Overcoming Business Hurdles and Creating Success with Libby De Lucien -8

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Melody [: 00:00:02

Hello, business human. Are you a misfit? A person who wants to make a difference in this business world.

Melody [: 00:00:10

Are you one of the unconventional? The visionaries? The quiet innovators? The heart centered leaders? The purpose driven? The community builders? The givers? Then you are my people. I used to think business was a secret formula to be discovered and followed, but now I know it isn't a set of rules. It's an exciting creative adventure, and I wanna be on that adventure with you. I am your lady of business, Melody Edwards. Welcome

Melody [: 00:00:40

to the Business Misfits podcast.

Melody [: 00:00:46

Welcome Libby to the Business Misfits podcast. I'm really happy to have you here, and I have a question for you. The very first question that I wanna ask you is, are you a business misfit?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:00:58

Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Melody [: 00:01:00

Why do you think that resonates for you?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:01:03

Because, well, a lot of us entrepreneurs don't like to be told what to do. Yeah. But I think I'm a business misfit in a few ways. One is I got to a point in my businesses where I just got tired of running my businesses the way I was supposed to. Based off, like, people I've hired and consultants and coaches and CMOs and fractional CMOs and COOs. And then the other one is, like because I own a couple software, is, women in software are not very it's not very typical. So I feel like I'm a misfit there sometimes. So I think definitely a misfit, and I kind of I go about things my own way.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:01:41

Like, I don't care what anybody's doing. I don't care what they're saying. I just kinda piddle along, not paying attention to anything. And that's gotten me in trouble, though, too, sometimes, but just piddling along doing, like, my thing.

Melody [: 00:01:54

Interesting. Now I wanna know about all the times you got into trouble since that I think I really relate to this. I'm learning to really just trust my intuition on how my business should be run.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:02:05

So it's not intuition. It's called your gut. It's that intrinsic mind that's in your gut. You can't see my hands, but they're down here.

Melody [: 00:02:12

Oh, I can see your hands. They're down there. Yeah. That's something that, just like you, I got tired of trying things the way that somebody else is telling you, but also, there's resistance. When it's not working for you, there's resistance, and that makes everything slower.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:02:30

Absolutely. Here's the thing, though, like, I was taking so much advice from people I paid a lot of money to. But literally, one of my employees asked if I sold the business because it changed so much because I was taking so much advice. Like, they're like, you can't be the face. You need to pull back. You shouldn't be interacting with the technicians. Like, and I pulled back. Right? And one of my cleaners asked, did I sell the cleaning company? I'm like I, like, came in. I was like, heck no. I'd never sell the cleaning company.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:02:58

And that kinda made me sad for a second because I was taking, I felt like, should I have known better? I don't know. It was a good lesson.

Melody [: 00:03:05

No. How would you have known better? We have to try these things.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:03:09

Yeah. I call it an expensive experience.

Melody [: 00:03:12

Yes. And also, business is an experiment all the time I feel like. So what works for you may or may not work for me, but it took me a lot of expensive experiences.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:03:23

Yeah.

Melody [: 00:03:24

That's what I've had as well. But that's okay. I think it's part of the journey.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:03:28

Oh, I've learned so much, though.

Melody [: 00:03:30

Yes. Exactly. I feel the same. What is the purpose of business for you? Outside of money, what is the purpose?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:03:38

So we did a podcast a long time ago, and I resonated with you because you said you're not money driven.

Melody [: 00:03:44

Yes.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:03:45

So I would say I'm not money driven, or I used to not be money driven. If you follow me on social media, you know, I'll give you here's a checklist. Like, here's this for free. Oh, I learned this thing. Here's that. And I learned that I'm not money driven, but to get to my goals, my why, the things I wanna do to make a bigger impact, I do need the money.

Melody [: 00:04:06

Yeah. Yeah. You're not money motivated. You're purpose driven. But business is not a charity. No. That's what somebody said. Businesses can be a ministry, but not a charity.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:04:18

Yes. So business to me is it's a lot of things. Right? I love teaching. I love helping. I'm working on finding my 3rd mountain, like my "why". I kind of know what it is, but I am still working on perfecting that exact 3rd mountain. So I work with a coach, and they're like, you know, it's the person that you needed in your darkest moment. It's typically that 3rd mountain, that "why".

Libby De Lucien [: 00:04:43

And you can use your companies as vehicles to help you get to the 3rd mountain, whether it's time freedom, money freedom. But I'm so passionate about, like, the cleaning industry and how, like, the perception of cleaning and the stereotype. And a lot of cleaning company owners come in, and they were so good at the trade. And they need help with that that mindset, the next level of, like, oh my gosh. This business is growing, and I don't know what to do. So I'm very passionate about helping women in business. And so it's a lot of residential cleaning owners, helping people recruit in a different way. But at the end of the day, to me, business is about really making an impact in our industry, like within the residential cleaning industry.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:05:24

And we recruit like, we do my software works for other people, but, like, that's my niche. That's what I can talk about, and that's how I can help in. My mom, like, runs one of the cleaning locations. My son runs the marketing. My husband is our CTO for a software. Now I just hired my nephew. I created a new position. It's awesome, and he's doing it.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:05:43

It's like a beta test. If it works well, I'll share what that position is, but it has to do with social media. But it's about family too.

