The Real Cost of Trying to Do Everything Yourself

Working With vs. Working For: The Expert Standard in Operations

Dr. Michelle Griffin, CEO of Griffin Resources, joins Nikki to talk about what it means to work with clients instead of just for them. They cover AI tools, Gen Z in the workforce, a $3M embezzlement case, plagiarism, business ethics, and why the real grind behind any business stays invisible until someone finally looks. Website: griffin-resources.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michelle-griffin-phd Fully Timestamped Show Notes **[00:00:00] Dr. Michelle Griffin introduces Griffin Resources** PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, CEO of Griffin Resources, outsourced HR, payroll, recruiting, and leadership coaching for small to mid-sized businesses. Approximately 80 clients across the US, including some international companies. **[00:01:00] Building a recruiting team through delegation** Dr. Griffin dislikes recruiting personally. She convinced a former colleague to join as a contractor after pandemic layoffs. That person now runs the entire recruiting department. The team was built because clients asked for it, not because it was the plan from the start. **[00:03:00] Running a company while finishing a PhD** Expected passive income from hiring people to do the work. Instead ended up running a company full time and attending school full time simultaneously. Chose to hire for every new skill clients requested rather than learn everything personally. **[00:05:00] The VA distinction: working with vs. working for** Dr. Griffin draws a firm line between working for someone (task execution) and working with them (guidance, expert pushback, teaching). A VA plugs A into B. An operations expert tells you why that sentence cannot go out and what it looks like if it does. **[00:07:00] Internal presence with clients** Griffin Resources typically gets an internal email address and operates inside the client's ecosystem. Clients often do not realize the support is outsourced. This structure creates long-term relationships. Most clients at their size stay for many years. **[00:09:00] The "how high" problem: not just executing on command** Dr. Griffin coaches her team not to run and do something the moment a client says jump. Being the expert means researching, guiding, and giving feedback before executing. Doing otherwise gets the client in trouble and the firm in trouble. **[00:13:00] Standing up to executives on FLSA compliance** A CEO wanted to pay salaried exempt employees overtime for a project. Dr. Griffin explained that treating exempt employees as non-exempt reclassifies them. She proposed a bonus structure instead, ran it by the payroll team and attorneys, and gave the CEO what he actually wanted, just legally. **[00:15:00] Refusing discriminatory terminations** Has directly pushed back against executives wanting to fire employees after learning about health conditions, disabilities, or neurodivergence. Has stood firm in those rooms, even through heated arguments. These are not suggestions. They are refusals. **[00:15:30] Copyright and plagiarism in client work** A client tried to take another person's video scripts and rebrand them. Dr. Griffin called it what it was: plagiarism, illegal, and a problem she was not going to help with. She redirected the client toward making the content their own. **[00:17:30] Self-plagiarism in doctoral work** Writing a 360-page dissertation while managing a business. Turnitin scanned for self-plagiarism throughout the entire body of prior work. Every repeated idea had to be rewritten. Graduated in 2023, just as AI hit the market. **[00:19:30] AI in video editing: what works and what does not** Dr. Griffin uses Descript for word-level editing on her full-length videos. Auto-edit AI tools produce cuts she considers unusable. She keeps the editing manual until the video is done, then runs the finished product through Opus Clips for short-form content selection. **[00:21:00] Phone editing tools: the CapCut conversation** Nikki tried CapCut and hates it. Phone-based editing makes precision impossible. Desktop editing with full screen access is the only way to do the work accurately. Both acknowledge this may be a preference shaped by how they work, not a universal truth. **[00:23:30] When AI editing makes the speaker look intoxicated** Dr. Griffin's team used AI to edit an internal onboarding video. The result made her eyes look partially closed in a way the original footage did not show. The words also stopped aligning with mouth movements. Descript was the recommended fix. **[00:27:00] Social media as the new marketing infrastructure** Traditional ads and radio have largely been replaced by accessible video content for small business owners. Dr. Griffin built 90 percent of Griffin Resources through LinkedIn networking, especially during COVID. Posting came later, after the social team was established. **[00:29:00] Two lanes of podcasting** Nikki describes the over-invested podcaster who builds a studio and burns out before the money arrives, versus the sustainable approach where good equipment is a byproduct of existing meeting infrastructure. She is in her third season. The guest who lectures her to sleep still occasionally gets through. **[00:31:00] What makes content worth listening to** Authentic connection over divisive positioning. When the goal is to bring people together, the work tends to last. When the goal is to tear people apart, eventually the audience figures it out. **[00:32:00] The influencer myth** Kids are naming influencer as a career path. Dr. Griffin and Nikki both push back: social media is a grind, not a windfall. The perfect life online is manufactured. The one-pan cooking video used a lot more dishes. The highlight reel hides the math. **[00:38:00] Generational job turnover patterns** Boomers: stayed for pensions. Gen X: the unmonitored generation, figured things out independently, thrives in the right workplace. Millennials: discovered that job-hopping every two years produces better salary growth than loyalty. Gen Z: leaving at three to six months, often before finishing the learning curve. **[00:44:00] Gentle parenting without consequences** Children raised without experiencing consequences arrive at the workforce expecting things to ease up when they stop being enjoyable. The employer absorbs the cost. Dr. Griffin is direct: the problem is the parent, not the game. **[00:46:00] Life skills gaps in the newest workforce** Employers report incoming workers who do not know how to address an envelope, use a stamp, write a check, or sign their name in cursive. Professional language norms are also collapsing: shorthand from personal messaging is appearing in business communication. **[00:49:00] AI is not the threat: the real workforce question** A company that fires the people running the AI to save money will not be in business much longer. AI is a partner to the employee. It helps people do more, faster, with less overhead. The pattern throughout history is the same: industries shift, jobs transition, some disappear and others emerge. **[00:51:00] Historical parallel: horses to cars** The United States took roughly 20 to 25 years to transition from horse-and-carriage to automotive infrastructure. Blacksmiths, stable workers, and innkeepers did not vanish. They transitioned. There are still blacksmiths. The same pattern applies to every technological shift. **[00:54:00] Using AI ethically and effectively** Dr. Griffin pits Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude against the same question to compare outputs. She uses AI for spelling, grammar, and tone rather than source-based research. She has seasoned her ChatGPT with her own voice so the output does not sound robotic. She is clear on the line: enhance your work, not steal someone else's. **[01:01:00] Mental health and client delivery** Dr. Griffin mentions being in a very dark place mentally during the early period with her longest-running client. The work still got done. The client still got deliveries. No one knew. She notes this without drama, as a fact of how the work often operates. **[01:04:00] Follow-through as the real test of ownership** Wanting to own a business is not sufficient. The follow-through to actually do it when it is hard, boring, or unglamorous is what separates businesses that grow from those that stall. If the passion is not there to sustain the grind, working for someone else is a valid and respectable path. **[01:05:00] Fraud, embezzlement, and the hands-off owner** Dr. Griffin describes the patterns she sees across roughly 10 percent of her client engagements: personal expenses run through the company, misclassified business expenses, and in the most serious cases, payroll manipulation and offshore diversion. The conditions for theft are created when owners delegate and step back without retaining any visibility. **[01:06:00] The hospital chain embezzlement case** Griffin Resources took over payroll for a hospital chain client and noticed money missing. Benefits invoices showed as paid in the books but funds were going elsewhere. The investigation revealed the controller had been funneling money to offshore accounts. Approximately 1 million was found initially; the FBI ultimately identified 3 million total. The controller fled the country. The CFO and CEO faced consequences. **[01:08:00] Trust and oversight in bookkeeping** Dr. Griffin does not handle her own books because her brain locks up around her own finances. She has a trusted friend who does it. But she is clear: that level of trust does not exist in most workplaces. Business owners need enough knowledge of their own books to catch what is wrong. **[01:10:00] Social media careers done right** If social media is the direction, do it well. Pay attention to what is working. Do not copy someone else's content word for word. Be enough your own that you are not riding someone else's momentum. And do not fake it. **[01:12:00] Knowing yourself before choosing a direction** You have to know who you are before you can decide what you want to do. If that takes longer, fine. Go work somewhere else while you figure it out. The idea that you need to know by 18 is not accurate, and the pressure to choose before the self is formed creates a lot of the downstream chaos in the workforce. **[01:13:00] College debt and the trades conversation** Nikki paid off undergrad at 35 and still carries school debt from her PhD. Dr. Griffin notes that trades can produce six-figure incomes without a degree. College makes sense for specific career paths. For everything else, the debt-to-outcome math often does not work. **[01:20:00] Masking emotions in HR** Nikki describes moving room to room in her corporate HR days: one conversation involving a terminal illness, the next a performance review, the next a board presentation. Learning to not let one room follow you into the next is a skill developed out of necessity, not comfort. **[01:21:00] Alignable meeting and the fraudulent stock** Dr. Griffin describes a group networking meeting where someone began pitching a stock investment. As the person spoke, she recognized the elements as insider trading. She went quiet. Her friend texted her: "Fix your face." After the meeting, the friend looked it up. The stock had been flagged and locked by the Trade Commission as fraudulent. Her face told the truth before the research confirmed it.

Healing the Wound That's Running Your Business

TW: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS DISCUSSION OF PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE. ROBERT BLECK SURVIVED SEVERE CHILDHOOD ABUSE AND BUILT SOURCE COMPLETION THERAPY FROM WHAT THAT EXPERIENCE REQUIRED. HIS THREE-PHASE PROCESS TRACES SYMPTOMS BACK TO THEIR EMOTIONAL SOURCE AND COMPLETES THE WOUND RATHER THAN MANAGING AROUND IT. IN THIS EPISODE, HE CONNECTS UNPROCESSED TRAUMA DIRECTLY TO THE DECISIONS THAT CAUSE BUSINESSES TO COLLAPSE UNDER THEIR OWN GROWTH. SYSTEMS PROBLEMS AND EMOTIONAL AVOIDANCE TEND TO RUN ON THE SAME ROOT. ROBERTBLECK.COM | LINKEDIN.COM/IN/ROBERT-BLECK-744AA4367 FULLY TIMESTAMPED SHOW NOTES [00:00:00] Introduction — Robert Bleck introduces himself as a survivor of severe childhood abuse and creator of Source Completion Therapy, a three-phase program designed to heal deep emotional wounds. [00:01:00] The abuse begins — physical and emotional abuse starting at age three, daily degradation, and the instruments his mother used. [00:02:00] Tied to the bed — the night his mother tied him to his bed at age three or four; the terror he still visualizes today and the fears it created. [00:03:00] Age nine — a deep compassion for suffering forms; the beginning of Robert's drive to help humanity. [00:04:00] Age fourteen — Robert stands up to his mother for the last time. Sports and nature as survival strategies. [00:05:00] College and PhD — choosing psychology over medicine; entering private practice; recognizing that existing therapies were not deep enough. [00:06:00] Building Source Completion Therapy — identifying what worked and what didn't across every therapy he knew; assembling a sequence that produced long-term, permanent results. [00:07:00] The three phases — Awareness, Relive/Reexperience/Release, and Completion; overview of what each involves. [00:08:00] The nature of a newborn — born pure, innocent, and dependent; why the caregiver relationship is the foundation everything else rests on. [00:09:00] When caregivers fail — the breach of trust and the feelings it generates; what the child cannot process. [00:10:00] The emotional consequences of abuse — worthlessness, inadequacy, rage, betrayal, shame; why the brain suppresses rather than processes. [00:11:00] Diversions — repressed