The Power of Purpose-Driven Operations | ShaNae Walker - Part 2

Listen to part 1 here!

In part two of this inspiring conversation with systems and strategy expert Shanae Walker, we discuss how to rebuild from burnout, set boundaries with grace, and design processes that protect your peace and fuel your growth. From prayer and purpose to productivity and people, this episode is a masterclass in leading with alignment, building with intention, and showing up authentically in business and life. Whether you’re restructuring your operations or just trying to remember who you are beneath the busy, this episode is a permission slip to slow down, reset, and realign.

Three Key Topics Discussed:

1. Rebuilding After Burnout: Shanae shares how she used her 4P framework,Prayer, Purpose, Productivity, and People, to come back from burnout stronger and more aligned than ever.
2. Systems & Boundaries for Sustainable Growth: Discover how systems support your sanity, why boundaries are essential for leadership, and how to create protected time that empowers your vision.
3. Confidence Through Clarity & Connection: From testimonials to storytelling, Shanae explains how consistency builds confidence, and how authentic relationships fuel both marketing and mission.

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The Silent Partner | Website

Transcript

0:09

Hello. Before we dive into part two of this episode, I gotta ask, did you catch part one? If not, hit pause real quick. You'll wanna start from the beginning to get the full effect. The link to part one is right down in the description below. Go ahead, catch up, and we'll be right here waiting for you. Ready to dive into part two when you're all set. It's worth it, I promise.

Beverly: 0:28

On your application you mentioned. That you took on missile end clients and you burned out. And we talked a little about that, those moments of whatever. So how did you restructure yourself, talk about you.'cause I was really good at helping everybody else, but I never took my own advice.

ShaNae: 0:46

Starts with another p prayer. Because I needed the prayer, but also going through the four piece framework. Really understanding, again why am I doing this? What am I doing? How does it help serve? And then saying to myself, what things do I need to adjust? How have I fallen off of really moving forward the way I want to? Going through that perception. Why have I gotten off track? Does my audience understand? Do I know what I'm talking about? Do I know what I need in order to move forward? Am I putting myself in self-doubt? And then thinking about my processes and productivity of how am I using my time, talent, and tech properly? You have to really focus in on what tools do we have in place that we can implement immediately? What things I do over and over again? What tasks can I create a system for? What can I delegate? And delegation was so hard for me at first, and I know that a lot of us get that way because it's oh, but I know how to do it the best way and I know what to do. And if I just do it, it'll be faster than me teaching other people. But it's not true. It's not. And that's why we create those systems, because that helps us map out those things. And then finally, just having the right circle around me was huge. It was important for me to really bring in the people who knew more than I did that could really speak to me. I have a leadership coach of my own who really helps pour into me. I teach a bible study as well, so it's me leaning in on the women who I teach and them leaning back to me and saying, yeah, we need you. And then my family's huge. I have a future husband, so he's been amazing and really just pouring into me in those ways. So really taking myself through those four P's. And understanding how that all made sense not only for me, but other people. I think sometimes we get so caught up in that we're building a business and that. If we fail or if we get burnt out, we just gotta keep going. And that's just not true. As you were talking about earlier you can't fill from an empty cup. There's nothing that you can give to other people if you don't have what you need. So just putting those mindfulness practices in place. I have a principle called Soft hustle Principle. As a woman I think is important to really bring in our femininity and femininity in leadership. There's grace over the grind and just moving in a place of rest and moving in a place of softness and leading our team with that. We do have so many things, incorporating time for ourself, it's not lazy to rest. It's not lazy to refocus. It's what's important because that's how we can continue to grow. So I think bringing that in is a huge piece too, of understanding. Sometimes I go on nature walks because I need my mind to really focus in. And so just really putting those principles in for myself. Were a great grace for me to navigate away from the burnout. It was a great way for me to navigate away from thinking I had to do it all on my own. And then understanding that these are great processes, I need to now push them out to other people. It was probably a couple weeks ago where I was just like, you know what? This is a lot and I'm having a time and I first got in prayer'cause that's gonna always be my go-to for myself. And something I really talked to my clients about. But then also just remapping those piece because it's not one thing you do one time, it's something you continuously go back and say, let's review this. Let me understand this. Let me make sure I'm doing the things I need to correctly in order to do that. And then taking time for yourself. Making sure you're incorporating you first, because that's important.

