Behind the scenes of building a team + Mom Update with Cassandra Caruso
In this conversation, Cassandra and Cinthia discuss the importance of systems and processes in business when building a team and their journey with their mom duties and running a business.
Related episodes to check-out:
Mom Update: Lessons on how to work less and live more (ep 261)
Creating a maternity leave plan for your business with Cassandra Vantriet (ep 275)
Becoming a mom and what it's taught me about business (ep 243)
Listen to this episode below:
Check out the Intuitive Impact Academy here: https://www.wilddreams.co/intuitive-impact-academy
Key Take Aways:
Implementing systems and processes in your business can save time and energy.
Using tools like Dubsado or HoneyBook can streamline client work and improve efficiency.
Creating foundational frameworks in your business can provide clarity for clients and help them move forward.
Building a team requires finding the right people for the right roles and letting go of control.
Joining a mastermind or working with a coach can provide support and guidance in navigating business challenges. Integrating personality assessments like the Enneagram into the onboarding and interview processes can help assess communication and compatibility with potential team members.
Finding the right team members involves keeping an open mind and being aware of the people who are already in your network.
Building a team allows business owners to shift into more visionary roles and prioritize their personal lives.
Delegating tasks and creating a collaborative environment with team members can lead to increased productivity and a more enjoyable work experience.
Creating collaborative partnerships and affiliates can expand business opportunities and create win-win situations for all parties involved.
More about Cassandra Caruso
Meet Cassandra, Visionary CEO, Intuitive Brand Mentor, Designer and Website Expert of Wild Dreams Studio and a mama of 3 Wild Boys. As a multi passionate Manifesting Generator, Cassandra guides female entrepreneurs to embody their full brand essence. She creates a unique elevated brand experience for those who desire to uniquely express their vision, attract their dream clients, and energetically align with their brand story through an iconic brand identity and website design. Cassandra believes that YOU are the brand.
Be the one that creates her own impact from a place of purpose and desire.
Cassandra’s Links
https://www.wilddreams.co/
https://www.instagram.com/wild_dreams_co/
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Cinthia Pacheco (00:00.29)
Hello, hello, beautiful people. I'm Cassandra of Wild Dreams Co. I am an intuitive brand mentor and designer. And today I'm really, really excited to chat with Cynthia from Digital Bloom IQ. She is an amazing SEO expert. She's one of my premier partners and I just love her energy so much. You are going to love her. So let me just wait until she pops in here.
Cinthia Pacheco (00:35.534)
We are full on multitasking, which is so much fun.
If you're joining us live, come say hello. Like a minute because sometimes it acts a little shady.
Cinthia Pacheco (00:57.998)
Hey Cynthia, so excited to chat with you today.
Cinthia Pacheco (01:07.938)
Let me know if it's working. I'm still trying to get online here. Okay. It's like, it says that it's requested, but I'm not seeing the options in July. Here, let me, I'm going to try to go out, leave and come back. Okay. She will be right back.
Cinthia Pacheco (01:35.618)
You might hear her talking in the background because we're full on multitasking, Zoom and Instagram.
Cinthia Pacheco (01:45.91)
Oh, unable to join. This has happened to me so many times. I'm not sure why this keeps happening on Instagram. It's kind of frustrating. But I know, oh, yay, there you go. Hey, how's it going? Good. I'm just lowering the volume on Zoom so we're not kind of egg-licking. Yes, yes, yes.
How's it going? Oh, it's good to see you. Me too. It's been so long that we haven't had a chat. Are we actually like a lot? I turned off, I turned down the volume on my phone. I still hear you through Zoom. I guess one has to go down. Okay. Is that better? Yeah, I hear you okay. Oh wait, let me. That's good, right?
Yes, I think that's better. So a little bit... You know what? Let's just... I'll turn off the zoom and I'll get the... I'll get it off from the recording here on my phone. Oh, I think if you just lower the volume on your zoom. Oh, you're right. On your computer. Is that better? Yes, perfect. Okay, so it should still record us. And Sam, this is fun. We've got the setup, the crazy setup. We'll figure it out eventually how to do it all.
Yes, we will. I know you can go live inside of a Facebook group from Zoom. So like they should have that feature on Instagram too. That would be very cool. Instagram, we're giving you an idea. Go collaborate with them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Instagram, come on. Let's get with it. So Cynthia, why don't you tell everybody who you are, what you do, and yeah.
Cinthia Pacheco (03:42.494)
So my name is Cynthia Pacheco. I am the owner and founder of Digital Bloom IQ. And we are an SEO marketing agency, and we work with small businesses to help them connect with more of the people who are already looking for them on Google and who are really looking for growth strategies and just impact strategies and just helping more people with whatever their
meant to do, right? So a lot of my clients are healers. I have some lawyers. I have like local businesses. And I'm just so passionate about helping them grow and just do what they do and let you know, let us worry about the marketing a little bit more for them and helping them plan together. I love that. I love that.
