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Brook Borup Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Business Podcast
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Introducing Brook Borup
Brook Borup is our guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview.
She is a lady who is on a mission to help the worlds entrepreneurs own their own successful business that can someday be run without the business owner pulling all the strings.
Along with her team she will push her clients towards the first step in the direction of business freedom, time abundance and the ability to
ultimately sell a business at a profit.
Sound good…you betcha.
But how has she developed herself to a position where she is rightly called the “Swiss Army Knife” for Business because of her knowledge of tools, automation and needs of the small business owner.
How The Dots Joined Up For Brook
Her ability to create the perfect solution to any challenge in the most cost effective way for the small business owner that is struggling with the business behind the business.
Well she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Public Relations with an emphasis in Marketing and Event Planning from Grand Valley State
University in 3 years, but it was when she struggled with the waste she experienced at the corporate level in large companies that the first steps to where she is today became to be realized.
And due to the fact that most people only understand what they know,and unfortunately 80% of running a successful small business is NOT their trade knowledge, it seems as if she has a never ending conveyor belt lining up to work with her.
So what is the hardest part of growing a service based company like her own?
And does she look back at her history and think “Man if only I knew what I know now then we would have been rocking in record time!”
Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Brook Borup.
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Brook Borup such as:
Why she is so focused on building a team around her that will free her even more from her business, to tackle the things that fall within her own personal super talent.
Why Brook believes that it is so important to spend as much money as you can possibly on hiring a VA. If you go cheap, you get cheap results.
Why a great way to start a business is to simply look around at the people you already know, and ask them “How can I help you?”
and lastly….
Brooke reveals her worst client ever….and you will be surprised to know exactly who she said…..i was for sure :)
How To Connect With Brook Borup
and an amazing free gift
Return To The Top Of Brook Borup
If you enjoyed this episode of with Brook Borup, then why not listen to some of our favourite podcast episodes such as Jake Heilbrunn, Nick Ruiz, Michael Aterberry or the amazing Travis Jennings
Or if you prefer just pop over to our podcast archive for thousands of amazing episodes to choose from.
Full Transcription Of Brook Borup Interview
Intro [0:09]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK. David Ralph.
David Ralph [0:34]
Yes, have a good morning. Good morning. Good morning to everyone across the world. This is Join Up Dots. This is David Ralph, and we’re coming to you live from the back of the garden in the United Kingdom. I’m looking at my window at the moment, I can see the shed I can see the barbecue that’s only being used maybe twice in about six years. And it’s looks good in the United Kingdom. And today we’re gonna go over to somewhere where they probably have barbecues every single day and it’s been Cheez Its big kinis it’s the glamour life that we all want. Yeah, we’re going to go over to Florida to speak to today’s guests. But I must admit I’m slightly on edge. I haven’t recorded an episode of Join Up Dots for quite a while and I’m looking at all the buttons flashing in front of me thinking what do I press What? So bear with me bear with me this the today’s guest is going to ease me through because she is a professional. She’s kind of involved in the podcasting world, but she’s not as well. It’s all gonna become clear but but she is a lady on a mission to help the world’s entrepreneurs own their own successful business that can someday be run without the business owner pulling all the strings now, along with our team, she will push our clients towards the first step in the direction of business freedom, time abundance and the ability to ultimately Sell a Business at a profit. Sounds good? You betcha. But how Has she developed herself to a position where she’s rightly called the Swiss Army knife for business because of a knowledge of tools, automation and needs of the small business owner, our ability to create the perfect solution to any challenge in the most cost effective way, for the small business owner, but is struggling with the business behind the business is how it’s all come together. Well, she earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations with an emphasis in marketing and event planning from Grand Valley State University. But it was when she struggled with the way she experienced at the corporate level in large companies that the first steps to where she is today became, it became realised to her and due to the fact and most people only understand what they know. And unfortunately, 80% of running a successful small business is not fair trade knowledge. It seems as if she’s a never ending conveyor belt lining up to work with her. So why is the hardest part of growing a service based company like her own and does she look back at our history and think man, if only I knew what I knew Vayner would have been walking in record time. Well, let’s find out as we bring them to the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Brooke Borup Good morning to you, Brooke. How are you?
Brook Borup [2:55]
I’m fabulous this morning, David, how are you?
David Ralph [2:58]
I am good, but I was listening. Over the shop there, I was looking at things flashing things going up and down in front of me. It’s amazing how you you fall out of your comfort zone so quickly. But actually if I just relaxed, like making love to the podcasting microphone, I could have done it. I could have done it better than I delivered Brooke.
Brook Borup [3:18]
That’s okay. We’ll get you back in the groove.
David Ralph [3:21]
I’m back in the groove like Madonna into the groove now was that her? It was Madonna, isn’t it? She’s, she’s about 72 years old now. So as songs were about 30 years ago, Tampa, Tampa, Florida, you’re in the place that most people want to live in. I mentioned this to you beforehand. Is it awful? where you’re sitting here talking to a UK podcaster and outside, there’s a big mouse running around, there’s rides to go on. There’s fun, there’s beaches. Why do you do it? Why don’t you find somewhere nasty so that you can sit at home quite comfortably behind your computer
Brook Borup [3:57]
because I can sit anywhere that I want. That’s the purpose. Perfect thing about being a digital printer. I can go to the beach if I want to, I can sit at home if I want to, like instead of Starbucks, I can go anywhere that I want. And it’s
David Ralph [4:11]
the ace. Yeah, but it’s not perfect. Is it because you don’t leave your work behind? That’s what I think. Isn’t it better to have it all sort of locked in a location. So when you walk away from it, you’re not working? Are you working? 24 seven just because you can do these things.
