#101: Client Spotlight Series: Chanie Wilschanski, CEO of The Schools of Excellence
The cool thing about being a business owner is that you get to model your business around the way you want to live your life.
If you want to block off your calendar every Friday morning so you can take your daughter to dance class, you can.
If you want to take off one random afternoon to get a pedicure, guess what, you can!
My guest today, Chanie Wilschanski, CEO of Schools Of Excellence, models her business around her current season in life.
Chanie and I chatted about:
How she takes care of herself to avoid burnout
Why it’s important to leverage deep, meaningful partnerships
The #1 asset in her business and how we worked together to scale it
Tune in to hear what Chanie does to be more productive and make space for what really matters!
Check out Chanie here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com or on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski.
Check out my free training on www.yournextmillion.me, where several of my seven figure clients and colleagues share what they're doing to scale their businesses to the multi-million dollar mark and beyond.
Listen to the Show:
Laura (00:02):
So many entrepreneurs, dream of living a life of massive impact by creating a mega successful company, but only a tiny percentage of businesses actually scale to that point. And when they do it is so often lacking the very joy and freedom that got them into entrepreneurship in the first place. So on this podcast, we speak authentically on what it actually takes to scale your business in a way that creates freedom and joy that works for you, your team, and the incredible impact that you are meant to make in the world as a visionary entrepreneur. My name is Laura Meyer and I'm your host. I'm a serial entrepreneur wife, mom, to three. And I love talking all things business, especially digging into what it actually takes to scale joyfully to the multi-million dollar mark and beyond let's get started.
(01:01):
Hey everybody, I want to introduce you to Chanie Wilschanski. She is the CEO of The Schools of Excellence and she and I worked together for a good part of last year, and I just had a lot of really valuable insights. I think that you had when we were working together, that I think our audience would really benefit from. So welcome and thank you.
Chanie (01:23):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Laura (01:25):
Yeah. Yes. And tell me a little bit about like the history of your business, the growth of your business and what has shifted for you in the last few years.
Chanie (01:35):
Yeah, so I started my business in 20 early 2016, more so as like a hobby of just like, hey, there's this big gap in the market, nobody's talking about leadership of the actual leaders of schools. We have a ton of training out there for staff and for parents, but there's nothing out there for how do we up level the leader? How do we up level their skillset and build these cultures of excellence? So it really started as a hobby. Eventually, I remember my first workshop, I chart $250 for that workshop that included an hour commute each way, two hours of presentation gas, tolls, and printing out the workbooks. So I was paying them to present essentially at a
Laura (02:17):
You've come a long way.
Chanie (02:19):
So we've definitely come a long way. So that's really where it started. And over the past call years, I've really built a team. We've built some signature offerings that we offer in the way that we support leaders on an ongoing basis. Over the course of the year, we also have in-person events where we support kind of the owners and executives at a
higher level coming together to mastermind. So that's kind of been the evolution over the last couple years.
Laura (02:41):
That's so awesome. So when you came to me last summer and you were in kind of a place where you were trying to figure out what direction to grow in and you were really struggling on the marketing side of things. Tell us a little bit about that.
Chanie (02:53):
Yeah. So when I started the business, I didn't know how to do any marketing in sales. I never went to business school. No, no one in my family is in business. I actually am seven generations of Hasidic and rabbis and leaders. So everyone is standing at the pulpit. And so coming into business was not just culture shocking, but I didn't have any role models or frame of references to really turn to as far is how do I do sales? How do I really market this business? So it was a ton of trial and error, a ton of me pushing the boulder up the mountain. And in the first couple years, I really focused heavily on sales, really just enrolling people into the program and inviting people to come join our products so that we can actually start making money. There wasn't really any kind of focus on building in marketing system, building a marketing engine for how to really drive qualified leads applications. It kind of just happened haphazardly happened by word of mouth happened by, Hey, let's do this idea, but there wasn't really a system. And I think that's one of the main reasons why I reached out to her was like we need, we need some marketing systems in this business.
Laura (03:59):
The, yeah, I think that's pretty common. I mean, you were a pretty, you were at a very high level of success by the time you came to me. So yep. You, you muscled through pretty well, that very high six figure multi six figure marketing at seven figures just by having your arms in a lot of different places and not necessary really knowing where the best traffic was coming from or where the best conversions were coming from. There wasn't really anything that you could rinse repeat in your business other than a live event, which we've, we've streamlined . In the past you spoke to every single person that came into your live event, and now you've got a fully booked live event that you didn't have to do that for me.
