THE THOUGHTFUL ENTREPRENEUR PODCAST

1632 – What a Founder Should Do in Their Company with Seeker Solution’s Jamie Seeker

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the Founder & Principal of Seeker Solution, Jamie Seeker.

Jamie Seeker about a common pitfall many founders stumble into – trying to do everything themselves. Jamie stressed the importance of founders focusing on what they love and what initially ignited their passion. She advocates for founders to identify their unique purpose and delegate tasks that don't align with their passion.

While founders must stay informed about critical aspects like cash flow and financials, Jamie believes they should surround themselves with people who are passionate about these areas. This approach fills the gaps in their company and allows them to focus on their core strengths.

Jamie underscored the importance of accountability and the willingness to push through obstacles and not revert to old habits. She mentioned that their target market is businesses that are scaling and still operated by the owner, typically generating between 2 to 10 million in revenue.

 

Key Points from the Episode:

  • Process of identifying tasks that can be delegated and creating a plan to offload them
  • Time it takes to make progress in regaining sanity and reducing workload
  • Seeker Solution's services for overwhelmed business owners
  • Trap of founders trying to do everything themselves
  • Importance of founders focusing on their passion and delegating tasks that don't align with it
  • Seeker Solution's focus on long-term sustainability and accountability
  • Target market of businesses scaling and still operated by the owner
  • Outsourcing options for social media strategy, financial management, and human resources

 

About Jamie Seeker:

Jamie is the dynamic owner of Seeker Solution, a multi-service business consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, financial management, HR, marketing strategy, and operations management. Her work spans diverse industries and organizational scales, from non-profits and local businesses to large franchises.

Before this, she managed an OBGYN office, championing excellent clinical care through a commitment to core values. A ten-year veteran of the non-profit sector, Jamie has honed skills in operations, fiscal management, HR, community relations, and more, demonstrating her talent for coordinating diverse groups towards shared goals.

As a passionate community advocate, she's deeply involved with local organizations. An alumna of the University of San Diego, Jamie holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Originally from San Diego, Jamie resides with her family in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Seeker Solution:

Seeker Solution, founded by entrepreneur Jamie Seeker, is a business consultancy firm that draws from its founder's diverse background in corporate non-profit, small business, and management to empower entrepreneurs and business leaders.

The company specializes in customizable solutions and acts as an “out-of-house, in-house” Chief Operations Officer for its clients. By doing so, it ensures effective strategic business operations and expert support. Mainly servicing small and mid-size companies, Seeker Solution is not limited to one industry, offering its vast operational knowledge and strategic thinking to businesses across various sectors.

It is a one-stop resource for businesses needing professional advice and solutions to grow and thrive, making it a trusted partner in business consulting.

 

Tweetable Moments:

02:30 – “We get back to basics, we get back to that and then everything else we offload.”

:09:12 – “We do see immediate relief, but the sustainability comes with the accountability.”

 

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Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Want to learn more? Check out Seeker Solution website at

https://seekersolution.com/

Check out Seeker Solution on LinkedIn at

https://www.linkedin.com/company/seeker-solution/

Check out Jamie Seeker on LinkedIn at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-seeker-45631550/

Check out Jamie Seeker on Twitter at

https://twitter.com/seekersolution

Check out Jamie Seeker on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/seekersolution/

Check out Jamie Seeker on Instagram at

https://www.instagram.com/seekersolution/

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Transcript

Josh (00:00:05) - Hey there, thoughtful listener. Would you like consistent and predictable sales activity with no spam and no ads? I'll teach you step by step how to do this, particularly if you're an agency owner, consultant, coach or B2B service provider. What I teach has worked for me for more than 15 years and has helped me create more than $10 million in revenue. Just head to up my influence and watch my free class on how to create endless high ticket sales appointments. You can even chat with me live and I'll see and reply to your messages. Also, don't forget the thoughtful entrepreneur is always looking for guests. Go to up my influence and click on podcast. We'd love to have you. With us right now, Jamie. Seeker Jamie, you are the founder of Seeker Solution. You were found on the web at seeker solution.com. Jamie thanks for joining us.

Jamie (00:01:08) - Thank you. Josh Thanks for having me.

Josh (00:01:10) - All right. What is seeker solution?

Jamie (00:01:13) - Card seeker solution is so many things. How do I answer that in just 111 shot? I would say that we provide services for business owners and it's mostly targeting small and medium sized businesses whose owners are still doing all the things you are running, all of the marketing and sales and you're running the operation and everything like that, and you get to the point where you realize you just can't do it yourself.

Jamie (00:01:38) - And so that's where we step in and we help with operations management services, and so that's where we come in, come alongside and help you to offload that and scale and get bigger and continue to fulfill your vision as a as an owner.

Josh (00:01:53) - Well, look, it sounds like, you know, I'd say one of the biggest flaws of founders is they fall into the myth trap. Right? And they're just doing way too much in their company. I'd love your take on this, Jamie. What should a founder be doing with their with their company?