feelings channeled into obsessions, phobias, addictions, road rage, eating disorders; why treating only the behavior doesn't hold. [00:12:00] Phase 1: Awareness — the eating disorder case study; the client who had tried everything and was certain her childhood had nothing to do with it. [00:13:00] Phase 2: Relive — using hypnosis and visualization to return to the source figure; how hypnosis actually works in a therapeutic context. [00:14:00] Phase 3: Completion — confronting the source figure; outcome of the eating disorder case; long-term results and what changed for the client's family. [00:15:00] When the perpetrator is dead — going to the grave, speaking aloud, burning letters; the mechanics of completion when direct confrontation isn't possible. [00:16:00] The rape survivor who couldn't sleep in a bed or take a shower — what the completion process looked like; the outcome of that work. [00:17:00] Virtual options, visualization in-office, and why behavioral therapy falls short — treating the symptom without the source creates new diversions. [00:18:00] What therapeutic hypnosis actually is — not stage performance; more like deep daydreaming or movie absorption; the relaxation method explained. [00:19:00] Pacing, safety, and patience — Robert never pushes past what a person can hold; the process moves at each individual's pace. [00:20:00] Case study: award-winning actress — out-of-body experiences, addiction, toxic relationships; misdiagnosed as schizophrenic; why she sought Robert out. [00:21:00] The root underneath the actress's chaos — a father who abandoned the family, never praised her, never loved her; the endless search for approval. [00:22:00] The actress's outcome — career restored, toxic relationships released, drugs stopped; emails of gratitude still arriving. [00:23:00] Topic shift: business scaling stability — Nikki introduces the operational side of the conversation; what breaks when you go from zero to scale without systems. [00:24:00] Processes in your head will sink your business — why no one else can follow what only exists in the owner's memory. [00:25:00] The cost of vague job descriptions — when roles are undefined, people drift into whatever fills the gap, and the essential work doesn't get done. [00:26:00] Role drift in action — the secretary who becomes IT because no one hired for tech; what happens when accountability has no clear address. [00:27:00] Written processes are not optional — "write it down" is not a suggestion; weak decision-making is a guarantee of failure. [00:28:00] What a real decision sounds like — "this is how we're doing this; if we find a problem, we'll adjust"; why "maybe" is a cop-out. [00:29:00] Processes must evolve with scale — what works at ten people breaks at fifty; the difference between being rigid and being clear. [00:30:00] Team culture breaks down at scale — and no bonding experience fixes it; the CEO must treat every department with equal respect. [00:31:00] IT, postal workers, and what happens when suppressed frustration finally surfaces — the connection between ignored employees and eventual blowups. [00:32:00] Word of mouth travels — the reputation you build internally is the reputation that follows you externally. [00:33:00] Social media and the illusion of control — even anonymous posts find their source; how perception compounds. [00:34:00] Walmart example — scale buys tolerance; small and mid-size businesses don't have that buffer. [00:35:00] Stability = repeatability + reputation + ability to scale — Nikki's core operational framework. [00:36:00] Arrogance as a growth killer — the difference between having money and being better than someone. [00:37:00] Robert connects the dots — the entrepreneur who was buying twenty houses to earn his father's approval; how emotional wounds drive operational chaos. [00:38:00] No amount of money fills what caregivers left empty — material accumulation as a diversion; what actually has to happen instead. [00:39:00] Nikki's parallel — her mother, the dismissal from family members, and accountability as a non-negotiable. [00:40:00] "Hurt people hurt people" — and still have to be held responsible; the distinction between understanding and excusing. [00:41:00] Nothing substitutes for feeling and processing — the material world cannot fill the emotional gap; what actually changes when the work is done. [00:42:00] Wrap-up — write everything down, treat people with respect, repair problems when they surface, and don't mistake money for worth. [00:43:00] Closing — Robert and Nikki reflect on their shared experiences; closing exchange.

