Overcoming Operational Overwhelm: How Small Businesses Owners Can Thrive

Episode 195

Are you a small business owner who knows your business isn’t performing how you want or expect it to? Today is your lucky day! My guest is Kate Lingoni, an entrepreneur, actor, Mom, and business owner. She is a business consultant to businesses that are stuck and need to make a change.

Listen to her journey from working through an oil spill to helping “clean up” businesses stuck in the muck.

Here are three reasons you should listen to the complete episode: 

1. Discover how a plankton ecologist has many similar skills to a business consultant. 
2. Kate shares common business struggles and a quick win for all businesses.
3. Listen to the process of how Kate discovered her next career move.
   
   

Episode Highlights 

Kate’s Early Career

• • She received a job in the oceanography department at Louisiana State University. Shortly after, there was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and Kate spent five years working on that.
  • Kate created Say What Marketing as she saw a need for it for small businesses in her area.
  • The pandemic hit, and that slowed down business growth. She also realized that it’s okay to start something and change your mind when you get more information.
  • Sunk costs: all of the time, money, effort, and everything put into getting something going or started. It’s ok to pivot and use it as a learning opportunity.

Plankton Ecology to BonBon

• • There are many transferable skills, from being a plankton ecologist to a business consultant.
  • Problem-solving, following directions, analytical thinking, and outside perspective.

Top Business Struggles 

• • If the business leader is not good at delegating or they like to micromanage, they likely haven’t created a team to support them. Kate works with them to find out what they like to do, what their zone of genius is, and what they never want to do again, if possible.
  • Building and hiring a team before they truly need one. The worst time to hire a team is during a demanding time. A training campaign takes time and focuses on being the most successful.
  • If cutting expenses is necessary, write everything down, including due dates, renewals, overlap in systems, etc. Know the must-haves vs. the nice-to-haves and make decisions accordingly.
  • Check-in with your teams regularly to ensure everyone feels fulfilled. 

Quick Win for Businesses

• • Hire an EA or a VA. Most company teams are specific in their roles. Hire someone hourly to help with the mundane daily tasks that don’t light you up. Often, it lights them up. You can spend your time and energy best spent on other tasks.  

360 Business Assessment

• • Kate has an initial zoom call with the decision maker, founder, CEO, or whoever that may be. They discuss many business topics, which is put into a comprehensive report.
  • Kate goes over the findings, the places of lack, and the places of need, and gives suggestions for how the business can be taken to the next level.
  • If there are individuals within the business who can support that, great. If not, Kate explains the ways she can support in that role.

What Kate would like to be remembered for

• • Kate wants to be remembered for living without regret, not living according to most people’s standards, not being normal, and not being afraid of new things, and if she wants something, she’ll get it.
    
    

3 Powerful Quotes

06:19 – “It's okay to start something and change your mind when you get more information.”

11:33 – “It's intuitive, like a puzzle. It's all messed up, and you see the pieces and fix them and reorganize them so that it fits together better.”

21:20 - “Nice-to-have stuff is nice to have. But if you're looking to cut expenses, that's the first stuff that needs to go.”

There's no sense in trying to figure things out on your own when there are other people expertly qualified to share advice about their perspective and their unique gift.

- Darrell Evans

About Kate Lingoni 

Kate is an entrepreneur, actor, Mom, and business owner, with an eclectic background in science, the arts, and business consulting. Her personal awakening and ever-evolving professional journey led to her mission to live without regret and help as many other people as possible.

Mentioned Resources:

Kolbe Index Test 
CliftonStrengths Assessment 

Wealth Dynamics 

Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman

Connect with Kate:

Website

LinkedIn

Enjoying the MindShift Podcast?

Click here to follow on Apple Podcasts. While there, please leave a 5-star rating and review. Also, if you haven’t done so already, join the free MindShift Community to connect with other like-minded people. Don’t forget to tag me @mrdarrellevans on Instagram.

Thanks for listening,
Darrel