[00:00:00] Hala: Hey, Alison, welcome to young and profiting 

[00:00:06] Allison Maslan: podcast. I am so excited to be here, Holly. Thank you. 

[00:00:10] Hala: Me too. I can't wait for this conversation. It is such a pleasure to have you on the show. Alison, you are an entrepreneur, a CEO. The expert on scaling all types of businesses. In fact, you've built 10 successful businesses from the ground up and for the past decade, your company pinnacle global network has been helping companies fast track their success with a scale it method.

[00:00:30] Hala: And so this has actually been a major year of growth for my company yet media. And I know a lot of entrepreneurs that listen. Super interested in this topic. So I can't wait to get into your scaling methodology and some of your insights from your bestselling book scale or fail. But before we get into that, I do want to touch on your background and how you became the incredible entrepreneur that you are today.

[00:00:51] Hala: So from my research, I've learned that you essentially grew up in a family of entrepreneurs in Oakland. And your grandpas started a woman's clothing store called a [00:01:00] Maslin in 1954. And your father grew the stores into over 50 locations. So when you're a little, you would go to store to store with him. And so I'd love to hear about what was that like growing up for you in a family of entrepreneurs and how did that impact your hunger for entrepreneurship?

[00:01:17] Allison Maslan: Yeah. So my dad really was so inspiring to me, but honestly, I didn't really know any different. I mean, to me that was just normal. Like if you wanted something, you just went out and made it happen. And that's really who my dad was. going store to store day with him, my sister and I, we used to have so much fun.

[00:01:39] Allison Maslan: In fact, they had a big warehouse. In Tulsa where all of the clothes would come in. And of course we would work there every summer, but we would get into the boxes and he would be pushing us around through the warehouse and everything. And it was, I mean, it was really fun and exciting being a kid going through all of his growth.[00:02:00] 

[00:02:00] Allison Maslan: But I think the main thing for me, Was that he really saw me as somebody that could accomplish anything. And so I think my success kind of came through his eyes. 

[00:02:13] Allison Maslan: Oh, that's so 

[00:02:14] Hala: cute. And so I know that you had your first business when you were just 19 years old, you were in college at the time and it was called expressions by Allie.

[00:02:23] Hala: Tell us about that. 

[00:02:24] Allison Maslan: Yeah. And I still have the little posters that I used to put on in different stores on their countertops to promote my business. So I loved poetry. I majored in journalism. I've always wanted to be a writer. And I started writing poetry for birthdays and anniversaries, and it was a hit and I was making $25 a pop.

[00:02:50] Allison Maslan: And I was like, wow, I love this entrepreneurial thing. And I remember telling my dad, you know, I found my calling and he's like, [00:03:00] Allie, that is so awesome. But did you know that most poets don't become known until they're dead? And, uh, I was like, dad, you are such a buzz kill seriously. Uh, but he was kinda right.

[00:03:14] Allison Maslan: And, uh, it really was. I realized I was going to have to write day and night to be able to, to pay rent and all of that. And so when people started asking me. You know, we don't need poems, Alison, but do you do brochures? Do you do radio commercials? Do you do television commercials? I didn't know how to do any of those things, but I would hear my dad's voice saying if somebody asks you to do something and you don't know how to do it, but you feel like it's worthwhile just say yes and then find out how to do it.

[00:03:50] Allison Maslan: Get the support. And so that's exactly what I did. 

[00:03:54] Hala: That's awesome. And so, by the time you were 25, you had an ad in PR agency and you were working with [00:04:00] big clients like super cuts and Ben and Jerry's, that's incredible. So tell us about how you ended up doing that. How did you launch that PR agency and land such huge clients?

[00:04:09] Allison Maslan: Yeah, it really was just something that kept evolving. You know, I grew up in the fashion business. So when I came to San Diego, uh, I kept reaching out to a company called Charlotte Rousse. And, you know, I somehow got the owner's phone number. I don't even remember how I did it, but I must have called.

[00:04:33] Allison Maslan: Probably 20 times and I kept leaving messages and because that was a language that I knew fashion. And so I will never forget it. Larry Lawrence. And I've actually told him that a couple of years ago, he called me back and said, I'm calling you so that you will stop calling. And anyway, it became my biggest clients.

[00:04:59] Allison Maslan: Uh, we [00:05:00] obviously hit it off and we ended up helping them grow from 15 to 50 stores. And so that's how I was able to buy my first house. And, you know, we just took it from there. A lot of our clients actually came from cold calling from picking up the phone. And just being persistent and then delivering, just giving incredible value and getting great results for our clients.

[00:05:31] Allison Maslan: And so our reputation proceeded us. I ended up bringing on a partner and she was the expert in PR. I was, became the expert in advertising and I really learned from her. And so we grew both sides of the agent. 

 So there's a lot of lessons here that I'm hearing. First of all, persistence, right? You didn't give up, you called over and over again until you got that opportunity, you also talked about just kind of leaping into it.