Chanie (04:43):
I will say one thing that I think is so important relationships have really relationships and partnerships have been what have basically been my marketing strategy up until now. They will continue to be, I've always leveraged close relationships, deep, meaningful partnerships. And that's truly how we filled the programs until, but it's not really a system that's on this kind of autopilot thing. It's, it's more built on just the connection relationships that I enjoy having with other leaders in my industry.
Laura (05:12):
Yeah. Yeah. And then what else have you put into place that has really helped you think about marketing differently?
Chanie (05:20):
So one of the workshops that you and I put together that we ran twice since then was our delegate to elevate workshop. And what was interesting is the kind of the perspective that you and I were talking back and forth on whether that was through Voxer or, you know, on zoom, where you were really challenging me to think of what is this big issue or problem that is kind of consistent within your industry, that you can create content, pillar content on once and then run this workshop multiple times to drive quality leads into, and then eventually invite them to come join your membership at the backend. We actually charged for our delegate to elevate workshop. Again, I think nothing too expensive, I think was like a hundred dollars for, for the ticket. But again, it really brought in the right candidates into the door. So just giving this perspective on like, here's the pillar content, here's what to teach. Here's the customer journey from when they come in and then just all these different kind of, I guess, tactics, I'm not such a tactic person, but you did give us a lot of different tactics to help in get people into the sales conversation after the workshop.
Laura (06:29):
Yeah. Really putting a sales system into place. I love that. And I always love that you laugh at all of my Jewish jokes. I think there was one time where I said on Voxer I'm preaching to the choir here. And then I was like, oh, wait a second.
Chanie (06:39):
My God was so funny. I remember I had my husband re-listen to that box. So I'm like, you gotta listen to Laura, like, lemme just tell you what I'm listening to right now.
Laura (06:48):
This is so funny. Anyway, I was joking around before we started that I'm half Jewish, but not the part that makes me Jewish it's my dad's side. So it's really interesting. I think some of the aha moments that you had, like some of the personal development work that you probably weren't necessarily expecting when you were signing up for a marketing consultant. Yeah. But like what were some of those aha moments that we had back and forth on boxer during some of our meetings?
Chanie (07:16):
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna share the first thing that really stands out through our Voxer back and forth. You really forced me to kind of reckon with what I really wanted and needed in my life, in the season that I'm in right now as a mom of four little kids. And you really showed me this perspective of like, if you're gonna build this business in the way that you're thinking of this is where you're ending up, do you want that? Is that what you're really building? Is this the season of life for it, or are we building a different kind of business to create more white space for your kid's schedules, for your Jewish holidays,
for the quality of life that you're looking for, then you need to, then there's different goals that you need to have. You're building a different kind of infrastructure. And I have never really sat down and reflected so deeply on these concepts before, and they really transformed the way that you make decisions, make goals, coach the team, build your team. So I think for me that was like the greatest I think for me and that happened through Voxer, like really just chatting back and forth with each other.
Laura (08:26):
Yeah. One of the things you do, that's really remarkable that I think everybody would be inspired by that's listening. You do a lot. That's very remarkable, but one of which is that you are so dedicated as a mother and two, the Sabbath, and you spend a lot of your time creating an incredible experience for your family a Jewish wife and mother. And you also will take out a day or two and like just go to a hotel, which is so hard. Yeah. I think lots of people listening would think that like, there's no way that they would have time for that, but like that's a lot of the times where you would Voxer me and I I'd note a check really fast. I'm like, oh, honey's away. I gotta see what she said.
Chanie (09:09):
I so appreciated that. I think that was something that was so beautiful about our relationship up is that, you know, I would let you know, Hey, I'm going. I think I told you in advance, like, okay, I'm going away for these three days. And you made sure to kind of be a little bit more available during that time, because I was gonna be in reflection mode and I needed someone to kind of, you know, go back and forth with, and that most recent one, which happened in October and I'm, I'm booked for another one that's coming up soon. I try to do them every 90 days or so. That was the real kind of restructuring of the team of like what, what are the positions that are needed? What is the skillset that is needed of each employee? What do I need because of my leadership gap, but also my greatest strengths and through our conversation, you really help me recognize, okay. The, are the people that I really need to take this business to the next stage that it's gonna be going to.