Cinthia Pacheco (04:34.242)
I know how many people you help in, and the like wide range and wide variety, right? It's kind of fun when you think about it, like you're also a fellow Manny Jen, and I know because I've worked with you before, which is so fun. Hold on, I'm just gonna close my door because they're super loud. So yeah, I know that you're a fellow Manny Jen, so I know it's fun for both of us to kind of like.
step outside of the niche, right? And like not really fit ourselves in a box like, oh, I'm a brand designer for Coach It. It's like, no, I do so much more than that. And I work with a variety of so many different businesses, right? So I know it's like the same for you where you really, really help people with their SEO and their digital marketing. And I feel like you're like a little bit of a-
efficiency expert too because you do so like your systems are so streamlined and your processes and you're just like so organized. Can you like tell us a little bit about that because I want to hear more about like how you keep organized. I know you're like new mom as well. So yeah, tell me more about that. Yeah, I mean, that's funny. I hear that a lot. Like you're so organized and you know when you don't feel organized.
But yeah, no, I think I've built enough of my systems. Also, I've been doing my business for eight years. So I just want to say like, there's just a time element to it. Sometimes like, over time, you just start to build all your documentation and everything. But, but yeah, I just prioritizing the systems and processes that are the most important and systematizing and I'm a little bit of a geek, like I
I don't know, like, if there's someone out there who's like, I just, you know, use a notebook that works too, right? Like, I think some sometimes we can get tool overwhelm. And it just feels like there's so many tools, like you showed me this tool yesterday for the podcast. And it looks incredible. And I actually was playing with it, of course, later. But then it's, you know, sometimes you just have to, yeah, keep it simple, right? And be like, okay, is this going to actually help me or
Cinthia Pacheco (06:53.078)
Am I creating like a whole new set of systems or tasks that I don't need or not high priority? Yeah. Well, talking about systems, do you have any like favorites that you absolutely love? Oh, favorite, so yeah, so I'd say for client work. So if there's anybody out there who's service bait, even if you're a coach, it's really great. I used up Sado. And I, I set that up pretty early on in my business. And that's been a game changer because
One of the things I love, you're on DubSado too, right? Or no? No, I use Honeywell, but opposite. I have no idea. Any of these two options work. I love that I sent out a proposal yesterday and the contract, so as soon as the client signs the contract, they automatically get the invoice. And then as soon as they pay the invoice, they automatically get the welcome email.
And then when they fill out the questionnaire that's included in the welcome email, they automatically get the next email that asks them for access to their Google Analytics on their Search Console. So that was like mind boggling because I could be literally like sleeping and the client can be doing it, you know, if they're on a different time zone or if they work at, you know, late at night, they can just do that on their own time. And they're not so like the process isn't slowed down by me and the, you know,
me looking at things. So those kind of that tool, I'd say is in my top favorite tools because it saves me so much time and you know, energy and just how about you? I couldn't agree more to be honest, like I use HoneyBook for the exact same thing. But mine is set up a tiny bit differently. But that's okay. Like I have my
It's like a welcome and then the proposal, the contract, the invoice, it's actually all in one inside of my HoneyBook. And then after that, as soon as they pay their invoice, then they can book a call and then we can get started from there. So it's very similar, but I want to talk about this a little bit because we don't realize like...
Cinthia Pacheco (09:05.806)
how much we can actually take off of our plates as moms and as business owners. And even if you're not a mom, like as a business owner, just setting up these foundational frameworks in the beginning can save you so much time. And it also gives your clients a clear pathway on how they can work with you and move at rapid speed, like depending on exactly what they wanna do with you.
Right? Like I feel like these frameworks are so foundational for our business, no matter like where we're starting at, because you want to have ways that people can pay you. Right? Like that's what you're in business for. And you want to make it really clear for yourself and for them. Right. And that's why I loved like my system and my software, too, like is like the HoneyBook system. And I know you love the Ptato.
which is fine. I used to use Dubsado, but I switched over to HoneyBook. I just felt like it was more, more low-y for me in a sense. Like I just, I just love HoneyBook. But yeah, like I feel like that's a really big part of like being a business owner. And this is not a lot of things, a lot of things that people talk about unless they're like,
doing that service for you, right? It's like creating those foundational pieces of your business and like having your payments and your proposals and your contracts set up in the back end and having that set up first can really, really be so beneficial for you in the long run, right? Yeah, the other tip I would say if you're a mom or even if you're not and you're just busy,
Or you have other projects, you have other things going on in your life, or you have a chronic illness. I know a lot of clients who, you know, they create their business because they're not able to sit in an office, you know, how many hours a day, and they have ups and downs, whatever flows in their health. And having your business allows you that flexibility, right? So one thing that I started doing a few years ago was I used Loom, I don't know, I'm sure you used Loom too. Loom is like a video recording.
