SPEAKER_00 0:01

Getting people's eyes open to the fact that just because they're doing something a certain way doesn't mean it has to be done that way. Um, you know, to make things better, they just think, well, I'm just gonna have to manually do this every single time, this stupid task. And I'm like, no, did you know you can automate that? That's my favorite line.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Hey Moxie family, we are so excited to do another episode of our Moxie podcast, where I get the privilege to chat with an incredible business owner where they share how they got started and what their business is all about. Uh, I feel like I have already learned a lot from the episodes that we've done. And today we are speaking with Stephanie Hallerman from the Simple Growth Company. Um, Stephanie, I want to have you just share a little bit about yourself and your business, like what uh what is the simple growth and tell us a little more about it.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Great. Yeah, I'm so excited to be here. Um, so Simple Growth Co. started about five years ago, and I've been doing tech and website stuff for like on and off for my own businesses. I'm a serial entrepreneur. So always doing the tech for them, um, but finally turn this into an actual business that I do. Um, so I help people with websites and all of the background systems kind of go into them. So helping people get that first, you know, website out there, but also then strategically setting up all their back end systems so things flow well, there's good client experience, and then we aren't doing all those what I call just dumb tasks manually all the time. I like to make it so things are working in the background and you can do like what you love. So that's like the brief.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

I love that. I feel like that's such an overlooked part of, you know, you think about I want to get my business going, I need to get my website up and running. But the that extra piece that you're just talking about with let's make the system actually work. So when someone comes to your website, it turns, it's not just a page visit, like you're setting up the other pieces as well.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Yeah, yeah. It's kind of like the holistic system, if you will. You know, I think it's so easy as a new business, you're like, I just need a website, right? And then you have that, and then you're like, well, why isn't it converting? And you don't even realize that people sign up for their form and they aren't getting that email they're supposed to be getting, or all these things that should be happening aren't. And um, these were what come up as you know issues. And then all of a sudden later I get a lot of people coming after a couple of years and they're like, help me fix this huge tangled mess that I have in the background because you're adding on things a little at a time. And so sometimes starting strategically at the start is great. Um, but sometimes we just revamp a big mess, and that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

That's okay. I have to know if you know, like if you get like a necklace and you get it tangled, do you feel like so excited to to unwork it and work it back out?

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Yeah, it's so satisfying. Like when you're sitting there with the little like I take the little safety pin or whatever, and you're kind of pull it apart. But yes, like once you get it done, it's like, oh, and that's kind of like, yeah, it's like so satisfying when things are just the way they're supposed to be.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Yes, I love that. So I want to go back to, you know, I feel like so many entrepreneurs, like you sort of know, but you know, entrepreneurs are not like a career day thing, like nobody's like five and like I want to be an entrepreneur. So talk us through like what did you want to be when you, you know, in your developmental years, and how can you see that thread sort of uh as you, you know, moved and kind of became this serial entrepreneur with your to your current business.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Yeah. Well, it's actually funny, and I didn't even think about it until you said this, but when I was a kid, like I was like, for some reason, just wanted to make money. Like, and so there's this picture that I had drawn of me like pushing a lawnmower with a thought bubble of like dollar signs in it. And so I just forgot about that until you you said that. So I guess it's always been on my head. What's funny is when I was like a lot younger, I wanted to be a paleontologist. Totally like not an I don't think we all did, didn't we all want to do that? Yeah, and I love like Indiana Jones and all that stuff. So it's like it was just like getting into the old stuff, you know. I still love history and all of that. Um, but I mean, I got into computer stuff really young. Um, I was like about like nine or so when we got like our first like really old computer, an antique beast, but I learned how to program basic on it and just like was enamored about like how I could write these lines of codes and like it did all these cool things. And so that kind of just grew. And like by the time I was in like middle school, I was programming even more, and then high school got introduced to the internet and kind of just all went from there. And so I don't know, I think in my brain I was thinking like, how can I use this internet tool to like make money and like not have to work a regular job? And so I started like trust taking hobbies, you know, you turn them into businesses, and every single business that I ran, I would have the most fun like setting up this website, making all these back end systems. I I ran a soap business making handmade soap in the like I started in like 2000, so it was a very big internet, but I'm like, I'm gonna make an e-business, you know. Like, so I made a website to sell my my soaps online, and I didn't like there was like maybe two shopping carts you could use back then, like they were like these pretty name systems, and I didn't like them. They were all had these restrictions of like I can't do XYZ or you had to pay a lot to be able to use it. So I wrote my own shopping cart, and I had the best time. I was sitting there coding, I would like days, nights, weekends, whatever. It was like the best fun I had. And I made this full shopping cart that I use for my business, and sure I did the business, but that was the fun part. So it took me like I don't know, 20 something years before I realized oh, my favorite part of this is the tech, which is my roots, you know. So it took me till that time, yes, a very long time. And then I finally came around to like starting this business. Um, but yeah, I did all kinds of things, but the tech was always my favorite. So I should have known.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

