we need to, uh, but having those times uh regularly where you you are calling out the values and at and and asking for how did you see this? Um, how did you see one of your teammates live out one of these values? We've been doing that. It's been a game changer. Um we uh 15000cubits.com is the website. Um, what do you want to say about how people can connect with you and learn more about what you might be able to do for them?
SPEAKER_01Um you can reach us at growth at 15000cubits.com or our website, either one of those. And I'm just really happy to have been here. Thanks for having me as a guest.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and well, tell them what you do. Tell them how how you can help them.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay, yeah, sure. Um, this wasn't about that for me, so I wasn't even thinking about it. Yeah, so we um we are a boutique, um, SEO, social media paid, and Google Ads agency. So we, like I said, our mission is we grow people, not just businesses. What we've created is um a really cool and unique um plan for our clients where they work with us for anywhere from one to three years, and we look for clients that have a goal of long-term owning the digital marketing themselves. So we really want to work with clients that aren't looking for an agency forever. They want to get off of uh the agency as soon as they get on the agency. And uh, and so we have them come with us, we teach them how we do our agency processes, how we do everything on Google Ads, social media paid, and SEO and website maintenance, give them our processes, give them our ways, teach them, lift them up, and then uh watch them thrive. So we've got a lot of clients in different seasons and um and years with us. Um, but it's it's been really fun. It's different in the um industry. I feel like it's a differentiator for us most often. I do feel like digital marketing agencies are um uh kind of smoke and mirrors, or it's difficult to know what they're doing. And um, you know, you end up having more questions than answers when you get a report from them. So we strive to be the exact opposite.
SPEAKER_02Well, this has been awesome, Leah. Thank you so much for helping us to grow today. We appreciate you.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_00We hope you've enjoyed this episode, and if so, we would greatly appreciate it if you would leave us a quick rating and review for the Christianity in Business podcast on iTunes. You can get more information about HBU Center for Christianity and Business at Christianity in Business.com. Thanks for listening, and remember to keep integrating biblical values into your business.