Powering Growth Through People, Planning, and Purpose With EO Entrepreneurs
John Corcoran: 13:45
Wow. And did it take a while to get traction? Get other clients?
Shirley Wiliani: 13:48
Oh, 100%. So it was just me for six years as I was trying to figure out who I am, who do I want to be? And I realized in that time that I actually had no business being an accountant. I’m not detail oriented. I’m a visionary, not an integrator. For those of us that are EOS. And it took me a while to realize that I really would love to own a business, run a business, and accounting is a part of that, but it’s not the whole thing. And so it was not until 2016. So six years later when I hired my first employee, and then between 2016 and 2020, I hired and fired 100 people.
John Corcoran: 14:31
Wow. So just a lot of people that didn’t work out.
Shirley Wiliani!: 14:34
I just didn’t know what I was doing, made a lot of mistakes. But every one of those misfires was something that I learned, right? And now we do really, really good recruiting. We’re really good at what we do.
John Corcoran: 14:47
So what’s the secret? What turned it around in 2020?
Shirley Wiliani: 14:51
Culture and core values. Hiring for character and not skill. Knowing what matters to you as a person and making it very, very clear, abundantly clear, what it means to belong in your company and to help people understand whether or not they belong. So you’re attracting the right people and repelling the wrong ones.
John Corcoran: 15:19
What were some of those core values you settled on for your company?
Shirley Wiliani: 15:23
Speak your truth. Get shit done. Be curious. Team up and choose joy.
John Corcoran: 15:28
I love how you just, like, spit those out. You didn’t have an acronym or anything.
Shirley Wiliani: 15:31
It’s part of our vocabulary at A La C.A.R.T.E.
John Corcoran: 15:34
Wow. Yeah. Very, very clear.
Shirley Wiliani: 15:35
Yes. Yeah.
John Corcoran: 15:36
Because sometimes you ask people and they’re like, oh, I got to check the website. Hold on. Give me a second.
Shirley Wiliani: 15:41
That tells you, you know, they have their core values, but they’re not living them.
John Corcoran: 15:46
So yeah. You’ve been in EO for about two years now and we’re here at Global Leadership Conference. What role has that played for you and your company and personally how has it helped you?
Shirley Wiliani: 15:55
Oh, wow. I mean, I’ve made such incredible connections with people across the globe that I never would have. You know, I have friends in Shanghai and Jordan and Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Like it’s been pretty incredible. And it you know, what I think it has done mostly is just kind of inspire me to go above and beyond where I think I can go and just see what other people are doing and, and, you know, get outside of my four walls.
John Corcoran: 16:23
Yeah. You, of course, are from Los Angeles. You live in the Brentwood neighborhood, right on the edge of the fires. I’m originally from Calabasas. I know the area very well. What has the last three, four months been like for you?
Shirley Wiliani: 16:35
It’s been a little crazy. Honestly, we were evacuated for seven days and. But came back to thank God everything was was fine. The only thing that happened was our fridge was a little stinky, and we had berry juice, you know, spilling down the hall. But it really put life in Life and perspective, you know. The word gratitude just does not even come close to explaining how how much I feel blessed for everything that I have. And I don’t take things for granted as much, you know, because the fire came within 400 yards of our home, and we literally wrote a note for the firefighters and said, thanks for trying. I mean, it was it was it was tough.
John Corcoran: 17:21
And you probably didn’t have much time to get out.
Shirley Wiliani: 17:22
We had about an hour in the middle of the night.
John Corcoran: 17:25
Wow.
Shirley Wiliani: 17:25
Yeah. Yeah.
John Corcoran: 17:27
Glad you’re okay. Thank you. Yeah. Shirley, where can people go to learn more about you and learn about your company?
Shirley Wiliani: 17:32
Yeah. So our website is alacarte-solutions.com. I’m also a speaker, so if anyone wants to hear me speak or know where I’m going, it’s Shirley Wiliani, T.com.
John Corcoran: 17:50
Great. Thank you so much.
Shirley Wiliani: 17:51
Thank you.
John Corcoran: 17:52
Hey, John Corcoran, I’m coming to you live from the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Global Leadership Conference here in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii. I’m from a company called Rise25. We do B2B podcasting. I’m based out of San Francisco Bay area. I’m here with my friend Andy Cheng from Los Angeles. Andy, thanks for being here. And you have a company called OptiNizers. You’ve had other companies before, but talk about what OptiNizers is and when you got it started.
