Nicole Smith
Welcome to Take Control with Nicole. As business owners, we experience firsthand the fine line between our personal and business lives. During our conversations, we will look at simple hints and tips to create time, reduce overwhelm, and help you to navigate through your journey to where you want to be. If you’re looking for smarter ways to work, and create space and time freedom in your day, then you’re in the right place. All right, let’s go.

Kathy Rast
Hello, hello. Hello. Thank you for joining me on this fabulous episode of Take Control with Nicole. But yes, this is not Nicole. This is Kathy Rast. We kind of call ourselves we’re not we’re more than business besties we’re kind of like business missus and call each other our business wives. Today I am taking over the episode because in a previous conversation with Nicole, we talked many times actually around people who have their own podcast and people who interview a lot of people on their podcasts, don’t get the opportunity to stand in the spotlight as much as it’s there to do. And whilst Nicole beautifully brings her parts into every episode and you enjoy listening to her thoughts when she talks to herself on those episodes in between her interviews. Today, we’re going to just really put the spotlight on Nicole and I’m going to ask her questions that she may or may not know to think herself or even think to ask yourself, so you can learn a little bit more about Nicole both as she shows up in our business and maybe a little bit behind the scenes as well to show you that she’s a well rounded friggin human. And we love that. So welcome, Nicole to your very own podcast.

Nicole Smith
Thank you for having me here. I’m so excited.

Kathy Rast
Is this weird for you?

Nicole Smith
It’s a little bit, but I’m excited. It’s gonna be so fun.

Kathy Rast
And I’m just reading your little script here. Well, hello, Nicole. And thank you for joining me today and sharing your amazingness with your community here.

Nicole Smith
Yes, no, I’m really excited about this conversation. And when you suggested we did do this a few weeks back, I was like, yes. What a great idea for Kathy to take over control with Nicole. And let’s just see where the conversation goes. Excited.

Kathy Rast
And that’s one thing, isn’t it too, in the space that you’re so familiar with? It is a skill to learn and to lean into and practice regularly letting somebody else drive, isn’t it?

Nicole Smith
Absolutely. Yeah.

Kathy Rast
And knowing when you secretly sneak your hand on to the wheel and and try and take back. But you know that that’s not possible in conversation with me. So for those that don’t know, I’ve been working with Nicole behind the scenes. And if you did know that might be a little bit weird, because you’d have been on calls. We have been working on the fundamentals in Nicole’s business. And one really important part that came out of our conversations is her business vision. And you would have seen that she has been talking about it bits and pieces all over the place. And I want to just for you guys to get a bit of an idea of what this, these two seemingly everyday words actually mean to Nicole, or maybe a little bit how we came to find them and where they are taking her and her people from here. So Nicole, my question is, as I was formulating that, and talking all about it, because this is totally unscripted. Literally, a minute before we press record, what do you want to talk about? What do you reckon we should talk about? That’s pretty much how the conversation went people. What is your business vision and when you first say it, and then we’ll unpack it a little bit, when you first say it, what what comes to mind for you.

Nicole Smith
So building big is the two words that have started to yes formulate as part of our conversations and started to filter through and weave through all of the way that I operate. It’s for me building big really is unique to each individual. For me personally, my building big evolves, it’s still moving at this moment. You know, the definition if I’m talking about practicalities is refining my one to one offerings, growing and developing my team, but also building out my members lounge and really making that, you know, signature offering for my community. But ultimately building big the definition can mean, as I mentioned, different to everyone, you may like to be a solopreneur. And just work in the most efficient way that you can operate each and every day. Or you want to scale your business to 10, 20, 30, 100 staff with offices, whatever it might be, the foundations of it are the same. It’s being able to design and create a way of operating, and being able to then connect that in through the daily operations of your business. I love the words building and I love the words big. Building has always been part of what I talk about. Because when I’m looking at how I support my business, my business, my business first and lucky, but my clients as well, it’s the foundations, I think about the house, right when we built our house, gosh, seven years ago, started with a slab on the ground. And if that slab wasn’t there, it will just start to all sink into the mud. So yeah.

Kathy Rast
Cool. So I love how you did the Nicole thing, which was just jump straight into the practical, this is what it looks like for you. This is what it looks like, for me, this is how I do it. And this is what it can mean. And now I’m going to drag you up to that place that you are growing your muscles in, which is the big picture stuff. And so now we know what it can be. What does it mean? So when you are building big, what does it get you because you recall our conversation about how we came to this, these two words were crafted from a conversation that you actually didn’t say these two words, by it’s a, there’s a collective of your big picture, and what you are doing, which in like you say you’re the people that you work with, and they’re doing in their own way, whatever that is, whatever their big is, they’re doing that and I just thought of something really fun. So remind me to tell you around what I just thought of while you were talking. When you have your building big, what is it getting you? And what is it going to get you in the future?

