Levership

Kyle Racki and Matt Symes
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Levership

Levership is a combination of leverage and leadership - it’s focusing your time on what will generate outsized returns. In other words, high-leverage leadership. Together Kyle Racki and Matt Symes have both been in the trenches of entrepreneurship and through the Levership podcast share how they tackle challenges, ignite growth, and build profitable businesses. They don't just talk theory. They dive deep into the real-life experiences of leaders from growing companies to uncover how they maximize the return on their time. Stay tuned as we explore the pivotal moments, the challenging decisions, and the innovative strategies of leverage and leadership.

  1. NOV 13

    How To Build A High-Performance Team

    In this conversation, Matt Symes discusses the critical importance of investing in employee development and creating effective growth plans within organizations. He emphasizes the need for small businesses to focus on their people’s growth to prevent disengagement and turnover. The discussion also covers the significance of defining organizational culture, whether as a family, sports team, or village, and how this impacts performance expectations. Additionally, the conversation highlights the importance of psychological safety and radical candor in fostering open communication and effective feedback. Finally, Matt introduces Levership programs designed to help business owners implement these strategies effectively.   Takeaways Investing in people is crucial for retention and growth. Annual reviews should not be tied to compensation discussions. Small businesses must communicate financial realities to employees. Defining organizational culture influences employee expectations. A village culture supports employees through life seasons. Performance expectations must be clear and consistent. Psychological safety is essential for honest feedback. Radical candor helps in addressing performance issues. Compliments should be specific and authentic. Levership programs can provide templates for effective HR processes.

    22 min

  2. OCT 31

    Unlock Business Growth While Staying Flexible: Here's How

    Summary In this conversation, Matt Symes and Kyle Racki discuss strategies for appointment-based businesses to better meet customer needs, emphasizing the importance of flexibility, capacity management, and understanding customer demand. They highlight the significance of creating a business model that allows for profitability while being responsive to customer requests. The discussion also covers the need for businesses to prioritize customer experience and retention, as well as the role of leadership in identifying and solving core business problems effectively.   Takeaways Understanding customer needs is crucial for appointment-based businesses. Flexibility in scheduling can enhance customer satisfaction. A business model should be resilient and profitable at 80% capacity. Last-minute appointments can be more valuable than regular bookings. Policies should prioritize customer needs over business convenience. Identifying core problems is essential for business improvement. Leadership plays a key role in shaping customer service strategies. Seasonality affects customer demand and should be considered in planning. Businesses should track missed appointment opportunities to improve. Creating a customer-first culture can lead to long-term success.   "keywords": [ "customer service", "appointment-based business", "flexibility", "profitability", "customer retention", "business model", "leadership", "quick response service", "capacity management", "core problems" ]

    20 min

  3. OCT 16

    The Truth About Cashflow for Small Businesses

    In this episode, Matt Symes and Kyle Racki discuss the critical importance of cash flow management for small businesses, particularly those run by technician founders. Matt emphasizes the common pitfalls of neglecting cash flow, the significance of invoicing and accounts receivable, and strategies to improve cash flow. The discussion also covers the challenges of client payments and the necessity of building financial health for sustainable growth.   Takeaways: Many small business owners neglect cash flow management. Understanding the cash equation is crucial for business success. Invoicing processes can significantly impact cash flow. Cash flow strategies must evolve as the business scales. Access to credit should be secured before it's needed. Pricing strategies can influence cash flow positively. Knowing your break-even point is vital for financial planning. Understanding client payment behaviors can aid cash management. Financial health is foundational for business growth.   Chapters:   00:00 Understanding Cash Flow in Small Businesses 02:54 The Importance of Invoicing and Accounts Receivable 06:09 Strategies for Improving Cash Flow 09:00 Navigating Client Payments and Cash Management 12:01 Building Financial Health for Sustainable Growth

    20 min

  4. OCT 8

    What Working With the Right Client Fit Can Do for Your Business

    Matt Symes and Kyle Racki discuss the importance of attracting the right clients for businesses. They explore a simple exercise to assess your current client base and discuss how to evaluate if clients are paying the right amount for your services. Matt provides insight on how to qualify your potential clients in order to filter out poor fits and leverage referral networks to make mailbox money.   Takeaways: It is important for businesses to attract the right clients who pay the right amount off the service. Conducting a customer analysis can help identify the top and bottom 5% of clients to inform next steps in sales and marketing. Qualifying customers through methods like referral networks and qualifying questions helps filter out poor fits.  Chapters: 0:00 Introduction and Importance of Attracting the Right Clients 1:00 Assessing the Right Clients Through Customer Analysis 3:24 Different Types of Clients and Behaviors 5:44 Qualifying Customers for Better Fit 9:23 Filtering Out Poor Fit Clients 10:49 The Value of the Levership Program   Ready to Take Your Business to the Next Level? Go here: https://levership.com/free-strategy-call Want to learn more about what Levership does for small business owners? Go here: https://levership.com/

