Beyond Margins: Designing Calmer B2B Agencies & Consulting Firms

Can we create calm workplaces that are not only remote, but also asynchronous? And can we do it while avoiding micromanaging from afar? We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're diving into autonomy. Why is autonomy essential for a calmer business? What does an autonomous work environment even look like? And how can you apply some of the best systems and tips for creating an autonomous environment into your own business. We're joined by remote-work expert, Marissa Goldberg. Marissa has managed distributed team members across 20+ countries and in 2018 founded Remote Work Prep. Remote Work Prep offers Fractional COO services and courses to help companies successfully create healthy, effective remote work environments.On this episode, we learn how to set up employees to be their best selves and do their best job in an autonomous work environment. Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:What autonomy in a work culture means and why it is essential for building a calm company.The importance of clear communication, clear expectations, and the need for documentation to support autonomous decision-making.The necessity of intentional onboarding and training to help employees adapt to an autonomous work environment.Marissa's tips for managing 'overwhelming freedom' through self-management skills.Learn more about Marissa Goldberg:Remote Work PrepWork Forward Society CommunityRemotely Interesting newsletterWhen to choose asyncLearn more about me, Susan Boles:Beyond MarginsConnect on LinkedInConnect on Threads We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes. Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

How can defining your business values and success more clearly lead to a calmer operation?This episode kicks off our miniseries on deconstructing the common elements that all calm businesses share. We're starting with the most foundational element: clarity. Clarity in business is often summarized by a simple yet powerful term: "freedom from ambiguity." In today’s discussion, Susan Boles explores how achieving clarity in your business's values, goals, and communications can lead to more engaged employees, less turnover, and ultimately, a calmer business environment.Understanding what success looks like and making sure everyone in your organization is on the same page can transform your business operations. Clarity reduces confusion and aligns your team's efforts towards common goals.Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:Why clarity is crucial in defining business success and aligning actions with values.The impact of clear communication on employee engagement and satisfaction.Practical tips for enhancing clarity within your team, from onboarding materials to daily communications.How clarity in roles, expectations, and the bigger company vision can lead to more effective and autonomous decision-making.Steps you can take today to start improving clarity in your business, including sharing your vision of success and refining internal documentation.Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here (00:00) - E103 - CALMER Solo - Clarity (00:33) - The Importance of Clarity (01:52) - Benefits of Clear Communication (02:59) - Challenges of Achieving Clarity (05:33) - Steps to Build Clarity (07:12) - Gradual Process of Improving Clarity

What if you could design a business that inherently operates on calm, not chaos? What are the essential elements to make this possible, and how can they be systematically incorporated into your business model?As we dive into our new series on creating calmer businesses, we explore the foundational elements that make businesses serene and sustainable. Each episode of this series will deconstruct a key component, starting today with an overview of what it takes to design a business for calm.So, how do you start engineering a calmer business with limited resources? Using the CALMER framework, we'll look at how these elements function as the building blocks to a less stressful and more effective business model, providing actionable insights that can empower business owners to make intentional, strategic decisions.Listen to the full episode to hear:How clarity in roles and goals reduces stress and confusion, leading to more effective operations.Why autonomy in decision-making can prevent bottlenecks and enhance job satisfaction.The importance of a Lens of Care in prioritizing well-being over profits, affecting every aspect of business operations.How building in margins—financial, time, and emotional—can prepare your business for unexpected challenges.Why efficient systems are crucial for maintaining calm and how they can be implemented to support overall business health.The role of rest and reducing urgency in avoiding burnout and sustaining long-term productivity.Learn more about me, Susan Boles:Beyond MarginsConnect on LinkedIn (00:00) - Introduction to Calm Businesses (01:20) - Understanding Default Decisions (02:44) - Engineering Calm into Your Business (05:11) - The CALMER Framework (09:05) - Deconstructing the 6 elements of a calmer business Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Can grants really fund your service business? This episode wraps up our deep dive into unique funding options for service businesses, exploring an often overlooked resource—grants.Meet Danielle Desir Corbett. She's a former grants administrator turned 4x grant-funded creative entrepreneur. She curates a monthly newsletter called "Grants For Creators," which shares funding opportunities for U.S. creatives and small business owners like grants, accelerators, pitch competitions, and more. Danielle believes creative projects should get the funding they deserve and she takes pride in handling the challenging task of locating the funds, so all you have to do is apply. How do you navigate the complexities of the grant application process without getting overwhelmed? In this episode, we break down the steps to streamline your approach, making it more accessible and effective.Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:Danielle’s journey from discovering grant opportunities to becoming a seasoned grant winner.Detailed discussions on the pros and cons of incorporating grants into your business funding strategy.Effective strategies for identifying and applying to grants that align with your business objectives.Danielle’s top tips for maximizing your time and effort when dealing with grant applications.Learn more about Danielle Desir Corbett:Grants For CreatorsConnect on InstagramConnect on ThreadsLearn more about me, Susan Boles:Beyond MarginsConnect on LinkedInConnect on Threads (00:00) - Introduction to Business Funding (00:43) - Exploring Grants as a Funding Source (04:08) - Understanding Grants and Their Benefits (06:27) - Efficient Grant Application Strategies (16:08) - Finding the Right Grants (19:49) - Conclusion and Final Thoughts Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