[00:05:58] Hala: You didn't really know what you're doing, but [00:06:00] you had some skills that you kind of pieced together to put out a good product and learn a on you as you went and then partnership. We found a great partner who you could. Build this business with and be a co-creator, which we'll get into later on. So those are some great lessons 

[00:06:14] Allison Maslan: for us here.

[00:06:15] Allison Maslan: Yeah, for sure. And you know what, I, I would hang out at the radio station and the TV station and I'd say, teach me everything I need to know. I would go to the printer and do press checks at three in the morning. So I, I just learned from asking. And you would be surprised. I think people are so afraid to ask, but people generally want to help.

[00:06:40] Allison Maslan: And so that's really how I learned. I just learned along the way.

[00:06:44] Allison Maslan: It's so true. 

[00:06:45] Hala: And I can say from being in an emerging industry, like podcasting, you really do learn a lot just by asking other people who have been in the industry for longer. Like every call that I'm on. I'm just maybe, you know, the answer to X, Y, Z, because I've been trying to figure this out and you will get [00:07:00] people love to share information and to help other people.

[00:07:03] Hala: You'd be surprised. 

[00:07:04] Allison Maslan: Yes. First. 

[00:07:05] Hala: Okay. So let's talk about when you were 25, like I said, you had huge clients like super cuts, Ben and Jerry's. And even though you were traveling around, making a lot of money, you felt out of control. And one day you were late to pick up your daughter from daycare and you had a horrible, horrible accident.

[00:07:21] Hala: You ended up running over yourself and nearly losing your life. And if it's not too sensitive to share, could you take us back to that day of your accident? What was life for you back then? And what led up to that tragic moment in your life? 

[00:07:34] Allison Maslan: Yeah, it definitely was a buildup moment. It D it wasn't something that just happened that day.

[00:07:39] Allison Maslan: So even though I was successful outwardly inwardly, I was a mess. My daughter was not quite two years old. I was going through a difficult marriage. I was working day and night, even though I had a few employees, I was a bit of a [00:08:00] control freak. Like a lot of business owners. I was so afraid that someone was going to make mistakes.

[00:08:05] Allison Maslan: And so I felt like I had to have my hands on everything and I was up till two or three in the morning, every night, working on ad campaigns. I was absolutely exhausted and I was miserable to the point where I'll never forget. On Sunday nights. I used to get teary thinking about Monday more. Because I felt this tremendous weight on my shoulders financially carrying the weight of my family.

[00:08:35] Allison Maslan: And I just felt that. You know, there was no way out. I, it was just a very suffocating feeling. And so I wasn't in the present moment, I was always running here or there, I wasn't really paying attention. And my business was running me into the ground. You know, like a lot of business owners have experienced.

[00:08:58] Allison Maslan: I learned this, you know, later [00:09:00] on that I definitely wasn't alone, but that particular day I was. Uh, one of my best clients and we were out on the job site and I was four o'clock. I'll never forget. I looked at the clock was four o'clock. I was supposed to pick up my daughter at three 30. And if anyone listening has ever forgotten their child at daycare or been the last parent, you know, you just racked with guilt.

[00:09:27] Allison Maslan: And so, you know, To get her. And all I kept thinking about was, you know, I gotta get my daughter and I jumped out of the car at the daycare and I was on an incline. So it started rolling back and I jumped back into the car, like a super woman trying to stop it. And the door knocked my feet out from underneath me and pulled me underneath the car.

[00:09:51] Allison Maslan: And so it was the most terrifying moment of my life. And it was kind of an out of body experience. If you can imagine [00:10:00] the car literally ran over my legs and pulled me out into the street. And, uh, I just, you know, I had this vision of myself in a wheelchair and I. Jumped out from underneath the car, screaming and running into the daycare.

[00:10:19] Allison Maslan: And they told me later that I was screaming. I need pain pills. So I must've been in shock and they rushed me to the hospital. And so I, it really was a miracle that I survived. I broke my collar bone and I had some tire tracks on my legs for about a year. But I think the adrenaline, it is amazing, you know, what the human body is capable of because that was a 4,000 pound car and it, it should have killed me, but it didn't.

[00:10:50] Allison Maslan: And so that really was my big wake up call holla to say, oh my God, what are you doing? This isn't living. This is [00:11:00] success. I don't want it. Yeah. And what 

[00:11:03] Hala: were those thoughts going in your head when you realize that your life was spared? 

[00:11:08] Allison Maslan: Well, I mean, I knew, I knew that that it w it was a miracle. I mean, the doctors couldn't believe.

[00:11:16] Allison Maslan: But, and I knew that I would never go back to living like that. In fact, I had this question that popped into my head. I will never forget it. And it says, do you want to be in the same place you are now a year from now, or even 10 years from now? You know, because when you're living in that kind of depression or feeling trapped, even though you've created it, it feels like it's going to be forever.

[00:11:45] Allison Maslan: And just the thought of that inspired me to just walk away from everything. And that's, that's what I did. I walked away from the business. I walked away from, from the marriage as well, [00:12:00] and really set out. As a single mom and no idea what I was going to do with my life. So this is 

[00:12:06] Hala: so interesting to me because you could have stayed there in that unhappy place with that status quo, because like we said, by most people's opinions from the outside perspective, like you had made it right.

