Hi, I'm Britney Saunders and welcome to Big Business, the place where business is very far from boring.
And today you've landed.
On one of my bonus episodes, which come out every Wednesday, and be sure to check out my main episodes from Monday. Now.
Today we're doing another Q and A.
I feel like these are like the lazy option for me to do, like answering everyone's question.
So I'm the lazy episode.
Yeah.
Yeah. By the way, this is producer Xander on as Usu for the Q and a's Yeah.
I feel this is a little thing that we're doing.
But I will say I feel in the podcast world doing a Q and A episode does seem like the easy way out or like boring or lazy or not boring but lazy. But I think it's great to actually have our community here on Big Business ask questions and we're quite literally answering them for them.
I love these episodes, and not just because I'm on them. It's because I love to hear the questions that people are sent in and then some of them are so specific and some of them are so personal that we can't even have them on the podcast.
Yeah, they're very personal.
I'll tell you what else I think we should do. Is I love these, you know, kind of question episodes, but I thought we could also do like an advice series love where it's not just asking a question in general, but people maybe send in a question about their business in particular, and then I kind of look at their business and give them advice based on whatever it is that they're wanting to know, like how can I improve my website or why is it my content performing very well?
I feel like that could be a whole other angle that we take with this podcast as well. Yeah.
I love that, and then if it does fail, they can blame you.
Exactly, and then I'll be getting sued.
Yeah all right, Well, anyway, I jumped on my big business Instagram account, like usually, if you're not following me on their feel free too, because that's where I put my question boxes for these episodes, and that's where you can DM me and I'll most likely see it because it's only got six thousand followers.
So I've checked up a question box and we're.
Just going to get straight into answering these questions, and Xander's gonna ask them to me as always.
Question one, how do you do you deal with giving feedback like you're doing a shit job kind of feedback.
Well, we definitely don't say it like that.
I've said this a lot on the podcast already, but it is really tough to have those tough, awkward conversations with your employees because I mean, unless you're a really mean person, no one wants to say to anyone you're not doing a good enough job, or what happened there?
Or whow was that so shit?
But my advice would be keep the conversation open and ongoing with your staff at all times. Don't just talk to them when shits hit the fan, which I feel like maybe a lot of workplaces are that way, Like you don't have many catchups with your manager or anything, and then all of a sudden you're having a catch
up with them, but it's about something really negative. I think if you prioritize communication in your workplace in general on a day to day basis during the week, then when it comes to having, you know, a more tough conversation with your employee, they're used to talking to you already. And the good thing about having regular catch ups and one on ones and even small team meetings is it gives you the opportunity to iron out those creases before
maybe they even turn into something really shit. For this person in particular, it's just going to have to be and I know I always say this a hard conversation to have an easy life. Sit the person down, just be real and honest with them. That's one thing that I would always advise is just speak to them from one human to another. It doesn't have to be this hierarchy sort of vibe. I'm your boss and you're the employee and you've done wrong, but just make it an
adult conversation. Hey, I wanted to have this chat with you. I know this is awkward for both of us, but I'm hoping that we can come up with a solution together. I've noticed you're falling behind on your tasks, or you're not meeting your deadlines or whatever it is. You know, how can I help you to make this you know, how can we fix this together instead of just putting the blame.
I'm probably a good example. I don't take feedback well. And it's not because I think I'm doing such a great job. It's because I'm particularly hard on myself. So say, if there's negative or constructive feedback. I struggle to take that on in a positive way because I'm already so hard on myself.
Yeah, so that's a lot of people like, yeah, it's hard to go, oh, fuck, I've fucked up, you know, Like.
It's just hard.
This is something I do personally when I start a new job or I got a new manager or something, I like to communicate them on how to kind of give me that feedback. And so I've actually passed this on to one of my managers here at Nova, and I said, one thing that will help me is just reassurance like along the way, because that really makes me go, Okay, cool,
I am doing fine, I am doing good job. And when it comes to those hard conversations, I prefer to kind of go through like the wins that I have, all the positive things that I've done, and then we can kind of finish on that constructive feedback because then I just don't feel like I'm doing shit completely wrong and that there are things that I am achieving that are things goals that I'm reaching as well. And that's
something that maybe anyone listening could do. That's maybe you don't like to do that, but that works for me. As someone who doesn't take feedback quite well sometimes.
Yeah. I think that's another good point that you made as well, and one thing that we work on with our managers. It's our responsibility as managers of people to understand everyone's individual needs. You can't manage every employee exactly the same because everyone is so unique and different. So to our managers that have teams working underneath them, we always say, figure out the individual needs of each person on your team. Like you, you like words of affirmation,
so it's like, Okay, Xander is on my team. He loves being told that he's doing a good job, whereas some people don't want you to say.
You're doing a great job or whatever. I know some people don't like that.
