Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Saisha Ishag-Osman . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Saisha , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

Before starting SEI Management, I was a part of the management team for a Fortune 500 mortgage company. My tenure there was filled with many learning opportunities. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, I learned some of my most important lessons.

Due to the pandemic, interest rates were historically low, prompting a surge of homeowners to refinance their homes. While this was great for our business, we had to expand our teams to cater to the demand rapidly. Our team members worked from home every day for the first time, and all new team members were virtually onboarded. During this time, I learned the importance of adaptability, communication, and collaboration remotely. Everything from training to one-on-one sessions and team meetings transitioned to a remote format, presenting unique challenges, especially for team members with young children at home. Remember, this was during the pandemic, a time when the blurred lines between professional and personal lives became even more indistinguishable. Balancing the responsibilities or being a parent and work commitments was not easy for a lot of our team members. As a leadership team, we prioritized empathetic and understanding communication with our team members.

We also had to reinvent our approach to accountability. Establishing new systems and processes became imperative to ensure everyone was in alignment. This wasn’t easy, given the numerous moving parts, and it was particularly challenging for those of us who had been with the company for years. Looking back, however, I am grateful for the experience. It taught me to adapt and to communicate in new ways. It reminded me that change is the only constant, and the ability to adjust, communicate, and collaborate to create strategic plans in response to change is not only important but critical to success.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started SEI Management shortly after completing grad school. I noticed how many business owners spent most of their time on administrative tasks rather than strategic planning to grow their businesses. Poor operational efficiency and inadequate business planning are on the list of top-rated reasons small businesses fail. This is why I am passionate about providing small business owners with customized solutions that embrace strategic planning and maximizing operational efficiency as an effective process for managing internal and external business changes. To do this, I offer essential operational, project, and team management services designed to streamline operations and maximize efficiency.

Prior to working with me, many clients felt like worker bees in their businesses. They couldn’t find the time to grow their business. Some of them even started to lose the passion that drove them to start their businesses in the first place. However, with my help, business owners have more time to focus on creating and growing their businesses while I care for their operations. Seeing my clients maximize their greatest potential brings me so much joy. I’m genuinely grateful for the clients who have put their trust in me and allowed me to be a part of their journey.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the lesson that you must do everything to be successful. This misconception was a significant hurdle I faced earlier in my career. As someone who has always been eager to learn and grow, I initially believed I needed a comprehensive understanding of everything. It’s a misconception that is constantly encouraged. For example, when I started working with developers and investors, I was encouraged to get my real estate license to close on the properties to earn more money. A good idea; however, this was while I was pursuing my graduate degree. Moments like this make me think of the song “Lil Jimmy Skit” from Kanye’s College Drop Out album; the person with so many degrees and no financial gains to show for it.

As an Online Business Manager, I’ve seen firsthand that the time spent trying to master every single aspect of a business could be better utilized by focusing on your areas of expertise. Each minute spent trying to learn a new skill is taken away from refining and applying the skills you are already proficient in. It’s easy to get caught in the whirlwind of learning everything “to save money” when we have so much access to skill trading information. However, learning everything can be time-consuming and more of a financial drain than a gain. For example, when first starting the business, I invested so many hours into trying to understand web design when it wasn’t even one of my business offerings. At the same time, I could have spent more time creating value in one of my areas of expertise. I understand; a basic understanding is important, especially when starting a business with limited capital. However, mastery is often unnecessary and can limit your potential growth.

Outsourcing is a valuable tool. It allows you to focus on what you do best and delegate the rest to experts in those fields. When I work with small business owners, part of my job is to remind them of the importance of delegation and the value of time. By outsourcing their operational, project, and team management tasks to someone like me, they can focus on creating, strategizing, and growing their businesses. This realization, although challenging to accept initially, has been pivotal for many of my clients. Unlearning the lesson that you must learn everything to succeed is an essential step toward greater efficiency, productivity, and, ultimately, business success.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

My most recent reads include Total Leadership by Stewart Friedman and The E-Myth by Michael Gerber—two phenomenal reads.

In Total Leadership, Friedman highlights the importance of being a great leader in all aspects of your life, and he doesn’t just tell you how to do this; he walks you through it with exercises that help you to clarify your core values to envision the leader you aspire to be and how to initiate dialogues to engage the important people in your life. It’s an excellent read for everyone.

The E-Myth is great for entrepreneurs, hence the “E” in E-Myth. It’s one of my favorite books for business owners. Gerber does a beautiful job of highlighting the importance of working on the business versus in the business by setting up systems and processes so that the business can function without the owner consistently being involved. I share the book with many of my clients as it helps them better understand how they can be less of the “technician” working within their business and more of the visionary working on their business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://seimanagement.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seimanagement/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/saisha-ishagosman

Image Credits
Photographer: Justin Milhouse