[00:12:18] Hala: And a lot of people stay in that place because they're, they're worried about making a change. It's really the sunk cost fallacy that many of us face. And for my listeners who don't know the sunk cost fallacy is a phenomenon that when a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or a course of action, because they've invested heavily in it with money, time or effort.

[00:12:37] Hala: So even though they know the right thing to do would be to walk away and to abandon. Previous idea or thing they were investing their time on. They don't, because they think that they're going to lose something, even though you can't get back the time, money or effort that you've spent in the past. And so a lot of us don't make the right move for us until something super drastic happens.

[00:12:58] Hala: Like you, you got into a car [00:13:00] accident, you know, but we don't have to wait until we have a almost death experience in order to make a change. So I'd love to hear your advice in terms of. He's feeling stuck and who needs a kick in the butt in terms 

[00:13:12] Allison Maslan: of making a change? 

[00:13:14] Allison Maslan: Yeah, I mean, obviously hindsight is 2020, and I look back from where I was then, and that was really the inspiration for me to learn, to set up a business.

[00:13:26] Allison Maslan: so that I wasn't running myself into the ground. And that really has been my mission ever since. But I would say for those of you that are in a place that you just really don't feel happy and you know, there's more, don't say. Don't settle because life is so, so short. And that was really a gift for me, even though it was terrifying.

[00:13:52] Allison Maslan: Don't wait to run over yourself. Uh, because once you open the door, there's a whole new world of opportunities [00:14:00] out there, new people that you're going to meet, and your fear only. Comes because it's what you're looking at right now. That's all you can see, but once you step away or stand up for yourself or whatever it is, that's going on, you know, the answers, the support will be.

[00:14:17] Allison Maslan: I love 

[00:14:17] Hala: that. Okay. So like you said, you stepped away from the business, you realized you were miserable because you were doing everything by yourself. And you've said in the past that a successful business is one that is separate from you. So let's talk about your definition of a successful business.

[00:14:32] Allison Maslan: Well, a successful business. Is one that can literally thrive without you. So you have to think of it as an entity or an asset that's separate from you. We always look at our business as our baby, because we care about it. And of course, but you know, a baby you're gonna be holding on to. Maybe sometimes suffocating a little bit.

[00:14:54] Allison Maslan: And so if you think of it as an asset, separate from you, like, like the stock market or some [00:15:00] investment that you have, you want to give it everything so that it can grow. And so you need to build a team managed company, and that's what the up method is all about. And so that you have a team running the company and it's actually going to go much further, faster than you would be able to do it.

[00:15:19] Allison Maslan: And then shifting it to. Scalable model. So it can multiply beyond you. You see, I was trading time for dollars. That's how I was working and that's how most business owners or many business owners work. But if you're the one delivering the product or service, there's only so many people you can help. You know, I ran out of bandwidth.

[00:15:42] Allison Maslan: There was no more time. And so, you know, it, this is how business owners lose their health. They sacrifice their marriages and, you know, sometimes their life, because they don't know any other way, but really we're the ones in our own. Right. [00:16:00] Um, so let's talk 

[00:16:02] Hala: about how you created the scale it methodology.

[00:16:05] Hala: Where did you first get the idea and how did you come up with, you know, the 

[00:16:09] Allison Maslan: framework? Yeah. Well, I just passed 40 years in business about two weeks ago. So I will say I've learned a lot over the decades in building businesses. But back then when I walked away from the business, I was at a turning point to try to figure out what am I going to do with my life?

[00:16:29] Allison Maslan: And I had a lot of people close to me saying, get a job. Who do you think you are? And that just made me, you know, that just fueled my efforts more to just figure this out. So I began to really research. You know, what was I doing wrong back then? And what was I doing? Right. Cause I was doing a lot of things.

[00:16:48] Allison Maslan: Right. And so began to study my clients, Ben and Jerry's Supercuts, Charlotte ruse. How did they have thousands of employees and the owners, the CEO, or the founders. [00:17:00] They really didn't need to be there. What were the systems and processes that they had in place so that the team could move forward in allow.

[00:17:08] Allison Maslan: And so this was the beginning of my up method. And I didn't really know until over time that this was an actual method. I began to put the pieces together. And so each business that I grew over the years and now in my 10th company, I would just perfect it more. Work on scaling it more, work on, replacing myself in the business, more, becoming a better leader.

[00:17:33] Allison Maslan: And, uh, really define this through the last 13 years, I would say, as I've run pinnacle global network and then teaching others, that's where things come together. You realize how much, you know, when you teach others. And so now I have a team of 21 mentors. That have all run successful businesses and they utilize the scale at method for.

[00:17:58] Allison Maslan: Clients, our business [00:18:00] owner clients. Um, but it really was working through all these companies, figuring out what works, what doesn't, what's your toll road to get you where you want to go in the shortest amount of time possible and having fun along. 

[00:18:15] Hala: Yeah, fun is important. Awesome. Well, 

[00:18:17] Hala: we're going to get super deep on the scale it method in a bit, but before we do that, I do have a question because, you know, I was on your website and you say that you help seven figure businesses scale to eight figures or beyond.

