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DAY ONE intro

You're listening to a day one FM show.

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Korryn

I help solo and micro business owners feel calm and in control of the admin and tech. My aim is to be a helping hand. I help support systems so that businesses feel less overwhelming and more manageable on your terms.

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Lucy

Welcome to another episode of Mums and Co podcast, Mumbition. It's great to have you joining us today. I have the great pleasure to be speaking with Korryn Haines. She is the founder of Korryn Haines and a self-described Google Workplace and tech systems nerd, which quite frankly, makes her a dream contact for anyone about to launch a new business and an ideal business BFF for anyone who has zero idea of where to start when it comes to setting up systems.

Korryn joined us here at Mums and Co probably about three years ago, maybe longer. She has been a warm and encouraging member of our community and I have loved interacting with her on Instagram, particularly as she was building her own special home office, but we'll come to that later. Korryn’s business has also taken a couple of different turns over the last few years.

And, as well as being a mum to two young children. So an ideal guest for our series covering what it's really like to run a business while you're also a parent.

Korryn delighted to welcome you to Mumbition.

00:01:30:13 - 00:01:31:18

Korryn

Thanks for having me.

00:01:31:18 - 00:01:39:10

Lucy

Now if you could start by sharing with us how your business helps. Who do you help and how?

00:01:39:10 - 00:02:09:12

Korryn

Well, yeah. I primarily, support solo, micro business owners, who are overwhelmed by admin tech. So many of us come from corporate land, and the, first thing when you come out on your own is you don't have those admin and tech people in your back pocket, like back in corporate land. So, yeah, I've just fallen into that place, of what I used to do, I guess inside corporate land, outside of it for, small business owners.

So, yeah, I just want to help them understand the tools they're already using or, you know, so many of us are at the navigating this world and wonderful online business landscape. Just finding all these tools. But then, yeah, this bumbling our way through. So I want to be that sort of helping hand to help them understand. And as you mentioned, Google Workspace is my, obvious. I know we're not it's not supposed to say it but favourite child. And yeah, just helping, business owners understand how to use it better, how they can work smarter, not harder, and just, yeah, making it approachable and building systems on how you work. That's the key word with, with how I approach things.

00:02:57:11 - 00:03:20:09

Lucy

Yeah. There's so much gold in there. Even just listening to you sort of brings my heart rate down because, I am still in a corporate role here with Mums and Co, so we do have that tech on hand person that you can just quickly email and things like that. But one thing I was also thinking is technology and systems changed so much so quickly.

So having someone like you who is across all that detail and can navigate that for you, and as you say, having an individual plan. I'm really excited to dig into a bit of that because we all set up systems, we all think differently, right? And our way of doing processes is different. So to be able to have someone like you, to be able to help us set those things up is absolutely brilliant. You mentioned that you also worked in corporate before starting the business, but why did you actually start your first business? Because I know the one that you have now is it's slightly different to the one you started with. But why did you approach the small business journey?

00:03:59:22 - 00:04:27:21

Korryn

Yeah. So it really was a case of, being the admin person for so long in corporate land, in various environments. And having a my first child, admin is such a role in my businesses that you're sort of you're expected to be there all the time, 9 to 5, like next to the person who's supporting all that, all that sort of thing. And so when I started in 2016, I'd come back from, maternity leave. And I say that with air quotes because I was made redundant right before I found out I was pregnant. So that was, an extended, maternity leave that I wasn't, really ready for, I came back thinking, okay, I'm going to go back to working like we all do. But at the time with, I think my son was about six months old. I started doing temping because I realized, you know, that fourth trimester. So that's that that sneaks up on us. Had really, Yeah, had really taken hold. So I thought, okay, I need to ease back in because, I'm definitely not gonna operate at the level that I used to.

And, yeah, I fell into it in that I was temping with, dropping bub off. You know, first thing in the morning when you get that call with, the random calls. So, yeah, I somehow managed to get my first client without realizing it. She sort of said, come in and, help my admin learn to admin and that's just planted the seed of, if one person wants me to do this, and maybe other people want me to do this. And that's how I started. And I guess, when I'm coming out of corporate land. I sort of went, okay, you have to do it this way, this certain way. This is what businesses look like. But I very quickly realized how different small business life, the solos and the small, small businesses, where.