Nicole Smith
Yeah. So when I build my big, I have the choices to decide easily, where I want to go next, what I want to do, who I want to work with, designing my week, the way I want to, which is already starting to happen, but more choice around that. And ultimately, I just feel confident to do all the things. Now look, we’re not always going to feel confident the first time, everything new we may, you know, come across and feel that little bit of icky moments. But ultimately, I can dig down and really connect with okay, well, this is the business this is the aim, this is where I’m focusing, this is where I’m headed. I know that I’ve done something similar like this before. So I can make these choices and these decisions to travel to that next moment, wherever that might be. And that’s why I do think it is an evolution. Because at this moment in time, you’ve got your experiences up until now, tomorrow, you’ll gain new experiences. In a year’s time, in two years time, you’ve gained more experiences and more knowledge. So this definition of building big, even though that’s you know, where your business is growing or where your world is growing, ultimately, it’s coming down into the centre of you, and what it is, what’s that connection to, to where you’re heading.

Kathy Rast
And again, I love how you put it into the practical steps, I’m gonna keep drawing out to that big picture. So we know that vision or business vision or personal vision, but in this case, we’re talking a business vision is that dot on the horizon, is that thing that we never reached, but we always feel connected to no matter what direction, whether we do it going there on our feet, our backsides our face, whatever it is, we’re moving toward that vision with that in mind, and you’ve given wonderful examples around how you are considering everything from building your day, how was this, and asking yourself how is this moving me closer to building my big through to how it connects with you on the inside and how are your actions, your decisions, your feelings and all those choices that you are making meeting that building big vision. And so I want you to fast forward to say five years, five years you’re building big vision is still current, because you haven’t reached it yet. You’re a world away from where you are right now. So what is, what would building big mean there, for you.

Kathy Rast
Your eyes are going, Oh, I love this, Kathy. But I also hate it just to give you the idea. That’s the look, she’s giving me

Nicole Smith
Little tiny bit. But that’s good, because these big questions are things and they’re not necessarily big questions, even though we’re talking about building big,

Kathy Rast
This is how you design systems. So the thing is, is that this is the exact same sensation that your people’s have when you’re like already thinking 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 years down the track and then you’ve asked a question and some of them and they go well, I don’t know. And yet, it’s the same idea. Well, okay, how do we, what are we doing today that achieves or sets us up to continue to achieve that in five years time?

Nicole Smith
And isn’t it wonderful when you can easily support your clients on that journey, because it’s not yours, you’re not right ingrained in it. And that is so true. I have those conversations with people and pull that information out, and we build something that’s amazing.

Kathy Rast
And you sit with those people as they get there, and they get past that really itchy. Tickly stage and going I don’t know and you’re like, that’s cool. We’ll take a moment to get there. So now that I’ve given you enough breathing room, your answer is five years time, what does building big mean to you and how does it connect to today?

Nicole Smith
Yes, so building big for me, in five years, we’ll look that I have a team. This is the way we’re going is that what you want? So yeah, we have a team. All of no surprise here, all of the back end systems, the operations, the applications, they’re beautifully designed and working and operating in a way that not only I love, but more importantly, my team like to operate in, we all clearly communicate, we all know where we’re heading. I’m working with clients that are exactly the people who I want to work with, and that are ready to work with me. I clearly know who my know people are. And I’m enjoying, outside of the business, I’m enjoying doing those things – going to the kids school activities, you know, going and co-working wherever I want to co-work and cafes or wherever it might be, and catching up with my people that I want to be seeing in my personal world as well.

Kathy Rast
And one of those things that you also shared and I’m just going to bring it out here is that maybe not even in this country, maybe not even in this country who knows. So in managing, coordinating, supporting your people and yourself to be doing this anywhere and within your time and energies. So I was playing around when I was listening to you talk about building big just now. And building is an example of a verb. So a doing word. And big is in this context is a thing, so a noun. So we’ve got a verb and a noun. And so that means you’re doing a thing, that’s literally what it is, which is totally you because as soon as you say something, you already got it into action or you like, oh, we could do it this way, this way, or this way. All these wonderful things. So yeah, that’s a little bit of fun fact.

Nicole Smith
Love that! We’re all doing our thing. We’re all taking the action to step forward. Oh, I love that do anything. Yeah, that’s a hashtag isn’t it?

Kathy Rast
New tagline. The Artisans Business Solutions – Doin’ a thing. Okay, so now that we’ve gone really, really big, I think let’s just ask a few questions. Like I said, peeps, we’re just making this up as we go along.

Nicole Smith
And have fun, you never know what you’re gonna get.

Kathy Rast
Keeping Nicole on her toes as well as myself here. So this is your opportunity, though, for someone to be in the room as you talk about this, from what you know in your business. Now, what is something that you haven’t yet shared? Or that you haven’t, you feel you haven’t expressed? Or given voice to or something that’s really really important in your business that you’d like your peeps to know. Eyes are looking,

Nicole Smith
The questions when you’re not prepared. Something in my business now or about my business or about me?