I love that. I feel like that is kind of I I feel very similarly in my own story where if I look back now, I'm like, oh, like obviously this was my, you know, was always gonna be sort of the path that I took, you know, but I I couldn't see it then. So I'll just enjoy it now.

SPEAKER_00 6:29

Yes.

unknown 6:29

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

So the other side of what you do, and and part of kind of your business too, is that you are uh a functional nutritional therapy, uh, you're certified in functional nutritional therapy and you have this focus on wellness. So, how does that sort of slot into the way you think about design and also when when it comes to running your own business?

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Yeah, so that was one of my serial entrepreneurial things is I got really into nutrition and I ran across that program and I thought, I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do this for a living. Well, I went through the program and then I realized I don't want to do this for a living, but I love the information and I love the people. Like I got so immersed into the holistic wellness, like kind of like crowd that like I love what they do and what they stand for and how they're trying to help people. And I kind of felt the same way, but I'm on the tech side. So like I want to help people, and I feel like in a way, I'm helping people help people. Um, it's you know, like because a lot of the people in this crowd are not tech savvy. That's not their thing. They're like into like all the biology and you know, the human body and like the all the things that come along with it. They don't want to think about a website, they don't want to think about tech. So I love to think about that, and I love learning from them even more about nutrition. So I'm able to like help them, and then they can help others. And so I feel like in the end, I'm still helping people in that way of like with health, but like just through my different, different part of it, essentially. Um, so it's it's been fun. I work with that crowd a lot just because I knew so many people and they're all like, wait, you know how to do this, please help me, kind of thing. Um, yeah, so it's it's kind of like an all-encompassing thing. And like I feel like my business in general, like I said, simple growth code. When I was trying to come up with business name, I'm like, I'm like a chill person. Like, I'm like, I mean, I get a little weird sometimes and all that, but like in crazy. But overall, I'm a very calm, like, person, and like I like simplified things and like making things just like work seamlessly, I guess you might say. So like I tried to bring that in, and like I feel like like the health and wellness stuff is kind of like this holistic feel as well. And it just kind of all blended together really well, um, to create like something that can help people help people.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

So let's talk about how you know, as you approach your clients and and other businesses, how do you encourage folks? Like, what's a good first step in how can I make my business just run better? Like, how can I approach my business with a different lens?

SPEAKER_00 9:13

Yeah, so I think a lot of people are like stuck, you know, they where they they they're so single focused and they're just like this is just how it is, and I, you know, and they might be surrounded by everybody else doing it this way. And I I like to always uh tell people you take a step back sometimes and like look at everything. And we when I'm whenever I'm talking with someone, I'm I'm always listening for keys like of things that like you use they say it and they you can see that it's like there's this like uh you know, this this pain behind the scenes of like I don't like this, or it's not like or it's like they feel resigned about it, or whatever. And I always tell them, like, anything that you're doing, and you do the same thing all the time, it doesn't have to be that way. That means there's there's a that's like the key, the little light bulb moment of like this could be better, because like, or how can I make this better? And they might not know the answer to that. And you know, sometimes we have to dig into that, and sometimes they just need to look around a little bit and like, but like I think just getting people's eyes open to the fact that just because they're doing something a certain way doesn't mean it has to be done that way. Um, or just because everybody else does it that way, that doesn't mean you have to do it that way. Um, but like I've always felt like that's been the hardest part about like letting people know what I do is because they don't even know it's an option. Um, you know, to make things better, they just think, well, I'm just gonna have to manually do this every single time, this stupid task of like filling all this information into a spreadsheet or whatever it might be. And I'm like, no, did you know you could automate that? That's my favorite line. Yes. And then and suddenly like their eyes get wide, and they're like, really? Like this could be, I don't have to do this. Like, and just like seeing the options that are out there and being willing to look for that.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

Yeah, absolutely. You might have talked about this already, but talk about if someone is like, okay, I just need to get a little more margin. What would you say? Like, here is a very first step you can take for saving more time. Oh, that's a big question.

