Renee Klein with Expansion Consulting

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Sandy Springs, Georgia. It’s time for In and on Business brought to you by the Sandy Springs perimeter chamber. For more information, go to Sandy Springs Perimeter chamber.com. Now here’s your host.

Andy Williams: Good afternoon welcome to In and On Business at the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber where we explore the tension between the day to day business operations and its strategic growth. I’m your host Andy Williams, and in each episode we explore ideas surrounding working in your business, while also exploring the strategies for working on your business, from carving out the visionary paths to the final product to streamlining processes and sustainability, both working in and on business is necessary to achieve that balance for your successful business. Our guest today, special guest Renee Klein. She’s a personal business consultant that assists businesses on their journey with growth planning goal setting, whether it’s solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, teams. Et cetera. She is our business extraordinaire today. So, Renee, welcome to the show. We’re thrilled to hear your story, Share your wisdom. Tell us a little bit more about yourself.

Renee Klein: Yes, thank you for having me. I’m so happy to be here. And we are talking about my favorite topic, working on your business while you’re still working in your business. So my name is Renee Klein. I have been I’ve actually started my own business about 20 years ago in the wellness space. I started it on my own. I taught others how to do the same. I’ve learned a lot about working with teams, working by yourself and setting goals. And so what I’ve really experienced through all the networking that I’ve done over 20 years, I love talking to other business owners about where they want to be, what they’ve done so far, and then the steps to get there and just taking the next right step. Healthy habits for business, if you will, love that.

Andy Williams: The healthy habits for business is a nice connection for you as you bridge the gap between, say, both careers, career paths that you’ve gone on, which is excellent. So let’s dive in a little bit. You know, you have such a unique experience having done it on your own for so long. So I think you can gain some great perspective or give some great perspective for our group. When you talk about working in your businesses, those strategies, tactics that serve you well to kind of get you up and going, those skills and knowledge base. What are some of the things that you see as the most essential elements that you have to kind of stay focused on being in your business?

Renee Klein: I think it’s really looking at the outcomes you want to see for your business really being clear with your goals. And that’s something I do with my clients is really setting specific goals and breaking them down. So I think when you have your own business, it’s so important to know where you want to be, what outcomes you want and what it’s going to take to get there. And then breaking that down, you know, month to month, week to week, day to day, hour by hour, and life is going to happen. But you still have to be very, very on purpose with what you want to accomplish each day.

Andy Williams: Very true. And I think most business owners get very overwhelmed with that. Right. They start struggling with that tension, you know, of whether it’s growth and how do we grow and what’s it look like to grow coupled with I’ve added two, three, 4 or 5 bodies, you know, that organizational change and now I’m going to gain gain the opinion and trust of coworkers, even though it’s this vision that you’ve kind of brought from the ground up. What do you think Business owners get caught up in that and so overwhelmed, if you will?

Renee Klein: That’s a great question. And what I see happen with Overwhelm is you’re looking sometimes so far into the future. Now it’s important to project, of course, where you want to be, but sometimes they get so far ahead of themselves that we have to take many steps back and really identify like, what’s the next right step. So a lot of what I like to talk about is taking the next right step, given the goal that you have. And what I’ve noticed and it’s a podcast, so I can’t show this visual, but I want you to imagine a ladder and the distance between your reach is so high you almost have to jump for that next rung on the ladder. Or you could just take reach a little bit and then the next reach and then the next reach and you’re going to get there if you just continue to take the next step. But you do need someone, you know, whether it’s a coworker, a mentor, even your team, to sit down and come up with a plan of what that next right step is. I think people try to do too many things at once. There are some things that you have to dump, some things you have to delegate and some things you just have to do in a very efficient way.

Andy Williams: No, and that’s so important. I love the idea of, you know, the next right step. And having that that mentor really for me is, is somebody that I’ve leaned into. There’s oddly enough, there was a group of us that got together last week, some friends that all got together. And those are those seven individuals are my mentors. So as I speak to them and share with them my stories, I’m looking for, you know, is this the is this the next right step? Like, am I doing this the right way? Is this the best approach? How do I need to address this? Or. Manage the situation. And I love the idea of just just putting that next foot forward, right? Like that’s the hardest part, is to to go, okay, we’re going to go this direction and not worry about everything else that’s around us.

Renee Klein: One thing, Andy, too, that I really try to focus on is taking a growth mindset. You know, a fixed mindset is almost like. Doing things the same way you’ve always done them. And if they stop working, getting really fed up. A growth mindset is really saying this is what’s worked so far. Has anything changed? What do I need to change? And really celebrating the wins up until this point and not letting sometimes past success sabotage your future success. So, you know, a growth mindset is huge. And I talk a lot about that. Mindset is everything, as we know in all business, in life and health and relationships. So that in itself is how you also find the next right step for sure.

Andy Williams: And that’s, you know, it’s interesting. Businesses are changing and evolving so quickly right now. You know, it’s almost hard to keep up. You know, we’ve spoken about how, you know, those that are, you know, two, three, four steps ahead are the ones really that are winning right now, the ones that that get it in understanding. But they’re the ones that are that have evolved quicker than everybody else. Right. You know, they’re the ones that have made changes, made the pivot adjustment, picked the term, you know, to that. So what you know from your approach like what is it that inspires you to to push through and evolve and and to to make that next step and that that next leap? What is it that kind of guides you or your your guidepost?

Renee Klein: Great, great question. I always like to think about whether it’s my client or my client’s client. I always say to them, so what’s your deliverable? What is your client expecting of you? What are they experiencing right now and what could we do to do better? And so instead of just thinking about our own goals, really having an outward focused approach and always thinking about I mean, I just remember when the pandemic happened and in the wellness space, we were doing virtual workouts and healthy living stuff on Zoom before everyone else is doing Zoom, right? And I was like, Well, what do people need right now? So I, I like to think about it with my clients. What do they need from you? How can you make their life easier? Let’s apply that to your business and really do a lot of brainstorming and asking a ton of questions.

Andy Williams: No. And it’s funny, your your comments kind of spurned a thought for me. You know, I’m a sports guy. At the end of the day, I was in sports and entertainment industry for for 20 years of my life. And and Deion Sanders is currently the talk of the town in the sports world. Right. He did something this weekend that to me really stood out. And again, he’s evolving what what it’s like to be a college football coach. Um and he he announced a sunglass partnership and as a part of that he announced it on college game day. They had generated this amazing amount of money. But then as the rock Dwayne The Rock Johnson came on, he had a pair of sunglasses on a different brand and he goes, Hey, hop offstage really quick and let’s start this over. And of course, he’s got that second pair of sunglasses, his next brand coming out. He goes, Put these on and say it again and again. Like it was just it was the easiest setup in the world. But it was he was ahead of it. And and to me, it just really stood out as he he had national television audience. He knew his plan and what he was going to do and it was going to he was going to own for that sunglass brand. He was going to own ESPN for the rest of the show. And to me, that’s the that’s the part that evolution part that you’re seeing, at least in college sports. You’re starting to see that some. But it’s it’s to me that’s the hard part in business is is how do you how do you evolve and how do you continue to innovate and push that line forward. But the Deion Sanders has really stuck out for me, as you said, you know, kind of that that next right step and that growth mindset is you can definitely tell he’s he’s thinking ahead right now.

Renee Klein: Well, you bring up a great point. I always talk about how leaders need time to think. And sometimes we’re so distracted in our world that we don’t slow down enough to go fast and you just need time to, like, think about it. And really, I mean, that was very he was very clear with his intentions. And it doesn’t always have to be so hard. And I think there’s that old way of doing business like the martyr business owner, just the grind, the face time. But we’re in a different world, so it’s actually way cooler to just utilize your time well and think and make good calculated moves. And so that’s what I really like to talk a lot about, is what’s the best move here given our goal, given what you’ve done with your experience and so forth and the resources that you have?

Andy Williams: Yeah, no, and I’m you know, I love the idea of leaders need time to think, you know, we’ve all got to step away from the business at some point that that day to day grind the you know, it’s a little bit of old school mentality of, you know, you go to work and you constantly stay at work and you’re on work and you work until the work is done. But I think it’s important to. Take that breath to to sit back and listen more. And and that’s, you know, that’s what I love. You know, that evolution, I think, is is what we see in business now. I think the pandemic made us do that a little bit, you know, of it made us take a step back and go, huh, Like we can think of this business a little differently now. So I love that from an advice standpoint. It’s like, how do you how do you balance, you know, being in the business and, you know, that kind of sales piece, you know, in the strategies and tactics to get it done. But versus being on, what’s that balance look like for you in your businesses of, you know, whether it’s, you know, a podcast one moment, but then the next moment you’ve, you know, you’ve got to walk out the door and be with a client. So how do you how do you balance that, you know, in your in your day to day life?