Laura (10:01):
I love that. And so what are some of the changes you've made that help increase your revenue? I'll ask that question first and then I wanna talk to you a little bit more about the, the mindset work that we did together.
Chanie (10:11):
So I think, okay, so sorry. Say, say the question again. Cause I got distracted.
Laura (10:17):
The money is just reflective. I think a lot of times of the mindset, right. What are some of the specific things you've done that's helped your sales or marketing or just generally increase your revenue?
Chanie (10:31):
Yeah. So I'll walk you through some very specific ones. So the delegate to elevate workshop is definitely an asset that we've now built in our business. And what I mean by asset is I have what I talk about. I have the workbook, we have, you know, all the social images that we use. We know what drives conversions. We know the copy and the emails that we write. So we've built this beautiful asset that we've already run twice, that we will be doing again in the business in 2022, probably in the fall time. So building a marketing asset in your business is priceless. Like just having something that you can lean back on when you're ready to do that next workshop or that less next launch is very powerful. I think the other thing that I really loved is the incorporation of using video ask, which we're using, we're leveraging a lot during the live event right now. So many people use that during our delegate to elevate launches. And we learned so much about our audience and what they were really seeking when it came to maximizing and creating a high performing team, which helped us create messaging. So I think the video ask was such a quick, easy thing to implement, which had, you know, compounding results on our messaging and how we're coming to market.
Laura (11:39):
Yeah. I love that. I love both. And then also let's talk about your live event. Cause before we started working together, I looked at your metrics and I looked at your data. I mean my data intake for a lot of clients, just in case anybody's thinking about, about becoming a client. Like it's not a light lift just as a heads up, but I need to look at everything and understand all the data. And so when I looked at it, I was like, oh my gosh, you're live events. Like the winner, like that's winter, winter, chicken dinner. Like what, when we do another one and you were like, it almost killed me. I had to, I had to, I had to sell everybody into that, into that live event personally. And I was like, I can't remember what, how much does your live event run?
Chanie (12:21):
So it's $2,200 a ticket.
Laura (12:22)
I was like, we need to sell that off a sales page. You were like not possible. And I was like, we need to sell it off a sales page. It's the winner. Like if you could sell it off a sales page, would you do it again? And so what are you doing right now?
Chanie (12:34):
So there's, there's a number of changes we really put into place when it came to the event. I think number one, you know, just recognizing as a CEO and as a leader, a decision that you made to like 2019 is, is basically three years ago at this point, even though I'm like, oh, it was last year's event. So if, if you have done the deep work consistently as a leader, your mindset is really going and should be in a different place. And so even though my reflex response to your like, hey, let's do the event again was,
oh my God, that almost killed me. When I really took the time to think about it. I was like, well, why did it and how have I grown since then?
(13:13):
And what are the boundaries that I've put in place at four o'clock today, I will be at a massage. Next month, I have a massage and a facial book to prep for the live event. There are multiple different boundaries that I've really put in place. We're not gonna be recording new podcast episodes in the weeks before the live event, we're gonna be using throwback episodes. So again, all of these things sound so simple, but they are truly markers of growth of saying, I need to protect my time and energy to fill that room and perform on that stage. So when I was able to be like, Hey, I am gonna, I could do this. I could do this event again. So yes, we're selling from the page we're using video, ask text messaging. We're definitely having some social selling conversations. Some people need the opportunity just to get on a call because they're purchasing, let's say five or six tickets, so they wanna have a conversation. So we, we haven't totally taken out having a conversation, but we've sold 47 tickets without a conversation. Amazing. That's really, really powerful. Get through social selling through relationship building. So it's been, it's been life changing to watch and unfold and sitting. I know this sounds crazy, but you have to sit in the discomfort of success a lot of times to be like, okay, I'm allowed to have this, you know, when you're so used to the struggle.
