In this value-packed episode, Lacey Newman, Founder of Lacey Newman LLC, shares how to stop over functioning so your first hires actually make life easier instead of busier. If you’re still the best at every task and your growing team only adds more work, you won’t want to miss it.

You will discover:

- Why being the best at the work keeps your new team dependent on you

- What must change when the systems that got you here can no longer hold the next level

- How to hire and let go using the 80% rule so people can truly support you

This episode is ideal for for Founders, Owners, and CEOs in stage 3 of The Founder's Evolution. Not sure which stage you're in? Find out for free in less than 10 minutes at https://www.scalearchitects.com/founders/quiz

Lacey Newman is a founder, coach, and keynote speaker who has helped thousands of high-performing women build lives and businesses that are truly their own. Over two decades, Lacey built and scaled a real estate team to nearly $1B in sales volume, hosted an Emmy-nominated TV show, and grew her personal income to seven figures, all while raising two children on her own, proving that ambition and motherhood don’t have to compete. Today, she helps ambitious women break the cycle of over-functioning, untangle their identity from productivity, and reinvent their work from a place of clarity instead of burnout—so they can build wealth and freedom without sacrificing themselves.

Want to learn more about Lacey Newman's work at Lacey Newman LLC? Check out her website at https://laceynewman.com/

Connect with Lacey Newman through her LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lacey-newman1/

Check Lacey Newman's Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/heylaceynewman/

Hello, hello, and welcome, welcome once again

to the Start Scale and Succeed podcast-the only podcast that

grows with you through all seven levels of your journey as a

founder. I'm your host, Scott Ritzheimer, and if you've hired

your first handful of people, you know it's-it's not

necessarily one, maybe it is, but it's not necessarily two,

maybe it is, but it's not quite 10 yet either. Somewhere in

there. There's this messiness that happens because you realize

that instead of making your life easier, they've made your life

busier. And this is something that happens to virtually

everyone in level three. And here's the trap, and it actually

has a lot more to do with you than you think, because being

the best one in the room at the actual work is-it's exactly

what's keeping your team dependent on you. And my guest

today has lived on both sides of this problem. Lacey Newman is

here with us today. She's a founder, coach, and keynote

speaker who's helped 1000s of high-performing women build

lives and businesses that are truly their own. Over two

decades, Lacey built and scaled a real estate team to nearly 1

billion in sales volume, hosted an Emmy-nominated TV show, and

grew her personal income to seven figures, all while raising

two children of her own, and on her own, proving that ambition

and motherhood do not have to compete. Today, she helps

ambitious women break the cycle of over functioning, untangle

their identity from productivity, and reinvent their

work from a place of clarity instead of burnout, so they can

build wealth and freedom without sacrificing themself. Lacey,

that sounds wonderful. I hope you can show us how to do that.

But this is-I just want to start because I think it's-it's

important for folks to recognize that it's not just you,

listener, who feel this way. And and Lacey, I'm wondering how how

universal you think this is. Is something that everybody goes

through, or or is it something that only affects a select few?

Well, it's interesting. It's an interesting

question because I think it is something everyone should go

through. But I do think that there are a number of founders.

I call them overwhelmed operators, people who are kind

of in what you describe as level three. I think that there are.

This is a stop on the way to scaling your business, but it's

also what I've seen where a lot of people get stuck because they

enter this phase of business, and then they kind of like touch

the hot stove, and then they never want to touch the hot

stove again. So a lot of people, it is a place that you should

travel through, but a lot of places, a lot of people will

turn around and kind of hold themselves back in this spot.

When you touch a hot stove and it hurts, right?

That's clearly something wrong, and and and I think we have this

interesting relationship with pain, where pain can indicate

just something new, right? And it can also indicate something

wrong. How do you help your folks figure out the difference?

Because maybe they maybe they hired someone and it didn't work

out. Well, there are probably lessons to learn in there as

well. They probably did part of that at least wrong. How do you

separate the pain from "Hey, this is just new. I'm learning"

from the pain of "That was stupid. I shouldn't do that

again.

That's a wonderful question. You know, I I have

seen this post on social media a lot recently that says, you

know, entrepreneurship is basically realizing how dumb you

were six months ago, over and over and over again, and so

that's the whole thing. Is that in in when you are a founder of

a company, whether you're a solopreneur, a small business

owner, growing a team, failure is the curriculum. You are going

to constantly do things that don't work out, and so where I

see people get hung up is they let that pain be the thing that

holds them back, rather than letting it just be information

that allows them to make a better decision moving forward.