Cinthia Pacheco (11:31.75)
extension on your, it can be in, I think in your browser or just directly on your computer. And so it allows you to share your screen really easily, like in a second you can share anything and then you can save the recording. So what I started doing was anytime I had to start doing a task either that I really don't like or that eventually I'm like in my head, I'm like, this is just going to be something I'm going to have someone else help me with eventually. I open up my loom and I just film myself doing it.
and I talk through the process and I try for them not to be more than like three to five minutes because my and I've already started offboarding obviously things but like my vision was to like offboard and send it to someone and you know step one step two step three and it's kind of fun because over time it almost became also like a way to manifest help because I'm like welcome to this DLWIQ training video like you know it's just me right so it's like
this is how we handle like a complaint or this is how we handle. I mean, there's so many little things that we're doing. I love that. I think that's one of the top things I hear my clients is like, yeah, it's overwhelming. You know, you've got your marketing, you are working with your own clients or you're building your course or and it's totally normal to not want to do it all. So what can we do to proactively get ourselves into a space where, you know, either, yeah, you know, we're stuck.
starting to build a budget to off board certain things. Or we're learning enough to just get some traction and, you know, moving it forward. So filming these trainings and now I have like a spreadsheet, I think I have probably like 200 of these little videos. And yeah, and I'm definitely in a space right now of expansion and team building. So I'm happy to like talk about that too. It's been really fascinating.
I think that that's first of all that's a genius idea. I would have never thought of that There's actually one other tool that I found that does something similar, but it's not recording it It's called scribe and it's also a chrome extension But what it does it mimics you clicking on certain things on the screen Oh, so like if I want to do a Squarespace training, let's say and I just want to give like a PDF
Cinthia Pacheco (13:53.514)
what it does, it mimics like where I'm clicking on Squarespace and creates these little tiny screenshots of everything along with wording of what I'm doing. Oh, that's so good. And you can turn it into a PDF. So I thought that was really neat too because eventually like with my template shop, I'm going to be hiring somebody to help navigate the template shop and kind of
help support that, right? Because once it really takes off, we're gonna need some support on creating those websites every month. But it's the same thing of what you're doing with recording your screen. And that's so genius. And I love the way that you said that, was manifesting, building your team by doing these little things that we don't even think of, right? So I love that you said that. And I know that you've built
like a great team as well and you're still growing your team, which is amazing. So yeah, let's talk about that a little bit, like how you're growing your team, how you're finding the right people and like, I think that like this really ties back into your like efficiency expert because you're really great at finding people too.
And whatever that looks like, right, it doesn't have to like be a massive group. It could be one, two people right now. I am working with a few web developers. So I have two web developers. I have another SEO expert who I've been starting to hire here and there and a VA. And I just started last month. I hired an account manager and that was like, that was scary.
Cinthia Pacheco (15:46.922)
Like it was like a relief, but it was also scary because this is someone who's going to be directly talking to clients and like handling relationships. And yeah, I guess there's been just a lot of mindset work around like I've had to really work on being able to let go of that control that I mean, it's good. Like I want to be, you know, I'm the owner of the CEO. But I also feel like just letting go of that. Yeah.
micromanaging, whatever you want to call it of like having to be on top of everything. I also realized, you know, speaking of systems, you get to a point in your business that you're so used to doing everything that you don't even question certain things, right? And so it's all in your head. And that's fine. Like we all adapt and we're figuring things out. And it's like a great skill. But when you start to off board, you realize you need to download that because you're
to not just do a process, but to also kind of think in a way that you would in that like, this is the culture that you're doing in your business, right? So how are we, you know, responding to clients? How are we, you know, handling difficult situations or connecting team members to work together? And this is what's been happening with this count manager role is like, I realize like I have a lot of videos that like talk about, okay.
you know, this is how we set up a spreadsheet or documentation. But I had very, very few of like, how am I connecting team members? Or how am I responding to an anxious client? Or how am I, you know, thinking ahead to, you know, help an anxious client who's we know is anxious from the beginning? Like, what am I doing to work on that, you know, ahead of time? And so that kind of stuff has been interesting, because I didn't even realize I was doing that. It's almost helped
value my skills even more because I'm like, oh, I've been doing this right and Yeah What I mean what we're having this conversation about is so much more than like SEO and it's so much more than your foundations in your business like these are things that are gonna really help you evolve and building a team with like the intentionality factor that you have here and
Cinthia Pacheco (18:13.178)
really knowing that this person is going to help your business grow, but also you stepping into that role as a CEO of like, okay, I know that this person is going to help me grow, but how can I like let go of control of this business that I built for eight years, right? And like give this person, um, access to all of my things, right? Like how can I help support them?
so that they are aligned with my core values in my business and what I'm bringing to my clients. Right, I think that that's like so key. What exactly is this, like for somebody who doesn't really know like the key terms of people that you're hiring and your team members, what exactly is the account manager doing for you? So I had tried to, and I guess there's this like a learning, like you totally get to try different roles, like
Just because people say about VA's, you don't, maybe you don't need a VA. Like maybe you need someone who's more like a, I don't know, like a copywriter or something. Like maybe you need like a VA who's specialized in like web design, like depending on what your tasks are. So that's like my biggest learning from last year is that I hired a few PMs, like project managers.