In this special 100th episode of Beyond Margins, host Susan Boles delivers her first solo discussion on utilizing debt thoughtfully to fund service businesses. Drawing from her experience as a fractional CFO, she explores the benefits and strategic uses of debt, shares real-world examples, and provides practical tips for business owners facing cash flow challenges or looking to seize growth opportunities. (00:00) - Introduction to Business Funding Options (00:37) - Celebrating 100 Episodes: A Solo Special (01:51) - Understanding Debt as a Strategic Tool (03:28) - Real-Life Examples of Strategic Debt Use (04:57) - Mid-Roll Ad (06:25) - Choosing and Managing Debt Wisely (08:16) - Planning and Managing Debt Repayment (10:10) - Final Thoughts and Upcoming Topics Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Do you need funding for your business but loathe the idea of giving up a piece of your company to someone else?I get it. You built this baby with your own two hands, most likely giving up nights, weekends, early mornings, and time with your friends and family to do it. So the idea of handing over part of that to someone who wasn’t sweating it out with you might make you feel pretty uncomfortable.The good news is, you don’t have to. There are other funding options that can provide the financial support you need without compromising your ownership. Today, I’m talking with Lena West, founding director of CEO Rising, about non-dilutive funding, which is funding where you don’t give away any equity or ownership stake in your business.Specifically, we’re going to dig into crowdfunding. As an agency or consulting firm owner, you might think crowdfunding could never be for you. But Lena has walked multiple clients through successful crowdfunding campaigns, and you might be surprised how applicable it could be to your business. Join us as we dig into the ins, outs, how-tos, and bewares of crowdfunding for service-based businesses.Listen to the full episode to hear:How crowdsourcing changes the conversation about incentives, growth, and rewards from traditional investment sourcesHow traditional VC or angel investor models actually harm businesses owned by marginalized peopleWhy you should think of crowdfunding as a large-scale marketing project and develop high-quality assets accordinglyHow to develop a campaign when you’re not selling a tangible productEssential considerations before, during, and after your campaignOther potential avenues for non-dilutive funding for your businessLearn more about Lena West:CEO RisingCEO Rising RISE Overviewhttps://bit.ly/CEORisingRISEOverviewConnect on LinkedInLearn more about me, Susan Boles:Beyond MarginsConnect on LinkedInWe value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes. Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Cash is only easy to come by when you don't really need it. When things are going well, banks are happy to finance loans and lines of credit, and investors are easy to find when you're profitable and growing quickly. But we all know things aren’t always going well.For service-based businesses, where our products aren’t widgets but more often the intangible value of our brains and experiences, we tend to think that outside funding just doesn’t apply to us and our business model.But the truth is that you have more options than you think. And that’s what we’ll geek out about over the next few episodes, empowering you with the knowledge and tools to explore these alternative funding avenues.To start, I’m talking to Eda Henries, founder and managing principal of Henries & Co., a capital advisory firm. We’re digging into the ins and outs of bringing equity investment into your business, including a behind-the-scenes look at how that process unfolded for Eda in her own business.Listen to the full episode to hear:How your long-term goals for your business inform which funding options might be suitable for youThe different forms equity can take for a service-based businessWhy Eda says the first step to going from employee to partner is to get clear on how your goals and values alignWhat projections and documents does your business need to have to seek investmentA relatively unknown resource for small business fundingWhy you need to take the time to build relationships with the people or institutions investing in your businessConsidering acquisitions as part of growth and scaleLearn more about Eda Henries:Henries & Co.Connect on LinkedInLearn more about me, Susan Boles:Beyond MarginsConnect on LinkedInGrab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Consider this scenario: a key employee unexpectedly needs to take an extended leave. Is your business financially and structurally prepared to handle that without a hitch? This is a challenge many small businesses face, and it's crucial to be prepared.As we wrap up our series on sabbaticals, leaves, and breaks, we will examine the policies and financial planning that underpin them. To guide us through this topic, we have the privilege of hearing from Kate Tyson, a seasoned professional from Wanderwell, a consulting and bookkeeping practice focused on small businesses and innovative business models. Kate, who has recently navigated the planning for paid parental leave for one of her team members and is preparing for a sabbatical later this year, brings a wealth of experience and insights to the table. So, how