Work Smarter, Not Harder

Speaker 1: hi welcome to the sheu fit experience with Melanie you're here because you want to scale and grow your business Master business strategy and learn about new tech Innovation join me and my inspiring guests as we dive into the topic of how how to create build scale and operate the business of your dreams in addition to being an entrepreneur I'm also a twin mom and Optimist who loves empowering you to experience the life that you crave Magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us joy so grab a coffee or cocktail get comfy and let's dive in I'm so thrilled to be talking to Dominique Townson Dominique is the founder and CEO of we optimize work she's a working mom of four and an engineer the goal of we optimize work is to support working moms in their personal aspirations without downshifting in their careers Dominique applied principles that she used to solve complex problems in business and modeled it into a framework to meet both the personal and professional needs of working moms like herself we are thrilled to have you with us today we would love to know how you learned about she built it and about your early career leading up to launching we optimize

Speaker 2: work so the way I learned about she builted is I am a podcast a holic like it it it car literally carries me through traffic and she built it was one of like my platforms that I was just like I got to listen to this I got to be binge on it and it was like the perfect timing for the travel time going to work and from work I love that thank you it was just perfect because the Insight that's provided is so relative especially for being a mom but also just being a business owner and looking at um the experience of other people how transparent they are and no one is doing that cookie cutter I'm perfect I have everything all together type of approach and I love that about your podcast so that's what brought me to the podcast and used to keep me engaged as a listener and about the leap I started my professional career as an Industrial Engineer at Tennessee Tech University in Cookville Tennessee I'm from Nashville but the school was only an hour and a half away I started my professional career working in a flower meal so people don't often know that about me it was in the middle of Denver and I transitioned into Minnesota as a team production leag it was a union environment very different experience had to be good experience I would I would assume yeah like what tough skin I didn't have I gained it the rest of it when I was at the flower me right one fact about starting the career in a flower Mill I interviewed for it in Canada for the interview for Denver while I was attending school in Cookville very interesting there was a a nesby conference which is a National Society of black Engineers conference and they host Career Fairs throughout the conference week con Agro was where I worked which is the flower Mill division

Speaker 1: they were were one of the last booths that I walked through for me it was like okay I have to get myself at this company like they are so cool they have so many products out there I thought I was going to work at the commercial food division Marie calendar or something like that and she opened up opportunity at a fow Mill so I took the opportunity and I would say that would be like my first leap because I had my oldest son in when I was in engineering school my senior year and my husband and I married that same year as well so just uprooting everyone from Nashville to go in the middle of Denver at a flower Mill of all places not being familiar with what that was going to look like we didn't have family support like we did here in our hometown of Nashville so it was really different my husband quit his job we left and I worked and he was with our son so he became the stay-at-home dad during that time and it was just so exciting just to have that support but I was super scared even when I moved out there we still had our house here in Nashville when I moved out there I was like still unsure like okay I hope this is going to work it's scary it can be scary very scary and I liked it it was an experience to help me learn how people interact in the professional world and I was totally different you know black girl engineer in the middle of Denver and with the personality like that they have not seen before from an engineer are the typical um what they say the the um the typical engineer that doesn't have the social side of them the more serious but it was an experience that I won't that I won't take um back at all because it taught me again tough skin I didn't have it gave me um the tough skin but um I knew that I will always be okay so after after the first couple of years of working in the flower Mill we moved back down to Nashville I worked as a process Improvement engineer but this leap was more comfortable because we're coming back home I had my second child and two kids two under so a after that second job coming back I found myself wanting to do more but I've learned that I was like it's I was like maybe it's just me I'm not fitting in these environments I had to like navigate those challenges and then I started to get internal mentors like people that have um they are further in their career they have similar backgrounds that you do but they're not applying the same expertise in their professions but I got to like find people that I could connect with but that was a job that I quickly found what I wanted to do was bigger than the company I was at and so just engaging people just seeing them smile looking for it to come to work because they feel like they're making a change in a project initiative or making work better or making their customers happier based off of how they produced the product like that was something that brought me joy and that was something that stuck with me um very heavy and I noticed that I was like at the max of the bubble of the impact I could make at that company so I I decided to invest in

Speaker 1: a lan6 sigma Master Black Belt certification which is I like a level up higher in your level of expertise and how you improve projects and things of that sort but I did it because I wanted to invest in myself because I Saw My Future Self already as I was working with people and improving projects and seeing like the impact that I was having but it was something that I saw myself doing more of but I reached the max bubble so I was like let me invest in myself because one of these days it's going to be time to transition to another company which I did it was a leap from being able that was a a job that was I could have probably been there for still now good for you for for saying I'm going to get out of my comfort zone and make that late yeah so it was definitely a stretch where it was time for me to go to the next stage and I went to the next company where higher level of expertise required it was something that I really liked to do and not too long after I saw myself hitting the same Rock of okay I'm in an environment is something about what I need to do in my purpose that does not fit in this environment and I keep trying to force myself and I'm finding myself doing it again um but this leap was very interesting so that goes into the leap of being laid off I call it being retired um because the level of value that I could offer the environment could not figure out how to utilize that or incorporate that in what their plans were because it required a shift of their own comfort zone and how they typically handle project improvements how they typically drove changes and initiatives for the company so it was one of those things that was like okay well I knew this was happening cuz I felt this from day one like I've always felt like I'm doing a good job I'm doing a lot of things that can drive Improvement that impacts the lives of people just how they feel as employees and how they feel performing their day-to-day job but I saw something bigger like I was like I could do something more like if they just give me the opportunity or just loosen the leash you know like just say hey you know you can take free Reigns Dominic you can run wild with projects to run wild with initiatives My ultimate goal was just to allow the company to thrive like lead projects that allow them to thrive but also start with the employees and help drive that impact so it was always there it was just a matter of like these shifts that were happening throughout my career that said okay let me go to the next place let me go to the next place and those leaps help me understand when you stretch beyond your comfort zone great things and beautiful things happen

Speaker 2: 100% and our listeners can't see you but you are so quick to smile and you exude energy and positivity so I can see how if you were in a place where you felt stagnant that wasn't going to work for you and it was not and we know that when we're not moving to go do something new the universe is going to help move us there whether we like it or not right it's like time to get out of

Speaker 1: your comfort zone what gave you the courage to say I'm going to do this I'm going to launch we optimize work what

Speaker 2: gave me the courage was that knowing that my purpose for starting the company was something that was bigger than me my LEAP entrepreneurship came from being retired of course from my last job but they did not understand how to utilize my value it was up to me to do that and the only way that that could happen was by starting my own company so Having the courage was coming from the level of impact that I could have with others

Speaker 2: what was that thing that I kept trying to do in the companies it was time to do it now for you own I always joke and I I'm the person that says I'm not good at analogies but I stay giving them so what the heck I'mma do it say you are let's just say I am I'mma change that and if it doesn't match I'll keep going with it

Speaker 2: you know when taking the leap I just felt like I was exposed and the only person that had access to put clothes back on me from being exposed or just feeling naked you know like okay here I am it's time to move forward like it was up to me and it was so different because I begged for people to clothe me an opportunity begged for people to clothe me and purpose and validation that was what I did for so long I begged for that

Speaker 2: throughout my career that I did not realize that but taking a leap and having a courage it required me to shift that thinking to say oh Dominique you are the person that host the cloes you need to put on yourself the clothes of opportunity there goes that analogy but I was very forward thinking in my career

Speaker 2: and I know that even like Executives even people that are in a sea Suite level they told me I was bigger than the company me the signs were always there and I held on to those things and the beliefs that others had in me at times I did not feel comfortable so I would say the courage came from people who saw that it only made sense for me to do what I decided to do like taking the leap I was very selective in speaking with people but the people that I spoke with okay y'all I'm I'm not going back

Speaker 2: to work I was laid off my job that shame and guilt because you don't know how to feel but it's like you're excited at the same time so I did take the leap in a

Speaker 2: lot of the conversations I have with women these are the times they've launched companies and they've turned into very successful ones it's that whole universe it's going to push you in the direction

Speaker 1: that you're supposed to go can you tell us about we optimize work and you are a busy mam for running your company I'd love to know how you handle management and strategy for your day and your

Speaker 2: company we optimiz work we create strategies and systems to help working moms to see both professionally and personally without compromising their goals their sanity and their dreams we meet them where they are what's happening let's brain dump let's let's see where you are what are the problems that you're having and then identifying ways that work for them along their

Speaker 1: capacity along what their demand is on how to help them navigate the challenges we don't tell them how to parent we don't tell them you should do this we say here's a framework that best aligns with where you are to help you navigate and for companies we help companies who

