#244: I've been avoiding this for too long [Voice Memo] - Creator Science with Jay Clouse

Summary

Creator Science Podcast Summary: Episode #244 – "I've Been Avoiding This for Too Long [Voice Memo]"

Release Date: February 21, 2025
Host: Jay Clouse

In Episode #244 of Creator Science, host Jay Clouse opens up about the intricate balance between managing a growing business and embracing parenthood. This candid voice memo dives deep into the personal challenges Jay faces, offering valuable insights and strategies for fellow creators navigating similar waters.

1. The Impact of Parenthood on Business Operations

Jay begins by reflecting on how becoming a parent has fundamentally altered his approach to work. He shares a relatable metaphor to illustrate the constant juggling act:

“If this isn't a perfect metaphor for running a business while parenting, basically have one hand tied behind your back all the time.”
— Jay Clouse [00:01]

This vivid imagery underscores the persistent constraints on his time and energy, highlighting the shift in priorities that comes with raising a child.

2. Time Scarcity and Its Consequences

A central theme of the episode is the newfound scarcity of time. Jay elaborates on how limited time amplifies the costs of procrastination and inefficiency:

“If I am wasting time or procrastinating, the cost of that procrastination is just so much higher.”
— Jay Clouse [00:02]

He emphasizes that with less available time, every decision becomes more critical, and the luxury of wasting time is no longer feasible.

3. Prioritizing High-Value Activities

In response to limited time, Jay has made deliberate choices to focus on high-value tasks that directly contribute to his business growth. Social media, previously a daily non-negotiable, has been scaled back to prioritize more impactful activities such as:

Content Creation: Podcasts and YouTube videos that offer long-form, valuable content.
Communication: Sending emails that build and maintain professional relationships.
Deep Work: Engaging in tasks that require concentration and contribute significantly to business objectives.

“What I value and I'm going to continue to deliver on consistently are fulfilling. How I show up in the lab, sending emails, creating podcasts, making YouTube videos, the long form stuff that is a little bit higher value than the social media stuff.”
— Jay Clouse [00:05]

4. The Challenge of Hiring and Delegation

Acknowledging that scaling requires delegation, Jay discusses his difficulties in hiring. He insists on employing only excellent candidates, which presents both a quality standard and a financial hurdle:

“I hire excellent people because work is a joy when you give things over to someone excellent and they make something better than you could have done anyway.”
— Jay Clouse [00:07]

Despite the benefits, the high cost of top-tier talent makes the decision to hire more complex, especially when balancing financial and time-related stresses.

5. Rethinking Financial Investments in Hiring

Jay shifts his perspective from viewing hiring as a financial burden to seeing it as an incremental investment in growth. By breaking down costs into manageable chunks, he makes the decision more attainable:

“If I were to hire somebody for... $60,000 per year, that's actually a $5,000 per month investment. And that feels a lot more attainable because that's more of a cash flow question.”
— Jay Clouse [00:09]

He argues that hiring should be seen as an investment that will generate more value than it costs, emphasizing the importance of calculating the return on investment over time.

6. Strategic Steps Forward

With a clear understanding of the necessity to delegate, Jay outlines his plan to enhance hiring practices and outsource more effectively. This strategy aims to free up his time, allowing him to focus on high-impact areas that drive business growth:

“The only way forward is hiring. I've got to do a better job hiring, delegating.”
— Jay Clouse [00:10]

7. Community Engagement and Future Initiatives

Jay invites listeners to join him on this journey of transformation, sharing that he will document his hiring experiments and share lessons learned through various platforms. He highlights upcoming changes in his community, including the introduction of masterminds for members:

“I'm going to be documenting this journey... So if you want to follow along with this as I go through it, this is a great time to join the lab.”
— Jay Clouse [00:12]

He encourages active participation and feedback, reinforcing the collaborative spirit of the Creator Science community.

8. Public Commitment and Call to Action

Concluding his voice memo, Jay makes a public declaration of his commitment to finding balance between business growth and family life. He encourages listeners to engage with him through comments and social media, fostering a sense of accountability and shared growth:

“This is my public declaration. I hope to show you what balance looks like in growing a business without putting more time into it and taking more time away from my family.”
— Jay Clouse [00:15]

Final Thoughts

Episode #244 of Creator Science serves as an intimate exploration of the personal and professional challenges faced by creators who are also parents. Jay Clouse's honest reflection on time management, prioritization, and strategic hiring offers practical lessons for anyone striving to scale their business without compromising personal life. By sharing his struggles and strategies, Jay provides a roadmap for sustainable growth built on observation, experimentation, and iteration—the pillars of Creator Science.