Jamie (00:02:11) - Oh, gosh, they should be doing what they were created to do and what they love to do and what they got into doing in the first place. And that's really what we help come in, in identify immediately. That's one of the first things that we do is really talk about what fills you, what brings you joy, Why did you get into this? And we get back to basics. We get back to that and then everything else we offload.

Jamie (00:02:30) - And you can't do that right away, right? When you're first starting, you have to do it all. I think that's a that's a part of the, you know, boot camp of being an owner. And I think it's, you know, part of our dues that we need to pay. But at the same time, you don't want to lose sight of why you did it in the first place. And so I think to answer that question, what what every owner and founder should do with their company is what brings them joy and brings them life and get back to the reasons why they started.

Josh (00:02:55) - Yeah. And I think when you talk about what what's the difference between kind of the mandate to you need to grow the company versus what you just said, which is do what you're passionate about, do what you love. What happens if what that founder loves is they love copywriting or they love the operations of the work that they do and they love making pies. Jamie What what are they to do if they just think that's truly their love, but yet they're also at the same time complaining the they got cash flow issues.

Josh (00:03:34) - Sales are not where they're supposed to be.

Jamie (00:03:36) - Well, sure. I'm not saying that somebody doesn't have to focus on those things. Somebody does. But I think we all have to get back to what our own visions are of what we think a leader should be. And and we just need to squash those. Nobody said that just because you're the owner, you can't be making pies anymore. Nobody said that just because you're the owner, you have to be, you know, looking at cash flow and financials. I'm not saying that you don't have to know the basics and understand it. It is your company after all. But as long as you have people around you that that is their passion, that is their thing. We were all created, I feel like, for very specific and unique purposes. And one of the things that we try and do is uncover those things. And we work with your internal teams and look to find people and fill gaps where you don't have in your company. And so, yeah, what if you're, you know, you're the one that wants to keep your hands in it? Well then I say keep your hands in it.

Jamie (00:04:33) - I do think you need to educate yourself and get yourself up to speed on those important things. Your company still needs to be profitable so that you can do what you love to do. But I'm not saying that you have to completely wipe all of that out. And do you know all of the other things that really drain you and really you probably shouldn't be doing anyway? Are you the best person? Yes, you can do it, but should you be doing it? And and so yeah, I mean, so what I mean, if you're one of those people that keeps loving doing the things that you started off doing, then continue to do that. If if it's not something that you want to get off your plate in 20, 30, 40 years, you know, keep doing it. I say.

Josh (00:05:10) - Wow, so do our friend that's listening to us right now. Think of the one job. If you're a founder of a company, think of the 1 or 2 jobs that you're still doing that for whatever reason you haven't delegated out because you enjoy it or you just really haven't found anyone that you want to give the work to.

Josh (00:05:27) - I think, Jamie, what you're saying is like, you're forgiven. You can do that. But at the same time, we still need to take care of all this other stuff that maybe you don't enjoy doing or could be handled much better. So what are some of the first steps if let's say you're working with a founder and that founder is like, Yeah, Jamie, I'm doing way too much in this company and I am burning the candle at both ends. This is not sustainable. How do I get. Out of this.

Jamie (00:05:56) - Yeah, well, I think that is something that we see. And I would say in 100% of our clients, at some point we get they're calling us and they're talking to us because they are overloaded and they're doing too many things. And so what we really just try to do is sit down and talk through, well, let's just make a list of everything that you're doing, list it out. And I think it makes it a lot easier to put it out there as opposed to hold it in, because sometimes that feeling of everything that I have to do, that internalized stress of it all, is is something that really weighs us down.

Jamie (00:06:30) - So I think the first thing that we do is identify the things that you are doing and put them up against the things that need to be done. And then from there, we kind of go through and prioritize. All right. Well, what are the things that Absolutely you have to do? Nobody else in this company can do it. It's not appropriate for anybody or for whatever. Or maybe you are truly the best person to do it. And we just make those green. We say, hey, these are green. These stay on your list. And we look at the things that what are things that anyone else can do? And those are usually pretty easy to identify. And, you know, for whatever reason you've held on to it just for over, you know, doesn't really matter why it's still there. We make those red and we say, okay, those are going to go immediately. We're going to find if you don't have this person in your company, we're going to find that person.

Jamie (00:07:15) - If you do, we're going to train them up and that's going to start today. And then we look at all those things that it's like, okay, these are yellow. These are things that probably shouldn't be on your plate long term, but they need to stay on there now because there's some other priorities or whatever. And once we kind of establish that red, yellow, green system, it makes it very easy to move forward and say, all right, well, we're going somewhere. And so, yes, you're still overloaded and you still are doing all the things, but you can kind of see a plan to get out of that. And I think right now, the biggest stressor is we just stay in that busy in that cycle and we don't put a plan in place or we don't really do anything to change it. And so that's really where we come in, is to help set up that accountability and move you toward that.