SPEAKER_00 11:19

Because there's so many things. Obviously, it depends on the business. Um but uh I like to look at uh I like to have them just like look at the simple things, like just like uh kind of like look at what you do in a day. You know, I just I'll tell someone like, you know, you can like like make a list, you can make it mentally, whatever, you know, just kind of think about like the tasks you're doing all the time. And uh I first like to tell them to look for things that they hate doing because that's like normally a flag, but and also it's like, well, every morning I have to go in and uh move this thing over here and do this, you know, or every time a client signs up, I have to do all these things and it takes me like 30 minutes, you know, like like finding those things that you're like that are like oh, I hate doing that, you know. You love getting a new client, but I hate all the onboarding paperwork I have to like send to them and things like that, you know, and using like you know, a tool like Moxie, where it's like, oh, like well, I just they sign this and they already have their contract and they already book their first call. Like if you know, but I know people who are like sending them a contract, sending them a booking, like you know, doing all these things and like it's this struggle. So like I'm like what I have them think of what are those things, like and normally there is something even just small, like just like a small thing, like adding the contract to when they sign the agreement to start with, you know, like to to like take one extra thing off their plate. And I think once they start to see like the small things, then it's like you're it also like makes them think, hmm, what else could happen? Like, what else could I not be doing myself? Um, but like just starting with like listing them out because I think we just do so many things as business owners and we just like it's autopilot, like this is how we do it, and we just keep you know running through our day. Um, so stopping to like really like think like, okay, what am I doing and why am I doing it? And sometimes does it even need to be done at all? Like a good question.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

Yeah, I uh I love the advice to also start with stuff that you don't like doing. Like, who doesn't love to get that off your mind?

SPEAKER_00 13:24

I'm like, I'm all about the automating and outsourcing now, like absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

So um as we as we close here, I want to ask two questions. One uh for fun, because you know, your your business is the simple growth co and obviously you have lots of plants behind you. So I would love to know which of your house plants is your favorite.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Oh gosh, I have a lot of house plans. Um so that's a like I kind of like big plants, though, like much to my husband's dismay. Like, I'll see you in the store. I'm like, look at that. I need he's like, Where are you going to put that? Um so like I have a a really big bird of paradise that I love. And I have um multiple monsteras that I'm in love with, you know, with nice big leaves. They're they're relatively new plants, so they have like four or so leaves, so they aren't big. Um, and so those are probably my favorite. I just like I know there's something about having like this big basically plant inside my house. It's like it seems wrong, but it I love it. It's just so much like they're just so cool and like that just bring a different character. Um, and I love like I love being in nature, so I feel like I'm like I'm surrounded by plants in my office here. So I feel like I get that little bit of nature, even when I'm stuck at a desk.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Um, so a last question that I have been asking everyone is, you know, like essentially, you know, you've got this opportunity to talk to other entrepreneurs, other business owners. What's something that you wish more entrepreneurs knew?

SPEAKER_00 15:06

That it doesn't have to be so hard sometimes. I think um we try to overcomplicate, like, especially when people are starting, they like think they need all of these different things going on because they're like there's so much information coming at you. You know, if you like scroll through social media, once you get your algorithm where you're like they know you're a business, it's like all this business advice and like like about running ads and social media and you know, funnels and all this stuff. And I've had people come to me like, I hear people talking about this. Well, what is a funnel? Like, they don't even like they just keep hearing it, like I don't even know, but I know I need one, right? So just knowing like like it doesn't have to be that hard. If you can just get started with a way for people to reach out to you and you know, be able to talk to you, like that is what you need to start with. Don't worry about like having to have this huge email list and writing newsletters every week. It's like it's overwhelming. Um, and like you don't need social media. Yeah, it's fun and it can be good, but if you loathe it, like don't worry about it. Like, keep it simple. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

That might be the most freeing thing you could say to anyone. You don't need it. Like, if you hate it, you don't need it.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

Yeah, exactly. All of it. You don't like newsletters, don't write them. Like, I don't know. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

Well, thank you so much. I so appreciate your time and sharing, you know, some some of the ways that you encourage and support other business owners as well, and um, the way that you continue to grow your own business as well. I super appreciate your your being here and being willing to share with us. Yeah, thanks.