Momentum Podcast: 514

The More You Give, the More You Get with Ashlan Nelson

by Alex Charfen

Episode Description

We just had the close of our second full year in business. The last six months have been exceptional for us. Our company has been growing like crazy. One of the major things we’ve focused on is planning. I always say that if you don’t have a plan, you’re going to be the biggest bottleneck. We’ve used our strategic planning process to coach 100’s of millions of dollars in growth with our clients. Another thing we’ve really cracked down on is documentation of key processes and simplifying everything we possibly can to scale.

To put things into context, in September of last year, we pulled all of our paid marketing so I could get out of sales and delivery. As a result, we grew our team to 15 people and had our most profitable year yet. We also launched our newest product, Billionaire Code Foundation. We started the Foundation with a small beta group. Our goal was 25 sales, and we ended at 32, with NO paid marketing. In the past few months, we also dealt with some serious health issues with my wife, Cadey. With my wife out of commission and me working at 30% productivity, our business still grew thanks to our incredible team. I can’t stress this enough…having the right team is everything.

We’re currently at a $3 million run rate and on our way to the $3 – $10 million growth phase on the Billionaire Code. Stepping into this leader phase and delegating success has led us to have an amazing team culture. But the biggest and most exciting thing that has happened in the last two years is our client success stories. So many of our clients are exploding and hitting new milestones. Tune into the show for a full overview of what the past 24 months in business have looked like for us!

Full Audio Transcript

Today I have a very special and very exciting podcast just to share with you, because I'm not going to be doing all the talking. In fact, I'm interviewing one of our amazing clients, Ashlan Nelson, who has gone through our momentum masterclass and she went through it at a point where she was feeling a ton of constraint, a lack of clarity, and really not seeing how to move forward and getting some conflicting messaging from the world.

So if you've ever been there, where you feel like you just don't know the next step and there's some conflicting things in your life, telling you to go in different directions and you want clarity and focus, here's a story of someone who's been there, broken through and is now in crazy momentum.

I'm Alex Charfen and this is the Momentum podcast made for empire builders, game changers, trailblazers, shot takers, record breakers, world makers and creators of all kinds, those among us who can't turn it off and don't know why anyone would want to.

We challenge complacency, destroy apathy, and we are obsessed with creating momentum, so we can roll over bureaucracy and make our greatest contribution. Sure we pay attention to their rules, but only so that we can bend them, break them, then rewrite them around our own will. We don't accept our destiny, we define it. We don't understand defeat because you only lose if you stop and we don't know how.

While the rest of the world strives for average and clings desperately to the status quo, we are the minority, the few who are willing to hallucinate there could be a better future. And instead of just daydreaming of what could be, we endure the vulnerability and exposure it takes to make it real. We are the evolutionary hunters, clearly the most important people in the world, because entrepreneurs are the only source of consistent, positive human evolution and we always will be.

Ashlan, I am so excited to have you on the podcast today. I've loved working with you and Wallace and the time that we've had together and I think that this is going to be really good for a lot of people when they hear it.

Ashlan: I'm excited Alex, thanks for having me on today.

Alex: For sure. So I want to jump right in. So the reason that we brought you on is you are, first you and Wallace are in our coaching program, for the business that you run together, for the business you're involved in together. And you as part of that coaching program, you have access to our momentum masterclass, which is where our momentum planner and some of the personal products are. I know you've started using it, but give us an idea. What was going on before, that caused you to jump into using the momentum masterclass and momentum planning system?

Ashlan: So Wallace and I have worked together for the last couple of years. And prior to that, I actually did hair for about 17 years. And when we switched over and working together, he kept pushing me to put together this course that I had built on my own by accident. That helps her sellers, just stop being broke. So many of them just struggle financially and they don't even know why. And I just figured out the keys and tips and tricks that made them successful in that.