So you know the the distinction for me is not so much like how

do I know if the pain means no, it's that the pain is always

information, and so what are you learning from it? And we have, I

believe that a lot of us, especially if you are, would

consider yourself a people pleaser. If you would consider

yourself that you know I have to, you know, perfectionist type

person, somebody who wants to achieve and is really failure

averse. Those types of people, and I can identify with this

myself. And so many of the women that I work with do this as

well. We are so afraid of failing that we don't embrace

failure as just part of the journey, and and really treat it

as the curriculum that it really is.

Yeah, I think one of the reasons why this

shows up so profoundly at this stage, is because when you start

building a team around you, the very same things that might have

been dysfunctional might not, but either way, served you

really well in the past, right? The people pleasing. If you'll

bend over backwards to serve your customers, customers like

that. The perfectionist. If you do a better job than anybody

else, your customers like. That and and in some ways we're

rewarded for that, right? Completely, and then we get to

where we have a team, and they need stuff from us as well, and

we don't want to let them down, and we feel the need to please

them, and they're between us and the perfectionism. It seems like

adding other people to the mix really complicates this for that

that style of person.

It absolutely can if you don't change who you are

and how you operate. Because in the way that you just described

it, if I'm the founder and I am people pleasing my clients and

I'm showing up perfectly all the time and I'm really managing the

entire experience on my own, and then I bring some people on the

team to quote unquote support me slash help me, but instead of

letting them take some of some ownership off of my plate, I end

up like mother henning them instead of letting them really

support me. Then I have just added to my own chaos. I just

have more people to serve at this point. So I tell my

coaching clients sometimes, and they laugh at this. But I tell

my I tell my clients that when you hire someone, you need to

act a little bit incompetent. You need to you need to really

Is this something that I can do, or is this

something that I truly should do? And really drawing that

distinction between what can I do, what should I do, is really

that line. And you've got to be willing to go. I know I can do

it. I know I can do it amazingly well. But if I continue to do

it, I'm standing not only in the way of the growth of my

business, but in the growth of this person that I just hired to

support me, and so you kind of just have to take your hands off

the wheel and trust in some areas. And one great rule of

thumb that I use is that if somebody can do a job at least

80% as well as you can, then you need to let them. And so, but

this is hard because especially people who have built our

businesses through grit, through doing everything on our own, we

have those perfectionist tendencies. It can be really

hard to allow someone to not do something as well as we know

that we could do it. But not only do we stand on our own way,

we don't give them the opportunity to shine. And what I

have discovered so many times is that when I take my hands off

the wheel, I let someone own something. A lot of the time,

more often than not, especially if I've hired well, they will

actually outperform me in this new task, and that is where it

gets really exciting.

Let's talk about that. Let's talk about

hiring well because it is, in some extent a prerequisite

because if you have the wrong person and you do the right

things, you can still get the wrong result. Which then again,

how do you like? What was the right thing? What was the wrong

thing? It's really hard to tell. So, yet, how many entrepreneurs

do you know that went and had any type of formal training on

hiring at all? I mean, it's almost none. And those that do,

it's almost this equal but opposite problem. So let's just

talk with the the average, normal, typical founder. She has

she has found out that she has to hire and figured out how to

hire or maybe how not to hire just by having to.

Right.

What? How can we help pave that road a little

bit clearer for them so that they can hire well as opposed to

just hiring because they have to.

Sure, I've got a few steps to do this that are

really, really easy to follow. I mean, step number one is hire

before you need to, but nobody ever does that. So let's not

pretend that's a reality. We don't do that. Normally, we hire

when we are already in significant pain, and we will

often throw out some sort of job description. Put out, put out

the signal. We need some help. We bring a couple people in, and

we look at who we have in front of us, and we go, okay, any,

miney, moe. Which of these people is probably the best out

of the ones that are in front of us? And then we hire them, and

we bring them on board, and then often we are so busy doing what

we do that we don't actually onboard them, train them, and

support them properly. Much less the conversation we just had

about actually letting them support us, and then it doesn't

work out. And then we go, "Oh, I touched the hot stove. I don't

want to do that again. That was a mess. But really, it was

because there was no process that was really followed. So the

way that I do it, and when I'm working, especially with my

one-on-one clients who are are really in this position, I say

first of all, you have to start with what what truly is the job

that you need. You need to look at what is mine, and what should

I not be doing. And then now we used to have to go, okay, what

needs to be done by me? What needs to be done by a system?

What can a system take over, or what needs to be done by another

human? Well, now there's a fourth category, which is what

can AI do? So before in if you lose someone on your team, or

you're creating a new position on your team, you need to first

begin. With where can this be tackled with AI? Because there

is so much that can be automated and can be done by AI now.

