We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julie Seal-Gaustad. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julie below.
Julie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so one thing we think people don’t talk about nearly enough is investments – either time or money. What’s one of the best or worst investments you’ve made and what did you learned from the experience?
The best investment I ever made was hiring advisors to help me on my journey! In my first business, I hired a fractional CFO who set me up for a profitable exit and higher valuation. Plus, I was able to apply the financial education I received to my next business immediately to set me up for profitability from the start—and I learned financial habits like reviewing my finances and weekly budgeting. Now, I pay that forward to my clients to help them in their own financial mastery journeys. They feel relief, confidence and empowerment—which leads to the invaluable feeling of freedom.
I also hired a business coach about 5 years in to growing my first business. Through her ongoing counsel, I doubled in revenue, profit and team year over year, as well as built that business to a point where I took 2 vacations a year and worked about 20 hours a week in the parts I enjoyed most. When I sold that business, she was also ended up suggesting what turned out to be my second business. As a business coach now myself, my goal is to have the same positive impact on my clients as she did for me.
The biggest lesson I learned along the way is that success is a team effort. “It’s lonely at the top” definitely rings true—but it doesn’t have to be that way. Those who try to go it alone as a business owner not only silo themselves but are bypassing the wealth of talent available to support their journey and help them reach their goals. It does “take a village.”
Julie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
As a certified ActionCOACH, I’m part of the largest and most successful business coaching franchise in the world. In addition to helping other entrepreneurs based on my own experience, I have access to countless resources to help them implement strategies that will work for their business. It’s exhilarating to belong to a community of entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs.
One of the things that sets me apart from others is that I’ve been there and done that. I grew a business that ran without me, so I was able design the life I desired and get more value when I sold because it was not owner dependent. Another differentiator my clients often share that they appreciate is my authenticity—what you see is what you get. I often say I am my clients’ most unreasonable friend AND their biggest cheerleader.
I’m proud to offer a service I know is so badly needed by many entrepreneurs. I know firsthand that being a business owner can be lonely and it’s invaluable to have access to someone who’s both a sounding board and a resource for strategies that work. Because everyone’s journey is different, I offer a range of coaching services, from 1-to-1 coaching, small-group coaching, executive coaching and strategic planning to team trainings, boot camps and courses. I sit with clients at the onset to determine where they’re at and where they want to be—and we figure out together what’s the best way to get them there.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
COVID! In 2020, when I still owned my first business, I went from starting the year in our best quarter EVER—during the historically slowest time of the year—to shutting down mid-March and having a team of 12 internal employees plus 100+ field employees and 500 contractors depending on me for updates, answers, etc. This was a tough time emotionally and financially for my family and for the company. Having my coach, community and amazing team jump on board to help transform our business and keep it going was an experience I’ll never forget. I knew I had to make hard decisions during this time, but I tried to always show up with empathy. I coached my team to remain hopeful, but also realistic.
Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?
When I sold my first business, what gave me the highest valuation was a solid profit margin, having a strong, capable team in place, and robust systems. The buyer said they were looking for a company that would be plug and play, as it was a new industry for them. I was working about 20 hours a week at that time in the parts I enjoyed most: leadership, networking, strategy, culture and sales. I could take two weeks off and the business could run without me. Heck, I could take a month or more off! In fact, I did take two months off after I had my son! Not being owner-dependent made the business more attractive and valuable to potential buyers, so that would be my top lesson to share: develop the documented processes for each aspect of your business and delegate and entrust your team to be able to run the business without you so a potential new owner can see themselves seamlessly sliding into your seat without any hiccups.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jsgactioncoach.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jsgactioncoach
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JSGActionCoach/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliesealgaustad/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jsgactioncoach
Image Credits
Professional branding photos by Stacy Keck Photography
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