[00:18:29] Hala: And it turns out that less than 7% of businesses make up to seven figures. So just wondering, why are you focused on that particular group of 

[00:18:36] Allison Maslan: entrepreneur? Well, I have nothing against startups. I've been a startup 10 times. And in my earlier days in this business, before I started pinnacle global network, I helped a lot of businesses start get started.

[00:18:51] Allison Maslan: But what I. With my skill and wisdom of running these companies for so many years, I had so much to [00:19:00] offer and support what I call the forgotten entrepreneur. This is the entrepreneur that once you get to seven figures, you think, oh, I'm going to be in the money. And you realize that after you pay your employees and your expenses, there's not much left and they're still, they still have their hands in every area of the business.

[00:19:19] Allison Maslan: So they're choking the growth of their company. And this is why so many business owners get to that point and burn out. But if they're able to shift their business into a more scalable model it's life-changing. So I felt like. I've lived it. If I'm not able to share this and help them, then I'm really wasting this gift and the startup entrepreneurs, just not quite ready for that yet.

[00:19:46] Allison Maslan: And so, you know, that really has been my mission. Uh, we have, you know, in pinnacle over 20 mentors now that use our scale at method and, uh, really help [00:20:00] this entrepreneurial. Untangle themselves and also stop being the one that is delivering the product or service, because if you're still delivering your product or service, you can't scale.

[00:20:13] Allison Maslan: There's no bandwidth. There's not enough time in the day. You know, and this is where they burn out. 

[00:20:19] Hala: Yeah. And I have to say, so I'm in that seven figure club right now, I'm trying to get to eight figures. Right. And there's no resources for us. There's so much resources for startups, so many bugs and courses, but there's nothing for once you actually have a viable product, that's going well.

[00:20:35] Hala: And you're trying to just take it to that next level. So I think you're onto something in terms of being that resource in that gap. So let's talk about why. Some entrepreneurs can take it from zero to seven figures, but then can't get further than that. Why, why are they stuck? You know, what are the ways that businesses get stuck?

[00:20:55] Allison Maslan: Well, there's a saying, what got you here? Won't get you there. And [00:21:00] we are creatures of habit. We do what we know. And so even though you're further along in business and maybe you've been further along for quite a long time, we still do what we know. And oftentimes even when we learn something new, our unconscious mind jumps in and we.

[00:21:19] Allison Maslan: Maybe we're in a place of fear and we jumped back to what we're used to, but your mindset when you started, maybe you started your business because you couldn't get a job. Maybe, uh, maybe you quit your job and you have a lot of people depending on you. So you have to make it work. So you're in kind of a survival mode, but then when you're scaling.

[00:21:40] Allison Maslan: You have to completely restructure your business from that higher level, you cannot run your business the same way at all. You have to be in a higher level of leadership. You have to know how to run a team. You know, all of these things that you have no idea how to do when in the beginning, in the beginning, it's just you or [00:22:00] maybe you and a partner.

[00:22:01] Allison Maslan: So really it's trying, they're trying to stretch the business. And, you know, with the same tools and strategies in every area of the company and it just doesn't work. 

[00:22:15] Allison Maslan: So 

[00:22:16] Hala: let's talk about your book scale or fail and start getting into some of your scaling methodology. Could you explain the five steps at a high level of the scale of 

[00:22:27] Allison Maslan: method?

[00:22:27] Allison Maslan: Let's start there. Yeah. So there's five phases of scaling a business and phase one is the seeker. That's the startup. Um, there's no scaling happening there. Phase two is a pioneer. And I call it the pioneer because you're really out in the Plains. You're getting your hands dirty. You're you're into the six figures by then.

[00:22:50] Allison Maslan: You might have a few employees, but you're still approving everything going in and out of your business. So, uh, you're kind of choking the growth of your business. [00:23:00] Again, still no scaling and a lot of businesses never leave this position. Hopefully you move to phase three, which I call the ringleader and it's a ringleader cause it's a bit of a circus in phase three.

[00:23:13] Allison Maslan: Although you need to go through this phase because you're developing your systems and processes, you're building your team. But a lot of times we just start putting people in position. Without clearly understanding the role or what success looks like. And so you might have a revolving door of your employees.

[00:23:34] Allison Maslan: You have a clear vision of where you want to go. Uh, but again, you're in that. What got me here, won't get me there sort of stuck point. And so if you don't move beyond this, this is where the burnout happens. This is where the exhaustion happens because you're in the weeds of your business, working in.

[00:23:53] Allison Maslan: That have on it. The shift to phase four is when you can move from being a boss to being a leader. [00:24:00] And that means that rather than telling people what to do, you're inspiring them into action. You're empowering them to own their role to take it and run with that. So you start to see these leaders emerge and you build this collaborative company, which I call phase four is the co-creator and that's where everybody's working together.

[00:24:22] Allison Maslan: To grow the business and where you, the CEO can start stepping back because your vision is so entrenched into the company or infused into the company. And then by phase five, I call it the visionary. This is where you have a. That can thrive without you. Like what I was talking about earlier, you have a true team managed company.