Brook Borup [4:24]
Not necessarily. I am more than happy to take my computer and put it in the car and head out to the beach. After a couple hours of work and a couple of drinks and say, You know what, hey, it’s my time to be done.
David Ralph [4:35]
But how do you see the screen? You can’t see it with the sun shining on it? You can’t see it. It’s ridiculous. You’ve got these Kindles and you can see them wherever you go. But a screen you’ve got a towel over your head. How do you do it is all white saying you can work on the beach with your laptop but you can’t see anything?
Brook Borup [4:53]
Well, I mean, you can always have a little tent like most of us do in Florida, especially when we’re extremely Michigan white. All the time. Um, I have a little tent that I sit in and I can put everything in there and then I can zip it up when I want to go in the water so that nobody even knows what’s in there. You might as well stay at home Brooke
David Ralph [5:12]
Why is the effort of taking all that stuff just so that you can go to a beach and then sit indoors anyway?
Brook Borup [5:19]
Well, because then I can actually go to the water so I can go and enjoy myself at the same time. Or I can just leave my stuff in the car when I get there and say, You know what, I’m here having fun, and I’m not going to work this afternoon. So let’s
David Ralph [5:33]
talk about your business then because I am sort of aware of this where people have create these businesses but ultimately, our time and and location three, but ultimately the time it goes out the window because they end up doing it all the time. Have you been in that situation where literally 24 seven you were slogging or did you see the error of your ways before you even went into it? Was it the corporate gigs but maybe You look around and think, hang on, I’m not gonna go like this, I’m going to create something that gives me freedom right off the right from the bat.
Brook Borup [6:07]
No, I, I am a self proclaimed workaholic and I actually enjoy my work. But at the same time, I have learned over the course of the last four years in business, that that can’t be the case. And so I am working to help my clients be that person that can get out of their business and have that time as well as myself. You know, it’s it’s kind of you have to do what you preach, right? And that’s what I do.
David Ralph [6:35]
But yeah, but do you do it? That’s the trouble. If you love your work and you love creating something. It’s that double edged sword, isn’t it? As you say, you are teaching your clients how to do something, but ultimately, you’ve got to show them that you’re doing it yourself. But if you love doing what you’re teaching them, it’s very hard to walk away from it. I love podcasting, but I love walking away from it. I very rarely podcast maybe two days. month now, and everything else is just me sort of walking around. So when I come back to the microphone, I’m ready for it. I’m ready for it. I might not be professional, but I’m ready for it. Is that not the way we view you’ve got to almost screw yourself up by not being there for the clients to prove to your clients, but you can do it as well. There’s been
Brook Borup [7:18]
well, I’m working on building my team. So the whole point of my calling solution when I built when I started it was to have a team of specialists in every administrative capacity so that when a job or when a client comes across my desk and needs a specialist to do what needs to be done, that I can then delegate it. So right now, a lot of the delegation goes to me because I haven’t built that huge team yet, but it’s coming and I can see it, it’s just around the corner and I am so looking forward to it.
David Ralph [7:51]
So So how do you start this? How do you start finding the right people to work for you and not go through the the finding the scaling by training and then you find out that they’re pregnant and they’re gonna leave you or they turn out to be a lunatic or whatever. Is it trial and error? Or have you got a strategy because I know a lot of people out there are worried recruiting people in the virtual world because ultimately they don’t get to see them. They don’t get to meet them. It’s not like a job interview where you sit opposite them and you, you get a flavour. How have you done it?
Brook Borup [8:24]
Well, the internet makes it a heck of a lot closer to a job interview. So I use the internet tools to hire my people to have my interviews to test people. I do not have any trouble coming up with 10 tests for, say, a graphic designer and testing out 10 different people for exactly what I need or what from what my client needs. So I have one person that I found that I absolutely love and she is in the Philippines. She was my very first hire. And she’s been with me now too, and half years, and she does all of my Philippine hiring for me. So anything that I can find that I can outsource to the Philippines I do because it helps me keep my small business owner budget down. And then the things that I can’t outsource like copywriting and, and stuff like that, that just makes more sense to have it domestically. I find those people here and then once I find the people that work well with me, I keep them on my roster. And it’s really just about going with your gut and testing people out and having clear communication with everyone. These are the expectations that I have of you. And if you don’t want to follow those expectations or you don’t want to communicate with me, then we don’t need to work together because there are plenty of people out there that are looking for the opportunity to be a an administrative helper, or a virtual assistant, that, gosh, so many people want to be realised and want to be taken care of. Because in the corporate world, virtual, sorry, actual assistants are treated like crap in most cases. And it is my hope that my team is looking for something more, you know, I want to pay them more, I want to treat them better. And I want them to have the lives that they want, not just what they you know what they get, because they have to be in the corporate world because their skills are administrative.
David Ralph [10:36]
Now, one of the things that I’ve struggled with Brooke and creating Join Up Dots is paying for somebody to do work, but I can just do really, really quickly anyway. And so I sort of dabbled with virtual assistants from India in the Philippines. And they used to say, Well, yes, I’ve managed to do five of those in an hour. I think I can do 15 Oh, I just do it myself. How do you sort of get past that, because ultimately, I’m kind of holding myself back. But in a funny way, I’ve now got systems in place, but it’s also automated. So I don’t need people to help me anyway, really? How would you overcome that sort of small business mentality, or, oh, I just do it myself.