Melody [: 00:05:50

Yeah. Interestingly, mine is not about family because my family does not wanna be involved in my businesses. They tolerate them at best. But I think for me, it's about the family. It's about people. It's very I'm so people oriented, and like you, I love helping women. And I've really honed into I love helping purpose driven women or anybody who's trying to make a difference and have an impact. Like, those are the people I wanna support.

Melody [: 00:06:18

There really are a lot of givers, and you and I both know there's a lot of takers in the industries, and we don't wanna be those people. So I like your sense of purpose. I feel like when I watch you, because you're very active on social media, you're always in front of my eyes everywhere I look, and you're just really good at the consistency of that. But I wonder, do you feel ever imposter syndrome?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:06:46

Oh, well, we're consistent at it because one, Rexie, who came from Melody. Rexie does our reels and our video editing. She is, like, the most consistent person in the world. So I owe a lot of it to Rexie.

Melody [: 00:07:01

Thank you, Rexie.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:07:02

Thank you, Rexie. But I feel imposter syndrome, like, every day. Every day, I woke up I wake up and I'm like, what are we supposed to be doing today? I'm like, oh my god. I have, like, a 100 people that are, like, I'm leading. I'm like, do they really know who I am? Like, as in, like, I don't know the answer to everything. But I learned to share that. So I share it with my team, like, hey, I wanna do this. They're like, Great, how? I'm like, I don't know.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:07:30

Can you help me figure it out? But I do. Me and Melody, we share a background. A lot of my impostor syndrome does not come from my childhood. I had a pretty great childhood. We were not we were poor. We were not wealthy at all. But my mainly, it comes from I was in an abusive relationship with my ex-husband who was an alcoholic, and he was not just physically abusive, but more mentally abusive or verbally abusive. And, you know, 12, 13 years of that from the 8 I think I was, like, 18 to 28 when I left it.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:08:07

No. 30. 17 to 30. That's what I was.

Melody [: 00:08:11

You were a baby when you first with him. Like, you were still

Libby De Lucien [: 00:08:14

And he wasn't you know, he it didn't start that way. It was truly addiction. He was sick. Loved him. He did pass away till the day he died. I was there trying to help him, and I'm so grateful to my current husband because I'm trying to help him. And most men would say, what are you doing? My husband supported it.

Melody [: 00:08:31

I can say that you and I have that in common in that my former husband passed away. And I have a very supportive husband. Most men would not have been okay with, and it wasn't addiction. It was an accident, but I had to spend a lot of time away from home. It was just a crazy experience, and it really confirmed like, wow, I've got a good one.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:08:52

So the imposter syndrome, it did some damage, and I'm still working on it. I'm in a peer group, and we do crazy stuff every quarter, like eat fire. I'm sure you saw that.

Melody [: 00:09:05

Were you on a bill you were jumping off a building?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:09:07

Jumping off a building. And so they we do things like face fear on purpose so that when you're up against fear, it's kinda like conditioning yourself. And then when you have it, you're like, oh, this is nothing. I ate fire. But in that work, in that group, I have learned that I am still not, like, I don't know if you would call it over it or okay with, like, that relationship, the abuse and him passing. And so I work through that, and I just make sure that I'm healthy, and I eat right, and I exercise, and I keep my mind great so it doesn't get me down so that I can continue to work through it instead of it getting to me.

Melody [: 00:09:44

Yeah. I feel like a lot of entrepreneurs, they don't talk about all of these things a lot. But every day, the history, you know, our past is affecting how we interact every day with people, with how we interact with ourselves, and I wonder if it'll ever go away. I mean, it's almost like awareness is the most important part of this process. I was once told that I will never be healed by somebody completely, but that was actually helpful because up until then, I'd always thought there would be an ending like and then she was healed, the end, and she lived happily ever after.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:10:21

Well, and the work I did in that group, something that was said to me that really again, maybe we'll never get past it. I mean, he just passed away 8 years ago. I pay so much for mentoring and coaching, but a coach said, you have to separate that person from what they did to you. That person is a person, whether it's your parent or a sibling or a spouse, that's who they are. And what they did is different than that label that you put on them. And they only knew what they knew in that time, and that was their best effort. No matter how bad the effort was or good the effort was, that was their best effort. And so that really helped me say like, oh, it wasn't on purpose to me.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:11:04

Like because sometimes we think, Oh, why me? Why me? Me? Like, the me, me, me thing. It's funny. I pay a decent amount of money to be in a SaS group, software group, and this is all the stuff we're working through in a software group.

Melody [: 00:11:18

Yeah. Well, it's the deep work. What I've learned about entrepreneurs, especially in home service, is they might say they're growth minded, and they are growth minded when it comes to business. Most people struggle with the internal work that you need to do in order to move to the next levels.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:11:36

And that's the work you have to put in.