[00:24:44] Allison Maslan: You can leave for a good period of time and your business will continue to grow because you have a leaders that have stepped up and treat it like their own. And you have choices. Now you could sell the business, you can bring in another CEO, you can pass it on your kids or you can stay on and scale it to a [00:25:00] higher level.

[00:25:01] Allison Maslan: And so that's the journey. And it's an awareness to understand that there are phases because a lot of people will get to one phase and stay there for decades. And, you know, the business will often die. Yeah, to me, this 

[00:25:15] Hala: is super, super interesting, especially as an entrepreneur, because I can kind of tell what FA I think I'm in that ringleader phase right now because it's, everything's just growing so fast.

[00:25:24] Hala: It's so messy. I feel like I am putting people like, Hey, you're smart. Maybe you could do this, even though they don't have the experience. 

[00:25:33] Allison Maslan: Exactly. Yeah. 

[00:25:36] Hala: One of the big kind of lessons in all of this is as entrepreneurs. We can't do the how of the business. That wasn't one of the big takeaways for me. The execution is really the team's job, but a lot of entrepreneurs are control freaks.

[00:25:49] Hala: It's how we became successful to begin with, by taking control and, and creating a business on our own. So what's your advice in 

[00:25:56] Allison Maslan: terms of letting go?

[00:25:59] Allison Maslan: Well, [00:26:00] uh, Joe Polish, a friend of mine says it's the who not the. And so when you feel like that, you have to figure it out or you have to do it yourself.

[00:26:11] Allison Maslan: That's not your strength. That's not your superpower. You need to focus on your strengths and find other people that that's their super power to take on that role. And I know some people might be saying, well, I don't have the money to hire people. I would love to do that, Alison. But when you hire strategically your business, actually, With every hire, your business gets to the next level.

[00:26:36] Allison Maslan: And every employee, every team member should be bringing in three to 10 times what you pay them to your bottom line with their results. And so actually every team member is free. They pay for themselves. And so if you're still trying to be the control, freak and micromanaging, everything, you actually are.

[00:26:59] Allison Maslan: [00:27:00] Slowing your own growth down with this idea that I've got to come up with the funds when you will notice that when you hire someone, that's awesome. They'll actually take your business to the next level for you.

[00:27:13] Allison Maslan: I totally agree. I actually heard this call. I can't remember who, who it's by, but he said, if you want to stay poor, the best way to do it is to hire stupid people.

[00:27:22] Hala: Right? So

[00:27:23] Hala: hiring. Is super important and hiring the right talent. I'm in a service-based business and honestly, the right talent for us can really make or break our business. And so I'm really crazy about hiring the best people from my team. Do you have a certain methodology or a framework when it comes to hiring people?

[00:27:41] Allison Maslan: Yes. I call it my rule of three. And so it's. You have to interview at least three people. Even if you have someone that you're like, oh, I want to hire them. Do not interview three people. Now you can move this along quickly because we are in a very, it's kind of an employee marketplace right [00:28:00] now, but three interviews, you interview each person three times.

[00:28:06] Allison Maslan: Okay. By three different people. And so if you don't have three different, you don't have two more people besides you get a great client, get your spouse, somebody that is able to be an observer because you want it to work so bad. You know, you might be so desperate for that person that you're not really, you don't really have your eyes open.

[00:28:27] Allison Maslan: You're not looking at the red flags, so you need to get other people's perspectives. And then if you are interviewing in person, I know it's a different world right now, but you know, do it in three different places because people show up. Differently in different places. Do they show up on time? Are they dressed professionally?

[00:28:46] Allison Maslan: How did they park? Did they pull up and take up three parking spaces? You know, there's a lot of things. Do they open the door for somebody? You know, you, there's a lot of things that people will tell you without telling you. And that's really what you [00:29:00] want to be looking at through the interview. Process.

[00:29:04] Allison Maslan: Yeah. I love 

[00:29:05] Hala: that rule of three and I can attest that as a business owner really it's, it's a huge investment to, to hire an employee. And when you hire the wrong employee, it is a big headache and you end up just losing a lot of money. Cause it's a lot of money to even like retrain somebody, rehire someone.

[00:29:21] Hala: So it's a big decision. 

[00:29:23] Allison Maslan: It really is. And you know, you want to make them work for it. That's another reason of the three. Like, are they going to put the effort into it? And then the other thing is when you do hire, if you do hire the wrong person, which it happens because sometimes people are graded interviews and then, you know, when they start, you kinda know right away, then, you know, cut your losses.

[00:29:45] Allison Maslan: It's hire slowly fire fast. When, you know, in your gut that someone is not right. Don't keep trying to make it right. You know, they need to make sure they've had training and all of that and good training. But if you are [00:30:00] really seeing, oh my gosh, you know, round hole, square peg, it is painful for you. And it's painful for them.

[00:30:08] Hala: What's your perspective on putting somebody in a different role? So sometimes, and I've had a lot of good, like really good luck with this. For example, I have a girl Kriti, she started as a copywriter and she was terrible, but she had such a great attitude and she was so positive and she was such a great culture fit.

[00:30:26] Hala: Maybe, you know, you can work on operations for me. And she was amazing. And now she's my director of operations and I had somebody else who was a graphic designer. She was terrible. And then I put her on OBS again, she excelled and she's star. Now, have you, what's your perspective on kind of placing culture fits in different roles?

[00:30:44] Hala: So 

[00:30:45] Allison Maslan: with these people, you will be able to see, look, they're smart people, they're qualified. They just, this isn't their zone of genius. And you can just tell that this is, you know, that they have that quality within them. [00:31:00] Uh, we had somebody recently to. Was an admin. She did amazing. And so we moved her over as a marketing project manager ends up, she hates marketing.

[00:31:10] Allison Maslan: And so we are moving her into another role, which she is so, so excited about. And so, yes, absolutely. And you have to look at that. But you can also really tell when somebody doesn't fit or they're not a culture fit. Like you said, they could be really skilled. Like we had someone once that was great in sales and you know, it's not always easy to find someone great in sales, but she was causing so much.

[00:31:36] Allison Maslan: Amongst our entire team. I thought they were going to kill her. And we just had to look at who was the common denominator here, and I had to let her go. And so you just have to really open your eyes, but the point is that you need to take action. You can't, you know, some people wait a year and, and, and not do anything.

[00:31:55] Allison Maslan: And that stress about it and talk about it in the meantime, dollars are [00:32:00] slipping through the cracks. Yeah, 

[00:32:01] Hala: that's a great way to ruin your business is to hire bad people and be too afraid to fire them. Cause it is hard, but okay. Let's talk about leadership because I think your perspective on leadership is super, super interesting.

[00:32:12] Hala: You say that it's the leader's job to manage the team's energy. I thought that was super brilliant. And I totally agree. As, as a CEO myself. So talk to us about how, as a leader, we need to maintain the proper energy in our organization. 

[00:32:27] Allison Maslan: Well, for those of you that have ever had children, you know, They're going to bounce off of you.

[00:32:32] Allison Maslan: I know with my daughter, I was a single mom for 12 years, and I would notice that if I was stressed or if I was having a bad day, she would start bouncing, bouncing off of the walls. And it's the same thing with your team. Not that they're your children, but when you're close to people, you bounce their energy bounces off of.

[00:32:52] Allison Maslan: And so if I was in a meeting for instance, and I'm leading a meeting and let's say, it's not going well, let's say a couple [00:33:00] people are unhappy about something. Well, it's my, I can go deeper and deeper into the problem, which just ends up making it worse. Or as a leader, I can say. All right. Everybody let's remember why we're here.

[00:33:13] Allison Maslan: Let's remember the vision of the company. Let's remember the difference that we're all making for people. That's why we're all in this together. And you can shift people in to that right direction. Everybody needs that leader. I need leadership. We all need leadership. We need people that can lift us up and inspire us.

[00:33:32] Allison Maslan: And our role as the leader, really, as the mentor of the team is to raise the vibe around us so that everybody can perform in their top potential. 

[00:33:44] Allison Maslan: I love that 

[00:33:45] Hala: this is an excellent conversation so far. Alison let's talk about your acronym for scale. So scale actually stands for strategic vision cashflow Alliance of a team leadership and execution.

[00:33:58] Hala: And throughout each phase of scaling, [00:34:00] we just walked through the five phases of scaling. We have to pay attention to this acronym scale. Could you take us through that and break it down? 

[00:34:08] Allison Maslan: Yeah. So you have the five phases I just went through and then these are the five pillars. So these pillars, strategic vision cashflow Alliance of the team, leadership and execution have to be strong in order for your business to get to that next phase.

[00:34:24] Allison Maslan: I mean, think of a pillar, it holds things up. And so if the pillar is weak, so if you have a weak. Team or your leadership is crumbling or, you know, you're struggling with cash flow. You know, it impacts every other area of the business. And so with each of these pillars, which, you know, the S C a L E we have in the scale up method, we have tools.

[00:34:50] Allison Maslan: Uh, we have strategies. We have processes that our team uses with our CEO clients. So that they can [00:35:00] get strong in each of those areas and then their business naturally moves to that next phase. But you always want to keep your eye on, on those. A lot of times people might be doing good and, you know, one or two areas, and then the others are really weak or non-existent altogether.

[00:35:20] Allison Maslan: Uh, but once you can strengthen them up, And you start moving through those phases. You really ha you begin to have that team managed company. Like I talked about that can run without you. 

[00:35:32] Allison Maslan: What's your advice in terms 

[00:35:33] Hala: of creating a strategic vision? Like how do you go about first thinking about your vision for your company?

[00:35:39] Hala: What is the process. 

[00:35:40] Allison Maslan: Yeah. So, first of all, you know, we have tools in the scale at method to help people do that. But the first is to give yourself permission to dream and to really think bigger than you ever have before. So I tell my clients, first of all, imagine that you have a hundred million dollar company, you [00:36:00] know, and a lot of times we, you know, we don't, especially as women, we don't allow ourselves to think that big, but it's, it's really just a number.