Brook Borup [11:14]
It’s only quicker and easier and cost effective the first time. So you can do it once. That’s great. But I put my clients in the spot where they do it once. And it’s all recorded, and it has a now it has a system and a process so that we can take that once and we can turn it into a you never have to do this task again. And once they get the first 10 of those done, and they read, they see the difference in time that it takes not to do those 10 things. They’re, they’re a heck of a lot happier to start delegating other stuff. It’s just it’s those first 10 and it’s the getting over the hump. And as long as they trust me to hold their hand through it, I’m going to be there to do that. Now. We talk to you Asked about, you know, turnover and having different people and somebody leaving because they get pregnant. Yeah, all of that happens, you’re dealing with the public. So as much as we can automate, we do. And the other stuff that really has to be done by somebody, we create the systems and processes and training videos for all of that. So when somebody does leave, because ultimately it will happen, all we have to do is find that new person, and we have already had our task list, we already have our job description, because we already created it with the last person. And we already have all of our training videos. So that new person comes in starts on day one, and we say, here’s all the training videos, here’s the calendar of when all of those things get done, start getting you know, get started on them. And let us know if you have any questions. Then it takes that three week training time down to about an hour and a half, maybe and then some ancillary questions afterwards that you would have anyway But if we need to recreate a training video because the questions weren’t answered, then we can do it at that point. And our process just got better.
David Ralph [13:08]
Oh, I love this. I love this. So basically what you’re doing is creating a library of support for these people. You do it once you have it on Dropbox or whatever that people can just sort of dip into. And you know that those processes are signed off. How do you do this? But there’s a kind of sense check, but they are actually adhering to your training. Do you have a test at the end, but they need to do? How do you get them to the point where you go, yeah, I can, I can free you like a dove to go off and work for me.
Brook Borup [13:38]
Well, they’re doing the they’re doing the tasks as we go, you know. So if we have a video on social media, like this is how you’re going to use Canva. And these are our templates that we already have in our system. Here’s the username and password to log into Canva they’re actually doing it as their tray as they’re learning. And then my clients Or myself, if my clients hired me to be there, essentially manager, they manage the situation. They go in and say, okay, you did the first 10. All of them except for this one look great. And this is why it’s not great. Now they have that comfort level on that task with that new person saying, Okay, cool. She did she nine out of 10. That’s 90%. I’m okay with that. And that 10% was, you know, a little tweak, she’ll never do that again. And so now you become the manager in your business rather than the taskmaster.
David Ralph [14:34]
And is it better Brooke to get a solo VA more than hiring a team? Because let’s say in India, I know there’s a lot of kind of companies that will have 200 va s and they each do an hour on your work an hour on somebody else’s and the manager says right, I want you to swap onto Brookes work now and then an hour later, I want you to swap them to Join Up Dots. And these guys are doing their best, but is it better to get One person spend a little bit extra so that they really buy into your work and your personal beliefs.
Brook Borup [15:07]
So that question, um, now I personally think that if you are extremely hands on and you are, you really just need a taskmaster in your life, then you need to go with a little bit more expensive person, somebody, they call themselves OBS, and they’re going to cost you more but they’re going to be more invested in you. That type of a person that is similar to how I started out, they’re going to have the common sense and the interest in making you better because you are putting the your time and energy into them. Now conversely, not everybody can do everything. So if you want somebody to come in and do things that are not in Their current knowledge base, you are paying for that time for them to learn. And you’re paying for all of that stuff that you say, hey, I want you to learn Infusionsoft and I want you to do all of this. And I want you to learn Active Campaign and, and lead pages and learn to build a website. But not everybody has that skill set. You know, I’ve, I firmly believe that there are two types of administrative people. There are the taskmasters that need to be told what to do. And then there are your higher level creative thinkers that are willing to work with you as a partner. And you have to treat them as such. Because if you hire somebody that’s a creative thinker thinking, Okay, I’m just going to get all of this out of them. And then you treat them like a taskmaster. They’re going to leave you because that’s not who they are. And that’s one of those things that you need to look for when you’re hiring someone or you’re hiring a team is what really do you want somebody to do? If you’re just looking for somebody to manage you and manage your email, and you know, some other little things that are that are more administrative task based, then that’s great. But if you’re looking for somebody to do all of that, and build your website, and manage your database and do a whole and do video editing, that probably is not the same person. And that’s a team. So you need to find somebody like me, or like those teams in India or the Philippines that have one project manager that you work with. And that project manager does all of the outsourcing for you. And so that’s what we do. We, you come on as a client and you have your project manager that talks to you, and figures out the problems and figures out what you need to be using for the best automation and how to go about those processes. And then turn those processes around and say okay, now out of this, you know, 72 step process. We have three people in this, we have our web person, we have our video person, and we have our, our task master. And though everything gets handled by one person, so it’s like having one virtual assistant, but you really have a full team behind the scenes doing what they do best.
David Ralph [18:22]
This is brilliant. I’m gonna play some words and then I’m gonna delve back into your personal story. But we’re close. We’re going to get back into this because I know so many people are interested in creating these virtual teams around them. But here’s Jim Carrey No, it’s not I’m gonna change this. I’m gonna have Oprah instead issues.
Oprah Winfrey [18:37]
The way through the challenge is to get still and ask yourself what is the next right move? not think about, Oh, I got all of this too. But what is the next right move? And then from that space, make the next right move and the next right move and not to be overwhelmed by it because you know, your life is bigger than that one moment. You know, you’re not defined by what somebody says, is a failure for you. Because failure is just there to point you in a different direction.
David Ralph [19:08]
That’s that. So poses in perfectly to what we’ve been talking about somebody sitting there, they’ve got all this stuff around them. And I bet Oh, I just don’t have any time and the kids come up to them and go, dad, dad, we’ve moved to Tampa for a reason. And we’ve never done anything fun. Oh, I can’t be there. Tomorrow is the right thing, basically, to just go. I can’t do everything. Is that the first thing? Do people really have to assess what they do better than anybody else? And try to get rid of the things that they don’t book?
Brook Borup [19:39]
Yes, absolutely. And it’s hard for most people. I mean, I, I work primarily with small business owners that are service based. And you know, I come from that I came from an entrepreneur family. And I can tell you, my dad is my worst client, my worst client and they’ll They just have a hard time they know, they know in their head, they know in their heart, they know in their gut, that they need help, but they’re looking at it and they’re saying there is no way that I that my business or that I can afford the help that I need. Because all they think about an all they know is well, I have to go out and find a part time person and I can only pay them $10 an hour. You don’t get a good person for $10 an hour most of the time. So they’re freaking out because they don’t have any other options. Well, what you don’t know you don’t know can hurt your business.
David Ralph [20:38]
Well, it does. And that comes down to the that comes back to the 80s. I will go ahead. It’s my show. It’s my show, bro. You’re not in control of this. So the Yeah, the 8020 You know, I’m very focused on the 8020 and as you said, and as I said in the introduction, but most people only understand what they know and unfortunately 80% and running a successful small business is not better Knowledge, it seems as a never ending conveyor belt. But you’ve got to break through that mentality, haven’t you? Because I’ve been through it. I have dabbled back and forth with VHS. But I like the fact that everything is under my control. Now, where I struggle is when I go off on vacation, I still have to dip in to make sure that things are going live and the the automation is sort of sorted. Can I hire somebody to just do that? Can you hire somebody just for that very short period of time? You don’t need them all the time. Just once in a blue moon. I’m going away for five days, I need you to do this.
Brook Borup [21:36]
Actually, you can. You just need to find the right person that has the right brain to be able to catch on to your stuff very quickly. You know, somebody, I can tell you a quick story. I had an attorney call me and she had called me like six months earlier saying I need help. I need this. I need that. And I said okay, well this is what we need to do to get started and she never called me back. She called me three days before she went on a 17 day vacation and said, I am leaving in three days and I need my voicemail checked, I need my email checked. I need this, I need that. And I said, Okay, I can handle this for you. Here’s what it’s going to cost you for the 17 days. And these are the five things that I need from you in order to be successful. And she ended up getting me four of the five things. And she ended up calling me from Greece, three days into her vacation and said, Oh my god, I didn’t give you my voicemail password. And I’m like, Yeah, I asked you for that. And you never got it to me and you didn’t answer my messages. But we got through her 17 days and when she came back, she had like 20 different appointments booked everybody had been responded to and the questions that I had I was fielding for her with her clients over the phone. Now I know nothing about her business. I know nothing about her clients, but I was able to get through that time with her clients. And with her, you know, people understand as long as you communicate. So as long as you have the systems put into place to have that communication happen, then you don’t have to worry about it. But find the right person that can jump in and do things on the fly that most people can’t do. So you have to just have that person in your in your roster.
David Ralph [23:27]
So So how did you overcome the stumbling block and I see it time and time again. And you already sort of alluded to by keeping your small business budget as low as possible by hiring your lady from the Philippines. How do you sort of break free at the beginning when you’re not earning money and you are growing it and you’re investing over time? over money into the business? How did you go? Well, actually, yes, I’m willing to pay out for that. I haven’t actually got the money, but I’m willing to pay out on how did you find the sort of faith in the process.
Brook Borup [23:58]
I just had To jump, I knew I was, I had so many clients and so many things that I could delegate, that I was sitting there and saying, You know what, I really just need help with this. And I know that if I brought on somebody, you know, and HEC Jane is probably one of the most expensive Philippine DBAs that I could get. But I knew when she went through my process, that she was the one for me. And when she came on, it alleviated all of the things that I didn’t need to do, so that I could go out and get more clients. And that’s the whole point. If you can take off 10 things from your list a week, and you get your clients by networking or you get your clients by making cold calls. You take those that the time that it would have taken you to do those 10 things and get another client or get another two. And that’s where this all comes in is I didn’t have to pay her on day one. I paid her on time. Day 15. So by day 15, she had already paid for herself for the month, because I had brought in two new clients. Now granted, I have had times over the last two and a half years, where I’ve had to say, Hey, we only need to work 20 hours this week versus 40. And, you know, I communicate with her and she understands. And now we have a team of five. And that team of five includes email people and research people and graphic designers and the stuff that our clients are looking for. So we take new people on when the market when our market needs it. And do I wish I had a team of 15 right now, absolutely. But I’m growing little by little and I know that when I bring on my next team member, half of their time is already going to be given to a client. And I find that person based on my criteria and my clients need and then we just find out Another client to fill in that time so that we can bring on the next person. It’s all about just taking those little baby steps and jumping in and saying, Okay, this is going to work, I’m going to make it work and I am going to be the most effective manager that I can, so that I am successful so that my team is successful. And now my business is going to be successful because I can bring in more clients. I just don’t have the time to write
David Ralph [26:27]
some What is your super talent away from, you know, building out all these different things to other people? What is the thing that Brooke brings to the table that you can do better than anyone else, and you wouldn’t actually delegate this skill out to anyone.
Brook Borup [26:43]
So I will never delegate this skill, but I am looking for people to mentor in this skill. It’s what I call CEO management, and it’s actually building the process. most business owners have all of this stuff in their head. They have great ideas. They have their entire sales process, they have their entire project process, but it’s never been written down. And it’s never been optimised. And that is my superpower. I will sit down with somebody and it will seem like I’m just asking questions to get, you know, a list out of them. But when we get done with that list, we know exactly what needs to be automated exactly what needs to be delegated, and exactly what the client themselves need to do. And then we can take that and optimise it for the client experience and say, You know what, I usually have to I usually have issues with my clients at this point, because they don’t think I’m doing anything for them over this two weeks, because it’s all behind the scenes. Okay, so we can we can optimise that and we can have automated letters or automated emails go out to them during this time that keeps them engaged with your process. Now your customer experience just went up. So it’s all like it’s me. dragging my clients and their information out of their heads and putting it into a process and then taking that process and optimising it. That’s something that I will never be able to delegate. But I will find those people that are like me, and I will train them on how to do that so that I can add more of those people to my team eventually. And in the world now with more more people listening to podcast, like there’s more and more people being inspired to go for it.
David Ralph [28:31]
Is it a fundamental of advice that you can give them they’re sitting in their cubicles on the train going to work? were listening to this and thinking, this sounds brilliant. I create a business and I have these team of virtual assistants around the world, what would be the biggest bit of advice that you could give to them right at the beginning that would solve their issues or at least solve them the big problem that people stumble into when this dis occurs?
Brook Borup [28:58]
swallow the frog.
Make time to sit down and have three pieces of paper in front of you. And write down every single task that you do over the course of your day over the course of your week, and then put them into three categories, put them into a repetitive category that can be delegated, put them into a category of stuff you don’t want to do. And the third category is the one for you the one that you have to do because it’s your brain. And then once those three pieces of paper are put together, and you have all of those tasks, you look at those and say, all right, I just got rid of two thirds of my life. What can I do with two thirds of my life to get more clients to pay to get rid of two thirds of my life and most people don’t have trouble understanding the I can get rid of two thirds of my life, but they have trouble sitting down and doing That exercise. So if you do that exercise, you will see the possibility and you will make the next step to get rid of those two pieces of paper at least one at a time.
David Ralph [30:11]
And what the hell were you talking about swallowing a frog, I let you go on there, but I was thinking, what the hell is swallowing a frog?
Brook Borup [30:20]
So the thing that you really don’t want to do, it’s, it’s just an expression like so I don’t want to do it, but I’m going to swallow the frog and I’m just going to get it done. You know, it’s, it’s, it’s just that it’s just an expression that they say. And, and I really like it because nobody wants to swallow the frog. Nobody. That’s just not something you want to do. But if you do it, you’ll be much better afterwards because it’s not it’s not in front of you anymore. It’s behind you.
David Ralph [30:52]
Do you know I was in Florida once I might have shared this on the podcast. I can’t remember but I still laugh about this about five years down the line. And I was with my daughter’s boyfriend and my son and we’d gone bowling in Florida somewhere. And it was one of those typical Florida nights. But you know, a big storm was coming and it was really balmy, and we were driving down this country lane, doing about 70 miles an hour, and I had all the windows down and the breeze was coming through, but it was still hot air flying in here. And it was dark. There was no street lights. It was just our headlights whizzing down this road. And my son, son in law, or he was going to be my son in law. He’s not now but we won’t go into that. He was sitting next to me with the windows down and he was chatting away quite happily. And then suddenly when Yeah, David what I’d like to talk and I said you I and he will. And he was like freaking out by the side of me. And I was sort of driving along. And what happened was as he was driving, we were driving along at 70 miles an hour. A frog flew through our window, how it happened and went straight into his mouth. And he was sitting there and he thought I noticed an animal in my mouth but he didn’t want to bite down in case he killed the animal so he spat it out. The float was jumping around. We were going crazy in the car. How is that a free occurrence? Or does that happen all the time? Have you been driving around Brooke and a frog has flown straight into your mouth? Do you know anybody about this has occurred? Or was I just blessed to be there?
Brook Borup [32:15]
I think you are just blessed because that’s not usually something that occurs. But you know what? That maybe that’s where the expressions came from. Maybe you coined it.
David Ralph [32:25]
I’m gonna trademark that name, but he spat out the throat. That’s the thing. He didn’t get close to swallowing it, but it was a little bounced around all over the place. So looking at you again, let’s take you back to the starting point because she was a corporate gal. He was working in an office and then you decided to go for it. Did you have a big buildup? Did you sort of spend months or years thinking I should do this myself? I should wait till next week or did you just go for it?
