98: [Behind the Team] Helping entrepreneurs create an aligned business with Rachel Silves

Kate Kordsmeier 0:00

Welcome, welcome. Welcome to the Success with Soul podcast. I'm your host, Kate Kordsmeier. And I am so excited to share this brand new series that we are going to go through over the next seven weeks. It's called behind the team, and you're going to have a chance to meet the core members that make up my current team over at Team KK, we're going to be talking to some friends of mine and other entrepreneurs who have had their own team experiences. And y'all know, vulnerability and transparency are some of my top core values. And I have not been shy about my struggles with learning how to be a leader, and how to hire and onboard and train and retain and create a team culture and make sure we have all of our systems in place and SOPs and project management and communication tools, and how to delegate properly, and how to make sure that everybody is aligned with our core values, and even figuring out what are our core values. It's a lot. And here's what I'm going to say, figuring out how to build an amazing team that works well together that's aligned, that can get things done, that you can truly trust, and that have the same mission of wanting to serve whoever it is that you serve, it's really hard. It's really freaking hard. But it is also so worth it, we have been able to do things in my business that I never dreamed possible and that I never could have done alone because that's the other thing. You cannot do this alone, you cannot create a multiple six figure or seven figure business that impacts dozens or hundreds of people all by yourself. And so learning how to delegate and work with others and be a boss and be a leader. And all the things is so important. And it's such a big part of making your dreams a reality. And really serving your clients to the best of your ability providing them with the most value. If you're trying to do it alone, there's just so much less that you're going to be able to give your impact is just going to be smaller naturally. So let's go big. Let's get vulnerable up in here. It is a little bit scary for me to share this with you guys. But I have a team now that I hope is my team forever. They are amazing, incredibly brilliant, kind, compassionate, talented, thoughtful, skilled, just absolutely incredible people, and I can't wait for you to meet them and hear a little bit about what it's like behind the scenes over at Tim Kay. All right, here we go.

Intro 2:53

You're listening to the Success with Soul podcast with Kate Kordsmeier X journalists turned CEO of a multi six figure blog in online business. But it wasn't that long ago that Kate was a struggling entrepreneur who lacked confidence, clarity, and let's be honest money. But all those failures, experiments and lessons learned helped Kate create a thriving business that impacts 1000s and brings freedom, flexibility and fulfillment to her life. If you're ready to do the same and make something happen with holistic, soulful, step by step strategies from Kate and other experts, you're in the right place. Here's your host writer, educator, Mom recovering perfectionist bookworm on sushi connoisseur Kate Kordsmeier

Indira 3:42

Welcome back to the Success with Soul podcast. I'm your guest host Indira with Team KK and on today's episode, we have our very own Rachel Silves, who is the program and marketing coordinator with Team KK Rachel worked as an herbalist and certified level one aroma therapist, holistic health coach, and has over a decade of owning her own business rooted in social justice, community health and coaching. Rachel brought her passion for helping entrepreneurs succeed and her natural coordination abilities to get things done with Team KK. Rachel is a mom to two energetic girls, and loves spending time in nature. I am so excited to dive into another behind the team episode. Let's get to it. I am so excited to have you on the podcast. Rachel.

Rachel Silves 4:41

I'm super excited to be here. Thanks, Indira.

Indira 4:44

Yeah, this is actually this entire behind the Team Series has been so much fun just getting to know my own team members has been amazing. There's so much I didn't know and so on I would love for you to tell our audience a little bit about you, who you are, what part of the world you're in?

Rachel Silves 5:09

Sure, sure. So my name is Rachel silvus. And I am the program and marketing coordinator here on Team KK. I actually live in the Pacific Northwest. So on the West Coast, so I'm representing our Pacific Time Zone, folks. I live in like the very top most corner by the Canadian border. So it's an interesting blend out here. But yeah, do you want me to go into all my background now Indira, or,

Indira 5:33

yeah, so Well, before we get there, tell us about your role in the company.