can a small business with limited resources effectively offer comprehensive benefits like paid parental leave? Kate, drawing from her practical experience, delves into the myriad of considerations she faced while developing her company’s policy and planning for her team member’s absence and her own upcoming break, providing actionable insights that can empower small business owners and managers. Listen to the full episode to hear:How the wide variability in state-level leave programs can complicate creating an equitable policy when you have employees in multiple statesHow Kate and Wanderwell planned for coverage of clients and ongoing projects as her team member went on leaveWhy Kate says that overcommunication about transitions might be more about you than what your clients need or wantThe delicate balance between wanting to provide benefits and not overcommitting financially to the detriment of the businessWhy Kate has moved away from an hourly wage model for her team membersHow Kate is planning for her own sabbatical and how it will impact the businessLearn more about Kate Tyson:WanderwellWanderings NewsletterWhiskey Fridays PodcastConnect on LinkedInLearn more about me, Susan Boles:Beyond MarginsConnect on LinkedInWe value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes. Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

What happens when you unexpectedly need to step away from your business's operations? How can you prepare your business not just to survive but to thrive, even when key team members are away?In our continuing series on planning for leaves, sabbaticals, and breaks from your business, we’re shifting our focus from the personal side to the backbone of any business: operations.Layla Pomper, creator of Process Driven, joins me to delve into the empowering process of building operational resilience in your business. This process not only allows you to take a break more easily but also ensures your business runs more efficiently day to day, putting you firmly in control of your business's future.Layla shares a range of practical strategies, tactics, and systems you can implement now. These will not only prepare you for a break but also instill confidence and peace of mind in your business operations.Listen to the full episode to hear:Why clearly defining each team member’s “what, who, when” is the crucial first step to managing an absenceHow your business model impacts your options for taking leaveHow lazy training gives team members exposure to and familiarity with your processWhy you should be using shorter absences and vacations as fire drills for your systemsSteps business owners can take to remove themselves as bottlenecksHow to build a network that you can lean on during a breakLearn more about Layla Pomper:Process DrivenYouTube: @laylapomperConnect on LinkedInLearn more about me, Susan Boles:Beyond MarginsConnect on LinkedIn Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

How do you step away from your business for a necessary break without losing momentum or compromising your values? Deciding to take a leave or sabbatical, and then figuring out the best approach for you, how to maintain client relationships while you're away, or even ensuring you have enough financial security during your break are all complex challenges that many of us face.As part of my exploration of breaks, leaves, and sabbaticals and all of the different ways you can plan for them, I’m talking to Erica Courdae and India Jackson, the partners behind Pause on the Play, a resource library, podcast, and consultancy committed to guiding individuals in defining their values, diversifying their networks, and disrupting systems of oppression.India has just returned from parental leave after having her first child. Together, she and Erica have navigated the operational and financial complexities of planning for leave, including their decision to shut down the Pause on the Play Community.While the context of Erica and India's experience is parental leave, the strategies they employed are universally applicable. Their unique approach to planning and managing their leave can be a practical guide for anyone considering a break from their business.Listen to the full episode to hear:How a desire for openness, simplicity, and sustainability shaped their conversations about the business even before planning for India’s parental leaveHow Erica and India went about simplifying processes and closing loops with their clients and community leading up to going on leaveHow the business maintained some revenue during leave, and how they planned an on-ramp for India’s return How joy and ease are informing their decision-making as they return to full operationsWhy they have clear containers around what platforms they use to discuss work and personal lifeHow they are building opportunities to connect with their communities as people without always making it about workLearn more about Erica Courdae and India Jackson:Pause on the PlayInstagram: @pauseontheplayLearn more about me, Susan Boles:Beyond MarginsConnect on LinkedIn Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Sometimes, you just need a break. I know I did. What was meant to be a quick breather turned into a transformative journey of two and a half years. The show (and my company) emerged with a new name, a new look, and a new perspective on what truly sustains a business—and a life.I say that I took a break from my business. But the reality is that I broke. I realized that I was burnt out to the point where I was physically, psychologically, and emotionally impaired. In this episode, I share the whole story—the behind-the-scenes of what went wrong, what went right, and why I’m back. Today’s episode kicks off a series on, appropriately, taking a break. Whether you need a break because of burnout like me, you or someone you love got sick, you're getting ready to have a kid and need to plan for parental leave, or you just want to take a sabbatical to refresh, big breaks are hard to prepare for. How do you figure out how to pay yourself (and your team) during a break? What systems and procedures need to be in place to make sure things run smoothly? How do you handle managing and