Kathy Rast
Anything so this is your time to voice anything. So something you want, focus on the part that you want people to know something about you that they may not know or that you haven’t really explored, because nobody’s interviewed you or you can only talk so far with yourself about it.

Nicole Smith
Yeah. Yes. So I am known for a particular application, which is clickup. Many of my clients arrive at my door, knock, knock, go Hi, I want to learn about clickup, tell me more about this thing. Like, yeah, let’s do it. Because I love it. And you get on a phone call with me, we have an hour and it’s you get all the info, you get all

Kathy Rast
And it’s really clear that that’s who they come to. Yeah, that’s right. It’s a clear way to learn and to start working with you, isn’t it?

Nicole Smith
That’s right, absolutely. But what you may not realise is that clickup for me is a tool. It’s an application like Microsoft Office 365, or Dropbox or whatever else it is that is in your arsenal of, you know, your eco, tech ecosystem for your business, the way that you operate each and every day. And so, when I work with my clients, yes, the application of how we’re going to execute it is important. But what’s actually more important is taking that step out of the doing to start with and understanding the how-to’s. You’re here, you’re starting with this objective, you know, you want to get from A to Z. And we look at the way that that actually transpires together. And what actually happens as part of that process is Nicole’s brain does this thing and I start here and then I’m like, oh, but actually tweak, let’s think about this or have we looked at that, and these amazing conversations happen, and your ecosystem is becoming refined, because we’re looking at things in a way that is streamlining but also making it yours. Everybody works in unique ways. And we all love to either press all the buttons or not press the buttons, what’s the most important thing out of looking at your foundations of your business. So that’s something that I’m getting clearer on, to communicate, because that’s my, that is my background pre starting the business is being that translator between the business needs and the tech needs. So speaking both sides of the language and being able to articulate across the bridge, um

Kathy Rast
Which is a skill in and of itself. I did that, I used to do that as well. And you’d either say that you’ve got that wonderful skill of not only and I’m just going to extend this a little bit further, not only to know the system and how it can work for user, that’s how most people would understand that that’s what your role is. But and or show you how to use it, but also designing workarounds. Because when you say press a little buttons, people that haven’t worked or haven’t had an in depth, contact with I.T like we have, they don’t know that just because the system doesn’t do it that way. There is always a work around I.T, it was one of the very top rules in I,T. There’s always a workaround, and you know so many different tools that you can build or show someone else how to do quite simply and streamline that so that it’s done once and then it’s set up for the longevity until there’s a significant business change process. That’s correct. As well as you have a kind way of the old user error. It’s like, you might be getting all mad at the system, but it’s you. It’s you love. And this is what you’re doing. And this is how the system doesn’t love working with you. And you don’t love working in the system. This is how you can play nice together. So it’s nice to have that expertise to achieve that. And one thing that another that I’m just expanding on the parts that many people don’t think of is that employing somebody to work with like yourself. It’s not just the pressure taken off and finding the solutions because knowing how to search for a solution to an issue is a skill in and of itself. But it’s also just that you don’t know what you don’t know. Yeah. And so bringing it to someone like yourself, you’re like, oh, cool, that’s bla bla bla. And it solved in a moment or I don’t know the solution. But I know where to start.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, that’s that’s a big thing, isn’t it?

Kathy Rast
Yeah. So that’s another way that you find time is that whole energy in that and investing in solutions as well as not only designing them but you yeah, it’s just one of those things that a lot of people don’t think about. If you can, yes, everybody can do this. Everybody can do this. But do you really bloody want to and, do you need to? That’s where alot of people are falling down on that choice and like I could do it. But if you don’t love it, give it to someone, employ someone that loves it. And they will get it done better, quicker, and you will have time to do your own. So anyway, I’m just going to jump back off my soapbox to cheerlead you a little bit, but also just that clarity in what it is to employ a specific expertise. Because your expertise yes is around the I.T’s part but it’s also around, and this is kind of where I think we’re going here, that a lot of people don’t fully understand so I reckon we can dive in and build on a ponder that we recently had, in your membership, the members lounge, around processes, procedures and systems. We were looking at how they are different. And so how about we dive into that space there, and break that up a little bit and your role in that? How does that sound?