Beverly: 4:33

Your business is organic. Humans are organic. You can't imagine that you're gonna stay the same and your business is gonna be the same for the next 20 years. That just doesn't happen. You evolve, so your business evolves. As you evolve as a human, as you get wiser, as you get more sophisticated your purpose and everything can evolve too. I have a thing that says I am the permission. Another p I am the permission because it's okay to change. It's okay to evolve. It was okay for it to feel good yesterday, but maybe not tomorrow. It's okay when that felt right, but now this feels better. It's okay to lean into some of that and evolve. And I think you're right. Like some of those moments that are the most frustrating or the most burned out, some of those moments have been for me when I've lost a client or something for some reason. Those are reality checks. Those are moments of grace that you can give yourself. I love that moments of grace you can give yourself where you can get back into alignment of what was supposed to happen. I think that's like the best thing. Don't think of it as a failure. Don't think of it as an opportunity for you to get back in alignment.

ShaNae: 5:39

Absolutely.

Beverly: 5:40

What is one of the biggest lessons you've learned about boundaries as a business owner?

ShaNae: 5:45

Boundaries was a difficult one because again, we always want to help other people. One of the biggest lessons I learned was I was working with someone who, we're on different time zones. It just happens because we're working in different places and I was constantly getting like random text messages, emails, things like that all types of the night. And she wasn't trying to disrupt my sleep or anything like that. And I absolutely understand'cause I do have those times at 3:00 AM where I wake up and I have an idea.

Beverly: 6:17

Yeah.

ShaNae: 6:18

So we just had to talk through understanding, like you can send me an email, but a text message is gonna distract me. A ping is gonna distract me. So the best way to understand that I need to protect my time is a different way for us to communicate.

Beverly: 6:35

Yeah.

ShaNae: 6:36

But the lesson wasn't just in the type of communication. The lesson was that I need to have protected time in order to make sure that I'm able to show up for everyone around me. So that was the biggest lesson I had to learn, is that I had to create space for myself, because a lot of times we won't, I had to create that space for myself in order for me to have the things I need in order to execute the way I'm supposed to. so having that protected time is essential in making sure that I'm waking up and that I'm ready to go and that I am refreshed and in a space of. Navigating not only for myself, but for my clients and people I wanna serve. Yeah. So it's really about protecting your time.

Beverly: 7:21

And I think once you create the boundary and you hold to it, there's something empowering in that too, to make the next boundary hold. It's a validation of it's okay for me to feel this way and to have this boundary. When I lost a couple of clients and I was deeply upset and personally felt very sad about the loss. They've been with me for years. And the separation didn't happen in what I would've thought professional way based on our relationship. But what I realized is that realignment and that boundary for myself was they probably were never the right client in the first place.

ShaNae: 7:56

That's good.

Beverly: 7:57

I should be more specific about who I serve because I can never drag people across the finish line. No matter how much I care no matter how much I wanna help them, they also have to help themselves. I probably either should never have taken a on or I should have fired them as a client a long time ago. But those moments, those boundary shifting moments where it feels a little uneasy and uncomfortable are really powerful because I think the next time I could see that client coming from a mile away and I was like, absolutely. Tap out. I am not going down that road. I have been down that road. I'm good. So I feel boundary moments are so critical for our confidence. And they empower us in such a different level, even though they might be difficult in the moment, a difficult conversation. From that comes a lot of wisdom and power. So speaking of that, our season's big question. It's all about confidence. So was there a moment when everything finally clicked, and you stopped second guessing yourself? What helped you own your confidence in your business?