And he kept pushing me and pushing me and I was like, Alex, always talk [inaudible 00:03:03], don't chase two rabbits. And we love what we're doing. We're having success with what we're doing, but he just kept pushing and pushing I was like, it's too [inaudible 00:03:11] not doing it. So I kept asking for validation from other people actually, for them to be like, "No, you shouldn't do that." Our friends like Alison Prince and Dave Woodward and John Parks and all of them were like, "Ashlan, this was brilliant." And I was like, "No it's two rabbits again, right?"

So finally, like we literally were arguing over it, which is funny, because we're smart people, we don't argue, like we talked about that we figured out. And I was like, fine, I'm going to ask Alex at FHL about this. And he's going to tell me, "No, you're chasing two rabbits." And so I pitched this whole thing to Alex. I'm waiting for that moment where he's like, "Don't do this." And he's like, "This is brilliant. You need to go back through the momentum masterclass and make sure this is the direction you want to go." I was like, crap, Alex was supposed to tell me no. And so that's where this whole thing started.

Alex: You know what's interesting Ashlan, is what you're expressing right now. Entrepreneurs face resistance constantly. We faced this like, okay, I want to do this thing. And the day you decide you want to do the thing, the whole world is going to tell you, you shouldn't. That's just how it is, right? Well for you, it was reversed resistance. You were telling yourself you shouldn't and you're being pulled into it. What did it feel like, when like you kept talking to people and getting confirmation?

Ashlan: It was scary, because I was so afraid of failing, but everyone else could see the successes that I couldn't see. And so it almost made it even more scary, because somebody else had tell me. Normally we have that belief that I can do this, it's going to be amazing. But everyone else is saying, "Yeah, I don't know about that." So where that role was reversed, it was actually really scary.

Alex: Yeah. Because I mean, it feels like pressure, doesn't it?

Ashlan: It does. I felt pressured to succeed with it. I felt pressure to get going with it even though I really wasn't comfortable with putting myself out there and being that vulnerable.

Alex: Yeah, no doubt. So here's the reason I suggested you go back to our momentum masterclass, it's because it's our framework where you get clarity personally, but for the human being. Because we believe you can't build a business unless you as a human being are grounded and centered and clear on where you want to go. So how many planning products or like planning systems or systems like this have you tried to use in the past?

Ashlan: My gosh, I can't even count how many. Normally I spend like 20 minutes. I'm like, well this isn't going to work. And then you go back to it the next day and you spend another 20 minutes, like, this just will never work. Like it's either too complex or there's just no really move the needle was the problem. Like it never gave me clarity on anything and I just felt like I was filling out a daily [inaudible 00:05:46] basically.

Alex: Yeah, like a to-do-list.

Ashlan: Exactly. The never ending to-do-list that, everything just keeps transferring over and then you realize that, what I needed to do six months ago, is still on my to-do-list and I've accomplished nothing.

Alex: Right. And it almost gives you like this false sense of progress, when really all you're doing, it's almost like procrastination on paper day by day.

Ashlan: It totally was.

Alex: So what was different about the systems and the frameworks in momentum masterclass?

Ashlan: I loved that it took me literally like day by day, week by week, month by month. That it could break up those goals and they were reachable and tangible. And I knew like I only have to focus on these top three things for today. Everything else can wait, everything else will be okay. But as long as I get these three core things done and I might get four or five done. But it's only like these top three non-negotiables done that, the needle is going to start moving.

And that's what was crazy. I hadn't even finished the entire momentum masterclass, before the ball started rolling so quickly that I was like, "No, can I keep with this by myself? Like it really [inaudible 00:06:50] that process changed so fast.

Alex: What's interesting Ashlan, was one of the promises we make about our products is that, as you go through them, as you go through the process, you will gain momentum. It's one of our core values, momentum in the process. Like we never ask anybody to do something, unless it's going to start accelerating them from the beginning. Did you feel that?

Ashlan: Totally. And that's where that fear kicked back in, because I was so used to not having any success or any momentum, that it was like, why is this happening? Because I haven't done anything really except for just put the concepts on paper and they just happen.