    14 min

  5. OCT 2

    The Strategic Map to Building a Highly-Effective Team

    In this episode, Matt Symes and Kyle Racki discuss the importance a high-performing team can make in driving a business’ success. They highlight the challenges of finding and retaining the right people and emphasize the need for a clear understanding of the skills and competencies required for each role. They also discuss the importance of strategic thinking and prioritizing the most critical issues in order to drive business growth.    Takeaways:  Building and managing effective teams can do wonders for business success. You need to map out the skills and competencies you need to deliver value and work backwards to hire and develop the right people and skills. Prioritizing critical issues is a key to driving strategic business growth. The Levership program helps businesses at different stages of growth optimize their operations and achieve their goals.    Chapters:    1:20 Chapter 1 - The Biggest Challenges of Building a Team 3:05 Chapter 2 - The Strategic Map 5:48 Chapter 3 - The Hiring Sequence (Who to Hire & When) 7:45 Chapter 4 -  The #1 Mistake Businesses Make With Their Resources 9:05 Chapter 5 - Exploring Creative Staffing Solutions to FTE 10:47 Chapter 6 - The Key to Good Strategy  12:50 Chapter 7 - The Big Levers  13:40 Chapter 8 - The Value of Team Involvement in Strategy   Ready to Take Your Business to the Next Level? Go here: https://levership.com/free-strategy-call  Want to learn more about what Levership does for small business owners? Go here: https://levership.com/

    18 min

  6. SEPT 26

    Optimizing Appointment Scheduling for Service Businesses

    In this episode of the Levership Podcast, Matt and Kyle discuss the leverage opportunity that lies in optimizing a business’ appointment scheduling.  Matt highlights the need to focus on maximizing profitability per week rather than per service. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the ideal mix of services that maximizes return. Matt also explores the concept of working at the top of one’s skillset and the impact that not maximizing your minutes can have on profitability.    Takeaways: Maximizing profitability per week is more important than per service in service-based businesses. Understanding the ideal mix of services that would maximize return is crucial for optimizing appointment scheduling. Working at the top of one's skillset and maximizing minutes is essential for maximizing profitability. The Leadership Program helps business owners analyze their business model, customer fit, and pricing and positioning to make strategic decisions and improve their business.   0:00 Introduction 2:27 Working at the Top of Your Skillset 3:23 Optimizing Business for the Ideal Mix  5:20 Maximizing Profitability per Hour 6:01 Scaling and Delegating for Efficiency  7:20 The Importance of Strategic Planning 8:12 The Levership Program  10:34 Analyzing the Business through Different Lenses