Nicole Smith
Because it is when I talk process and systems, people sometimes do the little bit of the eye roll and to be like, oh, it’s a little bit boring, not sure about how that all connects in. But when we’re looking at these things, it’s the blood lifeline of your business, it’s the way that you’re operating. And so when you’ve got your systems, it can mean tech, and a lot of people do divert directly to the tech. But ultimately, it’s the way of operating it’s that higher level, sort of silo, I look at it as so if we’re just bringing it sort of in a an org chart structure of a business, right, you might have heard HR, you might have operations, you might have marketing, you might have finance, for instance, right, just as a, just give us a way to look at it. Our processes, more of the doing elements. So in your systems, you have a high level actions. So let’s let’s bring in marketing as, let’s just look at marketing, because that’s one that’s going to be generic across most of the listeners and most of our community. So you’ve got your marketing activities, you might have a podcast, like this podcast, or social media, newsletters, whatever your else you’re doing in there. So that’s your, we’re going to have a system that contains all of those things, our processes is actually designing it in a way that you enjoy, and it completes the action in an easy and efficient way. So that when not keeping us a bit of stress each week to get the thing out, we know that our process is developed in a way that we’ve got it firstly, just gonna dive in on me. Because it’s about me,

Kathy Rast
It’s all about me,

Nicole Smith
It’s all about me today! Last minute things stress me out, cause me a little bit of like, Eek. It’s natural. It’s always going to happen. But Kathy’s been on the journey and I’ve said many times are the socials Oh, is big thing, obviously, in some business, big thing. We now have it working so that it’s all planned and scheduled and created a month in advance. So we hit that first,

Kathy Rast
Which is your yeah, like you say your example. Whereas other people in contrast would go, I love leaving it to the last minute, some people, which is not the last minute for them, they just know that they operate under that pressure. So you’re aware of both ways. And I guess I interrupt you right now, because often, when I work with people, I’m conscious of when somebody is giving a solution. And you’re, you’ve increasingly, you’ve just gotten lightyears ahead of when we first started working together. And your solution is not my solution. And my solution is not yours, but you have this breadth of experience of knowledge that you can go, okay, so this is how you operate. So you’re looking at those scaffolding of the you’re doing your analysis. And yes, you are judging people, I’m just gonna give you the hot tip, you’re judging people, but that’s your job, and you’re doing it in a way to support what they want to achieve. So you do have that breadth of experience. Being in an organisation in a role as well as being in your business and doing that and coming from multiple views, to draw on, to come up with a solution which might be overlapping with another one. But is always to that particular client. Is that correct?

Nicole Smith
Yeah, yeah. Ultimately, it’s, it’s about you as a client, what’s the most important thing to you, as part of this section of your business, this procedure in your business? And you’re right. For me, the last minute thing is like, ah. Where other people, like, I get inspiration from doing a post five minutes before it’s due to go out. Lke, that’s my, you know, give me more. Whereas I now for I feel for my business that I’ve got space now to be more, you know, now I’ve lost the word. Improptu? You know, what is it reactive, just post as I need to on stories and things like that, because I’ve got the space, choice.

Kathy Rast
Yeah, it’s a choice. And I’ve got your, your big there, that’s your, that’s your big it’s your is about choice. So you’ve got the choice of how you’ve got both the flexibility to to have it and confidence to release the cognitive resources, if we start using terminology in mind, which is the brain stuff, and you can go cool, it’s done. Let it go, how fabulous using your words. And then you also can go actually, I’m really inspired, and I want to share this with my people, I can do that as well. So you’ve got that range in your, builtin.

Nicole Smith
Just interrupting this episode for one little message, if you have been listening, and I love what you hear and want to come in connect, we have a Take Control with Nicole Facebook community, right over there on Facebook, that I would love to invite you to come and join us. We are a supportive community, we are looking to really take action in our businesses, and change the way or evolve the way we’re working right now. So I invite you to come on over and join our community and connect with us all. Community is the essence of everything in business, being able to really build those relationships that you can nurture, and grow and support and celebrate each other. Oh, how fabulous, I hope to see you over there, pop on over to Facebook, Take Control with Nicole, see you soon.

Kathy Rast
When you were just talking just now, this is just me spitballing. And going a little bit of going a little bit on and off. How does it align with you with scaffolding systems as the higher level outcome and process as the actions that achieve the outcome, or outcomes in the system. And procedures which are the steps in the process which achieve the outcomes? Yeah. Yeah, so kind of like a hierarchy and breaking it down to give people an idea, because you’re about so like, you’ve just talked about your process there. You’re looking at, okay, what is your outcome? Okay, what are you doing now? What’s working for you? What’s not working for you, okay. And you’re also kind of dipping into the procedures as well. So I guess I’m just giving you another way and sharing with other people. What you are doing a lot out of sight, and making it easy for them to feel confident in knowing that you would draw out and lead that conversation that they don’t have to know everything before they walk in to that conversation? As long as they know their business back to front and what they want and what’s not working, then you will confidently lead them in the conversation. Is that correct?

Nicole Smith
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. One of the first things we do is I just say, can you just talk at me, talk at me. Talk all the things, just give me words. And I will ask questions, and I will be typing like crazy over this side of the computer, doing my things. And then I’ve got all it’s all like a bit of a download. It’s actually for both sides. Because a lot of the time we hold all these things in our brains, you know, in our bodies. And it’s that release of someone else’s got that now, like they’re able to help me process that into a way that’s going to work. And that’s a really, I have found with every time we’ve done that with all of my clients, they leave that first call going, Oh, yeah. Fabulous. Let’s go. And so then we can actually dive in a little bit deeper as we go. But that initial point of you don’t know all the things, but that’s okay. Because you’re talking all the things you know, and I’m going to come and connect the other things that aren’t quite there right now.

Kathy Rast
That’s your frickin job. That’s what we pay you to do.

Nicole Smith
That’s right. And I love it. Just like you know, I honestly do and I know I’ve said this before, but I love what I do. I just love it. Every client is different. I just love it.

Kathy Rast
And you’ve learned to tone it down as well, haven’t you where you’re like, oh, it’s kind of like, yeah, it’s kind of like, there is a skill in that as well as a, I’ll call you a practitioner or a service provider, where when you are in your zone of genius, and it is connected with a really strong emotion like overwhelm, it is a skill, to have that awareness and to align the energy in the room to go. Yeah, like inside to go, wow, this is amazing. Let me dive in. And then on the outside go, this is absolutely fabulous. So what you’re telling me is really the dah dah dah dah, okay, we can work with this. And then you’ve learned, I know, in our conversations where I’m like, Nicole, you’re just gonna have to shutup because too many words I’ve got in detail. You’re giving me more detail and options, and I’m not ready for options, and you’ve wonderfully continued to shape that experience of going. Right. Are we ready to explore options? No, not yet. Great. Okay. And then you’ve got that wonderful whole driving for a period of the interaction? Yeah. And what have you noticed when you’re in those moments? What have you noticed for your clients? Is there a sense of relief? Is there a sense of embarrassment? Is that what what do the you notice as soon as you catch yourself? going, Oh, shit going to far?

Nicole Smith
Oh, goodness, we both breateh, we both okay reset. It really, again, it really depends on the client. There’s lots of different emotions and feelings and words that are mentioned. Some of them are like, Oh, I’m embarrassed by you looking and seeing my number of tabs that are open in my Chrome browser or the amount of documents on my desktop? And I’m like, do you know what, it’s fine? Like that’s you. You do you. I’m not here to

Kathy Rast
But what does fine mean?

Nicole Smith
You be you, you know,

Kathy Rast
But what do you? So let’s just expand on that a little bit, just there. So what does fine mean? Because that is a very blanket, normal response. And I got an idea of what fine means. But what would be something that you’re saying in your mind, because you’re very aware of your internal dialogue? What would you be saying

Nicole Smith
I’m not looking at that. In my head. I’m like, I’m not looking at that right now. Like, all of that is the way that you’re operating now. That’s fine. There we go, there’s another fine there. I know that we’re going to evolve this as we move through whatever it might be.

Kathy Rast
So could you again, this is just a normal conversation between like that we would normally have isn’t it. Could you word it in such a way that? Oh, cool that’s the thing. Yeah, the way you operate? Yeah. Okay, cool. Thanks. Cool. So you, do you enjoy having 50 tabs. I mean, personally, you know that I have at least five or six tabs of clickup open, because you can do that.

Nicole Smith
As do I.

Kathy Rast
Yeah. So it’s like, yeah, so yeah, you could word it in such a way. Cool. Do you like that? Do you not like that? Does that work for you? Doesn’t it work? Okay, good. And then you can make a note of that. Would that work for?

Nicole Smith
Yeah, yeah. Love that!

Kathy Rast
Let’s just expand on that concept of fine. Yeah. And especially when we are feeling that vulnerability. It is like somebody coming in and checking out your underwear drawer and going oh, my gosh, how long have you had these for?

Nicole Smith
I knew you were going there. That’s so funny. I like she’s going to say underwear draw

Kathy Rast
Like, we’re doing the oh okay, your pantry. Well, sometimes. Yeah. I’m not embarrassed by my pantry. So that suggests that I’m embarrassed by my underwear draw Okay, cool. So

Nicole Smith
Time to go shopping maybe, I dont know.

Kathy Rast
I just had this conversation this morning. Anyway. I guess that’s, and these are all little things that add up to be a really big thing about what’s important to you about your clients experience. But if we can learn a little bit more about you, what would be something that you would want your people to know about you that maybe they don’t know about? Or something that’s important to you?

