048: What Does It Take to Go All-In on Your Dream? Bryan and Shannon Miles of Belay Solutions

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SUMMARY:

You’ve heard the phrase before: high risk, high reward. Bryan and Shannon Miles of Belay Solutions are walking examples of that. As new parents in the middle of a recession, they decided to go all-in on a new-concept business. Now, seven years later, Belay Solutions leading the pack when it comes to virtual staffing.

How did they start? How have they grown it? What tools have helped them along the way?

Welcome to episode 48 of The Executive Minds Podcast.

LINKS + RESOURCES:

Belay Solutions

Virtual Culture by Steven Jones

Book in a Box: Turning Ideas Into Books

Basecamp

Slack

MobileDay

Workplace by Facebook

THREE TAKEAWAYS:

Know Your Runway

Starting a business means taking a financial risk. Whether it s a big one like Bryan and Shannon, or a smaller one to get a side project off the ground Shannon told us: Know your runway. Don t get so caught up in the dream that you forget about the financial reality. Know how much you can put into the business and still survive. Know when your stopping point is.

Create the kind of company you d like to work for

Culture happens, no matter what. So instead of just letting culture happen to your business, be intentional about creating it. Belay had a unique barrier to creating culture: every person works remotely. So, they use a simple (but effective) filter when evaluating office culture: If I didn t own this company, would I like working here?

Celebrate along the way

Celebrating milestones matters more than you think. It reminds the team what the vision is and refuels their passion for getting there. Even during busy seasons, make time to stop and congratulate the team on wins.