Josh (00:07:58) - Yeah, I mean, I think if we were to if someone were very honest about how they spend, you know, if they were to add up all the minutes in a week, you know, there's probably a lot of not just maybe work that could be delegated, but a lot of wasteful time.

Josh (00:08:16) - Like I think of like, you know, things like email, you know, there are trust me when I say that there are processes that you can set up so you don't have to field all that stuff. Absolutely. Yeah. And so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Jamie How long does it take to make some meaningful progress toward, you know, getting some of our sanity back?

Jamie (00:08:41) - Well, I would say a lot of that depends on the person and our process, though. We've been doing this for a really long time and so we have pretty good our own standard operating procedures, if you may, that we kind of go through to make sure that we identify just really quick wins. That's part of some of the things that we do internally to identify. And so I think right away, I think just the process shows you that, oh, my gosh, I'm feeling that it's different. Even if I haven't done anything different. I'm doing all the same tasks today. I haven't delegated anything.

Jamie (00:09:12) - I haven't done anything but just truly identifying it and seeing that, okay, you know, that hope. I do think that from what I see and what we've worked with over the years, we do see immediate relief. But the sustainability comes with the accountability. So yes, you might achieve immediate relief just like any kind of diet or change that you do. You could you can see immediate results, but we're really not in it for the short term. We are in it for the long term sustainability and helping you to maintain these changes and to hold on to them. Because the first thing that people do is whenever we hit any kind of obstacle, we take it all back. And so that's those are some of the things that we work through and that takes some time. I think you really start to see some tangible results within 90 days, but the sustainability really comes and that that all depends on the person and the accountability measures and their willingness to continue to push through and grow and not revert back to what they're comfortable with so that that longevity varies and it can take some people longer than others.

Jamie (00:10:15) - But I will say to see some real good tangible results, immediate relief, 90 day, tangible results where you can go, oh, that. Remember when I used to do that? Yeah. Yeah.

Josh (00:10:27) - So what stage of business, Jamie, should would you expect that someone might be in to know that they would be a good fit for you or they'd be ready for you? They can afford you, that sort of thing?

Jamie (00:10:37) - Sure. I mean, we have our our target market. I would say that is our wheelhouse. But we have worked with, you know, all stages of it and we have different, you know, different solutions for different things that are appropriate. But I would say that our main target demographic that we do really well with are those that are scaling and. Operator is still owner, you know, still doing all the things. And so that's usually between 2 to 10 million in revenue. You haven't quite brought on your sea level employees yet. Anybody above that typically will have the layers and systems in place before that.

Jamie (00:11:10) - You're not really quite ready to. I think the financial strain is is, you know, not having that used to having payroll and things like that that you're responsible for. I think before the 2 million or, you know, like I said, we've we've done all sizes and all stages. But I would say that that's our wheelhouse right there.

Josh (00:11:33) - Yeah. And so for someone that's listening to our conversation, um, what would you recommend? They've been hearing you. They're like, Yes, yes, yes. Jamie, I need help. What would they what would they do from here?

Jamie (00:11:49) - Well, really, they can check out our website. We have different ways to engage in different solutions that we offer. And so what we try and do is think about what are all of the different things that happen in an operation that you could potentially outsource or, you know, fill in that gap and offload off your plate. So whether it's, you know, social media strategy, whether it's financial management, what what am I what are my numbers telling me? I don't know.

Jamie (00:12:11) - I'm not a numbers person or whether it's, you know, human resources, we do outsource that as well. So there are different ways to engage with us. Check out our website, Secret Solution and really kind of see if any one of those solutions fits, you know, one of your gaps. And one of the things that's kind of giving you a pain point. And we can have a conversation and we've got a contact form, we've got phone numbers. You know, we're all over social media and whatnot, so you can kind of check us out and get to know what we're all about through our Instagram page. I think we try to post reels that have to do with situational things that, you know, we deal with. So that's a good way to to identify. Oh, yeah, I think, I think this could be me. This is me. Yeah.

Josh (00:12:49) - Your website seeker solution. Any other resources that you'd recommend for folks that are kind of contemplating maybe they might be a little early stage and, you know, but yet they'd still like to follow your advice or best practices.

Josh (00:13:04) - Yes. Any other reasons? Yeah, go for it.

Jamie (00:13:06) - I do. I have I've got a download that I can actually email out. So if somebody wants to reach out to us and say, Hey, send me that leadership download and it's just a couple of pages and it's very tangible steps. Talking about some of the things that we're talking about today is, you know, okay, yes, maybe I do kind of fit some of these boxes. Maybe I am carrying all the all the load and some tangible steps to kind of, you know, do on your own and and get yourself out of that a little bit. So yeah, I can absolutely email that out if somebody is interested.

Josh (00:13:39) - Yeah. Awesome. That's a seeker solution. And again, Jamie Seeker with a great last name. Thank you so much. It's been a great conversation.

Jamie (00:13:50) - Thanks Josh.

Josh (00:13:56) - Thanks for listening to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur Show. If you are a thoughtful business owner or professional who would like to be on this daily program, please visit up my influencer slash guest.

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