Fundraising, Bubble Baths, and Everything in Between: Lacey Kempinski on Finding Balance
"When you trust in this vision that you have and you put yourself out there, eventually, you start to get known for it“-Lacey Kempinski
Fundraising, Bubble Baths, and Everything in Between: Lacey Kempinski on Finding Balance
Get ready to be inspired by the latest episode of the Confessions Podcast featuring Lacey Kempinski, founder of the Balanced Good. Lacey shares her inspiring journey of pivoting from a career in fundraising plans to creating a new and innovative service in the nonprofit sector. Through persistence and leveraging her relationships, Lacey stuck to her path and her patience paid off. Join us as we delve into Lacey's story and discover how she found her calling in helping organizations navigate the complexities of parental leave.
Highlights:
How Lacey started consulting
Balanced Good’s unique offer and service
A fundraiser’s approach to creating her own marketing strategy
Building relationships and growing her network
Lacey as a leader in her own consulting business
Connect with Lacey Kempinski:
Lacey Kempinski (Linkedin): https://ca.linkedin.com/in/laceykempinski
Balanced Good (Website): https://balancedgood.com/
Balanced Good (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/balancedgood/
Find Us Online: https://www.confessionswithjessandcindy.com/
Connect with Cindy:
Cindy Wagman Coaching https://cindywagman.com/
The Good Partnership https://www.thegoodpartnership.com/
Connect with Jess:
Out In the Boons: https://www.outintheboons.me
Transcript:
00:00:00 Cindy: Welcome to the Confessions Podcast. I'm Cindy Wagman.
00:00:03 Jess: And I'm Jess Campbell. We're two former in-house nonprofit pros turned coaches and consultants to purpose-driven organizations.
00:00:11 Cindy: After years of building up our separate six figure businesses from scratch, we've thrown a lot of spaghetti at the wall and have lived to see what sticks.
00:00:20 Jess: We're on a mission to help other non-profit coaches and consultants looking to start or scale their own businesses past the six figure mark by pulling back the curtain.
00:00:30 Cindy: Whether you're still working inside a nonprofit and thinking of one day going out on your own or you've been running your consulting business for years, you understand that working with nonprofits is just different. We're giving you access to the business leaders who serve nonprofits as their clients. You know the people who truly get it.
00:00:52 Jess: No more gatekeeping, no more secrets. This podcast is going to give you an inside look at what running a successful nonprofit coaching and consulting business looks like. Basically, we're asking people how much money they make, how they get paid, and what has and hasn't worked in their businesses.
00:01:11 Cindy: Listen in as these leaders share their insights, their numbers, and the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to building a nonprofit coaching or consulting business. We're gonna empower you to make the power moves that give you the income and freedom you set out to create from day one.
00:01:28 Jess: You ready? Let's go.
00:01:31 Cindy: So, Lacey, you have been consistent in doing the work and really creating a new service in our sector. There have been times where I'm sure it's felt so far away or intangible like you're doing all this work and not seeing the results. I want you to tell us about that feeling when you maybe can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
00:02:00 Lacey: Yeah. So how many times have I wanted to throw in the towel? Is that what you're asking? Because yes, there's definitely been a lot of times like creating a new service, something that nobody's heard of in a sector that is like super conservative, that wants to ask board approval for every new thing is scared to innovate. Yeah, it's been challenging. I remember speaking with... I don't know if it was you, Cindy, or another one of our friends about, I don't know, maybe I should just give up and just go back to freelancing and doing the work that I was doing, which is just kind of building fundraising plans. And not to compare myself to Steve Jobs, but she said, if you've read Steve Jobs's biography, he wanted to give up too. And it was just on that cusp of giving up that something happened. And that is after we had that conversation, I came back home a week later in my emails, I got an email from somebody saying I have a parental leave and I heard I should contact you. And I was just like it's happening. Ah, this is so exciting.
00:03:08 Cindy: I love that it's so happening.
00:03:13 Lacey: [crosstalk] happening.
00:03:13 Cindy: Oh my goodness. Welcome to the podcast, Lacey, for those tuning in. Jess and I are so thrilled to be chatting with Lacey Kempinski from Balanced Good. And let's talk a little bit about what that sort of newly defined category of service or you know, something you completely innovated in the sector. Tell us a little bit about your journey. I mean, I've known you for so many years, so I feel like I've followed the journey all along. But for those who don't know, you know, when did you start consulting? What were you doing and how has that changed over the years?
00:03:47 Lacey: For sure. So consulting for me started because of my kids. I think so many like both of you, right? Like and so many consultants, I wanted flexibility and autonomy. But that came as a big surprise for me. I was one of those like in-house fundraisers that was like, I'm going to be CEO of a hospital foundation and nobody's gonna stop me, right? So I did all the things, got the CFRE, did all the volunteering, checked all the boxes, and then after my second son I realized like, whoa, this vision of who I want to be or who I thought wanted to be is not aligning with the parent I want to be. So I decided to make a change. And for those who know me, I'm super type A, like I wanted to plan all the things, but I had two young kids. I knew I couldn't go back to work, so I just said I'm gonna do it. I didn't know what it was, but I was just going to consult.
00:04:43 Lacey: And so I started freelancing basically like going in and helping people set up fundraising plans. What happened though is I realized all of the leaders mostly were women, all who were also being pulled away from their children, all who also couldn't do this work. And they were fundraising from the corner of their desk. So I thought, okay, maybe I can help them give them back some time by doing some work for them. And that was working, but there was just something still not, I don't know, like sparking joy, right? Like there was something that just wasn't hitting. And so I ended up covering a parental leave and this was at the same time, Cindy, that I was doing the coaching with you and it was going really well. One of my team members was leading it. They were super happy. We were hitting all the deliverables, things were great. And then Cindy, you said to me what if you just did parental leaves? And I remember that feeling like I had goosebumps when you said it, the whole like group of us 'cuz it was on a group coaching call. We're like, "What?" Yes, this is a genius. And I was like, "Can I do that?" Yeah. That's my brand. That's who I am. All I've been talking about is my journey of motherhood and parenthood and how this all aligns. So then I literally just like jumping into consulting, I just jumped into parental leave coverage. And so that's what we've been focused on for the last two years is covering parental leaves in the sector.
00:06:10 Jess: And that ladies and gentlemen is why they pay Cindy Wagman the big bucks.
00:06:13 Lacey: Well, exactly.
00:06:15 Cindy: Can I just say the funny thing is I felt like that was underneath in your like I felt like that was in you all along. For as long as I've known you, I'm like, I really just feel like I put a mirror up and was like, what? Why? Why have you not done this yet? So it was always there. But yes, you can pay me money to coach you.
00:06:36 Jess: Right. But I mean, sometimes it's hard for us to see what's right in front of us. Okay. So tell the fine folks listening in. How exactly do you get paid?
00:06:45 Lacey: How do I get paid? Well, clients come to Balanced Good to cover a parental leave. So that looks really different in Canada than the states. In Canada we're 12 to 18 months paid parental leave. I like wanna hide when I say that, but you know, we're also really proud of that. That leaves a huge gap, right? But then also in the states, our colleagues, depending state by state, but there's six weeks for four months, six months, all different types of leave. So a nonprofits come to us when they need to fill a leave. What I do is work with them to define what deliverables need to happen in that year and create a plan. And then one of the Balanced Good team members or one of our partners, cuz I work with a lot of consulting partners to help fill the gaps, come in and we do the work. So how I get paid is we do a monthly retainer to provide the services for our clients with the contract for the entire leave. So it's typically either a 14 month contract if it's a 12 month leave because we do a month overlap on each side. Or you know, depending on if it's a client in the States, then it's a little bit shorter. But yeah, that's how it works. And so the pay, we say our program starts at $4,750 a month for our clients, but that changes depending on the deliverables. If there's direct reports in the role, what type of responsibilities, all of these factors. So it really is a customized quote based on the deliverables we need to achieve.
00:08:17 Cindy: Love it. Okay. I wanna go back to that first question, which is like you made this decision, you're like all in, we're gonna do parental leave or coverage, and then you started working on it and you were working on it and working on it. How long did it take? And there's two questions in here. How long did it take? But also what did you do? What were... what did you find effective in helping you be known for doing this particular work?