Alex: Yeah. So take us to the moment where you're going through the course, you're in this place where the world's telling you one thing, you're thinking another, that causes significant confusion for an entrepreneur. In fact, when we're in that place where we're pulled in two different directions, they can feel very constraining. Even though it's exciting and it's something new. Did you feel that constraint?

Ashlan: Completely. I was in a weird place prior to that. From the time I talked to you and went through that master class. The month prior to that, like Wallace kept asking me like, "What's wrong with you? What's going ..." Like I was so torn and so lost. And it was about the third day into doing the momentum masterclass, like there was this shift. I talk a lot about mindset and how like yourself you're going to fail, you will fail.

And there was a shift in just my mindset. It was like, no I can do this and it's going to be successful and people need this. It's not for me, I'm doing it for everyone else. And that's where I found that clarity, within just a few days.

Alex: What did that clarity feel like Ashlan? Like give us a contrast the month before, even, [inaudible 00:08:24] is saying like, "Hey, what's going on Ashlan?" Then you hit this shift. What did it feel like?

Ashlan: It literally was like a weight lifted off my shoulder. Like if I got on this scale, I was like, "I swear I just lost 10 pounds." I swearing it. It was just like this lightness and I could breathe again. When you talk about constraints, I physically could fill just like the tension of fighting against it and by letting go of that, that's where momentum came from and it was just freeing and it was light.

Alex: Yeah. That's amazing. How did it change your outlook on the possibilities of what you're doing?

Ashlan: It was so interesting, because I went from, I don't know if people would want this, I don't know if people will listen or people care, like who am I to be doing this? To I owe it to people to be giving them this opportunity to stop being broke, to stop being poor. Like it was so freeing that I could give them this opportunity, rather than like, why me?

Alex: That's really profound. So it went from, I just want to make sure that I get this clear. So it went from feeling like, I don't know if I should even do this, to feeling like not only do I have to do this, but I should do this. I need to do this. This is like a service I'm providing to others

Ashlan: Completely. And that's what life's about. The more you give, the more you get. Like it's a snowball effect when you do that. And that's where I think I kept struggling, is I kept thinking that by doing this, I'd be taking money from people and what if they don't have success? But I know by them following the process, they will. And I'm actually giving them a new opportunity, I'm giving them time back with their kids and their family and their spouses and not being a slave to their chairs anymore.

Alex: Yeah. Absolutely. Because in the hairdressing industry, like most people are, they're independent contractors. They're literally entrepreneurs running their own business. But most of them really are in more of an employment situation, aren't they?

Ashlan: Well they are in some ways but not in others. The problem is that, they actually were taught to be a technician, but they're business operators. They have no clue how to actually run a business. So that way they revert back to that employee role, because they don't actually know how to run a business on their own. And it's not their fault. They were never taught, they were taught how to do hair, not how to be a business operator.

Alex: Yeah, no doubt. And so what does it feel like for you now Ashlan, when you think about this, when you look at like the possibilities you have of making a contribution, what does it feel like for you now?

Ashlan: You know how when you tell your kids you're going to go get ice cream at the ice cream store, because it's not something you do often. I feel like that every day. Like every time I sit down here to work on it, I'm like, it's like a candy, it's like a drug, it's so exciting and energizing. And I've had moments in my career where it's like, I have to do this again.

And especially when I was behind the chair for 12, 15 hours a day, I loved my clients, but the process was just emotionally exhausting. It literally physically hurt, because you're standing all day long with your arms like this, elevated. And so to not have that, and know that I can give this to other people was just incredible.

Alex: Ashlan you and Wallace are unique. You have like 26 kids or something, right?

Ashlan: It feels like it. Well, we have eight.

Alex: I'm teasing. But I think for the moms that are listening, I think a lot of parents out there, moms and dads, feel like I've got kids, I have to take care of the house, I have to do all these other things. Like I can't really pursue this dream. With the clarity that you've gained, how has it helped you like just as a mom and in your relationship with Wallace? Because if prior to that, he was asking you what was wrong, what has been the contrast after you got clarity?