Melody [: 00:11:38

Yeah. That's the hardest work. It's the part that is mysterious, and, man, it's just really, really difficult work to do. But if people want to grow and continue like, I think you and I are kind of on similar trajectories of trying to find the best version of us and move in a direction of I don't know. I'm meant to do something big in this world. I'm meant to help people in some way. That's just how I think of it, and I think you're pretty similar in that thought process. The things that we've experienced actually do help other people as well.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:12:17

I agree. I was just with a group of friends, and somebody asked a question, what would you have done over in your life if you could go back in time? And it's funny, this group of entrepreneurs, we all have jacked up past, like all of us, have had major issues. And myself and everybody else said, man, as bad as it was and as much as it sucked in that moment, I don't think I'd change anything because then it wouldn't be I wouldn't be so humble or empathetic or understanding or just even open and honest as I am now, which some people don't like open and honest, but if I wouldn't have gone through that.

Melody [: 00:12:54

I really agree with you on that. I feel the same way. I don't think I would change it because it's this is who I am because of that. The people that I tend like the other misfits that I tend to be attracted to, there's this quality of, a, we all have these really crazy pasts, and we just persevere somehow. And then we also think that's totally normal in a way. Like, it's almost like we overlook that there's something special and different about us, maybe because of just we also have imposter syndrome and other things that are we're beating ourselves up or we're hard on ourselves. So it's interesting that we I don't know. I'm always learning more about the misfit, and I think one of it is we have a hard past.

Melody [: 00:13:37

There's something traumatic. There's something in the background that has happened, but we've learned to adapt to that chaos. We're easily adaptable to chaos, which is the entrepreneurial journey.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:13:49

I think we can adapt better to chaos than, like, say, maybe someone that didn't come up against those adversities in their past. Because, you know, like, when we got hit with the hurricane Ian, like, 2 years ago, I was like, I don't know how you're dealing with this. I'm like, this is a piece of cake compared to, like, you know, 10 years ago, what I was going through, or 5 years ago, what I was going through. This is this is a piece of cake or the stress of the day to day. I was like, this is nothing compared to some of the issues I had to go through in my past.

Melody [: 00:14:20

Yeah. I totally agree. Is there anything that you wish you had known about at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey that you know now? Not like, you know how it is. Like, there's a lot of people who are just starting out in business who also have imposter syndrome, who feel like they're not good enough to do the things. What is something that you wish you had understood about this journey at the beginning that might have helped?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:14:45

So I've always been an entrepreneur. I have never been an employee. But the one thing that I wish I understood better was the value in mentors and coaching, like investing in myself. I didn't invest in myself until later in life, I think, what, like 38 years old. I've owned bars and restaurants, never hired a coach or consultant. I never had a mentor. And I wish I would have learned the value that like, hey, I can. It's like a cheat code or like a fast pass at Disney World.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:15:15

I don't go to Disney World, but like a fast pass. And they also help you with that imposter syndrome though because you're borrowing their confidence. It just keeps going. It's momentum. And then I like, now I lend my confidence to other people who interact with me, and then we can just keep going and going and going. But I think we don't learn this value of, like, mentorship or masterminding. And it's in the book, Think and Grow Rich, which I'm rereading again for, like, 10th time.

Melody [: 00:15:42

Yeah. That's a great book.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:15:45

About the power of multiple minds, masterminding. And then also, this is funny. We asked this in a private Facebook group I have about, like, what's holding you? No. Was it was holding you back? It was something. And I thought back to the book about, I want growth, but I think I'm scared of it because I throttle the growth of the company because we grew so fast. And then I open it up and we grow, and then I'm like, Oh, we're not ready.

Melody [: 00:16:10

You're telling my story right now.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:16:12

And then I'm like you know, everybody thinks that I'm like, oh, fearless. And I try to be at certain times, but subconsciously, we like throttle things because we don't know if we are ready for what the next phase of that business looks like.

Melody [: 00:16:26

Yeah.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:16:27

And in the book, Think and Grow Rich, they talk about most entrepreneurs don't achieve true success, they call it, until they're like 55 years old. Because you need the wisdom that comes with age to handle it. And they're like, do I just have to wait till I get older then?

Melody [: 00:16:46

I don't know. That's a great question. I'm gonna trust the wisdom of the book because it does. And I also just heard that you're most productive. I don't know if this is true, but I'm choosing to believe it, that the most productive decade of your life is in your sixties, apparently, and then seventies and then fifties. That's what I heard.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:17:08

I believe it because you wouldn't have kids in the house anymore.

Melody [: 00:17:11

True.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:17:12

Somebody asked me the other day if I follow Alex Hermozi. And I'm like, no, not really. And they're like, but you shared something of his on social media. I'm like, oh, I saw it on LinkedIn. I loved, like, the theory. And so I shared it on Facebook. I looked in Facebook to see it if he had posted it, and he didn't. So I copied and paste it and gave him credit.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:17:29

But they're like, why don't you follow him? I'm like, dude, he doesn't have any kids. Like, I could work 120 hours a week with earplugs and noise cancelling headphones if I didn't have kids either. I said, we're not comparing apples to apples.

Melody [: 00:17:45

No. Well, that's my whole entrepreneurial journey that you just described right there. Like, you know, as women, we have such a different journey. This has been mentioned every single episode probably that there are other things. We're holding the emotional weight of our families on our shoulders, of our businesses, our employees, like we hold so much. It takes a lot of energy, and it would be so great to just be able to focus on my business only. But I've never not been a mom since I was really young, so I don't know what that would look like. So I'm interested to find out because I'm not a grandmother yet, and I also my youngest is 15.

Melody [: 00:18:25

So in 3 years, technically, allegedly, I would be a free lady. Maybe. We'll see. Maybe. I know. Yeah. But I like some of the things he says and also I take it with a grain of salt because if I really because I used to look at people like that who are like, you gotta hustle through and do all of that kind of stuff. And it's just so not, that's not me.

Melody [: 00:18:50

And it will never be me. And I think women have a different kind of wisdom, but it's hard when you want to have like, when you want to fully expand, and you can't. I hear that from women all the time.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:19:01

It's frustrating because it also like, your family judges you, your community, you know, society judges you, your community, like, oh my god, she doesn't cook dinner. She doesn't take care of her kids. The greatest, like, my husband is responsible for the 6-year-old when it comes to extracurricular activities, and I'm responsible for the 16-year-old. That's how we divide the and so because Yaya is in Girl Scouts and she's 6, they never see me. And those moms, sometimes, they think I'm like this horrible mom probably because I'm not involved at all.

Melody [: 00:19:33

Oh my gosh. Yes. I'm a football mom, but I'm a very resistant football mom. I go to the games, but I will not sell things or do any of the stuff.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:19:42

Yeah. You know, and then at first too, my family, until my mom and my dad really understood what I was doing, and now my mom's totally on board. But at first, you know, it was like, I had people cleaning my house, and I had an assistant, and then I had, like, a house helper. And people are like, why do you need all that? Can't you just do it yourself? And I'm like, not if I'm trying to change the world.

Melody [: 00:20:03

Yeah. Absolutely. I totally resonate with that. I think so many women will resonate with that. And I love how vulnerable you're being because I really feel like I look at you. Like you said, the first time I met you, I was a little scared. I remember feeling like she looks all powerful and she could smash me or something.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:20:22

Maybe it's because I'm tall. Maybe. Because one of my friends in another group, she told me last week, she goes, Libby, I just have to tell you this. When I first met you, I didn't like you. She was, I didn't even know you, but I didn't like you. And I'm like, but I didn't do anything.

Melody [: 00:20:37

Yeah. I think it might be that I don't wanna say your face has a look on it.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:20:44

I do have a resting face.

Melody [: 00:20:47

Yeah. Because I like everybody pretty much. Like there's it takes a lot to offend me. It's more about, like, we're thinking somebody you were something that you're not. Right? Because you're so easy to talk to in your many things. But I just remember back then. And then I remember working with you and I felt like, oh my gosh, I can't do this wrong because what if we fail, Libby? But you've been so easy. You're very easy.

Melody [: 00:21:12

You're very open, and you've been so successful with your assistance, by the way, because not everybody latches on and does it the way that you did. So that's a really cool thing.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:21:23

And they've been great.

Melody [: 00:21:26

Yeah. That's really good.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:21:27

I lost one of them.

Melody [: 00:21:29

Oh, no. No, no, no.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:21:31

They're still here. And the other department stole them from me.

Melody [: 00:21:34

Oh, yeah. Well, you know, it's interesting, Kristine, my assistant, she is my "Melody Manager". We talk about this all the time that it's very easy for her to be taken kind of sucked into the company and starting to do because we're very collaborative in our company as well, and she's representing me in the company a lot. So it's really easy for her to get sucked in, and we have to be so conscious of her helping to move my stuff forward because that's ultimately how everything else is gonna get moved forward. But it takes a lot of thought to think of these things. Otherwise, it just naturally happens and suddenly you're there's like yeah.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:22:12

Yeah. It aligned with their career goals.

Melody [: 00:22:15

That's important.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:22:17

Yeah. I kinda like said go ahead. Like

Melody [: 00:22:19

Yeah. That's always hard though. I always lose my assistance to the company eventually because once they understand how I think, of course, I want them to be in other parts of my company where they understand how we want things to be. But I want Kristine. Kristine never leaves me. That's all I need to say. Libby, what was going on for you in the year 2010?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:22:54

Oh, 2010, for me, was a big year. It was pretty much the year that I kinda had to start all over. Got kicked out of my house, locks changed, and my he was current spouse, now ex, the one we talked about earlier, decided to move in with his girlfriend. And so I remember, like, that year, I remember, like, the day sitting on the curb. And he took our kids. He hid them. Again, he was sick. I don't blame him for anything.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:23:26

So that's why it's also hard for me to share the story because I don't want to talk down on him or bad because, again, we have 2 kids. And I did ask the permission of my 2 kids if I could share the story about their dad once I decided I wanted to share it and his mother as well because I'm close to his mother. But I remember, like, the day sitting on the curb. Like, all I had was the cell phone and the clothes I had on. And there's a few things that, 1, I'm ashamed of, and 2, that I made affirmations that day. 1, I was ashamed that I didn't have anyone to call but my mom and dad because I had cut off everyone in my life. Because again, it's that putting your head down and working, and really abusing Not abusing, but just cutting off your friends and your other family. And then when something happens, like, you feel almost embarrassed to reach out.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:24:17

So, my mom and dad were there to help me because I couldn't even get anywhere, and I didn't wanna leave because I couldn't find the kids. It took me about 2 weeks to find the kids.