Nicole Smith
Something that’s important about me? If I look at the lens of my career, I started as well, did all the normal pre-real, real job stuff all through school. Check-out chick, cafe barista, all those fun stuff, love coffee, so it’s such a good thing anyway, coffee academy. But I started as a receptionist in a financial planning and accounting firm, and I progressed my career, each step, I went to the new job. So started in a small SME move to AXA at the time, which is no longer anymore. I think it’s A&P or something else now. Moved overseas, worked with big financial planning firms, Rothschild, and Macquarie came back to where I work, where am I, Melbourne. Still in financial, and then over to logistics. And each time I moved, I acquired new knowledge, I enjoyed the jobs that I was in, but kept hitting that sort of level that I needed to learn more and educate myself and progress. And so I’ve been through all of the stages of all the different roles in the operational side working with owners of businesses, CEOs, CIOs, or the C and O’s all the things. And had people reporting to me as well, and help businesses to work more efficiently in the way that they operate. And so when I started my business, my experience, I really downplayed my knowledge. I just started because I knew I love doing the things. And so for a long time, I kind of forgot to talk about the fact that I have had all these years of knowledge. And no, I don’t have a piece of paper on my wall. But that’s not important to me, because I’ve had practical experience through all of the learnings. And I’m still learning I don’t know it all, like, my clients don’t know it all. We are all still learning. So yeah, I think that’s something I don’t talk about a lot, is all the different levels and elements that I have acquired throughout my career.

Nicole Smith
So now that we know that, what’s important for people to know about that?

Nicole Smith
Your business is no, that’s not important. Well it is, your business is important,

Kathy Rast
Say it and then we can tidy it up after,

Nicole Smith
When I come to work with my clients, wherever they are in their journey, I have seen or been surrounded by a similar experience a similar level of that business. So when I come in, I’m working with you as a human, and being able to connect my experiences and my my journeys to support you to discover what where you are now where you’re heading, and designed things, processes and foundations to support you to, to go wherever you’re going.

Kathy Rast
And what’s the purpose of that?

Nicole Smith
So that my clients feel supported and confident. And that they know they’re ready to take that journey.

Kathy Rast
And for what purpose? We had to at least dive into one part. We always

Nicole Smith
For those who are listening, this is a really excited, I actually do love this. And she keeps going, Kathy keeps going until we get the right answer. So let’s see what we can find. Okay, alright

Kathy Rast
Just practising being in that big picture. This is getting above the trees, above the doing, above the detail. And moving up to the big picture in connecting what you are doing right now, with that dot on the horizon and knowing what it’s actually getting you so you skip over that action, that doing and all that thing, because that’s what you can do all the things because it’s actually you’re doing it for a reason. And that’s what we’re finding here. So for all of that purpose, hope you can reall the last answer because we stopped and I didn’t write it down. For what purpose do you do all those things? And so your clients feel confident what was it confident and that they are ready

Nicole Smith
For taking, to take the journey.

Kathy Rast
Yeah, for what purpose?

Nicole Smith
Hang on, is it my prupose?

Kathy Rast
What purpose, so this is actually gonna go both ways, You’re gonna get so big so it applies to both of you because yeah, you’re both getting your respective connection. It’s a transaction and so you’re both getting something out of it. This feeds your eternal flame and it also feeds,

Nicole Smith
Now my set my head went off

Kathy Rast
The bangles. We won’t sing and but it’s but obviously it’s there to get it for the client. And I guess where I’m going with this just quickly is that when you are in your zone, when you are in your zone of genius doing your thing and you are feeling fabulous in what you do, which is what you have shaped and what you continue to shape. People get your best. And so that means they get what they need. And so it’s about understanding through this process, what do you get? And what do they get? So we’re gonna get so high that this term is actually going to apply for both of you. So for what purpose do you want your clients to feel ready to go on that journey and confident.

Nicole Smith
So they and I can enjoy the experience, but also the outcomes of what we do together

Kathy Rast
Yeah, for what purpose, enjoying the outcome?

Nicole Smith
Enjoying the outcomes. Yep so we are going to enjoy the outcomes for the purpose of moving closer to what our building big definition is.

Kathy Rast
Yeah. And what’s important about building big?

Nicole Smith
What’s important about building big is that we design, create all the words, a business, a life, a world that we’re happy, and that’s easy, and that we enjoy.

Kathy Rast
And what’s important about that?

Nicole Smith
That we can actually live that life as well and it not be a facade over there or something that’s always just out of reach.

Kathy Rast
Yep. And what’s important about actually living that life,

Nicole Smith
We all want to live a life, that’s exactly what we want. So the important thing about that is that we firstly know what it is, and find a way or discover a way that we can do that.

Kathy Rast
And I’ll let you off the hook here, is it also that, so you’re about that possibility. Yeah, that clarity. But also that experience of what it feels like. Because whilst we can want to feel something, it doesn’t mean that we’ve got experience in it. So we either don’t know that we’re already doing it or we don’t know how, or we don’t feel safe enough, either with our current structure in our business, or the people that we have been working with, or surround ourselves with, to do or feel that is that about where we’re landing?

Nicole Smith
Yeah, it’s very easy to repeat behaviours that we have experienced already. Because it’s the known it’s comfortable. If we start to experience the new things, it’s, it’s new until it’s old. So it can seem a little bit, whatever, when we approach those, but as soon as we’ve moved through that, and we’ve not through we’ve just experienced it, then it’s we can easily repeat it just like the old things that we’ve done, that weren’t in alignment with what we want, where we’re heading, we’ve got these new experiences in play, that are going to support us to live that life.

