Welcome And Drew’s Story

Hello and welcome to Healthy Mind, Healthy Life. I'm Archita sitting in for Avik today, and this is the show where we have honest conversations about staying human while still building the life and the work we want. My guest today is Drew Dorenfest. Drew is a marketing expert who has worked with global brands like Netflix, Apple, Warner Bros. and the NFL and now runs Client Magnet CRM, helping small business owners grow their brands through smarter SEO and automation. But what I really want to talk to him about today is the inner side of all that meditation, mental health, stress, anxiety, and what work-life balance actually means when you're the one carrying the business on your shoulders. So, Drew, welcome to the show. And honestly, it's it's such an honor to have you today.

Oh, yes. Thank you so much for having me.

Thank you for being here. Uh, because I feel that this conversation is going to help so many listeners out there who are trying to build something small. And Drew, um, before we get into the bigger conversation, I want to start somewhere personal. So you bet on yourself in 2018 and you have been building ever since. So, Drew, what's something you know now about your own mental health that you really wish you had known back when you first went out on your own?

It's a great question. Um I am a workaholic. My mom is a workaholic, so I I often am thinking about work when I probably shouldn't be or working very late. And uh I've definitely overdone it at times where I think I have to put in the hours to get the results I want. And there's really time to just relax and take a break. Meditation is great. Um and I find that you have to have that balance of I'm in work mode and I'm in relax mode. And if you just burn the candle at both ends, you're not gonna be your best self. You're not gonna get, you're just gonna beat yourself up and you're gonna feel down. Where I get recharged by my family. I have two little kids and a wife, and that time I spend with them, it can be hard and hectic and stressful because you're managing, they're both under five managing little kids, but it's so fulfilling also. It's time where you're not thinking about work, it's time where you're just focused on having fun with them and spending time together and being, you know, going out to eat some food or making food in your house or playing toys. Like that is recharging and and and getting sleep also. Like then getting sleep and just not working for a night is so important.

I think I think this is something a lot of listeners needed to hear, and I think that that's a great place to start this entire conversation, Joe, because so many uh people listening uh might be the same as you used to be, you know, workaholic, and maybe they think that um if they stop, they are not going to make it. But this was a really important reminder for them that their health matters as well. So uh that that also brings me to another um uh point.

Stress Myths And Real Costs

Uh you know, Joe, there's this loud belief in entrepreneur culture that stress is the price of admission, that if you're not anxious, not maxed out, not burning the candle at both ends, you're not really hungry enough. So, from your own experience and from what you've seen with the small business owners you work with, what's the biggest misconception people carry about stress and what it's actually costing them?

You're so right. Like stress can eat you out from the inside. Like I have, yeah, small business owners, if you we carry a lot on our shoulders, especially if you don't have that support, you don't have friends and family to to help you out and just talk to even, it can really, you know, consume you and the and it can affect your health. I yeah, I've definitely have friends who are small business owners who are adversely affected by their stress level. Um, and the ones who kind of manage it the best have that support system. They maybe are uh fortunate enough to have employees that can take some of the workload off, they can take vacations, they can, you know, if they're sick, have someone to fill in. As, you know, as when I was doing video editing for for Netflix and all these people, you know, oftentimes I was working at an agency where if I got sick, someone could fill in. Now then when I went freelance, if I get sick, I I often uh have to, it's tough to say I'm too sick to work, so I don't really do it. I often will work when I'm sick, which is not the best. I had the flu a couple months ago and my daughter, my whole family got it. It was horrible. And I was on a really tight deadline on a project. And the client, I told him, I was like, hey, I got the flu, like I feel horrible. And he was like, understood. He was like, so like, can you get anything done? And I was like, I can try. And I was like laying in bed, not feeling good, working, and I felt horrible about it. And I was just like, I don't really want to work with a client who wants me to work when I'm sick. So as a small business owner, I have the ability to say no. And, you know, if that, you know, he came back around and was like, I got another project. And I was like, I'm busy, you know what I mean? Because I felt icky about how that kind of went down of like he's not prioritizing my health. I understand he's under pressure. He needs to, he has a deadline, he has to fulfill. But there's just there's just boundaries you have to draw for yourself for your own mental health and your physical health.

Absolutely, and I think that's that's exactly what so many people, especially uh business owners, um, miss out these days. So it's really important to remind them that. And I think that is um such an important reframe, too, because if we keep believing that stress is the proof of our ambition, we will never give ourselves permission to build a business that doesn't slowly break us. And from a personal standpoint, I I believe that you know a healthy mind and body can work much better compared to uh one that's uh stressed. So

Quality Beats Constant Content

you know that that also brings me to something that I've been sitting with for a long time. So, Aju, you have spoken honestly about that moment of realizing that doing more wasn't the same as growing, and that phrase carries so much weight. So, from where you sit uh right now, what are the deeper patterns underneath this constant pushing that small business owners and solopreneurs don't always recognize in themselves?