Rachel Silves 5:38

Sure, sure. So I was brought on to really help bring the client services to the next level. I am like the accountability, wizard, taskmaster, and Coach inside our signature program that incubator. So I'm really in charge of like coordinating all the calls and making sure all the clients are supported, providing coaching around helping clients build their dream businesses, and basically being kind of an extension for Kate so that Kate and I can work together as a team to support our clients. I'm also responsible for writing a lot of the incubator emails and some of the marketing emails and all things program coordination in our signature program, that incubator. Oh, I

Indira 6:17

love it. And so can you tell us a little bit about your previous experience before working with Team KK?

Rachel Silves 6:25

Yeah, sure. So it's a bit of a can of worms story. So you can feel free to interrupt me if I'm going on too long. So I actually started my career as in the social service field, and I worked for a company helping individuals with disabilities find employment in the community. And I had a kind of a co manager and a friend who was like, Hey, I'm going to start my own business, do you want to start the business with me, and at the time, I was in my early 20s. And I was like, Well, I've never thought about owning my own business before. But it feels like a good time to take a risk. And so that was like 15 years ago. And since then, I've like, never looked back at owning my own business. So for 10 years, I was involved in managing that business. In the social services sector, I was kind of like the chief operations officer doing all of the HR financials, client service, contract management, all of that fun stuff. So I got to learn all about all the ins and outs of running your own business. Because I have a lot of varied interests. I also had a health coaching business at that time, I had a side hustle of like a product making business where I made like soap and lotion using natural products. So that was kind of a side story. So then, after having three businesses, I was like, Oh, I guess I'm kind of a serial entrepreneur, like it kind of like fell into my lap. And I've taught on faculty at a local college. And then I got to a point after about 10 years of running my own business where I was like, You know what I am really feeling called to helping other people live out their dreams and build their own online businesses. And so then I worked for one other coach for a bit of time helping people go from zero to six figures. And then I kind of fell into Kate's lap and learned about Team KK and just reading the job description and learning about the company culture. I was like, yes, like, this is something I want to commit to for the long term. And that's how I got on Team K. K.

Indira 8:15

Wow, that's, that's amazing. And you have experience in so many different areas, which I can only imagine. It's such value for our incubator clients, because you've been there where they have. And so that's amazing, Rachel. I'm curious, though. So you say that you were an entrepreneur for over 10 years? And then you decided to become an intrapreneur? How does that happen? And I asked, because I was also an entrepreneur. Now I'm an intrapreneur. So tell me a little bit about that.

Rachel Silves 8:52

Yeah, that was a really interesting journey. And it's still ever evolving. But I guess I got to the point where I love to having my own business. And it really served me well, in a lot of ways as I was having kids and like the flexibility in some ways of having your own business was amazing. And I got to the point where though I started just wanting a career change. And I just felt like I wanted to work more in collaboration with people and not be the one that was responsible for everything. And so I heard of this term, intrapreneur. And I really got me thinking, like, I think that's the next level for me. Like, I think I want to, like join forces with other women who I can collaborate with and who I can really get behind their mission. And I want to bring all my unique experiences and experience as an entrepreneur into someone else's business and really work alongside them. So that's what the transition was like. For me. Like I said, I think it's ever going and there's pros and cons of owning your own business versus being an intrapreneur. But I've just really loved the shift that my career has taken in the last few years and I can't wait to continue working But Kate and you and everyone else on Team KK.

Indira 10:02

Yeah, well, I can attest that we are so lucky to have you on Team KK and our incubator clients are the luckiest as far as I'm concerned, because you're amazing. And so what would you say is your zone of genius?