Speaker 1: have initiatives that where they're looking to support their working moms my providing webinars and providing keynote speaking to teach their leaders how to incorporate strategies and how to allow for transparent safe spaces where working moms can communicate about what they're going through we also work with Mom CEOs who are at the point where they're like okay I'm about to lose my mind and I really want to grow my company but I feel stuck so we look into their systems and we identify ways to improve that but that's what we optimize

Speaker 1: work does and for management tips I say one of the things that I highly recommend is starting with your capacity and going from there managing from there for me I look at the capacity I know what my without interruptions well with four kids without and homeschooling and the environment we're in today and I would think we optimize work would be so important especially now because in my

Speaker 1: work conversations my kids didn't come up as much unless you know someone was asking me questions about the twins it comes up a lot these days a lot more because we're all in the house together and we're all figuring how to navigate what we've all just gone through and it can be a little too much togetherness at times even though we love you know we love our family we do but yeah it's just amazing like looking at the capacity and

Speaker 1: not feeling like you have to perform to a way that someone else performs I know like the way I manage my company the way I manage my life I look at it in the lens of I know that I have a Max of this number of hours that I can actually dedicate to work or providing the service for a client and being okay with that I've learned to be okay with that and not compare it to I really want it

Speaker 1: to be here and I want it to be there and so looking at that and then also um not scheduling times around the high Interruption points when they're getting ready to log into school when they're shifting classes and they're getting better with the shifting classes but getting ready to log in scheduling a meeting I I don't care what happens it's always a tech need that needs to be supported I had that moment to you know someone can't log on or they log into the wrong place I mean and I I went through that too where I thought okay at 8:45 when the kids are supposed to log

Speaker 1: on no calls no webinars no nothing yeah I shifted that but that's the engineer in you too and the strategist in you that says you are looking at capacity because if you don't do that to your point you can feel frustrated like oh I'm not doing enough I'm not doing more and I'm sure that that also helps you to delegate because you know what's within your framework yeah and it limits that

Speaker 1: comparison too I I think that we get so caught into comparison that we don't realize that the person we're comparing

Speaker 1: themselves to either has extra help or they have no help and they're just putting the Perfection out for the world to see and if you look at your capacity you can stay close to that and say well you know what this is my limit and how can I Outsource help whether that's utilizing a system to help improve a process whether that's eliminating things I like to tell people to dare to improve or dare to assess dare to change

Speaker 2: they don't that and I love the Dare analogy it's so great and I see how that framework could really help people it's

Speaker 1: just like what can you do and and be okay with it for you and I think you share who you are understand your capacity just do it without seeking validation and it's so true within the company and even for social and putting out our presence for our own companies it's so important to be who we are because I think when we're advertising our company or putting something on social I think audiences and clients can tell if you're not showing up as your full self if we are not showing up as

Speaker 2: our full selves MH is there an app and a platform that you use every day that you couldn't live without either in your personal life or in your work the

Speaker 1: podcast app and I know that because I like listening to podcast but then when it gets to like great I mean I learned so much yes I started asking the technology question because I learned about different apps and platforms from listening to podcasts yeah and I now use them on my social media platforms I'm

Speaker 1: really old school I love Post-it notes I love drawing on a whiteboard now that I have onboard of the team I do utilize Google docs to organize particular materials and if we standardize templates we utilize AA for project management and tax management it's easy to see who's doing what where status they're at I can segment what areas of

Speaker 1: focus so for my team I literally assign task I give it to them in a brain dump and I say hey I want this task you to work on this task they go into the brain dump category and they drag the task into particular categories that it relates to is it content management is it client on boarding is it The Branding for our business is it and our marketing efforts is it Grant submissions pitch um

Speaker 1: competitions because we're still actively funding for our company this year so if the task aligns in those particular areas with the sign you can drag and drop that task into it they assign it to themselves and they set the date so that's one thing that I looked at too in delegation I used to go into a SAA type in the task figure out who did it slide it in there put a date on it

Speaker 1: put a lot of subtask now even with that I enhanced it I get I empowered the people more to say here's a task the brain dump this is the goal of it and they are so good at okay here are some things that I know I need to do to help Reach This goal of the task that you have identified I assigned myself this this is the date to reach it and I'm very clear on who does what within a company so it helps me as well and how I

Speaker 1: manage but Asana is great Google Docs is great I know I couldn't live without Google Docs and our teams want to do a good job it's the communication to your point like trying to figure out the best way to communicate your team to where they can execute and feel good about the work that they're doing it's really