serving your clients while you're away? And, if the break is unexpected and unplanned, what then? After all, running a business is a marathon—not a sprint. If we’re going to be in it for the whole 26.2 miles, we better learn how to rest. And that starts with making calm your KPI.Listen to the full episode to hear:The challenges of pausing work and the reality of burnout recoveryWhy I made the counterintuitive decision to take a full-time job to restThe importance of building a business with comfortable margins and a focus on sustainability rather than relentless growthWhy I’m using calm as a key performance indicator (KPI) in business and advocating for a model that values space, margin, and a personalized definition of successLearn more about me, Susan Boles:Beyond MarginsConnect on LinkedInLearn more about Sean McMullin:YellowHouse.Media Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Break the Ceiling is now Beyond Margins. I’m excited to bring back the show and introduce you to people thinking about operations, finance, and business-building with calm as their top KPI. Do you know someone who could use a little more calm in their business? Someone who wants to think beyond margins? Share the show with them! And make sure you follow or subscribe in your favorite podcast app.***Honestly, I don’t really want to 10x my business. There. I said it. I want interesting work, enough revenue to be comfortable, and 10x the time spent riding my bike or paddling in my kayak. Maybe that’s how you feel, too. When you set out to build your business, I bet you wanted to build something you loved that made you money, supported your family, created great jobs for other folks, and gave you freedom and flexibility. You knew it wasn’t going to be easy… but this?!You've worked weekends, early mornings, and late nights around your kids' soccer practices, and you've been exhausted and overworked. You've worn all the hats and done all the jobs. Maybe you’ve been through burnout or burnt it all down (maybe more than once). Now you just want a business that works for you, that feels fun, comfortable, and calm.. Your goals are similar to mine: you want to take Fridays off, chaperone your kids' field trips, or hang out in the sunshine on a Tuesday afternoon, but still know that the work you’re doing matters. For all the talk of entrepreneurship leading to more freedom and flexibility, you and I know those things don’t just happen.But we all want to be financially secure, to build something meaningful and important, to make the right decisions, the smart decisions. And when things aren’t going all that well, or there are just a million decisions to make, or we don’t really know what to do next, you make the choices you see others making.I call these default decisions.These are choices we make in our business, based on what everyone else is doing, without really ever thinking about them or whether they're the right choice for you and your business. Default decisions sound like "best practices," or "what's working right now," or "my step-by-step method to X."The defaults are hard to escape. They're caused by something deeper - this culture that you probably started your business heavily influenced by, even if you wish you weren't - productivity and achievement culture.That's where it's about outlasting, out-hustling, growth = success, profit doesn't matter, reinvesting in the business, growth, growth, growth, 10x everything.And by following these default decisions, you can build a business that is technically "correct" by all external definition. But those default decisions end up anchoring you to a business that's only focused on your sales, your output, your efficiency, your productivity - because, well, that's the default.Default decisions are based on assumptions—that your idea of success is a permanent island getaway or a Lamborghini in the driveway, or maybe that “doing more” or “crushing it” is the key to overcoming any challenge.Those assumptions can lead you astray when they are absolutely not the things you want from your business. Remember, calm? Fun? Comfortable?Relying on default decisions might boost your bank account for a month or juice your social media following, but they won’t get you the calm, comfy business you crave.Here’s what I’ve learned over 15 years of building my own companies and acting as CFO for others:Your company is going to end up being whatever your top priority is. If your top priority—is growth - the default? Well, your company will end up focusing on growth — potentially at the expense of your profit margins, your team's well-being, and sometimes even your ethics. If you want to build something different, you have to solve for something different. Instead of solving for growth, what if you solved for calm? You can’t build a calmer business unless you design it that way. It has to be built into your business's DNA. It has to be your overriding priority, the thing that you’re solving for, the touchpoint you’re always coming back to. To build a calmer business, you need to make calm your new KPI. I’m your host, Susan Boles, and this is Beyond Margins – the show where we geek out about how to build a calmer business with comfortable margins. I’m a speaker, podcaster, and consultant with more than 15 years of experience as both a CFO and COO in a variety of industries. I’ve worked with major universities, small retail shops, and software companies, just to name a few, and now I focus on working with agencies, consultants, and creatives.  Each episode, we’ll explore: Financial strategies that help you build towards something calmerNew ways to think about your operations to build more comfortable margins Team management and leadership strategies to help you support your team’s wellbeingCountering default decisions and unpacking productivity & achievement cultureBuilding more margin into your business – not just profit margins, but capacity margins, energetic margins, and emotional margins. You’ll walk away from each episode thinking more deeply about your decisions - and some strategies to help you build more margin and calm into your business.Join me as I explore what it looks like when you make calm your new KPI.

