Case Study: Kirsten Gibbs - The Disappearing Boss

Hey everyone, Scott Perry here, Chief Difference Maker at Creative on Purpose, with one of my rockstar clients, Kirsten Gibbs. Great to have you here. How's Kirsten today?

I'm very good, thank you. It's very nice to be called a rockstar for a change.

Well, what I'd love to start with is just tell people that are tuning in what it is that you do. Tell us a little bit about yourself and about the work that you do.

Okay, I'm Kirsten Gibbs and I run a company called The Disappearing Boss. And actually, that's kind of my mission, to help bosses to disappear from their businesses, not solely by walking away, more by blending in, if you like. So what I'm really doing is helping overloaded small business employers to transform themselves from being control freaks to disappearing boss in 5 stages that are fairly simple. And the aim is that they can have a life and build their impact-driven business into a legacy that will get much bigger than them and last much longer than them. And you can only really do that by devolving power. Downwards, away from yourself and to the rest of the team. And that's really what I help them do.

That's beautifully said. It's one of the things I loved about our work together is we're both approaching this idea of legacy, but kind of from two different angles for two different kinds of clients. And I love your, your process, and you're so masterful at the way that you help bosses do what you help them do. So what was the biggest challenge for you when, before we started working together?

I guess the biggest challenge was this whole— this thing that you must have come across so many times, which is I knew what I needed to do. I kind of knew how to do it, but not well enough perhaps to feel confident about getting on and doing it. I think that was really it. It's kind of, it's all there. It's, you know, we're coaches. We know this with our clients. It's all there. It's just taking that step to putting it into action.

What I'm hearing is in part it was just the accountability of doing the things that you knew you had to do, but also getting a little bit of support and encouragement for doing the right things in the right order at the right time.

Yes, I think that sums it up very nicely. And a little bit of clarity about how to put things. I think that's one of the things that's been really helpful, is getting clarity on how to say it, if you like.

Precisely. Well, and that the first 3 days of the program are all about how do you articulate your offer, how do you talk to and identify your audience, and then how do you together a sales success strategy where you can spend just 30 minutes a day doing that work that most of us don't like very much, which is marketing our business, so that you can spend more of your time doing the work that you love to do, which is making a difference with the clients that you work with. So was there any particular reason why you just pulled the trigger and decided that you were going to work with me to help you solve this problem?

Well, I think several things. I feel like I've known you for a very long time. Which is always good when you're looking to get help. But also I'd seen what you were doing and thought, oh, this looks good. So it's kind of like, well, let's— I know you, I trust you. It seems to be working for him. Let's have a go. So that was it.

Yeah, that's— well, I love that. And we had— in digital years, we've known each other almost since kindergarten. And I love that, you know, that you saw it wasn't just the fact that you knew, liked, and trust me because of our collisions in the akimbo world, but you also saw that there was a process that appeared to be working. And I seem to be having a little bit of fun while I was doing it. And so that, that was attractive to you. So I really, I love that share. So we worked together for the past 30 days plus or minus, what's happened for you and your coaching business since we started working together?

Well, I've been, you know, clarified what I say, got myself much more used to saying it much more frequently to the extent when I look at some of my, when I'm looking at how well the posts are doing, I'm getting fed up of seeing the same thing pop up in the, you know, these are the best performing posts. Which is a good thing because it means people are taking notice. So, and you know, I've added the habit of doing the 3 posts a week that are aimed at getting clients as opposed to what I was already doing, which was posting content that was really about me thinking out loud. So, and I think that's as far as it goes so far. But it's all looking good, you know, views have gone up, reactions have gone up. I followed your advice of reducing the number of people that I follow on LinkedIn. I went from 3,000 to 300 over the weekend and followed some really good people who are in my area of, you know, operation, if you like, and that's proving to be very helpful. So yeah, the whole thing has been really good. And I can, you know, 30 days is not enough to really make a massive difference, but I can see that it's going in the right direction.

Yeah, for sure. In my experience, once people kind of dial in their, their strategy and start to bring that level of intention and integrity to, to the way they're posting, the tempo at which they're posting at, who they're targeting and posting to. In my experience, you do see some traction in 30 days, and usually by 90 days or so, you're going to see some really significant results. So just with the progress that you've made so far, what are the essential benefits? How have things changed just in that 30 days?

I think it feels more intentional than it's been for the last year or so. And it's getting noticed. It's just getting noticed by more of the right people. In fact, I did even have not quite an inquiry, but a conversation with somebody who may become a client, you know, and that was what they actually said, "I need this, but not yet." And that came within 2 weeks of starting. This whole thing. So it's just about keeping the momentum up and saying it'll happen when it happens. And it's much easier than I thought it would be as well, partly because I have so much content already. What I'm finding is I'm repurposing things I've already written and just tweaking, tweaking the, the top and bottom, if you like, to get to, to focus it on the people that I'm trying to, um, attract.

Yeah, I love that. The whole process is about getting clear about what you really want and developing a strategy for getting closer to that by focusing on the few essential things that you need to do, um, and then learning how to do those things more effortlessly. And it's been really fun to watch you go through that process of really straining to get a post together to now just making a few tweaks to something you've already done and just boosting the effectiveness and the efficiency of content that you already have. So where do you think you would be right now if you hadn't trusted yourself enough to invest in yourself and work together?

Well, I'd be where I was, which was fairly comfortable, it has to be said. But I'd be where I was, which is not really moving forward. Where this is going to be really useful is, you know, at the moment I'm only looking for a couple of extra clients, so it's not a big deal, if you like. But what I'm planning to do is build a community, and that is going to take a lot more exposure and a lot more marketing than I have been used to doing. So I think this will stand me in good stead for that. So that was my real reason for doing it, was that I know what I was doing was not going to be good enough for the thing I'm trying to build, whereas now I feel it's going to be good enough.

Hmm. Yeah. Good enough is good enough. I love that. So If anybody is tuning in and has watched this far and has, just like you did for quite a while, is considering getting on a call and looking at the possibility of working together, what would you say to them if they are interested but haven't yet signed up for the questionnaire and the call?

I'd say do it. Do it because some of the best money I've spent. You know, I know what I'm like. I know that I know what I need to do, but it's occasionally very helpful to have what I've been calling a kick up the bum to actually do it. And, you know, there couldn't be a nicer way to get a kick up the bum than with you. So just to be clear, we're talking about a lot Yes, with a lot more besides. So even if it's just for the accountability, it is well worth it. But you will get a lot more.

I really appreciate that, Kirsten. I am so pleased that we got to connect in this way. You've been someone I've been following on social media myself. You know how much I love your process and your diagram. It was a privilege to work together. I love continuing to follow you and your progress on social media, and I really appreciate you taking the time to share some of your experience with working together. Thank you so much.

Well, and hopefully, you never know, I'll be back because it's— you can't— a leopard can't change their spots. Sometime soon I'm going to need another kick.

I'd welcome that anytime. Thanks so much, Kirsten.

Thank you. Bye.