Business Growth Starts Before the Business Opens

Starting a business is not just about delivering a product or service. It is about learning systems, marketing, hiring, finances, and decision-making before mistakes become expensive. Tammy Johnston shares why new business owners often seek the wrong help, hire the wrong people, and focus on the wrong priorities. The conversation explores capacity, accountability, networking, mental health, and building a foundation strong enough to survive long term. ksabusines.ca [https://www.google.com/url?q=http://ksabusines.ca&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw3_juFF0jj7vgC1jyKKP600] https://www.instagram.com/ksa.business/ [https://www.google.com/url?q=https://calendly.com/url?q%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.instagram.com%252Fksa.business%252F%26user_uuid%3D3ae98722-a296-438e-a538-5ac8af481324%26stage%3D1%26hmac%3De860dff64af6e2fa0aa12b3796838d8cf3bb7576a85552f4db425d5fd4bc08fe&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw0Kuy9SSvvoavBvSVTrNIrU] FULLY TIMESTAMPED SHOW NOTES 00:00:00 Tammy Johnston introduces her work helping new businesses build strong foundations. 00:01:00 Early-stage mistakes and why prevention is easier than repair. 00:02:00 Nikki discusses systems, documentation, and getting knowledge out of the owner's head. 00:03:00 Business owners often underestimate administration and operational responsibilities. 00:03:45 Tammy explains the difference between "bunny rabbits" and "owls" in business. 00:05:00 Strengths, weaknesses, and why self-awareness matters. 00:06:00 Hiring people for fit instead of hiring bodies. 00:07:00 Delegation, repetitive tasks, and finding people who enjoy different types of work. 00:08:00 The danger of taking business advice from people without business experience. 00:09:00 Learning through mistakes and surviving the startup years. 00:10:00 Celebrating wins and accepting positive feedback. 00:11:00 Internal criticism and confidence challenges for business owners. 00:12:00 Why beginners need different coaching than established businesses. 00:13:00 Specialized coaches versus foundational business support. 00:14:00 Timing, sequencing, and building the right skills in the right order. 00:15:00 Business growth compared to getting dressed in the correct sequence. 00:16:00 Information overload and the problem with massive course libraries. 00:17:00 Why self-paced training often goes unfinished. 00:18:00 Accountability versus unlimited access learning. 00:19:00 Mental health, productivity, and energy management. 00:20:00 Balancing business responsibilities with personal realities. 00:21:00 Entrepreneurship, parenting, and different life circumstances. 00:22:00 Family roles, support systems, and evolving expectations. 00:23:00 Relationships, support networks, and practical realities. 00:24:00 Community support and the importance of helpful people. 00:25:00 Mental health struggles and entrepreneurship. 00:26:00 Matching coaches to specific business stages and needs. 00:27:00 The family doctor versus specialist analogy. 00:28:00 Expensive coaching programs and misleading expertise. 00:29:00 Marketing skill versus actual business experience. 00:30:00 Understanding what you do not know. 00:31:00 Vetting courses and seeking trusted opinions. 00:32:00 Building support networks and leveraging expertise. 00:33:00 The value of entrepreneurial communities. 00:34:00 Networking, consistency, and finding the right platform. 00:35:00 Mental health awareness and capacity management. 00:36:00 Technology, problem solving, and relying on trusted contacts. 00:37:00 Career paths, changing directions, and personal fit. 00:38:00 Community, relationships, and entrepreneurial loneliness. 00:39:00 Reciprocity, networking, and business growth. 00:40:00 Final thoughts on learning, growth, and entrepreneurship.