ShaNae: 8:58

That's good. It was a season, it wasn't a moment because I think we have, times where we're like, oh yeah, okay. But it was definitely a season, and that season was when I was intentional about really collecting more client feedback and client testimonials and things like that. And I was hearing from people about all the things that I had done. And, sometimes when you're not constantly reviewing those things, you forget because you're just like your head down. You're wanting to serve, you're wanting to help people. And so it was a moment when I was hearing from people saying, oh my gosh, thank you so much. You really helped me get more balance. You've helped me to be able to grow this business. You've helped me to whatever it was. And just hearing that was like, oh. I truly am moving in alignment and I am confident in what I do. And it just started to build me up. So I have an Emerge conference every fall and I ended up having a conference it started last fall. And when I saw how many people not only responded to the conference, but even the speakers that I had come in, they were like, this is amazing. This is something that is really helpful. Let me know if you're doing it next year. I can really see how this could grow to this, level and those constant reminders from people saying. You are doing a good job, but also you've helped me to accomplish this thing. It is a trigger that says, you know what? This is what I'm supposed to do. I'm gonna really focus and get it done. And one of the things I always say is, once you have clarity, it creates consistency, which creates confidence. And so once you have the clarity around what you're doing, you're gonna consistently pour into yourself and you're gonna see those results happen and that's gonna initiate you to be more confident. And that's what I was doing. I was very clear in my message. I was consistent with my clients and they were telling me, thank you so much for what you helped me with. Thank you so much for your company, you don't know that you've affected more than just my business. You've helped me just in my life. And I think that really spurred something with inside of me that said yes. I am fully in where I need to be.

Beverly: 11:11

The exercise of gathering your testimonials. We have them, our clients do this too, because that, social proof on a website's super powerful. And so many of my clients are afraid to ask for testimonials. I was just talking yesterday, ShaNae, with one of my team members, and I was saying that we've had some lovely testimonials recently, and it just reaffirms for me that we're in our purpose when we talk to'em about the transformation they've had, they've experienced and what life was like before us. And what's life like after us? But the idea though is, even if they're negative or you get negative feedback, you can learn and grow from that and get better. Absolutely. And the testimonial process is pretty powerful. I have very similar, it's clarity. Consistency and momentum builds confidence I don't think you can just get confidence. You have to build your confidence. By being consistent and having that momentum that builds confidence. And you don't just get clarity. You have to seek it. You have to create it. That's something that you have to do for yourself. It's not something that's just given to you. It's not like you're a soothsayer where the vision just comes of clarity in your magic ball. It doesn't happen. You have to create the scenario intentionally. So let's talk about marketing a little bit. From what I can see, your brand was built on a lot of storytelling from social to your Grace Over grind kind of newsletter, which I think is so cool. Yes. Why do you think that resonates so deeply with your audience? I love storytelling, but talk about how that really helps connect for you.

ShaNae: 12:44

I'm a people person and I have so much background in sales and just really connecting with people. And one of the things that I heard in my journey is that I'm very authentic and people really feel like I'm very genuine. And I think that it's important to talk to people and give people what they need. Storytelling is one of those things that give you, that it's like a parable. You learn the lesson. But you don't really realize oh, that's the lesson that I was looking for. You're hearing what's happening, and it helps you to mind map to what you're working on. And conversations and building that authenticity between two people is a huge part of who I am naturally. When I'm talking to someone, I wanna build that connection in that way. So storytelling just automatically falls into that conversation about what's happening and the things that I'm learning. It builds that parable type scenario where you're still getting things from it. But you don't really realize in the story because it's something that you're now authentically, connected to, and it's something that you can carry along with you. So I think that's a huge portion of why storytelling is a big part of what I do because it really does bring in a natural connection between people and myself. It gives me a chance to be very open and transparent and sometimes very vulnerable about what I'm going through. And people really resonate with that. Because I'm gonna tell the hard truths and I think it's just easier to tell when I'm explaining it in the story.

Beverly: 15:22

What advice would you give to someone who wants to build a business but isn't sure how to show up authentically online?

ShaNae: 15:28

First thing I would tell them is, stop looking at what everybody else does. Because you're uniquely you and what you have inside of you is gonna resonate with the people that you're meant to serve.

Beverly: 15:39

I would give you a high five if you were in front of me.

ShaNae: 15:41

So that would be my first piece of advice for someone who is trying to figure out that next step. The next thing I would say is go back to what sparks in you. We just talked about, I'm very much a connection person. I'm very much into storytelling and that's something that I feel like is a part of who I am. So go back to what's something that's authentically you. And use that as your sounding board, as your springboard to get started. That's what I would say. Show up in a space that's you, that feels authentically you.

