IAM172- Clinical Psychology Practitioner, Author and Podcaster Helps Busy Women Thrive in Beautiful Chaos

Dr. Zoe Shaw is a passionate practitioner in the field of clinical psychology. She is licensed as a psychotherapist and divides her time between her family life, clinical practice, virtual life and relationship coaching, speaking, writing and hosting her podcast (The Dr. Zoe Show).
Dr. Zoe enjoys writing about women’s issues and is a contributing writer to Your Tango and the Grit and Grace Project. She recently launched her Ask Dr. Zoe column at the Grit and Grace Project (An online women’s magazine).

• CEO Hack: (1) Setting Friday for running my business (2) Planoly for planning posts (3) Delegating and finding people to help me run my business (4) Book- Rejection Proof
• CEO Nugget: Don't be afraid to step out of fear
• CEO Defined: Freedom and choosing your mark in the world

Website: https://drzoeshaw.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drzoeshaw/

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

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 Harkless 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.

Gresham Harkless 0:26 

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Dr. Zoe Shaw @DrZoeshaw. Dr.Zoe Shaw is always awesome to have you on the show.

Dr. Zoe Shaw 0:36

Awesome. I'm so excited to be here.

Gresham Harkless 0:38

I'm so excited to have you on and what I want to do is just read a little bit more about Dr. Zoe so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Dr. Zoe is a passionate practitioner in the field of clinical psychology. She is licensed as a psychotherapist and divides her time between her family life clinical practice virtual life and relationship coaching, speaking, writing, and hosting her podcast Dr. Zoe Shaw, Dr. Zoe enjoys writing about women's issues. And as a contributing writer to your tango and the Grit and Grace project. She recently launched her Ask Dr. Zoe column at the Grit and Grace project and online women's magazine. Dr. Zoe, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Dr. Zoe Shaw 1:18

I am so ready.

Gresham Harkless 1:20

Awesome. Let's do it. So the first question I had was to hear a little bit more about your CEO story and what led you to start your business.

Dr. Zoe Shaw 1:27

I think I have been an entrepreneur since birth. But I was never really willing to accept it. I never really saw myself as an entrepreneur, I never really saw myself as a business owner. But everything I did, probably from the minute I graduated from college was entrepreneurial, much more than my colleagues, who are going and working at hospitals or traditional psychology practices. And so my journey was really probably more about being willing to accept that's who and what I am.

And so I started out in private practice, I was pretty young, when I first started, and I had to learn all about marketing, I had to learn about networking, my journey really started creating my own private practice. And then I went to create a group practice where I was hiring other therapists to work with me. And yeah, it just took a couple of years before I was like, Okay, I guess I really am a business owner. This is really what I want to do. And I don't ever want to be employed.

Gresham Harkless 2:32

Here you go, that makes perfect sense. And I kind of have a similar path where anyone understands what entrepreneur or business owner really was, and you start to figure out and read about it. And he's kind of starting to feel at home like, Okay, well, I have always done this never really knew that you can actually do this. At least that's how it was for me. But it's great to hear that obviously, you stepped into that. And you stepped into that to not only help out and build your practice but also build a practice where you're also employing other people.

Dr. Zoe Shaw 2:56

Absolutely. And it's funny, I think somebody said something about me being a business owner. And I was like, Yeah, I guess I am. And so in the past, I don't know, maybe 5 to 10 years, I've really stepped into that. And I'm really thankful because a lot of people dream about working for themselves and not having a boss and to be able to actually live that life where you don't have to answer to anybody you get to create what you want in your work is pretty amazing, really is.

Gresham Harkless 3:26

Yeah, definitely. And we're definitely blessed to be able to do that. So I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper and hear how exactly you are helping the clients that you work with and hear a little bit more about your practice. And of course, your podcast.

Dr. Zoe Shaw 3:36

As you mentioned, I work very hard on balancing mom's work life. And so I've got four kids at home five together, I also homeschool. And so my journey has really been about focusing on that balance. And so over the years, I have started practices, and I have stopped practices because of things that are going on in my life. when I came back about six years ago,

I kind of discovered the internet as a vehicle for my business. Because before that, I mean, I started 20 years ago in business and so I stepped onto the internet as a platform for my business, which is amazing. So as a therapist, I am no longer just constrained to a brick-and-mortar building. Although I do have a brick-and-mortar practice. I really only work in the practice about once a week. The rest of my practice is online.

So I do video therapy with people all over the world. And I have really honed my brand down now so I focus more on working with women who are what I call in the thick of it who are busy mamas usually maybe they have their own kind of side hustle or they are entrepreneurs themselves, or they're working, they have husbands or partners and they're in that time of life where things are super busy and they're trying to balance it all.

And my goal really my passion is to help women find that balance in their lives and what I call, harness their superpower and share it with the world. And so that's my niche right now, when I do therapy, you know, in the office and virtual, and then I also am a speaker. So I'm a motivational speaker, and I do that as well. And I write and have my podcasts on my podcast was really just birthed out of the work that I do.