00:08:51 Lacey: So, good questions. A couple things. So the first thing was when we made this decision, well, when I made the decision and like my team was surrounded with me and said yeah, we love this. We were already filling a leave at that time. So then all of a sudden we went from this is cool work that we're doing to, hey, this is our first case study, right? Let's streamline things. Let's look at how things are working and let's look at how things aren't working so we can use this model for other clients. So that was about halfway through that contract. So the following six months we were so excited to test things out and track things. And then we were also really lucky that we have a client that we love with all of our hearts, who is our anchor client, who is not a parental leave, it is actually a capital campaign.
00:09:39 Lacey: This client, and they know this too, is allowing us to push forward on this project as well, right? We know that we have the steady and important work that we're doing for them. And now as that has been winding down, I'm able to really focus on parental leave. So we had that first parental leave and then I would say it took about another six months before we got another parental leave. So that was hard, right? There was a lot of doubt. We did do a couple other projects, but I fully stopped promoting any other projects I was doing. Like after we determined Cindy that we were like, that I was going to do parental leave, I redid my website, I did all of my copy, I did it all, I just went totally in on it. I think, honestly, I think my husband was super concerned. He's like, "You just started a business, what are you doing? You just... you're redoing it now." I'm like, "I know this is gonna work," and I just, you know, totally trusted that it was gonna work.
00:10:44 Jess: So outside of your kind of messaging and branding, what other steps did you take to really pivot? Like people being aware that you no longer do this kind of fundraising capital campaign work and now you're going all in and mat leave. Can you talk to us about that? I mean, without giving the answer away, I think you leveraged your relationships and I didn't know if there was a specific strategy or you were just like anyone…
00:11:09 Lacey: Yeah. A little bit of everything, right? So yes, definitely leverage relationships, network. I let all of my closest peers know first and and also bounce the idea off of them, right? Like said like, "Hey, you've been in the sector for a while. Do you think this will fly?" Right? And you know, we know that from fundraising, if you ask for support and guidance, you're gonna get supporters. So that's what I did. So I did that. Obviously social media was great. I mean, that's not the be all and end all. I really didn't want to and did not launch an email list for a long time. And we can talk about that a bit later 'cuz I was very determined not to do that at first. And then the thing with parental leaves that is really cool is there's job postings for them all of the time. And even though I did not wanna seem coldy and spammy, I had to put myself out there. So to all of these postings, I sent them personalized videos saying like, "Hey, this is what I do. Have you heard about this? And check out my LinkedIn for more information." All of these things. I developed one pagers that talked about it. And you know, and then I started to build like different, you know, it had an opt-in on my website, but it actually didn't go anywhere until I started working with you, Jess. So again, once I've got connected my opt-ins to my email list, things started to build as well.
00:12:38 Jess: Baby steps. Baby steps.
00:12:41 Lacey: Exactly.
00:12:42 Jess: And it's connected now. I just really wanna like red underline highlight circle with the dark pen, what you just said about doing some of those things that are not scalable. The things like sending personalized messages or recording videos or sending one pagers one by one by one. I hear so many nonprofit consultants struggling on the workload front, the leads coming in and they think that I think maybe posting on LinkedIn even a lot of times a week is sufficient, but what you were doing is like laying the pavement. Is that the phrase? Laying the groundwork to build relationships with people, you know, shows your personality and your dedication to your craft. And I just really wanna commend you for that because that's not easy work. It's slow work and it's the long game work and okay, now we need to hear about how some of it has paid off before we pivot into some of my other nosy questions. So what have been some of the results? What... like six, nine months later,
00:13:45 Lacey: What am I... I'm probably 18 months to two years now post this full total transition. So right now we're covering five parental leaves, which is super exciting. So it's definitely happening in my email today, I had two random people I've never met email me saying, "Hey, I hear you cover parental leaves. Can we schedule a call to learn more?" Like, so it really is happening. And I think this is the thing is when you focus, when you niche down, when you trust in this vision that you have and you put yourself out there, eventually, you start to get known for it, right? And so that's what I've focused on this whole time and I feel like it is starting to pay off.
00:14:30 Lacey: You know, when you have a parental leave connect with Balanced Good, right? And whether or not if Balanced, like if we can't help you, I suggest, okay, you know what, actually it's probably not the right fit, but here go here, let's get you covered because, and I say this to all of my potential clients, I'm okay with being your plan B. If plan A is that you fill the role with a qualified person that wants to commit to it for a one year contract, that's great. That's fantastic. Do not not fill it, right? You need to make sure you fill this role, so we'll be plan B. And that's totally fine with that.
00:15:04 Cindy: I love that. And I just wanna also sort of come back to this point of that colder outreach or like what's so unique about your opportunity, as you said, is knowing when someone's looking for your services. I think that's what we all struggle with is how do I know when's the right time to get in front of clients? And that sort of colder one-on-one, not necessarily scalable outreach works because you have such clear indicators that it's the right time to serve people. So, I just, I love that.
00:15:37 Lacey: So can I just say like, it also sometimes feels a little bit creepy when I'm at networking events and I see somebody with a baby bump. I'm like, "I'm gonna go sit beside... What's your organization's plan to cover your parental leave?" But really, a lot of organizations aren't thinking about it. So I'm capitalizing on this. Failure to act for nonprofits, right?
00:15:59 Cindy: Yeah. And not just that, like for someone who might be expecting or preparing for that parental leave, it's a source of stress. So even if they're, you know, yeah. Even if you go and introduce yourself to everyone who's pregnant, which I don't really do. It's like I'm here to help. Like you're actually serving them in such a meaningful way and we don't have to go into all the details, but like a lot of people, this is a very pivotal, pivotal time in people's careers and to have that support and backup actually is huge. But I don't wanna dive into all that. I really do wanna talk about email. And I know Jess does, too. Because as you've worked with me around the strategy, you've also been working with Jess around building your email list and being really consistent in that I get your emails, which is awesome. So I want to ask a little bit about the strategy and then I have lots of other questions and I know Jess’s too. So let's talk about why now you have, because I, you have told me in the past, you're like I don't wanna be in people's inbox. I don't wanna be another email marketing list that they subscribe to. What changed?
00:17:22 Lacey: I think realizing maybe that people want to hear about what I'm doing, right? And that's really hard to say out loud, right? What I'm doing is super important and people care about it, right? So also I think it's good to be able to pull on a list when I need to, right? So if we do have a client gap and I can say like, "Hey, we have opening for a parental leave. Do you know somebody who is expecting? Do you know somebody who is looking to fill this role?" Having that is good. I think I didn't want to do it because I didn't want... My whole vision is that life is busy and I don't want to like clutter and I want to keep this, there's no balance, but there's some sort of chaotic blend and I wanna keep that.
00:18:11 Lacey: But then I realized people can opt out if they don't wanna hear from me. But the people that want to hear from me will opt in and stay opting in. And honestly, some of the... all of the responses and replies I get from my email list make my heart so happy. So now it feels selfish cuz like people are emailing me, telling me about their experiences with parental leave and I'm really building real relationships. Again, it's that back and forth legwork that takes work, but it's going to help.
00:18:41 Jess: All right, Lacey, we're back for another round of our rapid fire questions with Jess and Cindy, you ready to play?
00:18:48 Lacey: Oh yeah.
00:18:49 Jess: Okay. So you just mentioned on the show that you are moving to your remote cabin. Are you handy? And if so, what is your favorite tool?
00:19:01 Lacey: Hmm. I just used the saws all this weekend, so yes, I'm handy. My husband is very handy. He's building like hand building our cabinets and everything. So yeah, I get in there. The only thing is that we also have three kids running around in the background. So, you know, I can't be using the saw all the time, but yes,
00:19:20 Jess: A saw that's advanced. That's very cool. Okay, so you just said you have three kids, I think you have animals as well. I imagine as an entrepreneur you might crave some self care. What does Lacy do for self-care?
00:19:36 Lacey: I love a good bubble bath. I love a good chamomile of tea and I love a good glass of red wine.
00:19:45 Jess: Same. Same. Okay. And then as you said at this top of our show, the kind of ignition for even starting Balanced Good was the fact that you became a mom. I know it's your number one job. What is the most recent or funny thing that one of your kids said to you that just made you go like, yeah, this is why we have kids?
00:20:05 Lacey: Okay. So we were up at the cottage this weekend working on things and I told Lauren, our youngest, who's two and a half, she was standing on top of a chair. I told her to get down and she looked at me and said, "Mommy, stop trying to control my life."
00:20:21 Jess: Spicy mink.
00:20:22 Lacey: I have no idea where she got that from.
00:20:25 Jess: I love it. I love it. Alright, thanks for playing.
00:20:22 Lacey: Thanks.
