Downshifting to a Delightfully Part-Team Team with Laura Roeder

What type of business would you build if you no longer needed the money? After a life-changing exit from her previous company, Meet Edgar, Laura Roeder’s answer: a fun one.  She is now more focused than ever on building a business that is bootstrapped, agile, asynchronous, joyful for all involved, and powered by part-time team members who love what they do. In this conversation, we discuss why Laura downshifted from a structure with 30 full-time employees to one that’s leaner, saying no to the Business Ops Police, the perks of part-time team members (for you and them), and why “winner take all” markets are a myth. More About Laura: Laura Roeder is a lifelong entrepreneur and founder of several multi-million dollar bootstrapped companies. Her current two focuses are Paperbell and CoachCompare; prior to that, she built and sold MeetEdgar, co-founded Marie Forleo’s B-School, and ran LKR Social Media. 🌟3 Key Takeaways: Look for people who get tremendous satisfaction (even if not passion) from the work you need done. What types of problem-solving and projects do they find inherently fun? “Your business is your utopia” (Derek Sivers): The reason you work for yourself is to have greater control and freedom. “The inside of your business should be as beautiful as the outside.” How can you build systems and employ software that engenders a sense of relief for all involved? 📝Permission: To enjoy your business! Drop any shoulds you’re carrying from the Business Ops Police. ✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Is your current software stack causing stress or making you sigh with relief? Make sure each tool is helping more than it’s hurting, replace any that aren’t, and even better still—see if any new tools can combine what separate ones are doing. 📘Books Mentioned:  Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't by Verne Harnish 🔗Resources Mentioned:  Laura on the web, Paperbell, CoachCompare, Instagram: @laurakroeder, Twitter, LinkedIn Article: Exactly How I Cold Emailed My Way to A Life-Changing Exit (and You Can Too) Videos: The Pre-launch Strategy That Built MeetEdgar a 100k List - Laura Roeder at Converted 2016, Laura Roeder: How She Grew MeetEdgar Into A Multi-million Dollar Business speaks at LTV Conf 2018 Tools: MixPanel, SalesForce, Meet Edgar, HelpScout, ClickUp, Notion, Dubsado, Kajabi, Practice, DuckDuckGo, Hootsuite Podcasts: Laura Roeder on They Got Acquired, Built to Sell #344: How to Make Your Email List Worth 7-Figures, The Art of Newsletters 069: Laura Roeder – Building the Best Brand in Your Niche 🎧Related Podcast Episodes:  093: How to Sell Your Online Business with Alexis Grant 061: Scaling Boutique Businesses with Greg Alexander 145: Tips for Training Part-Time Team Members with Kaneisha Grayson 💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe » 🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review. ❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners. 💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join 🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit  💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey ☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask 🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts 📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/157 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices