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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_01: It's Calgary's Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:04] SPEAKER_00: Hello, this is Mario Toniguzu coming to you today with Calgary's Podcast, a member of Canada's Podcast Network,
[00:11] SPEAKER_00: where we talk to the entrepreneurs or are making it happen in Calgary, Alberta, so you can listen, discover, and engage.
[00:19] SPEAKER_00: Today's guest is Dr. Laura Hambly, who is a workplace psychologist, speaker, and author in Calgary.
[00:27] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining us today, Laura.
[00:28] SPEAKER_01: My pleasure, Mario. Thanks for having me.
[00:31] SPEAKER_00: Okay, so I didn't introduce, when I made the introduction, I didn't introduce what your businesses were, because you have a few.
[00:38] SPEAKER_00: So maybe you can just start from there.
[00:40] SPEAKER_00: Tell me your business involvement as an entrepreneur and have on the go.
[00:46] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sure, absolutely, Mario.
[00:48] SPEAKER_01: So I've been an entrepreneur for 11 years now, and I'm called a serial entrepreneur, because I have more than one venture.
[00:56] SPEAKER_01: And I've created several different brands and businesses over the years, which is kind of an unusual in psychology.
[01:05] SPEAKER_01: I'm a workplace psychologist, doctorate in an organizational psychology, masters in counseling psychology.
[01:11] SPEAKER_01: And I've created these different brands based on a passion to help workplaces be better, and how people thrive in their careers and their lives.
[01:20] SPEAKER_01: And the practices and the practices have kind of grown organically over time, with Calgary career counseling here in Calgary synthesis psychology, which is an offshoot and specializes in personal counseling versus career counseling.
[01:36] SPEAKER_01: And then I also have work evolution that specializes in remote workplace success.
[01:41] SPEAKER_01: And that's part of a global practice now, because remote workplaces and distributed work have been happening everywhere.
[01:48] SPEAKER_01: And then my other business is called Canada career counseling, and it's based in Toronto, and it's spun out of Calgary career counseling four years ago.
[01:58] SPEAKER_01: So I have a lot going on, but the comment thread is helping people, helping organizations and using the evidence base of psychology to do so.
[02:07] SPEAKER_00: So how come you open up so many businesses, usually one business is tough enough for someone to handle, but having what for there, I think you mentioned is that that's quite a lot.
[02:18] SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, there's brands and there's businesses, right? So I think sometimes when you have a business, you need to have separate brands to attract what you're attracting, right?
[02:29] SPEAKER_01: So the career counseling brand started out 11 years ago and it's hard to start morphing that into other things besides career counseling, right?
[02:39] SPEAKER_01: So I think it depends on the how you name your business and your brands.
[02:44] SPEAKER_01: I mean, one thing leads to another and I have different partners. I have a partner in Ontario for Canada career counseling.
[02:50] SPEAKER_01: Bling and then I have a partner for work evolution. It was a different partner. So it's kind of the partnerships I've gotten involved with don't make sense to be all one business.
[03:01] SPEAKER_00: Okay, so obviously, you know, one of the things I learned as a writer is that there's two parts of what you're doing, right?
[03:09] SPEAKER_00: Number one is the actual job of writing, right? But then second part is also the job of being a business entrepreneur, right?
[03:19] SPEAKER_00: Et cetera. How do you balance those two? You know, there's one suffer from the because you're focusing on the other aspect or how do you work that out?
[03:32] SPEAKER_01: So what you're asking me is how much time I spend in my business versus on my businesses? Yeah, basically.
[03:39] SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's a struggling act for sure, but I would say one thing that I've been pretty good at over the years is growing a team, right?
[03:48] SPEAKER_01: So I have a really strong team here in Calgary. We have a strong one in Toronto and it's relying on the team to do it and work with our clients, et cetera, where I'm not the one having to do all of that.
