WEBVTT - The Age I Have Decided To Retire 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:07.440 Hi, I'm Britney Saunders and welcome to Big Business, the 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:10.280 place where business is very far from boring. 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:11.960 And today you've landed. 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:14.560 On one of my bonus episodes, which come out every Wednesday, 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.440 and be sure to check out my main episodes from Monday. Now. 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:20.360 Today we're doing another Q and A. 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:22.880 I feel like these are like the lazy option for 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:24.520 me to do, like answering everyone's question. 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:26.200 So I'm the lazy episode. 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:26.760 Yeah. 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:29.520 Yeah. By the way, this is producer Xander on as 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:31.160 Usu for the Q and a's Yeah. 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:32.600 I feel this is a little thing that we're doing. 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:35.520 But I will say I feel in the podcast world 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.040 doing a Q and A episode does seem like the 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:40.879 easy way out or like boring or lazy or not 0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:43.320 boring but lazy. But I think it's great to actually 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:46.960 have our community here on Big Business ask questions and 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:49.000 we're quite literally answering them for them. 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:51.800 I love these episodes, and not just because I'm on them. 0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:53.880 It's because I love to hear the questions that people 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:55.880 are sent in and then some of them are so 0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:58.200 specific and some of them are so personal that we 0:00:58.240 --> 0:00:59.600 can't even have them on the podcast. 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:01.440 Yeah, they're very personal. 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:03.360 I'll tell you what else I think we should do. 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:07.320 Is I love these, you know, kind of question episodes, 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:09.319 but I thought we could also do like an advice 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:13.240 series love where it's not just asking a question in general, 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:16.720 but people maybe send in a question about their business 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:19.119 in particular, and then I kind of look at their 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:21.600 business and give them advice based on whatever it is 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:23.840 that they're wanting to know, like how can I improve 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:26.959 my website or why is it my content performing very well? 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:28.760 I feel like that could be a whole other angle 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:30.640 that we take with this podcast as well. Yeah. 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:32.080 I love that, and then if it does fail, they 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:32.880 can blame you. 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.000 Exactly, and then I'll be getting sued. 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:38.839 Yeah all right, Well, anyway, I jumped on my big 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.240 business Instagram account, like usually, if you're not following me 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:44.119 on their feel free too, because that's where I put 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:46.160 my question boxes for these episodes, and that's where you 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:48.320 can DM me and I'll most likely see it because 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:50.000 it's only got six thousand followers. 0:01:51.160 --> 0:01:52.680 So I've checked up a question box and we're. 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:55.520 Just going to get straight into answering these questions, and 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:57.480 Xander's gonna ask them to me as always. 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:00.920 Question one, how do you do you deal with giving 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:04.240 feedback like you're doing a shit job kind of feedback. 0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:07.520 Well, we definitely don't say it like that. 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:10.760 I've said this a lot on the podcast already, but 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:15.600 it is really tough to have those tough, awkward conversations 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:18.600 with your employees because I mean, unless you're a really 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:21.280 mean person, no one wants to say to anyone you're 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:23.440 not doing a good enough job, or what happened there? 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:24.480 Or whow was that so shit? 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:29.200 But my advice would be keep the conversation open and 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:33.280 ongoing with your staff at all times. Don't just talk 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:36.000 to them when shits hit the fan, which I feel 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:38.440 like maybe a lot of workplaces are that way, Like 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:41.240 you don't have many catchups with your manager or anything, 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:43.200 and then all of a sudden you're having a catch 0:02:43.280 --> 0:02:46.240 up with them, but it's about something really negative. I 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:50.600 think if you prioritize communication in your workplace in general 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:54.119 on a day to day basis during the week, then 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:57.040 when it comes to having, you know, a more tough 0:02:57.040 --> 0:03:00.400 conversation with your employee, they're used to talking to you already. 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.120 And the good thing about having regular catch ups and 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:06.560 one on ones and even small team meetings is it 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:10.520 gives you the opportunity to iron out those creases before 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:13.560 maybe they even turn into something really shit. For this 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:15.880 person in particular, it's just going to have to be 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:18.840 and I know I always say this a hard conversation 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:22.440 to have an easy life. Sit the person down, just 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:24.880 be real and honest with them. That's one thing that 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.680 I would always advise is just speak to them from 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:32.160 one human to another. It doesn't have to be this 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:35.240 hierarchy sort of vibe. I'm your boss and you're the 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:38.360 employee and you've done wrong, but just make it an 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:42.200 adult conversation. Hey, I wanted to have this chat with you. 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.200 I know this is awkward for both of us, but 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.880 I'm hoping that we can come up with a solution together. 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:52.040 I've noticed you're falling behind on your tasks, or you're 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:54.760 not meeting your deadlines or whatever it is. You know, 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:58.240 how can I help you to make this you know, 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.000 how can we fix this together instead of just putting 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:01.520 the blame. 