Cinthia Pacheco (19:40.93)
handle the project deadlines and you know, in SEO we have just like a lot of moving parts and it wasn't working not because the people weren't good project managers, it just wasn't fitting with what I was really needing and what I'm needing now and I realized like what I really needed was someone to be able to handle clients' conversations and client, just like the relationship part of the client.
Because that's so important to what we do in our agency, like the communication and just helping the client feel comfortable as we're doing all the SEO things and explaining and stuff like that. So I moved, I kind of shifted the energy to an account manager because I felt like this was someone who would be more thinking about the relationship, right? And they would be someone who has that experience.
And it's not just about getting tasks ticked off. It's like the psychology of working with clients. Right. And then I also was thinking, okay, what could I hire next? Like once I have a budget is like, this person could become a sales role for me, right? Cause they have that like sales experience as well, an account manager. So yeah, my learning was like, okay, what do you need? Like what?
What do you really need right now for this next step? Because we could hire everybody, right? Like, so many roles like for you, like you could hire a PM, like you could hire another designer, you could hire. There's so many cool people out there to hire, but it's really thinking about, okay, who who's who am I going to hire? Who's going to really move me to that next level? Whatever that looks like, like what are the things that are draining me? What are the things that are taking the most time? Like I'm not enjoying, especially as a man.
What am I really not enjoying? And for me, it was just like staying on top of the tasks, but also like looking at, you know, how can I make the client happy? And so I'm still part of all the projects as an SEO, but it's like I'm slowly removing myself from that role of, yeah, the count, working on the account management. That's awesome.
Cinthia Pacheco (21:56.182)
Yeah. Was there anything that you did to kind of step into that energy of like the CEO and kind of understand your process? Like, was there anything additional that you did to understand the process of like, what exactly you needed? Because sometimes it's hard when you're like, like you said, like you're so stuck in like the doing and you don't realize how much you actually do. Yeah.
and you're so used to it and then you come to a point where you're like just so busy and all of the tasks in your business that you like forget that you can actually outsource it that somebody this is what somebody else actually likes to do versus what you're doing and you're just doing it to do it to get it done instead of outsourcing it right so like was there something there that kind of just like shifted for you and
You're like, okay, you know what, I'm going to start writing down every single thing that I do. And yeah, go ahead. You tell us. Yeah, no. So there's two things. First of all, working with a coach because and it doesn't have to be a paid like it could be, it could be a accountability buddy. It could be paid coach. It could also be like a course or something, right? Something that will help you get out of the day to day grind. And so
like setting aside time to put yourself in that CEO mindset of like, what is the vision I'm building and like, what are the CEO tasks, right? So again, even if you are super busy, just setting aside like 30 minutes a day, whatever you need to start practicing this role, because it's going to be hard to up level if you've just never even done it, right? Because it's a whole other set of skills, right? Building a team, offboarding.
And then the other thing that helped me a lot was joining a mastermind with other women who either have already built it or are building it like I am. And I just had a lot of great feedback, like I was so frustrated with the PM thing last year and I'm in a mastermind and they're like, yeah, I've had to hire and rehire many, many times and I realized this is normal part of the path. Like so many times we feel like lost or we feel like we're on the wrong path.
Cinthia Pacheco (24:21.11)
the wrong way. And it's like, no, this is part of it. You you get to try and fail and try again and fail. And we don't need to feel bad about that. We get to almost, yeah, take the juiciness of each learning. Right. And then just seeing that. Yeah. And then just having other again, people who've already created what you want to create, and like asking them for insights or ideas. And I realized like, I'm not creating anything crazy, like
in the way we do things like I, you know, my whatever, my essence for the agency. But there's a million SEO agencies. And so when you start to think about it, you're like, I'm creating something that many, many people have created. And so it's like, okay, great. Like, it's a relief almost. It's like, this is totally possible. I'm just finding my way, right? Yeah, exactly. And I think that that's okay way you said there, like you're finding your way. And that is okay. Like it gets to be messy along the way. Like the process.
I know it's like so cliche, but everybody says like the process is not linear as a business owner. It's like Like like a heartbeat Like it's like a heartbeat. It's it's up and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs and it's Navigating your way through that heartbeat like of the heartbeat of your business, you know, like it's just like Navigating your way through it and there's no right or wrong way to do it. There's just
people who are here to support you on this journey. And that's really what we're here to do. And that's what's going to be happening inside of the intuitive impact panel discussion because Cynthia is joining us in there as well. And like, you can see what an expert she is. Like you are really go beyond SEO. Let me just tell you, like you are just beyond SEO expert. And what you're saying right now, like you're building a team, like you're navigating these challenges of hiring
finding the right people and navigating the space of like what you actually need and creating this process for yourself of being able to find the right fit and find the right people and not being afraid to hire and fire basically, essentially and finding the right people, you know? So I think that is such a...