Beverly: 16:13

Love it. What's the hardest thing about marketing for you?

ShaNae: 16:16

The hardest thing about marketing is honestly, not being able to connect all the time the way I want to connect. And that's in the space of cold dms and random sales calls are all things I've done in the past. And those are sometimes necessary, let's be clear. But the hardest thing for me is, A lot of my business is online, so just not being able to sit down and have a cup of coffee and talk. Yeah. So I have to build those from who I am and build those from where I am now and build those from being authentically me and building relationships. So it's not just about connecting with person one time, it's really about getting to know who they are what has them excited, what keeps them moving forward. And then just building a real relationship, not just another client or another sales pitch. It's about really building that relationship. And sometimes the hardest thing is not being able to have those times where I'm able to like, i'm dealing with women, let's go talk, let's do a coffee, let's talk about our kids and our families and all the things. Since my clients are not local, whenever I'm in their city or they're in this city we do typically have coffee, we do have lunch. We do have ways that we connect because it is about really building those relationships

Beverly: 17:31

the podcast, it's exactly that. It's my opportunity to talk to somebody, really get to know them at a different level than I would through like a LinkedIn connection. It's a way absolutely for me to build rapport, build trust get to know them. We don't talk about our kids necessarily, although like we have kids, but we don't necessarily talk about those things. But I can learn so much about someone just from this conversation, and I do ask some things and people do get pretty vulnerable. So I feel like it's a safe space and people feel like that. So that connections a little bit stronger going forward. I agree with you on that. That connection part is so important to me. And, doing podcasting, it's probably one of the most intimate forms of marketing because literally whispering in someone's ear. And they might be in the bathroom, they might be in the shower, they might be in the car, they might be in the gym, whatever they're at. But you're like with them. So it's interesting form of marketing. It's so fascinating from my background perspective, but I love it so much and it's my Oprah moment. It's like you said. What are the things that make you happy right from when you were a kid? And I was gonna be like an Oprah, and so here's my mini Oprah moment. It's the best because I don't have to get in front of an audience and I don't have look exactly perfect. But the idea though is the connecting. I loved how she connected. How she helped people. I love that she learned a lot in the process and I feel like I learned so much from my guests. So what big marketing mistake have you made and how did it help you grow?

ShaNae: 18:56

Oh I was trying to be everyone else but myself. I was focused in on, oh, this person does exactly this. I'm going to mirror what they do. I'm going to send out the dms the way they do, and that just flopped. And it felt flat so quickly because it did not feel like me. I can't do what they do because that's not who I am. And I don't even wanna do what they do, honestly. Let's be clear. I want them to do what they do. I want me to do how I want to do. It took me going back to who I am remembering and saying, okay, ma'am, we can't be, everyone else. we have to really focus in on who we are. Because it just doesn't feel good to do other people to be someone else. It was a big flop. Yeah.

Beverly: 19:41

Real quick, you realize it's not working. And I think everybody's tried it and it doesn't work. We're gonna shake things up a little bit. So you know that I have a magic hat, right? I do. But before we dive in to our listeners, if you're enjoying this conversation, please hit that follow button so you never miss an episode. It really means a lot to us. When you subscribe or you give us a review, it's so important to continue to make the magic we're making on this show. So this is my magic hat. Yay, sparkly.

ShaNae: 20:06

Love the purple.

Beverly: 20:07

It has all kinds of questions in there so you can see. It's a more of a lightning round, which means a little bit more quick of answers. Do you have an unconventional tool or app that has become your secret weapon for systems and processes?

ShaNae: 20:21

Ooh, unconventional. Probably not, but the one that I love the most is Clickup. It houses everything for me. That is one of the things that I love. We use it for everything.

Beverly: 20:33

So share a fun fact about your business that even your most dedicated clients might not know.

ShaNae: 20:42

So most of the things that we build, most of our offers have a prophetic naming to'em. We don't just name things. We actually are very intentional about how they resonate with our clients, and we're in prayer about them, and we make sure that they are in alignment with what we're doing. One of my Business accelerator's Bloom and it's really focused on growing and developing and flourishing, and that's why we call it Bloom.

Beverly: 21:06

Nice. I love it. So what's been the hardest part about being an entrepreneur?