00:20:32 Cindy: We're gonna dive into this, but I also wanna, as someone who's been in your personal network, I very distinctly remember receiving an email from you. I was like, "Hey buddy," I'm sure I said something's different. "I'm going to be starting an email list. Would you like to opt in?" And I think that first hurdle, so many consultants get really uncomfortable with like where do I start and how do I get, how do I opt people in or get their permission to add them to the list from my existing network. So can you tell me about what that was like for you? I know, I'm sure Jess coached you through that and what were the results? How many people did you... I guess, start with on your email list?
00:21:22 Lacey: Yeah. So yes, it was all because of Jess, so thank you Jess. But like putting together that template to be able to say it in a way that also sounded like me. You really do have a way with words that you put together this template, but it sounded like me. And so I felt comfortable sending this to people. And that I also thought, well if my colleagues and peers sent this to me yeah, 100% I would support them. So it's the same. I feel like in consulting, you have this joyfulness that you get to pick who's in your circle and I pick people that care and then they care in return, right? Then I care and return. So that's great.
00:22:06 Lacey: When I first sent out that email, I remember just like watching because I opted in to get the subscription notices cause I was super excited and I think I resulted in like 30 or 40, which was good. Okay, did I daydream about it? Maybe resulting in like hundreds of thousands because everybody forwarded it to everybody. Sure. But you know, I think that was a really good win. And then just slowly by, I had like, I had funnel builders, I had opt-in options, I had downloadable checklists that were literally, these people were getting them and their emails were going into the abyss. Like they never heard from me again. That's actually really cringey because that's awful customer service. So now I just send like a cute little message being like, "Hey, just wanted to check in. Do you have questions? I know when I was planning my mat leave, I was a mess. So I'm here for you." Right? And now I'm building a list and now my list is over a hundred, which is exciting. Yeah. It's still so exciting. It's growing and that's what matters.
00:23:09 Jess: Well I think the thing is that you are doing all the things you're learning as you go with a hundred people versus 10,000 people and it's way safer and more comfortable to quote unquote make mistakes or like forget to tag at first name when you've got, you know, a few hundred people than when it's thousands and thousands. And I wish I saw more nonprofit consultants being brave like you going for it? People don't realize when I was obsessed about growing my email list to a thousand people. I tell this story probably too much, but I would track in my phone, I had nine subscribers. Next week I had 13 subscribers, then 17. And it took me 18 months to grow that thing to above a thousand. So it was not fast, it was not easy. But like I showed up with gusto whether there were 17 people on the email list or 1700. And I think that by you putting in the reps now when you do grow your list to a thousand, 3000, 8,000 people, it's gonna be like easy peasy lemon squeezy because you've been doing it regardless, you know, and you're showing up in people's inboxes. And I'm just so proud of you because a lot of people would go, "Oh, I only have 72 people. I'm not wasting my time with that."
00:24:28 Lacey: I know because it feels funny. But then like I say, I get one reply from one person that makes my day, right? So it's totally worth it. Plus like, I don't know, this is just maybe how my brain works. Now, anytime things happen I'm like, "Ooh, that's an email. That's a story for my email." Right? And I love that. Like it's fun.
00:24:47 Jess: I love that for you. I love that so much that makes---
00:24:51 Lacey: Yeah, I'm literally visualizing what I'm writing while things are happening. And that's... I think it's also selfishly fueling this creative fun side of my business that I didn't really have otherwise. So it's fun.
00:25:05 Jess: I love it so much. Okay. I want to kind of turn the conversation a bit towards the fact that I know folks listening in. I feel like roughly half of our audience is a type of consultant that works on these larger scale proposal style. RFP land. Lots of conversations to close the deal. Maybe lots of approval processes. I feel like that's kind of your client, right? Like you're not selling some $6,000 package that like one person gets to say yes and they swipe a credit card. This is like an investment as it should be. And I have never worked in that world. And so I feel like sometimes I don't know what I don't know. And so I'd love for you just to talk through like for that 50% of folks that are probably listening into this. How do you approach marketing in sales? What are some of the common objections and how do you solve for those? What is like a realistic timeframe of initial conversation you sending that LinkedIn message to actually closing the deal or even starting on the project? Walk me into your world a little bit cause it's just... I am unfamiliar.
00:26:24 Lacey: Yeah. So I love this because as a former major gift fundraiser, it's like I'm applying all of these like theories of major gifts to my network and my sales building, right? So I need to put in the work. It needs to be some of that one-on-one more strong relationship building. And that's the same with any large type of contract where it is really a high investment, right? Where board approval is needed, where probably multiple interviews, like usually I have a discovery call and then I'm meeting with HR or a director or a CEO and sometimes with a board member because it's new, because it's innovative. So also having patience for that. But similarly to major gifts, it's about this thought that, you know, this hard work does pay off, right? So putting in that time and that energy usually results in a client.
00:27:18 Lacey: Sometimes... yeah. Are you crying a little bit cuz you've just had five meetings and they've said they're gonna go a different way? For sure. And that happens, right? But you know, just putting in that work. Now, I will say because my work is parental focused, there's a timeline, right? So there's a deadline where they need somebody. So there's a little bit more push. Plus again, I'm lucky with this model that there's already a budget line too, right? Because it's somebody's role, so they already have that allocated. Plus if my quote's a little bit higher, then the role they're saving money on payroll source deductions and different taxes, benefits, pension, any of those benefits. So there's all of those pieces that make mine offering a bit more unique than other consultants that might have a larger offering. But I would say to any of them it's that patience. It's that long game. It's that building that relationship that's key.
00:28:19 Cindy: Awesome. Okay. You mentioned that they have the budget. One of the things I'd love for you to talk about is do you ask for their budget? Do you tie your pricing even though you tire pricing to what they would typically pay for someone? Because I imagine the seniority of positions you cover is different. And I think you mentioned at the beginning you have a starting price. How do you have, what do you do and how do you have the conversation to let them know that that's what they're what the quote is?
00:29:00 Lacey: Yeah, so I'm always super direct and transparent about pricing because if I say it starts at $4,750 a month, then that's not in their budget, then it's not gonna work, right? Like I can't execute for less than that. You know, when I say like ultimately you're not just getting one person filling the role, you kind of get... we joke at Balanced Good, but it's like this fundraising superhuman, right? We have all of these... We have a team that we pull on and that can help us get projects done way quicker than just one person if and when needed. Again, it's beneficial because my clients are also essentially posting their budget because when they're posting the salary range on their role, they're saying here's our budget. And so I say, okay, well does that line with the amount of work it's gonna take for me to execute this role?
00:29:46 Lacey: And it's a little bit of guessing. And you know, there's also like we price on values based and we are deliverable based. We don't have an hourly rate. That's really hard to wrap my head around sometimes. But I keep pushing for that because I know that's how I should be pricing, right? But you know, we have set office hours for our clients so each client knows they can expect us Tuesdays and Thursdays that are my days with you. I'll still check my emails because we take on internal emails for our clients. We'll still check them daily at the beginning and end of the day if there's anything urgent. If it's not urgent, we'll respond in office hours, right? So we've built all of this as we've learned. And we say all of that when we present a contract, right? So I think we just go in with confidence. I don't know if that really answers your question or I did a bit of rambling too.
00:30:37 Jess: No, that was helpful. Super helpful. Okay. You talked a little bit about, you said we quite a few times, let's hear who this we is. Talk to us about your team and what that looks like. And it's tricky, right? Because I know that you have this kind of delicate ebb and flow based on projects that come up. So calling in work, letting go of people like that seems like I said delicate. So talk to us through how you balance everything at Balanced Good.
00:31:08 Lacey: Honestly, it's super scary, right? Like what were things easier when it was just me freelancing 100%. But I love the women that I work with and they are really like... I just feel like we're all equals and it's awesome. So we're a team of four. And knock on wood, I've had no turnover to date. It's going to happen. I know it will at some point for hopefully positive reasons that they find something that really sparks their joy even more, or whatever it is. But for now, things have been really good. Like you said, it is scary or you know, cuz now you're making payroll. But the benefit is too, that balanced good clients are being served while I'm playing with my kids. How cool is that? When I see emails coming through and I'm like, "Oh, this project's done, this project's done." I'm like, I didn't do any of that because I have incredible people that I trust that are working for me and with me. Now, the thing is, and like I'm gonna be super transparent about this, for the longest time my team members were making more than me. And that was an investment I made in my company and like, it was hard, right? But I knew I wanted extra time with my kids more than anything. And to have that, I needed people who knew what they were doing. So that's who I brought in and that was the investment in the business. And you know, as the business grows then that then my like vision is being met and that, you know, that's what I'm excited about.