Renee Klein: Well, I love that question also. I keep telling you I love your questions. They’re excellent for me. I really am. And this is something I do a lot with my clients. I schedule everything out. I want to be so present in where I’m at that I’m not thinking about what I have next. I played tennis this morning. I wasn’t thinking about what I would talk about at the podcast here. I’m with you. I’m not thinking about a happy hour I have to do later for work. But one thing I really focus on with my clients is mapping out their week and focusing on the things that need to get done, both personal and professional. And I think that’s really important. Getting enough rest. Your brain works better, really being clear on what has to get done this week. You know, that whole urgent versus important conversation, which I know we could get into. What’s important because urgent is always going to come up and really like mapping it out. And I know everyone has a very different philosophy. I have clients that are very different. Some like to flow with their calendar, some live by their calendar. So I ask questions like, What works best for you? What approach is best? Because you have to have a plan, you know, work the plan. And so really identifying like the important things that have to get done, family, personal priorities, and then kind of mapping it out so you can actually think better and everything you’re doing.

Andy Williams: Yeah. So which where do you fall in that category then?

Renee Klein: Oh, I.

Andy Williams: You have it mapped.

Renee Klein: Out. Yes. My calendar dictates my my week, but I build in margin. That’s the other thing. I don’t think business owners or leaders build in enough margin for things to come up and then they’re getting behind in frazzled. So I’ve learned to build in a lot of margin and be realistic.

Andy Williams: Yeah, no, and that’s where I was going to go was, was, you know, we I personally, but I know others here in our offices, you know, build in that work time, you know, that time to think and step back and play catch up on the emails and the information. And because now you’re out of meetings and you’re in everything else. But it’s very interesting when you pull our calendars up of, you know, it’s, you know, time to think, time to do this, time to do this, You know, it’s all built in. And I think having that that earmarked is important. Um, you know, too often, you know, you don’t take the time, you know, you’re on to the next thing before you’re, you know, before the next thing you know, you’ve got your CPA coming in and your, you know, your next client coming in. So it’s on and on and on. Um, kind of going back a little bit to, you know, working in the business, you know, for, for yourself specifically. And, you know, again, such a diverse career, um, you know, from a, from a tactic standpoint, you know, we talked about, you know, not emails but calendars. You know, is there is there an approach that you take to your day to day business that you may think is a little unique or different compared to what others may do? Is there something that may stand out or, you know, for example, I’ll use a multi colored pen and each color of the pen means a different thing to me. But I know when I go back and look at my notes, I’m good to go. You know, I know exactly what I’m looking at. My reds are giving me my to do list for tomorrow. My, you know, blues are giving me, you know, my bullet points are talking points that I need to make sure that I get across for the next, you know, for the next meeting and whatnot. You know, is there a little tactic or a little nugget that you can share that that is unique that you do? Yes.

Renee Klein: So for me, networking is a huge part of actually both of my businesses that I have. And oftentimes, you know, being in sales and I work with a lot of organizations in sales, that’s a big part of what they do. So I really try to come up with patterns of networking. So I think sometimes it’s so hard to always switch gears and I know we have to be open to that, but if I can arrange my week so that I have a networking day, I have a Monday morning where I’m really organizing and getting planned for the week, getting my content together, have a meeting with my social media person so that that’s all set. I try to build patterns in in the way that it works for me. And I highly recommend all people do that. I think it just makes sense. Some people Friday is a really fun networking day for them. Monday they want to be in the office. They don’t want to be out. Right? So head down. Yeah. So for me, just really figuring out this has always worked well. What’s going to maximize my output and my energy? Because energy, you have to protect that in business. And so really thinking about what makes it works and makes sense for you. Yeah, no.

