IAM1343 – Productivity Coach Helps Entrepreneurs be Digitally Organised

Dai Smith is the owner of Simplicity By Day, LLC in Houston, TX. As an international best-selling author, speaker, and self-proclaimed systems nerd, she is the productivity coach and digital organizer for small business owners. She helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs be more present, productive, and profitable by upgrading their organizing systems and processes so that they can continue to grow and scale their businesses.

• CEO Story: After graduating from college, Dai had a good-paying job in pharma sales with family. But she didn’t feel fulfilled,  something was lacking, there must be something more that she could be doing, to have that legacy. And so Dai created her organizing business that grew into system solutions for business owners.
• Business Service: Coaching in the digital organizing space – like emails, Google Drive, etc. Serving as well in physical spaces like home organization – declutter, assess, and organize.
• Secret Sauce: Strong ability to connect with people. See people where they are, and give them grace. Work efficiently.
• CEO Hack: Your mind is not designed to multitask. Focus on one task. Time blocks your priorities.
• CEO Nugget: Always prioritize investing in yourself.
• CEO Defined: Operating in an authentic space in creating a legacy.

Website: www.simplicitybyday.com

Facebook: @simplicitybyday

Instagram: @simplicitybyday

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/daismith

Books: www.simplicitybyday.com/books

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Transcription

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00:21 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harker values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

00:48 – Gresham Harkless

Hello, Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Dai Smith of Simplicity By Day. Dai, it's great to have you on the show.

00:57 – Dai Smith

Hi, Gresh. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here. My fellow Howard Bison representing. Appreciate it.

01:05 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, absolutely appreciate you having me on and I always say I love to have another Bison on the other side of the mic. So thank you so much for making that happen and I love all the awesome things you're doing. And of course, before we jump into, you know, hearing more about you, I want to read a little bit more about Dai so you can hear about some of those awesome things. Dai is the owner of Simplicity by Day in Houston, Texas.

As an international bestselling author, speaker, and self-proclaimed systems nerd, She is the productivity coach and digital organizer for small business owners. She helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs be more present, productive, and profitable by upgrading their organizing systems and processes so that they can continue to grow and scale their businesses. Appreciate you again. Hello, Bison Ned. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:50 – Dai Smith

I am ready. Yes.

01:53 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Well, let's make it happen then. So to kind of kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit. Here is a little bit more on how you got started, what I call your CO story.

02:01 – Dai Smith

All right. My CO story. So after graduating, actually at Howard, I started organizing dorm rooms. You know, I was taking my friends to Target and like, let's get some bands to put in your room. And I discovered this is a knack of thing that I had that came so easily to me that people were clueless or uninterested in doing. That became something that I was exploring. But of course, I graduated, I got a good job and I started working in pharma sales, making good money. And I remember after I had my family after I had kids, I just didn't feel fulfilled.

I mean, I felt like there was something more that I could be doing. You know, if I wanted to build a legacy, what would that look like? And I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I always wanted to be someone who could grow creativity and build and then create a legacy. And so I did something that was not popular with my family, not popular with my community. And I decided in the midst of my busy life to start a business while I was working. And so I had always had an interest of course in organizing.

So here I am helping my friends and my family get organized. I got my business set up Simplicity by Day. I'm moving and grooving. And then things just start to add up. I had the business, I had the family, I had the job, and I felt like in the midst of the pandemic or where we were entering, I had all these digital assets, all this technology that was just like overwhelming. And so I was thinking, how can I as an organizer be unorganized digitally? Like, what can I be doing to be more productive, to be more proficient, and, you know, be more profitable in my time?

And so I started to research digital systems and organizing systems to help people be more organized with technology. And so that became an even bigger passion for me. That's why I call myself the systems nerd. So now I help people who are like me, who are starting businesses or trying to grow their business. And maybe they do have a job. Maybe they do have a family. They don't have all the time in the world to figure things out.

And I come in and give them solutions so they can be more present in the things they want to do, like focus on their focus on their business, focus on their career, focus on their job. But doing things efficiently, like the most efficient way you could do it, I find those solutions for you so that you can grow your business and be profitable. And so that's what I do now for small business owners in that growth phase to really try to provide solutions so that they can elevate their business and level up so they can go to the next level.