Rachel Silves 10:18

Yeah, that's an interesting question. I think my zone of genius is dependability, follow through, I like to say, I'm like a loving drill sergeant or a loving taskmaster, because I do have a strong ability to like connect details, I'm really good at detail management. So like, you can tell me that you're working on one thing. And then because of my detail oriented, this, I can like, connect that to something else that you maybe have submitted for a critique or maybe said on an incubator call, and then my, I can follow up, I can be lovingly direct. And then scheduling and keeping things on track are kind of my zones of genius. I think my strengths involve, like being a timekeeper. And always learning and being in personal development. But then I'm really good at just like providing that like lovingly direct support to really hold you accountable and help you be the best version of yourself the version that you want to be. That's where my zone of genius comes in.

Indira 11:13

Yeah, well, I think you're an amazing coach. And so I was really impressed by that. And I do have to say that your job application, and how thorough and you could obviously tell that you put forth so much time into your answers and everything that you did, that I'm not at all surprised with how you are running the incubator, because it's such a telltale, that you are going to be this like go getter from the beginning. So I'm wondering, so you, you said you read the job description, and you're like, Yes, I know that in our job description, we always include our team values. So which of our team values do you embody the most? And I can remind you and unless you know for sure,

Rachel Silves 12:11

well, I know which one I embody the most, but if you want to share our values with our podcast listeners, I'm sure that they would love to hear exactly what Team KK stands for

Indira 12:19

Yeah, so our values are we are scrappy, growth oriented achievers, we actually care. And I'm not going to get into all of it. We make mistakes. I love that one. We are always learning. We are boundary pushing confident badass is who asked, why not us, and we take care of ourselves. Last but not least, we leave the world a better place.

Rachel Silves 12:44

So I think I resonate with a lot of those. But the one that stood out or the one that stands out to me the most is that we are always learning. I just approach the world with this spirit of learning and curiosity and this belief that there's always room for self improvement and there's always room for more we can always learn something from everybody if you come at things with a spirit of curiosity, I think it just unlocks conversations. So that's the value that I really feel like I embody the most and then I also love on I would I couldn't work for Team KK if I didn't love the boundary pushing badass value, because why not us? I use that kind of self coaching with my like, with myself all the time. Like, why not? So being able to see that spelled out in the job description, I immediately read it and I was like, Yeah, I was even looking for a job. When I applied for this job. I just happened to see the job posting and I was like, this seems like it could be a really good fit. I'm gonna give it a try. And part of it was like really reading those values and resonating with them.

Indira 13:40

So to that I would say T A N. C there are no coincidence. So obviously the universe was on our side because your eyes was able to see that job description because you're perfect for this. So when you look at our company culture, right, what's one thing people might be surprised about? Team KK

Rachel Silves 14:02

or even que? I think for me, it's like, the radical candor and the like doing what you say and saying what you're doing and that that communication has been something that I was really looking for in a job and I've been like so pleasantly surprised that like everything on Team K K is like exactly what you said it was. And the radical candor on this team and being able to express myself and get bi directional feedback is really important to me. And the leadership is something that surprised me about Kate like that didn't really show up as much in the interview process and in the job description, but Kate's leadership and the way she manages this team has just been like the cherry on top like a really pleasant surprise in working here.

Indira 14:46

Who I love that. Of course, I could not agree more and I'd love to go a little deeper into that. Is there something particularly that once you joined Team cake paid that you were like, Wow, I've never done And this before and I love it.

Rachel Silves 15:02

I think what's coming to mind is I've never worked for a company where I felt so supported by my team and my direct supervisor, my boss. And so I think that that's one thing that that's what's coming to mind for me right now is and then even like something as simple as like on Team KK we have like a whole channel in Slack dedicated to like stress support where like, you know, we all are humans, we bring our full humanity to work. So it's like, you can't just compartmentalize if you're like having a bad day and you got a fight with your partner or where your kids are being horrible, like, yes, there's being professional, but also like, being able to experience the full humanity while being on Team KK and having like an actual Slack channel where we could put in things that are happening to us that I didn't realize, like I kind of went off on a tangent there. But that's one thing. Like, I've never had that in a job before that. I just feel like that exemplifies like the leadership and the community, and how well we work together as a team. So maybe that doesn't answer your question. But that's what came to mind.