[04:04] SPEAKER_01: But I certainly do keep a foot in the practice and during difficult times, especially I'm pulled into more of the delivery and it just makes it really a tough balancing act.
[04:17] SPEAKER_01: I won't lie. And I've got one that I have too many brands going on. It can be confusing. So oftentimes I won't even introduce myself to all of those brands.
[04:29] SPEAKER_01: I'm going to read my audience and talk about what that makes sense with that audience.
[04:33] SPEAKER_00: So when you started into this world of entrepreneurship, what were the biggest challenges you faced setting things up?
[04:42] SPEAKER_01: Wow. So whatever field you're in, right? So you're right. You're an expert or you have a knowledge or know how in a certain field of expertise.
[04:52] SPEAKER_01: And then you go into entrepreneurship, which is essentially running a business and the mechanics of the business.
[04:57] SPEAKER_01: So it depends on what your strengths are. For me, I would say the whole financial and the accounting and that that's something that I don't love doesn't come naturally.
[05:10] SPEAKER_01: I have to put extra effort into that. So over the years, serving as an accountant, a bookkeeper, getting the right expertise to help me with that whole end of the business.
[05:22] SPEAKER_01: That's been one of the most challenging parts. And then with what's happened in our economy here in Alberta over the last five years, I've never learned so much as I have in the last five years about what goes into a business and surviving.
[05:35] SPEAKER_01: And now with COVID, it's like 100 times worse. We thought we had it bad before. It's even worse than the oil tanks.
[05:43] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's just not giving those hurdles and challenges has the biggest struggle for me.
[05:52] SPEAKER_00: Do you recall any piece of advice you may have received from somebody that's the best piece of advice for being an entrepreneur?
[06:00] SPEAKER_01: Align yourself with the right supports and allies. So allies that bring different expertise into your life.
[06:09] SPEAKER_01: So don't try to be good at everything. Figure out what you're best at and what you enjoy most. So the intersection of what you're doing, what you're good at is the sweet spot.
[06:20] SPEAKER_01: And then fill in the gaps with a really good financial advisor or accountant or lawyer or admin assistance. I think admin assistance are often underused by entrepreneurs.
[06:33] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they say, well, why would I spend money on admin support? Right? I could just do that all and then all of a sudden 25% of their time is spent on details that someone else could take care of.
[06:46] SPEAKER_01: And that 25% could be spent on delivery and growing the business value and all these other things, right? So to me, it's like, it's a no brainer that I have an admin support.
[06:59] SPEAKER_01: It's just a no brainer. That's what's made me be able to do all I do is have a strong admin team.
[07:06] SPEAKER_00: Okay, what's your vision as you look forward into the future? What's your vision for your business or businesses?
[07:14] SPEAKER_01: To be open again to see clients face to face.
[07:21] SPEAKER_01: I have this beautiful sunny spot in Kensington.
[07:26] SPEAKER_01: And it's empty, right? So occasionally I'll come in about once a week to do some calls and such from here into cash checks and whatnot. But really, you know, for the most part, we're all working from home and we're seeing clients remotely.
[07:42] SPEAKER_01: So my hope is to get back to, you know, somewhat of a new normal. And I know that the new normal will be a transition.
[07:51] SPEAKER_01: But it's been very difficult with the uncertainty of this difficult for entrepreneurs like myself.
[07:57] SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to sustain the business, right? Trying to keep people employed because of, I mean, and then not knowing when the restrictions will lift.
[08:07] SPEAKER_01: And people just frankly aren't spending money right now and a lot of things. And we're finding more and more people need what we're offering. But it's that disconnect.
[08:17] SPEAKER_01: It's, you know, oh my goodness. It's just really and money on that right now, even though mental wellness and career focus with all these things are important that yeah, people are all really stupid right now. A lot of them.
[08:30] SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about, okay, are you still conducting your business like through things like this with the zoom and talking to clients?