That's really exciting, which then allows you and the other

humans on your team to do really important work that only a human

can do. It's better for you. It's better for the people and

their growth on your team. So you've got to ask yourself that

question first, but you put out okay, this is what I truly need.

This is what the rule the role truly requires, and then I

always have people submit a video with applications. So I

have you fill out my application, and at the bottom

of the application it says, please submit a three minute

video. You know, couple basic questions like, why do you think

you're a great fit for this job? What do you see yourself

bringing to the role? You know, don't. This is not rocket

science. Just something. But what I do is that by having them

submit a video, number one, you rule out a lot of people

instantly because lots of people will not submit a video. Okay,

if you can't follow instructions, you're not going

to be on my team. A lot of times, people will email me and

say, "I can't figure out how to submit this video. Okay. Well,

if you can't figure it out without coming to me, you don't

belong on my team. So then, of the people who followed

instructions and figured it out on their own, even if they

didn't quite know how to do it, I then get the opportunity to

see how people communicate. See, you know, get their thought

process. I really go into my interviews with them coming from

a more informed place, and then I always like to give people a

test project, a paid test project, because a lot of times

we will make assumptions about a new hire and what their

capabilities are, or you know what they know or they don't

know. But I love to give people a test project and I pay them,

you know, equivalent of what that project might be. A lot of

times I'm working with independent contractors, so I'll

just say, okay, this is the this is the job I want you to do.

Let's negotiate a fair rate for it, but this is not a big

contract, and then it gives me the opportunity without a ton of

instruction to see what they bring to the table, and then if

you've done that, if you know that you found, if you've really

done your own due diligence on what are you truly looking for,

you do a really nice streamlined vetting process of the right

candidate. You give them an opportunity to show you what you

can do before you make a commitment. Then you have really

done a lot more in creating an environment that allows for that

person to be the right fit on your team. But then you really

have to take it to the next level, and you have to show up

for them and give them your time and attention, give them

proximity to you, because you can give somebody an SOP and a

job description, and say go figure it out. But they will

learn so much more by being around you and being in your

presence, and really learning how you think, not just how to

do the job. And if you follow those that set of instructions,

the the success rate that I and my clients have had with making

a great hire that lasts a long time and truly does add value is

is really really high.

Yeah, one of the things that I kept thinking

about as you're going through this because those are really

wonderful and simple steps, and it makes sense, especially why

you would need to start hiring ahead to give yourself time for

this process to see its way through. But one of the

challenges I think listener might be thinking as they're

sitting there, like Lacey, you seem super, super confident.

It's easy for you to just say, "Oh, they're the they're not the

right fit. But there's this imposter syndrome that sneaks in

on us that kind of tells us, "Who do you think you are? Why

do you think they would work for you, or or why do you think

you're so special that they should have to jump hoops for

you? What would you say to you know a client of yours that was

wrestling with that imposter syndrome at this stage?

Well, the right person for you would never think

those things. So the number one thing that founders who are like

me, who are often you know solopreneurs, small team

leaders, small business owners-I'm not talking about

like 10 person teams, as you know. The number one quality

that I'm looking for in someone to bring on my team is a "I will

do whatever you need" attitude. Somebody who comes in and is

like, "I am here to learn. No job is too big. No job is too

small. I'm here to show up because that that level of

appreciation for what you do and engagement in the process is

something that you can't really teach. So that's what I'm

looking for first and foremost is somebody who's just like I'm

excited for this opportunity. I'm willing to roll up my

sleeves and do whatever needs to happen to get it done. That that

is a really good indicator that you have the right person. And

so you know if you if you are hung up on I don't deserve to

have support or I'm not ready to have support or you know I don't

have well I hear a lot of times well when I get all these

systems in place. Then I'll be ready to bring someone on. I

mean, it that that is a mentality that will keep you

stuck in exactly the place that you are for so long. You bring

someone in who will help you create the systems. Bring

somebody in that will help you untangle the mess that you have

made by trying to do it all on your own. And so it's really

it's really not achieving perfectionism that or achieving

a perfect spot in your business where you now deserve to have

support. It's bring that support in and let them help you get to

the place that you want to get.