Indira 16:01

No, it absolutely does. It reminds me of like things that we do in team KK, like the 15, five at the end of the week, where we actually take 15 minutes to just kind of write down what our week was like, I think most people would think that that's all related to like, our actual tasks. But it's so much more than that. And for me, I know that that's been like, amazing. I've never worked in an environment where somebody actually asked questions like, you know, what's your guiding mantra for next week? Or what roadblocks were you facing this week? So I love that.

Kate Kordsmeier 16:46

Hey, hey, Kate here, pausing for a quick interruption, I just wanted to talk about something that's been on my heart lately, and that is that I feel like sometimes in this online media landscape, the digital world, that human connection is sometimes missing. I don't know if you feel that too. But one of the things we've changed in my business to account for this is that we're doing discovery calls. Because sometimes you really just want to get on the phone with somebody a real human being, and have an actual conversation where you can talk about where you are in your business, what your hopes, fears and dreams might be, what you would do, if you knew you couldn't fail, and how maybe we could help you or somebody else could help you, you might just need a little bit of guidance, or that little push or a confidence boost. Or maybe you have questions that you just need answered before you make a decision. Sometimes we feel like we just need more information before we're ready to take that next step. And if that resonates at all with you, I would love for you to book a call with my team. Just head over to Kate kordsmeier.com/talk and book a free 30 minute discovery call today. We can't wait to hear from you. That's Kate Kordsmeier/talk.

Indira 17:59

So when you when you look at our team in general, and if you were to give an advice to an entrepreneur that would be hiring for your position, like what's an advice that you would give someone hiring for a position similar to yours, which is program coordinator slash even marketing coordinator as

Rachel Silves 18:18

well. Yeah, my advice would be to have a really thorough application process and vet the person before making a hiring decision. So hire slow and fire fast is a term that's often used. That was actually one thing that I liked about 10k K's application process, I definitely would give advice of using a skills assessment, which is something that Team KK did when I got brought on so you can actually see, as best you can see someone's skills prior to even offering them an interview that was something new to me, typically, you know, you would do an application and then there'd be an interview. But entering that skills tests before the interview, I think just like slows down the process just a little bit, and gives you a really good idea of what candidates are going to perform the best in the actual job duties. And then not being afraid to have a couple of rounds of interviews and get to know the interviewee as both a person and as looking at the skills that they're going to be doing for you as well. So I guess that would be my advice is have a thorough application process and kind of hand in hand with that is hired before you need to. So part of being able to have a thorough application process is being able to anticipate your hiring needs before it's like you're trying to put out a fire. And so that would be another kind of hand in hand piece of advice is like project ahead and hire before you absolutely need to so that you can take the time to hire

Indira 19:41

thoroughly. Yeah, that's amazing advice. And just to add to that, I would say like even if you're not ready to hire full time, bring on someone as a contractor part time and then you know, grow into a full time role. But even that part time position can be a game changer in someone's life. Business.

Rachel Silves 20:01

And then just add one more thing to that just as you're, as you're talking, just believing that the right person is out there, I think is a huge part of hiring. And so just having the right mindset, as a business owner going into the hiring process is like, just be open to exploring possibilities and just believe in your heart that the right person is out there, and that the right person will find you. I think those are huge as you're getting your mindset around hiring. No, I

Indira 20:25

love that. Yeah, manifest it.

Rachel Silves 20:28

Exactly.

Indira 20:29

So the next round of questions is our lightning round questions, which you are familiar with. So let's get to it. So what's your favorite way to make time for self care?

Rachel Silves 20:42

I like anything where it can be outside. So that could be a walk around my neighborhood. That could be a short hike that could be just sitting on my back patio. But being outside is the best way that I make time for self care.