[08:39] SPEAKER_00: Tell me a little bit of how that's shaping up right now.
[08:43] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Mario. Sure. So I think we're doing a lot of zoom and we're doing a lot of Microsoft teams. Those tend to be our two platforms.
[08:52] SPEAKER_01: We're seeing about half the number of clients remotely to what we saw face to face.
[08:59] SPEAKER_01: And funny enough, Calgary's dropped more than Toronto. And I think it's because Toronto had a more vibrant economy to begin with.
[09:07] SPEAKER_01: Yeah. And it's just a bigger population base. And I think because it's such a sprawling city, they're used to doing things more remotely, right?
[09:15] SPEAKER_01: To save an hour and a half commute. Whereas in Calgary, I think we've had a very face to face type culture here.
[09:22] SPEAKER_01: So some people say, I know problem. I'll see my psychologist on a zoom and other people just don't want anything to do with it.
[09:29] SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
[09:30] SPEAKER_01: They're just waiting it out.
[09:31] SPEAKER_01: So we've kind of pivoted. We're doing a lot more webinars now and webinars for organizations around mental health anxiety, coping wellness, all these sorts of things.
[09:43] SPEAKER_01: So that's one avenue that's picked up for us actually.
[09:47] SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh. Now, you know, mental health has always been an issue for companies and organizations, et cetera.
[09:54] SPEAKER_00: Obviously, is it become even more of a bigger issue right now for for companies because of what we're going through?
[10:02] SPEAKER_01: Huge issue, huge issue. And I think the cost of mental health are going to skyrocket as a result of the COVID crisis.
[10:11] SPEAKER_01: So everyone is talking about the physical health risks. I'm actually even more worried about the mental health risks to be honest with you.
[10:20] SPEAKER_01: And it's a huge concern because there's a huge hidden cost with that that is stifling.
[10:27] SPEAKER_01: Domestic violence is up.
[10:30] SPEAKER_01: All these rates of depression, anxiety. I'm worried about suicides. I'm worried about people who are already on the brink of being unstable.
[10:40] SPEAKER_01: Having breakdowns and going, you know, I need to use the word to go and crazy, right?
[10:47] SPEAKER_01: Yeah. I'm just really worried about more of that. It's already happening, but more of that happening.
[10:52] SPEAKER_01: We got to, we got to help people and support them right now, which we're trying to do.
[10:57] SPEAKER_00: Do you think that that will just escalate, uh, dependent on the time that this takes to, to be overwhelmed?
[11:04] SPEAKER_01: Correct, which is why I'm actually a fan of how can we start a transition plan, right?
[11:11] SPEAKER_01: Versus let's wait it out another four months. I know why that's happening that I feel like people need to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
[11:21] SPEAKER_01: Or even if we can see success in other places that are doing it, right?
[11:25] SPEAKER_01: Places in the States and, uh, and Europe and who's doing it? And if back is a bit ahead of us on that.
[11:31] SPEAKER_01: If we can see some success stories, but the amazing we need that right now. We need a left. Don't we Mario?
[11:37] SPEAKER_00: Oh, do we ever? Yeah. So I'm going to ask you, uh, and this may be a difficult question to answer.
[11:43] SPEAKER_00: I don't know, but if you were talking to someone like me, who's that say having some issues, mental health issues about what's your best piece of advice for individuals coping with what we're dealing with right now?
[11:55] SPEAKER_01: Well, I think to pay attention to the signs, right?
[12:01] SPEAKER_01: If things are getting worse for you and the telltale signs are how are you sleeping? Right?
[12:08] SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh. You know, what's your mood? Has your mood significantly changed? Right?
[12:13] SPEAKER_01: So those those things tend to crop up and over time they have a habit of getting worse.
[12:20] SPEAKER_01: So it's getting the supports, getting the help, even though you're physically isolated, making sure you're not socially isolated.