Gresham Harkless 5:22

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And I love how you've been able to kind of tie everything together. And a lot of times, when you're looking to try to help support people with seems that sometimes, as you mentioned, with the evolution of the Internet, and just industries in general, a lot of times your practice and whatever you're doing will pivot along with the trends of that industry.

Dr. Zoe Shaw 5:42

Without a doubt, well, and I think though the problem, especially for people in my arena is that it hasn't pivoted, they're still really trying to do things the old way. And I speak to so many therapists. And I know that it's twofold because, in our training as therapists, the type of work we do on the internet is very inside the type of training we get in our academics. In academic institutions, which are changing, it's changing now.

But it's hard for therapists to make that shift to being a public figure when we are so used to being in an office closed door private. So yeah, I think in order to succeed, you do have to be able to make that shift. And not many therapists aren't able to do that.

Gresham Harkless 6:22

Yeah, that makes perfect sense, you definitely have to change with time because there's a tremendous opportunity in the form of the internet, as you mentioned. So it's great to hear that you're doing your due diligence and taking care and leveraging that platform. And I know you've touched a little bit on you helping other people find their superpowers. But I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce, and some people have called it their superpower. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart and distinguishes you?

Dr. Zoe Shaw 6:43

Well, I think one of the things that really does set me apart is the fact that I do focus so much on balance, and I feel that I've been able to attain it really well. Now, what I do know is that I probably have a larger capacity for stress than maybe most people do. But I think because I do, I can also help teach other people how to deal with theirs, manage it, and in some ways really harness it.

So I'd say that's one of the superpowers in terms of my business. As a person individually, I think my superpower is really empathy. And my belief that all behavior makes sense in its context. And because of that, I don't have a sense of judgment when it comes to people. And people feel that when they interact with me that I'm not judging. And so I'd say that that's my superpower and allows me to really help people and get into where they are in their present and accept themselves.

And when you accept yourself, then you're able to actually show yourself to the world, and everybody has their superpower. But a lot of people cover it, a lot of people don't have any confidence in it, and are fearful of really expressing it. So when you're in a place of nonjudgment, it helps you to be able to harness that.

Gresham Harkless 7:56

Yeah, and kind of from what you were talking about how you felt that you've always been an entrepreneur, but you just started to accept it, it kind of sounds like maybe that has helped you give that perspective, that empathy, as you mentioned, to the clients that you're working with people that you're helping out, because often they have something that they might have been doing since they were a kid, or since they were birth. And they're not necessarily stepping into that because like you said, they might be nervous or scared or some reason why they're not stepping into that.

Dr. Zoe Shaw 8:20

Yeah, without a doubt. And I think that on a professional level is certainly a strength that I have, or I should say a journey that I've walked. And then on a personal level, too. I am writing a memoir right now. And I know that my process of writing my memoir has also made me a better therapist, because I have my own life history and issues, with shame behind them.

And so many people do. And so many people, you know, have difficulty really being authentic, because they don't believe that who they are as a person is valuable and worthy. And so my process of writing the memoir has also kind of taken me on an additional journey. And I can therefore of course help others on their journey as well.

Gresham Harkless 9:02

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, what I wanted to do is switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but it's something that you feel makes you more effective and efficient as an entrepreneur, or business owner.

Dr. Zoe Shaw 9:15

Absolutely. As a CEO, we have so many functions, and we are doing our business, right there are things that we have to do to actually sell. So for instance, for my work, I'm a therapist, and so I have to be doing therapy in order for the money to come in and the business to work. But sometimes we don't put a lot of time into the running aspect of our business and we don't schedule that and so for me, I set aside Fridays as my day that I do no therapy and all I do is focus on the running of my actual business.

So for me that has been a game changer because before I was kind of doing it here and there and when I had time and kind of stuffing it in and now I really have set aside a whole day ready to dedicate. And when I first started doing it, I felt like oh, it feels like a waste of time, because I'm taking a whole day and I'm not making money on that day.

But what I realized is when we talk about that shift, there's that shift almost, like this catapult, that when you start to really invest in that way in your business, the money comes in other places. The other simple thing is Planoly. So for any of you guys who are on Instagram, I just love Planoly. It's an app that plans out all of my posts. And the cool thing about Planoly is that you could schedule out posts for the whole month, and it kind of automates your whole Instagram.

And you can not just schedule the posts or the pictures or the videos, but also the text that goes along in the hashtags. And so that's been a lifesaver because I don't have to spend my life on my social media, I can take a block of time to do it and know that it's going to be automated. And then I'd say maybe a third one that a lot of small business entrepreneurs have a difficult time with is delegating and putting money into other people helping you because you know, it's our baby, and we've grown it ourselves. And there's a sense, at least for me, as a recovering control freak of, if I don't do it, it's not going to be done, right?