00:32:43 Jess: You're such a badass. I'm so [Rea Wong], our friend turned me onto this book called 10 times Easier than Two Times. I'm listening to it. It's currently like, I'm obsessed and it's all I can think about. And I feel like you are the epitome of this book. Like going all in, like making investments that are gonna pay off down the road. Niche-ing, focusing. Now as I read this book, I'm just gonna picture you, Lacey, because, and I'll send you the book because I feel like you would also get extra out of it, but you're just doing it naturally because all those things that you just said are so brave. I don't know that I would pay my staff more than myself to like ramp up. That is crazy and impressive. So all of it's impressive. I'm wildly impressed. Okay. As you know on this show, we get real with our confessions. So for our final question, what is, what is yours?
00:33:48 Lacey: That I suck at balancing things? Honestly, I feel good.
00:33:48 Jess: It's so good.
00:33:54 Lacey: I feel like my business name is Balanced Good, but let's be real. I have three kids under the age of seven. I have a business, we have a team of four. We have an off-grid cottage that we're slowly turning into our home that we wanna live at permanently. There's so many things on my plate that sometimes I know that my plate is overflowing and I'm not good at balancing it. But I surround myself with people who try to keep me in check and say whoa, you can't do all that right now. We were just gonna, this is just an example, an entrepreneur example of this is you can do this. I was just gonna launch a VIP day. I can't. I have no bandwidth, I have no capacity. It can't happen right now. And I sent that out to my team and they all started celebrating. Cause they're like, you realized on your own you can't do it. So yes, I suck at balancing, but my company is called Balanced Good
00:34:46 Cindy: I love that. But also, like, just for a second, the list of accomplishments you just listed off, like the fact that you still have space around the margins, even though you're busy, like can relative to the amount that you've accomplished and the things that you do, like you can make it all work. And that also is balance and yes, say no to things. Ooh. That is so, so powerful. So, so, so powerful. That's a whole other conversation.
00:35:22 Jess: I guess there's something else I'm really bad at. So hence why I'm reading the book.
00:35:26 Cindy: Yeah. But, it is this that's I'm going through that exercise right now of trimming off things that don't align with where I'm going. And I feel like Lacey, that is something that you're now really well versed at having made that huge transition and being really focused. So kudos, you're an inspiration and role model to all of us.
00:35:50 Lacey: Thanks.
00:35:51 Cindy: Where can our listeners connect with you?
00:35:54 Lacey: For sure. So I'm on LinkedIn at Lacey Kempinsky and Balanced Good. We have an Instagram @BalancedGood. Check out our website, balancedgood.com. Also, I will send along some freebies in the show notes, which is our parental leave planning workbook. So if listeners wanna grab that, if it's gonna be helpful for their clients or whatnot, you know, feel free to do that.
00:36:19 Cindy: Yeah. Well your next frontier will be, consultants and their mat leaves because there's a lot of--
00:36:26 Jess: It's starting. It's starting. Yes.
00:36:30 Cindy: So worth mentioning if you are struggling to figure out what's going on with your business, and you are expecting and you're a fundraiser. Lacey is a great person to connect with.
00:36:43 Lacey: Yes. I'd love to chat.
00:36:44 Cindy: Yeah. Thank you so, so much.
00:36:43 Lacey: Thank you. [inaudible] with you.
00:36:49 Jess: Likewise.
00:36:53 Cindy: Thank you again for listening to the Confessions Podcast for nonprofit coaches and consultants. If you enjoyed today's episode, which I sure hope you did, you can show your support in one of three ways.-
00:37:04 Jess: Number one, post the screenshot of this episode to your Instagram stories or LinkedIn profile and tag Cindy enough so we can repost you.
00:37:13 Cindy: Number two, share this podcast with a fellow nonprofit culture consultant.
00:37:17 Jess: And number three, leave a positive review on Apple Podcasts so that we can continue to grow and reach new listeners.
00:37:23 Cindy: And of course, make sure you subscribe so you can get the latest and greatest interviews as they drop every Thursday.
00:37:30 Jess: And to our fellow non-profit coaching and consulting friends, remember we're an open book and here to answer your burning biz questions.
00:37:38 Cindy: See you next time.