Yeah, I think there's this uh constant uh drumming of we need to do social media all the time in order to get our to build our brand. We need to put out content regularly to be noticed, to be remembered so that people don't forget about us or go to find our competitors. And it's just not true. It's that's why I like SEO is Google, the algorithms, the search search engines, they don't reward quantity, they reward quality. So you can take your time in crafting a really impactful website page that explains a service you offer or a thing you've been thinking about in a blog post that is can help other people. And that is something that takes time, but is not something that you have to kill yourself every day, push, push, push, doing more and more and more. You can take a day off and come back to the next day with a fresh perspective, have you know a clearer mind. And so I like that if you take your time with something, especially when I do uh my own video editing work, there's days where yes, there's fast turnarounds and you just need to, you know, work really hard to get something out the door. And it's I just got to push, push, push. There's other days where I'm on something right now where it's like you can just take your, I'm taking my time with it because I have the I have the I have the deadline is a little is a couple weeks from now. And I'm like, you know, I could do this tonight, but I also could just take a break, get some sleep, and tomorrow I'll come at this with a with a clear head, and I bet I'll do a better job. Because like I said, I have two little kids and that means I have less time for my business. I'm focused on uh, you know, getting them from school and making them dinner and all that kind of stuff. And so that means I really maximize the time I do have. So if I sit down for an hour, I'm so much more productive and I can kind of know, okay, if I waste my time with this, that's not gonna be good. But if I really focus my time on this instead of scrolling the internet or doing whatever, really lock in for an hour, I'm gonna be so much happier than as if I spent eight hours, you know, without any distractions. And I probably like scrolled the internet, you know, took a break, tried something that wouldn't work, all kinds of stuff. So if you really just like you maximize short bursts of concentrated work, I find I get better results. So I'm grateful for that, those breaks and that time I have away from my desk.

That that makes so much sense. And I think a lot of listeners will be able to resonate with what you have shared as well. Because that's that hits something real, you know. When our worth is welded to our productivity, I think rest uh stops feeling uh restorative and it starts feeling threatening. So I'm really glad that you brought this up, Joe. And uh now now let's bring this into uh

A Real Tuesday Balance Plan

the everyday life. So, Drew, let's say someone listening right now is a small business owner, uh, they're juggling their work, their clients, their bills, their family, they love what they do, but they're also waking up tense. They want meditation, mental health, balance, but every productivity tip feels like one more thing on the to-do list. So, what does real work-life balance actually look like for that person on a regular Tuesday?

Yeah, it's so, I mean, listen, I wish I had more time to meditate and more time to exercise. But when I do find it, I find it's the best thing. I feel uh recharged when I meditate. I feel recharged when I I had a boss who uh really introduced me to meditation. I was something I was curious about, and I had tried, but I would always kind of get off the the the pattern of it. And he, you know, was a very successful guy, and we were at a busy, very busy office, and he had a little uh clock, like with like a pl you know, paper clock with plastic hands on his door. And every day he would set a time to meditate where he put that on the door, he'd turn his phone off, and he'd say, I'm meditating for the next 30 minutes, don't bother me. And I thought that was so cool. I was like, that's badass that he you know takes time for himself every day. And he's he's this incredibly chill dude, never ever yelled. And he was just really relaxed all the time, and he was very successful. Like he knew he needed that time. So if I can get into the rhythm of every day, I take 10 minutes to just clear my head and meditate. I find that the day after that goes much better. Or if I say I'm stressed right before then, like that kind of stress melts away. Same thing with going for a run or even going for a walk. Like I tell my wife and I both work from home, and I often am like after we have it's the best that we can have lunch together often. And I go, like, now let's go on a walk. And sometimes I got a meeting right after this. And like, great, but like after your meeting, maybe we can go for a walk. But I'm gonna go for a walk right now. Like, I find like after lunch is like my favorite. After lunch is like one time I used to meditate, and also go for a walk. I find like it's that midday break that really like gives you that balance. So even if you have no time to go run your errands or like do nothing, to be honest, like that wasted time where you're just like, I really just wish I can like lay on a couch and watch TV. And like that would that's great. That turn your brain off time is great. But if you if you don't have that time, you're just so busy of a lot of things, you're spinning a lot of plates. If you could find 10 minutes to just go for a walk, even that is that is a joy.

I think that is so important. Thank you so much for sharing that, um, Drew, because that reminds all of us that you always you you need to, you know, uh take time out for the things that you love because nobody else is going to do that for you. And uh I love how grounded that is because you know, um spirituality and mental health practices that only work when life is calm aren't really practices, they are privileges. But what you're describing is something that actually meets people in the in the chaos of running a

Guided Meditation And Peace Of Mind

business, which which leads me to your approach. So, do you blend the practical world of marketing, SEO, and automation with this deeper awareness of mental health and balance? So, for a small business owner listening right now who wants to start using meditation or mindfulness as a real tool, not as another wellness trend, what's a practical or reflective approach you would guide them towards this week?