Cinthia Pacheco (26:43.754)
key thing that we don't really think about in business, like, great, we just think about, um, how can we grow? Like, how can we grow as a person? And, and in the beginning stages, it's great to do all the things and you get to wear many hats. And then when you grow so rapidly, it's like, okay, now I need some support. So who exactly am I looking for? How can I find them? So was there certain ways that you kind of, um,
found your people? Was it like through referrals? Was it through networks? Or did you kind of just do research on your own? So yeah, I'm just now starting to build more of a process around hiring. It's funny, like I've just been kind of intuitively asking for referrals and connecting with people. And sometimes I've even asked people like, do you do this? Like I know it's not like I go out and
proper, you know, yeah, VA. Who am I? Like, you know, I'm not like looking at resumes. I am starting to do more of that because it's, you know, you should definitely look at your CV and resumes, but it's been right now more intuitive and more like just connecting people. Like the account manager was through a contact I had for years and I just reached out and I'm like, look, I'm looking for this kind of, like a kind of, this kind of role and.
And he put me in contact and we had a call and then, you know, it just kind of evolved. I'm starting to look at like I want to be able to integrate the Enneagram. Eventually I'll do human design too, but I want to do Enneagram inside of my onboarding process and inside my interview process because I want to start to look at, okay, you know, how can we work together? Is this person aware of their communication and stuff like that? So I'm excited about that.
And my VA, she actually pitched me, which a lot of people are surprised, but she pitched me and I it was like she just came to me. So it was fun. Like, I just realized like, yeah, the right people, they'll just come to you. It's kind of like your clients, you know, your team is like part of that internal clients. They're like your clients too, right? Because you want to make sure your team is happy. So they get to come to you in different ways. And sometimes it's unexpected.
Cinthia Pacheco (29:06.214)
I would just say keep your eyes open. They're probably already there. Yeah, they're probably already in your awareness and you don't even know why. So how has like navigating the process of bringing on team members helped you with like your family and your life? Oh, so much. I mean.
Yeah, I used to do everything. Like I used to do the web development. I used to do all the changes. I used to like one of the heavier tasks in our process is an SEO audit and it has many layers. And I used to do everything from creating the spreadsheets to exporting the data, to crunching the numbers and like analyzing and then putting it back in Canva. And so now I'm able to be more in my...
my expertise and obviously have my time back. Although I'm sure this happens to you too, Cassandra. Like you get your time back, but then it fills up very quickly. You need to be very cautious and very intentional of like, what are the priorities? You know, I want to spend time with my daughter. Okay, like what does that actually look like? Quality time. And, and also how do I need to be energetically to be able to be present with her and her needs?
And so that it's not always about less time. Sometimes it's also about, yeah, like the tasks that are the most draining or things that light me up. Cause if I'm lit up at work, then I get to like walk away excited to be with her, right? And it's kind of like this ecosystem. Yeah. That's very true. And I love that you said that because it's like, almost like,
It's more so like your presence, right? Versus like time. So like, if you look at it in that sense, like this is allowing you to be more present with the actual time that you have with your daughter versus just like being there. And I know this happens and it's happened to me and I'm sure it's happened to you too, where you're like constantly thinking in the back of your head about like business and like, okay.
Cinthia Pacheco (31:20.234)
What are the things I didn't get done today? Oh my gosh, I still have to complete them. But then you're like cooking dinner and you're playing with your kids. But then in the back of your mind, it's like still spinning, right? So like, I feel like you having your team has really helped like alleviate that. And it's really making me wanna build a team now too. A lot of people are against the team, right? Like they just wanna do the solo printer, which is solely fine. But like, I just feel like, especially as a many Jen.
just not meant to do everything. And like I want to have just freedom and flexibility in the day to be able to pick up and say, okay, today we're going to like the zoo or we're going to go see some animals or today. No, like we're you know, I'm going to call the nanny to come a few extra hours. I'm like really into something that's like coming up for me. And so to be able to do that, I need to delegate the tasks that just have I'm still doing you know, a lot of just
planning, obviously an admin. I haven't off-boarded everything. I'm getting there. But I'd say yeah, it becomes more about people. Like when you have the team, you're managing your team expectations and communication and yeah, trying to make sure that you're building systems like things like Asana where they don't need you. They can like go to a document or they can go to a system and like...
learn or get the information. And so you're building that system. Yeah, so it's interesting. Definitely like keeps me on your toes. And with your team members, are you hiring them like white label? So they're kind of like under your company, but they still run their own company too? Yes. So I have a
few kind of more like freelancers who are actually working full time or like they, you know, they have other freelancers. So I have a few of those. And then I have, yeah, I have a few who have their own companies. And so they're like consulting for me. So yeah, it's, it's kind of I really like that. I don't right now, I would say I don't see myself having like a full time person. I'd love the flexibility.