Yeah, to to just totally let that fear go

away, and I think you you would speak to this as well. I

remember thinking I was the only person who had a screwed up

business, and then I remember walking into my first like other

$10 million business, and I was like, "You guys are more screwed

up than we are. And then I remember the first time I

consulted with $100 million organization, I'm like, "This is

terrifying. You know, how could I teach them anything? And in 30

minutes, I'm like, "They're just as screwed up as we are. And

then the same thing for a billion dollar organization and

and a $7 billion like everyone screwed up so yeah I love that

like don't wait for everything to be great it's always going to

be messed up but that doesn't mean it can't be better I really

really love that Lacey there's this question that I want to

make sure we make time for because it's a question ask

every one of our guests, and I'm very interested to see what

you'd have to say. But the question is this: What is the

biggest secret you wish wasn't a secret at all? What's that one

thing you wish every founder watching or listening today knew?

Well, you kind of just stole my thunder on this,

so I'm going to have to come up with another answer because the

first thing that came to my mind, as I know you ask this

question on this podcast. Is when I have clients come to me

and they say, "When I I thought that when I had a multi million

dollar business, it would all be organized and it wouldn't be

stressful and it wouldn't be a mess. And I was like, "Well, why

would you think that? You know, the bigger your business

becomes, the bigger mess there is. So I'll piggyback on that

and say the thing that I really wish people understood is that

the current the the business that you built that will get

you, let's say, to earning six figures, that will get you

earning multiple six figures, that is not the same business

that's required to get you to seven figures and multi seven

figures and eight figures. Your business has to look completely

different at every major jump in its size and structure. And so,

one the moment that I really had that realization in my previous

career as a real estate agent, all of a sudden, I mean, we'd

been we'd been clicking along for a very long time, things

were working beautifully, and then there came this point in

time where everyone on my team started crying, and I was

crying. the The support staff was crying. My business partner

at the time. I mean, it we the wheels fell off. We were not

happy. We were really stressed out. And what I came to realize

is it wasn't a cultural issue on our team. It wasn't because I

didn't have the right people on the team. It wasn't the clients.

It wasn't anything other than the fact that the systems that

we had created, that had worked beautifully up until a certain

point, could no longer hold the business that we had then. And

so that's that's really the thing I wish that people

understood more. Is that you cannot hit your next level? I

talk to I talk to the women I work with a ton about capacity.

You can't hit a you can't carry a bigger business on your own

capacity. You have to add additional structure. You have

to add additional systems. You got to add additional support to

really get to that next level, and I think that I think that so

many of us believe, especially if we built our business by

white knuckling it ourselves, we believe that if we just work

harder, if we just learn a little more, if we work a little

bit longer, we can get to that next stage. But that's not it at

all.

all. Yeah, yeah, so true, so true. Well,

Lacey, before I let you go, I know there's some folks

listening who just they've loved this conversation. They'd love

to hear more about you, the work that you do, who you help, and

how you help them. Where can folks connect with you? Where

can they find more about the work th at you do?

So you can find more about the work I do at my

website, LaceyNewman.com, or I hang out on Instagram. That's

my. That is my favorite social media. That's where I'm posting

a ton of free content. My Instagram handle is

heylaceynewman, and reach out to me if anybody has any questions.

You know, one of the things that I really enjoy helping people

with is time management because so many people want to work on

their business, but they're so busy working in their business

that they never really have time to do it. And I've created a

super easy framework that will help you find the time in your

own schedule to work on the things that will truly move your

business forward. Even if right now you say I don't have any

time to do it, and that's one of. My specialty is one of the

things that I love helping people do the most because

you'll never you never find time you have to go make the time and

that's what I've really solved for. So if anybody's interested

in learning a little more about that, I've got a totally free

training that you can get from me. Just go and text me reclaim

on Instagram, and I'd be happy to send it your way.

Brilliant, brilliant. We'll get that in the

show notes for all you, both the handle and the keyword. Lacey,

this was a wonderful conversation. I really, really

enjoyed it, and appreciate you coming on. And for those of you

watching and listening today, you know your time and attention

mean the world to us. I hope you got as much out of this

conversation as I know I did, and I cannot wait to see you

next time. Take care. Hey everyone, Scott Ritzheimer here.

Thank you so much for listening to the Start Scale and Succeed

podcast. I hope this episode gave you exactly what you need

for the level you're in right now. If you want to discover

what level you're in, take our 10 question Founders Evolution

quiz for free at foundersquiz.com. That's

foundersquiz.com. It'll pinpoint exactly where you are and give

you tailored tips to move forward and reach that next

level in your journey as a founder. If you got something

out of today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, rate, or

review. It helps us reach more founders like you, and let's be

honest, it means a ton to me, my team, and all our incredible

guests. So keep starting, scaling, and succeeding, and

I'll see you in the next episode.