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:03.960 I'm probably a good example. I don't take feedback well. 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:06.240 And it's not because I think I'm doing such a 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:10.360 great job. It's because I'm particularly hard on myself. So say, 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:14.480 if there's negative or constructive feedback. I struggle to take 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:17.359 that on in a positive way because I'm already so 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:18.040 hard on myself. 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:20.600 Yeah, so that's a lot of people like, yeah, it's 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:23.440 hard to go, oh, fuck, I've fucked up, you know, Like. 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:24.320 It's just hard. 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:27.000 This is something I do personally when I start a 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:29.279 new job or I got a new manager or something, 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:32.960 I like to communicate them on how to kind of 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:35.479 give me that feedback. And so I've actually passed this 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:37.680 on to one of my managers here at Nova, and 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:39.919 I said, one thing that will help me is just 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:45.039 reassurance like along the way, because that really makes me go, Okay, cool, 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.640 I am doing fine, I am doing good job. And 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:50.680 when it comes to those hard conversations, I prefer to 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:53.200 kind of go through like the wins that I have, 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:56.280 all the positive things that I've done, and then we 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:59.280 can kind of finish on that constructive feedback because then 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:02.799 I just don't feel like I'm doing shit completely wrong 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:05.520 and that there are things that I am achieving that 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.279 are things goals that I'm reaching as well. And that's 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:12.000 something that maybe anyone listening could do. That's maybe you 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:13.520 don't like to do that, but that works for me. 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:16.599 As someone who doesn't take feedback quite well sometimes. 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:18.240 Yeah. I think that's another good point that you made 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:20.520 as well, and one thing that we work on with 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:25.200 our managers. It's our responsibility as managers of people to 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:31.359 understand everyone's individual needs. You can't manage every employee exactly 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:34.800 the same because everyone is so unique and different. So 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:37.760 to our managers that have teams working underneath them, we 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:41.279 always say, figure out the individual needs of each person 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:45.000 on your team. Like you, you like words of affirmation, 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:47.680 so it's like, Okay, Xander is on my team. He 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:50.200 loves being told that he's doing a good job, whereas 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:52.800 some people don't want you to say. 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:55.120 You're doing a great job or whatever. I know some 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:55.960 people don't like that. 0:05:56.040 --> 0:06:00.800 Maybe some people prefer for you to help more, more 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:02.560 in a hands on kind of way, like they like 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:06.120 practical help. I think it's really important to understand that 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:07.280 all of your staff are different. 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:08.000 You can't just. 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:11.080 Have like a textbook way of treating every single employee 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:14.359 because everyone's so different. It's finding out their needs, catering 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:16.520 to them, and when you do have those tough conversations, 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:19.200 be real about it and always try and do a 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:21.440 bit of a sandwich, Like you said, come in with 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:24.440 a positive, then touch on the negative thing in the middle, 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:26.560 but end it on a positive, like the two pieces 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:26.839 of bread. 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:28.880 Are the positives a constructive sandwich? 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:32.360 Yes, exactly right, and end it on a positive and 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:35.080 make it how can we fix this together? 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:39.120 Question number two, what is the best money you've spent 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:40.840 on your business? That is a. 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:41.760 Bloody good question. 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.480 I'm going to say, Oh, there's a lot of things, 0:06:45.760 --> 0:06:47.599 and maybe that's a whole other episode in itself. 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:49.240 I know, I was just thinking that the best. 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:51.960 Money I've ever spent in all the different areas, I 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:54.880 would say over the last couple of years, like the 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.560 last two years, especially because we've gone from that more 0:06:57.960 --> 0:07:01.039 really small business kind of vibe where there was only 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:03.320 ever like four of us in the office. You know, 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:05.479 now you've got this huge office of like over ten 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:08.440 of us. The best money that I've ever spent is 0:07:08.520 --> 0:07:12.400 hiring the right people for my business. It's like, I 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:15.320 couldn't do what I do. Fate wouldn't be what it 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:18.480 is if it wasn't for the amazing people that we've hired. 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:21.440 And I see hiring people not. 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:23.440 As an expense, which I feel like maybe a lot 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:25.240 of business owners do. They're like, oh, it's going to 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:28.120 cost me money, I'm going to pay them, like blah blah. 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:30.080 But like the things that. 0:07:30.040 --> 0:07:33.240 Come out of hiring an amazing person to like in 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:36.720 a role in your business, it's just priceless. So I'd say, like, yeah, 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:39.200 the best money that I've spent is hiring the right 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:41.360 people and paying them to do their jobs, because it's 0:07:41.680 --> 0:07:44.680 only making my time more free to do the things 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.720 I need to and it's moving my business forward. 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:49.720 And if you hire the right people, they're adding value. 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:53.520 Oh, Like, your employees are like an asset to your business. 