Melody [: 00:24:26

That must have been so scary.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:24:27

Oh, you don't wanna like, that's one thing you never wanna do to a mom because some kind of crazy comes out. But that was the one thing I was ashamed of, is just like looking back and saying, For the last 13 years of my life, all I did was work so hard, and I cut everybody off. Like I didn't come to Thanksgiving, I didn't go to Christmases, I didn't appreciate friends' birthdays. And now I will never make that mistake again because those are the people that helped me when I needed help. And then the affirmation I had that year too, sitting on that curve, is I just I wanted 3 things in life, and that was it. And it was I wanted to smile every day. I wanted to be happy, right? Positive, happy. And I wanted to never be lied to.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:25:05

Because at that point, I had been lied to so much that I literally felt like I was insane. Like, you start to question reality because of the alcoholism and the stories and the infidelity and the abuse. And you're just, like, literally thinking, you don't know what's real and what's not. And you're like, am I losing my mind? Should I commit myself? Because I don't even know what's, like, reality versus fix like, what's fake, what's fiction. And that making that, like, statement, that affirmation of that's the only three things I care about and that I want. The downfall is that if you're not a positive person, I don't tend to keep you around.

Melody [: 00:25:45

Yeah. Is that a downfall?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:25:47

I mean, maybe it isn't. And the other one is if you lie to me, oh my god. Like, that's my you're dead to me.

Melody [: 00:25:53

Same. I'm not somebody who's good at cutting people off. I'm much better at cutting people off now because I feel the same. How can you trust anybody who's lied, especially when you've gone through so much of, you know, in your past too? I think it's different. I just wanna clarify, like, negative people are it's not a moment in their life. It's consistent negativity. That's what you're referring to, not like they're having a hard time and you're just people that I tend to call life suckers or that they just really drain your energy, and energy is valuable. Oh, yeah.

Melody [: 00:26:24

Yeah. And then how did you get from 2010 to 2020? What was going on for you in 2020?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:26:29

Well, between then 2020, I had started to organize it in 2014. I took a few years off. I needed about, like I had to move. I had to relocate. I had to go through, oh my god, custody battles. I could just I could write a book on this topic even though when all that was over, I still had to go with through him following me and calling me and stalking me and, like, there's a whole so I had to take a couple years off, and I moved pretty far away out of state to take some time off. But then in, like, 2 years, and then I did some other stuff. But in 2014, I started to organize it.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:27:09

2018, I added the cleaning. And then in 2020 is when my cleaning company hit a $1,000,000 in revenue, which was a pivotal moment. And it's also the year I launched or the year I partnered with Paul Fastauer to start WHOOP Recruit. We didn't go live till 2021. But 2020, like, was so many, like, reached a $1,000,000 in revenue. We're like building the software to launch in 2021. It was a really, really great time. And we're like, we exploded because of COVID.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:27:39

As far as business and growth.

Melody [: 00:27:41

That's insane. Because you didn't shut down in Florida. And is that right? And we did in Massachusetts. We I almost lost my company because and I also had people dying around me, so I knew that it was very serious where I was. We were hit hard here. But at the same time, like, it was the first time in my life where I was seeing other people completely killing it somehow, and it was such a different experience all across the country.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:28:08

Yeah. I mean, we crushed it. I pivoted and started doing commercial because it was empty. All the restaurants wanted clean. I got certified and made these certifications, so I would hang in there, like, windows, and everybody wanted that certificate.

Melody [: 00:28:19

Did you do the ISSA certification? I did too. I was probably in I bought all the equipment. I pivoted for sure.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:28:27

Yeah. So that was a like, 2020 was one of the greatest years for me personally, like, for milestones in the business and then growth launching a new business.

Melody [: 00:28:36

Wow. That's pretty amazing. And then we're at the end of 2024 now. So what are you doing right now with your businesses? You still have all of them That's a lot of businesses. I'm only allowed to have one business right now. I sold all the others.

Melody [: 00:28:53

And then once this business is good, maybe I'll be allowed to have more businesses again. Okay.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:28:59

Yeah. So I have organized it. We're doing well. You know, unfortunately, because I was in Southwest Florida, we would get to about 2,000,000 in revenue and get knocked down because it would be like a hurricane. Get back up, another hurricane. And so finally, I said, oh my gosh, I have to diversify. So, we opened 2 new locations this year, and one in Oklahoma, one in Texas. And the Oklahoma 1, the Texas one is doing phenomenal.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:29:23

The Oklahoma 1 could be doing better, but it's just we need more attention. That's all. And that way, we could diversify because, man, the hurricane's just totally you know, it was frustrating because I was a $2,000,000 company. I went from, like, a 2,000,000 to, like, barely a half a million. Wow. You get frustrated, and you're like, but I'm supposed to be this size. I'm supposed to be here. And then you have $2,000,000 worth of expenses.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:29:45

So we took it with a grain of salt. We took that opportunity to really focus on our processes and our systems and regrow in a more stable way. So it was kind of a blessing because at the 2,000,000, the wheels were trying to shake off the bus, and it was getting a little sloppy. I'm gonna take it as a blessing. And then Wood Recruit is doing phenomenal. We're recruiting for, like, 700 companies now, focusing on residential cleaning, commercial cleaning, all cleaning sectors, so like power washing window, but mainly residential commercial cleaning and lawn care and landscaping. So it's doing great. For any women out there.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:30:21

I had no idea what I was doing. I built a software by accident, piecing other pieces of software together to create, like, a minimum viable product to see if people would use it. And it worked, and it did. And then we created, like, the software. And then I have service cart, which is like baby and the stepchild because I need to focus on it more.

Melody [: 00:30:40

With all your free time that you have.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:30:42

Yes. With all my free time.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:30:43

And I have coaching. So I do coach in the cleaning industry for Debbie Sardone, and I'm writing a book.

Melody [: 00:30:49

Yes. I remember that you're writing a book. How's that going?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:30:53

I am done with my part.

Melody [: 00:30:54

That's awesome. That's really good.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:30:57

It's a very, very, very intimidating process.

Melody [: 00:31:01

Did I tell you that I've been writing a book this year as well, and it was not fun? I don't not like it. Mostly, I'm talking out the book. I don't know how you did it, but I'm really trying to just talk it out because writing is hard. You have to think the words and do all the writing of the words. And then the editing, I think, is the most daunting part of everything.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:31:24

So I hired a team. I hired the team that wrote Buy Back Your Time, Dan's book, Dan Martell's book.

Melody [: 00:31:30

The best the best book.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:31:32

I hired the same writers, the same publishers, the same graphic designers. Dan gave us, like, a plug and play to his sources, and I was like, Olivia, buy a new car or write a book. So I chose the book because I don't really care about cars. So it was intimidating at first. I'm like, who's gonna listen to anything I have to say? Like, who am I? And then I began thinking back, like, I'm almost 45 years old, and I'm like, I've been through a lot. Like, I've had businesses that failed. I've had successful ones. I've built ones to over a million in 3 years, over a million in 2 years.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:32:06

Like, that's fast. And I've had successful marriages. I've had disaster marriages. I've been through divorce and custody battles, like abuse and you name it. And I'm like, actually, I have a lot to share through experiences. So when I got out of my mind that I was like coaching or teaching, it's more like, let me just share with you through my experience, whether it's bad or good. The book came out easier, but it is intimidating. Like, right now, we're picking, like, font.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:32:33

Do you want the pages tan or white? I'm like, I don't know. Yeah. Just pick whatever is the best.

Melody [: 00:32:40

I would not have thought of that.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:32:41

Do you wanna charge this much money or this much money? I'm like, I don't know. You tell me.

Melody [: 00:32:47

Yeah. It sounds they're the experts. You did your part.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:32:50

They're telling you this is what they suggest. And I'm like, just go with your suggestion on each one of them.

Melody [: 00:32:55

Yeah. Go with the experts. Right? I am so not close to where you are at in the process at all because I took a huge, long break because I overdid it for a while, and I'm gonna be going back to it. But originally, I was gonna write it kind of as you know how people do it, it's authority building and it's like a business card. And somebody had said, you don't have to write the book, the one that's been in my head since I was 18. It's just a book. And I was like, okay, that sounds like permission to write a less good book. And then as time has gone on, I've been like, I can't do that.

Melody [: 00:33:26

I have to write not the book from my 18-year-old self, but something that is gonna be meaningful and important and something I'm proud of.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:33:35

Yeah. Do you wanna hear something, gary?

Melody [: 00:33:37

Yes.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:33:38

So actually, it was Dan Martell that told me this literally last week. I was in a trip in Chicago with them. And he goes, you can delete a video, you can delete a Facebook post, you can delete most of almost anything, but you cannot delete a book. And once it's out, it's out forever. And I'm like, oh my god.

Melody [: 00:33:59

Oh, see, I'm so not worried about your book, Libby. I'm sure it's gonna be amazing, you know, especially if you put your heart into it and you've done the smart thing of hiring the best team that you could find. There's no way that it won't be successful.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:34:13

It better be for the amount of money I've paid so far.

Melody [: 00:34:16

Yeah. I definitely feel you on that. I'm very impatient about it too. Like, as soon as I knew what I wanted to write about, I was like, I just want it done now. But how long did it take you to write your book?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:34:27

Well, I'm done with the writing part, but we did 30 sessions with me on Zoom or on Google Meet talking, talking, answering questions, delivering them certain content, stories. I had to give them access to my drive. Like, they're looking at PowerPoints, like, to get a feel and ideas and stories. The book writing is about storytelling. So we started in March, and I just finished my last session about a week or 2 ago. So we did a ton of sessions, and then they go, and they write. And then they bring me back the first draft.

Melody [: 00:35:01

How long do they say that it usually takes to get the whole thing?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:35:05

I'm supposed to get the first draft, like, 1st week of December.

Melody [: 00:35:08

That's not bad. I mean, it's a lot of sessions to talk through.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:35:12

So tired of hearing yourself talk.