ShaNae: 21:11

Staying focused in on one thing because we are people of many talents and being able to really focus and dive into that one thing, and I see all these other things happening around me and I want to change this, move this, figure this out start this business. So it's really focusing on the one thing and mastering that thing first and then moving to the next thing.

Beverly: 21:33

What's a common misconception about your industry that you'd love to debunk?

ShaNae: 21:37

I would consider myself in the leadership operations. I think the one thing that people feel like is that you don't need systems. And that is insane. Especially if you're wanting to scale. People think systems are too hard to build because as a solopreneur, they have all these other things that they're trying to do and that a system will slow them down or it will keep them from getting, things done. But realistically, the system is what's gonna help you scale. It's gonna help you get there. It's gonna take you to that next level. If you're feeling stagnant or behind, you probably need a system to delegate. And automation, it's huge right now.

Beverly: 22:11

Agreed. What is one thing people overcomplicate about systems and processes or operations? That's actually really simple.

ShaNae: 22:19

I think people think that they have to have this grand SOP and this grand system like Stack and Tech Stack and things like that. Realistically, the first thing you need to do is just write down the task that you do. Yep. That's it. And once you write down the task that you do, you created a framework for your SOP. I think that people overcomplicate it and make it harder than it is, but really just start with writing down your tasks that you do and how you do it.

Beverly: 22:48

We use a program called Loom here at Wickedly Branded. I love Loom. I loom everything and the AI in the Loom creates a transcript. And then I take that transcript and I throw it into chat GPT and say, create an SOP. So literally all I have to do is as I do my tasks, record them and then say that out loud, whatever I need to do. So I'm not really creating an extra step per se. When I have a new process.

ShaNae: 23:11

I was using Loom before, but I'll just recommend Komodo is amazing. Okay. It's free. There's not really a cap and it does similar things.

Beverly: 23:19

Ooh, Komodo. That's your hot tip. I love it. Free is always the right price. So if your brand had a theme song, what would it be and why?

ShaNae: 23:28

There's a song by Tasha Cobb, and it's talking about the fourth man in the fire. And referring to God as the fourth man in the fire. I can't remember the name of the song, but I listen to it all the time, which is crazy. But that would probably be the theme song. And that's because he's always there, he's always helping, he's always guiding this business.

Beverly: 23:47

What are the three most important ingredients ShaNae, for your recipe for success?

ShaNae: 23:53

My core values is bold faith, purposeful action, and graceful stewardship.

Beverly: 23:58

She knew'em right away. So many of you all have six, 10 core values. Stop it. Three core values. You should be able to rip'em off anytime you need to. There shouldn't even be no thinking. You passed the test, ShaNae. I love it. Three core values super easy. That's the way you do it right there. Now I have my magic wand and my magic wand it's gonna take us back in time and take us forward in time. So the first thing we're gonna do is we're gonna go visit young ShaNae who's just graduating from high school, has all kinds of big dreams and plans. What advice would we tell that young ShaNae, that you didn't know then that you wish she'd known?

ShaNae: 24:35

I would probably tell myself to really discover who I am. Before I worry about what everybody else thinks because that's going to really creep in and it's going to delay me from getting to where I need to be. I would probably tell myself to take time to develop that and figure that out without distraction, without comparison. And then really do deep dives into any kind of assessments or prayer conversation of just finding out.'cause you don't know who you are at 18. You think you know everything, but you think you know everything today, you know nothing You know a little bit, but you know what they taught you in the school, I would say take some time to yourself to really figure out who you are before the world tells you who you are.

Beverly: 25:20

What would that look like, do you think? Would that be like a trip abroad? What would that look like for you?

ShaNae: 25:24

I went on a mission trip later in life, I'll say that. And something stirred within me that, life is not just here in America. There's so much other things going on. And how do I fit into those things? I think taking those types of trips earlier would help. I think doing some deep dives into some of the books that I love now would help. The podcast that I listen to some of those things would help me to really understand who I was and then just really asking myself, where do I see myself in 10 years? Where do I see myself in 30 years and how am I going to get there? And then really focusing in on that and asking people around me. Really understanding how other people perceive me and what are some things that they see about me that I may not see about myself.