Laura (14:27):
So, oh my gosh, I love, love, love that. You just said that because many times I'll recommend something to somebody that would actually simplify that would actually create spaciousness. And their immediate reaction is like total discomfort. Right? And it's like moving on the other side, that discomfort. Fortunately, that's why I love what I do. I have such a good relationship with my clients that they'll receive it. Maybe not in that moment, but they'll eventually come back and be like, okay, let's talk about how to make that happen. What are some of the other mindset shifts that you've made since us working together? Is there anything else that comes to mind? I really
Chanie (15:02):
Was on this pursuit when I was originally setting January, 2022 goals, that this was gonna be another growth year, that this was gonna be a year of increasing by, I think it was like 25% in revenue that we were setting goals and targets for. And I think it was the December 31st conversation that we had maybe like that kind of right before the new year. And there was a lot of honesty kind of in that voxer where you were like, listen, Connie, like you wanna take a month off when you have the high holidays and you wanna take off when you have the summer and you wanna be there for your kids when this happens. And this is important to you will then your projects and your commitments and your goals have to match that first, if that's more important, right? So you can have these big ambitions, but you also have to remember that you're in this season of life, you know, what, what is important?
(15:57):
Like do you have the team infrastructure and you asked like a bunch of different questions. And I listened to the voxer multiple times and it was in that moment that I was like, this is the year of maintenance. This is the year that our team is committed to building the systems and infrastructure on the marketing sales side and client delivery side. So we're not pursuing 25% growth this year. We're actually pursuing building the right systems and infrastructure. I know that we're gonna end up exceeding our goals simply because we're gonna build the right systems. But that's not where my mind is. My mind is we need to build these systems in place and it's okay to take upon us from growth because that's, what's important right now.
Laura (16:36):
Yes, yes. And I, I love the saying that you can do everything, just not all at the same time. Yes. Seasons where, you know, you prioritize your family and there'll be seasons where you'll invest in expansion and it doesn't make you, I think for high achievers like us. Sometimes it's hard to feel like, well, why can't I just do both at the same time? Like I'm a high achiever, I'm a winner. Like that's what winners do. Winners win at everything at all at the same time. But as your children multiply and start outnumbering you, and at least that's what I found. That's when we get to edit, we get to edit and we get to start making some decisions about what's important to us.
Chanie (17:17):
It's really hard to make those decisions. I think anyone who's listening to this is an ambitious entrepreneur or CEO. Who's built a team. And when your ambitions bump up against your values and what's important to you, that's where the reflection sits. Like the magic is gonna be in that decision making in that moment. And it's really hard to make that decision. I'm not saying the decision to make a maintenance here was an easy one at all, just because it aligns with my values. It doesn't mean that it was easy. I think it's embracing it consistently as a practice and knowing that I'm building what I want for the future and having the patience and discipline to stick with it is where the hardship is. But it's also where, where the goodness is.
Laura (17:57):
Yeah. I'm such a believer that simplification always leads to transformation. Yeah. So it may be that you simplify, it may be you streamline, it may be that you apply the Plato principle to your business and it actually makes it grow faster. Yes, yes. Than it would have if you didn't do that work. So it'll be really interesting year for you. It'll be exciting to be where it takes you. What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs who are really looking to continue to grow their revenue, but also prioritize their family at the same time?
Chanie (18:31):
I think we each have such a different definition of what it means to prioritize our family. And I, I think the first space I always look to is my calendar. You know, we are in my calendar, have I created dedicated space for what family means to me? So I'll share
some of the definitions of what family means to me. And I think as an entrepreneur, if you're a parent really sitting down and understanding what family means, what experience means, what quality time means, what creating memories mean, and then building that into your life first, and then your business comes in to the equation. So I have four kids. My youngest is four, my oldest is 11. And so he's in middle school now. Right? And so I'm looking at this season of like, you know, I have a couple more months left until he becomes a teenager.
(19:21):
What do I want the next two years or 18 months to look like in the relationship that I have with him? How do I wanna build my schedule around being emotionally available for him? What is my marriage look like, marriage is part of family. What I want my marriage to look like in this season. What do we need as a couple during this season? And then how do I wanna be mentally and emotionally available for my kids at the end of a Workday? You know, I have a fourth grader, she has a lot of tests going on. She has a lot of social dynamics. She needs to have conversation with me. Well, if I wanna have a conversation, I wanna be emotionally available. I need to be rested. My brain needs to be rested. I can't be a rung out towel. So I need to end my day earlier so I can emotionally reset.
