Hiring for Growth Positions in Your Company with Jill Stanton of Screw the Nine to Five
Episode 383: Show Notes
Today on The Strategy Hour we are so happy to be joined by our friend Jill Stanton! Jill is the co-founder of Screw the 9 to 5, where she helps ambitious entrepreneurs quit their day jobs and live out their business dreams. They also have a very popular podcast and through all this work has inspired tens of thousands of people to build thriving businesses and live lives full of meaning and purpose. You can see why we love Jill! This is such a fun conversation, in which we focus on what it means to hire for growth instead of filling spaces. There is a big difference between building a team that actually helps you make more money and just getting bigger. It is such an opportune time to talk to Jill about this as she and her husband have just implemented these changes themselves within the last year! So the results are not all in yet, but it is looking good so far.
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No matter how big or small your business is, this episode has lessons for you, many of which can be implemented from day one in order to set yourself up for success. As many of you will have noticed we are getting into the habit of emphasizing profit above all else and this is something we have in common with Jill! We are just so excited to have someone with this much experience in the online business world to share their genius with you. We have so much respect for Jill and Screw the 9 to 5 as she has learned so many lessons and we can all be really grateful that she is here to share these us!
Jill's Thoughts on the Profit Debate
Jill admits she loves money and always wants to make more! Go, girl! She and her husband started their first business in 2011, which was a network of affiliate sites and they were generating commission through affiliate marketing. This led to starting Screw the 9 to 5, their current business. At the end of last year, they decided they needed to asses and recreate their company values and one of the big results of this was a renewed focus on profit. They had previously felt service was the number one priority but have now flipped the switch to alignment and profit. This has been an exciting change for the company and Jill admits they have made all the mistakes in the game and continue to learn as they go. She is so excited about hiring in this new way, with a new focus and has seen good results so far!
The Realization to Shift Things in the Business
Incentivizing their team had always proved tricky for Jill and Josh. At the end of 2018, they had to take responsibility for this not working in the way they wanted. Jill believes it was their failings as leaders that led to the situation they were in. Setting correct expectations from the start is vital, this helps you hire the right people with the right attitude. Before the beginning of this year, there was very little accountability and ownership of KPI's amongst their employees, which led to a lack of commitment. This can all be quite difficult as most of us are not taught how to hire and have to learn as we go. So when they hit the reset button on their biz last year, pretty much their whole team was scrapped! They had to ask themselves who did they actually need in order to help them make more money. They quite quickly brought in a customer support manager and then a second-in-charge to help run things, but this time they hired with growth and profit in mind. By layering in growth opportunities for new employees they were able to set the tone for what follows. They have continued to do this in other areas of their business. It also allows them to get out of the weeds and hire power players with the opportunity of profit share, which equates to a ceiling-less position!
The Salary Structure and Searching for the Right Person
Jill and Josh have set things up in a few different ways for their new hires but most people have a base salary as a starting point. On top of this, there are added opportunities for income and this is what defines their job offers. Certain people will not respond to this sort of structure but applicants who are interested in growth and involvement will see it as a plus. This is one of the ways that Jill has learned from her mistakes! She is a big believer in intention and when looking to fill a particular role, she has put out that intention with little focus on the timeframe and each time it has sorted itself out quickly! When you show the right person their trajectory in a company and the available opportunity, they will respond enthusiastically! Jill sees her role as someone who is there for support but the individual is in charge or their own work. They have review meetings and keep in mind the results they are after. She puts a huge emphasis on each member's own purpose and grounding for doing what they are doing and from there they ask how do they get there, what is the map that makes it possible to arrive at the destination. This approach is clearly quite collaborative and requires that the leaders do not bottleneck the process but it also ensures that the team is more responsible and independent.
Positions that Jill Wants to Fill Next and a New Program
The next position Jill wants to fill is someone to take charge of their podcast. Podcasting has been an important part of the business and she is so excited to hire for this role in the same way! Knowing where someone is at in their work and helping them get the results you both want is so refreshing! It was obviously a big decision to shut things down on the backend late last year but both she and Josh wanted to be super intentional about what they wanted to create. At the top of their list were ease, alignment and profit! Neither of them wanted to deal with customer service for a while and so they rebuilt from there. After noting the success of their podcast they decided to double down on this and they have had success with video, so they have added video to their podcast setup. They feel they are now really creating a business that serves its customers, even more so than before!
A New Dawn and Following Your Heart
By identifying what makes you happy and what you would really like to do in your business you can make decisions that are not reckless and reactive. Listen to your heart and change things where needed! This will make a difference to your audience too! Think about what you want the '20s to be like for you and your brand and take action towards that. Stop perpetuating old patterns and worn-out systems. Your audience plays a big role in this and can help you take better actions for everyone involved. Having confidence in yourself and the business means keeping promises, that's where it starts for Jill! If you can take back the control of your intentions, the independence and investment of your team and have a company filled with players who are motivated by performance, you are destined for success.
Quote This
One of my biggest personal values is generosity and how am I going to be generous in a monetary sense, if I ain't making a profit?
—Jill Stanton
Highlights
Jill's Thoughts on the Profit Debate. [0:04:42.4]
The Realization to Shift Things in the Business. [0:08:55.2]
The Salary Structure and Searching for the Right Person. [0:21:22.8]
Positions that Jill Wants to Fill Next and a New Program. [0:34:22.5]
A New Dawn and Following Your Heart. [0:41:02.1]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:50:31.6]
How revenue will be generated?
What at the outcomes are they responsible for?
How do you find that person?
A rigorous interview process.
Take the time to train well.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Jill Stanton
Screw the Nine to Five
Jill Stanton is the co-founder of Screw The Nine To Five where she helps unsatisfied employees quit their jobs and start online businesses. Coined by Forbes as “a destination for up-and-coming online entrepreneurs,” Screw The Nine To Five has inspired tens of thousands of new entrepreneurs to quit their jobs, build thriving businesses, and live lives of meaning and purpose. In addition to her chart-topping podcast, her honest-yet-cheeky style has landed her on shows like The Sunny Show, Entrepreneurs On Fire, and Amy Porterfield’s Online Marketing Made Easy to name a few. Jill has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc, and Digital Marketer.
KEY TOPICS
Profit, Hiring, Online Business, Opportunity, Growth, Responsibility
