Are you confused about what type of work a Director of Operations does? Are you wondering if the DOO certification program is for you?
Subscribe to the podcast here
I am thrilled to bring you one of my greatest confidants and friends, and a big part of our community, Amy Lockrin. Today we will be talking about what a DOO does inside of a business.
Meet Amy
Amy Lockrin is an Operations Strategist and Coach who partners with female entrepreneurs who want more — more freedom, more success, and honestly, a lot more fun in their business! She works with amazing women who are ready to ditch the overwhelm that comes with being in charge of all of the things and fully step into their role as a CEO (not the super-stressed, overworked kind, but one who has control of her business, her time and unlimited financial potential!). She shares actionable tactics weekly on her podcast for service providers, Frazzled to Focused, daily on Instagram as she navigates supporting her clients and raising two spunky kids, or via her site: amylockrin.com
If you are interested in joining the DOO certification program for the last round in 2021, you can apply here.
The history of Amy and Natalie
- Amy came through the beta round of the DOO certification program
- Met at a live event after she had been following Natalie online
- Felt like she wanted to do what Natalie was doing, with her own spin
What was your path inside of the DOO program?
- The transformation has been incredible
- Whenever a product became available, she was immediately on board because of Natalies mentorship
- Has been amazing to see the program shift and bring on expert coaches and grow and coach women through business packaging (she is now the lead coach)
“When we show up we show up powerfully, and in sync, but not identical.” – Natalie Gingrich
What does a DOO actually do?
- A true leadership role that oversees holistic operations
- Oversees multiple disciplines
- Mostly serves smaller and online businesses
- Partners with visionaries to latch on to their ideas and breaks them down into pieces
- Create strategies for the visionaries to bring their ideas to life
- Core competencies: people and project management, strategy, leadership, and two-way communication
- Five areas of operations that you are educated in: HR, strategy, project management, data, and financials
How would you describe the way a DOO works with clients?
- Every business is different and the skillsets you learn shape how you will run your business and find ideal clients
- You will get the biggest return on investment by having retainer clients
- You will be able grow together
- Expectations are determined up front
- You won’t have to spend a lot on marketing
- You can operate on a fractional level meaning you are in their business for a predetermined period of time, but you are not their employee
- You can also join a business as a full or part time employee
“The greatest transformation happens when you identify what your skills and strengths are, and you build a business around those.“ – Natalie Gingrich
What does it look like when someone joins us?
- We start out with the Strategic Mapping™ method so you can understand what it is like to work with someone and give them clarity, vision, and a plan for their business moving forward
- You will meet with a potential client and figure out what their vision is, break down all the areas of your business to find out what is/isn’t working and how to get to their vision
- You will leave this experience knowing if you want to work with the person
- They are left with a clear plan of action on how to get to the next step of their goals
What do you do after a strategic mapping session if you want to continue to work with the client?
- She knows that she has delivered them an incredible service and they are now excited again
- Once they have a plan, they will wonder “who is going to do it all?”
- Since they already have a plan, she steps right in a suggests that it makes sense to continue to work together because they are both going to thrive in this environment
- Gives a quick urgent win based on a problem that she was able to uncover with the mapping
- Jump right in, introduces herself to the team, explains her role, gives expectations, and how to get support from her
- Her goal in the first 30 days is to win the trust of the people she is working with
- Works with CEO on what the vision looks like in the future
Does project management happen throughout the entire relationship?
- Yes, because anything can be a project
- The reason she leads with team first is because she knows the tools are not the same as what she would set up
- She will uncover lots of info through conversations that will structure the projects, and help her understand gaps
- You can set up the projects you discussed in the mapping and give the CEO a timeline to depend on
“The true strategic partnerships gets going when you earn the trust of both the team and your client.” – Amy Lockrin
How do you go deeper with your clients?
- Examining revenue streams and growth opportunities
- If she can identify what is priority or urgent and what can be an “and”
- What they believe to be success or lack of success often lives within their product suite, team delivery, or communication
- One small tweak could make a huge difference
“We are a community that serves and wants to give back to anyone we are working with at any capacity.” – Amy Lockrin
What doesn’t a DOO do?
- A DOO leaves behind implementation
- Doesn’t do the strategic marketing
- There may be aspects of marketing you are involved in
- It is not where your true strength lies
- Doesn’t want to work with visionaries who don’t see us as partners
“We dive deep into your natural skillset, see if they align with being an operator, and then leveraging your experience.” -Natalie Gingrich
If all of this interests you, make sure to apply for this upcoming final round of 2021. Get in before the price goes up in 2022. Now is the time to join the DOO certification program!
Weekly Ops Activity
What did you learn from this episode? Make sure to let us know…join the conversation in our Facebook group!
Stay Connected:
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app.
Join the Ops Insiders Facebook Community:
Other Ways to Connect with Me:
Private Facebook Community
Facebook Page
Instagram
Share with your biz bestie