[00:36:07] Allison Maslan: So first let's see. Allow ourselves to think that way or else to think about. What if your yearly goal was your monthly goal? What if, what you wanted to make in a year you actually made every month? So I w I do exercises to help you think much bigger. And then if you could, if you could envision like your biggest dream possible and not worry about the, how, or how, you know, what, what you actually have to do to get.

[00:36:35] Allison Maslan: What would that look like? And just paint a picture of that in your mind, and then start to journal about it and really, you know, get yourself into, get into nature, get away from the business and really dream. And that's where the vision begins is with that imagination. Then your job is to get others enrolled in that vision and [00:37:00] then work with a mentor or to reverse engineer.

[00:37:03] Allison Maslan: So that then you have the steps to make it a reality. 

[00:37:08] Hala: So moving on to that second pillar cashflow, one of the things that I read in your book that was super interesting is that you say the one thing we can do to improve cashflow is to focus on sales for the first three hours of every Workday. I loved this little hack.

[00:37:23] Hala: So could you share a little bit more about that? 

[00:37:26] Allison Maslan: You know, as business owners come up with every reason to do everything besides say. I got to work on my branding. I need to do a social media post. I need to do a podcast, whatever it is, which you know, all those things are important, but you don't go to Starbucks and see a sign on the door where it says, Hey, we're doing our branding today.

[00:37:46] Allison Maslan: We're closed. So you need to have sales going all the time. And you have a lot of businesses that are looking for investors, and I need the money go make the money. Like when I think back to those days that [00:38:00] persistence picking up the phone. If you're creating sales, you don't have to pay anyone back. And you bring in investors, and I'm not saying not to at a certain point, but you're going to have to give up a portion of your business.

[00:38:13] Allison Maslan: People don't realize this. And the more you are out talking about your business, sharing it, the easier. I love sales because I know if someone enrolls in pinnacle global network or whatever business I have, I'm helping them. And if I'm not telling them about it, because I believe so much into it, then I'm being selfish.

[00:38:34] Allison Maslan: And so we really have to think of it as helping people and sharing and making a difference. Yeah, I totally totally 

[00:38:41] Hala: agree. Let's skip to. Leadership, um,

[00:38:45] Hala: something that I thought was super interesting that I think my listeners are really going to like is your framework for decision-making you call it the ten, ten, ten decision process to help ease the decision making process for leaders.

[00:38:57] Hala: Can you break that down? 

[00:38:59] Allison Maslan: Yeah, we [00:39:00] can be impulsive as business owners and you just get that sick feeling in your stomach. I'm like, oh, I gotta make a decision or else we can sit on a decision for years and years and years and not do anything about it. And then nothing changes. And so, you know, sometimes it becomes this big thing and, oh my gosh, what if I make the wrong decision?

[00:39:20] Allison Maslan: Well, what you want to be thinking about. How am I going to feel about this in 10 minutes? How am I going to feel about this in 10 months? How am I going to feel about this in 10 years? Well, you probably won't even remember, you're making it a big deal now. And so that really helps you kind of separate from the energy of it.

[00:39:42] Allison Maslan: And just, you know, make the decision that you need to make. They say that the, the worst decision is making no decision. It's better to even make a wrong decision because that at least is going to move you forward. And, you know, you'll have other doors open and other [00:40:00] opportunities from there. 

[00:40:01] Allison Maslan: Yeah. This is 

[00:40:03] Hala: such amazing entrepreneurship.

[00:40:05] Hala: How about the 62nd freakout role, especially since we were just talking about leadership and managing energy. 

[00:40:12] Allison Maslan: Yeah, look, we all get disappointed. We all have rough days and I get that. But if you are going to live in that, woe is me. You know, you're never going to move forward. And Barbara Corcoran says, see the difference between someone successful and not as the person that gets up faster, we all get knocked down, but who gets up faster?

[00:40:34] Allison Maslan: So the 62nd rule is, yeah, scream, yell, get upset, cry, whatever you need to do, but then move on. Figure out a solution because once you take action, you're going to feel better. 

[00:40:45] Hala: Awesome. Okay. So one more question on the scale it method, and then we're going to move on. So this one is about execution. So you have three P's of planning, prep days, pinnacle days and play days.

[00:40:57] Hala: Can you talk about how you streamline your days to [00:41:00] be super productive? 

[00:41:01] Allison Maslan: Yeah. Again, in the earlier days, I was all over the place. And so that was part of my decline back then and downfall. And so time management, especially as a single mom, uh, you really have to learn to manage your time. And so I really learned, you know, how do I.

[00:41:23] Allison Maslan: Stay focused and get things done faster because it's not that we don't have time. It's really how we manage the time. And so I began to do things that were similar together. So if I had a lot of research that I was doing or writing or content creating or development, if I was doing that, and then I would run and do trainings for people and make calls, you know, you lose your focus and they say, it takes five times.

