319: Create a Team That Loves Your Business Like It’s Their Own with Kristy Smith
Release Date: 07/30/2025
HerBusiness
I see so many business owners entering each new year already exhausted. That exhaustion? It originates from months before. Now is the time not just to plan out your 2026 — but it is the time to truly sit with your goals, and understand how you can accomplish them this next year. In this episode of the HerBusiness Podcast, I’ll walk you through the exact planning strategy I’m using to plan my 2026. And it is all about clarity, focus, and alignment. So if you’re already overwhelmed looking at what you need to get done next year… this is the strategy you need to follow. Here’s What...
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Doing “more” is the default setting for most women business owners. We strive for more revenue. More clients. More milestones. More targets. But what happens when we stop reaching for the moving target of “more”... and instead strive for “enough”? What happens if we prioritise balance, freedom, and fulfilment – and set our business goals to accomplish those standards? In this episode of the HerBusiness podcast, we’re talking about how you can plan your 2026 not just around ‘making things happen’ and productivity, but how you can actually use your business strategy to create...
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Burnout does NOT just come from doing too much… it comes from doing business in a way that isn’t aligned with who you ARE. In this week’s HerBusiness Podcast, I sat down with Melinda Cohan, author of Sustainable Success: Thriving in Business and Performing at High Levels Without Burnout. Melinda is revealing how so many business owners are unintentionally running on performance mode – pushing, proving, forcing – when what we truly want is to thrive with more flow, ease, and sustainability. We dive into how you can break free from depletion and step into a new model of success that...
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I have seen so many businesses with incredible potential fizzle out because the business owners are making this one mistake… Doing it all themselves. Staying stuck in the day-to-day. Letting admin eat up their time. Becoming the bottleneck that holds their business back. So on this episode of the HerBusiness Podcast, we’re talking about the real reason your business isn’t growing — and why delegation and automation are essential to getting unstuck. Here’s What You’ll Learn in the Episode: The red flags that show up when you’re trapped in a cycle of “busy work” (and why...
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So many women business owners believe that their sensitivity and emotions hold them back in business. That our empathy and passion must be muted in order to succeed. In this episode of the HerBusiness Podcast I sat down with counsellor and founder of the Self-Kind Hub, Erica Webb, to talk about being a highly sensitive entrepreneur — and why it’s actually a superpower for your business success. Being a highly sensitive person (or HSP) means you might feel rejection heavier, feedback sticks longer, and being visible online can leave you drained. You pick up on others emotions and feel...
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Ever notice how a bit of white space makes everything feel clearer? Designers use it to make things pop. Our brains love it. Yet, as women business owners, we often overlook the importance of white space in our businesses and our lives. So in this episode of the HerBusiness podcast, we’re talking about why white space is not a luxury — but a complete necessity if you want to grow a business that feels aligned and fulfilling. Here’s What You’ll Discover in This Episode: How white space fuels your creativity, innovation, and clarity in business Discover the massive breakthroughs I...
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Every business owner starts their journey thinking they will find FREEDOM — more time, more flexibility, easier hours. But then, a decade later… every detail still runs through you, everything lives in your head, your team can’t operate without you, and YOU become the bottleneck of your progress. In this episode of the HerBusiness podcast, I’m joined by Justeen Kirk of ISO Matters, a systems expert who has helped dozens of small business owners create the structure and clarity they need to run organised businesses. Here’s What You’ll Discover in the Episode: How to recognise the...
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I used to spend countless nights firefighting problems, redoing work, and apologising to clients… until I put in place the four essential business systems that changed how I operated. In this episode of the HerBusiness Podcast, I’m sharing the four essential systems that saved my sanity as a business owner. These aren’t “nice to haves” or a checklist – they are the exact systems and structures I put in place when I was drowning in work. And I can’t wait to share them with you. Here’s What You’ll Discover in the Episode: Why essential business systems actually create FREEDOM...
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Running a business does NOT happen in a vacuum. As business owners, our personal lives and working lives are deeply intertwined — each affects the other. So can you grow your business without sacrificing your relationships? In this episode of the HerBusiness podcast, I’m sitting down with Life Coach and Relationship Expert Sharon Pope to explore the intersections of business and love. We’re talking through power dynamic shifts, outearning your partner, muting ambitions to ‘keep the peace’, and how to fill your own cup. If you have ever felt torn between growing your business...
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Have you ever woken up, looked at your calendar, and thought… “I should be excited about this, but I’m just tired?” You don’t HATE your business. In fact, things are working well. On the outside, you look successful. But inside, you’re feeling disconnected (and maybe even a little resentful). This is the midlife shift so many women business owners go through, even though it is RARELY talked about. In this episode, we’re talking about what it looks (and feels) like when your spark begins to fade, why it happens after years in business, and how you can bring the joy, desire, and...
info_outlineNo successful business owner reached their goals alone. We are supported not just by our external communities and networks – but our TEAMS. And our guest today is a trailblazer when it comes to building smart, rock-solid teams.
But how can you create a high-functioning, loyal team of people around you who care about the success of your business as much as you do?
Kristy Smith of Virtual Elves knows exactly how – as she has provided hundreds of clients with outsourced, highly skilled VAs. She is an expert on creating a loyal and supportive team culture and has so much to share with you about how to hire, manage, and grow with your team.
Here’s What You’ll Discover in This Episode:
- The invisible ties that keep you focused on the WRONG things in business and how the “30% Burden” creeps up and steals your time
- How to strategically identify what is taking your focus and preventing you from stepping into the CEO role (+ what needs to shift!)
- The “SADD” method: Kristy’s sworn-by framework that you should run EVERY task in your business through (this will make your business more efficient, and it will make you LESS sad )
- Why leaning on people around you – and constructing a support system – is essential to free your time
- How Kristy has developed such incredible loyalty within her team (with multiple team members working with her over a decade) – and why team culture is key
- The big mistake business owners make when outsourcing team members, and why transactional thinking can backfire
- How to prepare in advance to onboard, and why cultivating systems beforehand is essential
- The 3 things you need to do before hiring anyone (or hiring anyone ELSE!)
- Why building strategically over time and putting in place a strong foundation has paid off for Kristy in the long run (tortoise > hare)
- How Kristy built a team culture so good that all of her current managerial positions started not as new hires, but as loyal team members with potential
- And so, so much more
Mentioned in This Episode:
Need a highly-qualified VA? Check out Virtual Elves today