Melody [: 00:35:14

Yeah. I mean, that's what I did. I just talked at myself about myself and what I was writing about. So, yeah, I did get tired of myself, and then I stopped for a while. But I really appreciate how honest you're being about ghostwriting because we know that I never hear people say that, not a lot, even though it's so common that people ghostwrite. Obviously, you see all these people who are famous people writing books.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:35:42

Well, Dan did the same thing.

Melody [: 00:35:44

Right.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:35:44

And Martell would buy back your time, and everybody thinks it's great.

Melody [: 00:35:48

Yes. And so that's the point is that

Libby De Lucien [: 00:35:50

It is great.

Melody [: 00:35:51

I didn't know how much people did ghost writing until probably maybe last year. It took me that long. I assumed everybody was a fantastic writer. That really helps me though because it that's why I hadn't written. I thought you literally had to write it or else you weren't an author. And I do think that's completely not true because I've transcribed everything that I've said. I haven't written any of it. I'm gonna hire an editor.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:36:17

I'm laughing because I'm like I asked my husband, when can I put author on my title?

Melody [: 00:36:21

You can already do that. You can do that now.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:36:24

Like, when can I put author? And then to go alongside that book, we're releasing a children's book.

Melody [: 00:36:30

Oh, I love that. I've seen that your daughter, Yaya, and you have a new podcast out, which is so adorable. And I was watching your thing with her the other day. She is so personable. I've met her before. She's sparkly. I will say that. And I love that you're doing that with her.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:36:47

The publicist gave me a deal, like, if because they actually specialize in children's books. And he's like, I encourage entrepreneurs to also work on a children's book while we're editing the big book. Because what better item to get in front of your ICP? Because it's like, how many times do you read a kid's book to a kid?

Melody [: 00:37:05

Wait, what's an ICP?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:37:07

Your Ideal Customer Profile.

Melody [: 00:37:08

Okay. Got it. Yeah. No. That's so true.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:37:12

You read a book over and over and over and over.

Melody [: 00:37:16

You sure do. Yeah. We were just talking about one of the books my son we used to read my son all the time, every night, over and over. They never loo leave our head. Well, that's really cool. I mean, I think that's the coolest project that you could possibly do with your daughter. Besides the business in the future, which it sounds like she already has her girl scout business.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:37:36

Oh, she is a hardcore girl scout. She will hit you all up for cookies during cookie season. She has learned some great skills. I didn't really know much about the girl scouts. I'd never been involved. And then because she's homeschooled, we were looking for some extracurriculars for her. And, man, the girl scouts teach those girls how to be hustlers. So they set sales goals and, like, their regular goals, and we're not allowed to do anything, touch money, help, nothing.

Melody [: 00:38:03

Yeah. I always wanted to be a girl scout, and I don't know why I wasn't, but I guess and then my daughter, I don't think she was a girl scout either. Maybe she was. We were probably not the most consistent on things like that, and I've never been really much of a club person, I think. Hard to remember, but that's really cool that she's doing that. I love that. Do you find that your kids are entrepreneurial in their ways, or are they all different?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:38:30

I would say my oldest, he does work for himself even though he works for Organize It and does the social media. He has his own little social media company, and he does social media, like, 2 other cleaning companies. He's very entrepreneur, but also a little lazy because he could make more money, but he's comfortable.

Melody [: 00:38:48

That's how kids are.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:38:49

Yeah. He's 26, and he just likes the freedom and the flexibility, and he does great work. And then Austin, he's not an entrepreneur. He's 16. You know, he wants to go to college, and I'm over here saying, but why?

Melody [: 00:39:03

Oh, okay.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:39:04

Wouldn't you wanna be a doctor or a lawyer or a nurse?

Melody [: 00:39:07

There are reasons. There are teachers.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:39:10

You know, teachers don't just go to go. Right? You're gonna come out with debt unless you're and you unless you have a direct path. Definitely. She's 6. Definitely entrepreneur.

She loves being in front of the camera. She that little girl during cookie season, she door knocks. She loves to door knock.

Melody [: 00:39:29

Oh, that's like my worst nightmare. Although, if you have cookies, what better thing could you sell?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:39:34

I don't even wanna door knock.

Melody [: 00:39:36

No. That's scary. But that's really cool that she does that. Yeah. I feel like my kids all have the traits of it, but I will say, I think people the kids in there I say kids, but 20 somethings. I feel like when I was 20 something and maybe when you were, there was a huge push to work. Like, working was what you were gonna do. And I feel like we did not think about life or like the other parts of life as much as we thought about, like, this is the time you have to work so that you can retire and die eventually or whatever.

Melody [: 00:40:08

And they're not like that anymore. I don't think it's the worst thing, actually. It does mean that we don't have as many employees, so that's a problem. I never had a problem with it. I think if you give people a sense of purpose in the work that they do, they'll wanna work for you, but it's interesting that the new generation.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:40:27

Well, the options are exponential. Like you said, when we were younger, our options were work with your hands or go to college. But now, I'll give you some examples. There are positions being invented that never even existed. I just created one. We literally just created one last week, and it's a test, and I hired somebody for it. And it's like, I didn't even know this existed as a position, and it's working out phenomenal. It's for social media.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:40:52

It's like a dream job.