    13 min

  7. JUN 10

    Outbound is NOT Dead with Brooks Van Norman

    Brooks Van Normal, founder of Pipeline Formula, discusses the importance of a strong partnership between marketing and sales in generating pipeline. He emphasizes that outbound is not dead, but rather becoming more efficient with the use of tools. Brooks shares insights on effective cold email strategies, highlighting the value of offering sales assets that provide immediate value to prospects. He also suggests reverse engineering the pain points of potential customers to create relevant and insightful sales assets. Additionally, Brooks discusses the use of LinkedIn as a channel to expand touchpoints and build trust with prospects. In this conversation, Brooks and Kyle discuss various topics related to outbound reach and founder-led growth. They talk about the importance of effectiveness in email outreach and the need to optimize call booking rates to positive reply rates. They also discuss the prevalence of ad fraud and strategies to target potential customers who are spending on ads. The conversation then shifts to the concept of the value equation and how to make prospects believe in the dream outcome. They explore the idea of founder-led marketing and the power of developing a relationship with the founder or leader of a company. They also discuss content pillars and the importance of subject matter expertise and personal stories in content creation. The conversation concludes with a discussion on automating content ideation and the types of clients that would benefit from founder-led marketing. Keywordspipeline generation, marketing and sales partnership, outbound strategies, cold email, sales assets, reverse engineering pain points, LinkedIn outreach, outbound reach, effectiveness, email outreach, call booking rate, positive reply rate, ad fraud, targeting, value equation, founder-led growth, relationship building, content pillars, subject matter expertise, personal stories, automating content ideation, founder-led marketing Takeaways Marketing and sales must work together closely to generate pipeline effectively. Outbound is not dead, but it is becoming more efficient with the use of tools. Offering sales assets that provide immediate value to prospects can lead to higher response rates. Reverse engineering pain points can help create relevant and insightful sales assets. LinkedIn can be used as a channel to expand touchpoints and build trust with prospects. Focus on effectiveness rather than just efficiency in email outreach Optimize call booking rates to positive reply rates Target potential customers who are spending on ads Make prospects believe in the dream outcome through the value equation Develop a relationship with the founder or leader of a company through founder-led marketing Create content pillars based on subject matter expertise and personal stories Automate content ideation to generate ideas for content creation Founder-led marketing is beneficial for companies with deep domain expertise Sound Bites "You can't separate marketing and sales when it comes to generating pipeline." "Outbound is becoming more efficient because the tools are enabling more people to do more outbound at scale." "Offering up a sales asset that adds value to the prospect is really good at getting positive reply rates." "This is cringe. This is cringe." "We're looking for ways to optimize around that." "15% of all ad spend is fraudulent." Chapters 00:00Introduction and Background 02:15The Importance of the Marketing and Sales Partnership 05:26Effective Strategies for Cold Email Outreach 09:18Creating Sales Assets that Provide Immediate Value 13:32Reverse Engineering Pain Points for Relevant Sales Assets 22:35Optimizing Email Outreach 23:33Targeting Potential Customers 25:25Relevance Over Personalization 26:08The Value Equation 27:53Building Trust with Prospects 28:38Founder-Led Marketing 32:30Developing a Relationship with the Founder 33:56Unlocking Founder Knowledge 36:30Crea

    46 min

  8. JUN 3

    Visual Storytelling with Jono Hey

    Jono shares his journey of creating visual explanations and sketches to distill complex concepts. He discusses some of his favorite sketches, such as the curb cut effect and the Swiss cheese model, and how they have resonated with people. Jono also offers advice for leaders on how to connect with others and explain abstract ideas, emphasizing the power of visuals and storytelling. He reflects on the process of writing his book and the challenge of selecting and organizing topics. Overall, Jono encourages individuals to pursue their personal projects and share their work with others. Keywordsvisual explanations, sketches, distilling complex concepts, curb cut effect, Swiss cheese model, leadership, connecting with others, abstract ideas, visuals, storytelling, book writing process, personal projects Takeaways Visual explanations and sketches can make complex concepts more accessible and memorable. Sharing your work publicly can hold you accountable and motivate you to do your best. Leaders can use visuals and storytelling to connect with others and explain abstract ideas. Finding topics for sketches can come from personal experiences, reading, and suggestions from others. Writing a book requires selecting and organizing topics, redrawing sketches, and rewriting content. Taking the time to think and clarify ideas can lead to clearer explanations and visuals. Personal projects can be valuable and interesting to others, so it's worth sharing them. Consistency and perseverance are key to making progress and creating meaningful work.   Sound Bites "The curb cut effect is essentially this principle of when you design for disabilities, you make things better for everyone." "The Swiss cheese model is about accident safety and how you can have multiple layers of defenses, but you can still have holes in each one." "Don't push information up to authority, push authority down to information." Chapters 00:00Introduction and Background 03:11Creating Visual Explanations: The Curb Cut Effect 06:38Explaining Complex Concepts: The Swiss Cheese Model 09:17Using Visuals in Business: Bosses vs. Leaders 11:09Favorite Sketches for Business Leaders 13:06Motivating Teams: Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose 15:18Writing a Book: Challenges and Process 21:13Connecting with Others: Using Visuals and Storytelling 24:04Advice for Leaders: Clarify Ideas and Share Work 27:00Future Plans and Projects

    25 min
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5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Levership is a combination of leverage and leadership - it’s focusing your time on what will generate outsized returns. In other words, high-leverage leadership. Together Kyle Racki and Matt Symes have both been in the trenches of entrepreneurship and through the Levership podcast share how they tackle challenges, ignite growth, and build profitable businesses. They don't just talk theory. They dive deep into the real-life experiences of leaders from growing companies to uncover how they maximize the return on their time. Stay tuned as we explore the pivotal moments, the challenging decisions, and the innovative strategies of leverage and leadership.

Information

  • Creator
    Kyle Racki and Matt Symes
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2024
  • Episodes
    82
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2022-2024
  • Show Website
    Levership

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