This is a new series that I've been wanting to do where I just share lessons from each quarter. May has already started, so this will be Quarter 1 plus the month of April. A LOT has happened, so here we go in a 2,000+ word post.
The question I really ask myself is, will these lessons stick…or will I make the same mistakes again?
I think by writing them down (and sharing it with you!), they will stick.
And maybe you'll learn something new from it as well.
I've also neatly divided these into 6 "Business" Lessons and 6 "Life" Lessons. The "Life" part consists of anything from relationships to friendships to fitness to self-growth.
Lesson 1: With LIFT Enrichment, I need to be focused on the very, very high-level activities.
I've delegated ALMOST everything imaginable to my fantastic 30-person internal team that manages 250+ Chef Teachers with LIFT Enrichment. (Quick reminder: LIFT Enrichment teaches healthy culinary workshops to students at low-income schools in California. I've been running it for 15 years, it's reached 8-figures in revenue and we teach over 17,000 students a week)
With heavy year-after-year growth, come challenges, especially when I add the complexity of moving to Dubai.
Our fractional CFO, Amit is based in Dubai, and has helped with the transition. I tried to delegate most of the setup, but because it's so new, I learned that I had to be more on top of the whole process.
My leadership team made up of Slava, Alex, Emily and Noelle have been adapting a lot to new laws and regulations in California. They take care of 95% of the key day-to-day activities, but I have to keep my weekly focus on finances, tax planning and compliance.
We had another challenge pop up, that I'd rather not disclose publicly that is taking up a lot of time and energy from our leadership team. I can delegate parts of that task, but it's my job to understand it all and do my best to navigate it accordingly.
Still, they are doing a great job navigating the small (and large) issues that pop up servicing our amazing school clients and teaching healthy cooking to kids.
Lesson 2: Play time, in business, is essential
On a lighter note, we have a regular virtual "Catan night" with my team that I really enjoy. We hop on zoom and play "Catan," which is my favorite board game of all time. I love it so much that I've hosted "Catan" parties for my friends in my apartment and it's a blast.
The game involves strategy, negotiation, building, expanding and a good amount of luck. You can play it for free on this app. I am 100% addicted to the thrill of playing it…and spend way too much of my free time on the weekend challenging random people online (just ask my girlfriend).
For our virtual "Catan" nights with my team, we set a 2-hour block every month, which is typically 5pm-7pm on a Tuesday and play 2 or 3 rounds. A round is about 45-60 minutes, at least the way we play it. If you win a round, you get 1 point. The first person to get to 3 points total gets a prize: a 1-hour massage at the spa of their choice!
It takes about 2-3 Catan nights for anyone to get the full "3 points" and then it resets.
I won last time and will be going to the spa this weekend at the One & Only Royal Mirage, and can't wait.
A massage always feels so much better when you "earned" it. ;)
Still, the evening is exciting, fun, a bit competitive and it helps us connect and enjoy each others' company. If you're not doing a monthly game night at your com
pany, or any regular fun activity, you're missing out!
We represent 5 continents on that call (Europe, Asia, North American, South America and Africa)
Lesson 3: Find the business activities you're Excellent at but don't have Passion for, and delegate them.
I joined Strategic Coach last year, which is a 1-year program by the business author Dan Sullivan that has quarterly workshops in London that help you level up in business and life. I did one activity called the "Activities Organizor" where I wrote down all of the activities I do in a week and labeled them into 4 quadrants:
- I'm EXCELLENT at it and have PASSION
- I'm EXCELLENT at it and have NO PASSION
- I'm MEDIOCRE at it and have NO PASSION
- I'm TERRIBLE at it and have NO Passion
I then used percentages to figure out how much of my week was in each category.
Unfortunately…I discovered I spent the majority of my week doing things I'm Excellent at, but have little or no passion. The new goal is to 80/20 my week, in which I'll spend 80% of my time doing Excellent/Passion activities and 20% Excellent/No Passion activities..
One thing that was Excellent/No Passion (or very little) was doing…cold sales calls! I don't like doing them, but I'm very good at them.
So I hired a sales rep / cold caller here in Dubai and she started last week. She made 125 calls on her own the other day and is doing well. I'm spending a lot of time training her and it will pay off. I'm good at creating structure and my training is very organized. Here's a post I wrote on how to train a sales rep. Her job now is to book meetings for me, because I like doing the first consultation with high-level decision makers at clinics.
It's refreshing to know I'll still make some cold calls, but most of it is delegated. Gone are the weeks of 8-10 hours of cold calls.