Cinthia Pacheco (33:44.114)
and to be able to, I think it's very nutritious to have like my web developer have their own projects because they can also relate to me as a business owner. The account manager has his own agency and it's almost become like, like I see my teams and my clients as partners, not as like employees or freelancers because they bring their experience to the process. Like again, this account manager, he has his own agency. So we talk a lot about.
how he does things are like just ways that we can do things. And so it's not like me telling him, it's like, okay, how are we gonna solve this? Or like, what's the problem? And I love that. Like I love that way of working. And I see myself continuing to build that environment and that culture within the team. I love that so much. I feel like it's more of like,
a collaborative experience versus like delegating to your team, like your team, your team, your team. It's more like a collaborative experience because they get to bring what they know, you get to bring what you know, this is your business, you practice these, they practice those. And then it's like a beautiful like fusion of experiences together of what you get to create for your clients. And like, I think that that's amazing. And I think, like,
In this space of service-based entrepreneurs, coaches, creatives, whatever business you're in, I feel like white labeling is like, if anybody doesn't know what white labeling is, it means the person has exactly what Cynthia said, they have their own agency and they work with you basically as a consultant.
under your company. So they're not putting their name on your proposals. Everything is sent through you as the business owner and they are working underneath you. So whether they work directly with your client or they work directly with you on the back end and your client never really meets them in a sense, that's kind of like what a white labeling would be basically. So I know
Cinthia Pacheco (35:53.75)
And I use the term white labeling because I've done that before in like corporate settings too. So like that's why I use that term. I guess it's like a very like corporate driven term if you will. But I feel like this is really where like this space is going and especially for like busy moms, entrepreneurs. Like if you're in that space where it's like, okay, I need the support, but I'm not in the position to hire somebody full time. Like this is where the.
that comes in like this person is here to support you, your business and your clients, but they also have their own business to rely on and to cater to as well, but they're happy to create this collaboration with you. And that's really where we get to network and build referral partners and build collaborations and build connections because we're not here to do it all alone. Like we're here to help each other grow and that's really what you're
creating in your business, which is so beautiful. Yeah, I mean, I think that's why we create our businesses, to be able to express ourselves creatively in different directions. Cause otherwise, yeah, we would just be an employee, which again, you have creativity as a full-time employee, but I love that I'm able to just build all these different skills and...
And also this isn't going to be my only business. Like I want to be able to build other ones too. So. Thanks, Jane. Big vision. I love it. So, um, what is your vision for your business this year? Do you have like a vision for where you want to take digital bloom IQ this year? Uh, yeah. So.
There's a lot of things happening. So definitely like the team building, the internal, you know, processes and all that, that's happening more and more and helping me shift like we've been talking about into this, more of like the visionary role. And I'd say the other direction I'm playing a lot with and I've talked to you a lot about is just having collaborative partnerships and affiliates. So, you know.
Cinthia Pacheco (38:11.386)
I have like courses and trainings for SEO and Google Analytics. And the courses, they're being updated, like I have a membership too. And I want to be able to partner with other businesses who have clients who also need those courses, so that they get a cut of that sale and you know, they're able to enjoy that learning experience. So that's a big part right now.
And I just love, I love doing this. Like I love talking with people. I love kind of connecting. And so I've been leaning more into that and just looking at how I can just create, we can create like win-win-win situations for everybody. Yeah, absolutely. I love that. And it's such a beautiful like impactful vision if you really look at it that way. It's like,
You're not just here for yourself, you're here to grow and expand and expand other people at the same time. And I really think that that's what we're creating inside of like the intuitive impact panel too, because we all have like such unique gifts and like each person has their own way of doing business in a sense, right? Like we're all intuitives, we're all creatives, we're all.
I will say like service providers because we are still providing a service no matter if we're a coach or like a brand or website designer or an SEO expert like we're still service providers. We're providing a service. So like no matter where you're at in your business and like what type of business you're running all of us bring this like unique skill and get to be unique in running your business through your intuition in your own way.
And I think that that's really like where this next level leadership is going is by being able to create things your own way by knowing who you are on the inside. Like, I mean, when you found out you were a manny Jen, you probably like felt so relieved and so lit up. And I share this all the time because I know I did. Yeah. It was kind of like, what? I don't need to finish every book I start. Like.
Cinthia Pacheco (40:34.233)
That's where I thrive. That one was really incredible. I was like, I need to have multiple projects like this is how it's done. It's like, oh, okay. Yeah, and I think also like what I love about the panel you created is that I think when we hire people in our business, we have perceptions of how they need to be.