(20:01):
So again, these are just ideas, things to think about, of like how you structure your life and the commitment that you have with family. And I think the hardest part is, is the at, we don't get the dopamine rush and the instant gratification that we do in business when we, you know, plug something in or get the funnel working or get the clicks or whatever it is. Building a family is you're playing the game for generations and for decades. And that requires a lot of discipline and a hard work and connection with your values of what you really want. So, so hopefully that's helpful just to get started in that definition.
Laura (20:37):
It is. That was powerful. That was amazing. Thank you for sharing that. And I think everybody who's listening can relate to it. I know, I know for sure, based on my, my Voxer that most people are trying to figure that out right now. Yeah. Most, most parents, men and women are trying to figure out how to show up for their family in the way that they want to in the midst of never having been, you know, pressed more challenged more for our time and resources. So I love that.
Chanie (21:11):
Yeah. And I think you've spoken a lot about, we've had conversation that just came to me about business models, you know, and how you designed your particular business model that you have currently. And then I know you have another business as well, but how you designed your business model was really, and reflection to the season of life that you're in, right where you're designing your days in a particular way. And that really had me block out Tuesdays and Fridays now for thinking days. So Tuesday is my CEO day. I don't take any meetings. I am deep down in work. And it's also the day that I start
work a little bit later and every Tuesday, one of my kids out for breakfast and then my husband and I go out for a late lunch. So I kind of combine together marriage, family, and then deep work in the business.
(21:57):
And then Friday I have off just to like take care of myself because I realize that Friday nights, we always have guests. That's part of our tradition and I'm exhausted at the Friday night table and I can barely utter a word and kind of host and entertain. And I'm like, I need to lighten my load so I can be there. So really think about your business model. And Laura's amazing at this, just understanding how to build this infrastructure and how you wanna build your days. You're the boss of it. You get to make those decisions.
Laura (22:24):
Yeah. Right. And if you, if you don't wanna sales team don't have a $25,000 offer, you know, like things like that. Exactly.
Chanie (22:34):
So those are little things that I was like, oh yeah, of course. But like just that perspective that you give of like, okay, so if you don't wanna a sales team, then here's what you can have if you're okay with aim a sales team then. So it's understanding the tossups and the choices that you have to make within a particular business model.
Laura (22:51):
Right. And it's not to say somebody listening's like, that's not true. You can sell 5,000 offers with a sales team. And I'm like, yeah, you need a ton of traffic, a ton of traffic. If you are going to wanna try to sell it off a webinar or something like that. Cause you're gonna have to, you know, get people who can make decision without a conversation. And that just takes a lot of volume. So like there's all, you know, upsides and downsides to every type of business model and building a business that you're excited to show up for is one of my greatest passions. So where can people find you if they would like to connect with you, learn more about you specialize in leadership, particularly schools, private schools, primarily. Correct. And, and you specialize in team and team management and infrastructure specifically for multi-location, you know, high end private brick and mortar private schools.
Chanie (23:46):
Yeah. So the best place to find me is on our podcast, The Schools of Excellence podcasts, where I just, we just did a whole series on conflict on understanding difficult conversations creating the right culture. We're creating culture of promotion, culture of contribution. Just really understanding how to elevate all levels of leadership within your team. Because really our, my mission is so much about what are the behaviors? What are the routines? What do we need to do as leaders and model to our children? So they have less to unlearn than we do. And if that becomes the mindset of our staff and of our children's teachers, we're gonna have a very different generation of leaders, which is
something I'm excited about to see in, you know, a few decades from now what that looks like.
Laura (24:30):
Yeah. I love that. Thank you so much. Thank you for all the good that you're doing in the world. Thank you for coming here and sharing. I really appreciate it.
Chanie (24:38):
Thank you.
Laura (24:39):
Hey there: before you head out, I want to let you know about a free new training I have right on a brand new website called yournextmillion.me. It's yournextmillion.me, where several of my seven figure clients and colleagues share what they're doing in the next year to scale their businesses, to the multi-million dollar mark and beyond. And I have to tell you, it is not what you think. So check it out at yournextmillion.me. And if you loved this show, will you subscribe to it and share it with a friend or just say something nice about it to someone, you know? I'd really appreciate it so much. Thanks so much for being here and I'll see you next time.
The Scale with Joy podcast dives into the mindset and strategies of scaling your company to the million dollar mark and beyond. Each week, we follow the journeys of innovators, disruptors, experts and leaders - sharing behind the scenes stories of their most challenging moments and greatest lessons learned-all while building their multi-million dollar empires.