Beverly: 26:09

There's two things that we do here at wickedly brand with my team. I have everybody write their eulogy and I asked them to work themselves backwards How do you need to show up? This year, next year to become the person you want to be in your eulogy, what are you missing? Simon Sinek has an exercise and it's on TikTok or someplace that I've watched recently where you ask your friends like, why are you my friend? Just keep asking these questions to get to the root of why people like you. And his thing was like, I can just be in a room with you and I feel like I get smarter. So just understanding what your presence does in people's lives. And I think that is so powerful. To go back to your why, what would young ShaNae say to older ShaNae now? What would she think of where you've arrived?

ShaNae: 26:56

Hopefully she would say, thank you for being so dedicated because we retired early and we're sitting on a beach. That's what I hope she would say. I would hope she would say thank you for stepping back and taking time to do the things that you know, not only what you're called to, but that you enjoy. The people who you care about your families, taking time to nurture them and to serve them in a way that has, grown into a legacy of kindness, a legacy of servant, a legacy of kingdom building, a legacy of faith. So I hope that she is very proud of me and I hope that she is very proud of herself. Really just understanding that, you did what we came to do. And now we can, bask in that what we have created and not only for ourselves, not only for our family, but for our community.

Beverly: 27:49

If I wave my wand and we go to your eulogy, what do you think will be the most significant impact you will have made? You talked about these different legacies you'll have, but what will be the most significant impact?

ShaNae: 27:58

I hope to have thousands of women who have built these amazing businesses and who are bold and who are moving in alignment with what they're called to be and who are creating things that are changing the world. And I hope that resonates not only in the clients that I serve, but in my nieces and nephews, in my bonus son, in all those places. I hope that resonates with them and in future generations.

Beverly: 28:26

Love it. So good. Okay, so I'm gonna wave the wand and we're gonna come back to today. For this particular season, for those tuning in today, all those small business owners, those solopreneurs, those women who are doing some amazing things, the men as well, we love you too. If you're listening those aspiring entrepreneurs, what's one action that they can take to feel more confident in their systems and processes for their business today?

ShaNae: 28:51

First of all, build them if you don't have them, because that's the first thing I would tell you to do. It's important to start there and building. But the confidence in them is to not only build them out, but then test them. Test if it's something that you feel like, for instance, you're building your sales process, you're building your pipeline how are you speaking to your people? Do market research, if you must just really test those products, those processes out on people who are around you who have past clients, ask past clients, is this something that I should put in place? How would you feel about if I changed this? Going back to those client testimonials and feedback is huge. We have checkpoints, not only at the end of working with our clients, but literally after certain points, throughout working with our clients to make sure that we are getting that feedback and saying, Hey, does this work? And then just reevaluate from there.

Beverly: 29:46

If today's episode has sparked something in you, we would love you to take a minute to leave a review your words, help more business owners find this podcast and ignite their own marketing magic and their entrepreneurial spark. We really appreciate it. So before we go, Shanae, where can people learn more about you and your business and your newsletter?

ShaNae: 30:08

Absolutely. So I'm the real ShaNae on every platform. I'm on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. I also, my website is tsp process.com. That's tsp process.com. And then I do have a search assessment that I created to give clarity and faith and business. That is a resource I would love to offer. It is a way to really get clarity around what you do in six categories of surrender execution, accountability, resolve creativity, and your heart posture. It is an amazing assessment. It takes about 10 minutes and it does give you an action plan afterward. So that is something that's available on my website, the tsp.com/search-assessment. That's another tool that I would love to offer to everyone.

Beverly: 30:59

Shanae I've had so much fun. Thank you so much for sharing with us today, sharing your magic. I know our listeners are gonna feel more inspired and ready to take action, and I'm so grateful for your time and for all of the systems and processes you are creating in the world, because those are the amazing things that I love so much. Thank you for being here today.

ShaNae: 31:17

Thank you for having me, Beverly. I really appreciate it.

Beverly: 31:19

I hope that today's episode lit a fire in you and gave you some new ideas that feels true to you. So keep showing up, keep sharing your brilliance and keep making magic in the world. And hey, if you ever feel stuck, know that you don't have to do this alone. We're here to help you turn that spark into a wildfire. Until next time, keep sparking and igniting.