Andy Williams: I love the patterns of networking. I think that’s great. You know, we talk a lot here at the chamber about connection and connections and what that means and and even how you and I met, you know, kind of follows that mold a little bit of, you know, of just connecting. And then all of a sudden it’s, hey, do you want to, you know, do you want to come on and let’s sit down and chat. And, you know, here at the chamber, you know, we are always the most in connection mode, right? We’re always trying to find the businesses and relationships that we can bring together, you know, from our end. So one last thing. Pardon me, one last thing that I’ve got, you know, for you as we before we wrap up, is, you know, going back to being on business, you know, that evolution and innovation, is there a resource or a tool out there that that you’ve seen and this kind of fits both in and on a little bit, but a resource or a tool that helps you or, you know, that helps you or that you actually recommend that that has helped evolve the ability to remain focused on business. You know, is it you know, it could be, you know, a unique social media platform or how you use social media, You know, is there a resource or tool something out there that’s that’s sticky, that that is unique for you?

Renee Klein: A book that I love and I’ve actually based a little bit of my training off of is called the 12 Week Year by Brian Moran. And so the concept is that you know, we often annualize our thinking and our goal setting. So like I said, people say, Oh, you’re from now, this is where I want to be. But then you procrastinate and it’s so big, right? And so you think about 90 day cycles, 12 weeks, three months, however you want to say it. I truly believe in health goals and life goals and in business goals. It’s a 90 day cycle. So I when I work with my clients, we’ll set goals. Three, I like to pick three. Now they change over a 12 week period and then we work on each one and the tactics and strategies to accomplish them because people overestimate what they can get done in one week, but they way underestimate what they can get done in 1212. So I am obsessed with that concept and it has worked so well for people I’ve worked with, You know, exponential growth when you break it down.

Andy Williams: So what do you think of the concept of the four hour workweek? I don’t know if you’ve read that book at all. Do you like what do you think of that concept of of what that looks like?

Renee Klein: I think it’s great. I think it’s about working smart. I think it’s about being organized. And I also think it’s whatever speaks to you. I think people have to try different things. I do, though, believe 90 day cycles and not getting too far ahead of yourself because I think that’s where we get lost. We procrastinate. We get over overwhelmed because you’re setting your goals so big. It’s like running a marathon. Why don’t we start with A5K for sure, you know? And so I just really like to break things down and to keep breaking them down. I met with a client yesterday and she said, Oh my gosh, I feel like I’m so on top of things. Just because we were realistic with our goals and we broke it down. And she’s like, I haven’t felt this good about my business in a long time. And so I see that a lot when you just break it down, go step by step, week by week. It’s super helpful. So that would be my advice.

Andy Williams: No, that’s great. And it’s you took my question a little bit because I was going to ask if there’s a good client story that you felt like you could share, even if you’ve got another one. You know, we’d love to hear it. If there’s a good client story of, you know, where, you know, that inspiration and all kind of came together. So if you’ve got another one, we’d love it. If not, no big deal.

Renee Klein: I do. I worked with a team, a non profit team, and they had a big goal for their fundraiser. They blew past it because of the way they worked together, because they focused on a growth mindset. They were able to, instead of being so separate, they worked as a team and they were able to. I often believe you just start with what’s going well, and so they would talk about what the other person was doing well. And by doing that and creating that energy blew past their goal. It was the coolest thing for me to see. And I was like, because week to week it didn’t seem like we were doing anything major. But in the end it was huge. And so can’t say enough about breaking it down. Having a growth mindset, taking the next right step and building and margin.

Andy Williams: There’s bite sized chunks, right? It just. It matters. Just those little bits. It helps so much. It helps so much. Well, you know, from our end, you know, we’re thrilled to have you here, you know, at the chamber. How do we contact you? How do we reach you? You know, for those that are going to end up listening and and sharing around, how do they find you? How do they learn more about you?

Renee Klein: Yes, I have a website expansion consulting.com. I’m on LinkedIn. Rene Klein, you can find me there. And I just am so grateful. I’m always wanting to add value and answer any questions because I believe we’re better together. And so as business owners and humans, if we all help each other, we’re all going to just live and do much better than we would have otherwise.

Andy Williams: Agreed. We’re going to hire you to work for the Chamber now with those comments. That’s perfect. You’re you’re you’re going to go out on a mission for us now. So that brings us to a close, though, today here for in and on business here from the Sandy Springs perimeter chamber. We’re grateful, Renee, for you taking the time and sharing your expertise and engineers. We’d also like to thank our expertise. We’d also like to thank the engineers from Business RadioX and their time here hosting us at the headquarters and their continued support. We hope you enjoyed your time with us and we look forward to seeing everybody next month.