So, yeah, I just, started to roll with that and Google Workspace, that was my first client system that we're using. And then I went coming in Microsoft Land. I went, actually, this is pretty you know, I can see why this works. So yeah, just drill down into that and just keep following my notes as I've come along. And that's. Yeah. What are we. Oh, nine years later. So it's just kept going. Yeah.

00:06:41:16 - 00:07:08:20

Lucy

So that was really interesting, what you mentioned just then about quickly realizing how differently small business operators operate. Can you give us a bit more detail on that? Because I think some of us are approaching this idea of considering a small business, have, probably right now in a corporate job or similar. So we talk about this notion of having the freedom to start your own business, which obviously is more than just your hours. It extends to your processes, too. But what do you what are some of the like, common things that you were saying at that point with the way people were running their business? What do you mean by it was different?

00:07:21:06 - 00:07:48:04

Korryn

Well, like, my first client was a solo operator. Property developer. Had an admin person helping them at their home office. That first client was really interesting to me because I, because I'd been an admin person and forever in the day. And I went, what do you mean, teach your admin person to admin? Like, that's what you hired them for.

But once I got in there, I went, okay. So this owner has just been doing this on her own for so long, gotten the admin person in, and then realized, oh, wait, the dots aren't connecting between what how I've done things and how she does things I was bought into, I guess. I had been brought in to bring together what the business owner had done and put it into a way that the admin person could take it and run with that. And make the two work together and, oh, pat myself on the back and say, I did that. Because that client actually is still a client of mine to this day. So she has gone back into real estate since then, but that that enabled her to keep things rolling with her admin person, for a way longer, because I was able to tease out how she hit the ground running in and translated into something that someone else could then follow her up with. So, that was my first client, but second client was my ex boss that I got made from the redundant, got made redundant in that, the previous role from. And he'd gone out on his own and he was a different, and again, still my client to this day, but has a team is a construction company. Like it was a different beast, but all the principles were the same. They hit the ground running. They have this building stuff as they going, but missing that common thread. So having me to come in and help and just pick up the pieces and put it in a way that they're working again, it's because of the nature of their business and their ethos and their values. They were very different to the big corporate that I previously worked with. With them for. So, yeah, it's translating it into how they delivering not following parts corporate. This is how things are always

00:09:53:18 - 00:09:54:05

Lucy

Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. And I'm also thinking that to be in your kind of role, not only do you need to be a natural problem solver, which you obviously are, you also need to be a really great communicator because you're helping other people communicate better.

00:10:09:01 - 00:10:39:00

Korryn

That's it. And I've unknowingly, as much as I do, try to hide behind hide behind the scenes, I do, discover that. Yeah. Stepping up and meeting people where they're at and how they work is one of the key ways I do what I do so well, because I can very quickly clock if someone's and by the going too fast for them or they're using different jargon to me. So I have to figure out, okay, what's the equivalent in my brain to what they're trying to say? So and that's something that's. Yeah. You, you don't realize until you look back and go, oh, that's what's happening there. 

00:10:53:19 - 00:10:54:20

Lucy

Super interesting. Yeah. Going at your own pace, I love that. So let's take it back to you a little bit more now. What do you think keeps you in flow? So you mentioned you've been in small business for nine years. That is no small feat. So congratulations. That's a very big milestone. But what's something that that motivates you to keep?.To keep that flow in business.

00:11:19:15 - 00:11:46:22

Korryn

Funnily enough, right now I'm in this re learning space. And you did mention, like, my business has changed since I started, and I guess I'm going through another phase of that because the landscape has changed significantly. So, yeah, I'm definitely relearning at the moment what, how I can bring value and still, on my own, where I'm at.

Because, look, I now have a ten and seven year old, and that's very different to back in those days of having long daycare, I never knew I would actually miss those long daycare moments, to be honest, because we are in Queensland right now, we're in school holidays, thankfully. Often the kids are like, yes, let's go play with our friends and I'm like, good stuff. So for me, it really is about finding a core list of all core focuses and sticking to them. Working for ourselves. It is so, so easy to go after the shiny objects. And that's something we've come across a lot for clients, too. Is they're like, oh, you know, I've been told this is the bees knees business system that, I should put it in.

And this will make my life easier when if it doesn't work for the way you work or there's much more upkeep in it, you're not going to maintain it. So, and especially for me, I love tech, I love playing, I love exploring the systems and options. But there also has to be a line where you go, actually, no, put that down. And this is what works. So yeah, finding that that lane and sticking to it, and also biggest thing is I love when I've worked with someone, I see that light bulb go off and they go from, this is too hard to yeah, I got this. That's that for me is like, that's I guess I've think I've heard that I've read recently is my north star. Keeping that in mind and helping people feel confident. 

00:13:45:20 - 00:14:14:09

Lucy

Love that. And kind of related to that. But if there was one lesson or tip that you could share to someone who is at the very early stages of building their own business, or even just considering one about creating a system, what would be your advice there? Like from the beginning, what would you like if you could, if you were in that position where you were like, okay, I'm going to start from today and I'm going to start measuring up my systems. What would be your advice?

00:14:17:19 - 00:14:46:08

Korryn

Funnily enough, nine years in, I haven't deviated very far from where I started. And that's coming from someone who accidentally had a business. So I and I've, I've gone over this over the years in various formats. When I've created my workshops and things and teaching, it's I look at things with the core four core areas of operations marketing, sales and delivery. And you build what you need around those four key areas. And that is a really good baseline because your operations such a day to day look, how are you going to be running your day to day. And that can look so different for every single business. I sort of tend to stay in the server space. Providers space rather than ecom, but that principle stays the same.

How are you running? Marketing, you know, as it's funny, because I've got a business degree and a marketing degree, and, I got that degree way back before social media even was a thing. And it's just such a key component of business, whether you like it or not, whether you're you think you're big enough to be a, you know, have a marketing budget, you do you that's something a core consideration, that's a core. And so many of us spend so much time doing, so having, you know, having a structure for that sales again, I hate sales.  I but yeah, I've gotten better. But again, it's how you bringing people in, how you nurture them, how you're delivering what you're going to deliver. Like bringing them into your space. So and there's a whole core thing around that as well. It doesn't have to be huge, but just being mindful of, okay, this is what I need to do with this part of the process. And then delivery how you're delivering and just those four pillars of okay, I need systems to support those areas. And starting from there, and I'm not big on saying, oh, you have to have this process and structure in this. But somehow that's what I did at the start. 

00:16:36:15 - 00:17:00:02

Lucy

I love that. So it's a really. It's a really simple four step blueprint in a way, isn't it? Those four pillars. Thank you for sharing that. You mentioned before about where we were talking before about how how much, how quickly systems and technology particularly changes. And obviously now we're living in the time of like AI, which has really hit hard. How do you stay on top of all of this? Have you got any blogs or podcasts or books you'd recommend?

00:17:09:19 - 00:17:33:14

Korryn

I guess it's fallen into that, I'm relearning, I've last six months. I would say. I've definitely, pulled back a bit from being so inside the groups and the places that I used to be, in the last few years, because it's just so noisy. And I think everyone is saying that. I think everyone's feeling that overwhelm with just the information coming at you. But in my own way of also kept keep, resources on my radar. So for me, I've got a few key groups, like mums & co is one of them. Communities that I stay in. I may not be fully active in them as much as I'd like to be, but just being in those spaces of other business owners, because that's, for me, more valuable learning from your peers than from the very loud, voices out there saying, this is how I did it, and you can do it to make X amount of figures. I'm very much more learner of from my peer group because that's where you get the true. Someone uses that system the, you know, using that system now and if you throw it out there and say, hey, I'm thinking of using this, people will come and go, oh, yeah, I've used that, I liked it, I didn't like it. This is what I felt didn't work so well. And that for me is my biggest guidance on what I look at. But also, and again, I've stepped off social media so much, but things like Substack where you can actually opt in to certain, voices and get information from where you want to get it.

00:19:06:06 - 00:19:09:23

Lucy

Do you have a person on Substack you like?

Korryn

I don’t have one in particular, otherwise I loose that high level information. I also take a lot of inspiration from not necessarily people in my space. I fall into virtual industry but I take inspiration from other industries. I like to stay a little more general to see what’s going on around the place. One of my favourite groups to be in is Digital Marketing Collective with Kate Toon. That group has many different businesses with a focus on digital marketing and that sort of thing. Tech wise I don’t go specific into tech groups. I want to understand what’s going on for small Australia businesses. I like to see it through the lens of our landscape.

00:20:44:09 - 00:20:55:09

Lucy

Yeah. That's really sensible. And having the context of other people's experiences to layer on to your own as well. Anything like that. You also mentioned LinkedIn. I think I cut you off when you mentioned LinkedIn, but that's obviously. Another thing for you. 

00:21:00:00 - 00:21:10:21

Korryn

Not so much because again there are a lot of loud voices going on. But yeah, it's just spending my time very mindfully in certain places for me at the moment. So yeah.

00:21:12:01 - 00:21:41:12

Lucy

Now I want to change the course of the conversation to talking about how things work for you at home. So you're a mum of two primary aged kids. So you're a systems guru and you're working mum. So I'm going to guess that you have some really fantastic home based systems, too. And processes that you use. Is there anything that you'd be happy to share with us here about how you, you know, balance is a tricky word, isn't it?

But advice on how you do get everything done?

00:21:44:09 - 00:22:16:12

Korryn

Yeah, yeah. So. And it's actually quite funny. Right now, in this at this moment in time. We're in school holidays right now, so that balance, has well and truly gone out the window. But, one thing I have done in the past and will definitely be doing a lot more in the future, is my boundary of school holidays. I'm not one of those people that have a big, physical village local to me with the kids. So, as much as I would love that, the reality is, yeah, we, don't have, you know, the babysitters or the grandparents to drop them off, too. So that is, and it's funny because my daughter's, what, grade two now?

Yes. It was funny a year or two back when she started primary school was going. Yes. This is this is my time to shine. No. The hours greatly reduce. And so I've had to really, reassess business because, the realities that they're getting older very fast. So, navigating the kids along with the business, I've had to really take stock of that.

And, so, yeah, it's been a big process of re learning. Okay. This is going to looks different now. My hubby, he works full time and part of my building, my little, office was the fact that we were still sharing an office. What were we for using at that point after, because he, his work in not gone back full time to the to their offices after the dreaded C period.

So, yeah, it was it's very much he's still here, so I'll have to make some boundaries and figure out how to get this working better for the family. And so yeah, systems wise, like, like, I never knew I would be that person that would love, home delivered groceries so much. Very much really realising that's a massive time suck and brainpower suck for

00:24:15:16 - 00:24:17:07

Lucy

It really is, though. Like when you get them to leave it and you realize just how much time you spend.

00:24:23:21 - 00:24:48:22

Korryn

I've had an ADHD diagnosis myself recently and just that real that learning of, oh, wait, that's why you feel so exhausted after going into the shopping center, wondering like, I'm, I'm a very, direct person. Like, I do not venture down aisles. I don't need to. I have my list and I'm like, just pinned is pinned back and just go. But even that, I went, oh, hang on, that that is a massive energy drain on me. Went on for so many years, I didn't realise it. So, yeah, definitely. That's my one hack. And I as much as the cost of living situation in the whole supermarkets thing that's going on, it's a luxury, that, you know Okay, I'll. I'll grin and bear that one.A cleaner. It’s a very privileged thing to be saying, but and actually, I haven't had one for nine months now, and I'm getting I'm finding a new clean up because my last one went on their own, merry way. That has been a massive, brain drain for me as well. So just having that bit of help in the home, as tiny as it is, like, I, I don't do, yeah, I think it's once a month. It's just. Does that help to upkeep, situation? So. yeah, those are my two core things. And I've got a little ADHD, child. So we're learning together what, what processes work best for us. And it's, interesting because, he's a very he's a very structured kid in some ways. But in others, I have to recalibrate how I get him to do the things. So, but then I'm noticing that in myself, too.

Like, my husband does things a certain way, I do things a certain way. And that clash. So it's also. Yeah. Trying not to fight that so much. Now it's that understanding. Yeah, it's, I don't think I've actually given it a couple of key tips, but I’m going through a process of re learning.

00:26:42:17 - 00:26:47:03

Lucy

No. That's great. Yeah. Yes.100% And thank you for sharing that. Because I know this isn't the neurodivergent experience is something that is cropping up. So much in our community. So I really appreciate you being so open about that. The thing it sounds too, like what I'm hearing is you're going through that period of recalibration. So not only are the kids growing up and both in primary school, and I hear you on that time challenge, and I want to come back to that in a second.