Brook Borup [32:52]
Um, it was about a six month thing. So I worked in retail and hospitality pretty much from the day I turned 16 all the way up until I fired corporate America. And I was a sales manager at a hotel. And I just, I just didn’t like it. I mean, I enjoyed the detailing and I enjoyed the administrative work and I enjoyed supporting everybody. But it just wasn’t me that it just wasn’t me. And so I said, You know what, I’m gonna do some testing because I did a lot of networking. I had a lot of small business friends. And so I sent out an email to about 15 of them and said, Hey, if I did something like this, would that be something that would interest you? And I got about half and half responses. And I’m like, Okay, well, I’m gonna take this all with a grain of salt because who knows, maybe it was my communication. And knowing that I come from the the world that I come from with a lot of small business owners. I’m like this would really have helped them. Like if they could have swallowed the frog. If they could have have gotten to the point where they were, you know, willing, then I could have done that. And I could have helped them just like I help all of these people in corporate America. And so I’m like, it kind of sat on the burner for a little while. And then another job opportunity popped up. And I said, You know what, I’m going to get out of the corporate world and I’m going to go to a family owned business. Now it wasn’t a small one. I actually went and opened a restaurant a pretty decent restaurant. And I basically I just found out that I traded corporate crap for family crap, and family crap is worse. You know, and so this entire time that I’m going through and I’m having some struggles with, like, why am I even here these people don’t care. And I got through the holiday season holiday party season and in one night We made a crap tonne of money for them, and my staff walked away with a 30% gratuity. Now 21 was all that was needed, but they walked away with a 30% gratuity. So everybody was happy, everybody. And I got an email the next day with an 18 point checklist of all the things me and my staff did wrong. And that was the day that I decided that I was going to jump. Because if you’re not good with the best that I have ever seen, then I am not the person for you. And I need to go where people are actually going to care. And we’re I’m going to make a difference in somebody’s life and not just be a commodity. And so that was when I decided that I was done. And I fired corporate america and I started my business. And I have been going at it for small business owners since then. And that was four years ago now.
David Ralph [35:53]
And how long did it sort of take before you could actually say yeah, this is a proper business because like, join up is in its third year, it’s coming up to its third year, April the 30th. And I can honestly say with difference in the last six months has been dramatic. Compared to the the the first year, it seemed like it was dramatic. But it was just because everything was new and everything was fresh and everything I did kind of had ripples in the pond. But the last six months has really been Yeah, basic. This is something you know, something big and worthwhile here. When did it really become real for you?
Brook Borup [36:28]
Last year, so the first two years of business, I was basically a virtual assistant, I was a, I was working for small business owners, not for digital marketers. And I just, you know, it was it was right for me. It was right that I could do what I needed to do and I could learn on the fly, and I could help people out. Now, while actually last year, I actually had an epiphany and I had hired a salesperson to go out and do networking for me and, and stuff like that. And so I had somebody selling the service. And I had people that were on my, on my team doing and being able to delegate to. And that’s when I became a real business. And I’m that was my epiphany. That was when I became a business owner rather than self employed
David Ralph [37:24]
and losing power. I think there’s a power of three, don’t you? I really do think it is the third year when it really starts to come to something I think the first three years and I’ve spoken to so many entrepreneurs, and they all pretty much say the same. The third year was when it started to really sort of form into something.
Brook Borup [37:41]
Yeah, yeah. And for me, yeah, for me, I guess it was, yeah, the the beginning of the third year. Now I’m at the beginning of the fourth year, and now I’m getting into my stride on on the sales side. Because every time every client that I’ve had up to this point has basically come to me because somebody told Hold them to, or because I talked to them at a networking event or I talked at a workshop. And so somebody else trusted me to put put me on a platform and say, I know you can help people. Here you go. And so now, this is where 2017 is coming in, is I’m on these platforms, because when I can get the word out about the things that people don’t know, that’s when they start looking at their lives internally and saying, holy crap, something is something’s available to me. And if I had just known that sooner, I could delegate or have a team or, you know, hire Brooke to help me get these processes out of my head. And so I need to get out more and networking locally wasn’t necessarily doing it. So now I’m here on a national platform, and I’ve got clients in seven states, and I make them I get the majority of my clients. Just by answering questions, and I answer them. So it’s not a self serving. And, you know, somebody will ask a question on a Facebook group, you know, you know, what’s a CRM and why should I have one? Well, I can guarantee you that question is asked in, in just one of the group’s I’m in, it’s asked twice a week easy. And when I answer that question, it’s not about the one that I use, it’s about the one that they should use based on them. And I can’t give a recommendation until they tell me what it is that they want to do. And my recommendation is different almost every single time because every single need in your business is for your business and not somebody else’s.
David Ralph [39:43]
And that doesn’t get you down. Because, you know, when I started this podcast, I literally thought that I would turn on the microphone and I would record and then that would be it and they knew it is so much more to it. And when I got to a point I thought I’m gonna get rid of all this stuff. I don’t fancy doing so I just did and it may not have been Line a bit of difference. But one of the things I do realise that there is so much noise out there, there’s so much social media noise and to cut through that. It takes time. It takes time sifting through because it’s just, it’s a wash where people are asking stupid questions, but they can Google themselves and find it is just seems to be an easy way. Does that get you down? Or do you think Yeah, I love this because the world is full of idiots, but aren’t willing to Google for themselves. And so I can talk connect with them?
