245. Scaling a People-Powered Sales Team with Lisa Whitehouse
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
Release Date: 07/30/2025
245. Scaling a People-Powered Sales Team with Lisa Whitehouse
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
In this coaching session, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle sit down with Lisa Whitehouse, founder of Clever Vine — a UK-based outsourced business development agency — to unpack the mental and operational roadblocks keeping her from hiring and scaling with confidence. If you’ve ever second-guessed whether it’s safe to grow your team, this one’s for you. Here’s what we cover: ✅ What “team trauma” looks like — and how it lingers in your decision-making ✅ Why Lisa keeps jumping back into client work (and what it’s costing her) ✅ The challenge of hiring for soft skills and...
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244. Building Trust After Big Changes In Your Business
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
In this debrief session, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle break down the key takeaways from their about managing a fast-growing team and handling the challenges of an acquisition. If you’ve ever faced pushback from your team during a big change, this episode is for you! Here’s what we cover: ✅ Why resistance to change is normal — and how to work through it ✅ How to create user manuals to improve team communication ✅ Why you need to frame change around the benefits to your team ✅ How to present new systems in a way that creates buy-in ✅ When saving money isn’t worth the team...
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243. Managing Fast Growth and Change with Robert Gauvreau
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
In this coaching session, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle sit down with Robert Gauvreau, CEO of Gauvreau CPA, to tackle a major challenge — navigating a fast-growing team and a recent acquisition. If you’ve ever struggled with managing change, integrating new teams, or setting clear expectations, this one’s for you! Here’s what we cover: ✅ How to lead through acquisitions without creating friction ✅ The power of curiosity in change management ✅ Building trust with a newly acquired team ✅ Why user manuals are the key to working better together ✅ How to clarify roles and...
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242. Quality Over Quantity When It Comes to New Clients
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
In this follow-up episode, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle reflect on . Danielle shared how she solved one business challenge — needing more stylists — by purchasing a hair school. But with every solution comes a new bottleneck, and now Danielle is focused on recruiting high-quality students to keep her business thriving. Here’s what we cover: ✅ Why buying a school created a new business challenge ✅ How Danielle is rethinking her recruiting strategy for long-term success ✅ Why focusing on high-quality students is more important than filling seats ✅ The role of social media and...
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241. The Recruiting Challenge: How to Attract Top Talent with Danielle Cherewyk
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
In this coaching session, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle dive deep with Danielle Cherewyk, a former client and successful salon owner, to tackle a major challenge — recruiting high-quality students for her newly purchased hair school. If you’ve ever struggled to create a consistent talent pipeline, this one’s for you! Here’s what we cover: ✅ How purchasing a school created new opportunities (and new challenges) ✅ Strategies for recruiting top-tier students and building a long-term talent pipeline ✅ The power of partnerships with local businesses and high schools ✅ Creating...
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240. How to Deliver Value at Any Price Point
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
In this follow-up episode, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle reflect on their conversation with Ryan Koral, founder of Tell Studios, about the challenges of scaling creative businesses without losing quality. If you've ever felt torn between delivering high-end results and making your services more accessible, this one’s for you! → Missed Ryan Koral’s episode? Here’s what we cover: ✅ How to create tiered offers without lowering your brand standards ✅ Why your “6/10” might be your client’s “10/10” ✅ The importance of protecting your QBR (Queen Bee Role) at every price...
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239. Scaling with Simplicity with Ryan Koral
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
In this episode, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle sit down with Ryan Koral, founder of Tell Studios, to tackle a common challenge among creative entrepreneurs — scaling without losing quality. If you've ever felt like you need to burn it all down and start over, this one’s for you! Here’s what we cover: ✅ How to simplify your business offerings without sacrificing quality ✅ The difference between premium vs. ready-to-wear product models ✅ Overcoming the mindset blocks that stop you from scaling ✅ The power of meeting clients where they are — without compromising your...
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238. Stay Small to Make More Money in Your Business
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
In this episode, Adrienne and Emily unpack their biggest takeaways from the and discuss how to the Clockwork business and their own personal growth. Denise built a $5M business with a lean, part-time team by staying focused on one core offer and simplifying her operations — and Adrienne and Emily reflect on how that same principle applies to Clockwork and the challenges they’ve faced while scaling. Here’s what we cover: ✅ Why trying to launch too many offers creates chaos ✅ How staying focused on one offer creates consistent growth ✅ Why mindset shifts around success and...
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237. Running a $5M Business with a Lean Team with Denise Duffield-Thomas
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
In this episode, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle sit down with best-selling author Denise Duffield-Thomas to explore how she and her husband built a $5M business with a small, part-time team — and how they’ve structured their lives to work less without sacrificing income or success. Denise opened up about the strategies and mindset shifts that allowed her to create a thriving business while maintaining balance and freedom. If you’ve ever wondered how to grow your business without overloading your schedule, this one’s for you! Here’s what we cover: ✅ How Denise built a $5M...
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236. How to Stop Doing Everything in Your Business
The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork
In this episode, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle reflect on their r with Beth Carter, Beth shared how she struggles to step out of the doing in her business — even with a team of 10 and a seven-figure business. Adrienne and Emily dive deeper into the root of this challenge, unpacking the Four D’s (Doing, Deciding, Delegating, and Designing) and how understanding them can help business owners break free from the day-to-day grind. Here’s what we cover: ✅ The Four D’s – Why knowing the difference between Doing, Deciding, Delegating, and Designing is key to business growth ✅ Why...
info_outlineIn this coaching session, Adrienne Dorison and Emily Doyle sit down with Lisa Whitehouse, founder of Clever Vine — a UK-based outsourced business development agency — to unpack the mental and operational roadblocks keeping her from hiring and scaling with confidence.
If you’ve ever second-guessed whether it’s safe to grow your team, this one’s for you.
Here’s what we cover:
✅ What “team trauma” looks like — and how it lingers in your decision-making
✅ Why Lisa keeps jumping back into client work (and what it’s costing her)
✅ The challenge of hiring for soft skills and high performance
✅ How to create capacity before you need it
✅ Navigating the tension between small clients and large contracts
Lisa shares how a past business failure still shapes her thinking — and how that fear shows up in her leadership today. Plus, Adrienne and Emily break down:
- The mindset shifts required to grow sustainably
- How to set up hiring systems that feel safer
- Why pricing must reflect skill (not just service)
If you’re a service-based business owner trying to scale your team without losing quality or control, this episode will help you lead with clarity instead of fear.
🔥 Hit play and let’s get into it!
Top 5 Takeaways:
Fear Isn’t Strategy – Past business trauma can silently shape present-day decisions. Unpack it or risk staying stuck.
Hire Ahead of Demand – Build the bench before you need it. Otherwise, you’ll always be catching up.
Let Go to Grow – Just because you can jump in doesn’t mean you should. Founder fill-ins cost more than they save.
Profit Needs Pricing Power – If your service is high-touch and human-led, your pricing should reflect that.
Don’t Just Attract Talent—Train It – A clear onboarding timeline builds trust (and saves money).
Chapters
01:10 – Meet Lisa: What Clever Vine does and who they serve
03:42 – The challenge: balancing demand with capacity
06:58 – Why past team layoffs still shape Lisa’s fear
10:24 – Jumping back in: the hidden cost of being the fallback
14:08 – Improving onboarding speed with better hiring clarity
17:02 – Balancing a values-driven culture with performance goals
19:50 – Creating team diversity across big and small clients
22:20 – Why pricing must match value in a human-led business
25:12 – Facing the fear: journaling, self-awareness, and belief work
31:00 – Lisa’s biggest takeaway + next step
Connect with Lisa:
👉 Website: https://www.clevervine.co.uk