Speaker 2: great that you put all that thought into

Speaker 1: it yeah and I I love to see people shineing what they like to do so we look at going to have like once a month development just say what things do you like to learn so one of my team members uh she would like to learn more about web development and coding so I'm going to look into development I used to wear the web development hat and the and and so it's was just like you know what I let me release that and Magic started to happen and then also if it doesn't work out we communicate about it what didn't you like about it what did you feel that you need to better prepare for this particular task and we have those conversations weekly and seeing where they are and where they would like to go but then what are those gaps that I can do better as as the business owner but um so that's the thing that helps to

Speaker 2: that's great I love to when I'm interviewing someone I like to let them know that I'm looking for someone Innovative that's going to push me that I kind of don't have to pull along that's going to say hey have you thought of doing this and what you know what about implementing this strategy or this platform this app because really I think that's the only way business is really

Speaker 1: going to grow I love that you said that too yeah because that's exactly like my teams like they they're scheduling like social media um they're doing scheduling for that and even with the own boarding they're working on they know the workflows identified the path but now they're automated one of the workflows they're using platforms that I haven't used they're giving suggestions even down to oh I I really see this as as a great opportunity for us to use it would be easier to work with our clients um and so that's the thing that I just say you know what yes we're meeting the goal how we go about it is very I like to say be be as creative as you can be that gives you Joy in the process of figuring out that process that task to do and then hit the goal hit the goal that's the at the end of the day hit the goal and it aligns with our values we have our values for the company if you don't feel these values when you're working on something or when you working with someone then that means we won't do it it's it's like it's really that simple it's like okay well then let's look at the things magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our

Speaker 2: business that brings us joy what is one tip that you can leave with us today

Speaker 1: about how you find and live your joy my

Speaker 1: one tip would be stick to your intention what is the reason that you show up who are you showing up for what is your intention why do you go to work every day why do you keep making those decisions that align with those things that you saw for yourself how do you see to show up in the world with your business what level of impact does it have and and that's what for me it brings me joy it helps me to live my joy because I know why I show up and on days that I get uncomfortable on days that I feel like I'm comparing myself to others we all have oh I go back to the intention I almost did it last week and I was like what am I doing I'm here to show up in this type of space and yes we could be in the same industry but the way I show up and my intention of why I show up has nothing to do with anyone else but me especially like the way I show up is mostly for my kidss to not feel like they I don't want them to know any other way I don't never want them to experience going years of begging for their value just to figure out they own their value I want them to like be so ignorant to that that they're like oh I didn't even know that you had to ask for permission I just did it on my own I love that like no fear so that intention comes from how I show up in business that's the key it's like how do I show up like how how do I show up what's my intention and the way I do that the ultimate like that deep down ingrained why comes from what kind of Legacy am I leaving my children or my children's children and no one can do that but me and my husband that's something that helps bring me joy help me LIF my joy is just sticking close to that and so that's my one tip for everyone get very clear on that and it takes time to do it we're more tactical we can identify to-do list we can identify tasks but we need to look at our intention and that way when we're setting our capacity when we're looking at how much time we have available and looking at our demand and where we are in life how we show up we can Define it for ourselves and not feel like we need to perform in a way that Society or what the appearance of what you think other people are doing we don't have to show up that way because we're so true to our intention we're so true to how we seek to show up for ourselves so that's that's the key I

Speaker 2: love that look deeper and you're definitely showing up in the way that you are building and creating we optimize work so thank you so much for being with us today can you please tell ERS how and where they can find you we

Speaker 1: optimiz work.com is our website you can follow me on Instagram at we optimize work or on Twitter at we optimized work I'm heavily on Instagram on my personal page as well so Dominique Townsen d o m o n i qu e t o w NS n d on Instagram you can find me there shoot me a DM I love to know what you think and please continue to check out this podcast because this I love listening to it

Speaker 2: thank you thank you so much if you are new to she built it we'd love for you to join us we offer a community memberships masterminds Innovative virtual events and meaningful connections to entrepreneurs and corporate leaders please also check out our sheb built it shop curated products from women-owned businesses who put their heart and soul into their beautiful and Innovative products we offer Sheil tip business Consulting and the Sheil tip blog thank you to everyone around the world who joined today thank you to my editor Rich stalino please download And subscribe wherever you get your podcast and until next time together let's let nothing stop us from experiencing the life that We crave