[00:41:50] Allison Maslan: As long to get things done. And so I do all the things together. So the, the pinnacle days that's when I'm on, like today, I got dressed up. [00:42:00] I did my hair, I'm on I'm in that frame of mind. And then those are the pinnacle days. Then the prep days are all, anything that where I'm creating. And I mark these in the calendar.

[00:42:13] Allison Maslan: And then play days I'm off, I'm getting ready to go to Mexico, uh, in a couple of days. And so I'm going to be off the grid, uh, and not doing any work when I'm there. And that's, that's also really important as a business owner, so that you're able to clear your head, get refreshed and reinspired to come back and hit the ground or.

[00:42:33] Allison Maslan: Yeah, I think 

[00:42:33] Hala: batching is so important for entrepreneurship. And even if you have like a regular job, batching is where it's up because it actually takes 20 minutes for you to kind of switch gears on every single activity. It takes 20 whole minutes. So if you don't do that and you just. Saving so much time, cause you don't need to like refocus and spend all that time refocusing.

[00:42:54] Hala: So switching gears, Yvette speaking of productivity, sleep is really important to productivity and it [00:43:00] turns out that we have something in common. We are both night ALS and I think for a long time, you are fighting being a night owl and being a night owl actually runs in your family, but now you. And I think this is important because a lot of people, even though they're a night owl, they kind of act like a morning Lark, because that's what society wants them to do.

[00:43:20] Hala: But that's not the best thing for us when you're that type of person. So talk to us about 

[00:43:24] Allison Maslan: that. Yeah. I I'm just most creative at night and I've always been that way. And then, especially after having my daughter, you know, it would be my time after. Put her to sleep. And so, uh, like you said, we could do conference calls.

[00:43:39] Allison Maslan: My mom is up until two or three in the morning. And so it's my best time to connect with her, but I just love the peacefulness of the quiet and the Moonlight. And that's just where I get my biggest ideas and it wasn't that I had a problem sleeping. So I just knew I needed that seven, eight hours of sleep.

[00:43:59] Allison Maslan: So the way [00:44:00] I just set up my day, Was that I don't start till a little later in the day. So if I go to bed at midnight, then I sleep till eight and I have my first appointments at nine or 10 and it just that's my rhythm. And I perform better that way in the morning. Uh, all the. Gotten up to do this podcast, but generally, uh, you know, my mind's just not as clear as it is at night, so I've embraced that and, and that really works for me.

[00:44:29] Allison Maslan: So I think you just really have to find your words. Yeah, I totally 

[00:44:33] Hala: totally agree. Okay. So as we wrap this up, I always ask the same last two questions to all my guests, and then we do something really fun at the end of the year with all of them. The first one is what is one actionable thing that my young and profits can do today to be more profiting 

[00:44:48] Allison Maslan: tomorrow?

[00:44:49] Allison Maslan: Well, when you think of profiting, I would say the key to profits is to bring in more. Then what you're you're you're spending. So you want to be bringing in [00:45:00] more money than is going out. That's that's a profitable business. Right. And I think sometimes that, you know, we can get so caught up in those early days of all this, you know, cool stuff that we have to have and be doing.

[00:45:15] Allison Maslan: The point is, like I said earlier, you've got to put yourself out there. Just unabashedly. Sharing who you are and what you do. And the more you do that, the more you're going to start attracting customers, people that value you you'll start attracting team members, people, they get you and love your vision.

[00:45:36] Allison Maslan: So I would say, get out there and ask for what you want. You're worth it. Love that. 

[00:45:43] Hala: And what is your secret to profiting in life? And this doesn't have to be related to, to 

[00:45:48] Allison Maslan: money. Yeah. So when I had that accident years ago, not only did I decide in business that it had to be something that would be fulfilling, I decided then I was never going to do anything else that [00:46:00] I didn't want to do.

[00:46:01] Allison Maslan: And so everything in my life, I have to be a hundred percent passionate about, uh, or it's a no. And so I think just don't settle. I mean, that's the key. I finally did meet my soulmate after years of people telling me that what I wanted didn't exist and I'm a trapeze artist. I do things that I'm really, really passionate about, even though they're not necessarily the norm.

[00:46:28] Allison Maslan: And I would just say, follow your heart and, you know, make decisions from here. Uh, and not from fear and, and you will end up creating a life that you absolutely. 

[00:46:42] Hala: Oh, my gosh, don't settle. And if you guys didn't see her on video, she put her hand on her heart and she said, make decisions from here, not from fear.

[00:46:49] Hala: That was super powerful. Where can everybody learn more about you and everything that you 

[00:46:53] Allison Maslan: do? Yeah. Thank you so much. This has been so much fun. You can check me out on my website, which is pinnacle [00:47:00] global network.com. Of course on social media. It's generally Alison Maslin. You can find me. Uh, and then I also have a masterclass that I lead live [email protected].

[00:47:17] Allison Maslan: Amazing. We're going to put 

[00:47:18] Hala: all those links in the show notes to make it super easy for you guys. Alison, thank you so much for your time was an awesome conversation. 

[00:47:24] Allison Maslan: Thank you. Thanks for having me.