I wanted to give you an update on what's going on with Break the Ceiling. Over the last two years, I've released almost a hundred episodes of Break the Ceiling. I've put out so many episodes that I'm really proud of, and I've talked to a ton of really amazing business owners. Thank you so much for listening and hanging out here with me, geeking out on the backend of running a business.I wanted to let you know that we're going on hiatus, so we won't be releasing any new episodes for a while. I want to take some time to think about how I want the show to evolve, and I'd like to reimagine it a bit. So I'm taking a break from recording and releasing episodes here so that I can take this space.And to be honest, it's been a heck of a year and a half for me and I need a little bit of a break.Stay tuned to this feed and hit subscribe if you're not already a subscriber so you don't miss it when we come back with a new updated and improved show. We have some really exciting things planned, both for the podcast and for the business.In the meantime, there's almost a hundred episodes in the feed so definitely catch up on the ones you’ve missed. I'd love to connect with you and hear what you'd like to see for the show going forward and I'm looking forward to being back in your podcast feed and your ears soon.Learn more about Susan:Scalespark.coTwitter @theSusanBolesLinkedIn @thesusanboles Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Boundaries are all about setting guidelines for how you work.From your very first interaction with a client or a prospect, you're giving them hints about how you work or even explicitly setting expectations for how you'll work together.So if you take four days to respond to their request for information, they might have the impression that you're a little slow. React immediately, and they'll think you're always available.What choices we make about where our boundaries are–or aren't–can have a huge effect on our overall capacity and how much time it takes to actually serve each client.Boundaries can be a really powerful tool when we're talking about streamlining or increasing your operational capacity.Today we're going to dig into them with my guest, Brittany Berger. She's the founder of Work Brighter, which is a digital media company that helps productive unicorns go beyond working smarter to a version of productivity that makes room for “unproductive” things like rest, self-care, and fun.She started Work Brighter after five years running content marketing in really high-stress startups that prioritized hustle, growth, and scaling over self-care and mental health. Now that she's changed her own mindset, she spends her time helping other high achievers find balance for themselves and advocating for mental health awareness.Let's just say her boundary game is strong.Listen to the full episode to hear:How Brittany uses boundaries as guardrails for habits and routines that protect her mental and physical healthHow adding a little extra friction around things like email and social media can help reinforce your boundaries and keep you from breaking them yourselfWhy building boundaries to manage your energy rather than pushing through leads to sustainable productivityHow Brittany has redefined success in a way that respects her health and wellbeing and not just the bottom lineLearn more about Brittany:BrittanyBerger.comWork Brighter@workbrighter on Instagram@thatbberg on TwitterThe Slackification of the Family Home–The Atlantic MagazineLearn more about Susan:Scalespark.coTwitter @ScaleSparkLinkedIn @thesusanboles Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

You are not your business.Your business is something you are creating, which means you have a relationship with it.Like any relationship that we are in, the relationship that we have with our business can be complex and takes understanding, consideration, and work. And as with our personal relationships, the ones that we have with our businesses are shaped by our past experiences, for better or worse.We might have been told that we’re supposed to leave our baggage at the door when we come into work–we might even think we succeed–but that’s not how humans work. And when we ignore how our pasts affect our present, we set ourselves up to repeat unhealthy relationship patterns everywhere in our lives.In today’s episode, we’ll talk about how your foundational experiences might show up in your business and create limitations to your growth, especially when it comes to perfectionism and control.Nicole Lewis-Keeber is a business therapist and mindset coach who works with entrepreneurs to create and nurture healthy relationships with their businesses. She's a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Masters in Social Work and she writes and speaks about the impact of small-t trauma on businesses. Her biggest, most important work is in combining therapeutic processes with business coaching to help entrepreneurs build emotionally sustainable and financially stable businesses.Listen to the full episode to hear:How your business is not you, but a thing you’re in relationship withHow control relates to trust and its impacts on your ability to lead and growHow perfectionism is a safety mechanism and tools to help you begin to lower that shieldWhy when you’ve tried all the systems and none of them worked, it’s probably not the systemsLearn more about Nicole:Trauma and Its Impact on Business - Free CourseNicole Lewis-Keeber CoachingInstagram: @nicole.lewiskeeberFacebook: Nicole Lewis-Keeber CoachingLearn more about Susan:Scalespark.coTwitter @ScaleSparkLinkedIn @thesusanboles Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here