Brook Borup [40:29]
Well, the thing is, is you can google you can Google tools, you can google stuff all day long. And Heck, my youtube channel is gonna be completely based on that. But the answer the questions that people are asking, they are asking because they want to crowdsource opinion. And unfortunately, the crowd is stupid. And you know, so when somebody says, hey, what CRM should I use? That’s not the right question. But most people are like, well, I use this and I use this I use this but that has nothing to do with you. That has to do why, you know they chose it because they were sold it, or they chose it because maybe they did their homework or maybe they didn’t. Maybe they just took the first one that popped up in their Facebook feed. You know, and you don’t know. But when I come on, and I answer the question, and I say, you know, I’ve tested in us over 50 different CRMs it’s completely based on what you need. If you want to private message me with your top five concerns, then I will come back and I will tell you what CRM would be based for would be right for you and why I base my answer on that. And that question that answer every single time gets me a new client. Brilliant because they they realise
David Ralph [41:49]
you’re fishing in a bucket full of people that want you
Brook Borup [41:54]
that’s the plan. You know, you got to put your you got to put yourself in your business where people are at that need you And that person that, you know, hires me to help them or just ask the question and I give them the answer. They may go away. But nine times out of 10, they go through my entire sales process, and they actually want to use it from day one, and its full potential. they’ll hire us to do the setup, which is great. And then once they realise and what that they work with us, and they say, all this stuff can be done. They’re like, holy crap. We’ve taught them what they didn’t know, they didn’t know. And they come back to us for projects all the time. It may not be for a part time VA, it may not be for a full time one. It may just be for a question here or there, or an hour of my time here there. And that’s how I’m building my business. Because that person I guarantee you will go out and tell other people and they will tag you in that same group. So when another question comes up, that they know you can answer they will tag you and give you a testimony. And so I’m building myself inside of other people’s groups as the authority in implementation in tools in, you know, General Business administrative knowledge. And while I can’t compete with the thousands and thousands of virtual assistants that are out there, I can go in and I can be that authority in the stuff that I am really good at. And all of the other ancillary work just comes with it.
David Ralph [43:30]
And I think what’s brilliant about what you’re doing, and I’ve certainly been burned. When people think about VA, as I think about freelancers, a lot of the time they think about companies like Upwork. And what is great is that you are the Quality Manager, you’re the person that is making the right decisions for them. And that’s worth his weight in gold for any of the listeners out there who’s thinking of sort of hiring a VA or getting some kind of virtual staff going, really think about getting somebody to do it. For you, it’s not your decision to make who’s right for you because you don’t know you’re new at this, get somebody like Brooke to make those decisions because it will save you so much money. I wasted quite a bit of money. I reckon I would say I’ve wasted thousands actually, by hiring people just by what they’ve told me on Upwork. And then you find out six months down the line, they’re complete lunatics and you wish you’d never met them in the first place. Hire a middleman. That’s the way book, isn’t it?
Brook Borup [44:27]
Yes, absolutely. Make sure that you have an ally in your business, whoever that ally is. And don’t be sold. Just don’t be sold. Do your do your homework, put yourself in the spots that you need to put yourself in and have an ally. Don’t just go with whatever Facebook ads tell you. And yeah, Upwork and fibre are great for little projects. But if you’re going to entrust your business to somebody, it’s not going to be to a another crapload of people out there that you’re going to pay $5 an hour know that your business is worth more than that.
David Ralph [45:05]
Absolutely right. I’m gonna play some words from a guy now who created the whole theme of the show back in 2005. And I think we got to hear it again, Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs [45:15]
Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards. 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [45:50]
powerful words and they apply to you, you know, more than most people would imagine.
Brook Borup [45:55]
Yeah, I love Steve Jobs. And I love connecting But because I sit here every day looking look not every day, but looking to my past and saying, Where could what could I have changed to get me here faster, and that there’s really nothing I needed to learn those lessons I needed to learn, you know how the general public is I needed to learn how corporate management is. And I needed to have all of that stuff in my life, to be the best manager that I can be and have the best team that loves me but also understands that I am a manager and that they need to do what needs to be done, because a happy team will do anything for you. And if you are a great manager, your business is better, your team is better and you are a better person for it. And there are so many bad managers out there. And there’s no reason they should be in the positions that they are but unfortunately They’re there. And if you have one of those, I am so sorry. But Run, run and do what needs to be done for you as soon as you possibly can, because no one needs to stand for that.
David Ralph [47:12]
And the great thing about bad managers, I look back over my career in corporate land. And I would say that I had two managers, but I still look back to today and say, well, they had it. And I had the rest of them were just kind of idiots, basically. But I learned more from the idiots by the good ones, the good ones, I took maybe 10%. But the what I didn’t want to do in response to them and how I didn’t want to act was more powerful than the good stuff.
Brook Borup [47:43]
Well, we all have those things where we either run away from pain or run towards pleasure. And that’s how the that’s everybody works in one of those two ways. It’s the optimistic, pessimistic way of thinking, but I had one Amazing manager. And, um, I took everything that I could from her, I knew the way she treated people. And then all of those bad managers, I turned around and said, well, they’re nothing like Carol. Absolutely nothing like Carol, I want to work for another Carol. And I want to be Carol. And, you know, all those other managers just enforced the fact that I wanted to be the way that she was with us. And, you know, when I worked for her, I was making 625 an hour stocking shelves at a grocery store. And she was the light of my life in my work at that time. And I I was making $60,000 a year when I ended, and I can’t tell you that any of the qualities of those managers really resonated with me to actually take them forward. And you know, I knew what needed to be done for me and my staff. And that’s why my stay If stays with me, and that’s what my clients stay with me, because I’m good at what I do. And I treat them the way that they need to be treated at the time, they need to be treated that way. And I can tell you that I’m rough, and my clients will tell you the exact same thing. I’ve put them where they need to be. Most small business owners need a boss, because that’s what they were used to before. They were small business owners, and that’s what gets stuff done. And so I can come and I can be your admin, or I can be your project manager or I can come and be your boss. And in some cases with some clients, I’m all three. And that’s, it’s all about seeing what people need and responding and being the best person that you can for that.