[12:27] SPEAKER_01: And knowing that there's actually a lot of supports available to you and there's an absolutely no shame in talking to a therapist, the counselor, psychologist, whatever it is.
[12:38] SPEAKER_01: Um, it's better to start those conversations rather than just try to deal with it in your own mind and let it fester, right?
[12:47] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what about from a corporate level, business level? What, uh, what advice would you give to business owners, whether they're a, an oil patch company downtown or a small retailer that has 10 staff?
[13:01] SPEAKER_00: What should they be doing for their businesses, uh, right now, uh, in terms of the mental health part of it?
[13:07] SPEAKER_00: Should they have programs in place, uh, then offerings for, for staff and that type of stuff?
[13:14] SPEAKER_01: Absolutely. So first and foremost, the leaders need to be checking in with people. They need to have regular touch points and say, Hey Mario, how are you doing?
[13:24] SPEAKER_01: So you're working at home now, Mario, and I'm your supervisor. How are you doing? How have things been going? Right? And just taking the time to just gauge that and have that conversation rather than just launching into business.
[13:36] SPEAKER_01: Okay, Mario, what have you done? What have you written about? You know, how is Mario the human being? That's what I think a lot of leaders are starting to do more of that now, but we're really pushing that method.
[13:48] SPEAKER_01: I can't regularly. People call somehow people are doing bring in webinars, bring in training, bring in resources. Some companies have EFAPs, others, though, but there's resources that they can bring in, even if it's just sharing links.
[14:05] SPEAKER_01: You know, that's better than not. And opening up dialogue thing. We know that it's a stressful time. We know you guys are worried. Everything's uncertain now.
[14:15] SPEAKER_01: But, you know, we want to share some resources and we're thinking about you guys right now and we care about your well-being.
[14:23] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly. I'm going to switch gears a little bit here. Laura, I'll ask you a couple of personal type questions, but here's a question that I'm sure you deal with a lot from your clients.
[14:35] SPEAKER_00: Right? And is about work-life balance. So how do you as a business owner find that work-life balance?
[14:44] SPEAKER_01: First of all, I don't like the term work-life balance. I've been trying to debunk it for a few years now.
[14:51] SPEAKER_01: Working is it has, well, work-life balance has been used a long time and there's a lot of research using that term.
[14:56] SPEAKER_01: So I like the term work-life wellness because it implies being well in your work and being well in your life.
[15:04] SPEAKER_01: However, that looks for you. So I would say that we've been talking about that concept a lot.
[15:10] SPEAKER_01: We just set the research project on entrepreneurs and work-life wellness, sharing if they work at home office or a co-working center.
[15:20] SPEAKER_01: This was the core COVID even. Like we've been doing a lot of research into working from home, right?
[15:25] SPEAKER_01: And then co-working centers are very popular. So how does it impact work-life wellness?
[15:31] SPEAKER_01: So those types of topics are near and dear to me. So me personally, it's always a work in progress, but it's a matter of focusing on what your values are, what's important to you.
[15:44] SPEAKER_01: And regularly checking in on if you're filling out those buckets, right? If you're taking the time to nurture what's important to you, whether it's your physical health, right?
[15:56] SPEAKER_01: Whether it's your spirituality, whether it's your family relationships, et cetera. And everyone's different.
[16:03] SPEAKER_01: But you know, one of the five things that are most important and are you making time for them on a weekly basis?
[16:09] SPEAKER_00: Or play that's important.
[16:10] SPEAKER_01: And there are weeks that I fail at it. And then if you fail it at next week's a new week.
[16:16] SPEAKER_01: So I do Sundays. I kind of review the week how it was and how the next week I want to be.
[16:22] SPEAKER_01: I'm a mother of three, right? And it's a balancing act. I'll tell you that. And just making sure that I don't mess that that's one of my values.
[16:33] SPEAKER_00: Okay. What do you have in terms of what are some of your interests that are beyond work and family, I guess?