And so when I hired my personal assistant, it was two things, investing money, and somebody else, helping me which was difficult, and then also letting go of my process and how things had to be done. And that was another shift. And catapult in my business was hiring other people to help me do things.

Gresham Harkless 11:33

I love those. And yeah, I think all entrepreneurial people might be kind of recovering control freaks. So go on that I've been the same program that we're working on. So yeah, you might have already touched on this. But I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice. Or if you can happen to be a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Dr. Zoe Shaw 11:53

I think I would tell my younger business self to not be afraid and to allow my creativity to be a part of my business. And the times that I have tried different things and not been afraid to try different things. I've had crazy successes. But I've also had some flops and a game changer for me and my business. And really in my personal life as well happened when I read this book called Rejection Proof by Gel Jiang I'm pronouncing it correctly, and I think any business owner and entrepreneur needs to read that book. Because as much as we are go-getters, and we are hustlers, and we're you know, we have some fierceness about us, I think probably all of us have that fear of failure, which sometimes drives us as entrepreneurs and rejection.

And that book changed my life, which is actually why I have my column at the Grit and Grace because he really talked about his journey to entrepreneurship and his need to fight against that fear of rejection. And really, by not being afraid to put yourself out there and have the asks, and after I read that book, there were a number of things that I was just like, Okay, I'm just gonna do it. I'm just gonna go for it, even though I'm scared. It's the whole field of fear and do it anyway. Right.

And that's how I got my column at the Grit and Grace project because I contacted the owner and said, and I've been writing for them for a while we had a relationship. I've been on their podcast, and I said, Hey, listen, I have this idea of doing this column, which I think could be a win-win for both of us. And we got into negotiations, and it happened. And I never probably would have taken that step to do that. And that's just a small one, which actually just had great dividends in my practice. But yeah, so I'd say if we were talking about a hack that that book, being willing to step out in fear is probably one of the biggest little nuggets as an entrepreneur.

Gresham Harkless 13:49

Yeah, I definitely agree with that. And I'm definitely gonna pick up that book. I hadn't heard of that before. So but I know Sara Blakely, from Spanx, she talks a lot about how she grew up with her dad. And he would ask her every day what she failed at. And he would give her a high five, if she failed at something, he would not give her a high five, and she didn't fail at something.

So it kind of trained her to understand that failure was a path toward success. And it kind of redefined exactly what that meant for her. So I think that's an awesome kind of reminder, and definitely a great CEO nugget that we can all you know, pick up and learn from. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of being a CEO and we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show and redefine exactly what it means to be a CEO. So could you tell us what does being a CEO mean to you?

Dr. Zoe Shaw 14:32

Being a CEO for me, really means freedom, and it means that I get to choose my life and I get to choose how my talents are expressed in the world. It's about freedom, but also it's about creating something that's larger than yourself and knowing clearly what your mark is on the world.

Gresham Harkless 14:54

Yeah, it makes perfect sense because if you're clear about your purpose and your goal. Why are you put here on this earth to a deeper degree, then you can start to make decisions in alignment with that.

Dr. Zoe Shaw 15:05

Absolutely. And I love that you just talked about, the whole failure aspect because on my podcast, every episode, I started out with my personal failure and my personal win of the week. And I do that specifically for the same reason that you just talked about because I want other women to recognize that our failures are important and we have to honor them because we learn from them and nobody is perfect. And that whole concept of Superwoman my podcast is about redefining what that means because there is no Superwoman.

So I love that Sara Blakely said that she talked about her father doing that. And, and that's exactly what I do on my podcast. And I encourage other people to do that. Instead of trying to ignore and push away those failures. Let's look at them, take them out. What have we learned from them? Let's honor them, as well as our successes too. We got to do that too.

Gresham Harkless 15:55

Absolutely. That makes perfect sense. And Dr. Zoe, I truly appreciate you for taking some time out of your schedule. What I want to do is pass you the mic just to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and our listeners know and then also how best people can get a hold of you. And of course, subscribe to your podcast

Dr. Zoe Shaw 16:09

So people can get a hold of me all my social media is Dr. Zoe Shaw. My website is drzoeshaw.com. And yeah, so you can get a hold of me there and check out my podcast, which is Dr. Zoe Shaw redefining your Superwoman, Instagram is kind of the best place to connect with me. All my stuff is on there too. A little word of wisdom.

Consistency, too many people give up. And that poem never quit, I believe is the time the name talks about how the fact that too many people give up right before they were really getting ready to reap all the benefits of their work. And so I think it's more about little steps, small steps, and staying consistent than it is about rushing yourself out of the gate. When you look at businesses that have been wildly successful. It's really about that small consistent steps. So that would be my little tip.

Gresham Harkless 17:07

I love it. And I appreciate you, Dr. Zoe. Everybody remembers, definitely, consistency is key. But again, Dr. Zoe, you're awesome. I appreciate everything that you're doing. I appreciate your time, obviously today and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Dr. Zoe Shaw 17:18

Thank you so much.

Outro 17:19

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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