From Losing Millions to Building Better Systems

Glen Poulos shares how a failed business sale wiped out millions on paper, then forced him to rebuild through fear, trust, and better customer systems. Nikki and Glen talk about sales, decision-making, customer care, and why small details can shape loyalty. Guest links: GlennPoulos.com and LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennpoulos/ https://glennpoulos.com/ https://amzn.to/3whwPh3 FULLY TIMESTAMPED SHOW NOTES 00:00 Glen introduces himself and the conversation begins. 00:30 Glen explains how he moved from government work into sales. 01:00 He starts his first company in 1991 after his employer rejects his startup idea. 01:40 Glen explains his Canadian business background and move to Orlando. 03:45 The conversation shifts to the sale of his first business. 04:20 Glen shares how the deal left him with locked shares that went to zero. 05:40 Nikki asks how he handled the emotional and financial fallout. 06:45 Glen explains that fear of poverty pushed him to act. 08:15 He uses retirement funds, calls suppliers, rebuilds trust, and starts again. 10:30 Glen reflects on focusing on what he got to keep. 11:30 Nikki shares how moving often shaped her relationship patterns. 15:00 Glen connects with the difficulty of forming long-term friendships after moving. 18:10 The conversation returns to Glen’s second Canadian company. 19:20 Glen explains how the second company became profitable quickly. 20:30 He names the core shift, becoming a pleasure to do business with. 21:30 Glen explains customer-first systems, including direct access to the owner. 23:20 He describes employee decision limits for solving customer problems. 24:30 Glen explains how accountability and trust worked together. 25:20 Nikki connects this to lost “mom and pop” customer service. 28:00 They discuss how being known by name changes the customer experience. 34:30 Glen gives small examples, candy jars, snacks, and treating visitors well. 36:15 Nikki shares a client gift story tied to relationship-building. 37:30 Glen closes with his book, Never Sit in the Lobby, and LinkedIn.

The Real Cost of Trying to Do Everything Yourself

Alyssa Wolf shares how time pressure, not time itself, creates overwhelm in life and business. The conversation breaks down mental load, unrealistic expectations, and why chaos often comes from missing systems, not lack of effort. Nikki and Alyssa connect personal structure with business operations, showing how boundaries, prioritization, and simple processes reduce stress and improve clarity. Website: https://yourunbusylife.com/ Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-unbusy-mom-time-management-for-work-at-home-moms/id1601873433 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alyssa-wolff-unbusy FULLY TIMESTAMPED SHOW NOTES 00:00 – Alyssa’s unexpected start Alyssa shares how having “too much time” with five kids led her into business and time management work. 02:30 – Time vs pressure Discussion shifts to how overwhelm is not about workload, but internal pressure and expectations. 04:00 – The mental load problem Alyssa explains the “I should” loop and how it creates constant stress regardless of circumstances. 06:00 – Redefining roles at home Letting go of traditional expectations and training kids to take ownership of responsibilities. 08:30 – Outsourcing and boundaries The emotional resistance behind asking for help and redefining what “good” looks like. 11:00 – What is enough time with your kids Breaking unrealistic expectations around quality time and finding sustainable ways to connect. 13:00 – Practical connection strategies Using simple activities like card games to maintain consistent engagement without burnout. 16:00 – Sensory overload and environment control Conversation around sound sensitivity and how environment impacts mental state. 19:00 – Scheduling as a mental health tool Reframing scheduling from restriction to intentional life design. 21:00 – Protecting personal time Why self-care needs to be scheduled with the same priority as work. 24:00 – Business chaos explained Shift into operations, why chaos is usually a structure problem, not a motivation issue. 26:00 – SOPs and system thinking Importance of documenting processes before problems hit. 30:00 – Crisis vs process thinking Why people fail to document systems because they are always in reactive mode. 33:00 – Triage in business Understanding what actually needs attention now vs later. 34:00 – Client boundaries Not every urgent request is your responsibility. 36:00 – Prioritization and workload clarity Separating real urgency from perceived urgency. 40:00 – Handling team gaps and absence How systems prevent collapse when a key person is unavailable. 41:00 – When to hire help Recognizing when you are past capacity and need support. 44:00 – SOPs before hiring Why documentation must exist before bringing on support roles. 45:00 – Identifying the real bottleneck Is it time, resistance, or lack of knowledge. 46:00 – Final takeaway Fix the most frustrating problem first to create immediate relief.