Melody [: 00:40:54

Yeah. For the right person.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:40:55

For the right person. And I think because when COVID accelerated what was important to people, which is I wanna work how I want, where I want, and when I want. And then the importance of family and being home and being with your kids really set that work how I want, when I want, where I want, really in. And so, like, someone for, like, my son who's 26, he can hit all those markers, and he's okay with even making less money because he's having a great time. He's in control of his time.

Melody [: 00:41:26

I'm only slightly jealous that I was a workaholic through my twenties thirties. Now I'm a recovering workaholic, everybody knows that. But I don't think it's the worst thing because we were sold on the work hustle mentality, at least I was. You love hats.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:41:43

I do.

Melody [: 00:41:44

What do you love about hats? Because you're always in a hat.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:41:47

That I don't have to fix my hair.

Melody [: 00:41:48

Okay. Well, that's actually a good reason to wear a hat. My head is too big for hats, I've found. Like, they don't wanna stay on my head.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:41:55

Oh, well, so is mine because I have a lot of hair.

Melody [: 00:41:58

Me too. Yeah.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:41:59

I have to order extra large hats.

Melody [: 00:42:02

Oh.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:42:02

So this can sound funny. I've always loved hats, and I've always had hats. But I was never they weren't really part of my identity or like staple until I started to wear them more consistently, like on camera or when I travel. It was Roger Wakefield. So I love Roger Wakefield. He's a big influencer on YouTube. He's in the trades. He's a big master plumber.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:42:22

I went to a conference, and Roger was there, and I'd never met him before. And he come up to me, and he goes, you have to wear that hat everywhere you go. And it was a red hat at the time. He goes, the second I walked in this room, I seen you. Like Yeah. Oh, the girl in the red hat. Like, oh, that girl over there in the hat. And he goes, it's because if you notice people that are like trying to like, I'm just trying to be noticed.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:42:48

I want people to learn from my mistakes and if I can help in any way. And so it's creating like that staple that you are known for. So for me, it's like hats and earrings. All my earrings are like native made. I have a earring girl. You know, Roger was his mustache, if you ever follow Roger. But it's a staple. So it's called like blocking or staples.

Libby De Lucien [: 00:43:09

Like if you look at some influential people on social media, they have a color behind them on their profile picture, and it's blocking. And so we decided my marketing team was like, we want you to wear the hat all the time. I was like, fine. Now I try not to wear the hats personally because look at my indention on my forehead. My it's they're hot sometimes or they're sweaty, but you don't have to fix your hair.

Melody [: 00:43:33

That's why I'm wearing the headphones because my hair is a huge mess. I was outside before this a lot today, working in the woods, and it just looks ridiculous. But it looks nice when there's headphones on. So same as a hat. I have one final segment called the misfit minute, and you just have to answer. They're just either-or questions. They do not define you. It's supposed to be fun.

Melody [: 00:43:58

And if you finish, you win. You win the ability to say that you won. Okay. Early bird or night owl?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:07

I used to be early, but I'm a night owl ever since I had my daughter.

Melody [: 00:44:10

Introvert or extrovert?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:12

Believe it or not, I'm an introvert.

Melody [: 00:44:15

More time or more money?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:17

Time.

Melody [: 00:44:18

Type A or type ADD?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:21

Probably ADD.

Melody [: 00:44:23

That surprises me. Saver or spender?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:26

I'm gonna say saver, but if it's buying me time, I'm a spender.

Melody [: 00:44:29

Yeah. Workaholic or recovering workaholic?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:33

No. I'm still a workaholic.

Melody [: 00:44:34

Things or experiences?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:37

Experiences.

Melody [: 00:44:38

Adventure or relaxing?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:41

I like relaxing.

Melody [: 00:44:43

Phone calls or texts?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:45

Text.

Melody [: 00:44:46

Plan ahead or go with the flow?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:49

Oh, I'm that weird mixture of 2. Go with the flow, though.

Melody [: 00:44:53

Compete or collaborate?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:55

Collaborate.

Melody [: 00:44:56

Hands on or delegate?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:44:58

Delegate.

Melody [: 00:44:59

I feel like you're a master delegator. Sweet or savory?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:45:04

Savory.

Melody [: 00:45:05

Quick thinker or over thinker?

Libby De Lucien [: 00:45:07

Quick thinker.

Melody [: 00:45:08

Yeah. I think you are a quick thinker. You're still a winner because you answered all the questions, and I learned a lot about you. Libby, thank you so much for coming on. You are definitely a business misfit. I already knew that, but now I'm a 100% sure, and I look forward to seeing you in 2 weeks. Absolutely.

Melody [: 00:45:31

Listen, Bizfit. If you believe in the mission of this podcast, I need you to like and subscribe right now. Pause this. Go find the podcast. You might already be there, which is easy. Just go like and subscribe. And if you really, really believe in it, and you want Bizfits to unite and change the whole business world, please rate it. Rating is the best way to get the word out to attract more like minded misfits like you and me, so that we can overthrow the takers of this world who currently dominate the business universe. Now I know I sound like I'm some courageous lady of business.

Melody [: 00:46:01

I am not. I can't do this alone and I don't want to. I need you and we need a coalition of fellow Bizfits. So do it now. The quicker we take action, the quicker we can change our business world. Now let's go do great things and I will see you next week.