[16:41] SPEAKER_01: Oh, dear. So I'm a novelist. I wrote two psychological thrillers and I have a Hollywood film producer who's shopping them for a movie deal. Obviously, COVID's put all of that on hold. Hollywood isn't producing right now.
[16:56] SPEAKER_01: But I love create it. I'm a creative person, right? I love creating.
[17:03] SPEAKER_01: I've been in a creative team. I've taken it out. Yeah, businesses. But I love writing. I love squash. I'll play squash right now either. I love traveling. Can't do that.
[17:20] SPEAKER_01: I love advocacy work and I'm an advocate to stop sex trafficking and advocate against violence on girls and women.
[17:30] SPEAKER_01: So that I can still do and that I am doing stop on. So yeah, I just wear lots of different hats.
[17:39] SPEAKER_00: Okay, you mentioned you love traveling. Is there any special place that you love the most to visit?
[17:45] SPEAKER_01: Oh, dear, I would say I love Palm Springs. That would be near and dear. I like the usual culprits, right? Like Hawaii and Mexico.
[17:57] SPEAKER_01: Dominican. And yeah, and I like Europe, but not not regularly. Europe's a big big adventure. Yeah, but I do love Europe. I love Australia. I'd say my happiest place in the world is Australia.
[18:11] SPEAKER_01: Oh, cool. Why do you say that? I just love the culture. Love the people. Love the climate. Diverse. I like their work life culture there. I like how they focus on work life wellness a little bit better than we do in North America.
[18:27] SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay, then excellent. Okay, speaking of traveling, I'm going to present a different scenario to you. Okay, and I'll ask you a couple of questions. So if you could just imagine, we're going to take you to a small beautiful tropical island
[18:40] SPEAKER_00: in the middle of the ocean. It has one foam booth, no other technology. We're going to drop you off there. And at any point, you can pick up the phone there and call us and we'll come pick you up.
[18:53] SPEAKER_00: So two questions. One, how long do you think you will take you to make that phone call? And what do you think you'd be doing while you were there on that island?
[19:03] SPEAKER_01: Oh, dear. I'm a strong extrovert. I'm a high extrovert. So that's tricky. That's not going to work for you that.
[19:11] SPEAKER_01: No, I mean, I like being creative in my own mind. I mean, I could sit and write a book for hours, right? But if I don't have the method to write a book or the beans, I think I go crazy.
[19:23] SPEAKER_01: I think I probably wouldn't last very long unless I was with someone just such a social person. Yeah, no, I hear you. Okay, then anything you'd like to add Laura before you leave us today.
[19:37] SPEAKER_01: I would just like to add that I think entrepreneurs are a special group of people. They're hardworking. They're usually passionate about what they do otherwise they wouldn't do it.
[19:49] SPEAKER_01: And I think that this whole COVID crisis, we need to have a growth mindset in terms of what am I learning through it? And how do I want to grow through it?
[20:01] SPEAKER_01: And there's actually a lot of free webinars. There's free training. I've never seen so many free resources Mario as I have these last few weeks.
[20:10] SPEAKER_01: So now is the time to learn. You need to grow really observe what you want to be doing in the world. It's kind of Maria awakening for entrepreneurs, I feel.
[20:23] SPEAKER_01: So take the time to devote that. I've been focusing on the immediate, you know, how you're going to get through today and tomorrow.
[20:32] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly. Okay, great then. Well, thanks for joining us today.
[20:36] SPEAKER_00: Laura.
[20:36] SPEAKER_00: My pleasure. Thank you.
[20:39] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for taking the time today to listen to Calgary's podcast on Canada's podcast network. We hope you enjoyed the show today.
[20:49] SPEAKER_00: Make sure you sign up for our newsletters and write a review for us on iTunes and then connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn at Canada's podcast.
[21:00] SPEAKER_00: You can also check out what other entrepreneurs are doing across the country. See you next time.