like a coach or an SEO or a web developer or whatever. And it's like, you get to hire someone you really, really like from many different angles because I've had, you know, I've been told many times, like, SEO is boring, like, but the way you talk about it isn't. And it's like, okay, like you get to hire anybody in your business who really lights you up. And so that's connected with human design too. It's like, we get to collaborate with the people we hire. And it doesn't have to be this,
painful thing of like, oh, I have to build a site like, oh, they're going to ask me for this or like, it's going to be more too technical or they're going to be, you know, asking me for like, you know, just like technical things that I don't want to do. And it feels like torture. And it's like, no, you get to work with Cassandra and it's incredible and it feels expansive. And it's not just about your brand and your design and your logo. It's about like a conversation where you're co-creating something incredible and like creating that
version of your business so that someone else can find you online. And so suddenly, it's not even about the site. It's like, it is about enjoying that process. And like I'm working with a designer right now and she's helping me think about things that aren't even part of the like just the overall brand vibe or like how I work with clients like it impacts all parts of your business. That's what I say about SEO is
It's not just about SEO, it's like, it's gonna impact all areas of your business, all areas of your marketing. And so I think that's also what's cool about the panel is we're gonna come together and share that experience and like, yeah, share our expertise and just inspire people to keep growing. Yes, absolutely. And even if you're just starting out and you don't know where to start, like this is a great space for you to come in and just be like,
Cinthia Pacheco (42:51.566)
Wow, yeah, I get to create a business like with who I am right now in this moment and not make it mean anything Right, like you it doesn't have to mean anything it's just like where you are at this moment same thing with like how you started at a corporate job and like I know I started with a corporate job and
Cinthia Pacheco (43:22.794)
So like even when you have this like shame around building a business, building a business while working your full-time job, right? Like it gets to fund your dream. Like your business gets to, like your full-time job gets to fund your dream, right? So like looking at it in that light and like really allowing yourself to grow. Sorry. Of course. Yeah, it's so cute.
little one. Yeah, yeah, it's there's so many different versions of it, I think. I think that's what people don't realize.
Cinthia Pacheco (44:08.546)
there's not just one way to build it. I think we all have some sort of dream. There's people who will leave their job and go full time into their business and that works for them. Other people that totally freaks them out so they need that full time support. I mean economically they need that. So there's no run right way like whatever is going to get you there. And it also doesn't have to be fast. I think there's a lot of people who are like...
putting so much pressure like it has to happen this year. This and it's like what? I get it. Like if we can speed up, find shortcuts, absolutely. Like do everything you can to grow. But just this desperateness around like, if it doesn't happen this year, it'll never happen. I prefer like it to take time, but eventually happen, right? Like if you think about just like a drop in a bucket, you know, if you're working full time or you're in a season of life where you don't have a lot of time to dedicate to your business.
what can you just do a little bit every day or every few days, that will build up and that over time, it's like the what's it called the investing, what's it called the compound interest. It builds up over time. Like, so if you think about your business like that, like what's the rush like if you're really passionate about this vision, you want it to happen eventually, it's okay if it takes 10 years. I heard, have you heard, not usher, what's this other artist who's called who's like into hip hop?
I can't remember now there's like a really famous artist and he like he just did beats for a long time and no one knew about him and then after 10 years like he just exploded and he said like no one knew about me like I just like but again people are freaked out by the like 10, 15, 20 years but again if you're passionate about your vision don't worry about the timeline.
Do what you need to do, do what you can, and it'll happen. And I feel like all of the skills that you need to learn along the way too are just gonna, like what you said, they're gonna compound on top of each other. Because like mindset, emotional intelligence, human design, like even tapping into your values, like these are all like core foundations in any single business.
Cinthia Pacheco (46:30.866)
It doesn't even have to do with brand or SEO. And these are all things that you uncover and unlock over time, right? Like you're not the same person you were yesterday. You're not the same person you were a year ago. You're not the same person you were five years ago, 10 years ago, whatever it is. You're constantly evolving and constantly growing. And these are like core things that we need to know in our business.
And I feel like that's really what we're bringing into this space. And we have a really special offer inside of the intuitive impact panel discussion. So if you're here joining us live or if you're catching the replay, the link is in my bio. So come join us. Come join in the conversation because it's going to be so good. Like so many different facets, so many different.
Women in business like there's five of us in there bringing our expertise and really sharing every single thing that we've been through in our business and how we've been able to navigate certain things and that's really what the business space is like, like you right now like you're navigating how you can bring on more team members, so you eventually can go out and create a completely different business right like.
So like, these are your goals and like how you're navigating and how you're pivoting and you're doing it your way after being in business for eight years. We're not saying it has to take you eight years, it has to take you 10 years, but when you're coming together with people who have done this for so long and people who have navigated challenges with grace and compassion and...
learned to pivot and learned emotional intelligence and learned human design and brought all of those beautiful things into their business. That's where you get to speed up time a little bit more because you have all these people leading you in this conversation and like blocking out all of the extra noise because that's what
Cinthia Pacheco (48:36.138)
eventually we're like in a world where there's so much noise. There's noise from family, there's noise from social media. And what I mean by noise is like, um, like the news, your family telling you, well, you can't do that. What are you? Nuts? Like, are you crazy? You're going to quit your corporate job? Like what? It's like, who are you? Right? Like you have people telling you that you have social media where coaches are telling you, you can make 5k and
So like, there's so much noise out there in this space and we want to bring it back to your intuition. Because that's really where you're going to thrive is coming back to you. Yeah, I agree completely. It was Neo. That was the artist I was just like, Neo, famous Neo, yeah. Which I don't know what he's been up to recently. But yeah, I think that yeah. So I have to clarify.