Kathy Rast
And it’s helpful to go with somebody who’s experienced or aware of that input that process of experiencing it, so that they can kind of narrate and walk alongside and say what you’re feeling while you extend what normal means what your feeling is that sensation of ah, actually, you don’t have to do all the things and that means by now having your systems work for you. Yeah, you know, that thing you’ve been putting off? Yeah, you’ve got no excuse now. And you would have had that. That nervous giggle wrote or she was Yeah, I was getting in my own way there. That’s why and that would be why a lot of people wouldn’t want to work with you as well. Well, I could work with Nicole and get it done. But then if I did it, that means I’d have to do that over there. And we don’t do that. So now I have my keeping on task and keeping to time and and playing by the rules here. I have three questions that you ask your guests and I promise to not ask you exactly the way that you asked your guests. So normally, you’d ask what is your go-to app that creates ease in your every day? What is your go to analogue thing in your day, that creates ease?

Nicole Smith
Oh, analogue thing. Goodness.

Kathy Rast
You wanted to be known for more than Clickup,

Nicole Smith
Yeah I know that. I know that. I don’t think this is the right answer. But I apply my makeup every day. Yeah. And I have everything in a place. Yeah. In a system. So I’ve got all my makeup brushes on this thing you know in a container so I grabbed

Kathy Rast
I think they call that a caddy don’t they? Caddy.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, it’s actually from IKEA. It’s from my wedding randomly. It’s a little white pot with like lacy things on so we’re using that. My makeup lives in my makeup bag. So like that action of that everything’s there in its place, pop on some music, and off I go. I don’t know if that was the right answer but

Kathy Rast
It’s an answer!

Nicole Smith
It’s the easy way that I do it every morning.

Kathy Rast
That’s exactly right. So you just get up and you can be half asleep and all of a sudden have a face on.

Nicole Smith
And then Charlotte comes in and decides she wants to wear some makeup. And so that’s always fun. It’s my three year old.

Kathy Rast
Okay, so normally you’d ask what are you doing online or a paper to-do lists lover? What is one thing that, how can we play with this one to mess with you nicely? What is one thing that you don’t put on your list that you would like to start putting on your to-do list?

Nicole Smith
Oh, good question. What is one thing that I don’t put on my list right now that I want to put on my list? Probably drink more water?

Kathy Rast
How much water?

Nicole Smith
Oh, gosh, that’s a very good question. I don’t know.

Kathy Rast
Because this is what you ask your people. You ask specifics because if you do it right, you can have one more sip. And that’s more water.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, that’s so true.

Kathy Rast
What if we start with what’s the unit? Do you drink it by the glass? Or by the drink bottle?

Nicole Smith
Yeah, I drink by the glass. So what if we say,

Kathy Rast
What do you do now, how many?

Nicole Smith
It depends on the day and I’m not as good as consistently with that. So what if we say six a day? Is that enough? Or is that to many or not enough?

Kathy Rast
And how many coffees do you have a day?

Nicole Smith
Minimum one.

Kathy Rast
Okay cool.

Nicole Smith
Sometimes two.

Kathy Rast
So you have to add on a glass of water for every coffee that you have.

Nicole Smith
That makes 7

Kathy Rast
Yeah, there you go. So seven glasses a day.

Nicole Smith
Seven glasses. I better have put this, I’ll put that into click up. I’ll write it on a post it note for the moment.

Kathy Rast
And that’s exactly a process that you do. I bet I’ve experienced that with you where you’ve actually broken it down into that way.

Nicole Smith
Yeah. Well, the easiest way to do it, isn’t it? Because otherwise,

Kathy Rast
Yeah, you’re helping us unsabotage. That’s right. We said nervous. And you did the nervous giggle as well, you know what I’m doing?

Nicole Smith
I know. I know how easy it can be. So let’s do it.

Kathy Rast
Okay, last question. What would you do and so this is not the question, I have to read out loud and then change it. What would you do if you created more space in your world? See, that’s a bit cheaty because you don’t need more space, your space is wonderfully evolving. Okay, so what can we do with the plate? What would you do, if you achieved one of your bigs by the end of this year? Okay. What would it get you?

Nicole Smith
Physically or just like anything

Kathy Rast
Guess what, an answer’s an answer and they’re all right. There’s no wrong answers. It’s just an answer.

Nicole Smith
Yep. Okay, so if I achieved one of my bigs this year,

Kathy Rast
What would it get you?

Nicole Smith
What would it get me? It would get me, see I go straight into the, yeah, I’m not going there though.

Kathy Rast
Why don’t you just start there and then jump up a level or two.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, okay. So if I achieve one of my bigs it will give me or I’ll feel feel happy about it, that I have now done the thing that I’ve known I can do, but not quite there yet.