Ashlan: Mom guilt, is a hard one for me. I think it's harder for women than the dad-

Alex: 100%.

Ashlan: Men are used to being the providers and that's where I'm blessed. I do have an amazing provider, but he also supports me and wanting to go out there and do my own things. And to know that I was giving service to other people and helping them in their business and helping them be successful. But I actually wasn't taking away time from my kids or from my family or from my home, because I'm just more present now. I'm more focused on the outcomes of my family, in addition to business.

Before, it was just like day to day work. It was like, I have to make you breakfast, I have to make you lunch, I have to go grocery shopping, I have to do laundry. Now it's like, by me serving my kids even, or my husband is like, what's the outcome? And that's helped us so much in knowing like, I want to make sure my kids know that they're loved and they're taking care of.

And by me making them lunch versus like having something prepped in the fridge, that doesn't define whether I love them or care for them, right?

Alex: Right. No doubt.

Ashlan: So to let some of those everyday tasks go and delegate elsewhere has been so empowering.

Alex: That's awesome. Where are you having more fun Ashlan?

Ashlan: Everywhere. There's not one thing that I'm like, this isn't exciting. And this sounds so silly. But I used to resent folding the laundry and now I'm like, I enjoy folding laundry when I get the opportunity to do it, because I know like I'm making the choice to do that. It's not like I'm not forced to be doing anything anymore.

Alex: We share with people that ... I mean, you're proving that like, all the stuff that we talk about, that people go, "Really?" So one of the things that we share with people is, momentum anywhere will give you momentum everywhere. Did you feel that?

Ashlan: Completely. Absolutely. I mean, like you said, we have 100 kids. So to keep our house clean is a little tricky sometimes. But it was crazy how just writing out the daily schedules and routines, helped us delegate that, it's okay if the dishes sit in the sink for 30 minutes. But we're going to get to them before the end of the night, because this is where that fits in.

And this is what time dinner is. Just keeping things more structured, which is really hard for someone like me. I don't like you to give me a timeline of anything, because I feel like you're trying to control me. So when I was able to create my own timeline and then Wallace could create his own timeline, and we could cohesively adjust those that worked for everyone, was so free.

Alex: That's awesome. Okay, last question. I've kept you for a while and this has just been amazing Ashlan. And I knew it was going to be so fun to talk to you, because you have just this way of expressing stuff in a way that I feel it. Like I've been there, I've been where you were before and I know the feeling of getting to where you are now, by going through the process. So last question. What's changed that you thought like never would change? Like what's something that's really surprised you?

Ashlan: There're so many. It's hard to just [inaudible 00:14:56] only one thing. I think the biggest thing was, having a schedule and a routine was always so restrictive to me. And it's not restrictive at all. I was fighting it so much, so I think that's where the restriction was. And by just accepting the schedule and routine, it's freed up so much time in my life. I found I was wasting so much time just resisting the schedule and the routine and the repetitiveness, that I was just wasting a ton of time on my life. So it was really surprising to see how much more free time I actually had.

Alex: So we tell entrepreneurs that process will set you free. It sounds like you found that.

Ashlan: It does. And I'm so bullheaded that I'm like, "Whatever Alex, like you don't know what you're talking about."

Alex: I'm different.

Ashlan: But that's the funny thing is, with ensemble, I created that process, but I didn't realize that's what I was doing, because I was so resistant to processes and routine that I was like, I don't know what you're talking about. But obviously it works, so we're having great success with it.

Alex: That's so awesome Ashlan. And thanks for coming and record you're not coming. Thanks for being here and recording with me. Can we do this again in like three to six months and get an update?

Ashlan: Please. That would be awesome. Let's do it.

Alex: I can't wait.

Thank You For Listening!

I am truly grateful that you have chosen to spend your time listening to me and my podcast.

Please feel free to reach out if you have a question or feedback via our Contact Us page.

Please leave me a review on iTunes and share my podcast with your friends and family.

With gratitude,

Alex

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