Indira 20:54

Wonderful. So what is one tool or strategy that you use to help you with time management,

Rachel Silves 21:01

I love the concept of time boxing, where you just give yourself a short period of time to complete one task, getting stripping away all of the notifications, turning off your email, putting your phone in a box, turning off slack notifications, and just giving yourself like 45 minutes to an hour to really focus on one task. Time boxing is something that I use a lot and I find that it's really effective. I love

Indira 21:25

that this is the first time I hear the term time boxing, like block scheduling, but I've never heard time boxing before.

Rachel Silves 21:33

Yeah, look it up. It's a time management tool. There's some more fancy there's like now apps that will do it for you like 25 minutes on five minutes off, but like the concept is just called time boxing. And it's basically like, Okay, I'm gonna like write these emails in the next 45 minutes. And you're just like literally putting yourself in a time box where you're not doing anything else and just getting that task done.

Indira 21:54

Okay, sorry, Phoebe has made a guest appearance. She is Team KK es mascots now. Very adorable. So what's the most powerful business mindset or entrepreneurial book that you've ever read?

Rachel Silves 22:11

Yeah, I had a really hard time with this one, because I've read a lot. But I had to come back to two books. Actually, neither one of them are like truly business or entrepreneurial mindset books, but they just made such a difference in my own life. So the first one is what color is your parachute by Richard Bowles. And that is just such a classic book on getting to know yourself and exploring all of your options, including starting your own business. So I read that maybe like 15 years ago, and I've reread it but like, you know, all the editions and is the book that I refer to over and over. And then the second book that I just couldn't not mention is the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. And again, just I think if you embody those seven habits in your life, in your business in with alignment, and authenticity, you're just gonna get so far in life. So those were the two books that I

Indira 22:59

chose. Oh, I love that. Did you know that the habits, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, they did one for kids? So they have like, no idea that they do. They have like a box set, and they do it for kids like each habit. It's very interesting. Yeah, love. So I know, we go back to mindset and your mindset is a huge thing that you actually coach inside the incubator. So with that, what's your favorite quote, mantra or affirmation for when things get tough? And you feel like giving out?

Rachel Silves 23:31

Yeah, so this is just like, I didn't pull a quote from anybody else. This is just something I say to myself all the time. And this is actually where I also feel like maybe this is a little bit of my superpower, but like, don't take it personal is like something that like I come back to over and over and over again. So don't take it personal. And then what's one thing you can do so like always prioritizing action taking is something that's important to me. And so oftentimes, I think you need to remember that, as humans, we interact with a lot of people and everyone else has their own stuff. And so if you can go through life without taking things personally and focusing on the action that you can take, those are two mantras that I kind of use to help me get through tough times.

Indira 24:10

Those are great mantras Wow, don't take it personal. Identify that

Rachel Silves 24:15

like Monica song, you know, in my head while saying that to myself, too.

Indira 24:22

So the name of our podcast is Success with Soul and it's also Success with Soul inside the incubator, right? So what does Success with Soul mean to you?

Rachel Silves 24:34

Success with Soul to me means living authentically and in alignment with who I am and being able to enjoy my life to the fullest. So it's kind of general but that's what it means to me.

Indira 24:44

Yeah, that's amazing. Rachel, this has been such a wonderful interview and I you know, every time I get to know you a little more, I'm just like, wow, we're so lucky. incubator clients are so lucky. Enjoy After all, you're just you're amazing and I tell you this all the time, but Team KK is better with you in it. So thank you so much for joining me today on this podcast. I'm so excited for our listeners to get to know you. And is there any last words?

Rachel Silves 25:17

Well, I just thank you so much for having me on the podcast Indira and I think it's all about reciprocity, right? Like I feel so lucky to be on Team K K and to support our incubator clients and get to interact with you and K JC and Olivia and everyone else on Team KK. So thank you so much for having me. I've really enjoyed myself today and I can't wait to hear the rest of the interviews with other members of Team KK.

Indira 25:40

Yay. Thanks so much. Okay, great. Bye.

Kate Kordsmeier 25:46

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