Lesson 4: When getting clients, set CLEAR boundaries upfront
Some very good news is that Clinic Assist started a recent project with a fantastic client, an aesthetic clinic that we'll help by hiring and training a remote sales rep to increase their revenue!
During the sales process, I did not give a clear deadline for when the proposal had to be signed and paid for.
First, I got the verbal yes, which felt great.
Then, a few days later I got the contract signed.
Then I followed up for over a week to get the payment. It took a good amount of time and energy, but it all worked out in the end.
Looking back, I could have saved myself some headache if I sent an email after the proposal with clear (and fair terms) such as:
"I'm excited to move forward, and I know you need time to think. Let's set a deadline of Friday (on this date) to receive the signed contract and payment. This way we'll know to either move forward, or part ways amicably."
When I sent an email with a very similar message, the client paid me within a few hours!
It sets a standard that I'm happy to help, but I'm not going to chase them endlessly.
Lesson 5: Keep writing blogs, because you never know what'll happen
I got ANOTHER client this quarter, but it's not a clinic. It's a friend who runs a recruiting company. We do high-level strategic coaching (with a very specific sales focus, at least right now).
I asked him what made him reach out and he said it was from my blogs!
He had saved and re-read some of the older blogs like this one about the key metrics to track and this one with 10 lessons on hitting 8-figures.
I was amazed that putting words on a google doc resulted in cash in my pocket and an exciting new client. I enjoy high-level strategy and I'm good at it because I like things, simple, clear and actionable.
If you're a business owner in need of growth, you can book a meeting here (and if you're not a clinic, but you're ready to grow, that's ok if I have room)
Lesson 6: The Group Interview is a huge time-saver
As I recently interviewed people for a sales rep position, I got tired of 1-on-1 meetings for 15 minutes at a time.
I know within 60 seconds if I wanted to talk to someone or not based on their video quality, audio, tonality, style, manner of speaking and overall energy.
Typically, I'd speak to someone on zoom for 10 minutes, just to be polite, and then end it.
Then, I got an idea to do a GROUP interview.
Suddenly, I was able to interview 20 people in 20 minutes! I structure it very specifically and layout from the beginning how it will flow. In a future post, I might go over how I do this.
I need to interview a good amount of people because my clients typically want me to recruit, hire and manage their remote sales rep to call their clients and increase their treatments, sales and revenue.
With this group interview, I can identify candidates for a 1-on-1 interview and then conduct that within 24 hours and then do a reference check.
I've tested a few of these group interviews and it's an amazing way to be more efficient using calendly.
Lesson 7: Know your Kolbe, and know your strengths
At my recent Strategic Coach workshop, we reviewed the Kolbe A test and it's a useful assessment to see how one takes action, faces challenges and even deals. with uncertainty and risk.
I'm a 7-7-3-3.
Here's what my results mean:
Fact Finder (7) You are thorough, research-driven, and prefer depth over speed.
I am definitely thorough, and I do some research, but I think I'm fairly speedy.
Follow Thru (7) You like order, routines, and processes, and are great at organizing.
This is 100% true. I thrive off of an organized calendar and to-do lists for everything in business and life.
Quick Start (3) You prefer stability, dislike chaos, and resist sudden changes.
Also very true, I don't do things on a "whim" that often and most things are planned and premeditated. It might seem "impulsive" on the outside, but those who know me understand I am very rational and think things through from a long-term perspective.
Implementer (3) – You may conceptualize rather than build; hands-on tasks are not your go-to.
I hate building things with my hands (unless it's cooking or Legos). Give me a google sheet and some data and I'll build the best plan ever.
Knowing this information reminded me how important it is for my well being to have structure. I use timers to keep me focused. I have my personal trainer arrive at certain times to train me, and if he's not there I generally don't exercise. (which is why I see him 5-6 days a week). If I feel flustered, I know I need to write up a list, prioritize it and then I'll feel focused.
Try it out, you might find the Kolbe quite useful as you go through life. It's good to learn about your style and how you work so you can set yourself up for success.
Lesson 8: Systems and Speed bring results, especially in my volunteer positions
I volunteered this year with EO Accelerator of Dubai to serve as Membership chair. My job was to interview applicants with my fellow co-chair and, if we like them, then we'd offer them a position.
The problem was the incoming flow of applicants came from all over the place: group emails, WhatsApp introductions and phone calls.
I took all of that info and immediately put it on Pipedrive, which is a CRM I use for business but, in this case, it just keeps leads very well organized. Then I made an SOP on how new applicants would be interviewed: first with me and then a second time with my co-chair. If we both liked the candidates, there was a clear sequence to get them approved, an offer was sent and they could join. Our turnaround time was fast and we saw results!