Andy Cheng: 18:16
Hi John. Thank you. So OptiNizers is a let’s put it this way virtual assistant placement and also management company. But we also want to refer it as remote talent which empower them to really respect this job title even further. And our job is actually helping small business, middle sized businesses, primarily small businesses, to really elevate their business by working on the business, not working in the business. And the first thing they need to understand is how to delegate their tasks to the right people in the right seat.
John Corcoran: 18:50
Yeah, and you are really good at that, my friend talk a little bit about your journey from learning how to delegate. Well.
Andy Cheng: 18:57
Oh, yeah. So as a Asian, you guys don’t notice I am Asian. We always have the mindset that the longer the hour, the harder we work. You’re going to get better life. And then in the future, your life will be like, you know, like work life balance. But it wasn’t until I started doing this thing I was overworked. I was burning out and I realized, okay, why don’t I change myself first? And then how to delegate properly? It’s kind of ironic that if the guy who’s teaching people, telling people how to delegate was the guy who doesn’t do it, it’s kind of like hypocrite, right?
John Corcoran: 19:30
Oftentimes that happens, though, right? It’s like a pain point that we struggle with. And then eventually, once you turn the corner and then you’re like, I want to show others the light.
Andy Cheng: 19:36
Yeah. So honestly, the game changer was I started reading a couple of the master book, which I’m using those books to now start teaching a different chapter. You know, a couple of the books that really made me realize that, okay, I need to change the way I work. So I started applying all those concepts in my day to day basis. So I start around my day around 7:30, you know, and actually finished by 2 p.m. every single day. And then really and then I’m eliminating my email. So I have to go every day. Other than sales related email, I do not send more than two emails. And then because I’m also the sales. So I’m entitled, I’m a should be. But even that I’m figuring out a way to delegate to someone else to the software to really let them take care for me. So yeah, I’m setting my example.
John Corcoran: 20:25
And you have been very involved in entrepreneurs’ organization. You and I have crossed paths many different ways. Talk a little bit about what that has done for you as a leader, being a part of this community.
Andy Cheng: 20:35
It’s funny, if you guys actually were at the GLC is they talk about being childish versus childlike. I’m still a childlike person. I think I am, at least I wanted to be. But the maturity of being in business as a leader, I really I really am proud that everyone, including you, John, everyone, has helped me to elevate who I am. And then we talk about again, we talk about belonging. I actually want to say that I belong to a group where they accept me, who I am, and they also have no problem telling me in a nice way about what what they think I screw up and still accept me as a friend. So I feel I belong and that’s what I feel like. What EO has done for me as a person accept who I am but the elevate myself and then eventually my business grow because of that.
John Corcoran: 21:27
What about this global leadership conference here in Honolulu, Hawaii? Why did you want to come here and what have you gotten from the last couple of days here, honestly?
Andy Cheng: 21:36
Well, I got the inspirational one from Canada. The the EO talk was phenomenal. It was inspiring me so much. I want to go back to my hometown to find my roots of or my family. It really helped me to really think the next year, if I want to teach my kids this is what the Chan family is about. This is what we came from. And also, at the end of the day, the biggest asset for EO is people. So I’m here to connect people. I normally don’t see every day and also strengthen the relationship with the people I see every day. It’s the way I do it.
John Corcoran: 22:12
Yeah. And another big event that’s coming up is EO Alchemy, which is going to be in Scottsdale in October. I know you’ve been to other Alchemy’s before. Before. Talk a little bit about why you go to that particular show and what you’ve gotten out of those shows.
Andy Cheng: 22:23
Well, I know I kind of know the alchemy budget. So the level I was a speaker, if you’re undecided, is definitely not some kind of speaker we like the local chapter usually can afford. And so they’re delivering level. The content is definitely next level different.
John Corcoran: 22:40
Next level content.
Andy Cheng: 22:41
Okay. Next level or just different right. And then obviously for me it’s also reconnect with the people that I know of regional talk about EOS. You get to see them maybe twice a year. But you know, this is the one time you want to be connected to the people. I always get inspired by that.
John Corcoran: 22:58
Yeah. Andy optinizers.com is the website anywhere else people should go to learn about you and connect with you?
Andy Cheng: 23:04
I think I’m going to start. My personal website is called chengandy.com. So once it’s available you’re going to see more about what I do, what I want to do, my impact for the entrepreneurial community. I’m also teaching in high school to teach kids about what the true entrepreneur should be about, and then making a social impact. When we saw social media, it’s not culture, it’s you’re making a difference, even though while you’re making money it’s not great, you’re making a positive difference to the community while you’re making some money. That’s the best thing that can ever happen.
John Corcoran: 23:36
Thank you Andy, thanks so much.
Andy Cheng: 23:38
Thank you John.
Outro: 23:39
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