Maybe some people prefer for you to help more, more in a hands on kind of way, like they like practical help. I think it's really important to understand that all of your staff are different.
You can't just.
Have like a textbook way of treating every single employee because everyone's so different. It's finding out their needs, catering to them, and when you do have those tough conversations, be real about it and always try and do a bit of a sandwich, Like you said, come in with a positive, then touch on the negative thing in the middle, but end it on a positive, like the two pieces of bread.
Are the positives a constructive sandwich?
Yes, exactly right, and end it on a positive and make it how can we fix this together?
Question number two, what is the best money you've spent on your business? That is a.
Bloody good question.
I'm going to say, Oh, there's a lot of things, and maybe that's a whole other episode in itself.
I know, I was just thinking that the best.
Money I've ever spent in all the different areas, I would say over the last couple of years, like the last two years, especially because we've gone from that more really small business kind of vibe where there was only ever like four of us in the office. You know, now you've got this huge office of like over ten of us. The best money that I've ever spent is hiring the right people for my business. It's like, I
couldn't do what I do. Fate wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for the amazing people that we've hired.
And I see hiring people not.
As an expense, which I feel like maybe a lot of business owners do. They're like, oh, it's going to cost me money, I'm going to pay them, like blah blah.
But like the things that.
Come out of hiring an amazing person to like in a role in your business, it's just priceless. So I'd say, like, yeah, the best money that I've spent is hiring the right people and paying them to do their jobs, because it's only making my time more free to do the things I need to and it's moving my business forward.
And if you hire the right people, they're adding value.
Oh, Like, your employees are like an asset to your business. They're not an expense. Even though it costs money, it's the best money you'll ever spend, really. But there's so many other things I guess that I've spent money on that's been so worth it. But I'm going to stick with that one and maybe we'll revisit that in the future and talk about all the best things that I've spent my money on.
Question number three, Brittany, what age do you think you retire?
Forty forty We're not.
Far off, I'm kidding. That's a great question. I mean, what is the retirement age? Is it like sixty six or something.
I don't know. I remember in high school it was like early sixties, and all of a sudden, I think it's close to seventy now, So that's.
Crazy, I know.
I mean, I think when you are an entrepreneur and a business owner, I think maybe you have a little bit of a different mindset on retiring because I don't, like, I feel like I'm very fortunate to feel like I'm not in the rat race of like wanting to build up a career to a certain point and get to the top and then retire. Like it's actually not a thought in my mind at all about retiring, even though I think it it is for some people, but maybe not so much these days. Like I feel like we're
all really trying to live for now. I don't want to live for the future when I can finally retire, you know, like.
Well you're not stuck in like a really mundane job that you don't enjoy doing. Yes, And I think people look forward to retirement a lot of the time because they're like, oh, I cannot work now for the rest of my life. But if you actually enjoy what you're doing, But I feel changes, Yeah.
It is saying that, like I can picture myself when I am in my sixties or whatever, like cruising around the world and Italy on some yacht thing or whatever.
You know, like have people go on those cruises and whatever. That'd be great.
But I don't even want to think that far ahead into the future, as much as I would want to put an age on when I'm going to retire. I think I might be one of those people that's just going until I fucking drop dead. I've seen videos of like Richard Branson, and I've spoken with Mark Boris about like retiring, and Mark says like, I'm going until I'm literally dropped out, and the same with Richard Branson. I think that's it's just going to be me and who
I am. I don't see myself ever stopping, but when my body stops me, I'll stop.
Yeah, how about that forty?
How about that forty? Last question for today? How often do you have a sale? I'm really worried that I have too many and that it makes my business cheap.
Great question, and I did do a whole main episode on this. If you listen to my discount Codes episodes, like I talk about discount codes and sales, So you want to hear this more in depth. By all means, go and listen to that. But how often do we have a sale? I want to say not that often. We just did one for like the end of financial year, but we called it started financial Year, which was just this fun little idea that we had, so we called it softie instead of.
Like efy sale.
And then we will generally participate in Black Friday and then Boxing Day. I'd say they're like our main three. There are so many sales periods throughout the year. You can choose which ones you want to jump in or which ones you you don't. But I feel like Black Friday and Boxing Day are huge ones and they're really close together, so be mindful of that. And I think it's good doing an end of financial year or start a financial year one because it's smack bang in the middle.
And then pick and choose like we do random ones.
When we moved warehouse, we did a moving warehouse sale. But yeah, i'd say like three a year. Four pick and choose, and then you can treat your customers in other ways with smaller discounts throughout the year when you aren't having that big sales period.
Think of this way you don't want to be Nicki Minaj, jump on every song you want to be beonce into a feature here and there.
I love no shade to Nicki Minaj.
Anyway, my friends, that is another bonus EP of Big Business Out the Door. I'll be back on Monday with a main episode, and in the meantime, feel free to stay up to date with me over on Insta.
Thanks Xander for joining me once again.