Scaling Your Income and Team Through Project Management with Ariel Hodges
Mar 22, 2021
In this episode of The Dreamer’s Lounge Podcast, I’m so stoked to have another Ariel in the house! I’m joined by Ariel Hodges, COO and Project Management Expert! Ariel started out as my client, and now I’m thrilled to have her on my team. We started working together officially a month ago, and we have already seen transformations in my business. I’m so excited to have her on to talk about why project management is KEY to a thriving business.
But before we dive right in, welcome! You’ve now entered into The Dreamer’s Lounge! I’m Ariel Schiffer, and I have made it my mission to take out the digital trash one bad course at a time. I am the creator of The Course Alchemist, Industrial Organizational Psychologist, and Curriculum and course design expert.
This podcast is for entrepreneurs who are looking to elevate their digital product suite so their offers speak for themselves. Nothing is worse than being oversold into something that under delivers just like an overpriced bottle of wine. So, if you’re ready to develop high quality offers, bring in consistent revenue, and have a business with long-term results for you AND your clients, grab your drink and join us inside…
And today we will discuss how you can scale your income and team through effective project management. For all the details, be sure to listen to the ENTIRE episode on your favorite streaming platform!
Ariel shares her background and how we started working together.
Like many entrepreneurs, Ariel was hit hard by Covid. But it gave her the opportunity to reevaluate some things in her life. Until then, she felt like she had been in a cycle of wanting things to be different and hoping life would get better. But she finally realized that she had to be the one to take control of her own life.
She decided to branch out and start an online business. When she thought about what she was best at and how she could help people the most, the thing that kept coming up was project management. It was scary for her since she has a very type A personality and likes to control things, but she knew that ultimately, it was the right decision.
Soon after that she found my program and started working with me as a client. And when I got to know her better, I thought, “Wow, I could really use her services!” I knew that while my business wasn’t falling apart by any means, it could be better. If I wanted to scale the right way, I could use someone else’s expertise.
So now Ariel is my Chief Operations Officer, and she is the person I lean on for everything in my business. I’m so glad we have both benefited from working together!
What project management means.
The basic definition of project management is the management of a process from start to finish. Ariel defines it as the advancement of a goal. The reason Ariel is such a geek about it is because it affects every aspect of our lives, both personal and business, and nothing can really get done without it.
Using myself as an example, my goal was to serve more people in a shorter time frame. Ariel helped me optimize and streamline my processes to do that.
A lot of business owners tend to be more “visionary” types and don’t like to look at things on such a granular level. But you really need someone who can look at things this closely to help you see if you’re doing things in the best way. You’ll achieve your vision faster when you have great project management.
Growing vs. scaling in business.
Ariel and I are very aligned in our definitions of growth and scaling. We see these terms used a lot in the online space, but people often use them incorrectly. They’re not the same thing.
Growth: adding new resources to increase revenue
Scale: increasing revenue without majorly increasing resources
Growth is when you have a solid, repeatable process that people are willing to buy. At this stage in business, you’re able to do projections, and you know it’s time to outsource. However, this is the point where people get really uncomfortable.
It’s scary to see money going out. It’s scary to let go of control and allow others to take on more of the work. But in order to scale, you have to grow first. Your growth supports your scale.
What project management has accomplished for my business.
Ariel and I have officially been working together for a month now. And it’s insane what we’ve done over just the last month.
We had an amazing integration day where we strategized together. We talked about where I see my business going, where I see my personal life going, and the balance between those two things. Because that’s the thing about project management-- it’s not just about your business. We all want to have a solid work/life balance, and that’s not going to happen if your project management is shit!
We brought on new people to our team who we LOVE. We started using ClickUp, and we customized it to flow with our business and our clients. And now I’m able to take on more clients AND do the work significantly faster.
I recently saw my highest month ever in terms of revenue. And I know it’s not a coincidence. I know it’s because of our intentional work around project management.
When to invest in project management.
Ariel said that most entrepreneurs come to her when they’ve hit six figures and are solid in their offers. But they’re usually scared to let go of the reins and are uncomfortable hiring people. When you feel you’re ready to start hiring but aren’t sure how to go about it, that’s when it’s good to invest in someone like Ariel.
You have to remember, though, that you can’t expect someone to just come in and fix your shit. A project management expert like Ariel will come in and build on the work that’s already there. You as the business owner have to take ownership! Don’t expect someone to fix it all for you.
Scaling Your Income and Team Through Project Management with Ariel Hodges: The Bottomline
If you have big dreams for your business, if you’re envisioning yourself as a CEO, or if you even want to sell your business one day, excellent project management is something you NEED. It’s about playing a bigger game and making impactful decisions. There’s more risk along the way, but there’s also more reward. To accomplish your visions, you have to look at the details to streamline and optimize them. Be sure to connect with Ariel over on her Instagram!
To hear my whole conversation with Ariel, be sure to listen to all of episode 13!
Thanks so much for stopping by The Dreamer’s Lounge! I hope that this episode helped you see why project management is KEY to a thriving business. If you enjoyed the episode please take a second to rate & review. Each review helps me fulfill my mission of improving the quality of learning in the online business industry. Don’t forget to take a screenshot, share it in your Instagram stories and tag me @dreampro_. See you next week!
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