04:29 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I absolutely love that. And especially, you know, of course, first of all, if you would have gone to my dorm room, then you probably would have been like, I definitely could have used your services. But I think that speaks to something that I ever did, you know when I was younger, is to try to figure out like sometimes what you want to do, what you should start, and figure out what your knack, your zone of genius, the thing that comes naturally to you is often the thing you do without even knowing it's like anything special because it just so comes so naturally to you. But I love how you've been able to take that and kind of run with it.

04:59 – Dai Smith

Yes, yes, I feel people's pain, you know, they, they are like so overwhelmed, you know, with life and they feel guilty. They feel ashamed. They feel like all these emotions like cluttered because of because of clutter, because of visual or physical clutter. And I just don't see it like that. I'm like, I immediately see a plan like, okay, this is what we need to do. This is how we need to do it. Like the chaos doesn't intimidate me. And that's why I feel like I'm really working in my zone of genius because I just see, I see solutions, you know, in the midst of it, I see like the end result and I'm able to like hold their hand, and guide them and give them encouragement along the way to know that we can move to a place where you feel and ready to just take on So that's what I've seen appreciate that.

05:47 – Gresham Harkless

So I want a little bit. I think you talked a little bit about how you're serving your clients, and how you're working with them. I wanted to see if there's any more that you can kind of tell us how that process works and how you serve the clients you work with.

05:58 – Dai Smith

Yeah, so I actually serve clients in 2 capacities. As a productivity coach, I work with small business owners or professionals in the digital organizing space. So if they have, you know, wake up to thousands of emails a dai in their inbox, you know, they got files scattered across their computer and on Google Drive and OneDrive, I help streamline that, you know, really create an organization for them that works for them. We'll do a productivity assessment to figure out what's your work style, how you receive information, how you process information, and what you do with that information, and then I create a system based on your habits, right?

So if you're like a visualizer, you tend to have things scattered all over the place. You like to have boards. So that's okay. Let's work with how you work and make it more efficient for you. So I work with business clients in that capacity with creating orders. I have a 4 step process for getting you from having that crazy-looking inbox and files to having things in ONE place, having it categorized, and then automating it so that in the future you know how to keep it organized. That's huge, right? Keeping it organized. And then I still help clients with home organization.

I work with several different organizers in the community to support me with that. But if a client wants me to organize their pantry or their office or their kitchen, I will come in and I still use the simple process there as well to help you clear the clutter, assess and organize, repurpose, and redesign the space that you want. So I help clients in 2 ways, physical and digital organization.

07:37 – Gresham Harkless

Nice, and I appreciate you breaking that down especially those words that really pop out to me in the automation and being able to not just have it organized for that day, but to be able to, it sounds like set yourself up for success in the future because you're able to have those things kind of taken care or even delegated to some degree, but it sounds like the technology is doing that automation for you.

07:57 – Dai Smith

Absolutely, yeah, delegation, that's a part of it because maybe you don't ever want to be the one to keep your email in check. That's not something that you want to do or you have the skill set to do. So let's talk about maybe having a virtual assistant help you there or again have technology to assist you. One thing I think entrepreneurs do we think we have to be everything to everyone and do it all.

And I don't I now don't believe that I believe that we have to really find out where our zone of genius I swear I'm gonna use that all the time. I'm going to be is and then if what the task doesn't fit in that if the task that we need to do doesn't fit in there, then delegate it out. That's the true, I guess, path of a CEO is finding those resources in order to delegate and grow your business. So I am a big support. I believe in that wholeheartedly.

08:52 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And it means so much to be able to kind of put those things in certain places so that you can be more present. You can be more impactful and you have that weight lifted off your shoulders. So I absolutely appreciate that. So I want to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. And this could be for yourself, the business, or a combination of both. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

09:13 – Dai Smith

I think that I have a very strong ability to connect with people, even when they are not, even when we don't have seemingly similar obvious connections, you know, I think that I tend to see people where they are and give them grace and allow themselves to give themselves grace in a very natural way. And I think that goes a long way with people being open to working with me. I try to make the experience, well, I do make the experience enjoyable because they're coming to me in a time of need. And I'm like, I see you, let's work through this, I'm going to hold your hand.

So that ability to connect with them comes very naturally to me. And that's kind of the feedback I've gotten from others. And I work very efficiently, Like I am, I work very efficiently and very quickly. So a lot of times I will surprise the clients with how efficiently I work with them so that they feel like the value is there and that I'm so glad I made this decision because I can see results quickly. So I tend to give a guarantee around how quickly I'm going to work and the efficiency that we'll be able to do it in.

10:26 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I love that. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but something that makes you more effective and efficient.

10:39 – Dai Smith

I completely disagree with the notion of multitasking. OK, Throw that away. If you're a CEO or a business owner, that is one of the worst things you can do. Your mind is not designed to function in simultaneous tasks. And when you do that, It's more detrimental. You're unfocused. You're just switching from one thing to the next, and you actually waste time multitasking. So one thing I always encourage people to do is time block their schedule so that they focus on a specific task for a certain amount of time and make it so that it's in y visual person, you know, or if you're another prod arranger who needs a team you about it.

Basically, the schedule is based on the priority to complete and focus for one hour, then 2 hours on one type of task. It can be emails and not answering emails, but decluttering your emails. Or if you're going to be filing your papers, take everything out and just file it all at once. Don't look through it and you know just do one specific task at a time but make sure you're time blocking and you'll be surprised how much you get done instead of switching from one task to the next. So I always encourage people and that's, that's a very basic thing, but we all have to-do lists and priorities and we all struggle with time management. So that's what I like to encourage my business owners to do with multitasking and instead time block their priorities.

12:18 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. So I want to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So this is a little bit more of a word of wisdom or piece of advice. You might have already touched on this, but this would be something you might tell your favorite client. Or if you hopped into a time machine, you might tell your younger business.

12:33 – Dai Smith

So never be afraid to invest in yourself. So a lot of times, you know, if you're going to do something for your business, it may seem as though you're investing in another business, you know, another market graphic designer or a coach or organizer. But take a step back and really think about what that's gonna do for you as a business owner, and as a person, and always invest in yourself. See it as an investment in yourself because you will see exponential growth when you do that. When you take the steps in the right direction in order to grow your business grow your brand or to free time so that you can do the things you wanna do, but always prioritize investing in yourself.

13:15 – Gresham Harkless

I love that. And so often, especially when you're in service to so many people, you're always giving, giving, giving. We often are given to so many other people, that we forget about ourselves. So I love investing in yourself and even a different change in the perspective that we have in terms of doing that too. Awesome, awesome, awesome. So I want to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So Dave, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:44 – Dai Smith

CEO for me right now is operating in an authentic space and creating a legacy.

13:52 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I love that. And especially that authenticity piece, because I think it speaks to like everything you've been able to do with your business. As we talked about meeting people where they are, that's, you know, being authentically you. And I think when we know, again, I say running can lose when you run you're running your race, not just running your race for the people that you're serving so many things that are I doing. So that's really when it gets into that legacy space where it's not just about what I'm doing today, it's about how that impacts 10, 15, 20 generational type legacy and an impact.

14:29 – Dai Smith

Absolutely. I have to include that in there because I'm like, why am I doing this? That's the purpose. Why are you doing this? You know, it's not to just make a ton of money, even though money is definitely what you want. It's like the bigger, why are you doing this? Legacy is definitely my why for my family.

14:45 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And I think so many times we don't, you know, part of like making sure you're investing yourself and appreciating yourself is also an understanding the impact that you make. And I think when we talk about domino effects or sometimes when you throw a rock in a river and you see that ripple that happens, That's a lot of times what we're doing with the work that we do and, you know, making an impact in so many different ways. So I truly appreciate that.

15:07 – Dai Smith

Absolutely. Yes. Thank you. That's a great, great question. I'm like, you have me on my toes.

15:12 – Gresham Harkless

There we go. That's what we try to do. So, you know, you know, this so truly appreciate that definition. Of course, I appreciate your time even more. So what I wanted to do now was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best people can get a hold of you. Find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

15:32 – Dai Smith

Awesome. Awesome. Yes, so I want to say we're all in this together. You know, as CEOs, small businesses, medium-sized businesses, we're growing. We're all learning from each other. So I invite the opportunity for us to connect, to learn from each other. If you would love to connect with me, you can visit my website at Simplicity by Day. And you can also just go on my scheduling site and set up a one-to-one console. We can chat about your organizing goals and just connect as a business owner as well. And you can do that at meetwithdaydai.com.

16:05 – Gresham Harkless

That's awesome. I truly appreciate that dai. We will have the links and information, the show notes so that everybody can get ahold of you and connect with you. And of course, you know, have that conversation. So thank you so much for making that happen for so many people in so many different ways. And of course for us today, and I hope you have a great rest of the day.

16:19 – Dai Smith

I'm honored to be a part and I look forward to conning you in the future.

16:25 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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