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:56.120 They're not an expense. Even though it costs money, it's 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:58.360 the best money you'll ever spend, really. But there's so 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:01.320 many other things I guess that I've spent money on 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:03.360 that's been so worth it. But I'm going to stick 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:05.200 with that one and maybe we'll revisit that in the 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:07.160 future and talk about all the best things that I've 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:07.920 spent my money on. 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:13.320 Question number three, Brittany, what age do you think you retire? 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:17.360 Forty forty We're not. 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:21.920 Far off, I'm kidding. That's a great question. I mean, 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:24.520 what is the retirement age? Is it like sixty six 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:24.880 or something. 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:26.680 I don't know. I remember in high school it was 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:28.640 like early sixties, and all of a sudden, I think 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:30.720 it's close to seventy now, So that's. 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:31.240 Crazy, I know. 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:36.560 I mean, I think when you are an entrepreneur and 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:39.400 a business owner, I think maybe you have a little 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:44.480 bit of a different mindset on retiring because I don't, like, 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:46.959 I feel like I'm very fortunate to feel like I'm 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:49.959 not in the rat race of like wanting to build 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:51.880 up a career to a certain point and get to 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:54.720 the top and then retire. Like it's actually not a 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:57.839 thought in my mind at all about retiring, even though 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:00.240 I think it it is for some people, but maybe 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:01.880 not so much these days. Like I feel like we're 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:04.360 all really trying to live for now. I don't want 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:07.520 to live for the future when I can finally retire, 0:09:07.640 --> 0:09:08.079 you know, like. 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.600 Well you're not stuck in like a really mundane job 0:09:10.600 --> 0:09:13.240 that you don't enjoy doing. Yes, And I think people 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:15.440 look forward to retirement a lot of the time because 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:18.120 they're like, oh, I cannot work now for the rest 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:20.560 of my life. But if you actually enjoy what you're doing, 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:22.760 But I feel changes, Yeah. 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:24.960 It is saying that, like I can picture myself when 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:27.160 I am in my sixties or whatever, like cruising around 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:30.080 the world and Italy on some yacht thing or whatever. 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:32.240 You know, like have people go on those cruises and whatever. 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:32.920 That'd be great. 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:35.640 But I don't even want to think that far ahead 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:39.840 into the future, as much as I would want to 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:42.320 put an age on when I'm going to retire. I 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:44.200 think I might be one of those people that's just 0:09:44.280 --> 0:09:48.240 going until I fucking drop dead. I've seen videos of 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:52.480 like Richard Branson, and I've spoken with Mark Boris about 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:56.000 like retiring, and Mark says like, I'm going until I'm 0:09:56.080 --> 0:09:59.200 literally dropped out, and the same with Richard Branson. I 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:01.320 think that's it's just going to be me and who 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:04.320 I am. I don't see myself ever stopping, but when 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:05.800 my body stops me, I'll stop. 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:08.360 Yeah, how about that forty? 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:14.160 How about that forty? Last question for today? How often 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:16.600 do you have a sale? I'm really worried that I 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:19.120 have too many and that it makes my business cheap. 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:22.960 Great question, and I did do a whole main episode 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:26.520 on this. If you listen to my discount Codes episodes, 0:10:26.559 --> 0:10:28.959 like I talk about discount codes and sales, So you 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:30.679 want to hear this more in depth. By all means, 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:33.000 go and listen to that. But how often do we 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:35.480 have a sale? I want to say not that often. 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:39.000 We just did one for like the end of financial year, 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:41.760 but we called it started financial Year, which was just 0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:43.640 this fun little idea that we had, so we called 0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:44.719 it softie instead of. 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:45.880 Like efy sale. 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:51.560 And then we will generally participate in Black Friday and 0:10:51.600 --> 0:10:54.440 then Boxing Day. I'd say they're like our main three. 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:57.440 There are so many sales periods throughout the year. You 0:10:57.440 --> 0:10:59.400 can choose which ones you want to jump in or 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:01.840 which ones you you don't. But I feel like Black 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:03.880 Friday and Boxing Day are huge ones and they're really 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.120 close together, so be mindful of that. And I think 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.480 it's good doing an end of financial year or start 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:10.720 a financial year one because it's smack bang in the middle. 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.240 And then pick and choose like we do random ones. 0:11:13.240 --> 0:11:15.760 When we moved warehouse, we did a moving warehouse sale. 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:20.680 But yeah, i'd say like three a year. Four pick 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:22.440 and choose, and then you can treat your customers in 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:24.960 other ways with smaller discounts throughout the year when you 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:26.880 aren't having that big sales period. 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:29.160 Think of this way you don't want to be Nicki Minaj, 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:31.240 jump on every song you want to be beonce into 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:32.360 a feature here and there. 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:37.640 I love no shade to Nicki Minaj. 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.120 Anyway, my friends, that is another bonus EP of Big 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:46.000 Business Out the Door. I'll be back on Monday with 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.800 a main episode, and in the meantime, feel free to 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.520 stay up to date with me over on Insta. 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:53.160 Thanks Xander for joining me once again.