But that recalibration of the age of your children and the diagnosis for you and obviously your son as well, and working out how this whole life fits for everybody in the family. The thing you mentioned right at the top there about, when the kids go off to primary school and, and you finally think, yay, I'm going to have all these uninterrupted hours and then realizing very quickly, particularly if you've had children who have been in daycare between sort of like eight and five or whatever it is, six and six or whatever it is.

That is a real shock for a lot of people. I also experienced that. And, I think it's really important to talk about this on this podcast, because I'm not sure that everyone's aware of that. I think we think when we come out of that infant and baby and toddler stage, that the challenges around our time are going to be reduced. Definitely you get more sleep. Definitely. Things are a little bit more consistent. That is true. But those school hours, and particularly the school holidays bring a real challenge to working parents. And when you have your own business, you don't necessarily have that consistency of income coming in in the same way as you do in a full time, you know, corporate or working for someone else.

So I think that's a really important thing to highlight. Is it is there anything that you've done to help? Support that in a way. And what I mean by that is so for me, I had to invest in after school care a couple of times a week for my boys to enable me to get my work done, sort of by 4:30-5:00pm. But they don't go every day. They resisted going every day pretty quickly, which was a shame. So then I've, you know, I balance that with a couple of days a week where I know they'll be home and in the door at 3 or 5 or whatever it is. So I adjust my work accordingly. Is there something that you can share that you've done?

00:29:33:18 - 00:29:59:00

Korryn

Yeah. So it's funny, because back with the kids in daycare, I was not one of those mums that had them in five days a week at all. But I think I think both of them were two days a week the whole way through. But it was just, I look back now and go, how on earth did I fit that amount of work in two days a week when I've got five days a week now, between those set hours, and I'm not getting anywhere near as much done, as I did then, and so yeah, it's been a big, a really big eye opener, actually, because I'm, I'm a pretty productive person. Like, I yeah, I, I and a lot of people keep saying I'm, you got it all happening and you're all, you're all over this reality is debatable. So, and actually, late last year, I attempted to go back to a job, like a proper part time role to try and write out those waves of inconsistent income a little bit. And I very quickly realized that I couldn't be my best self doing that kind of role, for the employer, because I was constantly just running, running, running to jam everything into the part time hours.

Because I guess it's a different thing when you're working for someone else and then rather than working for yourself. But at the same time, I've got my clients and I'm 100% there for my clients, but it is a little bit more flexible, especially with my clients, and understand the kids at home. So yeah, it was it's been very much a relook at how I work, how I deliver for my clients, and getting, boundaries in place with, okay, these are my hours. And then that and having that stuck to my own forehead to for myself of don't try and deviate out of that because it will, go sideways very fast. And my kid, both of my kids, resisted school or, school care, holiday school holiday care until I think it was last school holidays. I think that's that was the first time they both really went, oh, hang on.

Yeah. Mum needs to work. And so they started and, I think it's because they've also grown their social circles at school too. So they want to go see their friends at a holiday care because, yeah, that's just the best way for them to get it. So that's been, a big learning of, for them more so as well, because they're like, oh, wait, yeah, mum has to get this work done.

00:32:30:03 - 00:32:48:17

Lucy

Is there anything that you do to. We were talking about this, between our mums and co colleagues the other day. Is there anything you do before, you know, the kids are arriving home? So to kind of give you that in mind, break or shift gears essentially is what it is. Yeah.

00:32:51:02 - 00:33:13:19

Korryn

I'm big on my, I have been guilty of working right up until. Because I pick my kids up from school. So, I am guilty of being that last parent flying through the pick up zone. But it really is that case of having that in your diary of. Right, that is my finish time. And I try and leave like a ten, 15 minute buffer. To. Yeah, to be able to drop out of that mode, to go pick them up. And if I really have to I'm fortunate in that the kids, understand. Okay. Mum has to go out for another hour if she hasn't finished things.