For more insights and to follow Jay's journey, listeners are encouraged to join the Lab community at creatorscience.com/lab and engage with upcoming initiatives designed to support and elevate creators in their professional endeavors.

Transcript

A (0:01)

Once you have a kid, the way that you work just fundamentally probably forever changes, at least for a long time, or at least until they go to school changes. Yesterday there was a point where our daughter was sitting on my lap and I was trying to do a little bit of work and I was doing it with one hand. And I thought to myself, well, if this isn't a perfect metaphor for running a business while parenting, basically have one hand tied behind your back all the time. The reality is time just becomes so much more valuable, so much more scarce. And where you really feel that is you don't have the ability to waste time, you don't have the ability to have as much solo time. At least I don't, as I once had, I don't have as much time to do deep work time. And if I am wasting time or procrastinating, the cost of that procrastination is just so much higher. And so the anxiety I feel around procrastinating is so much worse than it used to be. So what do we do? What do I do about this? Because I'm not going to get a ton of time back. We've made the decision that it's our priority not to do daycare. We could potentially hire like a, a nanny to come into the house and help a couple days a week, we might explore that. But at some level, you know, my time is just more scarce than it ever has been and I'm more or less trying to do the same amount of work in less time. That's not sustainable, it's not plausible. And if you follow me on different social media platforms, you've probably noticed that I don't post as much on social media anymore because that's just one of the things that I've kind of cut out. It's less of a non negotiable. I have to do this every day and more of a luxury because the things that I value and I'm going to continue to deliver on consistently are fulfilling. How I show up in the lab, sending emails, creating podcasts, making YouTube videos, the long form stuff that is a little bit higher value than the social media stuff. But even though I personally want to spend less time in the business, I don't actually have lower ambition for what I want the business to be. And so really the only way forward is hiring. I've got to do a better job hiring, delegating. And it's just been such a hard thing for me to do because I only hire excellent people. Excellent people are more expensive unless you find Someone who does not yet realize they are excellent or the market doesn't realize that they're excellent yet. But I hire excellent people because work is a joy when you give things over to someone excellent and they make something better than you could have done anyway. But the hang up that I often have is right now I have time stress, but not financial stress. If I hire more, I will trade financial stress for time stress. You know, I may unlock some more time, at least in the medium and long term, but I will create new financial stress. Or at least that's the story I tell myself. And what I've realized is I shouldn't think about it that way. I should actually get better at thinking about basic math when it comes to hiring. If I were to hire somebody for, let's just even pretend that I wanted to hire somebody full time or close to full time, and I thought that would be a $60,000 per year investment. That's not actually the right way to think about it. The better way to think about it is if I wanted to hire somebody who needed $60,000 per year to commit all of their time to this business, that's actually a $5,000 per month investment. And that feels a lot more attainable because that's more of a cash flow question. Can I allocate $5,000 incrementally to a new employee for the first or the next several months to get them trained up, to get them going? And if I'm hiring them, the assumption should be they create more value in the business than the cost to the business. So I would want to think, let's just imagine this is a $5,000 per month investment for three months and three months from now they should be earning more into the business than the cost to the business. Now it's a $15,000 per month investment, but again. Or sorry, $15,000 total investment in my mind. But again, it's just cash flow. So I'm trying to change my thinking around this because there are some functions in the business that I do want to hire for. And I think I can hire in and cash flow now. And if I hire right, it should have a immediate payoff effect. And so that is the journey I am about to embark on is better hiring, choosing who to hire and in what order, outsourcing more, getting myself out of some of the day to day. And I think that should continue to grow the business and brand overall. I mean, this is a proven way people build businesses, right? And being a creator is no different. So I just need to be a little bit more courageous and do that. I'm going to be documenting this journey. Of course, everything that I learn will get shared first in the lab. It'll be messy as we go, you know, and I share the the messiest bits in the lab and then tend to wait for an experiment to run its entire course and share it on the podcast or in the newsletter and everywhere else. So if you want to follow along with this as I go through it, this is a great time to join the lab. We just had our town hall this month. We're making some big changes in the community and based on the feedback that I'm seeing, it looks like I'm going to be figuring out how to put together and run masterminds for members here in the community. So it's a good time to join if you have that interest. You can learn more@creatorscience.com lab but otherwise I'll be sharing here on the feed my experiments in hiring as we go Part of the reason that I'm recording this is because I know well. I share something publicly, I hold myself to it, and when I'm in my bravest, rightest of mind, I know this is the right thing to do. So this is my public declaration. I hope to show you what balance looks like in growing a business without putting more time into it and taking more time away from my family. So thanks for listening. If you have any thoughts, comment here on Spotify or tag me at jclaus, Let me know. I hope you have a great weekend and I'll talk to you on Tuesday.