Um, obviously, there's meditation apps. I've tried a few of them. I find like if you could find one guided meditation that is very fits your obviously, like it's there are different voices, there's different mantras and things that they're talking about. Like, find the one that you connect with and just repeat it. Like I found one that I I tried multiple ones, and the one I found that was the most grounding was this very calm, I think it was like Irish or Scottish guy on the Insight Timer app. Uh it's called Insight Timer, and he just made you like think about the different body parts. So you would go down from your think about your head and then think about relax your shoulders and then think about your knee and then think about your toes, and just go up and down your body for like 10 minutes. And I was like, this is so grounding because you just sit in a chair and you put your feet on the floor. Because like if you're, you know, sitting at your desk and you're working, you're so crouched over and you're in a bad posture and you're stressed and you just feel it in your shoulders, all that kind of stuff. So just relaxing and reconnecting with that is so great. Um, I've definitely gotten off of my practice of it. I want to get back into it because you just forget, you just you're like, oh, I just have to do do do do do. But if you can take that time, it's so critical, I find, to de-stress because stress, like I said, like it can just really eat you up. And I find that um my friends who are really stressed, I I want to be there for them. I want to say, like, how can I help de-stress you? Because that is like with the SEO and the automation stuff, it's it's about creating that peace of mind for my clients. It's like, how can I take something off of your plate? I'm more of like a partner in their business instead of a person who's trying to like sell them a product and do X, Y, and Z. It's like, oh, I that thing that I've been meaning to do that is like adding to my stress level, like now Drew just takes care of it. So that I I like to offer because it is like offering a peace of mind. And it's like also like, sorry, just to continue, it's just like it's um it is being like this reinforcing some this idea that you're doing great. Like if you're showing up for your business every day, you're showing up for your family every day, like you're doing great. You're doing just one foot in front of the other. Like if there's obviously everyone wants to make more money and do more and be more successful, but like if you're you're still you're still at it every day and you're waking up and you're breathing, like you're doing good.

Absolutely. I think, Drew, you couldn't have put it in a better way because I think there is this big misconception among people, especially high achievers, that you know you cannot have a balance if you have a work life, then you have to be completely dedicated to it, and you cannot have a personal life. But that's just so not true, and I think you are one of the biggest examples of that. And hopefully, this conversation will remind them that balance is possible. And uh, that's that's such a key reframe, Drew. Um, because I think automation isn't only about scaling revenue, it's about giving yourself back the hours and the headspace your nervous system has been quietly asking for. And uh honestly, this is this was something a

Brick By Brick Growth And Closing

lot of us needed to hear today. Okay. So uh, Drew, this has been such a meaningful conversation. And uh lastly, uh, before we close, I want to ask you something for the listener who's running their small business right now and quietly burning out, the one who looks fine on social media, books are coming in, contents going out, but inside they are stretched thin and scared to admit it. So, what would you want them to hear gently before they go back to the inbox?

Uh you're doing good. You just gotta remind yourself that every day is just one of many days in a year, and you can't get in the you know, the fast pass lane to success. Sometimes it's brick by brick, you gotta build it. That's why I remind myself constantly is oh, I really want to see that that explosive growth. I need people to be booking meetings on my calendar, and it's like, but look at where I was three months ago. I've only been, you know, look where it was six months ago. I'm so much further along than I could have ever hoped or dreamed just because I'm building it brick by brick. So every day you get up and you you do your best, and every day is another day.

That's a great advice, and that is really reassuring. And if if if there's one thing that I can take away from this conversation, it's that building a business was never meant to cost you the person you came into business as. The real growth isn't only in your revenue, it's in how whole you still feel while you're earning it. So, Drew, uh, thank you so much for this meaningful conversation. And I know that small business owners listening are going to want to learn more about you and client magnet CRM. So, where is the best place for them to connect with you?

Yeah, you can visit clientmagnetcrm.com and I'm on all social media and it's at clientmagnet CRM.

Amazing. Thank you so much, Drew. And we will link all of that in the show notes for anyone ready to grow their business without losing themselves in the process. And to our listeners, if something in this episode landed for you, especially if you are the one quietly carrying a business on your shoulders right now, I would gently invite you to do one thing before you go back to your laptop. Not a strategy, not a system, just one honest moment of stillness where you ask yourself how you're actually doing. Not how the business is doing, not how it looks from the outside, but how you, the human behind it, are really doing. Because the most important brand you'll ever build is the one underneath your work. Thank you for being here on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life. Take care of your mind, take care of your work, and take care of the human doing.