And let's be honest, imperfect action. They're like, oh, iPad time, when they get home. So. But after the day that. But especially my little guy, he is holding it together all day at school. So if that's his moment of just going hard on the that for an hour while I tie things up, awesome. But yeah, I try to be very consistent with that. Okay, there's my finish time with a little gap, but and we literally five minutes from the school, so that's easy. But it is that space between coming out of that work work work work work mode and then picking the kids up and going, hey, how's your day guys? I got like, it's, it's it's a challenge, but yeah.

00:34:27:14 - 00:34:30:12

Lucy

No. Thank you for being so real. We have a similar situation at my house, and I think a lot of parents do. And I think it's really important that we normalise that. But it's, you know, it's part of it. It's part of how we make things work. So thank you so much for sharing that. Now before we wrap up the conversation, I have two last questions, but I cannot finish this podcast without talking about your amazing home office because I was watching you post that on Instagram. I think you did it as, did you do it as a fast reel or something?

00:34:59:21 - 00:35:03:16

Korryn

I had filmed it as a time lapse.

00:35:07:19 - 00:35:28:15

Lucy

Now for everyone listening, Korryn didn't just, like, get someone else to build it. She literally built it from foundation to the last lick of paint on the walls. And look, from what I can see here, it looks absolutely beautiful on the inside too. So how did you get the energy to do this? How? Tell us about that process.

00:35:29:13 - 00:35:55:20

Korryn

Hilariously. And I actually, I don't I don't think I've mentioned the ADHD diagnosis too publicly before. So high. The that was through that period of going through the diagnosis process. Sorry. I've sort of wanted to get, like I said, hobby. And I was still sharing an office, and it was really coming to that point of neither of us are getting our work done.

We're sitting across from each other all day, every day. And I went, okay, I need to find a way to make this find a space. Because, you know, the work I do, I it's it's a lot of, talking and a lot of video calls and a lot of. And my hubby works in IT, so he's the same.

And, I've looked at because, you know, we're coming at the back of Covid and all that sort of thing. So everyone was working at the dining tables and all that sort of thing. But yeah, I've, I've had it in my mind to have my own little space somehow. And we'd just finished renovating inside of our house to get an extra bedroom for my daughter so the kids can split and hubby can have the front bedroom. But, I was like, no, I need my own space. And so I looked at the prefab, dropping things and all that kind of thing, and I went, no, I don't have that kind of money whatsoever to do that. That's serious, investment. And yeah, a you YouTube videos and Instagram videos and things like I went I think give that a crack. So yeah, it really was just a case of and the hilarity that my, one of my main clients is a construction company, and they, I was actually telling them and they saw the videos too as well. They went. Yeah. So do you want to have a project manage this job? You know, at some point? No. This was self-propelled.nYeah. I've always just my, my dad was a plumber. My brother's a plumber. So they actually, my dad passed away, but my brother, he just found it so hilarious watching me build it. And he's like, not pitches, not you pitches too flat. And I'm on and I first downpour, rain, in came the water. So yeah, he sells a few phone calls to him, actually, of, okay is this right with the video camera showing him? And he's like, because he's in Adelaide. It was part insanity, part, fixing a need for my business to keep going because. Yeah. At that point, sharing the office with hubby was moving into danger territory.

00:38:19:22 - 00:38:41:00

Lucy

Korryn. Thank you so much for joining me today on this new series of my vision. I just love how real you are. And I really appreciate how much you've shared, because I know that so much of it is going to resonate with lots of different people at lots of different stages of this journey. Is there anything we've forgotten to talk about that you'd love to share?

00:38:42:22 - 00:39:04:05

Korryn

No. I guess, for biggest thing for me is, just reminding everyone. Being in business is, sometimes messy. And despite the highlight reels, and, yeah, with what I do with the work I do, I just want to also remind people that being techie, isn't, just for people who completely understand tech, it's also just getting confident in knowing that you can give it a go. Yeah. And reach out when you need help. It's, not a solo sport. 

00:39:17:21 - 00:39:19:08

Lucy

And speaking of reaching out for help, what is the best way for people to contact you if they need a fairy godmother in their life? 

00:39:26:23 - 00:39:36:09

Korryn

Well, I guess my website, On Hiatus - Korryn Haines, is probably the best place to grab me.

00:39:36:09 - 00:39:40:04

Lucy

Thank you so very much. And, we look forward to seeing you soon.

00:39:40:04 - 00:39:41:03

Korryn

Awesome. Thanks, Lucy.