The first three years I did a different business that was related and then I switched into SEO. So it's been more like five years, I guess, but it's still like it's been a journey. And my biggest thing has been mindset. Like I really didn't believe I was able to do it. Like I think that's what stops a lot of people. Anyway, that's a whole other conversation. But yeah, eight years sounds like a long time. But to me, it's like it's perfect for me. Like it's been my timeline and it can happen fast.
or it can happen, like whatever, it can happen. It's your timeline for sure. Exactly, exactly. It happens on your timeline. And I mean, like, honestly, like at this point, like, does it even matter how long we've been in business for? Exactly, yeah. Right, like, then, like, you're still growing, you're still evolving. Like, you could be in business from a year, like, literally started your business last year, and you could be in a completely different space
where you led yourself and that's what it's all about. It's about like your leadership and your like there's so many things there. There's so like I love what you said about the compounding because that's gonna like stick with me now because it's really about that. It's about compounding these skills and compounding these um like your leadership, your intuition, your energy like so many things. You could be working on something and it can feel very slow for a few months and then bam!
Cinthia Pacheco (51:01.494)
suddenly it just explodes because it's been compounding. And so we think of like progress. Yeah, our vision of progress can sometimes be skewed because it's not like that. And just opening up to all the opportunities and all the options and like things can just change quickly. Absolutely. I love this cover. Thank you so much for bringing this here.
You want to share with everyone like where you are and how they can find you and what's coming up for you too? Yeah. So you can go, I have an Instagram, obviously, Digital Blue My Q. My site is digitalbluemyq.com and I have SEO resources and free and paid stuff on there. And I also have a podcast, which is called the digitally overwhelmed podcast and that has a lot of just
all sorts of episodes. I mean, you've been on there. Just like really nice blend of helpful things like what is SEO and then just more expansive conversations with different experts. So yeah, that's where you can find me. And I'm so excited for the panel on Thursday, right? This Thursday. Yes, Thursday. No.
This Thursday. Yes, this Thursday. Yes. The 22nd. I can't wait. I can't wait too. It's gonna be so good. Thank you so much, Cynthia. I'm so glad we got a chance to talk and I loved hearing about all of this and I had no idea that you were doing all this stuff. So it was really exciting to hear all of that. You got an update. Yeah, I did. I love hearing updates, especially from someone I worked with before so many times and like hearing your business grow is
Absolutely incredible. So thank you for sharing all that. It is really exciting. I'm excited for you. Thank you. Yes. So come join us inside the intuitive impact panel discussion. If you have not already, the link is in my bio is completely free to join in. It's this Thursday at 10 a.m. Eastern. It's gonna be a really fun, juicy conversation. We're getting like real and raw and it's like,
Cinthia Pacheco (53:23.114)
just realness. Like four of us in there are moms. Caitlin is a dog mom so she's sharing her like wisdom and insight but we all have like a beautiful story to tell and I feel like that's what's so important and that really connects us all is like our stories and what we're here to bring right so like come join in the space you can hear all of our beautiful stories.
I've told you so much of mine already on these chats, but it's still going to be amazing because we have so many more to tell. And yeah, like we're opening up at the last like 10, 15 minutes of our discussion for Q and A's. So you can bring any questions that you have, especially if you're like a newbie in business, if you're just starting out, if you're on this path of like, what's next for me, this is gonna be great for you too. So.
Um, plus the offer we have in there is going to be so good. Like it's so, so excited. I like, I'm like waiting. I'm like, I can't wait to talk about it. I know. I have to hold myself back. Let me just say this yesterday, um, Cynthia and I were like chatting about this and like, okay, what are we going to talk about? And she's like, oh, so are we going to bring up the whole thing of what we're, what we're launching? And I'm like, no, we can't.
I haven't talked about it at all. So it's really funny to bring that up and we're very, very excited for this offer. And you are not gonna wanna miss this because it is like, what we're giving is gold and it's so much in here and it's so, so good. So just get in the room with us. We're gonna be guiding you through everything and just you'll hear all about it on Thursday. And I like...
This is so hard for a managing to keep this in by the way, just so you know, like it's so hard to keep it all in, but it's gonna be really, really good. I promise you that. So yeah, thank you so much Cynthia for joining me again. Go follow Cynthia Digital Bloom IQ. She is incredible. And like you've heard today, she does so much more than just SEO and she makes SEO fun, which is really, really cool. So go to, go.
Cinthia Pacheco (55:39.17)
Follow her and we will talk to you soon. Thank you so much. Thanks. Bye.
Cinthia Pacheco (55:50.718)
Next.
More Digitally Overwhelmed Podcast Episodes!
In this conversation, branding and design coach Calvina Nguyen and SEO expert Cinthia Pacheco discuss the pros and cons of DIY vs. done-for-you approaches in branding and SEO.