David Ralph [49:44]
And do you wear different outfits Brooke when you’re being these different people? Could I get you wear a different outfit if I wanted you to boss me around a bit?
Brook Borup [49:53]
Absolutely. I will come in a suit. And you can be in your pyjamas and then We’ll get into my pyjamas and you could have the suit we can switch roles. No problem,
David Ralph [50:04]
granny. And that’s the way I want to do it. And what’s Carol’s surname. Let’s give her a big big up in case she ever hears this episode.
Brook Borup [50:11]
She will not. She passed away a couple of years ago, living on the beach in Australia for 15 years, but we kept in touch. I worked for her when I was 21 years old. And we kept in touch up until the day she her husband told us that she passed. So she’s she’s like the light of my life and she always will be and I will always base my management style after her.
David Ralph [50:35]
Well, a big round of applause for Carol. That’s what we want to have.
There we go. We need we need more good managers don’t we? Because it comes down to understanding what each member of our staff personally needs. And that’s the problem with management. I think they think that everybody should operate in the same way. But that’s not how it works. The greatest football there’s soccer managers there The ones that can kick a pile out the backside or put an arm around them, they understand the kind of the emotional aspect. And I think Carol, well, the fact that you are talking so fondly of her now, even though she’s passed away, I think she understood that she understood that every single person was different.
Brook Borup [51:17]
Yes, she did. And you know, the thing about managers and talking to every single manager that’s out there is just be a real person. And don’t feel like you have to be somebody that you’re not in order to have a staff that loves you. And, you know, just know that everybody is different and everyone has certain things in their life that they need to, that they need to deal with. And you have to sorry, you have to be right there with them.
David Ralph [51:50]
Perfect stuff and it’s led us perfectly to the end of the show, which is the Sermon on the mic when we send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self and if you could go back in time Time and speak to young Brooke. What age would you choose? And what advice would you give? Well, we’re gonna find out because we’re gonna play in a theme. And when it fades your app, this is the Sermon on the mic.
Unknown Speaker [52:19]
With the first bit of the show,
Unknown Speaker [52:24]
my
Brook Borup [52:35]
dear 15 year old Brook Borup, I know that things are not looking so great for you right now. But don’t worry, you will get where you want to go. It might take a bit longer than you want it but it’s coming. Learn to be strong. Stand up for what you believe in. Even when it gets you in trouble. It’s all for a reason. Just follow your heart and your gut and you will make the impact on the world that you’re aching for. The four things that I want you to remember, you don’t need to do everything yourself. There are capable people in the world that you can trust. But trust your gut when vetting them. Everything you do is better your everything you do to better yourself will turn into your superpower. Make the time for it. If you’re going to do something scary, take a week to think about it. If it’s not important or doesn’t sit well with you in a week, it won’t be a good fit no matter what anyone else tells you. You absolutely need to make time for a social life and for a family because you really don’t want to be working. You really don’t want work to be your only thing. trust your gut here to your heart and your brain fight too much. You are valued, you are loved, and you will change the lives of thousands of business owners, including your parents. Just trust in the process. You create and do the job that you were meant to do.
David Ralph [53:58]
Great stuff and wants to know number one best way our audience can connect with you Brooke.
Brook Borup [54:03]
my clone solution calm, that is singular. So it is my clone solution. com, you can contact me there. We have a YouTube channel launching. So you can get us there at my clone solution too. And I look forward to hearing from you and telling me your business problems because we’re here to solve them.
David Ralph [54:22]
Brilliant. And we’ll have all the links on the show notes. Brook Borup, thank you so much for spending time with us today. joining up those dots and please come back again, when you’ve more dots to join up because I do believe that by joining up the dots and connecting our pasts is the best way to build our futures. Brook Borup Thank you so much.
Brook Borup [54:39]
Thanks David for having me.
David Ralph [54:44]
It was so much sense in there really. If you are starting a business right at this. You know, do you got the ideas in your head and you haven’t done anything I really will tell you but to plan it out to see what you need to do and then outsource it is such a big win. You won’t do it because none of us do it. And we all think that we can do everything ourselves. But from my experience of it, and I think from everybody else’s, it really becomes Rocket Power when you can free yourself from the admin. Brooks doing a great thing there because she’s the middle manager, she’s to making sure that the quality controls bear and I really recommend that you go with somebody like her or whoever. But don’t go with Upwork and order freelance sites when you just got to go through resumes and choose people yourself. Get somebody to do that for you because it will save you thousands in the long run. Thank you so much for listening to Join Up Dots. Thank you so much for everything you do. It’s been a bit quiet in the old email land over the last few weeks. So um, drop us a line, tell us where you’re listening. Tell us who you are. And we’ll give you a name check on the show. And if you could run over to iTunes, and just leave a rating and review it takes seconds. But it really does push us up to the top where we want to be. Thank you so much, and we will speak again soon.
Outro [55:56]
Cheers, David, I want you to become a faded version. Have the brilliant sell fewer wants to become. So he’s put together an amazing guide for you called the eight pieces of advice that every successful entrepreneur practices, including the two that changed his life. Head over to Join Up dots.com to download this amazing guide for free and we’ll see you tomorrow on Join Up Dots.