We started the EOA year in September 2024 with 10 members. Now, with one month left to go, we're at 33!
Lesson 9: With fitness and fat loss, the most important thing for me is to eat the same thing over and over and exercise regularly with a trainer.
I've consistently been able to improve my strength AND slightly reduce my belly fat when I made a few key changes:
I had my maid make the same meals, pretty much everyday. Like clockwork, I have my three meals and a "healthy dessert" dialed in so they fit my macronutrients and put me in a slight deficit. They aren't the most exciting meals, but with a few sauce alterations they work for me.
Breakfast at 9:15am: egg white burrito with homemade salsa and berries
Lunch at 1:00pm: giant mixed green salad with chicken and a homemade dressing
Dinner at 5:00pm: Air-fried potatoes with lean ground beef and veggies with a light sriracha-mayo
Optional snacks: Homemade matcha latte and "Protein ice cream" made of low-fat milk and whey protein
She serves these meals 6 days a week, whether I'm at home or not. If I'm not at home, then she puts them in the fridge after 20 minutes.
We no longer have to figure out what to eat and when, she just keeps making these meals at those times.
As long as I follow that schedule, my waist gets slimmer, my muscles grow a bit and I truly see the progress.
Lesson 10: Opposites attract and you gotta deal with the differences (and even try to embrace them)
My girlfriend Mariam and I are quite the opposites. She's an introvert and I'm an extrovert. I'm very structured and disciplined and she moves and flows with her feelings.
I'm very focused and analytical and she's a ray of sunshine who is an expert at being in the moment and smiling or laughing almost all of the time. (Sometimes, I get a bit envious :)
I plan ahead and she's more flexible.
It's all for the best, because if I dated a female version of me, we'd probably go crazy.
I think we both rub off on each other in a positive way, as she helps me enjoy the moment and I make sure we get every place on time. :)
Sometimes we clash at times. Sometimes there's a bit of a language barrier. But we laugh it off and go back to doing what we love, like watching TV shows (Last of Us is great!), enjoying a massage or playing in the kitchen.
Lesson 11: Visitors to Dubai are great and a pleasure… but take up time
I definitely overcommitted to my close friends and family this past year. I invited 8 different people to come and stay with me in Dubai, and each one took up about one week, per month for 7 months straight.
It was so much fun, but it was just too much. I thought I'd "be productive" while they were here, and to some extent, I was.
But before they arrived, and after they left, I needed some time to recharge to get back into my usual routine and diet. When someone is in "vacation" mode, you tend to eat more desserts and enjoy more foods out and about.
From here on out, I might host someone maybe once every quarter (at most!).
It's not that I didn't have fun. We had INCREDIBLE experiences, conversations and memories that will last a lifetime.
Highlights included:
- A stunning dinner with Elliot at Ce La Vie at night overlooking the Burj Khalifa
- Touring old Dubai with my parents
- Going to a Russian spa with my buddies and switching from a very hot sauna to an icy cold bath. Then having a very Russian lunch afterward.
- Lots of meals at the show-stopping Atlantis The Royale
Lesson 12: No more unsolicited "quick introductions" for friends of friends.
I had some situations pop up where someone would "think of me" because I live in Dubai and know the city well. They then would ask, usually by WhatsApp, to set up a "quick" introduction with someone visiting or even thinking of moving to Dubai.
Then I'd get asked questions, and there would be more back and forths, and that's usually about it.
It's not a "win-win" because I'm spending my time and energy in yet another Whatsapp thread sharing what I've learned. I don't get much out of it.
So I just changed the way I think about introductions.
If someone wanted to introduce me to a friend of a friend, I'd say something like "I can meet with them, but if you'd like us to connect, we can set up a quick Zoom with me, you and the other person. I'm happy to connect, but this is a favor to you and it's best if you're there on the call. At the very least, we can catch up and have a short chat."
Plus, when they knew it would require MY FRIEND'S time to meet on Zoom…suddenly they weren't as likely to just set up these "quick," mostly meaningless, introductions.
It keeps the door open, but also sets boundaries on my time and energy
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Looking back, you can probably see that this entire quarter's lesson can be summed up with: "Protect your time and energy. Say 'No' to most things so you can focus on the people and activities that are the most important."
If you're a business owner ready to learn some "life lessons," increase revenue, improve profit and learn to delegate your tasks to take your company to the next level, let's book a 15-minute zoom consultation here
It's open to entrepreneurs, even if you're not a clinic and got to the end of this post.