Exclusive Interview With Jordan Schanda King – Business Strategist And Contract COO
- Jan 24, 2022
- 5 min read
Founder of Easy Scaling, Jordan King is what some might call a serial entrepreneur. After starting and selling her first business nearly a decade ago, Jordan now works as a business strategist and contract COO, helping female founders scale without burning out so that they can build sustainable businesses that they love.
Jordan leads by example for her clients, mixing her love of family and adventure with a love of spreadsheets and strategy. Jordan is a firm believer that you can love work *and* have a fulfilling life outside of it and she’s here to help her clients (and you!) do the same.
Jordan Schanda King, Business Strategist And Contract COO
Hey Jordan! Thanks so much for sitting down with me today, I know things can get pretty hectic. As a mom and a business owner, how are you making balance work in your life and your business?
I think it’s less about finding balance and more about finding focus.
As a mom and business owner I’m always juggling priorities, and when I try to find balance it can be difficult to feel present and truly enjoy the moment because I’m doing mental gymnastics trying to manage everything at once.
Instead, I try to prioritize focus and being present in the moment so I’m able to give every aspect of my life my full attention. It’s easier said than done, and by no means have I got it figured out, but that shift in thinking has made it easier to keep things running smoothly with so many moving parts (like a toddler!).
As far as making it all work, I’m fortunate to have people in my life who support my desire for focus. I have (multiple) coaches who I can go to for guidance in my business and my husband is naturally good at being present “in the moment”. So focus may be the key to making it all work, but I definitely wouldn’t be able to find that focus without the support system that I do have.
That is such a great perspective and it sounds like a lot of other business owners could learn something from that approach. What do you notice is the biggest sticking point for some of your clients when it comes to finding their focus in life and in business?
With almost all of my clients it comes down to asking for help. When you first start a business there is so much to learn, and because you’re new and excited (and sometimes strapped for cash) you try to do everything yourself. But, you quickly reach a point where that doesn’t make sense anymore. So a lot of my clients come to me when they’ve reached the point in their business where they are having to make difficult decisions about how to spend their time, and they don’t know who to ask for help, or sometimes they need help identifying what they need even help with.
Another sticking point for a lot of my clients is ideation. I work with brilliant, creative, and passionate women who are truly capable of anything – but they sometimes need someone to help them sift through their ideas and prioritize the ones that they should actually focus on so that they can have that space to also live their life and not just do business all the time.
Do you notice any one type of business owner or entrepreneur struggling with this more than others?
While I think all business owners struggle with this to some degree, I find that service based entrepreneurs and coaches are the most overloaded with information about what they “should” be doing. It’s frustrating to me as a business owner that we have this industry that is pushing its people so close to the edge of completely burning out. But honestly this is what makes the way that I work with my clients and the relationships that we build so impactful.
What’s the solution, then, for these business owners on the brink of burnout?
The solution is understanding that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The solution is to stop blindly consuming other people’s content and instead work closely with someone or a small group of someones who get to know you and can help you channel your ideas and create strategies that support your big picture vision. I highly recommend the book Rocket Fuel to anyone who is at the 6 going on 7-figure stage of business and is looking for something to take them to that next level. It explains the role of the visionary and the integrator and how a lot of CEOs need to bring in an integrator to be that strategic counterpart to their big picture vision and to help alleviate that feeling of burnout in a personalized and strategic way.
We know how you’re making it work now, but what’s your solution to keep the balance going? Do you have plans to continue to grow and scale your business? What is that path going to look like for you?
This agency is really in its infancy and has grown very very quickly. We are definitely more of a boutique-style agency, so the plan is to continue growing but always stay high-touch with our client experience. I am very hands-on with all of our clients and I want to keep it that way, but by leaning into our different strengths as a team and strategically growing we are going to continue scaling without losing that personal touch. I find that a lot of advice to business owners looking to scale is all about getting themselves out of the day to day operations of the company, and while I know that we are able to support other people if that is their goal, I started a service based business so that I could work and serve my clients directly, so I’m mostly excited to see how many more people we can grow to serve as time goes on.
If you had to give one piece of advice to yourself a year ago, or to another business owner who is where you were back then, what advice would you give?
Don’t wait until you’re drowning to learn how to swim. I think a lot of my success with Easy Scaling stems from the fact that I did not wait until I was overloaded to hire a team. I started this business with the intention of building a team who would support me (and my clients) from the very beginning — one that would grow with me as we added more clients. I had a lot of experience that made it possible for me to start this business with strategic team support, but for someone who is just starting out or at an earlier stage in their business journey, the best advice I can think of is to ask for help before you need it.
Aah that is amazing. Jordan, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today. Before I let you go, if someone wants to work with you or learn from you or learn more about you, what’s the best way for them to get in touch?
It was wonderful chatting with you as well! I hope everyone reading this is able to truly enjoy their business experience and remember that they do not have to go through their journey alone. They can find me through my website easyscaling.com or on instagram @jordanschandaking