Kathy Rast
But remember to flip it because you just wonderfully sabotaged again. So you knew you couldn’t do it yet, but then you now you know, you can do it.

Nicole Smith
Yes. Now I know. I can do it. Yeah. So I would. Okay, so, um, I would actually book a nice experience for me and my family. Yeah. Yeah. Because reaching out to, you know, in the next level of big whatever, you know, achieving that will mean financial reward as well as happiness reward. So that will mean that I’m one step closer to doing, you know, the next thing so, yeah, that’s what I would do cool special. Not defining what the special is now because we will,

Kathy Rast
Something that’s important to you. Yeah. With the people that you love, because that’s what you’re building big is about building that lifestyle that life for your people, which is not your clients. They are your family, isn’t it your inner circle friends? Yeah, that’s right. So But listening to you just now is it possible or does it align with you, I think it will. Just to be a little bit biassed you no longer have goals or outcomes. You have bigs.

Nicole Smith
Yeah

Kathy Rast
So you can have annual, quarterly, biannual, whatever it is weekly, daily, sometimes hourly bigs. Yeah, these are your bigs today because I know you talk about having three things to achieve the day. These are my three bigs that may or monthly bigs that connect to your annual big or quarterly big. How does that align?

Nicole Smith
You’ve just done a thing,. Word goals?

Kathy Rast
Of course I did, I’m hanging around you

Nicole Smith
The word goals has never resonated with me. I don’t know why

Kathy Rast
Because you don’t do sport.

Nicole Smith
I’ll give you the hot tip, I don’t do sports.

Kathy Rast
I used to be a goalie I get the satisfaction of getting it being a goal and I know what happens when you miss a goal and you’re hearing that crowd go dohhh and you’re like I tried my best so that would make 100% sense yeah, so but you have big’s so maybe that could be something that you can bring into your conversation with your people on that going what you’re big and then you can start to break down those steps to planning little bigs.

Nicole Smith
bigs and little bigs,

Kathy Rast
Little bigs.

Nicole Smith
Let’s do some quarterly big planning.

Kathy Rast
That’s right. Your little bigs add up to big big, which are going towards your big.

Nicole Smith
Again big, big can seem like it’s unattainable, but it’s little bigs lots of, accumulation of lots of little beings to reach the big big. Oh, we’re gonna have some fun with this. I can feel it already.

Kathy Rast
That’s exactly what level of big are we looking at the top though them right down to the ground level of big.

Nicole Smith
Awesome. I love that, that does really connect with me

Kathy Rast
Beautiful well, there we are we finished let’s finish off with doing the thing. We just did a thing you now no longer have goals or outcomes. You have bigs on different levels and those into the accumulation of the bigs that add up to that really big, big. And all the while you’re just building big.

Nicole Smith
Absolutely. Love it. Thank you. So much fun.

Kathy Rast
Boom. Mic drop. There we go.

Nicole Smith
Wonderful. Well, I think we’ve reached the end of the conversation.

Kathy Rast
Oh, wait, am I supposed to say the end bit? Okay, you can leave that in there if you like Cass.

Nicole Smith
Yes, I love it.

Kathy Rast
I’ve got one job. I’ve got like the shortest script and I didn’t read it. I was too busy looking at the timer. Thank you for joining me today on your podcast. That’s where it got to be awkward. And sharing parts of you that your listeners may or may not be aware of. I know there was some new stuff to you. So if they knew that’s interesting. And where can we find, where can we find you to connect?

Nicole Smith
Wow, that is a fabulous question. So I’m on all the socials @theartisanssolutions had to think about that myself. Also, my websites theartisans.com.au and I’ve never mentioned that on here. So that will be a first mention pop on over and say hello. There’s some fun freebies on there as well. So pop on over and click the buttons and discover the things. And obviously I have a podcast, it’s Take Control with Nicole, which you’re listening to right now. So we’d love you to come and say hi, on any of the places,

Kathy Rast
Or subscribe or leave a review. It does make you do a little happy dance, doesn’t it? So thank you very much for joining me. Thank you very much, Nicole again, I’m just reading the script and actually butchering it. I trust and hope that you have a wonderful rest of your day, wherever you are starting this space from and enjoy. I’m gonna just change this up, Nicole. Just enjoy your space, enjoying your space, finding those pockets of time to wonderfully feel all the freedom and the choices in those moments.

Nicole Smith
Wonderful. Thank you, Kathy.

Nicole Smith
Well, there we go. Thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been such a pleasure having you on board. Have we connected on the social’s yet? If not, please come on over. Say hi, I’m on all the platforms @theartisanssolutions. So I’d really look forward to seeing you over there. And if you enjoy today’s episode, don’t forget to tag me and I’d love it if you could leave a review. And of course share this with others so others can come and join us next time. All right, then everyone have a fabulous rest of the week. And until next time, see you then.